RuneScape facts for kids

RuneScape is a popular video game you can play online with many other people at the same time. This type of game is called a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). It started in 2001 and is owned by a company called Jagex. The game takes place in a cool fantasy world.

Game History

The game first began in 2001 as RuneScape Classic. Later, in 2004, the game was completely rewritten. This new version was called RuneScape 2.

Then, on July 22, 2013, the game was updated again. This latest version is known as RuneScape 3, which is the one players enjoy today. The game lets players from all over the world connect and play together. Over 100,000 people can play at once, and even more during busy times like weekends.

How RuneScape Was Made

The game was first created by Andrew Gower. He made an earlier game called "DeviousMUD" in 1998. That game used simple 2D graphics. RuneScape, however, uses full 3D graphics.

The company Jagex was formed soon after. Jagex stands for Java Gaming Experts. Andrew Gower was in charge of making the game better.

Old School RuneScape

Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is another massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Jagex also developed and published this version. You can play OSRS for free or buy a membership.

OSRS was released on February 22, 2013. Players had become unhappy with updates to the main game. So, Jagex asked players to vote if they wanted an older version of the game from 2007 back. Over 450,000 players voted yes! This meant the old version would return without needing an extra payment. It would also have a small team to develop it.

For any new content to be added to OSRS, players must vote for it. The update needs 75% of votes to pass. Since it launched, OSRS has gotten many improvements. It has new content and features that make the game better to play. By 2017, OSRS had more than twice the active players that the main RuneScape game had. A mobile version for Android and iOS came out in October 2018.

How to Play RuneScape

The RuneScape world has many different areas to explore. Players can go on exciting quests or train their skills. RuneScape skills are special abilities that players can improve. For example, the Smithing skill lets a player create items out of metal.

Game Cost and Membership

RuneScape is an online game. Like many free online games, the basic version is free to play. However, you can choose to become a paying member to get more features.

RuneScape members get to explore a world that is three times bigger. They can also go past the level 5 limit that free players have in 10 member-only skills. Members also get six times more space in the game's bank. Plus, they can use special weapons, tools, armor, and go on member-only quests. There are over one million (1,000,000) members in RuneScape.

The game is played on 172 servers. Each server can have up to 2,000 people playing on it at the same time.

Weapons, Armor, and Shields

Like most MMORPGs, RuneScape has weapons, armor, and shields. These items can be made from many different materials. Common materials include bronze, iron, steel, black, mithril, adamantite, rune, granite, and dragon.

Some materials, like ore, can be found by mining rocks. Players can then use the Smithing skill to turn the ore into metal bars. After that, they can use the bars to create items. Other types of armor cannot be made. You have to get them through trading with other players or by completing quests. Some member-only weapons have special powers. Examples include the abyssal whip and the dragon scimitar.

Magic users, called mages, wear light clothing to protect themselves. Rangers, who use bows and arrows, usually wear dragon-skin armor for protection.

Skills to Train

RuneScape has many skills that players can train. There are 16 skills available for free players and 10 extra skills for members. Players improve their skills by doing different actions. For example, you might collect logs and then burn them to train your Firemaking skill.

Most skills can be leveled up to a maximum of 99. The Dungeoneering skill can go up to level 120. All skills can also be trained to 200,000,000 experience points.

As of August 26, 2013, the skills in the game are:

• Attack
• Strength
• Defence
• Range
• Prayer
• Magic
• Runecrafting
• Construction
• Dungeoneering
• Divination
• Constitution
• Agility
• Herblore
• Thieving
• Crafting
• Fletching
• Slayer
• Hunter
• Mining
• Smithing
• Fishing
• Cooking
• Firemaking
• Woodcutting
• Farming
• Summoning

Player Killing (PK)

RuneScape has a Player Killing (PK) part in the game. Player killing happens in the Wilderness. This is a large area north of all the main cities. Player killing also takes place in some mini-games. However, the rules for player killing are different in mini-games.

On December 10, 2007, player killing was limited to only mini-games. But on February 1, 2011, player killing in the Wilderness was brought back.

Images for kids

• 

  A screenshot of the game interface from RuneScape in 2012

• 

  Ranged combat in RuneScape Classic

See also

In Spanish: RuneScape para niños