RuneScape Forum Archive | Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

This is for people new to PoPs or just starting. This is for new players to Ports.

If you're past the Pincers, see Kags great thread. It's from the end of region perspective. This is more of how to get to Kags thread: Kags' POP Encyclopedia V4

Starting Player Owned Ports - v2

Got your first 90 and you want to start ports? Well just stop. I made the mistake of starting with just two 90s, and now my life in ports is much harder. This guide is a log of all my mistakes and missteps on my way to the last region. This first page covers your first two months or so.

Table of Contents

1 This
2 Welcome To Ports - Why you want to wait to start, and the 3 rules of ports
3 How to Achieve the three rules - will make more sense in a week of playing
4 Checking Voyages and The fourth rule.
5 Getting Your First Crew. Read This for who NOT to HIRE. You only need about 7 to start.
6 Putting Crew on Ship
7 Good Habits - Tips for Playing and Setting up for the next day ( after reset ).
8 Awesome Traits and Captains
9 Ship upgrades
10 Skull Region ( after Arc )

Page 2
1 Hook ( after Arc and Skull ) and Scythe ( after Hook ) - first two months.
2-4 Excel Spreadsheet
5 Bowl Region Walkthrough Weeks 1-3
6 Bowl Region Walkthrough Weeks 4-6
7 Previous notes and logs starting at Scythe 0%
10 50% Scythe Old notes

Page 3
1 Bowl 0% - Scythe Completed
7 Bowl 69% Complete
8 Pincers 0% complete - Finished Bowl

Page 4
3 8 Nov 2015 - 30% Pincers
9-10 First new log entry for pincers 54% region. 3 Dec 2015

Current Progress:
Page 6, Post 8-9, 9 Sept 2016 - 0% Shield
Page 7, Post 2 - first week of the Shield @100% apparently.

Notable posts:

Page 4, Post 5 - Current issues - updated weekly - 4 Dec 2015
Page 4, Post 7 - Day 0 Arc Region after the Tutorial.
Page 6, Post 1 - Thoughts about what I did wrong during Pincers My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:45:11 - Last edited on 18-Sep-2016 09:12:25 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Welcome to Ports

This is a mini-guide for those about to start, or have started ports, and not yet reached the Pincers; I’m still in the Pincers Region. This is not for those who have already completed all the regions. For that, see Kags great and wondrous thread:

Kags' POP Encyclopedia V4

v1 of this thread is dead. It contained ( and I’ll copy over sections ) weekly updates and progress notes of my path, mistakes I made along the way, and helpful hints and discussions from other other players.

Let me start with this: Ports will take you at least 6 months to reach the end. It could be a year, depending on how much you play. So far, having not yet reached the last region, my biggest mistake was NOT HAVING ALL my 90’s. I started ports when I just had two 90’s - this was a mistake.

Before you start Ports, STOP.

First Rule , before you start ports, make sure you have at least 8 of the 12 skills in level 90.

Recommended 7 level 90 skills to start:
Agility, Cooking, Divination, Dg, Fishing, Hunter, and
Construction

Pick one or all to make 8+ level 90 skills.
RuneCrafting,
Thieving, Slayer,
Herb, Prayer.

The point of Ports is getting scrolls to make/do things in the game; food, weapons/armour, pocket slot items ( scrimshaws ). Know that it’s far easier to get the scroll pieces at lower levels than higher. You do more voyages, at lower levels, in less time.

In order to get pieces, you need adventurers to stop by your port. That’s why Rule One. For each 90 you have, you have a chance of getting an adventurer to stop by and give you a chance at getting a scroll voyage.

Rule Two : Always check your special voyages to see if you can get a new adventurer to stop by. This happens when you get a new 90 stat.

Which leads to the Third Rule for Starting Ports: Always try to send Scroll voyages.

Note: The reefwalker cape is a Comp Cape requirement. You need 90 Crafting, 85 Defense, 90 Construction, and 90 Hunter. My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:45:21 - Last edited on 05-Dec-2015 20:23:58 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Now, how to actually play PoP.

Ok, not actually play as in send ships and voyages, but how to achieve the goals of PoPs.

First off, don’t worry about more ships, chimes, or bamboo. For that matter, you don’t really need to worry about upgrading your port for a long, long, while ( sometime around the Bowl region ). Don’t be fooled by the fast, 20 minute, voyages of the Arc region. This is a long long game. In a month or two, you’ll be sending out voyages that take 10-12 hours, and then come 20+ hours ( once a day ).

The first few regions, Arc, Skull, and Hook are well designed to get you accustomed to the game. The Scythe region is a minor transition, the Bowl is hard, and Pincers is a full blown reset for High Level Content.

Get yourself used to carrying your book and stopping by your port daily. Next, glance through your book using the left and right arrows to see various stats and settings. Though it may not make a lot of sense to start, it’s worth it to familiarize yourself with what’s available.

Inside your port, at the top is the management interface. Second Row, in the middle, is Port Management ( gears/cogs icon ) button. This will let you select which scrolls to go after, as well as ( after the Arc region ), let you set your voyages to easier regions. Note: You can set the region through your book, but not the scroll hunt.

The reefwalker cape is a Comp Cape requirement. You need 90 Crafting, 85 Defense, 90 Construction, and 90 Hunter. It takes 80 koi scales to make: you get 2-3 per voyage IF a voyage comes up. Also, it requires 4 Successful voyages to complete the scroll.

Almost ready to talk about captains and crew… My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:45:27 - Last edited on 04-Dec-2015 23:12:47 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Checking returning voyages.

You’ll have two ships for a very, very, very long time, but get used to checking one voyage at a time, and then exiting the interface. The reason is random events. Random events CANNOT be stacked. A Chance of a Random Events happen at the end of each voyage. So

FOURTH RULE : Check returned voyages one at a time and exit. Then do random event before checking the next voyage.

If you check two ships at once, though you may have two random events, only one will happen. Think of them as working like clue scrolls. If you have a clue scroll banked, you cannot get another one. Same idea here.

Rewards from random events are capped at 3 max of:
Bag of Winds ( speed ~ useless - took off 20 minutes in 13 hours ),
Ration Pack ( moral ),
Powder Kets ( combat ), and
Seasingers Bottled Cry ( seafaring ).

These give a 10% boost, and yes, you can apply all three to one ship. You click on Edit ship to add these. I tend to stockpile, as I build my crew so I only use them when needed for special voyages.

If you’re lucky enough to get a Lifeboat ( prevents death ). Use it on your first ship. Next Life boat goes on your second ship, third goes on your 3rd ship, etc. These are permanent and will always exist.

More important though, you can get visiting adventure rerolls. You can use the re-rolls for a chance to get new special voyages ( clues and scroll voyages ).

When sending a special voyage, the other voyages WILL DISAPPEAR. Choose wisely. Using the visiting reroll gives you a chance at another clue/scroll.

Also, I have not received a Scroll Piece, or found a Clue, at 100% success. So these voyages operate like boosts to Meg and/or a Ring of Wealth.

Now, to actually buy crew and captains. My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:45:42 - Last edited on 09-Dec-2015 08:48:41 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Getting your first crew in the Arc.

My first mistake was not recognizing the different crew types.

Good: Varrock Chef ( M ), Brimhaven Pirate ( C ), and the Catherby Fisherman ( S ).
Bad: Traveling Drunk, Stowaway, or the Smuggler.

DO NOT HIRE: Traveling Drunk, Stowaway, or the Smuggler to train.

You can have up to 25 crew members. Though to start you really only need about 13 max for the first few regions; maybe 7 to start. At least 1 of which will be a first mate, one Cyclops ( Morale + Combat ), and a Special Type of crew ( Siren Whalerider, Merchant ).

As for captains, get 100 chime captains with higher stats in Morale ( M ), Combat ( C ), and Seafaring ( S ). Take note of which captains are “free” vs “100” captains. You’ll want to train the 100 captains, till you start to see 2.5k ( Skull ) captain's, till you see 10k captains ( a chance in the hook, most likely in Pincers ). Captains with speed are useless.

Generally speaking: Get crew to level 7+, update ship, Replace crew with crew from new region, get crew to 7+, update ship, repeat.

Also, when you purchase a crew member, ALWAYS check their traits on wikia:
Player-owned port/Captains and Crew

Some traits are really bad, and you’ll want to dismiss them before using them. Also, check your crew after the first voyage for any traits or changes.

As you’re starting out, you’ll want to try and get crew with side stats aside from traits. I can*t tell you the number of times these little +10 to +230 side stats all added up to help me get to a 100% voyage.

Traits DO NOT show up in the stats listed for the crew, but will show on the ship stats. For example, suppose you have a crew member with 100/0/0 ( m/c/s ) and the Eager trait. When you assign the crew to the ship, the ship total moral will go up by 140 in M because of the trait, though the crew member will only list 100. My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:45:46 - Last edited on 05-Dec-2015 20:27:27 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Putting crew on ship.

Overall, FEWER CREW is better as you can train only 5 crew at a time with one ship. It’s BETTER to TRAIN crew THAN to have MORE crew.

After selecting the captain, know that traits stack from left to right. So if one crew member gives +1% to a stat, put it more to the left. If it’s a multi-trait voyage, always use your first mate first, then your +1% stat/Rallying Crew.

The first two regions, Arc and Skull, go by pretty quick. When you hit your third region, the Hook, it starts to get interesting, but first Arc and Skull.

When you get to the Skull region ( after the Arc ), you’ll get a voyage called Siren’s Shell. This will allow you to recruit, the Siren Whalerider ( has stats in C and S ). She’s pretty useful, and at some point, you may want two.

As you’re working your way to through regions, it will be a CONSTANT struggle to get the currency for new crew. I Would Buy Currency Except Chimes Daily. However, the best way to have currency is not to spend it.

Do not buy any crew for speed. These crew just don’t matter.

Next, get one Merchant/Storekeeper, two Merchants are excessive. You may not always use the Merchant type, but here or there it’s useful. Usually the merchant would be in slot 5

Single trait voyages are pretty straightforward to assign crew. Just fill slots with the crew members who have the stat.

Double/Triple trait voyages are a bit more complicated to set up. You’ll want to keep on eye on all the traits. It’s better to have a 91% + 95% than a 70% + 100%. The “Success" listed is only for the lowest stat and not the overall voyage. Also, it is possible to fail at 99% for normal voyages - it’s not common, but it’s not rare either.

The Arc region seemed to give me more crew with multiple values in stats. Ideally with one ship
1 First Mate
1 Cyclops
2 Morale Crew - Varrock Chef
2 Combat Crew - Brimhaven Pirate
2 Seafaring Crew - Catherby Fisherman My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:45:51 - Last edited on 18-Sep-2016 09:24:27 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Tips Game Play:

Through the Arc, Skull, and Hook the game knows what crew you have. Better crew will give you harder voyages - especially new region crew. However, it will also know when you have worse crew. The Scythe region is a transition to the Bowl, which preps you for the insane Pincers and beyond.

DON’T just BUY ONE crew member at a time. BUY THREE at a time; buy one in each trait. Have your purchases prepped to buy. Once you purchase better crew, all stat requirements for the voyages will go up instantly.

Once you’re past the Hook ( Arc, Skull, Hook ) to the Scythe, the first 14 voyages ( regardless of the region ) seem easier than the 15th voyage for the new region. This gives you the chance to get currency for new crew in the new region. DON’T INSTANTLY BUY NEW CREW WHEN YOU HAVE THE CURRENCY.

Around the end of the Hook region, or the beginning of the Scythe, you’ll want to get some of the DO NOT BUY Crew members to give you easier voyages. You could keep 3 of the do not buy people around, but just never train them. This will help to give you voyages which you can do.

Sometimes, you can stack the ship with all one trait ( Moral or Combat ), and use all seafaring crew. There is little difference between the crew in the first and second regions ( Arc and Skull ). For this reason, you can usually skip getting Skull crew, except a golem/cyclops/siren.

See page 7 post 4 for what to buy daily and how much you need. My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:46:03 - Last edited on 27-Nov-2016 06:40:15 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The Hook ( 3rd region ) crew are a lot stronger. When you get to Scythe, the level zero crew blow away your level 7 previous crew in no time.

After your first week of Pincers, it will no longer be Always possible to get 100% success. Before the Pincers region, and after you’ve just started PoP. You can Always achieve 100% success on voyages. The goal is always to get level 10 crew. However, as you’re constantly going to new regions, this isn’t always possible. When you get to Pincers though, your crew will be maxed.

Finally, when you have two ships, see if you can stack one trait, and end with a free crew slot. This can be used for a merchant/plamist OR to TRAIN a crew with a different stat <- better choice.

Awesome Traits:
M: Leader (+1%), Awe-Inspiring (+100 )
C: Tactician ( +1% ), Slayer ( +100 )
S: SeaFRIEND ( +1% ), SeaFarer ( +100 )
MCS: Multi-talented ( +50/50/50 ).

Captain Trait Voyages:

Keep on eye on your captains and don’t be afraid to add in one or two new captains. By the hook region, you’ll end up just going for the 2.5k captains. Replacing any other captains you might have had.

Pick your trait voyages wisely, as each captain can only have 4. Later on ( 5-6 months+ ), there is a chance to remove traits from captains, but by then, you’ll have replaced quite a few.

Use Wikia to check for which traits you want. You can have a captain with the same four traits if you desire. I tend to reroll any voyage that doesn't give a stat boost to my captain. For example, quick-footed will just level up the captain faster, but you'll be replacing them anyway.

Captains level up at half the rate of crew. Despite this, by the time I was at the Bowl, I had gone through a good 10 captains.

Take note of the starting stats of all your Captains ( use an excel spreadsheet ). Sometimes, you'll get a random 100 or 2.5k captain which has better starting stats, and hence will be better at higher levels. My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:46:07 - Last edited on 09-Dec-2015 08:50:01 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Setting up your next voyage.

You're allowed to do 15 voyages and 1 special voyage daily ( If you have any ). So if you’re close to the reset, and have ship(s) out, reroll the voyages for ones you can do.

When you purchase a crew member ( or send a voyage ) it will subtract one from the number of rerolls. So before the reset, check the crew interface and reroll any crew members you may not want. I usually stop at 3 rerolls left incase I buy new crew.

Having an empty slot, because all rerolls were used and crew purchased WILL COUNT AGAINST the next days rerolls. The same is true for voyages.

Remember, always try to send out Scroll Voyages. These are harder though.

ALWAYS BUY CURRENCY AND CHECK THE TRADER FOR LACQUER, CHI, AND PLATE Don't buy chimes though.

Ship Upgrades:

Battle and Golden Hull are really useful for a while. The other hulls can be skipped. For me, my seafaring always seemed to be more than sufficient with just my crew.

I usually do Deck, then Hull, then figurehead. I pretty much ignore the rudder. Ports will serve as a distraction as you try to play RS normal for a while. Upgrading the rudder just means you can play normally less often. However, it will change to once every 4-6 hours in about a month.

Note, you only need to buy the deck item once, not twice. So you don’t need to spend 200 chimes and 120 bamboo for the Small Crate of Food to be used on both. Once you spend 100 chimes and 60 bamboo, you can use the deck item for both deck 1 and 2. My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:46:11 - Last edited on 09-Sep-2016 22:06:10 by Uncl

Mar

2013

Uncl

Posts: 13,097 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Skull

When you get to the Skull region, after the Arc. Set your Port Management BACK to the Arc region. You’ll still get skull voyages, but the training will be easier and faster.

DO NOT update the Port Buildings.

The one exception is the OFFICE to get one more ship. Don’t worry about 3 ships for a few months.

When you do get your second ship, no doubt your crew will jump to 12+ crew or so. You’ll need 5 moral, 5 combat, 5 seafearing, a golem, merchant, and maybe a palmist tops. You really want to have less than 20 crew, and no more than 5 of each type MCS.

About 50% of the way through the Skull, Update your ship. You REALLY want the GOLDEN HULL as it provides the best Morale stats for a while.

Remember, when you update, the game gets harder.

You can check your progress through a region by clicking on the map interface at the top. Use the slider to go more right/east to see your current progress.

Less crew is better. At the end of the Skull ( or during the hook ), you’ll completely stop using the Palmists, Merchants, and other non-Morale/Combat/Seafaring ( MCS ) crew.

From the Skull region, you might/can buy 3-4 new crew and start to level them, but you can mostly, just get the Golem and continue to level your Arc crew.

You should be getting 100% on voyages - the illusion of easy.

Crew to have in Skull

2 1st Mates
3 Banner, 3 Musketeers, 3 Guides,
1 Siren Whalerider ( C + S )
1 Slate Golem ( M + C )
1 Exploding Golem ( M + C )
1 Cyclops ( M + C )
1 Feral Chimera ( M + C ) My Threads:
Starting Player Owned Ports-v2

03-Dec-2015 19:46:15 - Last edited on 04-Dec-2015 23:27:42 by Uncl

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Starting Player Owned Ports-v2