We've been reading your thoughts over the weekend and after some discussion as a team, we've made a few changes to what's on offer! Starting with...
Virtus Robes
We've given each piece of the Virtus Robes a +1% Magic Damage bonus. This is something we saw a lot of calls for and hopefully slots these in as a better middle-ground between Ahrim's and Ancestral. We still have thoughts on Magic Damage as a whole and the difficulties posed by the astronomical strength of the Occult necklace (relative to its price), but that's a topic for another time.
Wearing all three of Virtus Mask, Robe top and Robe bottoms now provides 3% Magic Damage, increased to 12% when using Ancient Magicks. We've updated the blog itself to reflect this!
Bellator Ring
Of the four new rings on offer, many of you felt the Bellator ring fell pretty far behind the others in terms of power. While it's true, the corresponding Fremennik ring (the Warrior ring) doesn't see a whole lot of use, that doesn't mean we couldn't stand to make this one at least a little stronger.
We've increased the Slash accuracy and Strength bonus on the Bellator ring to give it a little extra oomph. Accuracy in Old School is a tricky one because max hits are so important, so it might be the case that the Bellator ring is still south of where it needs to be. There's every chance we take another look at it in the future, but we've buffed it up to +20 Slash accuracy and +6 Strength for now!
Now let's talk about the rings in a more general sense, since we've made a pretty important change here!
Tradeable Best-in-Slot Rings
Initially, we'd suggested that players would break down the corresponding Fremennik ring (Berserker, Warrior, Archers or Seers) and fuse the product with a tradeable vestige (Ultor, Bellator, Magus, Venator), dropped by the Desert Treasure II bosses to make untradeable rings requiring 90 Magic and 80 Crafting.
Much like the Divine Rune Pouch from Tombs of Amascut requiring the Thread of Elidinis and 75 Crafting to create, the new rings from Desert Treasure II have level requirements attached to them if you're looking to craft your own. Meaningful character progression is a key part of Old School, and something many of you cherish. Hitting a new level and unlocking a new piece of gear, or gaining access to a new area feels great. That's a core part of our design philosophy and we feel it's important we maintain that as part of your journey through Gielinor.
However, we understand that some of you would prefer the option to improve the combat capabilities of another character, without having the repeat the same grind, or simply want to trade these items between members of your Group Iron team.
With this in mind, we've made some adjustments. Instead, the finished rings themselves will be tradeable. You'll be able to buy and sell them in their completed form, but they will still require completion of Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire to equip. Making these tradeable means their death behaviour is simpler, which saves some headache in PvP and for UIMs, while also allowing GIMs to swap the rings between each other.
To compensate, the vestiges dropped by the bosses that are used to make the rings will be untradeable, requiring 90 Magic (boostable), 80 Crafting (boostable) and knowledge only accessible after quest completion to be able to create the finished product. This means you'll stand to make significantly more money at the post-quest bosses if you get out there and train your skills, so maybe it's time to do some of that Crafting you've been putting off for so long?
To sum up as concisely as possible, using the Berserker ring as an example:
- Player completes Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire, and begins fighting one of the post-quest bosses.
- Boss drops untradeable Ultor vestige.
- Player obtains new bars, either through trading or as boss drops.
- Player breaks down the Berserker ring and receives a Berserker icon.
- With 90 Magic, player fuses Berserker icon with Ultor vestige, creating the Ultor icon.
- With 80 Crafting, player uses bars and Ultor icon to craft the Ultor ring.
- Player can now sell the Ultor ring.
- Another player finished the quest and buys the Ultor ring, dies with it unprotected in PvP, thumbs-down logout.
So make sure to get those stats up ASAP, you might just secure yourself a hefty payday when Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire releases!
That's everything we've tweaked this morning, hopefully you're able to get yourself up to speed before the poll opens and make sure to tell your friends to check out the blog before voting! To give some time for you to get up to speed with any changes, we've moved the poll date back slightly, and the poll will now open on Wednesday, June 28th.
All that being said, we understand and appreciate that some of you out there have lost a little bit of excitement for the quest following the Ruinous Powers' removal. While it's too early for us to make any promises, we'd like to say that we're still reguarly discussing ideas for things we could add if the quest feels underwhelming. However, we're extremely confident that the quest itself, 4 beautiful new areas to explore and 4 extremely unique new bosses will surpass your expectations. We're excited for all of you to get stuck in to Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire, and hopefully get your hands on some of the rewards we've shared in this blog!
There's not long to go before you inquisitive adventurers will be able to poke your nose into Mahjarrat matters once more, in Old School's biggest quest so far: Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire.
During the quest, youll encounter four bosses: Duke Sucellus, the Leviathan, the Whisperer and Vardorvis, all of whom can be challenged again in repeatable post-quest encounters. These bosses are no pushovers, but we're aiming to give them some pretty potent rewards to make fighting them worthwhile.
This poll blog details all the rewards from the quest itself as well as from the post-quest bosses. Nows your chance to decide which of them youd like to see in the game!
The rewards poll will open on Wednesday, June 28th and run until Wednesday, July 5th, so make sure to read up and get your votes in when the time comes!
Its difficult to talk about these rewards without mentioning the Ruinous Powers. Earlier this month we made the difficult decision to shelve the new Prayer Book for the time being. You can see our reasoning in this blog.
As a reminder, we've removed the quest's 60 Prayer requirement as a result. You can view the updated requirements for Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire using your in-game Quest log!
With that out of the way, lets take a look at what you stand to gain starting with a shadowy new ring to help you on your post-Desert Treasure II bossing ventures!
After finishing the quest, you'll be able to upgrade your Ring of Visibility into a fancy new Ring of Shadows.
The Ring of Shadows has all the same functionality as the Ring of Visibility, but with the added ability to teleport you to the Ancient Vault in the Kharidian Desert. Additionally, you'll be able to unlock four more teleports which will pop you out somewhere close to each of the bosses.
On top of that, the Ring of Shadows has a spread of offensive stats, perfect for those of you right on the edge of PvM, but perhaps on a very small budget.
Question 1: Should the Ring of Shadows have combat stats, as described in the blog? The ring itself will be a reward for completing the quest, with the ability to unlock teleports near all four of the post-quest bosses.
Yes
No
Skip
Now, lets revisit some more familiar rewards, which youll receive from the post-quest variants of Duke Sucellus, the Leviathan, the Whisperer and Vardorvis.
Since 2005, the Fremennik rings - in particular the Berserker ring - have been as good as it gets for individual combat styles. With four new bosses on the way, it feels like the perfect time to consider four new ring upgrades thatll see even more use than their predecessors.
Some concept art of the four new rings, blending the old with the new!
Venator ring
- +10 Ranged Accuracy
- +2 Ranged Strength
Magus ring
- +15 Magic Accuracy
- +2% Magic Damage
Ultor ring
- +12 Melee Strength
Bellator Ring
- +20 Slash Accuracy
- +6 Melee Strength
The Venator and Magus rings are the first of their kind to offer Ranged strength and Magic damage in the ring slot. The Ultor ring, on the other hand, packs a much meaner punch than even an imbued Berserker ring. Finally, the Bellator ring will help your Slash weapons have an easier time slicing up your opponents with some Melee strength to boot. It's worth keeping in mind that these rings work 'out of the box' and are therefore unable to be imbued.
Each boss has a chance to drop some brand new (tradeable) bars as well as untradeable vestiges, but the rings themselves will be tradeable, giving you the opportunity to turn those Crafting levels into cold, hard cash. To assemble a ring you'll need 90 Magic (boostable), 80 Crafting (boostable), tradeable bars & untradeable vestiges obtained from the bosses themselves, an icon from breaking down the corresponding Fremennik ring, and completion of Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire.
The aim here is to preserve the value of the Fremennik rings and provide a satisfying crafting pathway that makes use of crafting supplies obtained from the bosses themselves that ultimately results in profit for players who've put the time in to balance their accounts! Alternatively, you could just complete the quest and buy the rings if Crafting isn't your scene, they'll work just as well - the only thing missing will be the satisfaction of dishing out serious damage with a piece of your own handiwork...
Since the rings are tradeable, they'll act as you'd expect any tradeable item to work in PvP, as well as for Group Irons and Ultimate Iron death mechanics!
Without further ado, here's your first question:
Question 2: Should we add the best-in-slot Bellator, Magus, Ultor and Venator rings as rewards from Desert Treasure II's post-quest bosses, as described in the blog?
Yes
No
Skip
What would a Mahjarrat quest be without some Ancient Magicks? These vintage imperial garms are here to give your blood, ice, smoke and shadow spells a little extra pizzazz.
Equipping all three pieces of the Virtus robes gives you a 3% increase in Magic damage and a whopping 12% Magic Damage while using Ancient Magicks, with some added Prayer bonus and reasonable defensive bonuses too. If you're using Ancient spells, or perhaps looking for a stepping stone between Ahrim's Robes and Ancestral, you'll absolutely want to get yourself kitted out in these!
The pieces are obtainable from each of the four post-quest bosses, and can also be bought from other players. They require completion of Desert Treasure II The Fallen Empire, 80 Magic, and 75 Defence to equip.
Question 3: Should we add Virtus robes as rewards from Desert Treasure II's post-quest bosses, as described in the blog?
Yes
No
Skip
Concept art showing off the Soulreaper axe alongside its components
If the Soulreaper Axe looks familiar, thats because it was designed by your player suggestions! This heavy hitter requires 80 Attack and Strength to wield and has some solid base stats and a particularly unique effect.
Attacks with the Soulreaper Axe will damage you for 8 Hitpoints and grant you a 'Mighty Stack'. Each Mighty Stack gives you a +6% Strength level boost (additive with bonuses from prayers) and stacks up to five times, for a total of 40 Hitpoints lost and a +30% Strength boost. Once you're fully stacked, you'll stop taking extra damage and be free to slap your foes silly with one of the scariest Slash weapons in Gielinor.
Alternatively, if you're looking for a quick extra heal or an extra burst, you can use the Soulreaper Axe's special attack Behead. Behead consumes any Mighty Stacks you have, and for each stack consumed will increase your accuracy by 6% and heal you for 8 Hitpoints. This heal means you'll regain any Hitpoints you've lost. The best part is, youll get your healing even if the attack itself misses.
After you go 10 ticks (6 seconds) without attacking, or when switching weapons, any Mighty Stacks you have will be lost.
The Axe is made up of four untradeable components (one from each boss) but can be traded to other players in its completed form. You'll need to have completed Desert Treasure II to equip it.
When fully stacked, this axe packs a serious punch while also giving you some extra flexibility and decision-making with a unique approach to special attacks - it's sure to be well worth the time (or GP) spent getting hold of it!
Here's an adventurer showing off this hefty axe in the charming desert surrounding the Ancient Vault!
Question 4: Should we add the Soulreaper Axe as a reward from Desert Treasure II's post-quest bosses, as described in the blog?
Yes
No
Skip
Remember that Ancient Icon you went dry on for ages before upgrading it into an Ancient Sceptre? It's time to imbue that Sceptre with the power of the Ancient elements themselves
Each of the post-quest bosses will drop an untradeable Sigil that coincides with their Ancient element: blood, ice, shadow and smoke. These Sigils can be combined with an Ancient Sceptre to create the Blood/Ice/Shadow/Smoke Ancient Sceptre.
These upgrades retain the +5% magic damage and +10% to Ancient Magicks effects, but will imbue the Sceptre with new effects depending on the element:
- Blood Ancient Sceptre: Blood magic can now overheal you by 10% of your Hitpoints.
- Ice Ancient Sceptre: Ice magic gains 10% accuracy on unfrozen, freezable targets.
- Shadow Ancient Sceptre: Shadow spells also drain Strength and Defence in addition to the target's Attack level.
- Smoke Ancient Sceptre: Smoke spells reduced healing received by 20% for 10 cycles on hit if the target is poisoned.
Upgraded Ancient Sceptres have an increased Magic requirement compared to their predecessor, requiring 75 Magic as well as the usual 60 Strength and 50 Attack, to equip.
Alongside these, we'll be tweaking the Ancient sceptre and its upgraded variants to behave similarly to other untradeables on death in PvP, and attaching a repair cost to boot.
Question 5: Should we add the Ancient Sigils as rewards from Desert Treasure II's post-quest bosses? These Sigils are used to upgrade the Ancient Sceptre, as described in the blog.
Yes
No
Skip
That's everything we've got for you to vote on, so make sure to get out and vote on all of these rewards next week!
Remember, the poll opens Wednesday, June 28th and closes Wednesday, July 5th!
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