Worth if you've never played before?

[Masquerade]

or is it a bit like WoW where I've kinda missed the bus

[Terry]

100% worth it if you never played before. I prefer Old School myself, but RS3 still has all the amazing Questing and Bossing experiences compared to a lot of MMOs today.

[Kitten with Guns]

From a player of both games at the highest level:
World of Warcraft is a game that new players can jump into and still play with the highest ranked players if they put enough work into learning the game.

The answer to your question is neither games limit based off of starting time. Runescape is like WOW in that sense but most returning players join the game with a 10 year old account with zero 99 skills.
Most new Runescape players are in the same bus as returning players, Runescape 3 is not Runescape 2007. That returning player might have a better understand of questing and the skill system but they will have to learn the new combat system. You can level so much faster now, returning players probably wont have much on a new account.

[Masquerade]

oh ok, cool thanks. I'll give it a go, which runescape version is considered the best then?

[Heavyoak]

you can start from scratch and catch up very quickly just by doing quests and following the wiki guides https://runescape.wiki/

[ProfessorGeode]

Originally posted by Masquerade:

oh ok, cool thanks. I'll give it a go, which runescape version is considered the best then?

Both have their perks. Honestly there is a fight for what game is the best among the playerbase. It is worth your time to try them both. They are two very different games. It'd be like comparing GTA5 to Far Cry 5. Vague resemblance in the fact that they both use guns and you can drive cars, but you can't compare them directly. Both are good.

[chancan]

It is like WoW in that sense. You will have to wade through hundreds of hours of outdated, broken down content in order to get to the good parts. Wait for Oldschool Runescape in 2021, that game's entertaining from the get go

[ProfessorGeode]

Originally posted by Doosh:

It is like WoW in that sense. You will have to wade through hundreds of hours of outdated, broken down content in order to get to the good parts. Wait for Oldschool Runescape in 2021, that game's entertaining from the get go

I would say that Oldschool is a bit clunkier in terms of broken down content. But as I said earlier, they both have their perks. They both do also have drawbacks.

The biggest thing I'd say about the games, is that oldschool retains the massive time investment required to "max" out your character ... in that to get certain single skills to max level, you may need to invest 200 hours (runecrafting) alone. This version of Runescape speeds up the gameplay, and you will find it far easier to reach max levels. If you cannot play for endless hours and want to have that goal - go for Runescape.

But still, try out both. If you have membership in RS3, you have membership in Oldschool. Give them both a shot :)

[tos]

Originally posted by Masquerade:

oh ok, cool thanks. I'll give it a go, which runescape version is considered the best then?

There isn't a best, as it's like comparing vanilla and chocolate ice cream

Try out RS3 and see for yourself, if you ever want to get in OSRS, get the client Runelite for a better experience

[tos]

Originally posted by ProfessorGeode:

Originally posted by Doosh:

It is like WoW in that sense. You will have to wade through hundreds of hours of outdated, broken down content in order to get to the good parts. Wait for Oldschool Runescape in 2021, that game's entertaining from the get go

I would say that Oldschool is a bit clunkier in terms of broken down content. But as I said earlier, they both have their perks. They both do also have drawbacks.

The biggest thing I'd say about the games, is that oldschool retains the massive time investment required to "max" out your character...in that to get certain single skills to max level, you may need to invest 200 hours (runecrafting) alone. This version of Runescape speeds up the gameplay, and you will find it far easier to reach max levels. If you cannot play for endless hours and want to have that goal - go for Runescape.

But still, try out both. If you have membership in RS3, you have membership in Oldschool. Give them both a shot :)

This

[Nut McNutty]

Just give it a try and make your own mind up. Some people, especially maxed veterans, don't really know what early-mid game is like in modern RS so they will never be able to give you proper advice. They will also often suggest you to play OSRS, a game version that they look at through the nostalgia glasses, and think that new players will see it the same.

There is really no other way but to try it yourself. Note that early-game content might be a bit limited, and especially so if you don't have membership, but it's still a solid start. If you play quests, make sure to focus on the ones that were made past 2010.

[123]

not really, you don't lose anything

[ProfessorGeode]

Originally posted by Nut:

Just give it a try and make your own mind up. Some people, especially maxed veterans, don't really know what early-mid game is like in modern RS so they will never be able to give you proper advice. They will also often suggest you to play OSRS, a game version that they look at through the nostalgia glasses and think that new players will see it the same.

There is really no other way but to try it yourself. Note that early-game content might be a bit limited, and especially so if you don't have membership, but it's still a solid start. If you play quests, make sure to focus on the ones that were made past 2010.

Great points, and to add on that. The earlier quests, those being the ones before 2010 will potentially feel out of another era. If you use quest guides, do so here - feel free to skip through some of the dialogue; HOWEVER, once you reach the bigger quest lines that pick up around 2010 (you'll know it when you get to them - they start near to While Guthix Sleeps) pay attention. The story and lore is legitimately excellent in this game. Don't just let it slide. :)

[chancan]

Originally posted by ProfessorGeode:

But still, try out both. If you have membership in RS3, you have membership in Oldschool. Give them both a shot :)

Win win condition

Originally posted by Nut:

Some people, especially maxed veterans, don't really know what early-mid game is like in modern RS

I've played through the early-mid game on multiple occasions on HCIMs, and the way the game skips or invalidates so much content due to powercreep or imbalance make the whole experience feel hollow. Meanwhile, OSRS doesn't truly have invalidated content. Rogue's Den has a purpose, Puro-puro and imp catching general nets you clues, even goblins are useful for their clues. None of these things have any purpose anymore in Rs3. You might encounter them as a new player and give them a try, but as you find out that none of these things have any real value, you quickly lose entertainment.

Games aren't fun if the things you do don't feel rewarding.

[Yuuza]

Originally posted by ProfessorGeode:

Originally posted by Nut:

Just give it a try and make your own mind up. Some people, especially maxed veterans, don't really know what early-mid game is like in modern RS so they will never be able to give you proper advice. They will also often suggest you to play OSRS, a game version that they look at through the nostalgia glasses and think that new players will see it the same.

There is really no other way but to try it yourself. Note that early-game content might be a bit limited, and especially so if you don't have membership, but it's still a solid start. If you play quests, make sure to focus on the ones that were made past 2010.

Great points, and to add on that. The earlier quests, those being the ones before 2010 will potentially feel out of another era. If you use quest guides, do so here - feel free to skip through some of the dialogue; HOWEVER, once you reach the bigger quest lines that pick up around 2010 (you'll know it when you get to them - they start near to While Guthix Sleeps) pay attention. The story and lore is legitimately excellent in this game. Don't just let it slide. :)

I think if you want the best lore experience you should do the older quests first. In RS3, there has been a sort of timeskip, and many lore specific quests are set "in the past". To understand better some of the storyline in the modern quests, it's a good idea to do the older ones first. It's also interesting to see how they change and improve too!

[ProfessorGeode]

Originally posted by Doosh:

Originally posted by ProfessorGeode:

But still, try out both. If you have membership in RS3, you have membership in Oldschool. Give them both a shot :)

Win win condition

Originally posted by Nut:

Some people, especially maxed veterans, don't really know what early-mid game is like in modern RS

I've played through the early-mid game on multiple occasions on HCIMs, and the way the game skips or invalidates so much content due to powercreep or imbalance make the whole experience feel hollow. Meanwhile, OSRS doesn't truly have invalidated content. Rogue's Den has a purpose, Puro-puro and imp catching general nets you clues, even goblins are useful for their clues. None of these things have any purpose anymore in Rs3. You might encounter them as a new player and give them a try, but as you find out that none of these things have any real value, you quickly lose entertainment.

Games aren't fun if the things you do don't feel rewarding.

There's a bit of a problem with OSRS- in that it is starting to have the same issue. You'll have that in every progression based MMO. Power creep and better ways to do things will always come about.

But lets not have a big grande old fight on this thread eh? The OP asked if it was worth it to start playing. It is worth it to see if you'll like it.