Skillcapes - Advantageous or Disadvantageous?

[langer]

To bring new life to this topic, I've come up with a new discussion topic.

 

 

 

Should there be rewards/items of accomplishment for achieving, say 200M xp in a skill? If so, why? What advantages/disadvantages would it bring about?

 

 

 

I'll post my opinion after a while...

 

 

 

No, being at the top of the highscore is enough of a reward.

[Twibb]

I'm Advantageous towards these capes, even though I'm F2P.

 

 

 

It seems to me that people are only thinking skillcapes are bad if they're in a buyable skill, that truly doesn't take much effort from you at all, such as Firemaking, Cooking, or Smithing.

 

 

 

But think of others. Like Woodcutting. You, yourself, have to walk over to that tree, with your hatchet, and chop it down. You can't pay someone else to do it and get the experience from it. It doesn't work that way. It requires at least some effort on your part. This also applies to Fishing, Mining, and in my opinion, Runecrafting. You have to go yourself to that fishing spot, and even if you just stand there chatting or whatever, you still had to go over there to get your experience, you didn't pay someone else to get it for you. In Runecrafting, even though you can and likely will at some point buy the essence, you can't just sit at the exchange crafting those runes. You have to walk over to the altar and make them.

 

 

 

So, Skillcapes. Sometimes it seems like it can be earned. Other times they can just be bought. Skillcapes give people something to shoot for. It might even be a reason why they get membership. JaGeX isn't run by idiots, they know what they're doing, and they know how to get more people to sign up for the full game.

[Troacctid]

I'm Advantageous towards these capes, even though I'm F2P.

 

 

 

It seems to me that people are only thinking skillcapes are bad if they're in a buyable skill, that truly doesn't take much effort from you at all, such as Firemaking, Cooking, or Smithing.

 

 

 

But think of others. Like Woodcutting. You, yourself, have to walk over to that tree, with your hatchet, and chop it down. You can't pay someone else to do it and get the experience from it. It doesn't work that way. It requires at least some effort on your part. This also applies to Fishing, Mining, and in my opinion, Runecrafting. You have to go yourself to that fishing spot, and even if you just stand there chatting or whatever, you still had to go over there to get your experience, you didn't pay someone else to get it for you. In Runecrafting, even though you can and likely will at some point buy the essence, you can't just sit at the exchange crafting those runes. You have to walk over to the altar and make them.

 

I strongly disagree with this. I think you're misguided as to what takes more effort and what doesn't. It has very little to do with how much money you spend--moneymaking, as with whichever skill you're training, is just more grinding. Look at thieving: faster than firemaking. Cheaper than firemaking. You even make a profit.

 

 

 

Or more appropriately, look at ranged. Sure, you can get really fast experience by buying loads of red chinchompas and hurling them at dead monkeys, but where are you getting the chinchompas? The money to buy them doesn't come out of thin air. You aren't getting it from some trust fund from your rich old grampa. You have to earn all that cash. In reality, once you factor in the time you need to get the money to buy those chinchompas, ranged takes about the same time to get to 99 as woodcutting.

 

 

 

But this is a slight digression into another topic; I would direct you to this thread instead if you want to continue in this line of discussion.

 

 

 

Skillcapes led to a paradigm shift in the way we view skills. With a cool-looking cape as an ultimate reward for training the skill all the way to 99, the ultimate goal of the game somehow came to be thought of as getting 99 in all skills, even for skills like farming, herblore, and slayer where there's no functional difference at that kind of level. I don't regard this attitude as positive or negative, because it's really a metagame thing--while it affects our perception of Runescape somewhat, it does nothing to diminish the actual experience of the game.

 

 

 

I'm solidly in favor of skillcapes because they look really cool. That's pretty much the extent of what they mean to me personally: they look really cool. Are they an impressive accomplishment? I don't think so; I view them as an indication of how you chose to spend some number of hours and as a key component of a snazzy character's outfit, and that's about it.

 

 

 

Level 99 doesn't really represent true mastery of a skill, anyway. Loads of people get 99 woodcutting off of willow trees. Totally inefficient way to train, but they still get to wear the cape. Does it mean they're good at woodcutting? Well, no, it just means they spent a lot of time on it. The quest cape is different in that it requires maintenance, and as an avid quester, I'll salute fellow quest enthusiasts who wear it because it indicates that they share similar tastes as me.

 

 

 

So I like skillcapes because I have some and they're awesome, and while I recognize that they have a warping effect on the game, I don't really give a flying cabbage because it doesn't affect me. :thumbup:

[Youmu]

Advantageous.

 

I don't see what's wrong with them. It gives people to actually max out their stats. Plus, most of the capes and emotes look cool.

 

The defence bonuses and the prayer bonuses are also great.

 

The only "disadvantage" I can see is that F2P does not get those capes.

[quelmotz]

Advantageous.

 

I don't see what's wrong with them. It gives people to actually max out their stats. Plus, most of the capes and emotes look cool.

 

The defence bonuses and the prayer bonuses are also great.

 

The only "disadvantage" I can see is that F2P does not get those capes.

 

It encourages computer game addiction. I mean, this is positive to Jagex, but I remember in the Stronghold of Security or Player Safety, they mentioned that you shouldn't spend too much time playing RS. Maybe it's just "public image" or something...

 

Other than that, it also intensifies/widens the gap between raw items and processed items.

[Xx_Flare_xX]

It's the players making the Capes look bad, not the Cape itself.

 

All the Capes of Acheivement did was give people a nice little reward for obtaining a 99. It's the players who "Must waste their life for a cape".

[Youmu]

Advantageous.

 

I don't see what's wrong with them. It gives people to actually max out their stats. Plus, most of the capes and emotes look cool.

 

The defence bonuses and the prayer bonuses are also great.

 

The only "disadvantage" I can see is that F2P does not get those capes.

 

It encourages computer game addiction. I mean, this is positive to Jagex, but I remember in the Stronghold of Security or Player Safety, they mentioned that you shouldn't spend too much time playing RS. Maybe it's just "public image" or something...

 

Other than that, it also intensifies/widens the gap between raw items and processed items.

Just because people want 99's does not mean they are addicted to the game. Those people might also do something else, like a life outside of the internet or something. It's possible to get 99's without being addicted, you know.

 

Also, the reason why the prices between raw/processed items is because of people being too lazy to gather their own materials.

[depresins]

Skillcapes are good because they provide us with a great piece of equipment (once trimmed anyway) for everyday use.

 

Hell, that's the whole reason I'm getting a 2nd 99. After that I'll go back to playing the way i like to play.

[Guest jrhairychest]

Count me in as neutral.

 

I have 3 but I don't wear the capes anymore. Far as I'm concerned if I've 99'd it then I've 99'd it. Simple. Nothing to prove to anyone else about it.

Plus Points

• For most players, its an achievement. They can wear the cape because...they can.
  
• Some look good, such as slayer and have a high kudos amongst players.
  
• It stimulates the market for raw materials. Theres a lot of money to be made in that if it floats your boat.
  

 

Bad Points

• You can't consider cooking and slayer capes in the same context. Some take ages whereas others take little time or little effort/investment
  
• Some capes have become devalued. Cook and Fletch being prime examples. Players have done this themselves.
  
• Finished goods tend to be priced lower than raw materials so for some capes they cost.
  

 

Neutral point

• F2P players cannot show their achievement (Another debate on this forum about that). Plus/bad points to this.
  

[quelmotz]

Advantageous.

 

I don't see what's wrong with them. It gives people to actually max out their stats. Plus, most of the capes and emotes look cool.

 

The defence bonuses and the prayer bonuses are also great.

 

The only "disadvantage" I can see is that F2P does not get those capes.

 

It encourages computer game addiction. I mean, this is positive to Jagex, but I remember in the Stronghold of Security or Player Safety, they mentioned that you shouldn't spend too much time playing RS. Maybe it's just "public image" or something...

 

Other than that, it also intensifies/widens the gap between raw items and processed items.

Just because people want 99's does not mean they are addicted to the game. Those people might also do something else, like a life outside of the internet or something. It's possible to get 99's without being addicted, you know.

 

Also, the reason why the prices between raw/processed items is because of people being too lazy to gather their own materials.

 

I'm not saying you can't get a 99 if you don't play the game continuously. Far from it. I'm just saying it ENCOURAGES addiction to the game. I'm sure quite a bit more people are addicted to the game after the skillcape updates than before it.

 

People don't bother to the get their raw materials, because they WANT a 99 quickly so they can show off.

[Skeptical]

I personally find that skillcapes did encourage me to go for 99's but I also do feel that they have "cheapened" skilling.

[Youmu]

I personally find that skillcapes did encourage me to go for 99's but I also do feel that they have "cheapened" skilling.

Not all skills are buyable, just so you know.

 

Skills like Mining and Agility are skills that are tedious, therefore not a lot of people go for a 99 in these skills. Strangely though, Runecrafting is the rarest 99, even though it is F2P and you just run back and forth across a bank...

 

Back to skillcapes. I personally do not care about skillcapes. They are not the reason that I would go for a 99.

[stonewall337]

I got 99 attack cape first because it looked awesome. I am not going to waste hours getting the cooking cape. Certain skillcapes command more respect than others, and respect is an intrinsic part of MMORPG. The problem with the raw materials being worth more isn't a problem at all. Xp>gp in this case, it is simply a different type of economy than IRL.

[Youmu]

I got 99 attack cape first because it looked awesome. I am not going to waste hours getting the cooking cape. Certain skillcapes command more respect than others, and respect is an intrinsic part of MMORPG. The problem with the raw materials being worth more isn't a problem at all. Xp>gp in this case, it is simply a different type of economy than IRL.

The amount of respect a certain cape gets is all up to your own opinions. There is no definite "respect" for each skill.

[foursideking]

Well, skill capes seem to have more disadvantages than actual uses, and one of the key ones that I don't see that anyone has mentioned is its huuuuge effect in wilderness matches/ bounty worlds. When people see a skill cape, 95% of the time, they automatically kill the person wearing it. Having a skill cape more or less puts a constant target on your back, and, combine that with the enormous effect it has to the corrupted markets of f2p, they ultimately will be the main factor in the murder of the f2p playability...

[Elyxiatic]

Skill capes are really only worth it for the +4 prayer bonus with trimmed.

Or, if its a decent skillcape like agility/herb/slayer.

[Youmu]

People don't bother to the get their raw materials, because they WANT a 99 quickly so they can show off.

I would like to see you get 99 Ranged, Smithing, Crafting, and Runecrafting without buying your materials.

 

Some skills just have to be bought.

[Iceshadow0]

But how often do you see a braggart boasting about a certain level 99? Rarely.

 

The main disadvantage of skillcapes, in my opinion, is the way they devalue items.

As you can see, the prices of raw food is always higher than the prices of cooked food, sometimes by a large margin, as shown in the example of swordfish and lobster.

 

This doesn't make any sense, and it devalues the skill of cooking (or any other processing nskill) itself. There is simply no point in training cooking and cooking foods, as you will be losing money by putting more effort into a skill.

Dunno about you but i brag about my 99's all the time :)

 

Price of raw food being cheaper than cooked had nothing to do with skill capes, people did that when they were more interested in getting xp than making money, so that depends on the person using them. Skill capes arent the only thing that can be blamed for this either. When jagex brings out something like a new non-cooking food(sara brews), supply of the fish wont change, but there will still be a new fod so demand would decrease lowering the price. Same thing if demand/supply for the fish alters in other ways( new monster comes out that drops the food, removal of pking, etc.)

 

This also applies to other skills in a similar way, to blame that price difference on one item is ridiculous.

 

I love wearing my skill capes, i cant get a fire cape due to lag, so a skill cape has the best bonuses for me, and with 99 slayer, i certainly havent bought it either.

[quelmotz]

People don't bother to the get their raw materials, because they WANT a 99 quickly so they can show off.

I would like to see you get 99 Ranged, Smithing, Crafting, and Runecrafting without buying your materials.

 

Some skills just have to be bought.

 

That's because of the current state of the game. If mining was made less "sucky" so it could supply ores to smithing better, more people would get the ores for smithing themselves. Same for runecrafting, crafting and ranged.

[Troacctid]

People don't bother to the get their raw materials, because they WANT a 99 quickly so they can show off.

I would like to see you get 99 Ranged, Smithing, Crafting, and Runecrafting without buying your materials.

 

Some skills just have to be bought.

 

That's because of the current state of the game. If mining was made less "sucky" so it could supply ores to smithing better, more people would get the ores for smithing themselves. Same for runecrafting, crafting and ranged.

On the contrary, if mining could supply ores more easily, more people would train mining, which would lower prices, which would make it easier to buy ores for smithing, which would cause even more people to buy ores for smithing.

 

Not that anything is wrong with that. It's perfectly acceptable and healthy for people to buy materials when training a processing skill.

 

Now, if instead it became more efficient to process the items you collect yourself as opposed to banking those items--for example, in the Blast Furnace, where the anvils next to the furnace make it efficient to smelt bars yourself before smithing them--then you'd see some change. It's possible to make activities more efficient together than they are apart. Another good example is the old method of f2p runecrafting where you bring essence to the air altar in between runs to the Crafting Guild to mine for gold; since the altar is on the way, you lose less time compared to doing either activity on its own.

[ghost4sale1]

I would have to go with the half n half. It is a somewhat decent cape when trimmed and it matches many outfits we think are "cool". It's also a money sink which helps control the economy. It's also a great money maker for jagex, as people spend many hours for a level 99.

 

On the dark side(no we don't have cookies) it's a major time sink. Getting 99 in a skill eats your time that you could be out with your friends, or go exercise, or(of course) doing homework. Also for some players it can take the fun out of the game by grinding.

 

Human nature makes people want to disagree and argue with others, I think this is another issue that follows that belief.

[3hitm4g3u]

I got 99 attack cape first because it looked awesome. I am not going to waste hours getting the cooking cape. Certain skillcapes command more respect than others, and respect is an intrinsic part of MMORPG. The problem with the raw materials being worth more isn't a problem at all. Xp>gp in this case, it is simply a different type of economy than IRL.

The amount of respect a certain cape gets is all up to your own opinions. There is no definite "respect" for each skill.

 

I think there is.

 

For example, no matter where you go, slayer cape will always be more respected than cooking or fletching cape.

[Sir_Kurity]

When theres respect to be gained from a cape, or simply a number next to your name. Skills like smithing will never be profitable in this current state, unless it actually takes time and effort to craft a single sword (think minigame), and/or swords, arrows, bows, etc break more. So theres a constant need for more swords.

 

In which that might work, but would need a whole skill overhual.

[K4ylan]

Disadvantageous

I'll use myself as an example. I just want a skillcape for the sake of having. And of course I chose to get cooking, mostly because it is easy, cheap, and I can do it in F2P. Having a skillcape makes you feel elite, but it cheapens the value for others. I probably won't even wear mine; it'll just sit in the back of my bank until I can get a fletching or fire cape to trim it for a +4 pray boost. And the grand exchange is responsible for the raw/cooked food issue. It makes it so easy to get raw products; it makes sense finished products cost less.

 

Another thing is that players who previously liked to have balanced skills, now have them totally lopsided. using me as an example, I used to have generally balanced skills across the board, but now my 92 Cooking towers over my lvl 60 average skills.

[Sir_Kurity]

Price of raw food being cheaper than cooked had nothing to do with skill capes, people did that when they were more interested in getting xp than making money, so that depends on the person using them. Skill capes arent the only thing that can be blamed for this either. When jagex brings out something like a new non-cooking food(sara brews), supply of the fish wont change, but there will still be a new fod so demand would decrease lowering the price. Same thing if demand/supply for the fish alters in other ways( new monster comes out that drops the food, removal of pking, etc.)

 

This also applies to other skills in a similar way, to blame that price difference on one item is ridiculous.

 

I love wearing my skill capes, i cant get a fire cape due to lag, so a skill cape has the best bonuses for me, and with 99 slayer, i certainly havent bought it either.

 

Price of raw food had everything to do with skillcapes.

 

Before skillcapes, i used to make money by buying raw lobsters, cooking them, and reselling them. No one really cared about XP, so it was quite a reasonable way of making money.

 

Now everyone wants XP For skillcapes, and of course cooking can't really make any decent money now.