If you’re intoMMORPGs, you will know that Questing is a huge part of the genre.Old School RuneScape(OSRS) takespride in its quests, and has over 150 that take place throughout its grand world of Gielinor. What makes OSRS’ quests stand out, however, is their variety in difficulty.
Those that may appear to be harmless on the surface, could have you tackling challenging puzzles, defeating tough monsters, orlearning new gamepatterns and rhythms. But where there’s a decent challenge, there’s a lot of fun to be had, and the sense of accomplishment is a feeling that cannot be beaten.
10One Small Favour
Doing a caring act for someone may grant you some additional karma points in life. However, some of these small favours aren’t always an easy task. What is advertised to be a simple chore could lead you on a wild goose chase just to complete it.
That’s exactly what the quest One Small Favour is, a tedious runaround where you will be completing other tasks just to be able to complete your original one. You’ll find yourself traversing at least half of Gielinor, often forgetting what items people needed, and wishing never to do a favour for anyone ever again.
9Ratcatchers
If you’re one that finds difficulty in annoyance, then Ratcatchers is a quest to avoid. While the idea of getting your pet kitten to catch some rats sounds like a bunch of fun, when you’re there for what feels like several days, after hundreds of failed attempts, it does test your love for the game. Even your character’s best Pied Piper impression does not save how monotonous this quest is.
It also doesn’t help that the stealth mechanics in the Garden Maze are often unfair. Sometimes you’ll have to wait a while to sneak past some guards, whereas other times you’ll think you’ve timed it perfectly, but they’ll still catch you. It’s one of the quests that feels less of a skill issue and more of an issue with the game.
8Underground Pass
Underground Pass, narratively, is an exceptional quest. Your character will be forced into murdering innocents, as whispers of voices surround you, all on an adventure to make it through to the other side of an underground passage.
Practically, however, you’re able to expect one frustrating time. There is an abundance of traps, and a high Agility level, a skill many players end up hating for its slow exp rates, is a must for this quest. Without it, you can expect this quest to take twice as long as any need to resupply will result in you starting over from the beginning.
When inside the infamous dungeon, you’ll find yourself solving puzzles that require trial and error and repeatedly failing jumps that will have you burning through your food. That is, if you don’t plummet to your death first.
7Mourning’s End Part 2
Puzzles in OSRS are sometimes too overly complicated for their own good. While the sense of achievement in figuring them out is a wonderful feeling, when you’re left pondering how to complete one, it can break down the mind and make you lose love for both questing and the game itself.
The second part of Mourning’s End is essentially one huge light puzzle. It will have you running across multiple rooms, attempting to clear many agility obstacles and returning to a bank to restock on supplies due to pesky shadowsdraining your HitPoints. It’s just as tricky as it is infuriating, but seeing the Quest Complete notification is beyond satisfying.
6Sins Of The Father
The Morytania quest line is filled with some epic adventures that further enrich OSRS’Horror lore. Sins of the Father will have you traversing Darkmeyer slaying multiple Vampyres, which include challenging bosses that possess difficult, yet fun mechanics to tackle. You’ll have to be comfortable switching between your protection prayers as well as your attack styles if you want to beat this one.
Other than the bosses, the hardest parts about this quest are the tedious stealth mission where you have to avoid being seen but stick close enough for the encounter not to fail, as well as the Temple Trekking minigame, where you have to protect your companion until they reach their destination. If you’re not paying enough attention, they will easily die, forcing you to restart the minigame from the very beginning.
5Monkey Madness 2
Monkey Madness 2 was the first new quest released after the rebirth of OSRS. It’s a lengthy adventure that will have you traversing the wide map of Gielinor in order to gain information about your quest from various NPCs. The boss fights are challenging and will often result in a wide range of supplies needed to take them down.
The worst part about this quest, however, is the platform section. This maze-stealth puzzle requires you to learn the layout and the spawns of NPCs, and have luck continually on your side. Any failure, misclick or, inaccurate time judgement will result in a reset and an unpleasant choice of words.
4Song Of The Elves
If puzzles, mechanical bosses and someLord of the Rings-esque adventuring aroundElven landsinterests you, then you would be forgiven for starting Song of the Elves. On paper, it seems like the perfect quest for any fan of MMORPGs, and with a whole new city to unlock upon its completion, it also comes with the perfect reward.
That is until you realise what you’ve gotten yourself in for. The quest forces you to complete a several-hour light puzzle, akin to the one in Mourning’s End Part Two, makes you relive old horrors of the Underground Pass, and then tests your skill, luck, and game knowledge with a foe that can knock you out with one move.
3A Night At The Theatre
Old School RuneScape has introduced raids as a fun activity multiple people can enjoy doing. It consists of defeating several bosses in a row to have a chance at some high-level rewards. A Night at the Theatre highlights the Theatre of Blood raid, and the quest offers an entry-level run to help you get into raiding.
Just because it’s entry level, does not mean it is going to be easy. You will have to learn the mechanics of every boss put before you, and use your supplies sparingly to have enough to make it through until the end. Luckily, the raid can be completed alongside other adventurers. However, if you’re brave enough to go it alone, you will have a heavy task ahead of you.
2Dragon Slayer 2
We were all noobs once, and completing the original Dragon Slayer was an accomplishment we bragged to our friends about. At such a low level, everything wanted to kill you, and cheesing the fight against Elvarg, by any means necessary, was still considered a strategic win.
The second Dragon Slayer quest leaves no option for cheesing. You have to make your way through practically every dragon in the game, and when you do, an even deadlier one awaits. The days when your standard Anti-Dragon Shield actually saved you are long gone. Instead, you’re dodging venom, tidal waves, and one-hit kill fireballs while drinking Super Restores as if your life depends on it — because it does.
1Desert Treasure 2
Dubbed as the hardest Old School RuneScape quest by Jagex themselves, it’s no surprise that this quest takes the podium finish for difficulty. At over three hours long (if you’re good at the game), the second instalment of the Desert Treasure series puts you up against several formidable foes, where learning their mechanics is absolutely necessary to beat them.
Despite being a sequel, nothing about the combat in this quest is nostalgic, as it showcases OSRS’ evolution when it comes to the learning curve of their updated combat mechanics. There is no more click to attack and eat when necessary. You will be forced to move while fighting to dodge attacks, switch your protection prayers rapidly, stun your enemy, hide behind pillars, and most of all, pay an incredible amount of attention.
