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[Murdoc]

Hey everyone. Due to the fact a number of people often come here asking about what's changed in RuneScape (3) since they were last active, understandably not wanting want to have to trawl through an extensive News archive, RSC's staff have very kindly given me an opportunity to compile a list which catalogues key updates the game's seen over these past few years. Some brief commentary which seeks to outline the basics with further links to Zybez/RS Wiki (official and unofficial) pages that will take readers into more detail accompany everything that's been deemed "noteworthy". But remember that this is by no means exhaustive. If you think something's been [unfairly] left out, feel free to leave a comment and it'll be looked into ASAP. Pre-2009 content can be summarised as well so long as there is demand for it.

So, without further ado:

2015:

Spoiler

January
1. Release of 26 mini pet versions of RuneScape's bosses. You can obtain each pet as a rare drop from their boss counterpart, and the more kills you rack up the more likely it is that you’ll bag a pet. As you reach a certain kill-count threshold, you will get an increased chance of the boss dropping a pet. Note that these kill counts are retroactive - Jagex has been tracking them since July. Find out your current total in the Beasts interface.

2. Release of more Ports. Manage voyages anywhere in game, meet three new adventurers, embark on a whole new voyage type and enjoy some exotic rewards, including a level-85 katana and wakizashi, and seasinger wand and orb. Click here to find out more.

February
1. Demon Flash Mobs are rebalanced to make them easier to take on and kill. Jagex briefly changed the spawn time from bihourly instead of hourly, but after community feedback they were subsequently restored to hourly spawns as before. A couple of new rewards were also introduced including tradeable title scrolls and aggressive combat familiars.

2. Responsive combat provided some updates to ability queuing and usage. Cooldown times were increased slightly to compensate for the removal of the short delays in activating abilities in sequence. Revolution was also made smoother so abilities started to kick in faster when engaging a monster in combat. A bunch of monsters were also made aggressive following a Power to the Players poll the previous year.

3. Return of the Wildywrm introduced Wildywryms back into the game. They have a chance to emerge alongside a lava strykeworm and require 94 Slayer to kill. They brought some new weapons into the game: the lava whip made by combining a wyrm spike with an abyssal whip (or vine whip/whip vine); the Staff of darkness made by combining a wyrm heart with a staff of light; and a Strykebow, the result of a wyrm scalp and dark bow. An announcement is sent out when someone receives one of these weapons, so watch out for PK'ers if you get one! Searing ashes and Fury sharks were also introduced as drops. Pickpocketing in Prifddinas was also made more lucrative.

4. Dishonour Among Thieves became the first quest of the year released. The (members-only) quest entails helping Zamorak gather a team all loyal to his cause to swipe the Stone of Jas from under Sliske's nose. Some of the highlights from the quest rewards are Jerrod's cape, a new pet, and an upgrade to the Mask of Sliske. There was also a design document released for the pending Aquarium addition for Player-owned Houses.

March
1. Skill cape updates, giving a new look to all skill capes. If this is not your cup of tea, you can always revert to the original cape design at any skill master.

2. The 200th Quest, Dimension of Disaster. Travel to Varrock in another dimension and complete some familiar quests, completely different from what you're used. Rewards include hefty amounts of experience and, if you complete post-Quest tasks, a chromatic partyhat.

April
1. Aquarium, combining the Construction and Fishing skill. You can fill this new POH room by fishing for golden mystery eggs all over the world, or using a golden prawn cracker, both obtained from prawn balls or prawn crackers found while fishing. You may also find plenty of other items to put in your Aquarium, which may even give you a weekly elite clue scroll. Happy fishing!

2. EoC and Legacy mashup. Never liked the evolution of combat? Or you do, but you don't like the interface? You can now combine both the Legacy and EoC mode: for example, you can have the legacy interface with the eoc action bar or the new interface with the old combat style. See what fits you best!

May
1. Improved looting, allowing you to pick up your loot in different ways. Depending on what you're after, this might make looting much smoother for you. You can always toggle this feature off if you wish.

2. Minigame Spotlight, reviving activity for old minigames. You now also earn Thaler, in these minigames, which allows you to buy rewards from other minigames. Moreover, you can also buy some new items. For example, you can now purchase some Fist of Guthix rewards while you have only ever played Pest Control. The spotlighted minigame changes every 3 days, for this minigame you will earn more Thaler than usual. This should make it easier to obtain some rewards.

3. Take note: Death mechanic improvements. If you die now, you have 3 minutes to get back to your grave. Impossible? Death now stores your items for 24 hours and allows you to buy them back for a fee.

June
1. Tuska World Event - The battle to defend Gielinor is set in motion when the beast of Tuska, the world-devourer, comes hurtling toward the surface. The only hope is to play through a D&D, charge your spear with Anima Mundi energy, and, well, stab her in the eye a bunch of times. Luckily (spoiler alert) the world is saved, and she crashes into the sea at the end of the month. The most notable reward from this event is Warpriest of Tuska armour, and as of yet the only way to obtain it is to play the D&D left behind west of the Kharidian desert.

2. Slayer Belt - Slayer tools can now be stored and brought with you courtesy of the Slayer Belt. Some consumables have permanent forms that can also be put on the belt. Challenge gems are added to Solomon's Store.

3. Adamant and Rune Dragons - Two new types of dragons make their descent into RuneScape. You can find Adamant dragons in Brimhaven Dungeon and Rune dragons in Mount Firewake on Kethsi. Access to the latter requires completion of quests Fate of the Gods and Ritual of the Mahjarrat.

4. Artisan's Workshop Update - Artisan's Workshop is given a lick of paint. Offhand ceremonial swords are now available if desired. Several new rewards, including another upgrade to the dwarf multicannon.

5. Summer Beach Party & Hero's Welcome - RuneScape has a beach party in Lumbridge Crater. Various skilling and combat activities can be done for experience until its removal at the end of August. Tokens for an emote, beach ball, cosmetic overrides, and more are awarded randomly. They remain tradeable until the end of 2015. Hero's Welcome delivers the meeting of the legendary V, as well as plenty of combat challenges.

July
1. Raids - RuneScape's first raid type boss is released in the form of a very difficult endgame boss. Rewards include the best (t90) tank armour in the game. It allows up to a team of ten people and is not for the faint of heart! In addition the Goebie forest can be explored on Mazcab, through the portal on what's left of Tuska's back.

2. Adopt a Cat - Jagex partners with WWF to bring an event that delivers cute big cat pets and other rewards awarded for correctly answering questions about them.

3. Elite Monster Spawns - Tougher spawns of regular monsters will now appear at least once while on a Slayer task. Greater experience rewards and 3x drop rolls can be obtained from killing them. If ignored for long enough, other players can take a shot at them as well.

August
1. Player-owned House Improvements - Some tweaks were made in the PoH interfaces to make everything more usable. Permanent dark crystals were added as a reward to Prifddinas.

2. Fist of Guthix and Centralized Toggles - Fist of Guthix rewards were reshuffled. Coifs and metal gauntlets were removed and can now be crafted and obtained as monster drops, respectively. More gloves for Runecrafting, Herblore, and Fishing were added. The number of players required to start a game is decreased to 4. The toggles are compressed into one interface under gameplay settings to make things a little more convenient.

3. The Light Within - Unlock new spells and prayers with this long-awaited quest. Group Bossing & (Trimmed) Completionist Cape are now available for Ironman players. Multiple action bars (up to five total) can now be placed all over your screen, and different hotkeys can be assigned to all of them. This can all be achieved through the settings interface.

September
1. Release of the new Master Quest, The Lord Vampyrium. Rewards include new Blisterwood weapons and a cosmetic wing override.

2. Prifddinas Waterfall Fishing introduced as an ideal high-level, low-intensity Fishing training method after a busy day's slaying, PKing or real-lifing. It features 3 ability tiers for players with levels 93, 95, and 97 Fishing respectively.

October
1. TBD  

2014:

Spoiler

January
1. Cast your eyes east for the first update of the new year - more of the enigmatic Wushanko Islands are yours to explore via your Player-Owned Port! Set sail for the new Loop and Shield regions and claim hull-busting hauls of booty. Meet three new adventurers - the Trapper, the Architect and the Chef - and help them succeed in their eastern endeavours. Collect new forgotten scrolls containing recipes for a level 85 cape, ring and thrown weapons and craft them using your hard-won loot. If you're a seasoned sea-dog already, read on! Alternatively, if you've never set foot in a Player-Owned Port before, click here to find out what it's all about.

2. The Power to the Players poll system is here! From today, the future of RuneScape is in your hands. Through frequent polls - voted on in-game through the Community interface - you'll set the course for RuneScape's content updates. You'll vote on the order of our most anticipated releases; set the tone for our holiday events; decide which monsters are in need of a drop table rework, and much more.
From now on, almost everything headed for the game goes through you first. With your input into every major update we release, we'll make RuneScape the game that you want to play. Read on for more details on Power to the Players, or log in and vote now!

3. The Slayer Rewards Store is now accessible to all slayers and is packed with new rewards: stat boosts and new teleportation options for the full slayer helmet; ways for social slayers to share teleports and protective gear; and a new pet! These are just some of the upgrades we've introduced today, based on your feedback. Read on for full details.

4. The Giant Mole's been besieging begonias since 2006, and it's high time she got an overhaul! We've applied the full power of Malignius Mortifer's magic to bring her up to date with modern boss mechanics, two difficulty modes and a more accessible, instanced lair for solo or group runs. Her drops include some grand new rewards: a clingy mole who can improve your anti-dragon shield, potions that'll speed up growth in your tree patches, and more. There's no better or more rewarding way for mid-level combat fans to get into boss fighting. Read on for further details.

February
1. Release of a new minigame, Heist, which involves two opposing teams. Robbers try to secure loot undetected while guards attempt to uncover and arrest the robbers before time runs out. The game ends if all of the robbers have been converted to guards or if the robbers have collected sufficient loot. Another occasion, but rarer, is when the time runs out, and the robbers and guards have a tie game. The minigame rewards Hunter and Thieving bonus experience as well as perks which may be used within the minigame itself.

2. Release of the Revolution EoC combat setting. When Revolution is selected, any basic abilities on your action bar in slots 1-9 will be automatically activated, in order of priority, as soon as they're off cooldown. Thresholds and ultimates must be activated manually. Note that any manual ability selection will take priority over the automated basics.

March
1. Release of the Grandmaster quest, Fate of the Gods, featuring Zaros. Your reward will be swathes of XP in Magic, Divination, Slayer, Agility and Summoning, plus permanent access to Freneskae, where you'll find high-level combat and extra content after the quest is complete. There are additional XP lamps, a new teleport and two new cosmetic overrides to earn for completing the recommended quests and finding everything hidden in Freneskae.

April
1. Release of Master Skillcapes to symbolise theoretically reaching level 120 in any skill at 104,273,167 experience, to complement the milestone for Dungeoneering.

May
1. Once you've completed the Dig Site quest and have at least one out of 75 Attack, 75 Magic, 75 Ranged and 91 Constitution, speak to the archaeological expert at the Dig Site Exam Centre. He'll hand you the Codex Ultimatus: a tome filled with Zarosian lore, focusing on Zaros's battle with the many-headed beast god Loarnab. Read the book, and you'll unlock four new Ancient Combat abilities while you're at it.

2. As directed in a recent Power to the Players poll, we've brought you a big batch of Dungeoneering updates. A high-level resource dungeon, new gear (including the Chaotic Spear), pets, and additions to Sinkholes await you. Plus loads of your most-requested tweaks and quality-of-life improvements.

June
1. The Squeal of Fortune has been removed and replaced with Treasure Hunter, with Yelps' fate decided by the Master quest The Mighty Fall. Concerning the aftermath of Bandos' death, it features a tournament on Yu'biusk between Bandos' followers to decide who will become the new leader of the Bandosian faction, and as such involves a lot of combat. It also features decisions that let the player choose who dies and who becomes the leader of the faction.

2. Release of Skillchompas. Members can start catching skillchompas from level 27 Hunter, using box traps. They can then be wielded as tools while gathering materials, from level 31 Divination, Fishing, Mining or Woodcutting. Gathering while wielding a Skillchompa replaces your usual action, so you'll lob the hapless rodent at the skilling spot rather than gathering in the traditional way. Unorthodox it may be, but this gives a number of awesome skilling advantages. Firstly, each Skillchompa gathering action gives 10% of the base XP that a successful action of its type would give. If your action is successful, you will receive the 10% on top of the XP for the action itself. Even if you're unsuccessful, the Skillchompa will still give you a little XP. To find out the specific benefits received depending on which skill they're used for continue reading here.

July
1. Release of the Legacy combat mode. "At the beginning of the year we started the Power to the Players initiative, and in the last six months the RuneScape community has used it to shape the game in over 50 polls. Today brings the biggest player-driven releases so far: the launch of Legacy Mode and return of the 138 combat formula. This year, we vowed to work with the community on making Evolution of Combat the best it can be, as well as finding an alternative for players who preferred things as they used to be. Our aim has been to allow all types of players to enjoy combat their way, and to have them able to play side-by-side." Legacy Mode is an optional setting which allows you to play the modern game, but with traditional interfaces and old-style combat, without the need to learn the new Evolution of Combat system. Legacy Mode can be turned on or off in either the Game Settings or Powers - Combat Settings interfaces.

2. Release of the latest boss, Araxxor, the most difficult solo-boss in the game. He can be fought alone or with a friend, although he is considerably stronger if fought with a friend. His drops include components for three level 90 two-handed weapons, one for each combat style, along with a new pet, with multiple skins to be unlocked for the pet through achievements.

3. Jagex has now integrated Twitch streaming into the RuneScape interface. With a click of a button, you can now broadcast your RuneScape experience on Twitch.tv, with no need to run anything else in the background. First, you'll need a Twitch account. Set one up - if you haven't already - and log into it via the Twitch tab in the Community interface. Then enter a stream title, select your stream resolution and bandwidth cap, decide whether you want a microphone and/or webcam enabled and you're good to go. The interface also allows you to quickly open the most popular RuneScape Twitch streams, and a new moveable window lets you chat with your own Twitch viewers while you stream. For help getting started, take a look at their video guide.

August
1. Plague's End released as the ninth and final quest of the Elf series. It is a grandmaster quest and requires completion of Within the Light, Making History and Catapult Construction, in addition to level 75 in eight skills. It has been released prior to Prifddinas, and one of its rewards is access to the city. The Dark Lord, the Iorwerth Clan, King Lathas and the Plague of West Ardougne are plot points dealt with in the quest.

2. Release of Soul Reaper, in which the player helps Death harvest the souls of various boss monsters, as in Death's words, there is an imbalance in the harmony of life and death — specifically, there is too much life. It requires level 50 combat to start. Death tasks players with "reaping" various boss monsters in special assignments, which reward Slayer experience and reaper points that can be spent on a number of things, including hydrix gems, a new title, and a set of cosmetic gear.

September
1. Release of the Grouping System. A feature that replaced the Activity Stream in the Community interface. The Grouping System allows players to organise events that involve boss fights, skills, and minigames with other players on all worlds. Players can create groups within the system and use a separate chat tab for communication with those in the same activity and those specific to the team at hand.

2. Release of Expert Skillcapes, obtainable by having a group of related skills at level 99:

• Artisan's cape, which requires 99 Cooking, Construction, Crafting, Firemaking, Fletching, Herblore, Runecrafting and Smithing
  
• Combatant's cape, which requires 99 Attack, Constitution, Defence, Magic, Prayer, Ranged, Strength and Summoning
  
• Gatherer's cape, which requires 99 Divination, Farming, Fishing, Hunter, Mining and Woodcutting
  
• Support cape, which requires 99 Agility, Dungeoneering, Slayer and Thieving

3. Release of the Rune Goldberg Machine. It turns runes into vis wax, and is located in the Runecrafting Guild, giving it a requirement of 50 Runecrafting to access. Vis wax has a variety of uses, including extending the durations of certain auras, increasing divine location gathering limits, or increasing the duration and reward of or rerolling daily challenges.

4. Release of the long-awaited city of Prifddinas. It is described by Jagex as being a "high-level Varrock", as well as a skilling hub, and as such contains a number of skilling locations and other features, some of which are the best in the game. Prifddinas also contains a Grand Exchange and many other features that make it a prime hub for all players that have access.

5. Ability to reset levels for Pure accounts introduced.

October
1. Release of the Ironman Mode - a community favourite now supported in-game, where you'll forge your own path in the world: making everything with your own hands, claiming every precious drop yourself - all without the help of others. It's a fresh challenge for experienced players, and there are prestigious titles and chat badges, plus dedicated hiscores to conquer.

2. Release of Guthixian Caches, a Divination-themed daily Distraction and Diversion. It requires the player to hop into an Energy Rift, found at any of the wisp colonies (except the Pale wisp colony) which appear for 10 minutes at 3 hour intervals, to collect memories of Guthix.

November
1. Update to Treasure Trails, including the release of reward rerolls. These can be earned by completing three trails of the same tier - and if you don't like the reward you get, use a reroll from within the interface to get something else. You can read about the other changes (new trails and rewards themselves) here.

December
1. The addition of a new Rumble Mode to Dominion Tower sees players now able to fight packs of bosses all at once - either solo or with friends - and seek glory on the scoreboards by surviving as long as possible. Jagex has added a swathe of fiendish bosses to the tower as a whole, too, and beefed up many of the rewards. You can read about everything here.

2013:

Spoiler

January
1. The God Statues released as the latest Distraction and Diversion, offering players monthly experience in Construction and Prayer/Slayer.  

2. The Queen Black Dragon is dethroned as the strongest NPC boss monster in RuneScape by the Kalphite King. Drygore equipment, his main drops, similarly replace Chaotics as the game's highest-tier (melee) weaponry. The KK can be found in the Exiled Kalphite Hive.

3. Hourly incursions by the Demon Flash Mobs in 14 locations across Gielinor are notified to players over 120 combat. When the demon boss of these is defeated the player has a chance of obtaining special demon slaying armour and the demon slayer crossbow. Using any of these increases the damage dealt and experience gained whilst fighting demons.   

February
1. The Sinkholes Dungeoneering D&D is introduced, taking place outside of Daemonheim in various resource dungeons. Rewards range from Dungeoneering xp lamps (in small, medium, large, and huge sizes) including an amount of tokens equivalent to the awarded experience /20, tokens equal to your score in the activity itself, and pieces of the Hoardstalker cosmetic outfit.

2. 50 additional bank slots for members redeemable via Solomon's General Store.

3. Due to popular demand, Jagex releases archived servers of RuneScape exactly as it was in 2007. As long as you're a member you'll have access, and whilst you'll start afresh on the 2007 servers, it won't affect your progress in the main game. For your convinience Zybez has developed another Market Price Guide and Item Exchange hub, and the site's guides from that era can be accessed through our 2007 RS Help site. More 07-specific information can be found tagged across the forums.

March
1. Release of the latest grandmaster quest, The World Wakes. It has been labelled by Mod Mark as "the most important one to date."

2. A new (dangerous) minigame, Wilderness Warbands, is unveiled. Rewards include supplies which can be exchanged for either coins or experience in a variety of skills ranging from Farming, Construction, Herblore, Mining, and Smithing. The Wand of Treachery is also a potential prize, requiring level 70 Magic to wield.  

April
1. Dungeoneering has been updated to allow for dual-wielding. On par with packing a two-hander when it comes to dishing out pain. Mages won't miss out either, as the new main-hand and off-hand mage weapons open up all-new options for wreaking magical havoc with devious dual-wielding spell combinations. The off-hand weapons, throwing knives and mage gear drop from a variety of Daemonheim bosses, and can be crafted or smithed by members with the skill to do so.

2. Castle Wars revamped. These upgrades include graphics, a dual currency system, improved Castle Wars armour, and usability reworks. More information can be found here.

3. Instanced God Wars Dungeons and EoC updates. Once you've reached the kill count for your boss of choice, you'll be directed on the minimap to a safe area by an orange arrow. Once within the area, you'll see the door leading to the boss, and clicking on this door gives you a number of options: including entering the non-instanced version of the boss room; starting a new instance in either standard mode or the new hard mode; joining an existing instance; or returning to an existing instance that you've left.

Starting your own instance costs a set amount of gold coins per hour, varying depending on the boss, and anyone entering the instance can top up the time by paying again. You can set a maximum number of participants from 1 to 100 for your instance, as well as a minimum combat level. You can also add a numeric entry key, in case you want to limit the instance to players of your choice. Finally, please note that it's not yet possible to fight Nex in an instance.

Hard mode is for those of you hungry for a real challenge. Any of the God Wars bosses (with the exception of Nex) can be fought in a hard-mode instance, where they'll use the additional tactics and abilities seen in The World Wakes, but with greatly increased stats. Yields of non-rare drops are increased in hard mode, and there's a good chance of getting a new soulstone as well. These count your boss kills, which can be stored up and used in lieu of regular monster kills to gain entry for a future boss run.

May
1. The Nexus. There's something unspeakable brewing beneath Lumbridge Swamp, and the druid Ysondria needs your help to send it back to the pit from whence it came! The Nexus is a new training method for the Prayer skill, aimed at low-level players, where you'll channel your inner strength to push back a foul horror emerging from under Lumbridge Swamp. It's designed to be a social training method, so you'll be able to chat to your friends while working through those early Prayer levels.

2. Harvest Heaven: High-Level Farming. It's a glorious springtime for high-level farmers, as we see the release of ten new plants to grow, along with new produce and cross-skill training opportunities. With Farming skill requirements ranging from 76 to 96, and making use of some of the lesser-used plots, they're blooming handy for high-level training. The ten new plants fall into two categories: those that yield produce when harvested, and those that grant experience in other skills (in addition to the Farming XP, of course).

3. God Emissaries. It's official. The Edicts of Guthix are no more, and the gods are on their way back to Gielinor! God Emissaries are spreading the word throughout the RuneScape world, and are seeking faithful followers for their gods. They've got some great rewards for those who pledge their support - the only thing to decide is which cause to join! Completion of the jobs earns you experience in relevant skills, and buffs - activated from your wieldable banner - which are helpful in related activities. You'll also unlock the remaining chapters in your Book of the Gods. If you complete all of the jobs in all three categories, you will receive a relic helm - level 60 hybrid armour, styled after your choice of faction!

June
1. Order of Ascension. Beneath the Feldip Hills, a new terror rises. The Order of Ascension - a group of misguided Guthix followers - are responsible for a spate of kidnappings. Little else about them is known - except that they must be stopped. The Order of Ascension is made up of magical beings - each one a force to be reckoned with. You'll need 81 Slayer to enter the monastery, but that's just the start. A high Ranged level and the best ranging gear you can use are essential against even the weakest enemies you'll encounter therein.

Best of all, though, are the components needed to create the Ascension crossbow - the most powerful ranged weapon in the game. It requires level 90 Ranged to wield, can be converted between main and off-hand versions by Ocellus, and is the only weapon that can fire the mighty Ascension bolts, which can be fletched from items also found on the monastery's inhabitants, and level 90 Fletching. It degrades, and is repaired in the same way as Barrows equipment - by NPCs such as Bob in Lumbridge, or at a player-owned house armour stand. For information on how to make the crossbow, speak to Ocellus.

2. Triskelion Treasures. You can find the three pieces of the triskelion around the RuneScape world during high-level (mostly 80+) members' activities. When you find all three pieces, you can combine them into the completed crystal triskelion key. When you've done so, you can use the triskelion's 'locate' function to get directions to the treasure trove it unlocks. Keep your eyes peeled - it might not be easy to spot! There's also the chance to pick up pieces of the new dragonstone armour. This prestigious set of level 50 hybrid armour not only looks grand, but is universally useful regardless of the styles you and your opponent are using. Although you need to be a member to find the triskelion and loot the chest, the dragonstone armour is tradeable on the Grand Exchange, and usable by both free players and members.

Last - but not least - we've also updated the loot available in the crystal key chest. Collect both halves of the key and open the chest in Taverley, and you'll likely find that your returns will be better than before. There's even a small chance to pick up a piece of dragonstone armour.

3. Our Feedback Implemented!

4. Far and Wide: Transport Update.
There are seven new destinations to unlock for the Lodestone Network. As usual, visit any of these once and activate the stone, and it'll be just a Home Teleport spell away:

• Canifis
  
• Eagles' Peak
  
• Fremennik Province
  
• Karamja
  
• Oo'glog
  
• Tirannwn
  
• Wilderness Volcano

In light of these new teleport options, and others implemented in recent content, we've also made a collection of improvements to the way that existing teleport options work. In most cases, this is to add additional value to a teleport option that would otherwise have teleported you close to one of the new lodestones, only at additional cost:

• The Nardah Teleport scroll has become the Pollnivneach Teleport scroll, and takes you just south of the well in Pollnivneach.
  
• The Kharyrll Teleport spell now takes you just outside the Canifis pub - close to the bank.
  
• The amulet of glory teleport to Al Kharid now takes you to Shantay Pass.
  
• The Tai Bwo Wannai Teleport scroll now takes you slightly closer to the calquat patch.
  
• The Rellekka lyre teleport now takes you right into the town - close to the docks.

July
1. Vorago: High-Level Boss Fight. The fight with Vorago is a five-stage throwdown to the death, each stage featuring a different range of deadly attacks. Some of the attacks he uses will vary week to week, so, even once you know how he fights, you'll really need to be on your toes. Prevail, and there are some amazing rewards to be had. Foremost among these are level 90 magic weapons: the seismic wand (main hand) and the seismic singularity (off hand). These mighty weapons sit alongside the drygore weapons and ascension crossbow as the best-in-slot gear for their combat style. They do degrade, but they can be repaired for a sum of gold coins at weapon merchants such as Bob's Axes in Lumbridge, or in an appropriately fitted-out player-owned house. Others include tectonic energy, a common drop which - with a 90+ Runecrafting level and a stone of binding from the Magic Guild's armour shop - can be used to create tectonic armour. This formidable level 90 magic gear comprises a robe top, robe bottom and helm, and is the best power-type magic armour available. It degrades, however, and cannot be repaired - once it's depleted it disappears, and must be made or purchased again.

Vorago yields five drops on his defeat, with preference given to high-performing tanks and those with the highest DPS. Fight hard, perform your combat roles well and stay alive for the best chance at getting these prestigious rewards.

2. Bringing Home the Bacon quest. Foremost among the rewards are three new summoning familiars: the spirit war pig, the spirit prayer pig and the spirit pack pig. These three familiars offer combat assistance, mobile prayer restoration and beast-of-burden functions respectively. You'll be able to gather the ingredients you need to make these by killing pigs, found in pig pens in Eli's cellar and around the world. Lest we forget, you'll also have access to bacon - meat of kings and breakfast of champions. Bacon products have a range of Cooking requirements up to level 74. It's also worth noting that bacon food items heal up to 10% more life points than equivalent food at their level.

3. Jagex goes live on the biggest and most controversial update since the release of the EoC: RuneScape 3. Along with the hugely customisable New Interface System, the chance for fame in Seasonal Hiscores, over 6 hours of new live performed music and a range of technical improvements, it's time to play RuneScape your way. You can read about the first impressions here.

4. The first World Event occured, the Battle of Lumbridge. You could join either Zamorak or Saradomin and gather resources for xp or the exclusive Warpriest armour. This special type of armour is level 75 hybrid, thus level 60 for regular gear. Wearing multiple parts of this gear gives the possibility to reduce damage taken to a small fraction of the original amount. As this event is already over, the only way to obtain it is to fight Saradomin and Zamorak followers in the God Wars Dungeon.

August
1. The Death of Chivarly replaces the Black Knight's Fortress quest. This quest features the Signature Hero Owen and the god Saradomin. Rewards include cosmetic overrides and some high-level xp rewards.

2. Release of the Divination skill. It is a gathering and manufacturing skill that involves gathering Guthix's residual life-force, which is leaking throughout Gielinor. To do this, the players gather divine energy from wisps and then use this energy to make items such as portents, signs, and divine locations.

September
1. Release of the Daemonheim Task Set. These 47 feats come in Easy, Medium, Hard and Elite varieties, and there are some cracking rewards: XP lamps, an aura that bestows some handy effects in and out of Daemonheim, and a new Dungeoneering hard mode to name a few.

2. Release of Bonds, an item that can be purchased from the official RuneScape website and traded ingame. Bonds give you more freedom and choice than ever before: pay for your membership with your in-game wealth; securely gift membership to a friend or fellow clan member anywhere in the world; access all premium content by trading Bonds in-game any item, resources or gold; and enjoy the full RuneScape experience, free of bots and gold farmers. Read on for more information!

October
1. Release of the Grandmaster quest, Birthright of the Dwarves. Voted for by you, and featuring enemies, activities and rewards designed by the RuneScape community, this Grandmaster quest marks a spectacular end to one of RuneScape's longest-running and best loved story arcs. There's tough combat, choices to make that'll affect the fates of the quest's characters, and some smashing rewards too, including access to three dragon weapons; a new monster; and a new D&D based in the Lava Flow Mine that can get you an Imcando pickaxe - a mining pick that can destroy ore for extra XP.

2. Release of two new trees: the elder tree and the crystal tree. High-level woodcutters will love the training opportunities they present, as well as the valuable produce - logs for making elder bows from the former, and crystal seeds, crystal triskelions and more from the latter. We've also updated the dark bow, which retains its title as RuneScape's most powerful shieldbow, and added deadly new dark arrows to go along with it.

3. Missing, Presumed Death quest released. Try to uncover the mysteries of the shady Sliske. Rewards include Barrow Amulets, which allow you to skip a Barrow's brother.

4. Release of Sirenic Armour. Each piece requires level 90 Defence to be worn and imparts a best-in-slot ranged damage bonus, with defensive stats exceeded only by superior Death Lotus armour.

November
1. Release of the D&D Tracker. In the Adventures interface, click the Minigames tab and select 'D&Ds' from the drop-down menu. There you'll find a list of every D&D in the game, including timers to show when you can next attempt each piece of content. Click on any entry and a description of the D&D will be displayed in the right-hand pane, including how often it can be attempted, any entry requirements and its rewards.

2. Release of Barrows - Rise of the Six. Sliske's beefed up the Barrows Brothers, and that means one beast of a boss battle. In Rise of the Six, you'll team up in fours to face all six siblings at once - each one more powerful than he's ever been - and earn some monstrously good rewards. Loot includes level 90 shields for each combat type; materials for smithing level 90 power-type melee armour; and six spookily adorable bobblehead pets.

3. Ashdale, the new tutorial. A new, daring, adventure for RuneScape newest players.

December
1. Release of Harbingers of Tuska. Battle the airut - vanguard of the feral goddess Tuska - in this level 92 Slayer update! You'll need top-end gear, high combat skills and quick wits if you want to survive against these multi-style monstrosities. Prevail, and you can get your hands on Kaigi's journal - a first-hand account of Tuska's destructive power; the mighty razorback gauntlets - level 90 melee power armour; or pieces of the XP-giving Tuska mask - the terrifying face of things to come.

2. Start of World Event 2. Though now ended, monsters in God Wars dungeon still have the possibility to drop Armadyl and Bandos Warpriest armour, which allows for a chance to reduce cooldowns on combat abilities. This gear is also level 75 hybrid, meaning it's useful for every class. Beating the Armadyl or Bandos boss in God Wars might also reward you with a fancy new ability to use in combat.

2012:

Spoiler

January
1. The Firemaker's Curse (quest). Provides you with the Book of Char that upon activation automatically lights any log the user walks over. Also lets you enter the training cave every week where you can at least collect one of the four fire creatures to serve as a pet.

February
1. Potion flasks which hold 6 doses vs. the regular 4.

2. The Fight Kiln, a big step-up from the regular Caves. Check out its awesome new cape too!
2b. An accompanying quest lets you bag the TokKul-Zo ring which gives a 10% boost to all damage dealt against TzHaar and Tokhaar creatures. Also it makes the Warrior, Seers', and Archer's Fremennik counterparts obsolete thanks to a +4 bonus in all attack and defence styles (save for Summoning and strength).

3. The Squeal of Fortune. Free players get to use it once a day and members twice (resets at midnight GMT, though +1 during BST hours). You can win a whole array of items leading up to 'lucky' godswords and sigil shields (untradeable versions which are destroyed upon death if not selected on the 'keep items' popup). The Achievment's forum hosts a log where you can view other peoples' rewards and/or post your own.

March
1. A range of graphical upgrades made to all sorts of armour sets (a chart cataloguing the transformations can be found here) and the gnome world. Changes were also made to the workings of Citadels with the release of 'clan fealty' to improve rewards.

2. The Lodestone Network. Upon activating these ancient devices, which are scattered across Gielinor, one can travel to from a variety PtP and FtP places such as Port Sarim, Yanille, and Taverley all via the Home Teleport spell. A helpful thread started by Nommy gives examples as to how these can improve your daily ingame activities.

3. Barkriminel Bolts released to add a new spin to [Ranged] PvP. They can only be fletched from the logs of Bloodwood trees which are located in an array of spots in the Wilderness and safe areas (the latter of which require high-level quests to access such as Nomad's Requiem), and tipped with bolt tips bought from Mami Rimba. The trees respawn roughly every 6 hours for each player after being cut. Instead of attack styles you can toggle between aiming for an opponent's head, torso, and legs - all with unique special effects such as slowing down magic casts for 30 seconds or draining run energy.

4. Morytania Tasks unveiled. Rewards range from the usual XP lamps, reduced prayer drain whilst on Barrows runs, to Morytania legs that can double the number of runes gained from the chest and so on.

April
1. Ways to get extra spins for the SoF are introduced. Tickets for another two can be obtained by killing monsters, participating in certain D&Ds (such as the Circus) that week, general skilling, and you can even buy more generous packages for real-life cash.

2. Dungeoneering revamp. Jagex add a toolbelt which serves the same purpose as the one used outside Daemonheim, starting off with a Novite pickaxe and hatchet that can be replaced by counterparts made from more valuable metals such as Primal should you find them later on. Even if you find a pickaxe or hatchet that you don’t have the levels for just yet, upon adding them to the belt – they'll still act like the highest level equivalent you can use until you’ve attained the necessary level(s). Furthermore, another aspect of the TB holds any keys picked up by yourself or members of your party. As long as someone in your party’s picked up a key, all members of the party can access it. Finally - gathered resources obtained in dungeons (including ore, logs and raw food) will now stack, leaving you yet more space for your gear. All stacks, including coins, can now be split with a new “Drop-X” option while Dungeoneering.
2b. Release of another two Fremennik Sagas, Thok Your Block Off and Nadir (which seeks to expand upon the Mahjarrat storyline).

3. For every quest completed, regardless of whether it is free or members-only, you now get 2 more SoF spins on top of their regular rewards. However this only applies to those that the player has either not started (displayed in red) or completed (yellow) yet - including finishing the newer versions of replaced ones (Gunnar’s Ground, Wolf Whistle, Druidic Ritual, and Death Plateau). Note that you won’t get spins for unlisted mini-quests (such as Alfred Grimhand’s Bar Crawl), claiming post-quest rewards (such as Tears of Guthix), or completing Fremennik Sagas.

4. [The training of] Runecrafting is completely revolutionised with the alternate new dimension of Runespan! Through siphoning runes from the environment (via 'node hunting' in particular), RS offers much faster experience than the traditional methods - albeit with no profits. However, there is a system that keeps track of the runes you have made and awards you points accordingly for them, which can be spent on a variety of interesting rewards. Further guides to maximising your exp/hr rates are linked here: 1, 2, 3, and 4.

May
1. Introduction of bonfires to serve as a new way to train the Firemaking skill. Though the xp/hr rates for using them are slightly lower than making traditional trails with equivalent logs, bonfires have the advantage of being AFK'able. Furthermore - one can get bonus xp by adding logs to a fire that others are already using (up to a maximum of 4% for 5 or more players), whilst contributing at least 5 logs to one fire in succession earns a temporary boost to your maximum life points (up to 10% depending on your FM level), and finally; those who cook on bonfires receive their own 10% xp bonus. A popular place to make/participate with one is in the Shantay Pass on world 100.

2. Release of the quest 'Song from the Depths', which serves as a prelude to the Queen Black Dragon - who surpasses Nex as the most powerful and difficult-to-conquer NPC - and serves as the resident boss of the Grotworm Lair. With her comes the Royal Dragonhide set, whose stats are favourably comparable with Armadyl (importantly: lacking the latter's negative offensive melee bonuses), and the long-awaited Dragon kiteshield.

June
1. Complete overhauls of the SoF's reward list and the Fish Flingers D&D.

2. Release of The Crucible, Jagex's attempt to reincarnate the old Bounty Hunter minigame. Inside the arena you will be matched up with another player and assigned as each others' targets. If you successfully locate and kill your opponent, you can loot all of their equipment.

July
1. Release of 'Social Slayer', which allows players to pair up on tasks. Use your enchanted gem or slayer ring on the player you wish to invite, or use the gem or ring's new 'co-op' right-click option and enter their name when prompted. As long as neither of you are on an active slayer task, or if you're on the same slayer task, you'll invite them to join your group. Further information on the likes of rewards can be found here.

2. Pendants of Skill, along with Prized counterparts, added to the SoF. The former double XP earned in their associated skills up to an amount equivalent to a Large XP lamp, whilst the latter will triple the rate for as much XP as you'd get from a Huge XP lamp. The amount of bonus XP each pendant contains is dependent on the levels of your relevant skills when you claim them. Once these pendants are exhausted, they will degrade and can be kept as a nice cosmetic keepsake.

August
1. Solomon's General Store unveiled as Jagex's newest foray into the the microtransaction market using RuneCoins. The genie offers interested players a variety of cosmetic goods and even additional bank space.

2. Release of 'Some Like it Cold', the latest instalment of the penguins quest line. Rewards include the ability to spy on an extra penguin for the weekly Distraction and Diversion (which is worth 3 points and can only be seen with the Ring of Visibility worn), and access to a Thieving expansion for Balthazar Beauregard's Big Top Bonanza.

3. Clan avatars introduced for Jagex's official clan system. These can be customised with buffs that help in a variety of tasks from collecting skilling resources, providing xp boosts, absorbing combat damage, and so on for clan members who are within range or on the same world.

4. Big chinchompas added as the latest Distraction and Diversion for the Hunter skill.

September
1. Complete remastering of the God Wars Dungeon from its graphics (covering the environment, NPCs, and related items), strength of the bosses themselves, and loot players can hope to get (eg. the robes of subjugation).

2. Similar modernisation of Al Kharid, accompanied by two new quests (replacing Prince Ali Rescue) centred around the signature hero Ozan: Stolen Hearts (an updated version of Prince Ali Rescue) and Diamond in the Rough (PtP only).

3. Existing skill gear sets (for Woodcutting, Mining, Fishing, Construction, Runecrafting, and Thieving) have their boosts doubled from 2.5% to 5%, whilst degradable counterparts for Cooking, Crafting, Smithing, and Herblore are added to the Squeal of Fortune.

October
1, Picking up where September left off - the KBD, Brimhaven, Taverley, and Fremennik Slayer dungeons, including the Chaos Tunnels, have been revamped as well. Jagex have added a teleport option that takes players from Edgeville direct to the KBD's lair, though accessing via the Wilderness will give a 10% damage boost. Additions to his drop list include dragon rider gloves and boots (which offer the highest Prayer bonuses for their respective slots), plus two ornamental kits for the Dragon kiteshield.

2. Jagex continue their remastering of basic quests with Doric's, which has been rechristened 'What's Mine is Yours'. After the quest, members can talk to Doric and Boric to receive more tasks that increase charges in the Gofannon amulet to up to 183,500 experience, as well as 13,000 mining and 48,000 smithing experience. The tasks can be found here.

November
1. Release of D&D tokens on the Squeal of Fortune that allow players to have another go at various activities before their original cooldown timers expire. This coincides with an xp boost and graphical update for the Tears of Guthix minigame.  

2. Jagex goes live on the biggest and most controversial update since the release of RuneScape 2, the Evolution of Combat (their goals and rationale can be found in a series of Og blogs here, as well as broader information on the subject). Main points of interest include the removal of special attacks, the reduction in effectiveness of potions, familiars, and prayers in combat, rebalancing of the wider triangle through new item stats, overhaul of combat level calculation itself, dual-wielding of weapons, and so on. You can help Zybez keep on top of the content changes here.   

3. Increase of Dungeoneering xp for those exploring Daemonheim in smaller groups, including allowing everyone regardless of their level to bind ten items. You won’t get to carry all ten at a time, of course; they’ll go into a remotely-held pool of bound items, from which you'll be able to select loadouts by speaking to the Smuggler. You can return to the Smuggler at any time to switch your bound items, and he'll remember up to three presets for ease of use. The number of your bound items that can be included in a loadout varies according to your Dungeoneering level.

4. Regarding gravestones, it is now possible to click the gravestone timer while nearby to take you straight to the point of your demise - useful if there's more than one stone about. There are also 'take all' and 're-equip all' buttons, so you'll be up and back into the fray before you know it.

5. Signature hero Ariane receives her own headline of double-quests to update Rune Mysteries and introduce Rune Memories, on top of a generic rework of the Wizards' Tower and Runecrafting Guild.

December
1. The TzHaar-TokHaar storylines are concluded with a fresh grandmaster quest, The Brink of Extinction. Rewards include earning the ability to smith and wear obsidian armour, and gaining access to an all-new solo combat area: the Fight Cauldron.

2. After the EoC, Player Owned Ports stand as the most high-profile update of 2012. A high-requirement minigame - it allows you to manage a fleet of ships, staffed by recruited crew members, to explore the Eastern Lands on your behalf with and return with exotic items and supplies that are otherwise unavailable in accessible Gielinor. These include degradable level 85 armours for all corners of the combat triangle: Testu (melee), Death Lotus (range), and Sea Singer (mage). These require 90 Smithing, Crafting, and Runecrafting to make respectively. Players can choose between making tradeable versions that can not be repaired, or stronger untradeable originals that can be.

2011:

Spoiler

January
1. Release of Nex as the newest God Wars Dungeon boss and excellent sets of armour + the odd weapon unique to her drop list.

February
1. Return of the old Wilderness and free trade by popular demand.

2. Urns which you can make to give extra exp on the side whilst training any one of 6 particular skills. A video guide can be found here.

April
1. Livid Farm which unlocks a host of new Lunar spells.

May
1. Capes of Distinction: most importantly the Max (for those of you with 99 in all skills) and Completionist (including a trimmed version which requires an additional set of chores) subsets.

2. The Lava Flow Mine, which is the best way to level Mining now before the Living Rock Caverns. Unlocked by King of the Dwarves, and is the source of the golden mining suit - which gives a 2.5 5% exp boost when training the skill.  

June
1. Troll Invasion, an excellent Distraction and Diversion which is one of the best ways to train melee now (<200k exp/hr if one has a high strength bonus, Overloads/Extremes, and Turmoil). You can get a reward book from it once a month too.

2. The Members' Loyalty Programme is unveiled.

July
1. The Jadinko Lair. Brilliant place to train Firemaking and Fletching, completely free too! Also handy for the odd Slayer task.
1b. Also released was the whip vine, which requires 80 Slayer and 85 Attack to use. Upon attaching it to an Abyssal whip it gives an extra +4 bonus to slash and attack, as well as +2 to strength along with also providing a chance to do poison damage starting at 48. On top of all this it also provides the whip with an alternate special attack. If you don't have a Chaotic rapier yet this would be a decent substitute so long as cash isn't a problem (not that you can't sell it back anyway).

2. Clan Citadels introduced, where you can have even more fun with your clan mates. If you would like to join Zybez's - please look here.

August
1. Introduction of the Refer a Friend scheme which gives a temporary exp boost to both players.

2. Top end quest 1: Branches of Darkmeyer. The 5th instalment of the Myreque franchise - BoD allows players to create Blisterwood weapons that are essential for making the most of Vyrewatch training, use of Drakan's medallion which serves as a teleport to various places around Morytania such as the Barrows minigame area, and so on.

September
1. Top end quest 2: Ritual of the Mahjarrat. Incredibly useful in a variety of ways. Glacors for example, which can be accessed after it, drop combat boots for each of the three classes (Steadfast, Ragefire, and Glaiven) that sell from 7.2m to 35.3m. A guide which best explains the ways to kill them can be found here. Likewise the new Storm of Armadyl spell is a major addition to Magic's arsenal.

October
1. The bot-nuke. Another one's being planned for the near future too.

November
1. Dominion Tower. Dreadnips and the acclaimed Goliath gloves are rewards of note.

2. The Polypore Dungeon. Ganodermic beasts (need 95 Slayer to kill them) are nice sources of money if camped on correctly, whilst Ganodermic armour + the Polypore staff have majorly shaken up PvM and PvP mechanics (eg. has taken over as the best set-up for Corp thanks to its 53% Magic damage soaking ability, and also makes it is possible to kill Jad without even having to prayer-switch so long as you are protecting against Range the whole time.

  

2010:

Spoiler

January
1. Nomad's Requiem (Grandmaster quest). Rewards include 70 zeal which can equate to a significant amount of exp if invested in the right skill, and a Soul Wars cape that provides a +12 prayer bonus on top of +8 to all defensive stats which again comes in useful for Slayer (especially if Turmoiling a task) and boss hunting if you do not have access to (for example) a Fire cape.  

2. A rework of Barbarian Assault, with the most important change being the release of Penance Horns that doubles exp when training Agility, Firemaking, and Mining.

February
1. Ability to craft double law, death, and blood runes. The chance of doing so increases as you get closer to level 99.

2. Addition of unique Slayer creatures: the Strykewyrms (Jungle, Desert, and Ice). The first two drop special hexcrests and focus sights which can be added to a normal Slayer helmet (making a Full Slayer helmet) so that Mages and Rangers also get a 16.66% damage boost on tasks. Meanwhile Ices can be killed for the Staff of Light. This boasts a 15% damage boost along with a 1/8 chance of saving the runes for whatever spell you're casting (this stacks with combat and battle robes from the Fist of Guthix minigame for a final probability of 1/5 and 1/2 respectively), and even comes with a special attack that halves all received melee damage for a minute.

3. An improvement to the Impetuous Impulses minigame with introduction of new catchable implings in their home plane of Puro-Puro and beyond. These are: the spirits (54 Hunter), zombies (87), and kinglies (91) - the last of which comes with a new Royal set of clothing.

March
1. craptered Heart D&D. Collect pairs of strange rocks from non-combat skilling and use them on the statue of Dahmaroc in Varrock's museum to earn free experience.

April
1. Release of the latest skill - Dungeoneering! In terms of what content it unlocks, this is arguably one of the most important events in RuneScape history. Chaotic equipment, resource dungeons, and a plethora of other rewards have revolutionised how we approach the game.
  
2. Slayer Challenges every tenth task which may force you to plan ahead regarding which master to go to when.

3. The Thieves' Guild and a quest line to expand it with. Home of many great training methods (example: coshing volunteers).  

May
1. Quest - Fairy Tale III: Battle at Ork's Rift. Allows you to use fairy rings without a Draymen/Lunar staff, a magic watering can (unlimited supply of it), have your farming patches automatically weeded, and more.

2. Overhaul of Castle Wars rewards and the addition of an ingame ballista.

June
1. Introduction of Ancient Effigies. Use the 'fast effigy' and 'assistclan' friend chats to find someone to open yours if you don't have the necessary skills, or go to Daemonheim on world 117. However, please note that their drop rates have been significantly nerfed recently following disagreements over whether they were making skills too easy to train.

July
1. Quest: Love Story. Lets you make chipped house teleports which can take you to any settlement players can already move their POHs to with the inclusion of Trollheim as well, reduces servant costs by 25%, can now construct Dungeons, along with other perks.

August
1. Elite treasure trails.  

September
1. Elite Achievment Diaries whose rewards such as the Ardougne cloak 4 and aforementioned enhanced Excalibur come in very handy for a whole host of situations.

October
1. Quest: The Void Stares Back. Allows the player to wield Korasi's sword, a popular PK'ing weapon thanks to its magic-based special attack. Also an option for training strength with alongside the traditionally popular Dragon scimitar and Saradomin sword.

November
1. Herblore Habitat - used primarily for Hunter and Farming training, but its unique Juju potions ease up grinding other skills such as Mining elsewhere. Also lets you access an extra fruit tree patch.

December
1. Release of the Dragon defender. Favoured by many players over the Dragonfire shield for Slayer tasks, and is undoubtedly a must-have if serious about maxing melee thanks to its excellent offensive stats.  

2. Expansion of the damage soaking feature to encompass most armours, having been previously limited to the three Dungeoneering shields.

2009:

Spoiler

January
1. Release of the In Pyre Need quest which unlocks the Phoenix Lair daily activity which provides a small amount of Slayer, Firemaking, Fletching, and Crafting exp. Also lets you take a Phoenix eggling as a pet.

2. Introduction of the Seers' Diary. On top of the hefty exp lamps you'll be able to enhance Excalibur by completing the Hard tasks to give it a special attack that heals 200 lifepoints. If you go on to finish the Elite set this will be doubled to 400 lifepoints.

February
1. The Soul Wars minigame. If you're bored of grinding out combat on the same NPC for hours on end, definitely give this a go. Win, lose or draw - you still get at least 1 zeal for your troubles which can be cashed in for exp in any of the combat skills (when you hit 90+ in the melee ones particularly the /hr rate actually starts looking pretty decent. Plus it's a lot more fun than killing thousands of armoured zombies or bandits...). For all intents and purposes: a powered-up version of Castle Wars. Remember to join a dedicated clan chat which might be spam-advertised on one of the themed servers to maximise your chances of ending up on the winning side.

2. Evil Tree Distraction and Diversion. Always a fun way to spend maybe 10-15 minutes of your time (depending on how quickly you get to one). When you're able to cut down the higher-levelled types it can actually be better exp than sticking to whatever you were doing originally. Note down the 'EvilTreeFind friends' chat to get alerts as to where the nearest one is.

June
1. The Hunt for Red Raktuber quest - the second instalment in the Penguin series. In fact it's arguably one of the most enjoyable ones in the game yet. Main perk is boosting the number of penguin points you can collect to 16 with the addition of a polar bear agent who's always found in a well.  

July
1. Mobilising Armies revealed, a new multiplayer combat minigame. The player controls a battalion of NPCs with four different scenarios to choose from: Conflict, Siege, Hoard and Rescue. Each presents its own set of challenges, such as building catapults, collecting resources, and stealing from your opponents to name just a few. Notable rewards range from the ability to imbue certain rings to increase their stats (those of the Fremennik's are doubled for example) and a way to make extensive profits off jute seeds.  

September
1. Introduction of the Living Rock Caverns. Currently the best way to train Mining (via concentrated coal and gold ores), and the also the only area in which you can catch cavefish (level 85 required) and rocktails (90). It's highly recommended that they are your options straight from 85 -> 99 simply due to the significant amounts of money they'll make for you (and the exp isn't that bad either).

October
1. High-level Herblore potions: super antifires (level 84) and Overloads (96). Definitely worth breaking one's bank to get the latter (you can boost to make it from ~92/93 using brown spicy stews) as it is invaluable nowadays for elite boss hunting (ie. Nex and the Corporeal beast).

December
1. The Temple at Senntisten quest. This is what you need to do in order to unlock the all-important Ancient curses prayer book and therefore use the acclaimed Soul Split (level 92) and Turmoil (95). Probably a wiser choice getting these first instead of Overloads considering how Turmoil works in both PvM and PvP environments - obviously making it more versatile, whilst Soul Split can greatly extend Slayer tasks + boss hunting trips through its healing effects on top of serving as an enhanced version of Smite for PK'ing purposes.

2. Kuradal's Dungeon given as a new Slayer environment. Keep an eye out for a ferocious ring in there, too. Those buggers add +40 damage to all your hits in there, as well as having the ability to teleport you out of the dungeon (but destroying itself in the process) if you're very close to dying.

3. Another quest: Blood Runs Deep. Main attractions would be the 3 x 150k exp rewards to any combat skill(s) and the acquisition of Balmung (you actually get it well before the story's over) - which deals increased damage upon dagannoths (<175% of your max hit with an equivalent strength bonus weapon).

Recurring XP-Related Events:

Spoiler

• Bonus XP Weekend (March/September, March/October, February/November, February/September)
  
• Hati and Skoll (January)
  
• Enlightenment Aura (Summer)
  
• Festive Aura (December)
  
• RuneScape Road Trip (May)
  
• Balthazar's Big Raffle (September)

RuneFest:

Spoiler

An annual real-world meet organised and hosted by Jagex staff for the playing community. The first two (2010 + 2011) were held in London, but a recent poll to garner popular opinion has shown that most people would prefer the next to be staged in America. Further details will be released as we get closer to when the next has been scheduled for.

Don't be shy to give feedback!

Thank You to the Following People for Their Help:

• The duck
  
• Arceus
  

[N3V3R S4W]

This will be very helpful to those coming back to the game. Thanks for taking the time to make this.

Edited by Radke Legend, 15 March 2012 - 09:07 PM.

[Milktea4me]

Looks nice. Glad to see someone stepped up for the new incoming people! I was going to make the tip about it, but I hope a Mod puts this as a sticky in the Questions board.

[bolsh]

geez, soul wars was 2009? that seems so long ago.

thanks for this sticky, it will definitely be helpful for anyone looking for information

[*Tom*]

Epic post; assuming people think to look at it.

Either way even for those of us who have been here throughout all of it, this is a great reference tool and honestly something pretty cool to look back on! Great job Murdoc!

[Jim]

Murdoc, on 05 March 2012 - 11:05 PM, said:

2010:

Spoiler

4. Addition of unique Slayer creatures: the Strykewyrms (Jungle, Desert, and Ice). The first two drop special hexcrests and focus sights which can be added to a normal Slayer helmet (making a Full Slayer helmet) so that Mages and Rangers also get a 16.66% damage boost on tasks. Meanwhile Ices can be killed for the Staff of Light which has a 15% damage boost along with a 1/8 chance of saving the runes for whatever spell you're casting (this stacks with combat and battle robes from the Fist of Guthix minigame for a final probability of 1/5 and 1/2 respectively).

Perhaps you could add the special of the Staff of Light. It takes 100% of the bar and lowers melee damage to you.

But I will be linking this very often with my explanations.

Edited by Jim, 05 March 2012 - 11:33 PM.

[Murdoc]

Broken Frame, on 05 March 2012 - 11:08 PM, said:

This would probably be more beneficial in the Tips section. Nonetheless this will be very helpful to those coming back to the game. Thanks for taking the time to make this.

Logically this is the place someone with such a problem would come to first. Tips tends to be a home for players who're already comfortable and are more interested in maximising their efficiency (and so on). Merci for the good faith though lads, and don't worry Jim I'm on it.

Edited by Murdoc, 05 March 2012 - 11:45 PM.

[Milktea4me]

Murdoc, on 05 March 2012 - 11:37 PM, said:

Broken Frame, on 05 March 2012 - 11:08 PM, said:

This would probably be more beneficial in the Tips section. Nonetheless this will be very helpful to those coming back to the game. Thanks for taking the time to make this.

Logically this is the place someone with such a problem would come to first. Tips tends to be a home for players who're already comfortable and are more interested in maximising their efficiency (and so on). Merci for the good faith though lads, and don't worry Jim I'm on it.

You just blew my mind because I honestly saw Tips in a different light. Loving the sticky and I'll also be using and spreading it like wildfire (Assuming people will actually post questions about coming back now).

[Cynicism]

Sweet, now I can look back and see how long I've been playing this game!

[Gladz]

It's beautiful as expected. Crazy looking back on some of the updates and seeing just how long ago they really were.

Little feedback: how about flipping the order so that the most recent updates are at the top? Nothing major, it's just that newer updates get a lot more attention than older ones.

[F4llen Princess]

This is great, never seen all this in one place before. So much has changed :(

[Murdoc]

Gladz, on 06 March 2012 - 12:57 AM, said:

Little feedback: how about flipping the order so that the most recent updates are at the top? Nothing major, it's just that newer updates get a lot more attention than older ones.

No worries. I was going to say that it might be a bit irksome for people who've been gone for several years as opposed to a few months to 1, but those spoiler tags probably make it easier for them to scroll now (which is where RS Wiki really falls down haha).

Edited by Murdoc, 06 March 2012 - 07:39 AM.

[Magick]

Oh awesome idea, I had always wondered about something like this since a considerable percentage of questions are from returning players.

Good job all around.

[Milktea4me]

Add graphical rework perhaps? I'll help with this if you want me to.

Edited by Milktea4me, 07 March 2012 - 01:30 PM.

[Tact]

Would you consider changing the thread's title to something like "Back from break: What did you miss?" The current title doesn't capture the sticky's intent for me; it just sounds like an archive of Runescape updates for general browsing.

[Murdoc]

Milktea4me, on 07 March 2012 - 01:29 PM, said:

Add graphical rework perhaps? I'll help with this if you want me to.

I don't think that's must-know information considering all it's done is make 'Scape a bit prettier. Pretty obvious what's happened the moment you log in, too.

Tact, on 07 March 2012 - 01:42 PM, said:

Would you consider changing the thread's title to something like "Back from break: What did you miss?" The current title doesn't capture the sticky's intent for me; it just sounds like an archive of Runescape updates for general browsing.

You have an excellent point.

Edited by Murdoc, 07 March 2012 - 01:51 PM.

[Milktea4me]

Murdoc, on 07 March 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

Milktea4me, on 07 March 2012 - 01:29 PM, said:

Add graphical rework perhaps? I'll help with this if you want me to.

I don't think that's must-know information considering all it's done is make 'Scape a bit prettier. Pretty obvious what's happened the moment you log in, too.

Perhaps add this picture to revamped armor from the news section if anyone would be interested? http://i40.tinypic.com/1179ti0.png

[Evi]

Ohhh this is a great idea, it was also a fun read to go over for even a active player.

[Murdoc]

Milktea4me, on 07 March 2012 - 01:54 PM, said:

Perhaps add this picture to revamped armor from the news section if anyone would be interested? http://i40.tinypic.com/1179ti0.png

Hmm, going to stick with my guns here. The last thing I want happening is for this to become a generic breakdown of every update.

[Redshift]

Excellent idea!