### Summary of Trimmed Masterwork Boots
Trimmed Masterwork Boots are among the best-in-slot melee footwear in RuneScape 3, introduced alongside the Masterwork Armour set through the Mining and Smithing rework on **January 7, 2019**. They are crafted by players through a multi-step Smithing process that consumes significant resources, including Necronium bars, Elder Rune bars, and a Trimmed Masterwork Plate, making them costly to produce. Trimmed variants, unlike standard Masterwork, are untradeable by default, requiring a custom-fit kit to convert them into tradable versions of the boots. Thus, they carry substantial inherent rarity and cost, further amplified by the intricate and grind-heavy conditions of acquisition.
Trimmed Masterwork Armour and, by extension, the boots hold unique durability mechanics, including their degradation and ability to be repaired with Masterwork Plate. Additionally, these boots are popular for bossing content such as Elite Dungeons or Raksha due to their strength in both defensive and offensive setups. Their value often fluctuates with changes to the combat meta or PvM-related updates.
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### Historical Price Fluctuation & Rare Insights
Given historical data and external factors:
1. **Price Trends**:
- Notable spikes in price occurred around **September 2022** (e.g., 47.7M on 09/24/2022), likely influenced by the **Fresh Start Worlds (FSW)** release. FSW incentivized a surge in PvM activity for those chasing progress and wealth in the limited-time economy.
- Significant dips, such as the **4.99M price on 07/09/2023**, coincided with multiple factors: the **Necromancy skill release (August 2023)** reduced the demand for melee armour as players pivoted to master the new combat style. Additionally, the **Red Portal hacks from 07/04/2023**, which dissuaded high-value trades, suggested a lower market inclination toward expensive gear purchases.
- Recent volatility in early 2024 exhibits recovery, fluctuating between 21M and 27M. Speculatively, the imminent arrival of the **March 2024 combat update** will emphasize combat meta changes and re-shuffle PvM priorities.
2. **External Catalysts**:
- **Duplication Glitches**: Economic manipulation events such as the **Scrimshaw dupe (January 2023)** and **Max Cash exploitation (May 2024)** introduced trillions of GP into the economy, temporarily inflating item prices and decreasing relative item rarity. For trimmed Masterwork, an excess GP influx increases demand, which temporarily spikes prices but often stabilizes over weeks as activity normalizes.
- **Skill Updates**: Updates such as the **Mining and Smithing rework (2024)** can lead to elevated availability of base crafting materials, though Trimmed Masterwork’s crafting complexity prevents oversaturation even with surges in raw material supplies.
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### Price Predictions (Mid-2024)
By analyzing historical trends and weighing future content updates:
- **March to May 2024**: A temporary spike in demand is likely due to the March 2024 **combat rework**, which could potentially reinforce melee tank or DPS setups. Expect prices to rise to **30M–35M** during this period.
- **Late May 2024**: Following the inevitable economic inflation caused by the **Max Cash exploitation**, prices may stabilize or see slight dips between **22M–25M**. The combination of increased money supply and possible over-production amid hype often leads to such equilibrium.
- **July to August 2024**: Post-**Sanctum of Rebirth**, melee gear gains could drive demand upward once more, pushing values to **30M+** briefly if new bosses strongly favor melee setups.
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### Flipping Margins
With recent volatility, trimmed Masterwork Boots exhibit:
- **Average flipping margins**: ~2–5M, higher during periods of increased transaction volume from PvM updates or fresh world economies.
- To maximize profit margins, aim to buy immediately after supply catalysts (e.g., Mining updates inflating material availability) and sell near PvM-related content expansion dates.
- For example, the ~6.8M drop from February 2024 (27.9M to 21.1M) reflects excellent volatility for active flipping.
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### Related Investments
Complementary or alternative items include:
1. **Trimmed Masterwork Gloves**: These gloves tend to mirror the boots in price trends, making them a consistent, low-risk pair for flipping. Their slightly lesser crafting complexity makes them marginally more liquid.
2. **Lantern of the Wraith**: Although not armour-specific, it is highly sought after among PvMers post-Necromancy due to its utility increase in hybrid tank setups.
3. **Elder Overloads and Adrenaline Renewals**: Consumables linked directly to high-tier combat often spike alongside increases in PvM gearing, making them a low-barrier option for quick profits.
4. **Weapons like the Fractured Staff of Armadyl (FSoA)**: While unrelated to melee, the weapon meta often shifts pricing correlations, permitting diversification of investment risk.
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### Seasonal Trends
- **Positive Periods**: July-August updates (e.g., **Sanctum of Rebirth**), combat reworks, or any announcements with PvM emphasis regularly drive prices up as demand for equipment rises.
- **Negative Periods**: Major skill releases or mechanics updates like **Necromancy** (August 2023), which temporarily redefined combat priorities, result in short-term devaluation of melee-exclusive gear.
Focus on acquiring during economic dips caused by unrelated updates or bug-induced GP disasters (e.g., Max Cash exploit instances).
Ely Intelligence Analysis