The Tip.It Times


Issue 199gp

The Greed Factor

Written by and edited by Tip.It

As many veteran players have noticed and lately commented, it seems that more and more players, some new and some old, are revoltingly consumed with insatiable greed. While players may think this overwhelmingly common attitude has little effect in the game, perhaps it has a much larger influence than they realize. For the sake of referring to this overwhelming greed among RuneScape players in this article, I will name it the Greed Factor.

We have discussed, in recent articles, some of the effects of the Greed Factor, whether or not we have given it credit in our discussions. In the article Cleaning Away the Scum, oddfaery2 discussed the massive deletions of people violating rule 7 (macroing). What he fails to mention is the Greed Factor's influence on the people violating this rule. The only reason people macro is because they want to get "rich" without doing any work (I use quotations because different players have different perceptions of how much wealth is considered rich).

This part of the Greed Factor is what has the worst effect on the game. Players wanting to become rich are in no way a problem. A desire for wealth can motivate a player to work hard and achieve glorious goals, such as 91 runecrafting, but this hard work and motivation is not found in people suffering from the Greed Factor. Players with the Greed Factor will do almost anything they can to make a few extra GP. This is why the Greed Factor is so bad.

We have seen an increase in player moderators and bans, not only because RuneScape has grown to be one of the largest games of its type, but because the Greed Factor has created more necessity for rule enforcement. The Greed Factor has contributed to all forms of "hacking", macroing, scam attempts, and price manipulation. It has even brought a rise to merchanting, as most players see this as the easiest form of making money. The combination of the Greed Factor and increase in merchanting has brought rare items to prices previously unimaginable, as seen in The Rares Market.

So why am I discussing this phenomena? Simply because it seems so many players think so little can be done. I have talked to several players consumed by the Greed Factor, and it seems they are lost in the ways of making legitimate money. One does not need to merchant, scam, or steal their way to wealth. One can make money on his or her own. It seems many players do not realize the vast potential they have. Perhaps upon reading this they will turn from players suffering from the Greed Factor into players who earn money legitimately.

There are several methods to make money legitimately in this game that many players do not seem to notice. Some of these methods are considered secrets by some, although they are nothing difficult to discover. Not only will discussing these methods perhaps affect the Greed Factor, but will help answer the all-to-common question, "How can I make money?" So feel free to direct Tip.It users asking this question to this article.

PVP (Player vs. Player) Combat
Many players consider staking or PKing to be top forms of money-making. For many players who know the tricks of the trade, this is true, but the problem with PVP based income is that whatever a player earns this way results in another player's loss. Thus unless one is either very successful or very lucky, one can easily lose just as much as they ever earn from this method of income. Another issue with this, especially with staking, is that many exploits and bugs exist in PVP combat, which often do not get fixed until people who have exploited the bugs have gotten rich by doing so. So be careful if you choose this style of income, because you can be a victim of the Greed Factor in others and unfairly lose massive amounts of GP.

Merchanting
Merchanting is perhaps one of the most controversial forms of making gold in RuneScape. Many players feel that merchants are nothing but greedy scoundrels who will stop at nothing to make a little extra gold. Many players feel that it takes no skill to be a merchant. One can travel busy trading areas and see many players calling others "merchant" in a snide, condescending tone. Those of you merchants facing this can thank the Greed Factor for your bad name.

Merchanting in itself is a respectable means of making money; however, most players consumed with the Greed Factor use some form of merchanting in order to reach their financial goals. Buying low and selling high is the whole heart of merchanting, but these merchants feed off the desperate and inexperienced in order to make their profits, getting items for often as little as half what they are worth, and turning around to sell them for well over the standard prices. Sadly these players get associated with all merchants. Perhaps by spreading the word to new players about checking forums to see what prices are, or by answering them (honestly) when they ask, we can all help fight the Greed Factor in merchanting.

How can you make money merchanting without looking like a victim of the Greed Factor? There are many ways in which to do this. Every item in the game has a general range in prices, such as coal ranges from 150-200 each (whether or not this number is still accurate the point remains). Many merchants will buy at the lower end of this general price range, and upon gathering a large bulk, sell at the higher end of the price range. This method is completely respectable, as in doing so you have not “ripped off” any inexperienced players.

Another common method of merchanting, once a player has made a decent profit, is to start dealing with rares. This can be very profitable if you do this successfully, and over time these items will do nothing but go up in price (granted that Jagex doesn't release something that stops this). On the other hand, certain items sell for higher amounts at certain times of the year, or other times such is speculated and when it does not, the price plummets. While the items constantly go up, there can be a short-term drop in price, so keep this risk (and opportunity) in mind when entering this market. Many players will buy a few of these items that are more expensive and allow them to sit in the bank and "draw interest" over time, then sell the items once they reach a certain price. This requires a bigger investment and time span, but is definitely a smart way to merchant.

Skills
Skills are by far my favorite method of making money. The best thing about skills is that the money earned is money created in the game, not money taken from another player, at least for many of them. I often hear players saying things like, "I'd raise ______ skill, but I don't have enough money to do it," or "I can't make money with that skill, it's not high enough!"

To these players I say that you are wrong! Perhaps you can not raise it in a conventional way, or in the fastest way, but you can make money with almost any skill in the game. Don't let yourself be deceived in thinking that skills can not make good money. Even with only 44 runecrafting a player can make over 300k GP an hour using the abyss. There are several other skills by which you can earn money at this rate as well, and once you reach high levels, not only will you have respect among your peers, but you can make as much as 500k, 750k, or even one million GP per hour.

Keep your options in mind. Try to find satisfaction in making your money respectably, and don't cave in to the call of the Greed Factor. Your peers look up to honest players, not liars and cheats. So do you want to be honored or shunned?

Do you have any thoughts or comments about what you've just read? Want to discuss this article with your fellow RuneScapers? We invite you to discuss the article in this forum topic.


Do you have any thoughts or comments about this week's articles? Want to discuss these articles with your fellow RuneScapers? We invite you to discuss them in this forum topic.


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Will you use Menaphos to train your skills?



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