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Old School RuneScape Hardcore Worlds launch November 4
Old School RuneScape will open its permanent Hardcore Worlds on November 4. Fresh characters will face familiar progression systems but far less forgiving consequences for death.
A permanent, separate home for hardcore play
Old School RuneScape will open Hardcore Worlds on November 4 as a permanent part of the game rather than a limited season. These worlds will remain separate from the main game, giving their community an independent starting point. Character progression, early milestones and the developing economy will therefore take shape inside a fresh set of dedicated servers.
Entry begins with a newly created character, not the direct conversion of an established account. Players will pass through Tutorial Island and use Death’s Delegate to reach Death’s Office, where the Hardcore path can be selected. Experience and drop rates will remain normal, while unrestricted player trading will support a conventional economy instead of an Ironman-style self-sufficiency requirement.
Death leads to a permanent decision
The central pressure comes from death rules described as similarly unforgiving to those of Hardcore Group Ironman. For most deaths, the usual item-protection process still applies first, allowing three or four items to be kept when appropriate. That familiar step does not remove the larger penalty, because the player must then decide what happens to the character itself.
One option is a full reset within Hardcore Worlds, which erases everything attached to that run and sends the player back to a clean beginning. The other is a permanent transfer to the main game. Protected equipment, banked possessions and items held in storage carry over, but anything left at the gravestone is lost. A transferred character cannot return to Hardcore Worlds.
Escape Crystal plans and launch restrictions
New characters will receive an Escape Crystal as part of their starting supplies. Under the announced plan, Death will also sell the crystal, with its intended price reduced from 75,000 coins to 10,000. Using one will clear active status effects from the character. As these adjustments form part of the launch plan, players should still review the final release notes before relying on them.
Two competitive activities will be unavailable at first. Bounty Hunter and Last Man Standing are being disabled for the initial release, so their rewards will not feed into the young economy immediately. Death’s Office will also be uninstanced, meaning the Hardcore population will use a shared version of the location rather than being divided among private copies.
World firsts and major deaths become public moments
Server-wide broadcasts will record the biggest moments of the new worlds. Major world-first achievements will trigger announcements, while significant character deaths will also be shared with the wider server. The feature should make both rapid progress and costly failure visible, creating a public history that reflects the risk at the heart of the mode without changing ordinary XP or loot rates.
Improvements to the world switcher are planned for later in November, separately from the November 4 opening. Those changes are intended to make navigation across the expanded world list clearer. Until then, prospective players can prepare by understanding the reset-versus-transfer decision, keeping valuable items in protected storage and remembering which competitive activities will remain closed during the opening phase.
Source: Old School RuneScape