Something to Ponder On

[Patr1ck]

Look around, everywhere you look in Runescape you see money or items worth millions of gp. Now think about it, "Where did all this money come from originally?". Was it a culmination of trillions of gp drops from monsters, or whas it thousands of people selling things to stores? Going back to the beginning of Runescape, It must have been very interesting to be their on the first day of Runescape as their was no other money in the game other than the standard 25gp in you bank. Just thought this was interesting, Post you thoughts.

[Neos_Matrix]

Back then, I'm sure the players battled monsters for the loot and gold then sold it. And then RS got more advanced.

 

 

 

Which I played back then :(

[compfreak847]

Two words. High Alchemy.

[Patr1ck]

Hmm, good point, but that's alot of high alchemy's which i'm sure were quite expensive, 300gp a cast.

[Sir_Kurity]

Yea high alchemy, plus selling items to stores (for some of the newer players)

 

 

 

Very little money is actually made from killing monsters...

[Esper_Jones]

Hmm, good point, but that's alot of high alchemy's which i'm sure were quite expensive, 300gp a cast.

 

 

 

Most natures aren't bought in stores.

 

 

 

Basically, here's a typical way to add a completely new 1k gp to the economy:

 

 

 

Mine Rune Essence -> Cut Magic Tree -> Pick Flax -> Craft Nature and 5 fires -> Cut Magic Long -> Spin Flax -> String Long -> Alch Long

 

 

 

Obviously, the same person doesn't do all these steps usually, but this would give a brand new 1k to the economy.

[Calzer101]

Oh wow I always use to imagine that too lolz. But I had completely no idea how they got enough money to get 55 magic even back then.. anyway nice topic :)

[acenator]

Hmm, good point, but that's alot of high alchemy's which i'm sure were quite expensive, 300gp a cast.

 

They might cost 300gp to cast, but that 300gp doesn't leave the game. It usually just changes hands and then whoever's alching brings even more cash into the game.

 

 

 

There are 3 ways to bring money into the game: selling things to shops, alching, and getting it from drops (coinshare might also bring money into the game, but I bet it takes more out than it brings in*). Since these are the only three ways and since they've all been around since the beginning (except maybe alching since I don't know what the first spellbook looked like), I would assume they are how all the money got into the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Coinshare can bring in money if a coinshare item's price is falling and nobody is buying the coinshared items (since the players who got the drop end up getting more than the item eventually sells for) and it can take money out when prices are stable or rising (since the item sells for more than the players who got the drop received). Since prices generally spend more time stable than falling drastically, I must assume that it takes out more than it brings in.

[pureprayer]

Hmm, good point, but that's alot of high alchemy's which i'm sure were quite expensive, 300gp a cast.

 

They might cost 300gp to cast, but that 300gp doesn't leave the game. It usually just changes hands and then whoever's alching brings even more cash into the game.

 

 

 

There are 3 ways to bring money into the game: selling things to shops, alching, and getting it from drops (coinshare might also bring money into the game, but I bet it takes more out than it brings in*). Since these are the only three ways and since they've all been around since the beginning (except maybe alching since I don't know what the first spellbook looked like), I would assume they are how all the money got into the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Coinshare can bring in money if a coinshare item's price is falling and nobody is buying the coinshared items (since the players who got the drop end up getting more than the item eventually sells for) and it can take money out when prices are stable or rising (since the item sells for more than the players who got the drop received). Since prices generally spend more time stable than falling drastically, I must assume that it takes out more than it brings in.

 

But if you get a z spear drop it doesn't add any money to the economy...

[r4ngewarlord]

if you go to the castle wars wall on a good world you can see heaps of people alching.

 

i wouldnt be surprised if a few mil came into the world each day from that.

[Mattie9999]

As you say the very first day of Runescape my guess would be selling things to the general store, probably from things dropped by monsters.

 

 

 

Some of the ideas mentioned I don't think would have been the case. Skilling as we know it today wouldn't have been an option, as for example, no-one had 75 woodcutting for mage trees, and besides, there would be no demand as no-one would have the skills to do anything with the logs.

 

Alching would come into effect maybe a few months later, but as it was the first day, no-one had 55 mage, and no-one had natures.

 

So, as I said, my guess would be combat drops being sold to the general store. E.g selling the bronze squares that goblins drop for 16gp or whatever it is they're worth.

 

Although, I guess some form of skilling would be things like mining and smithing, selling those products again to the general store.

 

 

 

~Mattie~

 

 

 

P.S The talk of essence is irrelevant as essence was brought out with the runecrafting skill, which was only releases at the start of RS2.

[Mike_Ike111]

Money, from "back then" was circulated in a much smaller group. There may not have been as much cash as there is now flowing in the market, though however each person had his own fair share of wealth.

 

Naturally, money came from selling drops from monsters. From what I remember, high alching wasn't anything popular. Magic was an incredible way to train combat with, and using it's combat spells was the most efficient way of training, so there was hardy any money circulating from Alching.

 

 

 

You also need to realize the dupe from 2003. Although Jagex did ban the main players, a lot of cash came from people duping Dragon Shield half's and selling them to the general store. All of the cash that was given away to players could not be traced by Jagex because it's item ID was as it always was.

 

 

 

 

 

Any and all cash brought into the game today is from Coinshare and High Alching. There are small trinkets of flow-age from others parts, such as Pest Control (as well as the old pest control, as it would give a huge amount of cash out.)

 

There is also a large amount of cash being drained from the game by skills and such. Jagex plays a huge part of the economy like an unjust government, but at least they care enough to try and fix what is broken.

[acenator]

Hmm, good point, but that's alot of high alchemy's which i'm sure were quite expensive, 300gp a cast.

 

They might cost 300gp to cast, but that 300gp doesn't leave the game. It usually just changes hands and then whoever's alching brings even more cash into the game.

 

 

 

There are 3 ways to bring money into the game: selling things to shops, alching, and getting it from drops (coinshare might also bring money into the game, but I bet it takes more out than it brings in*). Since these are the only three ways and since they've all been around since the beginning (except maybe alching since I don't know what the first spellbook looked like), I would assume they are how all the money got into the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Coinshare can bring in money if a coinshare item's price is falling and nobody is buying the coinshared items (since the players who got the drop end up getting more than the item eventually sells for) and it can take money out when prices are stable or rising (since the item sells for more than the players who got the drop received). Since prices generally spend more time stable than falling drastically, I must assume that it takes out more than it brings in.

 

But if you get a z spear drop it doesn't add any money to the economy...

 

When I say drops, I mean coin drops. Obviously, getting an item doesn't bring gp into the game, but if you collect all those coin drops (or even just some of them) you are helping to bring more cash into the game.

[Esper_Jones]

Some of the ideas mentioned I don't think would have been the case. Skilling as we know it today wouldn't have been an option, as for example, no-one had 75 woodcutting for mage trees, and besides, there would be no demand as no-one would have the skills to do anything with the logs.

 

Alching would come into effect maybe a few months later, but as it was the first day, no-one had 55 mage, and no-one had natures.

 

 

 

[...]

 

 

 

P.S The talk of essence is irrelevant as essence was brought out with the runecrafting skill, which was only releases at the start of RS2.

 

 

 

Replace Essence with the Nature Rune Chests. I know I spent hours there, selling Natures at 500 gp each to those who did alch things. We're talking about how the majority of money got into the game - it doesn't really change my point at all to replace magic longs with yew shorts or maples, et cetera.

 

 

 

In the beginning, most people sold things to the general stores and such - now, it's not so common.

[Commiesk]

Oh my goodness who remembers when the general store had a real purpose haha.

 

That huge Walmart just took complete control and wiped out the need for those mom and pop run stores.

 

 

 

But ya, nobody would buy a willow longbow (u) or cooked trout/salmon or other items like that back then. The general store was really the only option unless you wanted to lose massive monies with alchemies.

[JAMjE]

Hmm, good point, but that's alot of high alchemy's which i'm sure were quite expensive, 300gp a cast.

 

 

 

Most natures aren't bought in stores.

 

 

 

Basically, here's a typical way to add a completely new 1k gp to the economy:

 

 

 

Mine Rune Essence -> Cut Magic Tree -> Pick Flax -> Craft Nature and 5 fires -> Cut Magic Long -> Spin Flax -> String Long -> Alch Long

 

 

 

Obviously, the same person doesn't do all these steps usually, but this would give a brand new 1k to the economy.

 

 

 

A few things

 

No rune essence when Rs was started

 

No magic trees i believe?

 

And o.t I believe i earned my first 200gp in '02 by killing goblins and selling all their drops to the general store

 

I thought thats all r.s was

[Ezz]

I'm guessing 90% of all the GP today comes from High Alchemy.

 

 

 

Back in the days where RS started it was because people sold items to the store I guess.

[Itsjustagame]

you couldn't make nature runes in rsc, so we had to thieve them from the chests is ardougne, or telegrab them from the island in the wilderness.

 

A lot of people alched wheat in fields for lvls because the wheat was available, and they usually thieved the natures anyway.

[Everyonedies]

When runescape first started the only way to get coins was selling monester drops to the general store. Or of course to make more money you would take a sword back to the sword shop or a mace to the mace shop and get extra gp that way. Then "the" money maker was smithing iron and coal became steel plates that were then high alched. Nature runes were gotten but tele grabbing then from the isle out in the wild and then through theiving chests in ardy. Then for a while fletching became "the" money maker as explained above high aching of longbows. Now Making double natures i guess is "the" money maker but it relies on others make money some how to buy the nature runes.

[Omali]

High Alch brought a lot of money into the economy. Look at how many people are high leveled in Magic, then realize how many of them high alched their way there.

[langer]

Total value increases from woodcutting, mining and monster drops (coins, alchable items and hides).

 

 

 

GPs are actually coming from coins monster drops, alchemy and selling to shops (and trading to specific NPC).

 

 

 

A GS might be worth 20-70 mil, it does not bring any GPs to the economy until it is alched for a ridiculously low price.

[Misterknowitall]

"Daddy, where does Runescape gold come from?"

 

"Why, from JAGeX corp ufcourse!"

 

 

 

That's right! JAGeX made a bunch of pixels and named them gold. They then released them on the world wide web inside other pixels known as monsters. These monsters also carried other pixels known as items, wich in turn where worth gold too.

 

And thus started the RS economy.

[FirenLazah]

I've always wondered this my self. Probably from stores and monsters.

[wakka102]

high alchemy was the main inflammatory of the economy. I can remember when old school pking was at large and everybody was trying to get to 85 magic (I think that was the level) in order to get tele block or to get up into the 90's for ice spells. There would be tons and tons of people using high alchemy and it isn't always on bows. I sold many steel plates I used for training smithing and dragon-hide bodies from crafting to people planning on alching them, which would have generated at least 100m just between those two. Now imagine all the amounts of people doing exactly what I did if not more. That's how we have so much money in the game.

[spooferfish]

High alch - people use this to train to 99 mage, and it takes a lot of alchs

 

monster drops

 

Players selling things to stores

 

Money from quests/minigames/working for npcs (bringing wc tutor 22 cooked meat, ect..) - a few quests give money as a reward, then the stronghold of security thing

 

random events