Control Points and the World Reset

Server guide · Updated September 2025

Control points are the scoreboard of the faction war. Each one is a fixed area of map with a banner in the middle, and whichever faction owns it earns faction score every in-game minute it stays held. Winning the war is about holding ground over days, not about who wins a single fight.

Points are scattered through contested space - the Wilderness, Varrock, and Barbarian Village all have them - so every capture pulls you away from the Edgeville safe zone and into territory where the enemy faction can legally attack you.

How a point is captured

The server checks each point every ten engine ticks. It counts the Armadyl and Bandos players standing inside the boundary, and whichever side has strictly more players becomes the capturer. From there, capture progress builds at a base rate plus a bonus for how badly outnumbered the defenders are - a 3-vs-1 hold flips the point much faster than a 1-vs-0 stand.

When progress reaches 100, ownership flips, a world broadcast announces the change, and the banner object swaps to the capturer's god - an Armadyl or Bandos altar replacing the neutral standard. If the point sits neutral or the owner has no one present to defend it, it stops paying score until someone holds it again.

Numbers decide captures: a lone defender cannot stall a group.
Progress only moves while one side has strict majority inside the boundary.
The banner in the middle is the live scoreboard - glance at it before you engage.

Barriers and defence

Captured points ring themselves with glowing barriers placed along the boundary. They funnel attackers through predictable approach lines, which means defending is genuinely playable - choke the gaps, watch the compass, and force the enemy to fight you on the point instead of sneaking numbers in.

Because progress scales with player advantage, the worst defence is one defender hiding. Leaving the point empty stops your scoring entirely and lets the next attacker start the flip for free.

Scoring and the reset

Each owned point adds one faction score per in-game minute while your side holds it - the more points you own simultaneously, the faster the total climbs. The war ends either when the week-long timer runs out or when a configured score target is reached.

On reset, destructible world objects are restored, scores and banners go back to neutral, and the losing faction is wiped of items - inventory, worn gear, and bank - while everyone keeps their skill levels. If the score finishes tied, nobody wins and both sides take the wipe. The wipe applies to offline players too, so logging out is not a defence.

Practical strategy

Watch the faction score, not the kill feed - points on the board decide the war.
Rotate: a defence squad holding two quiet points outscores a zerg chasing one contested one.
Near reset day, carry what you would equip again after a wipe, and bank nothing you cannot rebuild.
Control-point fights are multi-way by nature - bring group gear, food, and a teleport out.