Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Me

It’s been an interesting few days. I didn’t get much time to play last weekend, too many things going on in real life. However, a quick fever and spending the last 2 days in bed will free up a bit of time. God bless laptops. I had been tired of running out of runes constantly and figure I just need to make a ton of them and get it over with. Since I had some extra time, I decided to do this on the cheap and mine the ess myself. Now some can say its not worth it, much like flax, in that it gives little to no xp, but its just so simple I can’t bring myself to buy it. I mined around 3k ess (I took breaks to do chores, etc) and started RuneCrafting away. A friend or two mentioned they were at the Mage Arena getting Bones to Peaches. I had heard it was pretty boring, so I decided to join while there was company. They had stated it was pretty easy and only really took a day. Must have been a long day for them because it took me significantly longer.

I’d find myself back runecrafting again because that just drains your Laws, Cosmics, Waters and Natures. So I’d be alching, grabbing statues, enchanting, then more runecrafting, then back and forth. I have to say, you need a bit of patience. I took some breaks to do a few quests. Got All Fired Up done and The Feud out of the way. I’ve only got about 25 quests left, which isn’t bad considering I really can’t stand doing them. Although I am starting to enjoy them a little bit more.

I caught an extremely lucky break when a good friend mentioned she needed to do a bunch of alching and mentioned that she’d help me with the Graveyard part of the Arena by hanging out outside and giving me some food when needed. That made it so much faster. Also finding that the Dragonstone in the enchantment area are respawns had me enchanting, depositing and then world hopping. Each one is worth 10 where the normal enchants are only worth 1. I actually enjoyed the Telekinetic Grab statue mazes, however I just wished they had more designs. Doing the same ones over and over again was mind numbing. That said, last night I finished it all and got my Bones to Peaches spell! I guess it could be done in a day, but you just need to have stockpiled a lot of runes, and have a ton of patience. I did get 79 Magic though, and 80 is only 20k away.

I logged in yesterday morning to find a star next to me, that’s always a good sign. First level 7 one I could mine and man, it went fast. Before long about 30 people were there and it was exploding extremely fast. Must have been on the star hunting clan’s radar. Looking for something to do with a friend, she showed me the Dorgesh Khan agility course. Did that for a little while and where I love the xp, I think I’m burned out on Agility for a little bit. I’ll probably go back there soon since I’m not far from a level though.

I did a few rounds of the Great Orb Project as well. It can be a pain when you keep losing, or when you are winning and the other team just logs out. I guess you really need to do it with friends. I bought myself about 25 Nature Altar Teleports with the reward though, that should make it easy to tele to the mining spot near the altar for stars, instead of using Karamja gloves and walking all the way around Shiloh.

Seems like a lot, but it felt like it went pretty slow. I’m glad I’m feeling better and the Fightin’ Phils take game 1 of the World Series! Not only do I want to win it, I want to win it at home. Nothing at the moment could make me happier.

End of the Month

There’s a new quest out today. I seem to have the requirements for it. It looks pretty interesting. I’m a little surprised All Fired Up isn’t a requirement. If Varrock’s being attacked from the Wildy and the beacons aren’t used, then what’s the point of them? I kind of love all things zombie related so I’m looking forward to this.

I found myself being indecisive again yesterday. I got all the levels I seemed to be close to, including 75 Range, 73 Agility and 69 Mining. The main reason I want 70 Mining is because of the stars now. Although mining my own addy will be nice. I won’t have to rely on Avansies just to work on my Smithing. My main default activity was always Fishing. If I couldn’t decide what to do, I’d Fish until something else came up. As much as I love moving up in the ranks by adding xp after my 99, I just think that all that time needs to be spent working towards levels in other skills. Sure I could always use extra food, but I have a decent supply still, and cooking is just so boring. I think I might be the only one who’s stayed at 94+ Cooking for over 3 months now and not gotten a cape. I just hate doing it.

Took an impromptu clan trip to the Zammy boss in Godwars yesterday. We had roughly 8 people so it was relatively safe. One person did die towards the end then timed his re-entry into the boss’s room poorly only to be killed again. Such are the risks I guess. I accidentally ended up tanking it one of the times, that was a little stressful, but I lived to see its demise. No great drops, but that’s ok. We were able to make about 15 kills before having to tele out. One more thing done that I’ve never tried before and new music is always fun. I couldn’t get over how dark it is in that room though, its like fighting with the lights off.

Just today and tomorrow remain for Agility and I think I’m done. I got from level 60-73 this month and am thrilled that I don’t have to walk the entire way around Tav Dungeon anymore. My original goal was 80 but other things kept getting in the way. It’s a shame Agility doesn’t get you any cash. I had to stop and make some money for the daily errands. I’ve been stockpiling my staves and I am THRILLED to be able to assemble/alch them on Wednesday. All that Crafting and Magic experience just waiting to be raked in. That’ll give me a good amount of cash too, maybe I’ll splurge on something. Maybe buy a bunch of bars for Smithing or what not.

I’ve been neglecting Slayer, I should really train that as well. Hopefully this week is a little more calm. Last week was kind of hectic between going to baseball games and weddings. This one seems a little more settled down. No more sneaking out of a wedding reception so I can see the Phillies clinch the National League East crown! However they play when I’m at work. I’m waiting to hear about NLDS tickets and already have my NLCS tickets purchased. Can’t wait! Go fightins!

We all have our little things that motivate us. For me, recently it’s been hiscores. I know it might seem petty, but I love watching my rank change. I like seeing how positions fluctuate week to week. I love the contrast between the member and free to play skills. I got a lot of levels this weekend, I just happened to be close to a few and banged them all out at once. I love how 74 Farming ranks you at 27,000 but 74 Woodcutting doesn’t even get you under 500,000. I planted my first Magic Trees with the use of a garden pie. As cool as they look fully grown, I kind of think they look awesome as half grown saplings. Can’t wait to get the xp from checking health later on tonight.

I’m kind of disappointed with a few recent clan events. Our Bandos trip this weekend was cancelled due to only about four people showing up. Only a few have been taking part in training Agility as well. Even though I really don’t like cb that much, I try to make all the trips for a number of reasons. First, the more the better. With a large group, chances are you’ll be perfectly safe. You can stay for multiple kills and if anyone needs something, everyone’s willing to share. Second, I’ve done some things that I wouldn’t have done on my own. New music is always a plus. I’m just willing to try anything new, as long as I know its safe. Last, I just like to hang out. Everyone’s friends, its more like a group in that sense, opposed to other clans that are rank and cb level based for Clan Wars or what not.

It seems skilling kind of takes a back burner sometimes. People get upset no one shows up for cb trips, but no one even cares about even a mass skilling event. A lot of skills people find boring and much improved when you have good company. And think, if you do it now you won’t have to do it later. It’s just disheartening when you come up with a seemingly good idea, and no one pays much attention. At least just feign interest…

Ok sorry, gripe over. I’ve been really struggling with bankspace recently. I still haven’t done the circus yet because I know I have no room for whatever items it gives me. Next month is Crafting and I’ve been hoarding all my uncuts and battlestaves for then. That should free up some space, but still have to wait about 2 weeks to do it. I see they’ve come out with the follow up to the Wildy quest today. I’m sure that’ll end up taking even more bankspace. With so many things added just in the past couple months, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an expansion on the horizon. I guess the real basis of it is that I need to get my Construction up. When I got 60 Hunting this weekend it left me only having 2 skills left in the 50s. 58 Runecrafting and 57 Construction. I keep my RC up so I can use my tears for Construction. It kills me spending an arm and a leg without having any real way around it. I guess I could just use limestone, but where’s the fun in that?

Phils sweep the Brewers! As great as it is that they are tied for the wildcard, I would rather they won the division and once again the Mets fail to make the playoffs. Let’s see if that can happen, ok? It was sad to see the Jets fail to beat the cheating empire that is the Patriots. It’s awesome when your team plays on Monday nights, but it makes Sunday seem a little off. So tonight I’m going to hunker down, play a little RS. Watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles then watch my Eagles destroy those wretched Cowboys in their own home. Go birds!

Wish Upon a Star

Sorry about the negativity of yesterday's post, just needed to get that out there. I'll stick to more positive things today :)

The more I do star hunting the more I like it. The double ore effect isn't much different in rate as the Varrock 3 armor, and since its short-lived its kind of nerve-racking teleing to a mine and then trying to hop to an empty world. Good thing that's not the reason why I do it. I really like the fast Mining xp from the stardust along with the Cosmics and Astrals.

Running out looking to see where the sky is falling has been getting in the way of Agility, which is the skill competition this month. I'm getting sick of Brimhaven. Having under 20xp to a level and not getting it after a few hours is annoying. I've been saving up for 1k tickets so I know it'll be worth it in the end. I got up to 850 last night, so only a couple hours left. I chose to do that because I thought it would be a little more interesting than running in circles, but I think I'll switch to Ape Atoll because I should get to around 69-70 Agility after the cash in.

I really like having monthly competitions, its good motivation to train skills you know you need to get up, but in turn, never feel like working on. It helps kill the time until what I really want comes out - a new Achievement Diary.

Anyways, football starts tonight. Giants vs Skins. Two teams I hate, so i'll be hoping for a tie. Go Eagles!

Starry, Starry Night

I think I need to stop reading Runescape Forums. It’s like a den of negativity. No matter what the update, people will kick and scream about how they are against it. This week they came up with a few interesting distractions with the spy penguins, shooting stars and the circus, but it seems people are only concerned about the falling economy.

Yes, prices are going down. It might be because they will soon release new equipment, it might be that people are quitting members because of school starting again, it might be for another reason entirely. People keep asking Jagex to step in, regulate the economy and protect their “hard earned” money. I’ve touched before about how I feel about people who play this game only to get “rich.” It makes no sense to me. Why this is such a sore subject shows that people who play just play are getting fewer and further between. I notice increasingly more people standing in banks asking for price checks so they can show you every little thing in the bank so they can tabulate their “total worth.” I used to help people out with this, thinking maybe they just got an object for the first time and want to find out its value, or maybe they want to know how much they make at one run of something like Barrows. I understand that. Its just been so discouraging lately that now I don’t even bother to help, which in turn, makes me feel like I’m neglecting my own community.

The GE is player regulated, and I’m sure some have found ways of manipulating it. Be it intentional, or just impatience. What I can’t understand is the asking the creators of the game to step in and intervene. I’m not sure why they would even care. The RS economy, like all economies, is open to fluctuation. However, it differs in many ways. For starters, its not real. I know this comment can be taken the wrong way, but think about when a government steps in to help out with a recession or an inflation crisis. People can’t afford to eat, are being kicked out of their homes for not making payments, etc. This has no bearing in Runescape. The character you have created doesn’t need to eat to stay alive, unless in battle. He/she doesn’t make mortgage payments or pay the gas bill to keep the heat on. What people are complaining about are luxuries. Its like complaining that the price of a BMW has dropped by a couple thousand dollars. Why Jagex would have any concern because a godsword or a whip has dropped is just illogical to me. Neither of those things are necessary. Sure, they’re nice, but you can live in Gielinor, perfectly happy, without either.

I’m amused by the player predictions about the game, however. The picture in the advertisement banner is in red, so Dragon Platebodies will be released this week!! Simply said, but then taken and strewn as fact into other threads. Runescaper75 proved Dragon Platebodies are being released this week, therefore… One person’s theories are taken and used as references? Really? Where did he prove it? Maybe it’s the legal background I have, but I’m inherently skeptical about anything unless there is actual proof, and one person saying it based on an interpretation of a picture is hardly proof. Too keep some amused though, ok fine, I believe you. Dragon Platebodies are coming out, Sailing is the new skill, there’s a new Godwars Dungeon coming out, Rune & Addy dragons will come out, all of this.. by next Tuesday.

It’s also annoying to me about how people will complain about experience rewards. People complaining about getting 1k DEF experience on their F2P pure is ridiculous. God forbid that precious pure that you “worked so hard on” gets its Defense to level 2. If you don’t want the experience, don’t do the quest, its not that hard of a subject matter to grasp. I’ve stated before, experience gets precious at upper levels. A little here and a little there adds up. Don’t ask them to take quest rewards out of the game because its not what your fifth account precious F2P pure with 50 STR wants.

Sorry for venting and the negativity, I just needed to get it out there. On positive notes, in the past week I’ve gotten four Woodcutting levels and eight Firemaking levels. I’m also up to 775 Agility Arena tickets and I can’t wait to cash them in. I realize you don’t get that much xp from doing the course, just the tickets. Cashing in 1k would get me to 69 or 70 Agility, so I’m thinking about switching to Ape Atoll after that. I haven’t done the circus event yet and I’ve only found one penguin, but I really like the shooting star update. Sure, about 7 friends and I scoured Kandarim for about forty minutes and found nothing (which I don’t understand, I’d expect to at least find a group of people around it), but I did find two yesterday. Got about 25k, 10 gold ore, 70 Cosmics and 20 Astral Runes from the first and 33k, 15 gold ore, 93 Cosmics and 33 Astral Runes from the second. Plus a bunch of Mining experience for barely any work. It’s fun, like hide & seek. Go check it out!