Runescape: Dungeoneering, Night Spiders, Shadow Silk Hood, and Haasgenaak

Note:  Again, no pictures... When Runescape updated their client, my screencapture (Howies) is no longer able to capture images from the client.  But I didn't know this, and thought I took pictures of everything mentioned in today's blog.  Bad luck, no pics.  I have a new screencap program now... and it works!

Still working on Dungeoneering.  Soloing a Chaotic Rapier's going to take a while.  At this point, I wouldn't object to teaming for a while, but from what I see on the forums, it's difficult to efficiently team with total strangers for a short-term basis.  Between trouble finding someone who wants to do the same levels I do, and then trying to work on a schedule we can all agree on... and then just trying to work together as a team... it sounds like I'm better off just continuing to solo.

Anyway, so I just made it to level 43 for the first time last night.  It was an interesting trip.  Ran into Flesh-Spoiler Haasgenaak, who spits his eyeball at you then reels it back in on a tether.  Talk about a gross attack!  Blood squirts, his eye hits me, and I'm just wanting to wipe all the slime off before I even try to hit him back.

Then when you defeat him, he has a secondary form.  Sort of a single eyeball on a foot-stalk, and lots of little baby eyeballs attacking you.  I had a Bloodrager summons to help, he was taking out the baby eyes while I handled the main one.  It was kind of fun... but messy.

I'm not the best fighter, either.  Not so hot with the prayer flashing, or switching styles in midstream.  I mainly bull through relying on maxed stats to help me survive.  Not to say I don't try, I just don't do well at actual real-time fighting strategy.  Fighting boss monsters in Dungeoneering is helping me get better.

The other part of last night's interesting features was the Night Spiders.  I spent some major time hunting for a Shadow Silk Hood.  If you've done the same, you know how much time and effort that can take.  Not to mention how rare the Night Spiders are.  I'm always seeing people on the forums talking about not seeing a SSH until they were level 90 or higher.

After spending so much time hunting for them, I can't let go.  So when I see a Night Spider, I have to stop, take screen shots, admire him...  It's still a pretty rare occurrence.  Well, last night, I was somewhere in the high 30's, probably floor 38.  Small, complexity 6, and found not one, but TWO Night Spiders!  Yes, on the same floor.
That was cool enough, but the first one actually dropped a Shadow Silk Hood.  I've been dreading this day ever since I got my own Hood.  I really hate just 'wasting' it, but I've already got one bound.

I picked it up, and just for extend the moment, carried it to the Smuggler's room.  Offered it to him, but he was only willing to pay some 2,500 gold for it.  Not enough.  Nobody in here to share it with.  No other option.  So I finally alched it, just to be able to say I've hi-alched a Shadow Silk Hood.  What a shame.

This brings me to my one major disappointment with Dungeoneering.  Banking.  I know, they left it out deliberately.  Same way the binds are so limited.  It's a way to make you very carefully consider and manage your resources.  I get it.  But still... I wish we could bank and keep our stuff.

Not saying I want the bank to cross over into the rest of Runescape.  I'd just like to see the Smuggler willing to hold a few items for us.  Maybe to have 10 slots, and whatever we've got should stack, so if I collect, say for instance, multiple Shadow Silk Hoods, (yeah, right) than I could keep as many as I wanted to in the one Smuggler's bank slot.

Oh well.  Just my imagination.  We'll never see that happen.  But still... it would be pretty cool!

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: The Wicked Hood is Wicked Cool!

I logged in a couple of days ago, and had a strange notice on the screen.  Something about being a loyal customer, and getting a new item as a thank you...

It turned out to be the Wicked Hood, and it was a pretty nice gift.  Have you gotten yours yet?  At first glance, it's kind of confusing, because it does several things, and each thing has it's own limiting factor.

But let's go with my favorite part first.  Teleports.  You know, I always love rewards that expand my teleport options.  When Drakan's Medallion came out, I was absolutely thrilled.  It really opened up the Southwest area of the Runescape map.

The Wicked Hood offers a large number of new teleports.  When properly prepared, it will teleport you to any runecrafting altar in the game (except for the ZMI altar.)  When you first get it, it only teleports you to the Air and Mind altars.  If you feed the hat a talisman (just use the talisman on the hood), it will 'learn' to teleport to that talisman's altar.  For example, if you use a Nature Talisman on the hood, it will permanently be able to teleport to the Nature Altar... 2 times each day.

Twice a day is pretty limiting, but if you plan your uses well, it can be an extremely useful two teleports.  You can feed one of each kind of talisman to the hood, to learn all the locations.  Or you can feed an Omni-talisman to it, and it will learn all the destinations in one sweep. You lose the Omni-Talisman, but the hood does everything the Omni-talisman does, plus much more.

You might think 2 teleports a day too limited to be of use, but in reality, it can be just enough to make life much easier.  I've been using it already on my daily battlestaff purchase.  I've been getting 80 a day at Varrock (thanks to the Varrock 4 task rewards) but it's been too much hassle to go over to Lunar Island for the 20 Baba Yaga offers.  Now with the hood, even if I'm not using the Lunar Spellbook, I can teleport directly to the Lunar Altar, run north to Baba Yaga, grab my battlestaves and be back in the Grand Exchange before I know it.
Another Lunar Isle example is if you're going after Jad in the Fight Cave.  Many people like to Vengeance Jad, which requires the Lunar Spellbook.  It's always been annoying to switch before, but now you can teleport straight there, change spellbooks, and be on your way to Jad without any wasted time.

Ok, so this one came to me...

One more example.  If you hunt penguins, or have any reason to go to Entrana, this is, hands down, the fastest way to get there.  Remove all weapons/armor as usual, use the Hood to teleport to the Law Altar, and you land right by the chicken pen!  No more long runs from Draynor, Rimmington, or your personal Spirit Tree... just go directly there.

But wait... there's more!  I'm sure you've heard those pitches before.  In this case, you also get free runes, and free essence every day.  I haven't tried this yet, but here's what I understand:  You get 100 elemental runes every day, or you can pick any other rune and get 5.  If you apply an elemental talisman to the Wicked Hood, you'll get to do this twice a day.  You also get 100 unnoted essence every day... and that's upgraded to 100 Pure Essence if you used an Omni-Talisman.

Don't get overexcited about the Soul Rune position on the graphic.  There is NO Soul Rune altar as yet.  I suspect they put that in for a planned upgrade.  The interface is pretty cool, too.  Attractive graphics, and easy to understand.  (Easier than when you've only read about it.)  Though I wish the volume was lower.  With that constant beeping, I feel pressured to pick my teleport quickly, like it's trying to hurry me along.

The Wicked Hood takes the place of any runecrafting tiara, and of any talisman.  I've already sold off all my talismans except the ones I use for Summoning.  Keeps on death (you don't lose it), and if you somehow lose or destroy it, the Wicked Hood can be replaced by Tam McGrubor.  For Free.  And it will still know all the locations you've taught it.

I haven't yet explored the other teleport locations.  If I remember right, the Earth Altar is near the lumberyard.  For penguin-hunting, that could be useful.  I'm sure if I look at a map, I'll see more uses.  Like I said, new teleport locations are my favorite rewards.  Even if I never use anything but the Lunar and Entrana ports, I'm ecstatic about the Wicked Hood.

Runescape: Got the Berserker Ring(i)... and all the others too!

Early this morning, before work, I got the last 4 points needed for 300 Rank in Mobilising Armies.  That's from Friday evening to Wednesday morning.  Not horrible I guess, and I bet the max most games.  So my reward points were very well over 2 million.  I imbued All my rings, not just the Berserker.  Archer, Warrior, Seers, even the spares I had as 'placeholders'.  Bought an Onyx Ring as well, and imbued it too.  That's mission accomplished, and one less thing to worry about now.

Oh, if you're wondering what makes an Onyx Ring so special?  Why in the world is a useless ring with 0 stats worth 6 or 7 million gold?  Because of Mobilising Armies.  Once you can imbue it (at rank 300, and with the appropriate reward tokens) it gets stats of 6 across the board on defense and attack!  To me, this makes it the best general purpose combat ring in the entire game.  When you're doing something that will require multiple styles of attack and defense, it's great.  I now use it when I do Barrows.  While the specialty imbued rings have 8's in their specific styles, they're not quite the 'rennaissance' ring that the Onyx Ring(i) is.  They still have their uses... if you absolutely know you're going to be ranging, and no other attack style, then the Archer Ring(i) is supreme.  It all depends on what you're planning to do.

Funny thing, I started playing Mobilising Armies just for the Berserker Ring(i), so my intent was to suicide as often and quickly as possible during the 'Siege' scenario.  But I got into the strategy, and started getting competitive.  Wound up spending TOO much time on some of the games.  Usually 2 teams would suicide, and the other guy would have his eye on the win.  Me too, so there would be some struggle to get the points.  Even losing, you still get a point.  It wound up being a lot more fun than I expected.   I learned to scan everybody playing, and try to predict their strategy.  Before too long, I was winning about half the games, even if someone else was trying to win.  Sometimes, a fight would get complex, and drawn out.  It would take so long, and some of the players pulled some truly intelligent traps and tricks on me.  I tend to compliment someone who's played hard, whether they won or I did.  Some of them just said ok, but one tried his best to curse at me.  Our fight came so close to the wire, we both had some brilliant moves, and some dumb mistakes.  It came down to one squad each, only a sliver of life left, each hoping to get the lucky hit that ended the game.  My side finally won, but back in the de-briefing room when I thanked him for a game well played, all he could do was type many 'f's and 'u's.  Oh well, he still played a great game.

 So even though my intent was to suicide, I wound up playing to win more often than not.  I don't especially want to go back to Mobilising Armies, but it was fun once I learned what to do.

Mission accomplished, rings imbued, it was time to make some money.  After looking around, Barrows sounded like something fun to do, and a chance to play with the new Onyx Ring (i).  Did one trip, got a Dharok's Helm, sold for 1.3 million gold.  That was great, and I should have stopped while I was ahead.  But it took me several more trips before I decided my luck had once again deserted me.

Back to the G.E. and flipping to make some money.  These days, cheap commodities are ruined by bots, and to make a profit, you have to find a more expensive item.  I found some that moved slow, but did make money.  Finished the evening off doing that.

Now I'm back Dungeoneering.  Still working for that Chaotic Rapier.  Long Long Long way to go.  At least it's fun to play!