Group Ironman has taken off, and players are enjoying the new mode. However, as with all things, improvement is key. Here are some of the upgrades that Jagex is thinking about, and are currently polled on. Some of these can help players earn or save up their OSRS gold in their Group Ironman adventures.
Proposed Improvements to Group Ironman
First up, we have the Group Ironman Storage Expansion. Based on the feedback Jagex received, players loved this feature and wanted more of it. Of course, just adding more slots to the storage won’t cut it, so Jagex is planning for players to earn them.
First, they’re thinking of implementing an achievement system for Group Ironman, and the rewards will be an increase to the Group Storage. Most of these tasks would be achieved as you play in a group naturally, but this time, they’re more meaningful. Even if a member of the group breaks off to level a skill by themselves, reaching 99 can unlock more storage slots for the group.
Second, the devs are considering adding an Emergency Teleport Shard system. An example of this would be Verik’s Crystal Shards in the Theatre of Blood. Using a Crystal Shard instantly teleports the player or a target to the outside of the theatre. What does this mean for Ironman?
Hardcore Ironman players know the following dungeons are safe deaths, but it’s different for Group Ironmen. The following dungeons are unsafe for them:
Chambers of Xeric (and its Challenge Mode)
The Inferno
TzHaar Fight Cave
Pest Control
Barbarian Assault
Various accidents can happen at any time, and situations, where retreating is the only way to survive, would arise. The Emergency Teleport Shards will help in those circumstances, giving the group a way out; it would be unfair to lose hardcore status from a random disconnection, after all.
The Emergency Teleport Shards work similarly to a Crystal Shard but can be applied to all kinds of dungeons instead of a specific one. The devs are also thinking of making it much cheaper and more accessible. Applying this feature also opens these items to all kinds of players, not just for solo-ists or Group Ironmen. Of course, since this will only affect the latter, they are the only ones to be polled.
If this feature gets approved, Group Ironmen (and other types of accounts) can use the Teleport Shards on themselves or other players to get out of a tight spot or dangerous situation.
Third, there are proposals for Player Housing. Currently, players can only visit houses when the owner is home, much like how it works in reality. Jagex plans to give players a key to their friends’ houses, that will let them enter another player’s home even if the owner isn’t home. This move comes with a caveat though, as it can only be done when the owner is online and in the same world as the player who wants to visit. At the very least, it’s way better than interrupting a friend’s adventure just because you want to sit down for a cup of tea in their house. Or, if in the same group, the owner would have to stay in the house, and that would cut the group’s efficiency by a bit. On the flip side, if you want to keep your privacy, you can lock your door and bar entry for everyone else. Another system devs want to apply for player housing is teleporting to a friend’s house. With this system, you can set your ‘Teleport to House’ spell to bring you to a group mate’s house instead of your own. This can be accessed by right-clicking the spell and/or the tablet.
Lastly, the devs are thinking of a system to share usually untradeable items within the group. They’ve already investigated some items to test this out with, and they are:
Crystal Armor
Crystal tools
Infernal tools
The Bow of Faerdhinen
The Blade of Saeldor
Crystal Shield
Crystal Bow
Barrows armor (all)
Scythe
Dragonfire Shield
Blood Fury
Tentacle Whip
Imbued Rings
Players will be able to trade these items, even in a charged or corrupted state for those applicable, should this feature get ratified. More could be added, but Jagex is still collecting data on what could and could not be traded.
There’s also the possibility of players getting some of these otherwise untradeable items from Group Ironman mode, and then quitting the mode to keep the item. Something like this can ruin the experience for many players, much like how those who buy OSRS gold do. This is something that can be exploited, so the devs want to avoid this as much as possible.
The most likely solution is that these items would have an alternate version that disappears when the player quits Group Ironman mode. That means the list above can still be extended in the future, with many other untradeable items. After all, in Group Ironman mode, you can’t get OSRS items for sale from the GE or other players that are not in your group.
Conclusions
These are all the proposed changes that will have to pass the polls to be added in Group Ironman. Make sure to make your opinion known at the polls, as these are all reasonable things to add to the mode and will help players immensely.
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