Castle Wars

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Please note this is a 'Safe' activity. If you die during this activity, you will retain all of your items.


The Castle Wars arena has opened south of Ardougne. Saradomin and Zamorak have taken an interest and are urging their chosen teams towards victory. Which will you choose to fight for? Or will you follow the way of Guthix and help keep the balance?

Castle Wars is a combat-based team game, the goal of which is to breach the other team's defences and capture the flag atop their castle, while also defending your own castle and flag. Your team will score one point for each time it manages to capture the enemy flag, and the team with the most points at the end of the match wins!


The Castle Wars Arena is located west of Yanille.

The fastest way to get to Castle Wars is to use a ring of duelling, which will teleport you directly there. If you have access to the fairy ring network, you can travel to BKP, which is just south of Castle Wars. Various teleport spells will get you within walking distance, such as Ardougne Teleport and Watchtower Teleport.


There are no requirements to join in - just turn up and choose a side! Make sure you are not wearing a helmet or cape, though.


We recommend that you bring a good choice of armour and weaponry to protect you from any opponent. Also, a good source of potions will aid you in difficult situations. If you've bought any of the Castle Wars rewards, you may wish to bring those, as some have effects that will prove beneficial during a match.

You may also be tempted to bring a Castle Wars bracelet, which increases the potency of bandages used during a match.

Note: Non-combat items are not allowed in the arena, e.g. food.


Once you have made your way to the entrance of Castle Wars, you can either speak to Lanthus and he will explain the rules, or you can obtain a Castle Wars manual for free from the rewards store.

To join a match, choose which team you would like to be on and enter a portal. Entering the red portal on the left will enrol you on the Zamorak team, and entering the blue portal on the right will enrol you on the Saradomin team. The green portal in the middle is the Guthix portal; if you choose to go through this portal you will be enrolled on whichever team currently has the fewest players, be that Saradomin or Zamorak. Once you have entered a portal, you will be taken to that team's waiting area.

If you enter a portal wearing an item that represents one of the other gods (e.g. entering the Zamorak portal wearing an item of Saradomin), then you will change form and remain that way until the game starts. Zamorak punishes you by turning you into an imp; Saradomin gives you some time to reflect on things as a rabbit; Guthix makes you one with nature as a, er, sheep. Don't worry, though: you'll only remain in this form until either the match begins or you use the exit portal.

If there is a game in progress, you may observe the action from the viewing orb near Lanthus, which will allow you to survey the battlefield from a variety of viewpoints. Castle Wars matches last for twenty minutes, with a five minute interval between each one. It is in the five minutes between matches that you will go to the waiting area. A message will be shown at the top of the screen indicating the length of time remaining to the start of the next match.


When the match begins (and if you're killed during the match), you'll find yourself in your castle's starting room. In this room is a table of bandages, which you should definitely grab a handful of. As you are unable to bring food with you into a Castle Wars match, these are the only means by which you have to heal yourself (or your teammates). Bandages heal up to 100 life points, restore 30% of your run energy and cure any poisons that you are suffering from. There's also a tinderbox in this room, which you may find useful.

Don't linger in the starting room for too long, though, as if you haven't left within the first two minutes of the match you'll be dumped back into your team's waiting area for the next match to begin. Also, note that only members of your team are able to enter this starting room; likewise, you will not be able to get into your opponents' starting room.


From the starting room you can either climb up the ladder or pass through the barriers. Whichever way you go, if you then climb up the stairs to the very top of your castle, you will see your team's flag, safely at home in its flag stand. This is what you must protect! If the enemy steals this and manages to carry it all the way back to this same part of their own castle, they will capture your flag and score a point. Conversely, this is exactly what your team needs to do with their flag!

Heading down to the stairs to the ground floor will lead you to just outside of your team's storeroom. In here you'll find a range of tools that will aid you in successfully capturing the other team's flag and defending your own. Learning how to use these items well will increase your team's chances of winning the match.

Item	Use
Empty bucket	Can be filled with water from a water source and used to extinguish flaming catapults, ballistas and barricades.
Climbing rope	Can be used to scale the walls of your opponents' castle (must first be tied to that castle's battlements on the first floor).
Barricade	Used to block enemy movement (your team may only place up to ten at a time).
Explosive potion	Used to destroy barricades, rocks in the underground tunnels, or the enemy catapult. If dropped, this can cause you damage!
Toolkit	Used to repair your catapult or doors when they are broken.
Pickaxe	Used to remove rocks from and collapse the underground tunnels.
Rock	Used as ammunition for your catapult.
Flare	Used to signal your current location to a teammate who is manning the catapult.
Bandage	Found in the starting room, not the storeroom. These heal up to 100 life points, restore 30% of your run energy and cure you of poisons.
Tinderbox	Found in the starting room, not the storeroom. Used to set fire to barricades, ballistas and catapults.

Ground Floor Map

The largest area of the Castle Wars arena is the ground floor. This is the level that both teams' storerooms are on, at the centre of each castle. There are three entrances/exits in each team's castle - the main double doors at the front, a small door on the side, and a ladder to the underground tunnels in the back of the storeroom. You are free to open your own castle's doors, but you will have to either attack or unlock those at your opponent's castle. Make sure to close your castle's doors after you've used them, else you'll be leaving your castle freely open to the enemy. If your door has been broken, you can repair it if you are carrying a toolkit. There is no way to directly block the ladder in your storeroom, so you may wish to setup some of your barricades around it, to slow down the enemy.

Once outside of your castle, there are three main above-ground routes to the enemy castle. You can follow the outer walls to either of the stepping stone crossings in opposite corners, or you can head around the spear walls and over a bridge to the cental island (there are two trapdoors on the central island that lead down into the centre of the underground tunnels).

	Zamorak team flag		Zamorak team catapult		Stepping stones
	Ladders to underground tunnels		Saradomin team flag		Saradomin team catapult

Underground Tunnels Map

The underground tunnels can be accessed by climbing down the ladder in either team's storeroom, or one of the two ladders on the central island. These tunnels are a good and sneaky way of getting into the enemy castle, but the other team will likely be using them too.

Along each of the four tunnels underground are rocks that you will have to mine your way past (so make sure you've taken a pickaxe from your storeroom before coming down here). If one of these tunnels has been cleared of rocks, you'll then be able to mine the wall nearby to collapse the area again. Be careful if the tunnel is clear and one of your opponents is mining the wall - if you don't stay clear of them, the tunnel may just collapse on your head!

The tunnels underground are narrow so you can use the barricades to block the tunnels. If this is used to stop you, you can remove the barricades by attacking them, or setting them alight using a tinderbox (also found on the table of the ground floor).

Zamorak waiting area

Collapsed/collapsible tunnels

Saradomin waiting area

Both teams can make use of siege weapons to help defend their castle. Each team will have one catapult on the first floor of their castle, which can be used to attack area out in the open. Also, if one member of your team has brought a ballista with them (after buying all four parts of it and some ammo for it from the Castle Wars reward shop), they can set that up on one of the eight ballista platforms.

Using the Catapult

The catapults are located on the first floor battlements of your castle. They are a good method of attacking the other team and destroying enemy ballistas. To fire the catapult, use a rock (which can be found in the storeroom on the ground floor) with the catapult. This will bring up the catapult controls interface.

To aim the catapult, click one of the grid squares displayed in the interface (the catapults' range lets you fire up to, but not over the river); the chosen square will be highlighted red. Then, click on the FIRE! button to fire at this location.

If a teammate is in the field using flares, the location at which a flare was fired will be highlighted yellow. You can't hurt your teammates with your catapult, so fire away! With careful teamwork, this use of flares can allow you to make precise, effective use of the catapult (particular to destroy enemy ballistas), rather than just flinging rocks with it at random.

The enemy has a catapult too, so it's good to know that you can sabotage it. To disable the other team's catapult, use a tinderbox or explosive potion with it to set it on fire. If this happens to your catapult, it can be repaired to full working use with a toolkit.

Using a Ballista

In the field are locations for the construction of ballistas. Individuals can purchase the four parts and ammunition for the ballista from the Castle Wars rewards store (and to set one up you will need all four parts and some ammo). Depending on which of the eight platforms you choose to setup your ballista on, there will be three or four directions in which it can be aimed, by rotating it (it cannot be aimed towards a castle wall). You are able to take up to 100 pieces of ballista ammo into a match to load the ballista with; a loaded ballista will automatically fire upon the first enemy to cross in front of where it's aiming, using up one piece of ammo, and will continue at targets in this way until it runs out of ammo.

As with catapults, enemy ballistas can be attacked and destroyed, so defend them well. If protected and well maintained, they can be a powerful tool in your defensive arsenal.




During a match, there will be an overlay on the game window that gives you information about the current match in progress. Except for the Time Remaining icon, the icons below have multiple possible states. Simply put, though, if the status is shown in green, that defence is safe, but if shown in red has been sabotaged. The flags have a third state to say if a flag has been dropped (i.e. not being carried or in its flag stand), which is shown in yellow.

Icon	Green message	Red message
Saradomin flag status	Safe	Taken
Zamorak flag status	Safe	Taken
Main gate icon	The gate will display a green health bar. The more damaged it received, the more the bar will turn red
Side door icon	Locked	Unlocked
Tunnel icon 1 and 2	Collapsed	Cleared
Catapult status	Operational	Damaged
Time remaining	-	-

Once a match is over (after twenty minutes), all players on the winning team will receive two Castle Wars tickets. In the event of a tie, all players on both teams will receive one Castle Wars ticket. These tickets can be saved up and exchanged for many rewards, by trading with Lanthus at the entrance to Castle Wars. The rewards that can be purchased are listed in the table below. Note that any rewards that you purchase can be traded back to Lanthus for however much your purchased them for. This way, you could buy all parts of the basic decorative armour, then trade up to the detailed decorative armour, piece by piece, as you earn more Castle Wars tickets.

Item	Ticket cost
Basic decorative helm	5
Basic decorative platebody1	8
Basic decorative platelegs1	6
Basic decorative shield1	4
Basic decorative sword	6
Detailed decorative helm	50
Detailed decorative platebody2	80
Detailed decorative platelegs2	60
Detailed decorative shield2	40
Detailed decorative sword	60
Intricate decorative helm	500
Intricate decorative platebody3	800
Intricate decorative platelegs3	600
Intricate decorative shield3	800
Intricate decorative sword	600
Profound decorative helm	650
Profound decorative platebody4	1100
Profound decorative platelegs4	800
Profound decorative shield4	500
Profound decorative sword	800
Guthix halo*	300
Saradomin halo*	300
Zamorak halo*	300
Faithful shield	200
Saradomin team hood	10
Saradomin team cape	10
Zamorak team hood	10
Zamorak team cape	10
Castle Wars flag cape~	2
Castle Wars kills cape~	2
Castle Wars hobbyist cape~	2
Castle Wars enthusiast cape~	2
Castle Wars professional cape~	2
Ballista base#	2
Ballista bolt stack#	2
Ballista bow#	2
Ballista chamber#	2
Ballista ammo#	4
Melee potion set+	1
Ranged potion set+	1
Magic potion set+	1

¹Wearing the basic platebody, platelegs and shield during a Castle Wars match gives you +10% damage against the enemy team.

²Wearing the detailed platebody, platelegs and shield during a Castle Wars match gives you +15% damage against the enemy team, and +10% damage against barricades/ballistas.

³Wearing the intricate platebody, platelegs and shield during a Castle Wars match gives you +20% damage against the enemy team, +10% damage against barricades/ballistas, and immunity from catapult damage.

⁴Wearing the profound platebody, platelegs and shield during a Castle Wars match gives you +25% damage against the enemy team, +10% damage against barricades/ballistas, and immunity from catapult/ballista damage.

^*Guthix halo reduces the drain rate of the prayers Clarity of Thought, Improved Reflexes, Incredible Reflexes, Chivalry, Piety; Saradomin halo reduces the drain rate of Thick Skin, Rock Skin, Steel Skin, Chivalry, Piety; Zamorak halo reduces the drain rate of Burst of Strength, Superhuman Strength, Ultimate Strength, Chivalry, Piety.

^~Each cape can only be purchased after: getting the most flag captures in a match (flag cape); getting the most kills in a match (kills cape); completing 500 matches (hobbyist cape); completing 1,000 matches (enthusiast cape); and completing 5,000 matches (professional cape).

^#Before you can use a ballista in a Castle Wars match, you must purchase all four ballista parts and at least one bit of ammo for it. You can take up to 100 bits of ammo with you into a match.

⁺Melee potion set contains 1x Super Attack, 1x Super Strength, 1x Super Defence, 1x Super Energy.
Ranged potion set contains 1x Ranging potion, 1x Super Defence, 1x Super Energy.
Magic potion set contains 1x Magic Essence, 1x Super Defence, 1x Super Energy.
The potions in these sets may only be used during a Castle Wars match.

For stats of the reward items that can be worn/wielded, see Melee - Castle Wars Items.

Original			Rework
Developer:	Graham B		Developer:	Tim C
Graphics:	Joe R, John S		Graphics:	Alec V, Gurpreet K
QA:	Danny G		QA:	Thomas H, Adam D, Liam H
Audio:	Ian T		Audio:	Sam J

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