Old School RuneScape will launch dedicated Hardcore Worlds on November 4, 2026
Death grows tired of being overlooked. Hordes of adventurers respawning and shrugging off their end over and over again… but for those of you with nerves of steel, strong stomachs, and perhaps a masochistic streak: Death offers a challenge!
Hardcore Worlds are coming on November 4th! But what does this mean? You’ll start a brand-new character on worlds separate from the main game where everybody is a character with all the privileges of a main (trading, access to the Grand Exchange, etc) but with only a single life! Separate worlds, separate economy, one life. Death truly matters.
These worlds won’t have any XP or Drop Rate boosts like Leagues or Deadman. However, Death wishes to truly challenge you; You’ll be going at the same pace as normal worlds – death is the one true enemy!
Although, dying isn’t quite the end. Death is gracious enough to give you a choice: either reset your progress entirely and start again, or be banished from Hardcore Worlds and get sent to the main game! If transferring, you keep all your progress and gear, except the items you lost on death. That’s right, dying is more dangerous than ever. Any item on your person that does not fall under the usual “Items kept on Death” category, as seen on the in-game interface, will be lost forever. These will not be transferred with you to the main game. Think twice before bringing your best fit.
This is a brand-new permanent experience, not just for those who lust for daring challenges, but with a fresh economy comes opportunity and the potential to strike it rich – perhaps you’ll make a name for yourself as a master craftsman or blacksmith! Something you might want to be aware of: these worlds are slightly more deadly than playing a normal Hardcore IM, as we’re taking the rule set from Hardcore Group Ironman which means areas like the Fight Caves, Inferno and even the Nightmare Zone will count as an unsafe death!
Hardcore Worlds is an accompaniment gamemode alongside all the great content we’ve lined up for the foreseeable future. We’ll be covering all that and more in a blog dedicated to Hardcore Worlds very soon, but until then… prepare to survive!
