After more than a decade without a new skill, Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is finally setting sail into uncharted waters. On November 19th, 2025, the long-awaited Sailing skill will arrive in Gielinor, marking the largest content update in the game’s history. This expansion is shaping up to redefine exploration, skilling, and adventure in OSRS, bringing more than 30 new islands, shipbuilding and naval combat, new quests, and cross-skill integrations across nearly every corner of the game.

Let’s dive into everything we know about Sailing — how it works, what content launches on day one, and what’s coming beyond 2025.

What Is Sailing in OSRS?

At its core, Sailing is an exploration and skilling system that takes players beyond the shores of Gielinor into the vast open sea. You’ll construct and upgrade your own ships, navigate through treacherous waters, complete ocean-based tasks, and explore dozens of new islands filled with unique training methods, bosses, and resources.

Sailing is both a standalone skill and a gateway to new content. As you progress, you’ll unlock larger vessels, advanced upgrades, and access to higher-level islands. The skill blends traditional OSRS progression with a fresh open-world element, giving players the freedom to discover at their own pace.

Core Sailing Training Methods

At launch, there will be four primary training methods alongside several hybrid options.

1. Trimming the Sail

The simplest training method. As you travel, your ship’s sail will “luff” roughly every 30 seconds. Left-clicking to trim it grants a burst of Sailing XP and temporarily increases your ship’s speed.

2. Port Tasks

Iconic Gielinorian NPCs will assign you missions that function like courier jobs or bounty contracts.

  • Courier Tasks: Deliver goods between ports.

  • Bounty Tasks: Hunt down sea monsters or collect rare items across the ocean.

3. Shipwreck Salvaging

The more AFK-friendly option. With a salvaging hook, you can pull materials and items from shipwrecks scattered across the sea. Salvage can later be traded at ports for resources and materials.

4. Barracuda Trials

A high-intensity, race-like activity where you navigate a course against the clock. It rewards precision, timing, and mastery of ship control.

Additional methods include Sea Charting, which grants one-time XP bonuses for exploring new territories — essentially the collection log of the ocean.

Sailing XP Rates (Predictions)

While Jagex hasn’t published official XP rates, developer insights suggest it won’t be among the fastest or slowest skills. Based on community analysis, high-end XP rates will likely fall between 75,000–150,000 XP/hour, depending on the activity and upgrades.

Explore 30+ New Islands

On release, the Sailing update adds over 30 explorable islands, each offering distinct content, resources, and training opportunities. Here are a few we know about so far:

  • Pandemonium – The central hub for Sailing, home to the introductory quest.

  • The Great Kunch – A massive island featuring a new quest and the Shellbane Griffin, a powerful slayer boss.

  • Chard Island – Contains a new dungeon with lava strikeworms and other slayer creatures.

  • Grimstone – A mysterious northern island, details unrevealed.

Each island has a Sailing level requirement to access, ensuring progression feels rewarding as you expand your maritime reach.

Shipbuilding and Upgrades

Your ship is the heart of the Sailing skill. You’ll begin with a simple raft, but can eventually build small and large ships, each customizable with upgrades:

  • Hull, Mast, and Sail Upgrades – Boost speed and durability.

  • Cargo Hold – Store salvage and materials.

  • Cannons – Engage in ship combat.

  • Salvaging Hook – Enables shipwreck recovery.

  • Wind Catcher and Anchor – Offer utility and speed bonuses.

Each facility can be constructed and enhanced as your Sailing and related skills improve.

Cross-Skill Integration

One of Sailing’s most impressive design choices is how deeply it integrates with other OSRS skills. It ties into fishing, cooking, firemaking, woodcutting, farming, hunter, slayer, fletching, crafting, thieving, herblore, construction, and smithing — over half the skills in the game.

Examples include:

  • Lantern Fishing – A new harpoon method allowing players to catch squid-like creatures.

  • Deep Sea Trolling – Combines Sailing and Fishing to hunt large schools of fish across the sea.

  • Crab Hunting Expeditions – A Hunter activity using crab traps to catch three new crab species.

  • Improved Cannonball Smithing – At level 81 Smithing, unlock Brittle Island, reducing cannonball creation time by 50%.

  • Pirate Plundering – Thieving new merchant stalls and pirate chests that never deplete.

New Resources and Items

Sailing adds an ocean’s worth of new materials, including hardwoods, ores, and fish, along with new potions and weapons.

New Hardwoods

Joba, Campor, Ironwood, and Rosewood – Used for planks, ship upgrades, and mid-tier blowpipes.

New Ores

  • Lead, Rubium, and Nickel – Used for ship reinforcement and crafting new cannonballs.

New Fish

  • Halibit – New combo food healing 20 HP.

  • Bluefin Tuna – Heals 22 HP and restores Prayer.

  • Marlin – New best-in-slot single-eat food, healing 24 HP.

New Potions

  • Super Fishing & Super Hunter Potions – +6 boosts.

  • Extended Stamina Potions – 70% run drain reduction for 4 minutes.

  • Armale Brew – Combines Saradomin brew healing with a Ranging boost.

Farming Additions

  • Coral Nurseries – Grow new Herblore ingredients.

  • Hardwood Tree Patches – For new woods used in ship construction.

New Slayer Creatures and Bosses

Sailing introduces several new monsters and unique drops:

  • Shellbane Griffin (Slayer Boss) – Drops Bell’s Folly, a high-level stab weapon, and Horn of Plenty, a Hunter-boosting off-hand.

  • Aquinite (78 Slayer, 73 Sailing) – Drops the Aquinite Hopper, a ranged off-hand with double-shot potential.

  • Lava Strikeworm & Frost Dragon – Drop Dragon Sheets, high-tier shipbuilding materials.

New Quests and Content

Several new quests will accompany the Sailing launch:

  • Pandemonium – The introductory quest teaching Sailing basics.

  • Troubled Tortugans – Introduces the turtle-like Tortugan race and the Griffin boss fight.

More quests are planned for 2026, expanding the storylines tied to the new regions.

Miscellaneous Features

  • Ship Combat – Gain both Sailing and Ranged XP through cannon use. Crew members can help man facilities for team-based gameplay.

  • Crew System – Up to five NPC or player crew members can assist on your ship.

  • Bank Expansion – +100 base spaces and +10 per unlock, totaling nearly +200.

  • Sailing Pet – Several designs have been teased, including a crab carrying a miniature ship in a bottle.

  • Teleport to Boat Spell – Allows fast travel between docks and owned ships.

Future Sailing Updates (2026 and Beyond)

Jagex has confirmed Sailing will continue expanding post-launch:

  • Early 2026: Second Tortugan quest and new Port Task variants.

  • Summer 2026: A small-scale ocean boss encounter.

  • Future Plans: Ship PvP, Sailing Guild (potentially the Barracuda Headquarters), colossal multi-player ships, new hybrid skilling methods like Sea Monster Hunting and Mineral Dredging, and interactive NPC trade ships roaming the seas.