Deadman Apocalypse – DMM – OSRS

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Deadman: Apocalypse




Old School’s most brutal game mode is back right on time for imminent destruction. Step into Deadman once more to level, loot and do battle with bosses, players and a threat on a scale that Gielinor has never seen before.


It’s oddly poetic for Deadman to have been reborn only to be met with a doomsday scenario the next go-around. Luckily, if you enjoyed Deadman: Reborn then you’ll find a lot to love in Deadman: Apocalypse too!


For those of you not in the know, Deadman at a base level is a seasonal game mode where PvP is enabled almost everywhere. XP rates are increased, loot is more plentiful, and there’s always a chance for you to meet an untimely end and lose it all. The ultimate goal is to progress your account over the course of a few weeks and grow powerful enough to become the last (dead)man standing.


There’s a lot of ground for us to cover, some aspects from Deadman: Reborn remain unchanged, others have been tweaked slightly, we’ve got brand new additions and a few features that we’ve taken out this time around. We’ve also included a very small survey towards the end of the post to give us a chance to see how you feel about the various changes at a super top level, so make sure to read through and share your thoughts with us!


Let’s start with the most important bit: what sets Deadman: Apocalypse apart from the Deadman of days gone by?




What is Deadman: Apocalypse?


The Wizards Tower report disturbances in the Abyss, missing persons reports are on the rise, and citizens all over the world are claiming to have seen monsters – the kind you only hear of in stories or beer-fuelled tales of bravado – stalking the shadows…


Every day, at regular intervals, ‘breaches’ appear around Gielinor. Think of a ‘breach’ like a tear or a gap in Gielinor’s reality. Breaches can crop up in any dangerous areas in the world (meaning anywhere PvP is enabled) and will spawn in both Single and Multi combat locations simultaneously. Once a breach appears, boss monsters will begin pouring through and into the real world – the likes of General Graardor, the King Black Dragon or even TzTok-Jad might find themselves wreaking havoc on Barbarian Village or skulking the Wilderness north of the Grand Exchange.


It’s up to you to get to these breaches and put these monsters down. Output enough damage and you’ll earn yourself the chance at scoring some exclusive, extremely powerful loot along with vast quantities of regular loot – so it’s in your best interest to gear up and get blasting those bosses, or to put other players in the dirt to improve your odds at coming out on top.


While these regular breaches certainly need tending to, they’re more than manageable for large groups of adventurers. Alarmingly, the Doomsayer believes there will come a time when these breaches burst into being all across Gielinor, with absolutely no sign of stopping. With annihilation seemingly inevitable, it’s up to you to do everything in your power to go down in the history books – your goal is be the last adventurer standing at the end of all things.


In slightly less dramatic words:

  • A few times per day, you’ll be notified about breaches due to appear in the world. Head over there, fight bosses for a chance at powerful loot. Fight players to knock the competition down a peg and ensure you’re dealing more damage than others at the breach.
  • At the finale, breaches will appear all over the place and monsters will wash over Gielinor. Fog will slowly creep in and force players to a final area.
  • Fight bosses and each other in the final area until you’re the last player left standing.

A screenshot from our first ‘proof of concept’ playtest for breaches, showing off more kings in a single frame than the entirety of Game of Thrones (unless Season 8 proves us wrong, but we’ve wiped it from our memories so can’t say for sure)!


We’ve chosen a new direction to go in this time around, moving emphasis away from the more competitive, 1v1 esports-style finale. Instead, we’re trying to focus in on those unforgettable random encounters with more participants than ever, wrestling for control over resources or breaches, and giving you an apocalyptic playground where you’ll shape experiences that you talk about with your friends for years to come.


That isn’t to say the 1v1 finales are gone forever, but this is the direction we’ve chosen this time around to try spicing things up and reignite that Deadman passion!


In between breaches and all the way up until the finale, you’ll be progressing by earning XP, chasing loot, eliminating other players and unlocking sigils (some old, some changed, some new) similar to Deadman: Reborn. Let’s dive a little deeper into exactly what’s changing this time around and what you can expect out of your time spent in Deadman: Apocalypse.




Getting to grips with the apocalypse


When you take your first steps into Deadman: Apocalypse, you’ll be greeted with a lot of the same features you’ve come to know from previous Deadman modes, and before long you’ll notice a handful of new additions. Let’s start with what’s familiar!


Combat Bracket Worlds, XP Multipliers, Starter Packs & Quest Unlocks


We introduced Combat Bracket Worlds as a part of Deadman: Reborn to try and give players a slightly fairer experience while also allowing limited builds like Pures and Zerks some room to flourish in their respective brackets. Combat brackets let you tailor your Deadman experience a little more by giving you the option to optimise your build for certain brackets, or improving replayability for those of you who’d like to make several builds and try to dominate multiple brackets.


These worlds also mean that if you’re not able to put in many hours, you’ll still be able to progress at your own pace and find yourself surrounded by players of a similar strength to you rather than having to contend with people who’ve been able to take time off work to progress at an insane pace!


Our first attempt at brackets was pretty well-received, but some felt a little too broad and allowed players at the top of each bracket to run absolutely rampant. This time around, we’ve adjusted the ranges by using 5 brackets as opposed to 4, which we’ll outline in just a moment!


Increased XP rates are a staple of Deadman and help players progress quickly throughout a fast-paced, temporary game mode. Progressing to higher Combat Bracket tiers will increase your XP multiplier, so if you’re not interested in staying at a lower level, then you’ll have a little extra boost as you push yourself towards maxing your combat stats.


Also returning are automatic quest unlocks. Similar to Deadman: Reborn, you’ll receive automatic completion of various quests as you progress into higher brackets, but this time around we’re looking to automatically complete quests that will allow you to access some pieces end-game content – freeing you up to focus on earning points. We’ll be covering points further down, so put them to the back of your mind for now!


For Deadman: Apocalypse, we’re upgrading starter packs. Starter packs are a great way for players who are just starting out (or who’ve recently met an untimely end) to get back out there and start making progress again. These packs will kit you out with some basic Magic, Ranged and Melee gear along with a handful of consumables. The items received from these packs are very basic and you’ll find yourself progressing past their usefulness before too long, but they’re a nice way to help you get back on your feet if you’ve just respawned in Lumbridge. These will be placed in your inventory when you start out or when you respawn, to make sure you can’t miss them.


With all that in mind, let’s break down our current plans for each combat bracket, the XP multipliers at these brackets, the gear you’ll receive in starter packs and the quests you’ll auto-unlock at each bracket. Note: these are subject to change, so if you feel we’re a little off the mark anywhere, make sure to let us know!


Level 3 to Level 50

  • 10x Combat XP Multiplier
  • 10x Skilling XP Multiplier
  • Starter Pack contains a Fire staff, runes for Fire strike, a Willow shortbow, Bronze arrows and a Mithril scimitar.

Click here to expand our proposed quest unlocks for this bracket.
  • All Zeah house favour set to 100%
  • Ernest the Chicken
  • Goblin Diplomacy
  • Rune Mysteries
  • Black Knights’ Fortress
  • Shield of Arrav
  • Druidic Ritual
  • Level 3 Herblore
  • RFD Mountain Dwarf Subquest / RFD Goblin Generals Subquest / RFD Pirate Pete Subquest / RFD Lumbridge Guide Subquest / RFD Evil Dave Subquest.
  • The Restless Ghost
  • Priest in Peril
  • Animal Magnetism
  • Plague City
  • Biohazard (Unlocks ability to teleport to Ardougne by default, without needing to use the scroll you’d receive at the end of the quest)
  • Prince Ali Rescue
  • Death Plateau

Level 51 to Level 70

  • 10x Combat XP Multiplier
  • 10x Skilling XP Multiplier
  • Starter Pack contains a Fire staff, runes for Fire blast, a Maple shortbow, Mithril arrows and an Adamant scimitar.

Click here to expand our proposed quest unlocks for this bracket.
  • Tree Gnome Village
  • Big Chompy Bird hunting
  • RFD Skrach Uglogwee Subquest
  • The “Bigger and Badder” Slayer perk
  • Lost City
  • Underground Pass

Level 71 to Level 90

  • 15x Combat XP Multiplier
  • 10x Skilling XP Multiplier
  • Starter Pack contains a Fire staff, runes for Fire blast, a Maple shortbow, Mithril arrows and an Adamant scimitar.

Click here to expand our proposed quest unlocks for this bracket.
  • Monkey Madness
  • The Dig Site
  • Temple of Ikov
  • Waterfall Quest
  • The Tourist Trap
  • Troll Stronghold
  • Desert Treasure
  • Merlin’s Crystal
  • Heroes Quest
  • The Grand Tree
  • RFD Sir Amik Varze Subquest / RFD King Awowogei Subquest
  • Watchtower
  • The Eyes of Glouphrie
  • Enlighted Journey (Balloon flight route to Gnome Stronghold must be unlocked too)
  • Dragon Slayer
  • Monkey Madness 2
  • The Fremennik Trials
  • Making History
  • Regicide
  • Roving Elves
  • Sheep Herder
  • Mourning’s End Part 1
  • Mourning’s End Part 2
  • Song of the Elves

Level 91 to Level 110

  • 15x Combat XP Multiplier
  • 10x Skilling XP Multiplier
  • Starter Pack contains a Fire staff, runes for Fire wave, a Yew shortbow, Adamant arrows and a Rune scimitar.

Click here to expand our proposed quest unlocks for this bracket.
  • X Marks the Spot
  • Client of Kourend
  • Bone Voyage
  • Ghosts Ahoy
  • Gertude’s Cat
  • Icthlarin’s Little Helper
  • A Tail of Two Cats
  • Eadgar’s Ruse
  • Jungle Potion
  • Shilo Village
  • Lunar Diplomacy
  • Dream Mentor
  • Family Crest
  • Legends’ Quest
  • Dragon Slayer 2 – do not auto complete
  • Recipe For Disaster (entire quest)
  • Holy Grail
  • Murder Mystery
  • King’s Ransom
  • Contact
  • Beneath Cursed Sands
  • Nature Spirit
  • In Search of the Myreque
  • In Aid of the Myreque
  • Darkness of Hallowvale
  • A Taste of Hope
  • A Night at the Theatre

Level 111 to Level 126

  • 15x Combat XP Multiplier
  • 10x Skilling XP Multiplier
  • Starter Pack contains a Fire staff, runes for Fire wave, a Yew shortbow, Adamant arrows and a Rune scimitar.

Click here to expand our proposed quest unlocks for this bracket.
  • Hazeel Cult
  • Enter the Abyss
  • Doric’s Quest
  • The Lost Tribe
  • Recruitment Drive
  • Wanted
  • Devious Minds
  • Fight Arena
  • The General’s Shadow
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Cold War
  • Creature of Fenkenstrain
  • Garden of Tranquility
  • One Small Favour
  • Swan Song
  • The Feud
  • My Arm’s Big Adventure
  • Making Friends with My Arm

If you played Deadman: Reborn, you might be wondering what good are these starter packs if you run out of lives? In Deadman: Apocalypse, we’ve done away with the 3 Life system as we felt it was a little too punishing for a temporary game mode. You’ll still lose your items on death, along with a key to your most valuable bank slots – unless you’re using a Sigil of Guardian Angel of course!


What’s that, a segue? It sure is!


Sigils


Sigils were first introduced in Deadman: Reborn, they provide powerful buffs in a range of scenarios and can be obtained by killing monsters or via the Grand Exchange. They’re making a return in Deadman: Apocalypse, but we’re making a handful of changes to sigils as a whole and making some tweaks to many that already exist to help ensure your experience feels refreshing, new and a good bit more balanced this time around!


Much like before, you’ll be able to choose a starting Combat sigil to get you familiar with the system and learn how to activate them. From there, it’s up to you to unlock more sigils as you progress, and obtain as many as you can so that you’ve got options to help you conquer any challenge you might face.


Sigils are split into three categories: Combat, Skilling and Utility. To activate their effects, you’ll need to attune to a sigil in a bank. While it might be fun to see what you’re capable of with the power of every sigil imaginable at your fingertips, you’re limited to 3 active sigils at a time – it’s a PvP game mode after all, we don’t want you running around snapping everybody out of existence.


Unlike before, you’re no longer limited to 2 Combat sigils. Instead, you’ll be able to mix-and-match combat, skilling or utility sigils any way you’d like, whether that’s 3 combat sigils, 1 of each type, or a 2:1 split!


Sigils are making a return with a whole host of tweaks, including the ability to equip 3 Combat sigils at once!


As you progress through combat brackets, your chances of receiving sigils as drops from monsters will increase – though we’ll be adjusting numbers slightly to account for the extra bracket this time around, and perhaps stop some obvious ‘metas’ for farming them emerging, so don’t start gunning for those Monkey Madness II tunnels just yet…


For part of our rebalancing, we’ve selected a handful of utility sigils to become utility items instead. They’ll be obtained the exact same way, but you’ll use them from your inventory without them using up one of your sigil slots.


These sigils come in 3 tiers and there are a lot of them, some will be familiar, some reworked and some brand new. We’ve removed a handful of sigils that felt disruptive (no more unfreezing yourself on demand) and rebalanced a bunch of sigils that saw little use in Deadman: Reborn to give players more freedom to play their way without feeling far behind the meta.


We’ll be keeping the full details under wraps for now – keep an eye out over the coming weeks and we might just share a handful of them with you!


If you had a favourite Utility sigil in Deadman: Reborn, there’s every chance we’ve made it a Utility item instead. Here’s a list of our early thoughts for these, including one that’s particularly interesting. If it sounds like we’re setting up another segue, it’s because we are!


Utility Items

  1. Utility of Vengeance (Tier 2) – Casts the vengeance spell without any requirements – 30 second cooldown, similar to the actual level 94 Lunar spell “Vengeance”.
  2. Utility of the Undead (Tier 2) – Summons a random thrall,without any requirements – 30 second cooldown (thrall should work exactly how a regular thrall works).
  3. Utility of the Fairy (Tier 2) – Gives the player a fairy mushroom which allows players to teleport to any fairy ring or spirit tree (provided they can access the destination). This utility actually appeared in Leagues 2, but most of you were too busy using Last Recall to notice…
  4. Utility of High Alchemy (Tier 2) – Acts exactly how clicking on the high alchemy spell does, however does not require runes.
  5. Utility of Advanced Weaponry (Tier 3) – Gives the player a random blighted weapon. Is lost upon activation.

“A blighted weapon? What’s that?” you might be asking yourself. We’re glad you asked!


Blighted Weapons & Merging


Before we can properly answer your question, we need to talk about what we’d like to happen at the end of Deadman: Apocalypse.


We’ve seen requests over the past couple of years for a reset of world 345 (the permanent Deadman world). We’ve had a number of discussions about this in the past and ultimately haven’t been comfortable pushing a big ol’ reset button due to the thousands of players who’ve made what they thought would be permanent progress on world 345, many of whom still log in fairly often.


On the other hand, it’s difficult for people just starting out in world 345 to catch up, since many players are so far ahead and the world extremely competitive in nature. We’re proposing a middle-ground for this seasonal Deadman and future seasonals. We’d like for players to have the option to play Deadman: Apocalypse and then merge their account in to the permanent Deadman mode world.


We understand there’s a pretty big difference in how Apocalypse will function compared to how world 345 functions, but we feel this is an exciting opportunity to boost activity and the economy, which would hopefully impact world 345 positively. This means that next time a seasonal rolls around, you could start fresh on your current character, or preserve that progress and play the seasonal on another character (to be merged down at the season’s end) if you wish.


We’d love to hear from all of you what you feel is the best way to handle this and try to bolster permanent Deadman activity while keeping seasonals fresh and exciting while respecting those who frequent world 345, so let us know how you feel!


A couple of examples of items we reckon are suitable fits for Blighted weapons


Blighted weapons are something we’re planning to experiment with for the first time. On obtaining a Utility of Advanced Weaponry (name not final!), you’ll be able to use it and receive a random blighted weapon. These are versions of pinnacle weapons like the Twisted bow, Dragon claws, Tumeken’s shadow, Scythe of Vitur etc. that aim to power you up in the short-term.


Any blighted weapons you have at the end of a season will be lost, meaning they won’t be merged into permanent Deadman if merging is something you’d like for us to do. Of course, earning the ‘normal’ equivalent of any of these items (such as a Twisted bow from the Chambers of Xeric) would allow you to transfer it over upon merging to world 345, but being spooned some of the best gear in the game from a Utility item and then transferring it over doesn’t feel fair to anybody who might have been chasing these drops for a while.


To add to this, while we’d like world 345 to see an economic boost in terms of supplies and more common items, we don’t want to flood the permanent world with endgame gear – blighted weapons are a great way for us to keep the seasonal fun and fast-paced while also protecting the permanent Deadman economy!


It’s a lot to wrap your head around, so take some time to think about it and please share your thoughts with us on socials or in the survey at the bottom of the post so that we can find a way forward that works for as many of you as possible!


Points System and Rewards


So, without a 1v1 finale this time around – what’s up for grabs, and how can you grab it?


There’s no time like the end of the world to introduce a points system, which ironically functions pretty similarly to the system we used in Fresh Start Worlds…


Points system


First added as a part of Fresh Start Worlds, we’d like to add an Achievement System to Deadman, to reward those of you who get out there and get results despite the brutal landscape we’ve come to know and love.


In Deadman: Apocalypse, you’re under threat almost constantly. So it stands to reason that if there are points up for grabs, you’ll be able to get them doing just about anything. Clue Scrolls, Combat Achievements, Achievement Diaries, Pet hunting, Quest points, Boss kills, Skilling and PvP will all earn you points to some degree. We won’t bore you with the specifics at this point, but just know that more or less any time spent playing will reward you with points – there’s always something to progress towards.


Moreso than anything else, one of the best ways for you to earn points is by contributing at breaches. Coupled with the loot available to you, it’s always in your best interests to try and get to any breaches that you can so that you can stack up on points, assuming you’re able to stave off other players long enough to dish out some damage to the bosses pouring in to Gielinor!


This also gives you other ways to compete with each other, perhaps you and a group of friends find a way to earn points rapidly and take it upon yourselves to hold the content down, then word spreads and you’re competing with other teams or clans, then the spot becomes a warzone and you’ve got to weigh up competing or innovating another method. Work together to come out on top or go it alone and see how you stack up vs. organised groups and clans – it’s up to you how you do it, but you’ll always have some goal to chase!


Remember that breaches will appear in both a single-way combat area and a multi-way combat area simultaneously so even if you’re playing solo, you’ll be able to score heaps of points and some lovely loot if you’re not ready to contend with organised groups.


As you might expect, you’ll be able to see your points at any time both in-game and on the HiScores, where you’ll be split up into tiers similar to in Leagues. Those of you who wind up in higher tiers will have better chances at earning some of this year’s prizepool!


Rewards


While we no longer have a 1v1 stage, we still have a finale, and we still have a last player standing.


Deadman: Apocalypse will still have a $25,000 prize pool, but we’ll be experimenting with distributing this a little differently this time around!

  • $500 will go to whoever dealt the most damage to bosses during the finale on each of the 5 worlds, totalling $2,500.
  • $500 will go to the last surviving player at the end of the finale on each of the 5 worlds, totalling $2,500.
  • The remaining $20,000 will be split into 40 prizes worth $500 each, and distributed among players who achieve the highest points tiers.

Let’s take a closer look at the point tiers and see how we’re thinking about splitting up that massive $20,000…

  • Apocalypse Bronze (Top 100%) – No prizes.
  • Apocalypse Iron (Top 80%) – No prizes.
  • Apocalypse Steel (Top 60%) – No prizes.
  • Apocalypse Mithril (Top 40%) – No Prizes
  • Apocalypse Adamant (Top 20%) – 8 randomly selected winners in Adamant tier for $500 each.
  • Apocalypse Rune (Top 5%) – 12 randomly selected winners in Rune tier for $500 each.
  • Apocalypse Dragon (Top 1%) – 15 randomly selected winners for $500 each.
  • Apocalypse Top 25 – 5 randomly selected winners for $500 each.

We appreciate that this is a pretty sizeable departure from previous Deadman seasonals, but we’re excited at the prospect of people playing to earn points and, most importantly, have fun while having a chance to secure themselves a nice chunk of change! Perhaps we’ll even get to do a massive raffle stream while we reminisce, chat to you all and pick out the winners!


It’s our first time trying a system like this in Deadman, so if it’s something you like then it can only get even better each time around as we iterate, make improvements and perhaps even add main-game rewards to let you flex your ferocity in future seasonals.




There you have it, Deadman: Apocalypse. Let’s attempt a quick recap of everything we’ve spoken about in today’s blog!

  • Deadman: Apocalypse is a brand new Deadman seasonal, which pits adventurers against hordes of bosses and each other in brutal breaches and unpredictable PvP combat.
  • Play your way and earn points in a brand new Achievement System, where you’re rewarded for progressing however you please.
  • Progress through to higher Combat bracket worlds at increased XP rates for increased rewards and automatic Quest unlocks, or stick to a limited build and become infamous by dominating a lower bracket.
  • Death is not the end! We’ve removed the 3-life system, and introduced improved starter packs to help you get back on your feet no matter which Combat bracket you’re in.
  • Defeat NPCs or trade with other players via the Grand Exchange to earn powerful sigils. Sigils provide game-changing effects to Combat, Skilling and/or Utility and allow you to customise your loadout to experience familiar content in fresh ways!
  • Keep an eye out for breaches and put a stop to hordes of bosses making their way into Gielinor. Will you take out the bosses for points and incredible loot, or take out other players at the breach for their loot instead?
  • Wrestle with mortality and fight to become the last player standing at the end of the world, as a deadly fog and endless stream of monsters force adventurers to make their final stand against oblivion.
  • Win real-life cash prizes for being the last survivor, dealing the most damage during the finale, or being entered in to raffles depending on how many points you earned!
  • The world literally ends, there’s no escaping it. Lucky for you, your character will be merged into the permanent Deadman world (345) and able to participate in a permanent DMM renaissance, or wait it out until the next Deadman seasonal.

We appreciate that there’s a whole lot to unpack here and that you’re going to have a bunch of questions!


For the time-being, we’ve put together a very brief survey to essentially give us a ‘vibe check’ on each of the sections we’ve listed and gauge your initial reactions. You can access the survey by clicking the big ol’ button we’ve popped below!



We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Deadman: Apocalypse and that you’re excited at the prospect of jumping back into Old School’s bloodiest seasonal game mode to-date. Understandably many of you will be containing your excitement until it actually happens, or strapping in for a long wait.


To those of you expecting a long wait, we regret to inform you that Deadman: Apocalypse begins in 2 months.


Make your preparations, the end times are coming.




You can also discuss this update on our official forums, on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel. For more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.


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