Monday, April 30, 2007

Runescape Barbarian Assault

Barbarian Assault mini game in runescape is another team focussed game Jagex introduced as a means of appeasing groups of people who enjoy playing the game together. I am not sure if it is how Jagex will handle all future requests for runescape clan support, although given they have had several requests over the years and so far no strong clan support features have been implemented, it stands to reason that group games are likely to be as much as Jagex will do for bringing clan support into runescape.

The barbarian assault has various roles that need filled by each team member:

  • Attacker Role
  • Defender Role
  • Healer Role
  • Collector Role
Attacker Role Outlined:
The attacker will rely on the collector for information on which style of fighting should be used to successfully defeat the Penance. The role simply requires the attacker to slay the Penance using the correct method given to them by the collector.

Defender Role Outlined:
The defender aim is to eliminate Penance runners by luring them on to traps at the east and west side of the assault cavern. The defender will be told what food is needed for bait by the healer as well as having to repair traps when required.

Healer Role Outlined:
The role of the healer in the barbarian assault mini game on runescape is a duel role. The first role is to ensure that nobody dies from their team and secondly to poison the Penance healers. The healer should also communicate with the defender by using their horn to relay the required information to enable the defender to eliminate Penance runners effectively.

Collector Role Outlined:
The collector on the runescape barbarian assault mini game performs the role of collecting eggs left by the Penance as they are slain. The attacker should communicate with the collector to ensure the correct eggs are collected up as well as telling the attacker what method of attack is required for each Penance.

As players reach the 10th wave, they will face the Penance Queen. The egg launcher loaded with Omega Eggs should be used. Healers will be required as the Queen can do large amounts of damage. At least one level 5 healer is suggested.

Rewards:

To get your rewards for playing the game, talk to Commander Connad and select 'get-rewards'. Here will be a list of the things that you can achieve with your 'honour points'. Honour Points are rewarded at the end of each wave. The more effort you and your team puts into the game, the more honour points you and your team will receive.

Levels can be gained by trading in the honour points in exchange for better levels. This will enable a team to become more effective as they gain experience and it will lead to defeating the queen with more ease.

In addition to levels, there are various pieces of armour available as well that also cost points. Again this will help improve the overall efficiency of the team as they become more experienced.

Gambling

It is also possible to gamble your points. You can win anything - from bronze arrows to a dragon chainmail (which is extremely rare).

  • Low item gamble - 200 points
  • Medium item gamble - 400 points
  • High item gamble - 500 points and Kill Queen
Overall, the barbarian assault mini game in runescape is just OK in my opinion. There are many things that could be done to improve it or extend it. Hopefully Jagex do consider clan support rather than only adding additional mini games as team mini games can become very limiting for players who struggle to get specific numbers of friends online at the same time and want to take part in the game.

On top of that, there is no need to make mini games have any degree of complexity. It would be good for more mini games to reward specific skill experience that reduced the time required to raise levels. However, if Jagex are intent on increasing and expanding the playability of runescape, they are simply looking at introducing more mini games that will try and tempt players away from levelling skills in order to prolong that players lifetime objective of achieving maximum skill levels.

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