I think runecrafting is useless now for money making, nats is the only thing that might be ok to sell for alching thats about it. since the mage abilities do not require runes i like and i dont like that update i did get 99 runecrafting for a money make project but now its distroyed.
There are many down sides to Eco as well as up for example some of the Eco gear looks better like the two hand sword which changed to be more stylish vs the changes to the classic long bow which originally had a very stream lined look since the change as become bulky looking and a lot less like wood. For fighting monsters the Eco has helped in that regard but in play vs play combat it got rid of the element of surprise and the liked and hated bind; wile magic got better cause you don't need quite as many runes as the original way. Another thing with the new Eco is that you have to sit down and remember more that you had to in the past for combat and some people don't catch on as quickly as others so you have people out besting people in combat be for they even have much of a chance to learn it;that and the new combat stance looks kind of funny at best making combat rather distracting as you try not to crack up.