OSRS finally set sail: new skill, 30 islands, and a turtle named Soup — but there’s a catch

OSRS Finally Adds Sailing – Here’s What Actually Changes for Players

Old School RuneScape just did the one thing the community’s argued about for years: it added a brand-new skill. Sailing is live, opening the seas around Gielinor with 30 new islands, boat ownership, hybrid training methods that touch over ten other skills, and yes, a rare turtle pet named Soup. This caught my attention because OSRS almost never messes with its core progression, and when it does, the meta-and economy-shift fast. The Varlamore expansion’s final phase has literally opened the map, and Jagex even brought in Alan Walker to punch up the soundtrack. But beyond the hype, what does this mean for your day-to-day grind?

Key Takeaways

• Members-only and quick onboarding: start via the Pandemonium quest out of Port Sarim (bring a hammer and saw) to unlock your first boat.
• Four core training loops: baseline sailing, exploration, hybrid methods with other skills, and high-attention “specialist” routes.
• Quality-of-life is real: a Teleport to Boat spell and unlockable dock teleports kill a lot of dead travel time.
• New endgame, new economy: 30 islands, new bosses and rare drops, and a pet turtle called Soup—expect price swings and balance tweaks.

What This Changes Day-to-Day

The biggest shift is spatial: Gielinor’s ocean is now actual content, not just blue wallpaper. You’ll own a boat from the jump, then upgrade parts over time—think speed, cargo, durability, and access to riskier waters. It’s progression you can feel. Training-wise, Sailing isn’t a single track; it has loops that aim at different player types. Casual sessions can stick to straightforward tasks and island discovery. Sweatier players can push “specialized” routes for higher XP per hour once they’ve unlocked more systems.

Crucially, Sailing integrates with the rest of OSRS. Hybrid methods mean you can stack progress: fish on new coastlines, craft with newly found resources, fold in combat when slayer-like creatures or bosses show up, then cash out multiple skill ticks from one session. Community estimates put optimal XP around 100-200k/hr depending on setup—faster than grindstones like early Agility, but not the kind of power-creep that trivializes the journey. That’s healthy for a game defined by long-term goals.

Travel friction—usually the killer in skilling updates—sees real fixes here. Teleport to Boat lets you jump straight back to your vessel, and unlockable docks create a fast-travel web across the seas. If you’ve ever rage-quit a session because a two-minute run turned into fifteen, this matters.

The Catch (and the Grind)

Let’s not gloss over it: Sailing is members-only. That’s standard for OSRS’ big content beats, but F2P mains are watching from the shoreline. You also need to clear the Pandemonium quest to start. It’s intentionally approachable and quick—essentially a tutorial set at Port Sarim—but it’s still a gate you have to step through.

Upgrades will likely be resource-gated. Expect early prices on new materials to spike as high-level accounts rush to optimize boat speed and cargo, setting the pace for everyone else. And while the XP rates look reasonable, “specialist” methods might trend sweaty and specific—great for min-maxers, less friendly for players who prefer semi-AFK loops. If Sailing leans too hard on attention-demanding content locked behind upgrade thresholds, mid-level players could feel stuck in the doldrums.

Bosses, Drops, and Soup: The New Endgame

Thirty islands isn’t fluff. Some are resource hubs, others push quests, and a few are home to new bosses themed around the seafaring loop. Early farmers are already chasing unique gear, rare materials for high-tier upgrades, and the inevitable prestige cosmetics. That includes the new turtle pet, Soup—a cheeky bit of OSRS humor that’ll still command serious bragging rights. Early economies are volatile, so if you pull something spicy, decide fast: sell into day-one mania or bet on scarcity later.

The important thing is that Sailing launches as a platform. There’s already a 2026 roadmap with the Red Reef (the second Tortugan quest) and new Port Task types to deepen hybrid training. That’s a sign Jagex isn’t treating this like a one-and-done skill dump. If they keep layering quests, bosses, and ship systems, Sailing stays relevant instead of becoming “that skill you rushed to 99 and never touched again.”

Why Now, and Why It Matters

OSRS hasn’t added a completely new skill since 2006’s Hunter. It’s been a sacred cow because the game’s progression is delicate—change one loop and you can nuke the economy or invalidate years of muscle memory. Jagex spent years polling, prototyping, and running tests specifically to keep Sailing from breaking the game. The Alan Walker collab is neat, but the real W is that Sailing arrives with systems that respect how players actually play: routine-friendly loops for the masses, depth for the diehards, and QoL that cuts the tedium without killing the grind.

What I’ll Be Watching

• Whether optimal XP settles near 100-200k/hr or creeps upward with niche strats.
• How rare boss drops and upgrade mats stabilize—and whether any item breaks existing BIS setups.
• Boat upgrade pacing: does speed feel fair without whale-tier investments?
• Post-launch tuning: are dead sea tiles getting meaningful reasons to visit in updates?

TL;DR

Sailing isn’t a minigame—it’s a new layer for OSRS that opens the map, folds in a bunch of skills, and gives you a boat worth caring about. It’s members-only, onboarding is snappy, travel QoL is strong, and the endgame already has teeth. I’m excited, cautiously. If Jagex keeps the roadmap humming and the balance steady, this could be OSRS’ best long-term update in years.