One of the worst teases in a game for me is to see a place and not be able to go and explore it. RuneScape players have experienced that to the 12th degree! Not only were the walls and gate of the city of Menaphos erected 12 years ago with no way for players to get inside but different quests in the game would hint at the story that existed behind those unbreachable walls. And as of today, fans can finally get through those gates and experience the city.
But before the city gates opened up permanently, Jagex slipped me in for a guided tour of Menaphos, the Golden City. While I wasn’t able to play the game myself, I got see the sights and learn many things about the game’s first ever expansion from Jon Wilcox (senior communications manager), Dave Osbourne (lead designer), Joseph Redstall (product manager for the Menaphos expansion), and Benjamin Luff (gameplay development graduate.
The first-ever expansion
If you are unfamiliar with RuneScape, you may wonder how in high heavens a game could possibly go for 16 years without an expansion. It’s because this game actually did smaller weekly updates. Understandably, that content was isolated pieces: a new skill, a new quest, a new area, or whatnot. Menaphos is the first (but not the last!) time that devs are bundling those all things together as one cohesive story-driven experience. Why change now? Because players asked for it. And Jagex is big on delivering what players want. Just take a look at Old School RuneScape!
The idea for bundling content together for larger expansions was proposed by a player at the end of RuneLabs, the forum space where devs solicit player ideas. Of course, the team couldn’t actually make such a drastic change without the support of the player base as a whole since it would mean no content updates for long chunks of time. The idea for the Menaphos expansion was proposed at RuneFest 2016, and attendees showed overwhelming support. Then a subsequent player poll showed 90% were in favor. Thus, expansions were born.
What will players find once they finally breach those gates? The Mephanos, City of Gold expansion is — as Wilcox put it — themed very much like an Indiana Jones-type adventure. The story is about corruption seeping in and how it affects the gods and the Pharaoh. It’s geared toward mid- and high-level players, but new folks can also access the city to experience parts of it. To do so, players need to complete three quests (which total about five hours of game time) in order to get the narrative context of Menaphos.
It is important to note that while the city itself is open to all, the main content of the expansion is for members only, meaning players will have to be subscribed to participate in it fully. Members will have access to the four new quests as well as all the new dynamic quests, called city quests, that are are procedurally generated for gaining reputation with the different city factions. These city quests will be reminiscent of the Fed Ex and fetch quests that other MMOs have long employed, but the main four follow RuneScape’s familiar formula of being “meaningful adventures that last, roughly on average between 75 and 90 minutes” according to Wilcox.
Even with all the added content at once, the devs expressed that they were proud of the fact that the new expansion doesn’t come with a huge download, and that the game is accessible on most computers. Some players even continue to play via browser, although the team is hoping more will continue to transition to the game client like many did exactly that after the big NXT update last year.
Impressions of Menaphos
I could spill all the nitty gritty details of the expansion, but that would take the fun out of exploring it for yourself. Fun fact: The devs actually emphasized that they will always refrain from revealing everything because the community has requested that some things be a surprise. So in keeping with that spirit, I’ll focus on the generalities and my impressions.
I can see totally how Menaphos is going to be the place to be. It seems to have something for everyone. There is of course the story line and quests, but that’s just the start. The slayer dungeon is a place to show off combat prowess while The Shifting Tombs is a non-combat bit of endgame that elicits its own adrenaline rush. Those who like to explore have collection quests (Round up all those cats! Find all those gems!) as well as NPCs scattered about who will grant those city quests. The city has a 5% skilling buff throughout, and new mining, woodcutting, hunter, and thieving skilling activities are available. There are open areas for congregating, artisan equipment for crafting, and all the amenities you need for a bustling hub like banks, merchants, and the game’s third grand exchange. It even has a giant library that will be filled with books all written by players! (More fun facts: The devs shared that there were so many quality submissions that they can’t even fit all of the books into that massive space.) I totally want to go settle in by the library’s pool and just immerse myself in those stories.
Despite its desert setting, the city itself is very vibrant with color and even lush vegetation. It also sports more verticality than other cities in the game. Although my character is pretty low level, I am most looking forward to just exploring all the nooks and crannies (it was emphasized that you can go into every house) as well as hunting down those shinies… er collections. After watching a partial run through of The Shifting Tombs, I am even more excited to jump in and try my hand at gathering all the goodies and solving those puzzles. I’m pretty sure that race against time will get my heart pumping plenty.
I also look forward to meeting Krondis for myself, the goddess of life’s pleasures who is now hoarding those bounties thanks to the corruption instead of sharing. I’m planning on taking a selfie with the camel warrior (yes, he’s an actual camel), whose job is to help guide players to where to find city quests. I am really sold on working on any reputation, but I know it all ties into the story so that just might sway me. And I want to swim Scrooge McDuck-style in the piles of gold at the Pharaoh’s throne. Too bad that’s isn’t an option.
Not to completely outshine its surroundings, Menaphos’ neighbors also got a fresh coat of paint. Both the city of Sophonem across the way and the expanse of desert got visual updates.
Free weekend
Want to check out Menaphos? You can this weekend even if you are a free player; Jagex is giving all players the opportunity to opt into free weekend from June 9th through the 12th in order to play all the new content., along with everything in the rest of the game.
