The Chronicles of Runescape

Summoning batch two is out!

Besides releasing new familiars to Summon, Jagex has also made some significant changes to aspects of the skill itself. The revamp meant that players can now get exp from the damage their familiars inflict on opponents.


A small Summoning Obelisk, situated at Trollheim.

The recharging system for the timers has also completely been removed. Instead, you now get set timings for the familiar you Summon, which are quite generous. I'm seeing a lot of potential in creating Steel Minotaur Pouches now since the beasts can fight alongside you for a lengthy 46 minutes. Mithril would be good too, but I still have to work towards Summoning that higher leveled Minotaur.

The last major improvement to the skill was the addition of several small Summoning Obelisks around Gielinor. Although players are unable to use them to create Pouches, the obelisks can still recharge Summoning points which is definitely quite handy.

I really have to applaud Jagex for their approach of encouraging players to train this initially unpopular stat. Instead of simply nerfing the training methods and making them easier, Jagex provided both would-be and adept Summoners with extra benefits to entice them.


For the record, Air levelled up on a Shark.

Also, before I close off this entry, I'd like to congratulate Air Dragon15 on achieving Level 99 Cooking. He has mastered this very wonderful culinary art and I wish him all the best for his second skill cape.

As a tribute for Air, I've decided to dress in my Cooking outfit (white robes, Cooking Gauntlets, Chef's Hat, Cleaver) for the rest of the week. For practical reasons however, I'll still be wearing my usual Combat gear when fighting. Congrats again on 99 Cooking, Air!


Air trying out his new skill cape outside the Cooking Guild.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Attack exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:50 PM | Permalink

The screenshot turned out perfectly!

Some preparation was required for the level up. I had to camp at the Fire Giant room for a while to stop them from being aggressive. Eventually though, the giants stopped attacking and I was able to find a nice empty server for the 99 Attack screenshot.



I picked Kat to take it with me, and the timing of the "gratz" message and all were right on cue. Eager to get the cape, I immediately ran off to visit the Warrior's Guild, where Tiz was already waiting for me. After waiting for Mat (who insisted on coming) to arrive, I purchased the Cape of Achievement for Attack from Ajjat.

It was definitely a euphoric feeling finally wearing my tenth skill cape. We danced around at the guild for a few minutes, randomly performing all sorts of emotes. I feel so satisfied that my hard work has finally paid off.


From left to right: Mat, me and Tiz fooling around at the
Warrior's Guild.

My next plan of action is to train my Defence to 95 before switching to Hunter. It won't be easy, especially for the latter skill. Also, this being the year I sit for my O Levels, school is really starting to come down on me hard. I must learn how to strike a balance between gaming and my studies...


Stuff achieved today: Level 99 Attack

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:32 PM | Permalink

I've managed to close the gap between Level 98 and Level 99 Attack.

I'm all set for the final push tomorrow at the Fire Giant room behind the Baxtorian Falls. It'll be an extra special skill cape; my tenth in fact. Better not screw it up like I did for Strength.



Anyway, I've finally sold off the Bandos Tassets. They peaked at about 12.2 million and I was able to sell the armour before it had a chance to start going downhill. In total, I made 8.6 million gp off merching the Bandos set. My bank account has also been fattened up much more considerably, thanks to the recent rise in Ranarr prices.

I was able to sell my entire stock of 5500 for 6.1k each yesterday. I probably should've waited a little longer since they're now going for 6.2k each, but I'm still thankful for this huge profit. The timing was perfect too, since I was killed last night during my first ever trip to Bounty Hunter.


The Bounty Hunter minigame.

I died the lamest death ever.

Some guy, a few levels lower than me, comes out from nowhere and attacks me. I retaliate; he then runs near one of the exits and then resumes fighting. It was at this point that my health reached about half and I started eating. He called me a safer and I flamed back. Almost immediately, my computer suddenly lagged for about 10 seconds. And then, bam! I see three red splats on me all at the same time, which instantly KOed me.


The actual fight between me and the attacker, which I eventually lost.

I lost full Rune, but if I'm feeling crazy enough, I just might return to the minigame to celebrate after getting the Attack skill cape. Maybe I'll have more luck next time.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 125k Attack exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:37 PM | Permalink

I've done it; I've sold the Bandos Chestplate.

I really didn't want to, but prices started to dip and I panicked! I traded it at the Grand Exchange market price of 16.46 million gp (last night). If I recall correctly, I had purchased it at a little over 11 million, so I was still able to rake in a tidy sum there.



Meanwhile, I've decided to hold on to the Tassets. Oddly enough, its value is independent to that of the chestplate's and is actually still rising. However, because prices of these types of items are extremely volatile, I'm going to continue to carefully monitor the Tassets for any drops in value.

Currently, this piece of armour is beginning to gather dust in my bank account. It looks like absolute crap without the Chestplate to match it, and I refuse to run around wearing a skirt even with the tiny Strength bonus!

These investments aside, I am currently patiently awaiting the release of the second major Summoning update. As it is already Wednesday night, I suspect that Jagex is planning to release it next week, on the last day of March. I'm thinking of starting another short training session for the skill in preparation for the new batch of familiars. I jumped two levels the last time, although I'm concerned that I may not have collected enough Charms yet.

Kitt Fox has completely outstripped me in the skill once more. Perhaps this is a wake up call for me to start slaughtering Fire Giants again?


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Attack exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:44 PM | Permalink

A lucky break!

My prediction about the Bandos set was correct. I purchased the set about two weeks ago at its lowest price, and now, both the tassets and chestplate are skyrocketing! Taking into account their current maximum values, they’re both worth around 27.4 million gp in total, a 7.4 million jump from what I had paid.

And they're not just selling well at their top values; people are actually offering to pay even more than the maximum prices in the Grand Exchange. My plan of action at the moment is to quickly reach level 99 Attack by this Saturday, wear the Bandos set for the screenshot, before selling the armour at a later date (or perhaps, immediately?) when I think prices have peaked.



I am praying that this huge increase will be sustained at least until the end of the week. I do not want to be forced to sell off the set too early.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Attack exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:17 PM | Permalink

One of the chocolate eggs I had to find. This one was hidden on top of the
Saradomin statue near Falador.

I completed the Easter event yesterday. Tiz was nice enough to join me and we were able to help each other through the entire update.

Pests had eaten and destroyed the Easter Bunny's entire stockpile of chocolate, and I was sent to collect three chocolate eggs hidden near Falador, Port Sarim and Draynor Village. After running his errand, the candy eggs were melted and I had to dip a cockatrice egg into the resulting pool of liquid chocolate.



The rationale behind this was that cockatrices had the ability to turn anything they stare at into stone. According to the Easter Bunny, dipping an egg into chocolate and then incubating it will result in the creation of a chocatrice, a variation of a cockatrice that changes objects into chocolate instead.

I was able to hatch one, but the chocatrice fled and escaped through a tiny hole in the burrow. I had to be transformed into a rabbit by the Easter Bunny in order to locate it, as well as to persuade the creature to turn the pests into chocolate.


The newly hatched chocatrice.

After completing all the tasks, the Easter Bunny rewarded me with a special cape, which granted me the ability to perform this cool emote when worn. This year's Easter event was definitely well thought out.


Me performing the new emote from the cape.

Although the cape is a permanent feature, it's quite a shame that everything else, the chocatrice, Easter Bunny, Rabbit Warren and all, will be gone in less than two weeks time. I wonder if the game developers ever feel frustrated about working on these "temporary" assignments...


Stuff achieved today: Gained 175k Attack exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:33 PM | Permalink

I am getting stronger.

I reached Level 98 Attack today and my Combat Level also increased to 128. Sometime in the evening, I went to the Chaos Tunnels to take out Bork again as usual. Without praying, I didn't take even a single hit as I made my way towards his portal. The fight itself also went remarkably well. All I ate was one lobster, and I didn't even have to; it was only done as a precaution.



Spurred on by the easy victory as well as by the Charm drops, I decided to finally resume training my Summoning. The forums were empty, so I scrapped the plan of getting discounted Spirit Shards and made a quick trip to Druid Pikkupstix to obtain my supply. I also visited Rufus in Canafis and bought some raw beef to make Bloated Leech pouches.

A few minutes later at the Picatoris Fishing Colony, I had leveled to 59 Summoning and was fast approaching 60, but had run out of shards! In desperation, I later played the Tears of Guthix minigame for some extra exp.



It worked.

I leveled on the spot and could now keep Squirrels as pets! I managed to catch one using a net trap at the area near the Mind Altar. At the suggestion of Air Dragon, I've decided to name her Milkshake. She's a cute little furry thing. Can't wait to show her off to Mat and his Raven.


I had to use nuts as bait.


Stuff achieved today: Level 98 Attack (Level 128 Combat), Level 60 Summoning

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:36 PM | Permalink

The Easter event's now out.

The feedback on the holiday event I've read in the Recent Updates forums has so far been very positive, which is definitely a good sign. As always, I've decided to wait a few days for the crowd clear before attempting to try out the new update. Really hate it when players start popping out and ruining my screenshots.

Also, some very interesting results from last week's poll on the Runescape main page.



Over a fifth of the RS population plays the game 24 hours or longer per week. Heartening to know that I am not alone.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much. Meh.

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:36 PM | Permalink

Level 97 Hitpoints, people. And the Attack Cape draws ever closer.

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:47 PM | Permalink

I've finally purchased a Bandos set.

The prices of both the chestplate and the tassets having dropping for a while; probably as a result of coinshare and the influx of clans into the God Wars Dungeon.

Anyway, I've been monitoring their prices for a few days now, and have arrived at the conclusion that they can't go much lower. Although I got the armour at a bargain, at a little over 20 million gp, the set definitely did not come cheap.


Rawr! The Safety Gloves do
look good with Bandos!

But the money was well spent. The Bandos set has a very fearsome appearance; it's the type of armour which has that distinctive cross-me-and-you're-fucking-pwned kind of look. And although I've yet to compare it with Barrows Armour, its bonuses definitely exceed that of Dragon's. It even gives a small but handy Strength bonus, which allows me to hit slightly harder whilst killing Monkey Guards at Ape Atoll.

Very unfortunately for me though, now really isn't a suitable time to actually test it out in player vs player combat. My one-week break from school is almost up and I have to use the rest of the weekend to finish up the rest of my holiday homework.

I really shouldn't have procrastinated, but in my defence, I have already completed a considerable number of my school assignments. I'm in for a rough Sunday... If I'm good, I'll do nothing but Smith cannonballs or fight Guard Monkeys and multi-task through the rest of my work.

No more Clan Wars or any of that click-intensive rubbish!


Stuff achieved today: Gained 225k Attack exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:12 AM | Permalink

I've visited the Stronghold of Player Safety. I actually found it a pretty decent update, considering the fact that the area focused on a subject so dull.

The stronghold consisted three main parts - the Misthalin Training Centre of Excellence, the Gublinch Prison, and a much larger abandoned prison. I had to first enter the Gublinch Prison and then learn the various offences its occupants had committed, before being able to proceed to the training centre and then taking a player safety test.


My character looking quite out of place in the Misthalin Training Centre
of Excellence.

Getting all the questions correct, I was rewarded with a new emote and two exp-granting antique lamps by Professor Henry. I later visited the abandoned prison, which was infested with giant cockroaches. The entrance to this older prison could be found in the empty cell of the Gublinch jail.


The empty Gublinch cell with the poster.

A poster plastered on one of the cell's walls hides this secret passage. Fans of the Shawshank Redemption should've been able to spot this reference to the movie. Examining both the poster (it has small hole in it) and the chess set inside the cell should provide further references.

Anyway, movie trivia aside, the second prison was gigantic so it took me a while to fully explore the entire area. The giant Cockroach Soldiers there also had great drops. I managed to get a Rune Scimitar and a clue scroll after only a few kills.


I got the gloves! A Cockroach soldier can be seen scuttling behind me.

I was also able to locate a chest deep hidden within the prison and loot 10k gp and a pair of Safety Gloves from it. The bonuses they provide are pathetic, but I like their look. I've been planning to purchase Bandos armour for a few days now, since its value has been steadily plummeting. The Safety Gloves should match the set...


Stuff achieved today: Fully explored Strongohld of Player Safety, Gained 175k Attack exp


Some Chemistry 101. Remember the Rubium from Kennith’s Concerns? It’s actually just a Runescape version of the real-life element, Rubidium. Main differences between the two elements include colour and reactivity. Rubium is red, while Rubidium is silvery. Also, in the quest, the Rubium merely heats up the room when several chunks are tossed into a steam vent. If you replaced it with real-life Rubidium, the entire mine would probably blow up.

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:15 PM | Permalink

Quest complete!

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:45 PM | Permalink

May today forever go down in RS history!!!



I have reached the 20 million exp mark for Farming and am the 63rd person to achieve this! The next logical target would of course be 25 million. It'll take several months, but given my sheer consistency in training this skill, I'll definitely surpass this new goal eventually!

Possibly due to a post-20-million-exp high, I impulsively bought a Bandos Godsword at the minimum price from the Grand Exchange later that night. I headed to Castlewars, bursting with excitement to try out the new weapon. Mat agreed to come along, and we both soon found ourselves camping underground, collapsing tunnels, striking at any enemy who dared to wander past us.


Me using the Bandos Godsword special attack.

Right now, I'm not entirely convinced that the Godsword is better than a good ol' Abyssal Whip and Rune Defender combo as people claim. However, it's still a very decent weapon with a high damage output. I'm only annoyed by the fact that its special attack takes up the whole bar; I'd probably be better off with a dds in this case.


For my personal reference. I bought and am selling the weapon at the above price.

Anyway, I know it's a pity, but I've decided to put the Godsword back up for sale again. It's showing signs that its value is dropping, so I'm just trying to get rid of it now and break even.

Assuming the sale is successful, I just might re-buy it at a lower price tomorrow. Or even try out a different Godsword.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 200k Attack exp, Reached 20 million Farming exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:59 PM | Permalink

Some good news and bad news I recently learnt about Bork.

First of all, the timer he runs on resets daily at midnight. This means that you can kill him on Friday night 11.59pm (GMT) and almost immediately again at 12.00am Saturday, instead of having to actually wait 24 hours to battle him a second time. This, of course, is the good news.


Two additional things I learnt; Surok is replaced by a Dagon'Hai Elite in
all future battles, and the latter is able to fully protect himself from my
attacks by creating a magical barrier.

The bad news is that after you slay Bork the first time, subsequent kills will only give you 250 Slayer exp instead of the initial 5k. The Charms he drops makes up for this to a certain extent I guess; I've decided to continue fighting him since I really need the Summoning exp.

Anyway, today I celebrated my clan's first anniversary. Blessings turned one on the 2nd of March and we decided to hold a clan event for this very special occasion. The house party at my place took up about 45 minutes of the event. We later visited the Duel Arena in an F2P server, before going to the Tzhaar Fight Pits.


The Blessings Clan having some fun at the Al Kharid Duel Arena.

The other players there didn't seem to like the idea of having to deal with a united group of warriors, so the situation quickly erupted into flame war. We later switched servers, but were also met with equally hostile opponents. Towards the last few rounds, I became the main target of the abuse because I was the one who led the piling.

Amidst the flame wars, we still were able to have fun. The clan was also able to secure a majority of the victories, though Castle Wars would probably be a better alternative for future anniversary events.


Stuff achieved today: Level 96 Attack, Level 58 Summoning

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:07 PM | Permalink

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:41 PM | Permalink

Remember the lag from yesterday?

Yeah, I died shortly after typing out the previous entry, after getting disconnected from the server. I was fighting Monkey Guards when this took place; three of the Level 167 beasts were piling me, my health was halved, my Prayer points dwindled below the 20s, and I guess my character just couldn't hold out from the assault. And since grave markers disappear whenever a player logs out or gets kicked from the game, I was unable to retrieve the stuff my character dropped!

In terms of gp, the loss was still minimal however. I held on to expensive items such as my Amulet of Fury and Abyssal Whip upon dying, so in total, the loss came to only about 200k.

However, I was very upset about losing my Amulet of Nature. They are dirt cheap and I happened to have about six unenchanted ones (excluding Magic Strings!) in my bank, but I had placed quite a lot of sentimental value on the one I lost. I had owned it for over two and a half years and was even lucky enough to have purchased it from the then famous player, Tfe2.


Me killing a Cyclops at the Warrior's Guild. I was able to get two Rune
Defenders in the end.

A few of the other items I dropped proved to be more of an irritation than an actual grievance. It took me an hour at the Warrior's Guid to get another Rune Defender; I'm not sure when I'll be able to get a replacement pair of Mime boots; and I had to make a long trip to Port Phasmatys to get another Ectophial from Velorina.



Very frustrating indeed. Even broadband connection isn't always reliable.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Attack exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:36 PM | Permalink

While I was still lamenting over my ruined Strength screenshot, Ic3magic and a friend of his took the initiative to Photoshop one for me.

The fake actually looks 100% genuine. It's still nothing compared to a real, well-taken screenshot, but I've decided to use it as a replacement for the actual screenie I took. Thank you very much, guys! Although I hope I won't be forced to rely on your services for my next 99s.



Anyway, day three since I've started concentrating on training Attack, and I’m very pleased with the progress I have made so far.

I gained over 400k Attack exp during the weekend alone and reached Level 95 on Saturday. Unfortunately, I can expect this progress to be significantly slowed down during the next few days as I'll be held back at school even later than usual. Even more annoyingly, my computer's being a real arse; it's experiencing quite a bit of lag today.

However, I still have much to be happy about. Come this Friday, I'll get to enjoy a nice one week break from school. This will of course mean more exp as well as much more time to enjoy the updates scheduled for March. Promised game content which really caught my attention included the latest sequel to the Sea Slug quest storyline, the second "batch" of Summoning updates and the various tweaks to the Grand Exchange.

Although none of them have yet to be released, these updates certainly seem like a vast improvement, both in quantity and quality, compared to February's.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:00 PM | Permalink