This week, we launched The Red Reef, the second quest in the Tortugan storyline. Thousands of you have already set sail to help Floopa uncover the secrets behind the mysterious Red Reef Trading Company!
Alongside the quest, this update also introduced a range of Sailing improvements. These include sail customisation, auto-retaliate for cannons, and new cannonball types capable of slowing enemies down, or burning them to death.
Since this week's update, we've also been monitoring feedback and reviewing the XP from Rubium Mining and Smithing.
A big part of our balance philosophy is to ensure that new methods fit appropriately within the wider game. In the past, we’ve seen activities significantly outperform expectations because of interactions that we either didn’t foresee or didn’t intend.
Duke Mining and Shooting Stars are probably the clearest examples of this. In both cases, changes were necessary because the resulting XP rates and gameplay loops didn’t align with the long-term progression of the skills involved. After reviewing community feedback on Rubium alongside the XP rates players are currently achieving, we believe it falls into a similar category.
Additionally, we want to own up to the fact that changes of this scale to existing Mining and Smithing methods should have been discussed with you all first.
Today, we want to explain our current thinking, outline changes that we’re considering, and give you the opportunity to share your feedback before anything is finalised.
We’re being mindful of previous situations where we’ve nerfed content without prior consultation, and we want to allow for community feedback and discussion before making further changes.
Right now, tick manipulation for Rubium allows players to reach substantially higher Mining XP rates than originally intended. Reports from players match internal data, placing it at around 133k XP per hour when combined with various mining enhancement effects.
While we recognise that these rates require effort to achieve, these rates are not healthy for the game long-term, particularly because we've inadvertently made changes to established metas without prior consultation or polling.
When we compare this new method to established ones like 3-tick Granite Mining, where players are able to achieve around 134k XP per hour, Rubium currently offers similarly high XP rates, more valuable rewards, and lower overall intensity (because you don’t need to drop anything). Rubium Splinters are also a valuable and stackable resource. In this state, there would be very little reason to engage in any other active Mining training method for main accounts.
There’s also a wider economic concern here. If Rubium Mining were to remain the best Mining XP method in the game, Rubium Splinters would inevitably become far less valuable over time due to the sheer volume of them entering the game. As a result, we expect that Incendiary cannonballs would likely become the default option for main accounts because their increased power would come at a negligible cost. The same is true for Iron accounts, since Irons wanting to train Mining and Smithing will likely heavily prefer this route to other established training methods.
After reviewing the current behaviour and the rates that some players are achieving, adjustments are necessary. We're proposing changes and we'd like to get your feedback on the specifics of our approach.
Changes
The following changes are focused on increasing Splinter output, rather than Mining XP.
First, we would like to prevent tick manipulation from working at Rubium rocks. In doing so, Rubium would become a more moderate XP activity that also provides a valuable resource.
We’re also planning a 20% reduction to the base Mining XP granted by Rubium, reducing it from 30 XP to 24 XP per action. This is because, even with the removal of tick-manipulation, the rates from Rubium are still slightly too high compared to other alternatives, considering the intensity of the method and desirability of this new resource combined.
To compensate for these changes, we'll increase how long you can AFK mine them. Rubium rocks would always last for at least 3 successful mining attempts (previously 2) before their 1/6 depletion chance can start.
Additionally, we’ll increase the amount of Rubium Splinters you receive based on your Mining level. For example:
- Level 48 Mining: 1 Splinter
- Level 72 Mining: 2 Splinters
- Level 96 Mining: 3 Splinters
There will also be a scaling chance to receive an additional Splinter between these thresholds, capped at a maximum of 3 Splinters at level 96.
To summarise what this looks like at Level 96 Mining, please see the following table:
| Meta | Current XP/HR | Current Splinters/HR | Proposed XP/HR | Proposed Splinters/HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5t Mining (with all enhancers) | ~133k XP/HR | ~4700 Splinters/HR | None | None |
| Active Mining (Dragon Pick - Values depend on Mining Enhancers used) | ~63k to ~75k XP/HR | Between ~2100 to ~2500 Splinters/HR | ~51k to ~60k XP/HR | Between ~6300 to ~7500 Splinters/HR |
We understand that some players enjoy higher-intensity Mining methods, and we’re open to exploring dedicated skill-expression mechanics around Rubium if there’s enough demand for it.
We’re also aware that many players would like to see more high-level Mining methods in future, and that’s something we’re also interested in exploring, too.
Let us know your feedback on this approach. With these changes, we're confident that Rubium Mining would sit in a far healthier space within the broader Mining meta, while also ensuring that the focus is shifted towards acquiring Rubium Splinters for cannonballs.
Players are achieving around 220k Smithing XP per hour by smithing Incendiary Rune cannonballs. Both cannonballs and Rubium Splinters are stackable resources, meaning that players don’t need to bank. This means it's an extremely low intensity training method relative to the output it provides.
Traditionally, Smithing XP is closely tied to the value of the bars being used. In this case, however, since the cannonballs themselves have already been smithed from bars, the new process grants additional Smithing XP for adding the Incendiary or Chainshot effect.
Smithing XP per bar is something we typically try to respect, outside of specific content that has been designed around it, like Giant's Foundry.
As it stands, you are currently being rewarded with Smithing XP twice: XP for the cannonballs themselves, then again when converting them into the new versions.
Changes
The proposed changes would ensure that new cannonballs are quicker to make and more practical for boat combat. Additionally, these will help to make them feel more consistent with similar items in-game, like Divine Potions.
First, we'll substantially increase the speed at which you’re able to create Incendiary and Chainshot cannonballs. Currently, we're looking at making it at least four times faster, meaning one set of two cannonballs per tick instead of one set every four ticks.
As a trade-off, we’ll significantly reduce the Smithing XP down to a token amount. Chainshot cannonballs require banking, so we'll take that into account when making these changes so that both types of cannonballs offer roughly equal XP.
Gathering Rubium Splinters is already a relatively AFK process. Speeding up cannonball production will allow you to use them for their purpose a lot faster.
Let us know what you think!
Expected Timeline
As for when you can expect these changes, we plan to get them out as early as next week. We'll be listening to your feedback closely to ensure we're making the right changes, so please let us know your thoughts on the details.
We also want to take the opportunity to highlight when you can expect some of the highly anticipated buffs outlined in the Sailing buffs blog. We're also adding in some new changes based on feedback from this week's update.
June 3rd
- Dragon Sheets will be added to additional sea creature drop tables
- Port Task XP will be buffed by 10-15%.
- Auto-retaliate delay on Cannons will be removed
- Right-click ‘Last Boat’ option will be added to the Teleport to boat Tablet.
We're also very excited to add Loot Sacks to Courier Tasks, however there is no date set for them just yet - the team is still working on it. We can't wait to see how these changes improve your experience with Sailing!
That's it for this blog, as mentioned we're keen to get your feedback on the specifics, so do let us know what you think.
You can also discuss this update on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel. For more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.
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