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If you’ve been following Old School RuneScape news, you know something big is coming. On November 19, 2025, OSRS finally gets its first completely new skill: Sailing.
After a full year of blogs, update videos, and Alpha and Beta playtests where many got to try it out, it’s time for a complete recap. If you missed something or just want everything clear before launch, here’s everything you need to know.
What Is Sailing?
Sailing is the first brand-new skill coming to Old School RuneScape. And when we say “brand new,” we mean it’s the first original skill for the game, not something brought over from old versions of Runescape.
With Sailing, you’ll be able to own your ships, customize them however you want, and sail to various new islands that would otherwise be unreachable. But it’s not just that. This skill brings a massive expansion of the game’s seas: new islands, quests, items, skilling methods, monsters, and much more.
In short, Sailing isn’t just “another skill to grind.” It’s literally an expansion of the Gielinor world.
How Sailing Navigation Works
Okay, now comes the interesting part: how do you actually navigate?
First, you need to board your ship. To do this, simply click on the gangplank at any port, and it’ll appear on your minimap with a special icon.
Once you’re on your ship, you click on the helm to start navigating.
This opens a navigation interface where you control the boat directly. To move forward, you click on the sails to “set” them, which makes the boat advance.
You can adjust speed using the arrows in the interface. To steer the boat, simply click in the direction you want to go.
Here’s a cool detail: every 30 seconds, a gust of wind appears. If you click on your sails to “trim” them at that moment, you get a 10-second speed boost. It’s like a mini-minigame while you navigate.
If you want to stop, simply right-click on the sails and select “un-set” to lower them.
How to Train Sailing
Before you can start sailing on your own, you have to complete the introductory quest called “The Pandemonium”. The quest begins by talking to Will and Anne in Port Sarim.
Upon completion, you reach level 6 Sailing and receive a small raft, which you can board from the docking point at any port.
From there, there are 4 main methods to train Sailing:
- Port Tasks
- Sea Charting
- Shipwreck Salvaging – requires level 15
- Barracuda Trials – requires level 30
Port Tasks
Every major port has a noticeboard where you can accept two types of tasks: courier and bounty.
Courier tasks are delivery missions. For example, an early task is to get cargo from Port Sarim and bring it to the Pandemonium. You accept the task, pick up the cargo from the ledger table, store it in your ship’s cargo hold, sail to the destination, drop it off at another ledger table, and report to the portmaster to receive Sailing experience and some shipbuilding rewards such as logs and nails.
Bounty tasks are ship combat missions that require a cannon. You can access this at level 28 after installing a bronze cannon.
For example, an early task is to take on 5 famished sharks. You sail to the location mentioned in the task, take on the sharks, and store their fins in your cargo hold as proof. Then you drop this off at the ledger table and report to the ship master.
Sea Charting
Sea Charting is an exploration activity where you gain one-time experience for performing certain tasks found in your captain’s log.
For example, an early task is to use your spying glass to take a closer look at the Wizards Tower. You can find the spying glass and other tools in your cargo hold by clicking on the duck icon.
Shipwreck Salvaging
If you loved AFK training, Shipwreck Salvaging is for you.
To do this you need a salvaging hook, which you can build on your boat at level 15 Sailing.
Then you sail to any salvaging icon on your minimap and operate your salvaging hook.
Your inventory will fill up with salvaged goods. You can deposit these in your cargo hold to process them later at any salvaging station located at major docks.
Barracuda Trials
Looking for a high-intensity training method? That’s where Barracuda Trials comes in. This method is located around Tempoross Cove and requires level 30 Sailing to access.
During this activity, you deliver supplies and run shipments to the barracudas while navigating stormy waters. But there’s a catch: every trial has a time limit, and you must make it within the designated time to get awarded experience.
This high-intensity training method will pay off after learning the activity, similar to how the Hallowed Sepulchre has a big learning curve, but provides the best Agility Experience once you get it down.
Ship Customization: Facilities & Upgrades
Shipbuilding is a fundamental part of Sailing. The better the materials your boat is made from, the more resistance, defenses, and even speed it gets.
At Sailing release, there will be three types of boats available:
- The Raft – requires level 1
- The Skiff – requires level 15
- The Sloop – requires level 50
You’ll be able to buy the Skiff from a Shipwright once you reach level 15 Sailing.
Shipwrights are found at major docks such as the Pandemonium, Port Sarim, Catherby, with this icon on the minimap.
At Shipwrights, you can buy boats, retrieve boats, and access ship customization.
Ship Facilities
Facilities refer to components or equipment that players can install on their personal ships, each offering distinct and practical functions. These can be constructed at the shipyard, provided the player meets the required levels in both Sailing and Construction skills.
The number and variety of facility placement spots differ depending on the type of vessel.
Cannons
Salvaging
Storage
New Items & Skilling Methods
So far, I’ve mentioned a lot of new items such as Camphor planks, dragon sheets, and linen cloths. All of these will be available on release through various new skilling activities and slayer monsters. Let’s take a closer look!
Woodcutting
We are getting 4 new tree types: Jatoba(40), Camphor(66), Ironwood(80), and Rosewood(92).
The latter three are used in shipbuilding.
They can be turned into planks (for a hefty price).
And then turned into ‘hull parts’ and ‘large hull parts’ to upgrade the hull of your ship.
Mining
We are also getting new mining ores: Lead (25), Nickel(74), and Rubium(48).
Both Lead and Nickel can be turned into bars, which are used in Shipbuilding.
Rubium is intended for new tiers of cannonballs, used during bounty tasks and ship combat.
Smithing: Keel parts & Cannonballs
Players will be able to upgrade the keel of their sheep with ‘keel parts’ and ‘large keel parts’ created with the Smithing skill.
Furthermore, there are also new types of cannonballs to be smithed as well.
Fishing & Cooking
We are getting two new fishing activities: Lantern Fishing (on islands), Deep Sea Trawling (on your boat).
Players who want to partake in deep-sea trawling will need a trawling net on their ship and then sail to a trawling area.
Through the cooking skill, these new fish bring a lot of new food to the table. For example, we are getting a new highest healed fish: the Marlin, healing a total of 24 hitpoints!
Crab Hunting
We are also getting a whole new hunter training activity called ‘crab hunting’. The resources caught from this will be used in new potions.
Farming: Coral Nurseries
We’ll be able to farm in underwater Coral Nurseries to get new resources such as Elkhorn, Pillar, and Umbral, used in Herblore training.
We are also getting new hop seeds: flax, hemp, cotton, used in crafting to create sails for our ships.
And lastly, we will be able to plant the new hardwood trees as well in hardwood tree patches. Imagine having 3 rosewood trees on Fossil Island near the bank chest!
Herblore: Armadyl Brews & more
We are also getting a bunch of new potions made from coral, and crab ingredients. It will be interesting to see how the ‘Armadyl brew’ will be used in high-level PVM.
Thieving: ore and cannonball stalls
Thieving is also getting new training methods with pickpocketable pirates, and new chests and stalls to loot from.
Fletching: new blowpipe
We are getting 3 new types of blowpipes that can be created through the fletching skill. It will be interesting to see how these shake up the early-game ironman meta!
New Slayer Monsters
Gryphons (51 Slayer / 45 Sailing)
Gryphons are monsters roaming on ‘the great conch’ which players gain access to after completing the quest ‘Troubled Tortugans’ at 45 Sailing.
These monsters attack with melee and are weak to air spells.
Interestingly, if you try to attack these with low weight, they will knock you back. So bring heavy gear such as Barrows armor, or take massive damage.
They will have a superior version, and also a boss version called ‘the Shellbane Gryphon’.
This boss will drop the ‘Belle’s Folly’ a brand new rapier that is the stab-equivalent of the Zombie axe: a new mid-level iron upgrade!
Aquanites (78 Slayer / 73 Sailing)
Aquanites roam on the island of Ynysdail, which requires 73 Sailing to access. They have high defenses, which can be removed, though it’s not yet known how.
The main drop is the ‘Aquanite tendon’ which can be turned into an ‘Aquanite hopper’, a new ranged off-hand that provides a 10% chance for a crossbow bolt to launch twice. (This second bolt will have 67% less damage/accuracy)
Lava Strykewyrms (62 Slayer / 60 Sailing)
We already have ‘wyrms’ tasks in the game, and now you will also be able to take on Lava Strykwyrms, provided you have the 60 sailing requirement to access ‘Charred Island’.
The main reason you’ll want to do these tasks over regular wyrms, is that they have a chance to drop dragon sheets, used to create dragon keels and cannonballs.
Frost Dragons (1 Slayer / 87 Sailing)
Frost Dragons are a new type of dragon that have no slayer requirement, but do require you have 87 Sailing to access ‘Grimstone Island’ where they roam.
Just like Lava Strykewyrms, these have ‘dragon sheets’ on their droptable.
Stay tuned because when Sailing officially launches, we’ll update this blog with complete guides, the best methods to level quickly, detailed reward analysis, and everything you need to master the seas of Gielinor.
Ready to set sail on November 19? ⚓
