Hero Pass - Player Feedback Update #4

Hi everyone, Mod Keeper here –

Following the release of our Hero Pass survey, we’ve taken your feedback on board and are actioning plans to address some of the key points you've raised to us.

Ending Hero Pass

Firstly, we want to thank everyone who took part in the Hero Pass survey - we've received a lot of very useful feedback from your contributions.

Three important themes stood out to us across various player types from the survey and discussion in the community. Essentially, these were:

• The rewards Hero Pass offered raised questions about the game's future approach to paid benefits, especially the extra buff charges for Premier.
• This new reward system has a prominent presence in my day to day, and since it has paid features, it makes me feel I can't choose to ignore it if I want to.
• Hero Pass doesn't feel "RuneScapey" - it breaks my immersion and doesn't feel part of the world.

While the survey has given us clear ways to improve Hero Pass, these themes are not reflective of a direction we're taking RuneScape in. If we truly mean that, we want to show that with clear action.

For that reason, we are ending Hero Pass with its first iteration: Underworld. For those who invested time or money into the Hero Pass, it will run its course until the end date of December 4th.

We do still believe that RuneScape could benefit from a system to better reward your time in Gielinor (approached differently, of course). If we do explore a new reward system, the message is clear - we need to involve players from the outset. We would also ensure this new reward system has no paid disparity, through types of Membership or otherwise, around any Content Buffs or similar power-affecting concepts.

Going Forward

We've been actively working on creating an even deeper connection with our players, building out our development processes to enable more regular communication and earlier player involvement in our bigger projects. Necromancy, Community Hitlist, reintroducing Beta Worlds to test new ideas and Comp Cape polls are just some of the examples of where we've been progressing towards this.

While Hero Pass was a misstep on this path, we'll be continuing to push forward in this area with more opportunities to add your voice to the game. We'll be launching a Combat Rebalancing / Beta this year and we'll have more opportunities to do this going forward.

Part of working closely with players is also recognizing it's not just about reacting but about how we learn from it. For that reason, we are keeping the Hero Pass survey open as planned till Sunday. If you haven’t given us your thoughts yet, please do let us know your feedback.

Closing Thoughts

Every single player of RuneScape – whether currently active or taking a break – matters. RuneScape has a long future ahead of it, and we intend to make that an ever-better experience where players have more influence on how the game evolves.

Thank you again for being part of this truly special RuneScape community and making your voice heard. Look for opportunities to add your voice to our Combat Rebalancing work very soon.

- Mod Keeper