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31 May 2009

Cost Effectiveness

Nothing much to discuss today.

I confined myself to Prayer, Smithing and Farming training, as well as a couple of rounds of Stealing Creation with Mat sometime in the evening to liven things up a little.

I have also re-discovered the wonders of using flatpacks. Most of them cost significantly cheaper than the materials required to build them. An extreme example would be the Gilded 4-poster bed I've been eyeing for the past week. The Gold Leaf, Mahagony planks and cloth would've set me back over 270k if I had chosen to construct one in my house the conventional way. However, the bed in flatpack form is priced at under 60k!


Stuff achieved today: Gained 225k Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:59 PM |

30 May 2009

Dragonfire Shield

Today was filled with activity.



I managed a level up in both Herblore and Prayer, reaching 83 and 95 respectively. With the start of my month long break from school, I'm confident of reaching level 98 Prayer by the end of June. After that, it'll only be a matter of days before I pay Brother Jered at the Monastery a visit to collect the Skill Cape.



Besides investing considerable effort to max out my Combat stats, I've also made similar arrangements with respect to my battle gear. I placed an order on the Grand Exchange for a Dragonfire Shield two nights ago; it didn't come through, so I had to up my offer by about 150k before being able to purchase the piece of Combat equipment.


Me getting my Dragonfire Shield recharged with the aid of the fiery
breath of a Green Dragon.

After about an hour's worth of Prayer training, I gleefully headed off to the Green Dragons in the Wilderness to get the shield charged. I got to fully test it out sometime in the evening, while indulging in several rounds of Clan Wars with Tiz. It's defence bonuses were nothing short of superb.


Stuff achieved today: Level 95 Prayer, Level 83 Herblore

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:00 PM |

28 May 2009

Hitpoint Bars

The game went through a system update while I was away.



Maps for all of Runescape's dungeons have been added to help players navigate around unfamiliar caves and caverns, though, as a seasoned adventurer, I doubt I'll find much use in them. A spam filter has also been added to remove repetitive in-game messages. Jagex has claimed to have flagged over 2700 of them, but it appears that the text for cannonball smithing has slipped the net, which was a pity since I found it the most bothersome of all redundant messages.


Note the longer Hitpoints bar the Jade Vine I'm fighting has.

The only update which directly affected me was the graphical improvement made to the Hitpoints bar. It's been made more prominent, and even enlengthened for monsters which have over 200 HP. A simple change, but the timing couldn't have been any better. It just so happened that a P2P Clan Wars event for Blessings had been scheduled for today, so I had plenty of opportunities to take a look at the new Hitpoints bar in battle.


Me in my Dharok's set fighting an opponent in Clan Wars, as Mat
watches on.

Incidentally, Mat showed up in his newly purchased set of Dragon Claws. Some beautiful KOs executed on his part against enemy clans.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:55 PM |

27 May 2009

Gaudy Gold

I've made more renovations to the Gold Estate.

My kitchenware was upgraded; I had the plain Teak Shelves replaced with the more aesthetically pleasing Gilded variety. I did likewise to the Teak Bellpull in the Dining room, though it appears I have run out of Gold Leaf again. But since I still owe my Butler a Gilded bed, I'll probably make another trip to the GE sometime soon.



Due to yesterday's successful sale of the 4000+ Ranarrs I had been stockpiling, I doubt I'll feel too badly about the extra spending now that I have more cash on my hands.

On a side note, I just read a few hours ago that Kitt has picked up her fifth Abyssal Demon Head. Though my hiatus from Slayer training has lasted about a half a year now, I can safely say that I had accumulated a kill count of at least two thousand Abyssal Demons prior to my semi-retirement. I wish Jagex would make their heads tradable. I'm certain Kitt wouldn't mind either; she could reap in a tidy sum considering their rarity.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:36 PM |

24 May 2009

Gold Leaf

I put up an order on the GE for six pieces of Gold Leaf yesterday, and the trade came through overnight.


The newly built orrery in my Study

I've already used five of them at one ago to build a Large Orrery for my Study, replacing the Mahogany Ornamental Globe I had previously constructed. I have no idea what prompted this splurging spree all of a sudden, but at least the appearance of my house is beginning to reflect the true extent of my mastery over the skill.

I'm probably going to place more GE orders soon, since I can't do much with the single piece of Gold Leaf I have left. It would be nice to get a Gilded 4-poster bed for my Butler, as well as a new bell for the Dining room. I'll save marble upgrades for much later, due to the material's high costs, which are almost triple that of Gold Leaf's.

And while I am still on the topic of exorbitant price tags, I wonder if I'll ever be mad enough to furnish my home with Magic Stone. At almost a million gp a piece, even a single purchase would be quite a blow to my bank account. But having a Greater Magic Cage in the Throne room would look so epic!


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:23 PM |

23 May 2009

The Stern Judges

Hmm... Missing My Mummy didn't have much of a storyline. But I suppose this, in hindsight, was expected since it was a short quest.


The interior of the Uzer Mastaba

A tomb has been uncovered near Uzer, and Leela sent me off to investigate the mastaba and to contact the Pharaoh Queen Mummy inhabiting it. The presence of the several animated Skeleton Looters at the tomb failed to hinder my search and I managed to retrieve the Scroll of the Dead, which provided me with instructions to restore the mummy, whose tomb had been desecrated by looters.


I had to get past several Skeleton Looters while exploring the tomb.

The Mahjarrat were only mentioned near the end of the quest, after I had obediently followed the scroll and restored the Pharaoh Queen's spirit. The grateful queen then offered to answer my various questions for her. I learnt that during her reign, Zaros and his minions were kept at bay by Icthlarin and the Stern Judges he had summoned.


The heart of the tomb, which I've reconstructed in order to restore the
Pharaoh Queen. Her spirit can be seen on the right, next to her mummy.

Though not explicitly stated, these Stern Judges were actually the Mahjarrat called by another name. Their identity was only hinted at through the Pharaoh Queen's descriptions of them, such as their shapeshifting powers and immense strength. They also possessed a most curious characteristic consistent with that of the Mahjarrat - one of their number must die in order to give life to the others.


Stuff achieved today: Completed the Missing My Mummy quest, Level 94 Prayer

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:26 PM |

22 May 2009

Envy

I spoke to Leela at Draynor some time in the evening and started the Missing My Mummy quest.



I'm only about halfway through its completition and will finish it tomorrow; I couldn't see the quest to its end today due to time constraints. However, I've already had a peek at the Missing My Mummy article in the Knowledge Base, where its rewards were listed down. They mostly take the form of exp, though a modest sum of 5000 gp would also be awarded to players who complete the quest.

In spite of my questing, I was still able to carry on with my usual Prayer training. I seem to be developing a habit of lingering around to explore my hosts' houses after my Spirit Terrorbird has disappeared. I've noted, with growing envy, that a number of them have very impressive trophies displayed in their Skill Halls. A particularly combat-inclined host even had the heads of an Abyssal Demon and a King Black Dragon proudly put up in two separate rooms.

If only I was as fortunate during my Slayer assignments and KBD hunts.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:16 PM |

19 May 2009

More Mahjarrat

Score! Quest release today!

Jagex also took the opportunity to slip in one of their trademarked corny puns into the title. Nevertheless, I am sure that their penchant for telling bad jokes is offset by their expert storytelling. It was announced that the quest, Missing My Mummy, has a storyline that somehow ties in with the relatively recent Tale of the Muspah, which could mean more coverage on the fearsome Mahjarrat.

Some of the pickier players may have issues with the quest's low skill criteria. However, these concerns should be remedied as Jagex had explicitly promised that future installments of the quest series would have "progressively higher requirements". Though just mere speculation on my part, the series could even culminate in another massive Grand Master quest, with a scale rivaling that of While Guthix Sleeps.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:14 PM |

18 May 2009

Stretched For Time

Busy! Busy! Busy!

In a desperate attempt to multitask school work and Runescape, I confined myself to Port Phasmatys so that I could smith and complete some IRL stuff at the same time. I only left the area to harvest my Ranarrs and kill Bork to get my daily supply of Charms.

Beyond that, I really didn't get anything done; not even Prayer training. Mondays are annoying, but at least I'll have the whole of the June break to catch up on my gaming.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:43 PM |

16 May 2009

Further Developments



It's been over a week since the start date, and my Prayer training continues to go strong.

I reached level 93 today, but my Dragon Bone supply is dwindling, which means I'll have to make another expensive visit to the Grand Exchange very soon. Meh. At least the exp is fast.

Digressing a little, another Development Diary was released a couple of days ago.


Zanaris's new appearance

It appears that Jagex is making much progress in the Zanaris project they discussed in an earlier diary about a month ago. They've come up with the actual in-game design of the Fairy City, based on the concept art from the preliminary stages of their work. It's all turned out really well so far, though the animation of Zanaris's inhabitants has yet to be taken care of.


Stuff achieved today: Level 93 Prayer

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:25 PM |

13 May 2009

A New Offence System

Normally, I'd be pretty miffed over the lack of any new gaming updates for the week, but I am very content with yesterday's implementation of the new Offence System.

Under this revamped system, Black Marks are no longer issued to players. Instead, the offences are simply recorded and grouped according to whether they can result in the players' account getting muted or getting banned.


Offences will now be classified under either the Mute "Pillar" or the Ban
"Pillar".

Additionally, Jagex has promised that "many offences" would automatically expire after 12 months, effectively allowing most past offenders to begin on a clean slate. No details were provided on the exceptions, but I think it is safe to assume that only the most severe of wrongdoings would not be given an expiry date.

This is, of course, a feature of the updated Offence System which I am extremely thankful for, as I had committed an offence by breaking Rule 1 sometime in late 2008. In another half a year, my name will be completely cleared of that blemish, and my account's record will be spotless once more.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 100k+ Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:31 PM |

11 May 2009

Altar Hosts

More Prayer training done today.



I gained over 300k exp and reached level 92 Prayer. My Combat level also increased to 136 as a result, though it appears I've reached sort of a dead end for the skill; even if I were to max it out, my Combat level would remain at a standstill unless I train Summoning. I'm still looking forward to working towards the Cape of Achievement, however. The emote's one of my personal favourites, and reaching the highest level for F2P Combat has to count for something.


For the level up in Combat, I was treated to a second display of fireworks.

Anyway, I am now making it a point to offer at least one of my gracious Gilded Altar hosts a free 24 hour loan for any one of my partyhats. This little thank you gift isn't quite as impressive as some of the donations more generous players made before the trade limit update, but it certainly beats completely ignoring the altar hosts' tireless efforts to keep their burners lit.

I find it a pity that I can only lend the hats out once a day due to the strict lending limit, even though I can visit as many as three different houses during that same period. I met a particularly friendly host who was clad in a fearsome looking set of Dragon Armour and a jet-black Slayer Cape. The outfit would've been just perfect with my Red Partyhat, but alas, the headgear was already out for loan.


Stuff achieved today: Level 92 Prayer

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:14 PM |

09 May 2009

Back To Prayer

I've just blown over 10 million gp on 5000 Dragon Bones.

It was an impulse buy, but at least I'm making good use of the purchase. With the help of a couple of hosts willing to keep their Gilded Altars open and their burners lit, I gained over 225k Prayer exp today.



The Offer-X function certainly made the training much easier, though it had the nasty side-effect of pushing bone prices up. I think I used to get them 500gp cheaper back in January, before the altars were updated. It's a trade off I'll just have to deal with I guess, though I blanch at the thought of spending an additional 60 million to get the skill to level 99.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 225k Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:38 PM |

08 May 2009

Cannonballs

Level 96 Smithing! And it was all done through making cannonballs!



It's a bit sad that I haven't made the switch to Steel Platebodies or even Adamant Bolts to speed up my training, but I see no need for the rush. My supply of Morphic Tools has diminished somewhat anyway thanks to Construction, so it's not like in any position to suddenly power train the stat.



I have to admit, however, that I certainly didn't envision myself relying on cannonballs to gain a majority of my experience. Back during my F2P days, I used to look upon Runite Smithies with envy, but now that I have attained that level of mastery in the skill, I find that there is simply no practical use for Smithing the armour as far as gp is concerned.


Stuff achieved today: Level 96 Smithing

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:06 PM |

06 May 2009

Bars And Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter mini-game has been re-introduced into the game, and has gone through some very mammoth changes.

It's been expanded to the entire Wilderness and has three servers set aside for it. It should keep the Pkers happy, though I am regrettably not in that much of a celebratory mood as my interest in player-killing has inexplicably dulled.

A Guaranteed Content poll was released in conjunction with the Bounty Hunter changes. Jagex is intending to give the small obscure bar in East Ardougne a makeover, and has come up with several ideas with the help of player suggestions. I voted for the Poison Arrow, a Ranging-themed pub with an ex-bandit as a barmaid and kebabs skewered with arrows on its menu.

I'm displaying an unusual amount of excitement towards this small update, considering that it's purely for aesthetics. I suppose that without the Behind the Scenes articles, there really isn't much else to look forward to since players are mostly kept in the dark about any future updates.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:12 PM |

05 May 2009

Candidate Skills

I leveled Hunter for the first time in a long time.



My guilt for abandoning it for so long assuaged, I'm now trying to pick out another skill to train. Previously, the candidate stats were limited to just Prayer and Smithing, but Herblore and Mining have been added to the list because I've just realised that I am extremely close to leveling them both.

Mining should be the priority, even with the amount of clicking involved. Level 80 would unlock the ability to mine Class 5 Sacred Clay in Stealing Creation, which would enable me to fashion the best possible equipment in every single round of the mini-game. Or perhaps I could train a combination of the four skills concurrently.


Stuff achieved today: Level 84 Hunter

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:45 PM |

02 May 2009

Headless Chicken

I feel like a headless chicken.

Though I knew I would cease training Construction immediately after getting the cape, the fact that I would need to fill up that void in my gaming schedule with some other activity didn't quite sink in until this afternoon, when I found that I had nothing to do.


The Construction Cape really matches the Larupia gear.

So I dabbled in a bit of Hunter... and caught a whopping 500 Red Chinchompas in a single sitting. Though the exp is slower, it's certainly gratifying to see that I'm fattening up my bank account for a change, after fuelling my progress in Construction with millions of gp. This is likely to be a temporary thing, however.

Prayer and Smithing are more appealing stats to work on because they require less clicking. It is a pity that they'll hit me even harder in the pockets. After the POH altar update, Dragon bone prices have shot up, and I don't intend to exclusively rely on cannonball smithing for level 99 either.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 150k Hunter exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:50 PM |

01 May 2009

The Construction Cape

I am feeling so immensely satisfied.



Kitt and I had arranged to meet up at my place tonight for the Construction screenshot. After collecting the exp lamp from the Natural Historian in Trollweiss, I suited up and teleported to my house in preparation for the level up.

I initially considered wearing the Builder's outfit I received from the Tower of Life quest, but the purple gave it a somewhat wimpy look, so I opted for a more badass Dungeon Master-ish appearance and wore Elite Black armour and my Red Partyhat. To keep with the stylish theme, I also planned to have the screenshot taken in the Oubliette.



Anyway, Kitt had already arrived at Yanille by the time I gave her the go-ahead. We soon met up and I hit my final level up minutes later. We then headed off to the Estate Agent in Varrock, whom I proceeded to buy the Construction Cape from.


Me performing the Construction emote.

The cape was the epitome of epic, as was its emote. My heartfelt thanks to Kitt for the beautiful screenshot!


Stuff achieved today: Level 99 Construction

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:48 PM |




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I want my Chameleon now!