Old School RuneScape is almost a decade old, and to celebrate its birthday, Jagex decided to hold an event for the occasion.
Old School RuneScape is nine years old as of February 22, 2024, and Jagex has put together a brief event to celebrate the version’s longevity. Most notably, the developers based the event on the desert city of Al-Kharid, which is known as the gateway to the deeper Kharidian desert.
Given that players can expect a major desert expansion that’s due on the horizon in early 2024 (including the fabled Raids 3, Tombs of Amascut), Jagex seems to be treating this birthday celebration as a slight teaser for what’s to come for the MMO. For now, so long as the event is active, players can treat themselves to a festival of cooking, fishing, and good ol’ fashioned treasure hunting/ OSRS gold farming.
Capt’ Arnav’s Treasure Hunt
To begin the event, speak to Hassan who is walking inside the Al Kharid palace; he’ll give you notes and ask you to visit the other attendees. For now, let’s focus on Capt’ Arnav’s treasure hunt – the first step to getting a lot of OSRS gold.
Arnav, who is waiting outside of the bank west of Al-Kharid palace, hid a chest full of valuables somewhere within the city. He will then challenge the player with solving a series of 3 riddles to figure out where this chest is through hints reminiscent of the clue scroll system.
For the first clue, approach the four statues guarding the central fountain, situated in the courtyard of Al-Kharid palace where the second clue will reveal itself.
The second step of the clue is an Anagram “A LEARN” which refers to Ranael, the owner of the plateskirt shop southeast of the palace. Go and speak to her to get the third and final clue.
The third step of the clue is “I provide a means to attack. Four, to be exact.”; talk to Zeke, the scimitar salesman located north of the palace who sells bronze, steel, iron, and mithril sword variants. When spoken to, he presents the player with a challenge to count every balloon in and on his house. Remember to count each balloon in a singular three-balloon prop as an individual balloon. When asked “how many birthday balloons are on and in the building?”, answer with “30.” Once that’s done, bring the chest back to Arnav to finish the treasure trail.
Larry’s Fishing Contest
It’s time to fish with Larry the Leprechaun. Larry is located by the oasis far north of the palace, just near the gate to Al-Kharid. He oversees everything about the fishing competition and will provide players with the fishing gear necessary to participate. However, there’s a catch to all of this, and players will soon find out that Larry forgot to tell them one important thing: nothing can be caught in the oasis.
After attempting to fish (and fail) in the pond next to Big Dave, a fellow fisherman in the competition, he’ll recommend buying specialty bait from Ali Morrisane, a merchant who’s located in the east of the oasis. When asked about the bait, Morrisane will agree to barter with the player in exchange for a favor. Morrisane will then task players to get trade intelligence from spymaster Osman by answering Osman’s question with “3” and he’ll be using a security question. Bring the information back to Ali Morrisane and receive the specialty bait. Morrisane’s bait guarantees a catch, and at this point, even the tiniest fish guarantees winning the fishing contest. Afterward, bring the tiny fish to Larry Leprechaun to complete the quest.
My Arm’s Cook-Off
My Arm the troll is organizing and judging a cook-off, and demands players something that’s “exciting”, “not boring”, and “exotic”. Talk to each of the NPCs in the area to find My Arm’s ideal food. The Wise Man’s banana was exotic, but it was too simplistic to be of interest. Meanwhile, the Cook claims his pizza is exciting, but it’s not exotic enough for My Arm’s tastes. The only correct course of action to cook something exciting and exotic at the same time is to combine the two into a banana pizza. Here are the steps to making My Arm’s vision of a “perfect” pizza:
- All of the items (bucket, tomato, cheese, banana, pot) necessary for this recipe must first be collected from the cupboard to the northeast
- Fill the bucket with water from the sink and the pot with flour from the bin
- Begin making the pizza dough by combining the flour and water
- Use the cheese and tomato on the pizza base to make an uncooked pizza
- Begin cooking the pizza by putting it in the clay oven
- Top the bananas on the cooked pizza as the final topping
Hans will then suggest intentionally burning the banana pizza just so that the final product appeals better to the troll’s tastes. Give the burnt pizza to My Arm to win the cooking contest.
Concluding the Event
To finish OSRS’s birthday event, meet Hassan back in the Al-Kharid palace and speak to him. After a short cutscene, players can finally receive rewards such as OSRS GP [https://www.playerauctions.com/osrs-gold/] and other rare items for their efforts.
What are your thoughts about Old School RuneScape’s 9th birthday event? Let us know down below!
