This Week In RuneScape - 03/08/20

Ninja Strike 9 – Double XP LIVE

The Ninjas have plucked their very finest yumi and kusarigama from the weapon racks and performed a number of quite devastating and methodical strikes designed to make the upcoming Double XP LIVE event even better.

DOUBLE XP TIMER PAUSE

We all want to make the most of our extra XP, right? And that can sometimes make the downtime between grinding feel a little wasteful. But waste no more thanks to the introduction of a timer toggle!

Players can now hit pause on their 48 hour Double XP entitlement whenever they wish, meaning they can safely go about preparing for their next skilling marathon without their bonus time whittling away.

Tread carefully, however – after toggle you will not be able to change it again for another hour. So think ahead!

Pauses are indefinite and persists across log-ins, but if the Double XP time remaining is equal or greater than the amount of time left in the event, your pause will be deactivated. Your Double XP timer will no longer disappear after you've used up all of your Double XP entitlement.

PROTEAN IMPROVEMENTS

Previously, players would have to use each size of Protean Resource individually. A bit too click-tastic for our tastes.

Now, however, portable skilling packs, protean packs, and skilling dummy crates now stack in the inventory with other packs of the same type and size. There's also a new 'Use All' checkbox on the interface. Essentially, being able to use all your Protean Packs at once means less time clicking and more time skilling!

There are plenty of other improvements too:

Protean bars now have a 'do not ask me again' option when Smithing that instantly opens the make-x interface for Protean Smithing.

Various improvements have been made to the messaging displayed when converting Proteans, such as displaying how many will be converted and obtained.

Protean Powerups now have 'Activate 1', 'Activate X' and 'Activate all' options.

Protean Powerups' examine texts now state how long each one can be activated for.

These options will still adhere to the two hour protean powerups time limit.

In addition, Protean Packs, Portable Stations and Dummies can now be stacked. As they'll no longer take up individual spaces in the Inventory, that means less trudging back and forth to the Bank!

PORTABLE STATION IMPROVEMENTS

Previously, it was difficult to determine the amount of time left on a portable, which in turn made planning skilling activities around them a little tricky. It was also difficult to say thanks to players who operated or extended the portables, making it feel like a bit of a thankless task as opposed to the community-oriented activity it was intended to be.

So, the examine text for Portable Stations will now include the time remaining, the owner's in-game name, and the in-game name of the last person to extend the timer. Furthermore, should you attempt to place a portable skilling station somewhere with one of the same kind is already nearby, a prompt will now ask if you'd like to extend the existing one instead. Station extension failure messaging has also been improved.

COMBAT DUMMY IMPROVEMENTS

The Melee, Magic, and Ranged combat dummies have now been combined into a single, all-purpose combat dummy!

When used, the player will be asked which kind of dummy they'd like to deploy. Skilling dummies of the same type also now stack in the inventory. Plus, dummies can now be placed just one tile apart as opposed to three.

A lot more convenient, we're sure you agree.

MORE HIDDEN FAMILIARS

There are now an additional eight areas which will simply hide your companions:

Hall of Memories

Shantay Pass

Artisans Workshop

The inner ring of the Varrock Grand Exchange

Deep Sea Fishing Hub

Burthorpe Bank

Well of Goodwill

Inside the Keeps of Clan Citadels

Full Ninja Strike Notes

Double XP timer

It is now possible to pause the Double XP timer using the pause button on the timer interface.

• While paused double XP is not applied but otherwise blocked training methods are reactivated.
• Players can pause the timer indefinitely.
• When resuming the timer, there is a cooldown of 1 hour spent in-game before being able to pause again.
• The pause will persist over log ins.

The double XP timer will no longer disappear and become unavailable after the player has used up their double XP time.

Portable Skilling Stations

Improvements have been made to the examine text of portable skilling stations and it now shows:

• The time remaining in a different colour to make it easier to read.
• Which player originally placed the station, as well as the most recent player to extend it.

Attempting to place a portable skilling station with one of the same kind already nearby will now ask the player if they'd like to extend that one instead.

• Improved the messaging for when extending a station fails for various reasons.

Proteans, skilling dummies & portables

Portable skilling packs, protean packs, and skilling dummy crates now stack in the inventory with other packs of the same type and size.

There is now a "use all" checkbox interface when using protean packs and skilling dummy crates where players can choose to take proteans and dummies from all packs of any size immediately.

Protean bars now have a "do not ask me again" option when smithing, which will instantly open the make-x interface for protean smithing.

Various improvements have been made to the messaging displayed when converting proteans, such as displaying how many proteans will be converted and obtained.

Protean Powerups now have 'activate 1', 'activate X', and 'activate all' options.

• These options will still adhere to the 2 hour limit on having protean powerups active.
• The examine of Protean Powerups now state how long each one can be activated for.

All 3 types of combat training dummies have now been turned into 1 generic combat dummy.

• When used, the player will be asked which kind of dummy they'd like to deploy.

Skilling dummies of the same type now stack in the inventory.

The space restriction for placing skilling and combat dummies has been reduced from 3 tile spaces apart, to only 1 tile space apart.

Various Improvements have been made to the wording on interfaces for selecting proteans and dummies from crates.

General

Other players' familiars and pets will now be hidden in the following areas:

• Hall of Memories
• Shantay Pass
• Artisans Workshop
• The inner ring of the Varrock Grand Exchange
• Deep Sea Fishing Hub
• Burthorpe Bank
• Well of Goodwill
• Inside the Keeps of Clan Citadels

When loading silver jewellery, such as the Botanist's Amulet, from presets, the first available 'used' version of the item will now always be loaded by default. This is to stop presets from creating more 'used' versions and cluttering the bank.

• New pieces of silver jewellery now have "(new)" at the end of their names.

The amount of Cleansing Crystals available from Hefin Monks has been increased from 5 to 30. These will still restock at the same rate as before.

The default make-x quantity for tipping headless arrows and creating darts has been increased from 10 to 20.

Changes to Treasure Hunter

We've got some news about changes to Treasure Hunter, starting with the return of Time To Train starting on August 4th!

New Trial

For all you Treasure Hunters out there, you know that our promotions currently rotate in and out regularly, with some (like Second Chance Tuesdays) lasting only one day.

Throughout August and September, we'll be switching up our approach to promotions to try something new. During both months, each promotion that goes live will run uninterrupted for two weeks.

In order to keep things fresh, we'll be mixing up rewards or mechanics during the run-time of these two week promotions (including some brand new rewards and the return of some golden oldies!).

Why The Change?

In November of last year, we talked about improving Treasure Hunter with more transparency and experimentation with new mechanics. This prompted a number of new promotion designs eg. Ring of Shards and Diamond Dozen earlier this year.

Our next port of call is to examine the ways we keep Treasure Hunter interesting week-to-week, and experiment with new ideas on how to approach that challenge. With this trial, we want to take the focus off a shorter time limit on promotions, and instead focus on the appeal of refreshed rewards and mechanics.

Time To Train

This will be starting this week with Time to Train running from Tuesday August 4th until Monday August 17th. We're very keen to hear from players about how this change feels for you, so drop us your thoughts using the Discuss button below.

IN OTHER NEWS

Double XP LIVE

As if it were not obvious from all of the above, Double XP LIVE returns this weekend! Kicking off on August 7th 12:00 Game Time, everyone will have 10 days to use their 48 hours of Double XP however they wish. And with the new timer, you've got more control than ever. Remember, Archaeology is excluded from Double XP LIVE for now. A complete list of the various rules and exclusions can be found here.

Desperate Measures

Also, don't forget to check out our brand new quest, Desperate Measures. The latest chapter in the epic Elder Gods saga has grave implications for Gielinor…

The Beach

Lastly, it's the final week of The Beach, so brush off that towel, apply the sunblock and get down to Lumbridge Crater.

As always, we hugely value all of your feedback on anything and everything RuneScape. Get in touch on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Discord or over on our Forums. Your feedback will help us guide future of the game we all love.

Desperate Measures

Fixes

Thok and Hannibus will no longer appear multiple times during a sequence in Desperate Measures.

Charos no longer incorrectly starts dialogue that should only have taken place in the Anachronia base camp.

Selecting a preset in Bank no longer disables the Scarabas Communion Boost granted by the Desert Pantheon Aura.

Dinosaurs have stopped shaking while walking, thankfully.

Elite Dungeons

Improvements

The Black Hands of Xau-Tak's defence has been slightly reduced during the encounter with the Black Stone Dragon in the Dragon Laboratory Elite Dungeon.

The height of the overhead enemy NPC target panel has been adjusted for the black hands of Xau-Tak, as well as several minibosses, in the Dragonkin Laboratory.

Fire from the Blackstone Dragon fight in Elite Dungeon 2 no longer damages you once the encounter has concluded.

Adding Elite Dungeon lore pages to a partially complete lore book no longer creates a new lore book in your backpack if you already have one in the Bank.

Edward, the wilderness cape seller outside of Dragonkin Laboratory, now allows you to Bank while in combat.

Mopped up some blood in Astellarn's arena that could cause issues with targeted abilities such as Bladed Dive, and changed the blood in the Black Stone Dragon's arena into inactive scenery.

Players can no longer attack the boss from outside of the boss arena. Instead, players will now teleport inside the boss arena after the boss is activated.

Starting a boss fight will also teleport all players within the boss area to its centre.

Combat dummies can now no longer be placed inside Astellarn's arena in the Dragonkin Laboratory.

Fixes

Scrimshaw of Corruption no longer loses all its charge if it's activated or removed from the pocket slot with exactly 19 minutes of charge remaining.

Olivia the Chronicler now uses female combat sounds.

Mobile

Improvements

A warning message will now show in the Grand Exchange when attempting to sell items that exceed the total amount within the player's inventory.

Mobile players will now get a warning message when attempting to trade items that are untradeable.

Made the world select interface full screen and removed a white-bar blocking the settings button on iOS.

Modernized the presentation and position of the Shades Of Mort'ton minigame interface.

Fixes

Buffs/debuffs will no longer overlap the directional arrows during the Arraxor boss fight.

Fixed an issue causing a popup to block progression during the augmentation section of the Invention tutorial.

The 'DXP is active' popup and 'DXP daily reward' popups have been temporarily disabled on login, preventing a static black screen.

Farming & Herblore

Improvements

Updated potion tooltips that reference adrenaline/special attack gain to specify percentage rather than a value, and to match the other adrenaline potions.

It's no longer possible to use a 'bomb' on a banker NPC - instead the player is now asked how many bombs they would like to deposit.

Extreme potion timer can no longer be extended by logging out and back in again.

Ripper dinosaur and corbicula malum colours now appear the same on all graphics settings.

Now when creating "primal extract" via the portable skilling well you receive an extra 10% experience boost.

Other

Improvements

Disabled the player silhouette that occurs when emoting while obscured.

The 'Upgrade' button no longer overlaps with the 'Report' button while inspecting another player in Legacy UI mode.

Updated a fire on Mazcab that was using an older model.

Clan vexillums are no longer placeable on or next to Archaeology deposit carts.

Fixes

It is no longer possible to spawn a duplicate Barrows Brother by clicking on their sarcophagus as they die.

Fixed an issue with virtual levels not providing fanfare (fireworks, popup, jingle etc) when gaining XP.

Zaros Godsword's special attack description now correctly says the 'Blackhole' ability lasts for 20 seconds and not 30.

Fixed a missing tile in the Red Axe base.

Players can no longer surge/escape while wearing bedsheets.

The clickbox on the Varrock Fountain has been reduced to allow players to cross through the fountain without the need to use the right click.

Items manufactured at the workbench will no longer drop to the ground after unequipping a piece of gear to free up the last backpack slot.

Animation is now fixed when climbing the ladder in Benedict's house in Varrock.

The correct icon will now display when selecting an invention machine to build.

The barrels at Manor Farm now all have the correct collision.

When retuning a max guild portal with Grace of the Elves equipped, the teleport will now take the player to the correct location.

The Library of Nex achievement now displays upon completion.

Removed some blocking from the Wizards tower bridge.

Keybinds on the Action Bar should now not be incorrectly used when players destroy an item or set the keybind.

Players can now shear sheep for wool with one empty backpack slot when the 'Have Ewe (Many Wool)' perk is active.

Transmuting items with ancestral energy now gives the proper amount of output.

The Upgrade button no longer obscures the 'Examine Player' window for free-to-play players in legacy interface mode.

Modeled light beams have been removed from the Fremennik Slayer dungeon, as they were casting shadows.

Players can no longer enter the King Black Dragon boss encounter while having the teleport block debuff active.

Fixed the issue causing hotkeys to trigger while typing in chat with the Treasure Hunter interface open.

It is no longer possible to walk through agility obstacles inside a Big Game Hunter encounter.

Corrected an issue requiring you to equip spiked gauntlets for the Turael's Path achievement.

An ancient familiar's special move cast now grants the correct amount of Summoning XP.

Removed the force walk tiles north of Manor Farm that were preventing navigation.

Players will now consistently receive level up popups when gaining a virtual level.

Resolved an issue in which a player could become stuck when clicking out of dialogue whilst interacting with a pylon during the Desperate Measures quest.

Fixed an issue to prevent Fishing Bait from Ashdale being dropped on the floor which allowed players to repeatedly claim free bait.

Typographical Fixes

No typos were ficksd this week

Hotfixes

A certain agility vine on Anachronia can once again be traversed.

All Chat now displays correctly.

Transmuting ancestral energy now gives the expected 10x resources instead of 1x.

Charos now directs players to the Anachronia base camp at a certain point during Desperate Measures, as Charos shouldn't be visible outside of the base camp at that stage of the quest.

Thwack like Thok!

While most of us have been busy sinking our teeth into RuneScape's latest and greatest quest, Desperate Measures, @AnaelicCosplay has risen to the challenge of making her very own version of Thok's iconic Stick! The best part? She's shared an exclusive guide and a collection of downloadables that you can use to make one for yourself!

If you fancy yourself a piece of this amazingness you can find a full guide to making Thok's Stick here, as well as some 3D printable spikes (available in small, medium and large).

If you do make Thok's Stick, be sure to share it with us on Twitter!

J-Mod Livestreams

Tuesday August 4th | 16.00 Game Time | Q&A with the RuneScape Lore Council

'Desperate Measures' raised plenty of interesting questions about [REDACTED], [SPOILERS] and [NOPE, NOT TELLING] – so if you're interested in hearing the answers, pop along to this Lore Q&A stream, where the Lore Council will be in attendance to dish out some knowledge.

Thursday August 6th | 15.00 Game Time | Stutorial #9 with Mod Stu, Mod Poerkie & Mod Jack

The dynamic duo has become a trio this week, as Mod Jack joins the team to play through the Troll Warzone tutorial.

Catch all of our livestreams over on the official RuneScape Twitch channel.

Featured Streamer

Our featured streamer this week is Vaselinefairy, who'll be training a little bit of Archaeology to begin with, and then opening up a cache of tetracompasses once we're all warmed up.

You can join the fun on August 3rd at 17:00 Game Time on their Twitch channel.

Custom Twitter Banner

Fancy your very own personalised Twitter banner, featuring some Desperate Measures key art? We really, really hope so, because that's what we've got for you!

Full details will be made available in a tweet later this week – keep your eyes on the official Twitter if you want in!

Community Showcase

This week we'd like to offer our congratulations to @Shaddowgattler, who just obtained a Fire Cape on an account with only 9HP! You're a braver adventurer than we are, friend.

We also loved this screenshot by @RS_Zorander! It reminded us of all the wonderful journeys we've taken in Gielinor.

Creative Corner

This week we're obsessed with the latest chapter of Chaos_Elemental's fanfic, A Hard Fall. This story's got everything – romance, violence, choc-ice, vulgar exotic birds, fourth wall breaks and more!

If you feel like flexing those literary muscles then grab your reading glasses and head on over to AO3. Over 40 chapters of compelling fiction awaits!

Featured Video

If you'd like to relive the magic of Desperate Measures one more time, you can't do better than this Let's Play by OrbScape. He's full of enthusiasm and shows of plenty of details you might have missed – so go on, give it a watch!

Forum Spotlight

Each week we plunder the depths of the forum to bring you a tantalizing thread to chew on. If you've been playing our latest quest, you might just find today's discussion piquing your curiosity.

Half Centaur is inviting you to ruminate on Desperate Measures, and what implications the quest could have on the world of RuneScape as we know it. Our lips are sealed, but if you've completed the quest and fancy joining the conversation you can get involved here.

Pink Skirts Event

This week the Pink Skirts have the leader of Saradomin's army in their sights, the fearsome Commander Zilyana.

Join Philly PD and Sharna in the God Wars Dungeon (Sara Lobby) this Tuesday August 4th at 23.00 Game Time on World 68. If you're lucky you might even net yourself some Saradomin goodies along the way!

For more details, add AHelp to your Friends' Chat. You also can find more Pink Skirts events here.