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{{RSC page|Clans}}
{{otheruses|clans|the system used to organise clans|Clan Chat}}
:''For more information on RuneScape Clans, see our sister site, the [[w:c:runescapeclans|RuneScape Clans Wiki]]''

[[File:Clan events.jpg|thumb|Two clans fight a war in the Clan Wars Arena]]
A '''clan''', also known as a '''player guild''' or '''team''' is a syndicate of organised players who work together to achieve one or more goals as a group, which cannot otherwise be achieved (or as easily) by a single player. These goals vary from clan to clan, ranging from clan warring and [[skills|skilling]] to creating a simple and enjoyable community or working together to make money. The amount of players needed to create a clan is five, but it can consist of many more members. There are well over a thousand clans in RuneScape - for every possible group activity, it is likely there will be a clan who specialises in it.

==History==
[[File:Clan2003.jpg|thumb|A clan prepares for a PKing trip, December 2003]]
Clans have been involved in RuneScape since its creation. The first clan to appear in RuneScape was '''The Sabres''',<ref>http://devblog.runescape.com/view_post.ws?post_id=80&project_id=11</ref><ref>http://www.thesabreclan.com/history.html</ref><ref>http://www.oocities.org/timmymwd/history.html</ref> who were previously based upon the Jagex game '''Cyber Wars'''.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TunEN929ZHU</ref> In the early days of RuneScape, players could [[player killing|PK]] anywhere outside of Lumbridge - one such PKer was known as '''Militant''', who would ruthlessly kill anyone he encountered. The Sabres' primary focus was to combat Militant's forces as an APK, or Anti-PK clan.

Over the years thousands of other clans joined the game and began to compete against one another. Even at this stage, there were many different types of clans, many of which did not solely participate in '''Player vs Player''' (PvP) activities. Aside from [[Team cape|Team Capes]], Jagex offered very little clan support, so clans utilised third-party availabilities such as off-site websites and forums, memberlists, chat programs and Voice Communication software. Many of these elements are still present today.

'''It should be noted that while many third party clan elements are totally harmless, players should still exercise extreme caution.'''

Jagex support for clans truly began in 2007 starting with the implementation of the [[Clan Chat]] feature. Their continued support has been consistent over the years with elements such as the [[Clan Camp]], [[Clan Citadels]] and the [[Jagex Clan Cup|Jagex Cup]]. The clan world to this day is still one of the most prominent elements of the game. 2011 was the official Year of Clans for RuneScape.<ref>http://services.runescape.com/m=devblog/view_post.ws?post_id=117&page=1</ref>

==Categorization==
There are many different ways to categorize clans. In previous times, clans could easily be split into two different groups: '''RSB or RSOF Clans''' (RuneScape Boards or RuneScape Official Forums) and '''Traditional Clans''' (or '''Fansite Clans'''). RSB clans were known to use only the features provided by Jagex, while Traditional Clans would make use of other third-party features, in particular RuneScape fansites. However, in recent years, the distinctions between these two groups has blurred substantially due to the age of the clan world as well as the amount of support from Jagex themselves.<ref>http://forums.zybez.net/topic/1509708-the-rise-of-rsb-clans/</ref> One way to cateorgize clans is by their aims and focuses.

===PvP and Warring Clans===
[[File:The sabres.jpg|thumb|A clan in the heat of a P2P Clan War]]
'''PvP Clans''', which include '''Warring Clans''', specialise in the Player-versus-Player element of the game. The focus of many PvP clans is inside the [[Wilderness]] - however this does not exclude other forms of PvP such as the Clan Wars Arena. However, clans which advocate other "safe" PvP elements such as [[TzHaar Fight Pit]]s and [[Castle Wars]] are not generally considered PvP clans - rather they are categorised by that particular minigame.

One of the oldest events in the clan world is the '''[[Player killing|PKing]] Trip''', where a clan will enter the Wilderness with the intention of killing other players - either for profit or enjoyment.

Two or more clans can also fight against each other in battles, known as a '''Clan War'''. Clan wars are usually fought to define superior strength - however there are many variations to this. For example, clans will usually use their best gear, although many circumstances have '''gear caps''' which limit the use of some items or gear to a certain value. Not all wars are "serious", many clans host '''fun wars''' which can include dressing up in a less-valuable armour such as [[steel]] ('''metal war''') or other themed uniforms for pure enjoyment.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBQnvRTSVBw</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjb7z_j3N5I</ref>

There are two main types of clan war: a '''Knock-Out''' (or '''Full-Out'''), in which one clan claims victory by defeating all members of the opposing clan. The other is a '''PK Run-In''' (or PKRI), where members are allowed to return upon death. There are two kinds of PKRI:

*"Capped" - the victor is decided through kill count or numbers. If it is a time cap, the clan with either the most kills or numbers remaining at the end of the designated time is victorious. If it is a kill cap, the first clan to reach a certain number of kills, e.g. 100, is victorious.
*"Uncapped" - the victor is the last clan remaining on the battlefield - the opposing clan must be "cleared" (unable to fight due to lack of members) or have "ended" (their members have ceased to return).

Clan wars may take place either in the Wilderness (for tradition and/or other elements such as risks) or in the Clan Wars Arena (for events such as the Jagex Cup and/or safety to prevent elements such as "crashing" (the interference by another non-participating clan)).

Many different sub-types of PvP clans exist, which include, but are not limited to:

*Main and Pure clans - a [[Pure]] is an account with deliberate high offensive stats and low defensive stats - e.g. level 1 [[defence]] and level 99 [[strength]].
*F2P and P2P clans - if the clan's events are in either [[Free-to-play]] worlds or [[Members]] worlds.
*Single and Multi clans - depending on whether the clan fights in single-combat zones or multi-combat zones.
*Clan Wars and Wilderness clans - if the clan fights primarily in the Clan Wars Arena or the Wilderness.

===PvM Clans===

A PvM ('''Player-versus-Monster''') clan specialises in killing [[monster]]s as a group, in particular [[boss]]es (known as '''Boss-Hunting'''). PvM clans are the second-most popular type of clan in the game, and specialise in a range of bosses ranging from the [[King Black Dragon]] and [[Kalphite Queen]] to the [[Corporeal Beast]] and [[Nex]]. The main purpose for boss-hunting, aside from the enjoyment, is for the drops - it is one of the most profitable activities in the game. However, many professional PvM clans have high entry requirements, such as the ability to use [[Overload]]s and [[Turmoil]].

'''PvM wars''' between clans are held between clans to determine strength. A good example of a PvM war is when two clans gather their numbers and take on a boss at the same time, using the [[LootShare]] features to determine which clan gets the boss's kill at the end of the fight. The clan who reaches a certain number of kills first is declared the victor.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUUrA8G8wkI</ref>

===Skilling Clans===
[[File:Questing clan.jpg|thumb|A Skilling Clan showing off their achievement capes]]
The third most prominent type of clan is the '''Skilling Clan''' - a group of players who train non-combat [[skills]] together. These skills include fishing, cooking, mining, smithing, runecrafting, crafting, woodcutting, firemaking and dungeoneering for F2P. P2P also has skills including fletching, herblore, agility, thieving, farming, and construction. Most skilling clans avoid combat entirely - some as far even as to disallow entry to members who have trained their combat skills at all. Skilling clans can focus on either a range of skills, or one particular skill (with high-level requirements for entry).

A '''Skill War''' between two or more clans is a race in gaining skilling experience. The clans agree on a set time limit, and at the end of the cap, the total experience gained by all members of each clan is added up. The clan with the most experience gained overall is declared the winner.<ref>http://runescapeclans.wikia.com/wiki/Clan:Wilderness_Guardians/Runescape_Non_PvP#Skills_Olympics</ref>

===Other Clans and Teams===
[[File:Caped carousers.jpg|thumb|A Questing Clan with their Quest Capes]]
There are many other types of clans, which include, but are not limited to:
*Community
*[[Quest]]
*Merchanting (Price-Manipulation)
*Activity (such as [[Distractions and Diversions]])
*[[Role-playing]]

A '''Team''' is an organised syndicate which is not strictly a clan, but serves as an aid to provide other clanning elements which an individual's main clan does not or cannot provide themselves. For example, a person who likes fighting in both the Wilderness and Clan Wars joins a clan, but the clan only does Wilderness fights, and will not allow their members to be in multiple clans at once (known as '''multiclanning''').

There are both official teams and unofficial teams. An official team will be much more organised (for example in terms of application process and the use of third party software such as voice communications), and much more similar to a clan in many ways. There is a lot of controversy around teams, and many clans have rules set in place for such situations to ensure conflict does not arise, e.g. if the clan and team both have events at the same time.

An unofficial team can be something as simple as a friends chat which anyone can join. A popular example of this is a Wilderness Team - any player can join their chat at any time, and involve themselves in the team's activities almost instantly. These teams are usually less organised and may sometimes prove weaker, but are a good option to players who wish to get involved in an activity at almost any time when their clan is unavailable, without spending the time joining an official team (e.g. through an application process).

==Jagex support==
For the first years of RuneScape, Jagex offered minimal to no in-game support for any clan-related activities. Players could group together on the forums or on fansites, but there was no official way to control clan affairs in the Wilderness or any other area of the game.

===Team capes===
{{Main|Team capes}}
The first update directly beneficial to clans was the introduction of team capes. These help to prevent players from accidentally attacking clanmates, and make it easier to identify them inside and outside the Wilderness. In addition to this, the in-game minimap was updated to show all players with the same cape as purple dots, thus making it easier to tell caped members apart from non-caped members who still appear as white dots.

===Clan forums===
The official RuneScape forums offer a clans section with several clan-related boards for players' use. These include:
*Jagex Clan Cup
*Clan Introduction
*Recruitment – Looking for a clan
*Recruitment – Under 90 Combat
*Recruitment – 90-114 Combat
*Recruitment – 115 Combat and over
*Recruitment – Specialist Clans
*Clan Home
*Clan Discussion
*Clans Feedback

There is also a private forum specifically for Clan Leaders which is hidden from view for everyone else. Only some leaders are eligible for access to this - an application form is provided in the Clan Discussion board.

===Clan chat===
[[File:Newchatbox.png|thumb|The modern chat box options]]
{{Main|Clan chat}}
In 2007, Jagex began supporting clans more with the addition of the [[Friends Chat|clan chat]] feature on [[6 August]] [[2007]]{{CiteNews |author= Jagex|url= http://news.runescape.com/newsitem.ws?id=881|title=Clan Chat |newsdate= 6 August 2007|notes= |date=16:57, June 5, 2011 (UTC) |name= }} - this version of the clan chat is now the '''Friends Chat'''. It allowed all members of a group to mass-communicate privately and efficiently.

Prior to the Clan Chat, the only other in-game method of communicating with clans was through private chat. On many pre-2007 clan events, it was common for all the members of a clan to add each other in order to speak to each other without the use of third-party software.

Clan chat is essential to [[LootShare]] and [[Clan Wars]]. There is a member cap of 500 for the clan chat.

===Clan Wars===
{{Main|Clan Wars}}
On [[10 December]] [[2007]], the Clan Wars Arena was added to the game, though removing the original [[Wilderness]] PvP system and implicating [[Bounty Hunter (historical)|Bounty Hunter]], which caused [[Pay to PK Riot|major controversy]]. However, the Clan Wars Arena proved an overall success, and is still in thriving use by all types of PvP clans today. Also known as '''CWA''', the arena offers a safer option for hosting wars, to ensure rules such as gear and boundaries cannot be broken, as well as preventing interference from other persons not involved in either clan.

===Jagex Cup===
In 2009, the first [[Jagex Clan Cup 2009|Jagex Cup]] for clans was held, and has been held every year since. The event is organised on the RuneScape forums, and involves a number of clans being able to compete against each other. There are three different sections: '''Combat''', '''Skilling''' and '''Combined'''. The Combat Competition is held in Clan Wars, the Combined in [[Stealing Creation]] and the Skilling based on XP gained between the competing clans. Sub-divisions for Combat were added from 2010 onwards.

Winners of the individual cups are named on various plaques located around RuneScape. The victors for the Jagex Cups are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Combat
! Combined
! Skilling
|-
| [[Jagex Clan Cup 2009|2009]]
| The Titans
| Wicked Fury
| Divination
|-
| [[Jagex Clan Cup 2010|2010]]
| RuneScape Dinasty (Main)


*''Future of Old Style (20v20)''
*''Reign of Terror (Pay-to-Play)''
*''Titans Revolution (Community)''
*''RuneScape Dinasty (Over 115 Combat)''
*''Mayhem Makers (Pure)''
| Basedin2Minutes
| Divination
|-
| 
[[Jagex Clan Cup 2011|2011]]
| RuneScape Dinasty (Main)


*''Titans Revolution (Under 90 Combat)''
*''Natural Born Killers (91-114 Combat)''
*''RuneScape Dinasty (Over 115 Combat)''
*''Titans Revolution (Community)''
*'''<u>''Cheer Up (20v20 F2P)''</u>'''
*''Wicked Fury (20v20 P2P)''
| Family Unity Network
| Divination
|}

===Clan Camp===
[[File:ClanSettings.png|thumb|The settings available for setting up a clan]]
{{Main|Clan Camp}}
On [[12 April]] [[2011]] Jagex implemented the Clan Camp update, which included several new additions. The Clan Chat was re-designed for official recognition of clans, as well as integrated management features for members, events and so on. Clans were able to create [[Clan Home|Clan Web Pages]] on the RuneScape website, complete with Stats and Clanmates pages. Clan members could obtain a customizable [[Clan Cloak]] and [[Clan Vexillum]] to display their clan colours. [[Rated Clan Wars]] was also introduced.

The [[Clan Camp|area]] itself is located south of [[Falador]], from which players can visit and retrieve the aforementioned items.

===Clan Citadels===
[[File:Clan Citadel portal.png|thumb|A Citadel's entrance portal]]
{{Main|Clan Citadels}}
On [[26 July]], the Clan Citadels were added - each clan receives their own citadel in an [[Instanced Shard World]] (similar to [[Player-owned house]]s). There are seven tiers which the citadel can be upgraded to week by week, which provide further aesthetics and availabilities. Upkeep for the citadel is required, and upgrades are done by clan members by collecting set numbers of resources from the various skilling plots around the citadel area. There are many features available in the Citadel, including the [[keep]] and the [[Battlefield (Clan Citadels)|Battlefield]].

Citadels can be accessed via the portal on the west side of the Clan Camp, just south of [[Falador]].

==See also==
*[[Clan list|Clan Settings]]
*[[Jobs (Clan)|Clan jobs]]
*[[w:c:runescapeclans|The RuneScape Clan Wiki]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[de:Clan]]


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