Slayer & More Updates!

Hey adventurers! The Summer Sweep Up continues in Old School RuneScape, and the latest update on August 27th, 2025, brings a substantial wave of quality-of-life improvements, particularly focusing on Slayer and various other game mechanics. This comprehensive patch aims to streamline your gameplay, make Slayer training more intuitive, and introduce several important fixes. Let's break down the key changes you need to know.

Slayer Reimagined: Block Lists, Metal Dragons, and Point Rebalance

The biggest highlight of this update is undoubtedly the series of enhancements to the Slayer skill. Jagex has listened to player feedback, implementing changes that grant more control and efficiency over your task assignments and point spending.

Blocklists: Your Tasks, Your Rules

No longer are you stuck with a single, universal block list! Each Slayer Master now boasts their own individual block list. This means you can tailor your blocked tasks specifically to the master you're currently using, without affecting assignments from others.

  • Individual Blocking: Blocking a task for Duradel won't stop Nieve from assigning it. This allows for highly optimized blocking strategies depending on your goals and preferred master.
  • Refunds: If you had tasks blocked previously, the points spent will be automatically refunded upon login.
  • Shared Lists: Turael, Aya, and Spria still share a block list due to their introductory nature. All other masters have unique lists.
  • Varying Costs: The cost to block a task now varies by Slayer Master, ranging from 40 points for the lower-tier masters up to 100 points for Duradel, Kuradal, and Krystilia.
  • User Interface: A new "View List" option on the Slayer Rewards tab visually indicates which tasks are blockable, already blocked, or unassignable by the selected master.

This change is massive for optimizing Slayer training and maximizing profit or experience. For a deeper dive into optimizing your blocking, check out our OSRS Slayer Block List Guide.

Alloyed Adventures with Metal Dragons

The frustrating variety of Metal Dragon tasks has been streamlined! Bronze, Iron, Steel, Mithril, Adamant, and Runite dragons are now all combined into a single, unified "Metal Dragons" Slayer task.

  • Consolidated Task: Killing any of these metal dragons will now contribute to your "Metal Dragons" task.
  • Flexible Quantities: Tasks now start with a lower kill count (30-50 dragons) but can be extended up to 150-200, offering more flexibility.
  • Automatic Conversion/Refund: Any existing metal dragon tasks in progress were automatically converted, and points spent on previous unlocks/extensions for individual metal dragons were refunded.

This change significantly improves the player experience for these tasks, making them less rigid and more enjoyable.

Slayer Unlocks Get a Point Makeover

Several key Slayer point unlocks have seen their costs dramatically reduced, making essential utility more accessible to players.

  • Slug Salter: 80 points → 10 points
  • Reptile Freezer: 90 points → 10 points
  • Ring Bling: 300 points → 150 points
  • Bigger and Badder: 150 points → 50 points

If you've already purchased these unlocks, you'll receive a full refund of the difference in points upon login. This is a welcome change that makes quality-of-life Slayer unlocks less of a grind.

Lunar Key Drop Rates Updated

For those adventuring in the Twilight Temple dungeon, the drop rates for Lunar Keys have been adjusted to provide a fairer experience across all combat levels. Bosses like Amoxliatl (1/150) and Hueycoatl (1/75) offer better chances, while various standard monsters in the dungeon have had their rates tweaked. This should make the pursuit of Lunar Keys a more balanced endeavor.

Rune Pouch Availability Expanded

The invaluable Rune Pouch is now more accessible! You can now acquire it from the Mage Training Arena for 150 Telekinetic, 150 Graveyard, 1500 Enchantment, and 200 Alchemist points. This provides an alternative to PvP content for players seeking this crucial inventory-saving item.

Other Notable Slayer & Skilling Improvements

  • Task Storage Cost Reduction: The Task Storage unlock from Slayer rewards has been halved, from 1000 points to 500 points. Existing purchasers will receive a 500-point refund.
  • Wilderness Slayer Task Storage: You can now use Slayer Task Storage for Wilderness Slayer tasks, a huge quality-of-life boost for those venturing into the wilderness.
  • Granite Hammer Buff: The Granite hammer now boasts a 30% Golembane effect, dealing increased damage and accuracy against all golem-type creatures, including Gargoyles and all phases of Grotesque Guardians.
  • Unnoted Herbs: Selected Slayer creatures now drop unnoted herbs, allowing for more effective use of the herb sack.
  • Low-Level Slayer Master Buffs: Mazchna and Vannaka now award more Slayer points per task (6 and 8 respectively), with updated milestone multipliers, making early-game Slayer more rewarding.
  • Mark of Darkness Duration: Mark of Darkness now lasts 3 minutes by default.
  • Potion Storage Improvement: You can now add potions to existing stacks in Potion Storage even if your bank is full.
  • Reagent Pouch Fixes: Various Reagent Pouch quality-of-life fixes, including automatic "Fill" or "Empty" options and proper handling of secondary ingredients during potion making.

Permanent Deadman Changes

The Summer Sweep Up also brings several important updates to Permanent Deadman and Tournament Deadman, addressing long-standing issues and improving gameplay balance.

  • Drop Rate Multipliers: Hespori, Golden Tench, Royal Titans, and Yama uniques have been added to the drop rate multiplier.
  • Ancient Crystals for Unskulled: Unskulled players can now obtain Ancient Crystals from Revenants.
  • 1 Defence King's Ransom: 1 Defence accounts can now complete King's Ransom by wearing specific black robes to bypass knights.
  • Double Dragon Bones: Black and Green Dragons in the Wilderness now always drop double dragon bones.
  • Araxxor Slayer XP: Araxxor now awards Slayer XP when on task.

Other General Changes & Fixes

Beyond Slayer and Deadman, a host of other changes and bug fixes improve the overall game experience:

  • Royal Titans Loot: Required contribution for 100% loot from Royal Titans has been slightly lowered, ensuring poison or thralls don't affect loot quantities.
  • Castle Drakan Agility Shortcut: The Agility requirement for the Castle Drakan shortcut has been raised to 86.
  • Boss Kill Count Integration: Recent bosses like Amoxliatl, Araxxor, Whisperer, Leviathan, and Vardorvis now contribute to the Combat Achievements interface's total boss kill count.
  • Castle Wars Fixes: Dragon and Zamorak spear special attacks in Castle Wars now use original shove mechanics, and bandages no longer overheal on non-Castle Wars themed worlds.
  • Hueycoatl Instance Fixes: Hueycoatl private instances now properly adjust for player counts when participants leave.
  • Bottomless Compost Bucket: The 'Fill' and 'Check' options are now separated for convenience.

Combat Achievements Coming Soon!

Mark your calendars! The highly anticipated Dooms Combat Achievements are set to release on September 3rd. Get ready to test your mettle and earn those prestigious rewards!

The August 27th Summer Sweep Up update delivers a significant overhaul to Slayer, making it more flexible and rewarding, alongside crucial fixes and improvements across the game. These changes highlight Jagex's commitment to continuously refining the Old School RuneScape experience.

Happy 'Scaping!