22/8/2009 - See you later members = economic crisis

GRAND EXCHANGE, VARROCK, WORLD 2- It was just 1 year ago that the life of a P2P player seemed perfect. Cash was flowing freely, and member items were stable. And with the creation of the Grand Exchange,  the wealth of investors soared tremendously. Now, both Members and Free Players are bracing for a serious shock to hit the Exchange market. Most are expecting many member objects to crash, and many F2P objects to rise. Why? It’s simple: Less members are subscribed currently, meaning less members are buying. Some players have even cut their Internet subscription. This creates less demand, and a possible massive shock to the RuneScape Economy.

         There have always been more Free-to-Play players than members, meaning that some items are more valuable if they are Free-to-Play. For example, players will pay almost 10 times the amount of a Dragon weapon for a Corrupt Dragon weapon that degrades. Why? Because Corrupt Dragon is Free-to-Play, but plain Dragon isn’t. However, with even less members placing orders in the Grand Exchange, we might well see prices sink incredibly for member objects. But with Non-member objects, investors are holding their breath, hoping for an increase in valuable Free-to-Play items like swordfish, lobster, etc. These will become the Manta Ray and Shark of RuneScape, as members switch to Free-to-Play worlds. Other items that require to be made or aquired in Member worlds may also rise, such as Green Dragonhide.

         Wealth has also been decreasing for members, as they either cannot make money on Members’ servers or cannot sell their items for higher prices. One former member, Hulpul, commented on the matter. “My membership expired about a week and a half ago,” says Mr. Hulpul. “I just didn’t want to renew it. When I was a member, though, I made my 1 million gold in about 3 days off of slaying dragons. Now, I pretty much can’t do anything as profitable.” What this RuneScape millionaire  says is true. Very few things in Free-to-Play worlds are as profitable as things in member worlds. A drop in total wealth is expected greatly.

         However, many players doubt that membership decreases will harm the RuneScape economy. One player, Blaze1982, claims that General

Stores and monster drops will keep the Economy afloat. For instance, Rune Platebodies and Green Dragonhide Armour may be obtained from Oziarch, who has an unlimited supply. The same goes with arrows, which can be bought from a range store. But whether or not these unlimited general stores are a lifeline to the RuneScape economy entirely depends upon whether or not players buy or sell on the Grand Exchange. Most players do all their shopping at the Grand Exchange, and few are loyal to the specialty shops located around RuneScape. An entire merchanting clan, efd923, has been investing in Member objects despite the current situation.

         However, one thing is for certain: during these tough times, RuneScape WILL change, and there WILL be a drop in membership subscriptions. And member items probably WILL NOT rise; most have been dropping already. Most Grand Exchange analysts are advising players not keep their investments in member objects, and are suggesting to buy stock in top-of-the-line non-member objects like Rune armour, Food, Corrupt Dragon, etc. A word to the wise: If you’re an investor, watch out for the possibility of a crash in the market