Hitpoints (historical)



Hitpoints (also known as HP or health) was a skill representing the amount of damage a player or monster can withstand until he/she dies. This is known as death, which happens when their hitpoints reaches zero.

Players begin with a hitpoints level of 10, with 1,154 experience. On 25 February 2010, 80,368 players had level 99 in hitpoints.

On 3 March 2010, the Hitpoints skill received a major update, renaming it Constitution.

The number of hitpoints a monster had varied between 1 and 2,000. The Corporeal beast, the highest level monster at that time in RuneScape, topped the list, followed by Nomad, Turkey (2009 Thanksgiving event), Decaying Avatar, Living rock patriarch, Tormented Demon, Living rock striker, Kree'arra, Commander Zilyana, General Graardor, K'ril Tsutsaroth, and the Kalphite Queen (although the Kalphite Queen has two forms, each of which has 255 hitpoints, effectively giving her 510 total hitpoints).

The highest amount of hitpoints of a monster in an activity was 1,000; the avatars of Soul Wars. TzTok-Jad was second at 250 hitpoints.

The highest amount of hitpoints for a familiar is the Steel Titan with 750 hitpoints.

The title of monster with the least amount of hitpoints is a tie among the Carnivorous chinchompa, the Chinchompa, evil creatures, and Miscellanian citizens and guards, all with 1 hitpoint each. This effectively meant that any successful attack would have killed them in one hit.

Fighting


While fighting, both the opponent and the player will have a bar on top of them. This bar represents their HP.

There are two colours on the bar: green and red. The green part of the bar is on the left, and represents how much HP the player has remaining. The red part of the bar appears on the right, and represents how much damage has been taken away from their maximum HP. This allows easy estimation of how much health the player has left compared with how much they have lost.

If a player had only 5 HP left, assuming that they had 30+ maximum HP, then the bar on top of them would be mostly red, meaning they are near death. However, due to an update (most likely a hidden update of an unknown date), the health bar above your head will no longer change shades. This may be due to complaints on the forums.

Now, players can just look over to the top-right of their RuneScape screen and check how many hitpoints they currently have remaining and can be alerted when their hitpoints drop to 25% or lower; during then, the Heart Icon will start to pulse. And due to a recent hidden update, players are now further warned that their hitpoints are getting low (25% of total HP) through the addition of a beating heart sound effect which accompanies the pulsing animation until health is restored above 25%. (Note that this is a very common device in video games, almost always used to show that the player is near death or that another similarly dramatic event is occurring.)

Poison (Members only)
For instance, if a player was hit by another player wielding a poisoned dagger, they would be hit for 4 damage every minute (four times), then 3 damage every minute (four times), then 2 damage every minute (four times), then 1 damage every minute (four times), then the poison would be gone.

Players can cure the poison early with an anti-poison potion that members can make with the Herblore skill.

Please note that if you are poisoned in a Member's server, but then switch to a Free server you will remain poisoned with no way to cure it until you switch back to a Member's server.

Also note that damage caused by poison gives no experience to any skill.

Death


If a player is in Pest Control, in a player-owned house, duelling another player at the Duel Arena, or playing any other safe activity, they will not lose any items on death, and will respawn in a designated location with all items retained.

A ring of life can also teleport the player safely back to the chosen respawn point automatically upon reaching 10% or below their maximum HP. There are three exceptions, either the player was hit for more than 10%, they are beyond level 30 in the deep wilderness or they are in a safe mini-game with no danger of losing one's items. A ring of life can only be used one time before disintegrating.

In addition, if a player has used the Abyss for runecrafting, they are given a skull that appears over their head. If a player dies of any circumstances while being "skulled" they lose ALL of their items carried at the time, rather than the usual keeping three. However, if a skulled player dies while the "Protect Item" Prayer is on, they keep ONE item (one more than the usual, which is zero if the player is skulled). If a player does not enter the Abyss within twenty minutes of receiving the skull, the skull vanishes.

Respawning
When a player dies, they will respawn, meaning they will live again. The player will keep 3 of his/her items (if not skulled).
 * For free players, they will always respawn in Lumbridge, as it is set as their home town.
 * For members, they will initially respawn in Lumbridge, as it is the default home town.
 * Members who have completed the Recruitment Drive quest have the option of changing their respawn location to Falador instead.
 * Members who have completed the King's Ransom quest and the Knight Waves Training Grounds have the option of changing their respawn location to Camelot instead.
 * Members who have completed the Nomad's Requiem quest have the option of changing their respawn location to the Soul Wars lobby.

Earning experience
To earn experience in hitpoints, a player has to fight or do a quest that rewards hitpoints experience. Alternatively, one could use an item that gives a specific amount of experience. (ex: genie lamp)

When fighting, whether it be by melee, ranging, or magic, as long as they deal damage, a player will always earn hitpoints experience. There is a formula which is used to determine how much hitpoints xp a player will receive. The sole exception is by using a Dwarf Multicannon, which gives half the range experience and no hitpoints experience.

When a player deals damage to an opponent, they receive some hitpoints experience. If a player hits the opponent, whatever damage they deal would be multiplied by 1.33 and given to the player's hitpoints. This is one of the slowest skills to gain levels on, with experience being earned at one third the rate of Attack, Ranged, Strength or Defence.

The quickest way to earn hitpoints experience is the Soul Wars activity. Amazingly, a player achieved 99 hitpoints at a low combat of 25, thus being the lowest level possible with a Hitpoints cape.

Recovering HP


A player can heal to restore their HP back to its maximum. There were a number of ways to do this:


 * Let it recharge on its own. A player would naturally heal one hitpoint about every minute. However, this is very slow, although the prayer 'Rapid Heal' doubled hitpoint recovery rate to one every 30 seconds. This would not be recommended unless you had no food, were next to an altar, or did not want to get killed by whatever monster, PKer or NPC happened to be there. Also, a lunar spell, Dream, would make hitpoints recover five times as fast as normal. Additionally, a Regen bracelet will double recovery.
 * Eat lots of food. Players could eat food to heal their hitpoints, the best foods are more expensive but providing more healing per item. This is the most common way players heal themselves. Members have a much wider variety of foods to eat which could heal many more hitpoints at one time.


 * Players can sit down, giving 2x the normal rate of recharging, or players can listen to a Musician, which gives 3x the rate. (The game mechanics treat this as a separate heal clock: i.e. the player healed one point every 60 seconds normally plus one additional point for every 60 seconds seated - or two per minute while seated if listening to a musician. Note that when sitting down and using 'Rapid Heal,' the prayer would affect only the normal-heal clock, not the seated-heal clock: thus the player would recover 1 point every 30 seconds while under 'Rapid Heal' plus one additional point for every 60 seconds seated, resulting in a 3 points per minute recovery rate.)
 * The monks at the Monastery and Entrana will heal players if they ask them. They heal 20% of the player's hitpoints level.
 * The nurses Sabreen and A'abla and Surgeon Tafani at the infirmary north of Al-Kharid Duel Arena will heal players if asked.
 * Two lunar spells can be cast to heal a player or a group of players: Heal Other, level 92 magic needed, and Heal Group, level 95 magic needed.
 * Die. When a player dies, they respawn at full health and full energy. This is not recommended unless the player has banked all items and wants to go to an area near their respawn point.
 * A player can use a bracelet of regeneration which doubles hit point recovery rate. When used in conjunction with the prayer rapid heal, it quadruples to two hitpoints every thirty seconds.
 * The two Summoning familiars, the Void spinner and the Bunyip, will heal a player over time, which used to be 1 hitpoint per 15 seconds and 2 hitpoints per 15 seconds, respectively. The Unicorn stallion will heal 15% of the player's hitpoints by using its special move, Healing Aura.

Temporary boosts

 * Saradomin brew - Made using the herblore skill. Drinking this brew raises defence by 20% and hitpoints by 15%+2 even above maximum, though all other combat skills decrease by 10% excluding defence.
 * Titan's Constitution - The respective scroll of the Fire titan, Moss titan and Ice titan which will raise a player's max HP by 8 and defence by 13% temporarily.
 * Elidinis Statuette - this altar in Nardah will heal you and raise your total HP by 8, and will also refill your prayer. Players need to have completed Spirits of the Elid.
 * Skill Cape of Hitpoints - Owners of a Hitpoint Cape can boost their hitpoints by 1 every minute, by operating the cape or re-equipping it. The cape is one of the Capes of Achievement, and can be bought and equipped by players with 99 hitpoints only.
 * Guthix rest - Guthix rest, if drunk when at full hitpoints, will boost your maximum hitpoints by 5.
 * Oo'glog - by resting in the Thermal bath your HP will be raised dramatically, by 20% over your maximum Hitpoints level.
 * Temple Trekking / Burgh de Rott - One particular event in the treks Abidor Crank, temporarily increases your max HP according to its max level / current stance, as well as increasing defence in the same way, and turning all rotten food in your inventory into Curry or Stew.
 * Rocktail - Can heal up to 10 over the player's maximum hp when eaten.

Trivia

 * After a hidden update from Jagex on December 2008, falling to 1/4 of maximum HP or lower will result in a heart-beat-like sound.
 * When RuneScape 2 (as it was then known) was released, the experience required for level 10 in any skill was slightly raised. This meant that characters with no extra Hitpoints experience in RuneScape Classic were brought to RuneScape 2 with only 9 Hitpoints. The minimum combat level is still 3 for those players.
 * The easiest way to train hitpoints(HP) is to do melee because melee is rather cheap and will hit faster, more accurately, and deal more damage than range or magic.


 * A player concentrating on just 1 melee skill (attack, strength or defence), will have to inflict 3,258,608 hitpoints of damage to get from level 1 to 99. For level 99 in all melee skills, a player needs to inflict 9,775,823 hitpoints of damage. (Following the 2010 update, this is now 32,586,080 and 97,758,230, respectively)
 * On the 27th of May 2009, the Hitpoints bar and damage splats were graphically updated. Before this update, the hitpoints bar was simply a bar that had only green and red colour. After this update, an outline was added and the colours had more detail, plus NPCs with many hitpoints, such as Nomad with 1,000 hitpoints, will have a much longer bar to show how many hitpoints have been lost to much more accuracy.
 * If you are poisoned on a members' world, you will stay poisoned if you log onto a free-to-play world. The same applies if you are diseased.
 * As of the 20th of October, 2009, the hitpoints bar will no longer become completely red unless the monster or player has zero hitpoints.