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Barbarian Training, Forestry & More | February 14th



We’re going wild this week with improvements to Barbarian Training, Forestry, and more!
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[h2]Changelog February 14th[/h2]

[expand]
Barbarian Training Improvements
  • Barbarian Training is now officially a Miniquest!
  • Added Barbarian Farming, which allows players to plant seeds without a Seed Dibber and automatically destroy Plant Pots when planting trees.
  • Players who have participated any previous sections will have those parts of the miniquest automatically completed.


Forestry Tweaks and Changes
  • Removed all event items from Forestry.
    • Event items in Forestry Kits and Banks will be automatically converted to GP.
    • Event items in Group Ironman Storage will convert to GP when opening the Storage post-update.
    • Any related offers on the Grand Exchange will be cancelled. GP will still be available to collect.
    • Removed references to the aforementioned items from the Grand Exchange and the Skill Guide.
  • Players now have a random chance to encounter events they’re eligible for based on the following algorithm:
    • The game tracks the last two trees chopped. If an event spawns within 20 tiles of one of those trees, players are eligible for full rewards.
    • Logging out resets tracked trees.
    • Players may still join events they are ineligible for but will receive only 1 Woodcutting XP per event action and no Anima Bark. They are ineligible to receive uniques from the event.
    • A chat message will warn players if they are ineligible for event rewards.
    • At least one player chopping a tree must have a Forestry Kit for events to start spawning.
  • Raised drop rates for Forestry uniques.
  • The bonus chance on the Twitcher’s Gloves has increased from 10% to 20%.
  • Twitcher’s Gloves no longer require charges and are a one-time purchase.
    • Accordingly, the price of Twitcher’s Gloves has been raised.
    • Players with existing Twitcher’s Gloves will have their purchases refunded.


Wilderness Changes
  • The fee paid for accessing the Wilderness Bosses caves (Callisto, Vet'ion, Venenatis, Artio, Calvar'ion & Spindel) is now only in danger of being lost, if the player pays the fee and dies before having left the Wilderness. If the player leaves the Wilderness after paying the fee and returns to another piece of Wilderness content like Scorpia or Rogues' chests, their fee will not be lost on death.
  • Loot from Rogues’ Chests will now be automatically stored in open Looting Bags.
  • The Ring of Wealth (i) now doubles the chance to obtain a Hard Clue Scroll from Rogues’ Chests, in line with its behaviour elsewhere in the Wilderness.
    • Players who already have a Hard Clue Scroll will obtain a 2-Dose Prayer Potion from this roll.


Other Changes
  • (OFFICIAL CLIENT / MOBILE ONLY) Made improvements to the Loot Tracker and Ground Item Overlay features.
    • Added a toggle to break down loot gained from different events separately.
    • Added a toggle for untradeable items in the Ground Item Overlay options.
    • Bank Keys (from PvP deaths) are now tracked via the Loot Tracker.
    • Items in the Loot Tracker now include links to the OSRS Wiki.
  • Sanity is now set to max when teleporting away from The Whisperer.
  • Teleblock spells no longer apply the 10 second logout prevention effect to the caster, only to the target.
  • Scavengers now drop extra Planks.
  • Scurrius’ Antique Lamps now ask players to confirm their choice of skill if it seems unusual.
  • The balancing log near the Coal Trucks can now be used by more than one player at a time.
  • Trader Stan and his colleagues will now clarify that their ships can visit a wider range of destinations than those they've mentioned.
  • The short-bearded Mystery Figure who's supposed to be observing the Champions' Arena no longer faces away from it.
  • A new plant in Varrock Castle prevents people phasing through a certain wall.


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


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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[h2]Barbarian Training Improvements[/h2]



Love is in the air, and so is pottery of dust, as we travel north of Kandarin and engage in some Barbarian Training.

One of our previous Game Jam projects saw a rework for this beloved content, and today, it’s ready to launch!

The first change you’ll notice is that Barbarian Training is now a Miniquest and has had tons of improvements in-line with this fancy new title. This includes an overview of dialogue, reworked progression, and a little added polish. Players who have participated any previous sections will have those parts of the miniquest automatically completed.

We also wanted to add something extra so that those who’ve already completed Otto’s training can gain a little more from this update. You’ll now have the option to try a fourth lesson and learn the ways of Barbarian Farming. This hands-on approach to planting crops lets you plant seeds without a Seed Dibber and destroy Plant Pots after planting trees. We think that sounds… smashing.

So, if you’re feeling adventurous this Valentine’s Day, head north of Baxtorian Falls and say hello to Otto. It’ll make his week!
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[h2]Forestry Tweaks and Changes[/h2]



This week also sees the launch of some big changes to Forestry, as promised in a previous blog.

To reiterate, this is not Forestry: Part Three. We’re simply taking the opportunity to address some longstanding player feedback and improve the content overall.

The root of the problem was event items. These useful bits and bobs gave players some measure of control over which events spawned around them – but like a lot of the content we cut from Forestry, players also felt it was a bit too much management for a skill that used to be ‘chop wood, get logs’.

So our first change is to remove all the event items from the game. Now, all you need to participate is a Forestry Kit and an Axe!

Existing items have automatically been removed from Banks and Forestry Kit and exchanged for GP. Items in Group Ironman Storage will be similarly converted the next time a group member opens it. Any offers on the Grand Exchange have been cancelled with GP available to collect. Lastly, all references to these items have been removed from both the Grand Exchange and the Skill Guide.

As of today’s update, events spawn according to a new algorithm. The game tracks the last two trees you chopped within a short space of time – note that that’s chops, not Logs, so don’t worry if you’re running dry! Logging out will reset your tracked trees.

If an event spawns within a set radius of those two trees, within three minutes of your last chop, you’ll be eligible to get all the rewards from participating in that event!

This means that you’ll get the full amount of XP, Anima-Infused Bark, and rolls on the unique loot table for that event – so it’s well worth sticking around to make the most of your Woodcutting training!

If you’re not eligible to participate, you’ll still get 1 Woodcutting XP per event action, although you won’t be able to obtain Anima-Infused Bark or the event uniques. Don’t worry – you’ll receive a chat message if you’re not eligible.

We reckon this will make Forestry events a bit more rewarding – and in line with that thesis, we’re also increasing the drop rates for all the event uniques, in line with Woodcutting level.

Lastly, we’re also removing charges from the Twitcher’s Gloves. As of today, they’re a one-time purchase from the Forestry Shop. Any extra pairs you have lying around will be fully refunded after today’s update. As a little extra ‘tweet’, we’ve also increased the bonus chance from 10% to 20%.

With that, we’ve reached the end of our Forestry adventure! We’ll be carefully tending to these changes to make sure the content is in a good place. Meanwhile, we’d like to thank you all for your feedback, and hope that you’ll keep frolicking through Gielinor’s forests for years to come!
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[h2]Wilderness Changes[/h2]

  • The fee paid for accessing the Wilderness Bosses caves (Callisto, Vet'ion, Venenatis, Artio, Calvar'ion & Spindel) is now only in danger of being lost, if the player pays the fee and dies before having left the Wilderness. If the player leaves the Wilderness after paying the fee and returns to another piece of Wilderness content like Scorpia or Rogues' chests, their fee will not be lost on death.
  • Loot from Rogues’ Chests will now be automatically stored in open Looting Bags.
  • The Ring of Wealth (i) now doubles the chance to obtain a Hard Clue Scroll from Rogues’ Chests, in line with its behaviour elsewhere in the Wilderness.
    • Players who already have a Hard Clue Scroll will obtain a 2-Dose Prayer Potion from this roll.

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

  • (OFFICIAL CLIENT / MOBILE ONLY) Improved the Loot Tracker and Ground Item Overlay features:
    • Added a toggle to break down loot gained from different events separately.
    • Added a toggle for untradeable items in the Ground Item Overlay options.
    • Bank Keys (from PvP deaths) are now tracked via the Loot Tracker.
    • Items in the Loot Tracker now include links to the OSRS Wiki.
    • We've fixed a bug on Mobile which means you'll no longer have the option to talk to other players pets. You'll just have to imagine what they're saying like everyone else.
  • Sanity is now set to max when teleporting away from The Whisperer. That must be quite a relief!
  • Teleblock spells no longer apply the 10 second logout prevention effect to the caster, only to the target.
  • Scavengers now drop extra Planks.
  • Scurrius’ Antique Lamps now ask players to confirm their choice of skill if it seems unusual.
  • The balancing log near the Coal Trucks can now be used by more than one player at a time.
  • Trader Stan and his colleagues will now clarify that their ships can visit a wider range of destinations than those they've mentioned.
  • The Mystery Figure who's supposed to be observing the Champions' Arena no longer faces away from it.
  • Queen Ellamaria has ordered the planting of new greenery in Varrock Castle to stop people phasing through the walls.

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[h2]PvP World Rota[/h2]

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, 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, Lenny, Light, Liron, Mack, Manked, Markos, Maylea, Meat, Moogle, Morty, Necro, Nox, Nylu, Other, Pumpkin, Redfield, Regent, Rice, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Saiyan, Shogun, Shroom, Sigma, Skane, Skylark, Smithy, Sova, Squid, Starry, Suharun, Surma, Sween, Tide, Titus, Torrance, Tsourorf, Tyran, Veda, Vegard, West & Wolfy

The Old School Team.

Poll 80 Changes: Wildy Bosses & More | February 7th



It's time, 'Scapers… the Poll 80 update is here!
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Changelog February 7th


[expand]
Poll 80 Changes
  • Made changes to the loot tables for Venenatis, Callisto and Vet’ion, replacing lower value drops with higher value ones and providing more consistent loot overall.
  • Increased the minimum percentage of regular loot given to the top 10 players in a fight against Venenatis, Callisto or Vet’ion from 15% to 25%.
  • The Multi-combat Wilderness bosses now drop pets at an improved rate compared to their Single-combat alternatives.
  • Spindel now drops supplies more frequently.
  • Improved rewards from the Muddy Chest.
  • Added a small chance to obtain Larran’s Key from the Muddy Chest.
  • Improved Chaos Elemental loot.
  • Improved Scorpia loot.
  • Improved Rogue’s Chest loot.
  • Increased the XP from unlocking the Rogue’s Chests from 100 to ~700.
  • The ‘Activate’ function on the Dragonfire Shield and the ‘Operate’ function on Dragonfire Ward, and Ancient Wyvern Shield now only give Defence XP in both PvM and PvP.
  • Updated the Lava Dragons’ model.


Other Changes
  • Increased the chance to receive an Emblem from a Bounty Crate from 1/15 to 1/10.
  • XP Lamps obtained via the Bounty Hunter Shop now provide more XP.
  • A message will now appear before using XP Lamps in the Bounty Hunter Shop to make it clear that claiming XP in bulk rewards extra XP, as in Soul Wars and Pest Control.
  • Bounty Hunter weapons and armour can now be used on the Player-Owned House Dummy.
  • Fixed pathing issues causing players to get stuck in the Hallowed Sepulchre.
  • Group Ironmen can now open a shared instance at Scurrius.
  • Scurrius now appears in the correct position in the Collection Log menu.
  • Players are now rewarded XP more reliably when working together to fix the Piscarilius cranes.


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


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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Poll 80 Updates


It’s time to say goodbye to Poll 80 with one last batch of improvements.



[h2]Venenatis, Callisto and Vet'ion[/h2]

The Wilderness bosses got a big upgrade last year, but there was still room for a few more changes to make them more profitable.

Our first change is to increase the minimum loot from 15% to 25% for the top 10 players in a given fight against the Wilderness bosses. In short, this means that if you and nine mates take on the bosses, you’ll get a whopping 250% loot between the lot of you! Alternatively, if you’re more risk-averse than the rest of your party and dealing less damage while in your group, you’ll still walk away with enough loot to make it worth your while.

We’ve also improved the drop rate for pets from 1/2,000 to 1/1,500. This chance is split proportionally between all participants, so a solo kill results in a higher chance to obtain a new friend!

Next, we’ve adjusted the weighting on certain drops, slightly decreasing the chance to get GP and Rune Pickaxes in favour of some more valuable drops. Incidentally, the number of Rune Pickaxes dropped has been increased from 3 to 5, and the quantity of Blighted Anglerfish dropped has been increased from 45 to 100.

As you may have guessed from the previous few paragraphs, our aim is to provide consistent profit – but we’re also trying to dilute supply drops to ensure that the economy isn’t totally destroyed by that minimum loot buff up top. Accordingly, we’ve added new drops to all three bosses:
  • Venenatis now has Wilderness Crab Teleports, Dragon Daggers, Battlestaves, Rune Platelegs, Rune Square Shields and Mystic Air Staves.
  • Callisto now has Wilderness Crab Teleports, Mystic Robe Tops and Bottoms, Rune Kiteshields, Rune Platebodies, and Mystic Earth Staves.
  • Vet’ion now has Wilderness Crab Teleports, Mystic Robe Tops and Bottoms, Rune Full Helms, and Mystic Water and Fire Staves.


Moving away from the big three, Spindel’s supply drops have also been made more consistent, which should enable players to enjoy longer trips to her lair… if they’re not too scared, of course.

[h2]Scorpia[/h2]

From one arachnid to another, let’s talk about Scorpia! This boss is extremely easy to kill, but these fast and fun fights are offset by having to trudge all the way up to the northern tip of the Wilderness to fight her – and it’s in multi-combat, to boot! To counter this, we’ve given Scorpia’s loot table a much-needed update.

Rather than hitting you with another list, here's a screenshot showing off what 10,000 Scorpia kills might look like following today's update:



Not bad, eh?

But doesn’t it seem like something’s missing? Something a little more…unique? We have just such a something in mind, and we’ll be sharing it with you very soon.

While you wait, why not head to the Scorpion Pit and flex those fighting muscles? Make sure to bring your Blighted Ice Sacks and, as always – don’t risk anything you’re not willing to lose!

[h2]Chaos Elemental[/h2]

Just a little bit eastwards, we have everyone’s favourite… cloud? Tentacle monster? Bowl of undercooked spaghetti? Whatever the Chaos Elemental actually is, we love it, and we know you do too.

Along with Scorpia this iconic Wilderness boss has had a loot upgrade to make fighting it worth the risk. Rest assured that its weirder loot has remained unchanged – you’ll still get plenty of Weapon Poison (++) from this bad boy. If you’re after a comfy pet grind in the near future, then you’ll be walking away with a little extra pocket money!

[h2]Rogues' Chest[/h2]

The Rogues’ Castle is the perfect weekend getaway… if you don’t mind contending with the rogues, that is. Fight your way past them and you’ll gain access to the Rogues’ Chests, filled with ill-gotten loot.

Given the profitability of other Thieving methods and the risk inherent to breaking into a castle full of hardened criminals, we’ve decided to improve this loot table, too. These changes should help the Rogues' Chests stand out as a more deterministic Thieving moneymaker than methods like Elves and Vyres where you're waiting for a big drop to land!

The iconic Dragonstone drop is still waiting for you, but you can expect to make significantly more GP per hour than before… as long as you’re left to your own devices, obviously. If you’ve completed the Wilderness Hard Diary you can enjoy 25% extra loot on top – so we’d get those diaries done if we were you! Lastly, you now have a 1/99 chance to snag a Hard Clue Scroll if you haven’t got one already.

In addition, we’ve increased the Thieving XP from these chests from 100 to 701.7, which is a fancy way of saying you’ll get 701 XP 3/10ths of the time and 702 XP the rest of the time, for about 200,000 Thieving XP per hour. Maths is fun, isn’t it?

[h2]Other Poll 80 Changes[/h2]

We’ve covered the major changes from Poll 80, but a handful of others are heading to the game today:
  • Improved loot from the Muddy Chest, including a rare chance to obtain Blighted Supplies and Larran’s Key. If you’ve got a stack of Keys in the Bank, why not see if you can convert them into a Dagon’hai piece or two?
  • The ‘Activate’ function on the Dragonfire Shield and the ‘Operate’ function on Dragonfire Ward, and Ancient Wyvern Shield now only give Defence XP in both PvM and PvP.
  • Lava Dragons have received a hotly debated makeover in line with our modern graphical standards.


That’s the last of Poll 80! Let us know what you think of these changes and share your feedback on the usual channels. Meanwhile, we’re hard at work putting together our next Poll – so keep an eye out!
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Other Changes


[h2]Bounty Hunter[/h2]

In line with Poll 80’s Wilderness theme, we have a couple of Bounty Hunter changes.

First up, we’re improving the chances of obtaining an Emblem from Bounty Crates, from 1/15 up to 1/10.

There’s still room for us to make further changes to this drop rate, but we’re taking things slowly to avoid over-correcting the issue.

As a reminder, boosting in Bounty Hunter is strictly forbidden. Anybody ruining the experience of players actually playing the minigame will have actions taken against their account.

On a lighter note, we’ve also improved the amount of XP on offer if you choose to spend your Bounty Hunter Points on XP Lamps. Rewards have been increased 2.5x across the board – and we’ve also made it clear that claiming XP in bulk this way provides a bonus. You should receive 1% additional XP per Lamp when buying between 10 and 99 of them, and 10% additional XP per Lamp for any number past 100.

Finally, Bounty Hunter weapons and armour can now be used on the Player Owned House Combat Dummy. Ouch!

[h2]Scurrius[/h2]

If you’re thinking about heading to the Wilderness this week, there’s no better way to build your stats than wailing on our favourite Rat King. If these stats (courtesy of Product Analyst Mod Enigma) are anything to go by, you won’t be the only one!



But you don’t have to go alone! As of today’s update, Group Iron squads can select a Shared Instance at Scurrius’ lair so that the whole group can join in the rat-splatting fun.

Note that Scurrius' spawning HP depends on how many players are in the room when the Rat King spawns in. You'll need at least two players in the room before the fight starts to see a full strength 1,500 HP Scurrius!

Lastly, here are a couple of smaller tweaks for this week:
  • Scurrius now appears in the correct position in the Collection Log menu.
  • Players are now rewarded XP more reliably when working together to fix the Piscarilius cranes.


That’s all for today. Good luck on the gains, and if you see us in the Wilderness this week – please go easy on us.
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Makeship Dragon Plushies: Last Chance to Order!




Put your new Dragonfire Shield changes to the test against this fearsome flock of ferocious firebreathers, courtesy of our friends at Makeship.

We’re such good mates that they’ve extended the pre-order period for these fiery bundles of fluff by seven days. You now have till 00:00 (Midnight) GMT on February 17th to get your orders in before the dragons fly back to their respective lairs.

Although these plushies do come with some cuddly loot in the form of bones, antifire potions, and clue scrolls, they don’t actually drop any valuables if slain – so maybe give them a cuddle instead.

Check out the Makeship Store to order!
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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 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, 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, Lenny, Light, Liron, Mack, Manked, Markos, Maylea, Meat, Moogle, Morty, Necro, Nox, Nylu, Other, Pumpkin, Redfield, Regent, Rice, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Saiyan, Shogun, Shroom, Sigma, Skane, Skylark, Smithy, Sova, Squid, Starry, Suharun, Surma, Sween, Tide, Titus, Torrance, Tsourorf, Tyran, Veda, Vegard, West & Wolfy

The Old School Team.

Scurrius & DT2 Combat Achievements | January 31st



Take on new challenges this week with a bumper Combat Achievements update!

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[h2]Changelog January 31st[/h2]

[expand]
Scurrius Combat Achievements
  • Added five new Combat Achievements for Scurrius, The Rat King.


Desert Treasure II Combat Achievements
  • Added 36 new Combat Achievements for the Desert Treasure II bosses – nine each!


Other Changes
  • Rat Bone weaponry can now be used against dummies in the Player Owned House.
  • Players now have the option to un-charge the Bone Staff.
  • Scurrius and rats in the Scurrius encounter now count towards rat Slayer Tasks.
  • Corrected spelling of messages around Scurrius’ Lair.
  • Players are now limited to purchasing 3 membership passcodes with Bonds per week.
  • Pets are now less likely to get stuck when leaving random event areas. Don’t forget to hit the Call button if you need to realign your follower manually!
  • Gargoyles and the biggest desert lizards now have slightly larger aggression radii, making them a bit more prone to attacking adjacent players.
  • Conversely, skeletal wyverns now have a slightly lower aggression radius.
  • The Granite Maul’s special attack animation now takes priority over the animations for Osmumten’s Fang when the two are performed in quick succession.
  • Thralls can now routefind towards a target NPC from further away.
  • The God Wars Dungeon Kill Count display now switches between red and blue to indicate whether players have enough kills to enter the boss rooms.


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


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 '1 Def Pure' loadouts in Ranked Duels and Tournaments this week.
[/expand]
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[h2]Scurrius Combat Achievements[/h2]

You’ve had a week or so to familiarise yourself with the Varrock Sewers’ newest resident, so it’s time to up the challenge with a new selection of Combat Achievements!

Bear in mind that this encounter is designed for low to mid-level players, so our new Achievements only cover the Easy and Medium tiers. Here they are:



[h3]Easy[/h3]
  • Scurrius Novice: Kill Scurrius once.
  • Sit Rat: Finish off Scurrius with a Rat Bone weapon in a private instance.

[h3]Medium[/h3]
  • Scurrius Champion: Kill Scurrius 10 times.
  • Perfect Scurrius: Kill Scurrius in a private instance without taking damage from the following attacks: Tail Swipe and Falling Bricks. Pray correctly against the following attacks: Flying Fur and Bolts of Electricity.
  • Efficient Pest Control: Kill six Giant Rats within Scurrius' lair in three seconds.


If this is your first time trying the Combat Achievements, here are some tips:
  • You'll find all Combat Achievements in the Combat Tasks Completed section of your Character Overview panel.
  • Here you can see how many tasks you've completed, bosses you’ve killed, raids you’ve completed – and which ones you’ve beaten the most times!
  • Combat Achievements are broken down into tiers, ranging from Easy to Grandmaster.
  • Opening the menu in the Combat Achievements panel swaps your view between Overview, Tasks, Bosses and Rewards.
  • Combat Achievements will automatically trigger a completion pop-up and log it in your tracker.
  • Play around in the Combat Tasks Completed panel and narrow it down to Scurrius to keep an eye on your progress.


And that's it! For more news about Scurrius, you can read last week's newspost.

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[h2]Desert Treasure II Combat Achievements[/h2]

Those of you yearning for a tougher challenge will be pleased to hear that the Desert Treasure II Combat Achievements also go live today! Now you can take on Vardorvis, the Whisperer, the Leviathan, and Duke Sucellus against the clock, or test your durability by achieving perfect kills and limited gear runs. There are nine Combat Achievements per boss, for a total of 36. For your convenience, we’ve listed them all below:

[h3]Vardorvis[/h3]
[expand]
Elite
  • Vardorvis Speed-Trialist: Kill Vardorvis in 1:15 without a Slayer Task.
  • Vardorvis Adept: Kill Vardorvis once.
Master
  • Vardorvis Speed-Chaser: Kill Vardorvis in 1:05 without a Slayer Task.
  • Vardorvis Master: Kill Vardorvis 50 times.
  • Perfect Vardorvis: Kill Vardorvis perfectly five times without leaving.
  • Budget Cutter: Kill Vardorvis with gear worth 2 million GP or less in total.
Grandmaster
  • Vardorvis Speed-Runner: Kill Vardorvis in 0:55 without a Slayer Task.
  • Vardorvis Sleeper: Kill Awakened Vardorvis.
  • Axe Enthusiast: Kill Vardorvis after surviving for three minutes of Vardorvis' max speed, while never leaving the centre 25 tiles.

[/expand]
[h3]Whisperer[/h3]
[expand]
Elite
  • Whisperer Speed-Trialist: Kill the Whisperer in 3:00 without a Slayer Task.
  • Whisperer Adept: Kill the Whisperer once.
  • Tentacular: Kill the Whisperer while only using the Arceuus Spellbook.
Master
  • Whisperer Speed-Chaser: Kill the Whisperer in 2:20 without a Slayer Task.
  • Whisperer Master: Kill the Whisperer 50 times.
  • Perfect Whisperer: Kill the Whisperer perfectly five times without leaving.
Grandmaster
  • Whisperer Speed-Runner: Kill the Whisperer in 2:00 without a Slayer Task.
  • Whispered: Kill the Awakened Whisperer.
  • Dark Memories: Kill the Whisperer while spending less than 10 cycles in the pre-enrage shadow realm.

[/expand]
[h3]Leviathan[/h3]
[expand]
Elite
  • Leviathan Speed-Trialist: Kill the Leviathan in 1:50 without a Slayer Task.
  • Leviathan Adept: Kill the Leviathan once.
Master
  • Leviathan Speed-Chaser: Kill the Leviathan in 1:25 without a Slayer Task.
  • Leviathan Master: Kill the Leviathan 50 times.
  • Perfect Leviathan: Kill the Leviathan perfectly five times without leaving.
  • Serpentine Solo: Kill the Leviathan without stunning the boss more than once.
Grandmaster
  • Leviathan Speed-Runner: Kill the Leviathan in 1:10 without a Slayer Task.
  • Leviathan Sleeper: Kill the Awakened Leviathan.
  • Unconventional: Kill the Leviathan using only Mithril ammunition while having no more than 25 Hitpoints throughout the entire fight.

[/expand]
[h2]Duke Sucellus[/h2]
[expand]
Elite
  • Duke Sucellus Speed-Trialist: Kill Duke Sucellus in 1:45 without a Slayer Task.
  • Duke Sucellus Adept: Kill Duke Sucellus once.
Master
  • Duke Sucellus Speed-Chaser: Kill Duke Sucellus in 1:30 without a Slayer Task.
  • Duke Sucellus Master: Kill Duke Sucellus 50 times.
  • Perfect Duke Sucellus: Kill Duke Sucellus perfectly five times without leaving.
  • Cold Feet: Kill Duke Sucellus perfectly without running.
Grandmaster
  • Duke Sucellus Speed-Runner: Kill Duke Sucellus in 1:20 without a Slayer Task.
  • Duke Sucellus Sleeper: Kill Awakened Duke Sucellus.
  • Mirror Image: Kill Duke Sucellus while only attacking the boss on the same tick the Duke attacks you.

[/expand]
[hr][/hr]
[h2]Other Changes[/h2]
  • Rat Bone weaponry can now be used against dummies in the Player Owned House.
  • Players now have the option to un-charge the Bone Staff.
  • Scurrius and rats in the Scurrius encounter now count towards Slayer rat tasks.
  • Corrected spelling of messages around Scurrius’ Lair.
  • Players are now limited to purchasing 3 membership passcodes with Bonds per week.
  • Pets are now less likely to get stuck when leaving random event areas. Don’t forget to hit the Call button if you need to realign your follower manually!
  • Gargoyles and the biggest desert lizards now have slightly larger aggression radii, making them a bit more prone to attacking adjacent players.
  • Conversely, skeletal wyverns now have a slightly lower aggression radius.
  • The Granite Maul’s special attack animation now takes priority over the animations for Osmumten’s Fang when the two are performed in quick succession.
  • Thralls can now routefind towards a target NPC from further away.
  • The God Wars Dungeon Kill Count display now switches between red and blue to indicate whether players have enough kills to enter the boss rooms.

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

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 activated with this rota.

The PvP Arena is using '1 Def Pure' loadouts in Ranked Duels and Tournaments this week.

[hr][/hr]

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, 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, Lenny, Light, Liron, Mack, Manked, Markos, Maylea, Meat, Moogle, Morty, Necro, Nox, Nylu, Other, Pumpkin, Redfield, Regent, Rice, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Saiyan, Shogun, Shroom, Sigma, Skane, Skylark, Smithy, Sova, Squid, Starry, Suharun, Surma, Sween, Tide, Titus, Torrance, Tsourorf, Tyran, Veda, Vegard, West & Wolfy

The Old School Team.

11 years in, Old School RuneScape's toaster graphics are about to look better than ever




The Old School RuneScape look is iconic: Just a clatter of vaguely humanoid models running around a landscape of flat textures, accomplishing feats of grandiose heroism and sheer lunacy all the while. It's a faithful reproduction (to my eyes, anyway) of original RuneScape's graphics from the 2000s, a stunning example of how much you can do with six polygons and a dream...
Read more.

Scurrius, the Rat King | January 24th



Rodents of unusual size? I don’t think they exist. But just in case, let’s double-check the Varrock Sewers…
[hr][/hr]
[h2]Changelog January 24th[/h2]

[expand]
Scurrius, the Rat King
  • Added Scurrius, the Rat King, a mid-level PvM boss lurking in Varrock Sewers.
  • Added Rat Bone weapons, which deal extra damage against rat-type enemies.
    • Rat Bone weapons require an untradeable Rat Spine to craft. This drop is obtainable from Scurrius.


Other Changes
  • Players who’ve lost Blood Runes due to last week’s Scythe changes will be able to reclaim them from the Vyre Well later this week.
  • Bank Placeholders for Coal will now be maintained when withdrawing all your Coal into your Coal Bag.
  • Arcane Scarabs now reliably render over Agile Scarabs.
  • Berry will no longer interrupt players with a chat box every time they enter the Woodcutting Guild.
  • Phoenix Necklaces, Mithril Seeds and Crushed Bird Nests can no longer be drop-traded in dangerous PvP areas like the Wilderness.


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


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 'Zerker' loadouts in Ranked Duels and Tournaments this week.
[/expand]
[hr][/hr]
[h2]Scurrius, the Rat King[/h2]

Something utterly horrible, an abomination beyond our wildest nightmares, is lurking in Varrock Sewers. It calls itself… Scurrius, the Rat King.

Got your attention? Then let’s learn a little more about this royal rodent!

https://youtu.be/Rz883esHO-U?si=dvDMQRFOq2cmjWSg

"Reading? No thanks!". If this sounds like you, check out the video above made by the wonderful OnlyTrails, or click here to watch it on YouTube!

This hulking behemoth of a beast is unlike any rat you’ve met before. Thanks to Scurrius’ mutated form, he’s capable of attacking with all three combat styles – perfect for mid-level players still getting to grips with Old School PvM.

Scurrius can be found east of the ladder in Varrock Sewers. If you’re struggling with your compass, just follow the rats – you can’t miss ‘em! Before entering the lair, you’ll be able to decide whether you’d like to go it alone or team up with friends. The boss is perfectly viable as a solo encounter, so your decision comes down to how confident you are with the mechanics!

This boss is aimed at level 60 players – so if you can wear Rune Armour, Mystic Robes, or Green Dragonhide, you’re more than ready to take Scurrius on. We recommend that would-be rat splatters also have protection Prayers to defend themselves against Scurrius’ mad combat skills.

Without giving too much away, this fight is intended to familiarise players with combat mechanics. While you should expect a challenge, you should still have plenty of time to take a deep breath, pick the right Prayer, and think about your strategy.

Rewards



So, aside from space to grow your combat skills, what else is in it for you? Primarily, Scurrius offers Experience, with a capital X...P… hmm.

The idea is that while you’re training your bossing skills, you’re also training your skills skills. Scurrius isn’t vulnerable to any particular combat style, so if you need to knuckle down and train Ranged, Magic, or Melee… this is the place to do it!

We expect training Scurrius to be one of the most effective ways to train Melee in particular, right up until the endgame. Our reasoning is that unlike traditional combat training methods like Nightmare Zone or Sand Crabs, Scurrius will require you to think on your feet and pay attention. Unlike Slayer, you’re not getting much out of the experience except for Combat XP – so it’s reasonable to boost those XP rates a little.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on things, and we’re ready to make adjustments if the community feels the rates are out of line.

We also have some more tangible loot on offer which will improve your combat capabilities against rats – including Scurrius himself!

If you’ve obtained an untradeable Rat Spine as a drop from this boss, you can turn it into a Rat Bone Bow (with a Yew Shortbow), Rat Bone Mace (with a Rune Mace), or Rat Bone Staff (with any Battlestaff and 1,000 Chaos Runes). You’ll need 35 Fletching for the Bow, 35 Smithing for the Mace, and 35 Crafting for the Staff – so we hope you haven’t neglected your non-combat skills!

When used in combat against rats (including Scurrius), Rat Bone weapons will increase your max hit by 10. Wield them against Scurrius himself, and you’ll be looking at a very efficient way to train combat – unless you’d prefer to whack crabs until the logout timer hits!

What if you'd like to flex your Rat Bone arsenal outside of the dark, dingy sewers? You can! Here's how their stats shake out:



You’ll be able to trade excess Spines (gross!) to an NPC outside Scurrius’ lair who will reward you with 5,000 XP in any Combat skill – except for Prayer, where you’ll receive 3,500 XP per Spine.

Other drops include appropriately mid-level supplies of food, Runes, Arrows, and Potions. You should receive enough back to offset the cost of fighting the boss and perhaps put away a little pocket money – but the main reward is XP. Don’t expect to leave the sewers as an overnight billionaire - you'll have to get busy charging Air Orbs for that!

Now, there’s one last reward you should probably know about. Make room in your menagerie, because you may well have a funny feeling while fighting Scurrius… and we’re not talking about the smell…
[hr][/hr]
[h2]Winter Summit Summary Video[/h2]

Our Winter Summit livestream was the ‘coolest’ stream of the year, with Mods Ayiza and Kieren joined by a host of J-Mods to discuss all the content coming in early 2024!

Don't worry if you missed it, because we've got all the highlights right here.

https://youtu.be/gGv0menXYl4?si=wGVqYvw7JdIKteb8
In a rush? Check out this rapidfire Winter Summit Summary video! Or click here to watch it on YouTube!

Along with this epic roadmap reveal, we want to know your thoughts on the Winter Summit! We've pulled together a short survey for you to fill out. Your feedback will help us shape the future of summits and how we distribute information to you, so go on – give it a look!


[hr][/hr]
Join a Clan

Earlier this month we let you know that we’re retiring our forums. They’ll become read-only on January 25th and will be removed entirely on March 28th. You can read more about our reasons for this decision in this newspost.

One of the biggest points of concern you’ve raised is that the community will lose an official space to advertise or join clans.

But don’t panic – we’re adding some new spaces to our Official Discord Server where you can meet like-minded players and find new friends!

We've added the following spaces:
  • Clan Guidelines: to learn the best way to utilise the space.
  • Clan Central: a casual space to discuss anything Clan-related.
  • Clan Advert Board: a place to post your clan advert message.
  • A series of forum channels for recruiting to different types of clans, including social, PvM, PvP, and a channel for if your clan covers multiple types.
  • Looking for clan: post a thread here when you're looking for a clan to join, this way clans can approach you!
  • Looking for Group: for those of you looking for a group of fellow players to play different content with.


To join the server, simply click this link. You’ll be able to select which announcements you want to hear, which news you want to keep up with, and even which Old School RuneScape god you align with. After the 10-minute waiting period, you’ll be ready to go!

We’re always working on new ways to use our Official Discord Server, and we’re open to your suggestions! Incidentally, we have a ‘Suggestion’ channel in the Discord, so if you have any awesome ideas, be sure to pop them in there.

Finally, we want to give a huge shout out to our Discord moderators who have been an incredible help setting up our newest Clan functions, as well as keeping our Discord an inviting, engaging place.
[hr][/hr]
[h2]Other Changes[/h2]

A Quick Update on the great Vyre Well Blood Rune Disappearance of '24

Before we get into the usual 'smaller' tweaks from this week, we wanted to keep you in the loop on what's happening with all those Blood runes that effectively disappeared following last week's improvements to the Scythe of Vitur.

Last week we reduced the number of Blood Runes used by the Scythe – hurrah! While that’s great for Scythe fans, we overlooked those of you with a large number of charges stored in the Vyre Well at Ver Sinhaza. Because of this oversight, this group has been losing 100 Blood Runes per charge… not quite what we intended!

We’ve been exploring whether we can restore these missing Runes and in doing so, have done an awful lot of research. We’ve identified around 16,000 players who are missing Blood Runes, and the quantity ranges from ‘not that many’ to ‘literally a million’.

This week’s update has let us put some code in place to return your Blood Runes, and delivery will commence in the next few days. We’ll post on socials, update the newspost, and even consider an in-game broadcast to let you know exactly when this change is happening.

When it does, you should be able to interact with the Vyre Well and receive a prompt for your Blood Runes refund – don’t forget to make Inventory space for them!

Unfortunately, our tracking is more limited for charges stored within the items themselves. Consequently, we can only offer returns for Blood Runes lost in the Well.

We sincerely apologise for last week's oversight and hope anybody affected finds themselves reunited with their missing Blood Runes later this week!

Now, on to this week's miscellaneous tweaks and changes:
  • Bank Placeholders for Coal will now be maintained when withdrawing all your Coal into your Coal Bag.
  • Arcane Scarabs now reliably render over Agile Scarabs.
  • Berry will no longer interrupt players every time they enter the Woodcutting Guild.
  • Phoenix Necklaces, Mithril Seeds and Crushed Bird Nests can no longer be drop-traded in dangerous PvP areas like the Wilderness.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Leagues IV: Trailblazer Reloaded - Survey[/h2]

First of all, we'd like to give a huge thank you to everyone that took part in Leagues IV: Trailblazer Reloaded!

Even though Leagues is over (for now), we want to get some extra insight on how you will interacted with Trailblazer Reloaded to help us make more informed decisions about our next edition of this game mode.

We really appreciate you taking the time to give us your feedback and the team is looking forward to hearing your thoughts!


[hr][/hr]
[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.

The PvP Arena is using 'Zerker' loadouts in Ranked Duels and Tournaments this week.
[hr][/hr]
Dragon Plushies: Order Now!



Old School’s most iconic dragons are now available in plushie form - no Dragonfire Shield necessary.

Each critter comes with Dragon Bones (of course) and two of them have extra surprises - the Jumbo KBD has an Antifire Potion and the Jumbo Vorkath has an Elite Clue Scroll.

Available to pre-order now from Makeship for a limited time only - orders close in February!

This is a one-off production run, so this is your only chance to grab one of these adorable dragons. Get ‘em before they’re gone!

There is a 10% discount if you buy 2 and a 15% discount for 3! Visit the Makeship Store for full details.
[hr][/hr]
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, Blossom, Boko, Bruno, Chilly, Crystal, Curse, Daizong, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Enigma, Errol, Gecko, Gizmo, Goblin, Grub, Halo, Harold, Hend, Hooti, Hornet, Husky, Jalo, Jerv, Keyser, Kieren, Kirby, Kurotou, Lenny, Light, Mack, Manked, Markos, Maylea, Meat, Moogle, Morty, Necro, Nox, Nylu, Other, Pumpkin, Redfield, Regent, Rice, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Saiyan, Shogun, Shroom, Sigma, Skane, Skylark, Smithy, Sova, Squid, Starry, Surma, Sween, Tide, Titus, Torrance, Tsourorf, Tyran, Veda, Vegard, West & Wolfy

The Old School Team.