The maximum realistic XP rate has since been calculated around 200,000 XP per hour, which is still good, and that's been more than enough to keep the OSRS gold train going. That said, the real payout for most players has been the nostalgic camaraderie of the whole thing, which harkens back to the innocent days that OSRS is, by its very design, trying to emulate and preserve.
“Even though it's only 150k+ XP/hr (which is very solid but not broken), I found it super fun and social,” writes Reddit user fastAndBIG. “Never enjoyed Thieving so much, much less spam clicky than traditional methods.”
“Sorceress' Garden mass event feels like the old days,” adds a red-hot post from RSN_Kabutops. “So many people mindlessly running around the map. The people spouting random nonsense in chat. The arguing, the compliments, the chaos. Yes, it's pretty good XP, but it's actually kinda fun. Even though it's the same clicking over and over. The socialization in 523 feels like it's straight out of 2005. Most fun I've had skilling in a long time.”
The funniest part to me is the culture that's sprung up around sq'irkin' almost overnight. Successful sq'irk thieves have been deemed free runners, while the unfortunate players caught by the guards are called – with all due respect, reverence, and gratitude – sacrificial lambs. Some players reckon your connection quality affects your chance of getting caught, but the conversations on how to avoid becoming a sacrificial lamb all sound like buy OSRS GP old wives' tales to me. Either way, I'm pretty sure this is how cults get started, folks.
