Max is a roaming NPC in eastern Varrock — he cycles between a bank, anvil, fire and spinning wheel. Elen Anterth in the Max Guild (Prifddinas) is a fixed, easier alternative once unlocked.
Temporary boosts don't count every skill needs a genuine, unboosted level 99 — there's no way to buy the cape with a boosted stat.
Dungeoneering exceeds 99 naturally if you're working toward Master Max Cape too, levelling Dungeoneering past 99 on the way there is completely normal and doesn't block the standard Max Cape.
Buying isn't a separate requirement once every skill above reads 99, purchase from Max or Elen Anterth for 2,871,000 coins — it's just claiming the reward, not something to grind toward.
Iron accounts: start stockpiling for Herblore, Prayer, Farming, Summoning and Construction early these five skills are where GE-funded accounts usually buy their way to 99 (herb secondaries, dragon bones, seeds, summoning charms, planks) — with no Grand Exchange and no player trading, iron accounts have to gather or produce all of it themselves instead (herb runs, ashes from a bonecrusher/ossuary, seed runs, Divination energy for pouches, a sawmill or the Plank Make spell for your own logs). Building those passive-gathering habits on day one, rather than only once you're actively training the skill, is worth far more to an iron account than to one that can just buy the shortfall later.
Track your Max Cape progress
Sync your RuneScape name and check off every requirement above — free, no account needed.