28-March-2014 - Behind The Scenes April

[Reliable]

Surprised noone posted this yet.    

 

 

Behind the Scenes - April 2014

 

 

Occasionally in life, you face a choice so monumental that it changes you forever. This April, we bring you one of those choices:

Are you a monkey, or are you a cabbage?

 

That's right - Brassica Prime and Marimbo are coming in April, in the mysteriously titled Cabbage Facepunch Bonanza - the Sixth Age seasonal event voted for by you.

 

There's also some fantastic dressing to April's salad, with a new quest that sees you return to the island of Ashdale; the ability to harness Elder God divination energy; and several updates from the Ninja Team, including Ranged and Magic power gloves.

Read on to find out more!

 

 

Cabbage Facepunch Bonanza

Holiday event, free players and members

 

 

Marimbo and Brassica Prime have come to Gielinor, and they've claimed the abandoned Saradomin camp, north of Lumbridge Crater. In the red corner will be Marimbo, fighting for fun and partying, and in the green corner will be Brassica, who wants to bring deliciousness to the world.

 

In a recent poll, you voted for a lighthearted seasonal event focused on the Sixth Age conflict between the gods, rather than a traditional Easter event.

 

This spring, there's cabbage galore and apes aplenty - and not a bunny in sight - in the Cabbage Facepunch Bonanza!

 

After choosing a side, you'll be rolled into an underground obstacle course of traps, trophies, monkeys and madness. Your aim is to survive as long as possible, collecting trophies and avoiding players that have been transmogrified into face-punching gorillas. Obviously.

 

Pitch in and you'll earn renown, which can be spent on cosmetic capes or bonus XP in Slayer, Farming and Mining. You'll also be able to buy three rewards, each voted for by you: seedicide, which converts dropped seeds directly into experience; the Slayer VIP ticket for more choice in your assignments; and the patch bomb, which makes harvesting and clearing your farming patches a breeze!

 

There are no requirements to play this new minigame, although members will gain renown at a 50% increased speed.

So - are you a Brassican, or a Brassican't? Are you a chest-pounding silverback, or just a brass monkey? All this - and more - will (probably) become clear in the Cabbage Facepunch Bonanza.

 

 

Shadow over Ashdale

Novice quest, free players and members

 

Ashadow has been cast over Ashdale, the idyllic starting area of RuneScape. In our latest quest, take on fiendish puzzles, all-new enemies, and a story that is overrun with intrigue and danger. There are no entry requirements, so the quest is suitable for new players, but the NPCs are scaled to your level, so experienced players can have a blast too.

 

We’ve taken a different approach with this quest, keeping it light on dialogue and letting the environment and set pieces do the talking. From concept to modelling, animation to environment, the art and graphics guys have produced some inspiring work. We can't wait for you to visit the imperilled Ashdale and tell us what you think!

 

 

Elder Divination

High-level Divination update

 

April brings a tasty treat for those who have completed Fate of the Gods - a new divination colony. While this is a nifty alternative training method between levels 75 and 85, it's all about what you can do with the elder energy that you gather there.

 

With it, you can make a new divine location - the divine simulacrum - which will allow you to gather divination energy from various tiers at once, as well as the occasional portent and sign. There's Transmute Charm, which can convert your gold charms into green, your green charms into crimson, and your crimson into blue. And there's the divine impling, which will give you energy, signs and complete summoning pouches if you manage to grab it.

 

Among the various Divination additions across levels 75 to 99, we will be bringing you the muspah beast of burden. This was voted for by you in a Power to the Players poll, and we've made sure it's a real helping hand as you unravel divination's mysteries. It will auto-store and auto-deposit your energy, so you won't even have to click it to gain the full benefits. We've also given it a nifty energy-foraging scroll ability.

 

There will be plenty for those who have not completed Fate of the Gods too. Many rewards are tradeable and can be bought from other players, and we're completely revising the way chronicles work, so you will find them more frequently, get more XP from them, and cash them in when you want to.

 

 

 

Master Skillcapes and Other Ninja Updates

 

The ninjas have done it again this month, bringing you what you want, when you want it. Aside from their regular fixes, you can expect master skillcapes, recognising the achievement of gaining the equivalent of level 120 in a skill. Don't worry, we won't be increasing the max skill level with this update.

 

The ninjas have also cooked up some level 90 Ranged and Magic power gloves. These will drop from members of the Order of Ascension and celestial dragons respectively. Every combat maestro will want to get their mitts in these!

 

 

Solomon's Store and Treasure Hunter

 

Those of you who followed the player-designed emote competition will recognise the 'RuneScape Through the Ages' emote in Solomon's Store. It features iconic items from throughout RuneScape's history, and we had great fun reminiscing as we made it. You can also expect some brand new companion pets in Solomon's Store, and items that'll transmogrify you into a bunny, lamb or chick on Treasure Hunter.

 

 

Bank Changes from March

Finally, we would like to apologise for the delay to the bank changes. The good news is they're coming this month, and to make up for it, we're including a hefty addition that will make you weep actual tears of joy. We're giving you quick loadouts for your worn inventory and backpack, so you can grab a group of items from your bank in the swiftest of clicks!

 

 

That's it for this month. Don't forget to jump onto the forums and tell us what you think.

Have fun!

Mod Mark and the RuneScape Team

[V O R K]

TBH this is the hardest choice up to now:

 

A cabbage or a monkey!?

 

THOSE CAPES GOING TO BE LOVELYYYYYY. New lvl 90 gloves seems a random addition but i'll definetly be camping asc :P

[Alg]

 

So - are you a Brassican, or a Brassican't?

They didn't-

[Saradomin_Mage]

With it, you can make a new divine location - the divine simulacrum - which will allow you to gather divination energy from various tiers at once, as well as the occasional portent and sign.

Divine location to gather divine energy? WHY? :P

Unless we're talking about big amounts, like 50 or something per action.

 

There's Transmute Charm, which can convert your gold charms into green, your green charms into crimson, and your crimson into blue.

Hopefully not at a terrible rate like 3 crimsons : 1 blue, given the track record for previous transmutation!

 

And there's the divine impling, which will give you energy, signs and complete summoning pouches if you manage to grab it.

...Summoning pouches?????

[Reliable]

I actually quite like the idea of a ZMI Divination area. This allows me to self gather energy for Inventor, but not get the crappy exp rates from Pale wisps and such.

 

EDIT: Nm read it wrong, it's only the divine location that gives random energy :(

[D. V. Devnull]

So - are you a Brassican, or a Brassican't?

They didn't-

They did... soooooo glad I don't play anymore, or I'd have to facewall about now. :P

 

~D. V. "...having another cheap laugh..." Devnull

[Ammako]

I'm not sure how playing or not makes any difference here...

 

Anyway I'll probably be a brassican't just so I have a reason to show off my monkey pet and my monkey cape.

[Fallstar]

Divination area could be OK. Master skillcapes most important thing though.

[God Of Lego]

As long as the transmute charms are not a stupid rate it will be good. Easters minigame looks ok. Novice quests, bleh. Sounds like a filler just to get the elf quest at the 200 point.

[Sy_Accursed]

My only negative having read and watched the video:

 

The bank pre-made loadouts clear only has 2 buttons - this seems like a bit of a derp considering at a very basic level in eoc you should have a mage loadout a rnged loadout and a melee loadout before even considering nuances of power sets vs tanks sets and specific boss setups. Just seems like they should've given us 3 loadouts.

[helring]

Everything this month looks decent. Nothing that seems like a complete waste of an update, nothing that looks amazing either but I'm ok with a month where I think each update will at least be interesting. Looking forward to the ashdale quest, really liked the look of it in the tutorial and would like to see it used more, plus it looks like maybe lovecraftian themes. Probably gonna support the monkey, although not happy they've put marimbo cannonically on the same story level as brassica, always thought she would be more on the level of tumeken, not a high tier but still important lorewise.

[Sy_Accursed]

Everything this month looks decent. Nothing that seems like a complete waste of an update, nothing that looks amazing either but I'm ok with a month where I think each update will at least be interesting. Looking forward to the ashdale quest, really liked the look of it in the tutorial and would like to see it used more, plus it looks like maybe lovecraftian themes. Probably gonna support the monkey, although not happy they've put marimbo cannonically on the same story level as brassica, always thought she would be more on the level of tumeken, not a high tier but still important lorewise.

 

Considering her importance to the ape atoll monkeys I should think this wont be the only thing we see of her. Iirc some jmod or other even made mention of her being tied into the next part of the monkey series.

[helring]

Yea, thats what I'm hoping, hopefully Jagex can do well bridging the gap and letting her be a part of joke stuff and more serious lore quests. I guess being the Goddess of hedonism can lend itself to both pretty well. I mean they also put Brassica in MPD without making that quest any less interesting so here's hoping.

[kamil1210]

good month

[Nobody]

Hopefully seedicide acts just like herbicide except for seeds obviously.  No weird degrading mechanics or anything.

[helring]

Hopefully seedicide acts just like herbicide except for seeds obviously.  No weird degrading mechanics or anything.

 

Yea, really glad they added that too.

[strilmus]

still pretty miffed at how useless the familiar is and that people voted for it

 

would actually lose more time going to the bank to get a pouch for it than anything you actually gain from using it

[Yoko Kurama]

Nothing exciting or interesting this month at all; I guess the combat ability is going to come out in May.

 

The Master Capes are a waste and a mistake, of course.

[kamil1210]

would actually lose more time going to the bank to get a pouch for it than anything you actually gain from using it

 

 

familiar can carry more than 30 memories. It will be worth to keep bag full of summoning potions and pouches

[strilmus]

worth what?

 

what percentage of time will actually be saved by having it?

 

unless the damn thing is actually putting memories into the hole at the same time you are, we traded away getting more loot from divine locations for this

[Rena]

 

and the patch bomb, which makes harvesting and clearing your farming patches a breeze!

My favorite update.

 

time to merch allotment seeds.

[Sylpheed]

All of the event rewards sound really useful, which makes me hope they aren't consumable. There's nothing worse than actual useful items that are one use only and are only available in a finite quantity.

[strilmus]

I get the impression that the patch bombs and the tickets are consumable, but the capes and the seedcrusher aren't

 

(i refuse to call it seedicide)

 

the minigame is also a permanent fixture, according to the devs, so it's fine if they're consumables

[Rena]

The fact that it's permanent probably means they are temporary.

 

So much for seed merch.

[strilmus]

they should really have some monkey/ape themed rewards besides team gear though