Castle Wars



Castle Wars is a members-only activity released by Jagex on the 13 of December in 2004, but was added to the world map in the month previous to its release as a spoiler, with text explaining it was "Coming in December 2004". It is similar to Capture the flag, but with a RuneScape twist. Please note that this is a "Safe" activity. Upon death, you will  NOT  lose your items. Currently the official worlds for this activity are worlds 15, 24, 52, 82 and 166; although worlds 15 and 24 are the main worlds. The majority of Castle Wars players are high levels (combat levels over 85) so it may not be worth playing if you are below this level, unless you just want the tickets. It can be worthwhile just to use the catapults and to complete the Achievement Diary.

In January 2009, Castle Wars was voted the most popular player-versus-player activity in a poll.

Warning: The viewing orb which is usable in the castle wars lobby currently has a glitch. This glitch will possibly, when you are viewing, cause you damage back in the lobby once you come out of the viewing orb. If you die out in the lobby you WILL lose items, so please take care when using the viewing orb until the problem is fixed.

Travel
Castle Wars is found in the south-west corner of Kandarin and may be accessed via a number of ways:
 * Using a Ring of duelling to teleport directly to Castle Wars.
 * Travelling west from Yanille or Gu'Tanoth.
 * The Balloon transport system has an end point just north-east of the entrance.
 * By walking south-west from Ardougne.
 * Fairy ring code BKP teleports players south of the building.
 * Cross White Wolf Mountain and keep walking south-west.
 * Use the Mobilising Armies teleport and keep walking north.
 * Use the Spirit tree to teleport and walk south-east.

Help
Once you are in castle wars, you cannot take capes or helms into the arena, as the Zamorak/Saradomin cloak will be on you when you enter the waiting room and in the game. There is a bank chest on the east side of the entrance room of the building. In addition, food and pets cannot be taken into the arena (or anything which is "non-combat" for that matter), but potions can be.

Wizard's Mind Bombs cannot be taken into the game, however, as they are considered a non-combat item. To raise your magic level inside the arena, you should bring a much more expensive magic potion.

Game mechanics


The aim of Castle Wars is to take the enemy's standard, or flag, from their castle and return it to the standard in your own castle's keep, gaining 1 point each time. You must prevent the opposing team from taking your standard by blocking them from your castle (place barricades, lock doors or collapse tunnels underground), or by killing them. (Note: Your team has a maximum of 10 set barricades on the field). Slain players will respawn in the Starting area within the game, so both sides are constantly fighting with a near (if not totally) equal numbered team.

Also, be warned that there are "veterans" at this game that will take it more seriously than others. They often know all of the tricks of the game. If your team has more of them, you're more likely to win.

Tickets

 * Each game lasts for 20 minutes


 * The team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
 * You will gain two castle wars tickets if your team wins,
 * You will gain one ticket if the score is tied.
 * You will not gain or lose any tickets if your team loses.
 * You will not gain extra or lose any tickets if you kill another player or score a point.

Castle Wars tickets are redeemable for a number of decorative armours and other rewards only available through the game. To be successful in Castle Wars, it is better to have a higher combat level, but lower level players can focus on the defensive measures mentioned below.

Formations
When playing Castle Wars it is best to sort out who's going where. Mages using Ancient Magicks and high level rangers are normally put on the section near the catapult so they can kill potential flag-stealers quickly without getting killed themselves. Also when a ranger or mage runs out of ammo, they can use the catapult or turn melee and join the fight below.

Warriors tend to split up. Players levelling over 100 normally get the flag underground or above, if not they are normally found defending their flag. Warriors normally have an edge over rangers or mage. When a mage is defending the castle from the catapult the warrior may climb over the wall, using a rope and attack them. Due to low defence the warrior normally comes out on top. Lower levels (under 60) normally just go to get the flag but are normally killed in seconds by rangers or mages. Lower levels are also more well known for guarding their team's standard.

Restrictions


Players are only allowed combat items into the waiting area, including potions, runes and armour (with the exception of helmets, hats, pets, scarves and capes). Recently, Jagex has allowed players to bring in Castle wars tickets won for being on a winning or tying Castle Wars team to the Castle Wars activity, meaning that winning team members no longer need to rush to the bank chest after a game ends to deposit their tickets, and can go straight back to the portal. Food cannot be brought in, but bandages can be obtained within the arena - which are used to heal 10% of the player's max LP, cure poison and give approximately 30% energy. Alchemy spells cannot be used during the game along with Lunar spells such as Heal Other and Cure Other. Also Dwarf Multicannons cannot be brought into Castle Wars, as they are a non-combat item when unassembled. Originally, players were allowed to bring their pet cats into the arena, but after many players complained, Jagex removed this ability.

Unlike the Duel Arena, arrows will not be returned after each match. It is the player's responsibility to pick up any projectiles fired if they choose to do so. However, upon completion of Animal Magnetism players to speak to Lanthus in order to receive the effects of Ava's Device during play. Also, unlike Fist of Guthix, runes are not supplied.

Also, if players are wearing armours or prayer symbols/books of the three gods (Saradomin, Guthix, Zamorak), they will have strange effects on the wearer if they enter the wrong portal. Saradomin will turn a player into a hare if they are wearing a Zamorak or Guthix symbol or armour when entering his portal; Guthix will turn them into a sheep if they are wearing a Saradomin or Zamorak symbol or armour upon entering its portal; and Zamorak will turn them into an imp if they are wearing a Saradomin or Guthix symbol or armour when entering his portal. Players transformed into a rabbit, sheep or imp cannot perform any tasks. They also cannot view menu screens other than private, public and clan chat, music and settings. However, when the waiting period elapses and the game starts the player will be turned back to normal. Void Knight Equipment counts as a Guthix Symbol. Also, there was a glitch that when entering portal, you'd be able to kill another player, Jagex fixed the glitch.

The Castles
The large square formation covering most of the map is the actual arena. Inside the arena there are 2 smaller castles, one for each team. There are 5 levels to a castle.


 * The ground floor has two outer battlements facing into the arena, one with a large door that can be attacked and broken down (or barricaded by the defending team) and another with a smaller door that can be pick-locked (or locked by the defending team). Enemies as well as your own team can use ropes on the battlements and climb onto the top of the wall, (note that the ropes do disappear eventually). The battlements on the ground floor are accessible via a staircase near the small door, and there is a catapult on top of the outer wall. Within the walls there is a staircase leading to the battlements, a staircase leading to the second level, a ladder leading to the second level, and a ladder leading to the underground passages. There are tables where climbing ropes, rocks, barricades, pickaxes, toolboxes, and explosive potions are attainable. There is a tap, two bucket respawns, and a tinderbox respawn. When players die, they are returned to a respawn room in the appropriate castle.
 * The second floor contains a passage bent at a right angle, enveloping that team's spawn room, which is only accessible to the castle's team. There is a staircase leading to the next level. Inside the spawn room there is a bandage table, a tinderbox respawn, a ladder leading to the next level, and a portal to leave the current game. If any player does so, players on the same team in the waiting room will be asked if they wish to join the current game. The first to accept takes the previous player's space.
 * The third floor has a small inside wall enveloping a trapdoor that leads down to that castle's spawn room. The trapdoor is only usable by that castle's team due to the fact that it leads down to the teams respawn room. There is a one-square-wide passage around this wall. A staircase leading to the highest level is located against one of the walls.
 * The highest floor contains only a standard stand, which may or may not hold that castle's team's standard, depending on whether the enemy team has taken the standard or not.
 * The underground passage level can be accessed by two ladders in the middle of the arena or by a ladder from either team's castle. Either castle's ladder is located at opposite ends of the underground area, each with two passages towards the central cavern. At the mouth (facing the centre area) of each passage there is a deposit of rocks which may be removed or replaced with explosive potions or pickaxes. The central area is a small castle that has two ladders leading up to the centre of the arena's ground level. This area can be used for ranging and maging.

The Prizes
All players on the winning team receive two Castle Wars tickets. In the event of a draw, all players receive one Castle Wars ticket.

Players may also purchase (with tickets) Saradomin and Zamorak capes and hoods. Anything bought by using Castle Wars tickets cannot be traded to another player, but can be sold back for the same number of tickets it can be bought for. The four armour types give attack bonuses to enemies and their equipment.
 * Wearing the basic platebody, platelegs and shield during a Castle Wars match gives you +10% damage against the enemy team. (costs 18 tickets)
 * Wearing the detailed platebody, platelegs and shield during a Castle Wars match gives you +15% damage against the enemy team, and +10% damage against barricades/ballistas. (costs 180 tickets)
 * Wearing the intricate platebody, platelegs and shield during a Castle Wars match gives you +20% damage against the enemy team, +10% damage against barricades/ballistas, and immunity from catapult damage. (costs 1800 tickets)
 * Wearing the profound platebody, platelegs and shield during a Castle Wars match gives you +25% damage against the enemy team, +10% damage against barricades/ballistas, and immunity from catapult/ballista damage (costs 2400 tickets)

There are new items such as the Faithful Shield which gives a +6 prayer bonus, three Halos which work on the drainage of your prayer, and fancy capes to show off your skills at Castle Wars. The Faithful Shield has similar stats to the Rune Kiteshield, but gives a prayer bonus. The three Halos follow their respective gods, and each give the same stats, but cut down the prayer drain time on certain defensive prayers.
 * Guthix halo reduces the drain rate of the prayers Clarity of Thought, Improved Reflexes, Incredible Reflexes, Chivalry, Piety
 * Saradomin halo reduces the drain rate of Thick Skin, Rock Skin, Steel Skin, Chivalry, Piety
 * Zamorak halo reduces the drain rate of Burst of Strength, Superhuman Strength, Ultimate Strength, Chivalry, Piety.

There are now also five more capes to collect. Not only do you get the Saradomin or Zamorak hoods and capes, but you can get the Flag cape, Kills cape, Hobbyist cape, Enthusiast cape, and Professional capes. Each cape can only be purchased after completing the requirements such as: getting the most flag captures in a match (flag cape); getting the most kills in a match (kills cape); completing 500 matches (hobbyist cape); completing 1,000 matches (enthusiast cape); and completing 5,000 matches (professional cape).

Also in the update, Ballistas were added, and you must purchase the four parts to use them. They are the Base, Stack, Bolt, and Chamber. Any amount of ballista bolts may be brought in to the arena, and you must have at least one to use it. They are all 2 tickets except for the ammo, which cost 4 for every 100 bought.

The final items added to the reward list are Melee, Range, and Magic potions. The potions in these sets may only be used during a Castle Wars match.
 * Melee potion set contains 1x Super Attack, 1x Super Strength, 1x Super Defence, 1x Super Energy.
 * Ranged potion set contains 1x Ranging potion, 1x Super Defence, 1x Super Energy.
 * Magic potion set contains 1x Magic Essence, 1x Super Defence, 1x Super Energy.

Here is a list of the prices:
 * To get one of every time, winning each game it would take you 1,726 Hours(4,118 Winning Games)

Note that Castle Wars tickets, armour, and weapons are non-tradeable. Castle Wars prizes are often criticized for their immensely high costs in proportion to the time taken to get them - it can be very difficult to earn tickets as 1 win only gives 2 tickets. If you tie, you are awarded 1 ticket, and losing gives you nothing. Even if one won every single game, it would take around 1,250 hours to get a full set of Intricate Decorative Armour.

There was a glitch in which attempting to buy the equipment from Lanthus you would find that the cost of Helms and Shields and Swords all seem to have been mistakenly mixed around but when purchasing the equipment you would find you still pay the right amount.

The catapult


One catapult is located in each team's castle's wall. Players may use the catapult if they have ammunition, which they can obtain from tables on the first floor. After players have ammo, they can operate the catapult by clicking on it. A display will open up and players must then choose a square on there side of the river. Catapults can be destroyed by the enemy team using a tinderbox or an explosive potion. A toolkit can fix a broken catapult. The catapult is not often used as players normally keep moving, though it can be a valuable assist in battles at the feet of the wall. A catapult that is on fire may be put out with a bucket of water. You can fire away when using the catapult, because it is no longer possible to harm team-mates with it, even if you haven't finished the Catapult Construction quest.

In a recent update, teammates can now deploy flares to mark where you want to fire a rock to. This will save time by not having to enter in the coordinates.

Stepping stones
These are located in the North-east and South-west points of the river. Players can jump from stepping stone to stepping stone to cross the river in the middle of the arena. The stepping stones have many uses, one main use is to escape the enemy team while capturing the standard. If the standard is dropped while standing on stepping stones it used to return to the base, but due to an update(29 May 2010) it is dropped on the closest shore. Players were once able to evade Ancient Magicks ice spells by crossing these stepping stones but this was recently changed so that bind spells now prevent you from crossing the stones.

Collapsible rocks


The collapsible rocks are located in the caves below the arena. Using a pickaxe or an explosive potion, players may collapse the walls and fill the cave passageway with rocks, so that players may not pass. To get past the collapsed rocks, players must use either 2 explosive potions or a pickaxe or both. If rocks are collapsed on top of a player, he or she will die immediately. This is an excellent trick if you are running through the tunnels with the standard, as it gets rid of many chasers and blocks the rest, but they could also kill you. The best trick to use is when it's clear, put a barricade on one side of you and put one under you. Therefore, the player doesn't see it under you, and when they go to attack you they actually attack the barricade, then you can use an explosive potion on the wall, instantly killing a player no matter what their constitution level. If you are tired of getting killed by these people there is an excellent way to get around these guys. Buying a dragon spear which hovers at around 30k can be used to kill these rocky players. It has no requirements to wield besides 60 attack so many low level players may use this. Place yourself next to a rocky player and use the special on them. Since they have placed a barrier under them and the special moves them one space and stuns them you can use an explosive potion of the cave wall and kill them. They will probably attempt to try again but this trick usually works.

One useful strategy:
 * One player brings a Dragon Spear, and another player has an explosive potion. The player with a dragon spear uses its special to push someone into the rock slide area and another player then collapses the area.
 * Placing a barricade beneath you negates any dragon spear effect on you from another player from the opposing team.
 * If there is a barricade beneath you, while a player tries to cross, the player will be trapped in the rock slide area, which you can either immediately collapse or slowly mine.
 * If a meleer is standing on the opposite side of you with auto retaliate on, you can simply mage or range them into the centre and collapse the wall.

In the caves, the most popular cave tunnel is the one on the right when coming down the ladder in a castle. The least popular is the one on the left.

Collapsible stones are also subjects to many minor bugs. For example, a player may appear to be collapsing the tunnel from inside of it, and when it collapses the player walks out unharmed. If someone dies directly when a tunnel is collapsed over them, you might see a zero over a red background. If you kill a player holding a standard in the tunnel, you may mine through it and if you are fast enough, the standard will appear on the floor where the player died. If you drop a standard under the tunnel and then collapse it, take the standard you may walk into the cave without taking damage while it is collapsed. If you take two standards and put them next to each other (so that each one is on a different side of the cave) and collapse the cave, and take both the standards, you may walk all the way through the cave. Note: the two previous glitches may cause the cave to become "broken", where they will not collapse and the cave will stay open until the world resets. Most of these bugs have been fixed, though.

For some players, mostly mages or rangers, the rocks provide a great bonus. They can shoot arrows or cast spells from the other side of the rocks even when they have fallen. The players can attack their opponents without being harmed themselves.

Middle island
A small island with two bridges connecting it is found in the middle of the map.

It has four towers on it with stairs leading to the top. Mages/Rangers can snipe enemy players from above there.

It has two ladders leading down to the middle of the underground caves. It allows either team to reinforce their comrades down or up in the middle, preventing the other team from completely dominating it.

This area usually the site of a brutal slug-fest between both teams during the beginning of the match. Players slam into each other and attack whoever with no discretion at all. *Controlling the middle gives the team an advantage over the other. But mostly in a typical match, the middle area is contested by both sides with no gain to either side. But occasionally, one side manages to drive back the other team and technically controls the centre. While attackers from the driven-back team still make their run for the enemy flag, the other team is given a clear route to the enemy castle. The majority of the fighting now takes place at that castle where the invading team storms the castle, allowing someone to swiftly steal the flag.

The island is also frequently bombarded by Cataplut attacks from both sides,as there are usually alot of people going to and from the Island to get the Opposing Teams flag.Because of these factors,combined with the fact that Ballistas can be set up in front of the bridges that lead to the Island,many players die here. The Middle Island is often the scene of some of the most vicious battle.

The Ballista


In the 27 May 2010 update, Ballista platforms were added throughout the map, mainly by the bases, stepping stones, and by the bridges going to the central island. There are ten in total. Individuals can purchase the four parts and ammunition for the ballista from the Castle Wars rewards store (and to set one up you will need all four parts and some ammo). Depending on which of the eight platforms you choose to setup your ballista on, there will be three or four directions in which it can be aimed, by rotating it (it cannot be aimed towards a castle wall). You are able to take up to 100 pieces of ballista ammo into a match to load the ballista with; a loaded ballista will automatically fire upon the first enemy to cross in front of where it's aiming, using up one piece of ammo, and will continue at targets in this way until it runs out of ammo.

As with catapults, enemy ballistas can be attacked and destroyed, so defend them well. If protected and well maintained, they can be a powerful tool in your defensive arsenal.

Although this is VERY uncommon,some people actually use Barricades to make a path to Ballistas (usually the ones that are set up by the Middle Island) to rack up damage.This is an effective way to do damage,but is not commonly seen as it usually requires 6 to 8 barricades to be effective,and also leaves the Ballista prone to attack.

The teams


To join a team, either enter the red portal (for Zamorak, God of Chaos) or the blue portal (for Saradomin, God of Order). There is a possibility that the team you are trying to enter has too many people, so to keep the teams balanced you may not join it at that time. However, if you enter the green (for Guthix, God of Balance) portal, you join the team with the fewest number of players.

When you enter the portal, a Hooded cloak will be equipped automatically, with the colour depending on your team, either red for Zamorak or blue for Saradomin. This cloak cannot be removed in game, as it serves as an indication of which team you're on.

Waiting area




Once you join a team, you have to wait in an underground cavern until the next game starts. The Time remaining till the next game begins is displayed near the top of the screen in white print. The time to wait is always 5 minutes longer than the current game lasts, so if a game has 12 minutes left, the time to wait in the waiting area is 17 minutes. When a game has just finished, the next game will start in 5 minutes.

If you need to leave, you can do so through the portal of the god's colour located inside the waiting area.

If another player leaves an on-going game, a window will appear asking if you wish to enter the game, "There's a free space, do you want to join? Yes. No." First player to answer Yes will join the on-going game.

If you wear an item associated with a particular god in the opposite god's room you will be turned into either a sheep (if entering Guthix), hare (if entering Saradomin) or imp (if entering Zamorak) for the duration of your stay in the waiting room (you will be transformed back to your regular form for the game itself).

Tools


There are a number of special items that players can pick up while playing Castle Wars. These items are free and respawn immediately; however, they disappear once the game you are playing is over. (Also, if you choose to teleport back to the waiting area during a current game with these items in your inventory, you used to be able to keep them until you either entered the game and used them, or left the waiting room. However, Jagex recently changed this so the only item you keep when you exit the game is a tinderbox.)

Barricades
These can be picked up on one of the tables on the 1st floor of the castles. Barricades can be placed anywhere in the arena, and they are used to "block" the opposing team, hindering their ability to capture your standard. When somebody tries to walk around the barricade, the player must manually click to walk around it, otherwise he will be stuck. If barricades are set up at the ends of the stairs, it will only allow one way direction transport; for example, if a player is going up the stairs and the other end is being blocked by barricades, the player can still go back up/down without leaving the stair's end or go through the barricade without destroying the barricade for the first time. However he/she cannot go back up/down to the stairs after leaving the stair's end, unless the barricade has been destroyed.

Barricades can be destroyed by setting them on fire, by manually attacking them, or by using an explosive potion. One of the downsides to setting up barricades is that a team can only set up 10 at a time and it also blocks the way of friendly forces.

Barricades are not favoured amongst many players. Some people will knock them down, even if the barricades are helping them. This is because inexperienced players tend to set them in illogical places, like stairways to block everyone, and doors, blocking their team. This could lead to the loss of the game.

Other useful tools
Other tools which can be outside Castle Wars or can be obtained in Castle Wars are:


 * Bandages.png Bandages - Heal 10 percent of your total amount of life points (for example if your Constitution level is 74, therefore you have 740 life points, you get healed 74 life points for every bandage), cure poison, and increase energy by 30%. Can be used on other players of the same team. Players may stock up on these greatly and become Medics for their team, breaking off and hiding near where they might be needed.


 * Climbingrope.PNG Climbing Ropes - Used to scale the battlements on the other team's castle. These ropes are one way (in other words you can't climb down them, only up.) and can not be cut off. Some people will sabotage the other team's wall by getting a full inventory of ropes and running to the other team's wall. They will try and set up as many ropes as they can on the wall before being attacked and killed. Some attack the catapult by setting up rope next to the enemy, climbing up and blowing the catapult up. The ropes will disappear after a period of time.


 * Bronze Pickaxe.PNG Pickaxes - For collapsing the underground cave walls to block the enemy. They are also used to clear the way through the collapsed walls. Players typically wait at the rocks and try to time their collapse perfectly as to hit a player trying to run through, although this is easier with explosive potions. Barricades may be used in combination with the walls to guarantee the player will have difficulty getting through. Some people bring their own pickaxe, like rune, to clear rocks/collapse tunnels faster.


 * Tinderbox.PNG Tinderboxes - For setting fire to barricades and catapults. The fires can be put out by buckets of water. It is typically good practice to have a tinderbox in your inventory regardless of your choice of "profession" in your game, whether you're a cleric, warrior, or anything else.


 * Bucket.PNG Buckets- Fill them with water at the tap and the bucket of water is usable to put out anything on fire. These are almost never used though due to the fact that they must be refilled every time they are used and the person that set the fire can easily relight it.


 * Toolkit.PNG Toolkits - Used to repair broken catapults or doors.
 * Flares - Used to help signal where to launch rocks from the catapult


 * Explosive potion.png Explosive potion - Used to blow up barricades and destroying the other team's catapult. Unlike a tinderbox, an Explosive Potion can only be used once. They are also used to collapse the cave walls instantly, killing any person running under. If dropped, this potion explodes and deals 150 life points to the player who dropped it (not anyone else). When damaged by this potion, the player also says "Ow!". Many players commit suicide with these to regain health, special attack energy, or prayer.


 * Pet rock.PNG Rocks - Used to fire the catapult.


 * Emerald bracelet.png Castlewars bracelet - Made by enchanting an emerald bracelet. The wielder will do an extra 20% of damage against a bearer of their side's standard. Castlewars bandage also heal 50% more to wielders of the bracelet (15% of health instead of 10%)


 * Ardougne Cloak 1.png Ardougne Cloak 1 - From Ardougne Achievement Diary, increases prayer when you enter the game. (You do not need to bring the cape into the game to get the bonus, you just need to have completed the first part of the Diary)

Positions
Due to the many features of Castle Wars, players may choose to perform one of several unofficial roles:
 * Standard role: A job that someone has to do in a match, voluntarily or involuntarily. Seen in all matches.
 * Very common Seen in almost all matches
 * Common Seen in most matches
 * Uncommon May be seen in some matches
 * Rare Not usually seen in matches
 * Very rare Almost never seen in any matches.

In addition to the roles above,some players are known to use barricades to trap opponents and rack up damage using Ballistas.this is Incredibly Rare though. (see Ballistas above for details)

Flag holding


Flag holding is a tactic used by teams to ensure that the opposing team is unable to score points. This consists of a player grabbing their own team's standard after an enemy player has dropped it outside their castle, and then holding on to it, rendering the opposing team unable to pick it up. To retrieve the standard the opposing team needs to defeat the player holding the standard and pick it up.

When the opposing team has taken a team's standard, the team waits until their enemy is outside the castle and kills them, taking their own team standard in the process (if the standard is dropped inside the castle, attempting to pick it up will result in it being moved back to the standard stand).

A player cannot go into the base when holding their team's standard. This includes climbing up from the ladder underneath the supply room. Attempting to do this will result in the standard going back to the stand.

Flag-holding tactics
The standard is often taken to a corner of the field, near the stepping stones, with some players protecting the person holding the standard, as a player can be easily protected using two barricades, using the walls as defence from the other two sides.

Another tactic is to hide underground, next to the collapsible walls. The standard holder can then use an explosive potion or a pickaxe to collapse the walls when their enemies try to reach them, thus killing them. One way of using this method is by placing barricades on the spaces where a player can collapse the walls. The standard holder stands in one of the barricades, they put it down, then doesn't move. This way, if a player tries to attack the standard holder, the standard holder can simply collapse the tunnel. The attacker, having no way to move out of the way, dies. The only way they can reach the standard holder is by going around the other tunnel.

One more common tactic is to stay around the spikes near the outer wall of your own castle. Running around these spikes when attacked often traps the attacker on the other side, out of melee range. This buys time for the standard holder's team to kill the attacker, and prevents them from taking damage. This strategy also leaves the enemy attackers within attack range of the mages and rangers on top of the outer walls.

The player holding the standard will very rarely hide in the corner of the third level of there own castle while blocking the entrances off with barricades. They only allow a small space to be open within the barricades and will fill it up with body guards.

The player that holds the standard will often be someone with a high defence level and bonus, or a high level Magic or Ancient Magicks user. Defence and armour help protect the standard holder from attacks, and players with high levelled Magic or Ancient Magicks can use spells such as Entangle, Ice Burst, or Ice Barrage to immobilise the enemy team without the need to hold a weapon. This is advantageous as they can protect themselves using Magic, whereas a player using Ranged will be unable to attack as they will be holding the standard, and a player using Melee will have their attack power compromised by holding the standard, as they will have to use the standard as their weapon (the standard gives no bonuses to Attack, Defence, Strength or Prayer, and has the same attack styles as a spear).

The player will attempt to stay alive for as long as possible, with a group of other players acting as bodyguards. Donating bandages and other supplies to the standard holder may also prove useful. Since the update you can no longer heal the person holding the flag.

Standard stats
Red = Taken, which means someone has the standard,

Yellow = Dropped (on the ground),

Green = Safe, in proper area.

As should be found on the top left corner of the screen in the game.

Views
Some players have argued that flag holding stops the fun of castle wars, as it stops the game from being "Capture the standard" and turns it into a "Hunt and Kill" game. They argue that standard-holding is basically unfair as if a high-level player gets the standard, they consider the game to be essentially over, especially if their team does not have a player of matching combat ability (This is also known as "Stacking" among the "Veterans" of Castle Wars). However, some players consider standard holding another method of strategy used to outplay the other team, even if perceived as unfair.

Jagex has made an update to balance out the effects of standard holding by making 1 of the enchanted bracelets to a Castlewars bracelet. A castlewars bracelet works for 3 games and is then destroyed. While wearing this bracelet, players will deal 20% more damage to the holder of their standard, and bandages heal 50% more health to them.

Lag issues
Many players have lag issues when playing Castle Wars. Immediately after getting out of the waiting room, if there are high numbers of players, there is an off-chance of an automatic log out for lag-related server issues.


 * To prevent this, players have several options:
 * Wait a while until the people that log out come back in.
 * Climb up the ladder that leads to the second floor, then go back down using the staircase after several moments.

Glitches

 * On 27 May 2010 you could not buy a detailed decorative shield for the price listed ingame (40 tickets).
 * Ever since the Runetek 5 update, players with a higher PID priority have been able to walk through barricades recently placed by a player with a lower priority.
 * There is a glitch where players can lay barricades if they are standing on a burning barricade. Once that barricade burns out, the newly placed barricade can become a "ghost" barricade, where it is possible to walk through it. Using this glitch and buckets of water makes it possible to place multiple barricades in 1 spot. (up to 20 if both teams were willing to attempt it)
 * There is a glitch where the Big Doors will be broken at the beginning of the game if they weren't fixed the game before.
 * There is currently a glitch allowing tunnels to become "uncollapsible" if one of the flags is dropped there for too long, this glitch can also stay even after the game has ended.
 * There used to be a glitch where a player could capture his own team's flag and get attacked by his teammates as well as the enemy. It was done by logging out and quickly logging back in. The player would usually take his team's flag and run out so his team would be able to hold the flag.
 * Castle wars also played host to the popular noclip glitch. Where players could enter the game at any time (even before the game has begun) through the south wall Saradomin wall. Players could walk around freely with both helm and cape on and be immune to attacks. They could also wield either teams flag and not be killed for it.
 * When Summoning was first released, there was a bug where the moment the game started, the players were logged off the game when they passed through the door. Players could tell this would happen because when the player walked, it looked like other players were walking the same way. During that time, players had to use the stairs to avoid the bug. This was later fixed.
 * If standing correctly next to a wall, a Summoning familiar would be positioned as if it were walking on the wall. It is unknown whether this was fixed.
 * There is a glitch where under certain circumstances, the attack option does not appear on the player's right-click info; this glitch is yet to be fixed. The player cannot attack, but can be attacked by others, a simple quick log out and back in would fix it.
 * There is a glitch where sometimes if you are on the river stones at the moment a game ends, you will be trapped there until logging out and logging back in.
 * A former glitch, before the mining animation update in 2007, player could keep collapsing the rocks in the underground even when the rock are already collapsed, thus, making it very hard for players the get through the passage where the rocks were collapsing.
 * At one point, players were able to make multiple copies of flags to confuse other players on which flag was real.
 * For a short time, male players that entered Castle Wars would appear to be missing their head. This was soon fixed.
 * At one time, it was possible to leave the game with equipment for the next game. Players were also able to log out with materials and have them in the waiting room. Both of these have been fixed.
 * A significant bug at the release of Castle Wars allowed players who correctly exploited it to keep bandages from the Castle Wars area. Bandages were not considered food at the Duel Arena and could be used to beat stronger players even with "No Food" set, resulting in many players being scammed out of items. Jagex never took action against the players responsible.
 * A burning catapult appears much smaller than a normal or broken catapult.
 * At some point, A player may not be able to purchase Basic Decorative Armour even if they have the right amount of tickets in their inventory.

Trivia

 * In order to be ranked on the Highscores, you must complete a total of 500 or more games. As of 28 July 2010, 11,380 players are ranked in Castle Wars.
 * You cannot bring sacred clay tools into Castle Wars.
 * Castle Wars had bugs in which some aspects of the game remained active once players had left the game. These include but are not limited to:
 * Players remaining as imps, sheep or hares after leaving the waiting area.
 * Players still holding their team standard after a game.
 * Players having an attack option on other players outside of Castle Wars, despite not being able to attack anyone.
 * Players appearing as if they are still in the dead position.
 * Players remaining poisoned after leaving the game.
 * After the ammunition update to the castle wars capes, and the release of the hand cannon, the combat triangle of the game has changed dramatically. Now ranged is much more of a formidable form of attack. Before this update, bolts such as mithril were used, and mainly the crystal bow.
 * Castle Wars games do not have random events. Players used to use Castle Wars as a random-free area in which to cast High Level Alchemy on a large number of items without being attacked. Because of this, Jagex banned non-combat items from the game and made it impossible to cast alchemy spells on items in the battlefield. Jagex also made it impossible to bring any non-combat items into the waiting rooms. Now, players may only bring potions, weapons (including runes) and armour into Castle Wars.
 * The bandage table was once located on the ground floor alongside the other tool tables. This was moved to the team's spawn room due to the fact that opposing players could effectively camp the enemy's castle with an unlimited health source.
 * At one time, the red and blue decorative armour was equivalent to Mithril. This degraded Mithril before the update, which made decorative armour equivalent to steel.
 * Because of players having to sacrifice the helmet and cape slot to wear their team colours, the set effects of the Barrows equipment and Void Knight equipment is not active during games of Castle Wars.
 * Previously, if you had level 990 life points and drank a Saradomin Brew and the wall in the tunnels collapsed on you, you could be hit for more than 1000 life points.
 * A while back, team members would appear as green dots on the mini-map. It was later changed to blue to avoid confusion with friends.
 * Castle Wars could be seen using the Gnomecopters, but you only see NPCs fighting instead of a real Castle War.
 * When explosive potions were allowed to be taken to the waiting room, players could drop them and take damage; however, they would not die and, instead, continue to stay in the waiting room.
 * When barricades were allowed to be taken out of the game to the waiting room, players were allowed to drop them and attack them, gaining no experience whatsoever.
 * Before the HD update, if you examined the table that supplies bandages, a message that appeared would read, "A table in which I can get pickaxes."
 * The messenger will appear in Castle Wars to give you the letter needed to start Regicide.
 * The first player known to collect all 5 parts of gold was Assassin9754, in April 2005.
 * After the graphics update, on Standard Detail, the bridge leading to the lobby was transparent. This has been fixed.
 * While using Quickchat in multiplayer FunOrb games, such as DekoBloko, Castle Wars is referred to as Castlewars, without the spacing. The Ring of duelling also uses Castlewars, when equipped and right-clicked.
 * To buy all the decorative armour, cloaks and hoods, one must have 3259 tickets, and must have won 1,630 games. This will take 22 days, 5 hours, and 20 minutes of playing, not counting time spent in the waiting room.
 * A click-delay issue has been fixed in Castle Wars. The game engine has been modified to adjust the behaviour of these clicks back to their previous speed. (This does not apply to the intentional 0.6 second delay placed on every click)
 * The catapult sounds in Castle Wars were improved on 9 November 2009.
 * The Arcanists map, Sky Castles, looks similar to Castle Wars, with the exception that there are two Saradomin statues on the map.
 * Players frozen next to ladders leading to the underground can climb up/down the ladders to become unfrozen.
 * The current highest ticket count is over 13,000 tickets.
 * Mod MMG states Castle Wars as his favourite activity.
 * The look and cost of the armour was updated on 27 May 2010, as well as changing the names and adding new rewards such as potions and a Ballista for use in Castle Wars.
 * On the day of the Update, 27 May 2010, players would have their cameras stuck in views 1, 2 and 3 of the catapult leaving them unable to do anything except be killed and being booted out of the game.
 * Castle wars was updated on 27 May 2010, a week earlier than Jagex had anticipated. The new Castle Wars was released because of long weekends in both the United Kingdom and the United States. (Spring Bank Holiday in the United Kingdom and Memorial Day in the US)
 * Mod Emilee confirmed the bandage colour change was to avoid a possible lawsuit. Green is an alternative to red as red is usually referring to the Red Cross. The Red Cross is highly opposed to the use of their icon as a generic medical symbol.
 * Before the 27 May 2010 update, the Castle Wars Manual used to cost 5 coins.
 * The new song for Castle Wars is called "Castle Warz". This is because it would mess up data if it was called Castle Wars like the old song.
 * Profound Armour takes 3850 tickets to collect all 5 parts, which is 33.5 ( 24 hour ) days of winning castle wars, not counting loss games
 * If you stand by the ivy spot on the south wall of castle wars, and rotate your camera so that you are facing the inside of the inside of the ivy wall, a huge black line apears in the sky. This glitch has yet to be fixed.
 * People who act like "Medics" in this game (as well as people who receive Healing from these people) are known to occaisonally refrence the online game Team Fortress 2,an Online shooter game with multiple classes.one of the classes in this game is called a Medic,and provides a VERY simlar action in-game (following stronger players around and healing them.).Simlarly to this,another class in the game (Team Fortress 2) is called the Scout.Again,they usually are fast players who get through enemy defences (sometimes to get info on thier numbers,as well as thier strenghs and weaknesses) and attempt to get the "Intelligence" (which is the TF2 equivalent of a Flag in Runescape)