OSRS Quest Month begins: two surprise quests, Fractured Archive loot rates and Hardcore Worlds on November 4

Update, November 5: the Name Release is live. See our Name Release 2026 batch schedule.

Old School RuneScape’s November 3 update kicks off Quest Month with two surprise quests, gives XP to old quests that had none, tidies up Lumbridge and brings a long list of Fractured Archive fixes plus the raid’s official loot rates. It also confirms that Hardcore Worlds opened on November 4, at 11:00 UTC (8 AM in Brazil), all from the official news post.

Hardcore Worlds: what to know

Update, November 4: Jagex said one player found a way to leave Tutorial Island flagged as a Hardcore Worlds character before launch, built wealth on normal worlds and carried it in when the mode went live. That player and their alts were banned about 1.5 hours after launch. Of roughly 115.6M coins brought in, Jagex removed about 103.2M before it spread, and says it is still tracking the remaining ~12.4M. New safety measures were added, and Jagex found no other abuse (including Clan Coffers or the PvP Arena). Source: official statement on gold smuggling.

All the groundwork shipped on November 3. Talk to Death’s Delegate, next to the Iron Tutor on Tutorial Island, to become a hardcore character, finish the tutorial and wait in Death’s Office. When the worlds open at 11:00 UTC you can hop straight in, and Jagex will send a broadcast confirming it. New to the game? Our OSRS beginner’s guide covers accounts, membership and Ironman modes.

Quest Month: two surprise quests

Jagex is keeping the quests secret. One is a humorous early-game quest for new players, worth 1 Quest Point and four combat lamps of 500 XP. The other is a dark mystery with little guidance, worth 1 Quest Point, 2,500 Thieving XP, 2,500 Agility XP and the new Amulet of Sight (+10 Ranged Attack, tradeable, no level requirement, also sold by Hudson).

Questing quality of life also arrived: new quest list sorting (in-progress first, completed last), a better recommended order for beginners, Daddy’s Home as a full quest with a minimap icon and 1 Quest Point, and an optional 0 to 5 rating prompt when you finish a quest.

Old quests now give XP

Eighteen quests that gave no XP now do, among them Demon Slayer (two 1,000 XP combat lamps), Family Crest (2,000 Mining, Smithing and Crafting XP), Troll Stronghold (2,000 Agility XP) and Throne of Miscellania (1,000 XP in four skills). If you already finished them, claim the XP through Perdu or the Lumbridge Guide, and the lamps from the NPCs who give the quests.

Fractured Archive: fixes and loot rates

Chests in the loot room now appear only after the braziers are lit, Archive Guardian and Ocellus P3 got a circular clickbox, and there are more than a dozen fixes for Ocellus, Ezekiel and the Dagon’hai trio. Jagex also published the loot mechanics:

• Each room is worth 100 contribution (Ocellus 300), split by damage dealt.
• The team rolls a base 1 in 14 for a unique; each player beyond the second adds a multiplicative 4%.
• A death costs 10% of your expected contribution.
• Unique weights: Rondache 5/15, Zorya’s Tome 4/15, Horn of Bran 3/15, Ascension Crossbows 2/15, Obligator 1/15.
• Orion pet 1 in 750, elite clue 1 in 10, Archivist’s Folio 1 in 15, elemental fragments 1 in 20 with dupe protection.

Balance changes, mainly to Archive Guardian and Xarth, come next week. See our Fractured Archive guide and Xarth boss guide.

Bond transfer and name release

The Bond interface can now apply membership from one character’s Bond to another character on the same Jagex Account. The first name release in almost ten years started on November 5 at 11:00 UTC: you must be a member with a skill total of at least 1200 (Jagex raised it again on release day).

More OSRS coverage on our Old School RuneScape hub. Source: Jagex news post, @OldSchoolRS.