Old School RuneScape News

This week we’re launching the Tombs of Amascut and Nex Rewards Beta, where you’ll get to try out some of the newest items coming to the game. In other exciting news, this year’s Halloween event is in full swing over in Varrock Square, and we’ve got some new client features to talk about!

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[h2]Tombs of Amascut & Nex Rewards Beta[/h2]



2022 will see you battling through the Tombs of Amascut and facing off against Nex in the God Wars Dungeon, but before then, we’d like to give you the chance to try the items you’ll be chasing when these two pieces of content drop!

Enter one of the following Beta worlds to get to grips with the upcoming gear:

• World 401 - US East
  
• World 405 - EU
  
• World 408 - UK
  
• World 409 - US West
  
• World 412 - Australia
  

There are loads of unique items available, so don’t miss this opportunity to give them a try!

One more thing – since the item designs are still being worked on, we’ve given them a rather fetching magenta paintjob. They probably won’t look like that on release. Probably.

Now, let’s take a look at these shiny new items and see where they could be used!


[h3]Nex Rewards[/h3]
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Ancient Godsword



An iconic Melee weapon requiring 75 Attack to wield. As with the other Godswords, the actual drop is the hilt, and you’ll need to attach it in the usual way.

The Ancient Godsword has a special attack, Blood Sacrifice, that costs 50% energy. It targets a single individual with double the usual accuracy! If it hits, it deals a normal hit with 10% extra damage. In addition, an eight-cycle timer starts. If the target does not move more than five tiles away before the timer ends, they'll be hit for 20 damage and the attacker will be healed for the same amount.

With what’s effectively a 20 minimum hit and heal, this weapon is super-reliable, with some nice PvP combo potential, too.


Zaryte Bow



Requiring 80 Ranged, this tradeable, non-degrading bow can fire all arrows up to Dragon.

It also has a special effect that uses charges. In multiway areas, an additional target stood within two tiles of the main target will also take damage. This doesn't use an additional arrow, and only uses a single charge.

To recharge the Bow you’ll need to collect Nihil Shards from foes in the prison (including Nex herself!). Please note that only full Shards can be used – crushed shards (Nihil Dust) won’t work.

This bow effectively replaces Black Chinchompas when attacking 2-3 targets. Chinchompas can only hit targets in a 3x3 area, but this bow can reach targets an additional tile away in each direction – and it has better DPS, too.

The Zaryte Bow will make certain activities, such as gathering Ecumenical Keys, completing Slayer tasks, and defeating certain Raid Rooms, significantly faster.


Zaryte Vambraces



A piece of Ranged Armour requiring 80 Ranged and 50 Defence. The Zaryte Vambraces are tradeable and do not degrade.

As you know, the Vambraces will bolster the impact of your Zaryte Bow, and they have some powerful stats of their own, surpassing barrows gloves as the best in slot for ranged.


Virtus Armour







Virtus Armour is a Magic armour set consisting of a Mask, Top and Legs – all requiring 75 Defence and 80 Magic. All three pieces are tradeable and do not degrade.

Each item gives a 3% damage increase to all Ancient spells, for a maximum of 9% if all three are worn. Plus, if you’re wearing the whole set, smoke spells reduce healing by 30% while the target is poisoned, and shadow spells also drain Strength, Ranged, Magic and Defence as well as Attack.

Wear all three and Blood spells can heal up to 20% over the player's max HP, while Ice spells have 10% additional accuracy against frozen targets. It’s the armour set of choice if you’re an Ancient Spellbook fan!

We expect this armour set to usurp Ancestral Robes when a player is mainly focused on Ancient spells. The set bonus’ effect on shadow spells is particularly powerful, with the potential to significantly nerf the defence and offence stats of a monster with a single cast.

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[h3]Tombs of Amascut Rewards[/h3]
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Masori Equipment









The Masori equipment consists of a Helm, Chest, Legs, and Amulet, all of which require 80 Ranged, 30 Defence and 70 Hitpoints to equip.

This armour set will be the very first pieces of equipment in the game to utilise Low Life, a new condition which applies when players are below 40% of their maximum health. When the player enters a state of Low Life and has the Masori Helm, Chest and Legs equipped, the equipment set will gain additional accuracy and ranged strength for as long as you remain in Low Life.

In addition to the stat bonus offered when in a state of Low Life, the set bonus also provides players with bonus dodge chance. Dodge is a stat that lets the player have a chance to completely avoid all damage from most sources. Some attacks, such as TzKal-Zuk’s ball attack or dragonfire cannot be dodged, but normal Magic, Ranged and Melee attacks can be.

The Masori Amulet has an additional passive effect. When you have it equipped, and you’re not affected by Low Life, you'll take damage equivalent to 15% of your current health at a rate of every three game cycles.

For any content where being 39 HP isn’t putting you at risk of dying in one hit, this is the new best in slot Ranged armour, yielding significant additional range attack and strength over Armadyl Armour, with lower defence.

We’ve addressed your feedback that the trade-off didn’t seem worth it by increasing the base defence of the armour set and adding the new dodge stat while on Low Life. This is a thematic way of reducing the overall damage players take, without lowering the KO potential of the content the set is best suited to.

Most endgame bosses don’t deal high amounts of unavoidable damage – these situations are where the Masori Armour really shines. For example, Vespula’s room in Chambers of Xeric is a great example of a safe place to reap the benefits of this set!


Heka of Tumeken and the Ward of Elidinis



The Heka of Tumeken is a wand-like magical weapon. Equipping the Heka will require 85 Magic. It has a built-in spell with charges which will need to be replenished, using one Soul Rune and three Chaos Runes per charge.

The Heka has an attack rate of two ticks. Every fourth hit the Heka will fire a stronger attack which deals significantly more damage, albeit with a longer delay after the attack. We know that weapons with fast attack speeds scale harder with additional bonuses, like the Toxic Blowpipe. To offset this and to help make the Heka scale more similarly to other magic weapons, the standard faster attacks will only benefit from 50% of your Magic strength.

The slower fourth hit will be much stronger, benefitting from 150% of your Magic strength bonus. Its attack range will be shorter than other staves too, with it being six rather than seven. Casting with the ‘long range’ setting will boost it to eight.

The Heka's raw dps greatly surpasses that of the Sanguinesti Staff, with the additional utility a fast attacking weapon has over slower counterparts, with the only downside is that it has no self-healing capabilities.

For the min-max savvy players out there who like calculations, the following formulas should help with any theory crafting you'd like to put together:

• Standard fast attacks scale based on '(Magic Level / 6) + 2' for the base max hit.
  
• The slower fourth attack scales based on '(Magic Level - 25) / 2' for the base max hit.
  
• After this is calculated, any Magic strength from other sources is then applied.
  

The Ward of Elidinis will be the new best-in-slot magical shield. Players will get the Broken Ward as a rare drop from the Tombs of Amascut. With 90 Prayer and 90 Smithing you'll be able to combine the Broken Ward with an Arcane Sigil and 10,000 Soul Runes to repair it. Players without those stats will be able to pay Abbot Langley of the Edgeville Monastery 20,000,000 GP to create it for them.

Equipping the Ward will require 80 Magic, 80 Defence, and 80 Prayer. The broken Ward will be tradeable, but once fixed it will become untradeable. Players can dismantle the Ward to recover the Sigil and the Ward, but the runes will be lost. Dying in PvP will result in the Sigil and the Broken Ward being dropped.

Both the broken and fully repaired Wards can be equipped.


Lightbearer

The Lightbearer is a ring with no Attack, Defence, or other bonuses. It does, however, have a very unique effect. When equipped, your special attack energy will regenerate 100% faster - approximately 15 seconds per 10%, or 150 seconds per 100%. Unequipping the ring will cause the timer to reset.

This unique ring may not compete with the Berserker Ring when it comes to keeping up a barrage of attacks, but in content with downtime, or heavy use of other combat styles, we expect Lightbearer to get a lot of use.


Osmumten's Fang



Osmumten's Fang is primarily a stab melee weapon that boasts accuracy comparable to the Elder Maul, and an Attack Speed of 5. Equipping the Fang will require 82 Attack. We expect its damage-per-second output to be comparable with Rapier-tier weapons on opponents with low Defence, with much greater damage-per-second output on opponents with higher Defence.

We'd like to introduce a new unique mechanic for the Fang. Other weapons will roll '0 - max hit'. the Fang will roll '(max hit * 0.15) - (max hit - (max hit * 0.15))'. For example, if the max hit is 60, the Fang would roll between 9-51. This makes it a very consistent weapon which excels against high Defence targets.

The Fang also has a special attack which increases its max hit to its true max hit for one attack, as well as boosting its accuracy by an additional 50%. This means that if its max hit was 60, it would roll 9-60. This special attack will cost 50% special attack energy to use.


Keris Partisan



In addition to its Stab attack styles, the Partisan will have a Crush attack style, which should prove useful during the Tombs of Amascut and against beetle-like enemies such as the Kalphite Queen.

Although the Keris Partisan is a spear-like weapon, it acts differently from normal spears. The main difference is its Aggressive attack style that allows players to focus their combat experience on Strength. Equipping the Partisan will require 70 Attack.

You are also able to insert special jewels into the Partisan. These jewels are obtained as rare rewards from the Tombs of Amascut inserting them will bestow different effects upon the weapon. Only one jewel can be equipped at a time, and they will not be tradeable.

Here’s a look at a few jewel buffs we're considering. Note that the effects apply only during the Tombs of Amascut raid:

• The Eye of the Corrupter adds a damage-over-time effect to attacked enemies. You won't be able to stack this effect multiple times onto a single NPC but you will be able to apply it to multiple NPCs at any one time.
  
• The Jewel of the Sun applies a debuff to attacked NPCs which causes them to take higher damage for a sustained period of time.
  
• The Breach of the Scarab adds a 33% accuracy buff against Kalphites, Scarabs and Beetles.
  

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You can find more information on both pieces of content in the Nex Rewards blog and the Tombs of Amascut: Raid Rewards post!

Your feedback is key to this content, so jump in game, give it a go, and let us know what you think about the current versions of the rewards.

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[h2]New Client Features: Milestone Three[/h2]

We're back with our third round of new features for the Steam Client! This week’s batch focuses on skilling helpers and introduces the Side Panel.

As a reminder, these features can currently only be used on the C++ client through Steam – and the team is still hard at work on bringing these features to Mobile, which you can see a preview of in the most recent Gielinor Gazette. Keep your eyes on our socials for updates as the project develops.


XP Tracker



The Side Panel is here! This will be the foundation of multiple upcoming additions to the Steam Client, including a range of different helpers and extra features that will greatly improve your Old School experience.

For now, we’re introducing just one: the XP Tracker.



This feature automatically tracks your XP gains. When you gain XP, the relevant skill will be displayed in the Side Panel with the following information:

• Skill XP Gained
  
• Skill XP Per Hour
  
• Total XP Gained
  
• Total XP Per Hour
  
• Total Remaining XP to Next Level
  
• Actions Remaining to Next Level
  
• Progress Bar
  

Each individual skill can be paused and reset if you want to track specific actions. You can also reset the whole thing if you want a clean slate.

If the XP Tracker is turned on the Side Panel menu will appear at the edge of the game window, regardless of whether the Side Panel is fully open. Pressing one of the icons will expand the panel and provide extra details.

To remove the Side Panel altogether, you’ll need to turn the XP Tracker off. When we introduce more Side Panel features, you’ll need to turn all of those off, too.


Woodcutting Helper



Respawn timers will now appear on chopped trees in the game world. The timer can be set to always on, always off, or on when carrying a usable axe. The last option is the default.

Respawn timers will only appear if you were in interaction range of the tree when it was fully depleted.

In other news, you’ll now get desktop notifications when Bird Nests are dropped.


Ore Respawn Timer



Respawn timers will also show up on depleted ore veins. Again, the timer can be set to always on, always off, or on while carrying a usable pickaxe – which is the default option. These respawn timers will only show up if you were within the interaction range of the vein when it was depleted.


Slayer Helper



This new infobox contains everything you need to know about your current Slayer Task! It’ll display the name of your current task, the amount of creatures you have to slay, the designated area (if applicable) and your current Slayer streak.


Logout Notifier



Tired of being kicked out while you’re trying to catch some Monkfish at work? Worry no more! You’ll now receive a desktop notification whenever you’re about to be logged out for inactivity. This feature is toggleable and is turned on by default.


Other Changes

• Entities will now be highlighted so you know what you’re about to click on. This feature is toggleable and is turned off by default.
  
• Tooltips have been added to the timers on the Modified Stats overlay, giving extra insight into what they represent.
  
• When you are inflicted by poison or venom, the Buff Bar will now display the current damage value.
  
• The Ammo Bar will now tell you how many shots you have remaining in your Blowpipe, rather than how many Scales and Darts you have.
  
• Timestamps will now match the rest of the text after changing the colour of Private Chat.
  

Let us know what you think of the new features, and the Steam Client in general, via the in-game prompt or on our social channels!

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[h2]Halloween Event 2021[/h2]

What is that? A disturbance near Edgeville? A protest in Varrock? The monks are out in force, Oziach is flexing his cash, an old lady in a rocking chair wants an adventure, Death thinks he is the spookiest (is he?), trees need climbing, Brother Jered needs to drink less wine – what does it all mean?!



To make sense of this Halloween mystery, you’ll need to head to Varrock Square and talk to the protesters. Be sure to bring your scariest faces and spookiest noises – and it wouldn’t hurt to be good at climbing trees.

This year’s Halloween event is the first project brought to you by Mod Havik based on a concept by Mod Peppers. Here's some words from Mod Havik:

Hi guys!

I joined the team a few months ago, and this is my first project going out into the wild - scary! But it is Halloween, so I suppose that's par for the course. It's been great fun making it. I've learned a lot and met a lot of great people on the team. Working on RuneScape (now Old School!) is a little dream I've always had in the back of my mind, but it was always just that... a little ‘wouldn't that be cool’ thought. Yet here I am! It still hasn't quite sunk in, but I think it will do once the event goes live.

I hope you guys enjoy it, there are some fun rewards! But I won't give anything away about them, you'll have to go and find out for yourself.

I'm incredibly honoured to be creating content for a game (and community!) that has played such a big part in my life, and I'm looking forward to making lots more cool stuff for you all in the future. Happy Halloween!

Mod Havik

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[h2]Other Changes[/h2]

• The Asp and Snake Bar in Pollnivneach will now offer different stock options for different account types.
  
• The pop-up to confirm closing the Group Storage interface for Group Iron Players will now display at the correct size when an item is withdrawn at the same time.
  
• Group Storage will no longer reject banknotes when all its slots are full, provided the banknotes in question are for items already in storage.
  
• Clues, Mutagens, and first Infernal Capes are now broadcast to Clan Chat.
  
• Players will now be able to kill NPCs in their first spawn cycle.
  
• The Jungle Demon in the final battle of Monkey Madness now drops the correct ashes.
  
• Iron players can now pick up the bird snare and fishing net spawns on the Isle of Souls.
  
• ‘The Forests of Shayzien’ will now play instead of ‘Rugged Terrain’ while wandering around Shayzien.
  
• All Player and NPC healing has been centralised, as an added bonus of this, various NPCs with healing mechanics will now have healing hitsplats to indicate it.
  

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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
  
• 390 - (AUS) - LMS Competitive - world becomes active with this rota.
  

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[h2]RuneScape: The First 20 Years[/h2]

A new sneak peek!



The anniversary book, RuneScape: The First 20 Years, is waiting to be shipped all over the world - but if you can't wait, ScreenRant have released these preview pages for you to get a good look at.

Drumroll please...



For more information about where to get your hands on a copy, check out this newspost.

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That's everything for this week's game update. We'd love to hear your feedback so please let us know what you think via our official forums, on the 2007Scape Reddit, the Steam forums or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel.

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

The Old School Team

[h2]Overview[/h2]

We’re taking things to the Nex level – well, an old level, technically – with the return of Nex! This fearsome boss was originally released in January 2011, and 10 years later we’re bringing you a new encounter with this ancient adversary of the Second Age.

Dwelling in the Ancient Prison beneath the God Wars Dungeon, Nex can only be accessed once you complete the Desert Treasure quest (and a small miniquest) to open the Frozen Door. Once inside the Prison, players must crush through a formidable army before reaching Nex herself.

You can take on the boss in groups of up to 80 players, and defeating her gives you all a chance to obtain some highly valuable rewards – including an iconic armour set!



This is a work in progress image, and not final.

So, what’s this Nex business all about then? Let’s refresh our collective memory...

[h3]Lore[/h3]

In the Second Age, Nex was one of the closest followers of an ancient god. Following the defeat of this ancient god and the dawn of the God Wars, Nex was among many imprisoned by the forces of Saradomin.

Years later, a mysterious individual fooled a group of Saradominists into freeing Nex and her allies. Thankfully, the armies of Saradomin, Zamorak, Aramdyl and Bandos joined forces to successfully drive them back into their prison, but the magical protections that contained them were damaged in the process.

As such, Nex’s prison is somewhat… vulnerable. And while officially the followers of her old master are all but gone from Gielinor, there are still a few nefarious types out there who would be happy to see Nex freed once more.

[h3]Behind The Frozen Door[/h3]

To reach Nex, players must first gain access to the Ancient Prison by unlocking the Frozen Door in the God Wars Dungeon. This iced-up access point has actually existed since the Dungeon was launched, but has remained sealed – until now!

To open the door, players will need to complete a miniquest which begins after completing the Desert Treasure quest. A messenger will approach with a letter from a mysterious individual...

Note: the messenger will spawn shortly after Desert Treasure is completed. If you’ve already finished that quest, they’ll appear shortly after you log-in.

[h3]The Ancient Prison[/h3]

Once inside the Prison, you’ll be met by Ashuelot Reis, a follower of Guthix who has dedicated herself to the unenviable task of keeping Nex contained. She'll give your group a brief overview of the Prison complex before asking you all to join her outside Nex's chamber.

Within the Prison, you’ll can take on four new foes from Nex’s army: Spiritual Warriors, Spiritual Rangers, Spiritual Mages and Blood Reavers. As with the rest of the God Wars Dungeon, defeating these nasties adds to your Ancient Essence count (with some yielding more Essence than others). Players need an Essence count of 40 to finally enter the boss's chamber.

However, this being God Wars Dungeon, you can bypass this requirement with an Ecumenical Key. Plus, the required Essence count is lowered by completing Combat Achievement tiers.

Your Essence count is shown on the Kill Count interface, but it’s hidden until the player has unlocked the Frozen Door. Once you’ve reached (or bypassed) the required Essence, the door opens, and you’re into the outer room of Nex's chamber. We don’t want to reveal too much about the encounter, but let’s just say it’s going to test you!

For those of you already familiar with the encounter in RuneScape, Nex in Old School is largely based on the 2011 boss fight with some modifications and balancing tweaks to fit Old School.

Players who have completed the Hard tier of Combat Achievements can purchase a private instance, but it’s unlikely you’ll want to take on Nex solo – she’s quite the formidable foe. The cost of this instance starts at 150,000 coins, and goes down as you complete higher Combat Achievement tiers.

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[h2]Rewards[/h2]

Defeating Nex equals juicy rewards! These are shared across all players who contribute enough, with higher performing players bagging more loot. The MVP of the kill will also rake in a little extra swag.

All contributing players have a chance of obtaining a unique item. This chance scales based on individual contribution, with a bonus chance for the MVP.

A player’s individual contribution is wiped when they leave the area, but this doesn't impact the contribution of other players. For example, if two players have both made 50% contribution and one of them leaves, the other player remains on 50%.

Nex’s uniques are all new rewards, and they will all be added to the Collection Log. In addition, the usual pet drop will also be added.

So, what are you getting for your blood, sweat and tears? Let’s take a look…

The following rewards will be available to test in an upcoming in-game beta on October 20th! Full details on how to access the beta server will be included in next week's game update newspost when the Beta is live.

[h3]Ancient Godsword[/h3]



A Melee weapon requiring 75 Attack to wield. The drop is the hilt, and it must be attached in the usual way. The hilt and sword are both tradeable.

The Ancient Godsword has a special attack, Blood Sacrifice, that costs 50% energy. It targets a single individual with double the usual accuracy! If it hits, it deals a normal hit with 10% extra damage. In addition, a six-cycle timer starts. If the target does not move more than five tiles away before the timer ends, they'll be hit for 20 damage and the attacker will be healed for the same amount.

[h3]Zaryte Bow[/h3]



Requiring 80 Ranged, this tradeable, non-degrading bow can fire all arrows up to Dragon. It also has a special effect that uses charges. In multiway areas, an additional target stood within two tiles of the main target is also hit. This doesn't use an additional arrow, and only uses a single charge. The Zaryte Bow can be recharged using Nihil Shards which are dropped by all foes in the prison (including Nex).

Oh, one more thing: if the Zaryte Vambraces (see below) are worn, up to two addition targets are hit. This still only uses a single charge!

We'd also like to share some further images to help illustrate how the Zaryte Bow might affect the current ranged meta. Check out the images below: the first shows the Zaryte Bow's DPS on single targets in comparison to other popular Ranged Weapons. The second image shows DPS calculations when we take into account the DPS on multiple targets, relating to the Zaryte Bow's special effect.



Graph showing DPS calculations from the Zaryte Bow on single targets



Graph showing DPS calculations from the Zaryte Bow on multiple targets

The Zaryte bow would be the best-in-slot ranged weapon for hitting 2-3 targets. It surpasses Chinchompas for this specific amount, however, Chinchompas will still remain the best-in-slot weapon for 4-11 targets. It has a considerable attack range and quick attack speed, so it should feel quite different than other ranged weapons.

[h3]Zaryte Vambraces[/h3]



A piece of Ranged Armour requiring 80 Ranged and 50 Defence, the Vambraces are tradeable and do not degrade. See above for the details on how they bolster the impact of your Zaryte Bow.

[h3]Virtus Armour[/h3]




Many of you will remember that back in 2011, Nex came with two additional armour sets as well as the Virtus set. We're not opposed to re-introducing these (we feel that Torva could be a particularly good addition to the game), and people have suggested maintaining the price of existing God Wars Dungeon items by combining them with loot from Nex. However, we don't want too many armour sets arriving in a single piece of content, and the Virtus set doesn't exactly have God Wars Dungeon items that would be relevant for combining. Instead, we'd like to offer more armour rewards later in 2022 alongside content themed around a certain ancient god... We hope to update you on some item sink ideas we're exploring in a blog later this year.


Virtus is a Magic Armour set consisting of the Mask, Top and Legs – all requiring 75 Defence and 80 Magic. All three pieces are tradeable and do not degrade.

Each item gives a 3% damage increase to all ancient spells (so 9% if all three are worn). Plus, if you’re wearing the whole set, Smoke spells reduce healing by 30% while the target is poisoned, and Shadow spells also drain Strength, Ranged, Magic and Defence as well as Attack.

Additionally, wear all three and Blood spells can heal up to 20% over the player's max HP, while Ice spells have 10% additional accuracy against frozen targets!

[h3]Nihil Shards[/h3]

These consumables are dropped by all foes in the Ancient Prison – including Nex. They can be used to charge the Zaryte Bow, or they can be crushed to make Nihil dust, which is a secondary ingredient in new Ancient Brew potions.

An Ancient Brew is a combination of Nihil dust and a Dwarf Weed potion, and requires 85 Herblore to make, giving 190 Herblore XP. When drunk, this primordial concoction boosts Magic by 5% +2 and restores Prayer by 10% +2 with the ability to boost up to 5% over the player’s base Prayer level. However, it also drains Attack, Strength and Defence by 10% +2, so think before you drink.

[h3]Blood Essence[/h3]

If a player creates a Blood Rune with an activated Blood Essence in their inventory, they have a chance to create additional Blood Runes, at a rate of 1,000 additional Blood Runes/charges per Essence. This will result in slightly fewer XP per hour, as the Blood Essence will take up inventory slots that you'd otherwise be using for more Dark Essence, but it will greatly increase your Runes per hour if you consistently have a Blood Essence active.

[h3]Ecumenical Key Shards[/h3]

Gather 50 of these for one Ecumenical Key. Please note that you can't convert the Shards to a Key if you already have the cap on Keys.

[h3]And There's More...[/h3]

That’s not all – every foe in the prison apart from Nex herself has a chance of dropping a piece of the iconic Ancient Ceremonial Robes set! This set consists of a mask, top, legs, gloves and boots. They have the same stats as Monk Robes and will be added to the Collection Log. If you're familiar with Nex from old, note that wearing them no longer allows players to bypass the Essence Count required to take on Nex herself.

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

The Old School Team

Whilst the bulk of the detail in this blog is the same as it was with the original, we have made various changes to the proposed rewards based on your feedback. Check out the handy summary below and read on to find out more!

We're delighted to announce that you'll have the opportunity to test all of the new rewards in an upcoming Beta which goes live on October 20th!

[h3]Click here to see the main changes from the previous blog.[/h3]
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Masori Chestplate Changes

• Ranged attack increased from 30 to 33
  
• Stab defence increased from 12 to 37
  
• Slash defence increased from 8 to 35
  
• Crush defence increased from 15 to 38
  
• Magic defence increased from 6 to 25
  
• Ranged defence increased from 13 to 33
  
• Prayer bonus increased from 0 to 1
  
• Additional effect added of 3% dodge chance when affected by low life.
  

Masori Chainskirt Changes

• Ranged attack increased from 18 to 20
  
• Stab defence increased from 6 to 26
  
• Slash defence increased from 4 to 24
  
• Crush defence increased from 9 to 29
  
• Magic defence increased from 4 to 19
  
• Ranged defence increased from 8 to 22
  
• Prayer bonus increased from 0 to 1
  
• Additional effect added of 3% dodge chance when affected by low life
  

Masori Amulet Changes

• Removed all melee and Magic accuracy
  
• Prayer bonus increased from 0 to 1
  
• Ranged strength increased from 0 to 3
  
• low life Ranged strength decreased from 7 to 4
  
• Removed all non-Ranged lowlife effects.
  

Additional Changes

• Updated the requirements for masori gear to be 80 Ranged, 30 defence, 70 hitpoints, to match its new bonuses.
  
• Osumemtens Khopesh re-themed to Osumumtens Fang and changed category to a Stab weapon.
  
• Created a new weapon category for the Keris Parisan that has a Strength training method via the Aggressive option.
  
• Lowered the equip requirement of the base Keris Parisan to 70 Attack.
  
• The broken version of the Ward of Elidinis is now equippable, with appropriately weaker stats.
  
• Heka of Tumeken Magic requirement increased from 84 to 85.
  
• Heka of Tumeken Magic base max hit of the fast attack increased by 1.
  

[/expand]

[hr][/hr]
[h2]The Tombs of Amascut[/h2]

Long ago, the citizens of the Kharidian Desert lived prosperous and luxurious lives thanks to the benevolence of the Gods of the Menaphite Pantheon. However, that all changed when Amascut, the Goddess of Rebirth, was corrupted. Warped into the Devourer, she became intent on devouring every soul in existence.

Her brother, Icthlarin, along with her former High Priestesses have since been fighting tirelessly against Amascut, in a bid to negate her destructive efforts.

After years of plotting, Amascut has finally find a way to overcome the efforts of Icthalarin and his allies.

Deep within the desert, an ancient pharaoh called Osmumten lies buried. His tomb has long hidden a great power. It is this great power that Amascut seeks, and if she can lay her hands on it she will become unstoppable.

You must take the fight to Amascut before it's too late.

Sketches and references for the Tombs of Amascut. Click to see it in more detail. This is concept art and may not be representative of the final appearance of the Tombs!

[hr][/hr]
[h2]The Raid[/h2]

Let's dig in to what you need to know about the Tombs of Amascut:

• Groups of up to eight participants.
  
• Four initial challenges, followed by two final bosses to be fought in a twin boss encounter.
  

Invocations will allow for customisable difficulty, which will also impact your loot potential!

• Invocations will replace standard difficulty systems, like the ones used in other raids.
  
• Each Invocation will affect the raid or your group in different ways.
  
• Some Invocations can affect the health, defence, or damage modifiers for the enemies within the Raid.
  
• Other Invocations might impose group restrictions, like reducing the amount you can heal or prohibiting certain spells.
  
• We intend to be quite creative with these modifiers. The above examples are fairly simple and safe, with the intention to provide early insight into their impact for this blog, but we'd like to experiment with different ideas that might drastically change things.
  

On entering the Tombs of Amascut you will encounter four paths:

• The upper level of the Tombs will consist of four paths, each ending in a boss.
  
• Each path is comprised of its own series of challenges to be overcome.
  
• These challenges are more akin to puzzles rather than killing a single entity, like a boss.
  
• These can range from things like traps with Sepulchre-like dodging, or defeating new foes in unconventional ways.
  
• Once you reach the end of a path, you'll then fight the boss of that path in a more conventional combat encounter.
  
• The raid will be altered in some way with the death of each boss, changing the remaining boss encounters.
  
• This means that the path order you choose will matter!
  

Defeat the four bosses to descend to the lower levels:

• Once you defeat the first four bosses you'll unlock the lower level.
  
• You'll enter a chamber containing the two ancient guardians of the Tombs.
  
• These guardians need to be fought at the same time.
  
• Defeat the guardians to drive Amascut from the tomb and claim your rewards!
  

We'll discuss the rewards a bit later, but first let's talk about how you might access the Tombs of Amascut.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Beneath Cursed Sands[/h2]

The Tombs of Amascut will be our most narratively-driven Raid yet, and no narrative is complete without a quest!

When Sophanem was beset by a series of plagues, the gates to the golden city of Menaphos quickly closed. The city has been locked down ever since, with no one allowed to leave or enter. However, rumours have escaped of strange happenings inside Menaphos and there are stories of citizens mysteriously disappearing.

These odd happenings need to be investigated, but few are willing to do so. Maisa, a spy from Al Kharid, has grown tired of inaction. She is determined to solve this mystery herself, but she won't be able to do it alone...

• Beneath Cursed Sands is a Master-level quest which will advance the desert storyline.
  
• In this sequel to Contact! You'll find yourself investigating mysterious disappearances from Menaphos, the city of gold. Note: Menaphos will not be opening its gates just yet, and will instead be coming at a later date.
  
• Solving this mystery will grant you access to the Raid itself.
  
• We're aiming to release the quest before the Raid to give you ample time to ready yourself!
  

[h3]Requirements & Rewards (SPOILER WARNING!)[/h3]
[expand]
Being a Master-level quest, there are naturally some mid-level requirements to meet:

• Completion of Contact!
  
• 62 Agility
  
• 55 Firemaking
  
• 55 Smithing
  

Upon completion you'll be rewarded with:

• 1 Quest Point
  
• Access to the Tombs of Amascut
  
• The ability to upgrade the Keris to the Keris Partisan
  
• 15,000 Agility XP
  

[/expand]

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Tombs of Amascut: Rewards[/h2]


Here's where we'd love to get your feedback. As with any rewards proposals, it should go without saying that nothing here is set in stone. Your feedback is going to be key in shaping what we're offering, and we really want to see what suggestions you have too! To make sure we see what you have to say, we'd invite you to do one of the following:

• Join the Official Old School RuneScape Discord server and head to the #tombs-of-amascut channel in the Summer Summit area.
  
• Use the #OSRSRaids hashtag on Twitter.
  
• Reply to the Tombs of Amascut Reddit thread or make your own threads with '(Raids)' in the title.
  

Masori Equipment

The Masori were a clan of powerful ranged users active during an ancient war which embroiled much of the Kharidian forces. They focused primarily on defending ordinary people from the violent thieves and murderers who sought to take advantage of the chaos caused by the war. The group has been long since disbanded, but their equipment can still be found amongst the palaces of wealthy Menaphites or among the treasures of long dead Pharaohs.

Before we discuss the Masori equipment, we'd like to introduce a new status effect, Low Life. A player is considered to be Low Life when below 40% of their maximum health.

The Masori equipment consists of a helmet, chestpiece, legs, and amulet. Equipping the Masori items requires 80 Ranged, 30 Defence and 70 Hitpoints. The armour set will be the very first pieces of equipment in the game to utilise Low Life. When the player is in a state of Low Life and has the helmet, chestpiece and legs equipped, the equipment set will gain additional stats. This set effect provides additional accuracy and ranged strength for as long as you remain in Low Life (whenever you remain below 40% of your maximum health).

In addition to the stat bonus offered when in a state of Low Life, the Masori helmet, chestplate and chainskirt also provide players with bonus dodge chance. Dodge is a stat that lets the player have a chance to completely avoid all damage from most sources. Various attacks like dragonfire or TzKal-Zuks ball attack cannot be dodged, but generally normal mage/Ranged/melee attacks can be.

The Masori amulet has an additional passive effect. When equipped, and not influenced by Low Life, you'll take damage equivalent to 15% of your current health at a rate of every three game cycles.

Let's take a look at the stats:

The Masori equipment. A potential reward from the Tombs of Amascut, introducing 'Low Life' to Old School.

We think this new equipment could lead to the emergence of innovative and interesting playstyles. The set effect offers a way to balance the introduction of new, powerful equipment without devaluing existing equipment which boasts defensive bonuses. Its Low Life effect will mean that it is extremely useful in some cases, but will fall short in other areas because of the need to maintain specific Hitpoints. Let's use Vorkath as an example. If you're 99 Hitpoints, you'd need to stay below 40 Hitpoints to keep its effect active. Whilst Vorkath's unavoidable damage doesn't hit as high as 40, you'll need to eat fairly often to keep above the highest possible hit to ensure you stay alive, making it both extremely difficult to maintain the Low Life effect.

The addition of dodge chance also provides a new and unique effect by sacrificing static defensive bonuses for a small chance to entirely null most sources of damage. Where do you think this will be the most impactful? Let us know!


Heka of Tumeken and the Ward of Elidinis

Tumeken was the God of Sun and Elidinis was the Goddess of Fertility. As husband and wife, they led the Menaphite Pantheon. Whilst Tumeken and Elidinis steered the people of the Kharidian Desert spiritually, it was the responsibility of the human Pharoah to rule the Desert. Osmumten was the last Pharoah to rule before the end of the ancient war. Osmumten fought alongside Tumeken against enemy forces. Tumeken sacrificed himself to end the war, and before Elidinis disappeared to mourn the loss of her family she gifted Osmumten with Tumeken's Heka and her own broken Ward.

The Heka of Tumeken is a wand-like magical weapon. Equipping the Heka will require 85 Magic. It has a built-in spell with charges which will need to be replenished, using one Soul Rune and three Chaos Runes per charge. The Heka has an attack rate of two ticks. Every fourth hit the Heka will fire a stronger attack which deals significantly more damage, albeit with a longer delay after the attack. We know that weapons with fast attack speeds scale harder with additional bonuses, like the Toxic Blowpipe. To offset this and to help make the Heka scale more similarly to other magic weapons, the standard faster attacks will only benefit from 50% of your Magic strength. The slower fourth hit will be much stronger, benefitting from 150% of your Magic strength bonus. Its attack range will be shorter than other staves too, with it being six rather than seven (casting with the long range setting will boost it to eight).

For the min-max savvy players out there who like calculations, the following formulas should help with any theorycrafting you'd like to put together:

• Standard fast attacks scale based on '(Magic Level / 6) + 2' for the base max hit.
  
• The slower fourth attack scales based on '(Magic Level - 25) / 2' for the base max hit.
  
• After this is calculated, any Magic strength from other sources is then applied.
  

Let's take a look at the stats:

The Heka of Tumeken, a wand-like magical weapon.

The Ward of Elidinis will be the new best-in-slot magical shield. Players will get the broken Ward as a rare reward from the Tombs of Amascut. With 90 Prayer and 90 Smithing you'll be able to combine the broken ward with an Arcane Sigil and 10,000 Soul Runes to repair the Ward. Players without those stats will be able to pay Abbot Langley 20,000,000 GP to create it for them.

Equipping the Ward will require 80 Magic, 80 Defence, and 80 Prayer. The broken Ward will be tradeable, whilst the fixed Ward will be untradeable. Players can dismantle the Ward to recover the Sigil and the Ward, but the runes will be lost. Dying in PvP will result in the Sigil and the broken Ward being dropped.

Both the broken and fully repaired Wards can be equipped. Let's take a look at their respective stats:

The Ward of Elidinis, a new best-in-slot magical shield.

Lightbearer

Ahmek was a powerful warrior who sought to capitalise on the chaos caused by the end of the ancient war. Ahmek crafted a powerful ring which he imbued with the unstable energy left behind from Tumekin's sacrifice. He hoped to use this ring to emerge as a new power in the region. By forcibly uniting thieves and mercenaries under his command, he planned to overthrow Osmumten. His plans proved fruitless, however, when the ring was stolen and he was murdered in his sleep. The Menaphite Guards claimed the ring from the body of the murderous thief, and dutifully presented it to the Pharoah.

The Lightbearer is a ring with no Attack, Defence, or Other bonuses. It does, however, have a very unique effect. When equipped, your special attack energy will regenerate 100% faster (approximately 15 seconds per 10%/150 seconds per 100%). Unequipping the ring will cause the timer to reset.

We think that for the most part, you'll want to continue using rings like the Berserker ring. But there'll be some situations where the additional special attack rate will warrants its use. We think this ring will shine in places where kill times are longer, or where you'll want to use a special attack per kill (like Graardor, K'ril, Abyssal Sire etc) - or maybe even use it whilst Woodcutting or Fishing!


Osmumten's Khopesh

Known to his people as Osmumten the Hunter, he was renowned for bringing down many of the land's deadliest beasts. During his hunts he wore armour and weapons crafted by the region's finest artisans. One such weapon was his Fang. Fang would eventually be buried with Osmumten.

Osmumten's Fang is primarily a Stab melee weapon which boasts accuracy comparable to the Elder Maul, and an Attack Speed of five. Equipping the Fang will require 82 Attack. We expect its damage-per-second output to be comparable to Rapier-tier weapons on opponents with low Defence, with much greater damage-per-second output on opponents with higher Defence.

We'd like to introduce a new unique mechanic for the Fang. Other weapons will roll '0 - max hit'. The Fang will roll '(max hit * 0.15) - (max hit - (max hit * 0.15))'. This means that if the max hit is 60, its attack would roll between 9-51. This makes it a very consistent weapon which excels against high Defence targets.

The Fang would also have a special attack which increases its max hit to its true max hit for one attack, as well as boosting its accuracy by an additional 50%. This means that if its max hit was 60, it would roll 9-60. This special attack will cost 50% special attack energy to use.

Let's take a look at the stats:

Osmumten's Khopesh, a Stab melee weapon which boasts accuracy comparable to the Elder Maul.

Keris Partisan

Upon helping to [redacted] during the Beneath Cursed Sands quest, [redacted] will reluctantly reward you with an enhanced version of Keris, the spear-like Keris Partisan.

In addition to its Stab attack styles, the Partisan will have a Crush attack style, which should prove useful during the Tombs of Amascut and against other beetle-like enemies, like the Kalphite Queen. As the Keris Partisan is a spear-like weapon, it acts differently from normal spears. The main difference of the Keris is its Aggressive attack style that allows players to focus their combat experience on Strength. Equipping the Partisan will require 70 Attack.

We'd like to try something slightly different with this weapon. The Partisan has a socket in which players can insert special jewels. These jewels are obtained as rare rewards from the Tombs of Amascut, and inserting these jewels into the Partisan will bestow different effects onto the weapon. You'll only be able to use one jewel at a time. These jewels will not be tradeable.

We're still considering how we'd like to reward players with these jewels. They could be unlocked as a random drop, or given upon a certain number of Raid completions, or as a reward for killing bosses using specific methods. We're also considering whether they should be permanent one-time unlocks, or whether they should have charges. Naturally this would effect the rarity of the drop. We'd love to hear your thoughts on how they should be implemented!

Let's take a look at the stats:

Keris Partisan, a spear-like enhanced version of Keris.

And here's a look at a few jewel buffs we're considering. Note that the effects apply only during the Tombs of Amascut.

• The Eye of the Corrupter adds a damage-over-time effect to attacked enemies. You won't be able to stack this effect multiple times onto a single NPC but you will be able to apply it to multiple NPCs at any one time.
  
• The Jewel of the Sun applies a debuff to attacked NPCs which causes them to take higher damage for a sustained period of time.
  

In addition to effects that only apply within the Tombs, we're also considering how jewels can provide benefits throughout the whole of Gielinor. For example:

• The Breach of the Scarab adds a 33% accuracy buff against Kalphites, Scarabs and Beetles.
  

We think that the Partisan's upgrade system will allow for a strong sense of progression within the Raid itself, making it very useful in that encounter without encroaching on other gear elsewhere.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Concept Art[/h2]

During the Summer Summit announcement (scroll to the top of this blog to watch it!) our artists discussed their approach to designing this content, and also teased you with sketches and concept art. Here are some of those sketches, helpfully unlabelled to keep you all guessing. And again, please note that this is concept art and may not be representative of the final appearance of the Tombs, anything within, or its rewards!

[h3]Click here to see the sketches.[/h3]
[expand]

Concept art for Tombs of Amascut. These images may not be representative of the final appearance of the Tombs, anything within, or its rewards!

[/expand]

[hr][/hr]
That's everything for this blog. We'd love to hear your feedback so please do...

• Join the Official Old School RuneScape Discord server and head to the #tombs-of-amascut channel in the Summer Summit area.
  
• Use the #OSRSRaids hashtag on Twitter.
  
• Reply to the Tombs of Amascut Reddit thread or make your own threads with '(Raids)' in the title.
  

Mods Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, Banjo, Boko, Bonsai, Brow, Bruno, Curse, Daizong, Deagle, Dibber, Ditto, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Errol, Fed, Flippy, Gecko, Grub, Halo, Havik, Husky, Jerv, Jndr, John C, Kandosii, Katies, Kieren, Kirby, Lenny, Light, Lottie, Mack, Maylea, Morty, Nasty, Nin, Oasis, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Skylark, Squid, Steve W, Sween, Tide, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Zuko.

The Old School Team

Hello 'Scapers,

Work to improve the integrity of our beloved game never stops. We want you to have fun and play competitively in an environment that's fair, and governed by mutual respect among players. As part of these efforts, additional measures to counter real world trading (RWT) will be introduced in the coming months.


Gold RWT

Gold purchased through RWT is a problem in any online game featuring a tradeable currency. For the last 20 years, our Anti-Cheating Team has done much to tackle RWT sellers both in and out of the game. However, it's not just the sellers that have an impact on game integrity. Buyers fuel demand - and higher demand means more sellers, more bots to remove and more nefarious activity.

Thanks to a growing team and improved tools, we're now in a position where as well as tackling sellers, we can also begin to clamp down on buyers. In the next few hours we'll be sending out messages to players we've identified as engaging in RWT.

For anyone who has been involved, we want to be clear – this is your one and only warning.

Should any further RWT activity be detected, accounts face possible bans and wealth removal.


Duel Arena RWT

The Duel Arena has been a flashpoint for this toxic behaviour. In fact, 38% of all RWT bans – accounting for thousands of bans per month – stem from there. We’ve heard your feedback and want to make definitive changes that keep the game fun for everyone.

We’re looking in the long-term to phase the Duel Arena out of RuneScape entirely. But before that, we'll be introducing some short-term measures to tide us over until our development teams can deliver a major update that fully replaces the Duel Arena next year.

The first step will be the implementation of a staking cap this November. This will limit stake values to no more than 10m GP per duel. Additionally, we'll be adding two new presets based on settings that players commonly use for their 'whip duels' and 'boxing duels', making it easier to see whether you've got your expected options. This will make scamming more difficult.

Our long-term solution will arrive in 2022, when we’ll be replacing the Duel Arena with something more engaging and enjoyable (such as a system that generates 1v1 tournaments for player groups and perhaps even expanding to 2v2 or 5v5 if possible). We'll share more information on this when we can!

To the vast majority of you who are playing the game as intended, put simply - thank you for being you. We won't stop looking for more ways to maintain the integrity of the game you love.


The Old School Team

This week we’re answering your burning questions about Group Ironman – find out what we’re planning below! Plus, we’ve made a few extra changes to the rest of the game, including new music tracks, login improvements and more. Let’s dive in.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Group Ironman[/h2]

We’ve been seeing a few of your excellent questions crop up multiple times, so here’s a quick FAQ:


What activities remove Group Prestige?

The following activities will remove Group Prestige if tackled them with players outside your group:

• Chambers of Xeric
  
• Theatre of Blood
  
• The Nightmare of Ashihama
  
• The Tombs of Amascut (when it’s released)
  

We are still considering whether Nex is part of this list - you'll know once we’ve decided!


Can I rename my group?

Yes, you can! Leaders can rename their group by visiting the Group Iron Tutor at The Node.


I have a group of three, but another friend wants to join later. Can I add my friend at a later date?

Yes, you can add your friend into the group later. Groups can have a maximum of five members in total; if you decide to welcome a new member, you will lose Group Prestige - but there won’t be any gameplay consequences. All that will happen is that you’ll lose the gold star next to your group's name.

All original members will keep their individual Prestige, which means they are free of any wealth or item restrictions. However, to prevent boosting the new member WILL have those wealth and item restrictions. Check out the Group Ironman Blog for more details on this.


[h3]Hotfixes[/h3]

We've already put out a number of hotfixes to address some of the launch bugs. Fixes for the following bugs are live:

• Players who attempted and failed to join an existing group were sometimes added to the HiScores incorrectly.
  
• Groups that hadn’t yet been successfully created were appearing on the HiScores.
  
• The player-to-player trade restrictions for new players were not applying once you are part of a group.
  
• The Prestige status for individuals was not automatically refreshing when changes take place.
  
• Alternate Shop stocks were not updating at the Blast Furnace.
  
• Switching between Regular and Hardcore groups using the crates on The Node was displaying incorrect chat icons.
  
• Switching between Hardcore and Regular on the Node was displaying incorrect icons.
  
• Groups sometimes contained a mix of Hardcore and Regular players (because HCGIM players who were on different worlds or logged out were not correctly losing their HC status when all lives were lost).
  
• Players were losing their Prestige status and Storage access after joining groups when they shouldn't have been.
  
• Wealth transfer limits were incorrectly applying to non-Prestige Group Ironman's own drops.
  
• Some groups were failing to form during the launch of Group Ironman (upon further investigation (we believe this was to our system being under heavy strain - please do let us know if it continues to occur with your group and we will re-open our investigation).
  

Also:

• Some groups were experiencing mismatching size and Prestige settings. We've corrected this for many players, but we're aware that some group sizes are still being recognised incorrectly on the HiScores. More information on how we're fixing that can be found below.
  
• We changed some of the mapping on Tutorial Island to make room for all the new features, but a few unlucky players got caught in certain areas!
  
• Some additional messaging now appears when trying to downgrade your Group Ironman through the Iron Tutor in Lumbridge.
  
• Players that lost items while creating their group during launch will receive some tools, food and combat supplies the next time they log-in to The Node.
  

We know that some of you are still in the wrong HiScores bracket. You might be a four-player group but showing up in the five-player HiScores, or similar. This is unintended and of course we don't want you stuck competing in an incorrect category!

We believe we have fixed the underlying cause of this issue so that it is not affecting new groups, but we will be resolving it for those still struggling by using some handy tools from our lovely web team (as this problem is related to our website, we can’t resolve it on the client). Once the web tool is ready (hopefully in a matter of weeks), we will be working hastily to correct each group. We'd like to thank you for your patience as we fix this.

This week we're also releasing more fixes and improvements:

• There is a graphical bug with Individual Prestige preventing it from properly showing on the side panel unless refreshed. It will now display correctly at all times.
  
• When closing the Group Storage and re-opening it, the resized pop-up was not legible. This has been corrected.
  
• No more 2-for-1 cocktails! We've split the Wine Shop's stock for Iron modes to prevent the transfer of wine to Iron accounts.
  

Now, on to the most important bit: your feedback! We've received heaps of helpful insights, and while our immediate priorities will be on fixing any errors, we are keen to improve on the features that you enjoy! Here's what we're looking at right now:


[h3]Group Storage Space and Save Function[/h3]

As you are probably aware, we temporarily disabled access to the Group Shared Storage over the weekend to investigate an issue. This feature has now been restored and we thank you for your patience.

There has also been a lot of demand to increase the amount of space for Group Storage as the current space feels insufficient.

Our answer? Absolutely! We would like to increase the storage capacity for you, but we haven't yet decided how this will take shape. What do you think is the best approach? For example, should increasing Storage be something that players can earn and unlock on their account? If so, what does that progression system look like? Or should it be something locked behind Achievement Diaries, or something else? Perhaps it should it just be a flat-out payment in Gold?

We're going to experiment with designs in the coming weeks and we'll update you when we have some proposals to share. In the meantime, please send us your ideas!

We also know that some players find the Save function for the Group Storage rather clunky to use. This is because it’s different from the usual Banking process - Group Storage isn't part of your own saved game profile, so it must be saved to the appropriate server before another group member is able access it.

However, we think we can make some improvements here. We intend to change the ‘cross' icon so that it will have a Save and Leave function, meaning that the hotkey you use to close interfaces (usually ESC) also doubles as a save hotkey when you close the Bank.


[h3]Group Chat and Group Broadcasts[/h3]

Many of you have also asked us to make a private chat channel specifically for your group, and we're working on adding this in the coming weeks. It will work similarly to Clan Chat, but only for you and your group. We'd love to know what shortcuts you think would be useful for this new channel?

We're also going to implement the broadcast system that we currently use for Clans. This will mean that you can opt-in to receiving notifications when a member of the group receives significant loot or achieves a major milestone. Finally, you'll have the equivalent of the Clan Interface for your group or other groups, with lots of important info. This feature will also allow you to report any inappropriate group names that you may come across.


[h3]Shared Group Hall [/h3]

We're aware there’s huge demand for a shared Player Owned House for groups, or failing that, a customisable instance which can be shared, upgraded, and only accessible to the group. We'd like to explore the possibility of a Shared Group Hall, and we're investigating how we can achieve this alongside our other projects. Please keep in mind that this is no small task, and if we were to focus on this project, most of our development time would be spent on this area.

Nothing can fully replace the functionality, utility and enjoyment of sharing a customisable instance with your group. In the short term, we are considering whether we can allow players to visit Player Owned Housing without the owner needing to be at home. We hope to have a response to this popular community suggestion once we have fully scoped out the work involved.


[h3]Killerfishy's Group Ironman Comic[/h3]

We're also delighted to share another Killerfishy Comic with you today! If you have not seen the first one, check it out here! This fun little project is guided by you, our players. Last week, you told us that you wanted our Heroes to focus on Questing, so this week we bring you: Dragon Slayer!

This Comic was made by Killerfishy. For the full resolution image, please click here.

We'd like you to vote on where you think they should head to next! Head over to any of our social platforms to decide whether our adventurers should go...

• West to Kourend
  
• South to Karamja
  
• East to Morytania
  
• North to the Wilderness
  

And feel free to tell us your ideas about what they could get up to when they get there!

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

• Five evocative new music tracks have been added to Kourend thanks to the talented individuals within the Audio Department. The tracks are:
  
  • Beyond the Meadow (Hosidius) - Mod Arismel
    
  • The Forests of Shayzien (Shayzien) - Mod Rainbow
    
  • Out at the Mines (Lovakengj) - Mod Jodgers
    
  • Not a Moment of Relief (Arceuus) - Mod Jodgers
    
  • What Happens Below... (Piscarilius) - Mod Arismel
• The Dark Energy Core is no longer targeted by Thralls, as some players found this unhelpful.
  
• You can now design your character to have lavender clothes and hair once again. Fetching!
  
• Players no longer get stuck behind Oziach's open door.
  
• It’s now easier to earn Contribution from bailing when the Fishing Trawler is very crowded.
  
• The fake XP drops in Last Man Standing now show normal XP quantities for Group Iron players, even though Group Iron players usually get reduced XP for PvP.
  
• We have done some work behind the scenes to make logging-in a more efficient process.

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

The PvP rota has moved to Period B:

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

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

[hr][/hr]
That's everything for this week's game update. We'd love to hear your feedback so please let us know what you think via our official forums, on the 2007Scape Reddit, the Steam forums or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel.

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

The Old School Team