Castle Wars

Castle Wars is a minigame released by Jagex in December of 2004. It is similar to Capture the Flag, but with a Runescape twist. The aim of the game is to take the enemy's standard (flag) from their castle and return it to the standard in your own castle, gaining 1 point each time. You must prevent the opposing team from taking your flag by blocking them from your castle (place barricades, lock doors or collapse tunnels underground), or by killing them. Slain players will respawn within the game, so both sides are constantly fighting with a near (if not totally) equal numbered team. Each game lasts for 20 minutes, and 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, and one ticket if both teams finish on the same amount of points. Castle Wars tickets are redeemable for a number of decorative armors and other rewards. For having more success in Castle Wars its better to have a combat level of 70 or higher, but lower level players can focus on the defensive measures mentioned above.



Restrictions
The only items allowed inside the Castle Wars area are potions, runes, and combat-related items such as armour (excluding helms and capes). Food cannot be brought in, but bandages can be obtained within the arena - which are used to heal players in the same way as food. Helmets, hats and capes are not allowed, and alchemy spells cannot be used during the game. Also Dwarf Multicannons cannot be brought into Castle Wars, as when unassembled, they are a non-combat item.

Do not worry about dying within the arena, you will not lose anything if you die. Unlike the Duel Arena, none of your arrows will be returned to you after each match. It is your responsibility to pick up any arrows, darts, throwing axes, etc.

Also, if you are wearing armors or prayer symbols/books of the three gods (Saradomin, Guthix, Zamorak), they will have effect on you if you are entering the portal not of your god. Saradomin will turn you into a rabbit if you are wearing a Zamorak/Guthix symbol or armor when entering his portal; Guthix will turn you into a sheep if you are wearing a Saradomin/Zamorak symbol or armor upon entering his portal; and Zamorak will turn you into an imp if you are wearing a Saradomin/Guthix symbol or armor when entering his portal. However when the waiting period elapses and the game starts you will be turned back to normal.

The Castles
The large rectangular formation covering most of the map is the actual arena. Inside the arena there are 2 smaller castles, one for each team. There are 4 levels to a castle. The ground floor has two outer walls 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). 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, 2 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 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. 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 Winnings
All players on the winning team receive two Castle Wars tickets. In the event of a draw, all players receive one Castle Wars ticket. These tickets can be used to purchase the decorative varieties of armor, and other accessories. The lowest decorative armour is red, trimmed with blue, that has the strength of Steel. The mid-strength decorative armor (requires more tickets) is silver trimmed with blue and has the strength of Mithril. The strongest decorative armor, is gold trimmed with black, and has the strength of Adamant. You may also purchase (with your tickets) Saradomin and Zamorak capes and hoods. Anything bought by using Castle Wars tickets is non-tradable, meaning it cannot be traded to another player. Between games, anyone who gained a ticket in the last game has to stick it in the bank before proceeding to enter through the portal of their choice, because the tickets are non-combat items. Here is a list of the prices:


 * Red-blue Decorative Helm (equal to Steel Med Helm): 6 tickets
 * Red-blue Decorative Shield (equal to Steel Kiteshield): 6 tickets
 * Red-blue Decorative Armour (legs, equal to Steel Platelegs): 6 tickets
 * Red-blue Decorative Armour (body, equal to Steel Platebody): 6 tickets
 * Silver-blue Decorative Helm (equal to Mithril Med Helm): 60 tickets
 * Silver-blue Decorative Shield (equal to Mithril Kiteshield): 60 tickets
 * Silver-blue Decorative Armour (legs, equal to Mithril Platelegs): 60 tickets
 * Silver-blue Decorative Armour (body, equal to Mithril Platebody): 60 tickets
 * Gold-black Decorative Helm (equal to Adamant Med Helm): 600 tickets
 * Gold-black Decorative Shield (equal to Adamant Kiteshield): 600 tickets
 * Gold-black Decorative Armour (legs, equal to Adamant Platelegs): 600 tickets
 * Gold-black Decorative Armour (body, equal to Adamant Platebody): 600 tickets
 * Saradomin Hood: 10 tickets
 * Saradomin Cape: 10 tickets
 * Zamorak Hood: 10 tickets
 * Zamorak Cape: 10 tickets
 * Castle Wars Handbook: 5 coins
 * Red-blue Decorative sword: 5 tickets
 * Silver-blue Decorative sword: 50 tickets
 * Gold-black Decorative sword: 500 tickets

The Catapult
One catapult is located in each teams castle. Players may use the catapult if they have ammo, 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 the X and Y coordinates of where they wish to fire, however often the shot will not go exactly where you aim. All players near the area of impact, regardless of which team they are on, will take damage. Catapults can be destroyed by the enemy team using a tinderbox or an explosive potion. A toolkit can fix a broken catapult. A catapult that is on fire may be put out with a bucket of water. A common "noob" tactic with the catapult is to simply continue firing the catapult at coordinates (0,0). Becareful when using the catapult, because its is possible to harm and even kill you own team-mates with it.

Stepping Stones
These are located in the northeast and southwest 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 flag. If the flag is dropped while standing on stepping stones it returns to the base. Players were once able to evade Ancient Magick's 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 of friendly side 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, damage amounting to his or her hitpoints will be dealt and therefore he or she will die immediately. It has been discovered that by drinking Guthix Rest Tea or Saradomin's brew, or by praying at the statuette of Elidnis in Nardah, players may boost their hitpoints over 99, 102 in the case of the tea or potion, and 106 if the player prays to Elidnis. These points eventually cap off back to the max hitpoints determined by level.

Join a team
To join a team, either enter the red portal (for Zamorak, God of Chaos) or the blue portal (for Saradomin, God of Wisdom). 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 are included in the team with the fewest number of people.

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 have 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. Also, if you wear an item associated with a particular god in the opposite god's room you will be turned into either a sheep, rabbit or imp 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 (but if you choose to teleport back to the waiting area during a current game with these items in your inventory, you get to keep them the next game):

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 flag. 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 only; for example if a player is going up a stairs and the other end is being block by barricades, the player can still go back up/down without leaving the stairs 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 stairs end, unless the barricades 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.

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


 * Bandages - Heal 10% of your total HP level (for example if your hitpoint level are 74, you get healed 7 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 Clerics for their team, breaking off and hiding near where they might be needed.


 * Climbing Ropes - Used to scale the battlements on the other team's castle. These ropes are one way 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.


 * 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. Barricades may be used in combination with the walls to guarantee the player will have difficulty getting though.


 * 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.


 * Buckets of Water - Used to flush fires that are lit with tinderboxes.


 * Toolkits - Used to repair broken catapults or doors.


 * Explosive Potion - used to blow up barricades, unlike tinderboxes they can only be used once. Also used to collapse the cave walls instantly, killing any person running under. If dropped, this potion explodes and deals 10 damage to the player who dropped it.


 * Rocks - Used to fire the catapult.

Criticism / "Flag Holding"
Despite the success of Castle Wars, many players feel that the fun factor is compromised by a tactic known as holding the flag, which simply consists of a player grabbing their own flag after an enemy player has dropped it and then hiding with it. Considering how difficult and lengthy it can be to earn a decent number of tickets, this tactic causes players on the other team a fair amount of grief.