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RuneScoop.com  >  The RuneScoop Laboratory - RuneScape Gameplay Testing and Myth Busting

The RuneScoop Laboratory - Report #9 - Assessing the Dragon Pickaxe The RuneScoop Dynamic Moneymaking Guide for RuneScape

Published: April 6, 2010

In RuneScoop Lab report #1 I attempted to assess the “real world” value of small strength bonuses by directly comparing the berserker ring to the warrior ring. The former provides a +4 strength boost at a high cost, while the latter gives a +4 accuracy bonus (for slashing attacks) at a much more moderate price.

The results of that test showed pretty clearly that the berserker ring is not nearly as good as most players think it is, and that in many cases the warrior ring is as good, if not better. But then Jagex implemented its change from hit points to life points, and many readers wondered what impact, if any, that might have on the comparison. I was curious as well, and also just wanted more data, so I redid most of that test, and added in a couple of extra monsters as well.

If you haven’t read the prior report, you may wish to review it before continuing.

The setup for most of this test was identical to that described in the text of report #1, so refer back to that page if you want details. I used the exact same equipment and fought under the same conditions as I did then. There were a couple of differences from last time, though.

First, I only did three of the four monsters from test #1: abyssal demons, black dragons and living rock strikers; I left off giant rock crabs because they aren’t particularly interesting and luck is even more of a factor there than it is for most monsters.

Second, I added two new monsters to the mix: dark beasts and ice strykewyrms. These were both fought on assignment in prayer gear, using a full Slayer helmet, with Deflect Melee and Turmoil curses active. This is how I would normally fight them on a Slayer assignment (except that, as before, I didn’t use enhancing potions).

Third, I measured the time to achieve a particular number of kills, rather than going by XP—this is easier and more accurate. I aimed for a number of kills to give me about 20 to 30 minutes of combat time for each monster and ring combination.

Table 15 summarizes the results obtained during my tests; these figures are also shown graphically in Figure 7.

Note that the average is weighted based on how much actual time was spent fighting each monster.

As with the prior test, there are some figures here that contradict what we know intuitively: it should never be faster to fight with no ring than to fight with either a warrior or berserker ring, obviously, so that’s just random chance coming into play. I also don’t think some of the differences here would necessarily be applicable over a long period of time (such as the figures for black dragon kills).

But at the same time, another clear pattern from the prior test has manifested itself as well: not only do these numbers not support any contention that the berserker ring is better than the warrior ring, but just the opposite. Out of a total of 9 subtests across this report and report #1, the warrior ring beat the berserker ring in 7. And the subtests where the berserker ring did better were with living rock strikers and ice strykewyrms, which have the lowest defence (subjectively assessed) of the monsters tested.

This test confirms and supports the conclusions from the prior one.

First, strength boosting gear is still strongly overrated. It just doesn’t have as much of an impact as players imagine.

Second, boosting accuracy often is of more value than boosting strength. While neither the warrior ring nor the berserker ring make a huge difference, the warrior ring not only seems to be better in most cases, it is better where it counts most: tough monsters. And that’s despite being a fraction of the cost.

The RuneScoop Laboratory - Report #9 - Assessing the Dragon Pickaxe The RuneScoop Dynamic Moneymaking Guide for RuneScape