I have been an avid mmorpg fan since I was 12. Sherwood dungeon was one of the first online games I played. Eventually, I was introduced to Runescape, which was only the beginning of my journey, and after almost 10 years, I’ve seen players come and go, and when I bring up Runescape today, I often hear the question,
“Do you still play Runescape?”
Yes, I do. In fact, many people do. Who hasn’t heard of Runescape before?
It’s a game that has been with us since our early teenage years, maybe even childhood for some.
It’s a game that’s 16 years old, that’s right, sixteen.
But what makes this game so good?
For a game to survive for more than a decade, there has to be something special about it, something to keep the game engaging and immersive for so long, and I think for Runescape, it’s the sheer amount of content and how it’s distributed that has kept old players hooked on the game and new players coming in.
Unlike many other grindfest games (Looking at you, Aeria Games) where the majority of quests are focused on killing a reskin of the monster you’ve been fighting for 10 hours. Runescape offers players 27 different skills to master, ranging from classic combat to fishing, cooking, farming and even complex dungeon delving.
It doesn’t stop there. The game is also comprised of 212 quests, which include simple quests about helping to bake a cake, restoring guilds and even traveling to different dimensions and meeting the Elder Gods.
Runescape offers a vast and beautiful world with an almost endless system of skills, quests, bosses, raids, minigames, and the best part of all is that even 16 years after the game launched, it is being constantly updated, with two planned expansions coming out later this year.
The Community
Another of the many aspects that make this game great is its community. They’re one of the most helpful communities I’ve seen in online gaming, very welcoming to new players and returning players alike, and often willing to lend a hand. There’s also a lot of interaction between the developers and the player base in social media and in-game forums, which shows the interest and willingness the devs have to listen to the players and their feedback.
If you’re an ex-Runescape player, there’s no better time to get back into the game than now. If you’ve heard about the game before but never gave it a try, go do it now. I can assure that you will not regret it.
However….
On the other hand, something that new players often complain about and causes them to drop the game entirely is that barely a few hours in, the game already offers an enormous amount of content. It can be really overwhelming for new players who are not familiar with the world it has to offer. Thankfully, there are two really helpful systems in place to help the newbies get acquainted with the game. The “Path system” which guides the player through the early game after finishing the tutorial, introducing them to more in-depth training techniques and early quests. There are also the “Daily Challenges“, pushing you to further explore the game to complete said challenges, rewarding the player experience or a loot bag when completed.
There’s more! Besides in-game help, there are many sites with helpful information for newcomers, including social media fan pages, a wiki, and even starting guides such as this.
To sum it up, I think Runescape is one of the best MMORPGs out there, not only because of the vast content it offers but also because of its quality, the dev-player base interactions, and as mentioned before, how different it is from many other games in the same genre. If you’re looking for a fresh experience, immersive lore, jolly co-operation or straight up grinding, Runescape is the game for you.
