Pest Control

Pest Control (often known simply as PC) is a co-operative members-only combat-based activity. Players must defend an NPC (non-player character) known as the Void Knight from an onslaught of monsters, while at the same time destroying the portals from which the monsters spawn.

The activity is played in the name of Guthix to retain balance in the world, which may be disrupted by an influx of monsters invading islands in the south of the world. It is run by an order of Guthix known as the Void Knights. Players board landers, which transport them to islands under invasion. The activity is divided into three landers; access to each lander is determined by combat level.

This is a 'safe' activity. Players who die keep their items, respawn on the lander, and can rejoin combat immediately. In addition, Hitpoints, Prayer points, the Special Attack bar, and run Energy are fully restored at the end of each game. All stats are restored to their normal levels at the end of each game. This means that stats boosts of various Potions like Super sets do not carry over from game to game. This make using these potions somewhat expensive, as each game will require a new dose from each potion.

Skills
The only requirement to participate in a game of Pest Control is to have a combat level of 40 or above.


 * A minimum combat level of 40 is required to use the novice lander.
 * To use the intermediate lander, a player must have a combat level of 70 or higher
 * To use the veteran lander, a player must have a combat level of 100 or higher.

Some players attempt to recruit Pest Control players into their clans, in the hopes that high level players will join the clan and help to win a higher percentage of games in a short amount of time. These players state the clan name to join. Although any level players can join such a clan, the clan may kick out players who are lower level than the clan wants or who do not perform well in the Pest Control games.

Other players try to get high level players to switch to a world where a clan of high level players plays Pest Control, again in the hopes that high level players will help to win a higher percentage of games in a short amount of time. These players announce their intentions by saying things like, 'Trade for a 100 plus world'. By opening the trading interface (no items need be exchanged), the advertising player can verify the trading player's combat level and, if it is high enough, will then disclose the world that the clan is playing Pest Control on. The world is disclosed by the number of items (usually coins) the advertising player places in the trading interface. For example, if the advertising player places 365 coins in the interface, then the clan is on World 365. This procedure keeps the world number private and thus prevents its disclosure to anyone below the clan's desired combat levels.

Participation
In order to receive commendation points, a player must inflict 50 points of damage before the end of the game. Repairing a barricade or gate on the island acts as 5points of damage on a monster, allowing players who may not be able to get the required points in the time allotted or players who do not want to train a combat-related skill to receive points. Therefore, if a player did no combat at all during a game of Pest Control, they would have to repair 10 barricades or gates. You can get 50 points of damage from repairing gates on any level boat.

As of 18 December 2014, Pest Control now grants full experience when dealing damage in the minigame. Prior to this, players would earn 1/2 the experience they would normally receive for damage dealt. (e.g. 4 damage = 8xp in attack rather than 16xp). This experience penalty did not apply when doing damage to portals.

Players
A game of Pest Control can be played by 5 to 25 players. Multiple games may be played at once by many groups of 25 players. Anyone who wishes to play must board the lander. If the lander fills with 25 players, the game will begin automatically. Otherwise, players must wait 5 minutes for the game to begin.

In busy Pest Control worlds, the landers, particularly the level 40 novice one, can fill up quickly. A lander leaves soon after it has 25 players on board. Sometimes, far more than 25 players attempt to get on a lander. A player not taken in the first load of 25 players is assigned a priority number for the lander, starting at 1 and rising by 1 with each load that leaves without the player. The higher the priority number, the more likely the player will be taken in the next load. Priority numbers as high as 3 have occasionally been seen and it is rumoured that higher ones have occurred.

On slow Pest Control worlds, a lander with a minimum of 5 but fewer than 25 players will leave after a 5 minute wait. Some players bring items to cast the High Level Alchemy or Humidify spells while they wait for the landers to fill up.

Restrictions
Pets are not allowed on the island. Dwarven Multicannons may not be used during the activity.

Location
Pest Control is located on the Void Knights' Outpost, which is on one of the southernmost islands in the game. The fastest way to get to the outpost is through use of the Minigame Group Finder, by selecting Pest Control and teleporting directly there. However, teleport has a 20 minute cooldown and cannot be cast from PvP Worlds, The Wilderness or the Duel Arena.

Otherwise, the minigame can be accessed from the docks of Port Sarim south of the Lady Lumbridge (ship). Speak with the Squire and she will ask if you want to go to the Void Knights' Outpost. Alternatively, you can right-click the squire and select 'Travel'.

To get to Port Sarim you can use use fairy ring code to Mudskipper Point, use the Amulet of Glory's teleport to Draynor Village then go around the fence or walk from Falador or Lumbridge.

Another quick way to get to Port Sarim is to teleport to Ardougne, take the boat to Brimhaven and then take the Charter Ship to Port Sarim. The Charter Ship is located right next to the Squire's ship.

The Outpost
The Outpost is an island, with various utilities, including:
 * Bank
 * General store - Sells unique items
 * Anvil - Squire is a smith who can repair Barrows armour
 * Void Knight Archery Store
 * Void Knight Magic Store - Which stocks body, air, water, earth, fire, mind, chaos, and death runes

Harboured at the docks in the south-west corner of the island are three, LCVP-style ships, called "landers", which a player must board to participate in the activity. The landers carry a combat level requirement of 40, 70 or 100 to board. The lander must have 5 users on board before the activity may begin.

Winning
The rules for pest control are simple. There are two ways to win the game:
 * 1) Keep the Void Knight alive for 20 minutes.
 * 2) Destroy all 4 portals before the Void Knight is killed. This is much more commonly done, as games can be won in as little as 2 minutes with this strategy. However, the Void Knight can easily be killed even in two minutes if left undefended, so a small number of players should defend him. Since players rarely organise themselves, it can be worth checking the Void Knight's status after each portal kill and switch to defence for a while if the knight is being swarmed or has less than half health.

Pests
Pests are the monsters that spawn out of portals to kill players and the Void Knight.

Brawler
Brawlers are the largest and most powerful creatures in the Pest Control activity, and they defend the portals. They resemble a gorilla or a small elephant with spikes sprouting from their backs and a pointed, very slightly transparent, snout. When you see one of these creatures, ignore them, for they are the lowest priority to kill unless they are in your way.

Normally they will not attack the fort, though they are still a match for anyone attempting to destroy the portal. Their combat levels can be 51, 76, 101, 111 or 129, and their colouring is based on their level. Brawlers are one of only five creatures that you cannot run through (the others being Monkey Guards on Ape Atoll, and the monsters fought in the quest Dream Mentor) - they block your path in a similar manner to the barricades in the Castle Wars activity.

Brawlers block other monsters too. This can be used to the team's advantage by 'luring' a brawler to the steps where the Void Knight is. Defilers and Torchers cannot shoot over brawlers, and Shifters are unable to teleport through them. Brawlers will never attack the Void Knight. Thus, 'luring' can be an effective tactic to protect the Void Knight from potential damage by monsters behind the lured brawler. Again, however, players rarely organise themselves and many players will attack the brawler anyway. If there are hordes of monsters behind the brawler when it is killed, the result can be catastrophic and the Void Knight can take substantial amounts of damage as a result.

Defiler
Defilers are fast, agile creatures in the Pest Control activity. They have the appearance of the lower half of a snake, a humanoid top half and a face resembling that of a cat. They can throw flying spikes over long distances, which can inflict a large amount of damage to the Void Knight. They can even launch their barbs over walls, though if they are in the spaces right in front of one of the three gates, they cannot shoot over it, so keeping them closed will block those directly in front of it. Their combat levels range can be 33, 50, 66, 80, or 97 and their colouring is based on these levels.

Ravager
Ravagers are short, humanoid creatures with large claws in the Pest Control activity. Their appearance is closely related to that of a mole with over sized claws and red eyes. They are capable of tearing down the gates and so they must be killed to protect the void knight from the torchers and defilers. However, they are relatively weak when it comes to direct combat. Their combat levels can be 36, 53, 71, 89, or 106 and their colouring is based on these levels. When attacked, a ravager will often continue destroying its target (if any) before engaging in combat with the attacking player, and may also destroy anything nearby that gets repaired, and are the second priority to kill.

Shifter


Shifters are creatures that excel in melee combat and can teleport across the island and even past walls. For this reason, they are very dangerous for those on defence since they can teleport right next to the Void Knight and attack him. They have the bottom half of a spider with the scythes of a praying mantis (similar to the Abyssal demon). Their combat levels can be 36, 57, 76, 90, or 104 and their colouring is based on these levels. Although it has the ability to teleport other monsters, such as ravagers and torchers (and up on to towers), they can only teleport others a very short distance.

For some reason shifters are some of the few monsters that can attack at a diagonal, other than ranged monsters, most single squared beasts will align with the player to attack. They also seem to hit the Void Knight from a distance while teleporting around him/her.

Spinner


Spinners are creatures that appear as spinning tops or jellyfish, and float above the ground. They repair portals on the island and it is unlikely the damage players do will be greater than the amount the spinners heal, especially if there is more than one. However, if the players manage to destroy the portal before any spinners healing it are killed, the spinners will spin around violently and then explode, hitting all players within a few squares with poison that deals 5 hit points of damage instantaneously and then poisons for 1 hit point afterwards. Their combat levels can be 37, 55, 74, 88, or 92. Since they often prevent players from destroying the portals quickly (and thus extend the length of the mini-game) they are the first priority to kill, even if the portal they surround is still protected.

Splatter
Splatters are creatures that appear like a giant ball with a single eye in the middle and liquid inside them. They will go towards the nearest standing barricades or fort doors and detonate, causing substantial damage to all players, monsters, and objects that are in the immediate vicinity. This will also happen if they are killed, which is easy since they are often low level and weak defensively. When a splatter "detonates" near another splatter, if the secondary splatters' life points are low enough, the damage may cause a chain reaction, increasing the overall damage. Some players find amusement in exploiting the splatter's detonation. By making several or many splatters follow a player with auto-retaliate turned off, leading them into a group of enemies or players, and then killing one, they can start this chain reaction of detonations, likely killing everything/everyone surrounding them. Their combat levels can be 22, 33, 44, 54, or 65 and their colouring is based on these levels. If the opportunity arises, you can use the splatters sort of like a Void Seal by detonating them near large groups of monsters. This does not work on portals. Currently no prayer protection can defend against their "detonation". Players wearing Dharok's equipment may wish to kill Splatters to lower their health and activate the set effect to do extra damage. Killing them is a higher priority the closer they get to the gates, as their explosions can damage the gates. Splatters will never attack the Void Knight, but if killed near it, it can cause damage.

Torcher


Torchers are creatures that look like winged snakes with bat wings and will actively attack the Void Knight. They have a long distance magical attack which can harm both players and the Void Knight. They can even launch this attack over walls, though if they are in the spaces right in front of one of the three gates, they cannot shoot over it, so keeping them closed will block those directly in front of it. They have a rather low amount of hit points and defence, so they are dispatched easily. Their combat levels can be 33, 49, 67, 79, 91 or 92 and their colouring is based on these levels.

Portals
Portals are the key mechanic in Pest Control. A portal will continually spawn pests until it is destroyed.

At the start of a game, all four portals are given a shield, which makes the portal unattackable. Players will have to wait for the Void knight to disable the shield before attacking. The first shield will go down 15 seconds into the game, and then the following shields will go down after 30 seconds. Shields go down in a random order and are announced when they do, so it is best to have small groups at each portal.

Once the shield is down, players are free to attack and destroy the portals. Each portal begins with 200 hitpoints in the novice lander, or 250 in the intermediate and veteran landers. Apart from their specific weaknesses, the portals have relatively strong defence. Players attacking the portal should either be attacking using its weakness, or have a relatively high accuracy bonus.

A player should remain alert in the event that the portal spawns spinners. A Spinner will repair damage done to the portal, and the effect of multiple spinners will stack, making the portal nearly invincible. Unless your team is specifically trying to gain more experience by allowing the spinner to heal the portal, it is better to either kill or lure the spinners to prevent the portal from healing. A common misconception is that using special attacks on the portals will cause Spinners to appear, but this is nothing more than a myth.

Once a portal is destroyed, it will stop spawning pests, and the Void Knight will regain 50 health. The game will end as soon as the four portals are successfully destroyed.

Strategies
The most common strategy is for some players to defend the Void Knight, while others go out to destroy the portals. Since a game can only be won by either defending the knight for 20 minutes, or destroying the portals, the most efficient way to gain pest points is by destroying all of the portals. However, if the Void Knight is left undefended, he will usually be killed before players get a chance to destroy all of the portals, resulting in a loss. Since there is no formal organization of who attacks and who defends, it is usually best to periodically check the walls and center platform to see if the knight is being defended, and helping out if necessary.

When at the portals, Spinners will spawn and begin repairing the portal. A Spinner makes a distinct sound when it starts healing the portal, notifying players of its presence. Generally, if there are a number of people attacking the portal, a single Spinner can be ignored, and the portal can still be easily destroyed. Once multiple Spinners spawn, however, the portal will be repaired quicker than players can damage it. Players will need to either kill or lure the Spinners away in order to be able to destroy the portal.

Rewards
Winning players are rewarded with coins and commendation points.



Depending on your boat, you will gain a different number of commendation points upon winning a game:
 * Novice Lander: 2 points per game won.
 * Intermediate Lander: 3 points per game won.
 * Veteran Lander: 4 points per game won.

If the player's team destroys all of the portals, they will receive coins equal to 10 times their combat level as well as the commendation points.

Many players save up their points to maximize their rewards. If a player trades in 100 points in one go, they get an extra 10% experience per point. If they trade in 10 points, they get an extra 1% experience.

Note: The most commendation points a player can have at any time is 4000 (changed in April 16 2015). If you board a boat while holding 4000 points, a warning will be given to the player to trade the points in. If a player continues to play with 4000 points, subsequent games will not award any commendation points. You will also get a warning if winning the next game would result in wasting points, for example if you had 3998 points and you were playing in the Veteran boat (4 points per game). In this event, winning the game would only take you to the maximum 4000 points, wasting the other two.

Commendation points can be traded in for:

Experience

 * Experience in any combat skill that is equal to or greater than level 25. The formula is the following: $$N \times Floor(\frac{l^2}{600})$$, where $$l$$ equals level; $$N$$ equals 18 for prayer, 32 for magic/range, and 35 for all others. Floor means round down to the nearest integer (whole number). The experience this generates is summarised below. The amounts below are awarded per commendation point traded in.
 * It should be noted that when redeeming 100 points, 110 points worth of experience is awarded.

Void Knight equipment

 * There is a requirement of 42 Attack, Strength, Defence, Hitpoints, Ranged, and Magic, as well as 22 Prayer to use any Void item.


 * A set of Void robes and one special helm will cost 850 points.


 * A complete set of Void items (including a mace) will cost 1500 points.

Herb pack
Pack contains an assortment of herbs.-30 Points

For example, a pack may contain: 2 Harralander, 3 Ranarr, 1 Toadflax, 3 Irit, 4 Avantoe and 2 Kwuarm. Also note the amounts are randomized. This is just an''' average. '''

You need level 25 in Herblore to purchase this.

Mineral pack
Pack commonly contains 25 Coal, 18 Iron ore -15 points

Seed pack
Pack commonly contains 3 sweetcorn seeds, 6 tomato seeds and 2 limpwurt seeds -15 points

You need level 25 in Farming to purchase this.

World
The official world to play Pest Control on is:


 * World 344 and unofficial 369 for veterans.

As with any mini-game, it is not required to use the official world, though landers in most other worlds are usually empty if a Pest Control clan is not present. However, if a player does not have a specific team to join, simply using the Novice lander on a crowded world is plenty sufficient. Occasionally, a game will be lost on that lander, but games are won fairly consistently, so there's not much of a loss of points overall.

However, in response to the prevalence of inefficient players and Pest Control macros that resulted in slower games and a higher amount of losses, many players began to seldom use the official world for playing the Pest Control mini-game. Instead, many players generally go to the Quest/Diary/Mini-game tab and access the Pest Control mini-game chat to see where others are playing Pest Control. It should noted that players in these clans migrate to different worlds often, almost daily, presumably to mitigate the possible presence of macros.