I believe there comes a time in every person’s life when one wants to settle down and enjoy the simple things. I also believe the very same concept can be applied to your favourite MMO’s. If you’re like me, every once in awhile you develop this irresistible urge to take things slow and enjoy what a game can offer: be it the gorgeous scenery, a memorable soundtrack or even the rear end of your favourite NPC (no? Just me? Alright then). Well if you’re like me then you might want to take a test drive on your very own ironman account on Runescape 3.

The ironman mode was released on October 13th, 2014 and introduced a somewhat taboo mechanic: a complete strip of almost every social feature within the game.

By creating an ironman account players are introduced to one of the most bizarre mechanics ever implemented into an MMO: an almost complete lockout of all social interaction, including minigames, PVP, and group activities. But most notably, the lockout from all player trading and Grand Exchange transactions.

Hardcore ironmen have the same restrictions as normal ironmen with one extra mechanic, only one life. When a hardcore ironman dies the account is permanently locked and made inaccessible unless the player purchases an item known as the Jar of Divine Light, which can be bought from Mr Ex in Edgeville for a whopping 100,000 coins. The Jar downgrades the account upon death into a regular ironman.

Hardcore ironmen can also purchase up to two extra lives, as long as their total level is high enough to warrant one and costs 100,000 coins for the first and 10,000,000 coins for the second.

Now there was one burning question in my mind when I discovered such an absurd mechanic: Why is it that in a game with the title of Massive Multiplayer Online do I find myself struck with the purpose to avoid other players? Why? It makes no sense.

Fear not friends, for I have traversed far more perilous roads than this before, and I’m sure this won’t be the last. So off I went, equipped with an array of necessities for my endeavor; a bandolier of red bull cans strapped to my chest and a dark room to exclude myself from society. It was time to get serious.

I played Runescape a lot, and I mean a lot when I was younger. It was a game that excelled because it catered to a broad demographic of players. Those who wanted a casual experience could do so because the system was easy to understand and the process for development was straightforward.

In my own casual experience as a youngster the process looked like this: equip my bronze sword, commit mass murder on a few chicken farms, level up those stats and complete a few quests: bingo-bango, profit. And for those who wanted to experience the late-game content were simply required to elaborate the process: buy a dragon longsword, massacre a multitude of different races and creatures, complete a few quests, get “GP” followed by “GF” and profit.

Thanks to Kengetsu for the above screenshot.

However everything changes when you play ironman. You start with nothing. There is no beating around the bush with the former statement. And as I disfigured another of my avian quarry with my closed fist I experienced my very first revelation. The process had changed.

The aim of ironman is to be entirely self-sufficient, and in order to develop as a character one is forced to embrace every aspect of the game. Suddenly the process evolved into the following: mine ores, smelt ores, forge bronze dagger, chicken execution, sell the remains to the stingy store clerk, use the money to buy tools. And so on and on it continues.

At this point, I’ve already downed half the energy drinks at my disposal. I have never struggled so hard in my entire life to kill a chicken. I popped another red bull, it was going to be a long night.

As a child, I never experienced the tight knit loop that Jagex had created with their world, everything worked . I never realised that the shopkeeper robbed you of your hard earned chicken breasts because previously, had I been a normal account, I would have simply sold them to another player for ten times the amount.

As an ironman you are forced to learn all the mechanics of every skill in order to develop.

I experienced my second revelation when I grew tired of the chickens and attempted to train my archery skill: “Ranged.” I set my sights on the task at hand, using the money I obtained via the shopkeeper to purchase a bronze hatchet from the Lumbridge axe store and hacked down a nearby tree; wood, check. Next I returned to the general store, I swear the shopkeeper was expecting me. The bastard reeked of chicken from lunch and he smirked an evil, corrupted grin. Reluctantly I used the remainder of my coins to buy a knife: which was needed in order to fletch the log into my bow; Fletching, check.

Now I had the husk of a bow that was starting to take form, next on my list was flax from a nearby field and a spinning wheel so I could create a bowstring. Before long I had created my very own bow and I sat back in my chair for a moment with a grin on my face. I was beginning to understand what this game mode was all about.

There is a great deal of satisfaction in earning your keep when playing this game. Had I been playing a normal account the process would have been simplified to buying the bow at the Grand Exchange and carrying on my merry way.

I never realised it until then that the creation of a bow required the utilisation of so many skills: woodcutting for the log, farming to pick the flax, fletching to create the bow and attach the bowstring. Then came the secondary goals for my archery training: ammunition. Suddenly my process became mining for ore, smithing for the creation of arrowheads, and fletching for the creation of the arrows. Hell even my blood feud against the chickens paid off by producing feathers for my arrows. Within the first few hours, my scope of this game suddenly became a much wider view.

The mechanics of the ironman mode seems to be geared toward veteran players who have long since completed end-game content and are searching for a challenge. That is however, not to say that ironmen cannot be played and enjoyed by all players, new and old.

I have to take my hat off to Jagex on this one, the mechanic works on levels I did not understand until experiencing it. Much like an old man enjoying the view, I couldn’t help but appreciate what the company achieved. The ability to carve your own path through Gielinor is a much more rewarding experience when you know that all you have achieved has been through your own perseverance and determination. It’s a welcome change to a game that has been around for years

This mechanic also got me thinking about other MMO’s. Could an ironman scheme be implemented into other games in the genre?

The answer to that question is complicated. Such a mechanic could work across many games as long as they have the prerequisites within their world to cater for such a playerbase, for example, the game would need a wide variety of skills for the player to invest time into as well as a crafting system. I believe this mechanic works especially well for Runescape because of its tight-knit world and loopable system. Everything has a chain tethered to it: skills integrate and mesh together so naturally that everything truly develops your character. I don’t think any game could do it as well as Runescape and that’s probably a good thing, after all a game that’s been around as long as Runescape has must have a reason behind its survival in this genre. The Ironman mode is a welcome addition to such a classic game. Long may it live.