A while ago, a topic caught my attention on the forums about the style that people assume when playing RuneScape. It was a debate between the economic style; doing almost everything yourself as well as trying to get the most XP or GP in the least amount of time, or the more relaxed approach; where you just do whatever you like, regardless of any goals you're trying to achieve, money you're about to spend, or XP you may or may not get.
I was interested in this because I fit neatly in both categories. I do aim towards certain levels to unlock things, and while I don’t mine my own Gold Ore for example, I will buy only the necessary amount that I will need to get my next Smithing level. On the other hand, and this is most apparent when considering quests, I'd like to have been all over RuneScape, unlocked as many minigames, music, ways of travel, or towns as possible, knowing full well that I might never use them.
So what triggers the choice between the casual, on a whim, hey-let's-do-that-now attitude and the rigorous, must-get-it-before-sundown type of play? First and foremost I think it depends on how badly you want something. If you want to be fighting with an Abyssal Whip, then you are going to have to work for level 70 Attack. A good second reason is of course your own resources. Not everyone has the money to buy the thousands of runes needed (or even the Essence to make them) for level 94 Magic. Or what about wanting to use the Gnome Gliders? You're going to have to do the quest, and therefore need the requirements for that quest.
Using the examples above it becomes painfully obvious that time is an issue as well. Not everyone purchases a year's worth of membership at a time, and in order to enjoy everything you want out of your brief time, you're going to have to do the job within a set amount of time. But if time is on your side, you could mine your own Pure Essence and craft all your own runes to train your Magic with. But really, who does that.
All of this seems to be geared towards one thing: the need to achieve. You want to be able to impress others with your achievements, no matter how insignificant they may seem compared to the greatest players of RuneScape. You want to be able to look back and say "See? I did all that, and I'm proud of it!" regardless of who you are saying it to.
So what happened to just doing what you like to do? I know I've stood quite recently near Lumbridge and whacked me a lot of Goblins. Passers-by took one look at me and concluded that with everything I wore to kill them faster, they thought I was a noob. They didn't know that I was there for the Champions Challenge Scroll (which is insanely rare, btw), and therefore thought that what I was doing was useless.
I guess it really depends on what you are after in this game. Some people have fun making as much money as possible, or owning 14 sets of Guthans, others like to have all rewards from all minigames, and others again want to be able to kill everyone in Bounty Hunter. As expected everyone has their own definition of having fun, and some people even prefer to do everything with a group of friends or clan mates, rather then being alone.
So in the end, all I can ask of you having read this article, please don't judge a book until you've at least read the cover.
Did You Know...
...that you can use Snare or Entangle spells to hold Implings in place for a while, even outside of Puro-Puro? This is especially useful when you are holding one for a friend. (Thanks to the Tal Shiar Alliance!)
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