RuneScape – Castle Wars Guide

GUIDE TO CASTLE WARS
Written by AnimeRPGFan
© Lee Fitzgerald 2005

Contents:
0. Version History--If I felt the need to make a change somewhere, this'll tell 
you where I messed up.
1. Introduction--Where I stand up in front of the class and make an ass of 
myself.
2. What is Castle Wars--A basic explanation of just what this game is.
3. Castle Wars--This section will give you a basic understanding of the 
different areas of Castle Wars.
 3a. The Castles--The anatomy of your home bases.
 3b. The Field--That big bunch of grass and river 'tween the Castles.
 3c. The Underground--A large expanse of tunnels beneath the bloodshed. Don't 
think you're any safer from it, though!
 3d. The Forts--The 4 lonely buildings in the dead-center of all the mayhem.
 3e. The Lobby--Here is where you can prepare, get prizes, and choose your 
patron god to fight for.
 3f. Waiting Rooms--No fighting to be done just yet. Just kick back and relax 
while the last game finishes.
4. Concepts--Now that you know the geography, let's get to the meatier parts of 
playing.
 4a. Items--Numerous helpful little gadgets that your patron gods were kind 
enough to provide a neverending supply of.
 4b. Roles and Classes--If beating the snot out of anything that moves isn't 
your thing...
 4c. Prizes--Little incentives for continued play of this game.
 4d. Strategies--Will you rush the enemy with brute force or play your moves 
like a game of Chess? This may help you 
decide.
5. Etcetera--Just in case I missed something or other in the above sections.
6. Credits--The last part of the guide, giving credit where credit is due.
___________________________________

0. Version History

 8-23-05: V.1.0:
	The first installment of the guide is up! Hope you enjoy it!
 11-30-05: V.1.1:
        Minor changes have been made, and a new strategy has been updated.
___________________________________

1. Introduction

Hey, everyone! I'm ARF, and this is my first written guide ever. I decided to 
write this to help reduce the amount of folks 
who know absolutely nothing about how to play by teaching them. Hopefully, this 
means there will be fewer Level-30s trying 
to get the flag, only to die within 10 seconds and go into a cursing fit. If 
you like it, great! If not, feel free to e-
mail me and tell me what you think could be better. Any suggestions are 
welcome, and you will be credited if it's put in 
here.

RuneScape is Copyrighted to Jagex. I do not own it in any way, nor do I have 
anything to do with its creation. This guide 
is a User-Created work and not made by Jagex; They are not responsible for any 
mistakes that may occur within this guide. 
Any questions, comments (of the non-flaming variety), suggestions, etc. can be 
sent to videomaniac123@hotmail.com. This 
guide is to be posted on GameFAQs and GameFAQs alone. If you see this anywhere 
besides on GameFAQs, please contact me 
immediately with a link to the violation so that I can properly request its 
removal. Thank you.

So without further ado, I bring you: A guide to Castle Wars!
___________________________________

2. What is Castle Wars?

Castle Wars is one of many mini-games within Runescape. It's located southwest-
ish from Ardounge, and directly south from 
the Observatory. As such, it is a Members-Only thing. You can also use a Ring 
of Dueling to get here ('Rub' the ring and 
choose the second option). Castle Wars is an excellent game for those who like 
to fight but don't want to risk losing items 
such as with the wilderness; if you die, you won't lose any items, and you 
can't get skulled whilst here. There's no level 
of danger here unlike in the wilderness, which means that for all they care, a 
Level 126 could attack a level 3. The entire 
place is a multicombat zone as well, so expect to be ganged upon.

The goal of Castle Wars is something like Capture the Flag: You run over to the 
enemy castle and take their Standard, and 
then make a mad dash to your own castle, plant the Standard where your own 
goes, and then your team scores a point. Each 
game of Castle Wars lasts 20 minutes, and whichever team has the most points at 
the end gets 2 Castle Wars tickets which 
can be redeemed for other prizes from Lanathus (In the building lobby). In the 
event of a tie, everybody gets 1 ticket. The 
losers get absolutely zip. The game keeps count of how many kills you land, but 
it doesn't affect your prize in any way 
whatsoever. Kinda pointless, huh. Once a game has ended, you have 5 minutes to 
prepare again for the next game (Don't 
worry, there's a bank-chest in the Lobby, similar to the Duel Arena).
___________________________________

3. Castle Wars

This section explains each part of the Wars Territory, and you'll benefit 
greatly from knowing the land. 
-----
3a. The Castles

Your home-bases. The Saradomin castle is located in the southeast corner of the 
field and the Zamorak castle in the 
northwest. This is where you start the game, where you respawn if you die, and 
where you can find supplies to help battle 
the enemy. Much of the fighting goes on in these zones, and these are also 
where you can find the Standards you have to 
capture/protect. There are 4 floors to the castle, 5 if you count the Ramparts.

-Ground Floor: Where the seige begins, and thus one of the major chokepoints in 
the battle. There are 4 ways for the enemy 
to get in: The locked single door, which the enemy will have to unlock if they 
find it closed (Or open it from inside); The 
double doors, which the enemy will have to destroy if it's closed (Or open it 
from inside); The underground ladder, which 
leads to the bulk of the supplies, or they can use a Climbing Rope to get on 
top the Ramparts, whereupon they climb down 
the staircase and end up close to the locked single door. Almost all of the 
supplies for the game can be found here, and 
are explained in the Items section.

-Ramparts: This is the main line of defense; a large concrete wall that 
surrounds the castle itself. Accessed by a stairway 
next to the Locked Single Door, Mages and Rangers on defense can plant 
themselves here and fire upon any advancing enemy 
forces on the field (provided they're within range, of course). The Ramparts 
also house the Catapult on a corner jutting 
out, which uses Rocks as ammunition and can deal a lot of damage if it hits. 
More info on the Catapult can be found in the 
Roles and Classes subsection. The Ramparts have a destructible Double door on 
one side, and an unlockable Single door on 
the other. You'd do well to keep these closed and in good shape if they're in 
your castle. If the double-doors are 
destroyed, you can repair them with a Toolbox. 

-First Floor: About 75% of this floor is occupied by the Respawn Room, which 
can only be entered by members of the same 
team (Zamorak acolytes in the Zamorak castle and Saradomnists in the Saradomin 
castle). In the respawn room is a table with 
Bandages, and it is the only safe zone in the war-area (But you can only stay 
in it for two minutes at a time; I'm not sure 
what happens if you stay any longer). There is a staircase that heads upwards, 
closer to the Standard's resting place, and 
a ladder in the respawn room that leads to a trapdoor directly under the 
standard (The trapdoor cannot be used to get into 
the respawn room unless you are of the same team). There is also a staircase 
(going down) that leads very close to the 
Rampart-staircase, and a downwards ladder which leads straight to the supply 
room.

-Second Floor: This one is even smaller than the first floor, but should be 
well defended anyway, for if you go up, you'll 
find yourself looking straight at the throne of the team-standard. A trapdoor 
there leads to the respawn room, and other 
than that there's just the staircase going down which you probably used to get 
to this floor.

-Top Floor: A very small floor, only 4x4 in area, this floor should probably be 
best-defended of all. The standard lies 
here, so if it's your castle and you find that standard gone, you better go out 
and look for it!
-----
3b. The Field

Once you leave the castle, you'll be in a rather large plain. The river is cut 
in half diagonally by a river running 
through. On the far sides of the river are Stepping Stones that you can use to 
cross (Which can impede enemy pursuers since 
each stone must be hopped one at a time, giving little time for an attack), and 
in the center, there are forts. The field-
area immediately surrounding the two Castles is dotted with spear walls; Proper 
placement of barricades can really make 
these hell to get around. There's a decent chance that someone holding their 
own flag is hiding in the far corners of the 
Field.
-----
3c. The Underground

If you go to the ladders in the back alleys of the supply room, or down the 
trapdoors in the forts, you'll find a small 
network of tunnels that run straight under the Field. Bring a Pickaxe or some 
Explosive Potions to bypass the Blockades 
(It's often wise to re-collapse the walls once you've passed them to detain 
pursuers). That the ladders at each end lead 
right to inside the Castles allows the Underground to be used at a route of 
attack; Enemies that have their defenses 
concentrated upon the ramparts won't be able to do much to stop invaders 
striking from inside. Anyone who does attack in 
this way would do well to grab some more Barricades or Explosive Potions so 
that they can escape easier once grabbing the 
flag.
-----
3d. The Forts

The 4 Forts in the center of the area can prove to be a vital chokepoint, as 
they are the easiest way to get from one side 
of the river to the other. As such, this is basically where a Meleer goes to 
cover defenses, but anybody can do defense 
here, really. Mages and Rangers should head to the top of the forts and block 
access with Barricades before raining long-
range death upon their foes. Especially useful to have a Mage here so that if 
one of their own is taking the enemy flag 
home, the Mage can cast Bind/Snare/Entangle on the pursuers to help ensure that 
the runner lives with his bounty. On the 
sides, between some forts are a couple of trapdoors which lead to the 
Underground.
-----
3e. The Lobby

This is where you enter, and where you show up when the game ends. The lobby is 
run by Lanathus, who can sell you a 
Castlewars Manual for 5 coins, or can sell you various (untradeable) trinkets 
for the tickets that you earn whilst playing. 
There's a bank chest in the southeast corner of the building, and a door on the 
northeast corner where you can go on a wall 
and watch part of the siege of a Saradomnist Castle (That's the only part you 
can view, really). On the west side of the 
lobby are 3 portals. Walking into the Blue one takes you to the Saradomin Team, 
walking into the Red one pledges your 
alliegance to Zamorak, and passing through the Green portal will take you to 
whichever team has less players (Green portal 
represents Guthix, i.e. Balance). There's a chance that there are too many 
people will be on the Saradomin or Zamorak team, 
so if you try to enter a portal and it says "There are too many people on this 
team!", well that's just too bad. You cannot 
enter the portals if you're wearing a Helmet or Cape, or have any noncombat 
items in your inventory (This includes 
Castlewars Tickets or anything you might've found within the game). Going 
through the portals will take you to...
-----
3f. The Waiting Rooms

This is where you wait while the game-in-progress finishes or while players are 
given their 5-minute grace period to 
prepare and reenter the team's waiting rooms. As soon as you come in, you will 
either be given a Red or Blue Cape'n'Hood, 
depending on which team you're on. Once inside, you can chat with folks, 
discuss strategies, or just hang out. A fun little 
tidbit about the Waiting Rooms is if you enter a portal while wearing an item 
that represents a different god, you will be 
transformed into an animal, depending on what it was. I believe it goes 
something like this (Feel free to correct me):

Enter the Saradomin Portal with an item of Zamorak or Guthix, and you'll be 
turned into a bunny. 
Enter the Guthix Portal with an item of Zamorak or Saradomin and you'll be 
turned into a sheep.
Enter the Zamorak Portal with an item of Guthix or Saradomin and you'll be 
turned into an Imp.

The items that marks the transformation can vary from God Books, to Holy/Unholy 
Symbols, to even Robes. Whilst in animal-
form, you cannot run or do anything except log out, change what music is 
playing, talk, walk, and private-message your 
friends. Once you leave the Waiting Room via the Portal (Which will take you 
back to the Lobby) or once the game starts, 
you will be returned to your regular human self.
___________________________________

4. Concepts

Enough about the land, let's get on to the things that actually affect your 
performance!

-----
4a. Items

-Bandages: Probably the most important item in Castle Wars, Bandages will heal 
about 10% of your health, and will cure 
poison and restore 30% of your energy. You can also use Bandages on a person to 
heal them. Its supply table was moved from 
the supply room to the respawn room to prevent flag-holders from repeatedly 
healing, guaranteeing an unfair victory.
-Climbing Rope: Grab a few of these, and scroll over the top of the Ramparts 
until you see "Use Climbing Rope with 
Battlements". Then click, and click again on the rope to hoist yourself onto 
the Ramparts so that you can wreak hell or get 
brutally mauled by the mages and rangers perched up there. Climbing Ropes can't 
be taken down once set up; They must fade 
away.
-Tinderbox: This item is found on the ground instead of on Supply Tables. You 
can use it on a Catapult to raze it to an 
unusable state, or on a Barricade to burn it away.
-Explosive Potion: Whatever a Tinderbox or Pickaxe does, the Explosive Potion 
does instantly. Each one is used one time 
only. Whatever you do, don't drop it, or you'll take 15 Damage.
-Toolbox: Grab one and only one of these; It's used an infinite number of 
times. You can use this on a destroyed Catapult 
to restore it to mint condition, or if your team's double-doors were destroyed, 
you can use it to repair them to brand-
spanking new condition.
-Barricade: An essential Defensive tool, the Barricade can be set up to block 
an advance. If there's a way to go aroudn it, 
it must be done manually; The Pathfinder AI doesn't register the Barricade and 
will make you walk right into it instead of 
going around it. Be warned, though: Each team can set up only 10 barricades at 
a time, and the barricades will block ALL 
advances, friend or foe.
-Rock: This is ammunition for the Catapult, plain and simple.
-Bucket: Like the Tinderbox, this is found on the ground instead of on a supply 
table. Fill it with water from the Tap so 
that you can use it to put out a tinderbox-induced fire that's still burning 
before the object becomes damaged/destroyed.
-Pickaxe: There are bronze Pickaxes on the Supply Table, but you're better off 
bringing your own Rune Pickaxe. You use this 
to Clear or Create Blockades in the Underground Tunnel.

-----
4b. Roles and Classes

You're probably thinking, "Well, duh, there's Melee, Range, and Mages. 
Everybody knows that!" Well, when it comes to castle 
wars, there's more than just Melee, Range, and Magic. The many CW-exclusive 
items give birth to a decent number of Support 
Roles, which is perfect for those who aren't quite suited to taking on 80+ 
combat folks (Or aren't good at fighting in 
general), which there will be a lot of. For example:

Medic: Healers. They stock up on bandages, bandages, and more bandages, and 
either stick to the ramparts, healing the Mage 
and Range defenses, or they go out to heal the other members of their team. 
Especially someone who has just gotten the 
enemy flag and is making a mad dash.

Sapper: In Medieval times, sappers were engineers in an army, who would work to 
weaken the defenses of the enemy 
castles/forts/etc. In Runescape, the sapper takes Barricades, Climbing Ropes, 
Explosive Potions, Tinderboxes, the works. 
From there, they run to the enemy base and set up their things in a way that 
will slow down the enemy or speed up the 
advance of their own team. For example, setting up a lot of climbing ropes so 
that Meleers can storm the ramparts en masse 
and take out the defenses.

Engineer: Basically the exact opposite of a Sapper. Engineers will take 
everything a Sapper does and apply it in ways to 
their own base to help their team's defenses out.

Artillery: These fellas take a Toolbox, a bandage or two, and load up the rest 
with Rocks. They man the catapault and fire 
at any enemies that come within range. It often helps if they have a friend 
acting as Recon so that they can fire more 
accurately and more importantly not fire shots that'll take down half of their 
own team. In order to use the Catapult, 
simply go up to the Catapult on your team's Ramparts and click on it. A window 
with a map of sorts of the area will show 
up, with a red X on it. Use the arrows to direct the X to where you want to 
fire, and then click "Fire!" to launch the Rock 
to where you directed. The shots are slow, though, and by no means guaranteed 
to hit your enemies, or anyone for that 
matter. The impact from the Rock will damage anyone in the vicinity, friend or 
foe, so aim carefully or you'll be called a 
noob and yelled at to get off the catapult. ;)

You can use your imagination to think up other useful roles for use as an aid 
to your team. If you think of a good one, 
feel free to let me know and I'll give you credit for it.
-----
4c. Prizes

Now then, as I said before, the team that wins gets 2 Castlewars Tickets, and 
in the event of a draw, everybody gets 1. You 
can take these tickets to Lanathus to trade for various cool-looking trinkets. 
Take note, though, that ALL prizes from 
Castle Wars, including the tickets, are not tradeable. All prices are in 
Castlewars tickets, save for the Manual, which is 
in standard Coins.

Red-Blue Decorative Armor (Roughly equal to Steel Armor, normally has 100 in 
Stock)
-Medium Helm: 4 
-Platelegs: 6
-Platebody: 8
-Kiteshield: 6
-Blade: 5
Silver-Blue Decorative Armor (Roughly equal to Mithril Armor, normally has 50 
in stock)
-Medium Helm: 40
-Platelegs: 60
-Platebody: 80
-Kiteshield: 60
-Blade: 50
Gold-Black Decorative Armor (Rougly equal to Adamant Armor, normally has 25 in 
stock)
-Medium Helm: 400
-Platelegs: 600
-Platebody: 800
-Kiteshield: 600
-Blade: 500
Castlewars Cloak (Red): 10 (Normally has 200 in stock)
Castlewars Hood (Red): 10 (Normally has 200 in stock)
Castlewars Cloak (Blue): 10 (Normally has 200 in stock)
Castlewars Hood (Blue): 10 (Normally has 200 in stock)
Castlewars Manual: 5 (Normally has 1000 in stock)
-----
4d. Strategies

Here is a list of various strategies one might use to help win the game. 
Parentheses indicates what type of strategy they 
are. If you have any strategies of your own, please send 'em in and you will be 
credited!

-Blitzkrieg (One-time offensive): If your team is about to lose in a game, rush 
back to your Castle and stock up on some 
Barricades, Explosive Potions, and Bandages. Then use the Portal in the respawn 
room to go back to the waiting room (You 
will keep the items in the waiting room, but they will vanish if you go back to 
the lobby). Wait there until the next game 
starts, and then rush into the enemy castle with your already-prepared self 
before they have time to mount a suitable 
defense, take the flag, and run.

-Magical Wall (Defensive): Get some maging friends to cover Defense on the 
Ramparts with you. Stock up runes for a lot of 
Bind/Snare/Entangle and make it a priority to use it on any enemy who comes 
near. Stock up on some other offensive spells 
to deal damage in the meantime (Curse and Vulnerability work well, too, so that 
any Meleeing defenders can help out more).
Rangers can also perch up here to rain arrowey death upon those less vulnerable 
to magic.

-The Infamous Flag-Holder (Offensive): When an enemy takes your flag, wait 
until he's out of the Castle grounds and kill 
him. Pick up the flag and RUN. So long as you don't die, the enemy won't be 
able to score. While an effective strategy, 
this is also the most dishonorable one and you will, 95% of the time, be hated 
for doing it.

Submitted by yugi209179 and Seasnake4 pretty much at the same time:
-The Crusher (Support, Somewhat offense): What you do is fill your inventory 
with Explosive Potions, and maybe a pickaxe if 
that's your style. Go to the Underground and make sure that you're standing 
next to a cleared tunnel. When an enemy is 
about to go through, use the Explosive Potion to instantly collapse the rock 
wall. If you time it correctly, it'll 
instantly kill the one who was running through. This is useful to halt someone 
pursuing a flag-bearer, and also for just 
plain annoying the enemy.

___________________________________

5. Etcetera
~~Section Pending for later Use~~
___________________________________

6. Credits

Thanks to Jagex for making this awesome game!
Thanks to GameFAQs for hosting it.
Thanks to the countless Members of Runescape who've said a thing or two during 
gameplay that helped contribute to this 
guide!
Thanks to boredom for allowing me to write this first version in one sitting!
Thanks to yugi209179 and Seasnake4 for input on a strategy.