25-September-2013 - Runescape Bonds

[Drazhor]

A message from CEO of Jagex, Mod MMG in relation to Gold farming and bots.

 

Interesting pathway they've taken, very interesting.

Watch the video to hear Mod MMG explain the inconvenient truth about gold farmers and why Bonds are essential for the future of RuneScape.

Hi everyone,

From today, your gameplay investment can work in your favour with Bonds: a new in-game item - purchased on our website and tradeable in-game - which can be redeemed for RuneScape membership, spins, RuneCoins and more.

RuneScape is your game, and Bonds give you more freedom and choice than ever before: pay for your membership with your in-game wealth; securely gift membership to a friend or fellow clan member anywhere in the world; access all premium content by trading Bonds in-game any item, resources or gold; and enjoy the full RuneScape experience, free of bots and gold farmers. Read on for more information!

What are Bonds?

Bonds are new in-game items, allowing you to pay for selected account-related and out-of-game benefits with in-game resources. Bonds are initially purchased just as you would purchase membership, but they can then be freely gifted or traded with other players. They can be redeemed in-game for membership, spins or RuneCoins. Soon afterwards we plan for them to be usable for charitable donations and - in the future - perhaps even the Jagex Merchandise Store. We’ve even set up a way to use Bonds to buy RuneFest tickets this year - see our FAQ for details.

Bonds may be purchased via our website's Billing Page. They cost $5/£3/€4.25per Bond and can be redeemed in exchange for 14 days membership, 8 spins or160 RuneCoins.

You'll be able to freely determine how you exchange your Bonds - be it on the Grand Exchange or in player-to-player trades - and how much in-game wealth you wish to buy and sell them for. Just like any other item on the Grand Exchange, the community will determine how much Bonds are worth in relation to other items.

How Does It Work?

• Purchase: Player A purchases a Bond from the Billing Page with their credit card or PayPal account for real money. The bond can then be gifted, traded, or consumed.

• Gift/Trade: Player A and Player B agree a trade for the Bond - either as a gift, or in return for in-game resource or currency of any agreed value.

• Consume: Player B can then use that Bond for themselves and receive membership, spins or RuneCoins. Alternatively, they could re-trade it.

The value that players determine for a Bond trade is entirely up to them.

A Bond is purchased in a tradeable state. Once gifted or traded in-game, the Bond becomes untradeable. Players who want to re-trade their Bond to another player will need to pay a trade tax, which will be 10% of its Grand Exchange value. We’ve added this tax on secondary trading to act as a gold sink and to prevent excessive merchanting of Bonds.

Why are you adding Bonds?

With this update, our aim is to unlock your investment in your account: giving hardcore players a way to get more than ever for their time and dedication, and more freedom for everyone in how they trade. On top of that, we hope to see this open up the full members' game for many more free players, those who can no longer afford subscription and - crucially - to deal a death blow to the long-standing issues with gold farming.

Bonds are a critical part of our war against gold farmers and of fixing the damage they have caused to the game economy. By allowing real players to meet the demand, gold farmers can no longer exploit it and are cut out of the system, preventing the injection of billions of additional GP per day into the economy, remedying the massive inflation caused, and thereby stabilising the economy overall.

The key to Bonds is that there are now two paths for players to access and enjoy every bit of content the game as has to offer. No player need ever feel excluded, since they can access everything the game has to offer, by whichever method they choose – through play or traditional payment. To see how Bonds might benefit you personally, take a look at these various player perspectives:

Everybody benefits from Bonds…except gold farmers!

RuneScape veterans can use their in game achievement to fund their membership.

Hi, my name is Simon and I have been playing RuneScape for 8 years. I have a completionist cape and my levels are all maxed! I have worked very hard over my years of playing, and now I sit on a small fortune of resources, items and gold. Rather than keep spending my own money, I can now trade some of my game wealth for Bonds, redeeming them for many months of unbroken RuneScape membership without having to spend another dollar myself! ☺

Gives a helping hand to new players wanting to progress.

Hi, my name is Sam and I have been playing RuneScape for 6 months now. I love training combat, but some better equipment and armour would really help me. I want to buy Bonds and swap them for some ganodermic armour. I might finally be able to join my friends on a Nex run!

The ability to gift your friends.

Hi, my name is Jessica and I have been playing RuneScape for three years. My free friends would really like to play with me but they can’t always afford membership and I don’t like playing on the free world. I’m going to give my friends Bonds as gifts, which they can redeem for membership so we can hang out together.

Give a helping hand to your clan members.

Hi, my name is Lisa and I have been a dedicated clan leader before you even launched citadels back in 2011! I run a clan of over 100, but many don't have regular membership which fragments our group and means some of the clan get left out. We are a tight group and very much look after each other - our clan will work together using the new Bonds system to help our clan members who cannot afford membership. Our clan is going to be the best in the world!

Bonds help stabilise the game economy.

Hi, my name is Kevin and I’m a long-time member. I’m happy with how I currently pay for RuneScape membership and I probably won’t use Bonds. However, I see the improvements this will make to the game economy, such as cutting out the rampant inflation caused by gold farmers injecting billions of GP into the game daily. I welcome the gold sink the bonds system introduces and the protection it provides against merchanting.

Helps protect players from real world fraud

Hi, I am Katie and I’m embarrassed to admit it but I bought gold from a gold farming site. The website re-used my parent’s credit card details and racked up thousands of dollars in fraudulent online purchases. They contacted the police but were told there was nothing they could do to help as the website is based in China and the bloody website is still running!

If Bonds had existed a few months ago I would never have tried anything like this.

Helps prevent hijacking and DDoS attacks

Hi, I am t0m_thumb and I searched the web for ways to make gold. I downloaded Powerbot and it installed a malware on my computer. My RuneScape account, Facebook, Twitter and email were all hacked and my bank account has been completely wiped out.

Kick gold farmers right where it really hurts!

I am a8jk13tjkp and I am a corrupt gold farmer. I’ve scammed, hijacked, DDoSed and defrauded millions of RuneScape players over the years.

Now that players can trade Bonds with each other in exchange for any in-game resources, my business is completely screwed!

If you would like to find out more about why Bonds are so crucial to the continued fight against gold farmers, please check out the recent dev blog from Mod Jacmob, who talks about the inconvenient truth of gold farming and botting, and the detrimental impact it has on your game.

To find out more about Bonds - including more information on how they benefit the game, the decision to introduce them, and how they work to prevent gold farming - please visit the new Bonds information page or the FAQ.

Personally, I think this is a great solution which directly benefits all players. In combination with existing efforts like BotWatch, and your help, we will wipe out gold farmers for good and ensure the long-term health of the game and community.

Mark Gerhard
CEO - Jagex Games Studio

In Other News

• It's the final week of the Battle of Lumbridge! It's time to stand up and fight as this epic god vs god conflict draws to its conclusion!

  • Metal fragments and titles have had their drop rates further increased.

  • Metal fragments now drop in even larger quantities than before.

  • The daily cap on divine tears has been increased to 4500.

  • After this week, it will no longer be possible to unlock titles or weapons. Renown rewards will remain buyable for a time after the event.

• Solomon's got a grand sale on this week, with up to 40% off all RuneCoin prices, and up to 50% off Loyalty Point prices. Visit Solomon's General Store now!

 

 

EDIT: Thanks, video embedded now.

Discuss opinions on this..I personally think it'll be interesting to see how this ends

[Nobody]

[youtube]youtube link[/youtube]

We'll see if it actually works though.

[Saradomin_Mage]

I don't get it?... Is this something where players buy bonds, and can trade them for other things in game?

[chenw]

Following the footsteps of Knight Online, which I believe is what they have done with their Premier Account tokens (buyable with RL money on website, tradeable in game).

 

Gwyn: Yes.

[Sy_Accursed]

I'm not sure if I'm being dense: But I utterly fail to see how these are supposed to stop gold farmers.

 

These can be used to obtain membership, runecoins or spins but NOT gold, so why exactly are they going to stop gold farmers and gold sellers getting business? All they have to do is see what price bonds go for then sell gold cheap enough that it is cheaper to buy their gold and then invest it in a bond than it is to outright buy a bond.

 

I mean I kinda like the idea, offers a way to offer members to other easier and offers a way to turn in-game wealth into otherwise real world costing stuff, but I don't see how this is meant to crush gold farmers at all.

 

Or, for that matter, how it is a money sink of any great level. Yes it has a 10% tax on 2nd trade onwards, but how many people are really going to trade them that far to have any meaningful money sink? At best they seem largely money neutral in the same way any item being created is - it does not actually create any money by coming in to being it just allow you to obtain money from others.

 

To me if they truly want to fix the economy, as unpopular as it may be, they need to temporarily suspend the player control over it and forcibly lower the prices on many of the top end items that only really sustain such prices because the overinflated economy allows a fair slice of the elite to have these absurd amounts of gold. Alongside this they need a money sink that forcible removes these levels of gold from the game. Like a tax or something specifically targetted to remove gold from people with 'too much.' Or a raft of high-end skilling methods that you have to pay a lot of gp to use but can get insane rates from. Otherwise I don't see it fixing itself as it is a self balancing system: While the gold exists the prices can stay as high as they are and whilst the prices are that high people will horde all that gold opposed to letting it vanish in to money sinks in order to get the items.

 

Another very logical step that to sink money would be simply: Let us buy bonds directly from Jagex for gp.

Yes it wouldn't get them their irl moneys BUT it would be an effective way to eat up lots of in-game wealth.

[Peever]

I dont fully understand this concept either.... If someone wants to buy 1bil GP from a gold farmer....how does Bonds stop them? Their friends are supposed to get them 1bil gp for their $5 bond?

[Nobody]

I don't get it?... Is this something where players buy bonds, and can trade them for other things in game?

I can buy a bond for $5 and then sell it on the GE for say 10M gp or whatever the going rate for a bond ends up being.

[Drazhor]

I think it means that you can use the bonds to buy items ingame.

So for example, say you wanna buy X amount of items, you can buy with Y amount of bonds.

[Ambler]

This is... What even?

[chenw]

Basically their idea is that it shifts the GP source from gold sellers to from other players, since you can sell these items on GE, while others can use in game GP to buy services that they would never spend a cent on, such as runecoins etc.

 

OK, let me reclarify, they are, I believe, making it possible for one to indirectly purchase ingame GP for real life GP, but the money source is coming from the players themselves rather than botters and Gold farmers, which reduces the demand on GP from them unless they push their prices way below the bond to GP conversion rate.

[Noxx]

I'm not sure if I'm being dense: But I utterly fail to see how these are supposed to stop gold farmers.

 

These can be used to obtain membership, runecoins or spins but NOT gold, so why exactly are they going to stop gold farmers and gold sellers getting business?

Well it can be traded for ingame items too, i think.

 

I don't know if i fully understand the video, to be quite honest. But if it says what i think it says, Jagex will now have to compete with Gold Farmers' GP prices?

[Emaxganis]

Hello Legal RWT!

 

It has been due for a while. This is what SGS missed, a way to transform cash directly into RSGP without going through spins/goldfarmers. Best thing is they dont even sell cash directly, they allow you to buy cash from other people and put it as "Lets fight goldfarmers"

 

Brilliant.

[Saradomin_Mage]

Time to sit back and watch as the GE price of bonds doesn't update fast enough :P

 

Unless the tax runs off its traded value and not GE value.

[Octarine]

The worst part is Divination bonus xp still hasn't been unlocked.

[Nobody]

Theoretically the street value of bonds will be lower than gold sellers. Besides the obvious benefit of being safer and not against jagex rules.

 

Three options:

 

I buy a bond and use it for spins, membership, or runecoins.

 

I buy a bond and trade it for RSGP/items. That person can then use the bond for spins, membership, or runecoins. I get to use the RSGP/items however I want like any normal trade.

 

I have lots of RSGP/items but can't afford membership, spins, or runecoins. I trade my RSGP/items for a bond and use it for Membership.

[chenw]

Btw, this update didn't happen a month ago.

[Ambler]

[hide=Q&A]

Bonds FAQ

 

 

What are Bonds?

 

Bonds are items that can be purchased for real world currency, and traded in game. They can be redeemed to add RuneScape membership, spins or RuneCoins to your account.

 

How do I get a Bond?

 

You can either purchase them from the billing page, or trade some from the Grand exchange, trade with a fellow player in-game who owns a bond, or ask your friends nicely ☺

 

Does this mean I can buy membership with in-game wealth?

 

Yes, because you can trade a bond from another player or the Grand Exchange, and then redeem it for membership credit.

 

Can I trade my Bond?

 

Yes, when it is in the tradeable state.

 

How does the tradeable/untradeable aspects of Bonds work?

 

Players who buy their Bond from the website will be able to trade their Bond immediately. If you buy the Bond from the Grand Exchange or receive it through a trade with another player, you’ll have to pay a GP fee to convert it to be tradable again – equalling 10% of the current Grand Exchange price. This 're-trade tax' is to reduce excessive merchanting and to act as a gold sink. You will be able to convert your bond back to its tradeable state through the Bonds interface, and it is free to redeem the Bond for membership, RuneCoins or spins at any time.

 

How do I redeem my bond, and/or convert it to be tradeable?

 

If you click on the Bonds section in the Extras window, you’ll be taken to your Bonds interface. This allows you to redeem, convert or buy Bonds, and informs you of how many Bonds you currently have.

 

Can I convert multiple Bonds at once?

 

Yes, but you will only be able to convert Bonds that are in your backpack.

 

Can I redeem multiple RuneScape bonds at once?

 

No, at the present time you can redeem one RuneScape bond at a time.

 

Can I redeem Bonds from my bank?

 

Yes. Bonds can be redeemed directly from either your bank or your backpack.

 

Can I gift a bond to my friend?

 

Of course – provided the bond is currently in a tradeable state. You can trade it for whatever you feel its worth or give it away for free.

 

What can I redeem my Bond for?

 

You can redeem the Bond in one of three ways:

14 days of membership,

8 spins

or 160 RuneCoins.

 

Will the amount of membership, spins or RuneCoins received by redeeming a bond ever change?

 

No, these are fixed conversion rates which will remain the same.

 

Is there a limit on how many bonds I can have at a time?

 

No – although bonds do not stack so they’ll take up bank slots if you want to hold onto them!

 

 

Will the bond set up a recurring subscription on my account?

 

No. Bonds redeemed for membership will add 2 weeks of membership to your account, which will expire normally with no further charges incurred.

 

What happens when the membership redeemed from my bond runs out?

 

If you have a recurring membership set up, you’ll be charged 3 days before you’re due to run out. If you don’t have an active membership, your account will be restricted to free worlds and your loyalty programme progress will be reset as per normal – so make sure to grab another bond or renew membership in good time!

 

Will the bond cancel my recurring membership if I redeem a bond for membership?

 

No. Redeeming your bond for membership will simply add the extra membership credit to your account, and leave any recurring membership agreement active. Your next payment will be deferred, and you will only pay for additional membership when you have less than 3 days credit remaining.

 

Will I keep my loyalty rate or my loyalty programme bonus progress if I use a bond for membership?

 

Yes, your loyalty rate and loyalty programme will operate as normal – if you have membership, they are unaffected.

 

What payment methods can I use to buy Bonds?

 

You can buy your Bond using a credit card or a PayPal account.

 

What happens if I die with my Bond in my inventory?

 

Bonds are protected on death and will stay in your inventory through to your resurrection.

 

If I redeem my bond for membership accidentaly, can I reverse my redemption for another choice like RuneCoins instead?[/b]

 

No – once you have confirmed your choice, the bond is destroyed and cannot be retrieved.

 

How does this affect me if I play Old School RuneScape?

 

Bonds will not be introduced into OSRS, so if you purchase a Bond the in-game item will only be held by your main game avatar. Because membership credit is shared across both games, if you redeem a Bond for Membership in the main game then you’ll also get the benefit of it for Old School access too.

 

Won't this cause price crashes? I don't want my valuable items to lose their worth!

 

While there may be some short-term fluctuation in item prices, Bonds will ensure a healthier game economy in the long run. The lack of gold farmers injecting gold into the economy, along with the additional gold sink from the tax on secondary Bond trading, will mean far greater economic stability for RuneScape's future.

 

 

How can I redeem my bonds for a RuneFest ticket?

 

When you have 35 bonds in your inventory and/or bank, please send us a message via our ticketing system, selecting the 'RuneFest Tickets' category under 'Billing Help'.

 

Please make sure you include the following information in your message:

 

Number of tickets you want (maximum of two).

 

Your name and address for each ticket.

 

Your account log-in name or email address for each ticket.

 

Your account display name for each ticket.

 

Clan name (if you’re in one) for each ticket.

 

Preferred t-shirt size for each ticket.

 

 

 

We will then reply to you via the messaging system with your ticket information.

[/hide]

[Drazhor]

I'm still half asleep :P Fixed now.

[Steph]

Can I get clarification; Player A buys a bond for 5 usd, the economy decides (Through buying and selling affecting ge prices) that bonds are worth X Gp. (For this example we will use 10m) Player A can then redeem this bond for 10m gp through selling it to players OR they could activate the bond for Runecoins/Membership/related allowed items OR trade it to a friend to redeem the previous OR they could trade it to someone who wants to redeem the services for gp or items up to the determined bond value?

[chenw]

In a nutshell, thats exactly how the bonds can be used.

[Nobody]

Can I get clarification; Player A buys a bond for 5 usd, the economy decides (Through buying and selling affecting ge prices) that bonds are worth X Gp. (For this example we will use 10m) Player A can then redeem this bond for 10m gp through selling it to players OR they could activate the bond for Runecoins/Membership/related allowed items OR trade it to a friend to redeem the previous OR they could trade it to someone who wants to redeem the services for gp or items up to the determined bond value?

They can give it away if they choose but most people would want gp or items worth around 10M GP for the bond. Person B could then use it for Membership/SOF/SGS or even sell it to someone else if they wanted though they would incur the 10% tax (so they would lose 1M of its value).

[Drazhor]

Apparently, bonds going for 15m each on GE. Nice.

[chenw]

I however is stuck on loading screen, seems data is finding it hard to reach Taiwan...

[Nobody]

Another game update just hit to fix people DCing when opening the bank.

[Drazhor]

Would explain why my game DC'd :P

RSOF is alight with hilarity right now. Check it out if you feel as if you can stomach the silliness.