Tick manipulation

Tick manipulation is a method in which players are able to use the tick system to their advantage in activities such as combat and skilling.

The RuneScape game engine runs on a unit of time colloquially referred to as "ticks", with each tick lasting 0.6 seconds (this amount of time can vary by hundredths or thousandths of a second due to things like server lag or the number of players on a world). By performing certain actions in the right order and at the right times, players can reduce the amount of ticks required for certain other actions to occur. Due to the click-intensive nature of some tick manipulation methods, many players shy away from using these methods in favour of more conventional methods.

While most forms of tick manipulation are technically glitches, Jagex's stance is that they are considered balanced and accepted due to the extra effort involved by the player.^[1] However, some content is designed specifically to prevent its usage if it is deemed too powerful.

Skilling

Tick manipulation is used most prominently in skilling to reduce the average number of ticks passed per completion of a desired action. This reduction in the number of ticks required to complete an action is typically accomplished through a mechanic which allows substituting the completion of a carefully chosen action for the completion of the desired action. Making use of this mechanic requires accurate timing but can lead to substantial gains in experience per hour.

The skilling timer

The skilling timer is a tick counter that can be modeled as counting down once every tick. Starting actions will increase (or not change) the timer, and when the timer hits 0, the action (if it runs off of the skilling timer) will be completed.

Trailing timer / Starting timer

Timers can exist on skilling activities before and after desired actions (ex: XP drops)
By starting the timer on a different action, players clear any existing timer.
After clearing a timer, players can re-click to initiate the starting timer on their desired action.

This mechanic interaction allows players to skip trailing timers. Developers always have the option and ability to put timers before actions to prevent tick manipulation on skills.

Actions which do interact with the skilling timer and are commonly chosen to delay the skilling timer by three ticks include:

Using swamp tar and a clean, low levelled herb (guam to irit) on each other with a pestle and mortar in the inventory. This is recommended unless more inventory space is helpful, as a herb sack can be used to store more grimy herbs in case of mistakes.
Using teak logs or mahogany logs and a knife on each other. Extra logs can be brought in a log basket in case of mistakes.
Using kebbit claws and any vambraces on each other.
Using a moonlight antelope antler and a chisel on each other.
Eating most food, such as roe or caviar while catching leaping fish. In most cases this method is not recommended, as it consumes the food.
Collecting snow spawned by reindeer hat or snow globe. This can be done in free-to-play, but requires having completed a Christmas event.

For the first, second, and third, there can be only one item that would be processed (clean herb, log, vambraces) in the inventory, to prevent a Make-X interface which wastes a tick. For these, the skilling timer is set to three if the timer is not positive. For the fifth, eating most food will only delay the skilling timer by three ticks; note, this has the same effect as setting the timer to three when the skilling timer is zero.

Eating a cooked karambwan will delay the skilling timer by two ticks instead of three, but as they are not stackable, their use is limited. Although they can theoretically be used to speed up some methods, such as allowing for 2.5-tick Barbarian Fishing, banking for more or requiring other players trade them makes them impractical.

Using celastrus bark on a knife will delay the skilling timer by four ticks. Using a needle on leather (or vice versa) with thread in the inventory while holding space or another key to clear the Make-X interface will also effectively delay the skilling timer by four ticks, and is possible in free-to-play without having completed a Christmas event, unlike collecting snow. Auto-retaliating while out of combat will delay the skilling timer by an amount related to the weapon attack speed, due to flinching.

Common methods

3-tick/1-tick Hunter

Hunting chinchompas requires successively completing two actions: picking up and laying a box trap. Picking up a trap takes three ticks and stalls the player, and does not interact with the skilling timer. However, trap laying does use the skilling timer and has a default duration of four ticks. These tick manipulation methods for trap resetting reduce the number of ticks to lay traps.

3-tick trap resetting refers to laying a trap three ticks after picking up another. To do this, do an action which delays the skilling timer by three ticks, such as making herb tar, on the tick after a trap is picked up. (Note, this requires clicking to start the action on the same tick as a trap is picked up.) Then, move to the desired spot and click to lay a trap while fewer than three ticks have passed. This saves one or more ticks, depending on whether movement was required.

1-tick trap resetting refers to laying a trap one tick after picking up another. This is done by picking up a trap in between delaying the skilling timer and completing the action of laying a trap. In more detail, the technique is to move to the desired spot on the same tick as laying a previous trap, pick up the next trap, and then click a trap from inventory (not the ground) as soon as possible. To move on the same tick as laying down a trap, the click to move must happen when the skilling timer is 1.

For the best experience per hour, there are three skilling timer delays which should be used. When starting to reset traps after three ticks of inactivity, delay the skilling timer with celastrus bark. When doing this, be standing on the trap to be picked up and click the bark and trap on the same tick. When resetting multiple traps in immediate succession, the skilling timer is automatically delayed four ticks from laying the previous trap. When starting to reset traps with some but fewer than three ticks of downtime, the skilling timer must be delayed after picking up a trap; for instance, the delay can be done with herb tar, which would save one tick from standard resetting.

3-tick Fishing

Barbarian fishing and fly fishing are both normally a 5-tick action. This means that a roll to catch a fish normally happens every five ticks. This can be reduced by separating delaying the skilling timer and starting the fishing action. When beginning to fish or on the tick of an experience drop, set the skilling timer to three via herb and tar, or other such method. This method is more commonly used while Barbarian fishing or fly fishing, but can be useful for other fishing spots, and provides an increase in experience per hour of roughly 67%.

When fishing for experience through Barbarian fishing and fly fishing, it is recommended to drop the fish from the inventory between catches instead of waiting until the inventory is full. Since cutting a fish caught through Barbarian fishing or cooking a fish otherwise caught does not interact with the skilling timer, the caught fish can be processed (via cutting in the case of Barbarian fishing or cooking on a fire otherwise) without affecting the fishing method. Further, since the skilling timer will be 0 on the tick of an experience drop, eating a non-karambwan food item will delay the skilling timer to three, which is the same effect as when herb tar sets the skilling timer to three. A benefit of cutting/cooking then eating fish (sometimes called cut-eat) is that it provides passive Cooking experience.

2-tick Fishing

Auto-retaliating to attacks every two ticks while having a 2- or 3-tick weapon equipped can be used to delay the skilling timer by one every other tick. This allows for a roll for a fish every two ticks. Commonly, shortbows set to rapid are equipped without ammo. For harpooning tuna and swordfish in Piscarilius, set up two rats attacking two ticks apart. After setting up the rats, the only clicking that must be done is clicking the fishing spot on the ticks that a hitsplat appears on the player character. For other fish such as sharks, an alternate account using a two tick weapon (such as darts) with minimal offensive bonuses on a PvP world can be used.

Although 2-tick harpooning provides the highest Fishing experience rates, it is less efficient overall since 3-tick Barbarian Fishing provides enough Strength and Agility experience. Barbarian fishing cannot be consistently 2-ticked because the fishing spot must be interacted with for at least two consecutive ticks to provide a roll. However, 2-tick harpooning sharks is the fastest method on average of obtaining the heron, the fishing pet.

2-tick Woodcutting

Woodcutting normally produces a 4-tick skilling timer delay, making a roll for a log happen every four ticks while cutting a tree. However, flinching can be used to schedule a completion once every two ticks, similar to 2-tick Fishing. Teak trees should be cut for the highest experience per hour. This is typically done on Ape Atoll while being attacked by birds, or in Prifddinas while being attacked by rabbits.

To start 2-tick Woodcutting on Ape Atoll, draw aggressiveness from the birds without killing them (such as runes to cast Confuse) and equip a fast weapon that cannot perform attacks (such as a shortbow without ammunition). Turn Auto Retaliate on and get two birds attacking you so that the player is attacked every two ticks. This can be accomplished by walking under the birds if they are on the same tile to split them up, then getting one stuck on a tree or bush. When this is done, manoeuvre the two birds around until you are stood between two teak trees with both birds attacking you. On each tick that a hitsplat appears on the player click a teak tree, and on each off-tick either click the ground at the base of a teak tree or drop a teak log.

On Fossil Island, it is possible to cut teaks every two ticks without setting up any NPCs or being on a PVP world. This can be useful if banking logs. To perform this method, click to move on a tick when the skilling timer is 2 (e.g. on the tick after an XP drop), then click on the tree on the next tick. The movement on the tick before the skilling timer hits zero causes there to be two rolls instead of one: this makes there be two rolls every four ticks, which is almost equivalent to one roll every two ticks in terms of experience per hour. The equivalence is not exact because sometimes the tree falls after the first roll, causing the second roll to always fail. Conveniently, the method requires half as many clicks as the 2-tick Woodcutting method while being attacked. The skilling timer delay here happens automatically from "continuing" Woodcutting.

1.5-tick Woodcutting

Similar to the second 2-tick Woodcutting method, it is possible to receive at most two Woodcutting rolls every three ticks while woodcutting at a tree grown with Farming, effectively giving a roll every 1.5 ticks. To perform this method, click to produce a 3-tick skilling timer delay (such as via herb and tar) on the same tick as clicking to move to a spot adjacent to a tree. Then, on the next tick, click the tree.

The ideal location for this method is Fossil Island, as there are three hardwood tree patches close to each other where teak trees can be planted. Due to the rapid rate of cutting logs, the trees deplete quickly, so moving between them is recommended. When powercutting and dropping the logs, stamina potions are recommended for the method; however, ironmen may find it more beneficial to teleport to their house with a full inventory and send their butler to the sawmill in order to save planks for Construction training, and recharge their run energy while there.

3-tick Mining

Mining speed normally depends on the type of pickaxe used. This can be bypassed with an action that gives a 3-tick delay, such as using a herb on swamp tar. Doing so can remove tick waste from movement or speed up mining when using a low-tier pickaxe. For example, an adamant pickaxe mines a rock every four ticks, which can be sped up to every three ticks with tick manipulation.

In addition, rocks have the same mechanics as player-planted trees do, in that they provide two rolls for resources if moving up to them. Unlike with player-planted sources, it is not possible to gather two resources (with some exceptions, such as rune essence mine, or by using mining gloves on certain rocks); instead, the second roll can only be successful if the first roll fails, effectively increasing the chance of a successful yield.

A practical use for 3-tick mining is at the Bandit Camp Quarry or Cape Conch mine, due to the presence of sandstone and granite which can be mined for quick experience. 3-tick mining granite offers the fastest Mining experience in the game, while doing it without tick manipulation is on par with other methods that also have other benefits such as yielding profit. The 3-tick action (such as creating herb tar) must be started on the same tick as moving to the next rock. Should the action start before moving, wait three ticks for the skilling timer to hit zero. When powermining, it is recommended to attempt dropping the mined ore on the ground between mines. This is done by starting the 3-tick action and clicking to move to the next rock, then both quickly dropping the ore and clicking the rock again on the same tick. This requires accurate clicking and some practice to perform consistently, but it is more efficient than dropping a full inventory.

Using an adamant pickaxe is useful when learning 3-tick mining methods, because its 4-tick mining speed resets the skilling delay immediately in the case of a misclick. This means the player does not have to wait extra ticks to get back into cycle, and they can just try again on the next rock and continue normally. Because tick manipulation bypasses the pickaxe mining speed, higher-level pickaxes do not bring any benefits as they do not increase the success rate of mining. However, the infernal pickaxe has a chance to consume ore, which grants passive Smithing experience and reduces the amount of dropping.

3-tick infernal shale mining in the infernal shale resource area in the Chasm of Fire as shown in the update Yama, the Master of Pacts: Out Today

3-tick mining was added as an official mechanic for mining infernal shale using Jim's wet cloth as a non-consumable 3-tick delay item. The 3-tick mining can, in theory, be accompanied by crushing the infernal shale (a 0 ticks (0s) action) to continuously powermine infernal shale. This method represents one of the first in-game-official tick manipulation methods for skilling, and it may serve as an introduction to the techniques for players. Because Jim's wet cloth is non-consumable, it may serve as a useful learning method for becoming more familiar with the tick system with regards to skilling; however, the timing is very different from conventional tick manipulation methods, which makes it undesirable for practice in building muscle memory.

4-tick Mining

Celastrus bark can be used to mine granite on a 4-tick cycle instead of a 3-tick cycle. The general idea is the same as 3-tick, but less click-intensive; one click to start fletching the Celastrus bark, then a subsequent click on a granite rock. This approach yields worse experience rates than 3-tick granite mining in exchange for a more relaxed and beginner-friendly tick manipulation training, plus retaining its benefits of improved rates compared to non-tick manipulation methods.

Using a needle on leather (or vice versa) with thread in the inventory while holding space or another key to clear the Make-X interface can also be used, and is possible in free-to-play. On the first tick, use the leather on the needle while holding space. Wait for the sound of the make-X interface closing on the second tick, then click on the rock. You may drop an ore on the same tick before clicking the rock without wasting ticks. No inputs are required on the third or fourth ticks, but you may click the needle or thread preemptively to prevent having to click twice on the first tick of the next cycle. A practical location for this is the three iron rocks in the Citharede Abbey mine, mining in a clockwise cycle.

1-tick Cooking

When a player attempts to cook a raw karambwan, they are able to open a new skilling dialogue and click it (or hold the corresponding key) on the same tick that a karambwan is cooked. This allows for a player to cook an entire inventory in as little as 16.8 seconds and achieve rates of over 1,000,000 experience per hour.

2-tick Cooking

By only having one item of raw food in a player's inventory they are able cook that food in one tick. To achieve this, have your raw food available on a tile next to a range/fire (for example, on the floor or in an adjacent bank), then retrieve one at a time and cook it instantly, creating a 2-tick cooking cycle.

Other applications

H.A.M. Trapdoor

Lockpicking the H.A.M. trapdoor usually takes 9 ticks, but tick manipulation can bring this down to 4 ticks if any tick manipulation action is used on the way to the trap door. In this scenario, the longer the skilling action delay the better, as it gives you more time to correctly execute and loses no time.

If using celastrus bark, which is a 4-tick action, you need to start the action when you are 2 ticks away from the trap door, or 4 tiles away. The images to the right can be used for reference. The celastrus bark action is started when the player steps on the tile marked 1.

This can be used to optimise pickpocketing H.A.M. members for easy clues, especially with fewer scroll boxes available to the player. Assuming 18 trips to the hideout per hour, this manipulation can help to save up to 90 ticks, or 54 seconds, per hour.

References

^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Mod Ash: "Quite a lot of tick-manipulation techniques exist; so far we've chosen to accept them as they need considerable interaction to use."

[1] Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Mod Ash: "Quite a lot of tick-manipulation techniques exist; so far we've chosen to accept them as they need considerable interaction to use."

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