RuneScape: Dragonwilds Reveals What’s Coming in the Big June 2025 Update

Summary

RuneScape: Dragonwilds will introduce a combat-focused skill line in its big June update.
The June update will also bring improvements to bases and will include some quality of life features.
Jagex plans to release content updates for RuneScape: Dragonwilds about once every three months, with major updates twice a year.

In June, expect a significant enhancement to magic in the game “RuneScape: Dragonwilds” as the development team unveils their first combat-oriented skill expansion. Additionally, there are several other adjustments on the horizon for “RuneScape: Dragonwilds,” such as visual enhancements, revised base mechanics, and a tougher difficulty level for those craving a greater challenge in the upcoming update.

Launched as an early access title on Steam towards mid-April, “RuneScape: Dragonwilds” immediately captured the attention of its publishers and developers Jagex, boasting over 50,000 simultaneous players during its initial days. However, the number of active players has dropped substantially since then, with current concurrent peaks hovering around 2,000 towards late May. This decline is common for games in early access, and the developers’ upcoming major update could encourage players to return to the game.

In the RuneScape: Dragonwilds game, spell casters have always been able to unlock spells. However, the June update brings some enticing new features specifically designed for them. As revealed on the game’s official news site, one of these is a novel defensive spell named Surge. This spell offers short-range teleportation abilities that let casters keep casting spells from a safe distance. The Surge spell will have three charges and a long recharge time, so players should use it judiciously. Furthermore, all spells in the game will now be upgradeable through a leveling system called Spell Upgrades. This system can either add new effects to existing spells or boost their current effects. So far, only details about Surge’s upgrades have been disclosed, which include leaving an afterimage of the player that confuses enemies for a while.

With the addition of new RuneScape: Dragonwilds skills, the June update also includes enhancements to bases. New Palisade Walls and Gates, craftable from either iron or oak and with progressively stronger tiers, will provide sturdier defense against attackers, and they’ll display visible wear as they sustain damage. Additionally, players will notice a decrease in the rate at which their hunger, thirst, and fatigue needs deplete when they are within 20 meters of their bed due to the new Coziness feature. Lastly, improved bloom and depth-of-field sliders should make the game more visually appealing by reducing overly bright lighting effects and offering sharper images for distant objects.

Jagex intends to roll out content updates approximately every three months, with two major updates per year. The preliminary plan for RuneScape: Dragonwilds, unveiled shortly after its launch, has already hinted at upcoming features, such as expanded skill sets for ranged combat and farming, along with the integration of the chilling Fellhollow region. Further details will be disclosed once a revised roadmap is released, which is expected towards the end of June.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds Update 0.8 Preview Notes (May 28, 2025)

Hello there, fellow Ashenfall enthusiasts! I’m thrilled to introduce our inaugural edition of ‘This Month In Ashenfall’ – your monthly glimpse into our world. This is our commitment to keeping the community in the loop about our progress, gather your valuable insights, and give you a sneak peek at our future plans. Let’s embark on this journey together!

A little over a month has passed since we introduced RuneScape: Dragonwilds into Early Access. Let’s dive in and see all the developments that have taken place!

Update When?

In June, we’re hoping to launch the first of what we consider “quarterly updates”.

Every three months, I guarantee a fresh update from our team. You can depend on these regular check-ins, which will show up in your Steam update section, come rain or shine. Unlike seasonal updates, they don’t correspond with any specific calendar seasons but instead serve as consistent milestones for our gaming journey together.

Let’s ensure we clearly communicate our timeline for delivering significant updates, which we refer to as “Spotlight”, “Showcase”, or “Tentpole” updates. These updates mark key milestones on our project roadmap. We’ve been actively listening to your feedback and gathering data, working diligently on our plans. I invite you to join a discussion with our Executive Producer, Mod Dutch, about our Roadmap once version 0.8 is out. We’ll provide more details about the release date at the end of June. Now, let’s reflect on what has already been achieved!

What Have We Done?

We unveiled our Early Access version of RuneScape: Dragonwilds, which we’ve been referring to as “0.7” internally. This is the core structure, the base, for the game we aim to construct. It offers an exhilarating blend of dragon-slaying, skill development, and survival crafting. We’ve received a wealth of feedback, some of it incredibly helpful and enlightening.

Initially, we released version 0.7.1 of the game as an Early Access title. Subsequently, we addressed numerous problems by making adjustments suggested by Mod Bakes and our Quality Assurance team, which led to update 0.7.1.4. Following this, we released version 0.7.2.

We started with version 0.7.1 of the game in Early Access. We fixed many issues based on feedback from Mod Bakes and our Quality Assurance team, which led to an update called 0.7.1.4. Then we released version 0.7.2.

0.7.2 softens Velgar assaults, base invasions, and “Hunted” activities, while addressing numerous crashes, glitches, and mishaps reported by players as they learn the game.

0.7.3 update introduces Cloud Saves, improvements to Velgar Meteor attacks, resolves inventory problems in quests, and addresses numerous concerns from our Discord community and other social platforms. That’s quite a list of enhancements!

And that brings us to here! So, next question from you will obviously be:

What Are We Doing?

0.8, of course!

Our team is organizing a schedule of rollouts that allows us to concentrate on crucial aspects – at the moment, our goal is to provide quarterly improvements leading towards larger, more significant overhauls (such as version 0.10 – Fellhollow). We aim to release these major upgrades approximately every six months. While this may seem like a lengthy gap between content updates, we view them as expansive updates instead. In between these major releases, we’ll provide smaller updates containing features like Skills, building components, additional elements, and quality-of-life enhancements.

Just as crucial, we’re attentively taking your feedback on board. Players from all over the world, ranging from seasoned ‘Scapers to complete newcomers who haven’t set foot in Gielinor, have shared their thoughts with us. The experience has been incredibly humbling, witnessing so many of you delve into Ashenfall and construct extraordinary homes, setting yourself tough challenges, and preparing to confront General Velgar. There’s a wealth of insights for us to absorb, and our small team is deeply moved by what we’ve observed. For the time being, let’s discuss what we’re working on, and then we can delve into your feedback.

It’s a Kind of Magic

Get ready for The Magic Skill’s arrival! It’s set to revolutionize combat in Ashenfall. I’m Mod Pointy, a Senior Game Designer, leading both our Skills and Spells department and the Player Combat team in Dragonwilds. This new skill is going to change the game for you!

Preview the exciting insights we’ve been developing for our debut Combat-oriented skillset, Magic! The Magic skillset has garnered significant anticipation among players in Dragonwilds. We’ve invested considerable effort into making it feel potent, captivating, and enjoyable as you progress through it using Spells during combat. With brand new Utility Magic to learn and fresh crafting materials that boost your weapon’s power, the revamped Magic skillset is set to recognize every player who enjoys employing magic to vanquish their adversaries. However, there’s more! We’re also debuting a novel type of perk upgrade as part of this update: Spell Upgrades! Let’s delve deeper into that soon, but first, let me share details about our new spell, “Surge.”

“Surge” is the initial Spell you will acquire, and it enhances your dodge, converting it into a teleporting dash.

After using the “Surge” ability, you’ll gain three teleport charges. Each time you use the ‘Dodge’ action, one charge is consumed, allowing you to create distance from potential enemies trying to disrupt your magical activities. However, be cautious with these charges as they deplete and you’ll need to wait before using “Surge” again.

In addition to this, mastering “Surge” opens up a new world of possibilities through the introduction of Spell Upgrades within the Magic skill tree. These enhancements can either boost existing spells or introduce entirely new effects! As you progress in the Magic line, you’ll unlock the ‘Afterimage’ upgrade for ‘Surge’. This feature leaves a ghostly distraction behind after your first dodge following the use of ‘Surge’. Enemies near this phantom will attack it briefly, relieving some pressure from you!

In the future, we intend to enhance spells across all existing and upcoming skill lines. We’re eager to hear your ideas on these upgrades too, feel free to voice them in our Discord channel! Additionally, there are many exciting things coming, such as spell and upgrade advancements, which you can anticipate unlocking soon!

The ‘Enhanced Staff Charm’ is an item you can create, which temporarily boosts the strength of your staff for a certain period.

The “Magic Potion” which temporarily increases your chances of landing Critical Hits with magic.

In summary, we’ve added a new skill line called “Magic.” As you progress through levels, certain abilities will become accessible. This change might be unexpected if you’re accustomed to having everything at the start, but it brings Magic in alignment with other skill lines and creates a more organized sense of advancement for everyone. For beginners, this means an easier and structured introduction to skills. For veterans, it gives us the opportunity to create significant and influential upgrades as we evolve this skill further. Can’t wait to see your feedback and creative builds when the Magic Skill update is launched! Catch you in Ashenfall until then!

– Mod Pointy and the entire Skills and Spells team.

He wrote all that by himself, I’m very proud. But there’s more!

De-fence-sive Line

It’s safe to say that your base has experienced numerous attacks. Existing day by day is a continuous fight for survival, especially when those loathsome Goblins (or even more formidable enemies) come knocking. In such situations, there’s no room for hesitation. Brace yourself and stand firm!

We’ve adjusted the health values of every building structure, increasing them significantly in certain instances – I apologize for the inconvenience caused to that particular ‘Scaper whose foundation was accidentally destroyed by a Kebbit on a previous occasion…

As a fervent enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share that we’ve expanded your defensive options! Introducing Palisade Walls and Palisade Gates – two robust additions to fortify your sanctuary. Crafted from Ash and Oak, these tiers offer a sturdy shield against unwanted intruders. So, bolster your defenses and watch those raiders quake at the sight of an extra layer of protection! This is merely the foundation of what’s to come for base defense systems as we delve deeper into development. Who knows? The cannons you adore in Falador could find a new home in the near future!

The gates operate similarly to doorways, and they have two doors within each entryway that function as regular doors. The walls are sturdy (no need for cattle farming) and can endure a considerable amount of damage from Goblins, Werewolves, or anything else beginning with the letter ‘G’. As for the other letters, we’re still figuring it out. These additional components will enable you to set up further protective measures to keep unwelcome intruders at bay.

Not only that, but when your buildings suffer 50% health, you’ll notice visible signs of damage. To harmonize Oak (Tier 2) construction elements with Ash (Tier 1), we’ve given them a fresh color scheme and new materials.

Bless This Mess

That’s not all – we’ve also got a new system feature: Coziness!

When you’re 20 meters away from where you have set up your resting spot, the rates at which hunger, thirst, and exhaustion decrease will significantly slow down. The purpose behind this is to allow you to engage in activities like building, crafting, cooking, or anything else that appeals to you while you feel secure indoors, giving you an opportunity to unwind as you recover.

The future direction of this system remains uncertain, but we’ll rely greatly on your input regarding these systems to mold its development.

Regarding feedback and organization, it’s worth mentioning that we’ve thoroughly reviewed the Item Weights, resulting in each item now having distinct weights. Gone are the days of longing for a pack yak, as your items will no longer feel the same!

Adjustments have been made to the burn times of all fuel items, ensuring that you won’t accidentally lose a log or other fuel source during cooking or crafting processes.

Each item is categorized into one of four maximum stack capacities: 1, 50, 99, or 999 units, depending on its specific nature. It’s clean and organized, with familiar larger quantities like the 99s for your convenience.

Hard Difficulty BTW

You’ll be trying out a fresh playstyle option soon! This unique gameplay style we’ve developed offers variations, allowing you to explore the world of Ashenfall in a new and different manner.

If you’re up for a test, here it is! Presenting: Tough Setting! Let me break down the key differences between these two options for you:

– Easy Mode: Designed for beginners or those who prefer a more relaxed gaming experience. The gameplay is simplified, with fewer obstacles and challenges.
– Hard Difficulty: Ideal for experienced players seeking a greater challenge. The gameplay is more complex, with increased difficulty levels such as tougher enemies, trickier puzzles, and faster paced action.

Choose the difficulty that best suits your gaming style!

Normal Mode

Thirst, Hunger & Fatigue never reduce Health below 1%
All Skill XP is retained on death
Inventory items are stored in a Gravestone on death, and can be recovered any time.
Enemy attacks deal 100% damage
Enemies have 100% Health
Weaknesses & Resistances affect damage by 100%

Hard Difficulty

Thirst, Hunger & Fatigue can reduce Health to 0%
Skill XP beyond your current level is lost on death
You may only have one gravestone at a time.
If you die with a gravestone active your first gravestone will be destroyed, along with all the items it protected.
Enemy attacks deal more damage
Enemies have more Health
Weaknesses & Resistances have stronger effects

In the process of creating a new world, you’ll encounter an option that allows you to opt-in. Keep in mind, it’s not going to be a smooth sailing experience; buckle up for this challenging journey ahead.

In this game of life, death is a common occurrence – if at first you don’t succeed, try again, but remember, each attempt may end in death. You can perish from starvation or dehydration. Once you’ve breathed your last and left this world, all the experience points you’ve earned since your last level-up will disappear. So, if you’re halfway to reaching the next level, you’ll be set back to your current level. You can’t lose a level, but you can lose progress towards the next one.

Speaking of losses, if a Goblin manages to hit you with an arrow, or you find yourself in a poison cloud or under a menacing axe, your life could end abruptly. Your grave marker will only serve as a reminder for this life. These items are destroyed upon your next death, so it’s crucial to quickly return to your grave and retrieve your belongings before they disappear. As long as you manage to survive, that is. When you return, your items will be gone, but you yourself will reappear… hopefully in the same form as before.

In this updated version, retribution may prove a bit trickier than expected. Your adversaries will inflict twice the normal damage on you, which could lead to some unfortunate defeats like taking 73 points of damage – believe it or not, that’s happened before! These enemies have also bulked up significantly, boasting triple the health they had in the base game. To add insult to injury, resistances have become three times as potent, meaning your infusions, concoctions, and potions are more effective than ever – do your best not to squander them!

This is our initial attempt at offering various features inside the game that will give you new methods for exploring and interacting with the world of Ashenfall. Your input on these ideas is valuable to us, as it helps shape what this immersive customization might evolve into over time!

Bloom: The Dark Ages

We’ve made improvements to the game’s lighting effects, making them less intense during certain daytimes for a more balanced look. This change also affects the depth of field, making distant objects appear clearer. Now, you can customize your gaming experience with new Bloom and Depth of Field sliders that allow you to adjust these settings according to your taste!

What Have We Heard?

Craving for even more RuneScape? Eager for fresh content and captivating tunes? Our goal is to provide a variety of all things entertaining, but it seems that the desire for more is universal. Rest assured, we’ve got your back! We listen, and we get it.

The team is taking a break to explore different concepts related to RuneScape: Dragonwilds, including Ancient Magicks, Dragon Defenders, and so on. We previously discussed Steel as a significant progression stage in the game’s equipment tiers, and you made it clear that Steel is an important milestone and cherished armor for you. Rest assured, full helms are also in the works for the future.

Our team is currently exploring ways to enhance security measures within shared environments, aimed at preventing griefing and safeguarding your possessions. This is still in its initial stages, but rest assured that your input on this matter is not only being heard, but is a priority for us. I’d like to add that the Friendly Fire/PvP setting we have is more of an experimental phase. Given our Early Access status and our desire to gauge community response to new ideas, we’re trying out various concepts to see what works best. Your feedback will be instrumental in guiding our future decisions.

I trust you had a great time exploring the team’s activities for this month! I’m off to TwitchCon Europe alongside other JMods, where we’ll discuss RuneScape as a whole. In the upcoming weeks, we’re planning a livestream prior to our 0.8 release, so stay tuned! And as customary, an Eye On Ashenfall update will follow with the 0.8 release!

Make certain to connect with the official RuneScape: Dragonwilds Discord group where you can display your finest creations, team up with dragon-hunting explorers, and engage in conversations! Don’t forget to also follow us on our various social media platforms too. You can find us on Twitter, BSky, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok!

Until next time, be good!

We’ll see you in Ashenfall.

2025-05-28 22:08