Runescape Mania Weekly - New Skill (12th April 2010)
As always, Jagex confuses us to what the new skill could be. This time we are told that it involves a ship quite predominately, though it is not Sailing or anything like it. People have came up with some unique ideas, some I disagree with, some I think are very possible. Forum Mod Xaror and I share our opinions with each possible skill.
1. Archeology
Xaror's opinion- Not discussed much in Future Updates, but definitely worth considering. This skill could very well be a Runescape Skill, just look at the Digsite (which is right next to the F2P area), the large desert and the Varrock Museum. There are some interesting threads about this in the Runescape Skill Suggestion Forum. Use the search bar on the top-right corner of the Runescape Forums to find them. Framack4's opinion- A likely skill, Mining could well be a big part of it. Just like Xaror said, the Digsite and the Varrock Museum may have a lot to do with it too.
2. Assasination Xaror's opinion- Many believe this is too similar to slayer. And I think they are right. In this skill your goal would be to kill or assassinate people, while in the slayer skill you do the same to monsters. Others say this is too similar to PVP’ing as well. Framack4's opinion- Assasination? To me this has a lot to do with combat, and Jagex have already announced that the new skill will not advance your Combat level. This will most likely have to change the way we see PvP and Bounty Hunter Worlds, and after big updates for them both I doubt Jagex would do this. It is also too similar to Bounty Hunter Worlds, you get assigned to someone and you have to kill them. Isn't that the same thing?
3. Astrology Xaror's opinion- We all know what it means. Two flaws in this theory are that we currently cannot see the sky, so let alone the stars. The other factor is the existence of the D&D called ‘Shooting Star.’ In this D&D you watch through a telescope and search the sky for falling stars. So in fact this is already implanted. Framack4's opinion- Xaror is right, you can't see the stars or the sky, so I doubt Jagex would make a massive update allowing you to see the stars and sky, especially after their recent Graphics update.
4. Aura - Chakra - Mentality Xaror's opinion- These types of skill are often used in other computer games. The new skill is supposed to be unique and not done before, so this might not be the right guess. Framack4's opinion- I agree with Xaror.
5. Chemics Xaror's opinion- First of all I doubt this art was carried out much during medieval times. If we translate it back to medieval times, we get something like the current herblore skill. Framack4's opinion- Chemics is much alike the Herblore skill, how would you train it anyway? Cleaning herbs and making potions? Sound familar? Chemistry is also too high tech for a medieval game such as runescape.
6. Civilization Xaror's opinion- The downside of this is that it would require a lot of player specific data, like the POH but much, much more. It’s also worth noting that there is another computer game series out there with this name, so it wouldn’t be unique at all. Framack4's opinion- Civilization takes us too much into another game, such as Age of Empires. Besides, Construction has a lot to do with it. Not unique enough.
7. Democracy - Kingship Xaror's opinion- This skill would evolve around getting favor from each of the various cities and settlements of any of the races of runescape. I think this is a very interesting idea, but takes the ‘skill could have been a new game’ fact too literally. This skill would probably be too big for Runescape. Also note that in this game we play the role of adventurer and not as king. Framack4's opinion- I agree with Xaror.
8. Exploration Xaror's opinion- This Skill is about getting tasks like you do in Slayer, but now for non-combat skills. This is what Mod Fetzki had to say: ‘We think that Slayer works because the new monsters, with particular monsters having special drops, added a new aspect to combat that made it entertaining. This aspect is missing from the 'Slayer for skiller' idea; therefore, we don't think this would work well.’
9. Travelling -Spelunking - Transportation - Riding - Jousting Xaror's opinion- This Skill is currently unlikely due an answer given in the ‘Content Q&A’ on February the 11th. To the question if any new transport methods were planned, Paul answered: 'Right now, I think we have some sort of transportation to most places. I actually like lots of different transport system. I think a lot of the strategy of RuneScape is working out which route and transport method is most efficient for any given task.’
10. Flying Xaror's opinion- Ok, I know this is a fantasy game, but flying? Uhm.. No that wouldn’t work. It’s again about getting around and Paul turned these ideas down. Flying also doesn’t quite fit medieval times. I know we have gnomegliders but I doubt a whole new skill will evolve around that concept.
11. Healing - First Aid Xaror's opinion- Q: As we all know, the "value" of Hitpoints is shrinking. Do you have plans to add a "resilience" effect to Defence or Hitpoints, or increase Hitpoints value?
A: Yes, I am writing this just coming out of a meeting room where we discussed details of the solution that we have thought of. It is very exciting to have this in the game very soon; I think it will make PKing more interesting and engaging. This is from the ‘Content Q&A’ and for me doesn’t sound like a new skill meeting. As that would have been discussed much earlier and wouldn’t be in the game on short notice.
12. Infusing - Enchanting - Bending Xaror's opinion- We already can infuse jewelry with magic. Some say this skill would be used to enchant or infuse weaponry, but how would that work different from jewelry?
13. Intelligence - Knowledge - Lore - Wisdom - Scholar - Logic Xaror's opinion- These are all about similar topics; Gaining knowledge about the world around us. The only thing I can come up with is that is has been done before in other MMORPG’s. I also have some difficulty thinking about how this would be trained, but the general idea is interesting for sure.
14. Luck Xaror's opinion- A skill based on luck? That wouldn’t be fair, but that’s no reason to turn it down immediately. Here as well I’m having a hard time coming up with how this would be trained.
15. Martial Arts - Mercenary - Ninja Xaror's opinion- I think these should definitely be considered as combat skills and therefore will have to influence our combat level. We’re told that the new skill won’t do that and that it’s not a combat skill either. It’s also worth noting that the following can be found on the ‘Suggestions to Avoid’ list in the Suggestions forums: Futuristic/Ninja/Samurai themed items/fighting styles/clothing.
16. Mechanics - Engineering - Technology Xaror's opinion- These have been suggested for a very long time now. I also believe that these types of skills are used in other games and they might be too futuristic for a medieval game like Runescape.
17. Mechscape - Scientific Skills -Timetravelling Xaror's opinion- ‘We canned Mechscape, but we are working on Stellar Dawn instead. The team has made great progress on this and I expect you will get to play it in the not too distant future.’ This is a quote from Mod MMG in his Q&A last month. This means that the Mechscape project is now named Stellar Dawn and because of that it cannot be the new skill. Also note that this game plays in medieval times so and scientific or futuristic skill would stand out a bit.
18. Merchanting - Manipulating Xaror's opinion- Merchanting Clans are not liked by the rest of the community. They make sure some items get incredibly expensive while others are worth only a tiny bit of what they once were. Not to mention the loss of money some people made by joining these clans.
19. Missionary - Pilgrimage Xaror's opinion- This skill meets a lot requirements and is definitely one of the better guesses. A Missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to carry on ministries of the word, such as evangelism and literacy. What immediately springs to mind is the typical quest feeling. We obviously need Gods for this skill. While we already have those, it would probably interfere with the story line from the game as a whole. The training aspect is also a little unclear.
20. Music - Bard - Singing Xaror's opinion- This skill was heavily discussed and proposed a while back. Nowadays we don’t see them as often anymore as we used to do. I think it is an option but would probably require you to have your sound turned on, something that hasn’t been required before in Runescape. This has also been done in other games, and the musicians update made this skill less likely.
21. Necromancy Xaror's opinion- Again a skill often proposed. Necromancy is about summoning or ressurecting the death. Did you notice I used summoning? Also did you know that prayer was named ‘Necromancy’ at the time of release? I think Necromancy would be a combination between Summoning, dark Magic and Prayer. That doesn’t sound very unique to me.
22. Ownership - Managing - Leadership - Colonization Xaror's opinion- I think we can compare this to a Player Owned Village. You give tasks and your people follow your orders, or not. This sounds interesting, but also familiar. Kingdom of Miscelenia anyone? The idea is nice but unfortunate it’s already implanted in the game.
23. Ranching - Herding - Breeding - Animal Husbandry Xaror's opinion- Ah, my personal favorite. Almost one year ago I created my first version of this. Now, 11 months later I’m proud to say this skill suggestion has now over 1100 supporters! The skill is about the raising of livestock. For more information check this thread: 76-77-240-59305198. It maxed out not long ago, but it’ll give you a general idea.
24. Sailing - Piracy - Tailor Xaror's opinion- I’m not going to put much time in this one. The facts clearly show that this will not be the next skill. I’m not saying this can never be a new skill, but not just this one. This is THE most debated skill in the Future Updates forum, but we see fewer threads in the Runescape Forums about it due the new fact.
25. Shapeshifting Xaror's opinion- The ability to transform into something else, which will aid you in a certain task. Personally I think it would be rather strange if people could change just like that. I think it would harm the reliability of the game. It's also interesting to take into account that we can already transform into other things: Monkeys, Stone, Easter eggs etc.
26. Sheepshearing Xaror's opinion- I couldn’t leave this out, although I asked myself multiple times why not. I don’t consider this as a real theory and everyone who does think this could be the next skill should; check out the joke thread here in Future Updates.
27. Stealth - Stamina - Endurance - Training -Fitness - Swimming Xaror's opinion- Training as in a gym. They did*’t have those back in medieval times, but it could be adjusted to fit in nonetheless. I think these could fit as an add-on to Agility, but are too small for an entire new skill. Again I can’t think of a proper way to train this. The question is if this isn’t too similar to Agility.
28. Survival Xaror's opinion- Whenever people suggest this, they think of getting transported to a desolate island, and have to survive there using their other skills. Imagine how big this island should be if thousands of players were to survive at once. Imagine how big this island should be to give people the ability to train till level 99, not less than 13M exp!
29. Swimming - Diving Xaror's opinion- Did you know we can already dive in the game? We use diving apparatus in the ‘Recipe for Disaster’ quest. And if you fall in the water, you already swim to the shore. So we already have this in game, they would be very small and a bit boring to train.
As always, Jagex confuses us to what the new skill could be. This time we are told that it involves a ship quite predominately, though it is not Sailing or anything like it. People have came up with some unique ideas, some I disagree with, some I think are very possible. Forum Mod Xaror and I share our opinions with each possible skill.
1. Archeology
Xaror's opinion- Not discussed much in Future Updates, but definitely worth considering. This skill could very well be a Runescape Skill, just look at the Digsite (which is right next to the F2P area), the large desert and the Varrock Museum. There are some interesting threads about this in the Runescape Skill Suggestion Forum. Use the search bar on the top-right corner of the Runescape Forums to find them.
Framack4's opinion- A likely skill, Mining could well be a big part of it. Just like Xaror said, the Digsite and the Varrock Museum may have a lot to do with it too.
2. Assasination
Xaror's opinion- Many believe this is too similar to slayer. And I think they are right. In this skill your goal would be to kill or assassinate people, while in the slayer skill you do the same to monsters. Others say this is too similar to PVP’ing as well.
Framack4's opinion- Assasination? To me this has a lot to do with combat, and Jagex have already announced that the new skill will not advance your Combat level. This will most likely have to change the way we see PvP and Bounty Hunter Worlds, and after big updates for them both I doubt Jagex would do this. It is also too similar to Bounty Hunter Worlds, you get assigned to someone and you have to kill them. Isn't that the same thing?
3. Astrology
Xaror's opinion- We all know what it means. Two flaws in this theory are that we currently cannot see the sky, so let alone the stars. The other factor is the existence of the D&D called ‘Shooting Star.’ In this D&D you watch through a telescope and search the sky for falling stars. So in fact this is already implanted.
Framack4's opinion- Xaror is right, you can't see the stars or the sky, so I doubt Jagex would make a massive update allowing you to see the stars and sky, especially after their recent Graphics update.
4. Aura - Chakra - Mentality
Xaror's opinion- These types of skill are often used in other computer games. The new skill is supposed to be unique and not done before, so this might not be the right guess.
Framack4's opinion- I agree with Xaror.
5. Chemics
Xaror's opinion- First of all I doubt this art was carried out much during medieval times. If we translate it back to medieval times, we get something like the current herblore skill.
Framack4's opinion- Chemics is much alike the Herblore skill, how would you train it anyway? Cleaning herbs and making potions? Sound familar? Chemistry is also too high tech for a medieval game such as runescape.
6. Civilization
Xaror's opinion- The downside of this is that it would require a lot of player specific data, like the POH but much, much more. It’s also worth noting that there is another computer game series out there with this name, so it wouldn’t be unique at all.
Framack4's opinion- Civilization takes us too much into another game, such as Age of Empires. Besides, Construction has a lot to do with it. Not unique enough.
7. Democracy - Kingship
Xaror's opinion- This skill would evolve around getting favor from each of the various cities and settlements of any of the races of runescape. I think this is a very interesting idea, but takes the ‘skill could have been a new game’ fact too literally. This skill would probably be too big for Runescape. Also note that in this game we play the role of adventurer and not as king.
Framack4's opinion- I agree with Xaror.
8. Exploration
Xaror's opinion- This Skill is about getting tasks like you do in Slayer, but now for non-combat skills. This is what Mod Fetzki had to say: ‘We think that Slayer works because the new monsters, with particular monsters having special drops, added a new aspect to combat that made it entertaining. This aspect is missing from the 'Slayer for skiller' idea; therefore, we don't think this would work well.’
9. Travelling -Spelunking - Transportation - Riding - Jousting
Xaror's opinion- This Skill is currently unlikely due an answer given in the ‘Content Q&A’ on February the 11th. To the question if any new transport methods were planned, Paul answered: 'Right now, I think we have some sort of transportation to most places. I actually like lots of different transport system. I think a lot of the strategy of RuneScape is working out which route and transport method is most efficient for any given task.’
10. Flying
Xaror's opinion- Ok, I know this is a fantasy game, but flying? Uhm.. No that wouldn’t work. It’s again about getting around and Paul turned these ideas down. Flying also doesn’t quite fit medieval times. I know we have gnomegliders but I doubt a whole new skill will evolve around that concept.
11. Healing - First Aid
Xaror's opinion- Q: As we all know, the "value" of Hitpoints is shrinking. Do you have plans to add a "resilience" effect to Defence or Hitpoints, or increase Hitpoints value?
A: Yes, I am writing this just coming out of a meeting room where we discussed details of the solution that we have thought of. It is very exciting to have this in the game very soon; I think it will make PKing more interesting and engaging. This is from the ‘Content Q&A’ and for me doesn’t sound like a new skill meeting. As that would have been discussed much earlier and wouldn’t be in the game on short notice.
12. Infusing - Enchanting - Bending
Xaror's opinion- We already can infuse jewelry with magic. Some say this skill would be used to enchant or infuse weaponry, but how would that work different from jewelry?
13. Intelligence - Knowledge - Lore - Wisdom - Scholar - Logic
Xaror's opinion- These are all about similar topics; Gaining knowledge about the world around us. The only thing I can come up with is that is has been done before in other MMORPG’s. I also have some difficulty thinking about how this would be trained, but the general idea is interesting for sure.
14. Luck
Xaror's opinion- A skill based on luck? That wouldn’t be fair, but that’s no reason to turn it down immediately. Here as well I’m having a hard time coming up with how this would be trained.
15. Martial Arts - Mercenary - Ninja
Xaror's opinion- I think these should definitely be considered as combat skills and therefore will have to influence our combat level. We’re told that the new skill won’t do that and that it’s not a combat skill either. It’s also worth noting that the following can be found on the ‘Suggestions to Avoid’ list in the Suggestions forums: Futuristic/Ninja/Samurai themed items/fighting styles/clothing.
16. Mechanics - Engineering - Technology
Xaror's opinion- These have been suggested for a very long time now. I also believe that these types of skills are used in other games and they might be too futuristic for a medieval game like Runescape.
17. Mechscape - Scientific Skills -Timetravelling
Xaror's opinion- ‘We canned Mechscape, but we are working on Stellar Dawn instead. The team has made great progress on this and I expect you will get to play it in the not too distant future.’ This is a quote from Mod MMG in his Q&A last month. This means that the Mechscape project is now named Stellar Dawn and because of that it cannot be the new skill. Also note that this game plays in medieval times so and scientific or futuristic skill would stand out a bit.
18. Merchanting - Manipulating
Xaror's opinion- Merchanting Clans are not liked by the rest of the community. They make sure some items get incredibly expensive while others are worth only a tiny bit of what they once were. Not to mention the loss of money some people made by joining these clans.
19. Missionary - Pilgrimage
Xaror's opinion- This skill meets a lot requirements and is definitely one of the better guesses. A Missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to carry on ministries of the word, such as evangelism and literacy. What immediately springs to mind is the typical quest feeling. We obviously need Gods for this skill. While we already have those, it would probably interfere with the story line from the game as a whole. The training aspect is also a little unclear.
20. Music - Bard - Singing
Xaror's opinion- This skill was heavily discussed and proposed a while back. Nowadays we don’t see them as often anymore as we used to do. I think it is an option but would probably require you to have your sound turned on, something that hasn’t been required before in Runescape. This has also been done in other games, and the musicians update made this skill less likely.
21. Necromancy
Xaror's opinion- Again a skill often proposed. Necromancy is about summoning or ressurecting the death. Did you notice I used summoning? Also did you know that prayer was named ‘Necromancy’ at the time of release? I think Necromancy would be a combination between Summoning, dark Magic and Prayer. That doesn’t sound very unique to me.
22. Ownership - Managing - Leadership - Colonization
Xaror's opinion- I think we can compare this to a Player Owned Village. You give tasks and your people follow your orders, or not. This sounds interesting, but also familiar. Kingdom of Miscelenia anyone? The idea is nice but unfortunate it’s already implanted in the game.
23. Ranching - Herding - Breeding - Animal Husbandry
Xaror's opinion- Ah, my personal favorite. Almost one year ago I created my first version of this. Now, 11 months later I’m proud to say this skill suggestion has now over 1100 supporters! The skill is about the raising of livestock. For more information check this thread: 76-77-240-59305198. It maxed out not long ago, but it’ll give you a general idea.
24. Sailing - Piracy - Tailor
Xaror's opinion- I’m not going to put much time in this one. The facts clearly show that this will not be the next skill. I’m not saying this can never be a new skill, but not just this one. This is THE most debated skill in the Future Updates forum, but we see fewer threads in the Runescape Forums about it due the new fact.
25. Shapeshifting
Xaror's opinion- The ability to transform into something else, which will aid you in a certain task. Personally I think it would be rather strange if people could change just like that. I think it would harm the reliability of the game. It's also interesting to take into account that we can already transform into other things: Monkeys, Stone, Easter eggs etc.
26. Sheepshearing
Xaror's opinion- I couldn’t leave this out, although I asked myself multiple times why not. I don’t consider this as a real theory and everyone who does think this could be the next skill should; check out the joke thread here in Future Updates.
27. Stealth - Stamina - Endurance - Training -Fitness - Swimming
Xaror's opinion- Training as in a gym. They did*’t have those back in medieval times, but it could be adjusted to fit in nonetheless. I think these could fit as an add-on to Agility, but are too small for an entire new skill. Again I can’t think of a proper way to train this. The question is if this isn’t too similar to Agility.
28. Survival
Xaror's opinion- Whenever people suggest this, they think of getting transported to a desolate island, and have to survive there using their other skills. Imagine how big this island should be if thousands of players were to survive at once. Imagine how big this island should be to give people the ability to train till level 99, not less than 13M exp!
29. Swimming - Diving
Xaror's opinion- Did you know we can already dive in the game? We use diving apparatus in the ‘Recipe for Disaster’ quest. And if you fall in the water, you already swim to the shore. So we already have this in game, they would be very small and a bit boring to train.