Deep Sea Diving Expansion

A sneak peek below the sea. Don't read too much into the pink cube, it's what we use for placeholder assets and is not an easter egg or deep lore tidbit... Using the equipment you'll create during the quest, you'll be able to dive deep beneath Gielinor's oceans at a variety of locations called diving sites. Think of these diving sites as being similar to small islands, except you're in a high-pressure environment far below the waves - they're actually very quaint locales if you just don't think about it too much. There will be a number of these sites dotted around, each with their own Sailing level requirements to be able dive there, and each with different activities to participate in. Some might be simple areas particularly rich in a certain skilling resource, some might contain familiar monsters are serve as new areas for Slayer tasks, while others might contain entirely new enemies or resources. We're planning to start with a smaller complement of these so that we can set the tone and figure out what works for you, then we'll look at add more over time - just like any other content update or new area. Let's take a look at some of the activities on offer under the sea, we hope that at least one of these proposals enraptures you.

At two sites, you'll mind mineral-rich areas nestled near hydrothermal vents spewing out hot water. These vents allow for jewellery to be smelted in a highly efficient manner, while the rich minerals nearby are full of glittering goods to be smelted!

The low-level Jewellery Production diving site would contain:

• •Some silver and gold rocks.
• •Some gem rocks, identical to the ones found at Shilo Village.
• •A hydrothermal vent acting as a spot for a buildable magical furnace, which automatically sends your smelted jewellery to the bank using teleportation magicks.

The high-level Jewellery Production diving site would contain:

• •Some silver and gold rocks, with faster respawn rates than their mainland equivalents.
• •Two new types of gem rock:

Precious gem rocks (requires 65 Mining) which provide uncut sapphires, emeralds, rubies and diamonds when mined.

• •Exotic - calling them semi-precious feels rude - gem rocks (requires 75 Mining) which provide uncut opals, jades and red topazes.
• •A hydrothermal vent acting as a spot for a buildable magical furnace, which automatically sends your smelted jewellery to the bank using teleportation magicks.

Question #2 If Burial at Sea and the ability to go deep sea diving are added, should we add the Jewellery Production Areas outlined in the blog? These new areas feature gem rocks and a hydrothermal vent to act as a furnace, which can be upgraded to automatically bank your smelted jewllery.

At one site, you'll navigate to a cave which isn't flooded. Here you can interrogate a nearby Farmer and a Tool Leprechaun as to why on Gielinor he's in an underwater cave, and also gain access to some more Farming patches:

• •A spirit tree patch, for easy returns
• •A celastrus tree patch
• •A mushroom patch
• •A hardwood tree patch

While most people would squirm at the thought of spending much time in a damp underwater cave, it seems like this one will be well worth your while to revisit! Question #3 If Burial at Sea and the ability to go deep sea diving are added, should we add a new underwater Farming area, as described in the blog? This area would feature a Spirit Tree patch, a Celastrus Tree patch, a Mushroom patch and a Hardwood Tree patch.

For those of you seeking a little more action underwater, one diving site features a handful of Slayer creatures, a helpful addition for anybody engaging with Mortimer regularly. At this site you'll find a large multi-combat area containing:

• •Depth Crawlers

Higher-level (~level 60) variants of Cave Crawlers, featuring their own superior version and loot table.

• •Drowned Mages

Higher level (~level 85) variants of Infernal Mages, featuring their own superior version and loot table.

• •Jellies

Just regular jellies! Question #4 If Burial at Sea and the ability to go deep sea diving are added, should we add new low- and mid-level Slayer areas as described in the blog? These would feature higher level variants of Cave Crawlers and Infernal Mages (with their own Superior variants and loot tables) as well as regular Jellies.

Perhaps you're not content with familiar faces and want to take on something a little more otherworldly. One diving site will take you close to an abyssal portal, ferrying a variety of Ch'thonian horrors both old and new into Gielinor's oceans. At this site you'd be able to take on:

• •Abyssal Demons
• •Abyssal Rock Slugs

Higher-level (~level 70) variants of Rock Slugs, featuring their own superior version and loot table.

• •These don't require salt to kill, we're already underwater after all.
• •Abyssal Arbalests

Require level 79 Slayer

• •Abyssal Arbalests are a type of Abyssal that we've never seen before, they'll bombard you with Heavy Ranged attacks and try their best to maintain a comfortable distance using their pesky teleportation capabilities.

Abyssal Arbalests are the more interesting addition here as a new Slayer monster unlocked at 79 Slayer, positioned as a reasonably relaxed Slayer task with a solid regular loot table. In line with what feels like our standard approach these days, we'd look to add these to core Slayer masters (including Nieve and Duradel) with a medium weighting but low quantity so that players who don't fancy killing these can blitz through them. We'll add an extension unlock for players who enjoy them as a task or want to chase their most interesting drop: the Abyssal gland (the name's a placeholder right now but it seems fairly accurate). The Abyssal gland is a brand new, untradeable item only obtained from Abyssal Arbalests. The Dark Mage inside the Abyss seems particularly interested in these new foes, and will deepen your understanding of Runecraft in return. If you show him the Abyssal gland he'll take it off your hands and he'll share some ancient wisdom with you, allowing you to triple (3x) the durability of your Runecraft pouches forever more, as a permanent unlock. The aim here is that this would serve as a nice Runecraft QoL upgrade with significantly less variance than obtaining an Abyssal Lantern from Guardians of the Rift (or let you use different types of log more frequently), this should add a little extra desirability to Abyssal Arbalest tasks on top of them being a decent task with solid loot in their own right! Question #5 If Burial at Sea and the ability to go deep sea diving are added, should we add the new Abyssal Slayer area, including the new Abyssal Arbalest monster, as described in the blog? Question #6 If the Abyssal Arbalest is added, should it drop the Abyssal Gland? This is an untradeable item that can be shown to the Dark Mage in order to triple the durability of your Runecraft pouches.

For our final diving site, we've got another addition to the catalogue of 'underwater skilling activities that focus on hybrid XP gains'. If you gave us £1 for every one of these (including this one), we'd have £3, which admittedly isn't much but it is fun that it's happened three times! You'll have to use your Thieving skills to somehow tempt the clams into opening up, then rely on a binding spell to make sure the clam remains open while you rummage around in there, stealing valuables and earning Thieving XP. We're looking at loot tables that feature stackable items so that you're able to stay here for an extended period of time, with the occasional 'jackpot' treasure for a nice sum of High Alchemy fuel. Additionally, you'll have a rare chance at snagging some of the sails from less-fortunate ships. Just like they say, one clam's trash is another adventurer's treasure! We're proposing three varieties of clam, split up as follows:

• •Clam — Thieving Level Required — Spell Required — Notable Drops
• •Crab-eater Clam — 46 — Bind (Magic Lvl 20) — Damaged Sail Shiny Pearl (3k HA) Bright Pearl (6k HA)
• •Man-eater Clam — 63 — Snare (Magic Lvl 50) — Jolly Roger Sail Big Pearl (15k HA) Huge Pearl (30k HA)
• •Shark-eater Clam — 83 — Entangle (Magic Lvl 79) — Dragon Sail Enormous Pearl (60k HA)

To top all of this off, we'll have a handful of additional charting tasks for you to complete, and plenty of lore or environmental storytelling tidbits for any of you looking to really immerse yourself - both literally and figuratively - in some the oceans' deepest, darkest pockets. Here's a quick look through the new patterns!

Damaged Sail Pattern

Jolly Roger Sail Pattern

Dragon Sail Pattern Question #7 If Burial at Sea and the ability to go deep sea diving are added, should we add the Omnivorous Clams, as described in the blog? These are a hybrid Magic/Thieving activity with a solid loot table and the chance for three new sail cosmetics (the Damaged Sail, the Jolly Roger Sail and the Dragon Sail). That's deep sea diving & the Burial at Sea quest! A brand new adventure featuring revenge and mystery in equal parts, with plenty of new locations to unlock for those willing to brave the briny deeps! Polls open soon so make sure to share your thoughts with us and then have your say in-game!