Prepare for Sailing - Launching November 19th!

04 November 2025

Sailing, Old School RuneScape’s first NEW skill, is launching on November 19th!

Before jumping into the content, we'd like to give you a run-down of the basic training methods, including what you might need to have prepared for launch day!

If you can't see the video above, click here to watch it!

Sailing Technical Pre-Release Information

We're committed to ensuring the launch of Sailing runs as smoothly as possible. To achieve this, we're adjusting our usual release process to allow extra time for testing and stability improvements before everyone sets sail.

Sailing will be added to the game two weeks before it becomes available to players. During this period, we'll be monitoring the content in a live, staff-only beta world to help us identify and resolve any potential issues ahead of launch.

Here's how launch day should look like:

Launch Day Plan (November 19th) - All times in UTC.

7:15am UTC – System update timer goes live.
8:00am UTC – Game worlds go offline briefly for the update.
8:00–8:15am UTC – Worlds come back online, players can log in as normal, but won’t be able to start Sailing yet.
8:15am–10:00am UTC – We'll be running some final checks on the live worlds. Players can continue playing on them, but Sailing will remain locked until our checks are complete.
~10:00am UTC – Depending on those checks, we'll unlock Sailing for all members without rebooting the worlds, so you'll be able to start your new adventure directly!

Please note that once game worlds come back online, the update will have been deployed, despite not being accessible to players yet. As a result of this, the max cape and its perks will no longer be usable, and everyone will officially have Level 1 Sailing, which will be reflected on the HiScores right away (upon logout). You won't be able to start the Pandemonium quest that unlocks the skill until we make Sailing accessible, hopefully around 10.00am UTC.

We'll keep you updated via our usual channels (Game Update post or Game Status Page) if we need extra time for our final checks.

Sailors Wanted!

If you want a higher resolution look at the image above, click here!

The Basics

To get access to Sailing, you will need to complete a quest called Pandemonium. There are no requirements to start it, but please note the quest and skill are members'-only. On launch, simply head to Port Sarim and speak to Will and Anne nearby the docks.

We’ve specifically designed this quest to feel like an easy way of learning the mechanics of boat navigation without it feeling too overwhelming. It will teach you how to sail a Raft, which is the ‘starter boat’ for Sailing, unlocked at Level 1. We know that many players will want to hit their spacebar as fast as possible to get the quest finished quickly. However, we'd recommend taking some time with this quest to familiarize yourself with navigation, especially the Sailing Side Panel, which is a key part of how you will engage with the skill.

Once you complete Pandemonium, you’ll get your very own Raft and Captain’s Log. Congratulations!

The Pandemonium

During the Pandemonium quest, you will be introduced to a new location, also called the Pandemonium.

The Pandemonium acts as somewhat of a hub for Sailing. Not only does it have all the Sailing amenities you'll need, but it also has a range of helpful characters who can assist you with your Sailing adventures.

To return to the Pandemonium, you can of course just sail there yourself. That said, you can also get there via a boat from Port Sarim (the same one that goes to and from Musa Point).

Captain’s Log

The Captain's Log is an essential Sailing tool that you'll want to have on you when you're doing both Port Tasks and Sea Charting (more on them below).

To use the Captain’s Log, simply click on it in your inventory and a menu will pop up. You can swap between two views using the button in the top right corner: one that shows your current Port Tasks and one for tracking your Sea Charting progress.

If lost, you can reclaim your Captain’s Log either from your cargo hold or from a new character found on the Pandemonium.

If you want a higher resolution look at the image above, click here!

Please note, there is a setting to disable the '???' markers in the charting interface. We've put this on by default to avoid spoilers!

Boat Management

You can also manage, recover and customise your Raft (and any future boats), by speaking to a Shipwright, found at most major ports, who will take you through to an area called the Shipyard.

If you want a higher resolution look at the image above, click here!

Shipwright Map Icon

Shipyard

The Shipyard is where you're able to customise your boat. Just like in Construction, you'll want to bring your hammer & saw, along with the required materials, since the Shipyard doesn't have its own bank. But don't worry - as you level up Sailing, you'll unlock ports that offer more convenient access to the Shipyard. Ports with nearby banks, among other things.

Click on Boat Schematics Board to modify or upgrade parts of your boat such as the Hull, Keel, Sails, etc and make them stronger. This will help you to withstand dangers at sea, such as enemies or stormy conditions.

You can also add or change facilities on your boat by boarding the gangplank and clicking directly on the facility slot you wish to change. There are loads of facilities available on launch, we won’t spoil them all here.

If you want a higher resolution look at the image above, click here!

Early-Game Sailing

We can imagine a lot of players will be wondering what they should do after completing Pandemonium. First off, check out the Sailing Skill Menu so that you’re able to see the general breakdown of what’s included in Sailing, including training methods and progressional milestones that are relevant to you.

If you want a higher resolution look at the image above, click here!

Once you’re happy, we recommend getting those early levels in by completing low-level Port Tasks and Sea Charting activities around the Port Sarim and the Pandemonium.

Early-Game: Sea Charting

To engage with Sea Charting, open your Captain’s Log and take a look at what you can chart. You can filter activities by requirements, area, and completion status, then further by clicking the ‘???’ panels.

To start off with, you will not have access to every charting tool, other than the Captain’s Log which you received from Pandemonium and the Spyglass. Simple click to interact with certain chartable locations!

Additional Charting tools, such as the Current Duck will be locked behind quests and higher Sailing level requirements, so don’t be worried if you can’t do them straight away.

Without getting into spoiler territory, we recommend having the following non-Sailing requirements unlocked for Sea Charting content in future levels:

10 Fishing
30 Smithing
The Knight's Sword
Diving gear from Pirate Pete's Recipe for Disaster sub-quest

Early-Game: Port Tasks

A nice and easy way to rack up Sailing XP is by taking a Courier Task (or two) while you're out at sea. Courier Tasks can be taken via notice boards found at most major ports. Initially, you'll be using the boards at Port Sarim and the Pandemonium, but as you level up, more will become available. You will start with one task slot, increasing up to five as your Sailing level increases (the second slot opens up at Level 7 Sailing).

A Cargo Hold will already be built on your boat at Level 1, so that you have a place to store your Cargo. Be doubly sure that you have checked you are bringing the correct amount of Cargo so that you don’t have to take two trips. Additionally, don't forget to take it out of your Cargo hold again when you're at your destination!

Early Game: Facilities & Boat Upgrades

Once you hit Level 15 Sailing, you will unlock the first big Sailing upgrade on your account: the ability to buy and navigate a Small Boat (now termed Skiff). This is an important milestone as they contain seven customisable facility slots, as opposed to a Raft which can only hold one facility.

Facilities allow you to use your boat in a new way. For example, in the early game, we recommend building your very own Salvaging Hook, which will give you access to a new training method, Shipwreck Salvaging. This is an AFK-style activity that involves you navigating to a Shipwreck, interacting with your Hook facility and collecting Salvage, which can be sorted at a Salvaging Station back at Port.

All boat facilities and upgrades have a Construction and Sailing requirement; however, you can pay the Shipwrights a fee to build most of the basic facilities and upgrades for you if you do not have the Construction requirements for them.

Here’s the list of upgrades which have skippable Construction requirements (if you are willing to pay a fee to a Shipwright):

Hull: Wood - Mahogany
Sails: Wood - Mahogany
Helm: Bronze - Mithril
Keel: Bronze - Mithril
Cannon: Bronze - Mithril
Salvaging Hook: Bronze - Mithril
Cargo Hold: Wood – Mahogany

The amount of gold paid for each facility scales with how advanced each facility is, so you’ll be paying the Shipwright more to create a Mahogany Hull versus an Oak Hull, for example.

Later-game facilities or upgrades above Mithril cannot have their Construction requirements bypassed, so training your Construction level within the 60-70 range will benefit you in the long term. Currently, the highest Construction requirement for any boat upgrade is Level 84 Construction. Before you panic, please note that this isn’t required to engage with Sailing, but we’re just giving you an idea of where the highest upgrade sits so that you can judge whether you want to get your Construction Level higher before Sailing comes out!

Stocking up on items like Planks, Metal Bars, Nails, Rope, Swamp Tar, Logs and Flax is also a good idea, as this will allow you to upgrade your boat as soon as you hit the level requirements. Be sure to have some handy, especially as prices on the Grand Exchange might increase when demand gets higher. Some items, such as the new resources (logs, ore and some fabrics) coming with Sailing will not be available yet and you may have to go out and explore new islands to find them! Some items will only just have become craftable (e.g, Bolt of Linen). If you’re a main, we reckon you’ll be able to make some serious GP from trading new materials on the G.E when they first launch due to the sheer demand.

Mid Game (Levels 30-55)

At Level 30 Sailing, you will unlock another training method, Barracuda Trials. The first trial you will gain access to is the ‘Tempor Tantrum’ trial. We recommend using a Small Boat for this activity, with relevant upgrades to withstand the storm and rapids.

Around this stage you will also gain access to Bounty Tasks and Cannon facilities, so consider getting your boat ready for naval battle!

If you want a higher resolution look at the image above, click here!

At Level 40 Sailing, you’ll unlock access to your very first crewmember, Jobless Jim. Hooray!

You can manage crewmates via the Crew registrar, located on the Pandemonium.

If you want a higher resolution look at the image above, click here!

Crew aren’t essential for training Sailing; however, at this stage you might want to consider getting a Crewmate so that you can manage your facilities much more effectively. Crew-mates can operate any facility you desire; however, different NPCs will have higher proficiency in certain skills than others. Some Crewmates may have additional requirements to recruit them, such as those who are linked to quests. Once you’re at the correct level, simply speak to them to see if you can get them on board.

When you hit 45 Sailing, you might be able to start the highly anticipated Troubled Tortugan quest which introduces you to the first major island launching with Sailing, the Great Conch. Just make sure that you have the following requirements met to start Troubled Tortugans:

Pandemonium completed.
45 Sailing
51 Slayer
48 Construction
45 Hunter
40 Woodcutting
34 Crafting

On the Great Conch, you’ll get access to plenty of new resources and new training methods for existing skills. We’re not going to spoil what’s there as we can’t wait for you all to discover yourselves - but all we’ll say is, you can take a look back at this blog! to see whether any of your existing skills need a few extra levels…

Later Game

As you continue your journey in Sailing, you’ll unlock new content and gain access to fresh areas packed with exciting rewards. By Level 55 Sailing, you'll have mastered the fundamentals of the skill and we hope you'll have much more confidence in your abilities as a sailor. Get ready to face tougher foes at sea and navigate the more perilous waters of Gielinor!

We won't spoil too much this close to launch, but you can expect tougher Barracuda Trials, deadlier stretches of ocean, new Crewmates, Islands, and plenty more to discover!

Preparing for Sailing: Iron Accounts

Regular

Stocking up on items like Logs, Rope, Planks, Nails, Metal Bars, along with a high Construction level will be very helpful, especially those who choose to stand alone as you don’t want to be stuck on launch day grinding for these when you could be Sailing!

If you’re an Iron player, consider whether you need to increase your Crafting and Farming Levels, too, since some ship upgrades require fabrics. Sails and Trawling Nets have Crafting requirements (e.g. 73 Crafting for Cotton Sails), which will need to be made from items gathered via Farming (e.g. 71 Farming to grow Cotton).

We also understand that items like Cannonballs are typically disproportionately harder to obtain for Irons in comparison to mains. With the launch of Sailing, we're also introducing a high-level forge which has improved Cannonball Smithing rates. Effectively, the forge reduces the time it takes to smith one set of cannonballs from 8 ticks to 4 ticks. This includes the Smithing of Steel cannonballs for the Dwarf Multicannon. Additionally, the Double Mould from Giant's Foundry can also be used here, too.

Hardcore

Hardcore Iron players, beware. There are large areas of the sea that are multi-combat, meaning that your boat can get attacked by many sources. If you are on an island, death will be treated in the same way as it currently works on land in the game. If your boat capsizes, it will not count as a death for Hardcores, however, you will be put back to your last Port at 1 HP. As poison or disease can affect you at sea, we'd recommend always bringing repair kits and letting others explore first, at least until you know whether it's safe to do so!

Please note, if a player reaches 0 hitpoints while on a boat, it is not a safe death, so be warned!

Our last piece of advice... Beware of any drinks you may find at sea from crates. Some can have some crazy effects!

Ultimate

Ultimate Iron players will be able to access the Cargo Hold, but they will have certain account-type limitations, for example, fewer storage slots and fewer cannonball storage slots. Some things that you might want to do is get a plank sack from Mahogany Homes, since your boat will require a lot of planks to upgrade it. Additionally, a log basket from Forestry might be useful when upgrading your boat using new planks. Generally, we think Ultimate accounts will benefit from getting some noted planks and bars ready in time for Sailing.

Some players are already hard at work theory-crafting! These are entirely player-designed approaches and so they might not be accurate, we're giving no secrets away here!

If you're interested in seeing how these players are preparing, check out the following links...

And that's a wrap! The next time we see you, it'll be launch day... Landlubbers, it's almost time!

Who will be the first to 99 Sailing? Could it possibly be someone reading this post right now? We can't wait to meet you!

Sailing is going to be our biggest update yet, and we would like to say a massive thank you to our community for all of your support throughout development. We're extremely proud of what we've built for you, and we can't wait to see what you think when you get to jump in. The team will be closely monitoring your feedback throughout the launch period and beyond so please make sure to send us your feedback through our usual channels.

As this such a large update, there may be unexpected issues that occur. Rest assured that if any fixes or changes need to be made, we'll be ready. For larger fixes, keep an eye on the Game Update newspost when that goes out. Until then, future sailors!

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

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