Polish your scythes folks, today we’re talking about death! Because in Gielinor, it’s never the end… and it doesn’t always cost you, either.
A while back we ran Frank’s Free Deaths: four weeks where you could pulverise selected RuneScape bosses without paying the price if you died. It was a chance for combat beginners to try their hand at some iconic boss battles without the usual stress while giving more experienced PvMers the opportunity to sharpen their skills, risk-free. It also gave our teams loads of juicy data to determine where we should go next with our death system. We really appreciate every player who took part, and we hope you enjoyed slipping beneath death's gaze to slay a few particularly tricky bosses!
Today we want to share some of the stats that emerged during those four weeks. We think it makes pretty interesting reading, and this will be the first of a few dev blogs we're going to post about the changes we’re making.
Here's what we've found out so far:
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Going forward, we want to rework the Death System to ensure that it’s simpler and easier to understand, while reducing the penalty for dying within RuneScape. Our ultimate aim is to improve gameplay and quality of life for everyone, but we also want to ensure that any changes we make are either neutral or actively positive for RuneScape’s economy. Here's a breakdown of our aims in full:
Design Aims
Identify potential confusion and pain points in how the death system works.
Encourage those who are afraid of dying to try PvM.
Make top-ranking and PvM players feel less punished by deaths.
Ensure that players understand how much they will pay for dying, so they can make informed decisions about combat encounters.
Analyse the state of the RuneScape economy and offset any reduction of GP leaving the game that results from reducing death costs.
Foster open and honest communication with the community around the subject of death costs.
Want to go much deeper on the discussion around Death Costs and the Economy? Check out our first ever 'Let's Chat About' episode where TheRSGuy has an in-depth 50 minute chat with Mod Jack and Mod Sponge all about it!
In future blogs, we'll get into more detail about any changes we're going to make, but for now, we hope this has been a useful insight into our current discussions and the data we have. We'll also be asking you to share your views soon, so keep your eye out for an upcoming poll and have your voice heard!
