Wyrmscraig - Unique Rewards
Thanks for all the discussion following our recent blog. We really appreciate all of your feedback! Based on what we've seen, we're excited to make a few changes that we think are a better fit for Wyrmscraig. As this content is set to launch later this month, we're keen to get polling, so let us know what you think before the poll begins tomorrow! One of the biggest discussion points was our initial proposal for the Ornate Glassblowing Pipe. While the reward was certainly useful, many of you felt it didn't feel particularly exciting or on theme for Wyrmscraig and its rewards. After chatting things through with Gnome, the player who designed Wyrmscraig, we'd like to make a few changes that we think are a better fit for the island while still filling the same reward space. With that in mind, we're replacing the Ornate Glassblowing Pipe with the Jeweller's Chisel. Rather than improving Glassblowing, the Jeweller's Chisel is designed to make cutting gems a little more rewarding while giving some more quality of life to lower-tier gems. Additionally, we're removing our proposed Basalt Amulet based on your feedback. It was clear that introducing another dedicated teleport amulet felt like unnecessary teleport bloat to many of you. Since we don't have enough time before launch to make broader changes like adding new teleports to the Player Owned House Jewellery Box, we're instead adding Wyrmscraig's teleports onto existing items. Keep reading for more details!
The Jeweller's Chisel replaces the Ornate Glassblowing Pipe as a reward from Golem Crafting, and offers the following effects:
- •A 20% increased chance to successfully cut Opals, Jades and Topaz.
- •A 10% chance to cut two gems at once when cutting any gem.
- •Guaranteed success when cutting:
- •Opals at Level 62.
- •Jades at Level 71.
- •Topaz at Level 76.
We loved the suggestions you had about alternative rewards and we cooked this up to provide a meaningful boost to gem cutting without pushing Crafting XP beyond existing higher-level training methods. We also like that this gives Opals, Jades and Topaz a little more love by removing the frustration of breaking them once you've reached the appropriate level. Please note that the Jeweller's Chisel is not wieldable and only works when cutting uncut gems. As we mentioned in our previous blog, we need to keep rewards within scope, and this design allows us to do that by limiting its interactions with other items and activities across the game. Poll Question: Would you like us to add the Jeweller's Chisel from Sunstone Golem Crafting as described?
We've made some adjustments to the Wyrmscraig teleports after seeing feedback that they could be streamlined better. The Basalt Amulet is no more and has been completely removed from our proposal based on your feedback. We're offering a general Teleport to Wyrmscraig on the Necklace of Passage, unlocked after completing Fallen From Grace. This places you just west of the central camp and will become the primary way of returning to Wyrmscraig for activities like Goat Hunting and Sunstone Golem Crafting. Poll Question: Would you like us to add a Teleport to Wyrmscraig as a reward via the Necklace of Passage, a reward from completing Fallen From Grace? As a result of these changes, we're no longer offering a direct teleport to the Sunstone Mine as it won't be needed. Since the Necklace of Passage only has five charges, it's slightly less convenient than the previously proposed Basalt Amulet. However, we think the more central location will make it a worthwhile trade-off. We're also adding a teleport to Wyrmscraig's Cavern on the Slayer Ring, unlocked after completing Fallen From Grace. The aim here is to give you a way to easily get to Mortimer much more easily. Poll Question:Would you like us to add a teleport to Wyrmscraig's Cavern to the Slayer Ring, unlocked after completing Fallen From Grace? Finally, we're proposing a Boss Teleport Scroll as a unique drop from the boss itself. This scroll will teleport you directly outside the Cathedral entrance, making repeat attempts much less of a trek. The scroll will be tradeable and can be stored within the Master scroll book like any other teleport scroll. Those of you who haven't obtained the scroll can still use the other Wyrmscraig teleports or sail back to the island as normal. Poll Question: Would you like us to add Boss Teleport scrolls to the loot table of the repeatable boss encounter on Wrymscraig?
Back in May, we polled new activities on Wyrmscraig, a new island designed by community member Gnome (under his pseudonym: RoseNMcGeet), as part of our Player Designed Island competition! Wyrmscraig offers a little bit of something for everyone: a new Slayer Master, an exciting boss fight, and two new skilling methods for Hunter and Crafting. We were thrilled with your response to everything we shared on Wyrmscraig during our Summer Campfire. If you haven't checked it out yet, please go take a read! Today, we're here to talk about the rewards from these activities, and most importantly, get your feedback to help shape them. This content is set to launch in late July, so this is your chance to have your say before launch. Let's get started.
This epic encounter is shaping up to be anything but 'mini'! We won't spoil too much of it, but we will discuss its rewards. They need polling, after all. As a reminder, this boss is aimed at players who have achieved a Fire Cape: those who are actively progressing through the PvM mid-game. As a result, its rewards will be intended for the mid-game. You'll fight this boss during the Quest itself, and repeatable clears will be much easier for players who learn and engage with its mechanics. There will be several damage windows that reward highly consistent hits. Without spoiling too many mechanics, there will be several opportunities throughout the fight where you receive bonuses to your damage. As a result, we expect this boss to award a healthy amount of combat XP - higher than comparable bosses which should be quite useful if you're a mid-game player looking to increase your melee stats!
Defeating this boss gives you a chance to obtain a unique drop: Hallowfell.
If you can’t see the image above, click here! This is a powerful two-handed weapon requiring 75 Attack to wield. We've designed this reward as a melee alternative for multi-target combat situations, such as Slayer tasks or any other fights where enemies naturally group together. Think areas like Theatre of Blood's Nylocas room or Tombs of Amascut's Baboon Party.
If you can’t see the image above, click here! When you strike a target, Hallowfell cleaves through nearby enemies, damaging up to two additional enemies in the three tiles in front of you and the two tiles adjacent to you for up to half of your maximum hit. For a visualization of this, please see the following image as a mock-up:
If you can’t see the image above, click here! This works slightly different from the Scythe of Vitur. It has a wider area of effect, and only unique targets can take these additional hits, meaning it won't trigger multiple hits on larger enemies. Unlike the Scythe of Vitur which halves it's damage for each target it hits, the Hallowfell will only do that once, so it will have it's max hit reduced by 50% against both it's second and third targets. When hitting three targets, we expect Hallowfell to be the strongest melee weapon (by a significant margin) if you can keep up 3 target cleave consistently.
If you can’t see the image above, click here! Poll Question: Would you like us to add Hallowfell as a reward from Wyrmscraig's boss fight as described? During development, we explored Gnome's earlier concept for the sword that had multiple different combat modes. While we loved the idea, testing showed that it didn't fit particularly well with our existing equipment design and was difficult to balance in a way that felt consistently fun to use. Rather than shipping something that didn't meet our expectations, we went back to the drawing board and landed on this new design, which we hope you'll love!
6th July: Please note, this reward has been altered based on community feedback. Finally, we're proposing a Boss Teleport Scroll as a unique drop from the boss itself. This scroll will teleport you directly outside the Cathedral entrance, making repeat attempts much less of a trek. The scroll will be tradeable and can be stored within the Master scroll book like any other teleport scroll. Those of you who haven't obtained the scroll can still use the other Wyrmscraig teleports or sail back to the island as normal. Poll Question:Would you like us to add Boss Teleport scrolls to the loot table of the repeatable boss encounter on Wrymscraig?
The Mad Angel will occasionally drop Granite Dust. Thematically, we think Granite Dust is a natural fit for this encounter, but it's also really practical to supplement existing sources of Granite Dust since they're pretty rare. This fight won't dramatically change how Granite Dust is obtained, but it should make gathering it a little more convenient as you build up your supply over time!
If you can’t see the image above, click here! Lastly, you'll have a chance of getting a Boss Jar befitting any respectable Player Owned House, and of course, a brand-new pet. After all, who wouldn't want a slightly mad, tiny angel following them around Gielinor? At least this one can't ask for GP.
Once you complete Fallen From Grace, you'll unlock Sunstone Golem Crafting. This is a new Crafting training method that competes with existing options such as Glassblowing. Many of you told us that this activity should offer stronger XP rates than Glassblowing, particularly with the introduction of momentum (a new mechanic that rewards higher-intensity play) and the extra requirement of Hunter Furs for the activity, giving these items a use case within the game. We're taking that feedback into consideration and developing the content with it in mind. Our balancing assumptions are based on players gathering fur from the goats on the island as part of the intended gameplay loop. Under those conditions, you can expect XP rates that are broadly comparable to Glassblowing. However, for those of you who choose to bring pre-gathered furs, or purchase higher-tier furs from other players, you will be able to achieve higher Crafting XP rates. We'd also like to reinforce that Glassblowing is partially limited by seaweed production, which is time-gated. Sunstone Golem Crafting, on the other hand, offers XP much more on-demand. This means Golem Crafting fills a different niche within the skill, providing an alternative training method that can be engaged with whenever you choose, while also rewarding those who invest in higher-tier materials or play more efficiently. Now that we've covered XP, it's time to explore the unique items you can obtain from the activity. Whilst XP is the primary reward, we're planning to offer a few new unlocks along the way. Let's take a look!
6th July: Please note, this reward has been altered based on community feedback. The Jeweller's Chisel replaces the Ornate Glassblowing Pipe as a reward from Golem Crafting, and offers the following effects:
- •A 20% increased chance to successfully cut Opals, Jades and Topaz.
- •A 10% chance to cut two gems at once when cutting any gem.
- •Guaranteed success when cutting:
- •Opals at Level 62.
- •Jades at Level 71.
- •Topaz at Level 76.
We loved the suggestions you had about alternative rewards and cooked this up to provide a meaningful boost to gem cutting without pushing Crafting XP beyond existing higher-level training methods. We also like that this gives Opals, Jades and Topaz a little more love by removing the frustration of breaking them once you've reached the appropriate level. Please note that the Jeweller's Chisel is not wieldable and only works when cutting uncut gems. As we mentioned in our previous blog, we need to keep rewards within scope, and this design allows us to do that by limiting its interactions with other items and activities across the game. Poll Question: Would you like us to add the Jeweller's Chisel from Sunstone Golem Crafting as described?
We'd also like to include a small quantity of stardust from this reward as it is thematically appropriate, but we don't expect it to contribute significantly to the Crafting XP of the activity.
Goat Hunting is designed to be a high intensity activity aimed at players with 60 - 80 Hunter. As with Golem Crafting, the primary focus of this activity is experience rather than unique rewards.
If you can’t see the image above, click here!
We've seen plenty of discussion around Mr McGroot since revealing Goat Hunting, and we'd like to hear your thoughts. Some of you have raised concerns about adding another Hunter pet, particularly as the skill already features several activity-specific pets. We've also seen suggestions to add Mr McGroot as a transmog instead. While we've explored that option, there aren't currently any existing pets that we feel would be a natural fit for a Mr McGroot transmog. Additionally, if we decided to go that route, then players who obtain the transmog wouldn't be able to use it until achieving the original pet, which can make the drop feel worse in some cases. Before finalising our plans, we'd like to put the decision in your hands. We don't usually poll pet additions, but given the volume of feedback on this topic, we'd like to hear from you to get some additional data before we make a final decision on this. (Ranked Choice) Poll Question: Which approach would you prefer us to take regarding Mr McGroot?
- •Mr McGroot is an individual pet
- •Mr McGroot is a transmog for another pet
- •Mr McGroot is not offered
Please note, if it' a transmog, you would have to have acquired the other pet separately before using it.
Goat Horns are the most common reward obtained from hunting goats on Wyrmscraig. These fit naturally with the activity and provide a useful supply of Goat Horn Dust for Combat Potions, giving Hunters an additional way to gather a familiar Herblore ingredient.
Goat Fur can be used during Sunstone Golem Crafting to clothe your golems, helping to create a link between the two activities. It won't provide the highest-quality fur for XP, however it will provide a way to engage with both activities while remaining on the island, allowing you to stay there indefinitely if you want to. Some of the furs used in Sunstone Golem Crafting can currently be bought in shops. That was fine when they had little use, but as we're making them a key resource within this activity, we'll be reviewing Hunter fur shop stock over the coming weeks. Our aim is to ensure that Hunter remains the primary way to obtain furs used in Sunstone Golem Crafting. This is intended for the gameplay loop of this activity, and it also helps to address concerns around ShopScape, something we know most of you generally dislike. Additionally, higher-quality furs will require a higher Crafting level to use. This reduces the impact of shops, since you'll still need to meet the Crafting level requirements to clothe the Golems. That's a wrap for all of the unique rewards we're polling today! We can't wait to see you all taking your first steps on Wyrmscraig. A huge thanks goes to Gnome for giving us such great material and ideas to work with. As always, your feedback plays a huge part in shaping updates like this one. We'd love to hear what you think ahead of next week's poll, so be sure to let us know your thoughts! One last thing: your feedback on Mortimer hasn't gone unnoticed. We love how well his design has gone down with the community, and we understand that balancing him is really important. While you won't find him in today's reward blog, we're still busy testing, tweaking and balancing him behind the scenes. Trust us, he's keeping us occupied!