Old School RuneScape News

Varlamore: The Rising Darkness | September 25th

Explore more of Varlamore than ever before!
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Changelog September 25th

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Varlamore: The Rising Darkness

New parts of Varlamore are now available to explore! Main features include:
- Multiple new quests including The Heart of Darkness and Death on the Isle.
- Hueycoatl, a new group boss.
- Mastering Mixology, a new Herblore activity.
- The Colossal Wyrm Agility Course.
- ... and more!

Araxxor

Updated the descriptions of the Perfect Araxxor combat task to include the fail conditions.
Renamed the 'Relaxed Gamer' task to 'Relaxxor'.

Other Changes

Adjusted the Inquisitor Armour's Damage and Accuracy bonus to Crush. Now, each Inquisitor Armour piece (Plateskirt, Helmet, Hauberk) gives +2.5% Crush Accuracy and Damage when used alongside the Inquisitor's Mace, regardless of set effects.
Enabled the ability to toggle Run to ‘Always On’.
The quest journal will now remain open when moving around and will also resize on larger screen sizes.
You will now get a warning when dropping items in the Giants' Foundry during the Sleeping Giants quest.
The flames on the Leagues IV: Trailblazer Reloaded trophies are now animated.
Bridge Guard no longer spots the player at the safe spot near the north-western bridge during the Stealing Artifacts minigame.
Farmers now have trade options which use the standard shop interface.
Reduced the aggression radius of ancient wyverns.
Making Ultracompost now gives token Farming XP.
The S.T.A.S.H. unit at the top of the Watchtower can once again be used for storage before the quest is complete. This does not affect the quest requirement for the clue.

PvP Rota

The PvP rota has moved to Period B:

560 - (UK) - PvP World
319 - (US) - Bounty Hunter World
579 - (US) - High-Risk PvP World
561 - (UK) - Free-to-Play PvP World
580 - (US) - LMS Competitive

Varlamore: The Rising Darkness

If you can’t view the image above, click here.

The time has come to venture even further into Varlamore, as The Rising Darkness is here!

If you haven’t yet set foot in the Shining Kingdom, don’t forget you’ll need to complete Children of the Sun before you can travel there.

We gave you the full rundown in our Summer Summit blog, so make sure to check that out for the full details. Or, take a peek at this video by creator Josh Isn't.

https://youtu.be/4LadjV6G9T4
If you can’t view the video above, click here to watch it!

[h2]New Areas[/h2]

An updated map of Varlamore! Note the greyed-out portions, which are part of GentleTractor’s original map and are not included in The Rising Darkness. If you can’t view the image above, click here.

Today’s update opens up two new areas of Varlamore – the snowy mountains, and the island paradise of Aldarin.

On Darkfrost Mountain, you’ll encounter the Hueycoatl, an ancient monster which has started causing chaos for unwary travellers in the region. A little further east you’ll spot the Proudspire, the mysterious Tower of Ascension and the sprawling Twilight Temple – all sites of great importance to the Varlamorians, but especially for the shadowy Twilight Emissaries...

Meanwhile, on the island of Aldarin, you’ll be able to sample their famous vineyards and have a go at some mixology of your own. Grapes produced here are destined for the Moonrise Brewery and Winery, which produces fine wines for Varlamore’s fanciest drinkers. Nearby, you’ll find the Alchemical Society, who could use your help brewing up potions. Oh, and while you’re here, don’t forget to kick back and enjoy a bit of drama – we hear there’s to be a very exciting play at the Amphitheatre on the eastern coast...

In both areas you’ll find plenty of things to do. People to talk to, Mining, Fishing, Hunter and Smithing nodes to train at, shops and vendors to trade with, and even a brand-new portal location for your Player-Owned House.

[h2]The Heart of Darkness[/h2]

In this thrilling follow-up to Twilight’s Promise, you’ll be investigating the mysterious cult behind the attempt on Teokan Servius’ life. It begins right where we left off, at the Teomat.

While investigating, you’ll be able to explore the new areas and enjoy a new Slayer cave and mini boss.

Quest Requirements:

55 Mining
48 Thieving
48 Slayer
46 Agility
Completed Twilight's Promise
We recommend a Combat level of at least 65. Don’t forget your gear!

Rewards:

2 Quest Points
8,000 Mining XP
8,000 Thieving XP
8,000 Slayer XP
8,000 Agility XP
Access to a new Slayer Dungeon

New Slayer Dungeon

Completing The Heart of Darkness unlocks a new Slayer dungeon containing a range of creatures. Most of these are existing foes, but the dungeon also introduces frost nagua. Frost nagua can be fought as part of the existing Lesser Nagua Slayer Task. Killing them gives you a chance to obtain the new Glacial Temotli weapons along with a useful item to help you get around Varlamore. In addition, the dungeon also includes a demi-boss variant of the frost nagua with an improved loot table!

[h2]Tales of the Sun[/h2]

Alongside The Heart of Darkness, we also have some new Tales of the Sun for you to enjoy. These standalone quests are found all across Varlamore. We’re only going to talk about one today – the rest you’ll have to find for yourselves!

Death on the Isle

Everything you could want from a murder mystery - disguises, deception, and deductions galore! We're a spoiler-free zone so don't expect us to give any more away, but we will help you get prepped by breaking down what's needed to get started.

The quest begins in Aldarin, where you’ll find a stressed-looking gentleman outside one of the fancier villas.

Quest Requirements:

34 Thieving
32 Agility
Completed Children of the Sun
We recommend a Combat level of at least 40

Rewards:

2 Quest Points
10,000 Thieving XP
7,500 Agility XP
5,000 Crafting XP
Ability to use a Costume Needle - A new needle that doesn't require thread to use.

[h2]The Hueycoatl[/h2]

If you can’t view the image above, click here.

The Darkfrost Mountain trembles as legend becomes truth: the great and terrible Hueycoatl has awoken!

Team up with your fellow adventurers and take on this ancient serpent. We broke down the gameplay and rewards in-depth in the Summer Summit blog, but here's a really quick overview:

Gameplay

Join the Dwarven Party and make your way up the Darkfrost mountain.
Attack the parts of the Hueycoatl sticking out from the rock, while avoiding hazards. Don’t forget your protection Prayers!
When the Hueycoatl moves, climb to the top of the mountain and attack the head.
If the Hueycoatl uses its tail to defend itself, shatter it so you can resume the fight!
Deal damage to the head until the Hueycoatl is defeated.

Rewards

For your efforts, you'll be rewarded with a number of powerful items. All of these are tradeable, so feel free to use them for yourself or sell them on for a quick bit of extra GP. Remember, further details can be found in the Summer Summit blog!

Tome of Earth
Dragon Hunter Wand
Hueycoatl Hide Armour
Huasca Seed, which you can use to grow the herb and make a Prayer Regeneration Potion.

[h2]Mastering Mixology[/h2]

If you can’t view the image above, click here.

Discover a fresh approach to potion-making with this brand new Herblore activity. The Varlamorian Alchemists need a helping hand keeping up with demand, and there are plenty of rewards for your assistance.

Once again, the full details can be found in our Summer Summit Blog, but here's a quick rundown:

Gameplay

There's no need for secondary ingredients here, so you'll only need to stock up on herbs.
Take unnoted herbs from the convenient Bank Chest and use them on the nearby refiner.
Refining herbs will give you Mox, Aga or Lye Paste depending on the herb type. You'll need all three pastes to consistently satisfy potion orders.
You can store up to 300 Mox, Aga and Lye reagents in the hopper, with any excess Paste able to be stored in the Bank until you need it.
You'll see three Potion Orders to choose from and an indicator for whether the end result needs to be Concentrated, Crystallised or Homogenous. Don't worry, there are convenient Lab notes nearby to tell you exactly what goes into each potion.
To mix your potion, use the levers on the mixing table to fill up the mixing vessel.
Grab the unfinished potion from the mixing vessel and either concentrate, crystallise or homogenise it at the corresponding machine to finish it off.
Place your final potion on the conveyor belt to finish off your order and receive points depending on how much Mox, Aga or Lye was used to make it. These points can be used to purchase rewards, so you can always target orders that use more of the reagents you need more points for.

Rewards

For varying quantities of Mox, Aga and Lye points, you'll be able to snag a whole host of Herblore rewards!

Potion Packs (untradeable, rewards tradeable potions), three varieties to choose from:
- Apprentice - requires Level 60 Herblore
- Adept - requires Level 70 Herblore
- Expert - requires Level 85 Herblore
Aldarium (Tradeable), which can be used to make Goading Potions
Reagents Pouch (Untradeable)
Alchemist’s Outfit (Untradeable)
Alchemist's Amulet (Untradeable)
Pre-pot Device (Tradeable)
Potion Storage (Account unlock)

[h2]Colossal Wyrm Agility Course[/h2]

If you can’t view the image above, click here.

Worm Tongue, an anteater (stick with us, it's relevant), has been appointed by the Museum to lead a preservation effort and save the remains of this majestic Colossal Wyrm from a rampant termite infestation. While Worm Tongue used to be pretty adept at catching termites (on account of being an anteater), his age is catching up to him. He needs your help to preserve this ancient landmark... and supply him with snacks!

Gameplay

There are two routes to choose from:
- Basic route for players with 50 Agility
- Advanced route for players above 62 Agility
You'll receive slightly lower Agility XP than other training options due to its low intensity, however you'll have the chance to earn some unique rewards.
To earn rewards, bring Worm Tongue every termite you can find. As you run your laps of the course, there's a chance for termites to appear on some obstacles. These are automatically picked up and stack in your Inventory.

Rewards

The simplest rewards are Amylase Packs and the Colossal Wyrm Agility Course teleport – both of which do exactly what they say on the tin.

Varlamore Graceful Recolour

If you can’t view the image above, click here.

Gather up enough termites and you can turn them in for a Graceful recolour that adds some Varlamorian flair to its base appearance. If you look closely, you'll notice some regal hints of deep blues and yellows, and also that your midriff is entirely exposed! You know what they say, if you've got it, flaunt it, but perhaps don't try wearing this in the Colosseum.

Squirrel Transmog

If you can’t view the image above, click here.

Bone Squirrel. Need we say more? This creepy critter is the perfect companion for your boney adventures.

That’s all you need to know to get stuck into Varlamore: The Rising Darkness. If you want to know more, you’ll just have to do some exploring yourself...
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Araxxor Changes

Last week, we rolled out Combat Achievements for Araxxor. It was great to see that so many of you enjoyed the new approach to speedrun tasks, where RNG smooths out over several kills. Your feedback is crucial in helping us shape the game together, so thanks for sharing your thoughts! You also had a few more suggestions, and we’re putting those into action this week.

If you can’t view the image above, click here.

We started by addressing one of your top requests by adding information about the fail conditions to the Perfect Araxxor Achievement text.

If you can’t view the image above, click here.

Our creative community never fails to impress with their brilliant ideas. One such gem was the suggestion to rename the 'Relaxed Gamer' task to 'Relaxxor', which we just couldn’t resist. Check the Combat Achievements menu to see the new name in all its glory!
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Other Changes

Adjusted the Inquisitor Armour's Damage and Accuracy bonus to Crush. Now, each Inquisitor Armour piece (Plateskirt, Helmet, Hauberk) gives +2.5% Crush Accuracy and Damage when used alongside the Inquisitor's Mace, regardless of set effects. We know you've been waiting a long time for this one and we're sorry for the delay. The initial implementation and delay in fixing are both the result of internal miscommunications that we're working to improve. Now get out there and crush to your heart's content!
Ever wished that run mode would automatically be enabled as soon as you regain some Run Energy? We hope so, because that’s what we’ve implemented with ‘Always On’ run mode! In the settings menu, you can now set a threshold at which run mode is automatically re-enabled. For example, if you set it to 20, when your character's energy runs out and starts walking, your character will automatically start running again once their energy restores to 20.
The Quest Journal will now remain open when moving around and will also resize on larger screen sizes.
You will now get a warning when dropping items in the Giants' Foundry during the Sleeping Giants quest.
The flames on the Leagues IV: Trailblazer Reloaded trophies are now animated.
Bridge Guard no longer spots the player at the safe spot near the north-western bridge during the Stealing Artifacts minigame.
Farmers at Farming Patches throughout Gielinor now have a standard trade interface, instead of a cumbersome dialogue menu.
Reduced the aggression radius of ancient wyverns.
Making Ultracompost now gives token Farming XP.
The S.T.A.S.H. unit at the top of the Watchtower can once again be used for storage before the quest is complete. This does not affect the quest requirement for the clue.

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PvP World Rota

The PvP rota has moved to Period B:

560 - (UK) - PvP World
319 - (US) - Bounty Hunter 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.

World 569 (AUS) for Bounty Hunter has been de-activated with this rota.

The PvP Arena is using 'Max/Med' loadouts in Ranked Duels and Tournaments this week.
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You can also discuss this update on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel. For more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

Mods Abe, Abyss, Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, BigRig, Blossom, Boko, Bruno, Chilly, Criminal, Crystal, Curse, Daizong, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Enigma, Entropi, Errol, Gecko, Gengis, Gizmo, Goblin, Grub, Halo, Harold, Hend, Hooti, Hornet, Husky, Jalo, Jerv, Keyser, Kieren, Kirby, Kurotou, Leebleh, Lenny, Light, Liron, Lykos, Mack, Manked, Markos, Maylea, Moogle, Morty, Necro, Nin, Nox, Nylu, Other, Philomel, Pumpkin, Redfield, Regent, Rice, Roq, Ry, Saiyan, Sarnie, Shogun, Shroom, Sigma, Skylark, Smithy, Sova, Squid, Starry, Suharun, Surma, Sween, Tide, Titus, TJ, Tsourorf, Tyran, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Yume

The Old School Team.

Araxxor Combat Achievements, Poll 82 & More

PSA: There will be no game update next week as the team is preparing for the launch of Varlamore: The Rising Darkness.
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Araxxor Combat Achievements are here, bringing with them more Araxxor tweaks, Poll 82 updates, and the long-awaited Crystal Shard rates buff!
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Changelog - September 11th

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Araxxor

Araxxor Combat Achievements have arrived!
As we launch Araxxor's Combat Achievements and following the self-damage reduction we put in last week, we are resetting the global times for Araxxor.
During the enrage phase, Araxxor can now hit himself if the player is standing on any of the underneath tiles, rather than only SW.
Nid and Rax pets no longer share the same Bank placeholder.
Some players were still finding themselves stuck underneath Araxxor’s body after killing him, so a new safety measure will automatically push players out of his hitbox.
The Ring of Recoil can now be used to kill Araxyte inside the Easter Egg cave, so accounts unable to equip the Noxious Halberd are now able to get the Rancour recolour. However, you can only progress past this point if you have a Noxious Halberd in your Inventory. Not having the halberd will result in being teleported back to the start of the cave.
On DMM worlds, skulled players can no longer enter the Araxxor arena.

Poll 82 Updates

The Zerker bracket’s Defence level has been adjusted to 50 in Last Man Standing.
Perilous Moons sets have been added to the Zerker bracket in Last Man Standing and will drop as a full set, weapons and armours together.
Blighted Supplies can now be used in Clan Wars, Soul Wars and Castle Wars.
Bounty Hunter rewards also can now be used in Clan Wars, Soul Wars and Castle Wars.

Crystal Shard Rates Buff

We’ve reviewed all the Crystal Shard resources and implemented some notable buffs!

Other Changes

Wyrms are once again visible in the Slayer Log.
Replanted some missing tree trunks in the Kharazi jungle.
Restored Alina's missing jaw.
Fixed a bug where live Implings could be indirectly traded via Imp Defenders releasing them.

PvP Rota

The PvP rota has moved to Period B:

560 - (UK) - PvP World
319 - (US) - Bounty Hunter World
579 - (US) - High-Risk PvP World
561 - (UK) - Free-to-Play PvP World
580 - (US) - LMS Competitive

Araxxor Combat Achievements

Now that you’ve settled in with your arachnid pal, it’s time to take on some Combat Achievements!

We know there’s been some concern about last week’s debuff to Araxxor’s self-damage, and how this would affect Combat Achievements. Before we get started, we want to assure you that the Achievements were balanced around not using the step-under method, so this change shouldn’t affect them. We’ll be monitoring your feedback closely over time just in case there are changes to be made.

We’ve also heard your frustrations regarding RNG resets in speedrun tasks, so this time we’re trying something new. Our new approach encourages steady, repeated quick kills within a set time frame, rather than relying on a single lucky attempt. For example, instead of "Kill Araxxor in X minutes" which was the previous approach, we're now going with "Kill Araxxor 4 times in 10:00". This way, RNG balances out over multiple kills. Let us know how you get on!

Task Name

Task Description

Task Tier

Task Category

Araxxor Speed-Trialist

Kill Araxxor 4 times in 10:00

Elite

Speed

Araxxor Speed-Chaser

Kill Araxxor 5 times in 10:00

Master

Speed

Araxxor Speed-Runner

Kill Araxxor 6 times in 10:00

Grandmaster

Speed

Araxxor Veteran

Kill Araxxor 25 times.

Elite

Kill count

Araxxor Master

Kill Araxxor 75 times.

Master

Kill count

Perfect Araxxor

Kill Araxxor perfectly.

Master

Perfect

Perfect Araxxor 2

Kill Araxxor Perfectly without damaging the boss during the enrage phase.

Grandmaster

Perfect

Araxyte Betrayal

Have an Araxyte kill three other Araxytes.

Master

Mechanical

Let it seep in

Kill Araxxor without ever having venom or poison immunity.

Master

Restriction

Relaxed Gamer

Kill Araxxor after destroying 6 eggs.

Elite

Restriction

Arachnid Lover

Kill Araxxor 10 times without leaving.

Master

Stamina

Swimming in Venom

Kill Araxxor without the boss ever moving.

Grandmaster

Restriction

[h2]Other Araxxor Fixes[/h2]

Last week, you let us know that you really liked Araxxor's self-damage mechanic, but requested that it work on any tile underneath the boss and not just the South West corner. We’ve now made this change, so Araxxor had better watch where those eight limbs of his are flying from now on.

Following the changes to self-damage and the addition of Combat Achievements, we’re resetting the global times for Araxxor.

Here are a few smaller changes we've made:

Nid and Rax pets no longer share the same Bank placeholder.
Some players were still finding themselves stuck underneath Araxxor’s body after killing him, so a new safety measure will automatically push players out of his hitbox.
The Ring of Recoil can now be used to kill Araxyte inside the Easter Egg cave, so accounts unable to equip the Noxious Halberd are now able to get the Rancour recolour. However, you can only progress past this point if you have a Noxious Halberd in your Inventory. Not having the halberd will result in being teleported back to the start of the cave.
On DMM worlds, skulled players can no longer enter the Araxxor arena.
Fixed a bug where players could kill Araxxor without a Slayer task.

We’d also like to address a couple of points of feedback from last week:

Level 96 araxytes not spawning superiors: We aren't looking to change this as we think there's a good trade-off between killing the two types of araxytes, one for quick XP and points/hr, and the other for better XP/task and a chance for Slayer superior uniques.
Araxxor overhangs his hitbox in some areas, while other areas of the hitbox feel too big: We can’t prevent certain parts of an NPC model from being clicked on, so our only option would be to shrink Araxxor by 30% to make him never come outside of his bounding box during animations. This would make Araxxor really small, and so unfortunately, it can’t be changed.
Why are the araxyte Tasks counted as spider Tasks?: When we first pitched araxyte Tasks, players were clear that they wanted them to count as spider Tasks, so we made that change before launch.
Issues with Coagulated Venom: Some players weren't able to obtain the Coagulated Venom as the timer included the time taken to loot Araxxor. This issue is now resolved but some players would like to have the venom retroactively given to them. Due to various complications in doing this, players will have to reachieve the 1:15 time to get the reward. We'd like to highlight that this task wasn't balanced around the recently discovered (and subsequently changed) step-under method.

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Poll 82 Updates

We're continuing to roll out more updates from Poll 82: Minigame Makeover, with a particular focus on PvP this week.

Let's start with Last Man Standing! During the Poll 82 proposal, many of you requested that the Zerker bracket be adjusted to 50 Defence up from 45. While we were making this change, we took the opportunity to add Perilous Moons armour to the bracket, which will drop as a set including the weapons to ensure players can make full use of it.

Meanwhile, Blighted Supplies and Bounty Hunter Rewards can now be used in Clan Wars, Soul Wars, and Castle Wars, just as they were polled.
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Crystal Shard Rates Buff

Some of you may remember our blog about Shooting Star changes, where we mentioned our plans to boost Crystal Shard gains from existing sources. Since then we’ve had a whirlwind of launches and updates which has delayed our progress on this front. Today, we’re happy to announce that Crystal Shards are now much easier to farm. Thank you for your patience – here’s what’s changed:

Crystal Acorn: Quantity is now 28-32 shards, up from 14-16. Rate is unchanged.
Superior Slayer Creatures: Quantity is now 6-10 shards, up from 1. Rate is unchanged.
Regular Gauntlet: Quantity is now 5-9 shards, up from 3-7. Rate is unchanged.
Corrupted Gauntlet: Quantity is now 7-12 shards, up from 5-9. Rate is unchanged.
Zalcano: Both the quantity and rate are unchanged.
Agility Course Portals: Quantity is unchanged. Rate is improved from 1 in 3 to 1 in 1, meaning you'll always receive a Shard.
Crystal Chest: Buffed the quantity of Acorns to 4-6 and quantity of Shards by ~50%. This means you'll obtain more Shards on average and obtain more Acorns overall, which will lead to significantly more Shards if you plant them - especially with Acorns also giving more Shards than they used to.
Slayer Dungeon: Quantity is now 3-5 Shards, up from 1. Rate is unchanged.
Pickpocketing: Both the quantity and rate are unchanged.
Mining: Quantity is unchanged. Rate is improved to 1/65 from 1/127.
Crystal Impling: Quantity is now 30-40 Shards, up from 5-10. You’ll get ~2 Shards on average per impling. Rate is unchanged.
Woodcutting: Quantity is unchanged. Rate is improved to 1/40 from 1/80.

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Other Changes

Wyrms are once again visible in the Slayer Log.
Replanted some missing tree trunks in the Kharazi jungle.
Restored Alina's missing jaw.
Fixed a bug where live Implings could be indirectly traded via Imp Defenders releasing them.

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PvP World Rota

The PvP rota has moved to Period B:

560 - (UK) - PvP World
319 - (US) - Bounty Hunter 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.

World 569 (AUS) for Bounty Hunter has been de-activated with this rota.

The PvP Arena is using 'Zerker' loadouts in Ranked Duels and Tournaments this week.
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You can also discuss this update on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel. For more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

Mods Abe, Abyss, Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, BigRig, Blossom, Boko, Bruno, Chilly, Criminal, Crystal, Curse, Daizong, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Enigma, Entropi, Errol, Gecko, Gengis, Gizmo, Goblin, Grub, Halo, Harold, Hend, Hooti, Hornet, Husky, Jalo, Jerv, Keyser, Kieren, Kirby, Kurotou, Leebleh, Lenny, Light, Liron, Lykos, Mack, Manked, Markos, Maylea, Moogle, Morty, Necro, Nin, Nox, Nylu, Other, Philomel, Pumpkin, Redfield, Regent, Rice, Roq, Ry, Saiyan, Sarnie, Shogun, Shroom, Sigma, Skylark, Smithy, Sova, Squid, Starry, Suharun, Surma, Sween, Tide, Titus, TJ, Tsourorf, Tyran, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Yume

The Old School Team.

Jagex announces official Old School Runescape private servers, because the grind can always get grindier

I fear and respect Old School Runescape players. As someone who has a long history with MMOs and live-service games, I've stomached plenty of grind over the years. But the OSRS player doesn't merely tolerate grind—they relish in it, willing to devote themselves to the near-ascetic self-denial of killing a mole for 8 months. And soon, there will be grinds to endure that we haven't even begun to imagine. Over the weekend, Jagex announced Project Zanaris, the studio's name for customized OSRS community-run servers, where players will be able to design the parameters for the Runescape grind themselves...
Read more.

OSRS community servers are finally coming, giving you complete control

You'd better believe it, official Old School RuneScape community servers are finally on the way. Codenamed 'Project Zanaris,' you'll now have complete control over server rules as you play. So if you want to restrict trading, make your own game modes, or even just have a realm for you and your friends, you can do it. The power is about to be in your hands, but we've still got to wait a while for OSRS community servers to arrive before getting too excited.

Read the rest of the story...

Poll 82 Updates & Araxxor Fixes | September 4th

This week we have more Poll 82 updates plus some Araxxor bug fixes.

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Changelog September 4th

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Araxxor

Reduced the 'self-damage' from stepping under Araxxor during his enrage phase from 30 to 10.
Extended Anti-Venom+ is now prioritised when using the cure option for poison and venom.
The kill time required to drop the Coagulated Venom no longer takes the time between the kill and looting into account.
Araxxor's body will now push you away if you're standing on him during the death animation.
Extended Anti-Venom+ has been recoloured to set it apart from other Anti-Venom potions.
Players with Rax stored in their Player Owned House will no longer be able to reclaim another Nid from Probita.
Added an additional audio cue for Araxxor's charged venom spit attack to help differentiate it from his basic attack.
Death Charge now correctly restores Special Attack Energy when killing Araxxor himself.
Rune Platelegs and Rune Kiteshield drops have been made noted to alleviate Inventory pressure on longer trips.
Prayer Potion supply drops now always drop as a single 4-dose potion instead of a couple of 2-dose potions.
Added Spiders back to the Gauntlet after a temporary time-out for phasing in and out of visibility.
Putting the Soulreaper Axe into the Bank with stacks on the weapon and logging out now causes the stack to start decrementing.

Further Poll 82 Updates

When taking up a new Mahogany Homes Contract, you can now select "Last-tier contract", for a Contract of the same tier as your previous selection, skipping the tier-selection dialogue. You can use the "Contract" option to choose another tier.
You'll now automatically drink your Cup of Tea at the end of a Mahogany Homes Contract.
In Trouble Brewing, Bottles of Rum now award 10 Pieces of Eight.
You will no longer have to find your way through a bog using a stick in Temple Trekking.

Other Changes

Expeditious bracelet now ensures players will receive the correct Slayer Points when used in Partner Slayer.
You're no longer able to gain XP by using magic spells on the pillars in the Path of Scarabas. Cheeky!

PvP Rota

The PvP rota has moved to Period A:

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

Araxxor

You've already been racking up your kill counts with the latest Slayer boss to creepy-crawl his way into Old School, and some players have gone as far as to create some unreasonably cute fanart for our favourite arachnid!

Cherrycake's Catraxxor is honestly too cute to handle, while OceanBytes has given the creepy crawly a truly retro feel.

Some less welcome bugs made themselves known last week, and last week we put out a handful of hotfixes to remedy them.

This week, we have some more improvements:

Top of the list, Araxxor will now helpfully push players away during his agonised death throes instead of letting them stand awkwardly on his corpse. In another bug fix, the kill time required to drop the Coagulated Venom will no longer take the time between the kill and looting into account.

It's going to be easier to grab your bottle of Extended Anti-Venom+ in a hurry as we've given it a more distinctive recolour. Plus, the Extended Anti-Venom+ will now be prioritised when using the cure option for poison or venom by clicking on your Hitpoints orb.

It didn't take long for you talented folks to discover some seriously cool tech to speed up your kills! Players discovered that you could get Araxxor to do significant damage to himself during his enrage phase with some well-timed 'step-unders'. We're all for ingenuity, however we do think the damage output was perhaps a little on the extreme side. Consequently, we’re reducing it down to 10 as opposed to 30. An extra 10 damage every 4 ticks is still a significant boost, so we hope it still feels worth doing without being so significant that it feels mandatory.

Here are a handful of extra changes we've made:

Death Charge now correctly restores Special Attack Energy when killing Araxxor himself.
Rune Platelegs and Rune Kiteshield drops have been made noted to alleviate some inventory pressure on longer trips.
Prayer Potion supply drops now always drop as a single 4-dose potion instead of 1-2 2-dose potions.
Spiders have been welcomed back to the Gauntlet, after a temporary time-out as punishment for phasing in and out of visibility.
Players with Rax in their Player Owned House will no longer be able to reclaim another Nid from Probita.
Putting the Soulreaper Axe into the Bank with stacks on the weapon and logging out now causes the stack to start decrementing.
We've added an additional audio cue for Araxxor's charged venom spit attack to help differentiate it from his basic attack.

Before we move on, we'd like to confirm that the drop rates for Araxxor's uniques on the OSRS Wiki are accurate! The Araxyte Fang has a drop rate of 1 in 600, while Noxious Halberd pieces drop at a rate of 1 in 200. They use a similar system to the Abyssal Bludgeon to prevent you from obtaining any duplicate pieces until you've completed a full weapon. Plus, don't think we forgot... Pet drop rate! Nid, the little cutie, has a 1 in 3,000 chance, increased to 1 in 1,500 if you use the 'Destroy' option.

Plus, here's the Aranea Boots drop rates, too!

1/4000 from the small araxytes, meaning 1/1600 on task
1/2000 from the larger araxytes, 1/800 on task
1/400 from superior araxytes

There may well be more Araxxor changes to come, but that's all for this week!

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Poll 82 Updates

This week we're continuing to rollout Poll 82 changes!

First up, the much-requested Trouble Brewing update - Bottles of Rum will now award 10 Pieces of Eight! Or should that be Pieces of Ten?

We're also removing the swamp segment in Temple Trekking, meaning you'll no longer have to find your way through a bog with just a stick to guide you.

Finally, Mahogany Homes sees a couple of updates this week, too. When taking up a new Mahogany Homes Contract, you can now select "Last-tier contract", and this will assign a Contract of the same tier as your previous selection, skipping the tier-selection dialogue. You can use the "Contract" option to choose another tier. Plus, you'll now automatically drink your Cup of Tea at the end of a Mahogany Homes Contract - good to the last drop!

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Wintertodt Beta

Our Wintertodt Beta is coming soon! This is your chance to test out the new Warmth Metre, replacing Hitpoints as the resource to keep topped up. The Wintertodt's damage, from both basic and special attacks, will now reduce your Warmth Metre, and you'll want to keep that topped up by chomping on some food. Remember to wrap up against that harsh climate with some Warm clothing, as this will help mitigate Wintertodt's damage, along with keeping as many braziers burning as you can. We've also made some adjustments to the Rejuvenation potions, plus how to collect your loot at the end.

We'll be sharing the full breakdown of the changes, plus how to join the beta in an upcoming blog.

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Summer Summit 2024

Of course, we're not going to miss a chance to remind you of the upcoming Summer Summit - it's happening this weekend!

Join us live on Twitch on Saturday, September 7th, 8pm BST / 3pm ET / 12pm PT for your first look at our roadmap and some very exciting reveals... You won't want to miss it!

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Other Changes

Okay so it's not a change, but plenty of you have been asking for some insight into the Rocky drop rate for the Varlamore house thieving activity, so we wanted to confirm it with you: it's drop rate is 1/206777.

Changes made this week:

Expeditious bracelet now ensures players will receive the correct slayer points during partner slayer when it is used.
You're no longer able to gain XP through magic spells on the pillars within the Path of Scarabas, cheeky!

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Merch Updates

[h2]RuneBreaks - an Old School RuneScape DnB album[/h2]

Old School RuneBreaks is an album of official low poly atmospheric DnB remixes of select songs from the RuneScape OST.!

Remixed by London producer Pizza Hotline and with artwork by Matthew Leiher aka Uber, RuneBreaks features 11 blissed-out tracks, complete with unique chilled out animations which you can watch and listen to the full album on the Old School YouTube channel now!

Pre-orders are now open for a Limited Edition double vinyl set, available via the Laced Records store and the Official Merch Store. The set features all 11 tracks on blue galaxy-effect heavyweight discs, all housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve. Purchasing the vinyl via Laced Records unlocks 320kbps MP3 digital downloads.

The album is also now also available on major music streaming platforms. Add it to your playlist!

[h2]RuneScape: Untold Tales of the God Wars, Issue #2 On Pre-Sale Now[/h2]

The second instalment in Titan Comics' comic book series is available to pre-order now!

Variant covers for issue #2 have now been revealed from artists Bayleigh Underwood, Nick Marinkovich and RuneScape's own Concept Artist Mod DBarker!

A special new “virgin” cover for issue 1 has also just been announced as a limited edition featuring only the black and white sketch art for cover 1A by Alan Quah.

Issue #1 is on sale in comic stores and available to purchase digitally on 9th October. Issue #2 follows on November 6th, but all issue covers are now available for pre-order!

Choose a favourite, or pre-order the whole lot!

[h2]New OSRS Embroidered Apparel Range[/h2]

Gear up for autumn in understated style!

The OSRS team were fully involved in the design of this premium apparel range. They wanted to create some classy OSRS togs with understated style!

The eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted prototypes of this range modelled by hosts on the Winter Summit stream earlier in the year and some of the team were again kitted out in this range for the recent Summer Summit!

Now available for all on the official merch store, check out the all the items from the new embroidered apparel range below. You’ll find OSRS bosses, runes from the OSRS logo and a PK skull all recreated in subtle embroidered and woven patches on premium garment bases!

You might recognise the pixel designs from the OSRS HiScores and the Shattered Relics League.

Garments include super soft black pocket tees suitable for all year round and something for the cooler days as we ease into autumn with plaid/cord button down shirts and chunky knit beanies!

Limited stock is available for shipping now – additional stock to follow based on demand!

Here's what the full range includes:

Jad check shirt, tee and beanie
Zulrah green cord shirt and tee
Olm check shirt and tee
Runes cord and plaid shirt and beanie
PK Skull beanie!

You can order any of these items from our merch store right now!

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PvP World Rota

The PvP rota has moved to Period A:

539 - (US) - PvP World
318 - (UK) - Bounty Hunter 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.

World 569 (AUS) for Bounty Hunter has been activated with this rota.

The PvP Arena is using 'Max/Med' loadouts in Ranked Duels and Tournaments this week.

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You can also discuss this update on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel. For more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

Mods Abe, Abyss, Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, BigRig, Blossom, Boko, Bruno, Chilly, Criminal, Crystal, Curse, Daizong, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Enigma, Errol, Gecko, Gengis, Gizmo, Goblin, Grub, Halo, Harold, Hend, Hooti, Hornet, Husky, Jalo, Jerv, Keyser, Kieren, Kirby, Kurotou, Leebleh, Lenny, Light, Liron, Mack, Manked, Markos, Maylea, Meat, Moogle, Morty, Necro, Nin, Nox, Nylu, Other, Pumpkin, Redfield, Regent, Rice, Roq, Ry, Saiyan, Sarnie, Shogun, Shroom, Sigma, Skylark, Smithy, Sova, Squid, Starry, Suharun, Surma, Sween, Tide, Titus, TJ, Tsourorf, Tyran, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Yume

The Old School Team.