A year ago, there was a sudden rise in the number of players online in Old School Runescape who were away from keyboard (AFK) status. This led to active players getting annoyed and interactions between players lessened.
So what was the reason for players logged in but were not active in the game? Apparently, a player can still gain experience and earn gold without actively playing. There was (or still is possible) a technique where one can leave his character in auto-retaliate in an area where weak enemies respawn fairly quick. These weak mobs spawn and attack nearby players and with auto-retaliate set, players get decent experience without having to kill them manually.
Old School Runescape Gold: Besides the Experience and Gold
So we know that away from keyboard training and farming is viable in the game. Even so, there must be more reason as to why players resort to this. Here are some reasons players as to why:
College Students
- Many players of Old School Runescape were in college at the boom of away from keyboard training. They did this because they spent too much time in school that the only way to level, train and farm gold was to do the AFK technique. Quoting from a post in Reddit, “As a college student who spends 30 hours in class/labs a week and 20+ hours studying or working on homework, literally the only way that I can play is by afking.” This technique made them productive in school while their character as productive in Runescape as well.
Job and Family
- “Anyone with a job/life/family for that matter as well… We want to play, just don’t have the time”, said by Prepare from Reddit. Providing for their own family and taking care of children when they get home took much of their time that they did AFK training and farming.
Leaving one’s character in away from keyboard mode for these people came out to be reasonable. They all just wanted to progress in the game while taking care of real life responsibilities.