Here was an idea I was writing about over 8 years ago, way before Varlamore existed.
Back then, I based it in the not-yet-released Colosseum.
Nowadays, I would not want Jagex to make this minigame. Jagex should first fix the problems and activity of its current PvP activities.
The Colosseum of Zeah is a structured team PvP minigame based in Civitas illa Fortis. Teams of 6 face off in no-holds-barred combat for ELO ranking, seasonal prestige, and access to a unique reward shop.
Supplies are provided by the minigame. Outside food, potions, and runes prohibited inside the arena.
The core experience.
Possible future addition if the minigame turns out popular enough. Maybe 2v2s also?
Nowadays we already have Emir's Arena. Frankly, maybe this minigame could be built in to the existing PvP Arena.
Practice or fight friendly duels with friends. No reward currency nor ranking is obtained from the Unranked Colosseum.
Fight to raise your rank and earn Valiance Factor! The top-ranked teams can compete for an end-of-season Grand Prize!
There would probably also be a Spectator Mode, which would be great for streamers and events.
The Colosseum is only active on 1-2 dedicated worlds (one US, one UK). Once your party of 6 is assembled, the Team Leader queues for a match. The system finds an opponent team of similar ELO and the same combat level bracket. Both filters apply simultaneously.
It would probably make sense for there to be some kind of combat level brackets. Or maybe not. I'm sure if this minigame were actually being developed, we would find a way.
Your personal ELO rating starts at 1000. Your team displays an average ELO. Rating earned scales with opponent strength. Stomping a lower-rated team gains less than beating one at your level.
Similar to Deadman Mode, the Colosseum runs in competitive seasons of 1 or 3 months. When a season ends, rankings reset, keeping the meta fresh as new gear enters the game. Past season data is preserved, so you can look back years later at how you ranked.
- Colosseum Bandages - restores HP and run energy, but does not cure poison or venom. Encourages Lunar Magic utility spells.
- Colosseum Potions - likely a prayer pot or two. Makes Share Potion spells via Lunars worth using.
- Free Elemental & Catalytic Runes - supplied to all players. Removes the barrier to casting Lunar group spells (Cure Poison, Heal Other, Group Vengeance) that are otherwise never brought to PvP.
- Ranged ammo is refunded for free.
There is a good chance that the 6v6 PvP Arena could encourage players to actually use Lunar Spells they normally never bother with.
Cure Other, Cure Group, Stat Restore Pot Share, Boost Potion Share, Energy Transfer, Heal Other, Vengeance Other, Heal Group
A dedicated Lunar support role could be viable in this minigame to give your teammates Vengeance while the rest of your team has access to the other Spellbooks.
Did you know Clan Wars has a ton of awesome arenas?
And people already organize 6v6 fights there sometimes?
It would be absolutely great to just re-use those arenas for this minigame.
Valiance Factor is this minigame's reward currency.
You earn more reward currency when fighting in higher ELO ranks. It works like this:
- 500 ELO or less - No reward currency obtained, you are fighting to get your rank back up.
- 501-1999 Bronze - Wins = 10 VF, Loss = 0
- 2000-2999 Silver - Wins = 25 VF, Loss = 0
- 3000-3999 Gold - Wins = 50 VF, Loss = 0
- 4000-4999 Platinum - Wins = 100 VF, Loss = 0
- 5000+ Diamond - Wins = 250 VF, Loss = 0
I'm not going to get into huge detail about the currency, as the minigame isn't really being developed.
The rewards are split between 6 shops based on your ELO ranking. Any shop you unlock stays permanently unlocked, even if your rating drops later. You never lose access to what you've already unlocked.
Most consumable rewards (runes, ammo) aren't intended to be good gp/h. You're meant to spend points on the unique rewards.
Tradeable rewards with real monetary value are pushed into higher-ranked shops, making them harder for bots to access.
The main unique rewards are tradeable, making them more accessible to players who may not wish to engage with the PvP Arena. Gold rank is intended to be the "goal rank" to gain access to all of the unique rewards.
PvP has had a spotty history with designing rewards that come from PvP activities, so honestly, I've omitted most of my real ideas for rewards for now. That's a conversation that has to be had later.
The two highest ranked shops, Platinum and Diamond, only offer rewards that are "bonuses" and are either monetary or convenience, meaning you don't have to reach super high rank to get the unique rewards.
By the way, this entire shop rework could just fit in the current PvP Arena.
- Colosseum Cape - The cape has an Operate function that Quick-Chats the date and competitive season in which you first obtained it.
- Minigame Hybrid Armour Pieces - Based on Pre-EoC minigame hybrid armor. See my minigame improvements page.
- Recharge Item From Shop - I would like for there to be rechargeable items you can obtain from the shop, similar to Fist of Guthix. It gives players a reason to keep coming back, even after obtaining the item.
Costs either 100% VF, or 50% VF + 500k gp, or 1m gp outright. VF and GP options are intended to be roughly equal in value here. - Seasonal History Display (POH) - A Player-Owned House item that records your ELO rating and win count for each past competitive season.
| Item | VF Cost | GE Price | GP per VF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.webp) | Colosseum cape | Free1 win | Not sold | - |
 | Minigame Hybrid Armour piece | Freerandomly rewarded upon winning | Not sold | - |
 | Recharge Item From Shop | 1,000 VFor 500 VF + 500k gpor 1m gp | Not sold | - |
 | Seasonal History Display (POH) | 1,250 | Not sold | - |
Filler buyables. Cheap and convenient, not worth buying unless you have surplus points. But good for noobs.
| Item | VF Cost | GE Price | GP per VF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.webp) | Colosseum cape (Bronze) | Free10 wins | Not sold | - |
 | Lizardman fang x25 | 10 | … | … |
 | Steel dart x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Steel knife x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Steel thrownaxe x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Air rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Water rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Earth rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Fire rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Mind rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Body rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
- Secret Reward Item #1
- Teleport Scroll - Teleports to a useful location. Stackable, tradeable. Buy 1, 10, or 25 at a time. Should land at a different spot than Xeric's Talisman.
| Item | VF Cost | GE Price | GP per VF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.webp) | Colosseum cape (Silver) | Free25 wins | Not sold | - |
| ? | Secret Reward Item #1 | 750 | Tradeable | - |
 | Lovakengj Teleport Scroll x1 / x10 / x25 | 10 / 100 / 250 | Tradeable | - |
 | Shayzien Teleport Scroll x1 / x10 / x25 | 10 / 100 / 250 | Tradeable | - |
 | Hosidious Teleport Scroll x1 / x10 / x25 | 10 / 100 / 250 | Tradeable | - |
 | Arceuus Teleport Scroll x1 / x10 / x25 | 10 / 100 / 250 | Tradeable | - |
 | Piscarilius Teleport Scroll x1 / x10 / x25 | 10 / 100 / 250 | Tradeable | - |
 | Mithril dart x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Mithril knife x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Mithril thrownaxe x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Cosmic rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Chaos rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
- Secret Reward Item #2
- Secret Reward Item #3
- Secret Reward Item #4
- Secret Reward Item #5
- Convenient Bonus Reward Item #1
- Calamity Armour & Helmets - These are transmogrifications that cosmetically reskin Void Knight Armor. Untradeable, because they show off your rank in the PvP Arena.
| Item | VF Cost | GE Price | GP per VF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.webp) | Colosseum cape (Gold) | Free100 wins | Not sold | - |
| ? | Secret Reward Item #2 | 1,000 | Tradeable | - |
| ? | Secret Reward Item #3 | 1,000 | Tradeable | - |
| ? | Secret Reward Item #4 | 1,500 | Tradeable | - |
| ? | Secret Reward Item #5 | 250 | Tradeable | - |
| ? | Convenient Bonus Reward Item #1 | 675 | Tradeable | - |
 | Maoma's med helm | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Koriff's headband | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Saika's veil | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Calamity chest | 1,000 | Not sold | - |
 | Calamity breeches | 750 | Not sold | - |
 | Adamant dart x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Adamant knife x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Adamant thrownaxe x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Nature rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Law rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Death rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
- Convenient Bonus Reward Item #2
- Convenient Bonus Reward Item #3
- Convenient Bonus Reward Item #4
- Superior Calamity Armour & Helmets - These are transmogrifications that cosmetically reskin Void Knight Armor. Untradeable, because they show off your rank in the PvP Arena.
| Item | VF Cost | GE Price | GP per VF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.webp) | Colosseum cape (Platinum) | Free1,000 wins | Not sold | - |
| ? | Convenient Bonus Reward Item #2 | 900 | Tradeable | - |
| ? | Convenient Bonus Reward Item #3 | 675 | Tradeable | - |
| ? | Convenient Bonus Reward Item #4 | 1,350 | Tradeable | - |
 | Maoma's full helm | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Koriff's cowl | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Saika's hood | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Superior calamity chest | 1,000 | Not sold | - |
 | Superior calamity breeches | 750 | Not sold | - |
 | Rune dart x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Rune knife x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Rune thrownaxe x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Blood rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Soul rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
- Convenient Bonus Reward Item #5
- Convenient Bonus Reward Item #6
- Elite Calamity Armour & Helmets - These are transmogrifications that cosmetically reskin Elite Void Knight Armor. Untradeable, because they show off your rank in the PvP Arena.
- Wrath Runes - Can only be bought by giving an on-staff Arceuus mage a Wrath Talisman.
- Life Runes - I once posted about my ideas for an Arceuus Spellbook rework. Click here to check it out.
| Item | VF Cost | GE Price | GP per VF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.webp) | Colosseum cape (Diamond) | Free5,000 wins | Not sold | - |
| ? | Convenient Bonus Reward Item #5 | 900 | Tradeable | - |
| ? | Convenient Bonus Reward Item #6 | 1,350 | Tradeable | - |
 | Maoma's great helm | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Koriff's coif | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Saika's shroud | 250 | Not sold | - |
 | Elite calamity chest | 1,000 | Not sold | - |
 | Elite calamity breeches | 750 | Not sold | - |
 | Dragon dart x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Dragon knife x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Dragon thrownaxe x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Wrath rune x100 | 100 | … | … |
 | Life rune x100 | 100 | Tradeable | - |
The top-ranked team at season end wins a shared GP prize pool. Each of the six players receives 32m gp, for a total payout of 192m gp distributed across the roster.
Over a one-month season this averages to roughly 1m gp per day per player on the winning team. This should be still a nice reward without inflating the economy too much.
Seasons run for 3 months each, giving 4 seasons per year. Every other season uses a different ruleset - normal seasons and modifier seasons alternate. A full year might look like this:
- Season 1 - Normal rules
- Season 2 - No switching worn equipment
- Season 3 - Normal rules
- Season 4 - Damage dealt regenerates special attack energy
At launch, Jagex could run monthly seasons initially when hype is new and to quickly find out what modifiers players enjoy before settling into a 3-month rotation.
Listed below are a range of modifier ideas Jagex could draw from.
- Bounty Hunter Rules - No protection prayers. Magical freezes have no effect. Phoenix necklaces are banned.
- Emir's Arena Rules - Equalized combat stats. Everyone is treated as maxed.
- No Special Attacks - All special attacks are disabled.
- LMS Rules - Kills instantly restore the killer's HP and Prayer to full.
- Last Stand - The last surviving player on each team gains 4x spec restore rate, infinite prayer, and their health is healed to 125%.
- Infinite Run Energy - Run energy never depletes.
- Melee Only - Only melee combat is permitted inside the arena. Protection prayers are disabled.
- Magic Only - Only magic combat is permitted. Protection prayers are disabled.
- Ranged Only - Only ranged combat is permitted. Protection prayers are disabled.
- Singles Teams - The arena switches from multi-combat to single-way combat. Despite being a 6v6, each player can only be attacked by one opponent at a time. The PJ timer is short, closer to the old Bounty Hunter world standard rather than the extended Wilderness timer.
- Fist of Guthix Style - Defence bonuses from stats and equipment are heavily dampened, making armour choice nearly irrelevant.
- No Food - Colosseum bandages are removed. Makes fights way quicker and might surface tactics around getting team KOs faster.
- No Potions - Stat-boosting potions are disabled.
- Spec Energy from Damage - Dealing damage generates special attack energy.
- No Switching - Worn equipment cannot be changed once the match starts. Somehow, I feel like this would be a very interesting season.
- Vengeance Always Active - Vengeance is permanently active on all players with no cooldown.
- Boosted Lunar Spells - Heal Other and Heal Group no longer damages the caster. Energy Transfer no longer costs Special Attack from the caster. Dream heals 10 HP per tick.
This kind of seasonal rotation or altering ruleset would keep the minigame fresh, especially in the event that Jagex or streamers want to stream the minigame.
The seasonal ruleset is also intended to give players reasons to theorycraft new strategies between each season. I'm sure Jagex would be able to come up with things that then encourage the community to come up with interesting strategies.
- No empty-world boosting - limited to 1-2 dedicated worlds only.
- ELO decay on boosted wins - repeatedly beating the same team means their team will drop in rank, and teams gain less rank for beating weaker teams.
- VF scales with rating - players below 500 rating cannot gain Valiance Factor. High-value rewards require high ranking.
- Bots need real stats and real gear - unlike LMS, which hands everyone free maxed stats and gear, the Colosseum uses your actual account. A bot host would need to build and equip six real accounts with combat stats and valuable gear, all of which are at risk of being lost if they get banned.
- Prize pool requires winning the season - the GP reward goes to only one team. There's no way a bot team is going to win an entire season.
- Quest point requirements per shop tier - each reward shop tier could require a minimum quest point total to access, scaling from 0 QP for the unranked shop up to around 300 QP for the Platinum shop, with appropriate thresholds for Bronze, Silver, and Gold in between. While normal players beat quests once and continue on with normal play for the rest of their lifetime, bots would be stuck spending a long time re-farming quests before being able to obtain anything on a new account.