Runescape, the game that isn't the old school one that I imagine when someone says "Runescape," just rolled out a new roadmap of upcoming content. On YouTube, Runescape developer Jagex unveiled Runescape Ahead, which it says will be its ongoing format for long-term previews of updates on the horizon. In the first instalment, detailing what'll be hitting Runescape through late 2024 and early 2025, Jagex offered early glimpses at a pile of new features, updates, and content additions, like new story quests and bosses, a group ironman mode, and more. Try to contain your excitement, woodcutters: You're getting a new tree.
Jagex will kick off its autumn updates with a new Underworld dungeon, where players will face a new skilling boss to enter the shrine of an absent goddess and earn new rewards. Later in autumn, alongside a new Halloween event called Harvest Hollow, Jagex is planning on bringing a group ironman mode to Runescape, where a team of players can face the game and earn unique cosmetic rewards using only what they can gather, craft, and loot amongst themselves—all without XP bonuses.
Throughout, Jagex will be implementing player-requested updates to skills. A fourth Necromancy conjure ability will arrive sometime in autumn, allowing players with sufficient skill to summon a phantom guardian. There'll also be a new Slayer monster to hunt, offering a Necromancy upgrade for the Slayer helm.
Winter will bring the first quest in an ongoing series, where players will return to the desert and take up their "unfinished business" with the goddess Amascut the Devourer. Around that time, Woodcutting and Fletching will get a 110 skilling update in line with the recent Mining and Smithing update, bringing a new tree to cut, a new hatchet to cut said tree with, and new level 100 and masterwork ranged weapons. Big disruptions in the wood space.
The Christmas Village event will return to close out the year with new quests, activities, and rewards, with more opportunities to get a Black Partyhat. Across early 2025, there'll be 110 skilling updates for Runecrafting and Crafting and an eventual across-the-board skilling overhaul to make skilling "competitively profitable" with combat loot. Along the way, a second and third quest will arrive for the new desert questline, culminating in a new boss fight with Amascut herself in mid-2025.
Full disclosure: I am entirely out of my depth in terms of what most of that means, but the Runescape fans in the YouTube comments seem thrilled. "As an RS3 player it felt like we were forgotten about for years and nothing but a gravy train to boost profits," writes user @sportsomania. "It's wonderful to see the team is working so hard to bring us new content."
