Actually hard?

Runescape is a game that has and will forever puzzle me. I recently became a member on my new pure and I am enjoying training him, this all started after my main getting a quest cape, thinking that I was invincible and losing most of my items in my rash pvp ventures, the enmity I possess for range tanks will never dull…

However this led me to think, what that JaGeX have made is actually hard? For most of the part the game can be cruised through whether this is finding that handy rock that an inflexible demon can’t get into, or poisoning the mole so you slowly laugh at it dieing and thinking how awesome you are at beating such a big thing! Of course, the protection prayers offer the easy way out, which makes most normal monsters invalid, stand next to an altar or buy a few prayer pots and suddenly that giant monkey doesn’t look quite so scary.

On my first godwars trip, against Zammy, I was pretty frightened. But all 6 of us took the beast down remarkably easy and although any hilts were obviously not present I came back breaking even. The team didn’t even need much teamwork, the clichéd “full Bandos red combat level man” stands in the middle and the big beastie attacks him while the smaller ones wander aimlessly deciding who has the nicest horns. If the big beastie decides it likes you better, you run around and stand on its tail. You get the idea, its not to bad.

However the big corpral beastie released last year says something different, many of you will shout. Now I haven't actually been to the corpral beast, but from what I understand, it boils down to, if it looks at you, run like hell out the cave while eating enough fish to add to Omega 3 levels. As soon as it picks another victim you run back adn continue firing sparkly bolts or stabbing at it with a spear that wouldn't look out of place in varrock museum.

You could say getting 99 mining is hard; well is it? It’s not so much hard as mind sparingly dull. If hard is sitting in a chair moulded just right to your backside clicking coloured rocks I’ve missed the point entirely. Surely the fact that your achievment of having spent hours upon hours clicking rocks should be something I can laugh at, rather than something I should respect?

Moving on and away from the various skillers which now surrond my house. Quests are something I love. Most of mymateys know that, and now so do you. However, quests aren't hard. At least, I don't think so. The hardest quest for me had to be Tai Bwo Trio and that is simply the amount of things I could do wrong with an octopus which I couldn't fish. Mournings End Pt2 was not hard, I used a guide and a bull ant. Now I can appreciate how this would of been hard when it first came out. But is it? Once the puzzle has been sussed it is simply crossing that god forsaken gap and making sure the shadows don't eat your brains.

So what would be hard in Runescape? Personal experiences, pvp and lack of preparation. I’ll tackle the latter first.

Without preparing you open yourself to failure, it was not a good idea me confronting the ice diamond without an super restores, therefore I found it hard. Likewise trying to 3 item Summer’s End also makes it hard. If I had bought dragonhide or energy potions would it have been hard? No. (well actually yes, my habbits of looking away from the screen happen to be the biggest cause of death) but you get the idea. If you forget to bring a prayer potion to God wars, your gonna be a very unholy breakfast.

So PvP, a battle of wits as you pit yourself against other players. Low level wilderness makes PvP hard in my book, you must kill the opponent before he kills you while making sure he’s cocky enough not to run which means exposing yourself, that is hard. Where as roaming into high-level wilderness isn’t hard, it comes down to lack of preparation, unless you have 99 in every skill and a few buddies, you will be turned into an ice lolly by a 10 year old who thinks “lol” is a real word. You could argue it is hard to turn people into ice lollies, but its a simple click, click, click and Jagex even allows you to do 9 at once. Running away from people with american fridge like staves is hard, so that can be put on the list.

One last thing before I go, the subject of guides. These are easily the best way to prepare for the dangers you’ll face, but do these completely remove all difficulty from the game? In my mind the knowledge base provides the biggest problem for me, JaGeX set the players challenges, and then removes them by publishing them on the website? Surely the players should do that, let us get our statistics wrong, let us hype up granite maces and let us wander into goblin filed dungeons without messages telling us how dangerous it will be…

Till next time.
-easl

Uhm yeah. Next time, write a concluding paragraph in which you summarize your point, because now I kinda fail to see what you're trying to say. Is it that RS isn't hard? Just about everyone knows that. I don't think I've ever met someone, either IRL or in-game, that thought of RS as genuinely hard.

It's the same way with 'normal' games. Once you figure out the best weapon, strategy, how the enemy reacts, (fill in what you want here) finishing the game for a second time becomes a walk in the park. Boss monsters or PvP in RS work exactly the same way.

RuneScape isn't hard, it's time consuming.

This is why I choose to play games in a different way...I could if I wanted be a top level player, or a top pker, or whatever...but I prefer being a gatherer of wealth and items...simply because that is the one thing that is not made the same way every time. I know in a game that weapon X damages monster Y in a certain way, and this is set in stone...being the amongst the richer players though takes a lot of effort because then you are up against everyone, not just one monster

tl;dr. Wouldn't this be better in your blog?

I see what you're saying there. But despite the implications that RS is boring, if you know people that are fun to be around, then you're made. I have found an amazing clan, and frankly if it wasn't for the fun I have just TALKING to them, and hanging with them, I would've quit RS. RS isn't a hard game, but it IS a social game. So what if it's not hard? You get to have fun with your friend's killing virtual three headed dragons!
I have always been ambivalent towards RS, but the clanning experiences clinched it for me.
This is the reason I despise 'role playing' clans and 'serious' clans in RS, they add no fun to the experience.

Do something that is way different from other people. I got very bored of RuneScape a long time ago, so I made this freeplay character - to excel in defence, wealth and skills.

Runescape was once a challenge for me, but how the mere hint of a challenge players cry "Hard!" and the "issue" is fixed.

You people make it sound like its a job to play Runescape.
got very bored of RuneScape a long time ago,
But despite the implications that RS is boring

If you find it boring, i don't see why you are playing in honesty :|

I DON'T find it boring....although I might have if I had no one to train, etc. with.

Well done article, but you miss out on the human element. Sure, if all you do is chugging away at your 99s, RS is a little boring, but 95% of the time I am on, I am talking with some of my friends or whoever else is at the place training with me. Still, I think the most fun from RS I have had came from when I had just started playing off of Tutorial Island and was trying to figure out how the game worked. The time before I knew how long it would really take to get a 99 was the time I felt I could find the game fun the easiest, but now I find excitment at small moments, such as when I get a new level, or when I can talk to some of my friends and aruge over what color runecrafting robes is the best (it's blue you know).

But well done article Easl!

I just got around to reading it. I like your style of writing (even though there were some typos)- you're funny.
I agree that RuneScape isn't so much exciting as it is a distraction, but it's a pretty good distraction as long as you don't over-think it. The best part about RuneScape, in my opinion, is the fact that there's so much new stuff to do and see that I haven't even started on. Having a clan like Sals makes it easier, and boss monster trips are occasionally fun enough to warrant.
But what I really play RuneScape for is to be better at it than most people. For instance, I'm rank 78,605 in Smithing, 94,349 in Construction, and 81,534 in Summoning. When you factor in the millions of accounts, I'm in the top, what, 15%? 20%? It gives me a sense of accomplishment, even though it's only a game.

These scathingly negative views of Runescape from people who play it amuse me to no end. If you don't like it quit. If you think that Corp Beast is easy, try soloing it. You get my point. Runescape is as easy and as fun as you want it to be. Sure, you can solo bandos seven times in one trip. And yes, that is easy. But have you soloed it in full bronze? The incredible flexibility is what makes Runescape a unique and awesome game. It fits the people who want a challenge, and the people who just want to dominate. The same applies to PvP. Yes at edge it is just random wack-em-smack-em, but not in deep wildy hybriding. There you have to pull of 4 item switches while switching your pray and watching your hp. Not very many people are good at that. So if you think Runescape is too easy, go ahead and solo my friend the Corp beast... in full bronze.

Getting a 99 is mentally difficult if you want to complete it in a reasonable amount of time.

I agree with you that quests have become too easy. The one part of the game in which you are supposed to actually use your brain does not require the same effort with a quest guide. In my opinion, someone shouldn't use a guide unless they are really stuck, or just not use one at all.

Wow, that was a mouthful
And i 100% agree on what i understood of that.
So you're saying that runescape is easy, just a few clicks and your get something done.
I guess the only things i personally find challenging is the puzzles, i have sliding puzzles.
I also find getting a drop is hard, as its down to luck?
I also failed many time to do Tai Bwo Trio
You seem a bright person and see past the glits and glam that jagex place to hide the "point and click adventure" known as runescape.
The game is very easy, other then maybe boss fights, as it is just a point and click game. You never have to do anything but click, things may be tedious, boring and extremely slow, but it does it in the end.

Please reply, I'd like to know how accurate I was
And sorry about the terrible paragraph grammar