Well, they went and they did it. After working so hard on a brand new, wicked awesome combat system that triumphs over the old click-and-wait method with some great dynamics, animations, special effects, and strategy, our good friends at Jagex created a Legacy Mode that lets you return combat 98% back to the original boring click-and-wait method. Why? Beats me. I guess the complaints of a few were a lot louder than the praise of many. And they are. Guys, give praise to things done right, and keep on giving it, or else it will change.
Like all things, though, I like to enter with a positive attitude and give it ago. The beta icon came back up and I once again returned to what I call the Meta-Scape world. Where everything is free and you could reset your character at a whim. Just wander in and experience what it's like to be a super rich big shot who's not afraid to drop Godswords and party hats for others.
So, legacy mode. Just like as I remember it back in the days of Runescape Classic and OSRS. Each weapon has an attack speed based on its application and common sense. Eg: two rapiers are somewhat weak but will dish out rapid damage, while a larger sword like the Godsword is slower to swing, but deals much more massive damage with every strike. There are no techniques save for weapon-specific special attacks that you can activate and recharge after a long period of time. There is some strategy to the special attacks, though. Some give added effects or some just do intense damage. Reckon with legacy mode out, dragon claws and daggers will become popular again because of their awesome overwhelming damage multi-hit special.
The action bar is gone, you cannot customize the windows, and you see the return of the old classic menu bar. Everything has been restored in a state very close to the original visual style, order, and functionality. Aside from the mini-map having the new hotspot teleport icon, it's pretty much identical to what we originally had several years ago. If you've been playing long enough to remember it, anyways.
There's really not much else to say about the beta. You will have the option to toggle between the two modes, though I'm anticipating your character will have to pay a fee of some kind to do so, or do it at a specific location.
But why a beta, you may ask. All they're doing is reverting back to the old style of combat that we originally had, and still have, in the old school Runescape. Simply enough, it's to balance the game so it can support not just legacy or evolution of combat, but both almost simultaneously. It's to give us choice. We know what it's like, so why does it warrant a full blown beta and player-base testing?
It's a big change, because they're not simply removing something they've already put countless hours into. They're merging the old and new styles together so that you can toggle between them. This requires careful balancing and organization. Because of the fundamental difference in style, each weapon gets a second set of stats, as well as different speeds and such. Not to mention they also need to account for dual-wielding weapons; though I thought they were going to abolish dual-wielding capabilities from legacy users.
For a fairly long time, we've seen complaints from the community who don't like the new combat system. Apparently they outweighed the number of compliments praising the new combat system, which in my opinion, is very fun, exciting, and makes combat a lot more involved rather than a simple click-and-wait. Also, apparently old school Runescape wasn't enough either. No, it has to be the real game, and we need to have both the classic means of fighting for the nostalgics and the newer one for the newest generation of players.
So, the brilliant minds of Jagex are spending time and effort making this a reality. Trying their best to make everybody happy and content with their game. They listen to us. They really shouldn't be. This is their game; they can do what they want with it. They could've had the 200th quest out by now, or they could've made the Eastern Lands explorable. We already have the Old School method of combat, and there is a small team keeping it updated and exciting.
I respect them for that, but at the same time, I don't like that they feel they have to do it. Legacy mode really isn't necessary. The new form of combat triumphs over the old one in so many ways. Watching the old one again, with the old forms, positions and attack styles implemented from the latest update... I dunno, it looks kind of uninteresting.
It's being done, though, and I will not stop them. I don't like that it's a necessary step to appease the louder fans, but I like that we're going to have the option available. At the least, we will see the return of special attacks and another extra bit of strategy in our daily combat cycle, and I'm looking forward to that. Would be nice to be able to use my Saradomin Godsword to it's fullest extent again. And with this, we will finally have peace from those noisy individuals complaining that the Evolution of Combat ruined Runescape (... nah, we'll never have peace from them; so just don't listen).
And I really do hope it makes cannons wicked powerful again. Got my new royale cannon to try out.
Until next time;
Cheers, cannoneers!
This was originally posted as an
Informer Runescape article.
