The Investigator's Guide to Gielinor

The first update of the month has been released, and so far it certainly appears to be living up to expectations (no matter what those expectations are - those that expected it to suck have already decided it sucks, those that expected it to be awesome find it awesome).

Player Armour Updates

The first update on the list has reworked some of the oldest graphics in the game, that have been in play for over ten years, as well as many of the more recent additions to the game. Jagex has really outdone themselves this time, with an absolutely staggering number of items being redesigned. I would count up the precise numbers, but I'd be pretty much guaranteed to miss some things, and they therefore wouldn't be precise numbers.

About the only high-end equipment to not receive a redesign in this update was the Polypore armours, the Barrows equipment (which was updated in January), Pernix and Virtus gear and the hybrid sets. I, for one, am more than happy with this update, as my dragon armour looks appropriately impressive now, as opposed to the silly, pointlessly spiky stuff it used to be.

Gnome Graphical Update

I haven't had much of a chance to explore the revamped Grand Tree and Tree Gnome Village due to prior commitments, but what little I have seen looks a hell of a lot better than it used to. Especially since, to my knowledge, the gnome lands have never received a graphical update until this point. And I've been playing on and off for eight or nine years now.

But holy crap is that magic tree beautiful.

Clan Fealty

Finally, we’ve made some changes to reward you stalwart clan skillers for your ongoing hard graft. Upon becoming eligible for a clan ring, you’ll also attain a Clan Fealty rank of 1, which means a 15% bonus to skilling XP earned at skill plots in your citadel from the next build tick. For each subsequent week that you earn your clan ring, you’ll gain another rank (up to 3), for a potential bonus of +45% XP! Along with extra skill lamps and a trimmed upgrade to your clan cape that improves with your rank, there’s never been a better time to get to work in your citadel.

On top of this, mining and woodcutting plots no longer degrade after a single use, and Shattered Heart rocks can now be obtained while skilling in your citadel.

The quota you’ll need to meet each week has been slightly increased across the board to reflect the additional reward, and your Fealty rank will decrease by 1 for each week that you do not meet your quota, but you can always attain it anew.

Clan admins among you also have some new tools to manage the maintenance of your citadels. It is now possible to lock out skill plots once an XP target has been met, allowing you to direct the efforts of your clan, as needed, to meet your weekly upkeep needs. It’s also possible to lock a skill plot indefinitely, until it is manually unlocked.

Scientific name: Vitis lacerta

Common name: Jadinko (as named by 'Papa Mambo', former shaman of Shilo Village)

Habitat: Southern Karamja, around the Jade Vine.

Description: Similar in appearance to a velociraptor, but with a much smaller head and two vines protruding from the upper back. Precise characteristics differ between subspecies, of which there are many - the common jadinko (Vitis lacerta communis) is of a similar colour to the Jade Vine, and is presumably the closest of the 'hunter' jadinkos in genetic relation. Most subspecies have a similar body structure to the common jadinko, with variations ranging from a black colouration (as seen on the shadow jadinko, Vitis lacerta tenebris) to a stone-like outer shell (the igneous jadinko, Vitis lacerta molaris) and, according to the locals, divine favour (the Saradomin, Zamorak and Guthix jadinkos, all of which have so far evaded observation and therefore classification). These 'hunter' jadinkos are the only ones that have been sighted above ground level in recent times, and are tasked with gathering food in the form of plant matter and nectar. They are particularly fond of flowers and berries grown from the vine itself, but they appear to value the nectar and flower of the marasamaw plant above all other food sources. Since the marasamaw plant is somewhat cannibalistic, it will frequently snap shut on a jadinko trying to take its bounty. Any would-be jadinko hunters are advised to take advantage of this trait.

In addition to the 'hunter' jadinkos described above, there are two other varieties present in the area, though only underground. The first is divided into two categories - 'breeding' and 'infertile'. The smaller of the two, the 'breeding' jadinko - termed the 'male', due to the nature of jadinko reproduction, though jadinkos have no true sex, being plants - is the only kind of jadinko able to pollinate, and can be identified by its vibrant colouration and large frills. The larger, the 'infertile', serves as a guard for the nest.

Finally, the jadinko queen (Vitis lacerta regina) is the most important part of the jadinko nest. The queen is functionally immobile, being the only jadinko to be rooted in place, but is by far the largest variety, usually over 15 feet tall above ground. Furthermore, the queen is linked directly to the Jade Vine via a series of large roots. It is unclear whether the Jade Vine is an extension of the jadinko queen or vice versa, but the life of the jadinko queen is tied to that of the Jade Vine. The jadinko queen is responsible for spawning new jadinkos, as one might expect - a pouch at the base of the queen's roots contains seeds which germinate and mature at a rapid pace upon contact with the pollen of a 'male' jadinko. In fact, this occurs at such a rapid pace that one must wonder where all the 'baby' jadinkos go - none are known to be found outside the queen's chamber so far.

First off, my main, rarely-updated blog is here. General stuff goes there.

Now, onto the important things. This blog aims to cover the somewhat lesser-known aspects of Runescape; specifically, I'll be writing comprehensive articles about the storylines, cultures, creatures and locations etc. of Runescape, but I'll also be doing update reviews and writing guides to some activities, usually by request. That means that if you want a guide for a specific thing, send me an ask. However, be warned that I do not do PvP, I do very little boss-hunting and my skills are only in the 61-80 range, so some details may be missing, despite my best efforts.

Also, some fanon may slip through the cracks in some of the lore posts, so be warned - my work *may* not be 100% canonical, and may be disproven by future updates to the game.

Ask away while I get some works done.