This week we’re talking Equipment Rebalancing, Poll 76 Changes, and all the latest RuneScape Kingdoms news. Plus, keep reading for an exciting announcement regarding the Jagex Launcher…
Equipment Rebalance: Tier Changes
As per this newspost, we’ve been adjusting required skills for certain weapons!
The only change since we last discussed this back in December is a small one to the Scythe of Vitur. We’ve made this item a hybrid weapon requiring 80 Attack and 90 Strength, as opposed to the even 85 Attack and Strength we proposed last time. Our reasoning is that this will allow pures to use the Scythe in exchange for one more combat level, alongside the other new tier 80 weapons.
Here’s a reminder of what we’re changing:
Ghrazi Rapier
Previous requirements: 75 Attack New requirements: 80 Attack
Blade of Saeldor
Previous requirements: 75 Attack New requirements: 80 Attack
Inquisitor's Mace
Previous requirements: 75 Attack New requirements: 80 Attack
Trident of the Swamp
Previous requirements: 75 Magic New requirements: 78 Magic
Sanguinesti Staff
Previous requirements: 75 Magic New requirements: 82 Magic
Kodai Wand
Previous requirements: 75 Magic New requirements: 80 Magic
Nightmare Staff (base)
Previous requirements: 65 Magic New requirements: 72 Magic
Nightmare Staff (with any Orb attached)
Previous requirements: 75 Magic New requirements: 82 Magic
Dragon Hunter Crossbow
Previous requirements: 65 Ranged New requirements: 70 Ranged
Dragon Hunter Lance
Previous requirements: 70 Attack New requirements: 78 Attack
Scythe of Vitur
Previous requirements: 75 Attack and 75 Strength New requirements: 80 Attack and 90 Strength
Twisted Bow
Previous requirements: 75 Ranged New requirements: 85 Ranged
Bow of Faerdhinen
Previous requirements: 75 Ranged and 70 Agility New requirements: 80 Ranged and 70 Agility
We hope you'll welcome the new tiers!
Poll 76 Changes
Clue Scroll Changes
We’ve changed the rarity of 3rd Age items from Elite Clues to fit proportionally between Hard and Master Clues. This has been a highly anticipated change and will affect existing Clue Caskets, so if you’ve been waiting to open them… go go go!
We’ve also added the chance to get Clues from the Hallowed Sepulchre at the following rates:
These Clues will replace the item you would have received, with the exception of the Ring of Endurance, which takes priority.
Bryophyta's Staff
A giant-sized change here: Bryophyta’s Staff is now a free-to-play item, along with Bryophyta’s Essence. To craft it, take the Essence and 50,000 gold to Zaff at his store in Varrock Square.
In addition, Mossy and Giants’ Keys are now stackable!
Further Poll 76 Changes
The magic defence of V’s Shield has been boosted up to 5, and it no longer has negative bonuses to magic or ranged attacks.
The smoke overlay in the Desert’s Smoke Dungeon can now be toggled on and off by right-clicking the Smoky Well.
That’s all for this week, but for those of you anxiously awaiting the remaining Poll 76 Changes, we’re now able to provide some clarity on when you can expect them to go live.
Timeline for the remaining Poll 76 Changes
Next week, we reckon we can deliver the following changes:
Space-bar to continue Smithing and Jewelry Crafting
Ensouled Hellhound Heads
Increased visibility in the Fight Caves
Fairy Ring on the Isle of Souls
Soul Wars to be playable on every world
‘Buy X’ options in the Soul Wars store
We’re also currently developing the following changes, although we’re not yet sure when they’ll be rolled out:
Max hit Hitsplats
Pet system changes
Finally, the following changes are not yet in development, but will be worked on soon:
Notifications when items are in item retrieval systems
Poison Dynamite
Baba Yaga house camera options
Clan Hall changes
Jagex Launcher Update: RuneLite available!
Whaaaaaat? Yeah, you heard us – later today after this week’s update, RuneLite will be available in the official Jagex Launcher!
If you’re not yet familiar with the Jagex Launcher, or want more of a deep dive into its inception, you can read all about it in in this detailed technical blog. Go ahead, check it out now. We’ll wait.
So, installing and playing RuneLite via the Jagex Launcher is a mega-convenient way to remember your account details and automatically log in to the RuneLite client. If you decide you prefer the original (and official) client, you can quickly switch between them, too.
Here’s how it works:
Head to the Jagex Launcher and log in to your Old School RuneScape account
Click the drop-down menu next to the Play or Install button
Choose RuneLite
If you haven't already downloaded RuneLite press Install and you'll be directed to the official RuneLite website
For further assistance, please refer to the Support Hub FAQ! Please note, RuneLite will need to update itself before it becomes available in the Jagex Launcher. We expect that to happen later today, so it won't be available straight after the update.
DMM Re-Run Second Beta
Unfortunately, while we were preparing for the DMM Re-Run Closed Beta last week we encountered some issues with player save profiles taken during DMM Reborn. To resolve this issue, we’ve pushed the date of the Second Beta back to Friday, May 13th at 13:00 BST.
Game Jam Livestream
If you missed it in last month's Gielinor Gazette or last week's handy Weekly Recap by Jillyfish, we shared more details surrounding Old School's very first Game Jam!
Now it's time for you to hear from the very people behind the ideas as we've got a special livestream dedicated to some of those ideas. Join plethora of famaliar J-Mods on Thursday, May 12th from 16:00 BST over on our Twitch channel, where you'll get a rundown of each idea and gives you chance to ask them directly about the proposals.
We can't wait to see you there!
Other Changes
The Revenant Maledictus will no longer despawn in the middle of a fight. Coward!
Fixed a clipping issue in the new Dust Devil Slayer Area.
Fixed minor clipping issues on one of the Player Owned House Tool Storages.
The Toxic Trident weapon charge text has been changed to read ‘Toxic Trident’ instead of ‘weapon’, bringing it in line with other weapons’ text.
We've reduced the weight of holiday items that are over 1kg, to 1kg, as their weight felt a little excessive for cosmetic items. Let us know if there are other items we should lighten up!
Jarr will no longer speak about the old Pharaoh’s Sceptre max charges when discussing the Desert Achievement Diary.
Certain Bankers will now offer you the option to purchase additional Bank slots. They are: Vampyre Bankers in Darkmeyer and Ver Sinhaza, Emerald Benedict at the Rogues’ Den, Gundai at the Mage Arena Bank and Odovacar in the Lair of Tarn Razorlor.
RuneScape Kingdoms Board Game Update
This week we have more news on our partnership with Steamforged Games and their quest to bring the magical world of Gielinor to the tabletop with RuneScape Kingdoms: Shadow of Elvarg!
Steamforged's Kickstarter starts on May 31st and will only run for 10 days, so sign up here and be the first to know when it goes live!
You can also join the RuneScape Kingdoms Facebook Group RuneScape Kingdoms Facebook Group to be the first to see the latest weekly blogs, get reveals of new cards and minis, and chat directly with the developers about the game.
This week's blog covers how you explore in the open world, narrative adventure that is RuneScape Kingdoms. Learn more about what you can do as you wander about Asgarnia and Misthalin, and how to move around the fast-travel game board. Plus, you’ll get your first look at the Exploration Card designs for each kingdom!
What would a RuneScape Kingdoms update be without mini reveals? This week, we’ve got two to show you…
The nightmare of Draynor Manor, this supernatural scourge has been terrorising the inhabitants of Draynor Village. Put a stop to his (literally) bloodthirsty rampage in your first of four iconic campaigns.
Of course, there’s loads of stuff to do in Asgarnia and Misthalin, so you’d be forgiven for getting distracted from your goal. Don’t spend too much time away, though – as Count Draynor goes unchallenged, he’ll start to roam further afield in search of prey, making your exploration progressively more dangerous…
When you do get around to facing the Count, you’ll want make sure you’ve had a crash course in fighting vampyres and acquired a sturdy stake – otherwise, you might not live to tell the tale!
But let’s not worry about that right now. Instead, let’s meet our newest player character: the clue hunter!
Some people don’t play RuneScape and Old School RuneScape for the combat, or the skills. They’re in it for the Clues. The thrill of solving puzzles, digging up treasure in hostile climes and finally opening your hard-won Caskets. The irresistible allure of fashionscape, augmented by super-rare rewards.
Does that sound familiar? Then the clue hunter player avatar is the one for you!
Equipped with an iconic Staff of Bob the Cat and dressed in the Sandwich Lady outfit, the clue hunter is designed to represent an avid treasure seeker just starting out on their fashionscape journey.
With that, we’ve met all five player avatars – or the lower-level ones, at least. More news on that front another time…
This week we’ve been working on improvements for our latest releases!
Guardians of the Rift Improvements
Abyssal Red, Blue, and Green Dyes can now be used to recolour the Amulet of the Eye and the Lost Bag.
The Amulet of the Eye now gives you infinite teleports to the Guardians of the Rift lobby! You'll appear south of the portal when teleporting in.
Added the Tarnished Locket and the Lost Bag to the Collection Log. They will retroactively unlock for anyone who’s already received them as drops.
The Collection Log now displays the number of Rift Searches and Rifts Closed.
Beneath Cursed Sands Changes
Big thank you to everyone who delved into the Desert last week and returned with feedback for us!
Improved the Pharaoh’s Sceptre-charging dialogue to make it clear how many items are being taken and how many charges have been given as a result.
Removed the Slash bonus from the Keris Partisan.
Fixed animations on the Shadow Boss.
Other Changes
Speaking of the Desert, the Easter Bunny has resolved his chocolate woes and returned home to start planning for Easter 2023. With a whole year to prepare, surely nothing can go wrong…
Fixed issues with the ‘Finding the Weak Spot’ Combat Achievement.
Hotfixed an unintended one-tick skilling method which occurred while cutting Fish from Aerial Fishing. A side effect of this fix means that multiple fish can now be cut in one tick - we've decided to leave this as-is.
Fixed an issue with unlocking the ‘Alchemical Hydra Veteran’ Combat Achievement.
The message given when checking charges on tridents now tell you what weapon they relate to.
An elven lamp was moved one tile east outside Priffdinas to make entering the dense forest there easier.
Adamant, Rune and Dragon Trophies from all 3 Leagues have had their weight reduced from 15kg to 1.5kg to better match the weight of lower tiers.
When flying a hot air balloon using logs from storage, you will now get told how many you have left of that type.
Pickaxes no longer randomly accelerate Mining by one tick on free-to-play worlds.
Some incorrect directions were fixed in the Biohazard quest.
Fixed a typo in the Settings menu.
RuneScape Kingdoms: Shadow of Elvarg
By now we expect you’ve seen the news – we’ve partnered with Steamforged to bring the magical world of Gielinor to the tabletop in RuneScape Kingdoms: Shadow of Elvarg!
Steamforged are releasing weekly blogs in the build up to their Kickstarter on May 31st. Tune in to learn all about how to play the game, and be among the first to see new cards and minis!
This week’s blog covers how skilling works in the game and reveals the latest player avatar mini – The Archer.
When danger strikes, The Archer ensures no foe gets close enough to pose a threat! Completing the melee, magic, and ranged combat triangle, The Archer gives you a full selection of combat-focused minis to choose from.
Inspired by early-game ranged gear, The Archer is equipped with a Shortbow and Bronze Arrows. Like their weapons, their Leather Body, Chaps, and Boots are cheap and easy to come by — ideal for someone just beginning their journey into RuneScape Kingdoms.
Steamforged's Kickstarter will only run for 10 days, so sign up here and be the first to know when it goes live!
Beneath Cursed Sands | Weekly Game Update (April 27th)
When Sophanem was beset by a series of plagues, the gates to the golden city of Menaphos quickly closed. They've been locked ever since – no one goes in, and no one comes out. There are, however, rumours of strange happenings within the city walls, and stories of Menaphite citizens mysteriously going missing.
Someone needs to investigate, but few are willing to accept the risk. Maisa, a spy from Al Kharid, has grown tired of inaction. She’s determined to solve this mystery – but she can’t do it alone…
Beneath Cursed Sands is an all-new quest designed to support our most narrative-driven raid yet, Tombs of Amascut. That’s set to launch this summer, but you can play the quest today and get up to date on all the latest happenings in the Kharidian Desert.
Begin the quest by speaking to Jamila in Sophanem.
Requirements and Rewards
[expand type="details"]
Beneath Cursed Sands is a Master-level quest, with some mid-level requirements:
Completion of Contact!
62 Agility
55 Firemaking
55 Crafting
Upon completion you'll be rewarded with:
2 Quest Points
Access to the Tombs of Amascut
The ability to upgrade the Keris to the Keris Partisan
Circlet of Water
20,000 Agility XP
[/expand]
Rewards
Beneath Cursed Sands will introduce not one, but TWO unique items to the game, each offering their own unique benefits. Let’s take a closer look!
Keris Partisan
In Contact!, you acquired the Keris, a shapely dagger used by the followers of Elidinis to tackle the Scabarite threat. Beneath Cursed Sands will grant you the opportunity to upgrade to the Keris Partisan, a spear-like weapon that requires 65 Attack to wield.
Unlike other spears, the Keris Partisan has an aggressive attack style that will let you focus on training strength while you crush some bugs.
Like the original Keris, the Partisan’s unique shape allows it to slip between the chitinous shells of insectoid enemies like the Kalphite Queen, dealing extra damage!
We also reckon it’ll come in handy during the Tombs of Amascut Raid, where you’ll have the chance to upgrade it even further.
Circlet of Water
The Circlet of Water is an untradeable helm that acts like a Waterskin when worn. When first obtained, it is uncharged and requires Water Runes to activate. Five Water Runes are required per charge, for a maximum of 500,000 charges. You’ll put Shantay out of business!
Each drink of water removes one charge from the Circlet. If lost, it can be reclaimed from the High Priest of Sophanem.
We can’t wait for you to play Beneath Cursed Sands and let us know what you think!
Now, it’s not too long until you’ll be able to take on the Tombs of Amascut… stay tuned!
Pharaoh's Sceptre
Since we were in the Desert anyway, we thought we’d use today’s update to make some improvements to the Pharaoh’s Sceptre.
The number of charges the Sceptre can hold has been increased, dependent on your completion of the Desert Achievement Diaries:
No Diaries: 3 Teleports (no change)
Easy Desert Diary: 10 Teleports
Medium Desert Diary: 25 Teleports
Hard Desert Diary: 50 Teleports
Elite Desert Diary: 100 Teleports
We’ve also added a new teleport which will take you to one of the areas added for Beneath Cursed Sands. To unlock the teleport, you’ll need to use the Sceptre on an Obelisk in the area.
We've also tidied up the right-click menu that appears while the Sceptre is in your Inventory. From now on, you’ll only see options to ‘Teleport’ or ‘Teleport to Previous’. Selecting the ‘Teleport’ option will take you to a list of available locations.
The right-click menu you see while the Sceptre is equipped remains unchanged.
Finally, we’ve condensed the Sceptre into just two variants: Charged and Uncharged. The Uncharged version is tradeable, but the Charged version is not. Upon login, any Sceptres in your Inventory or Equipment will be automatically converted to the new versions – although Sceptres in storage (such as the Bank) will have to be updated manually. To do so, just click them while they’re in your Inventory.
Status Update on Inventory Rework Issues
Last week, we introduced a number of changes to the Inventory system designed to modernise it and make it easier for us to roll out new features in the future. Regretfully, this caused a number of issues, and we've been working as fast as we can to return everything to normal.
Here’s a summary of what’s been identified and fixed so far:
Last week
The ability to use spells like Alchemy while fishing, resulting in multiple simultaneous skill XP gain.
Switching tabs (which is common in high-end PvM or PvP) causing dropped inputs.
Using an item on something on the other side of a wall getting you stuck (instead of simply running around it).
A significant increase in responsiveness seeing items being dragged into the inventory far too easily.
This week pre-update
De-synced inventories causing dead clicks or moving items to unexpected places. A hotfix for this was deployed on April 26th, and we are still monitoring this closely.
This week post-update
Clicks feel slightly 'off' due to a shortened 'drag dead time'. This should be back to normal with this week's update.
Here are the known issues that we're still working on and hope to fix shortly. As some of the fixes also rely on engine changes, we can’t say exactly when we expect these to be rolled out.
Items no longer becoming transparent in unexpected ways when used on each other (we think we can fix this by next week).
An issue preventing players turning to face the objects they use items on.
Spam clicking very specific items could occasionally trigger an incorrect action. This seems rare, but is a high priority fix.
We're aware that many of you would have preferred we just revert all of the changes until everything could be fixed. Due to the way these changes were built, this was virtually impossible, so we have instead done all we can to minimise the disruption. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, so we'll be taking learnings from this experience to ensure that future changes can indeed be more easily reverted should problems arise. We’ve also noted your feedback about better utilising beta worlds to test large updates.
We appreciate your continued patience as we work to resolve these issues. We know that nothing we say can ease the frustration you’ve felt, but we do hope the transparency eases the pain a little.
Other Changes
Added a music area for the Modern Music Area Mode to the Kharidian Desert.
Moved the Nomad music track to the Ruins of Unkah, as it was incorrectly playing on Karamja rather than in the Kharidian Desert.
A selection of previously unlisted and unavailable tracks have been added to the music list. These will be automatically unlocked if you have completed the relevant content.
Fixed a few plotholes and inconsistencies in the Icthlarin’s Little Helper and Contact! quests.
Removed some inappropriate dialogue from the Prince Ali Rescue, Icthlarin's Little Helper and Contact! quests.
Fixed an issue where the boss health overlay wasn’t fading in and out correctly.
Added a visual indicator to the Guardians of the Rift portals to show which ones are active.
The 42 Mining requirement for What Lies Below has been changed to a recommendation.
Corrected a small typo in the Easter Event.
Before we move on to the rest of the blog, we just wanted to give you all an update on the Poll 76 changes. We know you’re eager to see them in the game, but unfortunately our updates and release schedule hasn’t given us much room to squeeze them in alongside the rest of our planned content.
Polled improvements help ‘fill in the gaps’ between content releases. They’re developed alongside planned content and released whenever necessary.
We appreciate that some of the Poll 76 changes might seem small from the outside, but they still need time to plan and test them before launch.
For now, please trust that we hear your concerns and we’re already working to get these changes to you as quickly as we can.
DMM re-run Open Beta
We're delighted to confirm that the DMM re-run Open Beta will be held on Friday, April 29th at 13:00 BST. We appreciate your patience as we've shuffled some dates around to ensure this goes ahead without any hiccups! Thank you for your continued patience as we work towards hosting the final you deserve.
RuneScape Board Game
Hopefully you’ve heard the good news – we’ve partnered with Steamforged to bring the magical world of Gielinor to the tabletop! That’s not all, though – we’ve got a name, box art, a date for the Steamforged Kickstarter, and a look at the first four minis to be revealed!
Steamforged will be bringing RuneScape Kingdoms: Shadow of Elvarg to Kickstarter May 31st, 2022. It’s a cooperative board game for 1-5 players, set in the Gielinor you know and love!
Explore from above with a board styled like a fast-travel map, jumping from region to region as you level your skills and complete quests. Then, zoom in for face-to-face encounters with iconic bosses that grow tougher the closer you come to your final quest!
Each group member can play their way, choosing which skills to master and working towards those all-important capes.
Steamforged’s Kickstarter will be live for just 10 days, so be sure to follow the campaign, or you might miss out!
Now, we promised you minis – so let’s take a look! Steamforged have developed a unique style inspired by Old School’s low-poly roots, but with all the detail you’d expect from a thoroughly modern mini. Each one showcases iconic outfits, NPCs and bosses from the past 21 years. We can’t wait to get our hands on ‘em!
Last week we revealed two player pieces, plus the big bad boss, Elvarg. Ready for another one? Check out the skiller!
To learn more, head to our announcement blog or check out Steamforged’s weekly blogs as they work towards the Kickstarter later this year. And if you fancy getting your hands on the game, we recommend following the campaign so that you’re ready for launch.
Shattered Relics Medal Winners!
Now, it’s finally time to name the winners of the prestigious Shattered Relics medals!
For those who missed it, we announced that we’d be sending real-life medals to players who showed exceptional hard work and dedication in Leagues III: Shattered Relics.
First up, Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medals will be sent to the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place players in the following categories:
Most League Points
Most Tasks Completed
Most XP Gained
First to Max
The second set of Gold medals go to the dedicated players who were first to complete the following achievements:
First to Obtain All Fragments
First to Unlock all Skills
First to Unlock all Bosses
First to Reach Tier 7
First to Reach Tier 7 without Hitpoints
After confirming with the Anti-Cheating Team we are happy to announce the winners. Congratulations to the following:
Mazhar - 1st in Most League Points & 1st in Most Tasks Completed
Knuupy - 2nd in Most League Points & 3rd in Most Tasks Completed
Gl Im Tom - 3rd in Most League Points & 2nd in Most Tasks Completed
Tzuyuwu - 1st in Most Experience Gained
Neztergodx - 2nd in Most Experience Gained
SspicyJesus - 3rd in Most Experience Gained
Yuno - 1st to Max (99 in All Skills)
Stefn - 2nd to Max (99 in All Skills)
Schnops - 3rd to Max (99 in All Skills)
CanNotLogIn - First to Obtain All Fragments
Daniiex - First to Unlock all Skills
Crowride1873 - First to Unlock all Bosses
SoloMission - First to Reach Tier 7
MagnumCopus - First to Reach Tier 7 without Hitpoints
Winners will be contacted with further details through the player inbox over the next few days!
If you missed out on one of these prizes, you can always reward yourself with the Antique Nickel variant of the medal or one of the Ltd Edition Leagues pins from the Official Merch Store! Everyone's a winner here, right gang?
We've got all the news on the Inventory Rework, the iOS Closed Beta, and the Deadman Reborn Re-Run Beta!
Inventory Rework and More
This week we’ve been busy in the backend, reworking the Inventory system! We’ve completely rewritten it in both the Java and C++ clients, so it’ll be better suited to all our future content.
We’ve also improved the Wiki integration feature, so it’ll now direct you to more accurate pages. In addition, we’ve removed the line-of-sight requirement, so you can now look stuff up from your Worn side panel!
Lastly, there’s a couple of Steam Client improvements we want to talk about:
Anti-Drag Options
We’ve reworked anti-drag! When active, dragging an item won’t register as a drag until the specified delay has passed, at which point the item will jump to your cursor and be dragged around as normal.
You can configure the following settings:
Anti-drag: toggle the feature on or off.
Drag delay: How long, in milliseconds, you have to drag an item when anti-drag is active before the drag is registered. By default, this is set to 500 milliseconds.
Enable key: If set, you must hold this key down to activate anti-drag. Options include Always On, Shift (default) and Control.
Disable key: When this key is held down, anti-drag will be deactivated if currently active. Options include None (default), Shift and Control.
More Examine Info
Examining an item will now give you the Grand Exchange and High and Low Alchemy values. Items which are untradeable will not show the Grand Exchange value, and items which cannot be alchemised will not show the High or Low Alchemy values.
You can adjust this feature in the settings.
The team is hard at work on future updates for the Steam client, including Clue Scrolls! We hope to have more info to share soon.
iOS Closed Beta
The Closed Beta for the new iOS client is here! Here are the features you can look forward to:
Buff Bars
Fishing Spot Indicators
HUD Improvements (NPC Information and Combat Styles)
Agility and Slayer Helpers
Chambers of Xeric Helper
Woodcutting and Ore Respawn Timers
Increased Draw Distance
Navigation Tile Indicators
Chat Improvements
Entity Highlights for NPCs (new to mobile)
And more!
Please be aware of potential mobile phishing scams. If you're unsure about any communication you've received, check your account mailbox to verify legitimacy.
Successful applicants have been contacted through their account mailbox and should also receive email confirmation from the Apple Store now that the Beta is live.
All further communications will be through the official Old School RuneScape Discord in the exclusive #iOSBetaAnnouncements, #iOSBetaBugs, #iOSBetaFeedback and #iOSBetaGeneral channels. Join us there to catch the latest news and share your experience with the iOS client!
We’re aware of the following issues:
The UI appears too small on devices that use a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Collapsing the Minimap on mobile can cause the Multiway Combat Icon to disappear behind it.
The Gauntlet Timer displays incorrectly on the Side Panel.
Interfaces displayed in the top left ‘dodge’ the Side Panel when Chat is closed.
Using the Chatbox to DM other players or search the Grand Exchange or Bank can cause it to become unusable.
Some loading screen elements display incorrectly.
Minimap icons do not appear after going to areas which use LinkBelow.
There is misaligned text in a cutscene during A Tail of Two Cats.
Using the Entity Highlights feature causes large FPS drops in God Wars Dungeon instances.
Grid lines can appear in multiple places.
Inventory UI shifts slightly on some devices.
Deadman Finale Re-Run
Last week we mentioned the Deadman Finale Re-Run was finally ready, with the first beta going live Thursday, April 21st.
Unfortunately, we are having to postpone the beta once more until Friday, April 29th.
On March 30th, following our usual game update process, we quickly became aware of an issue that caused a small number of core systems that support both Old School and RuneScape to behave unexpectedly for a short period of time. These systems are the same ones we use to control our live architecture and manipulate configurations for things like Leagues, Deadman, the PvP Rota and the worlds used for our betas.
While the root cause is still being investigated, we are refraining from using these systems to avoid the issue occurring again and potentially causing further issues in-game.
We apologise for the delay and appreciate your patience as we work to ensure the issue is resolved so we can configure worlds to be used for the first Deadman Reborn Re-Run beta on the 29th.
Other Changes
Removed some trees between the Revenant Caves’ south entrance and exit.
The Book of Darkness (or) is now recognised as a Zarosian item.
Don't forget that next week on April 27th is the launch of Beneath Cursed Sands!
You won’t want to miss this one as it's not only is it the first continuation of the Desert storyline since 2007, completion of the quest is also required for Tombs of Amascut.
So lace up those sandals and refill your Waterskins as we get ready to travel back the Desert once more!
Official Merch Store
Leagues III might be over, but you can still celebrate your achievements with loads of epic merch!
Immortalise your Leagues fashionscape with the Elite Void and Mystic Robe Pins, cheer for Shattered Relics with the Leagues III Banner Pin or take home your very own mysterious figure with the Sage Pin, created with Antique Nickel!
After months of secrecy, it’s finally time to give you the full details of the Giants’ Foundry – an all-new Smithing skilling method built by the giants of Gielinor and operated by YOU!
To access the minigame, you’ll need to play through a short quest. Let’s take a look!
Sleeping Giants Quest
The saying goes ‘Let sleeping giants lie’, but in this quest, you’ll do exactly the opposite!
Giants have existed in Old School RuneScape for years, but how much do we really know about them? Sleeping Giants is a new intermediate quest designed to reveal more about this mysterious race.
In it, you’ll help Kovac, a giant who’s discovered an ancient workshop built to his proportions! Delve into the giants’ murky past, rebuild their Foundry, and start smithing swords for giants all across Gielinor!
Quest Requirements
[expand type="spoiler"]
15 Smithing
[/expand]
Giants' Foundry Minigame
After completing Sleeping Giants you’ll have all the know-how you need to start Smithing in the Giants’ Foundry.
This is a non-instanced and non-combat safe minigame accessible to all Old School RuneScape members.
The Foundry began with a simple question – how can we make Smithing more interesting and engaging? We wanted a process that was more exciting than just taking a bar to an anvil and hammering away for a couple of seconds. Thus, the Giants’ Foundry requires you to use all your skill and perseverance to forge swords of giant proportions!
Working on a commission given by Kovac, you’ll have to find the perfect sword design, choose the metal according to your chosen difficulty, and work the preform with a variety of tools to get the perfect killing edge.
But be careful - each resource used in this minigame has the potential to offer more value per bar but if you're not paying close attention, you could lose both the resource and experience!
Gameplay
Setup
Before you can start working on a sword, you’ll need to pick up a commission from Kovac, set the mould, fill the crucible, and pour the liquid metal you’ve chosen.
Commissions define what kind of blade you’ll be making using two descriptive words. For example, you might receive a commission from a giant who wants a sword that’s ‘narrow’ and ‘spiked’.
You’ll need to keep that description in mind when you choose a mould. Look through Kovac’s Mould Library for the best match. The closer the match you find, the higher quality your sword will be when you start forging – so choose wisely!
Note that the points you gain here won’t affect how difficult it is to make the sword – that’s all determined by the type of metal you choose.
A look at the Mould Library interface.
Speaking of which, once you’ve selected and set your mould you’ll need to move on to the crucible – the big stone bucket chained above the river of lava. The crucible heats and liquefies the metal you put into it. It’ll accept Bronze, Iron, Steel, Mithril, Adamant or Rune Bars, or any metal item you want to recycle. You heard that right! Finally, a way to get rid of those unwanted Platebodies and Battleaxes!
Note that when recycling items, you won’t get back all the Bars it took to craft them – some material is always lost in the creation process!
A Giant’s Sword required 20 Bars worth of material, which is conveniently the exact same amount the crucible can hold. It’s like we did it on purpose!
Once you’ve filled the crucible you can pour the molten metal into your mould. The higher the tier of metal you’ve chosen, the longer the sword will take to shape, and the more precise the temperature range will have to be.
Kovac also believes that swords made of an alloy – a mixture of two or more different metals – will be better. That’s something to keep in mind!
Now, it’s time to cool off as we begin to work the blade!
Refinement
The refinement process lets you shape the raw preform you just created into a blade fit for a mighty giant!
You’ll have a variety of tools at your disposal:
Trip Hammer: Requiring a Hot, Hot, Hot sword, this tool is used to hammer out the imperfections on the blade.
Grindstone: Swords must be at a Medium Temperature to allow this tool to grind out the edge of the sword and make it smooth.
Polishing Wheel: Get that sword to a Cold Temperature to use this tool, which cleans up the blade and gives it a lovely shiny finish.
Lava Pool - Dip your sword into the lava and heat it up, ensuring it’s hot enough to use particular tools.
Waterfall - Use the crashing waves of the waterfall too cool your sword down in order to use certain tools.
Use the right tool at the right time, and you’ll increase the sword’s completion to 100%. You can track which tool to use at which heat range using the in-game HUD.
The Refinement HUD.
Using tools changes the temperature of the preform, which will also naturally cool down over time. Using the incorrect tool, or using the right tool outside the correct temperature range, will result in a lower-quality sword. If the quality of the sword reaches 0, you’ll have to hand it over to Kovac and try again. Be warned that quality can only ever be lost – you can’t get it back again!
If you manage to reach 100% completion without ruining the sword, you can hand it in to Kovac, who’ll reward you with some juicy XP and some Foundry Reputation. The higher the quality, the more rewards you’ll get!
Here’s an example of the refinement process:
Decrease the initial temperature using the waterfall until the preform is cool enough to try the trip hammer.
Cool the preform again to just below the yellow temperature range, then work it with the grindstone.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the sword is almost complete.
Cool the preform to the green temperature zone, then use the polishing wheel to finish the job!
Hand the finished sword to Kovac to complete the commission.
Experience
So, what does the experience rate look like? Where does it fit into the existing Smithing metas?
Here’s where we think Giants’ Foundry sits in comparison to other skilling methods:
Blast Furnace: This content is click-intensive and accordingly rewards you with more XP and greater profit, especially when using the most optimal setups.
Cannonballs: One of the more AFK styles of training Smithing, which results in good profit but little XP.
Giants' Foundry: Our newest Smithing minigame will be moderately click-intensive and a more interactive experience than other methods. With a greater focus on XP, this content will be especially accessible to lower-level players. There’s also potential for profit.
After testing, we reckon that players can make between 10 and 20 swords per hour. Easier metals such as Bronze and Iron obviously require less effort, so players will be able to make more, whereas swords made with Adamantite or Runite will take longer but offer a greater reward.
We’ve also crunched the numbers for other skilling methods:
[table][tr][th]Method[/th][th]XP Per Hour (Estimate)[/th][th]Resources Used Per Hour[/th][/tr][tr][td]Gold at Blast Furnace - no Goldsmith Gauntlets[/td][td]~150,000[/td][td]6,000 Gold Ores[/td][/tr][tr][td]Gold at Blast Furnace - with Goldsmith Gauntlets[/td][td]~375,000[/td][td]6,000 Gold Ores[/td][/tr][tr][td]Creating 5 Bar Mithril items[/td][td]~190,000 - 210,000[/td][td]4,000 Mithril Bars[/td][/tr][tr][td]Creating 5 Bar Adamant items[/td][td]~240,000 - 260,000[/td][td]4,000 Adamantite Bars[/td][/tr][tr][td]Creating 5 Bar Rune items[/td][td]~290,000 - 310,000 [/td][td]4,000 Runite Bars[/td][/tr][/table] Please note that these are rough estimations.
As you can see, current methods are resource-intensive. One of the key benefits of Giants’ Foundry is that you’ll use fewer materials per hour, giving you more XP per Bar. We estimate you’ll save at least 85% on resources compared to the methods listed above.
That’s a dramatic drop! We also believe that the XP given is well worth the interaction and click-intensity of the activities you’ll be doing in the Foundry.
Of course, XP gained is also dependent on how good you are at crafting swords – but overall, we think this will give more XP per resource than any other Smithing method in the game.
Rewards
Apart from the massive XP gains, completing commissions will also gain you Foundry Reputation, which you can use to purchase goodies from Kovac’s Reward Shop. Here’s what he’s got in stock!
Ore Packs
Ore Packs are a great way to purchase a variety of ores in one go, so you can get yourself ready for your next trip to the Giants’ Foundry.
Moulds
We thought it would be interesting if you could buy tools to help you improve your sword-smithing process within the minigame itself.
These extra moulds will help with all kinds of commissions and give you a leg up on quality before you even start Smithing. The better the mould, the higher Smithing level you’ll need, so you can train and gain all in one location.
Eight-Cannonball Mould
With Leagues III you got an eight-sided cannon, so it’s only fitting that you now get an Eight-Cannonball Mould! This mould lets you use two Steel Bars to smith eight Cannonballs at once, doubling your production speed!
Smithing Catalyst
Using this unstackable item when creating Bars at a furnace (excluding the Blast Furnace) will not only halve the amount of Coal required but will also double the XP given!
However, the Catalyst will be consumed when the Bar is made, so you’ll need plenty of them to go around!
Kovac's Grog
A brew made by Kovac himself! This (supposedly) tasty Grog will give you a temporary Smithing boost of +4. Just don’t tell health and safety…
Hill Giant Club Ornament Kit
It wouldn’t be fair for you to craft all these swords without taking one home for yourself! This Kit takes Obor’s weapon – the Hill Giant Club – to new heights with a Giants’ Foundry-themed giant sword skin.
Giants’ Helmet
One of the more unique rewards we’re offering is the Giants’ Helmet, which fits remarkably well considering it’s made for a giant’s head. It’s a completely cosmetic item and won’t give you any extra protection – although it sure looks like it does!
Well, that's all for the Giants’ Foundry – although we would like you to check out our new and improved feedback system. Click on the button below and you’ll be whisked away to a survey where you can tell us your thoughts. Your feedback is super-important to us, so give us all the opinions you got!
We’re back! This week, the Easter bunny needs your help (again!), so get ready for a choco-tastic adventure!
Easter Event 2022
It’s nearly Easter and our favourite Bunny has once again got himself in a bit of a sticky situation! Is anyone surprised?
Easter Bunny hanging around next to a bunch of junk.
This time, he’s decided to deliver chocolate to the increasing number of adventurers hanging out in the desert. There’s just one problem: chocolate and heat are not good bedfellows!
In search of an answer he’s come to Al Kharid, the hottest place he can stand, to seek advice. Unfortunately, giant pink rabbits aren’t exactly commonplace in this neck of the woods, and he’s frightened off their best and brightest! Can YOU, as a slightly less weird-looking adventurer, ask around on his behalf?
Help out, and you’ll be rewarded with two eggciting bits of headgear! One is bursting with spring fashion, and the other, while technically a ring, does land you with something on your head once equipped. Eggstraordinary!
An Eggcellent new piece of FashionScape.
Revenant Caves Changes
We’ve made an important change to the Revenant Caves: the entrances are now all one-way, meaning you can no longer exit the same way you entered.
One of the Rev Caves entrances & new exit.
Instead, there are now two new exits a few tiles away from each entrance. Using these exits will place you neatly on the surface, outside a one-way trapdoor.
Collapsed rubble now surrounds the entrance and new stairs have appeared.
Visually, the entrances look the same and all other functionality, including entrance fees, remains the same.
Poll 76 Changes
This week, we’ve made a bunch of changes to Combat Achievements!
Task Renaming
[expand type="details"]
Alchemical Master became Alchemical Veteran
Alchemical Grandmaster became Alchemical Master
Gauntlet Adept became Gauntlet Veteran
Mimic Adept became Mimic Veteran
Nightmare Champion became Nightmare Adept
Nightmare Adept became Nightmare Veteran
Nightmare Veteran became Nightmare Master
Phosani's Champion became Phosani's Veteran
Phosani's Adept became Phosani's Master
Phosani's Veteran became Phosani's Grandmaster
Skotizo Adept became Skotizo Champion
Skotizo Veteran became Skotizo Adept
Thermonuclear Adept became Thermonuclear Veteran
[/expand]
Killcount Requirements
[table][tr][th]Task Title[/th][th]Old Count[/th][th]New Count[/th][/tr][tr][td]Abyssal Adept[/td][td]100[/td][td]20[/td][/tr][tr][td]Abyssal Veteran[/td][td]250[/td][td]50[/td][/tr][tr][td]Alchemical Veteran[/td][td]150[/td][td]75[/td][/tr][tr][td]Alchemical Master[/td][td]250[/td][td]150[/td][/tr][tr][td]Barrows Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Callisto Adept[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Callisto Veteran[/td][td]100[/td][td]20[/td][/tr][tr][td]Cerberus Veteran[/td][td]150[/td][td]75[/td][/tr][tr][td]Cerberus Master[/td][td]250[/td][td]150[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chaos Elemental Adept[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chaos Elemental Veteran[/td][td]150[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chaos Fanatic Adept[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chambers of Xeric: CM Master[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chambers of Xeric: CM Grandmaster[/td][td]150[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chambers of Xeric Veteran[/td][td]75[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chambers of Xeric Master[/td][td]150[/td][td]75[/td][/tr][tr][td]Chambers of Xeric Grandmaster[/td][td]250[/td][td]150[/td][/tr][tr][td]Corporeal Beast Veteran[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Corporeal Beast Master[/td][td]150[/td][td]50[/td][/tr][tr][td]Corrupted Gauntlet Veteran[/td][td]10[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]Corrupted Gauntlet Master[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Corrupted Gauntlet Grandmaster[/td][td]150[/td][td]50[/td][/tr][tr][td]Commander Zilyana Veteran[/td][td]250[/td][td]100[/td][/tr][tr][td]Crazy Archaeologist Adept[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Dagannoth Prime Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Dagannoth Prime Adept[/td][td]150[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Dagannoth Rex Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Dagannoth Rex Adept[/td][td]150[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Dagannoth Supreme Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Dagannoth Supreme Adept[/td][td]150[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Deranged Archaeologist Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Fight Caves Master[/td][td]10[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]Gauntlet Veteran[/td][td]10[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]Gauntlet Master[/td][td]100[/td][td]20[/td][/tr][tr][td]General Graardor Veteran[/td][td]250[/td][td]100[/td][/tr][tr][td]Giant Mole Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Grotesque Guardians Adept[/td][td]100[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Grotesque Guardians Veteran[/td][td]250[/td][td]50[/td][/tr][tr][td]Hespori Adept[/td][td]10[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]Inferno Grandmaster[/td][td]10[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]K'ril Tsutsaroth Veteran[/td][td]250[/td][td]100[/td][/tr][tr][td]Kalphite Queen Adept[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Kalphite Queen Veteran[/td][td]250[/td][td]50[/td][/tr][tr][td]King Black Dragon Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Kree'arra Veteran[/td][td]250[/td][td]100[/td][/tr][tr][td]Kraken Adept[/td][td]100[/td][td]20[/td][/tr][tr][td]Nex Master[/td][td]100[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Nightmare Veteran[/td][td]100[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Nightmare Master[/td][td]250[/td][td]50[/td][/tr][tr][td]Phosani's Master[/td][td]25[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]Phosani's Grandmaster[/td][td]100[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Sarachnis Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Scorpia Adept[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Scorpia Veteran[/td][td]150[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Skotizo Adept[/td][td]10[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]Tempoross Novice[/td][td]10[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]Tempoross Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Theatre of Blood: HM Grandmaster[/td][td]100[/td][td]50[/td][/tr][tr][td]Theatre of Blood Veteran[/td][td]75[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Theatre of Blood Master[/td][td]150[/td][td]75[/td][/tr][tr][td]Theatre of Blood Grandmaster[/td][td]250[/td][td]150[/td][/tr][tr][td]Thermonuclear Veteran[/td][td]100[/td][td]20[/td][/tr][tr][td]Venenatis Adept[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Venenatis Veteran[/td][td]100[/td][td]20[/td][/tr][tr][td]Vet'ion Adept[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Vet'eran[/td][td]100[/td][td]20[/td][/tr][tr][td]Vorkath Master[/td][td]250[/td][td]100[/td][/tr][tr][td]Wintertodt Novice[/td][td]10[/td][td]5[/td][/tr][tr][td]Wintertodt Champion[/td][td]50[/td][td]10[/td][/tr][tr][td]Zalcano Veteran[/td][td]150[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Zulrah Adept[/td][td]100[/td][td]25[/td][/tr][tr][td]Zulrah Veteran[/td][td]150[/td][td]75[/td][/tr][tr][td]Zulrah Master[/td][td]250[/td][td]150[/td][/tr][/table]
Guardians of the Rift
Before we move on to this week’s changes, a quick PSA. We recently added two more activity worlds for Guardians of the Rift. Unfortunately, the worlds selected are free-to-play and therefore cannot access the minigame. The correct worlds will be available from Monday 18th. Apologies for the delay!
Now, here’s what’s changed this week:
Players will now gain Polyelemental Guardian Stones when crafting Combination Runes during Guardians of the Rift. They will award 3 Elemental Contribution Points instead of the 2 awarded by an Elemental Guardian Stone.
The Raiments of the Eye will no longer provide additional Guardian Stones while crafting Combination Runes.
Players may now sell their excess Abyssal Lanterns and Dyes for 100 Abyssal Pearls and 50 Abyssal Pearls, respectively.
Increased points awarded for building the first barrier and repairing a cell tile.
Weaker Guardian Cells can now be upgraded at more powerful altars without having to destroy the weaker Cell.
Swapped the options on the Deposit Pool so that ‘Deposit Runes’ is now the default left-click option. Maybe keep your entity swapper off for this one!
Confirm-on-destroy options have been added to Guardian Fragments and all types of Guardian Stones.
Guardians of the Rift completions have been added to the HiScores.
The Abyssal Lantern no longer attaches to the Robe Bottoms of the Eye on male characters. Fire hazard averted!
Wizard Traiborn will now have two dialogue options for players working on Demon Slayer and Temple of the Eye at the same time.
Fixed a graphical issue that made portals look active at the start of a game.
And here's the issues we hotfixed before today's update:
The Ring of the Elements may now only be uncharged at a Bank area.
Players can no longer receive any other Essence Pouches while in possession of a Colossal Pouch. Upon your next login, any extra Pouches will be removed if you have a Colossal Pouch.
Players with reduced Agility levels can no longer get trapped in side areas of the Temple of the Eye.
In a future update we plan to let you recolour the Lost Bag and Amulet of the Eye, so hang on to your spare dyes if you'd like to recolour these!
Android Beta Client and Steam Client Fixes
Android Beta Only
Fixed various login issues, including failure to connect to Google when making a new account via Google log-in.
Fixed an issue that caused the World Map not to pan correctly.
Fixed a crash on Huawei devices when opening from the Home Screen.
Fixed an issue causing the app to become unresponsive when using certain gesture controls.
Fixed an issue causing zoom to stop working when the Minimap was collapsed.
Fixed a UI issue in the World Switcher menu.
Fixed an issue that caused the app to become unresponsive when in split-screen mode.
Steam Only
A red X should now appear when clicking on NPC's/Players with ‘Always Right Click’ enabled.
Android Beta & Steam
The PvP option ‘Right Click for Clanmates’ should now work as expected.
Fixed an issue with camera shake effects.
Fixed a transparency issue appearing in various places.
We recently announced in March's Edition of the Gielinor Gazette that we'll be hosting the Open Beta on April 20th. Unfortunately you'll have to wait an extra day to participate in the Open Beta as we are moving it to Thursday, April 21st. We'll be sharing more details shortly and we are still commited to hosting the final you deserve. Thank you for your continued patience.
Other Changes
Equipping the Dragonhunter Crossbow and Crystal Platelegs will no longer cause stretching.
The ‘Chop’ option on the dead trees adjacent to the Death Altar’s exit portal no longer obstruct its ‘Use’ option.
Bosses now spawn with reduced delays in endurance fights in the Nightmare Zone.
The ‘Back to Bank’ button on the Group Storage screen is now removed properly when not required.
Using artefacts on the Pyramid Plunder Mummy will now prompt relevant dialogue.
Nex now consistently spawns a Blood Reaver in duo scale.
Fixed an animation glitch with the Home Teleport.
Grammar fixes.
PvP World Rota
Our team is now performing maintenance on our world deployment systems. To ensure this work goes smoothly we'll be removing the PvP World Rota for the foreseeable future to reduce the number of world changes. This means all target PvP worlds are now available.
On May 4, 2022, we will be changing the price of membership for new members and those who’ve been unsubscribed for more than 14 days.
Don't forget though - if you're a member and don't lapse out for more than 14 days, you're eligible to keep your current rate of membership. Subscribe now to secure access to all of Old School RuneScape's members' content at current prices.
Old School RuneScape Shop Items and Services prices will also be changing. Bonds can still also be used to enjoy all paid elements in our games purely through playtime.
In the last 4 years, we have seen rising development costs, inflationary rises globally and fluctuations between international currencies. Today’s changes reflect this. As always, we’re committed to providing the best value for your membership with meaningful content updates and improvements to our services.
Thanks again for your ongoing support. Visit our FAQ if you have any further questions.
Membership Plan Changes
From May 4, 2022, a number of Membership Plan changes will occur.
The 12 Month Subscription plan changes to a 12 Month Premier Membership plan, featuring all the perks of Premier Club
The 12 Month Subscription plan includes a heavy discount of up to 45% over subscribing monthly and is a price reduction versus the current 12-month membership package
The 3 Month Membership plan will be retired. Existing 3 Month Membership plans will continue beyond this date and will not be available if your Membership lapses or changes.
New Membership Price Changes
Existing active Memberships will continue to be charged at your current rate, and prices will be changing for new Memberships beginning on May 4, 2022.
You can subscribe at any time before May 4, 2022 to take advantage of the current subscription pricing. All existing rates will continue to be honoured provided your subscription remains active and does not lapse for more than two weeks.
14 Day Membership Packages will continue to be available for the cost of 1 Bond.
Shop Item Price Changes
Here are the prices for Old School RuneScape Shop Items and Services as of May 4, 2022.
*Shop Item and Service pricing is for desktop only. Mobile pricing may vary.
Thank you for your ongoing support and passion for Old School RuneScape. Please check out our FAQ for more information on any of the changes outlined in this announcement.
New iOS Client Closed Beta - Registration Now Open!
New iOS Client Closed Beta
Following the success of our New Android Client Open Beta earlier in the year, many iOS players have been eager to test out new client features on iOS devices. We're delighted to announce that your time has come!
New and exciting client features will be coming to iOS in the form of a Closed Beta. New features include:
Buff Bars
Fishing Spot Indicators
HUD Improvements (NPC Information & Combat Styles)
Agility and Slayer Helpers
Chambers of Xeric Helper
Woodcutting and Ore Respawn Timers
Increased Draw Distance
Navigation Tile Indicators
Chat Improvements
Entity Highlights for NPCs (new to mobile)
And more!
We've received really positive feedback from our Beta testers so far, and we're keen to see what you think. Within the coming weeks, we'd like to invite you to test out these awesome new features for yourselves!
In order to participate in the New iOS Client Closed Beta, you’ll need to ensure that your device is running iOS 13.0 or above. You'll also need to fill out the iOS Beta Form with the following details:
Apple ID (email address)
RSN
Discord ID (NAME#0000)
Your main device and any other devices you play Old School on
The platform you play Old School on the most
The main activities you complete whilst playing on mobile
Successful applicants will be contacted through their account mailbox and should also receive e-mail confirmation from the Apple Store when the Beta is live. Please be aware of potential mobile phishing scams. If you're unsure about any communication you've received, check your account mailbox to verify the legitimacy of any suspicious emails.
We expect that the New iOS Client Closed Beta can go live in around two weeks or so. However, we can't give you a set date just yet as we need a few days to carry out some internal testing first.
Provided this goes well, more information can be shared after the April bank holiday (around April 19th). There's a chance that the Beta date may move a little, but we'll keep you informed.
Once the Beta is live, any further comms will appear on the official Old School RuneScape Discord in exclusive channels (#ios-beta-announcements, #ios-beta-bugs, #ios-beta-feedback & #ios-beta-general).
Guardians of the Rift Improvements | Weekly Game Update (March 30th)
This week we’ve got the promised changes to Guardians of the Rift and some exciting news from the team!
Guardians of the Rift
You might remember that last week we made a number of changes to Guardians of the Rift; increasing the total player cap, allowing latecomers to enter during Phase 1 and handing out 15% more Abyssal Pearls.
This week, we have a bunch more changes – let’s take a look!
First up, the fancy timers we showed off last time are now live. The first tells you when the open entrances to Runecraft Altars will change, and the second shows you how long it will be until the shortcut portal closes.
You can also use the altar timer to determine how much time is left in Phase 1.
The dedicated Guardians of the Rift Worlds are now 445 (US West) and 522 (UK). Happy Runecrafting!
Next, we’ve reduced the amount of Abyssal Pearls required to purchase pieces of the Raiments of the Eye from the Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop:
Hat of the Eye (500 -> 400)
Robe Top of the Eye (400 -> 350)
Robe Bottom of the Eye (400 -> 350)
Boots of the Eye (300 -> 250)
If you’ve already purchased pieces of the outfit at the higher price, you’ll be refunded the difference in Abyssal Pearls upon logging in. These will be sent to your Bank. If it can't go to your Bank, it will go to your inventory. Failing this, it will drop to the ground. A chat message will display what you've got refunded and where it's gone.
We’ve also added a visual to the barrier in the Lobby that indicates when you're able to enter the minigame. The eye design on the barrier will be open when players can enter and closed when the room is at capacity, or after Phase 1 of the minigame.
Speaking of visual changes, we're aware that the light effects when entering and exiting altars are unpleasant for some players. When you next enter the minigame, you'll be prompted with a message asking whether you'd like to turn these features off.
We’ve begun to review the AI behaviour of Elemental Guardians and Abyssal Creatures, as they get a bit confused when there are too many entities blocking their path in the minigame. One change has been made to them, but there is more to come.
Lastly, we are aware that lit Abyssal Lanterns were previously being destroyed on death, so we've implemented a fix to ensure they now follow standard untradeable item behaviour. Abyssal Lanterns will no longer be lost on death unless you have lost it above Level 20 Wilderness.
Now, without further ado, here are the changes we’ve made this week:
Items in the Guardians of the Rift minigame can now be dropped and destroyed instantly, instead of requiring a ‘Destroy’ option.
Players may now uncharge the Ring of Elements by right-clicking it. This action will restore any used Runes.
A ‘Quick-pass’ option has been added to the barrier in the Lobby.
When two players are trying to create a Rift Guardian with different tier batteries, the higher tier battery will be prioritised.
Corrected some colours on a table in the Temple of the Eye.
Corrected spelling errors that appeared when checking and inspecting Pouches.
The ‘Inspect’ option on the Abyssal Needle now gives more accurate instructions for its usage.
Fixed a visual bug that appeared while wearing the Abyssal Bracelet and teleporting to The Abyss.
Corrected the 'Climb down' text on a pile of rubble.
Guardians of the Rift Future Feedback Changes
We'd also like to mention a bug we've discovered on the Raiments of the Eye - its bonus is intended to increase the number of Runes crafted, but it's also giving additional Guardian Stones when crafting combination Runes, allowing for higher XP rates and reward points during Guardians of the Rift. We kind of like the concept, because it means that greater effort equals greater reward - but we feel like such mechanics should be tied to the minigame itself rather than the outfit you're wearing while playing it.
We're leaving the bug alone for now, but we are working on a better implementation already. Our proposal is to make crafting combination Runes more rewarding for a little bit more effort - perhaps they could provide different Guardian Stones which offer more Elemental Points, without making the minigame faster. More on this soon!
Expect even more changes in the coming weeks, including a way to trade in your duplicate Abyssal Lanterns for Abyssal Pearls.
Our Game Jam is next week (more on this below), which will delay some of our planned improvements to Guardians of the Rift.
We'd like to provide a quick overview of some of the outstanding issues that we're reviewing, which we can potentially address in the weeks following the Game Jam:
Incentivising players to be making Rift Guardians and Shield Barriers at the start of the game. Players have told us that playing defensively doesn't currently feel rewarding enough.
Reviewing the display of Shield Barrier healthbars as they might be too large. We're also reviewing the 'Inspect' option on Shield Barriers, which some players have told us can be frustrating to use.
We're monitoring the difficulty of the minigame in group sizes smaller than 10 players. We're also to review solo gameplay and determine how difficult we want this to be.
Making the HUD visible in the lobby to allow players to see the Great Guardian's Power without constantly inspecting the barrier.
Extending the 'winning phase' to allow players to use any Guardian Stones they received without missing out on points.
Adding Guardians of the Rift to the HiScores.
As always, we'll keep reviewing the minigame and making adjustments where necessary, so keep sending us your feedback!
Other Changes
We’ve been closely following how players have been engaging with Nex since her initial release. As many of you know, we increased the drop rate for her uniques in anticipation of much faster kill times than we had balanced around in testing.
Now that the dust has settled and meta's have been established, we'd like to revert her unique drop rates back to their original rate of 1/43 instead of the current 1/53 to better reflects the kills/hr we had intended during our internal testing.
In retrospect, Nex has created an unreasonably long grind for the items that exist within her drop table for many players. Whilst the ideal solution would have been to have less uniques, we can't go back and remove them now! So to compensate we hope that the adjusted drop rates are a welcome change.
Let us know what you think!
There are several other changes this week:
Ensouled Heads can now drop in instanced areas.
Extended Loot Keys' despawn time to two minutes, for consistency with other drops.
Corrected a visual issue with the Stale Baguette's positioning when held by male characters. Ooh la la!
Game Jam
As you know, our ideation process allows us J-Mods to focus on new and exciting ideas outside the remit of our usual work. In the past it’s lead to awesome content like Leagues, The Hallowed Sepulchre, Guardians of the Rift and the upcoming Tombs of Amascut Raid!
We've had problems finding time for everyone to participate in ideation – and that’s an issue we hope to fix with the new Game Jam process! Now, the whole team has a full week to get together and ideate, test, or even prototype an idea. That process has already begun, and we’ve got some great projects in the works.
However, this means that there will be no game update between April 4th and April 8th, to allow the team to focus on the Game Jam. But don’t worry! We’ll be looking to share some of the ideas in a special livestream the following week, and if you manage to miss that, we’ll also be talking about our ideas in the April Gielinor Gazette. Do stay tuned for a few surprises, though…
Merch Update: Steamforged Games
Get ready to master skills, meet your favourite NPCs and explore the world of Gielinor as we bring RuneScape to the tabletop for the first time EVER!
We’re working with Steamforged Games to bring you a boardgame and Tabletop RPG inspired by the rich fantasy world of RuneScape. Both games will draw on adventures, characters and locations from our shared 21-year history.
In the RuneScape board game, you’ll join a party of one to five players on quest-based campaigns through Gielinor. Craft and upgrade equipment, cook special recipes, and test your skills! Adventure (and many an enticing side quest) awaits!
Steamforged will launch the RuneScape board game on Kickstarter this year. Sign up and be among the first to hear news about the campaign! You can find the page here.
The lead-up to the campaign will be packed full of behind-the-scenes content. You’ll get a tour of the game, interviews with the developers and even a sneak peek or two… miniatures, anyone?
Guardians of the Rift Launch | Weekly Game Update (March 23rd)
This week, get ready for Guardians of the Rift and the accompanying quest, Temple of the Eye!
Temple of the Eye Quest
In this all-new quest, you’ll assist the (allegedly) famous Wizard Persten with her research, visit the ancient Temple of the Eye, and uncover a mystery that goes back to the very dawn of magic. If all that sounds like fun, you can get started by speaking to Wizard Persten north of the Al Kharid gate.
Temple of the Eye requirements
[expand type="spoiler"]
Quest Requirements: Enter the Abyss miniquest
Skill Requirements: Level 10 Runecraft
Other Requirements: Members-only
[/expand]
Temple of the Eye Rewards
[expand type="spoiler"]
The ability to play the Guardians of the Rift minigame
5,000 Runecraft XP
A Medium Pouch (if not already acquired)
1 Quest Point
[/expand]
Guardians of the Rift Minigame
Completing Temple of the Eye will allow you to take part in the new Runecraft minigame, Guardians of the Rift! You’ll no doubt remember it from our dedicated blog on the subject, but during development we’ve improved it even more by streamlining some of the mechanics.
So, here’s a quick guide to Guardians of the Rift, and a list of what’s changed!
First things first, Guardians of the Rift is located in a non-instanced area called the Temple of the Eye. It’s a safe minigame, and it’s accessible for skilling-only accounts.
We recommend bringing the following items:
Chisel
Pickaxe
Essence pouches
Powering up the Great Guardian
Your goal in Guardians of the Rift is to help the Great Guardian close the Abyssal Rift. To do so, you’ll need to power up the Great Guardian by following a few simple steps:
Mine Guardian Fragments
Combine the Fragments into Guardian Essence at a workbench
Take the essence to any Runecraft Altar
Imbue the essence at the altar to obtain Guardian Stones
Return and feed the Guardian Stones to the Great Guardian
Some Runecraft altars provide more charge than others, as shown in the table below:
Did you get all that? Let’s throw a spanner in the works. While you’re powering up the Great Guardian, the gribblies from the Abyss will be trying to munch on it. Luckily, you’re able to build barriers to protect it. Here’s how:
Obtain a cell – how about one of the Weak Cells at the entrance?
Place the cell in a cell tile near the Great Guardian to spawn a barrier
A Weak Cell will naturally create a weak barrier. To make stronger ones, you’ll need to charge your cells at Runecraft altars. The higher the level required by the altar, the stronger your charged cells will be!
Here’s how to upgrade a barrier:
Pick up an uncharged cell near the entrance
Go to any Runecraft altar
Interact with the altar to charge your cell
Return and interact with the cell tile you want to upgrade
All twelve altars can charge your cells, but access is based on your Runecraft level. For example, you can’t enter the Blood Altar without 77 Runecraft.
This means that the higher your Runecraft level, the stronger the barriers you can build!
Alternatively, you can defend the Great Guardian by creating smaller guardians who actively fight the Abyssal creatures.
Here’s how to create a guardian:
Obtain a cell – the Weak Cells by the entrance will work fine!
Interact with the Guardian piles nearby and watch as the rubble comes to life!
And that’s all there is to it! Power up the Great Guardian while shoring up its defences, and help it close the rift.
Should you be successful, you’ll be rewarded with Elemental and Catalytic Energy. The amount you get depends on the specific actions you took in the minigame – you can keep track of your stats in the top left of your screen.
The energy is capped at 1,000 units, split between each energy type. For example, you might gain 400 Elemental Energy and 600 Catalytic Energy.
The energy is capped at 1,000 (split between them). For example, you might gain 400 of one and 600 of another.
The UI which keeps track of your progress
The picture above is the UI which will appear in the top left of your screen and help you keep track of your progress. It’ll also let you know which two altars are currently open and show any new portals that pop up. In the near future we’re hoping to add a time which will signal when the altars will close.
Changes
We’ve streamlined some of the mechanics detailed in the original blog. Here’s what’s changed:
Pure Essence is no longer required in the minigame. We liked this idea in theory, but in practice it was a bit too clunky.
The Bank has been removed and replaced with a Deposit Box, which also has a dedicated right-click ‘Deposit Runes’ option. There’s still a Bank in the lobby.
‘Batteries’ are now referred to as ‘Cells’.
Cells are now charged in increments corresponding to the altar they are used at. The higher the level of the altar, the more charge you’ll get!
Removed the charge system for the Abyssal Lantern. It will now remain lit until you extinguish it. In exchange, it now requires 6 Logs rather than 2.
Originally, the random portals would let players bypass the Agility requirement to access Fallen Guardians in the outer areas of the Temple. Now, they will take players to a normally closed area of the arena. This area provides players with Guardian Essence (not just Fragments) at a much faster yield, so it’s always worth taking the portals when you see them.
The Blood Altar is now accessible via the Abyss. Keep reading to learn more!
Rewards
Rewards Rift
The mysterious Rewards Rift can generate the following rewards from its general loot table:
Abyssal Pearls
A variety of Runes
Standard Talismans
Additionally, you’ll have a chance to receive the following rare rewards:
Red, Blue and Green Abyssal Dye to recolour the Raiments of the Eye.
Abyssal Needle used to create the Colossal Pouch. The Colossal Pouch has a capacity of 40, requiring 85 Runecraft and 56 Crafting to use.
Abyssal Protector - the brand-new Guardians of the Rift pet!
Catalytic Talisman.
Elemental Talisman.
You can spend Abyssal Pearls in the Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop!
Rewards Shop
Talismans
The Reward Shop contains all standard Talismans, including the new and shiny Blood Talisman, which gets you access to the True Blood Altar in Morytania. You’ll also need to have completed the Sins of the Father quest.
Raiments of the Eye (New Runecraft Skilling Outfit)
The Raiments of the Eye, with available recolours
This Skilling Outfit consists of the Hat, Robe Top, Bottoms and Boots of the Eye. Each piece grants the wearer 10% more runes while Runecrafting, up to a maximum of 60% when the full set is equipped.
The Hat of the Eye can also be augmented with any Tiara, allowing one-click access to the respective Runecraft Altar!
Guardian's Eye
This is a transmog option for the Rift Guardian pet. When used, it will allow your little friend to morph into a new variant that looks like the Great Guardian.
Look at the little guy go!
Ring of the Elements
Charged and Uncharged variants of the Ring of the Elements
This is a brand-new ring used to teleport near the elemental Runecraft altars!
This ring will require a Law Rune and one of each elemental Rune (Fire, Water, Air, Earth) per charge. The maximum number of charges stored is 10,000.
It will allow you to teleport:
North of the Fire Altar
West of the Water Altar
South of the Air Altar
West of the Earth Altar
Abyssal Lantern
This off-hand item is fuelled by various Logs, each of which provide unique bonuses within the Guardians of the Rift minigame. Outside of the minigame, it’ll still count as a light source, an essential item for any adventurer.
In our initial design, players needed to keep charging the Lantern with Logs – but during playtests we found this tedious, especially after we removed the Bank in the minigame arena. The Abyssal Lantern now requires no charges and will remain lit until extinguished.
[table][tr][th]Log Type[/th][th]Firemaking Level Required[/th][th]Bonus[/th][/tr][tr][td]Normal[/td][td]1[/td][td]Your chances of finding portal talismans are increased by 10%.[/td][/tr][tr][td]Oak[/td][td]15[/td][td]Increases your reward points by 5%.[/td][/tr][tr][td]Willow[/td][td]30[/td][td]Gives a 5% increase to all runes crafted in the minigame.[/td][/tr][tr][td]Maple[/td][td]45[/td][td]Your chances of finding portal talismans are increased by 20%.[/td][/tr][tr][td]Yew[/td][td]60[/td][td]Increases your reward points by 10%.[/td][/tr][tr][td]Blisterwood[/td][td]62[/td][td]Gives a 15% increase to Blood Runes crafted in the minigame.[/td][/tr][tr][td]Magic[/td][td]75[/td][td]Gives a 10% increase to all runes crafted in the minigame.[/td][/tr][tr][td]Redwood[/td][td]90[/td][td]Increases your reward points gained and runes crafted by 5%. In addition, your Rune Pouches will no longer degrade in the minigame.[/td][/tr][/table]
The True Blood Altar
During the Sins of the Father quest, a few keen-eyed revolutionaries spotted some mysterious ruins in the Meiyerditch Laboratories. Could they be a Runecraft Altar, buried for centuries beneath the vampyre city? Yes, that’s exactly what they are! And with the new Blood Talisman, you can access the True Blood Altar yourself!
To confirm, the True Blood Altar works exactly like all the other Runecraft Altars, and yes, you can use Daeyalt Essence there.
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that we wanted to create multiple viable methods to craft Blood Runes that would suit a range of playstyles. With that in mind:
The True Blood Altar is now accessible via the Abyss.
Access to the True Blood Altar is still locked behind the Sins of the Father quest.
A shortcut requiring 74 Agility will make Blood Runecraft XP rates viable.
We’ve also added a second shortcut beneath the Hair of the Dog pub in Canifis. It has a one-time requirement of 78 Mining to open and a long-term requirement of 93 Agility to traverse. As you can see in the image below, this shortcut brings players significantly closer to the True Blood Altar.
Any questions? We’ll be live on Twitch this Thursday, March 24th at our usual time of 17:00 GMT with a Guardians of the Rift Q&A featuring Mods Elena, Husky, and West! You’ll get to see the minigame in action as our intrepid J-Mods become Guardians of the Rift – all while answering your questions!
As always, we can’t wait to hear what you think – and be aware that we’ll likely make changes based on your feedback in the coming weeks.
Poll 76 Quest List Changes
We’ve updated the Quest List interface as part of our Poll 76 changes!
The Quest List can now be sorted by the following:
Classic (how it current is in live)
Status
Difficulty
Length
Storyline
Start location
Recommended combat level
Release year
Alphabetically
Free/Members
Type
You can also return to ‘Classic’ mode, which is the default sorting order.
Entries are sorted alphabetically unless sorting by storyline or release year. If sorting by storyline, they’re sorted in progression order, and if sorted by release date, they’re sorted… in order of release.
You can also use filters to hide:
Miniquests
Regular quests
Quests not started
Quests in progress
Completed quests
Quests you lack the requirements for**
Quests you lack the recommended levels for**
** You can also choose to keep these options, but show them in a different colour.
By default, the Quest List will use classic sorting with no filters enabled.
We've also added some accessibility features:
Text size
Text shadow
Text colour
PvP Beta Changes
We’ve made some changes to the headgear sets from the upcoming PvP Arena. We received a lot of feedback from well-versed PvP folk that the increased damage these sets offered was too high, and it’d be better to focus on consistent damage via accuracy. It was also noted that the emphasis should be on high offence, rather than high defence.
So, our first change is to remove the damage reduction effect from all three headgear sets, which should reduce their overall defensive capabilities.
Next, we focussed on Maoma’s set. The increased Melee max hits from this set were too high and could lead to a situation where it was possible to kill another player in one hit with the right RNG. We’ve reduced the increased damage and opted instead to focus on accuracy. This will make for more consistent KO potential, while leaving Torva’s Set open for those who really want to risk it all for their max hits!
Maoma's Med Helm set bonus now provides 20% Melee accuracy and 3% Melee damage
Maoma's Full Helm set bonus now provides 25% Melee accuracy and 4% Melee damage
Maoma's Great Helm set bonus now provides 30% Melee accuracy and 5% Melee damage
Saika’s headgear set also didn’t perform as well as intended. It offered less accuracy than Ahrim the Blighted’s equipment, so we’ve raised its power level.
Due to the low Magic attack bonuses available from each piece we’ve had to bump the Magic accuracy bonus up quite a bit, but the following changes should place Saika’s headgear set somewhere between Ahrim’s and Ancestral for PvP:
Saika's Hood Magic attack bonus increased from 3 to 6 and the set bonus now provides 50% Magic accuracy and 3% Magic damage
Saika's Veil Magic attack bonus increased from 5 to 8 and the set bonus now provides 55% Magic accuracy and 4% Magic damage
Saika's Shroud Magic attack bonus increased from 8 to 118 and the set bonus now provides 60% Magic accuracy and 5% Magic damage
Lastly, we have Koriff’s headgear set. The increased damage offered by this set bonus was about right, but the accuracy just didn’t hit the mark. Much like Saika’s set, you’d be better off using Karil the Tainted’s equipment.
With the above and Void Knight and Elite Void Knight equipment in mind, our changes should place Koriff’s headgear set slightly higher in offensive capabilities than Karil’s, but lower defence than Armadyl.
Koriff's Headband Ranged defence bonus decreased from 2 to 1 and the set bonus now provides 15% Ranged accuracy and 7.5% Ranged damage
Koriff's Cowl Ranged defence bonus decreased from 6 to 3 and the set bonus now provides 20% Ranged accuracy and 10% Ranged damage
Koriff's Coif Ranged defence bonus decreased from 24 to 12 and the set bonus now provides 25% Ranged accuracy and 12.5% Ranged damage
We’re at the point now where we’re looking to finalise everything ahead of the in-game poll, so jump into the Beta today and let us know what you think of the updated rewards!
Death Pile Changes
We’ve also made some engine changes affecting Death Piles for Ultimate Ironmen!
As discussed recently, the game now recognises Death Pile items on your player save, rather than the world save. This means that if you have an item on the ground visible only to you (such as untradeables or items dropped on death outside of PvP), it will be saved when you log off and reappear when you log back in. The time the item stays on the ground remains the same, but critically, the timer pauses whenever you’re offline.
Please note that this does not apply to items dropped in instanced areas.
All account types will notice that if they have the setting enabled which drops food and potions as a supply pile upon death, this pile will also benefit from the paused despawn timer, and will appear in any world you log in to.
In the future, we may use this system for item drops in mass encounters to avoid the issues we saw when Nex launched, where so many items were dropping that some players’ drops disappeared. Stay tuned!
Other Changes
The notifications for personal best raid times will now display the raid's full time.
Removed an incorrectly placed Group Storage Chest in Falador.
Clan members now have the option to leave their clan's chat channel entirely, replacing the option to mute it.
Players will no longer get disconnected if they type 80 characters into the Group Ironman chat channel.
Corrected some lore inconsistencies in the Rune Mysteries quest.
PvP Rota
The PvP rota has moved to Period B:
560 - (UK) - PvP World
579 - (US) - High-Risk PvP World
561 - (UK) - Free-to-Play PvP World
580 - (US) - LMS Competitive
World 390 (AUS) for LMS Competitive has been de-activated with this rota.
