Can someone explain the concept of Porters to me? I read the Wiki and I still don't really understand

[klutzykostas]

I am in the process of trying to unlock invention, and I see that porters are very popular but I do not understand where the use would be besides archaeology, for example if I am swarm fishing would it be worth it to use it there even though the bank is a few feet away?

Also with Porters it is always almost a loss of gp unless u are sending things worth more than the cost of the porter itself right?

Lastly is 1 charge a full inventory? Is there a way to keep the urns intact? Thank you.

[Aquasword480]

Porters are useful any place that you don't want to constantly bank/deposit. For instance even at its max level the ore box only hold 140 ore before banking. With porters I could mine 640 ore before banking drastically increasing my productivity in terms of exp, profit, and further simplifying the process. Then there are places like basically any tree that ISN'T Acadias and of course most fishing as well. Even in places where banks are close by every second you're not gathering is a second of potential exp and profit loss. It's more for someone concerned for optimal efficiency or maximizing profit. In casual play archeology and maybe wcing (elder logs in particular) are the only places they are super useful.

The thing with porters is you only really need Porter IV's and those are actually really easy to get. You need only 16 memory shards or an emerald necklace and some small amounts of energy. Emerald Necklaces are roughly 2k profit if you mine your own gold (which I highly suggest since concentrated gold ore rocks are a thing) so you can buy cut emeralds and make them into necklaces to generate a profit, then spend roughly half that profit on buying more cut emeralds and making your own porters which when used properly are going to balance out in profit/exp compared to what you lost by making them.

Alternatively and this is the way I get them, pickpocketing elves in Amlodd elves in priff is an extremely good source of free Porter IV's. If you have engaged in the memorial to Guthix you can also get a passive buff applied that makes it so pickpocketing can generate memory shards giving you even more porters. Which is to say I use tons of porters regularly at a zero cost as I don't need necklaces or energy.

Now as for charges it's a bit more complex than that as it depends on the Sign of the Porter (SotP) level.

SotP 1: 1 porter = teleports 5 items
SotP 2: 1 porter = teleports 10 items
SotP 3: 1 porter = teleports 15 items
SotP 4: 1 porter = teleports 20 items
SotP 5: 1 porter = teleports 25 items
SotP 6: 1 porter = teleports 30 items

Now a Grace of the Elves can only store 500 porters inside of it so SotP 6 is kinda dumb as you are effectively wasting charges if you try to fully charge the GotE. It's good for people who don't have GotE though since they'll have to hold porters on their character. SotP IV is the best because of the free sources and potential higher profit if you are making necklaces to sell, it also divides evenly into 500 so when fully charging GotE there are no wasted charges. SotP V is less costly to make if you're buying the materials/necklaces but it also divides evenly into 500 albeit it only saves a few porters.

[klutzykostas]

Originally posted by Aquasword480:

Porters are useful any place that you don't want to constantly bank/deposit. For instance even at its max level the ore box only hold 140 ore before banking. With porters I could mine 640 ore before banking drastically increasing my productivity in terms of exp, profit, and further simplifying the process. Then there are places like basically any tree that ISN'T Acadias and of course most fishing as well. Even in places where banks are close by every second you're not gathering is a second of potential exp and profit loss. It's more for someone concerned for optimal efficiency or maximizing profit. In casual play archeology and maybe wcing (elder logs in particular) are the only places they are super useful.

The thing with porters is you only really need Porter IV's and those are actually really easy to get. You need only 16 memory shards or an emerald necklace and some small amounts of energy. Emerald Necklaces are roughly 2k profit if you mine your own gold (which I highly suggest since concentrated gold ore rocks are a thing) so you can buy cut emeralds and make them into necklaces to generate a profit, then spend roughly half that profit on buying more cut emeralds and making your own porters which when used properly are going to balance out in profit/exp compared to what you lost by making them.

Alternatively and this is the way I get them, pickpocketing elves in Amlodd elves in priff is an extremely good source of free Porter IV's. If you have engaged in the memorial to Guthix you can also get a passive buff applied that makes it so pickpocketing can generate memory shards giving you even more porters. Which is to say I use tons of porters regularly at a zero cost as I don't need necklaces or energy.

Now as for charges it's a bit more complex than that as it depends on the Sign of the Porter (SotP) level.

SotP 1: 1 porter = teleports 5 items
SotP 2: 1 porter = teleports 10 items
SotP 3: 1 porter = teleports 15 items
SotP 4: 1 porter = teleports 20 items
SotP 5: 1 porter = teleports 25 items
SotP 6: 1 porter = teleports 30 items

Now a Grace of the Elves can only store 500 porters inside of it so SotP 6 is kinda dumb as you are effectively wasting charges if you try to fully charge the GotE. It's good for people who don't have GotE though since they'll have to hold porters on their character. SotP IV is the best because of the free sources and potential higher profit if you are making necklaces to sell, it also divides evenly into 500 so when fully charging GotE there are no wasted charges. SotP V is less costly to make if you're buying the materials/necklaces but it also divides evenly into 500 albeit it only saves a few porters.

gotcha so without prif there is no way to acquire porters simply without pickpocketing thank you

[the evil one]

Quality of life item
If i'm training arch I'll use 300 a day and tbh I wouldn't bother training it without porters now
Used all the ones I saved from thieving (4k+) Now i just set aside a day every now and then and make a few 1000
I get my own energy plus enough extra to buy gold bars and gems
I really don't care much if its cost effective to use them in every little thing or not
They make my life easier and that's all that matters

[Creature114]

You unlock porters through Divination, GOTE is from Invention and is buyable.