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Aaron (RuneAd Owner) | 11.26.20

How exactly do Combat Achievements work?

Much like the normal Achievement Diaries, Combat Achievements are split into different tiers of tasks, increasing in difficulty as they progress. There are a lot of bosses and monsters within Old School, so unlike Achievement Diaries' four tiers, Combat Achievements will have six.

A WIP image of the Combat Achievements Overview Interface using placeholder graphics. Clicking on the different tiers will automatically filter all tasks. There is also a section showing some of your PvM accomplishments!

See below for a breakdown of the different tiers and an example of some of the requirements you might expect to be able to fully complete that tier:

• Note: below requirements not intended to be a direct reflection of what is required, they are more of a recommendation for how progressed a typical account may be based on the content you'd likely need to complete.Easy
• Base 60 Combat stats
• 50 Slayer
• Dragon Slayer
• Medium
• Base 70 Combat stats
• 69 Slayer
• Monkey Madness II
• Hard
• Base 80 Combat stats
• 85 Slayer
• Dragon Slayer II
• Elite
• Base 90 Combat stats
• 91 Slayer
• Song of the Elves
• Master
• Base 90+ Combat stats
• 95 Slayer
• Raiding experience and an understanding of most bosses within the game
• Grandmaster
• Maxed Combat stats
• All previous requirements
• Experienced with all PvM activities within game
• This tier will take our hardest content in the game and push players to their limits. If you thought the Infernal Cape was the difficulty limit, think again!

The additional tiers mean we can be more flexible in our approach with the tasks. Lower tiers are designed to help introduce new and less experienced players into PvM activities, giving them a taste of what combat in the game has to offer. But Master and Grandmaster tiers give us the ability to provide tasks challenging enough to stretch even the most veteran players.

There has been lots of discussion within the community about Combat Achievements being available to all players, even those who intentionally choose to limit their account. Whilst we want it to be available to as many players as possible, some in-game encounters are locked behind requirements that not every account type can access. Naturally, because of this there will be certain tasks that limited account builds will not be able to complete, but where possible we'd like to offer players an alternative option to completing a specific task that would otherwise be impossible. With this in mind, we'd like to propose that account builds with limited Defence levels would be able to fully complete everything up to the Hard tier of Combat Achievements.

Tasks

Now that youve seen the different tiers available, lets take a look into what you can expect from the tasks required to complete them.

Its important we find the right balance between creating tasks that are difficult for groups but also not impossible for solo players. By the same token, we must also avoid creating tasks that are hard to complete solo, yet trivial for groups.

A WIP image of the Combat Achievements Tasks interface using placeholder graphics. You can filter tasks by Tier, Type, Monster or their current Completion state. Clicking on a particular task gives more information on what is required for completion.

Most tasks within Combat Achievements will rely on your ability to complete them alone. There are some exceptions to this, especially when the content itself is designed specifically for groups. Examples include:

• All kill count tasks
• Any previously earnt kill count will carry over and count towards task completions, should Combat Achievements pass the poll.
• Some speed tasks
• Some speed task completions will carry over and count towards task completions, should Combat Achievements pass the poll.
• Most Raids tasks
• There will be tasks for varying group sizes for both Chambers of Xeric and Theatre of Blood
• Most Nightmare of Ashihama tasks

A WIP image of the Combat Achievements Boss Overview interface using placeholder graphics. Players can find detailed information about the bosses including requirements to defeat them and their drops. Clicking the 'Map' button opens the world map at the location of the boss, too!

Tasks are sorted into categories based on the requirements. Here is an example of the categories and corresponding tasks you might expect to see with Combat Achievements:

Task TypeDescriptionExampleKill CountKill a boss a certain number of timesKill 5 OborKill 50 Giant MoleComplete 250 Chambers of XericSpeedKill a boss within a certain amount of timeKill the Grotesque Guardians in less than 1 minute 30 secondsKill Vorkath in less than 1 minute 10 secondsKill Zulrah in less than 50 secondsRestricted Item(s)Complete the task without ever using that itemSuccessfully clear the Fight Caves without any ranged weaponsSuccessfully clear the Theatre of Blood without anyone using a Scythe of ViturKill Callisto without using VeracsSpecific Item(s)Complete the task while only using a specific item(s)Kill Giant mole with full Dharoks onlyKill General Graardor with mage onlyKill Venenatis with a Magic Shortbow onlyNo DamageKill a boss without taking any damage, either at all or from certain NPCs in the encounterKill Zulrah taking no damage from venom cloudsKill Commander Zilyana without taking any damageKill General Graardor taking no damage from minionsArea Restriction / Stamina Kill a boss X times without leaving Y placeKill Kree'arra 25 times without leaving the roomKill General Graardor 15 times without leaving the roomKill the Grotesque Guardians 20 times without leaving the instanceMechanic SpecificDefeat a boss in a way that hints at how you're supposed to interact with the boss, or tasks the player to kill the boss in a specific, difficult wayKill Skotizo with none of the four pillars aliveKill Giant mole with Protect from Melee activeKill Sarachnis without killing her spiderlings

Poll Question #1

Should Combat Achievements, a new system that tasks players with defeating various bosses throughout Gielinor in multiple ways and of varying difficulty, be added to the game? Completion of Combat Achievements will not be required in obtaining the Achievement Diary cape.

Rewards

Complete all of the tasks within a tier to receive a reward. It wouldnt be much of an achievement if you were unable to brag about your accomplishments, so lets take a look at the proposed rewards on offer with Combat Achievements.

The following rewards would only be obtained once all of the tasks within the relevant tier of Combat Achievements have been completed.

XP Lamps

Much like the normal Achievement Diaries, XP lamps are given that scale in experience as you progress through the tiers. These can be used to gain experience in any skill of your choice over a certain level. The following XP lamps would be available:

• Easy Tier - 5k experience in any skill above level 20
• Medium Tier - 10k experience in any skill above level 30
• Hard Tier - 15k experience in any skill above level 40
• Elite Tier - 25k experience in any skill above level 50
• Master Tier - 35k experience in any skill above level 60
• Grandmaster Tier - 50k experience in any skill above level 70

Poll Question #2

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should each fully completed tier of tasks reward players with an XP lamp? The amount of experience given would increase as you progress through the different tiers.

Increased Clue Scroll Drop Rate

We propose a 5% increased chance to receive Clue Scrolls you would normally get from drops, with the type of clue changing based on which tier of tasks you had completed. Any skilling or PvM activity would benefit from this increased chance.

Clue scrolls obtained from Impling Jars or from Clue Caskets would not benefit from this increase.

• Easy Tier - 5% increased drop chance for Easy Clues
• Medium Tier - 5% increased drop chance for Medium Clues
• Hard Tier - 5% increased drop chance for Hard Clues
• Elite Tier - 5% increased drop chance for Elite Clues

Poll Question #3

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should each fully completed tier of tasks give players a 5% increased chance of receiving Clue Scrolls from PvM and Skilling activities as described? Clue scrolls obtained from Impling Jars or from Clue Caskets would not benefit from this increase.

Like a Boss Upgrade

Players who have unlocked the 'Like a Boss' Slayer ability are able to receive boss monster tasks from certain Slayer Masters. The maximum number of boss kills that can be assigned for most tasks is currently 35. As you master the art of boss slaying, each fully completed tier of tasks increases the maximum number of all bosses that can be assigned when 'Like a Boss' is unlocked. 

• Easy Tier - +2 to maximum bosses assigned
• Medium Tier - +4 to maximum bosses assigned
• Hard Tier - +6 maximum bosses assigned
• Elite Tier - +8 maximum bosses assigned
• Master Tier - +11 maximum bosses assigned
• Grandmaster Tier - +15 maximum bosses assigned

In addition to the above, we can also extend the number of TzTok-Jad and TzKal-Zuk kills you'd normally be assigned when choosing the option after getting a TzHaar task. Failing to defeat either of the bosses would still result in losing the assigned kill, but you'd be able to jump straight back in for another attempt!

• Master Tier - +1 to maximum number of TzTok-Jad and TzKal-Zuk assigned
• Grandmaster Tier - +2 to maximum number of TzTok-Jad and TzKal-Zuk assigned

Poll Question #4

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should each fully completed tier of tasks increase the maximum number of all bosses that can be assigned by a Slayer Master when 'Like a Boss' is unlocked?

Poll Question #5

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should completing all tasks within the Master and Grandmaster tiers increase the maximum number of TzTok-Jad and TzKal-Zuk that can be assigned? Master tier would grant an additional assigned kill, and Grandmaster would grant an additional two assigned kills. Failing to defeat either assigned boss would result in losing one of the assigned kills.

New Slayer Helmet Designs

Spruce up your Slayer look with new Slayer Helmet designs for the highest achievement tiers. Players who complete all tasks in the Elite, Master and Grandmaster tiers will gain access to some of the most prestigious Slayer Helmets in all of Gielinor.

• Elite Tier - TzTok-Jad
• Master Tier - Lady Verzik Vitur
• Grandmaster TzKal-Zuk

Poll Question #6

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should completing all tasks within the Elite, Master and Grandmaster tiers unlock new Slayer Helmet designs? The designs would be based around TzTok-Jad for Elite tier, Lady Verzik Vitur for Master tier and TzKal-Zuk for Grandmaster tier.

Accuracy Based Offhand

Wed like to reward willing adventurers with a new offhand blade that excels in providing increased Melee accuracy in combat. Whilst it would offer no defensive or offensive bonuses outside of Melee accuracy, each fully completed tier of tasks further enhances your ability with the item, unlocking more accuracy as a result. Have an idea for what the offhand should be called? Get in touch via one of the feedback links at the bottom of this post!

• Easy Tier - +15 to Stab, Slash and Crush attacks
• Medium Tier - +20 to Stab, Slash and Crush attacks
• Hard Tier - +25 to Stab, Slash and Crush attacks
• Elite Tier - +30 to Stab, Slash and Crush attacks
• Master Tier - +35 to Stab, Slash and Crush attacks
• Grandmaster Tier - +40 to Stab, Slash and Crush attacks

Poll Question #7

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should a new offhand that excels in providing increased Melee accuracy also be added to the game? This would provide an increasing amount of Stab, Slash and Crush attacks for each fully completed tier of tasks, but has no defensive or strength bonuses.

New Teleport Locations

New teleport locations have proven to be a popular request within the community, and wed like to offer some with Combat Achievements.

God Wars Dungeon

The location for this teleport would beside the large boulder blocking the way in to the God Wars Dungeon. Each fully completed tier of tasks increases the number of teleports available.

• Easy Tier - 3 daily teleports
• Medium Tier - 5 daily teleports
• Hard, Elite, Master & Grandmaster Tier - Unlimited daily teleports

Poll Question #8

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should each fully completed tier of tasks unlock daily teleports to the boulder outside God Wars Dungeon? Completion of the Easy tier would grant three daily teleports, Medium would grant five, and tiers Hard and above would unlock unlimited daily teleports.

Mor Ul Rek

The Tzhaar city and home of the infamous TzKal-Zuk. For those of you wanting to gain faster access to one of Old Schools most difficult challenges, fully completing all tasks within the Elite tier and above will grant you daily teleports to the inner ring of Mor Ul Rek.

• Elite Tier - 3 daily teleports
• Master Tier - 5 daily teleports
• Grandmaster Tier - Unlimited daily teleports

Poll Question #9

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should completing all tasks within the Elite tier and above unlock daily teleports to the inner ring of Mor Ul Rek? Completion of the Elite tier would grant three daily teleports, Master would grant five, and Grandmaster would unlock unlimited daily teleports.

God Wars Dungeon Improvements

For many, the God Wars Dungeon has served as a proving grounds for aspiring boss Slayers. Packed full of creatures to slay and bosses to fell, youll be spending some time here throughout your journey toward completing the Combat Achievement tiers. In return, youll find some improvements to the area with reduced follower kill count requirements, increased drop rates of Ecumenical Keys and for a small fee, personal instances for each of the God chambers would be made available.

Reduced Kill Count

Upon completion of all tasks within the Hard tier and above, players will be able to enter the various God chambers with a slightly reduced follower kill count.

• Hard Tier - Follower kill count reduced by 2
• Elite Tier - Follower kill count reduced by 4
• Master Tier - Follower kill count reduced by 7
• Grandmaster Tier - Follower kill count reduced by 10

Poll Question #10

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should completing all tasks within the Hard tier and above allow players to enter the various God chambers with a slightly reduced follower kill count? Completion of the Hard tier would reduce the requirement by two kills, Elite by four, Master by seven and Grandmaster would reduce it by 10.

Increased Ecumenical Key Drop Rate

The current drop rate for Ecumenical Keys is 1/60. Upon completion of all tasks within the Hard tier and above, players will gain access to an improved drop rate as per the below:

• Hard Tier - 1/55 chance to receive a key
• Elite Tier - 1/50 chance to receive a key
• Master Tier - 1/45 chance to receive a key
• Grandmaster Tier - 1/40 chance to receive a key

Poll Question #11

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should completing all tasks within the Hard tier and above give players an increased drop rate for Ecumenical Keys? Completion of the Hard tier would change to a 1/55 chance, Elite to 1/50, Master to 1/45 and Grandmaster would change to a 1/40 chance.

Boss Chamber Instances

Overcrowding and players crashing one another within God Wars Dungeon has been an increasing problem. There has been a demand to add private instances to the various boss chambers, but there are also concerns over how powerful adding these may be. With Combat Achievements, we feel it's the perfect opportunity to finally be able to offer them, whilst managing the wider impact by locking the instance options behind content that a typical player would complete on their journey to needing them.

Upon completion of all tasks within the Hard tier and above, players will gain access to personal instance for the boss chambers with God Wars Dungeon. There is a price to pay for your privacy however, but progressing through the tiers will reduce this slightly. See below for the proposed costs to open a personal God Wars Dungeon instance.

• Hard Tier - 150k coins and the required minion kill count
• Elite Tier - 125k coins and the required minion kill count
• Master Tier - 100k coins and the required minion kill count
• Grandmaster Tier - 75k coins and the required minion kill count

Alternatively, players who'd rather skip the required minion kill count can do so by sacrificing an Ecunemical Key alongside some coins.

• Hard Tier - 150k coins and an Ecumenical Key
• Elite Tier - 125k coins and an Ecumenical Key
• Master Tier - 100k coins and an Ecumenical Key
• Grandmaster Tier - 75k coins and an Ecumenical Key

Note: as the name suggests, personal instances provided by Combat Achievements will be for solo players only.

Poll Question #11

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should completing all tasks within the Hard tier and above give players access to a personal instance for each of the boss chambers within God Wars Dungeon? These instances would cost coins and the required minion kill count, or coins and an Ecumenical Key to enter. These instances would be for solo players only.

There are many private instance options throughout Gielinor that require coins in order to access. We'd like to make this more accessible for all players, whilst promoting more opportunities for item sinks. We'd do this by allowing the fee to be taken directly from Death's Coffer, should you have the available funds.

Poll Question #12

Should players be able to pay the coins fee for private instances by taking it directly from Death's Coffer, should they have the available funds? This would apply to all current and future private instances throughout the game.

New Dragon Hunter Crossbow Designs

When we asked the community for reward ideas, a popular suggestion was to revisit the various Dragon Hunter Crossbow variants created by Mod West. Players that complete the Hard and Elite tiers of Combat Achievement will unlock access to exclusive Vorkath and King Black Dragon versions of the Dragon Hunter Crossbow.

A WIP image of proposed new Dragon Hunter Crossbow designs.

• Hard Tier - unlock the ability to combine a King Black Dragon head with the Dragon Hunter Crossbow
• Elite Tier - unlock the ability to combine a Vortkath head with the Dragon Hunter Crossbow

Note: Combining these items with the Dragon Hunter Crossbow offers no additional bonuses and is for cosmetic purposes only.

Poll Question #13

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should completing all tasks within the Hard tier reward players with the ability to combine a King Black Dragon head with the Dragon Hunter Crossbow as shown in the image? Combining these items offers no additional bonuses and is for cosmetic purposes only.

Poll Question #14

If Combat Achievements are added to the game, should completing all tasks within the Elite tier reward players with the ability to combine a Vorkath head with the Dragon Hunter Crossbow as shown in the image? Combining these items offers no additional bonuses and is for cosmetic purposes only.

Combat Achievements: A Note on the Future

Since we released the blog earlier this week, we've had a fair few comments asking how we're going to approach new content should Combat Achievements pass the poll. While we won't start the full development until it passes, there are some considerations we're already taking into account.

• New bosses and challenges will be added into the respective tiers, but only when they have 'settled' following the update they arrived in. With Old School RuneScape being a living game that is constantly changing based on player feedback, it's highly likely content will be altered slightly after it is released. We'd take this into account before adding any new tasks to Combat Achievements.
• Where we are able to add new tasks with future content releases, we will avoid adding anything that could potentially spoil content. This is especially important to consider with new encounters, as we'd rather not reveal their mechanics until you've had the chance to experience them first!
• We'll be mindful of any changes to content that could make a previously challenging task unintentionally easier.

A New Challenge Approaches

It wouldnt be a true Combat focused update if we werent offering you a new challenge to go alongside it, would it? Luckily there are many new challenges included within Combat Achievements that will test your PvM prowess.

While on the topic of new challenges, we'd like to take this opportunity to talk about another combat related update separate from Combat Achievements...

Following a series of failed experiments by the TzHaar, a number of eggs from TzTok-Jad were hatched inside the Inferno. From these eggs came the JalTok-Jads. These creatures are stronger and far more aggressive than TzTok-Jad, and the TzHaar are struggling to deal with them. To help with this, TzHaar-Ket-Rak has challenged any who believe themselves brave enough to enter the Inferno and tackle the JalTok-Jads.

Within the inner city of Mor Ul Rek, players will find TzHaar-Ket-Rak. After a short introduction, he will allow players to take on his challenges. There are six in total, with each seeing the player fight a number of JalTok-Jads. Adventurers must complete the previous challenge to unlock the next. The first two challenges are open to anyone who can access the Mor Ul Rek inner city (unlocked upon showing a Fire Cape to the TzHaar guarding the entrance). The final four challenges require completion of the Inferno.

Much like the Inferno, TzHaar-Ket-Rak's six challenges are considered safe, so players can attempt them without worrying about the effects of death (HCIM rejoice!).

A WIP image of the 6-Jad challenge.

Think you have what it takes to defeat SIX JalTok-Jads at the same time? If youre successful, youll find yourself rewarded with a new JalRek-Jad transmog for the TzRek-Jad pet. You will also receive some Tokkul for each JalTok-Jad killed. The transmog is awarded upon your first completion of the challenge, rather than it being a chance drop. While we did consider the latter, we feel the true replayability value of this challenge is pushing for faster completions.

A WIP image of the JalRek-Jad transmog for the TzRek-Jad pet.

A scoreboard nearby will show personal and global stats for kills, deaths and best times. Who do you think will be the fastest at completing the challenge?

Note: While we're offering the Six JalTok-Jad Challenge within this blog, it is not dependant upon Combat Achievements. Should both the challenge and Combat Achievements pass in the polls, the Six JalTok-Jad Challenge would be released after Combat Achievements.

Poll Question #15

Should TzHaar-Ket-Rak's Six JalTok-Jad Challenge, a new PvM encounter within Mor Ul Rek, be added to the game? Each challenge includes defeating a number of JalTok-Jads, climbing until there are six at the same time. Completing this challenge unlocks a new JalRek-Jad transmog for the TzRek-Jad pet.

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