Navigating disagreements over digital assets in video games can be tricky, as one Old School RuneScape player found out recently. In the scenario, a valuable in-game item was borrowed and not returned, leading to some authentic online wisdom from the game's dedicated community.
Earlier in the week, a RuneScape player, through the pseudonym MethIsntCool (or MIC), sought advice via the game's subreddit. His predicament? His cousin had borrowed a valuable in-game item, a Kodai Wand, and didn't return it. The item, used for spellcasting, was worth around 95 million gold at the time of the discussion.
MIC explained that years ago, he loaned his Kodai Wand to his cousin while he was taking a break from the game to raise his first child. However, upon his return to RuneScape, his cousin had quit the game, leaving the Wand locked away in his game account. This left MIC in a quandary, as his cousin had moved on from gaming after the birth of his own child.
The wider dilemma here was how to ask for the Wand back. Adult life had taken the center stage for both, who now had families to look after. Yet, the Wand was a significant digital asset and getting it back was important to MIC, without causing family drama or discord.
In came the RuneScape community with its unique blend of wisdom and humor. The top response to MIC's query, albeit a tongue-in-cheek one, suggested he should "ruin his life," noting the inherent importance of RuneScape in the life of a player.
Other helpful advice slightly subverted the request. One user, BurlyGiraffe, suggested MIC should play "the long game." His idea was to introduce the game to the cousin's child, have the child earn a Wand, and then ask to borrow it.
More realistic advise from others including user SnackLife00 suggested that MIC's cousin could sell the Wand via the in-game marketplace to obtain the gold value and then repay MIC. This way the cousin wouldn't need to renew his membership or reactivate his account. What seemed like a high stakes family drama on Reddit did create a lot of interactions within the community and ended up being a lot of fun for its members.
After hundreds of responses and two days full of interactions later, MIC provided an update. He was able to reclaim his Kodai Wand. He gave a shout-out to GatoDiablo99, whose playfully aggressive comment about ruining his cousin's life tipped the scales, leading to a peaceful transaction.
While the situation was settled amicably in the game, it highlighted the significant role that such digital assets can play in players' lives. Video games create engaging communities, who despite their varied responses, can come together to give advice, a laugh and even help resolve a family feud.
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