2010

2010 marks the 11th anniversary of the formation of Jagex, and the 9th anniversary of the release of RuneScape. Jagex has the dubbed 2010 as the year of "hard work" and referred to this several times in a Q&A. There have been several RuneScape updates planned for 2010, and the following is a list of announcements made by Jagex.

January

 * 4 January: Jagex announces the RuneScape Q&A schedule for 2010.
 * 8 January: Jagex releases RuneScape Cards in Canada.
 * 11 January: The quest, Nomad's Requiem, is released.
 * 12 January
 * Several game worlds are moved.
 * Jagex changes the RuneScape Q&A schedule for 2010.
 * 13 January: Postbag from the Hedge 43 is released.
 * 18 January: The blog Community Management: A 2009 Retrospective is released.
 * 19 January: Barbarian Assault Improvements and Agility Benefits for Fishing, Hunter and Thieving
 * Barbarian Assault is updated to include coloured abyssal whips and item updates.
 * Agility is updated to make it easier to train, along with Fishing, Hunter, and Thieving.
 * 20 January: The blog Machinima: The Orb of Oculus is released.
 * 23 January: Every player online, both free players and members, receive the message You feel a strange power unleash itself upon you. Players are lifted into the air, surrounded by mysterious forces, and shortly after fall back onto the ground. Topics involving this are posted onto the RuneScape Forums. For more information, see Strange power.
 * 28 January: The RuneScape Q&A with Mark Gerhard is posted on the RuneScape Forums.
 * 29 January
 * RuneScape Machinima Competition 2 is announced.
 * The Clan Celebration Month is announced.
 * The blog Community Management: Clan Submissions Page is released.
 * 12-month Cards on Jagex Store again.

February

 * 1 February
 * The quest Rune Mechanics is released.
 * Runecrafting is updated to include the chance of obtaining double Law, Death, and Blood runes.
 * The trade limit while trading with friends is increased.
 * The Orb of oculus, a machinima tool is released.
 * 4 February: The RuneScape Q&A with Andrew Gower is posted on the RuneScape Forums.
 * 5 February: New Items in the Online Store
 * 8 February: Strykewyrms
 * Strykewyrms, Staffs of light, Hexcrests, Focus sights and Full slayer helmets are introduced.
 * A custom music playlist capable of playing up to 12 music tracks is introduced.
 * Standard Detail is updated, and the old Standard Detail is repackaged as Safe mode.
 * A server blackout occurs at approximately 02:44 UTC.
 * 11 February: The RuneScape Q&A with the RuneScape Content team is posted on the RuneScape Forums.
 * 12 February: Two developers' blogs are released: Localisation: A Day in the Life and Shattered Heart: A History of Non-violence.
 * 16 February
 * The Familiarisation D&D is released.
 * A Guaranteed Content poll is launched to determine a second item which can be recoloured by Commander Connad, after his successful abyssal whips' recolouring project.
 * The Machinima Q&A video is posted on Jagex's YouTube channel.
 * 19 February
 * The second part of the Q&A with the Content Team is released.
 * The RuneScape Machinima Competition 2 is officially closed at midnight UTC.
 * 22 February
 * The minigame Impetuous Impulses is improved.
 * A bank deposit box is added at the Runecrafting Guild.
 * The ability to wield weapons while cutting ivy with a dragon hatchet is disabled.
 * Dark bow is the item chosen to be recoloured by Commander Connad.
 * 24 February: The vote to choose the winner of the RuneScape Machinima Competition 2 is started.
 * 25 February: The RuneScape Q&A with the RuneScape Audio team is posted on the RuneScape Forums.
 * 26 February
 * The Big Ticket 2010 is announced.
 * Two developers' blogs are released: Bonus XP Weekend: Save the Date! and Design Notes: What's a Grandmaster Quest?

March

 * 2 March: Due to cheating and the exploitation of bugs, 68 accounts are permanently banned by Jagex, with another 48 are given temporary bans. Some of the players banned were stated to be high-level players with an average of 2,000 total levels, with in-game time of between 200 days to 1,000 days.
 * 3 March
 * A scheduled 15-minute downtime is announced with the next update.
 * Shattered Heart is released.
 * The success when smelting iron is improved for both members and non-members.
 * The RuneScape Lobby is introduced.
 * Changes are made to the Hitpoints skill and it is renamed to Constitution.
 * The blog Hitpoints to Constitution: What Constitutes the Change? is released.
 * 4 March: The Q&A by the Community Management team is released.
 * 5 March
 * A new payment partner, Paymo, is introduced for PayBySMS.
 * The winner of the RuneScape Machinima Competition 2 is announced.
 * The March 2010 issue of the blog Community Management: Clan Submissions Page is released.
 * 8 March: Four new items are introduced in the Jagex Store.

New skill
Paul Gower answered with a simple "yes" to the question of whether there will be a new skill by the end of 2010.

"(Q) Eirikjoh - Will there be new skills by the end of 2010 and are you working on one at the moment?

(A) Paul -Yes"

- Paul Gower

Jagex also confirmed that the new skill will be released in 2010 in their New Year message.

"So, what is the new year going to bring? For one, we want to continue producing quests at the rate and quality that we have been, which means expanding the most popular storylines and bringing a couple to dramatic conclusions. We’ll also be casting a critical eye over our existing skills, searching for holes, and filling them with new training activities and rewards. That’s before we even mention the new skill that is coming in 2010! And yes, there will be new combat equipment as well, and also a new Grandmaster quest (edit: Nomad's Requiem) – but more on that closer to release."

- Andrew, Mark Gerhard and Mod Fetzki

New content/skill/game
Jagex's CEO, Mark Gerhard has stated that there would either be an entire game on its own, a skill, or both, and that it will be for free and members.

"Any other big updates people can expect to see content wise, then?

We are actually working on a whole new game mechanic. I can't give much away, but it could be an entire game in its own right, or just a skill, or both, who knows [laughs]. That will be for free and members. But, yeah, that should be this year hopefully, needs to be awesome though. I don't want to give it away though because it's really exciting and no one has done it so we're kind of keeping that one close to our chest.

Basically, this was going to be our 2010 game – we were going to create another game – but we said, this just ties in so nicely with "RuneScape" and it's cool, the community would love this, so let's not make it another game, let's just put this in the game.

Sorry for being so cryptic about it! [laughs]"

- Mark Gerhard

Jagex Clan Cup 2010
Mod Timbo has stated that another Jagex Clan Cup for 2010 has been planned.

"We’d like to thank every one of you that took part in the Jagex Clan Cup 2009. Together, you made the competition a great success, and have left us here at Jagex all fired up and ready for the next Jagex Clan Cup!

If you’d like to take part in the next Jagex Clan Cup, all you need to do is get onto the forums and sign up to a clan (or create your own, of course!), register it with the Community Management team and then get practising, as we seem to be developing an insatiable appetite for battle, skills, and watching helpless players getting owned :)"

- Mod Timbo, RuneScape Community Management

Quests, skills, and combat equipment
Jagex has stated that they have planned on expanding existing quest series, concluding a couple of series, and releasing a new Grandmaster quest. In addition, they stated that existing skills will be expanded with new activities and rewards. The release of a new combat equipment has also been confirmed by Jagex.

"For one, we want to continue producing quests at the rate and quality that we have been, which means expanding the most popular storylines and bringing a couple to dramatic conclusions. We’ll also be casting a critical eye over our existing skills, searching for holes, and filling them with new training activities and rewards. That’s before we even mention the new skill that is coming in 2010! And yes, there will be new combat equipment as well, and also a new Grandmaster quest – but more on that closer to release."

- Andrew, Mark Gerhard and Mod Fetzki