RuneScape Opens the Gates to Menaphos And Shifts Gradually Away from Expansion-Sized Updates

For the past few weeks, we have been getting pieces of information on the latest RuneScape Menaphos expansion, and now that content can be personally experienced by players of the MMO today. The Golden City is now open to adventurers in the game's latest update.

Described as the largest single-day content update in RuneScape’s history, Menaphos: The Golden City offers players four new story quests, procedurally-generated City Quests, a new Slayer Dungeon with an increased cap to the Slayer skill, minigame-style exploration in The Shifting Tombs, and a graphical update to the desert region of the entire game.

While the content in this new update is meant for mid to high-level players, some of the region’s additional content will be available to new arrivals as well. Completion of a three-part quest will lead new arrivals to the city of Menaphos, where players can take part in City Quests, discover collectibles, and enjoy a 5% buff to skill training and RS gold, all while using the new area as a launching point for further adventures.

While the Menaphos update is offered only to RuneScape members, the entire game will open up to everyone during a Free Play Weekend starting on Friday, June 9th until Monday, June 12th. Every aspect of the MMO will be completely free during the weekend.

How have you felt about the recent Menaphos update? Have you found that the latest RuneScape development cadence is lacking? The devs hear you, and an announcement made today. They've made the decision to move away from expansion-sized updates as a result of player feedback.

In a news post on the official site as well as a video on YouTube, the devs have stated that shifting focus to larger updates was a mistake. “Expansions take up a huge amount of dev time, leading to a sparse release schedule and less player happiness. ” admits the post. “It's clear that regular updates are something that makes RuneScape RuneScape. The game feels less alive without them.”

As a result, releases are seeing a change, starting first with a return to Ninja fixes as a result of an increased Ninja development team. Fixes due in July include Quick Prayer presets, an Aura Bag, and a number of dyes for Telos weaponry.

As for more substantial updates – provided for in the post as “unfinished business” – the Eternals and Titans will be focusing their work on several promised updates. Features such as the Bank Rework, Dailyscape reductions, Invention Batch 2 and more are all being “actively worked on”.

The devs will be releasing a large survey on Tuesday, July 11th, where RuneScape players will be asked to prioritize a number of planned updates and adjustments. Players can also expect renewed focus on polls to take the temperature of fan opinion, as well as look forward to an “Unfinished Business” livestream on July 11th and an additional news post on Friday, July 28th.

It is good to know that the RuneScape devs have recognized where things fell short and are adjusting accordingly. Hopefully, this will mean overall great things for RuneScape and its fans, and we are looking forward to additional updates.