Starter guide

Introduction

Welcome to August!

August is a blend of custom content and league inspired features that we are positive everyone will find enjoyment in. But, in that same vein, we understand it can be a bit daunting to learn all that August has to offer.

So, this Starter Guide was born. There is too much content to possibly cover on this page, but this starter guide will give you some useful jumping off points as you start your journey.

Tips and Tricks

For my short attention spam folks, these tips will get you going without needing to read through my monologue.

1. Use the ::starter and ::refer codes to claim your starter packs!
   • Make sure to use the Rank Book to rank up to Sapphire Donator rank, which offers some nice QoL benefits.
2. Vote for August using the ::vote command for bonus goodies and a 12 hour buff granting extra drop rate, bonus XP, and more!
3. Use ::2fa and ::setpin commands to protect your account, and gain a further 3% bonus to your drop rate!
4. Familiarise yourself with the Talent Trees and the Prestige System! Talents are your #1 source of power in August.
5. Claim rewards for your Achievements! And don't forget to check back in on them regularly to claim any new rewards you earn.
6. Review the FAQ for some frequently asked questions
7. When registering your account, you can use the same email address for multiple accounts. No need to create new emails!
8. Check out the Guides category. These player-created guides will help you navigate content like Bossing.

Written Guide

For those of you looking for a more in-depth guide, this is for you. This is absolutely not the most *efficient* method to the game, but I also think efficiency is the thief of joy.
Experiment! Try things out! Have fun!

Your First (or second) Decision

If you're reading this, you've probably already left the Tutorial and picked your game mode.

If not, go read Game modes to learn about the options available to you.

What do I do now?

The core of the gameplay loop of August in Talent Points. Talent points will allow you to level up your talents, increasing your damage, XP gains, loot drops, skilling speed and harvesting, and so much more. Your first order of business should be to start gaining some Talent points, and that can be done by training any skill.

Depending on the game mode you chose, you will gain Talent Points at a faster rate in the corresponding skills.
i.e - Skiller accounts will gain skilling Talent Points faster than PVM or Slayer Locked accounts.

Don't let that force your hand though, you can train any skill you want. If you'd like some guidance on either a Skiller's start or a Combatant's start, see below.

Skilling Start

Regardless of the game mode you chose, starting off by Skilling can be a boon to all account types, as a lot of Skilling Talents have benefits to Combat!

Quick Talent Points

A very popular method to start skilling is to do Thieving or Runecrafting, as both offer extremely high XP/hour options, which results in large amounts of Talent points. Additionally, Thieving is a quick way to gain some early GP, which is always nice, and Runecrafting will help stockpile your runes for your Magic training that will come later.

Skilling Tokens

Along with the XP you've gained, you will notice that every time you train a skill you're also gaining Skilling tokens. These tokens can be exchanged at the Skilling Token Store.
I recommend you save these tokens and pick up a Skilling outfit and the Gatherer's Pickaxe and Gatherer's Axe, as they will come in handy.

Regardless of what you pick, be sure to take a look at the for a list of training methods and boosts to help along the way.

Combatant's Start

As a first order of business, you should read up on the Prestige System if you have not already. As you Prestige your combat stats, your combat effectiveness and defensive stats will scale up, and trust me, you need it.

Melee, Range, or Mage?

The answer is Prayer and Slayer. Regardless of which combat style you decide to start with, you're going to want to have protection prayers, and get started on your Slayer streaks for those sweet Slayer points. You can kill 2 birds with 1 stone by taking some some early Slayer tasks from Turael while you train your combat. Keep the bones! Quickly getting to 43 Prayer for protection prayers will keep you alive as you get stronger. Once you have protection prayers, you're basically set to do any standard Slayer task. Almost all Slayer enemies will only attack using one Combat style, meaning you can use protection prayers to completely nullify their damage.

For my Ironman players out there, you're going to want to start with Melee. It has the lowest barrier of entry, especially since you won't start with many runes or arrows, and the Talents that will save a large portion of those items don't come until later on in your character progression.

For the "Normies" out there, feel free to start with whatever style you want. You can buy from shops, after all.

Melee Guide

Since it's the most accessible of the Combat Triangle for all account types (Looking at you, Slayer Locked) we'll discuss Melee.

The Starter sword is going to be your friend for the foreseeable future. The Starter weapons have unique boosts to help with early game combat, but you'll want to upgrade after you hit level 70-75.

While you're leveling your combat stats, you should be taking Slayer tasks whenever possible. Your end goal is to purchase a Ghrazi Rapier from the Slayer Point Store for 500 Slayer points, as this is a nice upgrade from your Starter sword.

Ranged/Mage Guide

TBD

Slayer

Remember your ABC's!
Always
Be
Slaying
Slayer is a "zero time" skill, as you're already training combat, so you may as well be doing Slayer at the same time!

Alternate Options

Tired of slayer? Maybe you've unlocked Unnatural Selection and you aren't sure what to kill? Look no further.

Warrior's Guild

Your goal is to get the required levels for the Warrior Guild (Combined Attack & Strength levels of 130). Once you have those requirements, you should start taking Giants tasks, as those count for killing Cyclops. Start killing Cyclops in the Warriors Guild while you hunt for your defenders. This serves 3 purposes;

• Combat XP!
• Defender drops, which can be paired with later Ghommal's Might Talent to increase your damage with a Defender equipped.
• Cyclops will also drop Giant keys and Crystal keys, which can be used on the Giant chest and Crystal chest respectively for some nice resources and other goodies.

Other-Other Options

• Killing Ethereal Beings (the Barrows Brothers) for their armor, Ethereal Keys for the Ethereal chest, and their respective Combat pets.
• Working your way to 80 Slayer to be eligible to receive Sapphire Beast tasks from Nixite.

Misc. Information

World Events

You should always keep an eye on the World boss arena timer and announcements, as different events happen all the time. Always attend these events, as you have a chance to score some super rare loot.

Keep an eye out for the Shooting star as well, that is an easy way to get fast Mining experience, and Stardust which can be turned in at the Stardust Store for good loot.

AFK

Let's face it, you can't play 24/7.
...or can you?

Whenever you have to go handle your real life obligations, like showering, you can utilize the AFK zone to keep your gains going. There are a plethora of skills to train, and your account won't log out while you're in the AFK zone.

I still need help!

Clan Chat

If you ever find yourself with more questions, ask! Type / and your message to have it pop into clan chat. By default every time you log in you'll be in the Help chat with everyone else in the server. Feel free to ask questions and someone will point you in the right direction.