Jebrim

My thoughts on Reignited The main reason I don’t like Reignited is because it splits the community, segregating players from engaging with each other, preventing potential friendships and memories from forming. That’s with the hopeful assumption that one gamemode doesn’t just cannibalise the other. I would argue RuneScape was only a year away from growing again, especially with how STACKED the 2027 roadmap was. Keep in mind, the game is only 1 year into the Road to Restoration, where a short term dip was expected in exchange for a better future. • It took OSRS 2 years to grow again after its initial stagnant decline. • It took FFXIV 3 years to get players back after its disastrous launch. • It took Path of Exile 4 years to go from nothing to being one of the biggest ARPGs. These games prove that consistent, high quality updates that satisfy the core player base will naturally attract new players, and past controversies like MTX previously existing will be overlooked if the game is good enough. The main game currently has a lot of economical scarcities, with its players spread thin across the vast amount of content. This would mean that Reignited would need to have at the very least more players than the main game to have a functioning economy, which would likely kill the main game off, especially when considering that most new players would likely create their character in Reignited. On the other hand, If Reignited doesn’t have enough players, there will be severe cases of scarcity, causing unreasonable price ranges which would lead to unhealthy merching and monopolisation. Integrity isn't just all about MTX and P2W features, it's also about balance and the overall value of XP, which is what creates fulfilling grinds. Runescape is currently not in a great place in that regard, with the Road to Restoration still in progress, notably when considering how overpowered AFKing is right now. For someone whose main issue with Runescape is integrity, this realisation alone could very likely be a deal breaker. I'm not arbitrarily attached to my achievements, I’m attached to the memories they represent. I can look at my Woodcutting level and remember the 99 party I threw with my first few friends back in 2006, and I can look at my Red Halloween Mask, knowing how much time I spent making money just to get my hands on it, and how incredibly giddy I felt when that trade screen finally got accepted. Social media is not a reliable indicator of how successful a launch will be. We've seen plenty of single player games generate a lot of positivity prior to its release with barely any actual players on launch. This usually happens because people like the idea of something more than they're willing to actually play it, which can mislead creators during development. The existing community's voices in contrast feel far more reliable about what will happen in reality, as we saw with the mass exodus during Hero Pass. I don’t like the certainty of some people suggesting that the game would be shut down if not for the potential success of Reginited. It’s definitely a possibility but let’s not pretend that Jagex have never made out of touch monetary promotions that were clearly not necessary. If players knew that the game would die without Reignited and there was truly no alternative, of course most players would sacrifice their accounts, but most don’t trust that’s the case and there’s precedent for that skepticism. If they need to boost their numbers and engagement rate for the quarterly review, I think a more healthy approach would’ve been to introduce the games first ever official free week or weekend, letting players experience the full game without the need for membership. That's one of the most common reasons I hear from people who are interested in the game but never try it and I’m sure a decent chunk of those free players will convert into long term members after they get a taste of the game. From a business perspective, Reignited could be a great way to surge revenue in the short term. However, this action represents a massive risk, and it comes at the cost of undermining veteran players who have stuck with the game through thick and thin after Jagex has done so well to regain their trust in the past year with the Road to Restoration and great updates. Unfortunately, I think this is yet another case of misleading expectation as these are the quotes I could find related to this announcement over the past 3 months of them teasing it. • We’re planning something • We have greater ambitions • Put us firmly back on the map • It’s the ultimate reason to welcome back old and new friends • We’ll be respecting the old guard • We have a desire to see home worlds thriving • It will unlock Runescape’s true potential That kind of hype would’ve perfectly fit the announcement of plugins but since that was already known, I thought the only possible update that it could be was improving the F2P experience and expanding its accessible content. This announcement feels like Pandora’s box has been opened, if they walk it back, the potential new players Reignited could've attracted may never give the game a real shot, with their trust and excitement crushed. If they follow through with the announcement, veteran players will feel neglected, their time wasted, and their achievements devalued. Another likely result would be that Reignited eventually gets merged with the main game if it’s not successful, which might not be great for the long term reputation of the game. My suggestion would be giving Reignited players their own exclusive Highscores and their own Grand Exchange with the option of merging down the road if the economy isn’t doing well. However, letting players interact and play with each other is a core part of the essence of an MMORPG, even if it means compromising a bit on integrity. I might make this into a video because holy yap!