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Warding
The ground shook across the land as six ominous rocks rose from the earth in a swirl of magic and rubble. The scholars of the Wizards\' Tower were quick to act and immediately began studying the monolithic monstrosities. They quickly discovered a method of manipulating the energy within the rocks and with various magical tools used it to create armour with impressive capabilities. Some would say this came far too easily. As if they knew exactly what they were doing...
Dive into Old School RuneScape\'s first new skill by discovering the hidden armaments of the Wizards\' Tower and gaining insight into the practice of Warding. There you will learn the intricate art of drawing Wards and channelling Runic energy to create a vast array of armour suited for Witches and Wizards.
To understand the role of Warding, let\'s identify the gap it\'s designed to fill. As Smithing is to Melee and Crafting is to Ranged, Warding is to Magic. Currently, mage equipment is either bought or dropped by monsters rather than created by the player, making Magic an exception to the other two sides of the combat triangle. Warding allows players to channel Runic energy into woven materials and transform them into magical robes and armour. To train Warding, players must draw a Ward onto the ground and use materials they have gathered on it. This channels the power of the Anima Mundi, in the form of Runic energy, into the materials.
The energy will be a tiered resource, meaning that you will gather Mind Energy at one Runic monolith and Death energy at another, for example. The tier of energy you need for Warding will depend on your level and the equipment you wish to create. A conversion system which will allow Runic energy to be upgraded or downgraded, but some will be lost in the process.
You can create four different Soapstones, depending on the runes you use to charge them: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. The more powerful Soapstones will require a higher Warding level to use but have an added benefit. This may take the form of reduced Runic energy consumption but is subject to balancing. You will be able to use Wards drawn by other players to receive the benefit of higher level Soapstones when training, adding a social element to the skill. While you can draw a Ward anywhere, players may choose to Ward at the Runic monolith sites for lower rates of Runic energy use at the cost of being further away from a bank.
Nightmare Zone
Many consider the Nightmare Zone to be overpowered - particularly the reward shop. To make both the Nightmare Zone and Warding feel as thematic and Old School as possible, there is the option to tie the ability to imbue rings and other items to various Warding levels.
Is Warding available to non-members?
Similar to Smithing and Crafting, Warding is designed to be open to free players though the highest-level equipment and specialised items will be members only. We expect the lower level items, up to around level 40, to be available in free to play.
Will Warding be quest locked?
Due to the nature of the skill, we would like it to be accessible as early as possible in the game. Ideally this means shortly after leaving Tutorial Island, prospective mages will be able to create their own equipment the same way warriors and rangers can. With this in mind, we don\'t plan to lock the skill behind a quest. Other skills may help, as Mining does for Smithing, but will not be a requirement.
Can Warding produce BIS equipment?
The goal of Warding is to create viable equipment, particularly for low to medium level players the same way Smithing and Crafting produce up to Rune and Black d\'hide armour. However, Warding provides access to defensive magical armours and will not produce armour with high magical accuracy bonuses. We still expect the top tier magical equipment to include the likes of Ahrim\'s and Ancestral. There is scope for further equipment to be added to Warding if the community sees fit. NB SOULBARK AND BLOODBARK IMAGES
How will Warding affect the economy?
We expect that as a production skill, Warding will stimulate the in-game economy overall. It creates further incentives to train Farming, Hunter and Runecraft. However, it\'s far too early to predict the prices of the resources, materials and created equipment or if the skill will be a good money-making method. Gathering Runic energy could be profitable for players willing to sell to others who don\'t want to get it themselves.
A Video on Warding
Your Feedback
The Warding skill, designed by Mod West excites us a lot and we\'re keen to hear your thoughts. Make sure to give us all the feedback you can to help us shape the concept! We intend to poll Warding later this year. Please make sure you have expanded the various sections to see all of the information in the blog.
Your feedback is invaluable to us, and as such we invite you to be vocal about sharing it with us. Your comments will help us finalise the Warding design before posting the finalised poll blog. Use #OSRSReveals on Twitter, comment on our official forums, the community-led 2007Scape Reddit, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel.