The Blood Pact
Entry posted by Merch Gwyar
1608 views
*QUEST SPOILERS HERE* Sal's Official Guide, written by Desireful, can be found here. Now onto my highly subjective review:
Every post-Nomad quest has had me twitching slightly in nervous regard, but 'The Blood Pact' was really nothing to worry about. It was very short and easy for my level. In fact, I think it only took me five minutes because I read carefully though all of the available dialogue, in case there was something extremely important that I might need to know.
I walked into the quest unarmed and wearing my usual black dhide, boots of lightness, green hat and glory. I didn't need to return for supplies. The ranger was kicked into submission and I was given weapons for the other two.
The quest was designed for those straight off Tutorial Island. Once put into that context, I think it's a lovely quest. It teaches about the combat triangle and doesn't seek to place one medium of combat above another. The end result is a collection of weapons - a sword, a bow and a staff - which the intrepid adventurer can take away with them. The weapons even look good. I was carrying Kayle's bow around for ages. (I have to admit to smiling and thinking of Kayla, when I saw that name.) There is even a stock of arrows and runes to take away, so our fledging warrior, mage or ranger can test out their new toys. I heard so much disdain for those, as I hung around for a bit after the quest, but then I saw a low levelled player clutching his new bow. I traded him my stack of bronze arrows and he was so grateful that he didn't stop saying 'thank you' for a full minute. I think that some people forget how difficult it is to arm yourself in the early days. This fills that niche beautifully.
Which isn't to say that I thought the quest entirely perfect. The premise was that Xenia was testing me to see if I was a good enough quester. There was all of this blarb at the end that said she could have intervened if I struggled. All of this works well if it's an early quest or if the player has a low combat level. It's a little inconsistant if the player is a veteran quester and high levelled in combat, because Xenia tells you, at the beginning of the quest, that she's heard of your reputation. She knows you as someone who has access to the Legends' Guild.
So first she tells me that I'm a legend even amongst the elite members of the Legends' Guild, then, five minutes later, said that she wanted to test my combat prowess. On level 3 opponents? How about those Fallen Heroes (levels 92-106), the black demons (level 182) and Nezikchened (level 187), whom I had to fight in order to gain access to the Legends' Guild? If I was to totally immerse myself into my character, then Xenia's test would be quite insulting and certainly questions her reasoning ability.
There was a minor point of annoyance in the middle of the quest. I'd got my staff and runes and hurried to the stairs to meet the melee opponent. En route, I set my autocast in preparation for this. As I touched the stairs, Xenia stopped me, switched off my autocast, then called me back to teach me how to switch on autocast. I can see how that would be useful information for someone who has never fought with mage before, but if autocast is already on, it's a bit weird.
The RSOF made me laugh afterwards. There was a (presumably) tongue-in-cheek complaint about the derogatory comments made towards Zamorak and his followers.
The poster stated that, as a Zamorakian himself, he would have preferred to have sided with the three members of the Blood Pact. They were his fellow adherrents and he anyway preferred them to Xenia and the woman weak enough to have been abducted. He cited religious hatred in the comments made towards Zamorak and furthermore preached that Zamorak would prevail. Several other Zamorakians supported his thread, while everyone else just laughed. I suppose though that there is a semi-serious point made in there. If this is directed at someone new to the game, they aren't given the chance to align with any Rs deity, before hearing that Zamorak is bad. One Zamorakian on the forums did make a counterpart. He said that those three were a disgrace to Zamorak, as they were so puny and snivling, and that he personally was happy to remove them from the game. Zamorak's followers should be all powerful and those who weren't deserved to die. As a Guthix girl myself, I just watched the debate in bemusement.
But there we go. It was a short quest, but I enjoyed it.
3 Comments
Recommended Comments