RuneScoop is dedicated to giving you the most comprehensive and useful guides, articles and tools available anywhere. RuneScoop goes beyond regular guides to give you the inside scoop on RuneScape gameplay, with information you simply won't find anywhere else.

On the left side you will find quick links to the various sections of the site. There are both free and member's only versions of RuneScoop, so you may wish to start by looking at the benefits of membership. You can also read testimonials about the site, or look at answers to frequently asked questions. If you have questions or comments about the site, feel free to contact me with your feedback. Thanks for visiting, and check back often for new guides and regular updates to existing ones!

February 2, 2010:

• The RuneScoop Soapbox Blog: I have transitioned the RuneScoop Soapbox from being a normal section on the site to a separate Wordpress blog, called (naturally enough) the RuneScoop Soapbox. The main reason I did this is that I like being able to write commentaries quickly based on game updates and other changes that happen in the short term, and the old system forced me to do a full site update every time I wanted to put up a new article. This new method will be more flexible, and also will permit easier linking and indexing of articles. You'll also be able to comment on the articles like any blog.
  
  The Soapbox is available to all.

• Upcoming Content Update: No changes to content this time, but I am working on something for later this week. Your hint: "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue".

January 27, 2010:

• Major Beastopedia Expansion: I just added a whopping 40 new monsters to the all-new, revised RuneScoop Beastopedia, the most detailed bestiary for RuneScape on the net. There are now 166 monsters in this guide, which is getting close to the original total of 203 when the Beastopedia was first published. Most of the new monsters are from combat levels 90 to 110, and include popular beasties such as dust devils, aberrant spectres, gargoyles and blue dragons. This is a members only feature for now, and I will be continuing to add to it over time.
  
  In addition to adding a bunch of new monsters, I also revised most of the resource pages in the Beastopedia, to fix certain issues and make sorting by column more accurate.

• The RuneScoop Laboratory! I'm pleased to announce a new feature here at RuneScoop: the RuneScoop Laboratory. This members' only feature highlights specific gameplay tests that I undertake in order to compare equipment, learn important aspects of gameplay, and bust some of the myths that circulate around the game.
  
  The first report, "Strongly" Overrated, focuses on the obssession many RuneScape players have with strength bonuses. They pay through the nose for gear that provides one or two extra strength points, and whine like babies whenever any gear is modified in such a way that reduces its strength bonus. But how much of a difference do a few strength points really make? You might be surprised.

• The RuneScoop Soapbox #4 - No Wine Before Its Time: A now-famous catchphrase used during wine advertisements in the 1970s told customers that a winery would “sell no wine before its time”. This slogan conveys simply the idea that you can’t rush quality, and while software doesn’t need to be aged like wine, it too should not be released before it is ready. Read more (members only version).

January 19, 2010:

• The RuneScoop Prayer Skill Optimization Guide! I'm very happy to announce the fourth section of the RuneScoop Skill Optimization Guide, to help you train Prayer. It follows the sections dedicated to Crafting, Fishing and Herblore, is also for RuneScoop members only, and goes far beyond the ordinary skill references you'll find on other sites.
  
  I chose to do Prayer next because it is notoriously expensive, and a lot of players are trying to level the skill to take advantage of the new ancient curses. This new guide will let you compare methods such as burying, using a gilded altar, or using the Ectofuntus. It will also allow you to check what bones are the most cost-effective to use as prices change on a daily basis.
  
  The Prayer Skill Optimization Guide will save you hours of real world time, and becoming a RuneScoop member is very easy and affordable. Join today!

• The RuneScoop Soapbox #3: Why They Say You Don’t Play: High level players sometimes accuse Jagex developers of not playing their own game. This comment is unfair, but there’s a kernel of truth to it—it represents the frustration felt by players who believe that the company introduces content that it wouldn’t if its developers played the game seriously. Read more...

• Another Beastopedia Expansion: I have added 19 more monsters to the all-new, revised RuneScoop Beastopedia, the most detailed bestiary for RuneScape on the net. This brings the total number of monsters to 126; most of the new additions are from combat levels 80 to 90. This is a members only feature for now, and I will be continuing to add to it over time.

• Soul Wars Cape Update: One of the rewards from the new quest Nomad's Requiem is a blue or red cape that provides +8 to all defensive stats and +12 to Prayer. In my opinion, this is now the best overall cape for general combat in the game, especially when using prayer. I have made updates to both the members' version and the free version of the Dynamic Moneymaking Guide to reflect my recommendation to use this new cape for players with very high or extremely high skills. Certain descriptions have also been changed, and certain resource assumptions updated, but I am not retaking images that previously showed me using other capes.

• Torstol "Hack": Demand for the herb torstol has gone through the roof due to its use in the new high-end overload potion. The GE price for grimy herbs has been trailing well behind the price for clean herbs, creating distortions in both the Moneymaking Guide and the Herblore optimization guide. I put in a miniature "hack" that will, for now, value grimy torstol at the same level as clean torstol. I'll undo this later if and when prices stabilize.

• Changed Extreme Potion Values: The new extreme potions are untradeable, so I computed for them a value based on the utility of the potion both in actual use and as components to make overload potions. I didn't like the way I was doing this before, which was assigning them values that I thought were too high, so I made some adjustments. This primarily affects the Herblore Skill Optimization Guide.

January 13, 2010:

• Soapbox #2: Putting the Cape Before the Horse: In my second Soapbox article (for members and non-members) I respond to the incessant whining from players who have come to believe that the quest cape is some sort of an entitlement. Because it isn’t. Oh, and the new quest isn’t that hard anyway.

January 8, 2010:

• The RuneScoop Soapbox Returns: On my old site, I had a section I called the "Soapbox" where I posted editorials on various subjects, mostly related to gaming in general and RuneScape in particular. While I never thought that many people would care to read my rambling opinions, apparently I was mistaken, because I've been very surprised by the huge numbers of former readers who said they wanted me to resume writing editorial pieces.
  
  Well, you got it! The Soapbox returns, for both members and non-members alike. Since this is a new site, I'm starting over with Issue #1, which is the first in what will be a multi-part examination of issues related to the RuneScape economy and the Grand Exchange. (I'll also be covering other issues as this series develops.) Enjoy!

• The RuneScoop Crafting Skill Optimization Guide! I'm very happy to announce the third section of the RuneScoop Skill Optimization Guide, this time dedicated to the Crafting skill! Like the Fishing and Herblore guides, this component is for RuneScoop members only, and goes far beyond the ordinary skill references you'll find on other sites.
  
  With so many different activities, trying to figure out how to train Crafting can be a bewildering endeavor. This new guide will help you figure out what items to make to level up the skill quickly and efficiently. Are you better off making dragonhide armor or power-training with regular leather? Is silver or gold the best metal to smelt at that furnace? Are there any oddball training methods you might not have considered? Now you'll know.
  
  The Crafting Skill Optimization Guide will save you hours of real world time, and becoming a RuneScoop member is very easy and affordable. Join today!

• Revision to Skill Activity Efficiency Indexes in the Skill Optimization Guide: Based on discussions with several RuneScoop forum members, and especially the suggestions of "null_soup", I have revamped how various skills are ranked in the RuneScoop Skill Optimization Guide. The new metrics do a much better job of helping you decide which activities are best for you, and have been put in place for both the new Crafting skill and the existing Fishing and Herblore skills as well. You can find details on this page in the Skill Optimization Guide Reference.

• Beastopedia Expansion: I have added 35 more monsters to the all-new, revised RuneScoop Beastopedia, the most detailed bestiary for RuneScape on the net, bringing the total number of monsters to 107. Most of these are from combat levels 50 to 80, including such monsters as green dragons and aviansies. This is a members only feature for now, and I will be continuing to add to it over time.

• Moneymaking Guide Update: I have again revised the members' version and the free version of the Dynamic Moneymaking Guide. There are two notable changes this time. First, I have replaced marigolds with limpwurt roots in all farming activities, since limpwurts are now more profitable, and they also give more XP. Second, I have changed all methods that used to use super energy potions to now use regular energy pots; when I first put the MM guide online, super energy potions were only about 2x the cost of regular energy potions, but thanks to the new Herblore potions, this ratio is now approaching 20x, and using regular energy potions makes more sense.
  
  There are also some other minor changes, and the free version has been updated to use current prices again, something I will be aiming to do once a month. (The members' only version of course updates prices daily to keep pace with game trends and changes in item values.)