Hello again, Ashenfall Adventurers! 

Ranged combat is on its way with 0.9 in September, and the team are already designing and exploring what we can bring to RuneScape: Dragonwilds. It's an exciting part of the process of bringing the skill to life, and we're already looking forward to getting the skill in your hands with new skill spells, upgrades and more. With that in mind, we've got two options in front of us which both present some excellent opportunities to bring you new ways to rain down terror from on high (or from below, depending on where you're standing or how big the thing you're fighting is, I suppose). We want to know which one of these features you'd want to see introduced into the Ranged Skill first.

This does not mean we won't add the other!

"Why do we have to choose?"

We want to get this into your hands as soon as possible, and we want to be sure what we're working on meets your expectation of what feels the most fitting for the Ranged skill. To do that, we want to focus on one of these elements as a new feature to add to Ranged, so that you feel like you're getting something new and cool to dish out damage with, but also with the level of polish we're happy with, so we can then focus on the other option later on in the future. We're open to both ideas, and would be happy implementing either, and we'll give you a bit more of an insight into our thoughts and initial ideas around each below. Then, we'll be listening to you, getting your thoughts and taking feedback on board before we make a decision on which way we're heading first.

So, what are the options?

Bow or Throw

Crossbows

Crossbows - iconic pieces of RuneScape gear - are a Ranged combat staple, and a new weapon archetype for RuneScape: Dragonwilds. We'd like to explore where Crossbows could take us. An entirely new craftable weapon type, with variants that progress as you uncover new material tiers. This also opens us up to the possibility of introducing variations of Crossbows later on with expansions to the skill in the future. For now, we're focused on 1h crossbows that could be used with a Sheild, or a Torch!

Throwables 

Gosh Chinchompas are cute, aren't they? What if you could capture, conjure or otherwise collect those fluffy little deathtraps and hurl them at unfortunate foes? What if you could put your kiln to work churning out consumable throwable weapons that did AOE damage? We want to explore ways you can create consumable ammunition for ranged attacks and hurl some hurt down range at your enemies. As we expand out deeper into the continent of Ashenfall, we'd have more ingredients and ways for you to cook up carnage in handheld form, too. Whether that'd be vulnerability bombs like in RuneScape, or elemental consumables channeling the energy of runes, we'll continue to iterate on the skill as the game progresses onwards.

So, two options for you to choose from. Again, we are NOT saying that the other won't be added to the game later on, but we just want to know what feels like a priority to you - it's the reason we're developing through Early Access with your feedback!

You can weigh in with your vote on the official RuneScape: Dragonwilds Discord and the Subreddit, and we'll be listening to your feedback on this in the relevant comment threads. Thanks for your feedback!