Old School RuneScape Deep Sea Diving Proposal Expands Sailing

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Jagex’s next Sailing pitch goes below the surface

Jagex has outlined an Old School RuneScape deep sea diving proposal that would turn Sailing into a gateway for underwater skilling, Slayer, farming, and quest progression, but the studio is putting the package in front of players before treating it as final. The official Old School RuneScape blog published on October 29, 2026 frames Deep Sea Diving as an expansion tied to Sailing and introduced through a proposed quest, Burial at Sea. MMOHuts reports that voting is expected to open soon, and that the update is headed to an in-game poll rather than arriving as a locked patch.

That polling detail is the tension at the center of this OSRS Sailing update. Jagex is not asking players to accept one monolithic feature. According to MMOHuts, the poll will split out the quest, jewellery and farming sites, low and mid-level Slayer areas, the Abyssal Slayer area, the Abyssal gland reward, and the Omnivorous Clams activity. In practical terms, Old School RuneScape could end up with Burial at Sea but without every proposed diving site, or with some activity types passing while others fail.

The official Old School RuneScape blog positions this as a follow-up to the RuneFest roadmap item labeled “Diving Expansion,” which players had apparently been waiting to understand. The Old School RuneScape Wiki’s upcoming updates page also lists a Diving expansion under Sailing-related updates, while warning that scheduled future content is subject to change and should be limited to facts from official Jagex releases. That distinction matters here: the broad direction is official, but the individual mechanics are still proposals.

Burial at Sea is the quest key for the whole system

Jagex’s proposal begins with the OSRS Burial at Sea quest, an Experienced-tier quest that would act as the unlock point for Deep Sea Diving. In the official blog, Jagex says Burial at Sea is the second and final part of the story introduced in Pandemonium, bringing players back to Will and Anne after the events that first sent many players into Sailing. The quest would start by speaking with “Squawking” Steve Beanie at the pub on the Pandemonium.

The listed requirements make the quest a midgame bridge rather than a late-game wall. Jagex names 42 Sailing, 38 Smithing, 32 Construction, completion of Pandemonium, and completion of Recipe for Disaster: Freeing Pirate Pete as the requirements. The Pirate Pete requirement is not only a lore gag. Jagex specifically calls out the diving gear made during that Recipe for Disaster chapter as relevant to the proposed underwater segments.

If Burial at Sea passes polling as described, its rewards would include 3 Quest Points, 10,000 Sailing XP, 2,500 Smithing XP, 10,000 coins, Deep Sea Diving Gear, a Diving Bell, and the ability to go Deep Sea Diving. That reward structure is cleanly progression-minded. The quest would give Sailing experience, preserve Smithing as part of the equipment fantasy, and use a bespoke unlock rather than simply scattering new sites into the ocean from day one.

Jagex says it is not revealing full story details, but it does say Burial at Sea would conclude the Will and Anne storyline while tying into “deeper narratives.” Based on the provided material, that is the firm limit of what has been announced. There is no confirmed release date, no published price because Old School RuneScape updates are not presented here as separate paid DLC, and no final list of implemented quest rewards until polling and development conclude.

Diving sites would function like underwater islands for Sailing players

The Deep Sea Diving feature itself is pitched as a network of diving sites around Gielinor. Jagex describes these locations as similar to small islands, except they exist far below the waves in a high-pressure environment. Players would use equipment created during Burial at Sea to access them after the quest.

The interesting systems choice is that these sites are tied to Sailing requirements and activities rather than existing as a detached minigame. MMOHuts reports that each underwater diving site would have its own Sailing requirement and associated activity. That gives Sailing a post-quest progression route that is spatial, not only numerical. Instead of gaining levels solely to move faster or reach new surface destinations, players would gain access to deeper utility pockets beneath Gielinor’s seas.

Jagex also appears to be proposing a measured rollout. MMOHuts says the studio wants to start with a smaller set of sites first, then expand based on what works. For Old School RuneScape, that is a familiar and sensible risk-control pattern. Sailing is still a large systemic addition by the standards of OSRS, and underwater locations introduce questions about pathing, visibility, resource density, travel friction, and how much reward can be placed behind a new skill without making older routes feel obsolete.

The proposal’s strongest idea is that Deep Sea Diving gives Sailing a reason to intersect with other skills. The weakest risk, at least from the details currently public, is the same thing. If underwater sites become too efficient, they could distort existing skilling routes. If they are too restrained, players may treat them as novelty areas unlocked by a quest and rarely revisit them. That balance is not settled by the announcement. It is exactly the sort of question the poll and later tuning would need to answer.

Jewellery, farming, and Slayer give the proposal its progression spread

The proposed Old School RuneScape update is not centered on one underwater activity. Jagex’s proposal, as summarized by MMOHuts, includes jewellery production areas, an underwater cave farming area, low and mid-level Slayer spaces, a higher-end Abyssal Slayer area, and a hybrid Thieving and Magic activity built around Omnivorous Clams.

The jewellery production sites are the most immediately legible skilling pitch. MMOHuts reports that these sites would include silver, gold, gem rocks, and hydrothermal vents that can act as magical furnaces. There is also a proposed upgrade that banks smelted jewellery. If implemented carefully, that could create a compact production loop for players who want to mine, craft, and process jewellery in one themed area. The banked-smelting upgrade is the point to watch because it would determine whether the activity feels like a convenience reward, a new training route, or a potential economy pressure point.

The farming pitch is stranger and more characterful. Jagex has proposed an underwater cave farming area with Spirit Tree, Celastrus, Mushroom, and Hardwood Tree patches, according to MMOHuts. The phrase “underwater-ish” appears in the official blog navigation, which suggests Jagex is already aware that full underwater farming needs some environmental justification. For progression-minded players, the key question is whether these patches serve as additional long-cycle Farming value, travel utility, or a reason to integrate Sailing into regular farm runs.

The Slayer proposals are split by audience. The low and mid-level areas would include Depth Crawlers, Drowned Mages, and regular Jellies, according to MMOHuts. The Abyssal Slayer area would include Abyssal Demons, Abyssal Rock Slugs, and a new level 79 Slayer monster called the Abyssal Arbalest. Splitting those into separate poll questions gives the community room to approve accessible Slayer content without automatically approving a higher-level Abyssal reward ecosystem.

The Abyssal Arbalest reward is small on paper and big for Runecraft habits

The most targeted reward in the proposal is attached to the Abyssal Arbalest. MMOHuts reports that the proposed monster would be a new level 79 Slayer creature and could drop an untradeable Abyssal gland. If players bring that gland to the Dark Mage in the Abyss, it would permanently triple Runecraft pouch durability.

That is a specific quality-of-life reward, not a generic power drop. It does not appear, from the source material provided, to create a tradeable item market. Its value would instead sit in long-term Runecraft convenience. For completionists and efficiency-minded players, a permanent pouch durability upgrade is exactly the kind of account progression that can make an activity feel worth unlocking even if the monster’s regular loot is not headline-grabbing.

It is also the proposal most likely to draw scrutiny from players who guard Old School RuneScape’s friction points carefully. Runecraft pouch degradation has long functioned as part of the rhythm and maintenance cost of Runecraft training. A permanent tripling of durability would not remove the system, based on the wording reported by MMOHuts, but it would reduce how often players engage with that maintenance. Jagex separating the Abyssal gland drop into its own poll question is important because it lets players judge the reward independently from the underwater Slayer area.

At this stage, several practical details are unannounced in the provided sources. Jagex has not given a drop rate in the supplied material, has not confirmed task assignment rules, and has not detailed how the Abyssal Arbalest would fight. Players should treat the gland as a proposal signal rather than a guaranteed upgrade path.

Omnivorous Clams show Jagex testing hybrid activity design

The Omnivorous Clams activity is the proposal’s clearest experiment in cross-skill design. MMOHuts describes it as a hybrid Thieving and Magic activity with stackable loot, pearl drops for High Alchemy, and three proposed sail cosmetics. That combination says a lot about how Jagex is trying to make Deep Sea Diving feel like part of Sailing without making every reward a direct Sailing XP button.

A hybrid Thieving and Magic activity has a different player profile from Slayer or production skilling. It could appeal to players who prefer repeatable, inventory-conscious loops with a chance at cosmetic chase rewards. The stackable loot detail also matters. Underwater sites will likely live or die by how annoying it feels to travel, bank, and return. If the activity is designed around stackable outputs, it may be aimed at longer sessions below the surface rather than short bank-to-node loops.

The proposed sail cosmetics are also telling. Sailing needs visible identity rewards if it is going to remain a social skill as much as a traversal system. Cosmetics tied to underwater activity would give players a way to show that they engaged with Deep Sea Diving without necessarily injecting more raw resources into the economy. The provided sources do not name the cosmetics or describe their appearance, so any expectation beyond “three proposed sail cosmetics” would be speculation.

As with the rest of the proposal, the clam activity can pass or fail separately. That modular polling approach protects the broader OSRS Sailing update from being rejected over one reward style, but it could also leave the final feature uneven if only certain pieces survive.

Players should read this as a poll package, not a patch note

For now, the most useful way to understand Old School RuneScape deep sea diving is as a designed package awaiting community consent. The official Jagex blog confirms the proposal, the quest hook, the requirements, and the broad activity categories. MMOHuts reports that voting is expected soon and that the poll will ask about major components separately. MMORPG.com similarly frames the feature as Jagex seeking community input on the Diving Expansion from this year’s RuneFest roadmap.

That means players should avoid planning bank investments or account routes as if every detail is guaranteed. The safest confirmed preparation, if the proposal interests you, is to look at the stated quest requirements: 42 Sailing, 38 Smithing, 32 Construction, Pandemonium, and Recipe for Disaster: Freeing Pirate Pete. Those are the gates Jagex has named for Burial at Sea. Anything beyond that, including optimal gear, drop rates, site layouts, XP rates, and economic impact, remains unconfirmed in the supplied material.

The design direction is still worth watching closely. Deep Sea Diving would give Sailing a stronger progression spine after its first year by attaching new spaces to quests, skilling, Slayer, and account upgrades. Burial at Sea gives that expansion a lore-facing entry point, while the separate activity polls give the community power to shape how broad the underwater layer becomes.

If Jagex can keep the rewards useful without letting the sites flatten older training routes, this could become one of Sailing’s more important post-launch expansions. If the poll fragments the package, Deep Sea Diving may arrive as a narrower feature with room to grow later. Either outcome depends on the same Old School RuneScape process that brought the proposal this far: Jagex makes the case, then the players decide how much of Gielinor’s ocean floor is worth opening.