Old School RuneScape News

[h3]At approximately 12:30 the game worlds will be taken down for essential maintenance. A 30-minute countdown timer will signal the exact time this happens. We expect the downtime to be minimal (approximately 30-minutes) and we'll update this post once we have more information to share.[/h3]

This week, we’re bringing you a wealth of improvements to Leagues III: Shattered Relics!

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[h2]Leagues III: Shattered Relics Balancing[/h2]

It’s been great seeing so many of you getting stuck into our third League, Shattered Relics! We’re seeing some seriously powerful Fragment and Set Effect combinations, and we’re glad you’re thoroughly enjoying the extra strategy involved this time.

We’ve also seen feedback suggesting that the few restrictions in place are too limiting, and that the best Fragments and Set Effects take too long to obtain.

We’d like to alleviate these concerns somewhat by rebalancing the Renown cost required to unlock new skills and bosses. Those of you who’ve already unlocked this stuff will have the difference refunded. By opening any Leagues interface you'll get your refunded points with the amount shown in the chatbox. Happy spending!

This means if you haven't tried Shattered Relics yet, it's definitely not too late to start now!

We’d also like to rebalance some task requirements that are not realistically achievable in the time that Shattered Relics League will be available.

Here’s some handy infographics:


New Skill Unlock Costs




New Boss Unlock Costs




Task Adjustments






We’re also adjusting some Set Effect activation value requirements:



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[h2]Other Shattered Relics Changes[/h2]

• More Banks will now correctly allow players to change Fragments and buy quests.
  
• Added the Dragon Defender to the list of boosted item drops.
  
• The Slayer Points earned by completing Porcine of Interest now count towards the relevant tasks.
  
• The Fragment Menu will now save your filter settings, even after logging out.
  
• The area around The Sage in which you can change Fragments has been extended east to cover the Waystone.
  
• Increased the value of Fragments so that they no longer disappear on the floor when Fishing and Cooking with a full Backpack.
  
• Clan Settings can no longer be accessed without a Bank PIN on Leagues worlds.
  

We're also adding some activities to some of the main Leagues worlds to make it easier finding people for certain content:

• 401 - Wintertodt
  
• 402 - Fishing Trawler
  
• 403 - Tempoross
  
• 405 - Pest Control
  
• 406 - Ourania Altar
  
• 407 - Mort'ton Temple
  
• 408 - Zalcano
  
• 409 - Barbarian Assault
  

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[h2]Shattered Relics Hotfixes[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where Clue Vessels from Woodcutting and Fishing were rolling incorrectly.
  
• Unlocking Troll Stronghold mid-way through Death Plateau will no longer cause issues.
  
• Cooked fish that go to the Bank will now count towards relevant tasks.
  
• Trailblazer-specific dialogue is no longer available in Shattered Relics.
  
• On a similar note, the world hop warning message no longer references Leagues II: Trailblazer.
  
• Players may now claim the Arcane Grimoire directly from the Sage.
  
• Poison status will now be reset between Leagues.
  
• The Desert II bundle will now give players the Frozen Door task, as intended.
  
• The Profletchional Fragment no longer gives incorrect XP rates. Please note that accounts which benefitted from this considerably have had the XP they gained reset.
  
• Fixed an issue where debug messaging was being sent to players when opening Fragments under certain conditions.
  
• The Blast Mine is no longer giving incorrect XP rates.
  
• Using the Coherent Fishing Fragment while fishing Karambwanji will no longer cook more fish than intended.
  
• Using certain items on items with cosmetic variants from Shattered Relics will no longer cause unintended behaviour.
  
• Fixed an issue where players were catching one Minnow at a time instead of 10-14.
  
• Fixed an issue where Greedy Gatherer was not calculating the correct value of Fishing XP.
  
• Fixed an issue where Fragments were dropping into an inaccessible location if they were obtained at the end of the Draynor Agility Course with a full Backpack.
  
• Golden Brick Road coins are now distinguished from other players’ coins.
  
• Removed a null error on the Map button when world hopping.
  
• Cannons lost before the world reboot can now be reclaimed from the relevant NPC.
  
• When qualifying for a Fragment drop, you are now more likely to receive Fragments you have yet to unlock, rather than ones you already own.
  

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[h2]Merch: Steamforged Games[/h2]

Get ready to rock and roll in the wonderful world of Gielinor! After more than 21 years of being exclusively digital, we’ve partnered with Steamforged Games to bring Gielinor to tabletops around the world!

Steamforged are creating both a board game and a core book for a tabletop roleplaying game set in Gielinor. Both games will debut in 2022 – the board game will be launched on Kickstarter, but the TTRPG will be heading straight to stores.

We know you can’t wait to start creating your own tabletop adventures – but how about shaping the games themselves? Get involved by taking part in our survey!

You’ll also get the opportunity to engage with Steamforged on Kickstarter and other dedicated community spaces throughout development. For the full announcement, invites to playtests and the latest updates you can join the dedicated mailing list on their website.


The Board Game

The board game will take 1-5 players on thrilling, quest-based campaigns through Gielinor. You’ll be able to craft and upgrade equipment, learn and improve your skills, cook special recipes, engage with your favourite NPCs and explore different regions, with a variety of enticing side quests to distract and entertain you on the way... oh, and did we mention the miniatures?


The Tabletop Roleplaying Game

The TTRPG will take the form of a lavishly illustrated, hardback core rulebook containing everything you need to run a campaign in the world of RuneScape! Build your own characters, explore the lush land of Gielinor, and create your own unique and exciting quests!

Both games will draw on quests, characters and locations from across RuneScape and Old School RuneScape’s history – and the TTRPG will be fully compatible with the fifth edition of the world’s favourite roleplaying game!

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[h2]Additional Changes[/h2]

Two issues relating to unique drops from Nex have been resolved. These issues were due to an oversight with the release of Shattered Relics:

• Some players were able to unintentionally receive double unique drops from Nex. This was resolved via a hotfix shortly after it was introduced to the game.
  
• An issue preventing some players from being eligible for unique drops from Nex has also been resolved. This was resolved via a hotfix earlier this week.
  

Whilst these issues were fixed immediately after we became aware of them, we do regret not spotting them earlier and would like to apologise to any players who were impacted by this.

• Removed duplicate settings in the Settings interface.
  
• The iOS Account Deletion button now links to a new web page specifically for iOS players, with a simpler UX for requesting to delete or disable their account. This will still not appear for Game Centre accounts not linked to a RuneScape account.
  
• Players with a skill total of 1,500 or more are now allowed into Last Man Standing’s competitive modes even if they lack the 30 Quest Point requirement introduced last week.
  
• Players with the Buff Bar disabled but the ‘Show Fragments’ button enabled are now able to see their Fragments.
  
• Corrected a typo in The Sage’s dialogue.
  
• Added more options for activities in the Clan Settings, including Risk-Free and Ferox Enclave.
  
• Added in-game messages relating to filling the vessel to the spam filter.
  
• Reduced amount of players allowed into a Tithe Farm instance from 3 to 2.
  

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[h2]PvP World Rota[/h2]

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.

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Discuss this update on our official forums, on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the#gameupdate channel. For reference on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

Mods Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, Banjo, Boko, Brow, Bruno, Con, Curse, Daizong, Deagle, Dibber, Ditto, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Errol, Fed, Gecko, Grub, Halo, Havik, Hornet, Husky, Jalo, John C, Kandosii, Katies, Kamon, Kieren, Kirby, KT, Kurotou, Lenny, Light, Lottie, Mack, Matheus, Maylea, Markos, Meat, Morty, Nasty, Nin, Nylu, Oasis, Peppers, Regent, Redfield, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Sigma, Skylark, Sova, Squid, Steve W, Tide, Torrance, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Zuko

The Old School Team

Ahh, Runecraft. A rewarding skill, but notoriously arduous to train! It’s been the subject of much debate over the years, and when we tentatively pitched a new training method back in December 2020’s Gielinor Gazette, it really got you folks talking. Keen-eyed readers will observe we've changed the name since, as the lore for the minigame has now been finalised.



So let’s pick up there: a fun, narratively exciting new minigame that serves as a brand-new method for training Runecraft: Guardians of the Rift! Should this pass a Poll, we expect the content to launch in March.

[h3]Spoiler warning: Lore ahead! Click below to expand...[/h3]

[expand]
The Abyss: a deadly realm filled with ancient power. The secrets of this plane have long eluded the denizens of the Wizards’ Tower, though some would give anything to properly uncover them. One of these wizards is Persten. While many in the Tower aren't convinced by her unorthodox methods, a recent discovery means she may now hold the key to the knowledge they crave the most. However, nothing is simple when the Abyss is involved, and Persten won't be able to get to the bottom of her discovery without your help...
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[h3]Spoiler warning: requirements for the Temple of the Eye Quest! Click below to expand...[/h3]

[expand]

• Quest Requirements: Enter the Abyss miniquest.
  
• Skill Requirements: Level 10 Runecrafting.
  
• Other Requirements: Members-only.

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The Temple of the Eye quest will naturally guide you into Guardians of the Rift. We wanted the minigame to feel grounded in the wider world. It's a short and simple quest which should be accessible to most account types.

[h3]Spoiler Warning: rewards for the Temple of the Eye quest! Click below to expand...[/h3]

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• Access to the Temple of the Eye.
  
• The ability to play the Guardians of the Rift minigame.
  
• 5,000 Runecraft XP.
  
• A Medium Pouch (if not already acquired).

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Poll Question #1:

Should we add the Temple of the Eye quest as described in the Guardians of the Rift blog?

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Spoiler Warning: Requirements for the Guardians of the Rift minigame! Click below to expand...

[expand]

• Level 27 Runecraft.
  
• Completion of the Temple of the Eye quest.
  
• Members-only

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[h2]The Basics[/h2]



Early concept birdseye image of the Temple of the Eye, Guardians of the Rift minigame. This is WIP.


The Guardians of the Rift minigame is non-instanced and non-combat, and therefore accessible for skillers.

Upon entering the Guardians of the Rift minigame, you’ll be transported into the Temple of the Eye. As the game starts, you will see the rift into the Abyss starting to open across the room! Oh no!

Fortunately, the wizards from the Wizards’ Tower are here to assist you. They will re-animate the Great Guardian in the middle of the room, so that it can try to close the rift. However, it’s pretty out-of-practice, and you must help protect it while it charges up enough power to close the rift.

Around the Great Guardian, there are various entrances to Runecraft altars, corresponding to different Runes. When active, these entrances will let players pass through to the corresponding Altars, but only two entrances can be active at any one time.

Outside of these entrances, there are two lanes: Elemental and Catalytic.

Elemental runes are Air, Earth, Water and Fire. Any type of Rune that is not Elemental is classed as Catalytic – for reference, that’s the Mind, Body, Cosmic, Chaos, Nature, Law, Death and Blood Runes.

As the Abyssal Rift opens, Abyssal Creatures will spawn. They won’t attack players, but they will go after the Great Guardian. Your job is to ensure that it reaches 100% charge and closes the rift on time by feeding it Imbued Essence.

If the Great Guardian’s charge hits zero, it’s game over! It loses charge each time it is hit by an Abyssal Creature. However, you can help defend it by creating Rift and Shield Guardians from supplies found in the minigame.

[h3]Click below to learn more about the Guardians.[/h3]

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Rift Guardians



This image is a placeholder

Rift Guardians’ purpose is to protect the Rift – the flow of magic entering Gielinor. To do so, they carry a piece of it within their own bodies. They can use this rift to resonate with different types of energies – Catalytic or Elemental.

The Rift Guardians will actively protect the Great Guardian by moving through the lanes towards the Abyssal Rift, where they’ll attack the Creatures as they spawn.

You’ll get the chance to create your own Rift Guardians in the minigame by using a Chisel on nearby essence, which you can then imbue and fit with Charged Batteries.

Rift Guardians can be upgraded using Elemental and Catalytic Batteries. Elemental Rift Guardians only use melee attacks, but Catalytic ones can use Magic to attack from afar! Once upgraded, they’ll hit harder and have more HP.

Should a Rift Guardian fall, it can be mined for essence shards. More on this later!

Shield Guardians



This image is a placeholder

Shield Guardians protect the Great Guardian in a more defensive capacity. Just like their Rift Guardian counterparts they can be powered up with Essence Shards and Charged Catalytic or Elemental batteries.

Upgraded Shield Guardians have more HP. Their job is to tank damage from the Abyssal Creatures, so make sure to heal them up now and then!

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[h2]Gameplay[/h2]

Guardians of the Rift has three distinct phases:

Phase 1

In the first phase, which only lasts a short while, you’ll have some time to prepare before the Abyssal Creatures attack. You’ll want to focus on obtaining supplies – mining Essence Shards and collecting Uncharged Batteries which you can then use to create Rift Guardians and power up the Shield Guardians. To begin with, there are a limited supply of Air and Mind Batteries near the wizards that you can use as an initial defence.

Phase 2

In the second phase, the rift will start to spawn Abyssal Creatures.

You’ll need to combine the Essence Shards you’ve collected with Pure Essence to create Unimbued Essence, which you can then imbue at one of the Runecraft altars and bring to the Great Guardian. This will get you Runes and Runecraft XP – and it’ll also ensure the Great Guardian is charged up and ready for Phase Three.

There’s a Bank available in the minigame area where you can fetch Pure Essence during battle.

Phase 3

In this final phase, even more dangerous mobs will start spawning from the rift. Your Shield Guardians will take a lot of damage, so you’ll need to focus on charging up the Great Guardian with Imbued Essence while still maintaining the Great Guardian's defences.


Essence Shards

Essence Shards are a new material found only within the Guardians of the Rift minigame. Various nodes of different sizes can be mined for Essence Shards – so be sure to bring your Pickaxe! Larger nodes are located further away from the lanes and will yield more Essence Shards for your troubles. There are also some nodes on the very edge of the arena – but you’ll need to use Agility to scale the steep slope leading up to them.

Occasionally, portals will spawn to take players to the outer wall areas, where you can obtain more Essence Shards. These portals completely bypass the Agility requirement mentioned above, and you don’t need to meet that requirement to get back to the main arena either. However, the portals spawn randomly and disappear quickly, so it's certainly more reliable to use the Agility shortcut if you can!

Nodes aren’t the only source of Essence Shards. When your Rift Guardians tragically fall in battle, their corpses can be mined for a moderate amount of Essence. If left unmined, their fallen bodies will lay on the ground and temporarily block the path, until they are cleared automatically or removed by Abyssal Creatures. Now it’s time to think strategically – is it better to obtain Essence or benefit from the extra blocking while you catch your breath?

You can combine Essence Shards with Pure Essence to create Unimbued Essence (which can be stored in Essence Pouches). To do so, jump through an Elemental or Catalytic portal to create Imbued Essence at a Runecraft altar. Once you have Imbued Essence, you can use it to charge up the Great Guardian and gain lots of lovely XP! The amount awarded will vary depending on which type of Imbued Essence you're using - the higher the Runecraft requirement, the better your XP. You’ll also get XP and Runes just for creating the Imbued Essence at the altars. Essence Shards can also be used to power up the Shield Guardians initially. Now, though, let’s talk about Batteries.


Charged Batteries

Wizards are stationed throughout the minigame area, and a crate nearby will have some uncharged Batteries from their supplies. Make sure to pick one up as you pass – you’ll need it!

Uncharged Batteries need to be charged at a Runecraft altar before they can become charged. The charge will be either Elemental or Catalytic, depending on which type of altar you used.

Charged Batteries can be used to charge and upgrade the Shield Guardians and Rift Guardians. Batteries will also make the Rift Guardians hit harder.

The tier of the Battery changes when it’s charged, corresponding to the Runecraft level of the altar used.

Here’s a table to illustrate how that works:



The Shield Guardians and Rift Guardians must be upgraded in the correct order, starting from Air or Mind and upgrading one tier at a time. If a lesser Battery is used on the Guardian, it won't go to waste - it will heal the Guardian and give you a small amount of XP. The XP gains for healing and upgrading are the same.

The higher the tier, the more HP the Guardian will have. Here’s a breakdown of how we expect the numbers will play out:



Please note that these numbers are not final and are still subject to testing and balancing.


Portal Talismans

When you are imbuing something at an altar, you will have an uncommon chance to receive a Portal Talisman, allowing you to take another trip back to that altar! They’re perfect for when you want to go back to an altar that just closed.

Portal Talismans will not carry over from game to game, so use ‘em or lose ‘em!


Experience Rates

This minigame is not instanced, meaning only one game will be played per world at any one time.

Players will gain small amounts of Runecraft XP throughout Guardians of the Rift. After successfully completing a round, players will receive a large amount of Runecraft XP, so it’s worth sticking around to get that win!

The ballpark XP rates, compared with other training methods, are as follows:



As you can see, Guardians of the Rift fits neatly in with existing methods. XP scales, as with ZMI and provides better XP than Bloods and Souls at their respective levels, but less than Lava Runes. The GP rates are comparable to Blood Runes. On top of this, it’s an engaging minigame with lots of small decisions to be made throughout.

Poll Question #2:

If Poll Question #1 passes, should we add the Guardians of the Rift minigame? This is a brand new Runecraft minigame designed to fit alongside existing methods.

[h2]Rewards[/h2]

The Reward Rift

After successfully completing a game, you’ll will accumulate Elemental and Catalytic Energy. The amount awarded depends on your specific actions in the minigame.

Rewards are earned by spending one of each point (Elemental and Catalytic) to reach into an Abyssal Rift and receive a random reward!


Runes (General Loot Table)



Runes, glorious Runes! The standard loot table includes an assortment of ‘em, awarded based on your contribution to the minigame. It will be random, but we are also investigating how this reward could scale with Runecraft levels.

Please note that Wrath Runes are only available if you have completed Dragon Slayer II.


Standard Talismans (General Loot Table)



The standard loot table also includes any type of Talisman, with some exceptions: it will only drop the Death Talisman if the player has completed Mourning’s End pt. II, and the Wrath Talisman only if the player has completed Dragon Slayer II.

The Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop also contains all standard Talismans, but we want to ask whether it should stock Blood Talismans. Items within the Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop are purchasable using Abyssal Pearls (more on this below).While we’re on the topic, we're also introducing the Catalytic Talisman to the Reward Rift. This will count for any non-Elemental Runecraft altar, giving its lucky owner access to some of the most sought-after altars. Additionally, the Catalytic Talisman will grant players access to the true Blood Altar in Morytania (requiring Sins of the Father to enter). Juicy!

Please note, the Catalytic Talisman will only allow access to the Death Altar for those who have completed Mournings End Pt. II, and the Wrath Talisman only if the player has completed Dragon Slayer II. The Catalytic Talisman is a rare drop from the Reward Rift.

New Talismans (Talismen?) means new Tiaras! Both the new Catalytic Talisman and the existing Elemental Talisman can be melded with a Gold Bar to create two new Tiaras. Fashionable and practical!

Poll Question #3:

Should the Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop stock Blood Talismans?

Poll Question #4:

Should we introduce a new Catalytic Talisman as a rare drop in the Guardians of the Rift Rewards Rift?

Poll Question #5:

If the Catalytic Talisman is added to the game, should it grant access to the true Blood Altar in Morytania? It would require Sins of the Father to enter.

Poll Question #6:

Should we introduce two new Tiaras, craftable by combining a Catalytic or Elemental Talisman with a Gold Bar?

Abyssal Pearls

Abyssal Pearls are a new type of currency which can be used in the Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop. They are obtained from the Rewards Rift, so the amount you will receive will depend on your contribution to the minigame.


Guardians of the Rift Pet

When the Tempoross minigame came out last year, it came with a brand-new pet. We want to do the same here, but there’s already an existing Rift Guardian pet, so we’re still discussing what this new pet could be. We’re torn between a version of the Great Guardian or your very own Abyssal Creature!

We'd like to hear your feedback about which you'd prefer. Obviously this is a bit difficult when we don’t yet have the models to share with you, but let us know your initial impression. If we do go for the Great Guardian option, rest assured we’ll work to make it look different to the existing Rift Guardian pet!

Poll Question #7:

Should we introduce a new pet from the Rewards Rift in the Guardians of the Rift minigame?

Abyssal Needle (to create a brand-new Colossal Pouch)

The Abyssal Needle is used to craft a new Runecraft Pouch. It’s an upgrade from the Giant Pouch and requires 85 Runecraft to use. The table below outlines how it compares to other Runecraft Pouches:



The Colossal Pouch is made by using the Abyssal Needle on any of the other Pouches while you have them all in your Backpack, essentially stitching them together like some sort of abominable Frankenpouch. Making it requires 56 Crafting and consumes the Abyssal Needle, but players can get another by using a regular Needle on the Reward Rift. You cannot get other Pouches in addition to the Colossal Pouch.

The Colossal Pouch will have a knock-on effect for other Runecraft methods by slightly increasing XP/hr, and it means fewer Pouches to click.

Should this pass the poll, we will make sure the Colossal Pouch counts for the Devious Minds quest.

Poll Question #8:

Should we introduce an Abyssal Needle, obtainable via the Rewards Rift in the Guardians of the Rift minigame? This would allow players to stitch existing Runecraft Pouches together to create a Colossal Pouch, requiring 85 Runecraft and 56 Crafting to use.

Abyssal Lantern

The Abyssal Lantern is an offhand item held in the shield slot, and you can pick one up at the Reward Shop. It requires Firemaking to use.

It gives various benefits during Guardians of the Rift based on which logs are used to light it. It can be lit by using two of the logs listed in the table below, if the player has the Firemaking level required. There’s a Bank in the minigame to facilitate this.



The Lantern will last five games in a row, meaning ten logs are required to fully charge it, and it will lose two logs worth of charge per game. It can be lit outside but provides no benefits.

Poll Question #9:

Should we introduce the Abyssal Lantern as a reward from the Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop? This would be an offhand that allows bonuses in the Guardians of the Rift minigame, using logs to offer different types of bonuses.

Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop

The Guardians of the Rift Rewards Shop allows you to spend any Abyssal Pearls you’ve earned on powerful goodies! It will include all Standard Talismans, as well as the following unique rewards:


Runecraft Skilling Outfit



This offers players increased yield in the number of Runes they can craft. It’s more focussed on increasing the profit you can make while training Runecraft, as opposed to making it faster to gain XP.

The Outfit consists of four pieces of gear: Helm, Chest, Legs and Boots.

The inclusion of the Hat means you’d have to make the choice between that and your Tiara when working at certain altars. But what if you could add the Catalytic and Elemental Tiaras to the Hat? You can change them out as you please. This would allow you to rock the new outfit while still having a one-click access to those Runecraft altars!

Each piece has a 10% bonus chance to craft additional Runes, going up to a total of 60% when all pieces are worn.

The Runecraft Skilling Outfit has the potential to alleviate problems that Iron players experience with obtaining Blood Runes – at the very least for those who have already achieved Level 77 Runecraft or above. This won't solve the issue for Iron players who don't have the required Runecraft levels to create Blood Runes, but Guardians of the Rift should help to make Runecrafting generally more accessible and engaging in the earlier levels, and thus make achieving these milestones a lot more realistic for everyone. However, we're also open to feedback. Are there any further changes you think we could make to address this problem?

Runecraft requires a fair amount of running, and we’re taking into consideration the impact this outfit might have on player energy. It won’t weigh too much, so players can viably choose between the weight-reducing properties of Graceful and the benefits of the Runecraft Skilling Outfit.

Poll Question #10:

Should we introduce a new Runecraft Skilling Outfit as explained in the Guardians of the Rift blog, obtainable via the Guardians of the Rift Rewards shop?

Ring of the Elements

The Ring of the Elements stores many teleport charges and can teleport players to various Runecraft-related locations. The idea came from a player suggestion to create an 'infinite' Ring of Dueling, but instead of teleporting the player to the Duel Arena, Ferox Enclave and Castle Wars, the latter of which doesn't really relate to Runecraft, it would take you near each of the four Elemental altars. This gives easier access to the Air, Earth, Fire and Water altars to increase the amount of Runes you can craft!

This ring will require a Law Rune and one of each Elemental Rune per charge.

The maximum number of charges stored is 10,000.

Teleport locations:

• Fire Altar: Outside of the Duel Arena gates.
  
• Water Altar: West of the Water Altar.
  
• Air Altar: South of the Air Altar.
  
• Earth Altar: South of the Earth Altar.

The Water, Air and Earth teleports will be slightly further away from their respective Altars than the Fire teleport.

We think that this item might have some use in free-to-play, and we are happy to poll this as a separate question to see what you think. This could increase the value of the item whilst also giving non-members new teleports they do not currently have access to.

Poll Question #11:

Should we introduce a Ring of the Elements as a reward obtainable via the Guardians of the Rift Rewards shop?

Poll Question #12:

If Poll Question #9 passes, should the Ring of the Elements be made available in free-to-play?

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That’s it, rifties! We'll update this blog with our final poll questions once we’ve had your feedback. Please get in touch so that we can make any amendments necessary before the poll goes live.

Still got questions? We’ll be discussing this blog further on our Twitch Livestream, Thursday January 27th at 17:00 GMT with Mods Elena, Husky and Light. Send us your queries and anything you'd like us to address!

Discuss this update on our official forums, on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the#gameupdate channel. For reference on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

Mods Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, Banjo, Boko, Brow, Bruno, Con, Curse, Daizong, Deagle, Dibber, Ditto, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Errol, Fed, Gecko, Grub, Halo, Havik, Hornet, Husky, Jalo, John C, Kandosii, Katies, Kamon, Kieren, Kirby, KT, Kurotou, Lenny, Light, Lottie, Mack, Matheus, Maylea, Markos, Meat, Morty, Nasty, Nin, Nylu, Oasis, Peppers, Regent, Redfield, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Sigma, Skylark, Sova, Squid, Steve W, Tide, Torrance, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Zuko

This week we’re embarking on a new adventure with Leagues III: Shattered Relics!

Please note that with this week’s update, the game will be down for longer than usual with an aim to launch at 12:00pm GMT – to allow the team to carry out some final testing.

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[h2]Leagues III: Shattered Relics[/h2]

Get ready to experience Old School RuneScape in a brand new way! Leagues III: Shattered Relics is finally here, and you’ll be able to play it as much as you like until March 2nd, 2022.

Let’s take a look at that trailer again…

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

To start your Leagues adventure, you’ll need an account with active membership. Once you’ve got yourself one of those, simply open up the game and select one of the worlds marked in green on the World Selector page. At launch, there’ll be 22 Leagues worlds available:

• US (East): 401, 402, 403, 404, 578 & 581
  
• US (West): 409, 410, 411 & 540
  
• EU: 405, 406, 458, 459 & 460
  
• UK: 407, 408 & 558
  
• Australia: 412, 568, 569 & 570
  

When you begin you’ll start as a fresh new Iron account. But don’t worry – this doesn’t affect any of your stats in the main game, so you can use whichever account you like for this game mode!

Leagues III: Shattered Relics begins with an opening cutscene explaining where you’ve come from and what’s about to happen. After that, you’ll appear in the familiar fishing town of Catherby, where a mysterious figure is waiting to explain everything you need to know.

An image from the opening cutscene.

The Leagues III starting area.

The Sage has kindly stepped in to help guide you on your journey through this League, and provide a short tutorial. The basics remain the same - complete tasks to unlock League Points, which in turn can be exchanged to unlock more Fragment slots (and later, main game rewards). You can also gain Sage’s Renown, which is your main currency for unlocking the biggest restrictions in this League: skills and bosses.

Initially, you’ll only be able to earn XP in Fishing, Thieving and Defence, along with one Combat skill of your choice (Attack, Magic or Ranged). You’ll also get a starting Fragment based on your selection.

From there on out, the choice is yours! Unlike previous Leagues, there are no area restrictions and you can explore the whole of Gielinor however you see fit. Plus, your Run Energy will never deplete!

If you do need any additional information about the League, its mechanics, or anything else, you can find it in the new Leagues tab in the Character Summary window.

The Leagues tab.

Read on for information about getting started, or dive straight in! Further details can be found at the OSRS Wiki, the official Old School RuneScape Discord, the official Leagues III Discord, or the 2007Scape subreddit.

Expand the tabs below to learn more about Leagues III: Shattered Relics!

[hr][/hr]
[h2]LEAGUE-SPECIFIC RULES[/h2]
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• You will start as a new Iron player near the town of Catherby, which means you cannot trade with other players or use the Grand Exchange.
  
• You will have the normal items from Tutorial Island in your Backpack and Bank.
  
• All skills except Defence, Fishing and Thieving, plus the Combat skill of your choice, will be locked.
  
• Additional skills, bosses and quest bundles can be purchased with Sage's Renown which can be earned by completing tasks.
  
• You may still perform skilling activities within the range of your locked skills, but will not receive any experience. For example, you can still cut normal trees and receive logs without unlocking Woodcutting, but you cannot progress to oak trees until you unlock the skill.
  
• XP rates will be accelerated by 5x the usual rate.
  
• For this League, Clue Scrolls will stack in Clue Scroll Boxes.
  
• Any death will respawn you at the starting point in Catherby.
  

The starting area, just west of Catherby.

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[h2]TASKS[/h2]
[expand]

Tasks are a collection of goals that earn you League Points. They include all kinds of activities including skilling, obtaining rare drops, killing creatures, completing quests, and even playing minigames.

You can find a full list in the ‘Tasks’ tab of the Leagues Menu, where you’ll also be able to check how many League Points you need for your next Fragment Slot. The Task List can also be filtered by tier, type, area, skill and whether or not you’ve completed it.

The Tasks tab.

The amount of League Points received varies according to the tier of the task, ranging from Easy to Master. You’ll also earn Sage’s Renown, which we’ll learn about later on.

The Tasks tab.

Our friends at the OSRS Wiki have a full list of tasks for you to peruse!

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[h2]SAGE'S RENOWN UNLOCKS[/h2]
[expand]

Leagues III: Shattered Relics introduces a new currency called Sage’s Renown, which you’ll earn by completing tasks. Sage’s Renown is used to unlock skills and bosses, and for auto-completing quests. You can find all these options under the ‘Unlocks’ tab in the Leagues Menu.

Unlike League Points, Sage’s Renown disappears once you spend it – so choose your unlocks wisely!

To begin with, you’ll only have four skills available. To gain XP in the others, you’ll need to unlock it with Sage’s Renown. Please note that you won’t receive any extra XP when unlocking the skill – you’ll be starting from Level 1, even if you got XP from a quest!

The skill unlocks interface.

Bosses can also be unlocked with Sage’s Renown. You must meet all the normal pre-requisites for a particular boss before you can face them, even after they’re unlocked.

The bosses unlocks interface.

Quests are a bit different – they come in bundles, rather than individual unlocks. Unlocking a specific questline will auto-complete all the quests in the bundle.

The quests auto-complete interface.

Select a bundle and click the Info button to learn which items and areas you’ll unlock. If you’ve already completed some of the quests in the bundle, you’ll get a discount.

Please note that you can only auto-complete quests while in a Bank. Any XP you would ordinarily gain from the quest will NOT be received – you’ll have to actually do the quest to get your hands on that!

An example of a quest bundle.

You can find a full list of restricted content and the associated unlock cost in the Restricted Content section of the OSRS Wiki.

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[h2]FRAGMENTS AND SET EFFECTS[/h2]
[expand]

The all-powerful Relics of the previous two Leagues have been split into Fragments and scattered across Gielinor!

It’s not all bad though – by experimenting with Fragments, you’ll be able to customise your gameplay experience like never before!

You can learn all you need to know about Fragments and Set Effects in the ‘Fragments’ section of the Leagues Menu – but here’s a quick run-down.

The Fragments menu.

Here’s the key thing about Fragments – unlike Relics, your choices aren’t permanent, and you can swap Fragments around as you please. You can do so by simply dragging and dropping a Fragment into any unlocked slot. If there’s already a Fragment in the slot, it’ll be replaced.

This menu also lets you filter Fragments to see only the ones you’ve unlocked. You can also check individual Fragment Effects, and your current active and passive effects, such as your current XP boost.

Here's the first Fragment in an active slot.

To maximise your Fragments’ potential, you’ll need to take advantage of their Set Effects. Using Fragments from the same family will activate their Set Effect, an awesome, super-specialised buff. Read all about ‘em in the Fragments menu!

Lastly, Fragments will level up as you gain experience while they’re active. Your active Fragments will get one XP point for every XP point you earn – so they should level up sharpish!

So what are these Fragments? There are lots of different ones, but we suppose we can give you a sneak peek. When you pick your first Combat skill to unlock, you’ll gain a matching Fragment. Let’s take a look:

Your first choice.

Unwavering Warrior (Attack)

Choosing Attack as your first Combat skill will get you a free Steel Scimitar and the Unholy Warrior Fragment. When active, melee attacks get an accuracy boost when you are on 0 Prayer Points:

• Level 1: 12%
  
• Level 2: 20%
  
• Level 3: 30%
  

Focused Ranger (Ranged)

Along with an Oak Longbow and some Iron Arrows, you’ll also receive the Bottomless Quiver Fragment when choosing Ranged as your starting Combat skill.

With this Fragment active, Ranged ammunition and weapon charges have a chance to be saved – with the exception of Chinchompas, who are sadly irreplaceable.

• Level 1: 40%
  
• Level 2: 60%
  
• Level 3: 90%
  

Masterful Wizard (Magic)

Choosing Magic as your starting Combat skill nets you a Staff and some Runes, plus the Arcane Conduit Fragment. When active, Runes and Magic weapon charges have a chance to be saved on cast:

• Level 1: 40%
  
• Level 2: 60%
  
• Level 3: 90%
  

Please note that your starting Fragment and skill cannot be changed, although you can find the other two Fragments later on. Plus, you can unlock the other skills using Sage’s Renown.

How do you find Fragments, you ask? Well, every Fragment in the League can be discovered while partaking in regular activities as part of ordinary gameplay. Want a Firemaking Fragment? Light some fires! Hunter? Catch some kebbits! And so on.

Any kind of Combat has the chance to get you a Combat Fragment, so get to Slaying!

Check out the following pages from the OSRS Wiki to see a full list of Fragments and Set Effects.

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[h2]WAYSTONES[/h2]
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With the whole of Gielinor to explore, we thought we’d save you some time by creating easy transport options. Along with your unlimited Run Energy, you’ll find Waystones in certain major cities and popular destinations. Once activated, you can travel between Waystones as many times as you like, with no cooldown.

An active Waystone near Catherby.

Here's a handy guide to the Waystone network:

A list of Waystone locations from in-game.

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[h2]HISCORES AND LEAGUE POINTS[/h2]
[expand]

You’ll get League Points for completing tasks, and harder tasks offer more Points – but you’ll need to be a real tough cookie to reach the higher echelons of the Leagues HiScores table! The more tasks you complete, the higher you’ll climb!

We’ll also be bringing back League Firsts, which will be awarded to the quickest player to complete this League’s most impressive feats including:

• Obtaining a pet
  
• Achieving a Level 99
  
• Completing an Elite Achievement Diary
  
• Maxing a Fragment
  
• Obtaining all Fragments
  
• Unlocking all skills
  
• Unlocking all bosses
  
• Reaching Tiers 5,6, and 7 (three separate firsts)
  
• Reaching Tiers 5,6, and 7 without unlocking hitpoints (three separate firsts)
  
• Completing each tier of the Combat Achievements (six separate firsts - Easy, Medium, Hard, Elite, Master and Grandmaster)
  

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[h2]REWARDS[/h2]
[expand]

Leagues might be a temporary game mode, but we don’t want you going away empty-handed! You’ll be able to spend your hard-earned League Points on various rewards back in the main game – including some from previous Leagues. Let’s have a gander…


Shattered Relic Hunter Outfit

As long-time League fans will know, each League has its own themed outfits, available in three distinctly fashionable tiers. The more points you accumulate in the League, the higher tier of outfit you can access. Naturally, you get more flair for your fashion at the higher tiers – and each outfit comes with its own emote, too.

The Relic Hunter outfit for Leagues III is the Shattered Relic Hunter Outfit, and it’s perfect for sailing ominously down the River of Souls in.

All variants of each Relic Hunter outfit (from left to right: Tier 1, Tier 2 & Tier 3).

Shattered Relics Home Teleport Animation

Spice up your tawdry old Home Teleport animation with a stylish new variant, perfect for when you’re too ‘shattered’ to schlep back to Lumbridge. This little scroll will teach you to teleport in style by placing down some Relics. Careful with those, now!

The Relic-centric Home Teleport animation.

Leagues Banner

Show your support for your favourite League (so far) with this themed banner! The banner is wearable, though if you don't fancy using up a main-hand slot, it can be proudly displayed in your Player Owned House via the Leagues Hall.

The Leagues III Banner.

Weapon Variety Pack

Show the bosses who’s boss with the Shattered Relics Weapon Variety Pack, including cosmetic recolours for all kinds of playstyles. Whether you’re wielding the Abyssal Whip, the Tentacle Whip, the Rune Crossbow, God Books, or just strutting your stuff in Mystic Robes, this pack has a fancy new option for you.

Cool whip! (Left: Abyssal Whip, Right: Tentacle Whip)

A classic, given new life. (Rune Crossbow)

Which God Book do you wield? (left to right: Armadyl, Bandos, Guthix, Saradomin, Zamorak & Zaros)

Mystic Robes for mystic bros. (Mystic Robes)

Dwarven Multicannon Ornament Kit

The Dwarven Multicannon is an interesting item. It’s expensive to operate, but packs a hefty punch, and can greatly speed up those Slayer tasks! The advantages are obvious: it can be used at the very start of the game as the quests required to unlock it are pretty low level. It then remains viable right up to 99 Slayer.

How could we possibly improve this iconic weapon? Uh, by sticking an Ornament Kit on it, obviously! Use the Kit to give your Multicannon a fresh look, not unlike a certain something from classic RuneScape.

A cannon based on a classic! (Dwarven Multicannon)

Void & Elite Void Ornament Kit

Void is the perfect reward for Leagues III because it already fits with Melee, Range and Magic Combat thanks to the different Helmet types. Plus, the Void and Elite Void variants are great for both mid and late game PvM players. A snazzy Leagues-themed recolour for these outfits is the perfect reward for speedy ‘Scapers.

Enter the void in style! (left to right: Void Melee, Ranged, Mage, Void Elite, Melee, Ranged & Mage)

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[h2]LEAGUE TO LEAGUE REWARDS[/h2]
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Certain stuff is so rare and exciting that getting it in a temporary game mode is kind of a buzzkill! To remedy this problem, certain items can be carried over from League to League, including:


Pets

You'll be able to reclaim any pet received during the first two Leagues so it can follow you about in Leagues III: Shattered Relics. Note that pets obtained in this manner will not count towards the League First.


Seasonal Cosmetics

For those of you who participated in the Halloween or Christmas event during Leagues II: Trailblazer, you'll be able to claim your holiday rewards from the main man Diango! Find him in Draynor Market.

[/expand]

[h2]LEAGUES VETERAN WORLDS[/h2]
[expand]

Last time, we noticed that the League Veteran Worlds were not being used as intended, and weren’t utilised as much as we expected. We’ve scrapped them for Leagues III, but in return we’ve increased the number of League worlds available!

[/expand]

[h2]LEAGUES TROPHIES[/h2]
[expand]

Unlike other rewards, League Trophies can’t be bought – only earned. They’re an exclusive reward for those who strived to clamber up the top tiers of the HiScores – so it wouldn’t be fair if just anyone could grab ‘em at the Grand Exchange!

To get your hands on one, you’ll need to place in one of the following tiers:



All League Trophies can be displayed in the Player Owned House or held. They also all have a unique emote that you can access by right-clicking them.

[/expand]

As a bonus, we'll be keeping an eye on the first person to take down the fearsome fifth general Nex, by themselves! If you're the first one to accomplish this feat, you'll earn yourself a few months of membership.

And that just about wraps it up! We hope you enjoy your time in Leagues III: Shattered Relics and we can’t wait to see you race to grab those League Firsts and hit Dragon tier.

On your marks, get set… go!

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Between Two Worlds[/h2]

Our epic trailer for Leagues III: Shattered Relics features an original soundtrack, Between Two Worlds, created by Tal Richards, and featuring Ciele and Bizarre Star Strings.



Enhance your experience with our most open and versatile Leagues as Between Two Worlds is now streaming on all major platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and more. For a full list, check out this page.

You can also join us on Thursday, January 20th at 17:00 GMT over on Twitch for an exclusive interview with Tal Richards & Ciele before our Leagues III Q&A begins!

And to learn more about our fantastic musicians, check the following links:

• Tal Richards Artist Page
• Tal Richards on Twitter
• Ciele's Artist Page
• Ciele on Twitter

You can watch the full music video here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We’d like to give a special thanks to Mod Scratchr, Mod Zarella, Mod Shed, Mod Grace, Mod Surma, Mod Kasia, Mod Razor, Mod Bob, Mod Archie, Mod Parrish, Mod Daz, Mod Aethra, Mod Kandosii, Mod Dnz, Rick Nath and Surface Digital for their work on this amazing video.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Other Changes[/h2]

Before we walk you through the bits and pieces we’ve changed this week, we’d like to have a word about botting at Last Man Standing.

Every day we ban thousands of bots in Old School, but we understand that some do slip through the net. The anti-cheating team remain committed to tackling bots, and the methods we use to detect bots continue to advance. Unfortunately, due to the low entry requirements for Last Man Standing, new bots continually return to cheat after other accounts they use have been banned. To help resolve this, and improve your player experience, we’ve added additional requirements to Competitive and High Stakes modes.

Players will now need a total Skill Level of 750 and at least 30 Quest Points to participate in these modes.

We understand that higher requirements are frustrating for legitimate players, and apologise for the inconvenience. Your patience is much appreciated as we work to make this minigame fun and fair for everyone.

• The Edgeville General Store now stocks a Knife, in case players leaving Edgeville need to slash any spider webs.
  
• Monster Examine is now re-enabled on Nex. Learn more in our latest Nex post.
  
• Dying at the same moment as killing TzKal-Zuk now correctly subtracts 1 KC from a task.
  

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[h2]PvP World Rota[/h2]

The PvP rota has moved to Period A:

• 539 - (US) - PvP World
  
• 548 - (Germany) - High-Risk PvP World
  
• 577 - (US) - Free-to-Play PvP World
  
• 559 - (UK) - LMS Competitive
  

World 390 (AUS) for LMS Competitive has been activated with this rota.

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Discuss this update on our official forums, on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the#gameupdate channel. For reference on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

Mods Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, Banjo, Boko, Brow, Bruno, Con, Curse, Daizong, Deagle, Dibber, Ditto, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Errol, Fed, Gecko, Grub, Halo, Havik, Hornet, Husky, Jalo, John C, Kandosii, Katies, Kamon, Kieren, Kirby, KT, Kurotou, Lenny, Light, Lottie, Mack, Matheus, Maylea, Markos, Meat, Morty, Nasty, Nin, Nylu, Oasis, Peppers, Regent, Redfield, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Sigma, Skylark, Sova, Squid, Steve W, Tide, Torrance, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Zuko

The Old School Team

This week brings a few early changes to Nex!

Please note that with this week’s update, the game will be down for a bit longer than usual – approximately 30 minutes – to allow the engine team to carry out some necessary work.

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[h2]Nex: Changes & Tweaks [/h2]



We’re blown away by how much you lot are enjoying Nex. It warms our heart to see so many people breaking into the Ancient Prison and beating up the beasties within.

However, as with any new bit of content, we’ve had to make a few small quality-of-life adjustments. The following will go live with this week’s update:


[h3]New Changes [/h3]

• Nex's Soul Split healing has been combined into one hitsplat in her final stand.
  
• If there are less than 20 people in an encounter all loot will drop underneath Nex. Any encounter with 20 people or above, loot will drop under the player.
  
• The final phase of Nex has been updated to be a little more consistent with targeting and melee attacks.
  
• The wander range on Ashuelot Reis has been reduced.
  
• Nex's Loot Table has been slightly altered.
  
• Nexling now appears on the 'All Pets' page of the Collection Log.
  
• Nex can now be selected as an activity when setting up Clan events.
  
• The Zaryte Crossbow’s effect has been added to the Worn Equipment Set Bonus interface.
  
• The value of Ecumenical Key Shards has increased to prevent them from being deleted when too many items are dropped nearby.
  
• Ancient Spiritual Mages can now drop Dragon Boots.
  
• Spiritual creatures within the Ancient Prison no longer drop Bones (because they don’t have any!).
  
• The alchemy value of Blood Essence has been reduced.
  
• Active Blood Essence is no longer alchable.
  
• Fixed an issue where players would not receive loot if they joined an instance at the same moment the boss fight began.

Particularly sharp players will also have spotted a few hotfixes introduced between updates to ensure everything was running smoothly. For your convenience, here’s a big ol’ list of those:


[h3]Previous Changes[/h3]

• Players who have completed the Hard and above Combat Achievements can now have friends join their privately rented Nex instance.
  
  • To do so, you and your friend will both need to be added and showing as ‘online’ in the Friends’ List, and you must both be on the same world.
    
  • Only the player creating the instance will need to have completed the relevant Combat Achievements.
    
  • These privately rented instances are capped at a maximum of 20 players and you are still required to gain Ancient Essence before being able to enter the boss room.
    
• The maximum number of players able to take on Nex at any one time has been reduced from 80 to 60. In addition:
  
  • Nex's attacks will now hit more players.
    
  • Nex will no longer preserve the order of special attacks between phases.
    
  • Nex's 1-attack delay has been removed on Soul Split and now activates immediately during her final phase.
    
• Nex will now ‘flip’ even if she's in the centre of the room.
  
• The base value of Blood Essence has been decreased while the value of all Torva pieces, the Nihil Horn, completed Zaryte Crossbow) and Zaryte Vambraces has been increased.
  
• The Supply Drop quantity has been decreased in higher-scaled Nex encounters.
  
• Players can now wear either a Gas Mask, Facemask or Slayer Helm to slightly reduce the duration of the
• cough* effect as part of Nex’s smoke mechanic.
  
• The door of the Ancient Prison will now warn players if they have items remaining to be collected from the Chest.
  

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[h2]Other Changes [/h2]

• The south-west corner of the Duel Arena area is now a safe zone on PvP worlds.
  
• After tagging an impling successfully with a Binding spell, you now have a few seconds of grace during which other players cannot attempt to catch 'your' impling.
  
• Added an Account Deletion button on iOS, which can be found in the Useful Links section of the Account Management tab. This button links to the Personal Data Rights page where you can request the permanent removal of your personal data and choose to disable your account.
  
  • This will not appear for Game Center-created accounts that have not linked to a RuneScape account.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]PvP World Rota[/h2]

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.

[hr][/hr]
Discuss this update on our official forums, on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the#gameupdate channel. For reference on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

Mods Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, Banjo, Boko, Brow, Bruno, Con, Curse, Daizong, Deagle, Dibber, Ditto, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Errol, Fed, Gecko, Grub, Halo, Havik, Hornet, Husky, Jalo, John C, Kandosii, Katies, Kamon, Kieren, Kirby, KT, Kurotou, Lenny, Light, Lottie, Mack, Matheus, Maylea, Markos, Meat, Morty, Nasty, Nin, Nylu, Oasis, Peppers, Regent, Redfield, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Sigma, Skylark, Sova, Squid, Steve W, Tide, Torrance, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Zuko

The Old School Team

[h2]Issues and Hotfixes (January 5th)[/h2]

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[/expand]
[hr][/hr]

Long ago, in the Second Age of Gielinor, the land was ruled by a tyrannical ancient god. At the height of his power, one of his closest allies overthrew him and the most loyal followers were imprisoned by powerful magics – including Nex, his faithful general.

Years later, at the height of the God Wars, a mysterious individual fooled a group of Saradominists into freeing Nex and her allies. This unprecedented threat forced the armies of Saradomin, Zamorak, Armadyl and Bandos to unite and drive their foes back into the Ancient Prison – but in the process, the magical protections sealing Nex and her bodyguards inside were damaged.

This leaves Nex’s prison somewhat… vulnerable. And while officially speaking, the followers of her old master have been purged from Gielinor, certain nefarious types would be happy to see Nex freed once more.

It’s January 5th, the first Old School update of 2022 – and now’s your chance to enter the Ancient Prison and take on this iconic boss yourself!



[hr][/hr]
[h2]The Ancient Prison[/h2]

So, hypothetically speaking, how might one enter this ‘Ancient Prison’? The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed that we released a short miniquest, ‘The Frozen Door’, on December 16th.

Without spoiling anything, completing this will secure entry into the Prison, where you’ll meet with Ashuelot Reis, a follower of Guthix who has dedicated herself to the unenviable task of keeping Nex contained. She’ll give your group a brief overview of the Prison complex before asking you all to join her outside Nex’s chamber.



The Prison is filled with foes from Nex’s army: Spiritual Warriors, Mages and Rangers, and the delightful-sounding Blood Reavers.

The format here should be familiar to anyone who’s conquered the rest of the God Wars Dungeon – defeating Nex’s minions adds to your Ancient Essence count, and when it reaches 40, you’ll be able to enter the boss room. However, not all beasties are made equal, and some will give you more Essence than others!

If you’re feeling magnanimous, you can bypass all that senseless killing with an Ecumenical Key, which will let you march right into Nex’s chamber. You can also lower the Essence requirement by completing Combat Achievement tiers.

Your Essence count is shown on the Kill Count interface, but it will be hidden until you’ve unlocked the Frozen Door. Once you’ve reached (or bypassed) the required amount of Essence, you may pass through to the inner chamber.

We don’t want to reveal too much about the battle itself – but let’s just say it’s going to test you!

[hr][/hr]
[h2]The Rewards[/h2]


Torva Armour

This melee set consists of a Full Helm, a Platebody, and a pair of rather stylish Platelegs. It offers better offensive and defensive capabilities than the Bandos set, but doesn’t have the defensive chops and tasty Prayer bonus offered by Justiciar.

You’ll notice that on drop, the pieces of the Torva set are broken and unequippable. That’s what happens when you leave your armour sitting around in a frozen prison for centuries! You’ll need to repair it using components salvaged from the Bandos set. A furnace in the Frozen Prison will let you break down your Bandos gear and get tradeable Bandosian Components in return. Combine those with the broken Torva pieces, and bam! There’s your new melee set.

There are no skilling requirements for breaking down the Bandos pieces, but you’ll need level 90 Smithing or greater to use them to repair the Torva set.

Here’s how many components you’ll get per piece:

• Bandos Chestplate: 3 Components
  
• Bandos Tassets: 2 Components
  

Note that the Bandos Boots cannot be broken down into components. We made this decision to preserve the potential Bandos Chestplate/Tassets item sink. Besides, have you ever tried attaching a pair of boots to a chestplate? You’d look ridiculous!

Anyway, here’s how many Bandosian Components you’ll need to repair the Torva pieces:

• Torva Helm: 1 Component
  
• Torva Chestplate: 2 Components
  
• Torva Platelegs: 2 Components
  

Bandosian Components and both broken and repaired Torva pieces are all tradeable.

You’ll need at least 80 Defence to wear the Torva set.




Zaryte Vambraces






Zaryte Crossbow






Ancient Godsword






Ancient Ceremonial Robes

This set consists of a Mask, Top, Legs, Gloves and Boots. It has the same stats as Monk Robes and will be added to the Collection Log.

If you’re familiar with the Nex of old, please note that wearing items from this set will not allow you to bypass the Ancient Essence requirement to unlock the boss room.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Additional Information[/h2]

• You’ll need a minimum Kill Count of 50 to show up on the Nex HiScores.
  
• Monster Examine is not currently powerful enough to examine Nex’s stats.
  
• Hardcore Group Iron players cannot face Nex alongside players from outside their group, and will be kicked out of the boss room if other people are in the arena at the start of the fight. This works exactly as it does for The Nightmare.
  
• Regular Group Iron players can take on the challenge with others, but will be given plenty of warnings as doing so loses their Group Prestige. Again, this works exactly as it does for The Nightmare.
  
• Ecumenical Key Shards are untradeable. 50 shards can be converted into one key. If you’re capped out on Ecumenical Keys, you won’t be able to forge a new one.
  
• Blood Essence is stackable, tradeable and can be activated – which makes it untradeable. A player can only have one active Blood Essence at a time. If you create a Blood Rune with an activated Blood Essence in your Backpack, you’ll get the chance to craft additional Blood Runes. One Essence has 1,000 additional Blood Runes/charges and the chance to trigger the effect is 50% per Rune.
  
• Nex has the chance to drop a pet! Take good care of it!
  
• Nex can be fought solo in a private instance. Instances are unlocked by completing the Hard Combat Achievements tier, after which you can purchase an instance for 150,000 GP per entry. Higher Combat Achievement tiers lower this cost.
  

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[h2]In Other News[/h2]

• The Christmas Event 2021 has been removed.
  
• The Slayer Gem and related items can now tell you your current task streak even when you don't have a task.
  
• Added a PvP section around the Duel Arena as a safe zone.
  
• Teleporting to a Player Owned House in Rimmington will no longer play the wrong music when Classic Music Mode is enabled.
  
• Nex messengers are no longer able to appear in underwater areas.
  
• Fixed a bug where some Combat Achievements for Group Ironmen were calculated incorrectly owing to the fact that some tasks are disabled for smaller groups.
  

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[h2]PvP Rota[/h2]

The PvP rota has moved to Period A:

• 539 - (US) - PvP World
  
• 548 - (Germany) - High-Risk PvP World
  
• 577 - (US) - Free-to-Play PvP World
  
• 559 - (UK) - LMS Competitive
  

World 390 (AUS) for LMS Competitive has been activated with this rota.

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Discuss this update via our official forums, on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel. For reference on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

Mods Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, Banjo, Boko, Brow, Bruno, Con, Curse, Daizong, Deagle, Dibber, Ditto, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Ellie, Errol, Fed, Gecko, Grub, Halo, Havik, Hornet, Husky, Jndr, John C, Kandosii, Katies, Kieren, Kirby, KT, Kurotou, Lenny, Light, Lottie, Mack, Matheus, Maylea, Markos, Meat, Morty, Nasty, Nin, Nylu, Oasis, Peppers, Regent, Redfield, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Sigma, Skylark, Sova, Squid, Steve W, Tide, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Zuko.

The Old School Team.