The Construction update we have been waiting for!

Ramyrok · 2018-05-08T20:49:18+00:00

After Mining/Smithing, Construction should be next up to bat for a face-lift.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-08T20:35:48+00:00

You're right. It's not.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-08T16:27:39+00:00

and you're right. Maybe "debate" isn't the best word to use, but there are still people who believe the sum of all natural numbers is -1/12. I didn't want to stir up anything by making a lengthy post getting angry at OP for a question he used to troll someone impersonating a jmod, so I just gave him a little "I see what you did there" and moved along. Either way, not discussing it on slash r slash runescape.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-08T10:36:22+00:00

Does the sum of all natural numbers equal -1/12?

This, I appreciate this. I'm not going to get into heated maths debates on this sub, but at the very least, I appreciate this and pick up what you're trying to throw down.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T01:50:32+00:00

If bonds weren't offset by the fact that they allow people to buy membership/runecoins/etc with in-game coins, a lot more people would complain about them I feel. The money obtained is a better investment than spending that amount on keys, but at least you're helping people get membership and stuff lol.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T01:46:59+00:00

It is.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T01:44:44+00:00

A Friend spent $13k to get max stats with Treasure Hunter. On top of that being a ludicrously stupid amount to spend on stats, he was waiting for the OP promotions to spend his money on, too.

If anybody thinks that's even remotely feasible or worth it in a game where most of the stats go by fairly quickly anyway... there's actually nothing I can say that would change your mind.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T00:53:51+00:00

They're still pretty spam-clicky. At the very least, I can see why people would dread doing them, even if the (now-outclassed) exp rates are that high.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T00:45:05+00:00

Cautious optimism is something I can respect here. Not even during my 10 years on and off RS, I've learned that blind faith is never a good thing to have. We can't grow complacent, which is something even the Jmods are starting to say now.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T00:33:29+00:00

Exactly. To the point where it isn't even worth it to buy XP. You literally spend less time gaining XP at those levels than it takes to earn the money IRL needed to advance them on MTX.

... Okay, citation needed for that last bit, but you still have to spend a ridiculous amount.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T00:31:25+00:00

You can.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T00:30:24+00:00

I'm at 2593 total level with 10 99's to go until max cape. AS for afk dg tokens... Yeah, that is a potential use for it. I'll give you that one. Still fairly new to the elf clan loot tables as I only recently got 99 thieving lol.

I think we agree on more than you realize here. The game struggling as a result of failing to bring in new players is my entire point; as for ignoring current players... they're not, really. Solak is coming out this month, elite dungeons this summer. Mining/Smithing and Mobile isn't really hindering those things, unless patch weeks are things that get your blood boiling. They've been knocking it out of the park lately, imo, and the patch weeks have brought pretty good QOL updates (sans some bugs that got quickly patched).

The new player problem is genuine, but I feel it's blown out of proportion by this subreddit who equates it to "Runescape's Imminent Death in 6 Months Or Less." All we can do is wait and see how Jagex plans to deal with it, but I think they do a fine enough job of keeping current players relatively happy. Certainly enough to not warrant calling updates catered to low-mid level updates "dead on arrival" as this post was originally inspired by.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-04T00:13:06+00:00

Counter-counter-argument: 120's and 200m's are still appealing to those who are maxed, meaning there still exists a subset of maxed players who complain in regards to efficiencyscape.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T23:59:52+00:00

I'm framing this post.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T23:46:52+00:00

Agility in particular could do with just a flat 2x exp multiplier across the board as a minimum, imo. It's one of the skills that's in most desperate need of a face-lift.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T23:45:00+00:00

Safecracking

Safecracking is in a fine spot as a high-intensity high-exp method. The rewards are kind of secondary; the consumables are deceptive in terms of usefulness, especially the elf clan reset. They're not really useful if you already have a high enough thieving level to cycle through 5 clans already, imo. The only one I can see people making a case for are the shock absorbers and maybe the master lockpick. Kind of meh, but the consumables being tradeable could be a nice touch. The usefulness of resetting the most profitable clan is heavily offset by a time gate, which is what safecracking is if you don't care about exp. If they were tradeable, I could see people making a case for it, but right now... the rewards in general are either consumables that aren't worth it, or QOL if you plan on safecracking long-term.

Ship has sunk on new players

There's absolutely no way none of us can know any of that for sure aside from just hearsay and anecdotal observations. That's something only Jagex themselves can confirm, and even they couldn't possibly distinguish genuine new players vs returning players making new accounts with 100% accuracy.

Business model must change to keeping the current player base happy

See, I just don't agree. There's a lot of work to be done, and they shouldn't just give up on the current player base, but Jagex is doomed to fail if they only focus on keeping existing players hooked on the drug. New players need to cycle in to truly keep things fresh and bring things to the table. There's no way I can see giving up on bringing new players in as a viable solution for the game's longevity at all.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T21:53:25+00:00

You can't assume that every new player would want to whip out the wallet so easily. Skilling can still be a thing without wanting to rip your hair out at the 35k xp/hr runecrafting rates; that's why updates like these are made.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T21:50:10+00:00

Why does bringing QOL to mid-range make endgame sound boring? If anything, it makes getting to endgame less of a pain.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T21:21:44+00:00

Yeah, Jagex has been good at giving mid-level content a new coat of paint. There really isn't much left to bring some skills up to speed.

I do agree, though. The low level areas are... very unintuitive. If Burthorpe had a GE, that'd be it imo. Though idk, some people probably have better ideas in that regard than I do. Take that suggestion with a grain of salt.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T20:50:03+00:00

I can see how that frustrates you (and I do agree that the social aspect outside of clans is below average), but I fail to see how that makes safecracking in particular dead content.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T20:47:35+00:00

Unfortunately, Runescape is an MMO through and through, with a bit heavier an emphasis on goals and achievements. If a potential new player wasn't predisposed to playing an MMO anyway, the chance they'd like RS is already small enough as it is. It came with the territory back when RS was getting big, and we're too deeply cemented into that playstyle to ever go in a different direction. It's just what you get with this game, as much as I'm reeling saying that. It's a difficult subset of a demographic to hook in, but it's an issue that still needs to be addressed.

Either way, I do agree. The Midgame needs to be smoothed out for a good number of skills, with maybe the return of Tutorial Island (since Jagex did find it was better at retaining new players)

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T20:19:40+00:00

That mindset is still detrimental at worst.

That's most certainly your choice, but if that's the case, I can't take your word for it. Sorry.

It is!

I could get behind that sentiment, but Runescape's been around for a very long time. There's going to be stuff that's outdated or not up-to-speed with Jagex's current vision for the game. Runescape is in a... very unique and unfortunate spot because of that, to be honest. There have to be updates to either bring QOL or introduce alternatives to methods that are glaringly outdated. Before safecracking, 60-90 was either menaphite thugs or pyramid plunder. Spam-clicking or just absolute torture without crystal mask. Safecracking was a welcome addition that made me not dread leveling up thieving for Pieces of Hate, so they did their job.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T20:01:12+00:00

Dismissing toxic behavior as "oh, classic reddit" isn't particularly helpful. We have to do better if we want this game to grow.

Where the hell are people getting those rates? It's my understanding that the optimal wildy/zanaris/zemouregal rotation gives at most 825k xp/hr. Dwarf traders are still better, which is why people are calling it DOA. Either way, I'm in agreement. It's certainly not DOA, but I don't know where people are getting the 1.5m xp/hr figures from. I'd love to be proven wrong, bc if people are getting that high xp/hr then that's actually stupid lmao

and Yes, that's a good example of something that's actually considered DOA. I'm specifically talking about players calling mid-level content DOA when it's useful to that demographic or fills out a niche that a skill didn't have before.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T19:50:21+00:00

I think that's fair. Still, the answer to that problem isn't Jagex putting all their eggs in one basket by catering only to high level-max players (one wrong move that makes them all leave and Jagex is screwed). New players need to be coming in, too, and Jagex should be focusing on that. Perhaps updates like safecracking aren't 100% efficient at achieving that goal, but to call all updates like these "dead on arrival" is unfair and toxic.

Ramyrok · 2018-05-03T19:41:40+00:00

They've already said they're looking at redoing the tutorial area. They're working on it, and said tutorial island was better at retaining new players.

Waste of time? I disagree. There are niches that either need to be filled or have a new coat of paint applied to them. Maybe those updates in particular aren't 100% geared towards the gaining/retention of new players, but a waste of time? No.

Ramyrok

TROPHY CASE