31 March 2008 - Summoning 2

Summoning Rebalancing:

You can break Summoning 2 into two halves. The first is a
rebalancing of the skill using your feedback. We have chosen to do this
because we wanted Summoning to be one of the most well-loved and appreciated skills, so your help was needed to get it back on track.

What did we find out from the Forums? You told us that familiars did
not stick around for long enough before they disappeared, and that
renewing them was often a pain. With this update, each familiar stays
out for a set period of time,
regardless of the summoner's skill level, so there is no need to renew
your familiar. The period that each familiar stays summoned has, in
general, been increased - the spirit dagannoth, for example, stays out
for a whopping 57 minutes!

Secondly, you told us that summoning familiars just wasn't rewarding
enough. With the rebalancing, we have given each familiar a stand-out
ability that makes them well worth summoning - a feature that budding
Pikkupstixes have been eager for. You will now find that Summoning a
creature is far more preferable to either selling the pouch or high-alching it.

Many of you felt that combat familiars should give combat XP. We
definitely agree, so each combat familiar now gives XP when they cause
damage. The amount is equal to how much you would have received, had
you done the damage yourself. The experience will be in one of the
combat skills, which depends on your choice of familiar - the spirit jelly, for example, gives XP in the Strength stat.

Taking your combat familiar into battle will reveal our next
improvement: each creature is significantly tougher. They can soak up
damage like never before and many will hit harder, making them more
than useful for challenges like the God Wars. We can only encourage you
to try them out and see just how improved their combat abilities are.

Acquiring charms has been made easier this week, with charm drops
added to nearly 20 of our Slayer creatures. For those who prefer
sleight of hand over the crossing of swords, we have also added charms
to the Dorgesh-Kaan chests, so thieves can access them, too.

Recharging Summoning points has been made easier, with miniature obelisks
scattered across the world to keep you topped up; you can now summon
familiars almost anywhere and take them with you without worrying too
much about having to dismiss them; buttons have been added to help you
'dump' items from your familiar to your inventory and your familiar to
your bank; headgear and headdresses can hold more scrolls
per item; many existing helmets can be enchanted to hold scrolls; and
some of the familiars' inventories have been expanded to a jaw-dropping
30 slots, so your pak yak can now hold more than you can. Phew!

For more details of what has changed with the Summoning rebalancing, visit the Knowledge Base page.

Extra Summoning creatures:

The second half of Summoning 2 is what we originally planned when
Summoning was first released: an injection of high-level, dauntingly
huge beasts. So, this week, the big guns arrive, largely in the form of
the titans. These humanoid creatures don't only have a killer punch;
significantly increase your chance of success when Mining and
Firemaking, boil adventurers in their own armour or even recharge
amulets of glory! You can expect them to range all the way up to level
99, too.

A few inches shorter, but no less daunting, are the big cats from
the Hunter skill. As an example of just how many things each familiar
can offer you, the graahk, kyatt and larupia are capable of teleporting
you to Hunter areas, boosting your chances of trapping a creature, and
lending a powerful paw when you need them in battle.

We can guarantee that the other familiars do more than make up the
numbers. Fans of Pest Control will know the void pests, with their
ability to teleport you to the landers, while other recognisable
familiars include the talon beast, spirit mosquito, pyrelord and the
fearsome giant chinchompa. These familiars are spread over the
Summoning skill levels, inviting you to train it that little bit
higher. So, go grab your charms and get stuck in!