The Great Orb Project

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The Great Orb Project.

The Great Orb Project is a Runecrafting minigame located in the Runecrafting Guild. To play this game, players must have a Runecrafting level of at least 50, and they must also have completed the Rune Mysteries quest. The official worlds for this minigame are 60 for members and 61 for free players.

Location

The minigame is located in the Runecrafting Guild, through a portal on the first floor of Wizard's Tower. The tower is located south of Draynor Village, or through the East teleport in the Wizards' Guild.

Travel

• Members may use the fairy ring code DIS, which will take the player behind the Wizard's tower, or an Amulet of Glory to the Draynor marketplace as faster modes of transport.
• Free-to-play players can use the cabbage teleport on Explorer's ring.
• The fastest way to get into the Runecrafting Guild is by using a Runecrafting guild teleport tablet, which can bought from Wizard Elriss for 15 tokens each.

Worlds

Worlds 60 and 61 are the official worlds for this minigame, as designated by Jagex. This was announced during the Distractions and Diversions update on 2 September 2008. However, world 132 has become the unofficial world for "3311" games or tie games.

Requirements

To play this minigame players must have:

• At least level 50 of Runecrafting
• Completed Rune Mysteries

Personalities

• Wizard Korvak - Repairs and sells Runecrafting pouches. He charges 9,000 gp to repair a large, and 12,000 gp to repair a giant pouch. He also charges 25,000 gp for a large, and 50,000 gp to buy a giant pouch. Binds omni-talismans into Runecrafting staves or tiaras.
• Wizard Acantha - Wizard of the green orbs.
• Wizard Vief - Wizard of the yellow orbs.
• Wizard Elriss - Exchanges rewards for Runecrafting Guild Tokens. Exchanges omni-talismans for regular talismans.
• Wizards - Places players on the least populated team.

Gameplay

Objective

The objective of the game is for players to move as many orbs corresponding to their team colour as they can to the altars. The team with the most orbs when the timer runs out wins.

Starting the game

Talk to either Wizard Acantha (green team) or Wizard Vief (yellow team) to join the game. Each team requires at least two members to notify Wizard Elriss to open the portal to start the game. With the 19 August update, players can now join the least populated team by talking to wizards found within the Guild. If you have equipped an item on the weapon or helmet slot, then you cannot join unless you take them off.

Rounds

There are 8 rounds for pay-to-play and 6 rounds for free-to-play, which are the Runecrafting altars, in the following order:

• Air altar
• Mind altar
• Water altar
• Earth altar
• Fire altar
• Body altar
• Chaos altar (members only)
• Nature altar (members only)

The Cosmic altar, Blood altar, Death altar, and Astral altar are not included so people who have not completed the quests needed (to access these altars) will be able to play the game.

Equipment

Three wands are given when players enroll to either one team, namely Green/yellow attractor, Green/yellow repeller and the Green/yellow barrier generator. A hat is also given to distinguish which side players are on. The hat and attractor wand are equipped automatically.

Image	Name	Use
File:Runecrafter hat y.PNGFile:Runecrafter hat g.png	Runecrafter hat	Helps identify team members, and opposition.
File:Yrepellerwand.pngFile:Repeller wand.gif	Repeller wand	Pushes the orbs away from the caster.
File:Yellow-attractor2.pngFile:Attractor wand.gif	Attractor wand	Drags the orbs towards the caster.
File:Ybarrierwand.pngFile:Barrier generator.gif	Barrier generator	Blocks the way of members of opposing team and orbs of both colours from passing through.

Other useful items

• Weight-reducing items, such as Spotted capes, Spottier capes, Penance gloves, Agile top, Agile legs and Boots of lightness.
• Runecrafting pouches - for storing extra pure essence.
• Runecrafter robes of any colour- when equipped, they will allow the wearer to push and pull orbs across more of a distance (Not to mention they can match the hat and wands!).
• Explorer's ring 2 or 3 for the extra runes effect on elemental altars.
• Runecrafting gloves from Fist of Guthix, which can double experience for crafting air, water or earth runes.

Leaving a team

To switch teams before the minigame, players have to simply destroy any of the wands given BEFORE the game starts. Doing this will NOT result in the 10-minute time penalty for abandoning the game. Players can also speak to any wizard in the Runecrafting Guild to leave a team.

Abandoning a game

Abandoning the game will result in a 10-minute time penalty where players will be unable to play the next game until the penalty expires, this penalty will decrease to a minimum of 1 minute when the game is running. There are a number of ways to abandon an on-going game:

• Getting disconnected.
• Leaving an altar via the altar exit portal, rather than the portal created by Wizard Elriss.
• Destroying any of the wands given before the game.
• Using a teleport spell.
• In chaos altar when you climb up any of the ladders. (members only)

Abandoning a game will return the player to the Guild.

In the battle

File:Gopgameplayscreen.gif

To score points, orbs must be led to the 1-grid square around the altar, by either attracting or repelling the orbs which will appear randomly around the whole of the grounds of the altar. So simply, Wizard Acantha's team,the Green Team, will attract or repel the green orbs into the 1-grid square around the altar. While vice versa, Wizard Vief's team, the Yellow team, will attract or repel the yellow orbs into the 1-grid square around the altar. Note that it is possible to attract or repel the oposing team's orbs until the last 30 seconds of the game.When the two teams finish scoring points within the two-minute time limit, they will need to step into the purple portal that appears in order to be teleported to the next altar. The next round then begins.

File:Left corner.png

Every time a round finishes, some Rune essences or Pure essences (Pure essence in Members) will be given according to the number of orbs that players led to score marks and whether or not that team lost the altar. If players already have a full inventory of essences, the extras will be dropped to the ground.

Players can then choose to craft them into Runes at that altar (remember to pick up the extras if they had a full inventory) or to take them with them (either in the inventory or in pouches). This is identical to normal Runecrafting and the ability of the Explorer's ring and crafting multiple runes are in effect.

Barriers

At the same time, players can also set up barriers which block the way of orbs. Both teams are blocked by any barriers regardless of colour, but no orb can pass a barrier even if it is the same colour as the orb. Members of the opposing team can destroy the barriers by simply choosing 'destroy' option without going near the barriers. Players may fail at removing their opposing team's barriers, but they can simply continuously try to remove it until they succeed. Multiple players can try to remove the same barriers at the same time. Players can remove their own team's barriers without fail.

Each team member can only set one barricade each time. If a player has a barricade still up and tries to put another down, the original barrier will be removed while the new barrier is put in. If the player is standing where the other team is going to put their barrier, they can make a barrier on top of the other team's barrier, and then destroy it.

Tips

• Having a high runecrafting level makes your barriers stronger and you can break the opposing teams barriers much more easily.
• Always have at least 8 (or 6 for non-members) inventory spaces reserved for carrying the crafted runes. This eliminates the need of banking runes after each game.
• Try to keep as many essence as possible until the last round, where Nature runes may be crafted. This is because Nature runes are the most profitable runes, selling for around 405 coins each.
• Similarly, save essence from the mind round for the water round, as these give more experience and more valuable runes than at the mind altar. The addition of water runecrafting gloves further increases the experience generated. The exception is if the player wants mind runes, when using the mind altar here saves a long and tedious route.
• If you carry air runecrafting gloves, free players can save the essence from the body round and use it on the next game's air altar, increasing rune value yield and experience created. This is particularly pertinent with the rapid depreciation of the value of body runes following the game's introduction.
• For free players, the experience per essence increases per round, but after the water altar, the rune value produced goes down at the same time.
• Organise the team so that some team members are "anchors" and "barrier generators" also know as "defenders" while others are "scouts" also known as "feeders". Anchors usually stay close to the altar converting orbs into points for the team. Scouts or generally lookout for new orbs to appear, and stray further away from the altar, bringing orbs closer to the altar. Barrier generators, or defenders block the orbs from getting too close, and perform the barrier glitch. Until the opposing orbs stop responding, it is possible to interfere with them, particularly when the player controlling one has to change position.
• When orbs are stuck behind a pillar, try standing diagonal to the orbs before attracting the orbs. This way the orbs will go through the Pi-shaped pillars. If the orb is between the Pi-shaped pillar, try attracting it from BEHIND the Runecrafting altar.
• Driving the orbs by standing behind them and using the repelling wand is often more effective when threading them through the corners.
• Try not to attract orbs from team members, especially when team members are facing each other. This results in stalemates, where the orbs do not move in any direction.
• It is possible to make orbs "stuck" so the other team can't get them back. Repel the other team's orb as far as possible until no one can get them. This is a great technique to use when there are not many players in the game.
• Tapping is useful when playing in large groups. This is when you just click on the orb and then on another, this allows the orbs to be pulled towards the altar quickly. You then allow team mates in a better location to pull the orbs to the altar. This allows many orbs to be pulled at once, often giving 40-50 orbs an altar.

Cooperative Play

50/50 Games

50/50 or altar sharing games are overall the most efficient method of playing this game if you're in the game for tokens. If you want to play this game for the challenge and competition, this method is not recommended. This type of game involves each team winning an equal number of games. While one team wins an altar, members of the opposing team simply do nothing. The fairest way of winning has been shown to be 4-4 whereby yellow team wins 4 games, the green wins the next 4. This method may seem risky as it is possible that an opposing team-member may not adhere to the arrangement over the course of the game. Member players play also the 3-3-1-1 method, where one team wins 3 altars, second - next 3, then the first team wins next and second team wins the last altar. World 99 is the unofficial 3-3-1-1 world. It gives the confidence of getting equal number of tokens. However, the outcome of the game is rarely affected unless an entire group of people rebel. These arrangements tend to win every player around 540 tokens (see how rewards work below). There is also a F2P version where they play 3-3 which is in world 155 on f2p servers, First 3 altars are for yellow next 3 are for green (405 tokens per game). 50:50 should earn around 1167 tokens per hour on F2P servers and 1800 per hour on P2P servers.

Three for Two

This is a new way of altar sharing, designed to get more tokens per average round, it gets f2p a max of 494 per average round and p2p a max of 632 per average round. It works best with 5 players as then you can have the greatest proportion of winning players each time (Teams can't differ in size by more than one person), and is based on 100-0, Green is always allowed to win all altars.

The rounds (in a 5 person game) go as follows

Round	Green	Yellow
1	Player 1, Player 2, Player 3	Player 4, Player 5
2	Player 4, Player 5, Player 1	Player 2, Player 3
3	Player 2, Player 3, Player 4	Player 5, Player 1
4	Player 5, Player 1, Player 2	Player 3, Player 4
5	Player 3, Player 4, Player 5	Player 1, Player 2

This can be done with four and above players, even numbers being the least effective to have and the lower odd number the better.

Rewards

When all the rounds are finished, Runecrafting guild tokens will be awarded. For each altar that a team wins, each player on that team receives 100 tokens. For each altar lost, players receive 10 more tokens. An additional 200 tokens for members, or 150 tokens for free players, are awarded to players on the team that won the most altars. If both teams win the same number of altars, then the majority bonus is split evenly between both teams (100 tokens for members and 75 for free players). Therefore, the maximum number of tokens members can receive is 1,000, while the maximum number of tokens free players can receive is 750. The calculations are shown below.

	Members	Free players
Altars won × 100	800 tokens	600 tokens
Majority bonus	200 tokens	150 tokens
Total	1,000 tokens	750 tokens

Note: to receive tokens for a given altar, you must participate at it. Participation consists of attracting/repelling any coloured orb. It does not matter which team you are on. Creating a barrier does not count as participating.

These tokens can be traded with Wizard Elriss for robes, teleportation tablets, rune essence, talismen and staves.

Runecrafter Robes

Main article: Runecrafter Robes

File:Runecrafter robes blue.png

A player wearing the blue Runecrafter Outfit.

Image	Name	Tokens
File:Runecrafter hat g.pngFile:Runecrafter hat.gifFile:Runecrafter hat y.PNG	Runecrafter hat	1,000
File:Runecrafter robe g.pngFile:Runecrafter robe.gifFile:Runecrafter robe y.png	Runecrafter robe	1,000
File:Runecrafter skirt g.pngFile:Runecrafter skirt.gifFile:Runecrafter skirt y.png	Runecrafter skirt	1,000
File:Runecrafter gloves g.pngFile:Runecrafter gloves.gifFile:Runecrafter gloves y.PNG	Runecrafter gloves	1,000

Notes

• All three sets may be stored in the Magic wardrobe of a Costume Room.

Bonuses:

• Runecrafter gloves provide a +2 bonus.
• Runecrafter robes provide a +3 bonus.
• Runecrafter skirts provide a +3 bonus.

The bonuses provided by this clothing, in addition to the player's Runecrafting level, determine the speed at which the player is able to attract or repel the orbs, as well as the distance from which he is able to attract them.

Talismans

All talismans except for death and blood talismans can be purchased with Runecrafting Guild tokens. Free-to-play talismans sell for 50 tokens, and members-only talismans sell for 125 tokens.

Runecrafting staff

Main article: Talisman staff

File:Runecrafting staff fire.gif

Talisman staves are not actually part of the minigame, but players may utilise the Runecrafting staff rewarded from the game. Buying a Runecrafting staff costs 10,000 runecrafting guild tokens. It allow players to use them exactly as they would use a Runecrafting tiara, as well as distracting the eyes in the Abyss to help them sneak past. To bind a talisman to a staff, simply take the talisman and the Runecrafting staff to the talisman's altar and use either of them on it. A Runecrafting staff that does not have a talisman attached cannot be wielded.

Notes

• The law talisman staff (created by attaching a law talisman to a Runecrafting staff) has no combat bonuses, so it may be taken onto Entrana.
• The Omni-talisman staff has combat bonuses so it cannot be taken onto Entrana. To attach the Omni-talisman to the Runecrafting Staff, players may talk to Wizard Korvak with both items in the inventory.

Runecrafting Teleport Tablets

Main article: Runecrafting Teleport Tablets

Runecrafting Teleport Tablets are identical in functionality to the teleport tablets that may be built in a player-owned house and may be used to teleport the player to any altar provided they have the requirements to craft the runes. However, players cannot craft their own Runecrafting teleport tablets.

Runecrafting tablets add yet another transport system to RuneScape. Each tablet teleports the user outside the respective rune altar's ruins, and thus require a talisman, tiara, or Runecrafting staff to use the altar. They are also the only teleport tablets available to free players.

It can be argued that these tablets do not save much time while runecrafting, as it takes time to collect the points required for these tablets. The time taken to acquire the tablets may be wasted, as some runecrafters believe conventional runecrafting through the Abyss is just as fast, given the amount of time to collect tablets.

Rune Essence

The last reward a player may buy with their Runecrafting guild tokens is essence. Although the reward screen says "Rune Essence" on both free worlds and members worlds, the type of essence received actually depends on which world the player is on. Players on free worlds obtain rune essence, while players on members worlds obtain pure essence. Players can specify the amount of essence to buy with a Buy X option. The essence are noted for convenience.

Image	Name	Tokens	Details
File:Rune Essence.PNG	Rune essence	1	Rune essence is obtained if tokens are exchanged in a free world.
File:Pure Essence.PNG	Pure essence	1	Pure essence is obtained if tokens are exchanged in a members world.

Money making

Free-to-play

For free players, the best money-making method from playing The Great Orb Project is to buy water talismans, which sell for 2,528 coins each. As they can earn a maximum of 750 tokens each game, these tokens can be used to buy 15 water talismans, for a total of coins for every game played. Since each game lasts 12 minutes, free players can potentially earn up to coins per hour.

Members

For members, purchasing pure essence is a better alternative, as they sell for 30 coins and only cost 1 token each. As members can earn a maximum of 1,000 tokens each game, these tokens can then be used to buy 1,000 pure essence, for a total of coins for every game played. Since each game lasts 16 minutes, members can potentially earn up to coins per hour. However, this can prove difficult, as, for starters, it is difficult for a player to recieve 1000 tokens from a 'perfect game' without having a clan or a pre-arranged agreement. Also, even if one does seem to be in a 'perfect game' it is highly likely that so many players leave the game, that everyone is forced out, and only recieve points that they have already earned, and not ones that they would have earned from the other alters.

Glitches

Main article: The Great Orb Project Glitches

• From 9 June 2009 to 8 July 2009, a glitch occurred in the free-to-play version of the minigame where the last two altars, which are available only to members, were counted in the score at the end of each game. Since free players cannot access those altars, the game recorded both teams as having "lost" those altars. Therefore, if a team won all six altars, the game would tell them that they won six altars but lost two, giving them 770 tokens instead of 750. If both teams won three altars, then the score would be 3-5 for both teams, and both teams, having "lost" the game, would receive only 350 tokens. This has been fixed with the 8 July update.
• Up to 9 June 2009, a glitch would sometimes occur where the mind altar would be given to the team that won the air altar, regardless of which team actually won the mind altar. This has been fixed with the 9 June 2009 update.
• There is a glitch that occurs in some of the altars that if you use a barrier right by a wall, you can move through them with the "pass through" option on barriers.

Trivia

• A player can exit the Nature altar (Body altar for F2P) without a time penalty but this is not recommended since its better to wait the last 2 minutes of gameplay and get some tokens.
• The first player to touch an orb of his colour controls the orb. As long as that player is still controlling the orb, the orb will not respond to attempts by other players on his team to attract or repel that orb, until the first player releases hold of that orb. This has bothered new players since they believe that the game is glitched or otherwise laggy when the orb doesn't respond to them.
• This minigame is the first skill-related minigame that free players can play.
• When the exit portal in each altar in examined, the info is, "Look at you, examining things when there's Runecrafting to do!" This could be a reference to the game, Portal. A similar line in Portal appears in the song "Still Alive" and reads: "Look at me still talking, when there's science to do."
• Another reference to Portal's "Still alive" is after failing a match without getting a single capture (Altar), 'Wizard' Vief will say "This was a disaster! I'm making a note here: HUGE FAILURE", instead of "triumph" and "Success"
• Players in a runecrafting altar that are doing 'normal' runecrafting can see players playing The Great Orb Project.
• When crafting runes during the minigame, players will get twice the normal amount of experience they would get for crafting that type of rune, unless they are wearing the runecrafting gloves which correspond to that type of rune, in which case they will get three times the amount of experience. For example, players normally gain 5 experience for crafting air runes, but when crafting air runes in the minigame, they will receive 10 experience, and if they are wearing air runecrafting gloves, they will receive 15 experience.
• Players on the losing team did not receive any tokens until the 19 August 2008 update.
• As per the 27 January 2009 update, players are no longer allowed to sit around Fletching and alching things while they're meant to be participating in the Great Orb Project.
• Two games can play the same altar but players won't see other players in the other game.
• You cannot place barrier close to exit. If you will attempt to do this, message will appear: "Please do not block the exit."
• If you do not go through the portal you are pulled through, but if you go through at just the right time, you go through the portal and then you are pulled through, and so you get the appearing animation twice.

Music

Music unlocked:

• Second Vision

Gallery

RunecrafterHat.png

A player wearing the Runecrafter hat, goggles up and goggles down.

Fire talisma staff.PNG

Talisman Staff Bonus.

OmniTalismanAbyss.gif

An Omni-talisman staff being used to distract the eyes in the Abyss.

RC Staff 2.png

A player wielding an Omni-talisman staff made by combining an Omni-talisman and a Runecrafting staff.

Floating runes.png

Floating rune essence.

Green Runecrafting robes with goggles on.png

A player wearing the Green robes with goggles on.

Runecrafter robes yellow.png

A player wearing the Yellow robes with goggles on.

References

• RuneScape Game Guide - The Great Orb Project