Do you remember the whomping willow from Harry Potter? Well, now Runescape has a whomping willow of their own. The Evil Tree has sprouted and seen all over Runescape and the Leprechauns need your help to stop the Tree from getting out of control. The Evil tree is basically the Shooting Star Distraction and Diversion. There are no quest requirements to cut and burn the tree but completing Tree Gnome Village to teleport via the Spirit Trees straight to the tree is strongly advised. All you need is a high woodcutting level (85 is the highest you need to cut down the highest level tree, 15 is the lowest) and a high Firemaking level (Same as the Woodcutting, 85 for highest, 15 for lowest).  The trees rank from a normal evil tree to an elder evil tree. The more time no one has found the tree the better because over time it will grow from normal all the way up to elder. All you need is and Axe and a Tinderbox, but don’t worry, if you somehow forget to bring your axe then you can ask the Leprechaun for an Axe and a Tinderbox as soon as the tree starts to turn to the dark, evil side.

Now, before I go on, I need to let you know. If you click on a tree and you don’t have the requirements for it then that will be one of your trees for the day. Evil Trees will come in waves every 2 hours (as stated by Mod Mat K in game) and they will be in one of 28 spots.

They work like the Shooting Star Distraction and Diversion.  If you have completed The Tree Gnome Village quest then before the Evil tree becomes an Evil tree then the spirit trees will give you hints to where the evil saplings are so you can go and nurture it.

But, when the Evil Tree sapling becomes a fully grown Evil Tree, the spirit tree will offer to teleport you directly to the tree so you can cut it down. When you find the evil tree, it will shake wildly, lashing out its branches. The Evil Trees cannot deal any damage, but the roots may stun people.

The Evil tree can’t hurt you but it can stun you in 2 ways. If you are chopping the tree by some roots then the roots will push you out of the way, stunning you and if you are trying to set a fire around the base of the tree then you will get stunned. If players are standing on top of an area where a root shoots out, they will automatically dive of the way. The fastest way to kill the Evil Tree is to start chopping the tree till roots shoots out.  When the roots do shoot out, cut those for Evil Tree kindling. You will not gain any Evil Tree kindling while you are cutting the roots but as soon as the root is cut down, you will receive one Evil Tree kindling. You should then use the kindling on the trees base to set it ablaze. You can have 8 flames around the tree and they will stay there from the time you light it to the time the tree is killed.

The more you cut the tree the better your reward will be that the Evil tree has swallowed.

Now, while some of the item rewards aren’t that good, the other part of the reward is the best part. The Leprechauns will be so happy that you helped kill the Evil tree that they will grant you the power of having your logs magically be sent to your bank when your inventory if full.

This is a total bonus because this will allow you to keep on chopping while everyone else has to go to the bank  and everyone else has to go and bank. Another part of this bonus reward is that the tree you are cutting will stay around longer when you are cutting it. This part of the reward only works on Trees that you have not grown in your Farming patches. The best way to use this reward is to fill your inventory up half way then going to the Maple trees behind the Seers’ Village Bank, equipping your Seers’ Headband 3 and your lumberjack top, bottom and boots and just watching that experience in. You won’t be able to see if someone else has that power because the animation is only seen by you.

Over all the Evil Tree Distraction and Diversions is just like all the other Distraction and Diversions events. It is a good way to spend some time if you have nothing to do. The rewards can be worth it seeing that you are able to get nests, key halves and clue scrolls. It is a fun way to spend the afternoon and if you find two high level Evil Trees, then your day will be much better. Seeing anyone can do it, it’s a fun way to get experience no matter what level you are.