Introduction
In RuneScape, you may have no miraculous experience of leveling up your character or something like accumulating wealth and items. However, you will find it is easy to prove yourself to be the mightiest warrior, most powerful sorcerer or the most keen-eyed of the rangers.
Requirements
You must have a Combat level of 20 (not including Summoning) to enter a PvP World.
Getting Started
While you are logging into a PvP world, you will be presented with a warning and given the option to go back to the log-in screen to select a different world.
You cannot take any borrowed items onto a PvP world.
You will have a period of time to prepare yourself after you log into the world. During this time, you are immune to player attacks. Your immunity will end if you attack another player.
You will also receive a similar immunity when you teleport or travel (using a boat, for example), but if you do it too frequently, you will cease receiving this bonus for a short period of time.
You can attack anyone whose Combat level is within a certain range of yours. This range is calculated as 10% of your Combat level + 5 levels. Wilderness levels are added to this range, making it an even deadlier place.
If you can attack a player, their Combat level will be displayed in green, yellow or red, just like a monster's Combat level. If you cannot attack them, their Combat level will be white.
Safe Zones
Within PvP worlds there are a number of 'safe zones'. These are areas where players are prevented from attacking each other entirely. You can identify these areas by spotting the icon to the left. Safe areas include:
Banks
The Grand Exchange
Respawn points (note that the Falador and Camelot respawn points have moved to the nearest banks on PvP worlds)
Lumbridge Castle cellar
Skill Guilds with entry requirements
The beach you wash up on if the Fishing Trawler sinks
'Safe' minigames still allow PvP, but if you are slain you will lose nothing and simply be transported to the starting area.
If you are in combat and flee into a safe zone, you will see a ten second timer appear. During this time, you can still be attacked and killed, even though you are in a safe zone.
Hot Zones
Some areas are considered exceptionally dangerous, because they are popular areas for players to go or because of the combined danger of monsters and other players. These are called 'hot zones', and are marked by the flaming skull icon to the left. There are advantages to being in these areas, however - every half an hour you spend in a hot zone will increase by a greater amount than that which you earn from spending time outside a hot zone.
Hot zones are tied to your potential drop value, and will make the amount you are eligible to win from a kill rise by a greater increment than normal. For this reason, it's a good idea to spend as much time as possible in a hot zone.