Last week we shared our initial reward pitches for Varlamore: The Final Dawn's quest, delve boss and Slayer dungeon rewards. In today’s update, we’re addressing some of your feedback! We intend to do one more round of feedback changes before the poll, where we’ll share definitive numbers and final calls. For now though, here’s some insight into where we’re at so far.
Delve Boss: The Doom of Mokhaiotl
Avernic Treads
First up, the Avernic Treads, made with the new Avernic Catalyst consumable. We understand that feeling the need to obtain multiple different items to combine into one seems like a lot, and we hear your concerns about complex upgrade trees and linearity in progression.
This point is generally valid, but this high-level boss is aimed at players who are likely to have the required boots already, and so will only see the benefit of not having to lug three pairs of shoes around.
We also feel that upgrades are an important part of Old School, since we always want older content to feel relevant.
With that in mind, we’re leaving the Treads’ upgrade path alone.
Eldritch Veil
We’ve heard your feedback and decided to make the Eldritch Veil untradeable – but we would like to explain our original reasoning.
Lately we’ve been having a lot of conversations about player expectations and consistency. The Eldritch Veil was never intended to be an Inferno or Magic Cape – we’d argue that the Avernic Treads are the standout unlock from the boss. The Eldritch Veil was intended to be a minor upgrade, a stopgap between the Imbued God Capes and your eventual Magic Cape.
Since The Doom isn’t like the Inferno or the Mage Arena, with a defined end goal and accompanying reward, we felt it was important to have tradeable uniques that are more obtainable at higher levels, so there’s a real economic incentive for skilled players to push themselves.
We use the term ‘consistency’ a lot, but also want to avoid designing ourselves into a corner by inventing specific, unmoving rules like ‘every cape upgrade must come from a wave-based minigame’ or ‘every raid should drop uniques that are particularly useful in that raid’. The one thing we don’t want is to make upgrades feel samey. We want to use the reward space to its full potential.
In this instance, we’re willing to set that aside and make the Veil untradeable. Going forward, however, we’d very much like to hear your thoughts on the broader topics of untradeable uniques, consistency, and how we can more clearly set expectations without giving everything away.
On that last note, it can be tricky for us to explain where combat encounters like this sit in terms of progression. We previously mentioned that Osto-Ayak is an end-game boss, aimed at players at or above Combat Level 120, preferably with their own Inferno Cape. However, this isn’t the Inferno, and we don’t intend the Eldritch Veil to replace the Inferno Cape.
With all that in mind, here’s what we’re changing about the Eldritch Veil:
- It'll be an untradeable item.
- We’re boosting the Prayer stat to +1 and re-examining the Defence stats.
- We're going to make it a guaranteed drop at delve level 8.
- This means we're removing the Demonic Mark altogether, and any attachment to the existing God Capes. The Veil will drop as a standalone item. Since this is an endgame level boss, we still expect the imbued God Cape to form an important part of your progression.
- We’re adding a flat minimum hit of 2 as a passive effect. This means that any successful accuracy roll would then roll between 2 and your max hit for damage. This doesn't interact with Tumeken's Shadow's multiplier effects, so it's a significant boost for faster-hitting weapons like the Tridents or the Sanguinesti Staff.
Diabolical Aegis
Our goal with the Aegis was to include a niche reward that is particularly useful against the boss that drops it. Since Osto-Ayak is a demonic creature, a Demonbane effect was the obvious choice.
We are aware that we’ve had a few Demonbane weapons enter the game lately, and that some of you feel they don’t have a lot of use cases right now. This isn’t the first time this has happened – some of you will remember similar feedback levied at the Venator Bow. In time, we think that Demonbane, Demonward, and the Diabolical Aegis will find their place too.
We are, however, bringing the Attack requirement down to 70, to make it feel a bit more in-line with the content where it’ll be useful right now.
Thrall Upgrade
Following your feedback, we’re not moving forward with the Thrall Upgrade. Instead, we’re working on a new, self-contained rewards that will change or enhance your experience within the Osto-Ayak fight.
We did see a lot of you clamouring for a reward related to the Book of the Dead, and we want to reassure you all that the Kourend storyline will continue in the future. When it does, you’ll get your Book of the Dead developments. Since it’s so intimately linked to the Kourend storyline, it’s important to us that future upgrades come from that source. Osto-Ayak is a talented guy, but increased familiarity with Xerician magic is not in his wheelhouse.
The Final Dawn Quest
First up let's dig into conversation around the New Melee Weapon ™.
We’ll be the first to admit that it’s really tricky to talk about this one without giving the game away, since it’s so closely tied to the quest’s story.
We hear your requests for a nice Stab weapon, and we’re open to working on that in the future. However, knowing what this particular weapon is, it’s really only going to work as a Slash weapon.
On that same point, things are getting heated around the number of Burn-effect weapons we released last year. We’ve really leaned into Varlamore’s sunny climes, but as we bring this arc to a close we plan to bring more varied effects to the game.
We’re also looking to remove the AOE portion of the Special Attack. While it was never the main use-case, some of you pointed out that there aren’t a huge number of places where this weapon’s target audience will be using Melee in a multi-combat area, so we’ve decided it’s not valuable enough to keep.
To compensate, we’re reducing the Special Attack Energy cost, which might make this little beauty shine a bit brighter. Sun pun absolutely intended!
As a guaranteed quest reward, this weapon really leans into the themes of the storyline. Our aim here isn’t to shift metas or move needles- it’s to celebrate your completion of our newest quest series!
To sum up, here are our proposed changes:
- Reduce the Special Attack cost to 30%, down from 50%.
- Remove the AOE from the Special Attack.
Slayer Dungeon
Some of you gluttons for punishment felt that the Slayer level for the Elder Stalkers felt a little too low. Our response is that these creatures were purposely designed to pad out lower progression levels. Pushing the requirement higher wouldn’t just contradict our initial design, it would mean changing the entire reward pitch, as the Antler Guard would have to compete against other rewards at the same level requirement. Therefore, we won’t be changing the level requirement at all.
Antler Guard
There was a lot of worry about negative Defence, and comparisons to the Dragon Defender. That’s good, because we deliberately designed this item to sit below the Dragon Defender.
We intend for the Antler Guard to keep you going until you get the Dragon Defender, and it’ll be particularly useful for players using RCB or the Hunter Crossbow – or those of you chilling out with their Proselyte on a Slayer Task, as the +5 Prayer Bonus is almost like having a Proselyte Cuisse in your offhand!
Here are the changes:
- Increasing Prayer bonus from +4 to +5.
- Reducing the negative Defence values. Note that this trade-off is what enables the Antler Guard to be a Prayer-focused off-hand. The intent is that you’ll use your Protection Prayers.
That’s all for this update, but we’ll be back soon with the final stats for everything you’ve seen here. Thank you to everyone who’s sent in their feedback so far! We’ll continue to monitor the discussion on Discord, Reddit and X, so be sure to share your thoughts if you haven’t already!
Also, we'll host a livestream about these reward proposals on Thursday, January 16th, at 5pm GMT. Make sure to join us on our Twitch channel to chat more on your feedback!
See what awaits you in Varlamore: The Final Dawn.
We’ll be real with you, guys – things are looking a bit scary in Varlamore. In The Final Dawn you won’t just have cultists to contend with – you’ll have to face off against dangerous new Slayer creatures and a terrifying new boss. At least we have some awesome rewards to offer you!
We plan to launch a poll about everything in this blog very soon, so after you’ve finished reading, be sure to send us your thoughts on Discord, Reddit, or via this survey.
Well, that’s not ominous at all. In this nail-biting finale, you’ll dig deeper than ever before into the murky history of Varlamore and the fate of the mysterious Old Ones.
This master-tier quest is the conclusion of the Twilight Emissaries questline and will see you snooping, sleuthing, and sneaking your way across the Shining Kingdom on the trail of the elusive Twilight Emissaries. What are their true motives? And more importantly, will you be able to stop them?
Don’t worry, we won’t be dropping any spoilers here. We do, however, need to get your thoughts on a suitably cool reward!
A New Melee Weapon
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This spec weapon is so spoilerific that we can’t even say its name. We can tell you that it’s roughly on par with the Dragon Scimitar, although the Scimitar will still be more favourable in most situations thanks to its higher strength bonus.
The New Melee Weapon’s real draw is its Special Attack, which costs 50% Special Attack Energy. The Special upgrades your next single attack with 50% increased accuracy, and a monumental 50% extra damage if it hits. In addition, a successful hit will apply a burn effect to the target, dealing 10 damage over 40 ticks (24 seconds). In multi-combat areas, this burn effect will also apply to enemies within one tile of your target.
New Melee Weapon will be untradeable, with the ability to repurchase it for 75,000 GP if lost.
Question #1:
Should we add a New Melee Weapon as an untradeable reward for completing The Final Dawn quest, as described in the blog? This Special Attack weapon will sit roughly on par with the Dragon Scimitar.
You’ve mastered the Colosseum. You’ve pacified the Hueycoatl. Now the time has come to face another terrifying boss monster.
When the Old Ones whispered of the new terror that had come upon them, they called it ‘Osto-Ayak’ – the Under-Creature. Millennia later, the ancient legends of Varlamore refer to it by another name…
The Doom of Mokhaiotl.
This demonic creature lives deep below the Tlati Rainforest, tunnelling through long-abandoned ruins. Now, the rumblings of trouble in Varlamore have forced it closer to the surface… and it’s feeling hungry.
We first pitched The Doom as an enrage boss, something we’d never tried before in Old School. Since that pitch we’ve been developing the concept further, and a new, more thematic term came to mind: a delve boss.
The Delve System
Our delve mechanics still embrace the idea of an enrage system, with some key differences.
When Osto-Ayak is defeated, it will descend further into its burrow. Chasing after it into the deeper levels increases the chance to receive unique drops, with some unique drops only appearing at more dangerous levels. You must make your progress in a single run, as returning to the surface will reset you back to delve level 1.
It’s worth noting that while the change to snag unique rewards increases as you progress, the quantities of basic-level loot do not. This means that you have more chances to get desirable loot, without being overloaded with general resources, as you delve deeper.
There will be eight delve levels, each increasing in difficulty and loot potential. You can keep repeating the hardest difficulty for as long as you can survive, but if you die, well… you’ll lose everything. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
The Doom of Mokhaiotl is an end-game boss. It's aimed at players at or above Combat Level 120 who have, or are close to getting, their Infernal Cape.
Deeper levels increase the difficulty of the fight in several ways:
- Increased boss attack rate.
- Smaller reaction times for special attacks.
- Lingering arena state from previous levels.
- Additional mechanics.
- Environment changes after level 5, resulting in:
- Extra damaging effects, which can be avoided.
- Additional fight mechanics and special attacks.
Rewards
Should you emerge victorious, you could receive one of the following rewards! Should they pass the poll, each unique will be available from pre-determined delve levels, with increasing drop rates beyond that.
Avernic Catalyst and Avernic Treads
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The Avernic Catalyst is a consumable item that can be used together with the Primordial, Pegasian and Eternal boots (you'll need all three) to create the Avernic Treads. This conversion is irreversible but would include three recolours to make sure your new shoes fit your FashionScape. Both the Avernic Catalyst and the Avernic Treads will be tradeable.
Requirements
- 80 Smithing (to combine)
- 80 Ranged
- 80 Defence
- 80 Strength
- 80 Magic
Demonic Mark and Eldritch Veil
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Ready to upgrade your best-in-slot Magic cape? The Demonic Mark is a consumable item that can be used on any of the imbued God Capes to produce the Eldritch Veil - a new best-in-slot cape for Magic offence. Accordingly there’s a hefty boost in its offensive stats, at the cost of a -2 Prayer Bonus. It is demonic, after all.
While the Demonic Mark will be tradeable, the Eldritch Veil will be untradeable. This means that if you’ve done your time in the Mage Arena you’ll be able to buy your way to the upgrade. We know you’ll have a lot to say about this, so let us break down our thought process. Osto-Ayak is a traditional boss encounter, not a wave-based minigame, so the rewards drop randomly rather than being guaranteed at the end of your run. For powerful rewards like this one, it’s important to us that nobody feels blocked by their bad luck. Plus, highly desirable, rare rewards are good for the economy and provide an incentive to keep enjoying challenging fights long after you’ve snagged the rewards for yourself.
Requirements
- 80 Magic
Diabolical Aegis
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The Diabolical Aegis is a new two-handed weapon designed to fill the Demonbane Crush gap. We’re looking at 4 Attack Speed, double hitsplats, and a passive effect which resets your attack delay if you land the killing blow on a demonic enemy.
As well as the Demonbane bonus, the Aegis comes with a new Demonward effect, which gives you 25% damage reduction against demons. You’ll save on supplies and extend trip length, even in encounters where you take unavoidable damage!
This weapon won’t just come in handy against Osto-Ayak itself – it’ll also be useful against Cerberus and the Abyssal Sire.
The Diabolical Aegis will be tradeable.
Requirements:
- 75 Strength
- 75 Attack
- Completion of The Final Dawn quest
Thrall Upgrade
This enthralling reward takes the form of a consumable, tradeable resource drop that will boost your summoned Thralls. You’ll be able to store it in your ammo slot to augment your Thralls with an additional effect that increases their overall DPS.
When affected Thralls despawn, their spirit will travel back through the air towards you in a straight line, dealing a small amount of damage to any enemies caught in their path. We saw how much you loved the axe mechanic during Curse of Arrav, and thought we’d bring it back! This reward adds a new dimension to combat in Old School, rewarding higher APM and careful positioning.
Question #2:
Should we add the Avernic Treads, a tradeable pair of boots with strong defense bonuses, as described in the blog? The Avernic Treads will be created by combining the Primordial, Pegasian and Eternal boots along with a new consumable, tradeable drop, the Avernic Catalyst, available from the Delve Boss drop table.
Question #3:
Should we add the Eldritch Veil, a new BiS Cape for Mage Offence, as described in the blog? The Eldritch Veil is created by using a new, consumable item, the Demonic Mark on any imbued God Cape. The Demonic Mark will be available from the Delve Boss drop table and will be tradeable. The Eldritch Veil will be untradeable.
Question #4:
Should we add the Diabolical Aegis, a two-handed Demonbane Crush weapon to the Delve Boss rewards table, as described in the blog? The Diabolical Aegis will have an Attack speed of 4, double hit splats, and a passive effect which resets your attack delay if you land a killing blow to a demon-type enemy. This will be a tradeable item.
Question #5:
Should we add the Thrall Upgrade, a consumable, tradeable resource drop, to the Delve Boss rewards table? This would provide a boost to summoned Thralls, giving them the ability to return to you in a straight line when despawning, damaging any enemies in their path.
The Custodia Pass is a hostile stretch of rocky ground that marks the border between Varlamore and Kourend – and it’s the perfect hunting ground for Slayer enthusiasts. After completing a quest, you’ll gain access to a new Slayer Dungeon teeming with creatures to slay.
You’ll also come into contact with an enemy yet to be seen on mainland Gielinor; the Custodia stalker.
Custodia Stalkers
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These bipedal creatures, bearing large antlers and clawed hands, prowl the depths of the Custodia Slayer Dungeon. Left to mutate for millennia, their fearsome appearance is matched only by their insatiable bloodlust. Don’t underestimate these beasts – they’ve got brains as well as brawn.
You'll encounter three tiers of Stalkers:
| Tier | Slayer Level |
| Juvenile | 54 |
| Mature | 67 |
| Elder | 76 |
Each type will have low-mid defense teamed with a heftier HP pool, making it easier to rock up and bash out your Slayer Tasks with whatever your preferred kit might be. We're also planning to add an elemental weakness, so Magic users are in luck! Our research team hasn’t yet returned with the exact stats of the Custodia Stalkers – don’t worry, we’re sure they’re all fine – but we wanted to give you a peek at the reward regardless.
Antler Guard
If you can’t see the image above, click here!
The Custodia Stalkers have the chance to drop the Antler Guard, a unique offhand weapon with a combination of Prayer and offensive bonuses. It's set up to be a complementary piece of kit if you're more confident with nailing your protection Prayers. We want it to sit around the same level as the Dragon Defender and Odium Ward, without pushing them out of their positions on the tier list.
The Antler Guard will be tradeable. We’re also still workshopping the name, so let us know if you have a great idea!
Question #6:
Should we add the Antler Guard, a unique, tradeable drop, to the Custodia Stalker drop table as described in the blog? The Antler Guard would be an offhand weapon with a focus on Prayer and Offensive bonuses, with negative Defensive bonuses.
That’s all for now! We’ve covered a lot here today, so while it’s fresh in your mind we’d love to get your feedback! Please click the button below to fill out the survey.
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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