Old School RuneScape just got its first new skill ever and players are psyched about it, apart from the guy the game accidentally branded 'Morbid Loner'

Sailors take aim at a sea beast with a cannon.

(Image credit: Jagex)

Old School RuneScape has been around for, oh, about 12 years now, and in all that time it's never gotten a new skill. Players have been working with—and making great sport of—the set of skills it inherited from the original RuneScape, which itself last got a new skill (that'd be Hunter) all the way back in 2006.

Well, welcome to a new era. Today, after much testing and debate, Jagex finally sent OSRS' first new skill ever out into the world earlier today. Sailing has landed with a—wait for it—splash, and promises to let players "Take to the high seas, traverse hazardous waters, learn new skill integrations, and finally find out what lies in the uncharted oceans of Gielinor."

It's a big deal. Depending on how you count the days, it's either the venerable MMO's first skill in 12 years of existence or—even wilder, if you ask me—its first since the introduction of Hunter 19 years ago. You've gotta wonder how its community, which knows what it likes and isn't shy about saying it, has taken to it.

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"Very excited, honestly can’t believe it is here," says player TheSymbioticPanda. "Proud of the Jagex team for taking the steps they have to ensure a smooth launch."

"Going in blind, just completed the first quest and have the music up and I'm loving it," writes Coolica1. "No idea what's best to do from here but I'll figure it out."

"Anxious. Very anxious," writes Send_Me_Dachshunds. "Such a big update, maybe the biggest this game will ever have, and a lot can go wrong... but I trust this dev team to chart this course."

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

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