Here is just a little quick money making tip for newbs. And I mean “newb” in the new player kind of way and not “noob” in the annoying idiot kind of way. This technique does not generate massive money… at least not for mid to high level member players. But it should provide a tiddy income for low level free players (level 10 and below) and help them get the nominal cash they require. Plus it will provide a little combat experience to boot. Best of all, this technique is available to free members and can be useful for members too.

Go after feathers. There is a chicken farm just north west of Lumbridge and one just south of Faladore. There is also one north east of Lumbridge on the other side of the River Lum. Killed chickens usually leave multiple feathers, bones, and meat. Best of all, feathers are stackable and only take up one inventory slot. In just fifteen minutes even a new player can collect as many as two hundred feathers. Feathers are very sought after as they are used a lot in fishing and fletching and to a lesser extent in other skills. They usually sell immediately on the Grand Exchange for 16 gp a feather. That is a quick thousand plus gold pieces in fifteen minutes. Yeah, that is piddly for higher level players, but the newbs can do quiet a bit with it.

While you are killing chickens make sure you collect the eggs [GEC 104 gp] that respawn in the same area. You can also sell the raw chicken meat for around 160 gp too. But eggs and meat will take longer to sell on the Grand Exchange than feathers. Also, if you are a true new player and very low level you might as well bury the bones [GEC 189 gp] and get the prayer experience while you are at it.

Anyway, that was just a little newb advice. If you want to make gold even more quickly, I would recommend collecting swamp tar (only available to members). Selling for around 332 gp each on the Grand Exchange, swamp tar can literally earn a player a small fortune in a short period of time.

Well, it has been a while since I last posted. It has been a busy month for me outside of Runescape, and I have had little time to play the game let alone blog. Though that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on the blog. As I stated a couple of posts ago I am working on several different new articles. (Un)fortunately I also ended up working on a new section to my website that has taken my complete focus.

In the coming weeks I am going to be releasing a section to my website that will deal with the Runescape economy and more specifically investing. It has been slightly hard going concerning the php programming aspects of this new section which has occupied much of my free blog time. Though some of my efforts have made their way through to the blog already. For example, on the main page there is now a Grand Exchange ticker that displays the daily value of some of my favorite GE tradeable items. In the coming weeks I will have this new section up and running with further useful information including some special indexes like the AMIndex (Absenm Mains Index) which will be my favorite products, or the WIAW Index (What I Am Wearing). Of course there will also be some more useful indexes like Wood, Herbs, Foods, Runes, Armor and Clothing.  And I will also try to make product projections based on past trends.

This new GE section will not contain everything available in Runescape. In fact, it will contain very little in comparison to the whole. More specifically it will contain only information on products that I think are most useful only in an investing sense. Sure, there are many items that are very useful in combat or skilling but are completely worthless from a gp investment stand point. So this new section will basically be the piece of the pie I like. But it should have some useful and interesting information and will contain information on every item I mention in my blog.

I am still working on a multitude of other posts. As my free time opens up a little I will start posting quite a few nice new articles. But I do have a couple of quick tips I thought I would include in todays post.

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Concerning the two Distractions and Diversions mini games of Penguin Hide and Seek (PH&S) and Shooting Star I am recommending that the best way to speed up success in either of these games is to join a clan chat channel that specifically hunts in these games. I have used “riods2525” for use in PH&S. I have used “star find” for use in Shooting Star. Both clans are excellent sources of location information. PH&S is an all worlds effected mini game and therefore “riods2525” limit their searches to World 60 which is the most efficient use of their skills since found penguins are the same on all worlds. Shooting Stars on the other hand are world specific and therefore world jumping is an option and therefore huge lists of worlds and general star landing locations are provided.

Some notes about clans. First, for both clan chats you can properly sign up on the official Runescape Forums. However, as far as the writing of this post, neither absolutely requires sign up. Next, participate properly within the clan chat. Don’t be a dork. If you don’t have anything intelligent to say, don’t say anything at all.  And don’t freeload. If you spot a Penguin let the rest of the clan know. In fact, I usually will hang around with a penguin for a few minutes to help others find it more quickly via the mini map. In Shooting Star, only general regions are given, and therefore a little bit of hunting around is still required. If you find a Star landing location let everyone know as specially as possible including world location and what level star it is. Don’t give invalid information on either chat or you will be banned from that chat. Also try to limit you conversation to specifically the main clan topic of the mini game.

This idea is a little impromptu because I just started trying this money maker out a couple of days ago. Basically, when the price of Granite started its suicidal high dive into an empty pool I decided that it was time to come up with something that would still provide a tidy income but be fairly easy to acquire. So I came up with potatoes.

First thing we need to start my “Hot Potato” technique of money making is to get our hands on potatoes. This should be no problem for anyone. There are potato fields all over Runescape. My favorite one is between Lumbridge and Draynor Village. From that field you can easily fill your inventory, run to the Draynor bank, and run back to the field. And the best thing is the potatoes are free. Of course you can also farm your own potatoes, which gives the added benefit of nominal farming experience. But maybe you are a complete lazy arse. In that situation potatoes can be purchased on the Grand Exchange for around 91 gp.

Step two of the “Hot Potato run for the Money” is to get your hands on pats of butter. I highly recommend churning your own butter [GEC 559 gp]. Purchasing it on the GE will deeply cut into you profits and nullify any point to doing this technique. Thankfully, churning butter is not hard. All you need is a bucket of milk. In this situation I purchase the milk on the GE for around 100 gp. But you can also just as easily milk the dairy cows throughout Runescape. I recommend using the farm south of Falador. The cows are near to a churn and a bank isn’t too far away. For me, I buy the milk and then churn the butter in the Cooking Guild which is within sneezing distance of the Grand Exchange. The churn is on the second level (1st floor/story for our European friends).  If you have completed the Varrock achievment diary then you can use the bank of the first floor of the guild.

Step three is very easy. Bake the potatoes. Find a range. Do not use open fires. I use the Cooking Guild and the ranges located right by the churn. After I have all the potatoes I want cooked, I return the Grand Exchange and start the finishing touches. Use the pats of butter on the potatoes. When you see the little yellow ‘x’ on your potato you know you have a food item worth around 912 gp (market price). A full inventory of baked potatoes with butter will earn upwards of 20k in gold. When I get a good rhythm going I average out to about 60k in an hour. Fast and easy money.

Some final thoughts. Try not to accidentally eat the potatoes. At every step in the potato cooking process, left clicking will cause you to automatically eat the potato.  Churning the butter takes time and is boring. Make sure you don’t accidentally time out while you wait.  Don’t forget to be wearing a Chefs Hat if you plan on using the Cook Guild.

BTW: How I come up with these money making tips usually falls between one of two techniques. Either I get ideas from other blogs and fan sites (which I normally try to credit). Or I go through the Grand Exchange database on the Runescape website and find simple items selling for over 500gp. If I can acquire these items at a fraction of the GE cost then I go about finding a routine that uses time and resources efficiently. Then I test to see how hard it is to sell the items on the GE. If everything goes smoothly I post about it here. One last disclaimer: The Grand Exchange market is highly volatile and market prices referenced in this blog are highly subjectible to change.

PS: Prices listed in this article come directly from the GEC and are up-to-date within 24 hours.

Every once in a while I am asked how I made my money. I suppose this question comes up because my outfit of choice consists of gold trimmed rune bodyplate and shield, dragon boots, legs, and helmet, a combat bracelet, a ring of wealth, and an amulet of fury. All together my day-wear outfit runs about 5 million gp. I don’t wear this kind of outfit to show off and be flashy, I simply like how it looks with the golds and blues and reds. But people do get the impression that I am rich, which compared to many other players, I am not. But I am comfortable and when people ask me how I make my money I refer them to my blog. That is part of the reason I started this blog in the first place, so I wouldn’t have to go into long stories in chat during the game. So here is my story and some very basic tips (which I may expand on in later articles) about making Runescape money.

First, the story about me. When I first started Runescape I was pretty antisocial. Actually, I still am. I did not (and still do not) want to interact directly with other players. At least not much. A simple hello to someone I know is all I really want to muster. In the old days there was no Grand Exchange so I was restricted to the stores for any sales I might want to do. I knew I could get more money by player trading, but I just didn’t want to have to haggle with people. My public trade option has been permanently turned off for four years now. Because of this I had no real desire to even sell anything in the stores for the piddly prices they provided. But I am a pack-rat. So for years I just stored stuff in my bank account, never knowing how valuable it would eventually become. I kept collecting seeds, and herbs, and ores week after week. I only used what I needed for skills or combat. I never sold runes even though I never used runes because I did not like the magic skill. My bank was just getting fatter with clutter and junk every progressive year.

Finally the Grand Exchange opened and I decided to check it out. It was a way to make player to player trades in a fair market system without having to deal directly with other players. Essentially the Grand Exchange is a brokerage system without the fees (yet). Plus, even better, there is no timing or world requirements. Someone on world 3 at four in the morning could sell me, for example, rune platelegs on world 103 at ten in the evening. It makes for a perfect system for me.

Then I decided to see what some of my stuff was selling for. I had no idea that some the “junk” I had collected was so valuable. I had a couple of million gp in Ranarr alone.  A few more million in other herbs. Well, of course, that tipped me off to using Chaos Druids as a money maker. I had tens of millions in even the most basic of runes and ores. When the Grand Exchange opened I basically won the lottery and had a whole new world open up to me. Now I could play Runescape to make gp. Prior to the Exchange I would play just simply to train skills and perform quests (which are still fun things to do). But I had new options of play.

So that is how I made my money, at least initially. But I have also spent a lot of my wind fall and will sometimes drop a quarter million off at the party room in Falador. I’m now down to a reasonably simple personal value, with maybe a net worth of only twenty million gp. But I try to add about a half million each week. I call that meager because there are many players who have hundreds of millions of gp, and quiet a few billionaires. I would say I am middle class in the Runescape world.

But you have to be smart about money if you want to make it rich in Runescape and hold on to that money. Just like the real world. Screenblazer mentioned some of these tips in his entertaining blog.  But they are worth repeating here.

First, fish your food people. If you have the level to fish swordfish and/or lobsters and you are broke, then stop paying for the damn things and fish it yourself. Plus you’ll get fishing experience.

Second, stop spending every gp you got.  There is nothing more annoying than some level 95 dipshit who is bagging at the Grand Exchange because he/she spent all their money. My policy when I encounter these people is to tell them that if they need money to sell the freaking dragon chainbody they are wearing for 8.8m gp. Don’t go asking me for money if you are wearing more expensive crap then I am.

Third, have patience. Yes fishing takes time, Yes farming takes time, Yes mining takes time. Guess what people, it’s gonna take time to make money.

Forth, if you are trying to sell something on the Grand Exchange at market price and it doesn’t sell instantly, then give it some time. Drop the price after a day or two. Part of the reason the Runescape economy is on a downward spiral right now is because no one wants to wait for their trades to complete, so everyone is selling for minimum value. Almost everything I have mentioned in this blog over the last few months has dropped in value by almost ten percent because people want instant gratification. Have patience people.

Fifth, look for little hidden tricks of making money. I have some listed here on this blog. While passing through the Lumbridge swamps collect ten or twenty swamp tars. It only takes a couple of minutes and you walk away with a couple of grand. Or when passing by unicorns, kill them and take their horns. If you saw a large pile of 900gp worth of coins on the street in Varrock would you just walk by?  Hell no.  So why walk by that unicorn.

Sixth, you need to be smart. Most mid level players while fighting combat should be filling up their inventory with only items worth 400gp or more. Ignore that friggen bronze longsword when that inventory slot could be holding an uncut ruby. At the same time don’t go ignoring those 9 mithrel bolts. Each one is worth 90 gp and are stackable. For the most part, if it is stackable or noted I will pick it up. There are a few exceptions like body runes.  But most importantly think about what drops you are getting, what drops you can get, and which ones are worth your time picking up.  Also, you must invest in a ring of wealth (25k on the Exchange).  The ring is a simple addition and well worth the money.

Seventh, stop frigging asking for price checks. Good grief people, do you have any idea how annoying that is? Most browsers have multiple tabs. Open up another tab to the Grand Exchange database and look up that price yourself. Most of the time it will be faster. Plus it is a wonderful source of information on which drops are truly worth picking up.

And finally, experiment with new things. If you are not making enough money then maybe you aren’t doing the right things. Maybe try out a few mini games. Quite a few have money rewards and many also reward xp. Look at quest guides on the Internet to see which quests have monetary rewards and try those quests if you can. Fight different monsters then usual. And don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a monster has to be powerful to have decent drops. Chaos Druids and Cockroachs can make you are small fortune and are easy to kill.

Good Luck

The farming skill has been one of my least favorite skills since it inception. It took only a mind numbing skill like summoning to remove it from the very top spot of my list of crappiest skills. I suspect I really never gave it much of a chance when it was released, in part to how tediously boring it was, and in part because I couldn’t see any value to it. I have never been very sociable on Runescape, keeping to myself and never doing any player to player trading. As thus I would be restricted to general store prices and farming really had no value to me at the time. Plus my thieving wasn’t high enough to steal seeds from the seed stalls or master farmers. So I was often restricted to hoping for a random drop of seeds from a random monster. Thus, I tried working with farming for about a week and then spent the next couple of years ignoring it completely. It was only with the advent of the Grand Exchange that I started to notice some valuable aspects of Farming. And it wasn’t until I started to writing this blog that I researched more fully the value of farming.

For the record, as I already mentioned I haven’t spent much time training the farming skill. At the time of writing this blog I am at level 40. So take my advice with as much value as you perceive my experience dictates. But I have found a couple of techniques that truly seem to provide a nice, tidy profit. I know there are even more profitable farming techniques lurking, but, being at such a low level, the following are the only ones I have been able to use.

First things first, farming is a skill best trained dressed light weight. There can be a lot of running around (at least using my techniques), and light clothing with keep energy depletion to a minimum. Also, you should be willing to use a bunch of runes for teleportation. Don’t worry about the money, the crops should still provide a very sizable profit. It also should be used in conjunction with training another skill, like fishing or mining.

If you have at least level 27 magic I would suggest making an Amulet of Nature. Do not confuse this with an Amulet of Farming (whose features are very minimal). An Amulet of Nature will allow you to bind yourself with any one farming plot. It will then let you check on the status of that crop from anywhere within Runescape. Also, if your crop becomes diseased it will allow you to teleport directly to that patch. Amulets of Nature are non-tradable so you will need to make one. First, get your hands on a emerald amulet that is unstrung (765gp). Then buy a magic string (4500gp). If you can’t get your hands on string, buy a magic root (7200gp) and use it on a spinning wheel (there is one upstairs in Lumbridge castle). Use the magic string on the amulet. Then use an enchant jewelry spell on it. Ta-dah! BTW: This amulet is of most use while being worn. Also, on a side note that I have yet to confirm, it might be superstition more than anything else, but it seems like harvests are slightly better while wearing the amulet. Again, I have not confirmed this effect, but it is something to note.

Now, for the money makers. Lets start with Toadflax. Toadflax seeds are a fairly inexpensive herb seed at only 300gp. When grown the grimy herbs sell for around 2100gp each. Only one seed needs to be planted per herb plot, and I tend to grow an average of five herbs. You should always use supercompost with these seeds to help prevent disease and increase harvests. The general growing time is around 75 minutes. It is Toadflax herb plots that I usually bind to my Amulet of Nature. For those who suck at math, Toadflax is an 800gp investment (the seed plus 500gp for supercompost) with an average return of 10.5k. In little over an hour you have made a 1300% profit. Not too bad. I usually try to keep three Toadflax plots going at the same time (see below for which three and how).

Always near a herb patch is a flower patch. This is where I plant my next money maker, Marigold. Marigold seeds sell for 70gp, but the fully grown flowers sell for 2700gp for a profit of 2630gp, or 3800%. Marigold only takes around 17 minutes to grow and only requires one seed. I just use standard compost with Marigolds.

If Marigolds aren’t your thing, try planting Limpwurt in a flower patch (yes, I too was surprised it was a flower). Limpwurt seeds sell for 300gp but produce three roots which sell for 850gp each (or 2550gp total). Like Marigolds, Limpwurts only require one seed and grow in about 17 minutes. Here also I only use regular compost.

There are some other combinations that I can use at my current level, but the initial investments are too risky and offer a far less profitable return. Ranarr is an example of this. Ranarr seed sells for 20k. Even assuming an average harvest of five Ranarr herbs (26k), that only leaves a 6k profit or a 23% profit. Noting that harvests do have a good chance of dying, it is just too much risk for so little return.

I like to use the farming patches in Catherby. They are very close to a bank, a farm store, a general store, and prime fishing spots. I use the Camelot teleport, then walk east to Catherby. It only take a minute and on the way through I usually kill off the two unicorns that hang out just west of the farm plots. I’ll plant my Toadflax (plus supercompost) and Marigolds. My Amulet of Nature is bound to the Toadflax plot. If I harvested anything before planting I will stop off at the bank and store it. I also usually top off my watering can at the house north east of the bank. If I have time I’ll go off and kill the unicorns again (anyone who has read much of my blog knows that any unicorn near me will be having a very bad day). At this point I can do a couple of things. I can run down to the shore and do some fishing. That is a good way to make even more money and kill time while maintaining a close watch on the farming plots. Or I will teleport to Winkin’s Farm and play a little Vinesweeper (another way to pass time and make experience points while maintaining a close eye on the farming plots). Or I do some mass training of the farming skill and plant on other plots throughout the world of Runescape.

If I do mass plant I usually walk/run from Catherby southwest (killing the Unicorns on the way) to the plots just north of Ardougne. There I plant the same crops, some Toadflax and Limpwurt or Marigolds. There is a master farmer in the general area to pickpocket, but I normally just do my brief farming stint and move on to the next set of plots.

The last set of plots I attend to are those south a Falador. There are many other plots within Runescape, but these three areas are the main ones I stick to. If my Explorer’s Ring (available as a reward from the Lumbridge/Draynor achievement diary) is charged I will teleport to the cabbage patch just south of the farming plots. If I don’t have charges left I will just use the Falador teleport and walk/run to the farming patch. Of course the same crops are planted here. I then teleport back to Camelot, walk east, kill the Unicorns, and check on the Catherby plots. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

You have probably noticed I have not mentioned anything about allotment patches. That is because I have no interest in farming with the exception of making money. I don’t really care about the xp. But if I do use the allotments, I will typically plant tomatoes because they have some nominal value. The seeds sell for 16gp and each tomato sells for around 44gp. I usually harvest about nine or ten tomatoes. Three seeds are need for allotments and I will only use regular compost. The total investment is 48gp with a return of about 440gp (or little less than 1000%). But for the most part I think allotments are more trouble then they are worth.

Here are some final thoughts. Kill the unicorns. Then. Try to bring along a butterfly net and an impling jar. I see implings all the time while farming. Kill more unicorns. You might as well bring your spy notebook with you because you never know if you are going to see a penguin spy while running around. Remember to dress light and kill more unicorns. The master farmers and seed stalls are excellent sources of seeds and thieving experience, but if you want to purchase your seeds you’ll find some good prices on the grand exchange. Lastly, keep a bottle of plant cure with you (but don’t worry, the nearby farming stores also sell the potion). And that is about all I have to say on this topic.

BTW: I usually come away with 50k of unicorn horns during a day of farming.