An Essence of Skills Divided

[Gandorf61]

To the date there are 24 skills in Runescape, 8 of them being combat. While each skill is unique in its own way there is always people who hate it and people who love it.

 

 

 

Some skills like prayer, cooking, firemaking, and fletching are disliked because they are "buyable" skills.

 

 

 

Other times a skill is thought to be a "noob skill" because too many people level it. Sometimes skills are respected for being long and hard and other times hated for the repetitive tasks it gives you.

 

 

 

Several skills like firemaking and slayer are useless in a way because leveling them really offers you nothing new. Sure you can burn a new log but there needs to be more incentive for some skills.

 

 

 

What I'm really getting at is what makes up a good skill? You can't please everyone but for a skill to be truly satisfying for the majority of the runescape players what should it have?

 

 

 

Should it cost money or make money? Should it use many other skills or be a stand alone one? And most importantly how fun is the skill?

 

 

 

These are all factors in many skills but what is a good guideline for all skills? Maybe if we can decide that ourselves Jagex will be able to fix the old skills and make new ones good for everyone.

[Le_Fay]

Summoning is a good skill in my opinion.

 

 

 

It's relatively fast and easy to train, yet is limited by the charm gathering, so you can't really get it to 99 in say, one week with casual play. It offers new "items" very often along the way, and these "items" are useful at both low, medium and high levels. It's not exactly buyable and it's not exactly a freebie.

[Master_Smither]

First things first....

 

 

 

Slayer is not useless the new monster you can kill offers a new drop which can be worth over 1M. Slayer brought us the whip which I am sure you have used and it has made training a lot easier since before it. So slayer is not useless and it never will be. But firemaking is useless.

 

 

 

A good skill is something that offers a challenge whether that is money or just staying patient while you get it's slow XP. But it should have an end reward that can help you with alot of the other things in runescape. Like construction sure you dump alot of money into it but you can get teleport portals, fixing barrows cheaper, and many other things. Now the oppisite of that is runecrafting a profit skill that in the end can make you hundreds of million. Both of these skills have a great end reward that can enhance your gaming.

 

 

 

Now look at theiving there realy isn't much use for it besides a skill cape, quest requirements, and seeds if you like to steal from farmers. Unlike most skills there isn't much of an end reward to it making it almost useless to everyone. Now Jagex does try to add on to useless skills like the addition of the adze which requires a moderatly high firemaking level but then again firemaking isn't hard.

 

 

 

Now for whether it should use other skills.. I think yes every skill should except the collection skills of course. Making it use other skills brings the element of challenge to the skill especially if the item is untradable that you need. So yes I think they should require atleast 1 other skill.

 

 

 

Now for fun that is relative to the person doing the skill so it depends realy. Thats why they make a variety of different skills that way some appeal to other and some don't. So I realy can't say how much fun should be added into a skill as long as it's not too much of a challenge or grinding. It should also have one minigame that involves the skill so that you can train it and have a break from the normal cycle like what GOP did.

 

 

 

But I think the main thing for a good skill is a reward that is useful to many aspects of the game.

[r4ngewarlord]

i like skills that have many uses and those that have let you do new things as you get more levels.

 

i also think summoning and magic are good because they help most skills with bob, skill boosts and teleports.

[Kenneh]

I like skills with new stuff along the way , but i also has 97 slayer and 99 firemaking...

[Obtaurian]

I believe Summoning is a very good skill, as explained above.

[Gandorf61]

First things first....

 

 

 

Slayer is not useless the new monster you can kill offers a new drop which can be worth over 1M. Slayer brought us the whip which I am sure you have used and it has made training a lot easier since before it. So slayer is not useless and it never will be. But firemaking is useless.

 

 

 

 

I can't argue with you that the drops are great if you get lucky, and I do love and use my whip for everything. However the point is the skill is just telling us what to kill. These monsters could be used for non-slayer but just because the skill exists they have a requirement to kill them. Basically its telling you that you have to kill x amount of monsters before you can slay this beast. I mean what does that accomplish? Practise makes perfect? As soon as you get lvl 85 from killing thousands of monsters you are suddenly ready to kill the greatly feared Abyssal Demon, a monster that is not even as strong as a Mithril Dragon which has no slayer requirement? It just seems unnecessary to me.

 

 

 

Even though it is kind of a cool skill like firemaking and thieving it just needs more of a purpose in my opinion.

 

 

 

Well this was supposed to be about all the skills so I'll end my little thought on slayer there.

 

 

 

I'd have to agree about summoning though. Sure many people hate it due to affecting your combat level and think it's a waste of time but in reality it adds something on to almost every skill and fits into the game really nicely. One of the best skills next to construction in my opinion. However a downfall to construction, summoning, and even prayer is that is costs so much. It would seem more balanced if it didn't use up every gold piece many people have. It shouldn't be a cheap skill though, just not as expensive as it is now.

[Master_Smither]

Your 58 slayer so I don't get how you can actually make a finally decision of whether slayer is useless or not. It mixes up training making it more enjoyable. The purpose of slaying is to add another element to combat making it harder to get drops because you have to have a certain level to kill the monster for it. Limiting it to people with a high combat and a high slayer not just a high combat. So basically it's a way to reward people who don't power train or sit at PC for days. Again your only 58 slayer and 97 combat and it's not right for you to rate slayer on whether it's useless or not since you can't even attack the tougher monsters yet. Also yes abby demons are easy but the whip is a rare drop and it takes time to get due to their HP level and the fact that well it's kind of rare.

[wurmskin]

A good skill for me is a skill which has mechanics and content that is well thought out and works well with the many other features available in RuneScape.

 

 

 

I don't think it matters whether or not it makes money or uses money up because Jagex have already proven to us that a good skill can be either of the two. Runecrafting and Construction are two skills which are completely opposite in the sense that a player tends to make large amounts of money when RCing while if you decide to level construction, you're guaranteed to lose quite a bit of cash. However, despite their differences, both of them are much loved parts of the game because they offer so much to players that its insane to neglect leveling them. With RCing, there's not only the satisfaction of leveling such a respected skill to have a high level on, but it also does wonders to fatten your cash pile. With Construction, the benefits of a POH is well worth the money you spend to get to a level because of the ridiculous amounts of content that the houses brought along with them.

 

 

 

So pretty much, the things that I personally think make a skill "good" are: the rewards, the mechanics and content offered and how well it fits in with already existing content in the game.

[Gandorf61]

Your 58 slayer so I don't get how you can actually make a finally decision of whether slayer is useless or not. It mixes up training making it more enjoyable. The purpose of slaying is to add another element to combat making it harder to get drops because you have to have a certain level to kill the monster for it. Limiting it to people with a high combat and a high slayer not just a high combat. So basically it's a way to reward people who don't power train or sit at PC for days. Again your only 58 slayer and 97 combat and it's not right for you to rate slayer on whether it's useless or not since you can't even attack the tougher monsters yet. Also yes abby demons are easy but the whip is a rare drop and it takes time to get due to their HP level and the fact that well it's kind of rare.

 

 

 

I guess its just the element of having to kill different monsters to kill another monster that seems pointless to me. But since Runescape isn't reality it doesn't really matter in the long run. It's not the best skill ever but it certainly does have its uses. Being able to kill dozens of different monsters shows that you have the ability to fight different foes in many environments and situations. Also kind of entertaining too. Guess you won me over. :

 

 

 

Nothing is as useless as firemaking though and glad to see that nowone disagrees with that. =P

[Obtaurian]

 

 

 

I guess its just the element of having to kill different monsters to kill another monster that seems pointless to me. But since Runescape isn't reality it doesn't really matter in the long run. It's not the best skill ever but it certainly does have its uses. Being able to kill dozens of different monsters shows that you have the ability to fight different foes in many environments and situations. Also kind of entertaining too. Guess you won me over. :

 

 

 

Your character does not know how to kill certain monsters, so the masters train you to do so. That's the point of Slayer. As you said yourself, "practice makes perfect."

[cat666]

All skills are good.

 

 

 

Just different people have different opinions on what makes a skill good.

[Misterknowitall]

Firemaking :arrow: Inferno Adze

[electrone0]

Fishing anyone? Takes months to 99 (properly, not barb), yields decent profit and food for later use

[@Dan3HitU]

Summoning is probably the best skill there is on the game, and I'm sure Jagex will add even more familiars as time goes on to assist in every skill possible.

[Everyonedies]

Theiving used to be a very important skill back in RS1. It was the only way to get lots of nature runes and blood runes and it was also a decent way to get coins and chaos runes.

[bbjoe282]

But since Runescape isn't reality it doesn't really matter in the long run.

 

then why even make this thread? Also, you need to stop arguing with people who have clearly bested you.

[T. Skill]

I think that in order to make a skill that pleases *everyone* it needs to be a skill that:

 

 

 

1) Is profitable(maybe not immediately but at least at higher levels so there's an incentive to train it)

 

 

 

2) Isn't "buyable" so people don't complain that it's a 'noob' skill and that's their reason for not liking it(terrible reason though tbh)

 

 

 

3) Has many various ways to level that have XP on par with if you just "grinded" it so it's not extremely boring(mini games are good for this)

 

 

 

4) Utilizes other skills and isn't stand alone - the problem with stand alone skills is that after awhile they lose their luster(not all, Summoning has it's uses for everything even if it can be considered a stand alone skill). For instance, Hunter is a great skill, in my opinion(could use an update though), that provides the materials for the fastest Ranged XP in the game, although since other than that it really doesn't mingle with other skills some people don't like it. A lot of people seem to think that skills HAVE to have a "pair" i.e. Fishing/Cooking, Farming/Herblore, Woodcutting/Firemaking/Fletching ect.

 

 

 

These are what I think needs to be in a skill to please the masses, although personally I don't need each of these elements to please me.

[blakdragon39]

I think that all the skills have something good about them! I like training almost every one of them. Except for theiving... I really can't stand it. :( It's one of my two skills that I never got up to 70 before I quit because of school and work. :XD: :( Also, since people seem to be talking about slayer, I love slayer! It's my fave. :D

[Dharockslayer]

I actually thought Hunter was pretty fun...

 

 

 

Anyway, what I think that a skill needs is variety in training ( Noone wants a skill where you have to level from <70 to 99 with one viable option ).

 

Which is why I think slayer is a good skill.

 

It needs lots of uses, both for other skills and in combat.

 

It shouldn't be all that repetive to train, you're not fooling anyone if you're making a skill where you have to stand still and automatically work logs with a knife and try to make it 'fun'.

 

 

 

Above all, it needs to be fun. I won't train runecrafting because it isn't fun.

[Shadiochao]

Eh, I understand what you mean about Slayer. It seems it would fit in more as a minigame than a skill, to me.

[Shelby_Polo]

One of your questions seemed to catch my eye, as I've thought about it often before: Should more skills make money?

 

 

 

Yes, I think Jagex has lost sight of this; probably because too many people would take advantage of something (because we do, do it). But back in the day, like early RSC day, skills were meant to be trained to make you money/be successful; not, all together, just show it off.

 

 

 

Back in the day, you could make money off of almost any skill; yes, obviously not skills like prayer but you know what I mean.

 

It's probably because of how many people play the game, because of people like merchants, because of "nerfs" Jagex makes. But all-in-all, it would be nice to play a Runescape that was 'right'. IMO

[Soma2035]

Your 58 slayer so I don't get how you can actually make a finally decision of whether slayer is useless or not. It mixes up training making it more enjoyable. The purpose of slaying is to add another element to combat making it harder to get drops because you have to have a certain level to kill the monster for it. Limiting it to people with a high combat and a high slayer not just a high combat. So basically it's a way to reward people who don't power train or sit at PC for days. Again your only 58 slayer and 97 combat and it's not right for you to rate slayer on whether it's useless or not since you can't even attack the tougher monsters yet. Also yes abby demons are easy but the whip is a rare drop and it takes time to get due to their HP level and the fact that well it's kind of rare.

 

 

 

Mixing up training doesn't always make it more enjoyable. All you're really doing is changing one or two pieces of equipment, and changing scenery. Other than that it's still "Click on monster. Wait until monster dies. Pick up drop." Unless you're a more ambitious slayer, going after K'ril for lesser demon tasks or Kalphite Queen for Kalphite tasks, training is really still just training... that is, dull as hell. I'd much rather get it over with and train on a faster monster than switch spots every hour.

 

 

 

Slayer as a skill isn't really useless. In my opinion, it's more like prayer or summoning. You train it not because you're using it but because you WANT to train it. Once you have it, you can use it. You CAN train slayer while using it... but you don't have to. Much like prayer and summoning, you CAN collect bones from monsters while praying against them, but you don't have to.

 

 

 

While training slayer, my favorite monsters are:

 

 

 

Lesser Demons, Kalphites, Dagannoths. Guess what? No slayer monsters on the list. It doesn't mean I don't like to fight them, it just means I prefer not training on them... and thanks to task switching, I can choose to switch them away for tasks I prefer.

 

 

 

Slayer has some great benefits like using the slayer mask on monsters you want to kill, or getting your own replacement dragon boots, but it's one of those disjointed skills where you don't assuredly train it when you're using it.

[Krampell]

The best skills imo is skills that both take long time and that you can't buy ceaply. Like Slayer and Farming.

[pulli23]

One of your questions seemed to catch my eye, as I've thought about it often before: Should more skills make money?

 

 

 

Yes, I think Jagex has lost sight of this; probably because too many people would take advantage of something (because we do, do it). But back in the day, like early RSC day, skills were meant to be trained to make you money/be successful; not, all together, just show it off.

 

 

 

Back in the day, you could make money off of almost any skill; yes, obviously not skills like prayer but you know what I mean.

 

It's probably because of how many people play the game, because of people like merchants, because of "nerfs" Jagex makes. But all-in-all, it would be nice to play a Runescape that was 'right'. IMO

 

THIS, describes my feelings about RS: and why I stopped playing...

 

 

 

With the limitation of GE (ie a price can never drop below alch value) many skills/training methods are by definition a loss of money!

 

 

 

And since I don't care AT ALL about looks/stats/show off, I only wanted to become "better" at the game, the whole point was gone for me! (seriously how does smithing/high magic makes you better in other skills?)