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Only the most experienced hunters can truly call the Guild home, but those who do use its old name: Cor Venationis, the Heart of the Hunt.
Those Varlamorians who have made hunting their vocation, believe firmly in the balance between the sun and moon – two concepts that any Varlamorian hunter must learn to work with, lest they come home empty handed… or not at all.
As previously discussed in our Varlamore: The Shining Kingdom newspost, the Hunter Guild is designed to breathe new life into underappreciated Hunter content all across Gielinor. It introduces new critters, new hunting grounds, and new rewards – and, of course, it introduces the Guild itself.
Once you’ve reached 46 Hunter you can follow the dirt roads from Civitas Illa Fortis into the heart of the Avium Savannah, where the Guild’s many amenities await you.
Today, though, we’ve managed to obtain exclusive access. Come, make your way down into the Burrow, have yourself a Trapper’s Tipple, and see all that this ancient Guild has to offer…
To obtain a Rumour, you’ll need to head to The Burrow, the Guild’s in-house pub, and have a word with one of the hunters there. While you’re at it, why not enjoy a pint of the barkeep’s specialty, the local Trapper’s Tipple brew?
You can only have one Rumour active at any one time. Just like the Slayer Masters you’re familiar with, each hunter at the bar will have a different Rumour, and they’ll be suitable for different Hunter levels. Don’t worry, they’ll make it clear if you’re not up to the challenge yet!
If you don’t like the look of your current Rumour, simply speak to another hunter – or, if none of their Rumours interest you, you can trade some of your spare creature parts for a low-tier hunt that will reset all the available Rumours.
The Rumour tiers are currently as follows:
- Basic: 46 Hunter
- Tier 1: 57 Hunter
- Tier 2: 72 Hunter
- Tier 3: 91 Hunter
When you’ve selected a rumour to investigate, set off and prepare to hunt! While tracking down a Rumour, you’ll have the chance to grab special Rare Creature Parts, which can be traded with the hunter you obtained the Rumour from for a bonus XP drop and a Loot Sack of useful Hunter goodies like meats, furs, and bones. If you’re lucky, you might also get some Varlamore-specific items you can use in other activities around the area.
But that’s not all. You can also obtain the new Hunter Skilling Outfit, which provides you with +2.5% catch rate and a 5% increased chance to obtain a Rare Creature Part when wearing the full set. Also on offer are recharges for the Quetzal Whistle, and your very own Quetzal Pet.
Of course, the higher your tier, the more likely it is you’ll obtain one of these unique items. Basic Rumours won’t roll on this table at all, so don’t be scared to challenge yourself!
Question 1:
Should we add Hunters’ Rumours to Varlamore’s Hunter Guild? These would be ‘contracts’ that would task players with catching a specific creature in exchange for rewards.
Question 2:
Should we add the Quetzal Pet? This would be rare drop that can be obtained from opening Hunter Loot Sacks after completing Hunter Rumours.
These beautiful, graceful birds are native to Varlamore, and the citizens there have worked alongside these majestic beasts for centuries. Their powerful wings are capable of carrying their companions to destinations across the continent, and the Hunter Guild maintains their own stable as one of the many amenities available to Guild members.
Make your way to the Roost, sitting atop the Guild, to get a look at these stunning creatures yourself – and perhaps even get the chance to ride one! The Guild’s long-established nestwork has travel points all across Varlamore – and, if you have the right Hunter and Construction levels, you can even build your own.
Guild members are issued a Quetzal Whistle, which allows them to swiftly fly back to the Guild from anywhere in Gielinor – except the Wilderness, of course.
There are three tiers of Quetzal Whistle – Basic, Enhanced (made from Yew), and Perfected (made from Redwood). The Basic Quetzal Whistle can store up to five charges, the Enhanced version up to 20, and the Perfected version up to 50.
After completing 5 Rumours of any level, the Quetzal Master in The Roost will reward you with the Basic Whistle Blueprints. You’ll need this to obtain the Blueprints for the Enhanced and Perfected variants, which you’ll receive as a random drop from completing Rumours. We’re considering a 1/50 drop rate for these, with a guaranteed Torn Enhanced Blueprint at your 100th Rumour, and a Torn Perfected Blueprint on your 250th Rumour. If the dry streak is too much to bear, the Blueprints are also tradeable.
You’ll charge the Whistle by feeding Hunter Guild Quetzal’s their favourite snack – meats from Hunter creatures! The higher-level the meat, the more satisfied the quetzal will be, and the more charges you’ll receive. You also have the option to make the Perfected Quetzal Whistle hold unlimited charges by trading a hefty amount of Hunter meats.
You’ll be spending lots of time with these beautiful birds as you travel the world, so we want to give you the option to customise the quetzal that comes to pick you up! These options will slightly change the look of your feathered friend, and might even include design elements from other Varlamore content – how about a Colosseum-themed quetzal?
So… what about the eagles? These noble beasts have been Hunter’s only transport method since they were released with the launch of Eagle’s Peak, and we think it’d be a shame to sideline them now. The Hunter’s Guild agrees, and they’ve installed a special Eagle Nest, complete with their own Guild Eagle that you can use for fast transport to the Eagle’s Peak nest where you use them to travel to the current locations. It will be fast, too, since we’re adding a quick-travel option to make this transport method a bit nicer to use.
Question 3:
Should we add the Quetzal Whistle? This would be an upgradeable item that would teleport you straight to the Hunter Guild from anywhere in the world, except the Wilderness.
Moths
The scaly-winged brethren of the humble butterfly, these light-loving insects have been conspicuously missing from Old School’s menagerie. The Hunter Guild hopes to change that!
Just like Butterflies, these creatures are trapped using a Butterfly Net and Jar and allow you to bestow buffs upon other players. Unlike Butterflies, we’re giving you the option to catch them with your own hands, if you have the appropriate Hunter level.
You’ll buff yourself and up to three players around you with one of the following effects:
- Sunlight Moth (65 Hunter to Catch/75 Hunter Barehand): These Moths love the sun and restore 6 + 20% of a player’s reduced stats, as well as 8 Hitpoints.
- Moonlight Moth (75 Hunter to Catch/ 85 Hunter Barehand): Lover of the dark, these Moths would restore 5 + 10% of a player’s level in Prayer Points.
You can also use these creatures in Hunter’s Mixes, a tradeable two-dose AoE potion that has the same effect as the Moths. We’re extending this to Butterflies too, to give them a bit more utility!
These creatures present a niche but varied approach to group content and opens up the opportunity for us to explore this reward space further in future – if that’s something you’re interested in, of course!
Question 4:
Should we add Moths? These would allow players to use their effects on themselves or up to three other players.
Question 5:
Should we add Hunter’s Mixes? These are two-does potions made from butterflies and moths that give the same effects as the insect it’s made from.
Antelope
Springy, agile and fast, these four-legged mammals can be found wandering the Avium Savannah and the Hunter Guild. Successfully hunting these creatures with a baited deadfall trap will provide you with meat and horns. These also have two variants:
- Sunlight Antelope (72 Hunter): Sunlight Horns and Sunlight Meat
- Moonlight Antelope (91 Hunter): Moonlight Horns and Moonlight Meat
Moonlight Horns can be used to upgrade the Hunter’s Crossbow into the Moonlight Hunter’s Crossbow, while the Sunlight horns can be crafted into new ammunition specifically for the Moonlight Crossbow. More on that in a moment!
Question 6:
Should we add Antelopes, a new Hunter animal whose horns can be crafted into new crossbow ammunition and to upgrade the Hunter’s Crossbow?
Jerboa
These bouncy little guys can be caught with a Box Trap. Successful catches reward you with Jerboa Tails, which can be crafted into Bolas or used as bait to trap foxes in deadfall traps. You’ll need 39 Hunter to trap them.
Question 7:
Should we add Jerboas, a new Hunter animal that can be caught using Box Traps and used to craft Bolas?
Fennec Foxes
What does the fox say? Well, it depends where they’re from! These particular fluffy fellows can be caught in Varlamore, using 57 Hunter and a baited deadfall trap. They drop Fox Fur, Meat, and Bones.
Question 8:
Should we add Fennec Foxes, a new Hunter animal that can be caught using Deadfall Traps?
Mountain Salamander
A new tier of Salamander that can be caught with the usual net method. They’ll require 79 Hunter to catch and use new Irit Tar as ammunition. You’ll need 80 Attack/Ranged/Magic to wield these fiesty little fiends effectively.
- Slash Attack: +77
- Ranged Attack: +87
- Strength Bonus: +91
Question 9:
Should we add Mountain Salamanders? These would be the new highest tier of Salamander.
As we continue to expand Varlamore, we might look to include additional animals to hunt. These updates will be polled separately in each part of the area expansion.
Now, enough new stuff – let’s see how we plan to upgrade our current Hunter content!
They say you are what you eat, and if that were true in Old School RuneScape, most of you would be fish.
Fishing is the gathering skill of choice for hungry adventurers – but we think it’s high time you diversified your diets and started getting some hearty meat dishes down you!
The gourmets at the Hunter Guild have developed a cooking method that gives your typical, boring meats a bit of extra flavour – and a delayed healing over time effect that gives you more HP than fish over a longer period of time.
For example:
- Shark requires 76 Fishing and 80 Cooking, and can be cooked on any old Range or fire. They heal 20 Hitpoints in one bite (don’t ask us how you manage that) and can be caught en masse by harpooning the relevant Fishing spot.
- Dashing Kebbit, which would require 69 Hunter and 72 Cooking (although this is subject to balancing), could also be cooked at any Range or fire but would heal an initial 15 Hitpoints, and then a further 8 Hitpoints X number of ticks later. That’s 3 Hitpoints more than the Shark, at a lower skill threshold.
If you’re not in a situation where you need the extra Hitpoints urgently, Hunter meats will provide greater value overall. This system lets us push healing a little higher and gives you more options when preparing for combat encounters. Best of all, it doesn’t step on any toes – all your existing dietary choices will still have all the same benefits they did before.
If you’re wondering – yes, you can still combo-eat with these meats. Crunch a Karambwan or slurp a Saradomin Brew in conjunction with some tasty Hunter meats, and you’ll get the benefits of both. You’ll still have the usual delay when eating other foodstuffs, but you’ll be unable to eat another piece of Hunter Meat until one tick after you’ve received the full amount of healing it provides.
We’re also considering adding a little extra flavour to the very highest tiers of meat that will give you extra variety, themed towards the type of creature you’ve cooked. These special effects won’t crowd out the current buffs available from potions and the like, but they might just be useful in situations where you can’t commit a slot to something as situational as a Stamina Potion, for example.
Here’s a breakdown of how some of the meats we’ve designed so far stack up against their fishy equivalents:
| Fish | HP | Meat | HP | Additional | Total HP |
| Trout | 7 | Wild Kebbit | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Salmon | 9 | Larupia | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Tuna | 10 | Barbed Kebbit | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Lobster | 12 | Graahk | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| Swordfish | 14 | Kyatt | 11 | 6 | 17 |
| Monkfish | 16 | Fox Meat | 13 | 6 | 19 |
| Karambwan | 18 | Sunlight Antelope Meat | 14 | 7 | 21 |
| Shark | 20 | Dashing Kebbit | 15 | 8 + 10 Run Energy | 23 |
| Dark Crab/Manta Ray | 22 | Moonlight Antelope Meat | 17 | 4 + 5 + Cure 1 Poison | 26 |
There’s one catch – in order to unlock this new method of Cooking, you’ll have to complete Rumours and get the Guild’s residents to trust you with their favourite recipes. Here’s how that shakes out:
- 25 Rumours: Low Tier Meats (Wild Kebbit, Larupia and Barbed Kebbit)
- 50 Rumours: Mid Tier Meats (Graahk, Kyatt and Fox)
- 100 Rumours: High Tier Meats (Antelope and Dashing Kebbit)
By the way, we’re really keen to hear what you think of tying these unlocks to the Rumour system, and whether you’d like to see this same approach in other Varlamore content.
In the meanwhile, we hope this new Cooking method will spice up your diet and give some much-needed love to some long-neglected resources.
Question 10:
Should we add Hunter Cooking? This would give cooked meat obtained from Hunter a delayed healing effect, which would heal X amount instantly with a secondary smaller heal later.
Mixed Hide Gear
As you’ve no doubt figured out, one of our goals for this content is to make the stuff you acquire from your hunts more useful. That’s why the secondary use for Hunting is Mixed Hide Armour, a new Ranged set that requires 50 Defence and 60 Ranged to equip. We’re also thinking this set should be made from a combination of relatively high Hunter furs like Fox and Antelopes.
This set is a Ranged/Melee hybrid that gives you a welcome Defence advantage while offering some significant Strength-based Ranged gains. You’ll get a slight increase to Stab accuracy, but the larupia’s share of the bonus goes to Ranged attack.
We’ve designed the set to match Spiky Vambraces for an alternative mid-level option that focuses on both Ranged attack and Melee strength – incidentally, it goes nicely with the new weapon we’re planning to introduce…
Question 11:
Should we add the Mixed Hide Armour set? This would be a set that works as a Ranged/Melee hybrid.
Hunter’s Bolas
Designed specifically for use by Varlamore’s expert hunters, Bolas utilise the physical strength of their wielder to snare and weaken their prey on the hunt. These Ranged weapons are unique because they roll their damage based on your Melee Strength which the Mixed Hide Gear insinuated.
They come equipped with a special attack, costing 60% of your special attack bar, which snares your opponent. The snare scales with your Hunter level to a maximum of 15 ticks at 99 Hunter. Note that if your target is praying against Ranged attacks, the snare effect will be negated. For those wondering, these would be consumable and would work with Ava’s Equipment line.
We want to explore more options for using the Bolas as part of Hunter in the future, and we’d love to hear your ideas about new and exciting hunting methods we could try!
Question 12:
Should we add Hunter’s Bolas? These Ranged weapons would have a special attack that snares targets and scales with your Hunter level.
Hunter’s Crossbow
This niche weapon offers greater range and faster shots than any other crossbow in the game – but it sits at a fairly low level, is pretty inaccurate, and the bolts you need to use it are harder to craft than the regular metal counterpart.
We want to breathe some life into this neglected weapon by allowing skilled hunters to upgrade it to the Hunter’s Moonlight Crossbow using Moonlight Horns from moonlight antelopes. The upgraded version will require 66 Ranged and 50 Hunter to use, and 74 Fletching to craft. It comes with +5 Ranged accuracy at the cost of a slightly slower 5 attack speed (4 on Rapid). It also lets you use a new type of bolt crafted from Antelope Horns, with a powerful +85 Ranged strength bonus.
This puts the mighty Moonlight Crossbow close to the Rune Crossbow in terms of raw power, with a slightly nicer attack speed to boost. We reckon this makes it well worth the effort of crafting the right ammunition!
Question 13:
Should we add the Hunter’s Moonlight Crossbow, an upgrade to the Hunter’s Crossbow that uses a new ammunition type?
Hunter’s Pouches
One of the biggest issues with Hunter at the moment is how quickly you can fill up your Inventory. Funnily enough, the wild corners of the world don’t have great Bank access, and this incentivises hunters to drop their hard-earned furs on the ground. What a waste of kebbits!
Alongside making furs and meats worth keeping in the first place, we’d also like to give you the option to craft Hunter’s Pouches which will store up to 28 of these core Hunting resources. The Pouches work much like the Rune Pouches – you’ll need the previous version to upgrade to the next.
- Larupia Fur Pouch: 35 Crafting, 4x Larupia Fur, Needle, Thread. Stores up to 14 furs. Gives 100 Crafting XP.
- Graahk Fur Pouch: 50 Crafting, Larupia Fur Pouch, 3x Graahk Fur, Needle, Thread. Stores up to 21 furs. Gives 200 Crafting XP.
- Kyatt Fur Pouch: 65 Crafting, Graahk Fur Pouch, 3x Kyatt Fur, Needle, Thread. Stores up to 28 furs. Gives 300 Crafting XP.
Meat Sacks work similarly, but (as the name suggests) only store meat.
- Fennec Meat Pouch: 35 Crafting, 4x Fennec Fox Fur, Needle, Thread. Stores up to 14 raw Hunter meats. Gives 200 Crafting XP.
- Antelope Meat Pouch: 65 Crafting, Fennec Meat Pouch, 3x Antelope Fur, Needle, Thread. Stores up to 28 raw Hunter meats. Gives 300 Crafting XP.
Question 14:
Should we add Hunter Pouches and Meat Sacks for furs and meats? This would allow you to carry up to an additional 28 furs/meats in the relevant pouch.
Hunter Outfits
Aside from being pretty gnarly FashionScape, the Hunter outfits made from Larupia, Graahk and Kyatt fur are basically useless. We want to give them a purpose – a damage reduction bonus only against Hunter creatures that applies when wearing the full set:
- Larupia Hunter Gear: 30% damage reduction
- Graahk Hunter Gear: 60% damage reduction
- Kyatt Hunter Gear: 90% damage reduction
This would let you spend more time hunting the most dangerous beasts, racking up the XP while avoiding taking too much damage.
Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten the Hunter Camouflage Gear. We’re giving all Camouflage Tops and Legs a weight reduction bonus, for a more thematic lighter step.
- All Tops: 3kg Weight Reduction
- All Legs: 2kg Weight Reduction
Question 15:
Should we improve the Larupia, Graahk and Kyatt Hunter sets with damage reduction against Hunter creatures, and improve all Camouflage Gear with a weight reduction bonus?
Trap Storage
Lastly, let’s talk traps. Hunter has a variety of training methods, but they all need their own set of tools. If you’re making multiple trips, you have to return to the Bank each time and regear. To save you time and Run Energy, we’d like to introduce a form of Trap Storage, much like the Tackle Box for Fishing, which would let you store all your Hunter tools ready for the next hunt.
The Trap Storage would only be for traps – you’ll still need to bring your own Knives, Axes, etc. To put it simply, it will store everything created by the Lunar Spell Hunter Kit.
Question 16:
Should we add a Trap Storage item? This would work similarly to the Tackle Box and allow you to store multiple pieces of Hunter equipment in one place.
That’s a wrap! We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the first big content piece from Varlamore – and we hope you all agree that bringing life and variety to the Hunter skill is a project worth pursuing. We look forward to hearing your feedback through all the usual channels and will be back soon with an updated version of this blog addressing all your burning questions.
In the meantime, we would love for you to complete this survey about the current proposal of the Hunter Guild, so click the button below to begin! We’ll also have a livestream later this week (Thursday 14th @ 5pm) to discuss your feedback, any planned changes and talk about the Hunter Guild as a whole, so if you have any questions, feel free to let us know!
Until then, happy ‘Scaping!
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New Content
Hunter’s Bolas: A Ranged weapon with a special attack that can snare your target.
Hunter Meats and Food: A new way to recover your HP – with an initial heal, and a bonus heal over time after eating.
Hunter Outfits: Outfits that give you a damage reduction bonus against Hunter creatures
Hunter’s Pouches: Craftable pouches that can store core Hunting resources.
Hunters’ Rumours: These are the core foundation of the Hunter Guild and work similarly to Slayer Tasks and Farming Contracts.
Mixed Hide Gear: A Ranged/Melee hybrid set that gives you a Defence advantage while offering some significant Strength-based Ranged gains.
Moonlight Hunter’s Crossbow: An upgraded version of the Hunter’s Crossbow, which can use a new type of bolt crafted from Antelope Horns.
New Creatures: A host of previously unseen creatures native to Varlamore!
- Antelopes: Agile creatures found in the the Avium Savannah that drop Meat and Horns, which can be used to make crossbows and bolts.
- Fennec Foxes: Fluffy creatures that drop Fur, Meat, and Bones.
- Jerboa: Bouncy creatures that drop tails, which can be used to make Bolas.
- Moths: Small insects that give out a buff when caught – and can be mixed into potions.
- Mountain Salamander: The new highest tier of Salamander.
- Quetzal: Majestic birds native to Varlamore.
Quetzal Transport Network: The fast travel system for Varlamore, using the one of the local birds of Varlamore.
Quetzal Whistle: An item that will allow you to quickly fly back to the Hunter Guild.
Rare Creature Parts: Items you can obtain while tracking down a rumour, that can be traded for bonus XP and loot.
Trap Storage: An item similar to the Tackle Box, that allowed you to store multiple pieces of Hunter equipment in one place.
Existing Content
Butterfly: A Hunter creature that can be caught with a net.
Hunter: The skill in which players catch different animals and creatures across Gielinor.
Hunter’s Crossbow: A Ranged weapon that fires Kebbit bolts at its target.
Hunter Outfits: Cosmetic gear made from the hides of Hunter creatures.
Slayer Masters: NPCs who serve as guides to the Slayer skill and assign tasks to players requiring them to kill specific monsters a certain number of times.
Tackle boxes: An item that can be used to can be used to store various fishing equipment.
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