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30 July 2009

Blesschat

Trained Prayer today and yesterday, and narrowed the level up exp gap to a little over 100k.

I have the 400+ Dragon Bones necessary for the final level up and have already picked the player to appear for the screenshot. I realise the "guy" I've picked is not a player per se since I've actually selected the Blessings official clanchat account, Blesschat.

Although the two clan leaders, Kat and Tiz, have access to it, I don't really view them as the true owners of the account. I see Blesschat as being more of the clan's property and therefore do not think it'll ruin the nice consistency I've set for my fifteen other 99 screenies.

Mat thinks I'm cheating with this line of reasoning, but he can go stuff it. It's going to be a beautiful screenshot a the Lumbridge Chapel; all that's left to do is to decide on a date and what to wear, although Blesschat's wardrobe is likely to be very limited as it has essentially remained a newbie account even after a year and a half.


My visit to the newly opened Poison Arrow.

Before I close off this entry, I've visited the Poison Arrow and have found that it was actually a brand new bar situated near the Ardougne docks. All this time, I had thought that it was an existing pub, specifically the one located at the East Ardougne gates, that's been re-done and given a name. But I suppose that that is all immaterial; what mattered was that Jagex did a lovely job with the building.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 125k Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:47 PM |

28 July 2009

Jagex's Animation Pack

Didn't have much time to take a good look at all of today's updates.

The plain looking bar in Ardougne has undergone a complete revamp, and now has a trendy Ranging themed look. I'll visit it soon enough for the screenshots.



Jagex has also been working on the appearances and attack animations of certain melee weapons, and they've wisely chosen to focus on the popular ones for now. Unfortunately, due to the small scale of this "Animation Pack", only three of the weapons I own were affected by the changes. There was a clear improvement in the case of the Rune Scimitar, but I can't decide whether I prefer the new edits done on the Abyssal Whip and Dragon Longsword over their previous look.



The whip definitely looks more fearsome with those jagged shards sticking out, but these pointy edges as well as colour changes have made the weapon lose its cool black and dark red sleekness which I had really liked. Likewise for the longsword; sure enough, the graphical changes have made it appear more formidable, but - at the same time - the blade also looks fatter and clumsier.


The addition of spikes has given
the whip a more intimidating
appearance.

I didn't have any problems with the attack animations however, which is great since they're supposed to be the highlight of this week's batch of updates. Bork was the first creature I tested my updated Abyssal Whip on.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:49 PM |

26 July 2009

The Curse Of Arrav

As frequent visitors of my RL blog would've probably already read, I pulled an all-nighter on Saturday and used the extra time awake to get Curse of Arrav done.


Me excavating the tunnel in the Trollweiss Mountain.

I was sent by Ali the Wise on a mission to explore a dungeon at the Trollweiss Mountain. Excavation of the collapsed regions of the tunnel revealed that it was connected to some sort of basement.


My short duel with Arrav

I came face-to-face with Arrav when I began searching through the other parts of the building. His presence was a clear indication that the building I had stumbled upon was actually one of Zemouregal's strongholds. We fought briefly, but the duel ended abruptly when his master suddenly summoned him away.


Arrav's heart

I then left the fortress, but not before stealing the security plans of Zemouregal's Wilderness base. I reported my findings to Ali and passed him the plans. Something known as the heart of Arrav was marked on the document, but it was protected by a frightening array of traps and other defensive contraptions. Ali deduced that this separation of Arrav and his heart somehow granted Zemouregal control over the latter.


I had to get past many obstacles before reaching Arrav's heart.

Feeling a sense of obligation to save the fallen hero, I infiltrated Zemouregal's stronghold in the Wilderness, and after some slight difficulty, managed to recover the heart and pass it to Ali, which ended the quest. At this stage, Arrav is still under the Mahjarrat's power, but the fact that his heart is now in Ali's possession could mean that he'll be freed soon enough. However, I say this with a great amount of uncertainty.



I discovered notes in both of the bases which contained short descriptions of several Mahjarrat. A name of a Mahjarrat that really stood out from the rest in the list was "Wahisietel", which is actually an anagram for "Ali the Wise". This is a possible hint that Ali is in fact a Mahjarrat, which, if true, would likely mean that he has been using me all this time for his own evil ends. What could await my avatar in the next sequel of this quest series?


Stuff achieved today: Completed the Curse of Arrav quest

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:53 PM |

23 July 2009

Uber Exp Bonuses

Amazing! The exp bonuses of Brawling Gloves and Sacred Clay tools actually stack!


Safe for now. Me training at the coal and iron mine at level 9 Wilderness.

I got a sweet 8X exp bonus when I tried mining with both the items on a PvP server. I've also found a suitable area to train at; there's a coal and iron mine just North of Edgeville in level 9 Wilderness. The mine itself is safe but the city is crawling with Pkers, so I'm ultra-cautious whenever I make the journey back to the bank, which, by the way, wasn't very often because I don't bother to deposit the ore I mine.

Unfortunately, I didn't exercise that same vigilance during my actual training. I was in a single Combat zone, and was feeling completely smug at the fact that no Pker could touch me because I was constantly under attack by one of the aggressive level 25 Skeletons there. Complacent as ever, I allowed my health to drop to 20HP and at the same time bragged to Zelda on Blesschat about the sheer ingenuity of finding such a wonderful location to mine at.

Mere seconds after that, a Ranger showed up, presumably shot the Skeleton that was attacking me while I wasn't watching, and proceeded to one-hit me after the monster's attention was diverted. Needlesss to say, I lost both my previous exp-granting pickaxe and gloves. I'll just have to keep my health up next time and keep a closer watch on the screen.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 50k Mining exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:21 PM |

22 July 2009

(Even) More Mahjarrat

Another quest addition, the Curse of Arrav, to the Mahjarrat series has been released.

Unlike Mobilising Armies, this is one update I know I won't be chucking aside indefinitely. Excluding the Vampyre storyline, this quest series is easily my favourite of all story arcs in the game, and I am very grateful that Jagex managed to finish this latest Mahjarrat installment so soon after the Tale of the Muspah.

And even if the quest was completely unrelated to these legendary fighters from Freneskae, its title suggests that the mysteries of a prominent Runescape figure, the fallen hero Arrav, would be unravelled. In short, the Curse of Arrav looks extremely promising, even if one were to ignore all prequels and pretend it was a stand alone.

Expect screenshots and a plot summary of the quest within the next few days!


Stuff achieved today: Gained 125k+ Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:38 PM |

20 July 2009

It's Over Nine Thousand!

Ka-ching; I have officially reached billionaire status!



Partyhat prices have continued with their steady increase these last few weeks, so I price-checked the ones I owned out of curiosity. As a bit of an after thought, I withdrew all my cash and my two Santa Hats, and put the items up on the price checker along with the Partyhats. Even without the rest of the contents of my bank account, their combined value exceeded a billion gp, which was simply amazing.

Though now aware of the true extent of my wealth, I feel no inclination to splurge on exorbitantly priced items. However, it is very reassuring to note that I easily have the finances to fund any expensive skills I may decide to train in the future.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:12 PM |

18 July 2009

No Luck

Kicked some ass at the KBD Dungeon this evening.



It was a clan event, but Zelda invited Boombaye along. As usual, the drops were unimpressive, but the boss monster remains quite popular, evident by the number of crashers who showed up.

Ironically, they were of some use to us as opposed to being a hindrance. Their very presence diverted some of the dragon's attention away from us, but the crashers weren't strong enough to chip away much of its health, which in essence reduced them to nothing but damage sponges since they weren't able to claim the loot from any of the kills.



Still, it's not like they missed out on much. I want my King Black Dragon heads.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:34 PM |

16 July 2009

A Flawed Solution

The deed is done. It took a month, but the much needed ammendments have been made to June's PvP update.

However, I am not particularly pleased with the changes and question their overall effectiveness in curbing the problem of inflation.

Jagex took a two-pronged offensive when they tripled the money players had to lose in order for their assailants to tap into their reserves of EP and obtain a good drop. The extra money required would be a turnoff for some PvP tricksters, and the change has the added bonus of creating a bigger money sink to relieve the Runescape economy of excess gp. The cash the deceased PvP partner carries does not always get recovered by the attacker, and is thus effectively wiped out from the game.

It should be noted, however, that this feature's capability of impeding inflation is limited. 75k, whether as a PvP tricking deterrent or money sinkhole, is almost negligible when compared with the high likelihood of picking up Ancient Artefacts which are vastly more vabluable. It should be remembered that their drop frequency has remained unchanged. Jagex had the insight to recognise this and introduced a second measure...

... Which was largely a disappointment. The Protect Item Prayer has been deactivated in PvP servers, and players are automatically branded with a Skull upon entry into any of these themed worlds. This heightened danger of EP gathering has undoubtedly discouraged PvP tricksters from resuming their unchecked harvest of Ancient Artefacts, but it also has come at a heavy cost for Pkers and Brawling Glove users.

The former would now have to think twice about arming themselves with a GS, Dragon Claws or any other expensive equipment as none of them can be kept upon death. The same applies to skillers who intend to use their Brawling Gloves for exp bonuses. The 4X exp rate was offset by the glove user's vulnerability against battle-ready Pkers, but it seems Jagex is apathetic about giving these skillers another disadvantage and upsetting an already well-balanced system.

The PvP gravy train has been derailed, but Jagex's success is naught but a Pyrrhic victory.


Stuff achieved today: Level 78 Runecrafting

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:43 PM |

14 July 2009

Brawling Gloves

I don't think I've been able to use my Hunter Brawling Gloves to the fullest.

I've chosen to train at the Black Salamander hunting grounds in the Wilderness, located just East of the Clan Wars Arena. There are altogether four spots to set the net traps, but due to their distance apart from one another, it is only practical to use three of them.



If a fellow skiller arrives or is already occupying the hunting area, that number gets further reduced to two traps. And because all of this must be done in a PvP server, the threat of Pkers is very real. Their attacks have abruptly cut short two of my training sessions already, though I am happy to say that I kept the gloves on death.

I expect I would encounter less trouble using the Mining Brawling Gloves. Competition from other skillers shouldn't be an issue, due to the size and number of mines present in the Wilderness. I'm thinking of camping at the one infested with Chaos Dwarves in level 30+ Wildy; I see little reason why any Pkers would venture around that particular mine.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 50k Hunter exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:56 PM |

12 July 2009

Galloping Inflation

My Pking spree continues.


A swift KO, with 4 seconds to spare on the Combat timer.

Players doing the 26k trip outside the bank are laughably vulnerable. I simply swoop in just as they exit the bank and attack the PvP partner holding the money. Since they're unarmed, they usually get slain after my fourth DDS spec. The ten-second countdown often gives me sufficient time to deal the necessary damage, especially since my more inattentive victims take longer to make their escape back to the bank.

My best kill's now valued at over 1.4 million gp; a statistic which I proudly announced to Zelda on Blesschat. He then told me about how Jagex was planning to fix the overly-generous drop rate in PvP servers and directed me to one of Boombaye's blog's more recent entries. I'll miss the easy money, but I see the move as necessary, in light of the current galloping inflation in the Runescape economy.


The price graph of Ranarr herbs; as a point of reference, the introduction
of Ancient Artefacts took place on the 16th of June. Up, up and away!

Though the degrees of fluctuation vary, the one consistency is that all items I often buy or sell at the GE have experienced price spikes. Maple logs, steel bars, cannonballs, Dragon bones and Coal have all been affected. The prices of Ranarr herbs and seeds, commodities which I deal with extensively, have made spectacular increases of 3k and 11k respectively.

I attribute all of this to the excessive frequency of Ancient Artefacts showing up as loot in PvP servers. These artefacts get sold to NPCs and the money that's subsequently "created" fuels the inflation, which has been steadily worsening in the last couple of weeks. I'm grateful for the millions it has made me, but this new drop system is unacceptable and has to be changed.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:33 PM |

11 July 2009

Stats Moderation

I haven't gotten around to try out Mobilising Armies yet out of laziness.

Plus, Jagex had to shut down certain parts of it because the mini-game wasn't fully functional. I feel sorry for the team responsible for the update; Mobilising Armies seems to be perpetually bug-ridden and causing them a lot of trouble.

I did, however, get down to training Agility and reached level 80 yesterday. Completing the trend of paying extra attention towards my bottom three skills (Mining too, from my earlier posts), I'm also back to Penguin hunting in an attempt to get my Runecrafting up. The small exp gaps in-between level ups ensure that my progress is fast despite the slow exp rate.

Perhaps I should start abiding by Guthix's trademarked maxim, Balance is Power, with my stats more often.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much (... What? The level up in Agility took place yesterday)

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:04 PM |

08 July 2009

Spoils Of War

One of the downsides of skilling in Port Phasmatys is that the EP caps at only 40%, so I often have to ask around in Blesschat for kills to redeem my Loot Potential.

I reached this limit this afternoon, but there was no one around in the clanchat. I played nice at first by asking the two only other players at the port whether they were interested in doing the PvP trick with me. I attacked one of them after my request was ignored and was able to kill her.



This successful Pking attempt was actually the result of quite a silly mistake on my target's part. The girl was doing the 26k trick with a friend and it was her turn to die. She walked outside of the bank, completely unarmed, with the cash in her inventory, but ran back into the safety of the building as soon as I struck her with my first DDS spec.

She probably would've survived if she had just calmly waited through the Combat timer even as I steadily chipped away at her health. However, she made the mistake of exiting the bank once more to escape. Though I hadn't brought any Runes or Ranged equipment with me, I was able to chase her down and finish her off with two flicks from my Abyssal Whip. She dropped the money she was carrying, along with a Zamorak Statuette and other goodies. The kill earnt me over 675k, making it my best Pk ever.



I was treated to a set of some very big updates later that night. The much anticipated Mobilising Armies was finally released, and the mini-game was accompanied with a newly themed design of the Runescape website. Jagex also took the time to make more changes to the game's interface; the most prominent of which consist of new buttons, a more calculator-esque font, and the addition of a notepad function.


The new notepad function in the game

Some impressive work from Jagex so far, but I'll reserve my final judgement until I try out Mobilising Armies, which unfortunately will have to wait until Friday or the weekend when I have the time.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:28 PM |

07 July 2009

Decisions, Decisions

I have reached the halfway point between level 98 and level 99 for Smithing and Prayer.

I now find myself in the same predicament I was in just a few months ago, prior to my maxing out of Construction. I'm stuck with two skills I am about to master, but no friends to be at my side during either of the level ups. It's been a tradition of mine to invite a single player whom I'm close with to join me in the 99 screenshot.

However, I've also made it a rule that the same person cannot show up in the screenies for multiple skills. I came up with that restriction during a period when I only had a handful of maxed out stats, so I really didn't think I'd eventually end up shooting myself in the foot with that little catch. I was also a lot chattier in-game back then, which I supposed helped to prevent the size of my Friends' List from diminishing.

The Construction screenshot turned out fine in the end only because Zelda reminded me about Kitt at the very last moment; I totally hadn't considered inviting a fellow blogger because I was too focused on rummaging through my Friends' List for suitable players.

This time, I am certain I didn't miss out anyone, which means I'm down to three not very appealing options:
1. Break the tradition and ruin the consistency of my 99 gallery
2. Invite two not-so-close guys from my list
3. Postpone the two level ups indefinitely until I can find someone good enough

Damn.


Stuff achieved today: Nothing much

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:11 PM |

05 July 2009

Hand Outs

Besides ancient artefacts, I also have been receiving Brawling Gloves as drops whilst doing the PvP trick.


My small but growing collection of
Brawling Gloves.

I've picked up four pairs thus far, but haven't gotten around to using them. They quadruple the amount of exp the user gets when used in the Wilderness in a PvP server. I'm already thinking of using the gloves for Hunter to catch Black Salamanders, but fear that the hunting area may be a popular haunt for Pkers. It would be a huge shame to get killed and lose the gloves before fully using up the enormous exp bonus; I have that same worry for the Mining gloves.

Melee and Magic, I have little use for; I've already maxed the relevant skills out. An article on Runescape Wiki tells me that I can cast High Alchemy on them to get 30k coins per pair, but I'd much rather give them to Tiz who's trying to get his Combat up.

Presumably, Jagex made all Brawling Gloves untradable to prevent players from buying their way through a stat, but I wish there was some kind of system which allows us to give them away for free. Unless the person in question has a ridiculously large number of generous PvP trickster friends, receiving the occasional pair of gloves would not grant him too much of an advantage over other players in stat raising.


Stuff achieved today: Gained 75k+ Mining exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 9:40 PM |

03 July 2009

Not-So-Deserted Deserts

I've started mining at the Granite and Sandstone Quarry in the Kharidian Desert, and am impressed with the exp rate.



I reached level 77 Mining; my first level up in the skill for quite a while now. Due to the location's remoteness, I experimented with gathering EP there by switching to a PvP server, but encountered Pkers during my first few minutes at the mine.

They arrived in pairs. The first two Pkers were out of my Combat range, but I felt uneasy about their presence. The very fact that they showed up made me realise that there were players who actually bother to travel to such secluded areas just to hunt down skillers. I realise now that I should have switched back to a safe server after the sighting, because a second pair of Pkers appeared and attacked me.


I spotted a Penguin dressed as a cactus while being pursued. At least my
death wasn't a complete loss.

The first thing they did was Teleblock, effectively rendering my Ectophial useless and cutting off my escape. I was Snared multiple times, until I finally got struck down by a well-aimed flick of my assailant's Abyssal Whip. Excluding the half-full inventory of Granite I mined, my losses solely consisted of untradable items, namely my Ectophial, my Enchanted Water Tiara, my Camulet and a couple of Sacred Clay Pickaxes. Nothing valuable, though the stuff was annoying to retrieve.

Ah well, lesson learnt. I'll stick to Port Phasmatys for my PvP tricking needs.


Stuff achieved today: Level 77 Mining

Posted by Timothy Gold at 11:11 PM |

01 July 2009

Thrills & Kills

Green098, one of the top 10 players in the highscores, apparently dabbles in PvP tricking as well.



I saw her Firemaking and gathering EP outside the Port Phasmatys bank this morning. Though the port was generally quite deserted, her presence still attracted the attention of a couple of players who had happened to be gathering EP as well. They mostly followed her around, conversing with her in a not-so-subtle attempt at getting a slot each in her Friend's List.

I considered attacking Green just so that I could have the opportunity to boast that I've actually done battle with a celebrity, but later just contented myself with killing one of the noobs. For a big shot at the tippity top of the Runescape hierarchy, Green treated her two irksome followers really patiently, and I have this policy against making unprovoked assaults on nice players.


Jackpot! A Zaros Statuette!

The noobs, however, were free game. He didn't drop anything of value, but my kills with Tiz and DG more than made up for it. The former dropped a Seren Statuette among other items, and I picked up yet another Zaros Statuette from DG. Happy day.




Stuff achieved today: Gained 125k Prayer exp

Posted by Timothy Gold at 10:14 PM |




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