A bond is an in-game item that allows a player to pay for selected account-related and out-of-game benefits such as membership, RuneCoins and Treasure hunter keys with in-game resources. Bonds bought with real money start off as tradeable.
Tradeable bonds may be traded to other players and sold on the Grand Exchange. However, when the transaction is complete, the bond will become untradeable. A bond is always bound to a player when it has not been redeemed or traded to another player. It is always kept on death, even when inside the Wilderness. Both tradeable and untradeable versions may be stored in a player's currency pouch, up to a total of 500. Players can only put an offer for one bond per Grand Exchange slot.
Uses[]
When purchased using real life currency, bonds are tradeable. Once traded to another player for an in-game sum of money or items, they become untradeable. Bonds can be made tradeable again for a payment of 10% of their Grand Exchange value (10% currently being 1,893,349 coins).
Right click options for the untradeable bond in inventory are: Redeem, Convert, Deposit, Use, Drop, Examine. Redeem allows you to spend the bond. Convert allows you to make the bond tradeable again (for a fee). Deposit places the bond (or bonds) in your bond pouch.
Redeeming[]
At any time, whether tradeable or untradeable, bonds can be redeemed for one of the following:
- Membership:
- 14 days for 1 bond
- 29 days for 2 bonds (1 day extra compared to 2 bonds redeemed separately)
- 45 days for 3 bonds (3 days extra compared to 3 bonds redeemed separately)
- RuneMetrics Pro packages:
- 1 month for 1 bond
- 6 months for 5 bonds (1 month extra compared to 5 bonds redeemed separately)
- 12 months for 10 bonds (2 months extra compared to 10 bonds redeemed separately)
- 15 Treasure Hunter keys
- 195 RuneCoins
- 1 character name change (if redeemed on a members server)
- Treasure Hunter Daily Key (1 extra daily key, for 28 days)
If the player has both tradeable and untradeable bonds, the latter will be used first.
Other uses[]
Bonds can be:
- Traded with other players
- Sold for in-game money
- Used to rent or buy up to five additional preset slots from the Gear interface (3 bonds each - note, you can alternatively buy 585 RuneCoins with 3 bonds, use 480 to buy the slot, and have 105 left over)
- Used to buy RuneFest tickets (when tickets are eligible to be purchased during the year)
- Used to buy Premier Club membership (when eligible to be purchased during the year)
- Used to buy Summer Special membership (when eligible to be purchased during the year)
- Used to buy Top Trumps
- Used to change your character name more than once a month
- Used to rent or buy the Wealth Evaluator (3 bonds to buy - note, you can alternatively buy 585 RuneCoins with 3 bonds, use 480 to buy the slot, and have 105 left over)
- Used to buy a Block N Load Steam key[1]
- Used to unlock all of the rewards from the Treasure map (Summer Beach Party) during the Summer Beach Party
Charitable donations[]
Jagex donated approximately $4.70 per bond put into the Well of Goodwill. A selection of charities have benefited from the donations.
Costs[]
Real-life currencies[]
| Currency | Bonds | Price per million coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
| GBP | £3.99 | £11.99 | £19.99 | £39.99 | £0.19 |
| USD | $6.99 | $20.99 | $34.99 | $69.99 | $0.32 |
| CAD | $7.39 | $22.19 | $36.99 | $73.99 | $0.33 |
| EUR | €5.69 | €17.09 | €28.49 | €56.99 | €0.27 |
| AUD | $7.99 | $23.99 | $39.99 | $79.99 | $0.37 |
| BRL | R$11.99 | R$35.99 | R$59.99 | R$119.99 | R$0.63 |
| MXN | $68.99 | $206.99 | $344.99 | $689.99 | $3.64 |
| MYR | MYR19.99 | MYR59.99 | MYR99.99 | MYR199.99 | MYR0.95 |
| DKK | KR30.99 | KR92.99 | KR154.99 | KR309.99 | KR1.8 |
| JPY | 800円 | 2400円 | 4000円 | 8000円 | 円42.25 |
In-game money[]
| Unit | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 day of membership (1 bond; 14 days total) | 1,352,392 |
| 1 day of membership (2 bonds; 29 days total) | 1,305,758 |
| 1 day of membership (3 bonds; 45 days total) | 1,262,233 |
| 1 day of RuneMetrics Pro packages (1 bond; 1 month total assuming 30 days) | 631,116 |
| 1 day of RuneMetrics Pro packages (5 bond; 6 month total assuming 182 days) 10-bond plan has roughly the same price |
520,151 |
| 1 day of bronze/silver/gold membership | 1,244,090 |
| 1 day of summer special membership | 1,051,861 |
| 1 Treasure Hunter key (15 total) | 1,262,233 |
| 1 Treasure Hunter Daily Key (1 extra daily key, for 28 days) | 676,196 |
| 1 RuneCoin (195 total) | 97,095 |
History[]
On 4 June 2018, along with membership, the price of a bond increased[2], as well as the number of keys and RuneCoins awarded when redeemed. Prior to this, bonds could be redeemed for 15 keys or 195 RuneCoins, and cost:
| Currency | Price (each) |
|---|---|
| GBP | £3.59 |
| USD | $5.99 |
| CAD | $6.19 |
| EUR | €5.09 |
| AUD | $6.99 |
| BRL | R$11.99 |
| MXN | $68.99 |
Cost analysis[]
Assuming min wage, for each of the currencies listed:
| Country | Min wage | Single Bond price | Gp/Hr |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Varies, see below | £3.99 | Varies, see below |
| USA | $7.25[3] | $6.99 | 19,637,739 |
| Canada | Varies, see below | $7.39 | Varies, see below |
| Europe | Varies | €5.69 | Varies |
| Australia | $18.29[4] | $7.99 | 43,340,867 |
| Brazil | Varies, see below | R$11.99 | Varies, see below |
| Mexico | $80.04[5] | $68.99 | 21,966,031 |
| Malaysia | MYR4.42[6] | MYR17.99 | 4,651,807 |
| Japan | 823円[7] | 800円 | 19,477,827 |
UK: Cost of 1 bond: £3.99
| "Tier" | Min wage[8] | Bond/Hr | Gp/Hr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | £3.30 | 0.83 | 15,659,277 |
| Under 18 | £3.87 | 0.97 | 18,364,061 |
| 18 to 20 | £5.30 | 1.33 | 25,149,748 |
| 21 to 24 | £6.70 | 1.68 | 31,793,078 |
| 25 and Up | £7.20 | 1.8 | 34,165,696 |
Canada: Cost of 1 bond: $7.39
| Province | Min wage[9] | Bond/Hr | Gp/Hr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | $13.60 | 1.84 | 34,843,770 |
| British Columbia | $11.35 | 1.54 | 29,079,176 |
| Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador | $11.15 | 1.51 | 28,566,767 |
| New Brunswick, Québec | $11.25 | 1.52 | 28,822,971 |
| Northwest Territories | $13.46 | 1.82 | 34,485,084 |
| Nova Scotia | $11.00 | 1.49 | 28,182,461 |
| Nunavut | $13.00 | 1.76 | 33,306,545 |
| Ontario | $14.00 | 1.89 | 35,868,587 |
| Prince Edward Island | $11.55 | 1.56 | 29,591,584 |
| Saskatchewan | $10.96 | 1.48 | 28,079,979 |
| Yukon | $11.51 | 1.56 | 29,489,102 |
Brazil: Cost of 1 bond: R$11.99
| State | Min wage[10] | Bond/Hr | Gp/Hr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraná | R$4.87 | 0.41 | 7,690,249 |
| Rio de Janeiro | R$4.34 | 0.36 | 6,853,323 |
| Rio Grande do Sul | R$4.58 | 0.38 | 7,232,308 |
| Santa Catarina | R$4.13 | 0.34 | 6,521,710 |
| São Paulo | R$4.11 | 0.34 | 6,490,128 |
| All other states | R$3.59 | 0.3 | 5,668,993 |
Controversy[]
A section of the RuneScape community found the introduction of bonds hypocritical and destructive to the integrity of the game, claiming that it was real world trading in the form of gold selling. This is due to the fact that the bonds can be bought with real-life money and sold for in-game gold.
Jagex has said that despite the controversies, bonds did reduce the amount of real world trading that occurred on non-legitimate sites; within one week of the introduction of bonds, the amount of real-world trading dropped by 61%, and the amount of coins that was transferred by real world trading was down by 81%.[11]
Gallery[]
Misc[]
Managing Bonds[]
.png "Manage Bonds (Conversion).png (86 KB)")
.png "Manage Bonds (Summer Membership Package 2014).png (94 KB)")
.png "Manage Bonds (Summer Membership Package 2015).png (80 KB)")
.png "Manage Bonds (Summer Membership Package 2016).png (80 KB)")
.png "Manage Bonds (RuneFest 2015).png (79 KB)")
.png "Manage Bonds (Treasure Map Key).png (76 KB)")
.png "Manage Bonds (Premier Club Membership 2016).png (83 KB)")
Confirmation[]
_interface.png "Change character name (bonds) interface.png (65 KB)")
Redeemed[]
.png "Redeemed a bond for Premier Club Membership (Bronze).png (31 KB)")
.png "Redeemed a bond for Premier Club Membership (Silver).png (30 KB)")
.png "Redeemed a bond for Premier Club Membership (Gold).png (31 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Despite being tradeable, bonds cannot be placed in the party chest at the Falador Party Room, stored in the treasure chest from Carnillean Rising or a beast of burden; they may also not be staked at the Duel Arena or in Conquest. They also cannot be disassembled or fed to a baby troll.
- When buying membership in the UK, two bonds costing £7.18, giving 29 days, are cheaper per day than buying a £7.50 30-day membership card, but more expensive than buying 30 days of membership directly for £4.95.
- When redeeming bonds for RuneFest, the room number displayed in the example is "#237". This is a reference to Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining.
- When redeeming bonds for RuneFest, doing so on an account without a verified email gives: You must have a validated email address to purchase RuneFest packages.
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