Water

The Old School RuneScape Wiki also has an article on: osrsw:WaterThe RuneScape Classic Wiki also has an article on: classicrsw:Water

This article is about liquid water. For other uses, see Water (disambiguation).

Water in RuneScape is a very versatile fluid that is used in a number of skills, particularly Herblore, Crafting, Farming, Cooking, and Construction.

Obtaining water

The use of water in game almost always requires a vessel to hold the water. Examples of common vessels include buckets, vials, waterskins, bowls, and jugs. Players can easily obtain water by using any of these vessels on a water source. Common water sources include sinks, water barrels, waterpumps, fountains and wells. Members can build their own plumbed-in water source in the kitchen of their house. It is worth noting that in RuneScape, players cannot obtain water from bodies of water like lakes or rivers.

Sources of water close to a bank include the water pump north of the west bank in Falador and the cooking guild once its bank has been unlocked. Alternatively the Humidify spell can be used.

A fountain located in Dorgesh-Kaan containing water.

Uses

Herblore

• In vials of water for making potions
• In cups of water for making potions

Crafting

• Converting clay into soft clay which can then be used to make pottery

Farming

• Watering patches with a watering can
• Watering seedlings with a watering can

Cooking

• Making various types of dough by combining water with a pot of flour
• Making nettle tea with a bowl of water
• Making stew with a bowl of water

Construction

• Making stat boosting tea

Summoning

• Using a bowl on a geyser titan to get a bowl of hot water.

Other

• Water is also essential to surviving in the Kharidian Desert. The water in some containers, such as the jug of water, will be vaporised by the desert heat, so players cannot drink water from anything except a waterskin. Alternatively, a player who has completed the quest Dealing with Scabaras can wear an enchanted water tiara which provides the same hydration benefits as waterskins.

Graphical updates

The shore of the iceberg in DirectX mode.

The graphics for bodies of water has drastically changed over the life of RuneScape. Progress in game engine design has allowed for water to go from a static and fuzzy blue-white texture to a deep transparent blue complete with waves and light reflection effects.

Bodies of water first started to have a more realistic look shown in trailers for the game along with teaser images given out for past game updates, at the time of these teasers and trailers though, the realisitic water effects were impossible to access in the game. The water has small waves which flow back and forth, the water shown in these trailers and images could not be seen anywhere in the game, however a recent update has changed this. The first time that this new look for water was spotted was in the trailer advertising the Dungeoneering skill prior to its release, this trailer also showed some graphical effects still not present in the game. On the 25th October, 2011 the water was updated only on the DirectX mode (the new water effects are NOT available with OpenGL). It appears to still be in development, as the edges of the water do not line up with the shore.

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  Water in RuneScape Classic

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  A comparison of water on OpenGL (left) and DirectX (right) modes.

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  Water Pond in Citadel

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  Low detail water on NXT

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  Ultra detail water on NXT

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  Some water effects released along with the gnomes' graphical update on 6 March 2012

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  Water graphics after Unknown date (edit)

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  Water graphics after Unknown date (edit)

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  Water graphics after Unknown date (edit)

Update history

This information has been compiled as part of the update history project. Some updates may not be included—see here for how to help out!

• patch 24 April 2023 (Update):
  • Improved the visual quality of water effects.

• patch 1 October 2018 (Update):
  • Improved water reflections and effects.

• patch 9 November 2010 (Update):
  • Water on allotments now looks similar in any graphical mode.

• patch 24 June 2010 (Update):
  • Fixed the water colour of the top of the God Wars Dungeon’s hot spring eruptions.
  • Fixed the Judge's wig in the Seers’ Village courtroom.

• patch 25 May 2010 (Update):
  • Stopped some water going uphill.

• patch 9 November 2009 (Update):
  • Made the water look better in the Living Rock Caverns.
  • Removed various white spots of water around the world.
  • Updated a considerable number of water areas around the world.

Trivia

• Some towns - Canifis for example - have no water sources. Issue 14 of the God Letters (dated the 5 August 2003) addressed this particular issue. A player wrote to Saradomin to ask: "Why dost thou serve only acholic [sic] beverages in your world? ... I thirst and thirst for water but can not drink any. Why..?" The reply said that the council outlawed the sale of water in bars, and further stated: "I would suggest to anyone visiting RuneScape for a holiday this year NOT try drinking the water - as many a fisherman will attest, you find all sorts in it... and a nice cold ale is far less hazardous to your health." This is a reference to the popular medieval belief that pure water was unsafe to drink and could cause sickness - this belief was propagated by the fact that poorly maintained wells and unclean rivers provided a contaminated source of water. However, there are multiple purification methods by which water can be rendered harmless.