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TWIRP Skill Indexes TWIRP Minigame Indexes

Combat is a major part of the game for most players, so just as a big portion of TWIRP is devoted to skill indexes, the same is also true of those related to combat. The high-level Combat Composite Yield Index (TWIRP-C) measures the impact of price changes on the relative profitability of combat as a whole. TWIRP-C is in turn calculated from two basic sets of combat-related indexes, one of which measures the changes in the costs of input to combat, while the other tracks the impact of price moves on the value of combat output. These are discussed in the sections below.

Note that the Prayer and Slayer skills are also part of TWIRP-C, but they are discussed in the topic on skills.

The inputs to combat are all of the equipment and items required to fight. Examples include armor, weapons, combat jewelry, runes, ammunition, food and potions. Since these all represent costs, combat becomes more profitable when they go down, so they are expressed as combat affordability indexes.

I begin with a set of subindexes that represent items used by all three combat styles, to one degree or another:

• Food Affordability (TWIRP-C-FOODa): This index measures the affordability of food, naturally focusing on food items most often used in combat.
  
  
• Potion Affordability (TWIRP-C-POTa): This figure represents the affordability of combat-related potions, such as prayer potions, super sets, ranging potions and so forth.
  
  
• Miscellaneous Item Affordability (TWIRP-C-MISCa): This index covers miscellaneous items that are used in all three combat styles to one degree or another.

These three subindexes are then used as components of the three combat affordability indexes that are specific to each style (melee, ranged and magic). Of course, they are weighted differently for each; as an example, food is far more important for melee combat than for ranging or magic combat. They are combined with other indexes and item weights appropriate to each style, such as runes for magic or arrows for ranging.

Here are the three combat style affordability indexes:

• Melee Affordability (TWIRP-C-MELa): This index tracks the overall affordability of melee-based combat. It includes the three common affordability indexes above (food, potions and miscellaneous items), along with melee-specific items like weapons and armor.
  
  
• Ranged Affordability (TWIRP-C-RNGa): This index shows the overall affordability of ranged combat. It too includes the three common affordability indexes (food, potions and miscellaneous items), along with weights for ranging weapons, ranged armor and ammunition.
  
  
• Magic Affordability (TWIRP-C-MAGa): Finally, this index represents the affordability of magic combat. It also includes the three common affordability indexes above (food, potions and miscellaneous items), along with weights for magic robes, staves and (combat-related) runes.

The outputs from combat are mainly monster drops, and so the indexes that track them are called drop value indexes. These are divided into two sets of categories: drop value indexes that indicate the changes in approximate drop values for different types of monsters, and subindexes for common drop categories.

The drop value indexes by monster level are as follows:

• Monster Drop Value (Low-Level) [TWIRP-C-DROP(l)]: This index tracks the changes in approximate drop values for low-level monsters (below approximately level 60 or so.)
  
  
• Monster Drop Value (Mid-Level) [TWIRP-C-DROP(m)]: The index tracking drop values for mid-level monsters (roughly levels 60 to 120).
  
  
• Monster Drop Value (High-Level) [TWIRP-C-DROP(h)]: The index of output tracking for high-level monsters (over level 120, except boss monsters.)
  
  
• Monster Drop Value (Bosses) [TWIRP-C-DROP(b)]: This special, separate index is used only for tracking drops from very high level "boss monsters", such as the Kalphite Queen, Dagannoth Kings, King Black Dragon and God Wars bosses.
  
  
• Monster Drop Value Index (TWIRP-C-DROP): The four indexes above are weighted and combined into an overall monster drop value index.

Assigning weights for monster drops was particularly difficult because of the huge variety of drops provided by different beasts. It was also complicated by the fact that many monsters drop ranges of common items, like "gems", "herbs" and so forth. To make the indexes more easy to calculate, as well as to show trends in drop values more clearly, I defined a set of subindexes by drop type. These are used as components in the monster drop value indexes above.

The drop value type subindexes are:

• Gem Drop Value (TWIRP-C-DROP-GEM): Measures drop value changes for standard gems (uncut sapphires, emeralds, rubies and diamonds), as well as a small weighting for half keys (since they are more rare).
  
  
• Herb Drop Value (TWIRP-C-DROP-HERB): Assesses the average value of herb drops by monsters, based on approximate drop rates.
  
  
• High-Level Herb Drop Value (TWIRP-C-DROP-HHERB): This is a modified version of the Herb Drop Value Index which focuses mainly on higher-level herbs (generally ranarr and over). It reflects the fact that many players leave the vast majority of low-value herbs on the ground.
  
  
• Herb Seed Drop Value (TWIRP-C-DROP-HSEED): Measures the relative value of herb seed drops (all types).
  
  
• High-Level Herb Seed Drop Value (TWIRP-C-DROP-HHSEED): Measures the value of high-level herb seed drops, meaning ranarr and above. This is a distinct measurement because several monsters only drop these higher-level seeds.
  
  
• Allotment Seed Drop Value (TWIRP-C-DROP-ASEED): This indexes the value of the allotment seeds measured by TWIRP, which are tomato, sweetcorn, strawberry and watermelon—the others are common items and not often transacted.

TWIRP Skill Indexes TWIRP Minigame Indexes