Tip.it Times 21 February 2010

[Mirror]

Time for a new release of the: >>>Tip.It Times!<<<

 

When replying please make sure to clarify the article you are replying to! Thanks!

 

Enjoy the articles!

[Asmodeous4]

Wasn't particularly interesting I have to say, I'd go so far as to say boring.

[Pirate_Felix]

Where can i suggest a DYK?

[cowmaster187]

i thought of another thing requireing a mini games to complete it.

 

rune mechanics.

 

also not that exciting. =S

 

~~~legoman187~~~

[mikeg0477]

"Putting my selfish desire to wring every drop of profitability from the game with minimal time invested, I now feel that this update is a wholly refreshing change. We have been conditioned over time to accept skill levels as the cover-all prerequisite for content access. Players who maxed their skills assumed global reach and automatic coverage. The concept that a player with a maxed total could not reach new content is instinctively preposterous, but in the long run not necessarily a bad thing."

 

If only everyone could see things in this light. Well written article.

[nurserymaid]

I pretty much agree with the article. On my way to maxing my skills (I maxed last June) I focused pretty much on skills and nothing else, I only did mini games that could help me with my skills. I did have all the quests done and the achievement diaries too but mini games... well, there are still some I've never tried and I probably won't until something forces me to do so. This slayer update forced me to go and get a fire cape, that last quest forced me to do some Mage Training, the Ardy Diary finally got me into CW. I wouldn't have bothered with any of them otherwise. I generally see mini games as a waste of my time, to have a good reason to at least try them is no bad thing. (I don't spend all my time getting xp but if I'm going to waste time in game I prefer to just mess about with friends rather than do mini games.)

 

I don't, and never have, thought that having skill levels gave me a divine right to do everything those levels allowed. Slayer has always needed a fair bit of questing and Barb training, Barb training itself gives access to fishing methods not otherwise available etc., this extra requirement is absolutely nothing new despite what many people seem to think.

[Demoli]

Very good article, but don't you think it's a little... less then a usual Times?

[Obtaurian]

Very well-written article, and one which I wholly agree with.

[Racheya]

Where can i suggest a DYK?

PM them to any editorial panel member or Mirrorforced :thumbup:

[Maxingmck]

Bad article is bad,

 

he cant use 1 high level content monster cry some moar pl0x :wall:

[Demoli]

Bad article is bad,

 

he cant use 1 high level content monster cry some moar pl0x :wall:

 

Did you actually read the article?

 

He said that this was a good change and that it motivated people to explore other aeras of RS that are usually deserted/ignored by the masses.

[3hitm4g3u]

Bad article is bad,

 

he cant use 1 high level content monster cry some moar pl0x :wall:

 

Are you a troll or just someone who skimmed the article so they can get on the first page?

 

Either way, yeah it was a good article.

[Kidd_Varrow]

I liked the article. The idea of having to play through some content areas to unlock others is a good move, IMO. I noticed, though, that the author seems to have left out the Temple of Senntisten quest, which requires the player to do a barrows run.

[Zachneap]

It was a good article. chewed the meat a bit. if i hadn't been paying attention to the discussion about this i'd know what it was about. I have to agree with its point. but the compromise was not too bad.

although isn't content based unlocks what quests are for?

[tortilliachp]

I have quite a different take on the situation, and so i submitted this take on the situation to the tip.it times:

 

 

Ice strykerwyrms and the removal of the Fire cape requirement

 

With the introduction of the Elite Ardougne Achievements diary, Jagex allowed for development in new and exciting directions; for the very first content was released that would be playable only to the very masters of the game, to those relentlessly patient few who have meticulously trained most skills to exceptional levels. Those who were elite in the eyes of Jagex. The reception on the Runescape official forums, and right here in the tip.it community were astoundingly, and refreshingly positive. Even though only a fraction of the community could enjoy the content, the community as a whole saluted Jagex for reassuringly and resoundingly proclaiming Runescape is the Jagex future. How could we believe that Runescape was to be the main focus of a company if they were designing a new, large game?

 

Companies all have public faces, and spokesmen who project an image of the company onto the community, an impenetrable public relations façade users are not meant to see beyond. Yes they claimed Runescape would live for ever, but with a new game in the makings, did we believe them? Should we have believed them before they showed, through affirmative action in releasing elite content, that Runescapes future was secured? With 2010 being the year of awesome we were right to be sceptical through the end of 2009, as Jagex have continued projecting a rosy-red Public image improbable if not impossibly the truth. That, however, is an analysis worthy of an article to itself. Runescape is to flourish in the future, with challenges to all, also the elite few.

 

This new and exciting direction for Runescape, launched in 2009 has shown the very best of the new Jagex under new leadership; skills have received very much needed high-level updates, most significant of which is arguably the high level herblore update. How Jagex released this content, and tellingly how they removed the use of extreme potions from pvp worlds and bounty hunter is vital in understanding the ideology in Cambridge.

 

The brilliance of Jagex at its finest was shown in the update, and dealing with it. In rendering the potions created at higher levels untradeable, lower level content was not made easier overnight, other than for those who have invested millions of coins, or long hours to developing their herblore levels: The lessons from the smithing skill were learned. Looking back on my first Runescape memories from 2003, Jagex were taken aback with the success of its game. Enthusiastic posts with new records of players online simultaneously spurred new game servers; Jagex was simply unprepared for success, and the longevity of the game was not of primary concern. What if smithing was only useful to a handful of players, the rest relying on a few suppliers for their armour and weapon needs? No problem, others will be herblorists supplying the smiths and others with the potions they require. Niche players was the game demographic, nobody was expected to be a do it yourself player. However, Runescape is now a happy ten-yearold moving quickly towards its arduous and rebellious teens. How will Jagex, as sole parent, cope? As any other tween, Runescape has to reinvent itself. It has needed that for quite some time, where the niche player has completed her goals. What lies beyond the horizon? Little, level 99 is the maximum either way.

 

The ingenious solution of the herblore update in 2009, where everyone is forced to do it themselves, is a showcase and industry necessity for MMORPGs to keep up with their clientele. Looking at the rise in price of herblore-related items, and the vitalization of a stagnating Runescape economy, the update was a resounding success from day 1. However, requiring the do it yourself aspect to stand any chance in PvP situations was too tall an order. It would alienate almost all those who relish in PvP situations from participating in their favourite gameplay within runescape. Here the crucial question is: How could Jagex release a game-changing piece of content with such a fatal flaw?

 

This question leads to a critical observation in understanding all elite content being released in Runescape: developing elite content is something completely new to the Jagex staff. They need experience in making this content, and they have to experiment to get it right. Releasing such inherently flawed content as the extreme potions is a guarantee that the learning curve at Jagex HQ is steep.

 

This learning curve made another two-fold jump with the release of Ice Strykerwyrms and their Fire cape requirement. We players learn the attitudes of Jagex through game updates and actions, rather than the fine words of the year of awesome. Similarly, the lessons Jagex learn are obviously important, also to discuss and interpret. But how do we analyse the future of the game and what Jagex true plan and aim for the game are? This is where the relentless and important community discussion has its place. Why did Jagex introduce the fire cape requirement in the first place? We cannot know, yet we can examine the likely possibilities.

 

If Jagex showed a wish to integrate high levelled requirements from many skills and areas into elite content, this content is truly elite. It is not a question merely of hours played, skills grinded to astounding degrees, the content is for elite players, those proficient within all areas of the game. In the words of the Ugthanki kebab, this option looks scrummy! A new dimension would be added to the game. Currently almost all the highscores show an excessive amount of time required in attaining top rankings, multiple times the experience required for any in-game benefits, thousands of pointless hours at mini games with minimal reward, the sole exception here seems to be duelling tournaments. This is maybe the only area where skill currently determines who tops the highscores.

 

With only one area of prowess to officially determine those with clicking skills, deep understanding of strategy in PvP situations, was not slayer a perfect candidate for releasing content requiring more prowess, rather than large amounts of free time and admirable persistency? This is where a second interpretation of why Jagex chose to change the requirement comes in, one, in the words of the Kebab, that tasted a bit dodgy. You feel a bit ill. This regards a common attitude held by the cynical that Jagex are populist, and have simply caved in to the demands of a small minority of ranters on the official forums. This should indeed worry us if it were the case. However, it is highly unlikely that it is.

 

How can we know that Jagex have not simply caved in to the ranters? If they caved in once, without other motives, the happy spelunking in a gigantic cave system would be ruined. Once the first cave falls, no other cave is safe, and staying with this metaphor, how do we know that Jagex has secured its mine of a game, developed over a decade, avoiding divine intervention as the one we players experience in Blood runs deep? We know because they have not caved before, even though the pressure has been immense, and the economy of Jagex has been at stake, which was the case with the anti-Real World Trading campaign. Believing Jagex have caved in is a destructive attitude leading to further ranting on the official forums. Jagex have become professional over time, we still remember the development of their now superficial public relations image which is invariably in touch with the harsh reality of the business world.

 

As Jagex did not fold their hand to the ranters, why did remove the fire cape requirement for ice strykerwyrms? The official position and the cause of most of the rants on the official Runescape forums, have led a rationale of mobility and accessibility. The fight caves are almost impossible to the hearing impaired, to those with motion disabilities. Further, to those with restrictive internet connections, prayer switching has always been hard, it has been rendered almost impossible by the 0.6 second delay (one in game time unit) Jagex implemented to avoid so-called prayer flashing as an effective money saver. Does Jagex feel this balancing fix hits the disabled and internet impaired unnecessarily hard? That would be jaw-droppingly surprising if it were true. Jagex must have known about these issues for a substantial period of time, again, why would they release flawed content they knew they wished to change? A professional company wouldnt, so Jagex didnt. No, there must have been other factors in play. Another vital question to ask is: why have the disability and accessibility challenges of Runescape not been explored on the official Runescape forums previously? Why is this new with the Ice Strykerwyrm update? Unsurprisingly, it is a question of economy.

 

Money makes the world go around, well, coins makes Gielinor recognizable and predictable. As politics ran run into an issue, economics has run into the strykerwyrm update and the fire cape requirement. Just as high levelled rune crafters complained at the recent multiple rune update devaluing their quite literally precious money-making abilities, high level slayers are not too concerned about the direction Runescape is headed, rather they are concerned about money. Everyone the Author has asked about a more integrating direction of high-level Runescape has quickly warmed to the idea and embraced it. This direction really does look Scrummy! to high levelled players, as it ensures further enjoyment in their spare time of Runescape without growing tired of a game with no further challenges and goals.

 

Naturally, those striving towards higher slayer levels, who believe themselves unable to attain the coveted fire cape, have wished for the requirement to be changed. Accessibility and mobility reasons given have largely been proxy-arguments for the reality of the matter: Although unable to get the fire cape, we want a piece of the light staff profit. What a preposterous and discerning claim! Some of you might exclaim contemptuously, however the argument is strongly embedded in reality.

 

The telling reasons for the economic motifs in the discussion require a historic perspective, as all contextual analysis does. In the release of the fire cape itself, there were next to no complaints about the high difficulty of the mini game. There was an overall understanding that only a certain few deserved the fire cape, it should remain exclusive, Runescape had taken a turn away from repetitive boredom as the only way of showing off fancy equipment. new frontiers were ready for the taking, but Jagex didnt follow this type of equipment up. Further underscoring the economic motif is the lack of rants at the release of the much forgotten Rogues Den mini game. Here clicking ability reached new heights as a requirement for the illusively rare rewards. The release of Sorceress Garden warranted little complaint and the recent release of Nomads Requiem was hardly debated either, even though this was the ultimate integration of boss fighting and question on the highest level. Why was there no uproar similar to the ice-wyrm fire cape revolt? There was no money involved.

 

As is often the case (economics and understatement go hand in hand), whenever someone is posed to loose out on profit, someone else is gaining. The opposing argument has largely been that a fire cape requirement fosters much needed exclusivity in the high-end of slayer. This has also been a front for own economic interests to a large degree; however this is where the interesting position of Jagex re-enters the now more detailed picture.

What is Jagex economic motif for removing the fire cape requirement? The light staff cannot serve its mage-friendly task of stabilizing parts of the combat triangle unless it is accessible. It cannot be accessible unless its exclusivity does not put it in the hand of merchants, just as the blessed spirit shields with sigils remain too exclusive to benefit the masses, especially in pvp combat. The effects in pvp of the much needed damage-reducing qualities of the spirit shields quickly balance over-hitting Armadyl Godswords and Dragon Claw specials. Jagex learns from its past mistakes, and so the staff of light is to be accessible to many, it is not to be another item ready for manipulation by merchanting clans. The limitation of the fire cape amongst those with 93 slayer or more was something Jagex did not foresee in strangling the already bottle-necked supply of light staves.

 

Without a clear, honest public relations team at Jagex HQ, Jagex proxy-arguments will continue to shock the Runescape community, as their impact seem profoundly negative in comparison to the small calculation mistakes Jagex occasionally need to correct. Why honesty is sacrificed for image is something that will confront Andrew, Paul, Mod MMG in the future. The danger of projecting an image, is that others perceive you by that image and most often the real thing is less xenophobic to a knowledgeable community as the Runescape community clearly is in affairs regarding Gielinor.

 

In removing the fire-cape requirement, Jagex did not cave in to rants of a small minority on the forums. Initially releasing the requirement is much more telling on Jagex behalf, and I can only hope further skill, quest and clicking skill activities are the future of elite content within the game. So should you.

[jettrider]

^ A few spelling errors need to be fixed, and the name of the slayer monster corrected, but that should be put into the Times next to the first article ASAP.

 

Just a few things I'm wondering about:

 

The release of Sorceress’ Garden warranted little complaint and the recent release of Nomad’s Requiem was hardly debated either, even though this was the ultimate integration of boss fighting and question on the highest level.

 

Is that a typo in the last bit? I can't quite make out what the last clause means, perhaps the word intended was questing. Also, Nomad's Requiem was highly debated, with many people complaining that the final battle required too many supplies and attempts for the majority. It seems to fit in with the staff of light uproar more than oppose it. Otherwise, excellent points about the past and how the release itself of the fire cape as well as clicking minigames went well.

 

Jagex learns from its past mistakes, and so the staff of light is to be accessible to many, it is not to be another item ready for manipulation by merchanting clans. The limitation of the fire cape amongst those with 93 slayer or more was something Jagex did not foresee in strangling the already bottle-necked supply of light staves.

 

I don't actually think the fire cape has much to do with this problem. The main limitation in accessibility is the fact that ice strykewyrms cannot be killed without a slayer task. This was an important update for slayers, but it does not make the staff of light nearly as accessible as the Amulet of Ranging; on the day of release, Aquanites were packed with approximately six times as many people as were needed to kill all the spawns on every world at max efficiency.

 

Also, merchanting clans have relatively little to do with accessibility; the staff of light WILL go up, and it WILL crash, as combat magic finds increasingly fewer uses; non-combat methods of training magic are vastly superior, and melee has found ways to kill every monster several times faster than magic can. Even with the fire cape requirement, 93 slayer is now a goal for almost everyone with good combat skills, and with the staff of light being a much more common drop than sigils in terms of possible kills per day (even with the task requirement - the confirmed drop rate places about one staff drop for every other task) and less useful than spirit shields, it will never be harder to find than even arcane and spectral spirit shields.

[Ezz]

Good article.

[CampbellMC]

Where do you sumbit articles to? My recent forum thread has had many people post on it telling me to submit it to the times.

[Racheya]

Where do you sumbit articles to? My recent forum thread has had many people post on it telling me to submit it to the times.

PM any article submissions to Mirrorforced or another Editorial Panel member :thumbup:

[John Halo Chief]

I realize that this was before the compromise, but come ON....

 

"It wasnt long before the next shoe dropped, and Strykewyrms were introduced, forcing players to defeat Jad before enjoying the battle with the new, most lucrative slayer monster in the history of the game. While other skills were complemented with minigames before (Thieving, Cooking, and the Stealing Creation-driven skills come to mind), this prerequisite activity adds a new dimension, and perhaps irritating requirement, to the game itself."

 

What person with 93 Slayer doesn't have a fire cape?

[tortilliachp]

^ A few spelling errors need to be fixed, and the name of the slayer monster corrected, but that should be put into the Times next to the first article ASAP.

 

Just a few things I'm wondering about:

 

The release of Sorceress Garden warranted little complaint and the recent release of Nomads Requiem was hardly debated either, even though this was the ultimate integration of boss fighting and question on the highest level.

 

Is that a typo in the last bit? I can't quite make out what the last clause means, perhaps the word intended was questing. Also, Nomad's Requiem was highly debated, with many people complaining that the final battle required too many supplies and attempts for the majority. It seems to fit in with the staff of light uproar more than oppose it. Otherwise, excellent points about the past and how the release itself of the fire cape as well as clicking minigames went well.

 

Jagex learns from its past mistakes, and so the staff of light is to be accessible to many, it is not to be another item ready for manipulation by merchanting clans. The limitation of the fire cape amongst those with 93 slayer or more was something Jagex did not foresee in strangling the already bottle-necked supply of light staves.

 

I don't actually think the fire cape has much to do with this problem. The main limitation in accessibility is the fact that ice strykewyrms cannot be killed without a slayer task. This was an important update for slayers, but it does not make the staff of light nearly as accessible as the Amulet of Ranging; on the day of release, Aquanites were packed with approximately six times as many people as were needed to kill all the spawns on every world at max efficiency.

 

Also, merchanting clans have relatively little to do with accessibility; the staff of light WILL go up, and it WILL crash, as combat magic finds increasingly fewer uses; non-combat methods of training magic are vastly superior, and melee has found ways to kill every monster several times faster than magic can. Even with the fire cape requirement, 93 slayer is now a goal for almost everyone with good combat skills, and with the staff of light being a much more common drop than sigils in terms of possible kills per day (even with the task requirement - the confirmed drop rate places about one staff drop for every other task) and less useful than spirit shields, it will never be harder to find than even arcane and spectral spirit shields.

Yes, it's supposed to be questing. the intelligent reader understands i see :D

 

Nomad's requiem did not lead to an accessabillity debate, which it should have, which is the founding argument. The complaints were rants, not progressive directed posts in the same way seen with the staff of light.

 

Knowing more than 30 93+ slayers, only about half of them have firecapes. I can assure you the firecape requirement is a very limiting factor. That may surprise you, just as it seems to have surprised jagex.

 

Merchanting has all to do with the usability of the item: if it becomes too expensive, it becomes a merchanting item, and these are horded, flipped and manipulated by merchants as individuals, teams and clans. Therefore their accessability is limited with increased rarity. Obvisouly it will never be harder than spirit shields, but the position may resemble other rare items, such as santa hats, that have had a mysterious rise for little reason, leading those who have them to hold on to them more, thus restricing supply and diminishing Santa's impact on the game.

[jettrider]

Knowing more than 30 93+ slayers, only about half of them have firecapes. I can assure you the firecape requirement is a very limiting factor. That may surprise you, just as it seems to have surprised jagex.

 

Merchanting has all to do with the usability of the item: if it becomes too expensive, it becomes a merchanting item, and these are horded, flipped and manipulated by merchants as individuals, teams and clans. Therefore their accessability is limited with increased rarity. Obvisouly it will never be harder than spirit shields, but the position may resemble other rare items, such as santa hats, that have had a mysterious rise for little reason, leading those who have them to hold on to them more, thus restricing supply and diminishing Santa's impact on the game.

 

Thanks for clearing that up (I think the Nomad part would be clearer if you mentioned the cape reward), and as for this part...

 

At TSG (The Slayer's Guild) there was a seven page debate about the ice strykewyrm. The consensus seemed to be that the fire cape requirement was a fine addition and that its removal was a bad move. This is of course a biased group, a group that lamented the changes to extreme potions. However, it was encouraging that most of the high leveled slayers in the clan, most notably two leaders with millions of experience past 99, went back to the caves after many failures to try again instead of immediately complaining. I think that with the new prayers, combat items, potions, and the like, that 50% of 93+ slayers without the fire cape will drop. Remember, in recent history with trimmed skillcapes and then Soul Wars capes there has been increasingly little reason to spend time and effort obtaining a fire cape - now there is (was)!

 

On to the merchanting part...

 

Flipping items and temporarily hoarding items has no long term effect on the price of those items. The problem would be, as you mentioned, the use of these staves as an alternate currency as holiday items, mint cakes (in the past), blood talismans, mjolnirs, and divine/elysian spirit shields are currently being used. However, each of these items had something unique about them:

• Holiday items cannot be created.
  
• Mjolnirs can only ever be obtained once per paying member.
  
• Mint cakes could be obtained once by every member and then obtained only as a very rare reward from a forgotten minigame.
  
• Blood talismans can only be obtained once by every (high-level) member and then obtained only as an uncommon reward from a surprisingly profitable, yet unknown, "minigame"
  
• Divine/Elysian sigils are the two rarest probability drops from the hardest monster to kill in the game (in terms of personal drops per hour).

The staff of light does not fit any of these criteria. You do indeed need to be high leveled to get it as a drop, but you can get an unlimited number if you just keep training slayer (this is why blood talismans will never go past about 500k market price, because burning corpses would become extremely profitable). You could argue that its comparative rarity to the amulet of ranging or the dark bow would keep its value well above the GE's capability to change prices, but as more people are motivated to get both Fire Capes and 93 slayer (especially those who already have fire capes), the incoming number of staves will exceed the incoming number of blood talismans or mjolnirs. Coupled with the fact that most people wouldn't pay nearly as much for a Staff of Light as they would for even an Elysian spirit shield, the price will crash eventually. 50m? 60m? Go ahead and guess, but the crash is inevitable.

[tortilliachp]

 

Thanks for clearing that up (I think the Nomad part would be clearer if you mentioned the cape reward), and as for this part...

 

At TSG (The Slayer's Guild) there was a seven page debate about the ice strykewyrm. The consensus seemed to be that the fire cape requirement was a fine addition and that its removal was a bad move. This is of course a biased group, a group that lamented the changes to extreme potions. However, it was encouraging that most of the high leveled slayers in the clan, most notably two leaders with millions of experience past 99, went back to the caves after many failures to try again instead of immediately complaining. I think that with the new prayers, combat items, potions, and the like, that 50% of 93+ slayers without the fire cape will drop. Remember, in recent history with trimmed skillcapes and then Soul Wars capes there has been increasingly little reason to spend time and effort obtaining a fire cape - now there is (was)!

 

On to the merchanting part...

 

Flipping items and temporarily hoarding items has no long term effect on the price of those items. The problem would be, as you mentioned, the use of these staves as an alternate currency as holiday items, mint cakes (in the past), blood talismans, mjolnirs, and divine/elysian spirit shields are currently being used. However, each of these items had something unique about them:

• Holiday items cannot be created.
  
• Mjolnirs can only ever be obtained once per paying member.
  
• Mint cakes could be obtained once by every member and then obtained only as a very rare reward from a forgotten minigame.
  
• Blood talismans can only be obtained once by every (high-level) member and then obtained only as an uncommon reward from a surprisingly profitable, yet unknown, "minigame"
  
• Divine/Elysian sigils are the two rarest probability drops from the hardest monster to kill in the game (in terms of personal drops per hour).

The staff of light does not fit any of these criteria. You do indeed need to be high leveled to get it as a drop, but you can get an unlimited number if you just keep training slayer (this is why blood talismans will never go past about 500k market price, because burning corpses would become extremely profitable). You could argue that its comparative rarity to the amulet of ranging or the dark bow would keep its value well above the GE's capability to change prices, but as more people are motivated to get both Fire Capes and 93 slayer (especially those who already have fire capes), the incoming number of staves will exceed the incoming number of blood talismans or mjolnirs. Coupled with the fact that most people wouldn't pay nearly as much for a Staff of Light as they would for even an Elysian spirit shield, the price will crash eventually. 50m? 60m? Go ahead and guess, but the crash is inevitable.

 

Yes, i used to Know AxeManJack quite well back in the day beofre TSG became a fully fledged clan. Yes, the amount of 93+ slayers without the cape will drop, yet many are simply unable or unwilling to invest the time required without significant experience rewards. Slayers are notorious skillers after all.

 

 

your micro-economic analysis of the situation is valid, however on a macro-economic level the overall effects observed are different: valuable items worth more than about 7m have some special characteristics: people invest in them, buying when they are low, selling when they are high. This is because the price fluctuations are in the hundreds of thousands of GP, and the fluctuate quickly, for rapid profits.

 

Single merchants performing this kind of merchanting has little impact, yet there are alwyas many. On a macro-economic level the items trickle more slowly onto the market than otherwise, as they move from hand to hand between merchants. Supply is indeed limited in this way, and as more and more players strive towards killing icewyverns , the effect becomes more prominent.

 

The fewer staves there are in circulation, the large the impact of single merchanters, and as capital is limited, the effects are larger. The combined effect of single merchanters is what drives economic fluctuations and limitations in supply and demand in runescape, as on the real world economic markets. This is what is commonly refered to as trader-to-long-term invester liquidity.

[waheera1]

your micro-economic analysis of the situation is valid, however on a macro-economic level the overall effects observed are different: valuable items worth more than about 7m have some special characteristics: people invest in them, buying when they are low, selling when they are high. This is because the price fluctuations are in the hundreds of thousands of GP, and the fluctuate quickly, for rapid profits.

 

Single merchants performing this kind of merchanting has little impact, yet there are alwyas many. On a macro-economic level the items trickle more slowly onto the market than otherwise, as they move from hand to hand between merchants. Supply is indeed limited in this way, and as more and more players strive towards killing icewyverns , the effect becomes more prominent.

 

The fewer staves there are in circulation, the large the impact of single merchanters, and as capital is limited, the effects are larger. The combined effect of single merchanters is what drives economic fluctuations and limitations in supply and demand in runescape, as on the real world economic markets. This is what is commonly refered to as trader-to-long-term invester liquidity.

 

You're missing one crucial point here I think: the number of staves is only ever going to INCREASE. There is almost no way that the circulation of these single items can be stymied to the extent that you seem to suggest. There are in excess of 18000 players with the required slayer level and since the fire cape blocker will soon become invalid with the introduction of a purchasable reward from slayer masters, the likelihood is that the market will end up being flooded. Short term of course you're exactly right - just look at the dragon pickaxe and other recent high level equipment to see how EVERY new release undergoes a massive spike before settling to reasonable levels. However, the key point is that all "useful" items eventually settle to reasonable levels, rendering them less useful as a currency tool owing to the susceptibility to price fluctations relating to the constant ebb and flow of supply and demand. As Jettrider pointed out, the most common currency replacements are/were all items that were a) subject to a very limited supply, and B) useless. By and large nobody wanted or needed those items, thus the price could easily be manipulated to suit the levels required to create a sustainable currency without the meddling of genuine players. Introduce a hypothetically infinite supply of an item that people want and you effectively destroy the system whereby the items can be manipulated to stay high valued.

[jettrider]

your micro-economic analysis of the situation is valid, however on a macro-economic level the overall effects observed are different: valuable items worth more than about 7m have some special characteristics: people invest in them, buying when they are low, selling when they are high. This is because the price fluctuations are in the hundreds of thousands of GP, and the fluctuate quickly, for rapid profits.

 

Single merchants performing this kind of merchanting has little impact, yet there are always many. On a macro-economic level the items trickle more slowly onto the market than otherwise, as they move from hand to hand between merchants. Supply is indeed limited in this way, and as more and more players strive towards killing icewyverns , the effect becomes more prominent.

 

The fewer staves there are in circulation, the large the impact of single merchanters, and as capital is limited, the effects are larger. The combined effect of single merchanters is what drives economic fluctuations and limitations in supply and demand in runescape, as on the real world economic markets. This is what is commonly refered to as trader-to-long-term invester liquidity.

 

Forgive me for commenting without serious training in economics, but I disagree with the idea that all this will affect accessibility. As waheera1 said, there will always be more of these items coming into the game. The fluctuations will be greater in magnitude (though reading the long-term graphs of valuable gear tends to be misleading because of general inflation), but at no point do these items, after the initial crash, become unbuyable for extended periods of time. During the times when everything is going up they are still buyable, albeit above the medium price. When they temporarily lose a little bit in price, everyone has a chance to buy one instantly for below the medium price.

 

The only time that fluctuations affect accessibility is when they are bought out permanently (used as an alternate form of currency, which I discussed earlier) or temporarily. Temporary hoarding is unimportant for two reasons; first, higher end items (bandos armor, dragon claws) tend to be bought out less because many of the small constituents of clan chats are unable to afford more than a handful. Second, hundreds of pieces of equipment have been bought out temporarily at some point in their post-GE existence, but they always crash. Nothing important has been hoarded for an overly long period of time, because every significant piece of equipment has, like the staff of light, a renewable source. Once the item gets too high in price, the monsters that drop it tend to be killed more often by those who want a higher hourly profit rate, or a group in the clan (usually the leaders) want to cash in before telling everyone else they've sold the item.