News

  • This Week In RuneScape - 14/09/20
This Week In RuneScape - 14/09/20
Game Updates

This Week In RuneScape - 14/09/20

Huh? What? You’ll have to excuse us, we’ve been a little Distracted and, indeed, Diverted this week 🐧. Nonetheless, we’ve managed to rustle up an update to one of our popular D&Ds and add a brand new one for you to try. Be sure to check out the Community Tab too, because there’s loads of 🐧 penguin-related shenanigans for you to join in with. Now then… let’s ‘dive in’!

In this week's update high-level players will get the chance to build their own effigies in the Effigy Incubator, while everyone else enjoys a spot of espionage with the 12-year anniversary update for Penguin Hide & Seek. 🐧


New D&D: Effigy Incubator

As you might already know from our previous newspost, the Effigy Incubator is a new monthly Distraction and Diversion where you can create your own effigies, fill 'em with knowledge as you train your skills, and then crack them open to get XP-boosting lamps and stars.

Before you can get started, you'll need to have completed Desperate Measures and have at least Level 85 in either Invention, Crafting, RuneCrafting or Smithing. You'll also need to have a word with Mr Mordaut - a mysterious, yet familiar figure has been spotted lurking around the Base Camp 🐧, and he needs someone with your particular skill set to investigate.

Once you've completed a short miniquest, you'll gain access to the Effigy Incubator! Gather your materials and an empty effigy casing, then make your way to the workbench, where your assistant will help you craft an effigy. Repeat the process as many times as you can while the Incubator's fired up - once it's out of juice, it's time for you to take your new effigies out into the world!

Each effigy will store up to 60,000 XP from four specific skills. You can find out which effigies will accept what in the table below.

Effigy Type Skills 🐧
Explosive Cooking, Fishing, Mining, Woodcutting
Unstable Divination, Farming, Hunter, RuneCrafting
Erratic Divination, Farming, Hunter, RuneCrafting
Volatile Cooking, Fishing, Mining, Woodcutting

As you can see, it takes all kinds of different skills to fill your effigy, so they suit many different playstyles.

Once an effigy is full, you can open it up and reveal an XP-boosting prize! Explosive and unstable effigies will leave you with an effigy bonus XP stars, which have the chance to be upgraded to dragonkin stars. Erratic and volatile effigies contain effigy XP lamps, which have the chance to be upgraded to dragonkin lamps.

Come back the next time the Effigy Incubator is charged to make more effigies and see what your assistant has learned about the dragonkin 🐧 while you've been gone.

You can also return throughout the month to collect materials from the various nodes in the lab and trade them in for Incubator Points, which you can exchange for up to ten ready-made effigies.

If you're desperate for more effigy action, you can always use a D&D reset token, but beware - this option won't help you progress the story any faster. If you want those lore reveals, you'll have to play along with everyone else!

Penguins Rework

It's been 12 years since the PBJ and their close allies at the Ardougne Zoo set up the Penguin Hide and Seek program, and you and your fellow adventurers spot thousands of KGP agents every week. Great work!

To celebrate, we've added a big bucketful of updates to the minigame, including an improved Reward Shop 🐧, new rewards, and loads of different quality-of-life changes.

Let's switch things up and talk about the rewards to start with. The first thing you'll spot upon entering the new Reward Shop is that the XP/GP prices of all the items have been rebalanced. You'll also see that there's a new kind of currency being tracked: Penguins Spotted. This fills up, as you might guess, whenever you spot a penguin.

Primarily, this currency lets you gain upgrades to the Penguin Spy Device, a nifty little gadget that you'll get for free from the Ardougne Zoo.

A fully upgraded Spy Device will let you get hints for specific penguins, scan for nearby penguins, and even freeze penguins in place to help other people spot them. The one thing it doesn't do is tell the time.

Other 🐧 rewards include the 'Birdwatcher' and 'Spymaster' titles, a Transmog Case that'll allow you to disguise yourself as a penguin whenever and wherever you like, and an adorable baby penguin pet named Sheldon.

Now, let's talk birdwatching. Over the last dozen years the KGP have realised that they need to step up their act if they want to get the drop on the PBJ and their keen-eyed adventurer pals. Enter the Secret Agents. These highly trained penguins are the cream of the crop, the pick of the bunch, the stars of the class - you get the picture. Up 🐧 to two of them will be hiding in Gielinor at any one time. If you manage to find them, you'll be rewarded with 2 Penguin Points and a Treasure Trail casket ranging from Easy to Master.

There's one other thing you need to be aware of. Every time you spot a regular penguin, there's a chance that Agent 007 will spawn in your vicinity. Like the other Secret Agents, 007 will hand over a Treasure Trail casket and 2 Penguin Points when spotted. The catch is, he's only visible to the player who spawns him. You might say the two of you have a bond.

There are also a few new achievements associated with this update:

From Ardougne With Love: Fully upgrade the Penguin Spotting Device.

Penguin 🐧 Adoption Agency: Unlock the Sheldon pet.

'From Ardougne With Love' is required for the Completionist Cape and 'Penguin Adoption Agency' is required for the Trimmed Completionist Camp. There will be a grace period, which will last until November 9th. That gives you eight weeks to grab the achievements!

Penguin Celebration Bonus

Our man in Ardougne tells us that from September 14th to September 27th we can expect a flurry of KGP activity all over Gielinor. Agents 001 - 006 will spawn more frequently and spotting your first penguin during this period will grant you a 🐧 D&D reset token.

Good luck, and remember… keep your eyes peeled.

Edinburgh Zoo

Did you lot see that they made penguins a thing in real life? Crazy! We've even found an enclosure full of the sneaky little fellows up at the Edinburgh Zoo.


Livestream courtesy of The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. 🐧

Here's what their keepers have to say about it:

"Over one hundred penguins live here at Penguin's Rock in Edinburgh Zoo - we're home to gentoo, king and rockhopper penguins. As we approach the end of summer, our penguins will begin their annual moult. At this time the penguins will grow in a whole new layer of feathers and the old feathers will fall off. This is known as a 'catastrophic' moult in penguins because they can do this in only 2 weeks!"

"You may spot Kevin, our naughtiest penguin, who has a lifetime ban from the penguin parade for pecking at our visitors!"

Maybe this Kevin chap has a future with the KGP?

In all seriousness, though, the keepers have had it rough taking care of their black-and-white buddies throughout the lockdown period. To help them out, we'll be collaborating with the Edinburgh Zoo over the next few weeks. Check out the Community Tab to see how you can win a Penguin Adoption Pack!

You can also help by checking out the other live webcams on the Edinburgh Zoo 🐧 site. If you're lucky, you can catch lions, tigers, and koala bears - oh my - and of course, you can also watch Yang Guang, the world-famous panda.

Prime Gaming

Has all this talk of penguins and effigies got you itching to try out some of the members-only content in RuneScape? Then you're in luck, because from 🐧 September 15th to October 13th, you can get seven days of membership for free when you link your Prime Gaming and RuneScape accounts.

Just follow the instructions on this page after tomorrow and you can claim your reward!

Edit: Due to some technical difficulties we've had to delay the launch of this month's free 7-day membership for linking your account to Prime Gaming. We're hoping to resolve these issues later this week, and will keep you posted here and on our social channels.

Edit: The new launch time is now 16.00 Game Time on Tuesday 16th September.

Edit: The promotion is now live.

10th Annual Golden Gnome Awards - Finalist Announcement

As you all know by now, the Golden Gnomes are going to be a little different this year. But we're not letting social distancing stop us from having a great time, and the finalist announcements are no exception!

Join us this Friday for a glitz and glamour filled livestream, where we'll announce the finalists for 17 award categories. Check the Community Tab for the full details.

Clans

  • You can now renew your Summoning points using the Obelisk in your Clan Citadel 🐧.
  • Clan Chat guests will now receive a message explaining that they do not have permission to talk in the Clan Chat immediately after joining it.
  • The kick message for Clan members can now be found in the Quick Chat box.

    • Mobile

  • Added an option to toggle the mobile connection and battery status display. This option is found under Settings > Gameplay > Interface > UI Customisation on the mobile client.

    • Other

  • After leaving the Familiarisation D&D you will now be placed back at the obelisk in Taverley, instead of in the Lumbridge Crater.
  • The XP Claim screen now uses the standard Lamp XP UI. Unavailable skills are greyed out.

    • Bug Fixes 🐧

  • The "%" has been removed from the first bonus quantity number in the Tsunami ability description.
  • Fixed an issue with the unattackable rabbits in the Lumbridge Crater.
  • The Skull of Remembrance now interacts properly with Zilyana's Gift and the Gilded Cabbage.
  • Fixed an issue that occurred when using the Enchant Crossbow Bolt spell during PvP.
  • Fixed an issue that was preventing some players from completing the Stronghold of Player Safety.
  • The 'blueprint hover' sound has been removed from the Inventor's Workbench.
  • Ladders on ships in Witchaven and Brimhaven will no longer cause players to teleport.
  • The Legacy Mode interface is no longer causing crashes.
  • Gold wrist options activated in Thessalia's Clothing Shop will no longer appear silver on female characters.
  • Corrected the climbing animations for various ladders in Varrock and ensured that the player appears on the right side after climbing down.
  • The walking and running animations are now displayed properly after using the Lodestone Teleport and clicking out of the screen while underwater.
  • The warning message in the Quest Replay Choices menu for Sliske's Endgame now includes new information about requirements for the Interactions Only mode.
  • Standing and being attacked in the Troll Storeroom doorway will no longer cause the screen to appear black.
  • Collecting all necessary ore will definitely mark Doric as the next step in the relevant quest.
  • The Profound Decorative Set will now remain unchanged when stored in the Armour Case.
  • You may now craft items with a full Inventory when the item in question consumes ingredients from your Inventory, thereby freeing up space.
  • Fixed the issue causing Supercompost and Ultracompost potions to be supplied from the Leprechaun instead of the Master Farming Cape storage under certain circumstances.
  • Untradeable items can no longer be duped using the Alchemiser Machine.
  • Invisible players will no longer appear next to Prehistoric Potterington on The Ranch Out of Time.
  • Using a Dwarven Chainaxe in Double XP mode will no longer double progress, but using Double Resources mode will still increase your progress towards Daily Challenges 🐧.
  • Dying at the same time as Morningstar will cause his drops to appear in the Burthorpe Troll Cave instance until they are picked up. Otherwise, they can be claimed from Turael after advancing to the next path state.
  • Fixed an issue where Slayer Introspection could prevent the guaranteed Elite Slayer monster spawn if players reduced the size of the task.
  • Medium clue scrolls that require the 'beckon' emote can be completed once again.

    • What's black, white, and red all over? The Community Tab, of course! Read on to see this week's Livestream schedule, check out some fantastic fanart, and find out how you can p-p-pick up a penguin from our friends at the Edinburgh Zoo!

    Livestreams

    Official J-Mod Livestreams

    Tuesday September 15th | 16:00 Game Time | Ninja Natter

    Grab your tabi, swing your nunchucks, and wallrun up to the Dojo, where the Ninjas will be holding their not-so-top-secret meeting about recent Ninja Strikes, as well as giving us a sneaky glimpse at what's coming up! We’d give you a hint, but it’d only be intercepted anyway.

    Wednesday September 16th | 16:00 Game Time | J-Mod Tea Break with Mod Warden

    Join Mod Hooli and Mod Warden for some laid back chit-chat over some skilling.

    Thursday September 17th | 11:00 Game Time | Meet the Penguins

    In this exclusive, one-time-only, Instagram exclusive special feature, Mod JD will come to you LIVE from Edinburgh Zoo, where he'll be talking to the penguin keepers about how you can show your support for our favourite feathery friends.

    Join us over on the RuneScape Instagram channel.

    Friday September 18th | 15:00 Game Time | 10th Annual Golden Gnome Awards - Finalist Announcement

    We're inching ever closer to the Golden Gnome Awards, and this is your chance to learn who the finalists are!

    Watch it live over on https://www.twitch.tv/Jagex

    Featured Streamer

    Our featured streamer this week is Zilandra, who'll be spending his Saturday opening 500 Elite Clue Caskets and giving away up to 5 billion GP! It's exciting stuff, so if you want to catch all the action tune in to Zilandra's Twitch channel on September 19th at 15:00 Game Time.

    Edinburgh Zoo: Win an Adoption Pack!

    As you'll know from the Game News tab, we've teamed up with Edinburgh Zoo to bring you a few weeks of flipper-flapping penguin content! To start with, we'd like to offer YOU the chance to win big with a few competitions!

    PENGUINS IN THE NEWSPOST

    The sharp-eyed among you will have already noticed that this newspost has a few penguins scattered across its pages. Count them all (including this one 🐧) and let us know how many there are, and you could win one of two bronze adoption packs for the gentoo penguins at Edinburgh Zoo. That includes:

  • A photo of your adopted penguin
  • A certificate of adoption
  • A penguin fact sheet
  • A Royal Zoological Society of Scotland pen
  • VIP Event Invitations
  • Grow-your-own Seed bookmark

    • Submit your answers on this page. Good luck, penguin hunters! 🐧

    PENGUIN HIDE AND SEEK

    Next up is a contest you can join in-game! Until Sunday October 18th, all players who spot at least 25 total penguins will be entered into a raffle to win a silver adoption pack for the gentoo penguins at Edinburgh Zoo!

    That includes:

  • A photo of your adopted penguin 🐧
  • A certificate of adoption
  • A penguin fact sheet
  • Everything else in the Bronze Tier
  • Your name displayed at the Penguin Enclosure
  • 2 free tickets to visit either Edinburgh Zoo or the Highland Wildlife Park
  • A free subscription to the RZSS's award-nominated LifeLinks magazine

    • J-MOD HIDE AND SEEK

    On September 23rd Mods Kari and Niku will be transmogged as penguins and hiding somewhere in Gielinor! On the day, Mod Poerkie will release a password that you can write in chat once you track them all down. Those who do manage to find them will receive free Bonds, and will be entered into a raffle to win a silver adoption pack for the gentoo penguins at Edinburgh Zoo. 🐧

    That includes:

  • A photo of your adopted penguin
  • A certificate of adoption
  • A penguin fact sheet
  • Everything else in the Bronze Tier
  • Your name displayed at the Penguin Enclosure
  • 2 free tickets to visit either Edinburgh Zoo or the Highland Wildlife Park
  • A free subscription to the RZSS's award-nominated LifeLinks magazine

    • Everyone who watches the stream will also get the chance to participate in live raffles to win bronze adoption packs!

    Those include:

  • A photo of your adopted penguin
  • A certificate of adoption
  • A penguin fact sheet
  • A Royal Zoological Society of Scotland pen
  • VIP Event Invitations
  • Grow-your-own Seed bookmark

    • PENGUINS ON SOCIAL

    Until October 4th, when you find a penguin in-game screenshot it and share on social with the #RSPenguinSeeker 🐧 hashtag! We'll reward the best and most creative ones with Bonds and a bronze adoption pack for the Gentoo penguins at Edinburgh Zoo! You know the drill by now - that includes:

  • A photo of your adopted penguin
  • A certificate of adoption
  • A penguin fact sheet
  • A Royal Zoological Society of Scotland pen
  • VIP Event Invitations
  • Grow-your-own Seed bookmark

    • Penguin Party!

    Bored stuck at home still? Not a problem - our friends at the Edinburgh Zoo have prepared all kinds of penguin-y activities for you to play around with. If you have a small human in your home, they can join in too!

    RZSS Animal Behaviour Hub

    Visit the RZSS Animal Behaviour Hub to learn all about your favourite animals from the comfort of your own home!

    Using the live webcams at the Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park 🐧, this invaluable resource will teach you how and why our scientists research the animals in our care.

    Right now you can learn about penguins, koalas, and behavioural research techniques. You can even join in the fun by observing and recording their behaviour, playing matching games to create ethograms, and taking quizzes on the science of behavioural research: ethology!

    Rockie's Road

    If you're lucky enough to have some Lego at home, crack it open and learn to build your own penguin! Use the 🐧 password AQUATIC to unlock the fun and learn all about RZSS and Project Pinnamin.

    Keeper Talk

    Learn all about the penguins that call Edinburgh Zoo home straight from the source - expert 🐧 keeper Liz!

    Penguin Parade

    Try your hand at some penguiny games and crafts on this interactive course. There are videos, fact files, an egg game and even some zen colouring sheets to enjoy!

    Support Edinburgh Zoo

    If you love penguins (or any other animal) as much as we do, you just have to appreciate the great work that goes into keeping them happy and healthy at Edinburgh Zoo 🐧. Here's an important message from our keeper friends:

    "The survival of endangered animals depends on the survival of the zoo.

    "It's impossible to overstate the impact of the Covid-19 closure on Edinburgh Zoo. It cut off 90% of the funds needed by our dedicated keepers and vets to care for thousands of animals.

    "Now we are open, but with greatly reduced visitors, the zoo is still at risk.

    "Despite this, we can't and won't compromise on the care of our animals.

    "Did you know it costs £130 a day to feed our penguin colony? You can help feed our gentoo penguins and protect other endangered animals around the world by donating today - if you can, please support our Survival Fund.

    "Thank you for helping Edinburgh Zoo survive so our animals can thrive!"

    You can donate to the 🐧 Survival Fund on this page.

    Creative Corner

    It's a 🐧 bumper edition of this week's Creative Corner, with Cosplay AND Artwork to show off!

    We loved Willow Creative's incredible Laniakea cosplay! You might remember Willow Creative from her fantastic real-life versions of the Alchemical Hydrix jewellery last month. Someone's earned their Crafting cape!

    On the 🐧 other side of the creative spectrum, take a look at u/Legend_Arts' ghoulishly glowy portrait, created for 🐧 the equally talented u/enkodraws. It's always nice to receive a handmade gift!

    Featured Clan

    Speaking of friends, have you explored the social side of RuneScape yet? The Strike Force clan is a great place to start, and they're currently recruiting new members! This clan is home to RuneScape veterans and newbies alike, so they're a super-welcoming bunch.

    You can check them out in the video below!


    Forum Spotlight

    This week we'd like to highlight the work of Diversity RS, a Discord server dedicated to making 🐧 RuneScape a welcoming space for everyone! With frequent social events, a J-Mod Q&A channel and a whole bunch of diversity topics to chat about, you're never short of opportunities to make new friends!

    Check the thread for a link to the Discord and information 🐧 about how to join!

    Pink Skirts Event

    This week the Pink Skirts are setting sail from Port Khazard! Yes, for Minigame Sunday they'll be taking on the Fishing Trawler, captained by none other than Doctor Brian. Join 🐧 in the fun on Sunday, September 20th from 18:00 to 19:00 Game Time on World 116.

    For more information add Doctor Brian to your in-game Friends' Chat or check the full details on the website.



    - The RuneScape Team 🐧

    Back to top