20-Aug-2013 - Divination

[Maximusa]

Imo the skill came out pretty near perfect. It allowed people to semi-afk at near best xp/hr, while those who wanted best xp or just less afk style, could use methods to speed up their xp. However that increase in xp wasnt that big a deal, pretty damn tiny gain over the semi-afk methods. Yet it involved alot more attention and imo made it incredibly more fun because it wasnt really afk anymore. Plus it usually involved some afk so you still had time to 'socialise' as jagex wants us to do during those times.

 

With the nerfs removing that emergent gameplay that gave something to the players that needed something more than afk and watch a tv series or playing another game, aka alt tabbing or watching their secondary monitors/whatever. Imo its alot less interesting of a skill. There really wasnt that much of a gain anyway! Just made it much more interactive/fun while anyone who wished to could continue to just afk as jagex have seemingly designed it.

 

I have to agree that the 'afk to socialise' is actually a poor choice within this skill imo. It involves moderate attention as the nodes are so random, makes it tricky to talk to other people if your wanting to get max xp rates. I dont care that much either way but I bring this point up as I think they originally had a near perfect skill for everyone before the nerfs. (Though obviously some nerfs were needed, repeatedly clicking etc.) If the skill was released with slightly slower nodes there would of been the option to afk-socialise or get a slightly higher xp rate that involved more attention, aka being rewarded for more effort. Having a choice --- Both are quite valid methods for playing the game/training this skill. I would of done both, active gameplay for when I wanted more than to afk or the times when I did want to afk I had that option. Jagex disagree unfortunately with the continuous nerfs to the emergent gameplay that the players created.

[Alg]

You can buy floors in dg

Hence "Unlike DG".

[Estoc]

Imo the skill came out pretty near perfect. It allowed people to semi-afk at near best xp/hr, while those who wanted best xp or just less afk style, could use methods to speed up their xp. However that increase in xp wasnt that big a deal, pretty damn tiny gain over the semi-afk methods. Yet it involved alot more attention and imo made it incredibly more fun because it wasnt really afk anymore. Plus it usually involved some afk so you still had time to 'socialise' as jagex wants us to do during those times.

 

It's only perfect if your only requirement for a skill is that you can get xp and 99.

 

If you actually want some depth to it, or enjoyment, it's sorely lacking.

[Sy_Accursed]

Imo the skill came out pretty near perfect. It allowed people to semi-afk at near best xp/hr, while those who wanted best xp or just less afk style, could use methods to speed up their xp. However that increase in xp wasnt that big a deal, pretty damn tiny gain over the semi-afk methods. Yet it involved alot more attention and imo made it incredibly more fun because it wasnt really afk anymore. Plus it usually involved some afk so you still had time to 'socialise' as jagex wants us to do during those times.

 

It's only perfect if your only requirement for a skill is that you can get xp and 99.

 

If you actually want some depth to it, or enjoyment, it's sorely lacking.

 

I don't think it is.

People just notice this big whole as there is nothing to do with energy at the moment beyond a few basics.

But that is not an incompleteness or flaw with the skill itself; I mean on it's own fishing is just getting useless raw fish. On it's own mining is just getting useless ores. On it's own woodcutting is just getting useless logs. With the only result of all being 99s.

 

The difference is those skills have their follow ups.

Fishing serves a purpose because we can cook what we get.

Mining because we can smith what we get.

Woodcutting because we can fletch or burn what we get.

 

The flaw is not in this skill itself but on the lack of it's companion artisan skill that turns energy in to something with a purpose.

[Miss Lioness]

Dragonseance pretty much lost the fight now... He is 3 levels behind and the number 1 is at 89, possibly 90.

Drumgun is still going but is about 500k behind #1 at rank 10.

Suomi is at level 85.

 

So the big battle is pretty much over, unless something drastic occurs like with Jamie.

[Fallstar]

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> spam ring me in 3.5-4hrs

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> bye

 

He (Almostlost) really wants to win, has slept like 8 hrs since release.

[Fallstar]

Here's some basic info about springs I haven't seen posted yet.

 

They have 3 stages.

 

Stage 1: Big purple flame (Flame taller than spring)

 

 

After a few xp drops this will disappear and a smaller purple flame will take its place

 

Stage 2: Small purple flame (Flame smaller than spring)

 

 

Stage 3: No flame

 

 

Apaprently the number of people draining it has no effect, except for enriched nodes. It's useful when you first start draining a spring to check how long you can afk for based on the size/absence of the flame.

[Peever]

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> spam ring me in 3.5-4hrs

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> bye

 

He (Almostlost) really wants to win, has slept like 8 hrs since release.

 

Insane

[Fallstar]

That also means that if you want to afk, the optimum group size is 4 - enough to fully boost the enriched spring, and minimizing the number of already partially drained springs.

[Yoko Kurama]

No skill needs AFK. AFK is an optional extention that should offer a lot lower xp/h for those people who do not want to train the skill for real (ivy). It should not be the primary training method (Divination, Runecrafting). Essentially, what you are doing when making a boring, AFK-style game, is that you rely on something else to provide the enjoyment (or at least bearability) of your content. That something can be social media, books, TV, but it's still outside the game - basically leeching other things' fun.

 

No, almost all skills need afk. If a skill is fun and something people want to do, then I agree, there's no need for afk. If it isn't (which most skills are), then Jagex has a responsibility, in my view, to provide afking methods that are fast. Divination falls under the latter category. If you don't want to provide afking, then don't make a boring and laboring activity that no one wants to do, but feel compelled to do anyways because of the rewards, prestige, and experience-crazy culture you have set up. It's that simple.

 

Dungeoneering, for instance, I regard as a great and fun skill, and I have no problem whatsoever that it isn't afk-able and that it requires attention and engagement. Other skills, and Divination, not so much.

 

Runescape is supposed to be a game, and fun, not an energy-sucking and fun-sucking part-time job or 19th-century factory. Design fun skills and maybe, just maybe, people will actually want to do them, instead of wanting to come to you and complain and ask for afk.

[Bxpprod]

No skill needs AFK. AFK is an optional extention that should offer a lot lower xp/h for those people who do not want to train the skill for real (ivy). It should not be the primary training method (Divination, Runecrafting). Essentially, what you are doing when making a boring, AFK-style game, is that you rely on something else to provide the enjoyment (or at least bearability) of your content. That something can be social media, books, TV, but it's still outside the game - basically leeching other things' fun.

 

Runespan rates are boosted significantly if you at least semi pay attention and hunt wizards upon being called (it's what, ~40% boost in xp/h), but that I suppose depends on how liberal you are being with the application of AFK. ~5 minutes of paying attention per hour does make a heck of a difference but is certainly no match to the ZMI rates etc. I would have to agree it should be a punishable alternative - more effort should be rewarded with more xp (I was happy with the hunter/fishing pot methods because you exert a lot more effort for a disproportionate increase in xp).

 

However, this notion of AFKables as a primary method (as well as things like Warbands which are exceptionally overpowered) really goes back to what they were speaking of when the first bot nuke came about. We didn't only want to see a reduction (elimination) of gold farming bots, but we also needed to see changes to the game that discouraged your average player from botting, say, Runecraft (ZMI) because it is "too hard". I do believe they dicked up making it the primary source of xp (as much as I love a 133m Mining year w/o lifting a pickaxe and being up to smash out Runecrafting without any level of effort) because it has driven the game towards a much more lax state, where you are in fact punished for doing more work.

[JeRambo]

Ouch .. this is the area at level 90. :(.

 

Grats Im choice on first to 90 Divination.

 

 

[Hedgehog]

Dragonseance pretty much lost the fight now... He is 3 levels behind and the number 1 is at 89, possibly 90.

Drumgun is still going but is about 500k behind #1 at rank 10.

Suomi is at level 85.

 

So the big battle is pretty much over, unless something drastic occurs like with Jamie.

Dragonseance is still in it. He slept earlier than the people ahead of him, so he can catch up when they sleep. At this point it isn't likely that he'll win, but don't count him out yet.

[Alg]

Nobody finds it disturbing that sleep schedules are a huge part of this race?

[Squakus]

Apparently, when first starting to siphon an enriched spring, if you have a normal memory in your inventory it gets converted to an enriched and also extends the lifetime of the spring.

 

 

It only seems to work the first time you siphon the enriched from the time it spawns, and only converts one memory.

[Miss Lioness]

Apparently, when first starting to siphon an enriched spring, if you have a normal memory in your inventory it gets converted to an enriched and also extends the lifetime of the spring.

 

 

It only seems to work the first time you siphon the enriched from the time it spawns, and only converts one memory.

 

Not true, it works only for the first 4 people. The enriched spring is using them to prolong the life of the sprin itself.

[Musica]

Nobody finds it disturbing that sleep schedules are a huge part of this race?

 

It always has been. Competition in this game is 1/4th efficiency and 3/4th play time, basically.

[Yoko Kurama]

Nobody finds it disturbing that sleep schedules are a huge part of this race?

 

I do, and I have been vocal about this. Various people I know have been toiling away at it like zombies.

 

Someone in my clan (True Maxed) mentioned that despite Jagex's best efforts most servers are lowly populated. Even things like the EoC beta, and other modernizing aspects like RS3 and nostalgia methods such as Old School have left the game in a rather unpopular state. Divination won't really win them any new players either. It's really hard to market it, "if you spend 300+ hours clicking on these balls, you could be 99 and then do nothing...". As long as the game is fundamentally focused on grinding at boring activities for no particular reason, it will be unattractive to newer players and will only be able to keep hold of older players (which are a diminishing group) who have too much invested to quit.

[V O R K]

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> spam ring me in 3.5-4hrs

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> bye

 

He (Almostlost) really wants to win, has slept like 8 hrs since release.

 

Insane

[Fallstar]

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> spam ring me in 3.5-4hrs

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> bye

 

He (Almostlost) really wants to win, has slept like 8 hrs since release.

 

Insane

 

And despite that, there's at least 2 non account sharers ahead of him.

 

Dragonseance doesn't stand a chance any more, even if he stayed up for 72 hours for his next session the deficit is too large.

[Fallstar]

Nobody finds it disturbing that sleep schedules are a huge part of this race?

 

This is nothing new. RS at the highest level has always been this competitive with new skills. The first few days of dg blew this out of the water in terms of lost sleep.

[V O R K]

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> spam ring me in 3.5-4hrs

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> bye

 

He (Almostlost) really wants to win, has slept like 8 hrs since release.

 

Insane

 

And despite that, there's at least 2 non account sharers ahead of him.

 

Dragonseance doesn't stand a chance any more, even if he stayed up for 72 hours for his next session the deficit is too large.

 

It's the tweekend after all :P

[Saradomin_Mage]

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> spam ring me in 3.5-4hrs

<12@Sean|> [23:10] <14Richard-> bye

 

He (Almostlost) really wants to win, has slept like 8 hrs since release.

Man down

[Auror]

rip

[Ambler]

:blink:

That's kind of worrying...