Earlier this year we celebrated five years of Old School RuneScape. We’ve seen a huge variety of new content come to the game over the years. However, there have been growing concerns as more players reach the max Total level. If these players are left with nothing to do in-game, they might do something very silly, like go outside or something. Well, fear not, today we present you with a solution to this issue. Our brand-new skill, Advanced Warfare.

Dev Blog: Advanced Warfare

Training

Players who train their Advanced Warfare skill will find themselves reaping a variety of rewards. Before we get onto that, though, we’re going to go over the details of just how this skill is trained.

Espionage

Espionage is one of the two ways to train Advanced Warfare. Across the game, players will find various Spy masters, with better spy masters being unlocked at higher levels. These Spy masters will give out espionage contracts. These contracts will reward XP upon completion, with the amount of XP rewarded based upon the level of the contract.

Spymaster Location Description Requirements Captain Cruise Intelligence officer for the Varrock Palace Secret Guard. Level 1 Advanced Warfare 'N' Leader of the Kourend Secret Service Level 18 Advanced Warfare Sir Vey Lance Head of operations for the Temple Knights. Level 36 Advanced Warfare Recruitment Drive Larry Freelancer with a keen interest in Penguins. Level 54 Advanced Warfare Cold War Daero Tree guardian of the Tree Gnome Stronghold. Level 72 Advanced Warfare Monkey Madness Ysbir Head of espionage for the Elven Resistance. Level 90 Advanced Warfare Mourning's Ends Part I

Espionage Contracts

The espionage contracts you receive increase in difficulty dependent upon the Spy master issuing them. They will also be suitably themed based upon who gave them (Larry, for example, is more likely to have you investigating penguins). There will be a huge number of contacts available to keep things interesting with the potential for more to be added after launch.

Here's just a few contract examples we have so far:

Using your Thieving skill to plant an incriminating dossier on a Black Knight soldier.

Setting up a telescope to spy on a secret Iorwerth meeting.

Infiltrating a Lizardman camp and destroying their food supply.

Assassination

If Espionage isn’t violent enough for you, try your hand at Assassination. This is the alternative method of training Advanced Warfare. Like Spy masters, various Master assassins can be found across the map. These Master assassins will hand out assassination contracts. These contracts will reward XP upon completion, with the amount of XP rewarded based on the level of the contract.

Master Assassin Location Description Requirements Edwin Kenway Pirate-turned-assassin operating out of Corsair Cove. Level 20 Advanced Warfare T-255 Head of the Black Knight terminator program. Level 35 Advanced Warfare Captain Chigurh Captain in the Shayzien Army with extreme methods. Level 50 Advanced Warfare Paladin Dennis Eager Paladin looking to please King Lathas. Level 65 Advanced Warfare Regicide Agent 73 A mysterious assassin of unknown allegiance. Level 80 Advanced Warfare Desert Treasure Korapeewi Personal assassin for King Awowogei. Level 95 Advanced Warfare Monkey Madness II

Assassination Contacts

Assassination contracts will work just like espionage contracts do. The only difference is the actual activity performed. Oddly enough, these ones are focused on killing rather than spying.

Here are a few contract examples:

Setting up a long-range bow in the Ardougne clocktower and using it to take out a visiting delegate.

Sabotaging an enemy Gnomecopter so that it is destroyed mid-flight, eliminating a rival officer.

Poisoning the drink of visiting royalty while they are attending a lavish party.

Using a concealed blade to assassinate a target in an open area before vanishing into the crowd.

Rewards

We know that Old School players love nothing more than training a great skill, such as Runecrafting. When the content is so good, who needs rewards? We could easily take the same attitude with Advanced Warfare. However, we want to go further. As you train your Advanced Warfare skill, you’ll unlock brand new items and abilities that are sure to make your PvP and PvM experiences far more fulfilling.

Radar

Ever feel like you just don’t see enough? Maybe a radar will help. This new tool will allow you to increase the maximum distance on your minimap, letting you see enemies from further away. There are various levels of radar, with higher levels providing an increased distance over previous ones. Level 5: Basic radar Level 25: Improved radar Level 45: Advanced radar Level 65: Supreme radar

In addition to the standard radars, at level 85 you will unlock the remote radar. This radar has the same range of the Supreme radar but, rather than the center being over the player, it can be tactically positioned and then viewed from a distance.

Weapon Attachments

Weapon attachments are a great new way to mix things up with your favorite old weapons. There will be a range of weapon attachments to choose from, all of which will improve your weapon in some form or other. Choose wisely though, as you’ll only be able to use one attachment at a time. Level 24: Long barrel. This attachment will increase the maximum range of your weapon, letting you hit targets from even further away. Level 44: Rapid fire. This attachment will increase the attack speed of your weapon, allowing you to attack even faster than before. Level 64: FMJ. Allows your weapon to hit through walls and other obstacles. Level 84: Grip. Reduces the recoil of your weapon, making you more likely to hit your target.

Reverse Pickpockets

In the Espionage section, we talked about using Thieving to plant things on an NPC. Reverse pickpocketing is an extension of this. Players will be able to plant various objects on NPCs to yield some interesting results. Any NPC that can be pickpocketed can also be reverse pickpocketed, with the same level requirement applying. Level 16: Hand grenade. Explodes after a short while, killing the target. Level 38: Poisonous hand grenade. Applies poison to the target. Level 60: Venomous hand grenade. Applies venom to the target. Level 82: Holy hand grenade. Like the normal hand grenade but far more powerful. This device will explode after a short while, killing the target while also damaging anyone around them.

Weapon Strikes

Weapon strikes are a new way of taking down multiple targets at once. They can target any area of the game world, and so are great to use from a long distance. They work very well with the new radars (see above), particularly the Remote radar. Level 32: Mortar strike. Hits all targets in a 5x5 area for up to 20 damage. Level 52: Bombing run. Hits all targets in a 9x9 area for up to 40 damage. Level 72: Carpet bomb. Hits all targets in a 15x15 area for up to 60 damage. Level 92: DC-130. Hits all targets in a 25x25 area for up to 100 damage.

Dual-Wielding

Sometimes one weapon just isn’t enough. With Advanced Warfare, you’ll be able to use two. Once you hit level 30, you’ll be able to unlock the Akimbo perk. Once you have it, you’ll be able to equip two one-handed weapons rather than just one. This will be sure to make for some great new combat builds.

Australianisers

If you really fancy messing with your opponent’s head, why not try an Australianiser? These devices are unlocked at level 40 Advanced Warfare. When used on another player, it will completely flip all of their interfaces upside down, giving a truly authentic Australian feel. Don’t worry though, this won’t give Australian players an unfair advantage as if it is used on them, it will turn their interfaces the right way around instead.

RPGs

It’s become clear that the Ranged skill needs something a little extra, and we think we have the perfect solution. Rocket Propelled Geese (RPGs for short) can be purchased from all new “Ammo-nation” stores found across the game. These weapons will fire out disgruntled Geese at your foes, which is sure to seriously inconvenience them as they go about their day. Equipping an RPG will require level 62 Advanced Warfare as well as level 60 Ranged. They are one use only so you’ll need to make sure you purchase plenty.

The De-ironer

In case you didn’t know, some players play as ironmen, by the way. These players choose to play the game on an extra hard mode to hide the fact that they have no friends. Like every type of player, ironmen can sometimes be annoying and in these cases, you may want to do something about it. Soon, you’ll be able to, thanks to the De-ironer. This device requires level 70 Advanced Warfare and when used on an Ironman account, it will take away their Ironman abilities and restore them to a normal player.

Gnomecopter Gunships

Ever find yourself set upon by a clan in the Wilderness with no way out? You might just need the help of a Gnomecopter gunship. Players with an Advanced Warfare level of 78 or above can call in a Gnomecopter gunship to level the playing field in dangerous situations. These gunships are equipped with dual Minibows which can fire out 3,000 iron arrows per minute and will remain in the area for one minute after they are summoned. Whilst they are in the area, they will target any players or NPCs which attempt to fight you, eliminating all without prejudice.

Tactical Nukes

Reaching level 99 is a momentous achievement, so much so that we give you some truly massive fireworks to show how much time you’ve wasted. For Advanced Warfare, we want to take that a step further by giving you the biggest firework around, a Tactical Nuke. Upon reaching 99 Advanced Warfare, players will unlock the Tactical Nuke. When it is activated, it will display a 30 second countdown to every player on every world. Once that countdown reaches 0, every world will be obliterated in an irreversible fiery explosion of doom. This will permanently close the worlds and shut down Old School forever.

So, there you have it. We’ll be opening the Advanced Warfare poll soon so be sure to send over all of your feedback by the usual channels. We look forward to hearing what you think.

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The Old School Team