We're trying something new!
As RuneScape continues its march into our bold new era, we want you to be part of our journey, every step of the way. That means giving you greater visibility on what's coming down the road, so that you know exactly what to expect, and when.
On the first Monday of each calendar month, we plan to share a "Month Ahead" view with you which dives a little deeper than our 2026 roadmap. We'll be giving you details of what's happening week-by-week and much further ahead than previously. For now, we want to keep things simple, but we do want to hear your thoughts on how these Month Aheads are structured!
Understanding what information is important and how you want to receive it, will help us ensure that you stay informed at all times.
So how does it work?
- For the month ahead, all updates or content releases for the game, will be noted in the golden container or the parchment visual (e.g. "New Quest" or "Combat Update").
- Below that, we have the "Community Topics", which are topics for discussion that we will be talking to you about during the relevant week.
- How exactly those topics will unfold is something we want to share at the start of each week. Sometimes these might be a straight-forward blog on a set day, other times they might be previews, feedback gathering threads, streams, podcast appearances or curated discussions on Discord. Hopefully also a mixture of the above!
The aim is to always provide you with the information to know what we're talking about when, and how you can get involved.
Of course, the nature of development does mean that sometimes things may shift around a little and we may need to push a planned update back to ensure that it lives up to our standards and your expectations. When that happens, we'll try to provide an update in the next suited "This Week in RuneScape" blog that usually rolls out on a Monday..
One final note: While community topics in this month will be spaced quite close to their respective updates, this won't always be the case.
We will likely be raising some topics for discussion quite far ahead of their official implementation into the game, so that we will have more time to action feedback from you.
Let's put it all into practice:
For this week:
Content:
- Today sees the launch of a new quest and a cosy mystery set in Fort Forinthry where you’ll help Princess the Spaniel clear her name when food starts going missing...
- This week is the continuation of our Combat Style Modernisation Beta. To find out more about that and how to take part, check out our dedicated blog post here.
Community Topics:
- Shaping our Community
- As part of this topic, our new Lead Community Manager Mod Anvil introduces himself here, dives into the state of the RuneScape Community and looks for your thoughts on how we create an even better community.
- This blog is live here.
- Game Design Vision
- This dedicated blog post directly from Mod Ryan and Mod Breezy, we will deep dive on the lay of the land and our design pillars, vision, and philosophies as we build toward a new future for RuneScape.
- This blog is scheduled for Wednesday, February 4th
- Early Game Rebalance & Dailyscape
- Picking up where the previous blog leaves off, this blog will provide you with a preview of how we intend to rebalance the Early Game and tackle Dailyscape. There will be lots of information here and we will be accompanying this with Reddit threads for gathering feedback.
- This blog is scheduled for Friday, February 6th
For the rest of the month:
The "Regrounding Items" project is about making visuals and worn items fit better thematically into the world of RuneScape as we work towards something that is more immersive and consistent with the game. We'll be previewing some of this work during the week of the 9th, with the update coming into effect during the week of the 23rd.
For the "Aura Overhaul" topic, we'll be previewing our design direction for how to tackle Aura's during the week of the 9th, though the associated update itself will still be further off.
In week three, we will also be sharing our key learnings from the combat beta in the week before the update comes into effect.
To round off the month, we'll be sharing our first design direction and what we want our changes to the Grand Exchange to achieve.
Hopefully the above outlines have given you a clearer understanding of what to expect in the coming weeks, and especially when you can get involved and feedback on the things that matter to you. Do let us know if you have any ideas on how we improve things!
For now, read on to find out all about this weeks patch notes, or join us on our first dedicated Topic: Shaping the Community
Princess and the Pauper - New Quest
Dogtective on the case
A terrible theft has struck the Fort Forinthry kitchen! Pies and supplies have gone missing, and it’s up to you to put your detective skills to the test. Team up with Princess to uncover the real culprit behind this chilling culinary caper.
In order to access this quest you will need to have completed both Murder on the Border and Gertrude's Cat and speak with Rodney in the Fort Forinthry kitchen!
Additional Regular Maintenance
Reoccurring on Tuesday 9am GMT
As part of our ongoing work to improve the infrastructure and core experience of our games, from tomorrow (Tuesday, February 3rd) we are going to be starting a continued maintenance schedule.
While this does mean a little bit more downtime each week and additional breaks for Mod 🐹, it will give our core infrastructure teams a more consistent timeline to continually update our systems and backend tech, rather than our current sporadic approach. So, what can you expect?
At its core, we will be scheduling maintenance for every Tuesday at 9am UTC. During this time, both games will be taken offline for improvements with downtime usually lasting ~20 minutes. While this will normally be the case, there may be some instances that will warrant a longer period of downtime. We are also looking to slightly alleviate those who are always online around that time, with every fourth period of maintenance happening at the later time of 11am UTC, with no changes in the amount of downtime stated above. Any period of downtime will be accompanied with a 45-minute shutdown timer to give you plenty of notice.
You may wonder why not just have these periods alongside the regular Game Update? While that approach does have benefits, we are still taking down both games and we believe it is better for both to go offline as this work can and will crossover with both games and other wider supporting systems. This approach also means if any issues arise then we can isolate investigating the problem with the maintenance work taking place, rather than trying to first identify whether it comes from game changes or external ones.
The team have already been doing some great maintenance work without it directly affecting both games (which we spoke about in our previous Spudworks blogs), but this is a continued effort to get our infrastructure into a place where the team are able to perform even more maintenance without needing to bring the games down.
To start off, here is the first batch of upcoming maintenance you can expect:
| Date | Time | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, February 3rd | 9am UTC | ~20 minutes |
| Tuesday, February 10th | 9am UTC | ~20 minutes |
| Tuesday, February 17th | 9am UTC | ~20 minutes |
| Tuesday, February 24th | 9am UTC | ~20 minutes |
| Tuesday, March 3rd | 11am UTC | ~20 minutes |
Patch Notes
Fixes and Improvements in this Week's Game Update
General
- Fixed an issue that prevented pickpocketing in Prifddinas to fail.
- Resolved an issue where the safes found in heists were not completing the thieving daily challenge for safes.
- Scuffle at Harvest Hollow no longer mentions being able to participate in the Maize Maze an infinite number of times nor being able to fletch ranged tools.
- Fixed a typo when examining Mal in the 'Succession' quest.
- The Barbarian Scavenger achievement has been removed.
- It was identical to the Otto the Ancient achievement, other than the former required by Trimmed Completionist Cape and the latter required by Master Quest Cape. comp(t) has required MQC since June 2023, so no need for multiple achievements.
- Barbarian Scavenger's 30 RuneScore has been re-distributed to the Eastern Adventurer achievement, which has been split into 4 achievements to better track progress toward completing all and accommodate any future Player Owned Ports story voyages.
- So that it's possible to complete all achievements, the Steam Release achievement has been removed. The commemorative Steam valve is unaffected.
- The “Mobilise This” achievement can now be completed, either via historic Mobilising Armies rank or purchasing the Mobilising Armies titles with thaler.
- Flesh-hatcher Mhekarnahz has had their Santa hat removed. The addition and removal of the hat should now happen automatically during Christmas.
- When the minimap is set to be circular and the player enters specific areas, the minimap should no longer show a black square for a brief second.
- The "Name Your Hero" interface header has been updated to match the new interface style.
- The dropdown options for "Food" and "Rename" in the pet interface are no longer cut off.
- The user interface of some players should no longer revert back to its default layout when they relog after making changes to it.
- The cropped text within the achievement banner has now been fixed.
- Selling items with long names to shops no longer causes overlaps in the interface.
- Fixed an issue with the RuneMetrics interface not loading correctly in some situations.
- Fixed an overlap in the Runelink interface for Brazilian-Portuguese worlds.
- Death's Overflow Storage buttons have been changed to yellow.
- The activate aura button has now been aligned appropriately.
- Replaced the arrows and fixed some minor clipping issues in the trading interface.
- Content highlight color has changed to something more readable.
- Always on chat has been removed. After examining our chat options, we wanted to simplify chat to work smoothly with key binds and cause less confusion for new and returning players.
- Fixed some overlapping issues with icons and texts in the grouping system interface.
- Fixed some small interface issues and overlaps in the Commands and Diplomacy interfaces of the Conquest minigame.
- Ribbon bar has been changed to clearly showcase what is being displayed.
- The Daemonheim shop trader's ui is formatted correctly without overlapping elements.
- Text does not overspill in the makeover mage panel.
- Players can now use the makeover mage without having to close and reopen after using a chameleon."
- Fades have been removed from Mobile Marketplace
- Players are no longer forced to walk on a cliff near goblin village.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to move through the wheat field fence north of Falador.
- The flag on top of Lumbridge castle should now move when interacted with.
- There are no longer visible holes in Miazrqa's Tower north of Falador.
- Chancy and Da Vinci clickboxes have been improved.
- Players should no longer be floating when standing on certain tiles in Burthorpe.
- Fixed an issue that caused noticeboards to float in Burthorpe games room.
- Holiday Portal is now visible as an inactive portal
- Fixed an issue stopping the creation of a Boon of
Energy with a full inventory.
Community
The latest updates from our community
Community Creations
Runetube
Pink Skirts Player Events
Each week the Pink Skirts put on a selection of fun activities that everyone can join. Here are the main events this week:
Nex
- When: Saturday 07th February, 12:00 Gametime
- Who: M e r c y & Dung Titan
- Where: The Ancient Prison
- World: 35
- FC: Dung Titan
Elite Dungeon 2 - Boss of the Week (First Kills)
- When: Saturday 07th February, 05:00 Gametime
- Who: Evenstar8888, Epic Smoke, & The RS3 Legionary Team
- Where: God Wars Dungeon - Ancient Prison
- World: 76
- FC: RS3 BOTW
Penguin Hunt Event
- When: Wednesday 04th February, 07:00 Gametime
- Who: Evenstar8888 & RS Discord Luminaries
- Where: Ardougne Zoo
- World: 60
- FC:Ahelp
If these don't take your fancy, take a look at the full events schedule here. There’s sure to be something you’ll enjoy!
Community Spotlight
RuneHQ
This is the official server for the RuneHQ website. Your source for RS3 and OSRS guides, databases, clues, and more! This week we will be doing our usual Distractions & Diversions like always, before heading to Cabbage Facepunch Bonanza on Saturday and Nex: Angel of Death on Sunday! Join the Discord and the FC EventHQ.
- Wednesday, February 4th - 1:00 / World: 60 - Tues-Di-Straction Stream. Come join in at https://www.twitch.tv/therealrunehq
- Saturday, February 7th - 19:00 / World: 60 - Cabbage Facepunch Bonanza
- Sunday, February 8th - 19:00 / World: 88 - Nex: Angel of Death
- The RuneScape Team
Mods Alex, Azanna, Bak, Balkan, Blkwitch, Boko, Brat, Breezy, Brig, Cajun, Camel, Colibri, Chaose, Dark, Daze, Desert, Dorn, Dragon, Drew, Drewid, Easty, Echo, Fallen, Forza, Fox, Frosch, Grace, Gunner, Helen, Ink, Keyser, Kristy, Luma, Lunatear, Lykos, Lynx, Makkari, MIC, Morty, Muse, Nemo, Neong, Nixon, Noms, Pearce, Perpetua, Phoenix, Pickle, Pigeon, Rain, Ramen, Reaper, Rowley, Ryan, Samy, Sakura, Shiba, Shrew, Shrike, Skyefall, Socks, Soul, Sponge, Spyro, Stu, Sukotto, Taelae, Tiger, Titus, Toasty, Toebeans, Tri, Vegard, Volta, Who, Wov, Yuey & Zura