Runescape is a growing free-to-play massively multiplayer online game, which was launched back in 2001 by Jagex. Since then, it has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most popular free MMO game in the world today. It is played by millions every day, and is very close to achieving its 200 million accounts milestone.
Jagex today announced the opening of the Combat Beta, Evolution of Combat.
Out of the people that applied, 50,000 testers have now been picked to help with the final stages of development.
The developers promise a revolutionary change for the game, making this the largest change in its 11 year history online so far.
“The Evolution of Combat update is the biggest change we’ve ever made in RuneScape’s long history and we’re incredibly excited to finally let our players take part.” commented Mark Ogilvie, RuneScape’s Lead Designer. “We really wanted to make our conflict game play more about the actual art of combat, so we’ve added amazing abilities which will give the player a wealth of choices to use in PvE and PvP combat, and the way those abilities relate to each other will bring a completely new sense of tactical depth to the game. We’ve also made huge improvements to the look and sound of combat, meaning the entire game has become a far more gritty, visceral and adrenaline pumping experience. ”
Runescape Evolution of Combat adds numerous new features, including the ability to dual wield weapons, adding action bars; new abilities as battles progress and the adrenaline bar fills, the ability to cast buffs and weaknesses on your allies and opponents, the ability to produce critical hits and last but not least, entirely new character animations.
Ogilvie continued: “The entire update has been built to play to RuneScape’s strengths and has been designed to refocus combat to be more about player skill, encourage variety in combat equipment and to make combat more enjoyable and challenging. This will revolutionise the way the game is played, making the experience ultimately more rewarding, while not diverting from the essential heart of the game which has made RuneScape so hugely popular for millions around the world.”
Players who have been playing for the last 12 months, and have signed up for access to the BETA will automatically qualify to take part, and players who have only been members for a shorter period will be able to take part during members-only open weekends.
The weekends will run from July 7th 2012 until the end of the BETA. This will give all players the chance to hone their skills before the new battle system is released to everyone else, giving you the advantage.
With the Runescape Evolution of Combat update on its way, it may be time for you to give it a go if you haven’t already.
Go to Runescape.com to create your free account.
