Welcome to Crewman6's Runescape Adventure Log! Monique (my wife!) and I have played Runescape together since 2004. We do the quests together, hunt penguins every Tuesday night, and help each other achieve our in-game goals. We play for fun, so our skill sets are a bit here-and-there. I thought it would be fun as we reach goals, and set new ones, to post tips, tricks, and thoughts as we go.
This is mainly just a quick update from the last time. After the Runescape bonus exp weekend, I'd managed to get to level 85 Agility. This gave me access to the Gnome Stronghold Advanced Agility Course, without having to recourse to Summer Pies. Since Summer Pies give 5 levels of agility, I could have gone anytime after achieving level 80, but it seemed like the odds of failing an obstacle would be too high that way. Even at 85, I was failing about half the time. There's only one obstacle that can be failed on that course, the part where you run across the big billboard sign. But after failing it just a smidgen too often, it was time to load up on Summer Pies. Grand Exchange, place an order, and now there's half a million summer pies in my bank. That should help me level up... quite a few times!
The Gnome Stronghold advanced course is pretty cool, goes quickly, and is my favorite agility course so far. I really liked Ape Atoll for a long long time, but it eventually wore out. Never really cared much for Dorgesh-kaan agility course. It was okay for a change, but too easy to get tired of. Now the Gnomes hold my favor. Really fun course. It also comes with a bonus. If you get 250 perfect laps (and they don't have to be in a row, thankfully) they give you a pair of Agile Legs. This is leg armor that reduces your total weight by 10 kg when worn. In conjunction with Boots of Lightness and Spottier Cape, it's an excellent benefit when you're running a lot.
Even better, at level 90 (or sooner with boosts) you can access the Barbarian Advanced Agility Course. I haven't tried it yet, so don't know how fun it'll be, but 250 perfect laps there will earn the Agile Top, a matching piece to go with the Agile Legs.
Last night I was grinding out laps at the Gnomes, and got the Agile Legs. Very nice reward, a great motivation to keep going, and something I'll use in other aspects of Runescape. I've got about 69k to go before getting 86 Agility. Kind of excited about the Agile Top, and thinking that maybe those Summer Pies will take me into the Barbarian Advanced course to 'get a leg up' on getting the Agile Top. After all the earlier training, it's great to have legitimately useful rewards!
The bad news... I still haven't beaten Jad. At this rate I'll never get a fire cape. Took the exp weekend off from Jad because my combat levels are all maxed, and didn't want to waste bonus exp. That's why I went up so much in Agility. But once I get level 86 Agility, it's time to face Jad again. I'm hoping to do better this time around. He's killed me too many times, I need to return the favor!
This is not me- wish it was!
Once Jad's done, I'll be happy to get back to Agility. Work up to 90, collect all my Elite Achievement rewards, and I'll be a happy Runescaper!
I have so far avoided addressing this issue. But now that the vote is over, and it looks like a sure thing, I suppose expressing an opinion is just about mandatory. Apparently an overwhelming majority voted to bring it back. If people want to go out into the wilderness and kill each other for a chance at quick riches, I support their right to enjoy Runescape however they see fit. What I do not support is their right to drag others into their game. From my first day over 6 years ago, to now, I have very much enjoyed the monster slaying, skilling, quests, and diversions. My wife and I hunt the penguins every week. If Jagex wants to make the wilderness pvp again, that's fine. But don't drag me into it. It's not how I play, and I want no part of it.
Here's where I usually hear someone say "Then stay out of the wilderness!"
Well, that's fine, and I would, except that in their infinite wisdom, Jagex has sided with the player killers, and put content in the wilderness that has nothing to do to player killing. They've left the penguins out in the wilderness. Who does that benefit, except the killers? You take a wide variety of gamers who enjoy tracking down penguins and getting that experience bonus, throw them into the wilderness, and it's going to be a pure slaughter. Runescape will destroy our pleasure for the avaricious greediness of the other group.
Same thing with the abyss. I can remember trying to get to the abyss through a standing ring of 10 or 20 pk'ers. I don't care how powerful you are, that situation is unbeatable. You either don't go, or you get killed for your glory. Never mind the loss of your essence pouches, which take a lot of time to get.
I wouldn't mind a fairer situation, one where maybe I stand a chance of turning the tables. But they play a numbers game.
Okay, that's not true. I said I wouldn't mind a fair chance. Truth is, I don't want anything to do with player killing. I have moral issues with the implications. We're training our children that it's okay to hurt someone else to get what we want. Disagree with me? That's fine, it's your right. But by forcing me to play into that system, Runescape is robbing me of my right to choose. If I had a choice, if I could achieve my runescape goals entirely without entering the wilderness, I would. Instead, they've taken away that choice. Now my choice is to give up parts of the game that gave me great pleasure, or participate in the pker's worldview.
So why does it have to be one or the other? For years, Runescape favored the pker at the expense of the rest. Then, because of real-world trading, they swung totally the other way and took away the pker's way of playing. Now, they're swinging completely back the other way in favor of pkers again.
All I'm asking is for consideration for both groups. Why not keep a few worlds running in non-pker mode?
If you answer is "Because then nobody but pker's will be in the pker's world", then I say you're right, but so what? If that's truly an issue, then you're not playing as a pker looking for an honest win, you're playing as a bottom-feeding scavenger looking to take advantage of those who can't fight back, and I have no respect for that kind of player.
But apparently, Runescape does respect that kind of player, because the game is about to turn in their favor. I probably won't quit because of it. I've loved Runescape too much for too long. I've invested way to much time building up my character to give it up. But they've ripped out a huge chunk of what I loved about the game. I do empathize with pker's, I think if they wanted a dangerous wildy with the old rules, they should have it. I just don't think they should have it at my expense, over my protests. Runescape is a huge world, with many servers. If they truly wanted to make ALL of their players happy, they could.
Now, if you're a pker, you're either gloating over my situation because you won and I lost... or you understand my pain, because for several years now the shoe was on the other foot. By the way, that was my position back then... I felt bad that pker's lost what they loved about the game, even though it made the game better for me...
And if you're not a pker, then you're in the same boat as I am, and wondering what to do. Well, here's my take:
With free trade coming back too, I'm going to wait a month or two for prices to stabilize, then start flipping for my profit again. I made a decent income from the Grand Exchange, but with pking back, demand for combat related supplies will probably skyrocket, as will prices. A savvy player should be able to ride the tide, and make an even better profit.
Next, I'll rethink my approach to anything to do with the wilderness. For instance, penguins. Generally, there's a maximum of two penguins in the wildy, sometimes none. I may simply not try for them, but more likely, I'll only take two (or three and a prayer) items and see if I can find them. If I get killed, that's annoying, but not destroying.
Another example- Bork. You know, there's a non-wildy entry at the Saradomin statue east of Varrock. It'll make the run through the caverns a whole lot longer, but I'll completely avoid the pkers laying in wait.
Here's a case with a less satisfying solution; Jennica's Ring. For woodcutting and firemaking experience, I like to go to the farm near the west side of the wilderness, and chop the magic tree there. When you chop it down in one realm, it immediately regenerates in the other. So, chop it down, enter the spirit realm, chop it down, go back to the normal realm, etc... when my pack is full, I burn the logs. Since the tree is always standing in one realm or the other, there's no waiting for it to regrow. An added bonus, since I'm a loner by nature, I rarely get interrupted there. With the return of the wilderness, I'm sure to get cruised by teams hunting for victims. This one's a less satisfying solution. I guess I'll just have to give up using that magic tree, or only go with a team of other players who can all help defend each other.
These are just some of the situations that come to mind. I'm sure that as time progresses, smarter people than me will post guides on raising your odds of surviving, tricks and tips to enhance survival while skilling in the wilderness. I'll be watching for those as well.
So no, the return of the Wildy won't make me quit the game. But it will make me re-evaluate how I play. I may not like it, but regardless of whether we like it or not, it's coming back, and the only option we truly have is to quit playing, or adapt.
I'm going to adapt.
Got the Runescape book, Betrayal at Falador; haven't started it yet, but it's going into my "books to be read" stack, pretty near the top!
I haven't been playing too much over Christmas. Aside from the usual holiday upheavals, I wound up with strep throat over the entire weekend. If I logged into Runescape at all, it was mainly to update my grand exchange transactions. If I let them sit unattended, it tends to lose money rather than make money.
I've finally bitten the bullet and tried to beat Jad in the fight cave. Getting there takes forever, but is easy enough to do. But Jad? I really stink at prayer switching. The first time he killed me before I even saw him. The second time, I got to see him, and managed to survive for a few seconds before he took me out. Getting there is such a pain, I hate spending an hour or two only to be killed right away. I wish they had a 'practice Jad'. Something that lets you walk right in, fight him, but get no rewards if you win. Then you could go for the real thing with a better chance of success. Oh well, if they made it too easy it would devalue the fire cape. I'll just keep at it. If a million monkeys on a million keyboards in a million years can randomly result in a bestselling book, then sooner or later I should be able to win just through sheer persistence. I wish I could devote some serious time to practice, but I'll have to make do with one or two tries a week.
In the meantime, I got my favorite random event this weekend. I'm speaking of "Surprise Exam", with Mr. Mordaut the erudite dragon. I like the way he looks and acts. The graphics are excellent, and the way he takes his glasses off and examines them really does make me think of a teacher I once had. It's pretty cool too when he thumps the desk. His classroom is fun, with plenty of characters at their desks. (and the imp marching a circle in his dunce cap!)
But, as enjoyable as all these features are, that's not why I love his event. The part I really like is the payoff... The Book of Knowledge! Where most randoms give you the genie lamp, Mr Mordaut's book of knowledge gives 'pay and a half'. It pays out half again better than the genie lamp!
Most randoms are just annoying, even with the experience reward. Though it's much better since the update that allows you to choose your own reward. Not going to turn down the smaller rewards, but I like Mr Mordaut the best. He and his classroom have a lot of personality, and the rewards are more worthwhile.
Below are pics comparing the Dragon and Rune Defenders
It's about time we had some updates just for fun! The Dragon Defender, and the Cyclopean Mask, are exactly that. I took a break from my normal routine to try and get the Dragon Defender. Didn't care one way or the other about the mask, but I wanted the Defender. In my typical prepare-way-too-much fashion, I went to the Warrior's Guild, and did the Suit-of-empty-armor combat until I had 3,400 points saved up. Then I went upstairs. The Cyclopes room was way too full of everybody else wanting one. So I went away. After checking off and on, Friday night my chance finally came. It was crowded, but not horrible. So I staked a corner of the room, and waited for a chance.
I like to play nice. Honor, and all. But one guy there made it personal. Every time he beat me to a Cyclops, he made a rude comment. So I used a trick I don't usually do. It's not fair, and it has a chance of taking a monster away from somebody who's already begun combat. No, I'm not going to share it. It's not good sportsmanship. But I made an exception for him.
I will share a different tip, though... don't chase monsters as they appear. If I stand in one place and wait, I have a pretty good chance of getting mine. If you keep chasing them wherever they show up, someone closer will get it, and then someone beats you to the one where you had been. If there's a lot of competition, just wait for your chosen monster to regenerate, and try to be the first to hit.
And be nice! Just because you beat someone to it, there's no need to rub it in their faces. Enough about that...
Back to the Dragon Defender. Within a few minutes of fighting, a Cyclossus attacked. He didn't wait for me, he just jumped in before I realized he was there. These are pretty cool. Oversized, fast moving, excellent special attacks. At level 138, using Dragon melee defense and no prayer, I had to eat 2 Rocktail while we were fighting. His attack looked like he was throwing lightning. Occasionally, he'll knock you backward. You skid until something stops you, then you're stunned. Overall, fighting the Cyclossus is fun and fast-paced. My first one dropped a Cyclopean Mask. I wasn't trying for one, but since I got it, I really like it. No combat stats at all, it's just for decoration, but it looks pretty wicked. And it's GE value is about 173,000 gold, though I plan to keep mine.
Shortly after that, a normal Cyclops dropped a Dragon Defender. Total time fighting? About 10 minutes.
Again, I go overboard... I wanted 2, so one could be a 'placeholder' in my bank. It took about 10 more minutes, and I had my second one.
So, either I was incredibly lucky, or they're not that hard to get. Since the Dragon Defender is not tradeable, I guess it really doesn't matter how fast they drop, or how many you have. All I know is, I still have about 2,800 points to use up there. I may go back once the big rush is over. Just for fun, and maybe a Cyclossus.
Now here's the Cyclopean Mask (and the defender):
If you want a Dragon Defender, I'd say go to the Warrior's Guild and give it a shot. It's a lot easier than I expected. As far as the mask, I suspect getting one from my first Cyclossus was just plain luck. But it's a lot of fun trying!
With Thanksgiving, time to do my usual routine is severely curtailed. But I had my goal of re-purchasing my set of Armadyl armor by this weekend, as part of my Fight Caves attempt. Lack of time to do my grand exchange flips slowed me down a lot. And then, the market price of most things I like to flip had begun fluctuating wildly, making it hard to consistently profit from it. So I pulled some of my G. E. orders until things settle. And I spent that money on my Armadyl suit. I know, bad budgeting. Now I'll be forever building up enough gold to keep all six slots full with my grand exchange flips. But... I got my armor! You'd think I would dash straight to the fight caves and make some practice runs. I almost did. Then I decided to do some moneymaking activities. I've been tanking Avies for a few days, that always goes well. But I wanted a change of pace, and I'd seen on the Runescape forums where people were doing well on the Chaos Dwarf Battlefield. I've never really gone back after the quest that opened it (Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf). So I geared up, and went to the battlefield. It lived up to it's name - chaotic! But after a while, when they quit being hostile, it settled into a standard routine. I was a bit of fun, but the best drops I got were ammo for the hand cannon, and muddy keys. When I can play again, I don't know if I'll go back immediately. The Chaos Dwarf Battlefield looks like more of a long-term commitment than a steady income, and I prefer the Avies for a good steady income while having fun.
If you'd like to try the Chaos Dwarf Battlefield out for yourself (after all, it's the only place Dragon Pickaxes are dropped, which are worth 14 million) Wiki has a good guide to get you started: Chaos Dwarf Battlefield Wiki
In the meantime, as much as I'm dreading it, the fight caves are looming closer and closer on my horizon.
The last few days have been focused mainly on trying to recover some gold. After buying the Armadyl Chestplate, it had left me pretty strapped for cash. So I'm still flipping investments on the Grand Exchange, and actually have done pretty well. I'm not a high-level investor, I just flip a few things when they're buying/selling well. Like Pure Essence, that's always done pretty well. As of tonight, I'm back up to about 8 million. I've been supplementing my flips with trips to the Aviansies. They may not be the fastest cash I could do, but they're reasonably fast cash, and fun. If I really wanted fast, I'd make double natures. I think that's probably the fastest skill I have for making money.
Regardless, I'm working toward buying back my Armadyl armor. It was sold to help level up a skill, and I want it back now because I'm going to do Jad at the fight caves. I've never cared about the Fire Cape, and didn't want to be tied down for hours without being able to stop at my leisure. Plus, I'm not very good at multi-tasking. I think Jad will kill me many many times, because I don't think I'll be very good at prayer switching and keeping everything going all at once.
But it's time to try. All my combat skills, including ranging and magic, are maxed. I've done all the quests. My character has the levels to get me there, but I lack the real-time fighting skills. If it weren't for the Elite Acheivement Diaries, I'd be happy just to let Jad live. But I want all of the Elite rewards. Not so much because they're cool, though some of them are. But just because that's a goal I set for myself. I got the Ardougne Elite Cape back when it first became available. Then I got the Seers Village Elite, which gave me the double-enhanced sword Excalibur. I really wanted that sword... healing 400 points and getting 15 extra defense every few minutes is a huge plus! Then I got the Falador Elite Shield. Now, I have all the required skills to get the Karamja Elite reward, but I have to actually beat Jad in the fight caves to get it. Which leaves me where I am now, scrambling to get enough money to buy the gear I want to use.
This is going to be tough, because I'm so bad at that kind of fighting. Usually, I just bulldoze my way through things and hope for the best. This time, it's going to take finesse. I'll probably be down in the fight caves for months. Wish me luck. Oh, if you've got any advice, please share it with me!
Recently I made a bad decision with my Runescape investments. I'm a low-budget investor who likes to flip commodities. Usually make between one million and three million profit a day. Problem is, outside of the gold I have tied up in flipping my investments, I keep spending as fast as I'm making. It started when I decided to go for 99 Construction. I nickeled and dimed my construction skill, until Jagex started hinting about their 2nd extra-experience-weekend. At that point, I decided to jump into merchanting. Took a 10 million startup, and began flipping. By the time the weekend arrived, I had over 100 million gold (this is Runescape now, not real cash!)
That was just barely enough to buy all the oak planks I needed to dungeon-door my way to 99 Construction. After that, I was too broke to build my dream home, so I kept investing in the grand exchange. But before I got very far, they announced the Elite Achievement Diaries. Well, I think of myself as a high-level player. At least, my character is level 138 and most skills are decent. So as a point of pride, I want to get ALL the Elite achievement rewards. I had the Ardougne elite already, and decided the next thing I wanted was the super-enhanced Excalibur from the Seers Village elite tasks. Problem was, my herblore level was abysmal. (Not abyssal... abysmal!)
It took weeks to make enough money to raise my herblore. And even then, I Evil-Daved a skill-boosting stew for the last 5 levels worth. Then back to home-building. Still flipping on the G.E., and I'd started fishing and cooking Rocktails.
It was the Rocktails that did me in. I saw how well they sold. Decided to take my current spending money of 20 million, and buy 10,000 Rocktail to flip. Everything went well, right up till the time to sell them. They sat for days, then the price starting tanking. I didn't want to lose that much money. So I pulled them out of the GE, and started cooking.
By the time I'd cooked 10,000 Rocktail, I wound up making a small profit, using some money to invest in Death Runes for flipping, keeping a few Rocktail for myself. And with my current gold of 14 million, today I bought back the Armadyl Chestplate I sold for Herblore money.
Yay!... I'm broke again. Okay, so starting over.
Oh, and cooking 10k Rocktail? My cooking skill went from 95 to 97! I guess it worked out okay after all.
Bit of quick advice... for a small and steady profit, without a lot of risk, flip Maple logs. I buy 25,000 at 2 gold below median, and sell it at 2 gold above median. I make 100k Runescape money every buy/sell flip. It may not be much, but it's an easy way to get started. The risk is low, and they usually sell quickly for me (bearing in mind the GE 4-hour buying and selling delay.)
This is mainly just a quick update from the last time. After the Runescape bonus exp weekend, I'd managed to get to level 85 Agility. This gave me access to the Gnome Stronghold Advanced Agility Course, without having to recourse to Summer Pies. Since Summer Pies give 5 levels of agility, I could have gone anytime after achieving level 80, but it seemed like the odds of failing an obstacle would be too high that way. Even at 85, I was failing about half the time. There's only one obstacle that can be failed on that course, the part where you run across the big billboard sign. But after failing it just a smidgen too often, it was time to load up on Summer Pies. Grand Exchange, place an order, and now there's half a million summer pies in my bank. That should help me level up... quite a few times! 
