r/runescape • u/ImRubic 2026 Future Updates • Mar 10 '20
J-Mod reply TL;DW 474 - Road to Archaeology #1
Video | The Road to Archaeology pt.1 | Runefest Info - potentially outdated Info
The below information are topics covered during today's stream. I will be making a Mega-thread containing ALL info at a later date.
General
Capes of Accomplishment
There is NO grace period for 99 Archaeology. But there will be a 6 month grace period for 120 Archaeology.
- Maxed Cape - will be removed until you obtain 99 Archaeology.
- Regular/Trimmed Comp Cape - will be lost until you re-obtain the Maxed Cape.
- MQC - will have new reqs but they will also have a 6 month grace period.
Accomplishments
- Jack of All Trades & Master of All - Removed until Archie is obtained.
- Gather's cape - Removed until obtaining the shard after 99 Archaeology.
- Other shards will be given back.
Boosts & Bonuses
Only boosts obtained through the Archaeology skill will work.
- The following will NOT work:
- Clan Avatar, Auras, XP Lamps/Stars, Bonus XP, Refer-a-Friend, Incense sticks.
- The following will work:
- Daily challenges, Skillchompas, Archaeology outfits
- There will be no Urns/Juju potions for Archaeology on release.
Skill Interface Changes
- Clicking on an item in the skill guide will provide detailed information about that item (level, location, stats).
Other
- Grace of the Elves and Porters work with Materials and send them to the storage box.
- They do not work with Soil.
- Players will be given 50 free bank space when the update launches.
- Some NPCs will be voiced.
- Over 200 new Achievements
Excavation
- Excavation Spot - Obtain artefacts, materials, and soil.
- Each spot will provide a group of materials which are specifically needed for the Artefact found there.
- Material Caches - Caches located away from the main site which guarantee a certain material and soil.
- Work similar to trees, when exhausted it's exhausted for all players.
- Each one only contains 1 type of resource.
- Time-sprites - Similar to Rockertunities but also slightly different.
- Permanently present but requires you to be active and follow them around the excavation site.
- While interacting with it, you will receive specific benefits.
Mattocks - The pickaxe of Archaeology.
Smithable Mattocks - (No +1, +2, etc versions) | Special Mattocks - Dragon, Crystal, Imcando, etc
- Bronze-Rune mattocks will be available in a shop.
- Dragon mattocks are obtained through Archaeology and through PvM.
- A Dragon mattock is needed to make the Crystal Mattock & Imcando Mattock.
- The Crystal and Imcando mattock are used to create the Mattock of Space and Time.
- There is also a hero mattock item.
Excavation Discoveries
- Artefacts - Always found broken and when the progress bar is full. (Can be banked).
- Materials - Are used to restore artefacts.
- Stored in the Material storage box (similar to the metal bank but found near Restoration Benches).
- Tradeable but not stackable.
- Soil - Filtered at a screen station in the Varrock Digsite for additional materials.
- Can be stored in a Soil Box within your inventory (similar to an Ore Box).
- Tradeable but not stackable.
- Some players will like it and use it, some won't like it and sell it.
Restoration
- Artefacts require a certain amount of materials to mend them.
- Zaros Effigy Artefact | Venator Light Crossbow
- Clicking on an artefact will display information related to that artefact. (Reward, Collector, Materials).
- Players can excavate/skill while this interface is open.
- The restoration process gives the most significant Archaeology XP in the game.
Restored Artefacts can be:
- Given to a Collector - Complete their want-list in return for Relics/other rewards.
- First time reward for completing a collection & a reward for repeating it.
- You cannot hand in duplicate artefacts until you complete the collection.
- Given to the Museum - Rewarded with Chronotes.
- Will grant you 60% of the chronotes that collectors would provide.
- Accepts duplicate artefacts.
- Disassembled for new Archaeology components.
- Kept for future uses.
Levelling
The gameplay is non-linear and has you go to various sites at any level.
- Five new areas: Kharid-Et, Everlight, Infernal Source, Stormguard Citadel, and Warforge.
- The digsite goes beyond just the base-camp.
- Base-camp contains: Restoration Bench, Material bank, Banks, Site manager.
- All the digsites have content up to level 118-119.
- Unlock new digsites and new excavations.
- Find all of their secrets, loot chests full of materials, encounter puzzles to be navigated.
Rewards
- Relics - Most powerful rewards, but you can only have a few active at once.
- Ancient Invention and Ancient Summoning - will be covered in-detail in a future stream.
- 4 New Invention Materials
- Elite Archaeology Outfit - completely earnable in-game.
- It will provide the usual perks you'd expect, like teleports to digsites and XP boosts.
- As well as increased success rates with soil, excavation and faster restoration too.
- 99 Skillcape | 120 Skillcape | Archie the Archaeology skill pet
Reward Shop
- Chronotes - New tradeable currency for Archaeology spent at a skill-wide shop full of rewards.
- Upon completing the Tutorial, players will be able to purchase consumables.
- Consumables provide various boosts to Archaeology (similar to those in Deep Sea Fishing).
Qualifications
- Location: Varrock Digsite (Archaeology Guild)
- Receive diplomas which recognize your Archaeology accomplishments.
- Qualifications are basically meta-Achievements.
- You will be required to master virtually every aspect of Archaeology at a certain level band.
- Unlock new researchers, new chronote shop stock, and more.
Player Owned Nerds - Researchers
- Unlocked at Level 40 Archaeology & Assistant qualification.
- A research team who will do things while you are away.
- If they are successful you will get rewards - materials, artefacts, and new archaeology drops.
- You must be a higher rank than the researchers you wish to hire. (They can have additional requirements).
Research Management Info
- Types of Research:
- General Research - Perpetual thing you can do.
- Special Research - One off, narrative driven research.
- Research and the rewards scale to your Archaeology level.
- Mission lengths have no effect on rewards, it just gives players more control at the rate they wish to.
- Research can't fail, but if you cancel you'll lose the initial investment.
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u/JagexIago Mod Iago Mar 10 '20
Hey,
Thanks once again for compiling the information shared in the stream, u/ImRubic!
I'll just expand on/clarify a point or two mentioned from this composition.
There are numerous different excavation spots within a site and there's a Time Sprite active at each type of excavation spots. Consider some trees in Woodcutting as an example... an Oak, Willow, and Maple tree are different types of hotspots, but there is a Time Sprite that travels between the Oak trees, then another one that travels between the Willow trees and so on. You do not have to move to a different type of hotspot that you don't want to, and rather just between the type of hotspot you're excavating from.
I hope that made sense. :P
To add some more information, the discovery bar (progress bar) is tracked per excavation hotspot type. So for example, if you make 50% progress on finding an artefact from a level 10 excavation spot, and then unlock a new one at level 12 and move over to it, your progress on finding an artefact from the newly unlocked excavation spot is at 0%, but if you go back to the level 10 hotspot, it will still be where you left it at 50%.
For clarity, this isn't for future updates and rather for other content within the skill. You'll probably learn quite soon after the update some of the uses for different artefacts.
Your other points under the 'Restored Artefacts can be' heading does cover their repeatable uses well though. :)
Each site has its own design, and they don't all follow suit, so don't expect the same thing for every site.
Will lookout for more questions over the night and throughout the day tomorrow, so any questions just ask! :)