And better than before.
For so long, Old School RuneScape players have been killing each other for no other reason than loot. With Bounty Hunter returning, gamers can return to PvP for sport, the best reason. For some, it’ll be a welcome break from farming OSRS gold; for others, it’s an enjoyable pastime. However, it won’t be the same feature as the one before.
Here are all the proposed changes and new mechanics of the returned Bounty Hunter feature. But first, a refresher.
What is Bounty Hunter?
It’s a PvP mechanic where players are matched with others of a similar Combat Level. Then they are assigned to defeat a specific player for rewards, usually the other player’s items and OSRS GP. It usually took place in three craters divided by tiers of Combat Level, something players found easy to exploit.
Since the feature only matches you with players of a similar level, they stay at the uppermost bracket in the crater. That kills build diversity, as the game won’t pit them with players of a higher level.
New and Improved!
This time, to better control who gets into the crater (yes, it’s singular now), the devs are doing away with the level-restricted three BH areas. Also, this keeps the feature from spilling over to the rest of the Wilderness.
They’re trying to revitalize the ‘Edge-style PvP’ through an ‘Honor’ route. That’s unlike the usual thing where anyone can just Teleblock/Bind others to ensure a kill. The latter is also called ‘No Honor,’ or NH, and is the case for the rest of the Wilderness. The developers also aim to optimize matchmaking, ensuring that players get reliable fights against others with comparable combat levels. As for the rewards, that’s up to you and your opponent to fix.
First up is the singular Bounty Hunter crater. From the developers’ plans, they want a lobby at the center, with spawn points on its circumference. The idea is to have the participants enter from the hall to spawn from a random area near the edge. The safe zone also lets players bank, resupply, and will likely have a tutorial NPC to introduce the new mechanics. The rewards shop would be here if they decide to have it.
The lobby entrances would allow players to get to the lobby even when tele-blocked. The mechanic will be similar to Wilderness ditches, allowing resting and regrouping. The other proposal also reduces the time to resupply for the next battle, letting you get back into the fray quickly.
Lastly, spectators who want to watch the carnage can do so safely in the lobby, so they can skill near a bank while cheering on the participants.
Matchmaking Mechanics
The default setting will be to match with targets within 5 combat levels. An option is to extend that to 10 or 15, so you can defeat a wider variety of enemies. However, you can only match with others who opted for the same ranges.
The devs are also playing with remembering the last few targets, ensuring you don’t get matched with them again in a short period. This will also restrain boosters from targeting the same few people. When you enter, there will be a slight delay before you get your first target. This will provide immunity and prevent others from rushing you immediately.
You must enter the crater before you can receive your target. That means you won’t get one if you stay inside where it’s safe. Make sure you’re ready before stepping in. There is the option to skip targets for a variety of reasons. However, if you miss multiple targets in a row, there will be some consequences.
The specifics aren’t precise yet; get to the survey and suggest the best outcomes.
Going Rogue
This option is for those who want something more than hunting down targets. That is, they can pursue everyone instead. Of course, this will have consequences, namely a unique fancy skull signifying what they are. Rogues get whatever items their prey has in their inventory, though they don’t get the extra Bounty Hunter rewards.
Mechanics to be Decided On
In the main area, they want to know if players want
- No binds, no tele-blocks, and no Prayers
- A general no teleporting restriction is better. This would necessitate you to run for the safe zone lobby and, therefore, remain vulnerable to attacks.
Skulling Mechanics
You get skulled when entering the Wilderness in a Target World by default. This means protecting one item, as long as they have at least 25 Prayer. However, players created Prayerless builds, assuming they could battle without getting skulled.
The devs have two options they suggest:
- Everyone in the crater is skulled. Players know what they’re in for, they can protect one of their items, and everything else will be lost. However, this is somewhat challenging for new players to feature because preparing sets and forgetting the Protect Item Prayer can be overwhelming.
- The crater uses the default skulling mechanics. Initiating combat will result in one which cannot be lost during the battle. Players can opt to go unskulled by paying an amount of gold, but it only works after a specific number of kills.
Skip Target Penalty
They’re not too clear about how to penalize those who skip too much. Still, they gave examples:
- If a player misses three targets within 30 minutes
- They can’t get a new target for the next 30 minutes, forcing them to go rogue or wait
- They receive fewer bounty rewards on their following win
They’re leaving these penalties up to the community to be fine-tuned and reach an acceptable cost.
Rogue Penalties
It would be excellent if you could think of ways to punish rogues. Depending on your suggestions, the devs can consider ways to disadvantage rogues without making it unrewarding.
Emblems and the Emblem System
This system encourages players to go for killstreaks and prevent their HP from reaching 0. Because an Emblem’s value depends on the rewards, the developers want to suggest 2 core ways the emblem could work.
- ‘Single-Emblem:’ You have one emblem that can’t be traded, noted, stacked, or alchemized. It levels up the more kills you get; if your target has a high-level one, it will reward you with bonus Bounty Points. Tier 10 is the maximum you can get, which you can exchange for bonus points.
- ‘Multiple-Emblem:’ Emblems can stack if they have the same tier. Your highest-tier emblem will rise by one when you kill your target. However, your enemy will have their X-tier emblem degraded by 1 while you get X-1 tier 1 emblems. Any others they have will be destroyed.
The devs want to keep the value of tier-10 emblems. Still, they incentivize leveling yours up instead of getting a pre-made one from another player. That former method made it easy for boosters and other nefarious characters to farm emblems for bounty points. The devs want to avoid this in the new iteration of Bounty Hunter, which is why these new systems are suggested.
Bounty Hunter Points
These points will be exchanged in the Bounty Hunter Rewards Shop. You can earn it with every kill, or the devs have another suggestion. That is, achieving a kill streak will increase the BP you get. This helps if you died before turning your emblem in for more Bounty Points.
They’re still considering whether this is needed in addition to emblem rewards and/or killstreak milestones. The latter made the devs admit that it looks like Bounty Hunter is becoming a Slayer alternative but for players. However, it is not like that.
Monetary Rewards
Typically, you’ll only get what OSRS gold your target carries as a reward. Plus, it was rife with gold farmers (and/or those putting up OSRS accounts for sale) earning thousands of GP from the activity. They ruined the spirit of Bounty Hunting. They’re considering an ‘Earning Potential’ system to avoid that in this new version.
Earning Potential
You must deposit some GP into a coffer to earn EP. Afterward, you gain 2.5% EP every 2 minutes. Entering a safe area will reset this timer but will not reset your current values. Dying will increase your EP by 10%. This may be time-gated. Killing your target depletes your potential and rewards you proportional to its value when you succeed.
Of course, this is only an idea, and it still needs some work. Use the feedback forms to suggest something that will make this better!
Rewards
And what’s a feature without having some reward? They’re not locking in any item yet, but are looking for suggestions to make Bounty Hunting worth doing. Some examples are:
- Ancient Warrior equipment (as Bounty Hunter-only gear)
- Bounty Hunter-specific weapon attachments and imbues
- Combat XP
- Ornament Kits and Recolors
Take the Survey and Make Bounty Hunter Better!
If there’s anything that you want to make better or disagree with, make sure to let the devs know in the survey. OSRS always puts stock in what the community says, so list all your suggestions there.
