This official news post is copied verbatim from the Old School RuneScape website. It is copyrighted by Jagex.
This update was added on 29 October 2015.
Deadman mode is a new intense, player-vs-player survival game mode for Old School RuneScape. Deadman Mode is the ultimate in risk vs reward PvP. All members can use their existing account to play on the Deadman servers and compete in the hiscores to see who can survive this unique way of playing Old school Runescape.
Please note: Deadman worlds will be unavailable for 5 - 10 minutes following the update while we perform live testing.
Deadman Mode is the same Old School that you know and love with just a few small changes that make all the difference to how you will play.
You can access Deadman mode by logging onto world 345, 357 or 360.
Open PvP
Player vs player combat is enabled everywhere! The only exceptions to this are inside Barbarian Assault and Tutorial Island, and camping in either of those places isn't going to do you much good. There isn't a single spot in Gielinor where PvP is not a possibility in Deadman mode.
Town Protection
Incredibly high level guards patrol every town across the map keeping them safe. If they spot a player with a PK skull they will take them down in no time.
The highlighted areas on the map to left are the safe areas (click to enlarge).
PK Skulls
PK skulls in Deadman mode mean something quite different to PK skulls in standard Old School RuneScape. While they do have an impact on what happens when you die, which is explained in detail just below in the 'Death' section of this page, PK skulls in Deadman mode have a couple of other significant effects, too.
- Guards attack and kill players with PK skulls if they enter safe zones.
- Players who attack you when you are skulled will not be skulled themselves. This makes you a very tempting target.
- If you are in possession of any bank keys from killing players while skulled your skull will indicate how many keys you are holding. Again, making you a very tempting target.
Death
A death in Deadman mode is no joke. If you die to a player you will lose the 28 most valuable stacks of items from your bank to a bank raid, all items that you have on your person and half of the experience you have gained in any unprotected skills.
If you die to a monster when you have a PK skull you will lose the 28 most valuable stacks of items from your bank, all items that you have on your person and half of the experience you have gained in any unprotected skills.
If you die to a monster when you do not have a PK skull and have not taken damage from a player you will lose all of the items on your person except for the 3 most valuable. You will not lose experience or any items from your bank.
You can protect 5 skills in total: 2 combat skills and 3 non-combat skills. You can do this by opening the items lost on death interface from the equipment tab.
Bank Raiding
If you manage to kill a player in Deadman mode you will receive a key drop. This key will give you access to a chest that holds the 28 most valuable stacks of items from the bank of the player you killed.
Getting to this chest is no easy task, though. The chests are located in safe areas meaning you will not be able to use a key until your PK skull expires. If you choose to take your chances and go for a kill you will have a hard time staying alive for the 30 minutes your skull lasts for. Is it worth the risk?
Safe deposit box
You can protect up to 10 items by placing them in your safe deposit box. Your safe deposit box can be accessed by talking to Financial Wizards found in various banks across the map.
Items in your safe deposit box will not be lost to a player who kills you, unlike those found in your bank. Remember that you can only place 10 single items into your safe deposit box, not 10 stacks.
Accelerated Progression
The experience you gain in Deadman mode will be five times the amount you would normally gain in Old School RuneScape when training. Experience earned through quests will remain at the same rate but training using the standard methods will be much, much faster.
Mules
With such harsh death mechanics there will certainly be a few players who try to cheat the system with mule accounts. Mule accounts are accounts used solely to store items safely. We will be on the look out for any instances of this happening and will be removing the accounts from Deadman mode to prevent any unfair advantages being gained.
Minigames
Below is a list of the changes that we have made to minigames in Deadman mode.
| Minigame | New Mechanics |
|---|---|
| Duel Arena | Disabled |
| Barbarian Assault | PvP disabled inside the minigame. The lobby is still dangerous. |
| Castle Wars | Disabled |
| Trouble Brewing | Disabled |
| Fight Pits | Disabled |
| Rat Pits | Disabled |
| Pest Control | Disabled |
Bloodmoney
Upon killing another player in Deadman mode you will receive an untradeable currency called Bloodmoney. You can use Bloodmoney on Nigel in the Lumbridge graveyard to get yourself a few pieces of his lovely Deadman outfit.
The outfit is lost on death but can be retrieved from Nigel if you lose it.
In other news...
Other changes/Quality of life
- Nigel the deadman can now provide you with even more information on Deadman mode.
Bugfixes
- The upper parts of some palm trees should now be visible from the ground along Feldip beach and on Karamja.
- The game messages received when crafting Fremennik round shields or splitting Arctic pine logs are now more helpful.
Discuss this update on the forums.
Mods Alfred, Archie, Ash, Ghost, Ian, John C, Kieren, Mat K, Maz, Ronan, Weath
The Old School Team
