Editor-in-Chief Darryl Gangloff tried out RuneScape's new Clan Citadel and Battlefield map editor features with members of the Jagex team.

RuneScape may have just hit the ripe old age of 10, but the free-to-play browser MMO is far from reaching its end. In fact, Jagex seems to be just getting started with a streak of innovative gameplay features. Back in April, the team gave players new tools to help them organize their clans, ranging from camps to customization options. Jagex quickly followed that update by launching Clan Citadels (otherwise known as floating guild castles) and a Battlefield map editor that lets players create any sort of game they can imagine. Not too shabby for a title that's reached the decade mark.

I recently had the chance to take an online tour of the Clan Citadel and Battlefield features with some highly knowledgeable guides: Senior Content Developer Ash Bridges and Senior Game Designer Chihiro Yamada. We talked about RuneScape as the duo ran a character through clan meeting rooms and built Battlefield maps full of barriers, conveyor belts and spikes. Keep reading after the jump for all the details!

Clan Citadels

We started off our tour in a Clan Citadel, which is a customizable home for clans. “The citadel is primarily a meeting place,” Bridges said as he showed off a massive hall inside the castle's keep. He then took us upstairs to walk us through the smaller, private meeting rooms that could be used for discussions or parties. In fact, one of the rooms had a multicolored dance floor just waiting for players to get down with their emotes.

Citadels can be upgraded through seven tiers, which requires the clan members to gather resources by working together in the castle's skilling plots. “Being part of a clan is a responsibility, so we're asking players to come back each week and spend a bit of time to upkeep what they have,” Bridges said. If your clan fails to pay the upkeep by gathering a sufficient amount of resources, your Citadel could actually downgrade a tier.

Of course, clan housing isn't just about work. The developers emphasized that customization is key with the citadels. Groups have the ability to change all sorts of elements in the structure, such as switching around the colors and placing decorative features like plants, flags and windows. They can even change the layout and choose whether the castle perpetually resides in the light of day or the darkness of night.

Bridges did make one thing perfectly clear: “We don't want all of our clan players to hole up in the citadel. We want them to spend a lot of the time on the surface world.” So while you should certainly stop by and perform your upkeep tasks, don't forget that there's more to RuneScape than what's inside those castle walls.

The tour moves to the Battlefield editor on Page 2.