The **Infernal Cerberus Pet** is a rare follower cosmetic in RuneScape 3, originally released as one of the potential rewards from the Treasure Hunter promotion “Cerberus Unleashed.” It features a fiery three-headed hound design, tying it stylistically to Cerberus and other infernal-themed content. Its exclusivity ensures it is both sought after by collectors and a status symbol for wealthier players, heavily influencing its rarity and value on the Grand Exchange.
### Summary and Price History Overview:
- **Release Date:** Likely debuted in one of the 2021 Treasure Hunter events, coinciding with spikes in the item’s early pricing and availability.
- **Rarity/Overshadowed by Events:** Among Treasure Hunter promotional pets, the Infernal Cerberus is notably rarer due to demand from infernal-themed collectors and limited future re-releases.
- **Current Rarity:** With fluctuations in the RuneScape economy driven by extreme gold infusions from dupes and updates, the Infernal Cerberus Pet has become increasingly scarce.
Recent price trend highlights include:
1. **Extreme anomalies in Sept-Nov 2021:** Prices ranged from as low as ~1M GP to inexplicable peaks close to 10M immediately after its Treasure Hunter debut, possibly driven by traders speculating on the pet’s rarity or larger Treasure Hunter reward pools diluting its visibility.
2. **Recovery and stabilization (~1.5M post-2021):** After the dupe-related injection of GP (Nov 2021 Rollback Dupe, Jan 2022 gold impacts), values normalized for over a year.
3. **2023-2024 price growth:** Prices ramped up dramatically to **6M GP as of April 2023**, likely catalyzed by overall GP saturation and the lucrative Scrimshaw dupe in Jan 2023, pushing luxury and collectible goods upward.
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### Price Prediction (Future Projections into 2024):
Given historical data, the Infernal Cerberus Pet will likely experience continued upward trajectory in value throughout mid-to-late 2024. Here's why:
1. **Gold Infusions from Dupes & Updates:** Key events like **700B/hour Scrimshaw generation (Jan 2023)** and **Max Cash exploit exploits (May 15, 2024)** inflated liquidity among wealthy players, making high-end rares, pets, and fashion items appealing status symbols again.
2. **Treasure Hunter Dilution:** Jagex's ongoing monetization pushes (e.g., Hero Pass, additional TH rewards) marginally reduce re-availability rates of prominent Treasure Hunter prizes, indirectly driving up costs of older prized cosmetics like Infernal Cerberus.
3. **Increasing Collector Demand:** Demand for rare pets, especially infernal-themed or exclusive designs, has risen due to higher combat-centric updates enticing combat-oriented high rollers (Necromancy, Max Combat increase 2023).
**Predicted price by December 2024:** 8M – 12M GP.
This assumes no sudden re-release or additional Treasure Hunter dilution, and no economic meltdown (e.g., another major dupe or seizure of confidence in the market).
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### Flipping Margins:
The Infernal Cerberus has recently stabilized enough to make flipping viable, though its rarity limits the volume of trade. Typical margins observed:
- **Short-term flipping (daily):** Around 2-5%, with consistent swings from ~6M-6.3M. Patience for buy/sell orders is required due to its low trade volume.
- **Mid-term flipping (monthly investment):** Between 8-12% profit if held across periodic GP influx updates. Anticipate slower turnaround but higher gains as demand outweighs availability after events like **Treasure Hunter resets.**
**Recommended Strategy:**
Purchase during low activity months (e.g., between major Treasure Hunter holidays or summer downtime) and resell during festivals or new boss releases when cosmetics spike in desirability.
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### Related Investments:
Diversifying into other infernal/aesthetic Treasure Hunter rewards or pets may yield similar returns over the same period. Top considerations include:
1. **Hellion Aura Token:** Another highly coveted infernal-themed item with similar collectible appeal. Its price fluctuates similarly to Infernal Cerberus due to limited re-releases.
2. **Shadow Drake Pet Token:** Shares the "rare and aesthetic" niche, though tied to shadow-themed over infernal themes.
3. **Ghostly/Necromantic Items:** Post-Necromancy updates, ghostly items like the Spirit Hunter outfit spiked substantially. Infernal and necromantic-themed cosmetics align well with current trends.
4. **Easter/Spring Seasonal Pets:** Sunshine Drake or Gummy pets often experience boom-bust pricing, making them strong alternatives for high margin flips.
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### Seasonal Price Influences – Ideal Periods to Buy/Sell:
Historical patterns in TS pet investments suggest timing is key to maximizing returns:
1. **Positive for price growth:**
- **Post-Dupe/Exploit Gold Floods:** Pets soar when GP floods the market (e.g., Scrimshaw Dupe 2023, Max Cash Exploit 2024).
- **Early Holiday Seasons (Nov-Dec):** Collectors push prices up due to wealth redistribution and aesthetic collectibility during holidays.
- **Major Boss Content Updates:** Large-scale combat updates like **Croesus (Sept 2021)** or future new bosses spike cosmetic desirability.
2. **Negative/downturns:**
- **Major Treasure Hunter re-releases:** Pets see temporary drops when re-released (e.g., Sanctum of Rebirth updates—July-Aug 2024).
- **Summer Lulls:** Buyers dip mid-June to early August when player count trends downward.
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Ultimately, the Infernal Cerberus Pet typifies the RuneScape luxury niche market; while its low volume adds risk, its scarcity, utility as a wealth symbol, and infernal aesthetic reliability ensure stable demand and profitable flips for the foreseeable future.
Ely Intelligence Analysis