Burning Down the House

The December “Behind the Scenes” is out, and it looks like there’s two new Achievement Diaries! I don’t know what it is about these things, but I love doing them. The Varrock one motivated me so much to work on my skills and the Karamja one forced me to get my cb up. The rewards are great. Even though the Lumbridge one was low-leveled, the Cabbage-port is great for farming runs, and the run-replenish is great when you don’t want to waste a strange fruit or a Terrorbird scroll.

Last week, questing seemed to take first priority. I can use new Lunar skills thanks to Dream Mentor. I also did Land of the Goblins, Mountain Daughter, My Arm’s Big Adventure, Olaf’s Quest and Dealing with Scabaras. Dealing with Scabaras allowed me to keep my streak alive of dying during every desert quest. I always use guides and the two I was reading mentioned nothing about fighting the priest who deals with multi-combat, poison and disease. They seemed to focus on the fighting of the Scarab, which is lvl 206, but a pretty straight forward-easy fight. I also didn’t notice that instead of withdrawing just a few thousand gp, I had all my cash on me. I lost about $3M which I had been saving for Con & Summoning as well as my Beserker Ring, Dragon Boots, etc. I’ve never understood the system RS uses as to what you keep when you die, but I held onto my Dragon Legs, which are considerably less than a Beserker Ring. It would always confuse me too as to why I’d hold on to a shark opposed to something like Boots of Lightness. That was kind of a bummer, I didn’t make it back in time to retrieve them. It’s alright though, I just shook it off. It’s a game, it’ll be fun. Nothing to cry over, just get back up and do it again. I spent some time fishing to make some more money to get some items back and the rest will come in time. The thing that got me was that after losing all my cash, I had to make money to re-buy my skillcape. It’s weird that you just can’t get that back by talking to the person, like you usually do with quest items. So now I have my cape back and two hoods in the bank. Weird, but whatever.

I have around 15 quests left to do. Not a lot, but not a small amount. I really dislike doing them, so the motivation comes and goes. When I have it, I need to strike while it’s hot. This week I haven’t done any, I need a break. I also hate leaving a quest in the middle of it, so with just a few hours to play after work and a lot of that time dedicated to my daily chores, it hasn’t seemed worth it.

December is Firemaking month in the clan. I need to redeem myself for my dreadful showing during last month’s Farming. I think I only got around 250k xp. All I had were a lot of low level seeds and didn’t get any good ones from my kingdom until 2 days before the end. Figures, huh? I’ve been burning my stock of maples, but I’ve also been trying to stockpile some yews/mages. I don’t mind Woodcutting as much as I used to. As long as I can find an empty world. I usually cut at tree gnome. There’s a mage tree there, as well as the mage I have planted at my farming spot, plus a few yews and the bank is very close. It’s amusing how the xp level of skills vary so much. I’ve already beat my xp from last month, and it’s only the 5th. Whereas it would be the equivalent of months running to the abyss over and over making runes.

I love that the new quest gives 400k xp in any skill. I’m really looking forward to being able to do it. I’m not sure what I would use it on. It would save a lot of money using it for Construction or Summoning. The time it will save for Runecrafting though makes it seem more valuable. That would more than double the xp I have now at lvl 63.

In all the times of checking my kingdom for nests and receiving them as randoms while Woodcutting, there’s one thing I never understood; why are there rings in them? I can understand the seeds and the eggs, but is there also a collection of lost fingers? I don’t mind the normal golden rings, they can be used in Summoning, but its so disappointing when you get a nest and you’re like “Awesome! Nest! Dang, Sapphire Ring.” I guess I could enchant them, but I just seem to keep those things around for Treasure Trails. I have plenty of Dueling Rings, I never use Rings of Recoil, I don’t even know what an enchanted Ruby ring does and Rings of Life drive me insane. I hate it that there’s a chance I might die and all of a sudden I’m tele’d out, when I wasn’t close to death or was simultaneously clicking to eat. 10% of your HP is still easy to deal with when not fighting anything major. I don’t know, I think it’s a control issue I have.

I also, finally, got my Prayer to 70 thanks to some Steel/Iron assignments from Duradel. I’m going to use my pingu points this week for Slayer. The update mentioned needing to kill a Skeletal Wyvern and I know you need 72 for that. Currently I’m only 1k xp from 71, so that should make it easier. Revenge is going to be sweet! Ever since I was lvl 60 or so and mistakenly wandered into that Ice Cave, I’ve had a bone to pick with that thing. Vengeance has been my motivation for Slayer, to kill the Skeletal Wyvern. I’m ok with that. We’ve all had those instances when we were lower levels, and you say lose your Rune Chestplate which you saved so hard for and spent 3 hours in a bank yelling “Buying Rune Plate!!!!!” because it was pre-GE and late at night so not a lot of people were on. I’d love it if you guys shared some of your stories like that, so feel free to!

This weekend, clan trip to Fishing Trawler and the goal is for Path of Glouphrie. I’m not going to have a lot of playing time, so nothing too high. Going to watch the De La Hoya/Pacquiao fight at the boss’s house, so that should be a good one. No idea who to root for. I guess my heart’s with De La Hoya and my money’s on Pacquiao. Eagles go up to the Meadowlands, ugh. Its ok though. The Phillies are World Champions.