Money money.....everybody wants it!

At least once a day someone asks me how do you make money? Or some variation on that......

Honestly, I don't know how to answer that question. I farm snapdragons and make some cash daily, make and alch air battlestaffs etc. But to go out and say "I'm going to kill 200 green dragons so I can buy a Guthan's spear." Not my thing. I have no idea what kind of cash that will bring me and if that's better then making nats or picking flax or whatever.

When I started RS I collected and made my own stuff. Somewhere around 1600 levels I started buying supplies that didn't give XP. For example, I'll buy flax but make bowstrings. Why? Because as a skiller I'm going for total XP. Before 1600 levels I never bought anything. And I don't regret it. It forced me to learn how to do things from end to end.

When I turned level 70 I couldn't afford Barrows armor (I'm still struggling to get the cash together to get a spear). But my savings are building and I can afford to buy a small amount of supplies daily to work towards levels. If I were to say "I'm going to get 99 crafting" I'd be in a world of hurt for cash. But because I level everything a little bit at a time I'm able to take cash from moneymaking skills and apply it to those that just consume money.

So what advice would I now give someone?

Gather all your own supplies for the first 70 levels of a skill. Why?

Levels 1-73 require approximately the same xp as 73-80, which is about the same as 80-84.5 etc......

So why gather your own supplies? Because at the lower levels it doesn't take much to gain levels and "unlock" the better, faster methods of training. But it does you no good if you are broke. And the really good equipment/items can be used at higher levels so don't waste your money at lower levels. And I'm a huge advocate of understanding a skill pretty well and this will help you do so.

Work complimentary skills. Want 99 firemaking? Then start woodcutting. It's free and you can sell the bird's nests if you want. Makes a lot more sense then picking a ton of flax to make the cash to burn the logs. Why not work another skill higher? It wont' hurt you, trust me. (It may annoy you however).

Be self sufficient. The more you can do for yourself the less cash you'll need. The problem with this is that to get to those levels may cost you more then you'll save. But you'll have the levels! For example, potions are almost always cheaper to buy as a finished product then to gather ingredients for and make. But if you can make them for yourself you never have to wait for someone to make them for you or have them on sale. And if you are slaying or farming you'll have the supplies pretty cheaply which may bring the costs below the price of the finished good. Anyways, I digress. You aren't going to go broke being self sufficient and you'll find yourself playing more and not standing around the GE saying "Buying 8 prayer pots on GE max price."

Plan ahead.This is many people's achilles heel. Ever see the guy at castle wars offering 3k for a law rune? Don't be him! Don't pay more then you have to for things you need to buy.

Understand Opportunity Costs. Simple example: I have one hour of time today on RS. I can pick flax, alch battlestaffs or mine gold (I can do a lot of other things too but let's just say). If I choose to pick flax then I am forgoing an hour of mining gold (both cash and xp) and an hour of alching battlestaffs (both cash and xp). I'm not saying you should always go for the max cash/xp combo. I'm saying understand what you are doing and how it fits in with other options.

Remember it's just a game. You don't need Barrows armor at 70, you don't need a dragon axe and you certainly don't need a godsword. If you are absolutley miserable with RS because you are trying to get 21million for something you aren't having fun. Everyone wants to show off and be cool. However, different people have different ideas of what to respect and what's "noob". Don't believe for a minute that everyone goes "oooooh" when they see an AGS or 3rd Age. Some are impressed by items, some by levels, some by good spelling and grammar.

YOU don't have to impress anyone. Enjoy yourself and don't worry about it. Set goals and understand what they take.

And play for fun.






This is why I think people who mine pure ess, make nats, chop down trees, fletch a bow, pick flax, spin into a bowstring, fletch it together and alch it......are nuts. You're spending a lot of time and you've got 2 steps that give nearly no xp (picking flax and mining pure ess). At lower levels all of those are good things. But as your levels go up you could use your time more productively (ie more cash and/or xp).

It's all about STYLE~~

First, let's divide up the Runescape population into two broad categories: adults and teens. I'm not going to attach ages to this for reasons you'll see later.

Within the adult category I'll further divide them into 2 groups: parents and non-parents.

Traits of parents: These people play Runescape and interact with the "kids" as they would their own kids. They are right there every step of the way offering advice, encouragement, wringing their hands when people are mean. At best they are the cheerleaders and sage moral voices of RS. At worst they change diapers and wipe noses and enable all manner of whining with their sympathetic cooing.

Traits of Non-Parents. These are adults who play Runescape for their own pleasure. They aren't there to be policing anyone. They are there to have fun or reach a goal. They are often hostile and callous when it comes to whining. It doesn't mean they won't help, just that the whining that brings the Parent types running will usually result in the non-parent type ignoring that person. They are often seen as selfish and arrogant.

Second, 2 groups of "teens". Let's call one the "mature" and one "kids". (Yeah it's somewhat inflammatory but since it's my blog......)

Mature: You have no idea how old they are. They might mention school or having to do a family thing that hints at their not being adults yet. They tend to be able to communicate like an adult. If they need help they ask specific questions. They understand that time is valuable and respect their own and others. At worst they can be callous to those who are struggling or who don't know as much as them. At best they are great leaders. GWD teams, merchant companies, various other group lead stuff....these guys are good at it.

Kids: Do you really need this explained? Really? Ok here goes.....they ask for help without giving specifics. They DEMAND help in fact. Often times their communications are indechiperable to begin with. They really want to do well. But they don't quite know how to get there. They get upset easily and lash out. The upside is that they can be the kindest people in the game. They will spend an entire afternoon helping you out if they feel like it.

Using this perspective I see a lot of alliances between the non-parents and the mature and the parents and kids.

Non-parents/Mature: They pretty much have the same goals. They treat each other as equals more or less.

Parents/Kids: Symbiotic relationship. The parents patience and encouragement helps nourish the kids need for postivie reinforcement. The kids allow the parents to....well....act like parents.

So far so good?

So where it comes apart is when the two groups have to interact with one another. I've had friends I'd put in the "mature" group rant at me about one of the "parents" treating them a certain way. I've seen both non-parents and mature pick on a kid. I've seen a kid try to demand something from a non-parent/mature and get absolutely nowhere. And I've seen the non-parents and parents absolutely go toe to toe about the "right" thing to do in a situation.

I know what group I fall in. When I look at the interactions I've had over the last month (I've had lots of time to think running around ape atoll) I find that this works pretty well to sort out what has gone right and gone wrong in those interactions.