Runescape Marks Anniversary Of 6/6/6 Glitchy Massacre
It's a massacre!
Ten years ago to this very date, the world of Runescape [official site] was devastated by an event so malicious, so evil, that of course it could have only happened on the six day of the six month of the six year of this millennium. I'm talking about the dreaded Falador Massacre—where thousands of Runescapians lost their lives and their items in the span of just a few hours. Today, Jagex are celebrating the ten year anniversary of that awful day by opening two special servers for subscribers, World 666 and World 111, where players can relive those awful events again and again and again.
Now gather 'round children as I tell you about this awful event. Back in 2006, when the world was alive and full of wonder, a carpenter named Curse You wanted to celebrate being the first to level his construction skill to 99—the highest it can get. So, Curse You did what any of us would do and threw a rockin' house party and invited just about everyone to join. Drinks were drunk, laughs were laughed, and a special combat arena let players engage in some jolly good duels.
But as the party continued to grow, the lag in Curse You's private estate became unbearable and he had no choice but to forcefully eject every player back out into the open world. The only problem was that those who had engaged in duels retained their ability to attack players—something that Runescape prevents except in specific PvP zones. So what did these gods do with their new found power? Why, they began mercilessly slaughtering everyone they encountered of course. The massacre started in the city of Falador, but quickly spread to neighboring regions until Jagex were able to intervene and ban the aggressors. If you fancy a chilling interview with a virtual murderer, you can read the first hand account of the most prominent instigator of the massacre, Durial321.
Our archaeologists here at RPS have also unearthed some lost footage of the event, which you can watch above if you have the stomach for it. Take special note of the way everyone seems to flee in panic when they realize that they're unable to even fight back against their assailants. Even worse, death in Runescape is punished by losing all but three of your most prized items, and some players lost millions of gold worth of possessions as they all raced for the nearest bank.
But ten years is a long time, and Jagex are now willing to make light of the massacre with a special server for subscribers to relive the events. You can play on either the oldschool 2007scape version or the current modern version of Runescape. Both servers kicked off with an invitation to a house party, which has now degraded into complete chaos as a giant Durial321 appears randomly in the city of Falador. His appearance signals the ability to attack anyone. Between appearances, some players have reported being transformed against their will into the fabled killer, describing a compulsion to kill... everything...
We here at Rock, Paper, Shotgun would recommend you stay far away from World 666 and World 111. But if you're a Runescape subscriber and feel like reveling in the most tragic chapter of the game's long history, we can't stop you.