Castle Wars

Essential Info

Required

• Skills: None.
• Quests: None.
• Items: None.

Recommended

• Skills: None.
• Quests: None.
• Items: None.

Getting There

You may be wondering how to get to Castle Wars. It's located in a somewhat isolated spot, but it's well worth the walk there! It's just south of the Observatory and southwest of Ardougne.

Ring of Dueling

The quickest way of getting to the Castle Wars arena is by using a Ring of Dueling to teleport there. The Ring of Dueling is made from an Emerald Ring, and then enchanted. A new one will have 8 charges, meaning that you can teleport to either the Castle Wars Arena or the Duel Arena 8 times before it shatters.

Fairy Ring

If you have begun Fairy Tale Part II: Cure a Queen and have received permission from the Fairy Godfather, you can use Fairy Ring code "BKP" to teleport south of the arena. From there, walk north to Castle Wars.

Hot Air Balloon

If you have completed Enlightened Journey, you can use Hot Air Balloon travel to reach the Castle Wars arena. You will travel to a spot just northeast of the arena entrance.

Tree Gnome Village Spirit Tree

If you have completed the Tree Gnome Village quest, you can use the Spirit Tree transportation system to teleport to Tree Gnome Village. From there, head southwest to Castle Wars.

Walk From East Ardougne

If you have level 51 Magic, you can teleport to East Ardougne. From there, walk southwest to the Castle Wars arena.

About the Arena

The Castle Wars Arena is a fun place that has everything you need while you battle. Below is a map of the Castle Wars Arena with each of the important locations numbered.

Locations

(1) Lobby

This is where the Lobby is. It's where you'll first enter, and you'll find a Bank Chest, which you can use to access your bank, the 3 Portals, and Lanthus, who you can buy Castle Wars merchandise from.

The 3 Portals you'll find are the portals to which team you wish to be on. There is a blue one for Saradomin, a red one for Zamorak, and a Green one for Guthix. You may choose either Saradomin or Zamorak portals to go directly to your chosen team. If you don't really have a preference you can go through the Guthix portal to be placed on a random team.

Lanthus, the Castle Wars manager is here to help you out. His ticket-exchange store has unique merchandise like decorative armour, capes, ballista equipment and potion sets. These items can only be purchased with Castle Wars Tickets.

Tickets are rewarded to you when your team wins a game. When your team wins, everyone on the team receives 2 tickets. If it's a tie, every player will get 1 ticket. If your team loses, you won't receive any tickets.

Castle Wars Ticket Exchange
Picture	Item	Castle Wars Tickets
	Basic Decorative Helm	4
	Basic Decorative Platebody	8
	Basic Decorative Platelegs	6
	Basic Decorative Shield	6
	Basic Decorative Sword	5
	Detailed Decorative Helm	40
	Detailed Decorative Platebody	80
	Detailed Decorative Platelegs	60
	Detailed Decorative Shield	60
	Detailed Decorative Sword	50
	Intricate Decorative Helm	400
	Intricate Decorative Platebody	800
	Intricate Decorative Platelegs	600
	Intricate Decorative Shield	600
	Intricate Decorative Sword	500
	Profound Decorative Helm	650
	Profound Decorative Platebody	1,100
	Profound Decorative Platelegs	800
	Profound Decorative Shield	800
	Profound Decorative Sword	800
	Ballista Base	2
	Ballista Bolt Stack	2
	Ballista Bow	2
	Ballista Chamber	2
	Ballista Ammo	4
	Melee Potion Set	1
	Ranged Potion Set	1
	Magic Potion Set	1
	Saradomin Team Cape	10
	Zamorak Team Cape	10
	Saradomin Team Hood	10
	Zamorak Team Hood	10
	Castle Wars Flag Cape	2
	Castle Wars Kills Cape	2
	Castle Wars Hobbyist Cape	2
	Castle Wars Enthusiast Cape	2
	Castle Wars Professional Cape	2
	Guthix Halo	300
	Saradomin Halo	300
	Zamorak Halo	300
	Faithful Shield	200
	Castle Wars Manual	0

(2) Saradomin Base

This is the Saradomin base, where anyone on the Saradomin team will spawn to defend against the Zamorak Team. the Saradomin Flag is held at the top-most level here.

(3) Zamorak Base

Similar to the Saradomin base, this is the home for the Zamorak players. It's only difference to the Saradomin Base is that it's a darker setting.

(4) Island

Though not the most important part of the Battlefield, it is essentially where most players cross over into battle. The island has 2 trapdoors leading down into the caverns below and 4 towers which Mages and Rangers sometimes use.

(5) Stepping Stones

These Stepping Stones are 1 of the few ways one can get across the river to the other side. To get across, you simply jump from 1 stone to the next. Though slow, you can lose opponents on your tail here.

Point System

The point system is simple. Each time the opponent's Flag or Standard is captured and brought back to your team's base, a point goes to the team that captured the flag. Points are kept track of at the top of the screen. A team can't lose points, even if their Standard gets captured.

Preparing for Battle

Before you enter a portal, take off any headgear such as hats or helmets, and any capes or cloaks, since you'll be wearing your team's colors. You cannot bring any food to Castle Wars. The only items you can bring are:

• Wearable items, like armor or weapons
• Runes
• Potions

When you go through a portal, you'll be sent to an underground waiting dungeon until the next game starts. There will be a countdown until the next game begins in the upper half of your screen. There are 5 minutes between each game.

Becoming an Animal

Another fun thing about entering the portals is that you can be turned into an animal! How? It's simple. Just wear something of another God while entering a Portal.

For example, if I entered the Saradomin Portal while wearing an Unholy symbol of Zamorak or Unholy Book, I would get turned into either a Bunny Rabbit or a Sheep. The same goes for Zamorak, except that I'd get turned into an Imp. Even though Guthix has no team, you can get turned into an animal if you wear something of another god while going through the portal.

The Battle Begins

Once the waiting time is up, everyone will be transferred to their home base. You will appear in the Respawn Room, which you have 2 minutes to leave before you get sent out of the game.

In the Respawn Room you'll find:

• Portal - This portal can send you back to the waiting room if you wish.
• Ladder - Climb up to the next floor, sending you a level closer to your flag.
• Table - This table in the corner contains Bandages, which you can take until the end of the game.

Tools & Items

After leaving the Respawn Room and climbing down the ladder, you'll find the Supply Room. Inside are some very helpful items needed in Castle Wars.

Bandages - These are found on the table in the Respawn Room and heal 4hp. Since you can't bring food inside, these are the only things that you can use to heal. They also revive around 30% of your lost Energy, and you can use them on other players.

Climbing Ropes - These are found on a table in the ground floor level. They can be thrown onto battlements on the outer walls so that you can climb up.

Rocks - These can be used with the Catapults on the outer wall to be thrown to the ground below.

Pickaxe - These ordinary Pickaxes are used to mine in the underground caverns to clear away any rocks that have collapsed. You can also collapse rocks to block the passages.

Exploding Potions - These potions are very useful throughout Castle Wars, as they can explode barricades that are in the way, collapse walls and clear rocks in the underground caverns. Just use them with the Barricade, wall or Rocks. Do Not drop these potions as they will explode and cause 15 damage to you!

Barricades - These wooden structures help block your opponents from getting to certain places. All you need to do is set them up at a desired location. Barricades can be destroyed by attacking them until they collapse, or by using an Exploding Potion. However, your team can only set up 10 Barricades at once.

Flares - These are used to signal to players using the Catapults that you need help. Players can then target the area where the flare was used and damage the enemy.

Toolkits - these can repair items like Catapults. If your Catapult gets destroyed, you can use the Toolkit on it to fix it. You can also use a Toolkit to fix your Main Door if it reaches 0% health.

Tinderbox - These can be used with an opponent's Barricade to light it on fire and eventually destroy it. You can also use it on your opponent's catapult to light it on fire and destroy it.

Bucket - This can be filled up with water (just look for the faucet - it will have the water symbol on the minimap). When filled with water, you can extinguish your catapult if it is on fire, and extinguish a baracade that is on fire.

What to Do in Battle

There are a number of things that you can do in battle. Go on the offensive, defensive, or just help out! You can be offensive and get the flag, be the defensive and defend your flag, or help out by protecting your team members and healing them. Once thing for sure though: always RUN!

Offensive

The players that go on offensive are those who usually go to the other team's base to get the flag. This is an important job, as it helps your team score. The flags of both teams are always located on the very top levels of the castles. When going on offensive, always bring these items:

• Bandages - To heal your Life Points and Energy so that the other team won't kill you.
• Exploding Potions - You always need these to blow up the other team's Barricades so that they won't stand in your way.
• Barricades - Bring a few of these along because if you get the flag, it's likely you'll be chased by opponents. If you set some of these up behind you, your enemies will get caught behind them.

Defensive

Players on the defensive are the ones who defined their own flag. Usually, they set up barricades around the flag stand so opponents have a tough time getting to it. Also, most of those defending will hang around the base and wait for their enemies so that they can kill them.

Mages and Rangers will almost always be on the defensive, and some will be on the outer wall shooting down invaders. But it's also good to have a few Mages in the castle to use Binding spells on their opponents if they capture the flag. This gives your team-mates extra time to kill the opponent!

Catapult - On top of the outer wall in the center is the Catapult. It's used as a "rock thrower," be careful, as it can hurt both enemies and team members. It can take heavy damage so be careful with it!

The operating controls for the Catapult are very simple. You first need a rock in your backpack, and after choosing the "Operate Catapult" option the Catapult Controls will appear. Simply click on the square you wish to fire upon, and then click "FIRE!" to launch a rock. 

Helpers

Helpers can do a variety of things:

Healers - Healers on your team are usually those who walk or run around with a full inventory of bandages healing other teammates. A healer isn't necessary and isn't a real occupation, but someone good to have on the team.

Miners - Miners can be a help sometimes when your traveling through the underground passages. They help mine the rocks to clear the paths as well as collapsing them to block your opponents.

Flag Holders - This isn't a designated job, and the only way to get the flag is by killing the opponent that has taken your flag. They try and kill anyone who takes the flag. If the opponent flag-bearer happens to die outside of your castle wall and drops it, a flag holder will take the flag and hold it. This makes it much harder to get the flag. Usually, flag holders are a high level with lots of Defence.

Underground Caverns

The underground caverns are extremely useful when playing Castle Wars. It's a small network of tunnels underneath the arena where players can sneak over to their opponent's base. A total of four ladders lead down into the cavern, which lead to both team bases, and the island. These ladder are highlighted in yellow on the above Castle Wars map.

Saradomin Base - This ladder is located in the northeast corner of the ground floor room in the Saradomin Base. It goes down to the southeast ladder in the cavern.

Zamorak Base - This ladder is situated like the Saradomin Base, in the corner of the ground floor room but in the southwest corner of the room. It leads down to the northwest ladder.

Island - These ladders are on the north and south halves of the middle island in the arena.

Obstacles

The cave wall obstacles are impassable rocks which block your way, from the tunnels to the center cavern. As said before, when the rocks compile and you cannot get through, you can mine away the rocks using a Pickaxe or use an Exploding Potion to clear them.

You can also use Exploding Potions and Pickaxes to collapse the cave wall, which will then block the tunnel, preventing opponents from getting through.

Helpful Tips

Depending on whether your an offensive or defensive player, here you'll find some helpful tips.

Offensive

Here are some tips you may want to keep in mind when going for the flag:

• Never go without bringing plenty of Bandages and a few Exploding Potions or else the other team with slaughter you and you won't be able to get past their Barricades
• Use the underground passageways! It's a sneaky way to get inside and that way you won't be bombarded with spells by mages if you pass their outer wall
• If you have 43+ prayer then that's great news, as you can protect yourself from Mages, Rangers and Warriors. When you see opponent Mages, turn Protect from Magic on so many of their spells will be ineffective
• Try to lose your enemy! Confuse them by going up and down stairs and ladders. You can lose them this way. Another great way to lose following opponents is to jump across the stepping stones. Jump back and forth and then run back to your side, so it'll take a while for them to catch you.
• If your a lower level combat player, make sure a higher level teammate is with you. You don't want to die with the flag and have the opponents take it.

Defensive

Here are some tips to keep in mind while on the defensive:

• When the game starts, immediately head down to the ground floor and grab several barricades. Then head up and barricade around the flag and the spaces which you can stop your opponents. When doing this, tell your teammates to use alternative ladders or the energy barriers to get around, so they won't attack the barricades
• Right when your flag may be captured, run ahead and barricade the front of stairs and such so you can block your opponents and then have your teammates round on them.
• Mages always bring some sort of bind/snare/entangle spell! Even though most high level players will turn prayer on, there are several who forget to. So take any opportunity to bind your opponent.
• Fight to death! If you're defending at your own base, go to the flag level and keep your eye on the flag. Kill any opponents as they will get sent all the way back to their base, but if you die you only go one floor down.
• Keep an eye out for where your opponent is headed. If you can see he is headed toward the stairs or ladders, get there before your enemy does so you can be waiting for them when they reach you.
• Try to get your flag back! When an opponent takes a flag, get them! Try any way to block them and once they get outside of your base, do your best to kill them, because then they will drop your flag and someone on your team can pick it up.

Strategies

These strategies will help you survive long in Castle Wars, and perhaps even capture the flag for your team and win the game!

If you're going for the flag directly you should have at least 65+ health. Also take 6 Bandages since they restore 30% Energy for Running and carefully watch your energy level.

You should only need to go through 5 for the run to your opponent's base and back. A good trick is to use the Stepping Stones near the river to slow down your opponents and get away.

Also, if you're low on health over there and a team mate is nearby, switch with him. Distract your opponents while he scores. Also you should bring both Melee Armour and Dragonhide with you when you run. When you get close to the base switch to Dragonhide to prevent mages from killing you and run like your life depends on it. Then when you grab flag switch back to Melee Armour and you should make it out with no problem.

Another good idea is to bring explosive potions in case barricades get in your way. By bringing barricades or a Toolbox so that you can slow your opponents down. Note that the ToolBox is only useful underground. If there is any possible alternative route you can take use that instead.

Another useful tip would be to use the Protection Prayers (Protect From Magic, Protect From Range, Protect From Melee) to get away and also if you have high enough prayer and are low on health the Redemption Prayer can help out a lot.

If you want to be on Defence at the base as a ranger or a mage you should stand on this wall.

Try to take out your opponents quickly with strong magic spells if they're wearing melee armour, but if they are wearing range armour ignore them and let meleers and other rangers get them.

If you're going to melee at the base a recommended barricade style to protect the flag should look like this.

Be careful not to trap a teammate between the barricades!

Also, another good tip would be to put two barricades as shown in this picture and use the trap door so therefore if an opponent gets a flag you can slow them down:

If you have a Dds or a D Scimmy and you want to use your specials but also want your strength to increase and you have a d Baxe, just bring a Strength Potion in with you instead.

Underground where the rocks are if your a ranger/mage or are using a spear you can knock people back into rock areas and than with the help of a Toolbox

You can collapse the wall on top of an enemy killing them.

People usually use basic armors for this such as Rune/D Hide/Splitbark/Mystic. Some people that can afford it use Dragon Armour and a Whip. The weapons and shield in the following pictures can be switched easily so they are not mandatory as you can use any weapon you like.

Melee

The Vambraces can be switched and usually for melee you should use Klank's Gauntlets. (Under Ground Pass Quest)

Ranged

Rangers usually use a Magic Bow, Crystal Bow or Knives.

The D'hide switches according to what you can use: Green, Blue, Red, Black

Mage

Follow these strategies and you will have a very good chance of winning such as this:

Side Tips

• The fastest path is going through the center isle, but it is also the most dangerous and most populated.
• The equally safe and fast path is via the stepping stones.
• The slowest and safest path is via the caves.
• When using the stepping stones, you should click on them really fast, and your character will "glide" over them. The other chasers will be a lot slower.
• The best protection for your flag is when you capture it yourself. Do this by putting barricades in strategic positions or snaring/entangling the opposing flag holder, then killing them while they are outside your castle and not on the stepping stones, and taking the flag.

Questions & Answers

Here are some frequently asked questions and their answers:

Q: What if I die? Will I lose anything?
A: Since Castle Wars is considered a "safe" Activity, you will not lose any items when you die. This includes any items picked up during the game (eg. Potions, Bandages or Barricades). You will be sent back to your team's Respawn Room where you can immediately re-join the game.

Q: Is there a level range where you can only attack those players around your level?
A: No. Anyone on the opposing team can attack you at any time. It is a multi-combat zone too.

Q: What happens to me if I log out during Castle Wars?
A: If you log out for a short amount of time and log back in before the game ends, you should still be in the same place you were before you logged out. If the game has ended, you will appear in the main lobby, near the portals.

Q: Which world should I go to for the best game?
A: Generally, any of the "Castle Wars" themed worlds are the best worlds for playing a Castle Wars game. These worlds include 15, 24, 52, 59 and 82, with worlds 15 and 24 being the main worlds for playing.

Q: If I go to a crowded world, sometimes the portal won't let me in!
A: There are two ways which you can't get into a portal. First, if you're wearing any sort of headgear or cape/cloak, take it off. Second, the game has to have a balanced number of players on both teams. If there are say, 10 more people in Zamorak, then no more players can go through the Zamorak portal until the the player numbers are balanced.

Q: What are the two red and blue flags in the top left corner of my screen, which sometimes say Taken, Safe or Dropped?
A: The two flags signify whether the flag/standards are safe in their stands, whether they have been taken, or if they have been dropped on the ground. Once a standard is removed from its stand, the corresponding 'flag signal' will say "Taken. When it is safe, the flag signal will say "Safe. *When the flag is dropped the signal will say "Dropped.

However, though sometimes your opponents flag may say "Taken" does not always mean that the flag is in your team's possession. It may have been dropped and taken by its own team. So always keep an eye out for the signals. There are two ways where a flag can be dropped:

1. The flag bearer is killed and will drop the flag.
2. One removes the flag from their worn garments.