Runescape: You Can have 2 Baby Jads!

 

2 Baby Jads!

Runescape: How To Get Baby TzRek-Jad: And Yes, You Can have 2 Baby Jads!

TzRek-Jad.  Baby Jad.  By now, if you've read nearly ANY of my posts since the original announcement of baby Jad, you know I'm sort of attached to him.  Strike that... better description... I'm sort of obsessed with him.  Long story, been told multiple times, but the short of it is, I really have an odd obsession about TzRek-Jad.

That said, went through some crazy effort, wound up getting him about 3 weeks after his release.

Okay, so all's cool, I'm pleased as punch with him, and life is good.  But, I've had the intent of someday going back to Soul Wars, and getting 100 more Zeal.. for a Baby Jad in the house menagerie.  Yes, I know that's a bit crazy.  Like I said...

Up until Thursday, I had no intention of pursuing it any time soon.  I really hated Soul Wars.  But this week was Jagex's vaunted Bot-Nuking Extravaganza.  Aside from dealing the bots a crippling blow, they released several bonus events in celebration.  One of those events... triple experience for a full day in Soul Wars.

 Knowing this in advance, I figured to do what I could Thursday evening.  However much it turned into would be that much closer to Jad number 2.  About 9:30 in the evening my time, after the daily update, Monique and I both sat down to score some Zeal.  Triple points?  Usually you get 1 point for losing, 2 for a draw, and 3 to win.  With the bonus, it's 3 points to lose, 6 for a draw, and 9 to win.  This adds up amazingly fast.

As much as I really hate playing Soul Wars, I got wrapped up in the intensity, and watching those points add up.  Friday was already booked solid, so I knew this was my only chance to take advantage of the triple Zeal points.  At some time early in the morning hours, I decided I was still wired, and had amazingly garnered 70 points already... so pushed until it was done.  By 6:00 this morning, I had Baby Jad number 2!!

That gives about an hour and a half to sleep before work.  But I don't regret it.  Drank some extra coffee, plowed through work, I can sleep some other time.

 Now Jad Junior's in the house.  And in the bank.  One for the menagerie, and one to hang out with me while I play.  I know.  Strange goal, insane effort, but it meant something to me, and I'm very very satisfied to have 2 baby TzRek-Jads.  I've done some Google and Youtube searches, and as far as I can tell, I'm the only one so far to have 2 of them.

Who knew?  Jad's a Dad... and it's twins!

Runescape: Bot Nuking Day and the Aftermath

Note:  No pretty pictures this time.  Just me talking.  If you're easily bored, this will certainly trigger an attack of boredom:

Well, I wasn't going to write specifically about this... but it's much bigger than I realized it was going to be.  Yesterday, 10-25-2011, was Runescape's Bot Nuking Day.  I had high hopes, but no actual frame of reference.  The scale of this event is astounding.
In advance, I was pretty pleased at the prospect of removing bots.  I hate botting in Runescape.  Aside from the practical effects on the economy, and availability of resources, I just hated the cheating in general.  Real players have worked hard for every skill they have, every reward they've earned, every rare drop they've fought for.  It seriously cheapens the value of our hard work to have someone leveling, harvesting, getting rich, all without actually playing.

So yes, I'm thrilled.  And you know what?  I'm kind of vindictive about it.  This is odd for me... I'm normally too nice for my own good.  After 50 years of being nice, it's a hard habit to break.  But in this case, I'm making an exception.
Glad.  Glad, glad, glad... happy happy glad glad.

And another thing?  Did you know some of these bots are sold?  For real money!!  Can you imagine?  I don't know what a typical cost would be, but I heard of one that costs $350...  Dang.  Can you even imagine paying that kind of money for playing Runescape?  And not even acutally playing.
Let me put this into my own twisted perspective:  Someone signs up for Runescape, as a member.  So they're paying for the privilege of playing, right?  Then they turn around and shell out big bucks for a bot to play for them.  Are they even having fun?  What's the point in PAYING to play a game, then PAYING someone else to play it for them?  Maybe you could PAY someone to eat supper for you?  Or to get a good night's sleep for you?

Okay, I do get the point that most of them don't play for fun, rather they farm resources for gold, which they sell real-world.  Shady.  Images of mafia underworld, and overseas child labor factories.  Lets keep organized crime and child abuse OUT of our game.

From another viewpoint, consider the script-writers who make their money selling illegal scripts.  Hmmm, do you think they'll be issuing any refunds?  They certainly aren't working from a foundation of honesty and integrity.  I suspect any fool who paid them money is not going to see that money back now that the bots are broken.

That's a good penalty.  Lesson learned, maybe.  For some, anyway.  I'm guessing the majority won't see the error of their ways.  They'll just keep looking for ways to cheat.  I sure hope this event will drive the bot-writers out of business.  I also hope to see Runescape pursue legal action as they've threatened to do.

My one concern is that Jagex may lose a lot of income with this bold move.  I have a ton of respect for them, and seriously hope they don't suffer financially because of it.

From reaction on the forums, it seems many other players share my exuberance.  And of course, many don't.  The forums are certainly lively right now.  Especially with buzz about the legal notice Jagex emailed many suspected botters.  It was pretty much a last chance, straighten up and we'll grant amnesty, keep botting and we'll sue you.  I'm no lawyer, and the forums are chock-full of players who think they are.  So I won't be pontificating about the legals aspects of this letter, and the rights of the poor, abused and misunderstood botters.  All I'm going to mention is actual Right and Wrong, which many players (probably children, for the majority) don't seem to comprehend. 

We all have our stories to tell.  I solo Dungeoneer a lot, so yesterday didn't get to see the result of the bot-nuke.  But today I logged in during breakfast.  I like to fish shark while I eat.  It's easy, doesn't require full attention, and I can manage breakfast while playing.  Using Barbarian techniques to fish, makes it bare-handed, so all I carry is a skills necklace to teleport to the fishing guild, and a kinship ring to get back to Dungeoneering.
Usually the docks are elbow to elbow, and players stacked on the shark harpoon spots.  This morning?  Ghost town.  Nobody.  Just me and Man(level 2) on the docks, the whole morning.  Wow.
Similar story for Monique.  She went to the Kalphite lair to collect some potato cactus... and NO bots, nobody else, at all.  She could collect at her leisure, without competing for a limited resource.  It's made the game SO much nicer.  She just read a post by someone else who went into the essence mines and there was nobody there.  Just the empty sound of echoing footsteps...

I expect a financial impact, as well.  Prices of just about everything will probably rise sharply, then taper off to it's natural level.  Yes, it'll make buying things more expensive.  But it will also make the results of our hard work more valuable.  If I fish a few thousand shark and sell them, hopefully I can actually sell them for enough to be worth my time.

Let's not forget Jagex kicking off a whole multi-day celebration of player rewards and events.  In recognition of the immensity of the event, for the next several days there are extras and bonuses.  Yesterday was triple Slayer experience.  Got my 99 while earning Baby Jad, but Monique took as much advantage of it as she could.  Sometimes real life gets in the way of fun, but she made a good effort.
Today, if I remember right, is Castle Wars bonus.  Tomorrow, Thursday, is double penguin points.  Even better, it's a new reset, so if you already did them for the week, you get to do the penguins again!  Not to mention, several other distractions and diversions will give boosts.  Evil Trees, Mining, Familiarization.
Finally, Friday will be triple experience for Soul Wars.  I've wanted a second Baby Jad for my house menagerie.  This would be a great time to earn some Soul Wars Zeal.

All told, there's quite a carnival going on this week, all because of the bot-nuking initiative.  Yay Runescape.  Good job.

In the near future, will bots make a comeback?  I hope not.  At least, not to the extreme they had been.  And what will the near-and-long term effect on the game be?

Who knows.  Like I said, the practical aspects are nice, but I'm mainly excited at the prospect of not living in a bot-filled Runescape.  At least for now, any competition will be from real players.  Any crowding will be actual people.  Cheaters won't prosper.  I hope they choke on it.

Happy happy joy joy.  Nyah Nyah.

Runescape Bunus Exp Weekend Over and Gone

So, the Runescape Bonus Experience weekend is over now.  How'd you do?

My 1 level raised over the Bonus Exp Weekend...

Let's start off by saying Monique smoked me.  She left skid marks on the road, and me standing in a cloud of dust.  Early Friday morning, I was aware she had just gotten 97 in Herblore.  A short while later, she sent me an email.  All it said was "98".  By the time I got home she was nearing 99, and had her skill cape in no time flat.  I asked how she was screaming through it so fast, she said she was making overloads from scratch.  Sounds expensive, but she'll use them on Slayer and make it back.
In the meantime, she moved over to Crafting, and gained a few levels in that.  Then she jumped to Fletching, which is where she spent the rest of the weekend.  Her goal was to get at least 93 Fletching, in order to be able to do all levels of Effigies for Fletching/Woodcutting.  Neither of us has that at the moment.  Or, we didn't.
We'll get back to the effigies in a moment...

In the meantime, I started bonus exp weekend having just barely begun Slayer level 97.  I use Super Sets (Strength and Attack), Turmoil, Soul Split, Cannonballs, whatever I can to speed it up.  I don't pick up any drops unless they're especially good... like Effigies.  No extremes, though.  My herblore's only 89, which limits which ones I can make... and I don't want to take the time from Slayer to make them.  When it makes sense, I use Dragon Claws special, or Vine Whip special, Korasi's special, or the Enhanced Excalibur.

Steel Titan, Cannon, Potions, every advantage possible

I skip slow tasks, even if I like them.  Right now, all I want is speed.  So, during the weekend I got a grand total of over 6 million exp.  I wish it all went to Slayer, but of course most of it was just plain old combat.  Of that number, 1,200,000 or so went to Slayer.

While working on the skill, I got a ton of Effigy drops.  I quit counting after a dozen, and just cashed in the ones I could, left the rest in the bank for the moment.

Now's probably a good time to talk about Effigies.  I don't know which monsters drop them, or what the drop rate is, but it seems to be rare, or very uncommon.  They have 4 stages, each of which requires a correspondingly higher skill level in different skills to unlock.  Each level you unlock (or someone assists you to unlock) gives experience points to that skill.  (Either to you, or the person assisting if you needed help.)  The final stage reveals a Dragonkin Lamp, which is used for experience in any skill you want.  The amount given depends on the level of the skill chosen.

Ancient Effigy

That's the short form.  For a full explanation, Wiki has a great webpage.  In my case, it's all going to Slayer, and at level 98... and yes, that's the only level I gained this weekend...  I'm getting about 46k exp per Dragonkin Lamp.

So currently, I've got something like 14 Effigies that I'll need boosts or assists to unlock.  Once I unlock all the lamps, that will give me about 600,000 exp.  I also have enough Slayer points to buy about 85k exp as well.

Monique assisting me with Ancient Effigy

To top it all off, tomorrow is Tuesday, and Monique and I will be doing penguins.  They'll give me close to 40k.  Which means, at my current Slayer experience, I only need about 300k more experience to get 99.   (Quick update here:  we finished Ritual of the Mahjarrat, and used all 80k exp lamps on Slayer.  I just need to finish cashing in my effigies to level 99!)

That's a lot of work, but without the Effigies, it would be tons more!  I think I can get it by next weekend (I hope!)

Then I start playing Soul Wars, earning Zeal points.  With 100 Zeal, TzRek-Jad will be mine (insert evil laughter here).  I can't wait!

Runescape: The Quest for Baby TzRek-Jad?

Concept art from Runescape

Have you seen Baby Jad?

Are you one of the lucky ones that already got him?  I'm not.  Darn it.  

I spent a couple of months earlier this year getting the hang of beating TzTok-Jad.  Got to where I was sleeping and dreaming Jad.  Yes... I'm a slow learning, and am truly horrible at real-time combat.  Just can't handle all the prayer switching while fighting.

Still, with a lot of practice, and many attempts, I finally beat him.  Got 3 capes, and called it quits.  Thought when I finished I'd never want to see him again.  But in a weird sort of way, I've grown attached to Jad.

So when Jagex announced that TzTok-Jad had a baby... and it's name is TzRek-Jad...   I just flat-out, no holds barred, wanted one.  Maybe 2, one for my Player Owned House!  Before knowing anything except his requirements, I knew it was going to happen.

The requirements?  Only the most restrictive of any pet in the entire game.  Baby Black Dragons used to be the coolest pet in the game.  They needed 99 Summoning and a rare egg dropped from the black dragons.  (Green, Blue, and Red are also available, just not as cool.)

Now Baby TzRek-Jad has the baby dragon topped.  Baby Jad reqires 99 Summoning (just like having a baby pet dragon).  But he also requires 99 Slayer.  Plus 100 Zeal points from Soul Wars.  Plus, you have to GIVE BACK a Fire Cape!!

That makes him pretty darned exclusive.  At this moment, I've got the 99 Summoning, but only 95 Slayer.  I figure about a month to finish Slayer.  Then start Soul Wars.  Don't even know how long it takes to play, and how quickly points can be earned.  But I'll find out in about a month.  Seems reasonable to assume another month for that.

Let's see, this is the end of August.  So around the end of October, or early November, I hope to have mine.  And no, I'm not patient.  It's killing me to not already have him!  But I'm very good at persistent.  And even better at obsessive.  So I'll just obsess over it until I've got it.  Last time I worked this hard for something, it was the Taskmaster Emote.  And just days after I earned it, Runescape released all those fancy capes for people who've maxed all their skills... or more.  

Kind of devalued my hard work.  But what the heck.  I'm playing Runescape because it's fun.  I'm sure not going to obsess on a Completionists Cape.  But Baby TzRek-Jad?  I think I can manage that.  :^)

By the way, since I don't have one of my own, I'm posting some YouTube videos that show him in action.  Enjoy.

Runescape: Dungeoneering, Baby TzRek Jad, Slayer... so much to do, so little time!

In spite of the fact that Monique and I are still Dungeoneering extensively, I've not seen any Night Spiders since the beginning of the month.  That makes 7 Night Spiders to get my Shadow Silk Hood, then 2 more Night Spiders in the next couple of days, now I've seen none for nearly 2 weeks.  Wow.  I'm extremely glad I got my hood so early in the hunt.  

Since then, I've managed to get level 83 Dungeoneering, which makes 42 my deepest dungeon available.  Monique's gotten to floor 38, but for her, it's not about the Dungeoneering, it's about the tokens.  By now, she's gotten every reward she desires except for the crafting one.  She's already gotten Bonecrusher, and the Scroll of Life.  Once she gets that last reward, I think I'll have lost my Dungeoneering partner.  Oh well, I ran solo before she got interested, and I'll just go back to solo when she's done.  In the meantime, she still needs about 23,000 tokens, which means I don't have to worry about it for a while.

Besides, with Jagex releasing baby TzRek Jad sometime this month, I've got plenty of other things to work on.  His requirements are 99 Summoning, 99 Slayer, and 100 Zeal from Soul Wars.  I've got the summoning, which is the hardest/most expensive skill to max (in my opinion, anyway).  My Slayer is 93, but I like training Slayer, so it'll be fun to focus on getting that as my next 99.  It's the Soul Wars I'm really dreading.  Don't like team sports...  But I'll do it for baby Jad.  TzTok Jad was such a pain to beat, that in a strange way, I kind of like him.  It's going to be awesome to sport a baby TzRek Jad.

While Monique is still interested in Dungeoneering, I haven't put much effort into Slaying.  Maybe three tasks in the last several days.  I always go to Kuradel, and she gave me nearly 200 Nechryaels, then 186 Spiritual Mages, and now 150 Blue Dragons.  Blue Dragons!  Heck, yes, they're like a trip to Disney.  Fun, fast, easy, and reasonably private if you use Kuradel's Slayer Dungeon.  I'm about halfway through them, and have gotten 2 Dragon Eggs so far.  Nice, though I've got plenty in my player owned house.

Getting assigned Blue Dragons is like a break.  When that's over, it'll be back to the usual assignments (I assume).  

The nice thing about Slayer, is you can go slow, medium, or fast, depending on your goals.  Slow, allows for bring a Pack Yak, and banking the drops for profit.  Medium, allows for banking the really exceptional drops, but mostly just killing.  And fast, is when I use all the boosts I can (Super Sets, Turmoil, etc.)  

I don't include overloads because I can't do the max, and it seems to me like the one I can do might be more effort than it's worth for an ongoing task.  I could see the value in getting past one specific boss monster, but not for a continuous ongoing goal.

But for now, we're Dungeoneering.  Lots of variety and fun.  We're not fast, and we don't rack up amazing experience.  We just play.  Monique by nature has gravitated toward being our keyer.  She loves to explore, and blaze new trails.  She manages the doors and makes sure we clear the floor before going after the bosses.  I combine skilling and fighting.  Making our armor, and our summoning beasts.  And fighting.  I enjoy fighting the monsters.  Even when we're trying to rush, I keep getting sidetracked fighting.  I guess it's not really a big deal.  We both enjoy it for one reason or another.

So, once Monique has reached her Dungeoneering tokens goal, I'm going to go guns blazing on Slayer and blast through it as fast as possible.  Goodbye, bank account.  But it'll be worth it...

Hello, baby TzRek Jad!

Runescape: TzTok Jad's a Dad! Who'd have thought it?

 

I've been exclusively dungeoneering for some time now.  Either solo, or duo with Monique.  Made it to level 82 so far, and going well.  Next thing I know, Jagex has a behind-the-scenes update with a ton of things coming out.  But the one that caught my eye?  Baby TzRek Jad!

Yes, they're coming out with a pet baby Jad!  I spent a couple of painful months learning how to beat Jad, then wrote a very long and detailed guide about it.  All using the Ancient Curses/Deflects method, which requires no actual combat with Jad, and does not bring the healers out.

I should have put that in past tense.  Jagex recently decided that was a bug, and patched it.  Now, whether you hit Jad or not, the healers come out.  So I'm going to have to figure out how to beat him all over again, and modify my guide.  It's going to be a while before I get around to that.  For now, I've just added a notice to the top of the guide about the recent changes, with some suggestions I found online of how to work-around it.  

So, while they've destroyed months of work, and taken away the only way I was able to defeat Jad, Jagex also announced the upcoming release of a pet Jad.  Kind of like a religious experience... Jagex giveth, and Jagex taketh away...

Which makes me mad at them, and thrilled, all at the same moment, and about the same thing.  Life's complicated, huh?  

Focusing on the good side, it's a really cool idea.  And the requirements for getting a pet Jad are satisfactorily high, which means you have to really earn him.  Up until now, the coolest (and hardest to obtain) pet was the Baby Dragon.  To get one, you have to have 99 Summoning, then kill dragons of your color choice (Green, Blue, Red, or Black) until you get a Dragon Egg.  This in itself is a rare drop.  I've gotten an egg as quickly as my first 10 kills, and as slowly as nearly 300 kills.  It's random.  Only Chromatic Dragons drop eggs.  The metal dragons do not.

You can only have one pet baby dragon in your bank/inventory, but you can fill your player-owned-house menagerie up with them if you so choose.  Out of  15 slots, 8 of mine are dragons, mostly black because they're the coolest.  :^)

I'm not even considering the Dungeoneering pet (Sneaker-Peeper).  It's not especially great, nor are the requirements that high.  Not that impressed.

That's a pretty restrictive requirement, yet baby dragons are all over the place.  Not exactly common, but not unusual, either.  Baby Jad will change all of that.  Suddenly, baby dragons are not the coolest or most restrictive pets in the game.

How cool could it get, right?  In this case, right through the roof!  

First, you've got a baby of one of Jagex's most powerful, hated, and feared monsters.  If you beat Jad, you get the Fire Cape, so everybody can look and know you beat him.  Plus it's functionally one of the very best capes in the game.

Second, the requirements to get him are the most restrictive in the entire game.  You have to have 99 Summoning, 99 Slayer, 100 Zeal Points from Soul Wars (which takes a lot of playing!) and...

Finally... you have to trade a Fire Cape in!  If you've only ever beaten Jad once, this is a serious sacrifice.  But still worth it, as evidenced by Monique.  I've got three Fire Capes, so trading one in won't really bother me.  But Monique only has one Fire Cape, and has no intention of ever going back for another, yet she's willing to trade her one and only cape for a pet baby Jad.

That's a real sacrifice, since the cape is one of the best in the game.  On the other hand, she told me she rarely uses her Fire Cape, and if she's got a baby Jad following her, people will still know she beat Jad at least once.

So, is it worth it?  If you meet the requirements, and have multiple Fire Capes, then absolutely.  If you've only got one Fire Cape, maybe, maybe not.  And if you don't meet the requirements, then you may have a long haul before it's even an issue.

Me?  I've got 99 Summoning, and 3 Fire Capes.  But only 93 Slayer, and I don't like Soul Wars.  And still, I'm going for it.  I'll get my 99 Slayer, then play Soul Wars until I'm there, then proudly collect my baby Jad!