‘Old School RuneScape’ kicks off voyage to adding long-awaited Sailing skill

After Old School RuneScape players voted for Sailing to be the multiplayer role-playing game’s next skill, Jagex has outlined how it will work toward adding it with the community’s help.

In an article published yesterday (April 24), Jagex confirmed that over 178,000 players voted on Sailing to be the next skill added to Old School RuneScape. The skill has been long-requested by fans, and for its own part Jagex has frequently poked fun at its omission from RuneScape.

In the run-up to finally implementing Sailing, Jagex has detailed how it will be working with the community to refine the concept of Sailing and learn what players do — and don’t — want from the skill.

From mid-May, the studio will be workshopping how Sailing’s core systems will work, to determine how players will level up and actually use the skill. Additionally, Jagex expressed interest in hearing how much players will want to be at sea in their vessel, as opposed to time spent exploring the areas the skill will unlock.

Later in the month, Jagex will move to work out how players want to navigate the sea, and how big the explorable area should be. As part of this, the studio teased “loads of new islands and hidden secrets” that will arrive with the new skill, along with “seamless” integration of the skill with Old School RuneScape’s existing locations.

In mid-June, players will be asked more about the rewards they would like to earn through Sailing, while late June will focus on how Sailing will “blend seamlessly with existing skills, lore and areas”.

“For example, we already have loads of ports in the game – but what purpose might they have in Sailing? Your input will decide whether they serve simply as a place to dock your boat, or whether they’ll serve a greater purpose.”

Last year, developers at Jagex told NME about the pros and cons of letting the Old School RuneScape community choose what content gets added to the game.