RuneScape is finally launching its new Evolution of Combat update, which overhauls the old combat system in favor of a more modern version, on November 20th. Included now is the highly demanded dual wielding, an action bar, armor and life points changes, adrenaline, and abilities that replace the special weapon attacks. 

They're also doing a live Q&A on November 11th about the combat update, and have a comprehensive FAQ assembled to answer some of the most frequent questions. 

Notably, the official Q+A forum seems to be collecting a lot of negative backlash. There's over 300 pages of comments from RuneScape players, and very few of them positive. IE, "REALLY? Thank u for ruining the game", "Aloo, i hope more than half will quit, so jagex finally understands one thing. DOnt invest cash in sth that isnt wanted.", and "This is so depressing i almost wanna hang myself". 

I suppose only time will tell if the Evolution of Combat update will make or break the game.

Julian "Mirai" Williams

RuneScape, the decade-plus free-to-play MMORPG, has gone on a witch hunt for bots lately. As of yesterday, they've added an entirely new system that not only bans them, but also names and shames them among the community. 

Any players caught will be given two warnings, after which they will be permabanned from the game, with no appeals. Additionally, the character will be flagged with changes to signify to the community they were botting. If they are caught a third time, they will be sent to Botany Bay, where they will be judged publicly by the community.

The punishment will be decided by the community, including stomped by dragons or blasted by the RuneScape gods. Have you ever seen The Crucible? It's kind of like that, but with magic and dragons. 

Mark Ogilvie, lead designer for RuneScape, had this to say; "We take a very hard line on cheaters in our game and have taken the unique move to name and shame those who have been breaking one of our most important rules. We have wanted to do this for some time and we hope that by bringing the actions of those who cheat to the attention of the wider community, we can make a massive step towards eliminating botting from the game."

Julian "Mirai" Williams

It was a dark and stormy night back in the Fourth of January, 2001, when a little title called RuneScape launched, back before "MMO" was practically a genre in itself instead of a subgenre of itself. And, for 10 years, RuneScape been famous among the free browser MMOs in over 150 countries while racking up 443 billion minutes of game time. Yesterday, Jagex just officially announced that RuneScape has broken over 200,000,000 player accounts, easily making it the most popular MMO in the world. 

In addition to the 200 million celebration page covering all aspects of the game's long history and statistics, there are in-game celebrations going on right now, including a new demon to slay, a unique weapon to slay him with, and unique items for the victors. Go nuts, players. There's only one day left!

You've probably been waiting for it, and it's finally going into beta - the Evolution of Combat, as they're calling it, is the total overhaul of Runescape's combat system. They've added dual wielding, action and adrenaline bars, tiered abilities, buffs and debuffs, crits, new animations, and a slew of other content. 

Jagex Game Studio is ready to bring in the new year and pop the cork for their all-year celebration of RuneScape's 10th anniversary by hosting a 24 hour challenge that will have one moderator pounding the energy drinks.

With every stroke of midnight, in all 39 time zones around the world, players will be alerted to the moderator's in-game location through Facebook, Twitter, and in-game, so that they can seek him out and join in these once a year festivities. You can also join the conversation and keep track of his progress by using the hashtag "#RS24" on Twitter. 

See that up there? That's a cake. To celebrate their 10th Anniversary celebrations at RuneFest, Jagex commissioned an enormous cake from Charm City Cakes, complete with LED lights and a food safe fog machine (I don't assume that was eaten). Apparently the cake managed to serve the 500 fans who attended RuneFest, in addition to the Jagex staff. Either way, happy 10th Anniversary RuneScape! That cake looks delicious!

RuneScape may have just hit the ripe old age of 10, but the free-to-play browser MMO is far from reaching its end. In fact, Jagex seems to be just getting started with a streak of innovative gameplay features. Back in April, the team gave players new tools to help them organize their clans, ranging from camps to customization options. Jagex quickly followed that update by launching Clan Citadels (otherwise known as floating guild castles) and a Battlefield map editor that lets players create any sort of game they can imagine. Not too shabby for a title that's reached the decade mark.

I recently had the chance to take an online tour of the Clan Citadel and Battlefield features with some highly knowledgeable guides: Senior Content Developer Ash Bridges and Senior Game Designer Chihiro Yamada. We talked about RuneScape as the duo ran a character through clan meeting rooms and built Battlefield maps full of barriers, conveyor belts and spikes. Keep reading after the jump for all the details!

With just a quick glance at the above screenshot, it's easy to see that RuneScape has come a long way in the past decade. In honor of the game's 10th anniversary, Jagex is making RuneScape Classic available to new players for the last time through September 29.

Once the doors to RuneScape Classic close in two weeks, it will only be available to members who have previously logged into the nostalgic version of the game. If you ever think you'll want to travel back in time to 2001, then make sure you log into RuneScape Classic at least once while it's available to claim your spot in the game's history. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to the Classic Cape.

RuneScape's fourth Bonus XP Weekend kicked off today and runs through noon BST on Monday, September 12. all RuneScape subscribers will receive a multiplier on any standard training activity they perform as they play. This multiplier will begin at 2.7x modifier, and will decrease every 30 minutes of game time until it reaches 1.1x, where it will remain for the rest of the Bonus XP Weekend.

For more details on the activities that will earn you bonus XP, check out Jagex's Bonus XP Weekend FAQ.

RuneScape's Clan Citadels expansion has arrived! As the name suggests, this massive update introduces floating clan castles to the game that are fully customizable. How customizable, you ask? Clans choose from four initial citadel layouts and can add a range of banners and flags to their new home. Each citadel can be upgraded through seven tiers, which unlocks more space and features like skilling zones, portal grounds, meeting areas, a senate, a dragon perch and party room.

The expansion also comes with a clan battlefields feature that allows clans to generate their own gameplay. Using the Battlefield Editor, players can make their own combat scenarios and multiplayer games. Clans can create any activity, including capture-the-flag games, deathmatches, ball games and mazes. Once the battlegrounds are ready, players can challenge other clans to participate in large-scale battles and competitions.

Any clan with five or more members can take ownership of its own Citadel. Considering there are currently more than 200,000 clans in RuneScape, it's safe to say that the sky will soon be filled with floating castles. For more details, watch the trailer below and check out some screenshots in our gallery.