The old version of Runescape has a new expansion

Yeah, I don’t get it either

Adding new content to Runescape Old School, the server which aims to recreate when the game was in its glory days, seems kind of weird to me. If the whole point of it is that it’s a nostalgia-fueled romp through the game that stole every waking moment of my 12-year-old life, why are they adding new stuff to it?

Either way, Jagex have introduced the continent of Zeah to the game. At the moment, it only features one city, Great Kourend, however further additions to the continent are planned for future updates. Great Kourend has five houses at each other’s throats, and it’s up to you to decide who you’re loyal to.

Each house seems to be based on a range of skills. For example, House Hosidius has an emphasis on farming and cooking, whereas Arceuss (not the Pokémon) is more focused on magic, runecrafting and prayer.

The big mechanical introduction are the minigames related to each house, which offer a quicker way of levelling up your skills. I remember spending upwards of 12+ hours a day when I was at my lowest point, simply carting fish to the nearest bank so I could flog them later. Being able to do that quicker sounds both great and kind of sad. It was weirdly pleasant to just chill with players you’ve never met before while grinding skills, and I hope these new minigames kept that feel intact.               

You can head to Zeah in-game right now, by talking to Veos in Port Sarim. You can find a full breakdown of what the update includes on the Runescape blog.

As far as updates go, I’m pretty impressed at how extensive this is. I’m still trying to see how it fits into Old School, though.