Folks, let’s face it. Sooner or later responsibilities will creep up to us in our sleep and plunge us into a whole new world. One with limitations so tight that escape is the only way to handle them. But with that, more responsibilities will unfold as a consequence, and before you know it, you’re overwhelmed. This is a very dangerous state to be in, because it’s known to cause heavy depression. You don’t want to go there.

Runescape is awesome. It’s taught me a number of things, helped me socialize with others, develop a sense of strategy, boosted my confidence, and allowed me to work towards preset goals. However, what I get from it, I pay for in time and effort; both of which I could be using to do something much more … beneficial in the long-term.

OK, I’ll come straight out with it. I’m addicted. It’s a priority that shouldn’t be. I want to keep improving so that I’m not left behind. I want to get richer, stronger, and better, and yet, not have to pay for it in time.

So, what do I do? What does ANYBODY do?

… if you say “cheat”, you’re a selfish newbie with no disregards to the rules and, despite being a good programmer, won’t get very far in life. Rules are NOT made to be broken, because otherwise they would be made every day as an activity. Either that, or they would highlight the opposite of what should be done. *Sarcastic tone* “Rule 6: Hack and auto to your heart’s delight. Rulebreakers will be commended and awarded. Those who follow them – BANNED!”

No. Simply, no.

So, what DO I do?

Simply enough, I simply spend as little time on Runescape as possible while still getting benefit. This usually deriving from the ever-awesome events only done once a day/week. They are very beneficial, and yet make it so you need only sacrifice about 15 minutes a day while getting on with your (taboo word approaching …) real life.

Here are a bunch of things you can do to continue to improve while spending minimal time online:

Requirements:
– The Throne of Miscellania quest and its requirements

Optional Recommendations:
– A Fairy Tale Part 2 quest
– Lunar Diplomacy quest
– Royal Trouble quest

This one’s a given. Since you won’t be spending your money otherwise, you might as well be putting it to good use. What better use then to let it multiply before your very eyes? Dump the lot of it into your coffers, fill your approval rating, and just … leave it. Log in every few days to bring up the approval rating again. Once a week, retrieve all the resources and sell them all off to regain your fortune so you can … add it to the coffers!

I recommend flax or coal, as they sell for a price that usually pays off at most 75 thousand coins a day. Maples are good too, for the tree seeds and nests. But herbs and farming seeds aren’t worth it. Also, as best as you can, keep your approval rating high. I recommend mining coal to do this, as not only is it the fastest, but there’s a faint chance you’ll encounter a meteor at that location.

Requirements:
– 7000+ coins to begin with

Optional Recommendations:
– Varrock Armor 3

This is literally a free-money method. Buy battlestaffs from Zaff for 7000 each, and then throw them on the Grand Exchange for around 8200 each (it’s usually more, like 8300, but I’m highlighting how the average worst-case scenario also benefits). Instant 1200 coins per staff. Varrock Armor lets you get more than the usual 8 per day. Use the Varrock Armor 3 to get 64 of them, and you’ll earn 76800 coins – good for paying off the coffers daily for pure, endless profit! What’s more, it’ll only take 5 minutes of your day to do! 76800 coins in 5 minutes is really not that bad – a million coins per hour.

Requirements:
– Tears of Guthix Quest

Optional Recommendations:
– Quest Cape, or at least as many quest points as possible
– Goblin Diplomacy quest

The quest only takes 5 minutes to pull off. Perhaps not even. All you need is a functional bullseye lantern, a sapphire, a tinderbox, a pickaxe, and a chisel. Get down there by any means necessary, do your thing, and get 60 experience per tear in your lowest stat (provided it’s over level 30, otherwise it’s 2x the level experience per tear). Doesn’t sound like much, but let the weeks go on by, and you’ll find all your lower stats in the 50s-60s easily. Again, it only takes 5 minutes to do – a couple of minutes to get there, and a few to do the event. Each quest point you have is a second of extra time you spend in there, so add them all up for maximum benefit.

No recommendations, requirements, or whatever. Just go in once a week, pull off your performances, and do one of everything for a huge chunk of magic, ranged, and agility experience. You get much more experience for the things that you have the level for, so I recommend you do the highest level of those first, and then it’s your choice to either whittle away the other low-level things or attempt the higher-level ones. You only get experience if you succeed, so forget the audience and clothes and repeat until you do pull it off. I usually get around 10 000 or so experience in ranged and agility each time, because they’re only around level 70-80, but I get a whopping 28000 experience for my level 94 magic each time. Again, do them quickly and relaxed, and it’ll only take 5-10 minutes to do the three. Oh, and last notes – when doing the tightrope, do NOT juggle, as you get no experience from it. When ranging, shoot once from every spot, as it doesn’t reset from 50 to 99 for both types of targets. And, with mage, alchemy or teleport one item, because you get no experience for casting the second type of spell on the same target.

I like to do these all the time. Run at your favorite tough-monsters using no food, proselyte armor and whatever other strength and prayer boosts you can achieve, and pray the whole time. When you’re out of prayer, teleport home or to an altar, recharge, and return. This way, the trips cost nothing but a set of teleport runes (you get the experience anyways), and they only take about 5-10 minutes with a nice load of drops.