Research Guide

This is a guide for figuring out how old content worked via a multitude of sources. You can gather info from old fansites, forums, or videos. Remember that even the smallest details matter.

1. Screenshots

ALL SCREENSHOTS ARE USEFUL. Always save screenshots, and keep note of its source/date.

What makes a screenshot useful?

• Minimap: Minimap's shown in the screenshot can reveal NPC counts, NPC wanderrange, Item spawns, etc.
• Game messages: Game messages have changed through out the game for all sorts of reasons. Since you couldn't disable game messages in early RS2, expect to see some in many screenshots.
• Drops: Screenshots can show drops from clues, NPCs, and other loot sources.
• Dialogue: Dialogue changes all the time. This is from typo fixes, quest reworks, or graphical reworks. Early RS2 had a habit of using line breaks, when it wasn't exactly necessary.
• Interfaces: Although interfaces exist in our cache, Jagex can edit certain parts of the interface with runescript. So screenshots can help verify how they handle them.

RS2 Images archive

2. Fan Sites

Fan sites are extremely useful due to their skill, city, or area guides. These guides can provide screenshots, and descriptions of how content worked. Archive.org has very useful tools like the sitemap, and url tab, so you can see whats accessible.

List of fan-sites:

• Fields of rune
• Mega Runescape
• N0valyfe's Blog
• Nomad Gaming
• RSCB
• RsInter
• RsLegends
• Rsmasters
• Rune Headquarters
• Rune Tips
• Rune Village
• Runecave
• RuneCrypt
• RuneHints
• Runescape Compendium
• Runescape Realm
• RunescapeHelp
• RuneWeb
• Sal's Realm of RuneScape
• Zybez

3. YouTube

YouTube is great, but the earliest videos you'll find are from 2005. Even these are scarce however, the majority of videos on you'll find are from 2006-2007. Although these videos arent exactly from 2004, they can still be used for cross referencing.

Finding old videos:

• Use search parameters like before:2006, before:2007, or before:2008.
• Keep an eye out for reuploads; some people upload very old videos at later dates.

4. Forums

Reading through forums can give you a good idea on how content works by getting first person accounts from real players at the time. You can also end up finding guides or old screenshots.

List of forum websites:

• Runescape Community
• Rsbandb
• Neoseeker

5. Blog Posts

You can look at blog posts to determine when specific things were changed. Luckily, OSRS Wiki has every blog post from Jagex nicely organized. We can use the incategory search parameter to help us go through blog posts. For example, you can search fletching incategory:"2004 updates", to see everytime "fletching" has been mentioned in a blog post from 2004. Just make sure you switch to the Everything tab in the search results.