NewBee

The Polypore is slightly cheaper and has exactly the same stats as the SoL. You can still cast Water Surge with the Polypore, so buying a SoL is rather pointless. However, one caution: the EoC weakness system, while great in theory, rarely applies in practice. The tier of equipment is far more important than the opponent's weakness or your stats and this is even more evident given the December "hotfix" which increased the Defense ratings of many popular monsters, metal dragons included. The reality is such that a Tier 60 Magic weapon is less effective than a Tier 70+ Melee or Ranged weapon, even though Steel Dragons are meant to have high defense against both these styles. Given the high costs of such gear it means that the game is once again effectively centralised around Melee, but that's a different argument for another time ;) In short, don't listen to Jagex and use the best tier weapon you can afford.

As a Runescape player, i'm sad that Jagex are going to cave in to the wants of people who refuse to adapt to change. As a behavioural economist and psychologist, I'm quite excited! Bots will make or break the new game. I think that Jagex are not-so-covertly hoping that by publicly stating the level of bot-detection they might some how siphon the attention of gold farmers/bot makers to the old-school version. The potential is huge there as since all characters start from scratch, the economy will be radically inflated due to the scarcity of items. I am old enough to remember rune 2-handed swords selling for 700k+ in Runescape Classic, given the *ahem* impatient nature of the majority of the player base, I would not be surprised if Old-School RSGP became a much more valuable commodity than main game RSGP.

I think it's plainly obvious that "Lucky" items and the super-rare prizes would have much smaller odds, and the "rare" red frame is just a graphic, not a real representation of the odds (in the same way the "spinning" mechanic does not represent how close you came to a certain prize). The last part of your post sounds much like a gambler's fallacy.

I know that Jagex are really pushing the combat triangle and the "weakness" thing following the Evolution of Combat, but it seems to me that at times it's far more important to use the best tier gear rather than target a monster's specific weakness. Obviously, if you can afford it, using the highest-tier gear for a particular weakness is the best option, but this isn't available to everyone. What's the general consensus on the most effective way to kill/train on monsters? For example: Aviansies are weak to Bolts, but rune and dragon crossbows appear to be nowhere near as quick at killing them as using a Polypore Staff. I am regularly out-damaging bots using Dragon Crossbows. Iron Dragons are supposedly weak to Water spells, but take little damage from a tier 60 wand/shield set-up. Range and Melee do comparable, if not more damage.

When Runescape 2 was introduced, Jagex revamped the combat system so that it was possible to both eat and run from an opponent in combat. PKing in Runescape Classic was all about the "three-hit-rule" and "catching". In RSC combat, the player and the enemy engaged in three automated rounds of combat. Food and fleeing were not permitted until the initial three rounds were completed. Players needed to grind out sufficient strength levels to be able to KO their opponent in three hits, and develop sufficient reflexes to be able to "catch" a fleeing opponent. Secondly, they transformed Magic and Ranged from secondary combat skills into primary ones, thus creating the "combat triangle". Finally, and most controversially, they changed the combat level formula. The latter change "screwed over" many, many pure PKing accounts. The wild was deserted as people came to grips with the sudden dominance of Magic at low-mid levels, and later on, Ranged. Finally, PKers accused Jagex of nerfing the requirement for skill as "catching" was no longer effective. Sound familiar? Those of us from the "dark old days" of Runescape Classic could perhaps cut and paste our posts from Tip.it back in 2003 and still have them relevant to this discussion today. Back then, the exact same chorus was heard from the exact same demographic. "Jagex hates pures! Jagex ruined PKing!" they cried, on Tip.it and in-game. In spite of its brief revival in 2006, PvP really wasn't the same as "back then". Jagex, since 2006, forsook the PvP environment for a greater focus on skilling and PvM. For high-level players in Runescape Classic, there was no real option but PvP because of the few boss monsters available. When I returned to the game in 2006 after a hiatus, I found a proliferation of skill pures and high level players not the slightest bit interested in PvP. With the introduction of skills like Runecrafting, Slayer and Hunter, skilling was no longer a means to an end but a very profitable moneymaker. Skilling no longer became a communal need but a subtle competition, in which players were pitted against each other to reach certain targets or profits before others. Skillcapes were both the logical progression and the concrete capstone on this transformation into Skillingscape. . The problem is the community is dead. It is so obsessed with competition and efficiency that playing for fun is laughed at.

Personally I prefer the Polypore because Wrack and Impact are much more powerful and accurate than with the wand. For maximum efficiency however you will be looking to change spells according to weaknesses regardless of what weapon you use.

Nice guide, did Barrows for the first time ever with this guide and though I didn't use the same setup as you, you are absolutely spot on with your use of abilities. Fluppets, if you're quick-fingered you can hit T (Target) and click on the Barrows brother while simultaneously firing off an Impact. Also instead of sidestepping, I often run a few squares away (you can still use Wrack/Combust while running too) to the opposite wall of the brother. With the Melee brothers, I find that by the time the initial Impact expires, I've got Asphxiate ready to go to finish him and often defeat Dharok/Torag/Verac/Guthan without taking a hit.

Thanks, that helps heaps! I didn't see that guide before but it's pretty useful. Mods might want to merge this thread with that one as I think we'll get more discussion there

Hi all, long time lurker (I remember when people actually posted in the Marketplace...), newbie poster :) I think i'm in a very small minority but I'm one of the few old-school players who absolutely loves the Evolution of Combat update. I love the increased interaction and the increased difficulty with the introduction of specific weaknesses and the protection Prayer nerf. When I started playing Runescape, combat was watching two men hit each other with coloured sticks for three turns, so this is a world away and a great improvement! I'm still very much a newbie to the Members world and recently got some defense on my pure PKer to be able to do the Barrows minigame. Stats: Ranged: 81 Magic: 83 Defense: 30 Prayer: 46 I've already completed the Barrows run a few times, but I'm relying a lot on luck to get past Karil who I just can't seem to hit. My current setup is using a Master Wand, Mage Book and full Mystic robes, yet I still can't hit him with Magic. On my last run I switched to Ranged and couldn't land a hit either with a Magic shortbow and Saradomin arrows. The last few times I've been a) avoiding him or b) got lucky with my Polypore. Any suggestions on doing Barrows with the new update? Are the brothers still ridiculously weak to Magic, or do you have to target their specific weaknesses now? And on different tack- how does the new update affect food and healing? Why do my Monkfish heal 1260 lp whereas Sharks and Rocktails only heal 1168?

The number one reason why pures are and have been so successful since RSC days is down to the advantage in Hitpoints and Strength- namely, the lower the defense, the higher the capacity to hit higher as well as the capacity to absorb hits. On F2P servers, Pures don't have a "gamebreaker" in the mould of a Granite Maul/Dark Bow/Godsword etc and so that effectively negates the Hitpoints disadvantage. Plus the dominant hybrid is range/melee, which you are well protected, and once you get 650-700 HP Fire Blast's measly 160s are not even worth worrying about. The only genuine threat would be a skilled Range/Magic hybrider, as high Ranged will slaughter your defense if you take off your armour to defend against Magic. The problem I see with the build, however, is not it's defensive capacity but the second reason why pures are so popular/successful- the ability to hit high. You simply don't have the ability to kill an opponent short of a deathmatch, especially with only 65 str.

LOL at copyright infringement being equated with theft. They aren't even heard in the same court in many countries of the world. In most countries, copyright infringement is a civil matter and theft is a criminal matter, and the two are not equivalent.

While I totally agree with your sentiment, truth is, the "kids" are more likely to have more brain cells. The brain starts losing neurons as early as 17 in some people. :) I'm 22, I've been playing RS sporadically since 2002. I don't feel old, though it is frustrating to deal with younger people sometimes.