Runescape Today

Been awhile since I posted here...

My Son and I were found the Runescape community on Swift irc tonight..

WOW Talk about ignorant arrogant people..

After a few seconds in the #rs-market room.
My ip was banned.

I dunno why.. I asked and asked..
One user.. (Acid) told me not to complain.

I told him that I was trying to do a review about irc and Runescape.
But he didnt care.

In fact in PM he told me he was GOD.

Draw your own conclusions. Yes irc is good for Runescaperz.
But only if their stupid bots dont bann you..
The admins in the room are asleep
many people get banned for no reason...
I saw 3 people complaining in the space of 5 mins that I was in #rshelp room
Thats where i found "Acid"
When I tried to explain that their bot was playing up..
He said..
Too Bad..
Im not lifting the bann..
How nice of him.

Well...

It's easy...

All you have to do is complain publicly..

Start at the bottom... Thats where it all began...

Oh and a message for the Forum Moderator Neanta who finally banned me..

"Protect Jagex from the truth.. Sleep well knowing you saved Jagex from financial loss.. But you let down the whole internet community by refusing to allow free speech.."

FreeSpeech Gone
Looks like Im gonna get banned
Can I complain here?
I give up
Making Friends at Jagex
OMGOSH!! JAGEX!!
Shutup or we will ban you???
Lost Password Merry-go-round

Using the Jagex Forum..
(Mind you.. You have to be a paid member to even post there..)

Seems Jagex doesn't like negative comments about their customer service..

But what am I supposed to do?

Just..

"This is not your account. Please do not request it again or we may be forced to take action against you and any other accounts you use for misuse of our Customer Support service."

Shutup and go away?

Obviously.

Well...

The Jagex system is setup to only let you send 5 messages to customer service..
and.. I have 5 in the system waiting for them to answer..

So when I recieved the previous message from them..

I had no where to go..

Except the Runescape Forums..

So.... I found the "rant" section and proceeded to rant..
lol

But guess what..
All my messages were deleted and the subjects locked (so noone else could comment)
within minutes (sometimes seconds) of being posted.

Well... As you can imagine...
This made me very angry.

And tho I tried to get my opinion across..

They locked every forum I posted to..
and Started saying I would be banned if I continued..

Now read what they said to my last post titled "FreeSpeech??"

"
Lazerzap1

You have been given numerous warnings, all of which you have ignored. For this reason, I have no choice but to ban you. You may not discuss your account status or discuss Jagex issues here; this is clearly stated in the Forum specific Rules. You may only rant about in-game features implemented by Jagex here.
Please also keep in mind that the Forum Moderators do not make the rules; we only enforce them. If you are having problems with the rules, or with the actions taken by a Forum Moderator, you will need to take this up with Jagex directly. You need to contact Jagex with the following information:

The full name of your thread (where the issue occurred).
The name of the forum your thread was posted on.
The name of the Moderator in question.

Without this information, Jagex cannot complete a full and fair investigation.

Before you send your complaint to Jagex, we strongly recommend you to read the Forum Code of Conduct, and the Forum Specific Rules.


Taken from the Code of Conduct:

What about my freedom of speech?

Since Jagex owns and operates these private forums for paying members, the company reserves the right to decide what may or may not be posted.

This is not a breach of your freedom of speech; it is simply to protect all RuneScape players from content which they might find offensive or inappropriate. Remember that RuneScape is enjoyed by players of many ages and nationalities; please respect that others may not have the same point of view as you do.
"

Now I really like that bit at the end...

"This is not a breach of your freedom of speech; it is simply to protect all RuneScape players from content which they might find offensive or inappropriate."

I was trying to highlight a problem with Customer Service..
Is this "offensive or inappropriate."???

Because it is my only crime.

So therefore.. My freedom of speech was completely disregarded by the Forum Moderators.

Choose wisely where to spend your money.

Your Password Request has been declined by our staff:


Your Request Sent on: 16th December 2006
Message Status: Declined on 16th December 2006
Our Response:

Hi,

Unfortunately the information you have provided us with does not match our records. Please ensure that the information you provide is correct, as we are unable to issue you with a new password without this information.
To regain control of this account could you please provide us with the following information:

Passwords:
Instances of old passwords used on this account, the earlier the better.

Contact Details:
The postcode/zipcode and email address details that you created the account with.

We NEVER use unpaid gamers as staff.

You must have been wrongly informed of your information.

This is not your account. Please do not request it again or we may be forced to take action against you and any other accounts you use for misuse of our Customer Support service.

Please consider this matter closed.

Sincerely
The RuneScape support team

(See how good their support is???)

Jagex Customer Service indicated that I was misleading people with my rant post about their Customer Service staff..

Not intentionally.. I can assure you..

I will clarify what I have learnt.

Jagex Customer Service are paid employees

Player Moderators are not.

That should fix it..
;)

Well.. After numerous attempts to get my password for my lazerzap account.
I am no happier with Jagex Customer Service.

They simply will not reset my password.

No matter what I say.

I have given them my details over and over.

They have ever read this blog..
To no avail..

Each reply asks for something that I gave them the time before..
or the time before that...

They say that I have never given them my details.

But I have.. Over and over...

I will battle on...

Periodically I will continue to attempt to obtain a new password.
(and blog the results here..)

This is gonna be a bad...

But I can't see this happening without comment..

Anyone who knows me..
Knows that I represented a large multi-national organisation for a number of years in a Customer Service role..

From "In the field" to "Head Office".. I saw it all..

For 3 years I assisted in supporting 400 outlets across Australia into maintaining good customer service levels..

In short.. I think I know BAD support when I see it....
And to be honest..

It just makes me frustrated to see companies throwing money down the
drain because they simply WILL NOT SPEND A PENNY on customer service.

Internet companies are the worst..
In the Real World, real companies don't get away with this behaviour.
This is (unfortunately) the attitude of the "Fly by Night" operation.

These companies are as surprised as anyone else at their own success.
As a result they are hesitant to "WASTE" profit on any Customer Service.

Customers soon realise, that they're at the mercy of a Company who just wants to extract cash while providing minimal support.

Most of these Internet Companies survive on volunteer helpers.
(Meaning.. Absolutely No financial outlay on Customer Service..)

Jagex is no different from "most" internet companies in this regard.

Is this fair for the users?
You may say YES..

For to provide real support would make the subscription prices rise..

This is probably unfortunately true also.

Lets do some sums...

At 10.48pm CST (Central (Australian) Standard Time) I counted 46568 members online.
in US dollars.. Thats.. $7.95 x 46568 = $370,215.60 a month.

$4,442,587.20 a year

OMG.. That only represents the people that were online at the time..
This is the tip of the iceburg..

:( Now I am really unhappy...

They probably have many more paid users than what a snapshot in time reveals..

Ok lets say they only have 1/3 more users...
Thats $493,620 a month or $5,923,440.00 a year..
(In Australian dollars thats around $7 million a year)

I dont care how you look at it...

They can afford to provide real Customer Support.
But they still survive on volunteer staff!!!

Well... Apart from Jagex being so stingy with their high profits..

The volunteer staff themselves are part of the issue...
If they were trained into providing true customer service..
This would provide a solution..

However most Jagex Staff seem to be selected on their "Lagg" basis..
ie: How many times they are prepared to complain about people in the game.

Obviously this creates a feeling of "Us" and "Them".
All moderators are supposed to report rule infringements.

Most users know that the only way to be a moderator is to report people until Jagex notice what a good little snitch you are..

Is this the way to create Customer Support Staff?
To select from those who cause others to be banned?

I dont know about you..
But I have seen people reported for absolutely nothing..
I have seen users with bad attitudes report people
for the most minor (in my eyes)of infringements..

It is "this" that Jagex selects staff from...
(Note: Sick feeling in Stomache coming on..)

Then what?
Training in a Customer Service role?

I doubt it...

How do you train a 14 year old who only wants to PK..
Into being a staff member or Customer Service Rep. of your company??

You dont..

But Jagex would like us to believe that this is happening...

Maybe it is.. For some..
But I have been in a similar position myself.
As a volunteer helper for Inspeak.

I know from experience what kind of battlefield it can be
as a volunteer helper.

We were supposed to all be adults and yet issues were created..
I shudder to think at the pandamonium of young children thrown
into that kind of equation.

Apart from not being able to "trust" a moderator in the game..
(ie: that moderator tried to ripp me off by 40k on a seed price.. hmmm)

The most obvious sign of bad Customer Service is when direct Questions are not being answered.

Jagex Staff who instead of putting some effort into a reply, just fob you off onto a inadaquate FAQ.


Most of us have read the FAQ's and tried the suggestions before resorting to attempted communications with Jagex.

Failing to answer directly. Just pasting a FAQ is not providing a solution.
Especially if your unable to continue the conversation in any way.

Wouldn't it be nice to reply to the moderator and say..
Sorry mate.. Tried that.. Now please help..

It seems many other people have been treated the same way...

Please sign the petition if you believe.. (Like I do)
That life time banns are unfair..

Please sign petition titled Runescape accounts being permanently banned.


(Please be advised that some comments you will read from the petition link are NOT G rated due to the fact that these people are very upset)

How would you like your hard earned levels to go down the tube?
What if you were banned tomorrow? Forever?

And if Jagex dont listen to you?
Lets say a Moderator has made a decision to ban you..
What now?
Start again?

So how do the Bans work?

Bans and mutes

and pay special attention to..

What are black marks and what do they mean?

Jagex claims to have a black mark system in place..
I will try and find out more about this..

This is an example of Jagex's flawed customer support.
(My second message about this.. Months in between..)



and their really awful reply... (Read the FAQ)



Dummies.. I did read the FAQ.. Before I posted the question.. Duh!!

I even tried what the FAQ suggested..

But Jagex's software (and my memory) will not allow me to retrieve my password.

So why do they limit your question to 400 characters? It's impossible to ask a decent question or give a decent explaination in 400 characters!!!!

The obvious answer is because they DO NOT WANT anything from you.
Except your MONEY.

Note: I have never been banned on Runescape under any I.D.
(But I have a black mark or 2.. Possibly more after this post..)

Trying to explain to Jagex staff in a system that is not setup to accomodate communications is from users, is impossible.

Jagex only allow 400 characters to a message sent from you (the user)
Whereas a Moderator (Jagex Staff) isn't restricted to this pitiful pittance.

As a result Jagex basically hamstring you into not complaining!!!

There is no way to REPLY to a moderator..
You have to repeat the whole process of creating a message from the main Runescape Website again....
and again...
Every 400 characters...

(I had a Moderator tell me that they turned on the function so I could reply to their messages... But they were only pulling my chain.. I still couldn't reply without resorting to the main menu entry..)

Of course you cant reply to any individual moderators.. Or even address them..
The messages go to Jagex.. First Moderator up.. Gets to answer..

Everyone is a number.. They dont care for individuals.. Not even their own staff.

I do think the Mods take the messages off the top because this is what i have experienced... And if you have created broken messages..

ie: Where you have to use 3 or 4 messages to make your point.. Due to this 400 character limitation..

You will see what I mean.

A different Moderator will answer each part of the message..
And Each moderator replies.. Via quoting faq's (Round in circles)...

Please Jagex.. It's a really good game..
You guys make a lot of money from it.. Obviously..
Lets not have such bad customer service..

We pay you a lot for this game.. It seems..

So lets get real about Runescape.
Employ some real Customer Service Staff and get more users online.

You only hurt yourselves..
Because If I ever get banned.. I won't stay and do it all again..
No way..

Runescape owes me hours and hours of hard work.
Trying to deal with Adolecent Moderators and a 400 character limited communications system.

Been there.. Done that.. It's all too tough for me..

I would just go and find a better game.. With smoooooth graphics..
(They do exist.. But I havent put the time into them like Runescape)

;)

Well..

I did the quests.. I worked up my kills to Master level..



This is what I look like.. With the full kit..


I can't wait to see what armour the next quest brings..
Or to finally gain access to the Temple Knights Headquarters...

Except when you work hard and still dont get any tokens.
:(

That can be quite annoying.. Especially when your trying to collect
armour for your construction levels.

But the Game itself can be quite exciting.

Especially when you have the flag and manage to get it back to your base.

:)

Here is my Castle Wars Armour in my House.


and.. my left over tickets.. So far..

Daniel says the best way is to teleport continiously.
But I dunno...

This is my Mage setup..

Basically.. For training or fighting I use 2 rings.

For Melee I use a Warrior Ring (500k - 600k).

As you can see the Warrior Ring increases Slash Attack and Defence by 4.


For Mage I use a Seers Ring (450k - 550k).

As you can see the Seers Ring increases Magic Attack and Defence by 4.

I have tried a few shields on runescape..

From rune kites to defenders to GOD books..
With the exception of Dragon Shelds I've tried em all..

Unless your setup as a mage, without doubt the Rune Defender is the best.

Defenders can be obtained in the Warrior Guild.
The Warrior Guild may only be accessed by warriors or
in other words, melee characters.
As such, you need a total of 130 level by adding up your attack
levels and strength levels prior to attempting entry to the Warrior Guild.

The Defender adds a bonus to Attack and Defence stats.
Unlike most others (with the exception to Guthix Book)..



Attack Bonus: Stab: +20 Slash: +19 Crush: +18 Magic: -2 Range: -3
Defense Bonus: Stab: +20 Slash: +19 Crush: +18 Magic: -2 Range: -3
Other Bonus: Strength: +5

If you have GOD Books.. (and I have all 3)
You will find them almost useless once you aquire a Rune Defender.

Likewise a normal shield.
Although anti-fire shields still have a purpose.

I remember when my son lost 3.8 million.
He was selling a full set of guilded armour.
Somehow the scammer was able to pull back his offer and
got the set of guilded for free!!!

Daniel was pretty upset..

It didnt ruin him.. But it was months of work gone...

Jagex should impliment a simple routine into the trade module..
So that if a trade is happening without anything in return..
A question like. "You are giving this/these items. Are you sure?"
could popup...

I think this would impact on the scammers..

We pay for our membership monthly. As a result. From time to time.

We find ourselves without Runescape membership.
:(

Surviving this disaster requires a strategy.

Once your membership expires you will not be able to use member items.

You will also not be able to Bank any member items that you have in your
inventory unless you have more than one of that item in your Bank inventory.

So I would advise everyone to Bank all member items
before your loss of membership.

A Free to Play (F2P) user recieves 60 bank spaces.
A Pay to Play (P2P) user recieves 400 bank spaces.

The idea is to have multiple items in your Bank.
That way you can take an item out and replace it when required.



Of course new items that you find will not be able to be stored in the bank
unless you reduce your total to 59.

Or pay for membership again.

Edited - 12 Jan 2008 - Due to new updates (applied over the last few months) this method will no longer work. The shops do not operate in the same way any longer. Runescape now has unlimited amounts of stock available in all of the various shops.

Making money on Runescape isn't that difficult.
Although when I started I wondered how anyone was able to afford anything.
Just keeping up with the prices of the required armour and weapons was a daunting task.

Then one day I realized a way of making money...

For a long time I swore the kids to secrecy over this process.
Many of Sarah and Daniel's Runescape friends wanted to know how
level 40's had trimmed and GOD armour.
We all made our initial bankrolls this way.

This technique does NOT require any combat level.
But everyone needs to have a bankroll of at least 20k to begin.
You can do it with less money but you will find it harder.

First of all locate the Ranger (Arrow) Shops.

There is one in Varrock. There is also one in Rimmington.





(Note: Amounts of arrows and prices vary at each shop.)

The strategy is to buy addy arrows cheaply and to sell those arrows at a profit.

First of all get yourself located in a shop that sells addy arrows.



The shop in Varrock has 600 addy arrows available when full.
The price of a single addy arrow in Varrock starts at 80 coins.
If you buy 2 arrows they will be 80 ea.
But if you buy a third the price goes up to 81.
This is important to note.

The more arrows you buy the higher the price you pay.



(Note: I have sat buying arrows and seen people come in and buy the shop out of addy arrows.. Wasting a lot more money than they had to.. If they had just followed this technique)

From a full Shop of 600 addy arrows:

If you buy 2. The next one will cost 81.
Or if you buy 5. The next one will cost 84.
Or if you buy 10. The next one will cost 88.
Or if you buy 20. The next one will cost 96.
Or if you buy 30. The next one will cost 104.

You can buy more than 30 at a time in Varrock.
But your profit will not be so high.
Although it may take less time.

Alternately you can buy 10 or 20 at a time.
Making a lot more profit than what I have quoted.
But taking a lot longer to achieve.

I started on a world with 20k cash. In 10 minutes,

(After jumping worlds and purchasing 30 arrows each time.)

I had 210 addy arrows and was broke.

Now.. To get your money back...
Go to World 1 or World 3. Sell the 210 addy arrows in the same shop for 150gp ea.



Bingo.. 31500gp. You just made 11.5k in 10 mins.

Now work your way up to putting a Zero behind it..
Meaning...

Just keep repeating the pattern..
Until you get sick of making money this way..

In not very long at all you will be looking at figures like this...

Starting with 200k
You purchase 2100 addy arrows.
Selling them for 315k.
Making a profit of 115k in a little over an hour and a half.

Once you get to this level...
(And you can always go back to this as a way of making money..)

It is time to change to buying and selling trimmed armour.

The only trimmed armour that is popular is the GOLD trimmed armour.
Do not be distracted into purchasing the other varieties.

Concentrate on only purchasing the Black (G) Armour.

Purchase the items until you have a set.



Note: Skirts are much harder to sell than legs. They should be avoided.

Black (G) Armour	Buy Price	Sell Price
Full Helm	35-50	55-65
Plate Body	55-85	95-105
Plate Legs	35-60	70-80
Kite Shield	45-65	70-85
Totals	170-260	290-335

Then sell the Black (G) set for 280k - 300k.
Repeat the process making a profit of at least 50k each time.

Pretty soon you will be working your way to GOD armour..
:)

Don't get distracted with Addy or Rune trimmed armour.

Go straight for Sara..
Get the Sara Plate Body first..
Dont pay more than 1.1 Million for it.
(Less if possible)
Then concentrate on collecting your Sara set.
300 for a Helm
300 for Plate Legs
450 for a Kite Shield
Total Spent: 2.15 Million

Then sell it for 2.4 - 2.5 Million.
Making 250 - 350k profit.
Then do it again..

;)

Good profit can be made from all Trimmed Armour.

Just be aware of the current prices..

If your not sure of the price.. Don't buy it!!

Thankyou to http://rsdo.net/sigs/SigMaker.aspx and http://www.wizzonline.co.uk/signaturemakers/selectsig.php
for the following signatures..

Well.. The new hunter skill was released.
I worked it all night. I heard others saying that their eyesight was failing due to fatigue.
But still I hunted on.. Determined to rank high and fast..



(Like all the rest..)
After many many hours I checked my stats.. Realized I was way behind a lot of other players..



Basically said Awwww.. I guess I will train hunter again later..
I got it up to 41 before I quit.

We are a Family of 3. All into Runescape.
We started playing just before easter 2006. Unfortunately at that time we did not understand the rare drops that occur on Runescape. So none of us have an easter egg. (From Easter 2006) Although I can remember chasing bunnies around when we just started.. :( I am the father of our small group. My name is lazerzap1 on Runescape.





My daughter is sarbearroxy



and my son is dandwc88.



We play Runescape daily. Sometimes we get together and go PK'ing or just co-operating to make a profit. It makes it easyier to setup trades etc when your all in the same room. We run 5 PC's in the house. A 466 Celeron running Linux as a firewall provides the internet to a couple of switches. We mainly use a P4 3 gig as our primary machine. Another P4 1.6 Gig as a secondary. With a P3 550 Mhz as last choice. :) My GF (Girlfriend - Runescape hater) plugs an Athelon 1.8 Gig into our network as well. As the father I always use the best machine. lol My son commandeers it when I am not around. My daughter mainly uses the P4 1.6 Gig. Much to my sons disgust.