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Maximum Hitsplats & Clan Hall Changes | Weekly Game Update (August 3rd)

This week's update brings some much anticipated features from Poll 76, including a whole host of quality of life changes, some TLC for the Clan Hall, and shiny hitsplats!

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[h2]Trimmed Max Hitsplats[/h2]

You might have noticed that Old School RuneScape features an awful lot of numbers. Experience, levels, killcounts, completions - you get the gist.

However, very few numbers feel better than a big ol’ hitsplat. Whether it's the 73 your friend has so generously risked for you or your Crystal Halberd working overtime to skip that pesky Sotetseg ball: big hits feel good.

And while big hits feel good, max hits feel even better! Today's update gives players the option to toggle a golden trim for every max hit they land.

You are GOLD (gold!)


In this context, a 'max hit' means the biggest number you can possibly roll, taking into account your gear, active buffs and Prayers, and anything else that might affect your damage.

Note that it only applies to damage you’re dealing directly to an opponent, so typeless damage like recoil or environmental damage won’t appear with this luxurious trim.

Your hitsplats will also remain untrimmed any time where damage is guaranteed, such as when facing Hespori’s flowers. After all, if all your hits were max hits, they wouldn’t feel special anymore!

Lastly, any max hit below 10 won’t show, because a single digit isn’t quite punchy enough to deserve the trim. Should you disagree, you can always edit that threshold in the Settings! Whether you want to see your mighty 3s highlighted in all their glory, or think nothing less than a solid 50 is deserving of the honour, the option is there for you to choose.

It should go without saying, but just in case: don’t trade with any other player claiming they can trim your max hits for you. They could steal your max hits, and you might never get them back! The only legit way to get the trim is in the Settings menu.

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[h2]Clan Hall Upgrades[/h2]

Need a break from all that hit splatting? Kick back and relax in an upgraded Clan Hall!

Be careful where you sit, though – the latest member of your Clan, Hannibal the Clan Hall cat, just got a whole lot more personality! Now you and your Clanmates can pet this fluffy fellow to your heart’s content, and even feed him fish and milk to make sure he’s living his best life. Maybe stay away from the liver and chianti, though…

If you’re the proud owner of a Catspeak Amulet, you’ll also be able to chat to Hannibal and receive his wisdom on a number of topics – including the nearby piano, which has also received some love this week!



We've sent an army of piano tuners (Hannibal kept eating the piano salmons) to your Clan Halls to perform some much-needed musical maintenance.

Adventurers who sit down to play a tune should find that the black keys are now working when using either the 'Entertain' option for your clan or the 'Play quietly' option for yourself.

We hope to see some fantastic covers now that you’ve been given a full range of musical options!

Finally, if you want to see who exactly is busting out another Sea Shanty II in the Clan Hall, the Clan Chat now indicates how many members are currently in the channel, as well as how many people are in the Clan. Click or tap on that info to switch it to the number of guests in the channel instead.

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[h2]Poison Dynamite[/h2]

Lastly, let’s talk Poison Dynamite. This explosive item is aimed at restricted accounts aiming to minimise their combat experience.

When we removed ‘spawn hitting’, it made it much harder for these accounts to gain critical achievements to progress their adventure, so we proposed this caustic, explosive combo to let these players enjoy the game in the manner they were accustomed to.

You’ll be able to make Poison Dynamite by mixing your bogstandard, boring Dynamite with three Cave Nightshade plants. When lit with a Tinderbox (and after a short delay), your creation will explode and deal damage that scales with your Firemaking level.

Assuming the enemy isn’t immune to poison, there’s a chance that they’ll start to take poison damage, too. Yowch!

So when can you get your hands on this stuff? Soon! We’ll be running a beta to make sure that Poison Dynamite works as intended very soon. We’d say ‘keep your eyes peeled!’, but actually, we recommend wearing safety goggles…

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[h2]Other Changes[/h2]

  • The Agility skill guide now shows the correct Ranged level requirement for the Bow of Faerdhinen.
  • Checking the contents of your Looting Bag while moving no longer makes the game forget your destination.
  • The Spellbook selection drop-down boxes on the PvP Arena load-out menus now work more reliably on mobile devices.
  • The level requirement checks for enchanting various Crossbow Bolts have been corrected.
  • The click-zone of the skull slope has been expanded in the Ape Atoll Agility course. This should make the journey to your favourite Monkey Backpack a little smoother!
  • Players who have unlocked access to the rowing boats north of Fossil Island can now row there directly from the camp.
  • Pending damage is no longer cleared as players cross rooftop Agility obstacles on the Deadman world. Make sure to watch your back the next time you try making a death-defying rooftop escape during combat - we know it looks cool, but we're not sure it's worth the damage stack!
  • Camera effects found inside Baba Yaga's house, Barrows and the Fishing Trawler minigame can now be toggled in the Settings menu. Perhaps buying Astral Runes isn't quite the action-packed, thrill-seeking experience we'd always hoped it could be...
  • Key Master Teleport Scrolls are no longer tradeable via PvP death.
  • Players with items stored in an item retrieval service (like the ones at Vorkath or Hespori) will now be reminded of this when logging in. The message will gently remind you that if you die before retrieving your items then they'll be gone forever.

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[h2]Miscellaneous Updates[/h2]

Tombs of Amascut Blog Update

Keen to learn all you can about our upcoming raid, Tombs of Amascut? Then you’ll want to head to this post.

We’ve recently updated it with more information about the Invocation system, and how it will impact the difficulty of the raid and the loot you’ll receive. While we haven’t released the names of any specific Invocations just yet, this post should tell you all you need to know about this exciting new mechanic.

As a reminder, Tombs of Amascut launches on August 24th – so get your gear in… gear and prepare to face our most versatile raiding experience yet!

Tombs of Amascut Login Screen Competition

In case you missed it, there’s a poll running in-game right now to determine the winner of our Tombs of Amascut login screen competition. We’ve narrowed it down to four finalists, and need your help to choose the winner!

You can see the finalists below. Don’t forget to hop in-game and cast your vote!









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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.
The PvP Arena is using 'Zerk' loadouts in Ranked Duels and Tournaments this week.

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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 more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

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

The Old School Team.

Clue Scroll Helper | Weekly Game Update (27th July)



We've hit the next milestone of our Client Update - keep scrolling to read all about it!

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[h2]New Client Features: Clue Scroll Update![/h2]



Clue Scroll Helper

Get ready to Clue your heart out with the brand new Clue Scroll Helper! This handy tool will help you solve all types of Clues fast, including Anagrams, Coordinates, Ciphers, Cryptics, Emotes, Fairy Rings, Falo the Bard, Hot/Colds, Maps, Music and Skill Challenges.



When interacting with a Clue Scroll, the Helper will appear on the left-hand side, giving you instructions on how you can complete that step. For example, if your current clue step is a Music Clue, the relevant track will be displayed within the Music Side Panel, as well as displayed in the Clue Scroll Helper.

You can get directions from hint arrows in-world, on the Minimap or by opening up the World Map. During your Clue Scroll completion, the Helper will also display what items you need for your current step, and will helpfully point out if you have them or if they are in a previously built S.T.A.S.H. Unit.



Pop into the Settings and you'll find options to turn off the Helper completely, disable the hint arrows, or toggle other display options including World Map markers, menu highlights, and more. The Helper will automatically disappear if the current Clue Scroll is removed from your Inventory.


NPC Indicators



You can now highlight NPC click regions and their names, so you know where to click when you want to interact with your desired NPC. When this option is on, the NPC you have selected/hovered over will be highlighted and their name displayed above them.


NPCs will also have two new right-click options:
  • 'Highlight this NPC' will keep that specific NPC highlighted.
  • 'Highlight all NPCs of this type' will highlight all similar NPCs in the nearby area.

You'll also be able to choose whether just the NPC is highlighted, the tile the NPC is standing on is highlighted, or both, alongside colour options for your selections. This feature is OFF by default and can be changed at any time within the Settings menu.

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[h2]New Client Features: And There's More![/h2]



Activity Helpers

In our Mobile New Client Launch and Next Steps blog we revealed that there would be a few bonus extras with today's update, in the form of some of the most popular Activity Helpers. For the record, there are a few missing - but you can look forward to those in a future update. For now, let's see what you can get your hands on:
  • Blast Furnace Helper: Allows you to enable a highlighter for objects you might interact with in the Blast Furnace. You can also keep tabs on key info like the items currently in the melting pot and dispenser or the amount of money in the coffer.
  • Cannon HUD: You can now see how long your Dwarven Multicannon has left before it breaks and how many Cannon Balls you have. You can also enable notifications alerting you when you're low on, or out of, Cannon Balls.
  • Herbiboar Helper: This helper highlights the Herbiboar's footprints, interactable scenery, and the elusive Herbiboar itself.
  • Hunter Trap Timers: These timers let you know when your Hunter traps are about to despawn.
  • Tears of Guthix Timers: This shows you different coloured timers for the blue and green veins, and reminds you which ones you should be aiming for.
Further Changes

We've also made the following improvements:
  • For those of you who haven't upgraded to the Circlet of Water yet, the numbers of Waterskin uses have been added to the Buff Bar.
  • We have made tooltips across the game display consistently when using the C++ Client.
  • You now have the option to toggle icons on the Minimap at the most zoomed level, so that you can see what's going on across a wider area.
  • Agility Course Highlights are now cleared when the player dies, or after five minutes of inactivity.

We've also made some fixes to help make your mobile experience a little smoother:
  • Improvements have been made when opening or closing Side Panels.
  • Fixed an issue with entity overlays inside the Chambers of Xeric.
  • Resolved various issues that caused the app to crash or become unresponsive.
  • Fixed an issue allowing Prayer to activate after clicking on an Inventory item and changing tab via hotkey.
  • Audio now works correctly with certain slider setups.
  • Fixed an issue where tiles highlighted incorrectly under certain circumstances.
  • Reduced the visibility of grid lines.

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[h2]Masori Armour Feedback[/h2]

We recently revealed the in-game look for the Masori Armour, one of the awesome rewards you can get your hands on in Tombs of Amascut. You had lots to say about the design - here were the main points we noticed:
  • At first glance, it doesn't look like Ranged gear. The cloth makes it look like Magic equipment.
  • Some players thought the Ancient Egyptian theme strayed too far from traditional Ranged equipment, which is usually made from hides. You thought it looked more like a costume than a set of best-in-slot armour.
  • It doesn't look strong enough to be a best-in-slot armour set.
  • The upgraded version changes the colour from gold to silver, which seems like a downgrade.

In light of this feedback, we'd like to present two new Masori Armour concepts.

The first one is in line with the previous iteration, with slight tweaks to the base armour. The upgraded version is more distinct from the original.



The second concept is an entirely fresh take on the armour, incorporating crocodile skin textures. This beast features heavily in Tombs of Amascut - the Zebak boss is one example - and so we think this radical change is still on-theme.



We want to hear what you think about these concepts. Here's how we'll be handling Masori Armour going forward:

  1. We’ll be share the new concepts on our social channels, with social polls (where available) to help us better understand your initial interest and feedback.
  2. We’ll follow this up with an in-game poll later today where you’ll be able to decide which direction we should take with the armour.
  3. The art team will go away and use the results of the poll, alongside your feedback, to create a new version of the Masori Armour set ready for when Tombs of Amascut launches on August 24th.
  4. Once Tombs of Amascut launches, we'll think about other changes based on your feedback. However, we want to make it clear that this will only be after the raid itself is in great shape!

You can look forward to the in-game poll that will run between today (July 27th) at approximately 13:00 BST until Friday July 29th at 13:00 BST.

Make sure to also head over to our usual social channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Reddit) to leave your (constructive) feedback on the new concepts!

Just a quick note on your feedback. Old School is a game that we all love, and as a team we appreciate your passion and commitment to the game. Working closely with you is one of the things that makes Old School so great! We have a team of wonderfully talented and dedicated people that want to do right by both the game and its players. So please remember, when leaving your feedback, keep it constructive, and give us the reasons why you don't like something as opposed to a one-word response. In terms of art specifically, the amazing people on the team have said that they really appreciate feedback with extra detail and reference images, where applicable.

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[h2]Other Changes[/h2]
  • When outside combat areas on PvP Arena worlds, the 'Trade' option has been replaced with a 'Load-outs' option. Players can right-click another player and open a menu showing the selected player's three load-outs. From here, you can copy their load-out over to yours, replacing your current preset.
  • Rebalanced the grouping algorithm in the PvP Arena to help the less common ranks find matches.
  • The Blast Furnace is now a safe zone on PvP worlds, due to occasional incidents of luring around the Bank Chest.
  • A couple of crates have been deleted from the middle floor of a tower in Hosidius, as they were getting in the way of PvP combat in the area.
  • On the Deadman world, the Ardougne task for casting Ice Barrage in Castle Wars can now be completed by entering the Castle Wars lobby with the relevant quest and skill requirements satisfied.
  • For Ultimate Iron players, any unclaimed Chambers of Xeric rewards may now be dropped outside the Chambers rather than being put in the private storage, since UIM can't use it.
  • Some grammar has been corrected on guards in the H.A.M. cave.

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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.

We will now be including the current PvP Arena rotation within this section of the Weekly Game Update newspost:

For those of you that don't know, the rotations for the Arena actually occur before the weekly game update, which is between Tuesday and Wednesday from Midnight to 1am (dependent on the current time standard in the UK). However, we thought this would be a good way to keep you up to date with the week's current rotation!

This rotation only affects Ranked Play, so all other types of battles within the Arena may be fought with your choice of load-out.

The PvP Arena is now using 'Max/Med' load-outs in Ranked Tournaments this week.

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[h2]Official Merch Store[/h2]



Get ready to be transported to the Kharidian Desert with the latest pins and keyrings from Angels Scapes! Find them in the Cities of RuneScape range at the Official Merch Store.
  • Sq'irk Mini Pin Set: A set of slightly sq'irky, er, we mean, quirky, fruits from the Sorceress's Garden!
  • Green Slayer Helm: A Slayer Helmet recoloured with the head of the Kalphite Queen.
  • Infinity Robes Pin, Light Infinity Robes Pin, Dark Infinity Robes Pin: Mystical robes obtained from the Mage Training Arena, with a light recolour and a dark recolour, now in pin form!
  • Kebab Pin: The delicious camel-based delicacy of Al Kharid - yum!
  • Ring of Dueling Keyring: This handy item may not actually teleport you to Castle Wars or the Emir's Arena, but at least it won't crumble into nothing after eight uses...

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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 more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

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

The Old School Team.

Activity Adviser | Weekly Game Update (July 20th)



This week, we’re launching the Activity Adviser!

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[h2]A Quick PSA[/h2]

Just so you all know, this week’s game update will include more downtime than usual as we take care of some scheduled maintenance. The game update timer will begin at 11:00 BST, and the game will shut down at 11:30 BST. We expect our maintenance work to be finished at around 13:45 BST, and the game worlds should come online at 14:00 BST. We'll keep you updated via our status page here.

Now, on with the show!

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[h2]Activity Adviser[/h2]

Old School RuneScape has an amazing community made up of players with varying interests, skills and experience in the game. Some of you have experienced almost all of the content that the game has to offer, but there are still loads of players in the process of starting their journey – or returning to it - and figuring out what to try next!

We've all been in the situation where we believe we have grinded several requirements to start playing a piece of content, only to find out there are several more requirements locked behind a quest, which is locked behind another quest, and so on… We're all used to it by now, but account progression for newer or returning players can be a real challenge - it's a long road to get to the more 'exciting' parts of Gielinor!

As a note, we’ve seen your feedback regarding the ‘gaps’ in mid-game and want you to know that this is something we’ve taken on board. In the meantime, though, we think it’s important to have a tool in place to help players of all levels find suitable content to try.

Introducing: The Activity Adviser!

This in-game tool will highlight activities relevant to your account by measuring your progress and seeing what big, exciting content is in store next. It automatically tallies up your skill levels, quest status, recent activity and other essential stats to figure out what adventures you might be interested in! For the moment, the Activity Adviser only suggests quests, but we expect to include skills, minigames, and other categories later.

For now, the Activity Adviser is only available to select accounts as part of our initial testing period. Provided this goes well, we'll use player feedback to make changes before it becomes available to all accounts.


'Available' and 'Target' Content

There are two categories of content you can find in the Activity Adviser: Available Content and Target Content.
  • Available Content: A range of activities that you can get stuck into right now, because you meet all the necessary skill and quest requirements.
  • Target Content: Milestone activities and progression moments that you’re close to, but don’t quite have the requirements for.


Quest Section

In the Quests section, you’ll be able to see quests you’ve met the requirements for as well as quests you’re close to being able to start.

This section will prioritise quests that give access to important unlocks like Fairy Ring teleports or progression equipment. We’ve noticed that one of the most common early-game struggles is getting around, for example, so we hope that pointing new or returning players in the direction of useful teleports and other unlocks will reduce the time they spend schlepping from one side of Gielinor to the other!

Future sections could include ‘Skills’, ‘Utility’ and ‘Miscellaneous’, which would cover skills, run energy and teleports, and clues and minigames, respectively. Does this cover all the bases? We want to know! Share your thoughts on these categories through all the usual channels.




First-Time Login

If you are selected to be part of the A/B testing, you'll see this pop-up on your next login:



Please note, the pop-up will go away automatically if you engage in combat.

If you’re one of the lucky ones to access the Activity Adviser early, we’d love to hear your thoughts about it. We’re very keen to improve the new and returning player experience, and every bit of feedback helps!


Final Notes

Suitable activities are based on a number of factors, not just the fastest route to account progression or XP. We want to help people find the activities they’ll enjoy the most and that’s not necessarily the content with the most efficient grind.

We also want to point out that players are encouraged to play the game in whichever way suits them. The Activity Adviser is just a tool to highlight activities people might enjoy, not a definitive path for players to take.

We'll be discussing the Activity Adviser in more detail on our Twitch channel this Thursday (July 21st) at 17:00 BST with Mods Kieren, Squid, Daizong & Light! Please feel free to use this form to submit your questions about the Activity Adviser or new player experience!

Lastly, the Activity Adviser is intended to complement the OS Wiki, not replace it. We highly recommend having a read through their fantastic guides as you decide what to tackle next.

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[h2]PvP Arena Feedback Changes[/h2]

First up, players can now configure the types of Runes they take into the PvP Arena using the ‘Configure’ option on the Rune Pouch. Please note, however, that the Spellbook interface will also show spells requiring Runes provided by items, such as the Fire Runes provided by the Tome of Fire.

The Bow of Faerdhinen has been removed from the loadout chest. Players have raised concerns about its power being disproportionate to other offerings like the Zaryte Crossbow. This is a change we'll be keeping a close eye on and would be happy to revert if needed, but we hope this is a bit more balanced.



We’ve also added a button which lets you copy your opponent’s loadout in unranked duels.

Next, the ELO system was disproportionately affecting players with larger rank gaps, so we've adjusted the way that Rank Points scale in uneven fights. This means that:
  • Players winning against weaker opponents will gain fewer Rank Points
  • Players losing against stronger opponents will lose fewer Rank Points
  • Players winning against stronger opponents will gain more Rank Points
  • Players losing against weaker opponents will lose more Rank Points

Lastly, we've reduced the price of Imbue Scrolls from 500 Reward Points to 200, so players can obtain more of them for use on the go. We will refund Reward Points to players who have already bought scrolls upon their next login.

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[h2]Create With Confidence: Our Fan Content Policy[/h2]

Our community is a huge part of what makes our games amazing. We appreciate that players may therefore want to use game content to make awesome things like YouTube videos, Twitch content, custom creations, or even covers of RuneScape songs! We're keen to encourage your creativity and we love to see the wonderful works you come up with.

We’re also aware that there’s been some confusion in the past over what is and isn’t acceptable – especially when it comes to physical creations such as plushies and models – and this can make things a little intimidating.

To make things simpler in future, we’d like to introduce you to the brand new Jagex Fan Content Policy!


What is the Fan Content Policy?

Our Fan Content Policy is a clear, publicly accessible guide to what you can and can’t do with our content as a fan of RuneScape or Old School RuneScape.


Why Does This Exist?

To encourage creativity by giving you transparency.

We have an amazing, creative community and we want to empower you to produce great things! To do that, we need to be clear on what is already permitted – and in what circumstances you would need to reach out and apply for additional permission.


What does the Fan Content Policy cover and who does it apply to?

The policy covers a whole host of subjects including YouTube content, music, fan art, fanfiction and 3D objects/printing, as well as making stuff to sell, making games and third party clients.

Provided you follow the rules in the policy, you can create your own content and merch however you wish. For example, under certain conditions you are allowed to make and sell up to 100 units of a piece of merch, create covers and remixes of RuneScape/Old School RuneScape songs, write short stories of up to 15,000 words, use our 3D models in short animated films and accept a paid commission to create a piece of game-inspired fan art!

For more details on all of the above, please take the time to read the Fan Content Policy in full – especially if you’re a creator who uses visuals, music, in-game models or anything else from RuneScape or Old School RuneScape.

We’re really excited to see our community continue to create amazing works, and we hope this information helps both current and future creators!

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[h2]Other Changes[/h2]
  • The most valuable player is now broadcast at the end of each Nex fight.
  • The colour of the Theatre of Blood master clue sliding puzzle background is now easier to differentiate from the sliding pieces.
  • The Seed Box now lists its content in chat when checked, even if the interface doesn't remain open. If it is open, the list will appear when closing the interface, thus giving the most up-to-date status of the Box. The message is filtered as spam.
  • There is now a left-click 'Cook' option on the fancy range in a Player Owned House. This becomes a right-click option if there's a kettle on the stove, as tea always comes first!
  • Lanthus no longer appears on the Deadman world, as he sometimes got in the way of fights in his lobby.

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

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

The Old School Team.

Emir's Arena: Full Launch | Weekly Game Update (July 13th)

This week's update brings the full launch of the Emir's Arena, read on to see what we've changed and for our thoughts on some of your feedback!

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[h2]Emir's Arena[/h2]

Last week, the Emir's Arena (A.K.A. the PvP Arena) opened its gates to adventurers for the first time! It’s been great watching you all get stuck into duels and tournaments of all kinds – and even running a few of your own!

One of the major selling points of the Emir's Arena is the ability for players to find fights from anywhere, at any time and in any world. The technology put in place to make this feature work is constructed from the new Clan system we introduced last year - its cross-world functionality may be very limited, but it's still brought us this new method of recruiting players for activities. We hope to be able to extend it to more multiplayer content in future.

The primary function of the 'soft launch' was to make sure that these new and complicated systems were working as intended while under the strain of thousands of players using them at the same time. While there are some tweaks we need to make following your feedback - more on that in a moment - it's safe to say that the matchmaking and other core systems are working fantastically!

So, without further ado, we declare the Emir’s Arena… open! Someone pop a bottle of Sq’irk Juice.

If you want to get all of the details about the Arena and how it works, make sure to check out last week's newspost!

For now though, let’s take a look at the early changes we’ve made based on your feedback.

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[h2]PvP Arena: This Week’s Changes[/h2]

  • Players will no longer be able to see items that they are unable to equip within the Loadout interface. For example, players configuring their Pure loadout won't be able to see gear choices with defence requirements during setup. This change should help people find what they're looking for a little faster!
  • The Ghrazi Rapier and Inquistor's Mace have been removed from the Loadout interface for the time being due to their 80 Attack requirement.
  • A number of items missing from the soft launch have been added:
    • Xerician hat
    • Xerician robe
    • Xerician top
    • Rune gloves
    • Zaryte crossbow
    • Amulet of blood fury
  • The following items have been removed from loadouts since they were deemed too powerful and a 'must have' in almost all situations:
    • Ancient godsword
    • Ring of suffering (i)
    • Purple Sweets
  • The timer before a tournament starts has been reduced from 8 minutes and 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Furthermore, the tournament will now automatically begin if no new players have entered the staging area for over 72 seconds.
  • Players will now receive reminders in their chatbox to indicate that their fight is ready while in the staging area. We're hopeful that in conjunction with the reduced tournament timer this change should help you spend less time waiting around and more time bashing skulls!
  • The Info button that players can use to check brackets during a tournament is now hidden during combat. While it's great to see combatants taking an interest in how a tournament's going, this change should ensure you're only checking the bracket between fights and not while your opponent is launching a special attack at your face.
  • Reduced the size of the timer during fights since some players felt it was obstructive, especially while playing in Fixed mode.
  • Added a chatbox message to remind players that they won't gain Rank or Reward Points for participating in unranked fights.
  • The health bars visible to spectators via the telescopes around the arena have been adjusted slightly to improve the viewing experience. They now have a secondary layer that drains after a short delay, like your typical fighting game.
  • Pures are no longer able to use the Heavy Ballista or Ava's Assembler inside of the PvP Arena.
  • Zerks are no longer able to use Elite Void inside of the PvP Arena.


This week's update also sees the inclusion of players' PvP Arena rank on the HiScores, so you'll be able to see exactly how you stack up against your fellow combatants!

Players will have to log in and out of standard game worlds in order to update their rank on the HiScores, since the PvP Arena worlds aren't able to directly communicate with our HiScores.

It's worth noting that any developers making use of the HiScores API will need to update their scripts following today, apologies for any inconvenience.

Remember – now that the PvP Arena is officially open for business, players’ Rank and Reward Points from the soft launch will be reset. On the flip side, the Emir’s finest merchants are done counting their stock, and as of today’s update, you’ll be able to spend your hard-earned Reward Points on Imbue Scrolls and Blighted Sacks from the Rewards Shop at the Arena entrance.

Lastly, we want to reiterate some of the points we spoke about in this week’s Q&A for anyone who missed it (you can check it out for yourself below!) Read on for some more details!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

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[h2]Feedback points and future changes[/h2]

We've received a lot of suggestions over the last week, and while some of the quick fixes have already been implemented, it’ll take us a little more time to develop the bigger changes you requested – and some are out of scope entirely.

Here’s what we reckon we’ll be able to offer in the near future.

First off, a lot of you expressed frustration at the Arena’s Spellbook, which contains all the combat spells. A lot of high-level players (especially those who perform switches with items at the top of their Inventory) make use of Spellbook filtering to reduce their mouse movement in-game, and have those movements embedded in their muscle memory.

We’ve begun work on a change that should allow players to control exactly which Runes their Rune Pouch contains and to display which spells are enabled so that players can get back to focussing on the game instead of unlearning years of practice! We should be able to deliver this change before the end of July.

Feedback also indicated that you lot want a way to copy your opponent’s loadout or save various presets within the same combat bracket.

While multiple presets are a bit far out of reach just now, we’re working on a ‘Copy’ option which will let you quickly copy your opponent’s gear when you want a mirror matchup. We hope to put this in the hands of players within the next couple of weeks!

We’ve also seen a number of requests to remove certain items or cap the permitted quantity of supplies (namely food) from the Equipment Chest for being too powerful. You’ll notice that we’ve already removed the Ancient Godsword and the Ring of Suffering (i), and we’re open to further suggestions.

The Bow of Faerdhinen is another item we’re keeping an eye on, although we hope the inclusion of the Zaryte Crossbow this week will help balance things out a little.

Many of you have expressed concern that NH (No Honour) is the prevalent combat style in the Arena. NH is one of the toughest PvP styles to get to grips with, and many of you have asked for greater support for more beginner-friendly options.

While lots of you have been organising unranked duels and tournaments using simpler setups like Edge-style PvP, it’s rare to see these in ranked play and they are therefore harder for players to queue up for.

Right now, we can’t promise a permanent ladder where alternative styles can flourish. If we introduce these alternatives as separate queues, we'll be spreading player numbers thin and this could have knock-on effects for the speed of matchmaking.

We may be able to offer them in a different way, such as by changing which builds appear in the weekly build rota.

We can, however, explore seasonal ladders which run for a limited period of time and focus on restricted builds. We think this would encourage more beginner-friendly setups. Bear in mind that if we can offer this option, it will take us some time to figure out – but we’ll keep you posted on all the latest news!

We're also aware that while Steel-ranked players are able to find fights quickly, players in Mithril- or Iron-rank are having lengthier wait times for suitable opponents. We'll be keeping an eye on this as the rank distributions change over time so that we're able to fine-tune our matchmaking system.

Speaking of updates, rest assured that we’ll be informing you of any further changes we make, or are planning to make, to the PvP Arena. We’re constantly on the lookout for feedback, so be sure to share your thoughts on the usual channels. Let’s work together to make the Emir’s Arena the best it can be!

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[h2]Other Changes[/h2]

Beyond the PvP Arena, we've also made a few other changes around Gielinor this week!

  • The flower traders have left Misthalin to search for new flowers elsewhere. Gilbert remains at the flower meadow and has managed to acquire some more rare colourful seeds. Right click your Flower crown and select 'Change' to see what colours he found!
  • GIM players creating a new group should no longer receive errors regarding mismatching settings.
  • Kovac's been upgrading his financial infrastructure and his reward shop is now protected by the Bank PIN.
  • The Magic Skill Guide has been updated to show the correct Rune cost for enchanting Red Topaz Bolts.
  • The HCGIM Helm now properly matches the player's skin tone on male character models.
  • Thralls now pathfind around obstacles. The only obstacle remaining now is you remembering to summon them...
  • The Guardians of the Rift music track has had its button text corrected in the Jukebox menu. We're ecstatic to have fixed this potentially game-breaking bug and apologise for the immense inconvenience caused.
  • When Kovac sends your reward to the Bank, it can now take the slot of a Coin placeholder if your Bank contains one.
  • An archway in the Abyssal demon section of the Catacombs of Kourend has been removed, as it was visually obstructive.
  • The upstairs ore veins in the Motherlode Mine no longer need to be completely depleted to start their respawn timer.
  • A master clue near the Mage Training Arena has been moved out of the new pillars there.


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[h2]Giants' Foundry: Design A Weapon Competition[/h2]

Last month, alongside the release of Giants' Foundry, we announced a Weapon Design Competition, asking YOU to create weapons fit for giants!

After much deliberation, the team has decided on our winners. Extra-big congratulations to the following:



1st Place: Giant's Kiteaxe by Femboy Ruby



2nd Place: Iron Great Club by Ninth Cloud



3rd Place: Igneous Club by Hernesoppa



4th Place: Anvil Flail by Jozko Uhorka

We’ll be contacting the winners this week, so keep an eye on your player inbox for more details about your prize! Huge (gargantuan, even) thanks to everyone who submitted a design. We hope to feature some of the runners-up on a livestream in the near future!

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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#gameupdatechannel. For reference on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

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

The Old School Team.

PvP Arena Soft Launch | Weekly Game Update (July 6th)

Get ready to test out the PvP Arena before the full launch next week!

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[h2]PvP Arena: Soft Launch[/h2]



The PvP Arena is coming next week! Before we throw open the gates, however, we want to ensure that all the systems we’ve put in place are working as they should, so we’re kicking things off with a soft launch.

Participants will be able to earn Rank and Reward Points, but please note that these will be wiped at the end of the soft launch period, one week from now, to ensure that everyone gets a fair start when the Arena opens for real. For now, let’s take a look at exactly what you can access with today’s update.

Setting Up

You’ll be able to find opponents and set up matches in the same place you did in the Duel Arena. You’ll also notice a couple of new NPCs who will help you navigate all your new options. The 1v1 Tournament Guide will, of course, tell you all you need to know about the 1v1 Tournaments. If you fancy a one-off fight, however, then you’ll want a word with the Duel Guide.



Grouping

To sign up for a fight, you’ll need to check out the notice boards. Here, you can find a match or host your own tournaments – and if you’re on a dedicated PvP Arena World and know the name of one of the combatants, you can watch their fight from here, too.

The Emir desires that combatants face opponents of equal strength in a fair, controlled environment. When you sign up for a fight, you’ll be matched with players of a similar skill level using an alternative save game.

This system lets you get on with whatever other activities on any world you like while your match is being prepared, so don't worry about waiting around! Once the match is ready, you’ll receive a notification that it’s time to fight! You’ll be prompted to swap to the alternative save game world, giving you enough time to get to a safe place before you hop worlds and start the battle.

Because fights take place on an alternative save game world, your standard game profile is left behind along with all your levels and items.

Beside the Chat, Clan Chat, and Group Iron side-panels, you’ll spot the Grouping side-panel. We originally created this in 2014 to help players find groups for minigames, but it now includes an extra PvP Arena button. Click this, and you’ll open a new panel for… the PvP Arena! Who would have guessed?

Clicking the PvP Arena button will open the PvP Arena's side-panel, replacing the Grouping side-panel. The ‘Find’ button invites the player to look for a PvP Arena group.


From here you can register for either a 1v1 Tournament or 1v1 Battle where the game decides who you fight against. Alternatively, you can join a manually created 1v1 Tournament.

To succeed in the Arena, you'll need to adapt your playstyle and master multiple builds based on what the audience craves the most. The crowds aren't easy to please, however, as their tastes change on a weekly basis.

Each week you'll be required to use one of the following builds:

Build
Attack
Strength
Defence
Hitpoints
Ranged
Magic
Prayer
Max/Med
75
99
70
99
99
99
77
Zerker
60
99
45
99
99
99
55
1 Def Pure
60
99
1
99
99
99
52


The Equipment tab will appear when you attempt to join a PvP Arena match, and is used to select which items you intend to fight with. Currently, there are around 400 items to choose from. You can only use equipment you have the stats for, so pay close attention to which build is currently in rotation!

You’ll also be able to use the following bits of equipment, which are only available in the Arena:

  • Maoma’s Headgear
  • Koriff’s Headgear
  • Saika’s Headgear
  • Calamity Armour
  • Superior Calamity Armour
  • Elite Calamity Armour
  • Fighter’s Wristwraps

When the fight is complete, you’ll be returned to where you left off on your usual save. If you managed to defeat your opponent, you’ll also be rewarded with Rank and Reward Points.

  • Rank points are used to determine your Rank. When finding a fight, the PvP Arena system will try to match you with another player of a similar Rank. The more points you have, the higher your Rank is!
  • Reward points are used to purchase unique items from the PvP Arena Reward store.

If you lose your match, you’ll also lose some Rank Points. The Rank system works just like it does in the Burthorpe Games Room, where your loss/gain depends on your opponent’s Rank. Beating a higher-ranked player will reward you with more points.

You’ll also get more points for consecutive wins. The idea here is that skilled players will be able to gain high Rank quickly, so they can start fighting opponents their own size sooner.

Please note that you will not receive Rank or Reward Points when participating in manually organised events.



Think you’re ready to go? Well, let’s take a look at your options!

1v1 Tournaments

Until now, Tournaments have been exclusive to the Deadman finales, so relatively few players ever get to experience them. With the introduction of the PvP Arena, we’re making Tournament-style play available to everyone!

Tournaments offer a way for players to participate in a series of 1v1 fights in succession - if you're good enough to make it to the next round, that is! You can let the game form a tournament group for you, selected from the pool of available participants, or have a go at organising one of your own!

To enter a Tournament, simply register your interest via the PvP Arena side-panel. Once enough players have signed up, the game will proceed to create a 1v1 Tournament for successful applicants.

Each Tournament consists of anywhere from 4 to 64 players. Each round is split, until there are only two participants left. Here's how this might look for a Tournament of 16 players:
  • 16 players are divided into eight 1v1 battles.
  • The eight winners from the first round then fight in four 1v1 battles.
  • The four winners from the second round then fight in two 1v1 battles.
  • The final two winners then fight each other for the victory.


You’ll receive Rank and Reward Points based on how you place – so give it your all!

Fancy creating your own Tournament? Well, you can! Please bear in mind though that participants in manually-created tournaments will not receive rewards – it’s just for fun!

Ranked 1v1 Duels

Hungry for battle but don't want to commit to a full Tournament? You’re after Ranked 1v1 Duels! These are one-off battles where the game will automatically pit you against an opponent of similar rank.

Just like tournaments, the winner of a 1v1 Battle will receive Rank and Reward Points.

Unranked 1v1 Duels

In Unranked 1v1 duels you’ll choose the opponent you want to fight, mano a mano. You won’t get rewards, but this kind of fight is great for trying out new Combat style combinations, or just getting in some practice ahead of a big Tournament! You can also have unranked duels in non-PvP Arena worlds using your own gear by clicking your opponent's Challenge option while you're both standing in the Arena areas.

Rewards

The Reward Shop will be open for the duration of the soft launch period, but please note that you will be unable to purchase anything from it until the real launch. Remember, also, that any Reward Points you accrue will be lost when the soft launch period ends.

That’s all for this week! Like we said, the purpose of the soft launch is to make sure that everything’s running smoothly – so we need you to hop in game and put the PvP Arena through its paces! We’d also love to hear your thoughts on grouping, the available load-outs, or the battles themselves, so feel free to share your feedback through the usual channels.

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[h2]Other Changes[/h2]

  • Some basic trees near the Bank chest in the Woodcutting Guild have been removed, as their ops could be inconvenient.
  • Clan notifications are no longer sent when a player ticks off Shayzien Armour pieces on their Collection Log, as there are an awful lot of those pieces, and it could get spammy.
  • You must now confirm your purchase if you try to buy over 10 Pet Reclaim tokens at once from Probita. Just in case someone accidentally tries to buy the maximum amount...
  • The Steel Key Ring now warns players if they try to drop it while it still has keys on.
  • There is now a Bank deposit box in the Grand Exchange.
  • A food shop icon has been removed from a Hosidius stall that does not, in fact, sell food.
  • There is now a right-click Take-all option on the Seed Packs.
  • The Clues relating to Sedridor and Traiborn have been updated to reflect their full names.


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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 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 more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.

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

The Old School Team.