The Chronicles of Runescape: February 2009

28 February 2009

Massacre

I realise I'm a few days late in pointing this out, but the changes made to Random Events were more drastic than I had originally thought.

Practically half of them were massacred on Wednesday. I've been keeping a collection of Runescape screenshots for a while now, and have a folder reserved for all the different types of Randoms I've encountered. I further divided the section into "existing" and "extinct" events today, and found the number of images in each sub-folder to be almost equal.

Jagex took player complaints regarding Randoms more seriously than expected. I'll still have that annoying Molly making the occasional visit, but it's encouraging to see that Mod Mark Gerhard and co. are trying. Not that I mind getting abducted by her anymore, really. The exp lamps all the Randoms have started handing out are an effective incentive.

Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:39 PM | Permalink

27 February 2009

Post #500

... Aaand this entry here marks the Chronicles of Runescape's 500th post!

But I shall not bore you with lengthy ramblings about the site's humble beginnings and all that stuff.

I've been (fairly) actively seeking out Evil Trees since yesterday and came across a whopper this afternoon. I actually encountered an Evil Magic Tree after getting teleported by the e'er helpful Spirit Tree at the Gnome Stronghold. Due to its moderately high Woodcutting and Firemaking requirements, only a handful of players chopping and burning the tree down were present.

I've just set part of the Evil Magic Tree on fire.

Fortunately, I was better prepared on this occasion and had my Dragon Hatchet in my inventory. I immediately entered the fray and the tree was taken out just minutes later. Most disappointingly, the size of the rewards were improportionate to the ferocity of the high level tree. Neither the few noted logs nor the bird's nest containing a plain gold ring I had received impressed me.

The Evil Yew I fought yesterday rewarded its slayers a little more generously; I was given a Willow seed, which I later gratefully planted in a tree patch.

Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:17 PM | Permalink

25 February 2009

Random Events & Evil Trees

The timing was a little poor as I had just entered a Stealing Creation game when the countdown began, but at least the updates are finally here!

The Frog Tokens have been

replaced with special Random

Event gift boxes!

Each gift box may be exchanged for one of six different types of rewards.

The most noticeable piece of new gaming content was the changes made to all Random Events. The three Frog Tokens which I had been collecting since the start of the month have magically transformed into gift boxes, which I exchanged for some Chaos Runes.

Besides completely revamping the reward system, Jagex also promised a reduction in the frequency of Random Events with this system update. Interestingly enough, that didn't stop me from getting teleported to the Abyssal Plane (Lost and Found event) whilst I was training Construction inside my house. I guess POHs are no longer Random Event free zones, though I doubt it'll pose a serious issue since their appearance rates have been lowered.

A new Distractions and Diversions feature is also out. Evil Trees, ranging from Oaks to Elder Trees, may sprout out anywhere on Gielinor and at any given time. Adventurers who help to either chop them down with hatchets or burn them will be able to receive tree seeds, coins and a myriad of other types of rewards for their services.

I encountered an Evil Oak in the middle of one of my Farming rounds, but couldn't do much to help kill it. I didn't have my Dragon axe at the time, and wasn't confident about using the bronze one the nearby Leprechaun offered me. Still, it was quite a sight watching the dozen or so other players take a whack at the lone tree.

Stuff achieved today: Level 95 Construction, Level 94 Smithing

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:51 PM | Permalink

22 February 2009

Fatigue

Construction training is killing me.

Although the exp is fast, the whole teleporting to my house, building flatpacks and banking cycle gets so painfully boring after a while. Even Stealing Creation is slowly but surely beginning to lose its appeal.

I'm hoping that next week's updates would be enjoyable enough to keep me preoccupied for at least a few days. Time away from the Construction skill should restore the resolve I had when I first began working on it in January. Turning to Agility may help as well. For some warped, unexplained reason, it's the only stat I don't mind raising at the moment, even though it's one of the slowest.

Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:09 PM | Permalink

20 February 2009

Double The Pleasure, Double The Pain

My school administered this personality test to all the students in my year today.

For those of you who are familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment or just wish to get to know me a little better, my personality type is INTJ.

I've also finally received my individualised school timetable, which means I'll be getting a taste of what Tiz is dealing with starting next week, when the actual lessons start (it's been mostly mass lectures and zero assignments for me so far). But at least I'll have two new updates back in Runescape to tide me by, assuming I don't die of boredom on Monday.

If everything works out, the usefulness of the improvements made to Random Events will be on par with the logout timer extension. Evil Bob's, Molly's and the Mysterious Old Man's frequent appearances are a pain, and I'll be glad to see them no more or at least less often.

I'm sure that the Evil Tree update would be a decent game addition as well, but I fear that it'll turn out to be almost identical to the Phoenix Lair (its Distractions and Diversions predecessor), where I'll end up receiving a chunk of exp to skills I've already maxed out.

Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:09 PM | Permalink

18 February 2009

If You Can't Take The Heat...

Argh! The little traitor!

Tiz has been struggling in school, and is now having some thoughts about going on a complete break from Runescape, only coming back online during holiday periods.

He confided in me these considerations in-game this evening; I probably should've been a more supportive friend and congratulated him for being so aware of his priorities, but my sympathy towards his predicament runs dry. It's only the third week of school after all, and the first two were taken up by an orientation programme to familiarise the newbies with the school (put simply, there were neither lessons nor homework).

I simply cannot explain this lack of endurance.

I'm not mad at the guy, but Tiz's willingness to throw in the towel so quickly really disappoints me. The two years we both will be spending in JC are reckoned by my teachers to be even more demanding than University, but the struggle with school work has barely started.

Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:29 PM | Permalink

16 February 2009

Jagex Opens Up

Kitt directed me to a double skull spawn somewhere in the shallow region of the Wilderness. I visited the spawn site yesterday and collected 26 skulls; it should be enough to build the new dungeon torches and hanging skeletons I’ll be adding to my house.

More changes to the Gold Estate will follow. The seed market has picked up and I'm doing a roaring trade; the extra moolah would go a long way into constructing some of the more expensive pieces of furniture. Oh, and considering the fact that school has already started, my Construction training continues to go strong. I played Stealing Creation with Mat, Zelda and Form and won all three matches, earning me enough points to redeem three and a half more Sacred Clay Hammers.

These routine rounds of my favourite mini-game aside, Mod Mark Gerhard kept his promise and posted his replies to the numerous questions pertaining to the game in general, which players have been sending in for the past week. I was pleasantly surprised to note that Vaskor’s query was noticed and actually got displayed on the Runescape news page.

Based on Gerhard's response, it appears that Jagex will be opening up to fan sites from now on. I highly doubt that this blog would get discovered by the Jagex team, but it's great that big time Runescape websites are finally going to get the recognition they deserve.

Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Construction exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:32 PM | Permalink

14 February 2009

Soul Wars

Played Soul Wars today.

Me going against the Avatar of Creation.

I went solo for my first round, but was joined by Tiz during my second and third. The concept of its gameplay looks interesting enough on paper, but I just can't seem to derive the same pure excitement I felt when Stealing Creation was released.

The Avatar of Destruction

I suspect that it's the lack of influence I have on the outcome of each round that's dampened my enthusiasm. Whether it's through pickpocketing an enemy mage's runes or hampering the skilling activity of my opponents with incessant offensives, in Stealing Creation, I get the impression that I'm playing a critical role in my team, even if I don't always win the match.

In contrast, I feel that my actions are negligible towards any victory or defeat in Soul Wars. Enemies of all levels are difficult to kill due to the unlimited supply of bandages for healing, and there's barely any advantage even if I finally succeed in dispatching them. Unlike in Stealing Creation, slain adversaries incur few penalties. They do not drop their armour or weapons, so they can simply enter the fray once more with their health and prayer points fully restored.

When killed, players would simply respawn in any nearby graveyard,

with their weaponry completely intact.

Another problem worth mentioning would be the stingy exp rewards. Only a paltry amount of exp is granted on the Slayer skill, averaging under 3k for each Soul Wars round (assuming an equal number of victories and defeats). Exp rewards for the other Combat skills, though greater, are similarly far from substantial, especially if one were to consider the relative ease of training them through conventional methods.

Stuff achieved today: Level 94 Construction

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:05 PM | Permalink

13 February 2009

Soul Wars Rewards

A rather uneventful Friday the 13th.

I smithed Cannonballs at Port Phasmatys as usual and trained Construction later at night. I wanted to try out the new mini-game, Soul Wars, but ran out of time. I was, however, able to read up the guide put up in the Knowledge Base, so at the very least, I won't be entirely clueless when I finally do get around in trying out this latest update.

The Summoning Charm and Slayer exp rewards have the most potential of making Soul Wars as "productive" as Stealing Creation. And apparently, earning enough Zeal points would also enable players to revive Slayer monster remains and make them their pets.

The thought of owning my own Abyssal Demon excites me, though I fear that it'll take hours to earn enough of the points. There's also the issue of obtaining its remains in the first place; corpses are even rarer than Whip drops. I've slain thousands on Duradel's orders, but have yet to pick up a single Abyssal Demon head.

Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:50 PM | Permalink

10 February 2009

A New Era?

Hmm... An interesting development.

The new CEO of Jagex, Mark Gerhard, has posted a lengthy article promising change to Runescape. The Jagex team will become more open to player ideas and opinions, which they are intending to start by giving overly-childish game features a revamp. It all sounds very encouraging, especially after noting what they have already done with the logout timer and magic spellbook in January.

I almost feel guilty about initially being anxious over the future of RS, after hearing the news of Gerhard's appointment from Vaskor and Air Dragon. According to Air, the guy had zero experience in the gaming industry; it's probably true considering his young age of 21, but Gerhard's clearly taking a step in the right direction.

Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:17 PM | Permalink

08 February 2009

Dungeon Design

I hit level 93 Construction today.

There are several rooms in my house which could use a little sprucing up, but I've decided to settle the dungeon for now. I'm planning on replacing the fake blood and candles with hanging skeletons and skull torches respectively.

It's definitely going to be one of the most inexpensive improvements made to the Gold Estate, although gathering the necessary materials will be a huge hassle. I need skulls for the new dungeon features, and because they can't be purchased from the Grand Exchange, I have little choice but to trek all the way to the Boneyard in the Wilderness and gather the bones myself.

The other costlier renovations will be made in time; I just don't have the heart to part with so much cash this soon.

Stuff achieved today: Level 93 Construction

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:06 PM | Permalink

06 February 2009

The Construction Arsenal

The last day of my school's orientation; weekend's up ahead as well. I think it'll be all smooth sailing from here.

I still didn't have the free time to do much in Runescape, save a few Farming rounds and playing a single round of Stealing Creation. I'm thinking of making a few renovations on my house soon. I've jumped ten levels in Construction since I started working on it in January, and now am able to build a wider assortment of decor and furniture.

Using a Crystal Saw and drinking the special tea from my kitchen would grant me an additional six levels, so I'll only have to level up one more time to gain access to the entire Construction arsenal. I doubt I'll be getting a Demonic Throne any time soon, but it's still a great feeling to know that I've mastered the skill, at least to a certain degree.

Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:18 PM | Permalink

04 February 2009

More Fine Tuning

Training's back on track, at least for today.

I called in sick and remained at home; there are still two more days of that damned orientation left, but at least I'm now past the halfway mark.

Even better news, Jagex has finally released February's issue of Behind the Scenes. Just as they had done in January, they continue to remain fixated on fine tuning existing content in the game. Random Events will occur with decreasing frequency everytime a player "solves" an event correctly, while the quest list will get a special filtering option, and players will be able to look up the values of items without the need to put them up on a trade window.

No new quests this month sadly, but at least we'll get a mini-game and another Distractions and Diversions update. Speaking of which, I probably should make my visits to the Phoenix a bit more regular.

Stuff achieved today: Gained 250k+ Construction exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:03 PM | Permalink

02 February 2009

First Day Of School

Went to the God Wars Dungeon with my clan yesterday to take out General Graardor.

The risks of getting crashed by another team or being unable to locate an empty Lootshare server were very real, since we had picked a crowded weekend to hold the event. As it turned out, we did get crashed by a small group of level 130s while we were in the middle of killing Graardor and his Sergeants...

Two million gp!

...But not before receiving a six-way Bandos Chestplate split, which we excitedly picked up and added to our inventories. The 2 million gp we pocketed, plus miscellaneous drops, was more than enough to cover the costs of the potions we used during the fights. I felt that the trip turned out really well in spite of the interruption halfway.

However, I couldn't get much Construction training done, though I was able to reach level 92 due to the exp gap I've been narrowing during the last couple of days. Progress in the skill was equally pitiful today; much of my time was taken up by this orientation my school has organized for all new students (me).

I question the effectiveness of this tutorial in helping the cohort get a good idea of JC life. The talks were informative, but a sizable chunk of the schedule was devoted to playing standard, cliched ice-breaker games, preparing for some childish "mass dance" on the last day of the orientation, and the constant recitation and screaming of school cheers, which presumably is a narcissistic attempt to instill some school spirit within us.

This all would've been fine, if we weren't dealing with an institution which caters to 16, 17 and 18 year olds. I had already outgrown most of this nonsense by age 10. I really wish that the JC would just get down to business and introduce us to the various courses they have to offer. The orientation's so far has been like a special kind of hell for me, which is a sad irony because I'm enrolled in what is supposed to be a Christian school.

Four days remain. I am unsure how much more of this nonsensical rubbish I can endure.