LordAdib

It's unfair in that Jagex is explicitly saying that non-members don't compete for ranks the same way members do (see Water and El Popo1's stats/xp). They're pretending that F2P does not have a community where people have the most xp in a certain skill, where people gauge the amount they earn through sites like Runetracker, etc. In fact, we are just as organized as serious members: we have skilling clans with skilling competitions, we compete for the #1 spot in skills and xp records (within the F2P community), and so on. As I said before, Jagex is shamelessly dismissing all of F2P as bots or inexperienced kids who walk around bewildered in the game, totally oblivious to efficient skilling methods or F2P-focused clans. The thing that gets me is they know that's not true, and they're lying through their teeth. That's why they keep avoiding the question of pure F2Pers who DO know what they're doing and DO participate in the larger pure F2P community: because admitting that such a group of people exists would be inconvenient to their plan.

Okay, you make a fair point—we should express our gratitude as free players somehow. I'll tell you what: I'll send some money to Jagex to show my appreciation. Hell, if I sent them a check for $800, that would be more money than they'd get from someone who's been a member for 10 years. That way, in a perfect world, I could prove myself as a grateful player who just wants to maintain his present situation. But then, I've already understood that this can't be the case. I'll just continue to go with the flow, like we've always had to do.

I don't know what you'd consider an "actual" or "legit" reason, but I can give my own. I always considered playing Runescape as a non-member something akin to playing a game on hard mode: there's less things to do and less ways (but innovative ones) to do them. I see it as a kind of challenge. I'm not the only one—there's a whole pure F2P community composed of people who can pay for membership, but choose not to because of the vibrant community in which an active, constructive non-member can participate. The unique aspects of remaining pure F2P bind us together as a community—people make guides, videos, and even clans centered on F2P skilling, because it contains a whole different set of methods than the ones members use to level up. Thus, a community is born. In their most recent FAQ on this subject (16-17-732-63382107), Jagex pretends that such a community doesn't exist; that non-members should be categorically branded as bots. But that's not true. We do exist, and they're forcing us to dispense with what WE like about the game for their utilitarian process of assimilation. At the very least, they could have opened up the coding data to us so that we could create our own hiscore system. That way, the pure F2P community would at least have a ghost of a chance at survival. But they're even denying us that. I'm not even going to call it indefensible—it's just sad.

Here's to hoping that this gets repealed at some point, like the removal of the wilderness.

Thought I'd share this:

Not quitting until I max out, even if nobody but me can see it. Come too far to quit now. Ahem Just something to consider But this article assumes that the target believes in averting loss. The thing is that I don't avert it; I accept it as inevitable, and will embrace it when that time comes. I'm not that attached to this game. I only play it when I'm not working on coursework, and once all that's over I'll be actively searching for a job. Runescape, if it's still around by then, will just fill the small gaps in between. When it dies, it dies. I will then look upon that time in my life and think of it as one where I had fun playing the game and interacting with members of its community, even if all that is gone now. The only reason I don't play games besides Runescape is because I don't like any other games. It's kept me entertained enough since 2004, and that was the last time I ever bought a handheld or console (and games for either). Life is a lot easier when you understand and accept the impermanence of all things. I just take things as they come, and smile fondly while thinking of them when they're no longer here.

Not quitting until I max out, even if nobody but me can see it. Come too far to quit now.

W13 of Zybez reported this:

I was just thinking that myself, to be honest.

You nailed it.

I'm still not quitting either but I can't help but feel that this is totally unfair. They should honestly just make an F2P hiscores or something if they think that we're "cluttering" the existing one. This is sad and incredibly disappointing. You might consider lending your support to this thread: 14-15-73-63376382 EDIT: I wonder what Popo will do?

Ankous drop them like no tomorrow.

The first song in that vid is "Loca People" by Sak Noel. ;)

I've been waiting so long for you to (hopefully) start contributing to this thread. Oh happy day. :)

Now that is impressive. ;) Amiricle has been on P2P worlds; I remember someone posted a picture of them being in one, either on this thread or the other F2P one. Lynxs0 has definitely been P2P. I remember looking him up several years ago and even then, way before dungeoneering came out, his total exp didn't add up. Pzs has been a very good friend of mine for over 3 years and I can confirm that he has never been P2P. Don't know about the others, although Mistyblue44 looks like a familiar name...wasn't she formerly a top F2P contender?

Agreed. Keep in mind that Mendark 9 quit in June 2006, and he got his 97 runecrafting by solo running air runes...Artemk2005, the first F2P to 99 rc, got his achievement the same way. As someone who started in 2004, I understand where you're coming from and agree with you: 99s in the old days were much harder, and perhaps even more respectable, than nowadays. You had to cook your fish one by one. You couldn't rest to regain your energy; you had to wait out the full 14(?) minutes. There was no GOP or FoG. Indeed, prayer seems to be the only skill that has thus far withstood the test of time.

I guess it shows desensitization to a big problem in this game. That's what happens after it becomes both so commonplace and apparently condoned—maybe even tacitly endorsed, at least as a business venture—by the administrators. When I have time to get on and train firemaking, all I see around me are bots, starting their lines in the middle of the FoG lobby, mechanically intercepting my own lines, etc. And I just think to myself, "That's just the way it is now. Money talks, and apparently it walks too, because these guys are walking moneymakers for Jagex. Maybe not the ones around me, but their counterparts who chop ivys and farm herbs." You just get kind of numbed to the whole thing after a while. It's also really killed the sense of community in this game. If you're not already in a clan or don't have irl friends who play (I started playing this game with 8 irl friends. After 7 years of playing, my last irl friend finally quit a month ago), it must feel really lonely walking around cities and seeing hardly anything but macroers and autotalkers. I'm somehow reminded of Brave New World...

If this approach works, it will only be to stop the annoying ads...but whatever makes money, I guess. Player experience isn't nearly as big a factor as it used to be.

I'd suggest making tiaras. 6,5 gp per xp using air talismans. Combine this with varrock teleport and you will get 17k per hour. Meanwhile merchant something and you'll earn lost money back. I agree with the tiara method. I'm currently doing body tiaras just to 75 for now, but it's made the process all the more bearable.

From what I got out of the last link (http://www.runescape.com/kbase/guid/refer_a_friend), a referrer can take advantage of this multiplier even if they are non-members. Did you guys read it the same way?

You might be thinking of Babylon. It is a pure F2P clan, and to join, you must have all F2P stats ranked on the hiscores.

If we already have "normal" runecrafting robes, I think it's only plausible for an upgraded set of "master" robes to be P2P only.

Google Translate can be of assistance in foreign worlds. :)

Mine was mining, and boy did it feel good. I deliberately got one of the hardest F2P 99s out of the way so that it would basically be smooth sailing from there on out. I got smithing a couple of months ago, but it didn't feel that satisfying, and that's a really sad thought considering 99 smithing was one of my main goals when I first started to seriously play Runescape in 2004. Back then, the thought of being able to make full rune seemed really enticing. I know one top F2Per, Bromotoffis, used to literally fill out bulk orders for warring clansthey would specify how many sets of full rune their clan needed, he'd make them, and would get paid a hefty sum. That thought just seems so dated and picturesque now...hardly realistic. And I have a feeling the rest of my 99s will feel the same waywhich is a depressing thoughtprobably due to the game's ever-increasing efficiency factor, as Lordrexrules noted on the Top 250 F2P List thread. But going back to mining for a bit: I'm really glad I got it when I did. I literally mined iron ore from about 70 to 84 mining (the small wildy mine directly north of Edgeville), and from 84 to 99 I mined coal in the mining guild. I didn't powermine at all and banked all my ores (which served to form most of my cashpile, and probably played a big role in the feeling of relief I got when mining was over). I got 99 mining in October 2010; I had been mining in a Brazilian PvP world for over a year, because even then the other worlds were overrun with bots. If it had taken me longer than February 2011, I would have been out of luck, because that's when PvP worlds were removed. I probably would have just tried foreign worlds and hoped to get lucky with a sparsely populated mining guild.