About Microgrind
Who makes Microgrind, how its timing rules are researched and tested against a deterministic simulator, and what it does not model.
Who makes it
Microgrind is made by Jonah, independently. It is free, has no accounts or email sign-up, and has no affiliation with any game company. The guides on this site are written by Jonah too, and each one carries a byline and the date its rules were last checked.
What it is
A set of short browser drills for the timing mechanics of tick-based MMOs: feeling the 0.6-second tick, raising a protective ward on exactly the right tick (the same skill as prayer flicking), and flinching an enemy so it never gets to swing back. There are 17 ladder levels across three drills, plus a daily challenge that is the same for everyone.
The world, names, art and sound are all original. Only the rules are recreated.
How the rules were researched
From publicly documented game behaviour: community references such as the Old School RuneScape Wiki, and how the mechanics are described and taught by players. Microgrind's descriptions are written from scratch, and the guides link to their sources rather than repeating them.
How the rules are tested
- One deterministic simulation. Every rule lives in a single engine with no clock and no unseeded randomness. A run is fully described by its level, its seed and the list of inputs with the tick each one was applied on, so the same inputs always give the same result.
- A test for each rule. Each rule has an automated test named after the behaviour it encodes, for example that an NPC's retaliation is delayed by half its attack speed after an out-of-combat hit, or that a ward raised on the firing tick costs nothing.
- Perfect bots. Scripted bots play every ladder level on several seeds and must earn gold, so every level is proven winnable under the rules as written.
- Server replay. Ranked runs are replayed on the server with the exact same simulation code before they reach a leaderboard.
Numbers in the guides (tables, timings, thresholds) are computed from that engine when the site is built, so they cannot drift from the game you practise in. Each guide states the simulator version it was checked against; the current one is sim 1.0.0.
What Microgrind does not model
- Network delay. The tick clock runs in your browser. The live game runs on a server, so your connection adds a delay that Microgrind does not simulate.
- Server tick variation. Microgrind's tick is exactly 600 ms. Live game servers can run slightly slower than that or skip ticks under load (see the OSRS Wiki on game ticks).
- Exact sub-tick timing. Where in a tick you clicked is shown as feedback only. It never changes an outcome or a score, because it cannot be verified.
- Specific bosses and monsters. Levels are original remixes of a mechanic, not recreations of any particular encounter.
When a guide mentions something Microgrind does not simulate, it says so and links to a source.
Guides
Flinching: the retaliation delay, 8-tick timer and a flinch table for every attack speed
How to flinch in OSRS: a monster hit out of combat waits half its attack speed to swing back, then stays angry 8 more ticks. Tick-by-tick table for speeds 3 to 8.
A free prayer flick trainer you can run in your browser
A free prayer flick trainer in the browser: what each Ward Flicking level trains, the medal thresholds, how timing feedback works, and how it compares with other tools.
Prayer flicking explained tick by tick: lazy flicks vs 1-tick flicks
How prayer flicking works in OSRS, tick by tick: when protection is checked, when drain lands, and why lazy and 1-tick flicks cost nothing. With a timeline to try.
The 0.6-second tick: how input queueing actually works
What a game tick is in OSRS, how many ticks there are per second and per minute, and exactly which tick your click lands on. With a metronome to click along to.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Jagex Ltd. Old School RuneScape is a trademark of Jagex Ltd.