Runescape 99 Woodcutting: Might as well make it official

I guess it's official by now.  Having been undecided on my next big goal for some weeks now, I've been cutting Ivy behind Varrock Castle.  By my last post, it was pretty clear I had unintentionally set myself up to get 99 Woodcutting.  At this point, I've given in to the inevitable and sunk my teeth in the bit.  That 99's going to be mine.  At the start of this phase, my Woodcutting was early 90's, maybe as high as 92.  Sorry, just don't remember at the moment.  By now, it's up to 97, and about a third of the way to the next level.

Look like the same picture as last time?  That's because I'm standing at the same wall cutting down the same ivy as last time.

One thing I didn't realize, was how many birds nests are dropped cutting ivy.  I do wear a rabbit's foot necklace, which is supposed to help make nests drop more often.  It's been quite nice, selling off a few extra crushed nests, rings, and seeds for an additional bonus.  Mostly the seeds are junk, like acorns, but occasionally they're quite nice.  A couple of days ago I got a Magic Tree seed, Yew Seed, and Spirit Tree seed, back to back.  Can't sell the Spirit seeds, but they're great farming experience.  And I made a good chunk of change that day from selling the seeds and nests all together.

I've mentioned this before, but since there's no 'direct' income to be made from cutting ivy, it's a good opportunity to flip at the Grand Exchange.  I haven't had as much luck with flipping since the return of the wilderness and unrestricted trading, and it's gotten even slower since the bot-nuking day.  But it still works.  It's just that my old favorites don't have enough margin any more.  I used to do great with Pure Essence, maple logs, and the like.  Seems like something has to be a lot more expensive now to have any margin for profit.  At least the time limits are gone.  I can buy and sell trade limits without having to wait 4 hours.

Since my playing is pretty focused, I haven't gotten to experience much of the new updates, as far back (and including) the Dominion Tower.  It sounds like fun, but my combat stats are maxed.  I'll try it sooner or later.  Same with the Polypore dungeon.  Haven't been yet, though it sounds like a lot of fun.  I like the idea of an entire mage-combat-centric dungeon.

I did fill the new tool belt, even though it took a little work to get some of the pieces.  It may not be a high-visibility glamorous update, but in it's own quiet way, it's a very useful update, and will continue to be for as long as I'm playing.  It's nice to have all those basic tools on hand all the time, and not wasting an inventory space to have them.  I've been using it to crush birds nests, chip house teletabs for alternate destinations, and light fires.  It's especially great when I go penguin hunting, because my inventory is usually pretty full carrying all the possible teleports, runes, and general junk I find useful while chasing down the weekly penguins.

I like the concept of the Money Pouch, but it's got a couple of rough edges.  The idea of a safe-upon-death pouch to keep your money in is very cool.  Even though it DOES NOT protect your money if you die in the wilderness, that's quite understandable.  There are two problems though that baffle me.  They seemed like an oversight at first, but since Jagex has not yet corrected the problems, now I'm not sure.  The first, is the glitch when you're buying battlestaves at Naff's Staffs.  Even with money in your pouch, it says you do not have enough money.  You have to remove enough from your pouch into your inventory, to buy battlestaffs.  Should be a simple fix, but it's been days (nearly a week now?) and no change, or even mention from Jagex.  The other complaint is related.  When you remove money from the pouch, there should be an 'All' option.  Whether it's going into your inventory, or back to the bank, I hate having to type a specific amount in for every transfer.  A simple 'transfer all' option would make it perfect.

Oh well, minor complaints.  It's a step in a good direction.  I like most of these minor-improvement updates.  They make the game more fun, more playable.  Last night was penguin night, and it was my first time to run into the new npc interfaces.  I like them greatly.  The options are commonsense, look good, and are far far easier to manage.  Great job on the conversational update.  I've only seen it in a few places so far, but it looks very good!


Generally, I focus like a laser.  One thing, don't stop until done.  With the woodcutting, I'm actually considering taking entertainment breaks.  Do a little dungeoneering, fish, some agility.  Maybe even Jad.  On the other hand, it's going quite well, very easy skill to level, and all I need is 98 and 99.  Maybe I'll just tough it out.