Flax
- This article is about an item. For the NPC that calls himself 'Flax', see Geoffrey.
| |
| Release date | 25 March 2002 (Update) |
|---|---|
| Members? | Yes |
| Quest item? | No |
| Tradeable? | Yes |
| Equipable? | No |
| Stacks? | No |
| High Alch | 3 coins |
| Low Alch | 2 coins |
| Destroy | Drop |
| Store price | Not sold |
| Examine | A plant cultivated for fibres (ground); I should use this with a spinning wheel (item). |
| Weight | 0.4 kg |
Flax is a plant that members with level 1 Crafting can use on a spinning wheel to create a bow string, granting 15 Crafting experience. It is possible to pick multiple flax from one plant. Flax plays a giant role in the economy.
Flax can be found in various places in members-only areas:
- In Taverley flower patches, they are hard to see, but there are at least 2 in every patch.
- In the Tree Gnome Stronghold (there is a bank in the middle of several flax plants).
- South of Seers' Village, there are many plants in a reasonably small area, next to the beehives and close to a bank as well as a Spinning wheel.
- Just south of the bank in Lletya (closest to a bank, but difficult to get to)
- South of Rellekka, near the Fenris wolves
- On Lunar Isle
- In Burthope south of the cows near the mining and smithing area
It is quite a useful item because once it is spun into a bow string, it can be used to string bows using Fletching, and bow strings sell for a fair bit. However, It is not very easy to sell flax for quick money, so players are advised to turn them into bow strings first to gain more money. It takes (with no armour equipped, and run turned on) approximately 75 seconds (non-stop) in Lumbridge Castle to spin an entire inventory of flax into bowstrings.
Flax used to be a common target for macroing programs, where they collected flax in Seers' Village and then spun them into bow strings in Lumbridge castle, due to the profit margin for bow strings and that flax could easily be collected in bulk. This has been significantly reduced for quite a while due to Jagex's fight against unbalanced trade and real-world trading. However, since the return of free trade, the amount of bots is sharply on the rise again.
The macroing programs that picked flax became a target for luring that Jagex actually supported. Players would wear clothing such as green dragonhide, and stand near macros. With a little coordination, a player could get the macro program to think that the player was a flax plant. Once the bot was following the player, it could be lured into a group of aggressive monsters.
Dropping monsters
Monster Combat level Quantity Rarity Kurask 106 20–30 (noted) Common Ganodermic beast 280 40 (noted) Common Baby impling N/A (hunter) 1 Uncommon TzHaar-Hur 74 5–10 Uncommon Grotworm 91 15,50,1000 (noted) Uncommon Mature grotworm 167 50–100 (noted) Uncommon
Strategies
- Arguably, the best place to pick flax would be in Lletya, because the flax field is very close to the bank, about 10 spaces away. The only downside is that the player has to begin Mourning's Ends Part I first to enter Lletya.
- The field south-east of Seers' Village contains a spinning wheel on the way to the bank. This allows players to turn their flax into bowstrings for crafting experience and even more money.
- The flax in Tree Gnome Stronghold is another option. While the flax plants are more spread apart, the bank is fairly close.
- As of the Troll Warzone update, there is now flax in Taverley as well, which is reasonably close to both spinning wheels and a bank. Unfortunately, the two are in opposite directions.
- Flax can also be obtained through Kingdom Management. The quest Throne of Miscellania is needed, however.
- The best place to spin flax into bowstrings is at Neitiznot. The wheel is one click away from the bank and the door is always open. The bank is also a one-click bank.
The flax field in Lletya, which is very close to the bank. - If the player completes the Seers' Village Tasks, they can receive 30, 60, 120, or 200 free flax daily from Geoffrey upon completion of the corresponding sets of tasks. Wearing the fully upgraded headband allows for faster flax spinning at the Seers' Village spinning wheel, making it faster overall than Neitiznot.
- The player's avatar picks flax faster than the picking animation.
- The key to fast flax picking involves timing; Try to find 5 flax plants in a plus-shaped position and stand in the middle of it, then start picking the flax in a circular motion by clicking a plant and then, when you're about to hear the "pop", click the next plant. Your avatar will show the picking motion once while actually picking 2 flax. Eventually a plant will run out, that's when the centre plant right below you comes into play. Use this plant as a substitute until the other plant(s) respawn. This way you can pick 28 flax in about 30 to 35 seconds.
- By taking 14 unstrung bows north from the Taverley bank, picking 14 flax, and continuing north, one may spin the bowstrings and string the bows, freeing up space to pick another 14 flax on the way back to the bank. It is recommended that this be done for only half of one's unstrung bows, as Lumbridge Castle is much faster for spinning.
Trivia
- There used to be a graphical glitch where the player's head would become obscured by the flax while picking it. This glitch has been fixed.
- Trial members can only have a stack of 300 flax in their bank.