Livid Farm

The Livid Farm is found on the northern part of Lunar Isle. There, players help Pauline Polaris run the farm. Magic experience is earned by casting many lunar spells, but in addition, players receive experience in Agility, Construction, Crafting, and Farming. Players also earn Produce points for helping Pauline; these points unlock new Lunar spells and, eventually, can be spent on special wishes which aid training.

Players do not need the Seal of Passage to talk to Pauline Polaris in the Livid Farm.

Introduction
Lokar Searunner approached Pauline after a sea adventure to Karamja, where Papa Mambo gave the crew of the Lady Zay some Jade Vine sprouts. Lokar brought these to Pauline and asked her to grow them. He called them L.I.V.I.D. However, due to the dangerousness of the plant and the nature of Lunar Isle, Pauline cannot tend the plants by herself. Can you help her?

The goal of Livid Farming is to gain Produce Points. There are a set number of activities but they reset every 60s and with practice it is possible to complete all of them during a 60 second round. However, there are no completion bonuses or other reasons to complete every cycle other than maximising your points per minute.

You also earn magic and other experience. The magic XP is the same as you would earn with a normal Lunar spell (with the same cost in runes), however in addition you earn XP in other skills as well, depending on the activity.

Players without the required magic level to cast all the spells can still participate in Livid Farming, but doing so earns no magic XP for that activity and half the normal produce points of the activity (fertilizing earns 10 points instead of 20, depositing a bundle earns 60 points, and so forth). If you do not have the Magic level to do a particular action, it may be worthwhile to use a Magic Potion or Vecna Skull to boost yourself to the required level. Alternatively, if you consider the cost for the reduced produce points and secondary XP only too expensive, simply do not do the activity - there is no penalty.

You may check the possible awards for your levels by right clicking Pauline and selecting rewards, then selecting the tab Tasks. This tab will show if you will gain magic XP or not as well as Produce points earned.

Requirements

 * Completed Lunar Diplomacy
 * Have the Lunar Spellbook activated
 * 70 Magic (cannot be assisted or boosted)
 * 60 Agility (cannot be assisted or boosted)
 * 61 Crafting (cannot be assisted or boosted)
 * 60 Farming (cannot be assisted or boosted)
 * 50 Construction (cannot be assisted or boosted)

Requirements to complete all the activities with full points and magic XP:
 * 91 Magic

Requirements to complete all the distractions (earns no Produce Points):
 * 93 Magic

Recommended Items/Inventory
It is not possible to fail casting the spells (except by making a mistake) and so magic boosting armour is not required. Note: The runes needed for distractions are refunded on successful completion, but are lost if the wrong option is chosen.
 * For the main activity
 * A Mud battlestaff / Mystic mud staff or a Staff of earth with a Tome of frost / Water runes
 * Many Astral runes
 * Many Law runes
 * Many Nature runes
 * Additionally, for Distractions
 * Help, my ibis is sick
 * Cosmic runes
 * Mind runes
 * When a Suqah attacks
 * No additional types of runes needed
 * Murky Pat's Revenge
 * Death runes

Getting Started
Entering the Livid Farm for the first time can be intimidating. The other players will be very busy with no time to chat. However, since there is no completion bonus, there is no reason not to take your time while you are getting to grips with the activity.

Looking around will show you the rows of Livid plants. There will be three empty plots and three sick livids among the healthy ones. Further examination of the farm will always show two fence sections that need fixing (along with a place to get lumber from) and will sometimes show livids in a bin ready for stringing (when there are no livids in the bin, Pauline needs "energising" instead). Every 60 seconds Pauline will reset the game and the empty plots and the sick livids will change position, and new sections of fence will need repair.

Almost all activities within the Livid Farm are left-click, and hovering the mouse will always show if a left click activity is possible. The simplest activity is fertilising an empty plot that takes only a single click, however all the activities can be completed in two or three clicks. If you attempt an activity and fail (for instance, energising Pauline when she does not require it), you will not waste any runes. It does not matter if you start an activity in one cycle and complete it in the next (except in the case of curing a sick livid, where because they have all changed, you will be unable to cure your chosen and now non-sick livid).

If you have only the minimum magic level required to enter the farm, only curing the sick livids will earn you full product points and magic XP. However all activities can be undertaken for reduced benefits.

Earning Produce Points


There are a number of activities that need to be done around the farm that earn Produce Points.


 * Fertilise empty plots using Fertile soil - 20 Produce Points. Click on an empty plot.
 * Cure diseased plants using Cure plant - 20 Produce Points. See Identifying the diseased Livid
 * Fix fence beams by using fenceposts made from lunar lumber with Plank make - 20 Produce Points. Click on lumber bin to take lumber, click on lumber in inventory to convert, click on damaged section of fence to fix. Take two lumbers from the bin at once to save time.
 * Deposit a bundle of 5 livid that is wrapped using String jewellery - 120 Produce Points. Click on livid bin to take 10 livids, Click twice in inventory to make two bunches, click on cart to deposit for two times points.
 * If there are no livids showing in the bin, its time to Energise Pauline using Energy Transfer and some kind words - 100 Produce Points. Right-click on Pauline and select correct option.

If you do not have the required magic level the Produce Points earned will be halved. The maximum Produce Points that can be harvested is 850,000; going above this will give you a message to spend some points.

The Ibis, Suqah, and Murky Pat distractions provide no Produce Points.

Produce Points Costs
Counting Law, Nature, and Astral runes and using a mud staff, the cost of Produce Points per rune is:


 * Cure plant: 20 points per rune
 * Bundle Livids: 60 points per rune
 * Fertile soil: 4 points per rune
 * Fence repairs: 6.6 points per rune
 * Energise Pauline: 16.6 points per rune

Earning Experience
Each activity also provides experience in magic and one other skill.

Players who do not have the required magic level to cast a spell do not earn any Magic experience, but will earn the full Farming, Construction, Crafting, or Agility component of the activity.

Even though the energizing Pauline will give you Agility XP, you will not gain any extra XP for having the Penance Horn equipped, this is because the horn is for agility exp earned in agility courses

Experience costs
Due to the fact that the only elemental runes used routinely on the Livid Farm are water and earth runes, equipping a Mud battlestaff to provide an infinite supply of both will make spellcasting cheaper overall. A player can also use a Staff of earth along with a Tome of frost to provide the same supply of infinite runes. A Staff of earth alone may be a sensible compromise if this is not possible, due to water runes only being used in one spell. A Law staff will reduce the cost of casting Energy Transfer.

The "Loss Per XP" figures in the following table is based on a specific task's total exp - i.e. not just magic or just farming/crafting/construction/agility (depending on the activity). However, the "Loss Per xp without magic level" figures are useful in two cases - if you do not have the magic level to earn magic XP, and if you want to ignore the magic XP gained in order to compare just the cost of gaining the secondary skill XP.


 * {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0

!Icon !Spell !Magic Level !width="125px"|Runes !Cost (with mud staff) !Magic xp !Skill xp !Loss Per xp with magic level (with mud staff) !Loss Per xp without magic level (with mud staff) 
 * [[File:Fertile soil.gif]]
 * Fertile Soil
 * 83
 * 0 (0)
 * 87
 * [[File:Farming-icon.png]] 91.8
 * 87
 * [[File:Farming-icon.png]] 91.8
 * [[File:Cure plant.gif]]
 * Cure Plant
 * 66
 * 0 (0)
 * 60
 * [[File:Farming-icon.png]] 91.8
 * 60
 * [[File:Farming-icon.png]] 91.8
 * [[File:String Jewellery.png]]
 * String Jewellery
 * 80
 * 0 (0)
 * 83
 * [[File:Crafting-icon.png]] 270
 * 83
 * [[File:Crafting-icon.png]] 270
 * [[File:plank make.png]]
 * Plank make
 * 86
 * 0 (0)
 * 90
 * [[File:Construction-icon.png]] 54.6
 * 90
 * [[File:Construction-icon.png]] 54.6
 * [[File:energy transfer.gif]]
 * Energy transfer
 * 91
 * 0 (0)
 * 100
 * [[File:Agility-icon.png]] 169.7
 * 100
 * [[File:Agility-icon.png]] 169.7
 * }

Identifying the diseased Livid
New players will often waste lots of time at guessing the right shape of a diseased Livid. With some exercise, however, a player can easily identify a diseased Livid. An interface will open over your inventory window, pick the diseased Livid that matches. Picking the wrong option does not consume runes. NOTE: Livid Plants might appear in black and white if the graphic is set to Software.
 * Top left - One stalk, slightly bent. One large flower.
 * Top right - Three stalks, close together. One large and two small flowers.
 * Bottom left - Three stalks, close together. One small and two large flowers.
 * Bottom right - Three stalks, spread out. One large and two small flowers.

Rounds and Cycles
The Livid Farm works in rounds, each lasting one minute. Five rounds comprise a cycle.

Each round allows the player to perform 3 plant cures, 3 soil fertilisations, and 2 fence repairs, and either to energise Pauline or to bundle 10 livid plants into 2 bunches of five. Every cycle follows the same pattern, allowing the player to energise Pauline on the first, second, and fourth rounds, and to bundle livids on the third and fifth rounds.

Maximum Produce Points
The basic strategy in the livid farm is to perform all tasks each cycle. These tasks are time restricted, and with a small amount of practice, it is possible to perform these tasks at the maximum rate with time to spare. The remainder of this section will assume that you are able to achieve this.

The produce points earned in a full cycle of 5 rounds is therefore:


 * Cure plant: 20 points x 3 casts per round x 5 rounds per cycle = 300 points (150 points if less than 66 Magic)
 * Bundle Livids: 120 points x 2 casts per round x 2 rounds per cycle = 480 points (240 points if less than 80 Magic)
 * Fertile Soil: 20 points x 3 casts per round x 5 rounds per cycle = 300 points (150 points if less than 83 Magic)
 * Fence repair: 20 points x 2 casts per round x 5 rounds per cycle = 200 points (100 points if less than 86 Magic)
 * Energise Pauline: 100 points x 1 cast per round x 3 rounds per cycle = 300 points (150 points if less than 91 Magic)

The maximum points per cycle a player can earn is, therefore, 1,580 points. At 12 5-minute cycles per hour, the maximum rate a player can earn points is 18,960 points per hour.

Maximum Experience Point Rates
Presuming the maximum activities per cycle, the following is a calculation of experience per hour in each skill:

Complete Activity Points
Assuming the player starts the Livid Farm with at least 91 Magic (or lower with boosts being used when necessary to gain full experience), by the time they have unlocked the final spell, Vengeance Group, with 663,920 Production Points, they can expect to have earned (not including distractions):

Distractions
While helping Pauline out along the farm, a number of distractions may occur. Dealing with these distractions are completely optional and reward only the standard magic XP and no produce points but do reward some additional runes upon completion (plus you get back the runes you cast). They are therefore useful in slightly reducing the cost of the activity. However, since the additional runes are only earth and water, this is not much use if you use a Mud Staff. Finally, if you chose the wrong options, you lose all the rune rewards.

Note: You can complete these diversions even if you don't have the required level, but you won't gain any experience for it.

Help, my ibis is sick
A sick Ibis appears. Cast Monster Examine on it, and then tell Meteora what is wrong with it.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0

! Icon !! width=150 | Spell !! Level Required !! width=150 | Runes required !! Magic XP !! width=20 | Reward
 * [[File:Monster examine new.gif]] || Monster Examine || 66 || || 61 ||
 * }
 * }

When a Suqah attacks...
A Suqah appears and attacks the farm. Help Pauline defeat it by casting Energy Transfer on her. This costs half of your special attack bar, it may help to use a spec restore potion.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0

! Icon !! width=150 | Spell !! Level Required !! width=150 | Runes required !! Magic XP !! width=20 | Reward
 * [[File:energy transfer.gif]] || Energy transfer || 91 || || 100 ||
 * }
 * }

Murky Pat's Revenge
Murky Pat is around the farm. Cast Vengeance Other on the character talking to him, and be sure to pick the correct dialogue option.


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0

! Icon !! width=150 | Spell !! Level Required !! width=150 | Runes required !! Magic XP !! width=20 | Reward
 * [[File:vengeance other new.gif]] || Vengeance Other || 93 || || 108 ||
 * }
 * }

Rewards
The Livid Farm offers a variety of new spells for the Lunar spellbook and temporary boosts known as 'wishes'.

Spells
A spell is gained when the player's Produce reaches the required level and the player claims the reward from Pauline. The Produce points are not spent until the final spell, Vengeance Group, is obtained. This means that, for example, the 69,840 points for Teleport to South Falador are not spent when the spell is obtained, so it takes only 69,920 additional points to earn Repair Rune Pouch at 139,760 points. However, to unlock Vengeance Group, a total of 663,920 points are deducted from the player's point total.

Additionally, once players have unlocked Vengeance Group, they can talk to Pauline via the NPC Contact spell.

Each spell takes at least 3 hours play to unlock.

Once players unlock Borrowed Power, their point total is reduced by 663,920 points and they can start spending points on wishes.



Completing all Spells
For a player at or above level 91 Magic, unlocking all the Lunar spells requires a total of approximately 2785 rounds or 557 cycles. This means the following runes are required, which are worth approximately 0 gp with mud staff, 0 gp with lava or earth staff or 0 gp with no staff. An earth staff in combination with a tome of frost can also be used. Players below level 91 Magic require more time and runes.


 * 54,029 Astral runes
 * 23,951 Nature runes
 * 3,342 Law runes
 * 11,140 Water runes
 * 297,995 Earth runes

This takes a minimum of 46.4 hours.

For tables of the runes and cycles needed and XP gained at different magic levels, see Livid Farm/RunesAndExp.

Wishes
Unlike the spells, wishes always cost Produce points. To gain access to wishes, the player must first unlock the final spell Vengeance Group. These boosts will last only for a short time, but have useful effects. Wishes require no runes.

Note: Assuming the maximum activities per cycle, and the use of a mud staff, the cost of runes at GE price is:
 * 0 coins for 5,500 Produce Points.
 * 0 coins for 18,000 Produce Points.
 * 0 coins for 37,000 Produce Points.
 * 0 coins for 55,000 Produce Points.

Trivia

 * While it requires 5 livid plants to make a bundle, the bundles of livids in the deposit cart are in bundles of 6.
 * The cost and hence effort of unlocking the livid farm spells were decreased by 20% in an update on 19 April 2011.
 * The maximum amount of produce points is 850,000, that is, after you have unlocked vengeance group. Lividfarmmax.jpg
 * During the Suqah distraction, the Suqah's examine is slightly different from the other Suqahs' examine. It reads "A strange creature, unique to Lunar Isle", where a regular Suqah's examine anywhere else on Lunar Isle reads the same, but without the comma.
 * The entire cycle can be completed with time to spare. Bringing unfinished bolts and feathers will allow a player to gain fletching experience during those idle seconds.