User talk:SamRosenfeld/Countdown to 99

I added the links to the highscores (with Template:Hs) for you. Hope you don't mind. 22:35, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

Thank you very much. I will not change it just yet but I think it was better to link to the player's particular rank in a score instead because then it will be easier to collect their levels. SamRosenfeld 00:55, 29 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Thats a good idea. I suggested it on the template's talk page (since its perm protected) for that ability to be added. In the mean time we'll have to mess around with links =/ lol. 16:44, 29 March 2009 (UTC)

Next week is passover so the levels will be recorded on Wednesday afternoon. I apologize for the inconvenience. I would rather record the levels myself at that time than someone else record them for me. Also, can someone please change the colour of InstantWinston's losing "53" to red? This week was an amazing week! I would like to congratulate this week's top five highest level players, Hammer2092, Amaurice, Battlecity0, Gaz Lloyd, and Mercifull for each gaining at least one level even though it was not necessary. I would especially like to congratulate Amaurice who gained approximately one million mining experience in only a week? Amaurice, what are you mining and what is your experience per hour? I regret to inform you that this week's loser was also the second lowest level and is reported to be quitting. He will be missed. SamRosenfeld 22:15, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

How often does this countdown run? Competition is such a good motivator. :) --nekobawt 22:21, 3 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I could have gotten more levels this week but I decided to save them for the next one hehe. -- 22:50, 3 April 2009 (UTC)
 * You mentioned taking levels on wednesday. Does that mean this week is a shorter one while the week after will be longer? -- 21:43, 4 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Indeed! SamRosenfeld 04:21, 5 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Cool. I've already got some levels this week to stay in the compo and the extra few days will help me to gain at least 1 level the week after :) -- 12:11, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

If some of the competitors don't gain a level this week do you compare total xp earned? I know I can't get to 92 str by Wednesday. Maybe within 100k of 92. 13:07, 6 April 2009 (UTC)
 * It depends on your level. As long as someone lower level then you doesn't gain a level as well, they will be out and not you. You're the highest level at the moment, so you should be okay (unless everyone else gains a level, of course). 13:15, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

I started playing World of Warcraft recently so I do not think I will be playing Runescape again for a while but I am still happy to maintain Countdown to 99. I always thought that Runescape would be better than World of Warcraft because I expected Runescape to have better quests and be more complex because it has 24 skills. I also thought I liked the grind. When I play Runescape, I am sitting in my room. When I play World of Warcraft, I am actually in the game. The world is humongous. World of Warcraft is at least a hundred times the size of Runescape, no exaggeration. I have only left Runescape for a while. I will probably be back. Can someone please delete User:SamRosenfeld/Countdown_to_99/Signup? I have added a green background to signify gains of more than one level. SamRosenfeld 22:34, 8 April 2009 (UTC)
 * You'll be back lol. WoW is too much like work you can't really just chill there especially knowing that it costs so much to play.

One off Costs: $19.99 - World of Warcraft base $29.97 - Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack $19.97 - Burning Crusade Expansion Pack

Monthly fees: $15.00 - Monthly membership (compulsory)

Total year 1: $249.93

Total per year after: $180

RuneScape comparison: $66.96 a year (optional, can play f2p)


 * The game is also riddled with cheaters and real world traders. See you on RuneScape next week :P -- 08:02, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * It's going to be a struggle for me but I think I might just be able to gain a level in week 3 and week 4 so I'm pretty sure I will make it to week 5 (provided my internet connection doesnt die). Unfortunatly from there on in I might have to rely on the other people doing rubbish to save me lol and I don't think I'm going to be able to get the neccesery charms to be able to gain any more levels in the week time frame. Good luck to everyone in the competition and keep trying for those levels. It's a little sad that there are still some people that haven't gained a single level yet. 41-42 prayer is only 17 dragon bones on a gilded altar! - 08:13, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Since this week ended early I should get 93 strength for the next check in. But, after that based on my xp per hour and weekly time on RS, I won't be able to gain a strength level each week. More like 1 level every 2 weeks. Good luck with the charms. 16:01, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I congratulate the both of you, Merciful and Hammer - I barely have enough charms to get to 70, and I'm 68 now! And melee combat skills take a lifetime to raise at higher levels. I'm not finding this too bad, but then again, I'm doing firemaking, a quick and buyable skill. 12k logs left til 92 (depending on play time, I could do that next week, buut probably won't, as I have a ton of homework to get through). P.S. Sam, since the signup page is now deleted, I removed the redlink. 20:38, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Thank you to whoever deleted the signup page. You did not remove the red link Gaz Lloyd; I did that just now; but thank you for trying. I do not want to help any of you move from Runescape to World of Warcraft as I believe you are all experienced intelligent players and Runescape can use all of the intelligent players it can get, but Mercifull: to your statement but World of Warcraft being too much like work, I see what you are saying but I think that statement applies to Runescape and not to World of Warcraft. My understanding of why you believe that World of Warcraft is all work is that you believe you Runescape gives you more opportunities to take breaks with the large varieties of minigames and such. I must admit that I am not a big fan of minigames. I have played Fist of Guthix, Barbarian Assault, Castle Wars, Pest Control, Clan Wars, and Bounty Hunter and of the above, I found that only Barbarian Assault has useful rewards that I like, and only Castle Wars is fun. I instead find myself doing a lot of grinding such as with Countdown to 99. If anything is work, surely grinding is work, making yourself repeat the same boring activity over and over again. I am willing to debate any other arguments you may have but I will not do so in an attempt to convince you to play World of Warcraft but rather to defend why I play it. By the way, my trial ends on Tuesday and I do not intend on subscribing to it because I am very busy with school. And also, but my not training prayer from level 41 to 42, I am not a member and I am training prayer weirdly. I do not want any combat experience and I am not currently a member so I do not want to waste money buying bones and then burying them instead of burning them at an alter. I therefore pick up bones in the goblin house but to not kill any goblins myself which would have made the actual amount of time that it would have taken me to get from level 41 to 42 about two hours and I figured, why spend two hours training prayer in a very inefficient way when I could spend those two hours playing World of Warcraft and get level 42 prayer in five minutes as a member later. Enjoy the rest of your week. SamRosenfeld 01:30, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I meant the red link that was in your last message on this page (didn't think to look on the other page). As for WoW - whatever you find fun. Everyone finds something else that they enjoy - for example I love slayer, however my RL friend hates it and prefers fishing, which I cannot bear for long periods. Although to break up grinding (e.g. what I'm doing now with FM) I find regular breaks to do something else (both in- and out-of game) helps, and while grinding entering a good clan chat (personally the wiki's official one (R S Wikia) is awesome). Downside of that is my exp rate takes a hit (as FM is a very clicky skill, and I cant click and type at the same time), however my enjoyment of it increases a lot more. 17:33, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Wow it's seeming like an absolute age until the next stat log on Friday. I'm only 16k exp away from a level but i've been holding it off until after the records are checked and updated on this page so I can guarantee another week in the competition lol. -- 08:33, 15 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Same here, =/. I've been 1k exp to 80 Woodcutting for almost half a week now. Friday is coming rather slowly.... 12:16, 15 April 2009 (UTC)


 * You won't have to worry for a while. Stink is not training RC, he confirmed that on clan chat this week. Aburnett I have to imagine is out based on his userpage. So we have at least 2 more weeks of taken it easy. Then the real competition begins. I got 300k to go until 93 strength. Not to so slow for me. 14:48, 15 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I think strikefox is also not training. He has not gained a level since the start.  SamRosenfeld 01:40, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

This week leaves me with mixed feelings about how the competition is going. On one hand, Amaurice and Gaz Lloyd have been gaining more than one level each week, and Amaurice is doing one of the slower skills: mining. They have both gained more than a million experience this week. Would each of you be kind enough to post your experience per hour rates? I know Gaz Lloyd's experience per hour rate will probably be much higher than Amaurice but firemaking is hard to train too, there is a lot of clicking involved and it can be expensive. The week has not been all good though. This week was longer than usual but still four people did not gain any levels. In fact, three of those people have not gained a single level throughout the competition. Although this competition has already lasted three weeks, things do not get interesting until we get closer to the end. One little piece of advice: So far, Amaurice and Hammer2092 have reached level 92. The winner of this competition must make it half way to 99. This means that they must have 6,517,215 experience by the end of the competition. Some of you are using strategy and only gaining one level a week to stay in but make sure you reach this amount of experience by the end. There are five more weeks left. Most of you will be fine if you keep up your one level a week but Calebchiam, you might want to consider two levels a week. Feel free to comment on how you feel about the new rule. Have a good weekend! SamRosenfeld 22:12, 17 April 2009 (UTC)


 * My experience average rate is about 45k per hour. That includes the time I play Stealing Creation to get the Sacred clay pickaxes that I'm using during mining. 00:14, 18 April 2009 (UTC)


 * You could have mentioned the Level 92 skill rule sooner. You ruined my plans =/. 13:34, 18 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I get a good 130k/hr, but I often break to do other things (Troll Stronghold herb patch, buying more magpie pouches, penguins and other DnDs, etc), but if I concentrate (and don't enter R S Wikia) I can hit 165k/hr. I burn maples. I'll hit 92 firemaking today (prior to the Wikifest hopfully), and then may or maynot gain another level by the end of the competition, since I'll be woodcutting with my shiny new adze. Good luck everyone else though! 16:01, 18 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Sorry about that Calebchiam. I did not decide that rule until after the competition already begun.  I would have announced it from the beginning.  I was originally planning on making it a surprise that I would not disclose until after the last round but I think more experience will be gained now then would have been gained previously.  SamRosenfeld 01:08, 19 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Were you referring to me when you said about people playing tactically by only gaining one level a week? Perhaps if you were a higher level you would realise how difficult Summoning is as a skill to raise, as i'm sure amaurice will attest to. If I gained 50 crimson charms an hour and crafted them into pouches that would get me 18k exp per hour. I need over 550k exp to reach level 91... not exactly fast is it? I am trying my best to stay in the competition and challenging myself to get as many levels as I can.


 * It's also a shame none of us knew about the 92 rule before the start of the competition. Calebchiam is going to find it very difficult to reach that now. I cross my fingers I can reach 92 but 3,127 Crimson charms is going to take a little while to collect. -- 09:06, 20 April 2009 (UTC)


 * If I had let it continue as it was going it would not have been fair and Calebchiam would have one. Calebchiam would have gained five levels in the last round and won easily.  He also would not really have been training for 99 if he was not try his hardest.  It is not about winning but about getting as close to level 99 as possible.  I have nothing against Calebchiam and I still think there is a good chance that he will win but it would not have been fair if I had not changed it.  By the way, I would like to point, although you are all winners for trying this and gaining a lot of experience blah blah blah, I think I should point out that there will be one official winner, not two official winners.  Two people will be eliminated in the final round.  Happy training!  SamRosenfeld 21:07, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Here is my take on the outcome. I will most likely be eliminated by May 15th or sooner. I will get 93 for this Friday and stay at 93 for the May 1st check in. Most likely this friday we will lose Strikefox. The on the May 1st most likely we will lose Aburnett001. Then on the 8th of May it will be Battlecity or me to be eliminated. If I manage to get 94 that week I would survive one more week. But, that will be it for me. I have enough RL life commitments; a wife and kids to be exact. I get to play around 10-11 hours per week. 94 to 95 is 827k xp, at 50k an hour i will get at the most 500k per week. I usually get bored and need to do other things so my guess about 350k a week for me is max. So I would not be able to make the 94 to 95 jump even in 2 weeks. Thus leaving most likely Amaurice, Calebchiam, Gaz Lloyd, and Merciful to finish out the final battle. Regardless of the 92 rule Calebchiam will make it very close to the end. Good Luck all and enjoy training your brains out. LOL 15:51, 21 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I think you are underestimating yourself. I do not expect Battlecity 0 to gain any levels and if you get close to a level that week but do not gain one, then I think there is a decent chance that you would beat Mercifull the week after that.  I am excited to see the final battle but it is not for another four weeks!  I think it will be between Calebchiam, Amaurice, and Gaz Lloyd.  SamRosenfeld 01:08, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

This week leaves an amazing surprise. After four weeks, Strikefox, my friend from real life who does not even know this Countdown exists, gained a level! If he had not gained a level, he would have lost. Instead, it is over for Aburnett001. Now, because of him, everyone left in the competition had gained at least one level since the start of the competition. All seven of you. There are five more weeks of school and five more weeks of Countdown to 99. I think Amaurice might actually make it to 99. A little piece of advice for him: you can win even if you get to level 99 on the second to last week. This statement is true for everyone and how it is true will be released at that time. Happy training! SamRosenfeld 22:14, 24 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Lol one level is better than nothing. I have been very disappointed by most of the people in this competition. On one hand these are a small handful of us really trying hard to gain levels in some of the hardest skills while others are struggling to go up even one level (and they aren’t even high ones). I have managed to get to 91 Summoning so I should be safe from eliminations next week (unless Battlecity0 or Strikefox gain 2 levels, which would really p--s me off lol) but I think things are going to get exciting from next week onwards. I am going to try to get to 92 by 8th May but I have got some real life commitments coming up which will limit the time I have online to collect charms. My predictions for next week will be Strikefox going out for gaining 0 levels, after only gaining 1 levels in 5 weeks I have doubts he will gain another between now and Friday. The week after I predict that Battlecity0 will go. HP isn’t an easy skill to train (I should know I recently got 99 in it lol) and I have doubts he will be able to get 498k exp in the time frame. This would leave the following in the final 2 weeks: Caleb, Me, Amaurice, Hammer and Gaz. I do not expect to gain any more levels after 92 in time for the check-in so I would expect to go out here (unless Caleb fails to gain a level). My prediction for the winner will be Amaurice. --
 * It's hard to predict what Strikefox will do. I don't think he trained at all before last week; but then again, I have not started watching the experience numbers yet...SamRosenfeld 20:55, 27 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I think Amaurice is going to win this. Easily. I doubt that I'll make it to 92 in time, in spite of the fact that I've switched from cutting yews to cutting willows. I think Strikefox is going to get kicked out this week (unless he miraculously gains another level). 10:09, 28 April 2009 (UTC)
 * You are right, It's a pretty safe bet that Amaurice will win. It is an incredible achievement to get so close to 99 in so short a time. I will definitely be using his method when/if I ever choose to reach that goal also. I already have a stockpile of almost 500 lava titans which I am more than happy to use on mining. It will, however, have to wait as I am fixed on attaining my summoning goal of 99 by the end of the year. -- 11:55, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

I am so sorry I forgot to update the levels this week. I kept reminding myself, I have to update the levels, I have to update the levels, but I forgot. Thank you very much Hammer2092 and Calebchiam for taking care of it. Something weird happened to the signup list. Neither Hammer2092 not Calebchiam is responsible and I cannot find the problem in the code. I think aburnett's signature may end in code that effects the anything after it. Can someone take a look at it? This week, amaurice lost is green streak, but is it amazing that he kept it up for so long. I would like to congratulate him. Battlecity gained another level, but next week will be his true test. I expect everyone to gain a level next week, we have gotten far enough into the competition that it should be interesting from now on. With only four weeks left, we are more than half way through, but that does not mean that we have gained more than half of the experience that this season will bring. Happy training! SamRosenfeld 01:33, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Thank you to Gaz Lloyd for handling the Pippen 002 situation. SamRosenfeld 20:59, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Week 6
Sorry for the new section, I couldn't save the page O.O

I fixed the issue with Aburnett's signature (there were extra linebreaks at the end of the code). Congrats to everyone who got a level, I might actually get one this week. Though the weeks after I doubt it, I have exams coming up.

Anytime, I'm here to help =D 22:54, 4 May 2009 (UTC)
 * What time do the readings get done on the Friday? It's going to be a close call for me to get 92 in time for check-in if it's early on during the day as I will be at work for most of it. I looked at the revision history and it appears to be about 10pm my time which should be ok for me (provided I don't end up down the pub instead).


 * If I don't manage to gain a level in time then the only person that can knock me out will be Battlecity0 if he makes it to 90 HP. I will be following his progress very closely ensuring that I manage to beat him in time.-- 08:32, 6 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I think you might be okay for this week Mercifull. Battlecity0 is currently only 24% of the way to level 90 (from level 89), so I don't think he will be gaining a level this week. 09:58, 6 May 2009 (UTC)
 * In that case I'm tempted to play it tactically and save my level until next week lol. I don't like seeing yellow though so I'd rather go out standing proud than stay in another week on the back of someone else -- 18:18, 6 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Go to the pub. I am 150k away from 94 and would have to stay up tonight more than I would care to. Like go to work tomorrow on 5hrs sleep. LOL. I will save getting to 94 for Friday night, after 10pm EST. 15:57, 7 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Well I'm not going to the pub now. I gotta be a taxi for the other, some might say better, half of Mercifull for her "girlie night" lol. I'm now just over 30k til next level and should get that when I do penguins tomorrow. I think i'd rather gain a level this week and go though on a high into next week than not gain a level until next week and then still go out anyway. -- 21:22, 7 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Did I make it in time? lol-- 21:26, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Battlecity0 is out as I predicted. Now it will truly be interesting until the end. It appears as if Mercifull is doomed; I trust that Amaurice will gain one level until the end, and Hammer2092 and Gaz Lloyd are both close to leveling. Mercifull's only chance would require her to gain a level and Calebchiam to fail to gain two levels. I am disappointed that it appears as if Calebchiam won's make the comeback. I understand you have real world commitments but compared to everyone else, I think you should be able to gain the levels. Good luck! SamRosenfeld 22:13, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Did I gain a spoke on a chromosome in my last post converting it from a Y into an X? I'm a bloke. :P Doomed is quite a harsh statement to make too, despite the struggles I've managed to gain at least a level each week (one of only three people to do so). Don't count me out just yet. I'm gonna try. -- 22:32, 8 May 2009 (UTC)
 * SamRosenfeld, unlike most of the competitors here, I have school/homework/co-curricular activites/projects/exams to occupy my time. Believe me, if it was the holidays, I'd be gaining 3-5 levels a week. It's not as easy as you think. 06:46, 9 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Calebchiam, I know. I also have those commitments and I am a very big hypocrite for failing to get from level 42 to level 43 in one week.  I was just comparing you to everyone else who has made it this far.  Hopefully you won't have a lot of school work over Memorial Day Weekend.  Okay Mercifull, surprise me.  I would advice you to watch Gaz Lloyd's level of experience, if both of you are the same level next week and Calebchiam gains more levels than you, who ever has less experience will be out.  In this stage of the game, there is no obvious person to expect to lose.  You have all gotten far and I will not enjoy saying goodbye to whoever loses next week even though sign up for season two is only three weeks away.  Is there a way to access pages that were previously deleted?  I will need to recreate the sign up page.  I will not go for my serious 99 skill until the fall.  Good luck! SamRosenfeld 01:57, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I could restore the deleted pages if you want. 07:31, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Thank you. I will tell you when.  I just realized that you are an administrator, lol.  By the way, does the word lol fall under the category of leet speak and is it allowed to be used?  I think it conveys something different from the common "haha" and that laugh out loud just sounds stupid spelled out. SamRosenfeld 13:23, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * "Lol" doesn't fall under leetspeak. L3375P34|< 15 50/\/\37|-|1|\|9 L1|<3 7|-|15 aka Leetspeak is something like this. 13:30, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Looks like everyone has gained a level except Mercifull. Mercifull is roughly 700,000 experience from 93 which should take a while. If he happens to gain a level, I'll have make a mad dash for 86 Woodcutting. 08:45, 11 May 2009 (UTC)