Just blurted this out on TST...

Psychoboy8 wrote:The Hitpoints skill should be removed, it cannot be trained (alone) anyway...

Then, have the combat level be the sole effector of the hitpoints. Hitpoints wouldn't match your combat level, god no, they would go up at an accelerated-pace. So, going from combat 3 to 4 will increase your hitpoints by less than going from 96 to 97. The maximum hitpoints level could be seemingly ridiculous! However, all players and monsters would be altared to match.

Removing it isn't necessary, simply having a "Health" bar that relates to your hitpoints level. But as it can't be trained, you might as well remove it and thus remove any confusion over having multiple words for it. Players would, undoubtably, complain though. However, as they didn't earn the experience, per say, giving them it to share across their skills would be unfeasible (unless it's simply shared among the players combat skills, excluding summoning and prayer's "share" would be quartered). It's only really cape-owners that would be hit... so I suggest Combat Cape of Accomplishment to replace it, and it would look identical to the Hitpoints cape (the Heart is actually quite a good generic symbol for combat, to be honest).

Psychoboy8 began rambling on a tangent, he wrote:
Unfortunately... most players with 99 Hitpoints haven't maxed-out their Combat level. Soooo... Jagex should give them something cool. I don't know, a unique item that's theirs to show off... a crown or something, or a "Pink Partyhat" (untradeable). Something to really apologise, but something the player can boast.

Offence and Defence would have to be fiddled with, with monsters such as Jad having their hitpoints buffed to match some formula, offence will need a small buff to match.

The combat formula should be altered so that 99 Combat is the highest available, with the Summoning level not affecting it. In PVP, it would just show their Summoning level/10 (rounded) as it does now. So... R4nd0m P14y3r (99 +8 ), meaning their Summoning is 75-85. A player's combat would be listed as 100 whilst wearing the cape.

90+ are the strongest players; 70+ would be high level, as with skills; 45-70 is mid-levelled; 10-45 is low-levelled; and 1-10 is newbie. Also, at the moment it displays combat level with colour - after red the combat level should just not be displayed.

A = (Attack + Strength)/2
B = (Prayer + Defence)/2)

(A + B)/2 = ≤99

Such a simple formula! You only need to look out for offence/defence pures.*smallprint*

By "Attack + Strength", either Magic and Ranged need a Strength equivalent (as I've suggested a lot) and thus - "Magic + Blank" and "Ranged + Blank" would replace it, and the highest of the three would be displayed. The current Combat level is worked out that way (the highest of the three is display), and the new could work - how it deals with Magic and Ranged - by simply Magic*(3/2), but then, once your combined Attack+Strength is over 149 your Magic and Ranged will never affect it. Of course, unless Magic and Ranged are buffed, that's probably fair... Melee is the one you need to worry about (especially when they are 149 combined). OR, as has been suggested as an alternate to new strength skills - "Attack + Class", Strength, Magic and Ranged being the class skills. Attack being purely an accuracy skill (generic). However, for Attack to be generic it would have to control everything - spells, weapons, etc. It's a bit controversial.


Unless Defence becomes more useful, it shouldn't really effect the combat level significantly. Prayer is actually more of a Defence, at the moment. Ideally, the formula should be.
A = (Attack + Strength)/2
B = (Agility + Defence)/2)
[ A + (B + Prayer )/2 ] /2 = ≤99

*smallprint*

As, a high offence and low defence would average out mid-levelled. However, being either pure is unwise. With raised hitpoints, you can't blitz players *smallerprint* (offence-pures; denied). And since you can't win a fight as a defence pure, it's not really going to harm anyone except annoying the player who thought you'd be an easy kill.

Of course, if you think offence should take precedence... then;

A = (Attack + Strength) * 0.75
B = (Defence + Prayer)) * 0.25
(A + B)/2 = ≤99

*smallerprint*

Weight would affect combat and slow weapons would receive an unprecedented power buff. Thus... further strengthening the tank and dealer combat-types. Dagger-rushing does help you blitz the increased hitpoints, but the low stats required for it mean that big weapons could crush them in the same time. It's a fair-fight.