Behind the Scenes

This month will begin with an important change that you are all aware of: unbalanced trade will be removed on Wednesday, 2nd of January. As you may have read in the Development Diary: RuneScape vs Real-world Trading, this will be a change that reduces the threat of bots, gold sellers and scammers dramatically. With a fatal blow delivered to real-world trading, we can focus more on updates like three quests in one month!

We will be relaxing our trade limitations on the same day as unbalanced trade removal. Thanks to your feedback, we will be basing our new limits on how many Quest Points you have. This will give you increased flexibility when trading.

Our first quest this month continues the desert storyline and introduces a bit of an insect theme in January. One of your allies met an untimely demise at the pincers of a large and aggressive bad guy in the Contact! quest. Will you seek revenge and cleanse the world of bugs like a big can of insect repellent? Or will you take the advice of the local priest and try to talk your way out, man-to-mandible? It might just be the lesser of two weevils. Creep and crawl through the desert, raid deserted dungeons and fight louse-y beasties, but remember - insects have feelings too! Especially when you squish ‘em.

Some way north-west of Sophanem, there is a bit of a buzz in the quiet town of Taverley. For one, Guthix has seen fit to give his loyal subjects some crisp new robes, and their rocky buildings a bit of a wax. For two, some strange growlings have been coming from Pikkupstix's house. In the second of this month's quests, you will be roped into dealing with a rabbit-wolf-reindeer-bird-type...thing. But how do you defeat rabbit-wolf-reindeer-bird-type...things? A clue may be found in the title of this Wolf Whistle quest, which introduces key aspects of our next update...

What has 110 eyes, 5 horns, a pair of antlers and a fishbowl? The Chaos Elemental's girlfriend? No, it's Summoning! That's right, the stampede is coming, with scores of animals for you to pet, raise, fight and befriend! We don't want to go into any more detail than the Development Diaries have, but, needless to say, whether you are a skiller or a combat-fiend, Summoning will offer you a familiar for every occasion...

...and what better occasion than the opening of a huge multiway combat dungeon, brimming with a huge range of beasties? Bring your combat familiar so that you can use their Steel of Legends or Insane Ferocity to chew through ranks of creatures and speed you on your way towards that Summoning skillcape! Watch out, though - the area is littered with misfiring portals that are about as reliable as a cartful of Morrisanes.

You would be forgiven for thinking that January is just for Summoning. Oh no,no,no - Hunter will get a look in too! Budding trappers will find many treats within the Summoning skill itself, but they will also find an extension to their skill in Isafdar, with the introduction of the grenwall and pawya creatures. These are two high-level Hunter creatures that give a boost to Ranged and Farming - if you can catch them, of course.

Your Hunter, alongside your Woodcutting and Firemaking, will be called upon in our third and final January quest. In it, you will be asking yourself several questions. How do I clear a mud bath of flies? Why am I sleeping on a pork chop? Is an ogre massage a good idea? And what are platypodes? Take time out from your adventuring to help an entrepreneur set up a spa resort deep in ogre country. There might even be a mudpack in it for you.

There's hardly room in the month to tuck in some popular website offerings. Expect the last of our Summoning Development Diaries and wallpapers, a Lores and Histories, a Castle Wars wallpaper and the customary Players' Gallery and Postbag from the Hedge, sprinkled liberally amongst the updates above. It really is a January to get excited about!

Unbalanced Trade Removal

From this moment on, no unbalanced trades may be made. This applies to every player, on every world, no matter if you are free-to-play or a member.

To read more about why we have made this change, please read the Development Diary: RuneScape vs Real-world Trading.

We would like to remind you that the Grand Exchange is a great option for buying or selling items, where you can purchase items at 5% above or below their market price. Additionally, balanced trades are still possible.

New 30,000gp Trade Margin!:

Note: The following changes only apply if you are on a members' world.

Today, we have made a change to the planned 3,000gp trade margin for today's release. Instead, we are basing your trade margin on the number of Quest Points you have, giving you more flexibility when making balanced trades.

Having read your Forum posts and noted all of your feedback, we have come to the decision that you should have a margin of up to 30,000gp!

Originally, the total value of any items being given in a balanced trade would have had to be within a margin of 3,000gp of the items being received. Instead, we are increasing this margin according to the number of quests you have completed. As an example, a player who has 150 Quest Points will be able to receive items with a market value of 21,000gp above or below the items they are receiving.

No matter how many Quest Points you have, it will take 15 minutes before your gp limit resets.

Any individual trade is limited by the lower of the two players' limits. For example, if a player with 100 Quest Points is trading with a player on 30 Quest Points, then both players will be limited to a 3,000gp difference every 15 minutes.

The table below will give you a rough idea of the value that applies to you.

QP Trade Margin
200+ 30,000
190 28,200
180 26,400
170 24,600
160 22,800
150 21,000
140 19,200
130 17,400
120 15,600
110 13,800
100 12,000
90 10,200
80 8,400
70 6,600
60 4,800
50 or less 3,000

Your limit increases for every Quest Point that you gain. As more quests are introduced, with more Quest Points, we may decide to increase the above values.

For more information on unbalanced trades, please read the Knowledge Base article.

Duel Arena:

It is not only trades that are affected by Quest Points. We have also increased the staking cap for Duel Arena, in the same way. Using the table in the '3,000gp Rule Changes' section, you will be able to find out your new limit for gaining or losing items in staked duels. This does not apply to duel tournaments.

This increase also applies to the Rat Pits minigames.

Dealing with Scabaras

The Contact! quest sent you on your adventurous way to face the followers of Scabaras, making grim discoveries of death and intrigue beneath the desert. In Dealing with Scabaras there has been a reaction to these events, dragging you kicking and screaming into a tale of revenge and redemption.

Your journey begins with a mysterious corpse that needs identification - but all is not as it seems. Spurred on by duty and revenge, you will travel to uncharted eastern deserts - dealing with folk who are cautious, disreputable and stone-headed - eventually approaching your journey's end. Here you will be confronted by a shadowy foe who requires you to be at the very peak of your powers.

Treasure seekers will find a new stomping-ground patrolled by strange creatures in the ancient ruins and desert sand. Can you resist straying from your path?

For many of you, however, revenge and loot are not the only rewards that inspire you, and there will be ample chances to gain the lost knowledge of the desert. What drives the followers of Scabaras to their violent ways? What exactly is Simon Templeton up to? Why are there so many archaeologists wandering the lands? Is Osman quite what he seems? You can hope to learn more about these mysteries as you busy yourself under the burning sun.

Remember to take water, or you may stay forever...

Summary

Where to start Dealing with Scabaras
Speak to the High Priest of Icthlarin in Sophanem.


Requirements to complete Dealing with Scabaras

The Feud
Contact!
Zogre Flesh Eaters
Level 60 Thieving
Level 50 Agility
Level 60 Strength
Level 21 Firemaking
Level 60 Crafting would be helpful, but not essential
Must be able to fight off numerous hostile creatures.


Access to:

An overground area the size of the Feldip Hills!
New underground areas, the size of Keldagrim
A new Slayer creature
Several multicombat areas



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In other news...

The Christmas event has now been removed from the game, but you can still throw snowballs at your friends. Players who managed to obtain a snowglobe from the Snow Queen can store it safely in their POH costume room toy box.

We've also updated the crocodiles to create a snappy and sharp(toothed) new look, alongside some improved voracious vultures, hungry for your bones! Mess with them at your peril...

Uhrm this is currently happening
Heheh funny part is that Jagex doesn't give a shh.....
People will still play even with a few bad updates.

-DK

This month is a mix of the expected and the unexpected. No doubt you have been expecting to summon spirit wolves and wolpertingers in our brand new Summoning skill, but were you expecting to get hit in the face with an ogre mudpack? You have probably been expecting and planning for unbalanced trade removal, but were you expecting three quests in one month, for the first time ever? Not even Gypsy Aris could have foreseen that...