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2.1 How Penguins Move (WESN)

This is not the easiest topic to get your head around, so please ask if you don't understand something.

Penguins always try to move diagonally when there are no obstacles.

If there is an obstacle in the direction the penguin wishes to move, the penguin will always choose to move west or east before choosing to move north or south.

The penguin in the diagram below is wishing to move SW.

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This penguin can only do so when the SW, west, and south squares are free of obstacles. In this case, there is an obstacle to the SW and west.

First, it tries to move SW and sees both obstacles. It cannot move SW.
Second, it tries to move west. It sees an obstacle and cannot move west.
Third, it tries to move south. That space is free. It moves south.

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This time, SW has no obstacle. But west still has an obstacle.
The penguin still cannot move SW! It also cannot move west.
It has to move south again.

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(continued) ~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:40:15 - Last edited on 18-Feb-2014 02:49:20 by Shady Guy

2.2 How Penguins Move (WESN)

Our penguin still wishes to move SW as shown in the post above.

In this case, there is no obstacle to the SW. But there is an obstacle to the south. The penguin cannot move SW!

There is no obstacle to the west. The penguin will choose to move west.

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The obstacle to the west prevents the penguin from moving either SW or west. The penguin has to choose to move south.

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With an obstacle to the south, the penguin still cannot move SW as it wants to. It chooses to move west and out the exit.

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.•´¯`•._.•´¯`•.

Other Important Penguin Movement Observations

The penguin makes these calculations of which direction to take instantly. There is no lag between choosing to move SW, then W, then S.

It can always choose to change direction (bounce) when encountering an obstacle or even in open space.

When both main directions (in our diagram, that is W and S) are blocked, the penguin stops. It may push against the obstacle in an attempt to move for a few seconds.

When it FULLY stops, it will poke its head out at least two times before picking a new direction. That gives you at least 14 seconds to set up your next move and call the penguin before it moves again. ~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:40:22 - Last edited on 18-Feb-2014 02:49:50 by Shady Guy

2.3 Special Traps

Using the information above, we can put penguins in places where they are forced to move east and west across a single gap due to how penguins move. These places are called special traps, or specs for short.

A penguin can find a special trap on its own. If it does, it will not be able to get out without help. An example is shown below:

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<--- Trap Entrance

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Special traps are not foolproof. Remember WESN. If someone (NPC, pet, player) is blocking specific spots, the penguin will escape. These are called the break spots. Those are labeled 'Z' below.

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<--- Trap Entrance

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A penguin might need help getting into other special traps. Both the entrance and exit are one space gaps with no blocks! An example is shown below:

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<--- Trap Entrance

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There are spots that need to be blocked for a penguin to get in above. If someone (NPC, pet, player) is there, the penguin will enter. These are called the bump spots. Those are labeled 'Z' below.

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<--- Trap Entrance

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~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:40:29 - Last edited on 18-Feb-2014 02:50:45 by Shady Guy

2.4 Creating Your Own Special Trap

There are places on the map where there are 2 space gaps for north/south entrances and exits. The ruins with the yew trees south of the Edgeville bank are a perfect example of this type of place. You can easily turn such a place into a shifting special trap, as shown below:

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<--- Trap Entrance

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When your block is broken, you can shift your spot to east or west to continue to cover the gap and make the trap a special trap.


Sometimes, there is only one space to stand in order to create a special trap. A good example is at the Yanille South Wall entrance. To create a spec, you HAVE to stand inside the wall to the east of the door. Another example is below:

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<--- Trap Entrance

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If that is the case, use an emote or an item to quickly reset your block in order to prevent the penguin from leaving the trap. In some cases, you can use an NPC/pet to cover that spot and have it constantly and quickly reset its block. That will be covered in the next post.


.•´¯`•._.•´¯`•.

You can create a special trap covering even more spaces than a 2 wide gap. Just make sure all spaces are covered except for one, and reset if your block is broken. Watch the penguin struggle to go south and north and not be able to! ~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:40:37 - Last edited on 18-Feb-2014 02:52:31 by Shady Guy

2.5 Using A Pet to Create a Great Trap (or Spec)


These two details from post 1.10 are critical for this post to work properly.

A. If a pet cannot reach you, it will reset its block very quickly.

B. The pet will move diagonally until it reaches the same line of squares as you, and then they will follow directly behind you.



Combining these two details can create a GREAT trap or special trap. Unless the penguin is pushing against the pet and the block is broken, the penguin will be unable to escape!

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First, let us take the trap above. You place your pet on the spot marked n. You carefully step south of the platy, then east, and then NE. You are on the same line as the pet, so it tries to reach you by moving east. It cannot, so it constantly and quickly resets its block.


.•´¯`•._.•´¯`•.

Even better, the pet can block 1 wide gaps that face east/west (those gaps aren't special traps due to WESN)! Take the example below:


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<--- Trap Entrance
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Place your pet at the spot marked n. Walk to the spot shown. You are on the same line as the pet, so it tries to reach you by moving north. It cannot, so it constantly and quickly resets its block.

.•´¯`•._.•´¯`•.

The pets are great for reinforcing traps or allowing you to do other things while the pet does the work. Just remember that pets that reset quickly can still be broken when the penguin is pushing against it.

NOTHING is foolproof! ~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:41:15 - Last edited on 23-Feb-2014 20:26:44 by Shady Guy

2.6 Using NPCs

NPCs, or non-player characters, can be used to block penguins.

The way to test if an NPC can block is to use a clockwork toy. If it blocks the toy, it blocks a penguin.

Most NPCs which you can attack can be used to help block penguins the same way pets do. Remember to switch auto-retaliate off, and attack them. They should now follow you around until they reach the end of their roam range and can be used to help herd the penguin.

If they get walked on you will need to reset their block by making them move off the square and back again.

When trying to move NPCs it is important to note that they prefer to move West and East instead of South and North (WESN) So if you have the NPC north of you and move west, it will move west too. But if you have one west of you and move north it will move east and end up south of you, in the wrong place.


NPCs used to be able to reset their block quickly and constantly if they could not reach you. Except for very few cases, EoC has changed it so they lose interest in you quickly. If the NPC is aggressive towards you, or you keep attacking it, it will continue to be interested and will reset their blocks quickly and constantly.

.•´¯`•._.•´¯`•.

NPC Traps

This is where the NPC roams in a 1 wide path, or there is an enclosed area behind it, and it is stationary.

Moving NPCs:

The penguin can be forced in behind it by breaking the NPC block. (running over them at the right time)

Once the penguin is behind the NPC will reset its block every time it moves and can keep the penguin trapped as long as no one breaks the NPC block.

Stationary NPCs:

Anon discovered an easy way to break these. Talk to the NPC, then run through them, but don't go more than 1 spot away from them. This should leave them broken until you move further away.

Again, the penguin is behind the NPC. The NPC resets its block quickly and constantly and is not broken until someone does exactly the actions described above. ~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:41:46 - Last edited on 18-Feb-2014 02:53:29 by Shady Guy

2.7 2x2 NPCs (Advanced)

2x2 NPCs (ogres, hill giants, and so on) can be very useful helpers, both in trapping penguins and in setting you up. They can block any path that is two squares wide, so no penguin can slip past them. The hill giants in the gnome maze USED to be perfect for this (again, Jagex ruined one of the best traps with one small change ).


Each spot it covers blocks separately, so you can unblock only 1 corner of it to help herd a penguin.


Or, even better, you can use the 2x2 NPC to block two different directions!
If the penguin stops in open space, you can do this by positioning the NPC on top of the penguin by running through the penguin to break its block, it would look something like this to block SW and NW.

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One of the lines of the 2x2 NPC is directly north of you so it will stay there (if you move 1 West it would still stay there.)

SW is blocked by the player and the SW corner of the npc, and
NW is blocked by the SW and NE corners of the npc.

.•´¯`•._.•´¯`•.

2x2 NPCs can move diagonally through spaces which look too small.

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1-4 denote the position of the npc.

A 1x1 NPC on spots 2 or 3 would not be able to move directly South East, but a 2x2 NPC covering spots 1-4 will be able to.



As a test, travel to the center of the Gnome Maze, and try to figure out why the two hill giants are no longer an NPC trap. PM me if you have an answer! ~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:42:26 - Last edited on 18-Feb-2014 02:54:08 by Shady Guy

Reserved. Please do not post.

~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:43:05

Reserved. Please do not post.

~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:43:11

Reserved. Please do not post.

~ Bill

18-Feb-2014 02:43:42