Due to popular demand, the Tip.It times presents you with an EXCLUSIVE interview with Zezima. So take some time, log out of RuneScape, and enjoy the read, as Zezima indulges us with, hopefully, anything you would care to know about him, as well as things you may not have even thought of.

Tip.It: When did you begin playing RuneScape, and how did you come across it?

Zezima: late June/early July 2001...I used to play another game (triple triad x)...where I was one of the top 4. One of my friends [from that game] messaged me one day and said he knew a game I’d never be any good at...so...he showed me RS.

Tip.It: Did you have any prior knowledge of how to play the game, perhaps your friend who introduced you to the game also taught you how to play? Or did you teach yourself to play? Was Zezima the first account you made?

Zezima: I had no idea what I was doing to be honest lol...so I pretty much taught myself...he gave me a few items to sell to start off...and Zezima is my only account :P



I’d prefer training Zezima (gaining exp on it) rather than wasting time on another account, so it’s my first and, at the moment, my only. I made a pure that I got to level 9, but I ditched it ages ago. I only made it when my main got stuck online once, so I could kill some time.

Tip.It: How and why did you choose your RSN? Have there been times that you wished you could change it to something else? If so, what are some names you would have wanted to change it to?

Zezima: It’s my last name, and if I hadn’t gotten that name, I probably wouldn’t have played, or I might have just for the challenge...but I’d play a bit uncomfortably.

Tip.It: Have there ever been other names you thought you might have liked instead? Or one you would change it to now if you could?

Zezima: Never.

Tip.It: Do you play the way you do in order to be a top ranked player, or is it because you set a personal goal to beat the game (by getting every level to 99)?

Zezima: I play for fun mainly. I set challenges for myself and test my limits. It also tends to relax me lol

Tip.It: So is the challenge of being #1 fun, or is it the challenge of maximizing your skill total that drives you?

Zezima: It’s more of a test to challenge my abilities... set a goal and see if I can achieve it. Number 1 just kind of happened when I was training mining lol...and I tend to not like leaving things in the game unfinished. I did want it but it wasn’t something I was focused on and aiming towards initially

Tip.It: When did you first achieve #1, and have you ever lost the title since?

Zezima: October 2003...and I lost it when rs2 was released because I didn’t train runecrafting until Choppermad (who was #2 at the time) got to level 73 runecrafting or so...he beat me to 1700 skill total. Everyone was runecrafting upon its release, so I took it as a chance to max my melee stats in the wilderness.



As I trained, I gathered essence I went to level 47 runecrafting my first day doing it...level 63 my 2nd day doing it, so I didn’t have too much trouble taking back #1 once I started runecrafting... I’ve had it since then. I’m not one of those people who’s like "omg I have to be #1, I can’t let anyone ever get ahead.”

Tip.It: On average, how many hours per day do you play?

Zezima: Iit depends entirely on my school work and relationship status with my GF/ex-GF lol. Last week, I had 4 exams, so I was barely on. I was here, but you know, trained and studied

Tip.It: But in a typical week, do you have an estimate?

Zezima: It’s hard to even say; it varies unpredictably.

Tip.It: What do you think of the rumours saying that multiple people play the account from your dorm? Are there any other interesting ones that you’ve heard that I have not?

Zezima: Someone tried to convince me that I’m a 42 year old woman that dropped out of high school to play RS… yeah I played 25 years before it was out.



Oh yea, something I’d like you to add to this interview if you don’t mind. Can you just clarify that I’m male? lol

Tip.It: LOL yes.

Zezima: And 21 years old? I don’t want people thinking that I’m 80 years old or something. You have no idea the stuff I get. I had some girl come up to me & yell at me for being a cross-dresser. I couldn’t respond...I just laughed...a lot.

Tip.It: I heard also that sometimes you’ll show your friends what happens when you put chat on. How bad is it?

Zezima: world 2 Fally times 10

Friend: I saw it in person, he clicks to walk and 5 minutes later it moves a square , then he shuts it off and another 5 minutes later he can play again.

Zezima: That was on classic. It’s literally a blue blur of text. I can’t read it...at all.

Tip.It: So clearly you’re in a university, what are you majoring in and plan to do with it once you graduate? How have you been able to financially support this much game play, as well as succeed in your studies?

Zezima: I am doing a biology major, psychology minor, possibly a chemistry minor. I’m looking to go into genetics research. I probably don’t play as much as many people think, I just don’t PK, I don’t stand around in banks...I just don’t waste time lol.

Tip.It: After getting a skill to 99, do you ever keep trying to raise it? If so, what skills? And what motivates you to do so? Are there any individual skills you care about your rank in?

Zezima: I set a goal to get top 100 ranked in all skills, achieved that on March 19. I was going for top 75 in everything, but I got distracted by this champion scroll challenge thing constantly annoying me. I think I got as close as 2 skills away.

Tip.It: Do you ever wish the skill cap exceeded 99? What thoughts would you have if Jagex made it higher?

Zezima: I don’t wish for it to exceed 99 but I do hope for it to exceed 200M XP. I won’t be mad if it does exceed 99 though.

Tip.It: So what current goals do you have?

Zezima: Right now I’m trying to complete all 10 champion scroll challenges actually just because it’s bugging me that I haven’t completed it...I managed to run around and finish my RS jukebox :P



And I got my 4k chompy kills. Same thing though, setting challenges for myself. I hate having things incomplete. I’ve been killing imps for 8 hours straight and gotten nothing.I also wasted 10k cannonballs on ghouls, hobgoblins, & skeletons. I’ve only got the lesser demon 1 so far.



If time permits, maybe eventually top 21 everything. School’s keeping me really busy and this champion scroll thing has to be more of a pain than most things I’ve done on RS.



I’m going to paste you something that you can include if you like.

Tip.It: Sure!

Zezima:



Runescape History of Zezima

Skill Date of 99 #th to 99 Attack July 17, 2004 15 Defense July 15, 2004 14 Strength April 18, 2004 10 Hitpoints May 25, 2004 11 Ranged July 12, 2004 13 Prayer June 21, 2005 19 Magic March 30, 2004 7 Cooking November 10, 2002 2 Woodcutting April 6, 2004 8 Fletching June 20, 2004 12 Fishing November 30, 2003 3 Firemaking January 10, 2004 5 Crafting December 6, 2004 17 Smithing July 2002 1 Mining January 1, 2004 4 Herblore January 21, 2005 18 Agility March 20, 2004 6 Thieving April 16, 2004 9 Runecrafting December 1, 2004 16 Slayer July 9, 2005 20 Farming October 4, 2005 21

Max Skill Total of 1980 July 9, 2005

Max Skill Total of 2079 October 4, 2005

Top 100 Ranked in all Skills March 19, 2006



I lost the 99 smithing exact date due to a hard drive failure [after a] thunderstorm. Lightning fried it.

Tip.It: Does working on level 99 in skills ever get tiresome or boring? If so, is there anything you ever do in RuneScape for fun besides leveling? (Castle Wars, fighting high level monsters, etc)

Zezima: I don’t get bored... I’m too stubborn when it comes to achieving goals I set for myself. I occasionally go for a mini-game with friends, but I seem to enjoy training skills far more.

Tip.It: Do you check out new releases that are unrelated to training skills just to explore, such as Dagannoth Kings?

Zezima: I always check out new releases when they come, but only for 1-2 days before I get back to my normal routine, and as of now, I always do quests the day they’re released.

Tip.It: Merchanting has had a huge impact in the game’s economy since slayer was introduced, especially with the rare items. In what ways has this impacted the way you play the game or pay for skills, if any?

Zezima: I don’t merchant...at all. I can’t even say that issue really applies to me in any way. I have 7 party hats (a full set + an extra blue) but I’d never sell them, so I can’t say it’s an investment. I paid cash only for them, so it wasn’t really anything special.

Tip.It: Looking back, are there certain skills you would recommend getting high before others; perhaps skills with benefits that would make raising the others easier or more efficient?

Zezima: I really never even considered that lol...I’m just crazy...I pick a skill, decide I want 99, and I don’t stop till it’s there...I didn’t really use any specific order, except smithing’s my favorite...so I maxed that first.

Tip.It: Do you feel that if you had placed an importance on order, that some skills would have made the others easier?

Zezima: No idea...never even considered it.

Tip.It: Do you have a favorite skill that you like working on more than others?

Zezima: Smithing

Tip.It: And which level 99 was the most satisfying for you to achieve? What made it as satisfying as it was?

Zezima: Hmm. Slayer was quite satisfying because I was the first one to 99. Herblore was satisfying because it was [very] annoying. Slayer was also satisfying because it was a max skill total of 1980.

Tip.It: Why did you find herblore to be exceptionally annoying?

Zezima: I have vials, I have herbs...I need 2nds. I get 2nds, I have more 2nds than herbs. I get the herbs even, I mix them, I’m out of vials. I buy vials, I’ve got another stack of herbs. I get the 2nds even, I mix them up, have to buy vials, etc. lol

Tip.It: When raising “expensive” skills, do you tend to use money made from other skills to pay for fast methods; gather the materials yourself; or balance profitable methods with costly methods in order to minimize expenses?

Zezima: figuring out the most efficient methods to raise skills mainly.

Tip.It: In terms of GP or time?

Zezima: exp rate when considering the opportunity cost of time. I also decided to range 49k blue drags, banked every hide, did every clue...buried every bone. It bought me the rest of 99 crafting, 99 herblore, and 91 prayer (burying).

Tip.It: [Do you have any reflections on Classic?]

Zezima: it was hard getting 95 fletching on classic, trading 30k bow strings, 12 at a time...ugh. Bank notes on RS2 :P Made it a lot easier. It doesn’t bother me really but it’s just a little inconvenient doing all that work back then, and having it take seconds now lol.



I have a picture of my RSC stats if you want that as well

Tip.It: Sure!









Tip.It: With your place in the scores you’ve automatically gained fame among other players. Are there times you feel that this attention has hindered your ability to play the game as you’d like?

Zezima: Only when I’m training skills where the crowds matter...e.g. melee training, mining, etc.

Tip.It: Does it make it difficult to do skills in the wild, such as runecraft in the abyss?

Zezima: I couldn’t say...I did 99 RC before the abyss lol. 831 hours of fire runes to 91 RC.

Tip.It: I figured the 1m GP an hour might’ve come in handy at some point.

Zezima: I can’t be bothered really. I have other goals and challenges in mind for myself

Tip.It: Are there times when this fame has made the game easier for you?

Zezima: Not really, because I refuse to use it to my advantage. The only time I couldn’t do anything was when I was buying magic seeds. People seemed to be slightly more eager to sell to me, but I had to deal with many fake sales as well.



People saying they’d sell just so they could get a screenshot, then logging. I actually found a way to prevent that. I’d stand with my char facing right against the wall of a bank. After the trade was completed, I’d let them get their picture. It still didn’t stop me from going to meet them though, and wasting time. lol

Tip.It: So just when buying items for skills on forums?

Zezima: Actually, I usually don’t buy/sell on forums, I have friends post for me. I get too much spam if I do, so farming was really my only exception. lol

Tip.It: Do you ever post on fan site forums using an alias, either to avoid attention or to keep from having what you say associated with you?

Zezima: Nope. If I post on other sites, it’s always with “Zezima”. I usually get banned whenever I go into a clan IRC channel: “Come back with your real name,” “use your RS name,” etc. lol

Tip.It: After getting 99 in every skill it seems you were pushing for #1 experience too. Was there ever a race with Lilyuffie88 for this title or was it merely a misconception?

Zezima: I did want to prove I could catch her and I actually did catch her from a 72M exp gap. I got a few mill exp ahead, then I went away for a week, and she took the lead back. Lately, my aim hasn’t been total XP, so I’m not bothered by her being ahead.

Tip.It: Do you think you will ever race for #1 in XP again? Or are there any individual skills you think you’d like to be #1 in?

Zezima: I have a lot of other goals before I even consider that. e.g. the top 75 ranked everything, top 50 ranked everything, top 25 everything, top 21 everything, champion scroll challenges, etc. Those will only be targets if time permits, though.

Tip.It: Is there anything about the game (the game itself, not the players) that really annoys you? Is there anything in particular that you would change if you were able to change just one thing?

Zezima: I don’t know. It’s a game, I take it as it comes :p

Tip.It: good attitude to have

Tip.It: Are there any tips you would give to a newcomer wishing to maximize his skill total like you have?

Zezima: pick a skill & stick to it. The transitions between switching skills add up to a huge waste of time.



One of the main reasons I can't offer [more] advice is because most of my work was done on RuneScape Classic, which will no longer apply to RuneScape 2...(match my stats from the interview with the dates I've achieved them)



Other updates, such as the introduction of slayer and the ectofuntus, have also changed many of the things I had done and made them achievable in other, more efficient ways. I dont want to offer faulty advice because my methods are no longer as efficient as they once were.

Tip.It: Any chance we could talk you into a bank picture? If you want be lazy we can even edit it all from screenshots

Zezima: Not going to happen because of people trying to sell my account on Ebay. I’d rather nobody knows my bank set-up.

Tip.It: That’s understandable.

Zezima: By the way, I don’t see myself as #1 in a sense.

Tip.It: oh?

Zezima: The Old Nite and N0valyfe deserve it every bit as much as I do. They’ve put in the effort. They deserve recognition as #1 in RS as well



I can’t see it possible to compare my progress with [N0valyfe’s].I did most of my work on RSC, which was much slower/longer.

Tip.It: Indeed.

Zezima: Yes he works fast and efficiently. I just can’t say it can be compared.

Tip.It: Well, that’s all I can think of. I’ll probably have a lot of “should’ve asked” come to mind later. Anything you’d like to add?

Zezima: Then just ask on occasion and edit it in, if you can get a hold of me. I know how much the “I should’ve asked this” thing can be.





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