This week's Recent Update FAQ - minigame updates, etc.

[Dr Brad]

Source: RSOF Quick find code: 15-16-195-63137636

"“Why can you only choose standard spells with the 'Borrowed Power' spell? And what about teleports?!”
Mod Raven: The borrowed power spell is intended to offer more versatility to the Lunar Spellbook, not turn it into an all powerful spellbook of death. We felt that the Lunar spells didn't really gel with the Ancient spells and so we didn't think adding one of them to the spellbook (which is effectively what borrowed power does) would be particularly appropriate.
As for the teleports. The lunar spellbook already contains a nice number of teleports, so I originally didn't plan on adding in any more. However, I'm not against the idea of adding in some teleports, so feel free to let me know what ones you would want. Can't guarantee that we'll add them, but I'll certainly investigate.

"How does "Borrow Power" differ from the "Spellbook Swap"?"
Mod Raven: You can store the spell in it, meaning you can cast that spell from the lunar spellbook without needing to use spellbook swap.

The arcane capacitor (used to charge the spell) also stores the runes needed to cast it (other than the astral runes) making it save you some space in your inventory. Quite handy really.

"“Why are the Master Runecrafting robes so expensive?”
Mod Raven: Again, we wanted to make these rewards something for repeat players of the Great Orb Project, so making them really cheap would be largely pointless. They offer a flat XP boost to all Runecrafting experience gains, up to 700 XP, so they're not to be sniffed at.

To that end we made it take quite a while to get the full set.

Now remember that the boosts do add up, so as you gather the pieces of the set, you will start to get more Runecrafting XP.

Also, they look really funky, so they deserve a mark up for being the height of mystical fashion.

However, that said, there is always a chance that we will reduce the price of these items if they do prove too expensive. I make no promises though.

"“How rare is Black Ibis gear?”
Mod Raven: Rare. Remember that this set offers a flat thieving XP bonus to all thieving actions other than black jacking and Pyramid Plunder, so we didn't want to make everyone get it in their first playthrough as that would somewhat defy the point.

If you have the Sceptre of the Gods, you will have a substantially higher chance of getting the Black Ibis drop of course.

In addition, you should get a different piece of the gear every time you get a drop, so you shouldn't have to worry about getting the boots 3 times.

"“Does the Ring of Wealth affect the chance of getting Black Ibis robes?”
Mod Raven: No. The ring of wealth currently does not affect getting the robes. However, if you are carrying the Sceptre of the Gods, you will have a substantially higher chance of getting the Black Ibis gear. You will need to be wearing it to get this bonus.

"“Why can't we use the Black Ibis outfit bonus in Pyramid Plunder?”
Mod Raven: Pyramid Plunder already offers a really good XP rate for thieving, there was no real need to increase the XP rate with the Black Ibis gear. This still allows the Black Ibis gear to offer some very nice rates of experience in other places of course.

"“Why do the Necromancer robes require the best shades? I'm not getting 80 firemaking for a few prayer points and a new look!”
Mod Raven: Necromancers are masters of the undead, so it makes sense that you would need to defeat the most powerful shades to get them. If that's not your bag, then that's really up to you. I personally think they look awesome, so I'm definitely going to be going for them on my choob.

"“Why did you make it so each piece of Necromancy gear needs its own kit to upgrade?”
Mod Raven: Firstly, to make necromancer sets suitably prestigious. Everyone likes it when the outfit they have spent time acquiring is sufficiently rare so that they can show off. Secondly, it's so that people can have some of the necromancer gear if they don't own the full Dagon'hai set.

"“The drop rate of gold keys for Shades of Mort'ton is too low, since the new items are untradable anyway, would you consider making them more common?”
Mod Raven: Currently the drop rate is fairly deliberate, everything is balanced against the time it takes to get the key so there are no plans to increase the drop rate. However, remember that luck plays a part in it, so it could just be that you have thus far been unlucky, keep at it and you too could be looking like a lord of the undead.

"“Will you add fishing XP boosting equipment in the near future? It seemed like a great opportunity to be added as a reward from fishing trawler.”
Mod Mark: Perhaps in the future, yes.

"Is it a glitch that the tiger shark (new reward from fishing trawler ) is untradable, because all the other fish rewards tradable."
Mod Raven: Nope, this is intended.

The tiger shark is now arguably one of the most powerful foods in the game, given that it heals more than the rocktail AND provides the lifepoint boost.

Basically, we didn't want to undermine rocktails with this update and we wanted to reward those people who actually play the trawler (rather than those who just buy from the GE).

"Why was the decision taken to refund points spent in wishes, giving some people free seeds etc?"
Mod Raven: We haven't refunded every wish you have ever used. What we have done, is refund the cost of getting all the previous spells (up to Group Vengeance). This means that you should be in exactly the same boat as any other Livid farm player, rather than having to collect all those points again.

Sorry if we made that a little unclear, I hope my answer clears that up a bit.

"“What uses does the Hybrid armour have?”
Mod Raven: For a start, the new Hybrid gear looks awesome (yes I'm biased, but I really do think they look snazzy). Secondly, in those minigames they're really quite good, not only do they offer great protection against two combat styles, but they also offer an impressive damage bonus against players.

Will they let you 1 hit Nomad...well, no. But then there are reasons for that.

The Hybrid gear covers 2 points of the combat triangle...in fact each set should cover all possible 2 style combat triangle combinations (mage-melee, mage-range, range-melee). To put these into the general game would just be highly unbalanced, effectively making them more of a problem that a reward.

But, since they are minigames rewards, they can work rather nicely in those minigames.

Also, did I mention they look cool?

We also have a fairly nice drop mechanic for this gear, meaning that you are more likely to get it the more you play that respective minigame, so it's not like it's costing you anything either.

"“How exactly do the Hybrid gear drop?”
Mod Raven: The term drop appears to have confused many people, so I will try to explain. The item is not dropped when you kill an NPC or a player. Think of the minigame itself as the creature you are battling, when you have won the minigame (defeated the creature) you will receive the drop (if you are sufficiently lucky).

The drop will manifest as an interface giving you the choice of which piece of gear you would like to get. Select the piece you want and the item will be added to your inventory. If you have insufficient space in your inventory, you will not receive the item.

"“How rare are the Hybrid items?”
Mod Raven: This depends on your prowess at the relevant minigame. The more wins you accrue, the more likely you are to drop that item. I cannot give you the exact formula, but rest assured that there it is not impossible to get the items.

However, be aware that these are intended to be rare items. You are expected to be sufficiently good and sufficiently active in the minigame to gain that item. This means that you should not be expecting the item to drop within the first ten minutes of playing.

Don't be disheartened if you have not yet received the armour piece, the update has only been out for less than 24 hours after all.

"“Why is Hybrid gear dropped in Pest Control, but not have any stats in Pest Control?”
Mod Raven: I wanted to choose a game that was popular for the drop, so I added them to pest control as a possible reward. However, they are intended to be used in PvP minigames and Pest Control doesn't really have that.

There's always a chance we can add the stats to Pest Control as well, but we will need to carefully consider the balancing before we can do that. It's something I've added to my feedback suggestions.

"“Why do the helms drop in Castle Wars but can't be used in Castle wars?”
Mod Raven: This is something that we are aware of. I added them to Castle Wars because it felt like a good place to give them.

They do count towards the damage bonus, however, if you own the helm you will receive the damage bonus for the rest of the set you are wearing. You won't get the stats, true, but you will receive the damage bonus. We did think of this, fear not.

"“It's impossible to get the itemX in gameY.”
Mod Raven: Relax, it's not impossible. Difficult? Yes. Rare? Indeed. But not impossible.

There's no immediate need to get everything now now now, these rewards are designed to be awarded to players that are persistently good at the minigames they are dropped in. They are not intended to be grinded to destruction.

"“Why weren't new item rewards applied to Trouble Brewing, Mobilising Armies or Vinesweeper?”
Mod Raven: We didn't have the time to update every single minigame.

Mod Mark: Perhaps later, although games like Trouble Brewing need a total redesign before we wre willing to add anything new to it.

"“Can you please allow more than one person to pass through the Burgh de Rott gate at once? It gets really annoying when there are 50+ people trying to pass at the same time."“
Mod Mark: Sure. I'll add that to the list for the next improvements week.