Old School RuneScape’s long-awaited new skill, Sailing, finally has a confirmed release date — November 19th. This announcement marks one of the biggest updates in OSRS history, introducing the first new skill ever added to the game since its 2013 launch.
But beyond the excitement, players should also brace for a massive market shakeup. Every major OSRS update brings a wave of economic shifts, and Sailing might cause one of the biggest market crashes the game has ever seen.
In this article, we’ll go over how to prepare for Sailing, protect your bank value, and even position yourself to profit when the skill goes live.
1. Protecting Your Bank Value Before the Crash
If you’ve played through previous major updates — from Tombs of Amascut to the Delve Boss release — you already know what happens next: the Grand Exchange market crashes.
Items unrelated to the new content tend to plummet in price, while any resource tied to the new update skyrockets. With Sailing introducing a massive list of new resources, expect history to repeat itself.
Why the Market Will Crash
Top players and high-score chasers are already gearing up to race for 200 million Sailing XP, which will require enormous amounts of OSRS gold and supplies. To fund that, they’ll liquidate existing assets — rare gear, high-end weapons, and expensive consumables — to free up GP.
Meanwhile, merchants (the economy moguls of Gielinor) are preparing to hoard new Sailing materials like new logs, ores, fish, crafting items, and potion ingredients. To do that, they too must dump existing investments.
That combination — elite players, regular adventurers, and merchers all selling off assets at once — leads to one result: a widespread price crash.
Items Already Dropping
Even though the update is still weeks away, high-value items like the Tumeken’s Shadow, Voidwaker, Dragon Claws, and Inquisitor’s armor are already trending downwards.
Lower-tier consumables such as Chaos runes, Dragon darts, and Dragon bones are also showing signs of a slow decline as the market adjusts early.
How to Protect Yourself
Now’s the time to review your bank “with a fine-tooth comb.” Sell off anything you don’t use or that doesn’t serve a purpose for your long-term goals. Cash will have more buying power than ever once Sailing launches.
That said, don’t panic sell everything. Gear you actively use for PvM or PvP should be viewed as permanent upgrades — not investments. With the 2% GE tax now in place, selling and rebuying gear will cost you millions in lost value.
2. What to Sell and What to Keep
Sell: Existing Food and Fishing Supplies
Sailing is bringing ten new types of fish into the game, completely redefining the food meta. These new high-healing and effect-driven fish will make much of the current high-end food obsolete.
Here’s a quick summary of some of the upcoming fish:
- Giant Krill – Heals 17 HP.
- Haddock – Heals 18 HP and overheals by 10, similar to Anglerfish for lower HP accounts.
- Yellowfin Tuna – Heals 19 HP and restores 20% run energy; also used in the new Extreme Energy Potion.
- Halibut – Heals 20 HP and acts as combo food like Karambwan — expect every PvPer to switch to this.
- Bluefin Tuna – Heals 22 HP and restores 5 prayer points.
- Marlin – Heals 24 HP, becoming the new best-in-slot food for PvM and PvP alike.
With these new additions, old staples like Anglerfish, Dark crabs, and Karambwans will rapidly fall in demand. Selling them before Sailing launches is the smart move.
Keep: Construction Materials
Sailing will tie heavily into the Construction skill, especially for shipbuilding and upgrading your vessel. In fact, Jagex developers have outright said in their launch tips: “Construction will be your best friend for Sailing.”
If you own items like planks, logs, nails, bars, or bolts of cloth, keep them. You’ll need these to craft and upgrade ship components, and demand will skyrocket post-launch. Even shops that sell nails and cloth may get bought out by bots and merchants in the days leading up to release, creating temporary shortages.
3. General Preparation: Train Construction Now
If you haven’t already, train your Construction level. Some shipbuilding components will require Construction levels all the way up to 84.
Even if you’re already maxed, stockpiling supplies is still worthwhile. Many players believe Sailing XP may tie into the construction and upgrading of ships using existing materials like planks and nails — potentially making Construction items a lucrative investment.
One example preparation setup:
- 10,000 Oak Planks
- 10,000 Teak Planks
- 10,000 Mahogany Logs
- 10,000 Regular Logs
- 10,000 Mithril Nails
- 10,000 Adamant Nails
- 10,000 Steel Nails
That stockpile cost around 42 million GP — and even if it turns out unnecessary for Sailing XP, it can always be used for traditional Construction training.
4. Making Money from Sailing
Sailing introduces countless new moneymaking opportunities — both for skilling and PvM.
Skilling Profits
- Woodcutting: Four new tree types will drop valuable logs needed for planks and ship construction. These will be in high demand for weeks.
- Fishing: The new fish types mentioned earlier will sell for premium prices, especially those tied to new potions or combo food.
- Mining & Smithing: Four new ores (level 25–74) are being added, used to make dragon sheets for ship upgrades and new dragon cannonballs.
Even low- and mid-level players can make serious profit by gathering and selling these raw materials early.
PvM Profits
Sailing also brings four new Slayer creatures and a new low-level Slayer boss, each with unique drops and mechanics:
- Griffins (51 Slayer / 45 Sailing) – Drop the Horn of Plenty, a new Hunter off-hand that boosts Hunter levels and can double catches.
- Shellbane Griffin (Slayer Boss) – Drops the Gleaming Rapier, a tier-65 stab weapon perfect for mid-game players.
- Aquanites (78 Slayer / 73 Sailing) – Drop the Aquanite Hopper, a new ranged off-hand that can double crossbow shots.
- Lava Strikewyrms (62 Slayer / 60 Sailing) – Drop Dragon Sheets, used for ship upgrades and new ammunition.
- Frost Dragons (87 Sailing) – Also drop Dragon Sheets and Frost Dragon Bones, making them potential best-in-slot money-makers for early Sailing PvM.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re stockpiling materials, chasing XP, or just excited to explore uncharted seas, Sailing’s release is a historic moment for Old School RuneScape. It may be another decade before we see another skill introduced, so enjoy every moment — from your first voyage to your final ship upgrade.
Enjoyed today’s article? There’s plenty more coming your way! Stay tuned for more Old School RuneScape action, and check out RSorder.com to buy OSRS gold and exclusive game services.
