The Gnome Stronghold agility course was released along with the Agility skill on 12 December2002. It was the first area for members to train at level 1 Agility before the release of the Burthope Agility Course. It is located south-east of the Grand Tree in the Tree Gnome Stronghold, which is north-west of East Ardougne. There are many gnome trainers around the course that shout insults at players, as well as the talent scout at the north end of the course.
This course has no requirements, and players cannot take damage here - therefore, food is not required. However, when taking the advanced route, it is possible to fail the signpost run and take up to 70 life points. Players may benefit by using an energy potion or another similar item so they can recover their energy. However, due to the "Rest" update players now have the option to rest instead of using energy potion(s). Players gain 86.5 experience points for a complete circuit.
On 21 June 2009, the advanced route was added to the course.
The best way to get there, if the player has completed Tree Gnome Village, is to use the spirit tree teleports. Otherwise, players can use a Gnome glider (after The Grand Tree quest), or walk north-west from East Ardougne.
Use a games necklace to teleport to Barbarian Assault, dive into the whirlpool south of it - note that diving into the whirlpool might cause some damage, and this cannot be done if you have access to the Ancient Caverns - and walk from there.
Teleport to Ardougne and walk from there (or go to a house and use a portal in a Portal Chamber to teleport to Ardougne and walk from there).
Completion bonus is 39.5 experience, which totals 86.5 experience per round. Players would need to complete the circuit about 150,688 times to get from level 1 to level 99 (which is a little more than 60 days worth of training at 9000 experience per hour).
Advanced course
The extension takes the course to new heights...
Level 85 Agility is a requirement for entering the advanced course. Boosts may be used, but if the player's level falls below 85 they will be unable to access the advanced course. If the player's level falls below 85 after entering the advanced course they will still be able to finish the course. Players will stop failing the advanced course at 89 Agility.
The first three obstacles are the same as the basic course. The advanced course is one level higher above the 'Climb Tree branch' spot and continues above the basic course to the same finish area.
Completion bonus is 605 experience, not 630 that shows in your experience counter, as that's the last obstacle plus the bonus (25 + 605 = 630) exp, which totals to 725 experience per lap, or 1,450 xp if wielding a charged penance horn. Players who complete 250 successful laps may acquire Agile legs from the Gnome trainers. To find out the number of successful laps completed, players must talk to a Gnome trainer about rewards.
Player: Can I talk about rewards?
Gnome trainer: Well, you've still got work to do. Your lap count is X. It's 250 successful laps for the reward!
An average lap of the advanced course takes about 50 seconds. However, a "perfect lap" can be completed in as low as 34.2 seconds. This does not include the time it takes to walk from the last obstacle to the log to restart the course, which takes an additional 3.6 seconds.
The only obstacle that can be failed on the advanced course is the signpost run. If failed, the player will still manage to pass the obstacle (though it will not count towards a lap for the Agile legs), but will pause for a few seconds to gasp for breath and lose a few life points depending on the player's Constitution level and number of life points remaining.
Skipping the log obstacle at the beginning is the same as skipping the rope swing or stepping stones at the Wilderness Agility Course, you will still get exp for the obstacles but receive no lap completion bonus.
Getting Perfect Laps
Getting a true perfect lap is a lot more difficult than just getting lucky. There are many additional inputs the user must make to be able to perform a perfect lap.
Ideally, the perfect lap time is 34.2 seconds, or 57 RuneScape clock "ticks". It is possible to complete the course with only 7 clicks of the mouse, but this is slower than a true perfect lap, even if you do manage to swing on the closest spot on the poles.
Using an extra 3 clicks, it is possible to run a lap almost 10 seconds faster than someone not using extra clicks.
The 3 places these clicks need to be used are at 3 different obstacles, which are the second tree climb obstacle (where the advanced course actually starts), at the pole swing obstacle, and jump-over barrier obstacle. The 3 will be described in detail below.
The first obstacle which can be done more quickly with an extra click is the second tree climb obstacle. If you climb up the second tree branch from a different location (as opposed to directly north of it, which is the default location you will attempt to climb it from when you click it), you will appear at a different location on the upper platform. With this in mind, it's possible to click and move to the space east of the branch, climb, and be closer to the next obstacle in the above area. Besides appearing closer to the next obstacle upstairs, it is also possible to do the actual branch climbing faster by moving first.
This technique saves up to a full second.
The second obstacle which can be performed more quickly with an extra click is the pole swing. This is achieved by clicking to run to the middle jump spot (the middle of the 3 possible places you can jump from on the pole swing), then immediately clicking the pole swing. There is a 2 in 3 chance to save time on this obstacle, the remaining 1 in 3 chance will result in the same speed if you were doing it normally. This is approximate and has not been fully confirmed. There is another way to perform this, but it has not been confirmed that it is better. It appears to have an almost failsafe performance if done correctly. When on the other side of the post, click on the Signpost the same way you would normally, and the player will turn. A good way to do this is to right click the obstacle while running to it. It is also unnecessary to turn completely, (or even land, on that matter, you may click a split second before landing too) as the player may go into the next action as long as the character has even started to turn. Attempt to perform the technique once again, and one will have a greater chance of success. Also, rather than stopping in the centre, then moving if failed, the character will smoothly transition to the adjacent grid. The speed is rather intense, the player will appear to be jumping off the first grid, but diagonally move the middle grid. This is a good way to see if it was performed correctly.
This technique can save up to 5–6 seconds. Getting the fastest possible lap requires you swing from the middle position.
The third obstacle which can be performed faster with an extra click is the last one, the barrier jump. This trick allows you to do the last obstacle at the same speed, regardless of where you swing in from. It is performed by clicking to walk or run directly in front of the barrier obstacle before clicking on it. It is only helpful when you swing in from middle or last position on the pole swing. If you swing in from the first position, there is no need to do this, as it will be the same speed.
When swinging in from the middle position, this trick saves about half a second. Normally you walk 2 tiles to get to the barrier. When you click to move first, you walk diagonally 1 step, skipping that extra step.
When swinging in from the last position, this trick saves about a full second. Normally you walk 3 tiles to get to the barrier. When you click to move first, you will run 2 steps instead, also skipping an extra step. Running is exactly 2 times faster than walking, so running 2 steps takes the same amount of time as walking one.
Note that these techniques are not for the poorly coordinated or laid-back player, but for players who are looking to challenge themselves and do things the best way possible.
There used to be an unnamed pipe on the course. This has since been fixed.
The extended agility course cannot be failed once players reach level 89 Agility.
Players' shadows should no longer look odd on the rope swing due to an update on 9 November2009.
The small 'Start Here' sign was added on 3 March2010, the same day the Hitpoints skill was renamed Constitution.
In RuneScape Classic, a glitch allowed players stop and stand half-way across the log balance by logging out just before they reached the middle of the log.
If climbing up the tree while another player is crossing the signpost, that player looks like he's/she's sliding in the air. This is not caused by lag.
The same thing can also be seen if another player is swinging on the poles. He/She will slide across the gap, pausing under each pole.
Implings often pass by near the western side of the course. This offers a way to gain money while training Agility.
It appears that the Advanced section of the course is based upon a construction site. Some points to back this theory up is the sign-post that you have to run across. The two poles that the player has to swing across might be a future location for another sign-post ad. The pipe at the end that you have to go in might be a reference to junk chutes, of which construction workers dump trash and unwanted items down from.
There is sometimes a glitch where the player gets stuck inside the base of the building after coming down the pipe at the end of the File:AgilityStuckInBoxGlitch.jpgGlitch where player is stuck inside the pipes obstacleextended course.
The first obstacle net you come across is heading straight up, although instead of climb up, it says "climb over".
It is impossible to climb down the various features when going up, and vice versa for going down.
There is currently an unfixed glitch where players can stand on the middle of the balancing rope.
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