On July 29, Old School RuneScape gets its first player-designed island: Wyrmscraig, a Gaelic-inspired outcrop of basalt columns in the Unquiet Ocean. Community member ScreteMonge submitted the design as “RoseNMcGeet”, an anagram, and Jagex refined it through months of open polling. The update includes a new quest, a repeatable boss, a two-handed sword, a Crafting method, a Hunter activity, and the first new Slayer Master in roughly seven years.
Each part of the update can affect the market. These are the details that matter for GE traders.
The basics
Wyrmscraig requires 62 Sailing to dock. Its introductory quest, Fallen From Grace, also requires 60 Crafting, 47 Runecraft, and 53 Mining. Most of the island’s content unlocks during or after the quest. Jagex confirmed the launch date in its July 16 announcement, followed by a Q&A livestream on July 23 and a Reddit AMA with the island’s designer on July 24.
The reward poll passed with these results from 68,300 total votes:
| Polled reward | Yes vote |
|---|---|
| Hallowfell (boss weapon) | 93.1% |
| Slayer ring teleport to Wyrmscraig Caverns | 90.7% |
| Boss teleport scrolls | 88.3% |
| Jeweller’s chisel | 87.0% |
| Necklace of passage teleport | 80.4% |
Mortimer: the first new Slayer Master in seven years
Jagex’s July 24 balancing blog set Mortimer’s mechanics. They are more restrictive than the original teaser suggested, which matters for the supply of his rewards.
Unlocking him requires either 100 Combat and 70 Slayer, or 99 Slayer regardless of Combat, plus access to Wyrmscraig Caverns during Fallen From Grace. Most players will not unlock him on day one.
Mortimer’s assignment choices have several limits. He offers two assignments at once, with a third unlocking after 100 completed tasks. Skipping one costs 100 Slayer Points, Turael cannot reset a Mortimer assignment, and only two block slots are available at 120 points each. Every task now carries a guaranteed modifier. The original design gave modifiers only a chance to appear, but Jagex found that random modifiers on an evenly weighted task pool produced too many unrewarding assignments.
Modifiers unlock on a fixed schedule tied to tasks completed for Mortimer specifically:
| Tasks completed | Unlocks |
|---|---|
| 0 | Slayer Point modifier |
| 0 | Task Quantity modifier |
| 25 | Clue Scroll modifier |
| 50 | Slayer XP modifier |
| 75 | Superior Unique% modifier |
| 100 | Third task choice |
The fifth modifier changed during balancing. Jagex originally planned to boost Superior spawn rates, but found that this raised Slayer XP too much and would have interrupted AFK tasks more often. The final version raises your chance to hit the superior creature’s unique drop table when a superior appears, without changing the spawn rate. For trading, that means a smaller supply change than the original design.
Mortimer also adds one new creature no other master offers: Venators, unlocked via the Blood Moon Rises quest rather than a Slayer Rewards Shop purchase, with no comparable data trail yet.
Jagex estimates that Mortimer could reduce the Imbued Heart grind from roughly 80 to 100 hours at the top end of the current Araxytes and Smoke Devils via Turael-skip meta at Duradel to roughly 65 to 80 hours once the third task slot is unlocked. Duradel still wins long-run XP per hour as more block slots unlock, so Mortimer is an Imbued Heart specialist rather than a full replacement.
The Mad Angel and Hallowfell
The island’s boss, The Mad Angel, is fought once during the quest and then unlocked as a repeatable mid-level encounter. Jagex describes it as a next step for players who have earned a Fire Cape. The original player submission uses a parry mechanic reminiscent of Sol Heredit and a directional weakness system.
Her headline drop is Hallowfell, a two-handed sword requiring 75 Attack: +117 slash, +110 strength, and a +4 Prayer bonus. Its passive cleaves through up to two additional enemies near your target for up to half your max hit. Jagex is explicit about the niche: it is a multi-target Slayer weapon, and single-target weapons will usually beat it one-on-one. The boss also drops granite dust and teleport scrolls back to itself.
Golem Crafting and Goat Hunting
Sunstone Golem Crafting unlocks after the quest and is an alternative to glassblowing. It gives higher XP rates when played attentively and similar or slightly lower rates when AFK. Its unique reward is the Jeweller’s chisel, which can cut two gems at once and guarantees success when cutting opals, jades, and topaz.
Goat Hunting is a new Hunter activity for levels 60 to 80, requiring completion of Sheep Herder, with a pet (Mr McGroot) confirmed as an individual pet after community feedback.
For traders, the relevant detail in Jagex’s launch post is that Golem Crafting consumes hunter furs. The announcement tells players to “stock up on them before it launches.”
Trading considerations
Hunter furs are the clearest trade to watch. Jagex told players to stock up on them two weeks before launch, which could create a demand spike. Furs from the Hunter skill (Graahk fur, Kyatt fur, Larupia fur, Common kebbit fur, and related items) have historically been low-value, high-supply items with generous buy limits. The accepted furs will determine which items benefit, so any position before July 29 is speculative. The market should give a clearer signal once players confirm consumption rates.
The Imbued Heart thesis changed with the July 24 balancing blog. The original design would have increased how often superiors spawned, which would have created a larger supply increase. The shipped modifier instead raises the chance of hitting the superior unique table when a superior appears, without changing spawn frequency. That is a smaller supply change than “more superiors killed per day.” Jagex’s estimate of a grind falling from roughly 80 to 100 hours to roughly 65 to 80 hours implies a moderate increase in Heart throughput after the 75-task unlock, not a flood. Treat Imbued heart as facing gradual supply pressure over the weeks after launch. Eternal gem should see a smaller effect because Nechryael have a reduced task weighting, 8 instead of the standard 10, in Mortimer’s pool.
Low-tier gems may benefit. The Jeweller’s chisel guarantees successful cuts on opals, jades, and topaz and can double-cut gems. That could lift demand for Uncut opal, Uncut jade, and Uncut red topaz. Watch volume after launch instead of buying ahead of the data. The effect depends on the actual Golem Crafting XP rate.
Do not buy Hallowfell on day one. New uniques from farmable mid-level bosses often start high because supply is scarce, then fall as more players farm them. A boss tuned for Fire Cape-tier players will have a large potential farming base from launch. If you want the sword to use, wait a week or two. If you want to trade it, early selling is safer than holding through the first supply wave.
Check what is already priced in. The rewards blog went out June 26 and the launch date was announced July 16, so traders have had weeks to position. If a fur or gem has already risen sharply without new information, the early part of the trade may be gone. Our update speculation guide covers this cycle in more detail.
Dates to Watch
- July 23: Q&A livestream (fresh details can move prices)
- July 24: Jagex published Mortimer’s full balancing blog, confirming the 100 Combat/70 Slayer (or 99 Slayer) unlock, the modifier unlock schedule, the scrapped superior-spawn-rate boost, and the 65 to 80 hour Imbued Heart estimate, all reflected above
- July 29: launch day, when consumption rates and drop rates become real data
Once Wyrmscraig items begin trading, they will appear in the market table automatically, and anything meeting our Best Bets thresholds will surface in Top Picks.
Related reading: Grand Exchange Bets: The Risk of Update Speculation covers the buy-the-rumor cycle this launch will follow, and Decoding the OSRS Market covers reading the price action once it starts.