DarkScape is a variant of RuneScape, announced on 16 September 2015. It is a fork of the main RuneScape code as of late May 2015. It features an open PvP environment. There are no "safe zones." Furthermore, there is only Legacy Mode combat; everyone starts at combat level 3; and progress in RuneScape does not affect DarkScape. All content is available to both free-to-play and pay-to-play players; however, members gain 50% more experience than free-to-play players for all actions (including once-off actions like quest rewards), have double bank space, and keep 1 more item when dying[1]. The use of Treasure Hunter, and other features are disabled.
 
The endgame, Jagex hopes, is that this new, high risk, high reward economy will foster an entirely new way to play the game. Players could form clans where those who are good at combat can protect a group of players who are good at mining while they gather valuable resources. Others can act as bodyguards, protecting traders as they travel from one Grand Exchange to another. "We found this morning that the spawn locations have been constantly full of people just murdering each other, so we're currently dealing with that problem," DarkScape senior producer Conor Crowley told Motherboard.
 
I find my old coal spot and... it is empty. Tin and copper with a couple of guys mining. There is another spot further west, according to the map, and fortunately it is full of coal. Maybe I was mistaken. It wouldn't surprise me; my memory of this game is still foggy. Another miner is already here, with some kind of pet creature named Coal. We share the mithril and coal rocks; the adamantite looks to be out of both our leagues. For a while, we hammer away in unison. I check my progress. Not going so fast. Clicking on the skill shows me that the mining guild entry requirement is now level 60. Or had it always been that? Surely not; I recall talking with Edgar Rene, after all.
 
DarkScape is now live and playable for free! This experimental new game takes RuneScape and throws it into chaos, giving you free reign for intense combat and ruthless trade wars. RuneScape maker Jagex Games Studio today launched DarkScape, a player vs. player (PvP) sandbox MMO set in a “shadowy, alternate game universe,”according to Jagex. DarkScape is free-to-play and includes areas of Gielinor usually reserved for RuneScape members. “With DarkScape, we’re trying something new and exciting, taking RuneScape‘s wealth of content and changing the fundamental rules to create a whole new experience –something not possible in RuneScape itself.”
 
This new server is completely free-to-play. Players will have access to all content for free. The difference is that subscribers gain XP 50% faster, have double the bank space, and get to keep a second item on death. Otherwise, it is a hardcore, full loot, open PvP server with strict limits on teleportation. Different regions are split into low, medium, and high risk categories. Each region has its own separate bank for players and its own economy. Runescape is probably one of gaming's longest lasting online games to date. The developers of this old world are now planning to breathe new life into it with DarkScape. DarkScape takes the RuneScape world that players know and throws the system into complete and total chaos with fully open world PVP.
 
With DarkScape, we're trying something new and exciting, taking RuneScape's wealth of content and changing the fundamental rules to create a whole new experience –something not possible in RuneScape itself. "Developing a new take on the world of RuneScape, one where PvP gameplay rules supreme, has proved very exciting. We spent time looking for a way to get DarkScape into the hands of players as soon as possible, so the game launching today is very much an experimental first step. That said, it will continue to evolve and further develop based on how players explore our fresh take on a deadly MMO experience!"