Members only

Today brings two new trees to RuneScape: 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.

Elder Trees

Cutting elder trees requires at least 90 Woodcutting, and the trees can be sought out at ten locations around the world. They offer good Woodcutting XP when cut, and their logs will be of great use to fletchers and firemakers of level 90 and above. They grow back more slowly than other trees, though, so you'll need to cycle between a few of them to get the best gathering rate.

Fletchers of level 90 and above can create elder shieldbows and shortbows - level 60 ranged weapons. A shieldbow sight can be attached to the elder shieldbow, increasing its required Ranged and Defence levels to 65, and boosting its stats accordingly.

The elder shieldbow has stats equivalent to the former stats of the dark bow, so we've increased the dark bow's tier to level 70, and its stats accordingly. It's a more fearsome weapon than ever! As a bonus, we've also added ferocious dark arrows, which can be fletched using dark arrowheads - a new drop from dark beasts - with level 95 Fletching.

Please note: it's not possible to grow elder trees through the Farming skill, and there are no elder planks to be used in Construction.

Tim-ber!

Crystal Trees

While elder trees are great for gathering valuable logs, crystal trees are all about training the Woodcutting skill. Much like ivy, they yield no resources, but offer an excellent Woodcutting XP rate.

You can seek out the trees at seven locations. A crystal tree is considered 'active' when crystal formations surround it, and it is these formations - at level 94 Woodcutting - which can be chopped for some of the best Woodcutting XP in the game.

Only one tree is active at a time, remaining that way for a set time before another becomes active in its stead.. To find it, head to a known crystal tree location and - if it's not active - right-click and select 'look at' for a clue. If you need a hand finding a crystal tree, seek out Wilfred north of Falador. Right-click any inactive crystal tree and select 'Look at' to get a clue of where to find the active one.

While chopping the crystals, there is a chance that you will receive a crystal geode. This is very much like a birds' nest, and it can contain valuable gems, or even a crystal triskelion piece. If you've completed the Roving Elves quest, there's also a chance that they'll yield a a crystal seed.

Enjoy!

Mod Nexus and the RuneScape Team

How to start:

Locate elder trees or crystal trees around the world. Get some friends together and seek them out!

For in-game information on elder and crystal trees - including the location of a nearby crystal tree - speak to Wilfred north of Falador.

Requirements:

You must be a RuneScape member.

Level 90 Woodcutting for elder trees.

Level 94 Woodcutting for crystal trees.

Fletching elder logs requires level 90 and up.

Firemaking elder logs requires level 90 and up.

Bonus XP Tidy-Up

Free players and members

We've made some changes to the way the bonus XP system works for many of RuneScape's most popular bonus XP items. While these changes are technical ones to make the content run more efficiently and to make it easier for us to develop, there's a big change to the way many of these items work.

Many of the most popular bonus XP items no longer need to be worn in order for you to enjoy their benefits. From today, these items have been replaced with a cosmetic version, and all XP that they offer is stored and applied automatically, in a similar way to the Refer a Friend XP rewards. This means that you never need to sacrifice an equipment slot to enjoy the XP benefits these items offer.

A list of items changed can be found below:

All skill pendants from the Squeal of Fortune (regular and prized)

Goblin cower shield

Hati paws

Sköll boots

Pumpkin amulet

Christmas pudding amulet

Heartbreak pendant

Lovestruck pendant

Mad necklace

Gofannon amulet

Penance horns (regular and master)

All Stealing Creation gear.

All Squeal of Fortune recharge gems (no cosmetic replacement)

If you have one of these items already, you will need to click on it in your inventory to convert it to the cosmetic version and claim the bonus XP stored within it. If there is a choice of XP type, you will be asked to choose upon doing so.

The following outfits now give a permanent 1% XP bonus per item while worn, rather than having a finite charge. There's also an additional 1% set bonus when you wear every item in any of these sets at once:

Artisan's outfit

Botanist's outfit

Blacksmith's outfit

First Age outfit

Sous chef's outfit

Please note that the clan ring has been replaced by a claimable amount of bonus XP, equivalent to that which you would previously have received. If you have a clan ring, you can click it to get any XP left over. In the future, you can simply claim your bonus XP from the clan quartermaster, as before.

Mod Wilson and the RuneScape Team

Behind the Scenes Video

Take a look at our latest Behind the Scenes video to hear Mod Mark talk about today's update, and the other great content coming this October:

In Other News

New seasonal hiscores are now in effect, covering chronicle fragments handed in and damage dealt to Kr'il Tsustaroth with a fun weapon .

and . Spread the word about your favoured god's victory or inevitable, triumphant return with Ambassador and Envoy Outfits - now available in Solomon's General Store.

The patch notes archive can be viewed here.

Discuss this here.