Weird well it surprises me then it cost me about 100k shards to get sum 86-88 with rock lobsters. All I bought was the shards. Fm'ing doesn't cost me a thing since I get the maples from MTK and I make profit selling the herbs, seeds (farm 99) & bird nests... So nope, firemaking doesn't cost a thing to me :) You lose the profit of selling maples + the opportunity cost of not using something faster to level with. You will also receive a large portion of those shards back when you trade the pouches. OT: If you intend to max, RC is the general consensus. If not, slayer/pray/herb.