In case you've been living under a particularly large rock recently, Old School's first-ever new skill, Sailing, launches on November 19th at 10:00 UTC!

Before launch day arrives, we’re battening down the hatches and making sure everything’s shipshape behind the scenes. This week’s update marks the Sailing Technical Pre-Release - where we’re hoisting most of the Sailing content into the game, but it’ll remain locked and unplayable until launch.

This pre-release is a crucial step in preparing for one of the biggest updates Old School has ever seen. With so many new systems, assets, and code changes introduced by Sailing, we need to ensure everything integrates cleanly with the live game environment. This allows us to monitor how the game performs under real conditions, identify any last-minute issues, and keep everything stable ahead of launch day.

So while you’ll start seeing some new faces, icons, and quest names around Gielinor and the wider internet, you won’t be able to train the skill or set sail just yet - think of it as loading the ship before departure. Feel free to let us know which things you spot that you're most excited for. We can't wait to see your posts about all the new additions coming to the game soon!

As this is one of the largest technical updates we’ve ever deployed, we recommend steering clear of high-risk activities (like Hardcore Ironman antics or dangerous PvM) right after the update, just while we monitor for any unexpected issues.

Here’s what you might notice in-game:

• Sailing NPCs or interfaces: Interacting with some of these will inform you that Sailing is available from November 19th.

• Quest, Music, and Max Capes are unaffected; you’ll still be able to wear them until Sailing's full release.

• Sailing quests (like Pandemonium and Current Affairs) appear in your quest list, but are greyed out and marked as 'coming soon'.

• The Sailing skill guide and quest journals are visible, but only show that the content will unlock on November 19th.

• Sailing XP cannot be earned or granted by any means. So no sneaking in any XP lamps or Tears of Guthix!

• Sea creatures, boats, and shipwrights can be seen but not used - attempting to interact will simply give you some flavour dialogue.

• Sailing-related Slayer tasks, collection log entries, and music tracks will be visible, but remain locked until launch.

• Fish chunks from Aerial fishing being converted to "Fish offcuts" (the same ones you get from Barbarian fishing).

  • Please note, they still behave exactly the same.

Essentially, everything is in place, but the ship’s still moored for final checks!

A few things to note:

• You may notice a few items (like steel chains) appearing in the Smithing skill guide. These currently have limited use, but will be used for future Sailing content - so don’t worry if you spot them a tad early!

• Certain Sailing-related items may also be visible in-game, but not yet craftable - this is entirely intentional, so don't worry.

The Shores Ahead

• Today: Sailing Technical Pre-Release update (Sailing content added but locked).

• From today until November 18th: Technical monitoring and stability checks.

• November 19th (10:00 UTC): Sailing launches for all players!

  • 7:15am UTC - System update timer goes live.

  • 8:00am UTC - Game worlds go offline briefly for the update.

  • 8:00 - 8:15am UTC - Worlds come back online, players can log in as normal, but won’t be able to start Sailing yet.

  • 8:15am - 10:00am UTC - We'll be running some final checks on the live worlds. Players can continue playing on them, but Sailing will remain locked until our checks are complete.

  • 10:00am UTC - Depending on those checks, we'll unlock Sailing for all members without rebooting the worlds, so you'll be able to start your new adventure directly!

Please note that once game worlds come back online, the update will have been deployed, despite not being accessible to players yet. As a result of this, the max cape and its perks will no longer be usable, and everyone will officially have Level 1 Sailing, which will be reflected on the HiScores right away (upon logout). You won't be able to start the Pandemonium quest that unlocks the skill until we make Sailing accessible, hopefully around 10.00am UTC on November 19th.

We'll keep you updated via our usual channels to see whether any of your existing if we need extra time for our final checks.

If you’re already feeling the sea breeze and want to get ahead of the waves, check out our blog 'How to Prepare for Sailing', where we cover everything you’ll need to set sail like a pro on launch day!

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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