You can finally try out Old School RuneScape’s first new skill in nearly two decades right now

A forester from Old School Runescape, contemplating life next to his pheasant friend on a green field. — (Image credit: Jagex Game Studios)

Old School RuneScape has always had a tightrope to walk—honor the past it exists to keep alive without completely stagnating while modern RuneScape, or RuneScape 3, does whatever it wants—which makes today a historic occasion for the long-running MMO. While past additions have been abstemious, largely in line with the school of design and scope you’d expect from RuneScape’s humble 2007 version, the new sailing skill adds a whole dimension of play.

Players voted it into existence two years ago with a 71.9% majority, but it’s finally available in alpha testing on every client version except mobile, with PC players of all stripes able to get a taste of that long journey to level 99 (so long as they have an active membership). Players will load into bespoke sailing alpha worlds rather than their usual home server, which will get them right to Port Sarim and ready to test the new features.

A crab from Old School Runescape with a treasure chest on its head sitting on the sand. — (Image credit: Jagex)

Granted, Jagex has said many of sailing’s features are not implemented or remain unfinished, and that the purpose of this playtest is to get players toying with the basics so they can collect feedback. The test will last for one week, sailing levels will be capped at 30, and any progress made and quests completed will not affect your non-alpha account.

Even with all the restrictions, though, there’s a hefty amount of stuff to do: an opening quest will teach the basics, and from there players will get their very own customizable boat, which they can upgrade with new facilities and better materials to brave more dangerous waters. Players can sail together on the same boat or on their own if they please, with up to 25 ships rendering on screen at a time.

Once they’ve got a worthy vessel, players can dig into the skill’s meat and potatoes: explore islands, sail between ports to complete new quests, dredge up salvage, and journey to every corner of the newly explorable sea areas to fill out their captain’s log. At level 30, the new Barracuda Trial becomes available, letting players test their skills running rum and supplies through a gauntlet of whirlpools as quickly as possible.

Old School Runescape sailing alpha infographic — (Image credit: Jagex)

As someone who mostly dips into OSRS for the novelty every now and again, I’m positively stoked that it’s finally adding a new skill. It’s uncommon enough for such an old-fashioned MMO to thrive this long, let alone implement new features in line with its antiquated sense of design. Time will tell how it’ll measure up to the game’s other 23 skills, but its ambitious scope is a breath of fresh air—something you can’t always count on in a game built to live in the past.

If you’re itching to hoist the sails, Old School RuneScape is free to download on Steam.

Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...

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