Persecuted, living in shadows - 99 Thieving - Complete*MOVE?

[Esper_Jones]

[This post is dedicated to 56warrior. Actually, it probably belongs in Rate Me! Anyone want to move it, please do.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back when I was a little little noob, in 2002, I found the delicious game of Runescape. Scoffing at first at what I thought was an inferior interface, and looked to be easily programmed, I nevertheless tried it. I played a bit, got a few scattered levels, did a few quests, and was impressed with the game.

 

 

 

Slowly starting to get better and better, I was still a newbie for a very long time. I never begged, I never tried to scam, but I did make my share of mistakes. Buying mithril from the store still felt new to me, and even though I was new to the game, I had already heard about all the wondrous things that members could bring me.

 

 

 

Looking at all the wonderous updates, and reading about things that seemed outrageous at the time, I kept wanting more. However, as I was only 14 at the time, members was just out of my reach. But every down has its own up, and the fact that I was still a newbie on my character proved that members was still not worthwhile for me.

 

 

 

Eventually, I became decent at f2p. Got my own set of rune armor, with a rune 2h. Killed the wondrous Elvarg. Met a few friends, and some I kept to this day. However, being that this was four years ago, there are precious few I remember from that time. If I forgot you, and you still play, I'm sorry.

 

 

 

Then, early in the year of 2003, I discovered Scapeboard. Obviously I'm not an old-timer, per say. I'm not from Lightning's time. I don't remember Robin Hood or Rab. I never knew anyone from way higher up during my newbie days. However, one set of posts really drew my attention. 56warrior. If you do not know that name, shame on you. He posted the most wondrous set of stories in a true role player's fashion. (If you are unfamiliar with them, go check the archive of wisdom, which should really credit the person that rediscovered them - leesters knows who he is. But I digress.)

 

 

 

His stories of his accomplishments on his new character, Omegawytch, were really astonishing at the time. A level 18 wearing rune? A level 39 with dragon? There are some characters that still do this, but to do it in RS1 was considered godly. One major point about the character was that she was a good thief.

 

 

 

Thieving was a neglected stat at the time, just as it is now. Although thieving was truly profitable then, (Nature chest giving good profit for a low combat, and chaos runes being worth the same!), people still didn't like the skill.

 

 

 

I read the stories, and was left with the opinion - how can you NOT like the skill? It makes wealth out of nothing, and stealing two bloods at a time (Bloods are worth 1k each, people), was astonishing! I now had a real reason to go over to p2p, and as a 15 year old kid, I tried and tried, and blackmailed, and cried, just so my parents would pay for it.

 

 

 

It is worth noting that another update I remember is when Oergg was the first to mine the gem rocks after the Shilo update... Ah, to have those types of quests again.

 

 

 

I remember the sweet moment when I first walked through the falador-taverly gate. It was all new again. The druids, the herb drops, and everything. Of course, by the time I reached the gate, I already had level 5 thieving from the man sitting in the northernmost building in falador, north of the shield shop.

 

 

 

I somehow survived my trip over white wolf mountain (I did not have the level to teleport to camelot), and I was amazed. The wolves were new, the terrain was new, the knights of the round table were new, everything was new!

 

 

 

I was very giddy, and it was hard to tear me apart from the computer at that time. I must have spent hours on the computer at the time. I did everything, Druidic ritual, Herblaw, Thieving, Agility (Although the gnomes were a bit difficult to find), Ardougne, Thieving, the Cake Stall, Yanille, Thieving, Paladin Tower, Thieving, and more. Did I mention thieving?

 

 

 

Omegawytch's stories had me hooked. I was a thieving machine. Despite my pitiful combat level of under 60, I had 40 thieving within the first three days of my membership. And since thieving then was combat-based, that's saying something. People still wonder why my defense is so high - it's force of habit.

 

 

 

Of course, I didn't neglect anything else. I still did quests, trained mining, did requirements for quests, but I always came back to thieving. If I needed money, I'd steal 100 or so nature runes. If I needed food, I'd run at the cake stall. It was all tied together for me.

 

 

 

I slowly raised levels. People stopped being red to me, and my thieving kept rising. I got to 65, and then it hit me. I was almost to the holy grail of thieving - paladins. Can you guess how fast I got that level? The watchmen of Yanille never stood a chance.

 

 

 

Paladins, here I come, I thought. The first time I opened the tower, Paladins couldn't be thieved for me, but I did get a nifty black scimitar. This time, I went in there with the killer intent to get a chaos rune. Turns out, that wasn't further from the truth, as I left with about 20 chaos runes.

 

 

 

But I was a changed man! I quickly developed a pattern, and the chaos runes kept rolling in. At 300 a pop, I quickly became rich beyond my wildest dreams! I even got a green mask, that I wore everywhere.

 

 

 

I don't really remember that time much, however, but I remember I made a good friend then, Kirzath. We did things together, catherby, etc. I lent him things to wear, etc. I don't remember, but I don't think I ever loaned him my green mask that I had. I was wary of scammers, as more of you should be :P

 

 

 

At that time, I was vastly above Kirzath, and while he was a 12 year old hyperactive player, he worshipped me. (He's going to make me regret saying that.) I asked him to bring me food to the paladin tower, and he did. We made lots of jokes, and I kept bringing him lots of food, giving him chaos runes and mith bars and such.

 

 

 

I eventually discovered the Ranarr Weed, and it brought me into yet another high - Killing monsters that were vastly overpowered to me. I've always had a decent prayer level, and by the time I was about to do Grand Tree, I only had a few levels to go for 37.

 

 

 

Killing that demon was an eye opener.

 

 

 

I then tried other black demons, first in Taverley, then in level 5 wilderness. No teleblock, teleporting in combat allowed, no such thing as multicombat. Perfect.

 

 

 

38 herblaw followed soon after. As did a dragon medium from the black demons.

 

 

 

I couldn't believe it! I was rich! I had a few million from that drop, and I quickly bought a red party hat. I was happy for a long time, with that hat. Eventually I traded it up for a white. And then lost it staking, which led to me quitting for about a month, but that came after.

 

 

 

It was then that I started being good at the game, to my view. I knew about dueling, I knew how to teleport, I had law runes. I was always at the quest sites when they came out, much more rarely than now.

 

 

 

Then, I discovered staking. I staked a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. I discovered many tricks, like the one where you send the request first, but then duel someone else to change focus. I learned to buy super sets for 20k a pop. I learned that I could actually get money - fast.

 

 

 

Although I lost things staking, I always had a golden rule - never stake my party hat. I eventually acquired a dragon med again, but even after I lost it, I never staked my hat. Until that one time when after losing by a few hp, once, twice, three times, I became desperate. I staked my white hat for two dragon shields.

 

 

 

I lost. Logout.

 

 

 

I didn't come back to the game for a month.

 

 

 

Eventually I did come back, and make almost all my wealth back. I had various amounts at various times, but never more than 10 million. I also slowly gained in different skills.

 

 

 

Nathaninch had his game, where I won a mask set, but punk4ever accidentally got her 99'th cooking level. There was a cracker cracked there.

 

 

 

Thieving kept rising.

 

 

 

Then came the RS2 beta. At that time, I was 89 thieving, and progress has slowed for a while. I eagerly awaited the beta, and pulled an all nighter the day before. I was very anxious to find out how good my skill was. What would they do with thieving, after the combat system is revamped?

 

 

 

Ardougne wasn't in the beta. I was very disappointed when I went to karamja, and there was no brimhaven. But I got over it, and went to varrock, to the guards walking around.

 

 

 

Let me just tell you, the first version of thieving sucked. Walking one screen away each time didn't work for me. So I despaired.

 

 

 

The second version of thieving still sucked, but was tolerable. They took away my precious mithril bars from the paladins, but at least I didn't have to WALK away from my pursuers.

 

 

 

Did you know there was no running in RS1, or in the beta for a while? Well, know.

 

 

 

I whined for a while, but kept the beta. Sticking to classic is completely useless, as eventually, everyone would be playing RS2. 100k players versus ... a few hundred? I'm not that much a fan as to stick with a dying game.

 

 

 

I was no longer a noob, with a decent combat. I got 100 after a while, no big accomplishment anymore. I missed the game that I was in love with, but I continued playing the new one, as it was still decent, and I was good in it.

 

 

 

I liked nature runecrafting, and I hired runners. Alpr1010 (Sound familiar, anyone?) was one of those runners for a long time. Eventually we became friends, although his 76 combat at the time was lower than mine. Eventually he got 90some, when I was 102.

 

 

 

When beta came, thieving lay abandoned at 89. When master farmers came around, I got 91 thieving, but it then stayed abandoned for a while.

 

 

 

I kept losing interest in the game, getting some skills slowly, eventually losing most of my interest whatsoever. I logged out for the final time. Or so I thought.

 

 

 

When I quit, I still followed updates every once in a while. First farming, then Slayer, and various quests. Eventually, with the huge hints being dropped about construction, I came back. Me and a real life friend have a summer before college, his first year, my second. I gave him 20 bucks, and we started playing again.

 

 

 

Most of my old friends pmed me back, etc. Much to my surprise, Alpr was already 120some, and Kirzath has been 126 for a while. Kirzath had quit, too. I got back into the game, started playing seriously, brought my skills up, but thieving never did catch me.

 

 

 

Then, I went on Runevillage forums, and found two people in a race. They were still in their 80s, but in what skill? Good 'ole thieving! Koitsu and Movarm were rising rapidly, and I couldn't help but feel the pull of the old charm of thieving. So, I went to knights, and got out my trusty one button mode.

 

 

 

Pick. Pick. Pick.

 

 

 

A level came.

 

 

 

Pick. Pick. Pick.

 

 

 

Then did another.

 

 

 

Those two managed to reignite in me what I had been lacking for a long time - the fun of thieving. I was above them for a while, but then one passed me, and so did the other.

 

 

 

I played a bit each day, but it was still hard. Koitsu got 99 thieving, and though I held on, I still got beat by Movarm, whose low combat level let him left-click pickpocket on knights.

 

 

 

I got to 95, then gave up on the race. I still played, but I thieved less and less.

 

 

 

Then came Pyramid Plunder. That vastly neglected update brought in me a huge change. Thieving.. was improved? 240k xp an hour? Did that mean 99 was in my reach? I quickly got from 95-97, and was amazed. I didn't thieve for a while, doing other things, but my mind always kept coming back to my long-term goal - perfection in thieving.

 

 

 

Eventually, I came back. I came back with a vengeance. I beat Movarm, who quit thieving for a while, with a goal of many 99s at the same time, and I kept going. I got 500k xp in a day, and it was good.

 

 

 

I then surpassed my laziness, and lo and behold, tonight is the night.

 

 

 

The night Esper Jones got 99.

 

 

 

 

I was never good at timing, which is why only alpr's message is up.

 

 

 

And there are many people I have to thank with this, which kind of makes this no longer a blog.

 

 

 

- FROM RS1 -

 

56Warrior / Omegawytch: Without you, I wouldn't have such a drive to thieve. I don't know if you still read or come here, but thank you.

 

Kirzath: Old friend, "f00d plz!" You're still alive somewhere. Come back.

 

Matt518: Another friend, I can't really remember you much, sorry. I remember your name, but that's it. :(

 

Nathaninch: OMG DUDE! I respected you, and you were one of those high levels I was scared to approach :P But you were nice, and eventually we became friends. Thanks for still playing!

 

Hiker: Without you, the runevillage community would be nothing.

 

Misplacedme: I remember talking to you at chaos druids, Salarin, etc. It's been a while.

 

Zarno13: You were a good friend of Kirzath's, weren't you? You're still playing too, great! And competition is good.

 

Slaphappy2: Yey, runevillage friend!

 

 

 

My memory is horrible, so I'm sorry for the countless people that I missed in this section :(

 

 

 

- FROM RS2 -

 

Alpr1010: You were such a good runner, but then you had to go and get 126 combat. How dare you.

 

Nirvana Nvm: You're from the new era, when I came back.

 

Link Trigger: RV, I believe?

 

Matt258: The only one insane enough to go for perfect XP in multiple skills. Heh.

 

Blackrazor80: I don't remember how I met you o.O;

 

Kashi: A new friend, but thanks for coming :)

 

King Gimli3: Rver :P

 

Knight Ray: You're a new friend, but sorry you missed the level.

 

Cazwise: You're an oldie, but I never actually got to know you til recently! XD

 

X5 Legend X5: Met ya cooking with Alpr.

 

Dhuff2191992: The bronze guy from Movarm's race XD

 

BestPker444: KBD trips are fun. But ruin my thieving concentration.

 

Scarecrow X: Met you farming. It's boring, isn't it?

 

Erk02: You kept bugging me to pc when I came back, weren't you :P

 

Pepperone: Heh. Another one from when I just came back.

 

Movarm: I beat you, and I will keep beating you. Just try to regain your rank. I dare you.

 

Asphyx1us: You were there when I was racing movarm!

 

Koitsu: You got 99, then quit. How dare you :(

 

Blizaga57: I have no idea why I'm thanking you. Meh.

 

Gobberhop: A high level friend of Alpr's. Bet you didn't know he used to run natures :P

 

Dra Crisis: Pest control friend from Heart Unit.

 

Im Da Mastr: Heh, more high level friends, where would we be without em?

 

Mpd Cpd: I remember I used you to merchant, then I learned it on my own! Thanks ^_^

 

Rserer: I just met you randomly when you got your cape there.

 

Yusuke 2: You were cooking with alpr!

 

 

 

Sorry to those I missed, it is with these words I close!

[evilrodyle]

Didn't read all but I promise I will within the hour. Although till then amazing gratz on 99 theiving. Hope whatever you wrote is interesting also :

[lilray88]

GREAT STORY BRO...sry couldnt be there :( story reminds me of the old times...and gratz with ur 99 ! whatever u gon aim for 99 next i am not gonna miss it ! :thumbsup: :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ol Skool Playa

[Blackarch2]

Read it in 15 minutes! 8-) , does that make me a geek? :-k I THINK NOT

 

! :notalk: :XD: , anyway thats an awesome story. Loved reading it. :thumbsup:

[Ddrmaster7]

That was a very cool story. A real page turner...or scroll-down-er. Not sure. Anyway, congrats on that awesome accomplishment!

[SirHartlar]

Grazt on 99 Thieving! That is really one of the hardest skills (imo) and I admire you for getting it up so high.

 

 

 

Thanks for writing the story so well, it passed the time whilst woodcutting well.

 

 

 

=D>

[Nathaninch]

I'm very happy for you, Esper. :D Great work. Wish I'd have been there.

 

 

 

A heck of a tale!!

[oilertay]

Awesome read! Great accomplishment! Bravo! =D>

[Esper_Jones]

Thanks, all :D

[Esper_Jones]

Hmm, I seem to have been completely blown away by one of my friends. I feel so ashamed.