Runescape Elite Desert Tasks

Over the weekend, Monique and I finally did all the Elite tasks in the Kharidian Desert... that we could.  Let's talk about the Dominion Tower first.  Neither of us can do that one.  Plant a Dominion Marker, with all it's achievements, including kill the Sunfreet. 

Right.

If you already have this, you're probably feeling pretty smug right now.  I would be.  :^)
For the rest of us, this particular task is going to be a long long haul.  And to be honest, the rewards seem... minor... compared to the difficulty.  Actually, the only reward I'm thrilled about came from the Medium tasks.  That's when we got the Desert Amulet 2, which gives unlimited teleports to Nardah.  And a pretty cool teleport animation.  Of the rest, some are good, some not, but none really rock.

Right now, I'm working on my last 2 99 skills.  Not even going to attempt the Dominion Tower until that's done.  Then, it might catch my fancy.  Or maybe not.  That being said, lets look at the rest of the Elite tasks.

The Elite tasks were more interesting as a group than the easy, medium, or hard tasks.  (For a walkthrough, visit the Wiki.)  To begin with, the items needed required some work for us.  Slayer Helmet with 50 Summoning Scrolls?  Check.  Monique did have to go see Pikkupstix to get hers enchanted first.  Ancient Staff?  Check.  Again, Monique had to go pick hers up from Eblis at the Bandit Camp.

Holy Cithara- we both had that.  Ankh and Scabaras Mask?  We both had to go get them, but that was easy enough.  Climb the cliff behind the Monkey Colony, enter the cave, get the Ankh.  Good thing we've already done the required quest.  Same thing for the Scabaras Mask.  Already did the quest, just had to get it.  Down into the Kalphite Nursery, east through the long tunnel, down into the crevice in the floor, grab the mask.  Faster than it sounds.

Phoenix Feathers... I had a few, Monique went and plucked a couple.  The phoenix is over by the Dominion Tower.  Easy to get to with the Dominion Medallion.  Her thieving is in the 90's, so no problem there, either.  As far as the 2 Antifire(3) potions, had some in the bank.  I always make flasks from my Robust Glass, so had to go mine some Sandstone.  Good thing it had refreshed for the day.

The highest thieving requirement was 91, and can't be boosted.  That's for the Pyramid Plunder task.

For the actual task list, the Desert Strykewrym was fun and easy.  Just be sure you're wearing the charged slayer helmet and wielding the Ancient Staff.  In case you're wondering, for this task you do NOT have to be on a slayer assignment. 
As mentioned, the Pyramid Plunder requirement is to go to the last room and open the sarcophagus. 

Playing the Holy Cithara was kind of cool.  The emote looks kind of like hard rock meets medieval bard.  While standing in the abbey, we equipped the Ankh and Mask.  That counted, even though we weren't strictly in the desert.

Making a Super Antifire flask in Nardah was just a matter of combining the phoenix feathers and antifire potions, making the robust glass into a flask, and putting the potions in it. 

Assuming you've already done the quests and have all the levels, all the other tasks (Not the Dominion Marker) were quick and easy.  Considering just how easy, then looking at the Dominion Tower task, there's a pretty big discrepancy.  My own feeling is that the entire task list, including the easy, medium and hard tasks, was kind of hit or miss.  It didn't seem nearly as well-organized as the provious achievement diaries. 

Similarly, we got the best reward from the Medium tasks.  Teleporting to Nardah.  The rest of the rewards ranged from useful to useless, but none were as cool as the teleport. 

Would I have set the tasks to be so unbalanced.  Well... no.  :^)
Does that bother me?  Nope.  Maybe I'll finish it, maybe not.  Depends on my mood, and the goals of the moment.  For now, it's far on the back burner.  Runescape is a game I enjoy.  If I choose to go for it, I will.  If not, well, that's a choice too.