thejollyroger

That claim is rather interesting. I was actually under the impression that restricted trade saved RuneScape. In one of their videos last year, I quite clearly recall them stating that the game was in "terminal decline" in 06-07. To the best of my knowledge the issue was bots paying for membership via credit card fraud, and then Jagex having to return the money, giving Jagex quite a hit and ultimately leaving them with no choice but to place restricted free trade on the game. But if you have anything that indicates that was not the case, I would be interested to read it. No question that restricted trade had an impact. I'm going to agree with Arceus, however, because that's precisely what I remember jmods saying officially. Although the changes to the Wilderness received the most attention, it was my understanding that the Duel Arena had been abused. Staking was used to launder farmed money. Restricted trade wasn't the cause, then, but the effect. It was the solution Jagex chose for a serious problem. I'm going to bet that some of the updates to the Duel Arena are still rooted in past abuse. When a friend of mine was hacked, I was feeling plucky and talked to the invading player... the mere mention of "I ran out of money staking" was a dead, dead giveaway. More like 2004. Their previous arrangement was with Real Networks and the RealArcade division. A trivial distinction, I'm sure, because RealArcade occupied a very similar niche that Miniclip did; the RealArcade downloadable client had 2 links to world servers. I thought Real did very well by Jagex with some quality ads that spoke of membership benefits and account security. Anyways, what grabbed my attention MUCH, much more was their deal with WildTangent later. I was flabbergasted, really, because WildTangent was infamous in the very late '90s and early part of the Aughties with spyware. I didn't quit RS, but I was very concerned Jagex was publicly dealing with a company with such a notorious reputation... a rep that had yet to be cleaned up IMO.

YES. So much so, on many, many levels. It's getting to be trite now, but we've long discussed the problems of pandering to a whiny vocal minority. This is also a bit cliché, but I'll say it again: Think Like A Developer Don't Just Complain, Offer Solutions Maybe I'm expecting a lot with #1, but at least here, I know there are players that have some understanding of the game code, and could offer ideas within the context of what's already there. Too often I see big ideas, but without some understanding of how it would impact the game. #2 should be a given: it was a rule of the Rants board here for quite some time. There were many reasons why I praised the Clan Chronicle, and one of the biggest is that I think the community still has a lot of power to seize opportunity and be accountable for what they want. A friend of mine said once that a lot of game content seemed to go much better when communities decided how they would interact with it, instead of waiting for Jagex to tell them how. This is the strength of fansite communities and clans-- to actively decide what their enjoyment should be. I'm a bit sad the Order of Cabbage has collapsed; they had a very strong reputation for making a lot of fun with the extent of F2P content that existed when they started. Yes, I know a lot of players moved on to membership later, but I think it was significant. I say this with both articles in mind. I think it's high time the community started asking this: "Because Jagex is playing with the big boys now, what can we do to be better regarded in the MMO world? Can we do better than our current reputation of whiny, immature brats that are always the butt of jokes? Can we show them that we are more?" It's time to step up. I'm doing what I can-- although you know I've got my grumpy "time to beat the kids with my walking stick" days. Stand with me.

Amazing. I remember meeting her here sometime back, real sweetheart. I can't remember if my last sighting of Trixstar was after Laikrob's post, but I seem to remember his postings were much less frequent here in recent years. I saw him in a clan of mostly adult players we were in, but I don't care to say more than that. Generally speaking, the generation gap gets to be too much after a while. Don't believe the stereotype that mortgage, spouse and/or kids ends the game time. For those of us still playing, there's often a difference in playing style, and so we may create some distance... e.g. things we are still interested in bore younger players, and what interests the younger players, we may find annoying or not our style.

Just a quick clarification: HikariKnight maintains the unofficial Linux port of the client, so most of us don't have to pick apart the code. Otherwise, yes, this is what's done every time we use the updater module he's included: we have options to extract this either from the Windows version, or the Mac version. I haven't tried extracting from the Mac client-- I usually just opt to extract the Windows one, which is an .msi file. By default, the ported client uses OpenJDK, that is, the open source version of the Java development kit. I think this is the same as the main Windows client. HK has set it up to allow it to use Oracle's version, but since Oracle hasn't sufficiently patched v7 against security vulnerabilities, I don't personally recommend anyone do that (Windows, Mac, *or* Linux, for that matter). As far as I know HK is working on HTML5 issues, mostly within the context of the Bestiary beta and the RS3 beta (soon, not 100% sure right now). If anything, if you're curious, the Linux thread is very much worth a read.

Not interested in the previous drift, so responding to replies on something I posted earlier, concerning abyssal/vine whip... C'mon, man... if you've played other games, at best, the whip's strength was disarming an opponent (NWN1 is one example I can think of.) It's not going to be equivalent to a blade, ever. Well, if you want to get truly nitpicky and realistic-- yes, whips are wielded one-handed in real life. But with the possible exception of the Chinese chain whip, most are not even practical combat weapons. Real whip stunts don't include off-hand weapons or shields, either; whips need distance to even be effective in combat situations. Looking over the Attack, Strength, and Defense abilities over and over again, I changed my mind. A whip doesn't seem to fit any of them well at all. But players seem to be waiting for dual-wield whips, and since Jagex says they can't animate an off-hand whip yet, we got a modified Excalibur. I tend to think the whip should just be modifed in some way instead of trying to come up with an off-hand version. While the plain abyssal whip was relied on for speed, EoC neutered that benefit and eliminated the original benefits of the vine whip. Chances to poison and effective poison damage are much different now that they are bound to quaffed potions, not weapon application. Vine call special was area effect damage + poison, that is not effectively replicated by Abilities and Thok-style poison. I haven't seen any real problems yet-- it was especially a boon to me using it at Waterfiends riding out a Familiarisation triple charms boost. Got 300+ crimsons where I'd normally average around 150. I have him set to keep golds, and in all the Slayer tasks I've done, I seemed to get blues, crimsons, and greens okay.

It especially worries me that this is pointed out again and again. But what concerns me more is the way these weapons are maintained. There is little to no connection to skilling at all. At best, Smithing reduces the cost of repair at an Armour Stand; they essentially follow the model that was introduced by the Barrows. (Zaros-type armours, weapons, and Port armours follow this model, too.) But Jagex followed a different route with certain Dragon armours and Spirit shields, as they require certain Smithing and/or Prayer levels. Why can't they use this structure more? I appreciate chitin is one option to repair drygore weapons, but there is no Smithing requirement-- and why must in-game money supercede any chitin? I run into players that sincerely believe that the only equipment of value must be dropped by monsters. This came about when bossing rose to importance, and I'd honestly say bossing seems to have eclipsed player killing. I mean, hey, it used to be that PKing was all about full rune sets, and at least those could be player-made. So I am going to jump to the conclusion, as I see it, that the rise of bossing tells players: "Hey, skillers don't matter. Kill monsters for all your gear, and even if a few player-made equipments are decent, you should still kill monsters for money so you don't have to bother wasting time with another player." Skillers used to matter at least a little-- but the way the game is structured now, the message seems to be combat first, take the monies to do the non-combat skills second. It's a real slap in the face to those of us who like skilling, and our ways of playing seem to be quickly forgotten.

@Two 3 or Not 2 Three How utterly presumptuous and subjectively self-serving. This bias discounts so much of the history of the fansite community. I mean, you've got to be kidding me, Hamtaro. Did you forget the silly furor some players blasted over server-side offering bones on guilded altars? I mean, really, are repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) are worth faster xp/hr? I've had some RSIs before... and I don't think they are fun. That's the only thing I can think of on the suggestions that skilling should have more skill than the new interfaces: "Dear Jagex, more RSIs like we used to have, please." I was amazed to see qeltar echoing these sentiments at the Runescoop (previously Truthscape) closed forum (thanks again, Alg). I used to admire his commentary and meticulous guides, but I find it difficult to respect him now joining such a sweeping and childish statement. It smacks of "I am a bored, self-entitled brat who is just going to whine regardless." I am not suggesting that Charles M. Kozierok is a brat, but I am suggesting his view could be considered to enable players that complain like brats. Really now... a complaint of not having time to socialize and be distracted? I don't think that's what you would want if the next breath is "it's too easy now" instead of "oh, now I can socialize and be distracted." Two complaints, but not one solution. There never was a grand strategy in skilling that I can recall... and I strongly question that removes the idea of fun. I am one who sometimes found it delightfully mind-numbing in all its grinding. Unless you want to talk about merchanting having some strategy... but that's not what I'd call skilling. This community seems to have forgotten about other playing styles in this EoC, this emphasis on combat. Was Jagex's broad hint of "a certain fansite has been leaking passwords for some time now" in a seemingly forgotten news release some years back not enough? Oh yes, it's my tired old "yes indeed, Andrew Gower really did threaten Tip.It with a lawsuit over a Times article." I still think w13 of Zybez/RSC was a coward to rabbit punch Tip.It here ("we aren't like them" or some nonsense), but I am really dismayed when I see Times authors forget that although implied, Jagex gave Tip.It a stinging rebuke. Apparently enough was done to smooth things over, to improve, and to get the special "Platinum Fansite" badge, but I find such tones like yours arrogant... especially since the name of the fansite of that cowardly accuser is still filtered out in-game. There is no gratitude, nor humility. Why? Shall Tip.It remain a voice for the vocal minority of Whiny Little Brats? I think the community here can do much better, I really do. I think you in particular can do better, too. Ironically, I can still recall how lambasted stormveritas was about his "no more minigames" statements in his articles. But I know he likes Player-Owned Ports very much, and... well, I've already said that structure might be the future of skilling. Is it too much to ask to suggest alternatives, and explain how Jagex might employ them, rather than effete whining about what you find broken? @The Sixth Age - The Age of YOU A pleasant read. Please keep writing, Dracae, and thank your editors. Speaking of editing, Hawks, I would ask for a small consideration and request on formatting: the First Age... Sixth Age segment might have done well with slightly larger font and a list indent. Maybe the "The one who lost the most" could use a blockquote indent, too. The bolding (and italics) are a nice touch, really, but such are my suggestions to make them stand out a bit more. Oh, and I found "since most of us (when playing a game) want to think we are the most important thing since sliced bread" one of the most hilarious things I've read all day. So true... although most games ARE set up that way, The World Wakes stated it in such an obvious manner. But at least sliced bread doesn't whine as much as some players do...

No problem... it was rather minor and didn't detract from the quality of the article. Again, although I'm not in a clan, I look forward to the next installment.

Okay dude, you win. Whatever. I don't feel the argument really furthers my point that I liked to play in the old "self-sufficient" style. All I see is increasing combat content that involves smashing increasingly higher-leveled, higher-LP, "better-AI" (slowly using player Abilities) monsters that drop expensive weapons and armor that are needed to smash the next higher-leveled, higher-LP, "better-AI" monster... I literally don't have the pain threshold or nerves for twitchy adrenaline-junky content like that. I'm not the first adult player with health issues, either... where the hell are they, anyways? Bosses for skilling? Oh yuk. Honestly, I would need an example. About the only thing I can truly think of that comes remotely close is maybe Herblore Habitat, but I don't know what that's classified as, specifically. I mean, Herblore Habitat as far as doing all that's needed for catching all jadinkos and all god jadinkos for the Herblore/Farming/Hunter rewards. Or maybe doing Troll Invasion on the tower side, but who actually does that? Let's be honest: Runescape, as I've said numerous times, caters to casual, puzzle/organization, simulation, and time management playing styles that most MMOs just coast right over. And I think it's a mistake to try to impose combat concepts where the games Runescape is drawing from just don't do that at all. They are not the same, and never have been. I still look to Manage Thy Kingdom and Player-Owned Ports as structures that would accommodate these sorts of players fairly well without too much bot draw. But maybe Jagex has driven off those players, or the ones remaining went Old School and all that. But I'm a storyline sort of gamer, so that really just does not appeal to me... Any sort of Evolution of Skilling will probably have fairly little to do with Evolution of Combat. I'm honestly surprised players found skilling use for the Action Bar, but powerdumping probably will be the extent of it. Nope, nope, nope... I honestly envision the MtK/PoP interface used more often.

Helmet isn't much, but I consistently use gold bracelet of precision on my loadouts. I've been meaning to bind sunstriker boots, too... haven't remembered to do it. I've used boots of absorption when I get them... haven't tried to collect any hard data but I like to believe they make a difference. A berserker approach, mostly for rushing, I guess. I Dunge solo-- once in a while I'll do duo and I don't feel like justifying why (stuff it, all of you that whined about the XP rebalancing). I've paid membership consistently since about 2006 and I'll take the few accomodations Jagex grants me. I still fully expect one of you to tell me how inefficient bracelets of precision and special boots are but I really can't be bothered to care if that's truly so. It suits me well for the probably slower pace of Dungeoneering I do. There, my full-on grumpy for the day. I am a bit bummed that dual wield wasn't better but dual wield is rather limited in the main game anyways... and for the record, I think an extra bind slot for 2hers makes the most sense to me, because then weapon + shield, 2h alone, and dual wield are all consistently two slots. Slightly off-topic and more towards main game: I still say Jagex should make a 2h version of the abyssal whip/vine whip. Another discussion for another thread, I'm sure.

A very interesting development, indeed. I really do think this segment could do much to improve Tip.It's standing within the broader player community, and promote some discussion that is more positive in tone. I haven't had much good experience with clans at all, being a more solitary and distant sort. But the experience I did have seemed fairly well reflected in the articles, and not in any truly bad ways. All of the articles seemed relevant to what I remember, although I thought "Clans and Devastating Conflict" was especially important, because I've seen fights and rifts in clans over very trivial (IMO) things. The other thing I starkly noticed was a lack of PvP voices. Please excuse me for a moment as I say quite harshly that I never much cared for the PK crowd, although I occasionally dabbled in it with players I trusted. It is my personal view that some of the worst immaturity and childish behavior rested with that community, but I must acknowledge the place it once had. It was very strong when I first came to Tip.It in 2004. Ironically, I think the recent emphasis on bossing is what damaged most all other niches of playing, and not just PvP. I'll leave examples for another time, but I was quite puzzled to read some PvM clans suggesting that the God Wars Dungeon should be added to "Old School" servers. As far as I recall, it was the beginning of not just bossing, but profit from it-- and all such profit should be directly sunk into non-combat skilling, with no circular means of return (straight moneysinks). That is not what those I know shifted to Old School want at all. GWD was the tipping point. I found the "Interview with Louise" refreshing, however (Arceus, that should be 'non-combat Stealing Creation' in the first paragraph, not 'non-combat Soul Wars', right? All other references say 'Stealing Creation'). But I'm biased-- I rather like clans that keep open chats to the community... see, they allow me to continue to participate without any messy requirements that health, family commitments, and such might keep me from. Anyways, to strike straight on point, it was a nice sign that some players still quite enjoy cooperative play and find competition in some things an impediment. A grand and pleasant contrast to some crashing bore I used to know that claimed such chats were cheating and worthy of reporting.

@Behind the Scenes - April Awesome? Debatable. Immodest? Yes, I can think of examples for years... truer, far truer, Arceus, than you know, even said in satirical jest. Be mindful, Tip.It... your days of "we're all that" passed long ago. I'm surprised the general tenor of the forum posts hasn't changed too much, although I *will* say the quality of moderation has much improved. Much more practical and less heavy-handed. I'm not ashamed at all to say it's much better than I did, but yes, you'll just have to keep guessing. @Beginner's Guide to EoC [Pt. 2: (Re)Learning to Fly] Suggesting Dungeoneering as a testing method to learn EoC mechanics-- interesting. I have yet to really test dual wield implementation in Daemonheim, but from what I've read so far (mostly here, kudos) it seems an appropriate comparison even in that aspect.

I don't see how an open source browser rendering engine is going to have a negative impact on a modern markup language (specifically, the fifth revision of HTML -- Hyper Text Markup Language). Now... I'm not a coder, but what I am gleaning from articles about Blink and HTML5 is that there should be better standardization and more transparency on how the code works. Less stuff in proprietary black boxes/lack of documentation. If the Wikipedia article I read is correct, and Ian Hickson (of Google) is HTML5's editor as of 2012, I'm not surprised Chrome/Chromium is at the forefront of all this, and that Jagex recommends players beta testing the Bestiary (which is in beta right now) to use that browser for testing. Maybe someone who is much more conversant with HTML/XML and WebKit/KHTML (which is what Blink is based on) can clarify some things here. At best it might take longer for cross-compatibility, i.e. that Jagex may need more work to do for other browsers. I remember a statement somewhere that said Firefox might be doable by summer.

It's a metric, Tim. Granted, I know that runners place a lot of importance on miles during their training (to use another example), but when they're running a race, the goal isn't "24k total", or however long the race is... it's the finish line. XP isn't my finish line. It's not even levels per se, it's access to a particular something, an ability to make or gather a certain item, etc. Then there are the completionist goals... and quite a few of them have fairly little to do with XP at all. Oddly enough, I was doing some of them before there was a cape that required them... Champion's Challenge scrolls, for one. So much for thinking outside the box.

I checked today, but didn't see an obelisk there... just a prayer altar. Trying to figure out what's up.

There has been some argument that in some ways, it IS populated sparsely by mostly long-term veterans, and the gaming industry still doesn't take it seriously (not quite left behind to begin with, maybe?)

Semantics. I know what's important to me, and it's not the XP. It's what it grants me. Describe for me another part of the elephant, blind man.

I think I see what you're trying to say, but I don't agree. I've never leveled many skills for pure levels alone, which how I interpret your statement of "goal is xp". For Runecrafting alone, there were quite a number of goals I had that WERE NOT directly XP, including: Player-owned Port content (the end goal there will eventually be Seasinger Robes) Giant Pouch (from Abyssal area) Massive Pouch and other Runespan rewards. I use Wicked items along with agility clothes to make planking mahoganies easier by hot air balloon travel. I also plan to grab the greater runic staff for saving space in inventory when I need it (Dominion Tower, teleportation spells when gathering raw mats) My firemaking goals included: Inferno Adze (easier access to the Abyss while runecrafting, getting rid of logs while tree farming, although Bonfires help more now) I burn Shades and Vyres on a regular basis for making money AS well as getting Shattered Heart rocks for additional XP. I unlocked the full power of the Ivandis Flail before Blisterwood weapons were introduced, although that benefit gets poured back into the previously mentioned activity (burning for coin). I could go on and on, but I shouldn't have to. Now you may protest "most players don't play that way" but I am not most players-- and I would gather some don't play conventionally either. Although bossing and the EoC *have* made it harder to play this way, I say again that I do know some players who have gone "Old School" for much this reason; they'd rather go back to profit-driven skilling. Furthermore, I would argue that Runescape has cultivated a lot of different playing styles, some quite foreign to MMOs generally (but not at all uncommon to other types of games). I just don't buy leaning to conventional so-called wisdom and "that's the way everybody does it". I find it lazy, disingenuous, and even insulting. Even if this is Jagex's design-- they ignore these aspects at their business peril. We're already fighting stereotypes that this is a kid's game that is doomed to commercial collapse. (Gamers in general are already fighting stereotypes that video gaming is kid's stuff.)

Not even just because of nostalgia either; some people prefer the game's unique style from back then as well. And that's not even getting into the gameplay and community... Which is a funny thing about gaming, especially with multiplayer games, 'objectively better' doesn't necessarily result in a better game experience :razz: Well, this was said about RS1/Classic, too. I don't know if there are any that are actively playing it anymore, but I do see some avatars and signatures from it (Mercifull and ForsakenMage come immediately to mind...)

As far as timing... they most certainly do. Agility shortcuts aren't the only thing affected, either. C'mon, man, this has been noticed before, so it's not like some fluke new thing.

It's an old and stubborn stereotype, and it's perpetuated a lot of places... almost anywhere there's video gamer talk. Unfortunately, Sy, some of the most immature Runescape players I've met are adults, although, granted, when they talk harsh, they usually MEAN it (I'm guilty as charged, too) and know quite a bit of the implications of what they say will hurt. I've left a lot of communities aimed at or comprised largely of adults because of drama, or, much more importantly, they don't know how to deal with melodramatic emotions effectively. I recently left a clan led and run by adults that took a very hard sledgehammer approach to it. Actually, I think one of the most admirable things Jagex did was make some really good revamps of old quests, specifically F2P ones, add the Signature Heroes, and often create a member counterpart. I admit I cruised pretty easily through much of them, but the storylines were good... I'd say ESPECIALLY the Rune Mysteries/Rune Memories quests. Plus, those First Age robes were so TRON-looking! (Yes, pardon my fanboy moment, TRON was a big part of my childhood.) Now I have no idea what new players think, but, I'd hazard to guess if you put old and new versions of those quests side by side for comparison, new players would likely be more positive about the revamped versions. Thank you. No one seemed to listen when I pointed that out. I don't hate SoF per se but I do think Yelps is annoying as hell. But I very much like Solomon's, however, and I will continue to emphasize ad nauseam that I think it's a very worthy means for me to support the developers. And yes... that is honestly a very common business model. I can't wait for players to get jobs where their employers do stuff they find MUCH more reprehensible... and find it's bleedingly common. What I think a lot of players got stuck on was idealistic interpretations of old promises. So many forget, though, at least when they cried for Andrew Gower to return, is that they were MEAN and SPITEFUL to him. Insert my old beaten-to-a-pulp dead horse story about Andrew threatening a lawsuit here because of an unflattering Times article about bans (it's saved elsewhere, but is gone from the archives). He said, right on these forums, something to the effect of, "I'd rather code... I don't want to deal with managerial stuff." I mean, he PERSONALLY suggested an encypted flash drive passkey for Runescape on the RSOF and players, overall, howled with indignation because he dared to offer bank space as an incentive. He basically replied, "Oh, gee, never mind" but most seem to have forgotten that. So Andrew sold out. So what? He gets to do what he likes now... research and development, if I remember right. Ehhh... this game has a solid reputation of fansites practically engineering ways to play the game. Yeah... I said ENGINEERING. Maybe the average cut of a gamer doesn't crunch data or pore over strategies, but there are players that do. I mean, c'mon, Tip.It (yeah, all y'all)... we had gamers that loved to organize their banks (and then asked others to rate it), micromanage and OCD-sort their inventories, make words and patterns for Firemaking, etc. ... don't any of you remember the massive petition for bank tabs here? I mean, really. I guess helring is right, when the community drove these sorts of things, it went well, but when Jagex integrated things tighter to the game, things started to fail (Char's fm pattern challenges, Dionysius "The Wise Old Man" sorting out useless quest items, etc.) All y'all have forgotten a lot, or gamers, like rap music fans, have a short memory. Or something. Or I'm just a freak. Could be all three. So there was a sucker-punch and fansites have to start over with the bar raised higher. Yeah, a stable base would be good, but, I smell laziness, feigned indignation, etc.

I don't know about that... a clan I used to belong to had a lot of members move over to 07, and PvP hasn't been their focus for a long time. I was surprised to see even a few boss-crazy players spend some serious time. No, in my experience, I've seen a lot more players who preferred the old economy on skilling (make some profit instead of sinking coin into XP) head for "Old School".

You asked "why", I answered. What else do you want? To be more precise, it seems odd that catalytic runes don't have much use anymore, more so outside the Lunar spellbook. It also doesn't help that many players will get them from combat drops, NOT likely actual Runecrafting... because supposedly, Runespan is now the way to go (and yes, it's quick XP, all right). A friend of mine suggested that combat drops should be rebalanced against gatherable/raw items, so that there's incentive to gather them again. The way Jagex has things now, with skills effectively being a moneysink, is rather irritating to skillers... and I think that's why some went to '07, all nostalgia aside. Flaming arrows have been suggested before, long ago, and I might have been part of that discussion. (Bonfires were also discussed here, which we did get.) I'm not quite sure why it's never really been implemented, but Jagex seems to be fumbling too much with poison and disease right now to really consider other damage types outside Magic. Ice arrows are in the game (Temple of Ikov area), but not enough quantities to be meaningful. I suggested gem tips be changed to be independent of metal type so rangers could have some access to elemental-type damage, but... maybe you remember how well that went over. About the idea of skill-enhancing prayers-- interesting, but that niche seems to be filled by auras and scrimshaws right now, so I'm not sure how it would be implemented yet balanced by that existing niche. One thing that's always bothered me, albeit in a more combat way, is how priests aren't a discrete part of the combat triangle. They're always regarded as mages that happen to wield a mace once in a while. Healing of others is a Lunar spell, not a Prayer ability. I also have yet to see a guide that recommends putting Prayers on the Action bar or that using an amulet of zealots from Daemonheim is a worthwhile strategy. I dunno. Maybe we'll see something with god-affiliation updates, or Seren content.

granite/ancient mace? unless you mean weapons actually worth using Warhammers need a better second look, beyond a theoretical/'unreleased" dragon one. *shrug* (Torag's weapon is more of a maul now.)

I'm primarily a skiller, dude. I'm also in a hell of a lot of pain IRL. Don't piss me off. Think about it... if they brought back Energy Transfer, or changed Adrenaline pots, or introduced a weaker versions of Adrenaline (and made untradeable Adrenaline "Extreme Adrenaline"), there might be less complaints about the Adrenaline bar, and maybe reworked Lunar in certain ways, people would start taking Lunar mages as defensive support a little more seriously than the "I just want Vengeance to be a spe-shul PKer" crap we've had in the past. Or even a few instanced versions of the Modern/Lunar hybrid spellbook from Daemonheim... I haven't really looked to see if it factors into sinkholes... I'm already antisocial enough that the idea of playing with others, period, didn't lead me to look more closely at it. My gut and usually uncanny memory says it had little to no relevance.