Shape-Shifting and the End of 1-on-1 Trading?
Shape-shifting is probably one of the most underused magical abilities in games. Considering it could be used in an incredible variety of ways, I’ve always wondered why it hasn’t been added to some of the more popular games in a larger fashion. The possibilities are truly endless, with the option of becoming a demon and participating in a battle tournament to rule hell, or becoming a fairy to aid in the manufacture of a brand new Fairy Ring. Until a week or so ago, the closest thing to shape-shifting in RuneScape was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with the stone golem in “One Small Favour” being close behind. Last week, though, we found our characters gain the ability to turn into a Goblin. Perhaps it’s not the most amazing transformation we can imagine, but it certainly got me thinking.
Anyone who’s done the most recent quest, “Land of the Goblins”, will know that as part of it you need to create a potion which transforms you into one of 6 kinds of Goblin, which in turn, allows you to gain access to a Goblin Temple – housing 6 Goblin tribes and a new “Bandos Altar”, which you can use to recharge your prayer after completion of the quest. There were a number of things which I found interesting with regards to this new ability, the first being that you made a potion through the herblore skill, the second being you could choose from a number of types of goblin to transform into for the quest alone. Why a potion, and why the ability to choose your look? There would be no point in being able to choose an appearance if there was no use for it, and currently, there isn’t, other than being able to recharge your prayer in a really obscure place. It may be that certain NPCs will ‘remember’ what goblin you transformed into, and so would not recognise you again if you chose another option after morphing and talking to them again. Of course, I have been unable to experiment with this.
Herblore is one of my favourite skills, others being Smithing, Construction and quite obviously, Slayer, and it’s rare that I think about what potions could be added into the skill to make it more interesting. Let’s be frank here, the variety is certainly limited, with a lot of them simply being an upgrade to a lower levelled potion. Though with this new Goblin Transmogrification potion, it got me thinking about what other potions like this could be implemented into Herblore, and why. It’s worth noting that the use of this potion is fairly limited; you’re only allowed to use it in the goblin dungeon near the fishing guild. The potion is also ‘hidden’ on the Herblore menu, meaning that these potions could probably all be quest reliant, meaning no Lesser Demons in Ardougne, or Dragonkin in Lumbridge, a shame. However, these potions, should they exist, may allow us entrance into special areas, though hopefully they’ll be more useful than the goblin one. Imagine being able to become one of the ThZaar, gaining entry to the inner city which is currently blocked off, or even an elf to sneak into the city of Prifddinas, to take out the Elven Overlords from the inside out. There are hundreds of possibilities shape-shifting can introduce to the game, hopefully Jagex will come up with something unique and exciting, though, there is one thing which may become a problem. The berries used in creating the Goblin potion are given to you by the make-over mage, and he implies that they’re really rare and hard to get. Maybe a new farming quest to find seeds for these berries may unlock a whole new subdivision of herblore?
Though, since I haven’t updated in a while, I have also been able to think about the new Duel Tournaments updated just yesterday. Though not much can be theorized about as I wouldn’t have expected it require too much of a change to the game engine, the latest change to 1-on-1 duels has sparked some theories on Jagex’s intentions for the near future. I have seen quite a few topics, though not as many as are in rants, predicting that Jagex is planning to remove 1-on-1 trading. Now, before you jump to conclusions and think “Wow, that’d suck”, think for a moment and read on. This would kill real world item trading, no longer would you be chased down in Falador by some guy shouting “buy ur chain”, item scamming? Seemingly impossible. Yes, it will considerably cut down the amount of interaction between players, and it will be very hard to get used to if it happens, but I see a lot of good things which could come out of it. Players will only buy/sell things to others through the Grand Exchange, dueling will no longer be a way for Gold Farmers to deliver their goods to cheaters and real world item trading will hopefully come to a halt! Of course, anything can happen, and I’m just theorizing, but watch this space as I’m very interested in this.
Until next time;
Anubis.
Apparently you haven’t done the monkey madness quest yet. Since you were on the topic of shape-shifting, I expected the aspect of that quest to also exist, but unfortunately, it didn’t.
This quest gives you the means to shape-shift using a weapon-like equipment. Though it is not quite as flexible as the goblin potion, where you can actually change armor and stuff, the concept in itself is there.
Let’s also not forget the metamorphosis rings: The Ring of Stone and the Ring of Egg. They work practically anywhere, without you actually putting it on, but once you move or do anything, it turns off.
The reason for such limited transformations is, like you said, Jagex doesn’t want to give the wrong impression to other players by letting people transform into Dragonkin inside of Lumbridge. It would scare them off, or encourage foul play.
Then again, it would definitely encourage those intimidated, or rather awed, to perform those quests and tasks, and thereby encourage others to become members. Not just that, but the flexibility involved here is endless.
So yes, I agree with you that Jagex are practically sitting on a gold mine, unaware that this concept is unique in itself and will inspire more to play.
Here’s my idea. Personally, I think they should make it a skill in itself, where one can transform into a number of beings and performing tasks in these forms gives them added on exp while benefiting and restricting certain activities. For example, one can transform into a dwarf. They could mine the rock slightly faster, but their speed and energy is diminished. Plus, they can’t eat certain foods. However, when they extract rocks, they get Shape-Shifting exp as well as mining exp, though not as much.
All I can do is hope. I’m not Jagex, so I can’t tell them what to do. But heck, at least I can advise.
hmmmm, i wonder if summoning is the start of shape shifting?