- For the minigame involving sailing, see player-owned port.
| |
| Release date | 1 April 2014 (Update) |
|---|---|
| Members only | No |
| Minimum level for Hiscores |
0 as of 12 Dec 2017 |
| Players with 99 |
0 as of 4 Feb 2023 |
| Players with 120 | 0 as of 4 Feb 2023 |
| Players with 200M XP |
0 as of 4 Feb 2023 |
| |
| Release date | 20 June 2016 (Update) |
|---|---|
| Members only | No |
| Minimum level for Hiscores |
0 as of 12 Dec 2017 |
| Players with 99 |
0 as of 4 Feb 2023 |
| Players with 120 | 0 as of 4 Feb 2023 |
| Players with 200M XP |
0 as of 4 Feb 2023 |
Sailing is an often-discussed skill that has never been released. It was among the most popular points of speculation as to what the then upcoming Dungeoneering skill would be, and subsequently became a running joke amongst the RuneScape community. It is commonly referenced by Jagex, and has featured in some of their April Fools jokes.
History[]
Jagex posting on their youtube channel that sailing will not be the next skill
Shortly before the RuneScape HD update in early July 2008, an image appeared that apparently showed a new skill in the Hiscores called "Sailing".[1] It was featured in a YouTube video that was uploaded on 3 July 2008, and included other "evidence" for the imminent release of Sailing.[2] This led to a flood of related posts on the RuneScape Forums. However, Mod Dave posted on the forums on 11 July 2008 to say: "I can conform [sic] that image that has been going around the Internet was spoofed and there is no Sailing Skill."
Many players speculated that the new skill of 2010 would be Sailing, although a Jagex Moderator confirmed the new skill was not Sailing. Via in-game chat, Mark Gerhard said "no it will not be sailing unless of course I get sacked first :)" However, he later stated he was joking.[3]
Soon after, some people claimed that the RuneScape website header image of the time appeared to show a mage on a boat whilst wearing a "sailing cape", a fictional Cape of Accomplishment.[4] This was debunked in a Q&A on 10 September 2009, when Mod Mark clarified that the speculation about the mage sailing a ship were false and denied that the upcoming skill was Sailing.[5]
Legacy[]
After Dungeoneering was finally released, much of the speculation over Sailing died down, although it remained an in-joke among both the RuneScape community and Jagex, and many updates are jokingly speculated to be "Sailing" before they're actually released.
Since then, Jagex have referenced Sailing many times, including:
- In the April Fools Behind the Scenes in 2011, where it was briefly mentioned as an update scheduled to be released that month
- In the Cryptic Clue Fest III as the answer to the crossword clue "The skill that never was"
- The lyrics of the Player Owned Ports Ahoy promotional video for Player-Owned Ports proclaim that "You thought that Sailing was a new skill, but no it's not that easy".
- In Behind the Scenes Video 64, while in front of a boat at Tobacco Dock, Mod Mark states that the new skill is not Sailing, but in fact Divination.
- In Behind the Scenes Video 65 a "breaking news" banner at the bottom left of the screen displayed the message "Sailing Skill confirmed!".
- In dialogue with Tiny Lucien, he asks players "Sailing or Riding?", and regardless of the player's choice, tells them to be silent, as only he can decide.
- Sailing was added to the skill level up guide on the Hero tab as part of the 2014 April Fools event, and was actually released as a trainable skill in Old School RuneScape at the same time, although only up to level 21.
- Sailing is one of the available names for gear presets, which were released on 7 April 2014.
2014 April Fools[]
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Sailing skill appears on Hero tab.
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"Skill mastery" at level 120. The Golden Cabbage Ammo further suggests this skill is merely a joke.
On April Fool's Day 2014, as a hidden update, Jagex added Sailing as one of the skills on the skill level up guide section of the Hero tab, although it was not visible on the main Skills tab or trainable in any way. Despite this, a full list of level unlocks was available, a list of which can be found here, and like Dungeoneering, the highest level for this "skill" was 120, which only granted normal Skill Mastery instead of True Skill Mastery, like Dungeoneering.
Level 51 in the fake Sailing skill unlocked both "8 crew members" and "10 crew members", despite this being an obvious contradiction.
Gower Quest[]
Sailing was featured as an unreleased skill in the Gower Quest. To gain experience for Sailing during the quest, the player walks around a small room while wearing a small boat fighting battleships, discovering islands, and scavenging lost treasure.
Possible Elite Skill[]
Sailing is one of the proposed elite skills. It would require at least two level 80 skills to unlock it in Construction, Fletching, Crafting and Agility[6].
2017 April Fools[]
At 15:47:33 on 1 April 2017 a system-wide message was broadcast reading News:Mod Test01 has achieved level 99 in SailingLiveTest!
Gallery[]
