Conquest

Conquest is a members-only minigame released as an addition to the Void Knights quest series. Like Pest Control, the other minigame playable from the Void Knights' Outpost, the only requirement for Conquest is 40 Combat. It is a safe minigame in which players cannot die at all. In fact, there is no time limit per game. It awards commendations in higher quantities than Pest Control, but games may take longer. There is an additional reward unique to Conquest called the Void knight deflector.

It is a turn-based strategy game similar to a combination of and  played on a 20x20 square board. A player challenges another player with a select few units with the goal of killing each of the opponent's units. Different units have different Damage, Range, Health, and Movement Rates.

Location
This minigame is located on the Void Knights' Outpost, which can be reached from Port Sarim by talking to the Squire on one of the southern piers. One can also get there by buying a spinner, torcher, ravager, or shifter pouch and a scroll for one of the chosen and using the special move on the summoning familiar. A Summoning level of 34 is needed to summon one of these creatures.

Within the outpost is the Conquest Training facility with Knight Dorian and his assistant Captain Ethar where players may exchange commendations and manage a team similar to Mobilising Armies. One may also talk to Captain Ethar and choose the appropriate option to be taken through the Conquest tutorial, a requirement for The Void Stares Back.

Waiting Rooms
There are two waiting rooms located downstairs.

Auto Matching Room

 * Has a green door.
 * Pairs players at random based on rank (paired with the closest rank).
 * Games have a turn period of 1 minute.
 * No stakes can be made.

Invite Room

 * Has a red door.
 * Players manually choose whom to challenge.
 * The challenged player chooses the duration of each turn, from 30 seconds to 3 minutes in intervals of 30 seconds.
 * Stakes can be made similar to the Duel Arena.

Pre-Game set-up
By default, everything is ready to play, though customising units and commands is a must for any successful player. Players have a set number of squad resources (1000), and as it starts by default, players cannot have any more units. If a player wants to make more units, he or she can remove other units. A good way to start is to remove all units and then create a custom set-up. Up to four commands can also be set.

In addition to choosing the units and commands, the starting formation can be changed. You are limited to the first three rows on your side, but can use them any way you would like. For example, you might put your units with poor value blocking access to units with higher value.

Once ready to start, you can easily go to either the challenge or auto-match rooms to begin your game.

Gameplay
Conquest is a turn-based, player vs. player, tactical war game. The initial premise is similar to the real-world game Chess, though it differs in many key areas. The player is put in command of a squad of Void Knights. Every person gets the same amount of resources to build his squad with, and can do so by talking to Knight Dorian (see above). Players are able to choose their troops and their starting formation, and they can also pick a number of powerful special Commands. You can start this minigame by speaking to Captain Ethar.

Each turn is split into four segments, or Phases: selection, movement, combat, and rally. In order to be awarded commendations and rank for playing, a player must perform at least 11 actions (move, attack, command) in the game.
 * In the selection phase, the player may choose a unit to use that turn. A display comes up showing the movement range and possible attack targets.
 * The movement phase allows movement until the unit's movement attribute has reached 0 or the player wishes to move no further.
 * The combat phase allows the player to attack a unit with his selected unit or end his turn.
 * The rally phase allows the player to assess the situation to issue any final commands before ending the turn.

Commands can be used in any phases during the player's turn. A player can call up the "details" on a unit any time during a match. This shows the units attributes as well as any commands under which it may be affected.

Players may end their turns early. They do not need to use all the time allowed per turn.

Units
There are several units available for deployment in Conquest, and the player begins with the ability to deploy all of them. Units are commanded in Conquest by clicking on them and instructing them on where to go, in much the same way as the Mobilising Armies minigame released in 2009.

Different units have different strengths and weaknesses, and strategies are needed in order to exploit both one's own units' strengths, and the enemy units' weaknesses. Each unit has stats which fall into five categories, viewed by selecting the unit one wishes to know the stats of and clicking "Details". Units have stats in each of the following categories: Movement, which represents how many squares a unit can travel per turn; Damage, indicating how many points worth of damage to enemy soldiers; Health, the number of points for which the unit can survive being hit; Range, how many squares away from which an enemy the unit can attack; and Cost, indicating how many points for which each unit is recruited.

Scout
"Scouts are fast, lightly-armoured troops, ideal for out-manoeuvring enemy formations." With great speed and movement, scouts are often deployed first in Conquest battles. They are poor fighters, but can move great distances and are ideal for attacking enemy ranged units such as Archers. When battle cry is used on them they can take out all units except a champion making them the second most deadly unit behind a champion.

Foot Soldier
"Next, we have the Foot Soldier. These well-rounded troops form the backbone of your command force." Foot Soldiers are good all-round recruits and can hold their own in fights against the majority of enemy soldiers. Their damage, however, is not up to the same standards as Knights or Champions, and they can be easily overcome.

Halberdier
"Halberdiers are highly effective when deployed correctly; with their long reach, they can halt an enemy advance before they come in on your troops." The only melee troop with a range of more than one, Halberdiers can easily cut down enemy Foot Soldiers and Knights before they get close enough to do much damage.

Archer
"Archers have the longest range of your troops. Deploy them wisely, however: they can be overwhelmed in close combat." Archers are the primary ranged soldier in the Conquest minigame, and can give the player the upper-hand if deployed on enemy units before they reach a player's ranks. They are, however, weak in close combat, and have less Health.

Mage
"Sacrificing range for increased devastation, the Mage can be a deadly addition to your forces - if you can protect them from incoming attacks." The Mage is a good fighter, though they cannot fire as far as the Archer. Their blasts are destructive and can fell most units, though again, their hand-to-hand prowess is lacking.

Knight
"Both stoic and powerful, the Knight can hold the line against hordes of lesser foes." Knights are a good defensive unit, and can hold the line against enemies. They also hit fairly high, and can fell most enemy soldiers before they have much of a chance to fight back. However, they can be easily overwhelmed by all pieces if battle cry is used, and, if used against a good player, you do not get to use them before they are lost.

Champion
"Finally, the Champion can decimate an opposing force single handed. Truly, they are a sight to behold in the midst of battle." Champions are, without a doubt, the strongest unit on the battlefield. Their movement is somewhat lacking, but they pack a punch, and few units can survive more than a hit from them. Though they must be wary of ranged units. If encountered toe-to-toe, it is likely the Champion will come out on top.

It can be beneficial to use a wider range of units to counter various units you may encounter.

Post-Game
After each game, a player gains or lose ranking depending upon the game's outcome. Much like in other ranked minigames, the amount of rank won or lost depends upon the two player's rankings. In the event of a truce, if it was nearly a tie (as most truces would have, such as a stalemate between two units), generally both players lose a small amount of rank. If one player was winning, then that player likely receives more ranking.

Ranking and commendations are different things, and you cannot lose commendations. However, ranking starts at 1000 and can rise or fall based on wins. A rank of 1250 is needed to get the Void Knight Deflector and to be ranked on the high scores; on top of that, having a rank of 1250 is one of the requirements needed to get a trimmed Completionist cape. Therefore, it is undesirable to lose ranks.

There were 33,225 players ranked above 1250 on the high scores as of 16 May 2015.

Rewards
Every time you play Conquest, both players are awarded Commendations (as earned from playing Pest Control ) which can be exchanged to the void knights for a variety of options, such as Combat Exp, or Void Gear. The amount each player earns from playing a game of Conquest works as follows:

When both players begin playing, the game starts counting the number of rounds between players. NOTE: If the game ends too early, either by early truce, resignation, or army elimination, then neither player gains nor loses rating, and both gain no commendations.

Depending on the number of turns between players, both winner and loser are given the same number of commendations (before applying a level multiplier), which is a number between 1-10. The more turns there are in a game, in general, the more commendations are awarded, although commendations are not equal to the number of turns. This is the Commendation Ratio. Both players are given the same Commendation Ratio, as both played the same game of that length of time. This number is then multiplied:


 * by 2, (as the Beginner Pest Control Boat) if the Player is between Combat Levels 35-74. All players within this range of combat levels gain 2,4,6,8,10... to 20 commendations in any game. 20 is the maximum.
 * by 3, (as the Intermediate Pest Control Boat) if the player is between Combat Levels 75-99. All players within this range of combat levels gain 3,6,9,12,15.... to 30 commendations in any game. 30 is the maximum.
 * by 4, (as the Veteran Pest Control Boat) if the player is Combat Level 100 or above. All players within this range of combat levels gain 4,8,12,16,20.... to 40 commendations in any game. 40 is the maximum.

Notes:
 * Since players can train combat skills by exchanging commendations for experience, lower combat levels have a lower multiplier to avoid unfair level advancements.
 * Players do not gain any bonus commendations for winning the game. Commendations only differ based on different combat levels.
 * Commendations cannot be awarded beyond 10 before multiplication. This is why up to level 74 cannot gain more than 20, up to level 99 cannot gain more than 30, and up to level 138 cannot gain more than 40 commendations.

Example: A level 85, with a rating of 2500, plays a level 112, with a rating of 1311. The controls were: a non-staked Conquest, with 1:00 per move each. After about 19 rounds, the level 85 wins the game by eliminating all enemy units. The 85 gains 11 rating, and the 112 loses 11 rating. Before applying the multiplier, each player is awarded 7 commendations: so the level 85 gains 14 (2 x 7) commendations, and the 112 gains 21 (3 x 7) commendations. Despite winning, the 85 gains fewer commendations than the 112.

Therefore, contrary to some popular opinions, the clock itself is irrelevant to the commendations awarded, as is rating, and winning the game does not increase the commendations. Only Combat Level directly changes the number of commendations between the two players. (The only exception where a player does not gain any commendations after a long enough game of Conquest is when a player logs out during a game or lags and is kicked out, and the remaining player accepts the victory before the kicked player is able to return).

Trivia

 * Commendations are shown as Pest Points while on a lander.
 * On the day of release, a bug occurred where mid way, or at the end of the game it would freeze up and would tell the players the game is ending, some players who suffered from this bug received a rating bonus.
 * If a player says "power levelling" that means that you are able to play against the player and he lets you win. In order to get ranking and commendations from "power levelling", you need to perform at least 11 actions (you also need a variety of actions, i.e., attacking, commands, moving, and killing something from both sides), otherwise neither player receives commendations or a higher ranking within the game. (Note: Your opponent must have at least 2 units left in order to ensure a greater points yield.)
 * The "Power levelling" method yields 60-120 commendations per hour.
 * In order to get the most Commendations per game your level must match the same as your opponent (e.g., a level 138 player plays against a level 70, after "power levelling" the level 138 gets 40 commendations and the level 70 gets 30 win or lose).
 * During a game of Conquest, you cannot remove your Map Marker by right clicking the map symbol.
 * After release there was a bug where if you used stoicism and regenerate on the same unit at one time, the extra Health that stoicism should only give temporarily, would stay permanently until an enemy unit damaged the bugged unit back down to its normal Health. This bug was quickly fixed a couple of days after release.
 * Many players believed that 2+ champion set-up may be unbalanced, leading Jagex to reduce the champion's Health down from 600 to 500 in an update 12 October 2010. As they may now be killed in two hits from most teams (or 1 if there is a knight or champion involved) they are now much less powerful than before, and less of a destabilising factor.
 * There is a glitch when using the command "shield wall" on a troop, the icon changes from a shield with a void knight symbol on it to one that is almost identical to the Falador Shield 2 from the task system.
 * As for 29 October 2010, there is a glitch when entering the rooms, the barrier cuts the character's body, this has not been repaired, but only happens occasionally.
 * There used to be a glitch that allowed players below combat level 40 to play conquest and get commendations. You could ask to take the tutorial, and then click "end tutorial" on the first stage, and you would end up in the conquest waiting room, fully able to play and get rating. However it was fixed about a month after release. Now if you try to take the tutorial below the minimum combat requirement, it just says you do not have enough combat experience, and to come back and take the tutorial when you do.
 * When disconnected (but successfully re-established connection), you were unable to use commands. This glitch has not yet been fixed.
 * When examining the Floor during a Conquest Battle, you receive a silly message like this "This is for standing on."
 * If you attempt to access the world map while in a Match, a message appears saying "It would be unwise to open the world map during battle."
 * If you attempt to access customisation while in a waiting room, a message appears saying "You're here to fight, not play dress-up."
 * A bell "rings" when you reach the 0:10 Seconds.
 * Previously, until a patch in late 2012, players would boost their ranking using a logout glitch that increased rank earned per forfeited victory to maximum possible earned for the opponent if they had won.
 * A graphics and gameplay glitch that came in Conquest for a large part of 2011 and 2012, prevented a player from moving their screen to see the rest of the board when playing a game of Conquest. Instead, each participant would have to click on their minimap to move their screen to see which players to control.
 * Mousing over enemy units will show that they have 1 life point even though they have more than this amount.

Conquest