I want to tell you otherwise.

I have played RuneScape for roughly 4 years. It will be 5 this June, not counting the breaks I have taken. For most of those 4 years, I was the model player. I reported players when I thought it was neccessary, I didn’t break rules (except swearing, but hey, that’s been lifted a bit) and most of all, I didn’t bot. RuneScape was never really boring. I was a member for most of the time, and so I had plenty to do. RuneScape was good.

Shortly before 2008 breathed its last breath, I re-kindled a friendship with an old mate. He introduced me to sites such as Sythe and Fagex, and taught me the art of scamming. Together we scammed two accounts, and several membership PINs. Sythe and Fagex also have a RSBot section, and I looked through it and eventually downloaded RSBot.

I wish I had done it sooner. RSBot is easily the best thing I have done in my RuneScape career. I am botting right now! Jagex claims they will find you, and yet in 3+ months of near constant botting, I have not been warned nor banned.

As the title proclaims, robots don’t get Carpal Tunnel. If RuneScape is getting boring, you can do what I always did, and take a break. Alternatively, you can take the step and get RSBot. You will never be the same.

I have gone through a clue combination consisting of 3 Saradomin Mages and then a Zamorak Mage followed by a puzzle box, receiving next to nothing for my work. I just finished a clue this evening consisting of 2 puzzle boxes, 2 emote clues, 2 Saradomin Mages and several anagram/speak to/riddle clues. My reward for a half hour to 45 minutes of work? 14 Lobsters, a pair of Black D’hide Chaps, a Magic Shortbow and some Nature Runes.

What solutions could be implemented to fix this frustrating problem? There are several possible ways to fix the issue:

Solution #1 - Tie specific clues to specific rewards. This is probably the worst solution, seeing as the goal of Treasure Trails is to be random. To implement this system would mean if you got a clue you could check what you would get and decide based on that whether to do the clue or not. Prices would become screwed up as a result of the excess/scarcity of certain items, which Jagex certainly doesn’t want.

Solution #2 - Eliminate Treasure Trails. Instead, give monsters that previously dropped Treasure Trails level appropriate drops. Level 3 clue droppers would instead drop Level 3 rewards. Again the issue with solution, as with solution #1, is that people would kill only the monsters that gave the best rewards, causing prices to fluctuate.

Solution #3 - Leave it. People get rich all the time, and the economy stays balanced out. Self-explanatory, but I’m obviously not in favor of this solution. Jagex probably is however, seeing as it requires the least bit of work on their part to keep the system running.

Solution #4 - A complete overhaul of the system. Change the way the clues work, add new levels of rewards (because honestly, Ranger Boots should not be a level 2 clue), and change the difficulty level in each level and lessen the amounts of monsters that drop clues. That way the rarest items would be the hardest to obtain, and the more common items would be easier to obtain. Obviously there would be some price fluctuation, but overall it would be minimal compared to the any other solution besides #3.

Now, is it likely that solutions #1, 2, and 4 will happen? Probably not. As I stated in Solution #3, Jagex seems happy with doing the least amount of work to keep the (flawed) system running, and what Jagex wants goes. If we’re lucky something will change, but hell, thats how Treasure Trails work, and we all know how that has worked out for me.