HaystackMMG
| Requirements |   |
|---|---|
| Skills | |
| None | |
| Items | |
| See gear table below | |
| Quest | |
| Prince Ali Rescue (optional) | |
| Other | |
| Respect for haystacks | |
| Results | |
| Profit | Experience gained |
| 7,050 | None |
| Inputs | Outputs (7,050) |
150 ×  Needle (7,050) | |
Needles are the backbone of any functioning economy, desired my new and experienced players alike. This item is essential in both low-level and high-level crafting, and is highly sought after by players as a symbol of wealth and prestige. Many ways of collecting needles have been developed over the years, but searching for needles in haystacks remains the most popular and highest Profit Per Needle (PPN) method.
The first, and perhaps most important, step in the art of haystack searching is selecting the haystack to use. The two most popular options, and the hay stacks this guide will focus on, are the Lumbridge Water Mill Haystack and the Mill Lane Mill Haystack. Each haystack has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, and the player should choose which haystack best suits their needle-finding skills and needle-finding goals.
The Mill Lane Mill Haystack can be found just west of the Mill Lane Mill, in an outdoors enclosure teeming with Goblins. These Goblins are not aggressive to players, but their intimidating presence can have a negative impact on an unprepared player's needle-finding efficiency. The closest bank to the Mill Lane Mill Haystack is located in Draynor Village, which can be found south-west along the road from Mill Lane Mill. Draynor Village itself can also be dangerous to the unassuming haystack-searcher, as it is close to potentially hostile and certainly unfriendly Dark wizards. Novice needle-finders and more cautious haystack-searchers are encouraged to practice their technique at the Lumbridge Water Mill Haystack before considering a move to Mill Lane Mill.
The Lumbridge Water Mill Haystack is located just east of Lumbridge, along the road that connects Lumbridge and Varrock. In a gated area just south of the chicken coop, players can find a haystack brimming with needles, just waiting to be found. This haystack, in contrast to the one found at Mill Lane Mill, has no nearby monsters or other threatening NPCs. Rather, the serene river view is accompanied by the gentle sounds of the water flowing over the nearby Lumbridge Water Mill Waterwheel. The nearest bank to the Lumbridge Water Mill Haystack can be found atop Lumbridge Castle, though it is notably a longer banking distance when compared to the Mill Lane Mill Haystack. An alternative bank can be found in Al Kharid, which is a longer distance away from the haystack and requires a 10 coin toll to be paid to access.
The second step in preparing to search haystacks for needles is the haystack-searcher's gear setup. Though uninformed players might think that the process of searching for a needle in a haystack is completely safe, needle-finding experts know the true danger any haystack presents. Respect for the haystack and proper preparation are key to surviving any encounter with a haystack. The following gear table has been developed by experienced haystack-searchers to provide safety while searching without hindering the player's ability to search for a needle within a haystack efficiently.
| Slot | Item (most effective → least effective) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  Hosidius hood |  Hard hat |  Hornwood helm |  Half moon spectacles |  Helm of neitiznot |
 |  Camulet |  Catspeak amulet(e) |  Clean necklace |  Clown bow tie | N/A |
 |  Team-32 cape |  Team-5 cape |  Team-44 cape |  Team-17 cape |  Team-29 cape |
 |  Adamant platebody (t) |  Antisanta jacket |  Ancient d'hide body |  Angler top |  Ancestral robe top |
 |  Yellow robe bottoms |  Yak-hide armour (legs) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
 |  Karamja gloves 3 |  Klank's gauntlets |  Karamja gloves 1 | N/A | N/A |
 |  Snakeskin boots |  Silly jester boots |  Shayzien boots (2) |  Spined boots |  Steel boots |
 |  Archers ring |  Archers ring (i) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Once a prospective needle-finder has selected their haystack of choice and geared up properly, they can begin the process of searching for a needle in a haystack. A single search of a haystack takes approximately 2.4 seconds, allowing for a maximum of 1500 Searches Per Hour (SPH). A diligent searcher can thus expect to find on average 150 Needles Per Hour (NPH) through searching.
The final consideration for this money-making-method is the banking of the needles. The closer bank access of the Mill Lane Mill Haystack makes it more efficient to bank from when compared to the Lumbridge Water Mill Haystack, but either choice will cut into a haystack-searcher's SPH, and thus their NPH and profits. Thus, many players use a secondary account to bank the needles, or employ the services of a clan chat service (such as Needlerunners or Needle cc) to offload needles without having to leave the haystack area. It is not often necessary to bank Needles, as they stack within the inventory.