Player-owned port

The Player-owned port is a high-level members minigame that was released on 11 December 2012, as announced in the December 2012 Behind the Scenes news post. Borrowing elements from Managing Miscellania and player-owned houses, the minigame involves players building their own port in order to manage a fleet of ships, staffed by recruited crew members. These ships explore the Eastern Lands on the player's behalf and return with exotic items and supplies that are otherwise unavailable.

Level requirements
Access to player-owned ports requires level 90+ in at least one of the following skills: Fishing, Slayer, Runecrafting, Herblore, Prayer, or Thieving. More content is available for each of the requirements met.

Location
Players can start by heading to Port Sarim. South west of the pub is a portal that players can use to enter their port.

Tutorial
Starting the tutorial requires level 90+ in either Fishing, Slayer, Runecrafting, Herblore, Prayer, or Thieving. Upon entering the port for the first time you will see a cut-scene followed by a brief interactive tutorial. It is recommended to play through the tutorial, since it teaches you all the mechanics of hiring crew, equipping your ships, sending them out on voyages, upgrading your port, and collecting rewards.

Buildings
The buildings offer bonuses to different areas of the port's operations.

Bar
The bar is owned by Surula, and is used to attract captains and adventurers. On Thursdays, players can talk to Surula for more gossip.

Office
Duncan and John Strum can be found in here, after the tutorial. A better office unlocks more ship slots, which can be used to send out more voyages simultaneously.

Workshop
This is unlock-able by exploring more of the Eastern Lands.

Lodgings
Better lodgings unlock better crew members.

Shipwright
The shipwright improves the performance of your ships.

Warehouse
The warehouse, in the north-west corner of the port, holds your goods. Bigger warehouses give greater bonuses to voyage rewards.

The warehouse also is home to Felix The Black Marketeer, who allows players to spend gold coins on items such as Bamboo. He can also repair ships instantly, negating the normal waiting period. A lightly damaged ship may take approximately 20,000 gold coins, a more heavily damaged one can take 40,000 or more. However, if a player is finished with the port for the day or is going to be away for the repair time, it is less expensive to allow the normal repair time to progress, which may be anywhere from one hour to five or more hours of real time, depending on the amount of damage.

It is worth noting that with the exception of The Black Marketeer, the only currency in player-owned ports is a type of coin called a "Chime".

Totem hotspots
The four totem hotspots provide different effects depending on what totems are built.

Icon hotspots
The three icon hotspots increase the chance of attracting different adventurers to the port. Each icon costs 1000 chimes to build. The options are:
 * At 90+ Fishing, The Whale Skull Trophy increases your chance to attract The Whaler
 * At 90+ Prayer, The Saradominist Symbol increases your chance to attract The Missionary
 * At 90+ Herblore, The Mammoth Head increases your chance to attract The Biologist
 * At 90+ Runecrafting, The Occult Artefact increases your chance to attract The Occultist
 * At 90+ Slayer, The Human Skull increases your chance to attract The Assassin
 * At 90+ Thieving, The Stocks increases your chance to attract The Convict

Portal hotspot
Portal upgrades are cosmetic only and have no effect on the performance of the port.

Voyages
The voyages interface shows the current available voyages. There are two tabs at the top of this interface, one for standard voyages and one for special voyages. Only three voyages can be seen at a time in each tab. Clicking on the arrows in the upper right corner of a voyage slot will "reroll" a new potential voyage into that slot. The previous voyage will be lost when this is done. Players have a limited number of rerolls which is shown at the bottom of the screen. Twelve standard and 3 special voyages are available each day. The voyages and rerolls reset at 00:00 UTC each day.

Crew Roster
The crew roster is an interface that contains information about each crew member hired and also allows players to hire new crew members. The screen shows all hired crew members on the left panel. On the right panel there is one slot for captains for hire and three slots for all other crew members for hire. Each slot shows the costs and stats of the potential crew member. Clicking on the arrows in the upper right corner of a slot will "reroll" a new potential crew member into that slot. The previous candidate will be lost when this is done. Players have a limited number of rerolls which is shown at the bottom of the screen. Additional rerolls may be purchased using rewards from player-owned port random events. The available crew and rerolls reset at 00:00 UTC each day.

Shipyard
This interface is used to customize the ships in port.

Upgrade Building
Bamboo allows you to upgrade buildings.

Upgrading the bar gives you a better chance at recruiting a better crew.

Upgrading the office gives you better voyage prospects and allows you to manage more ships.

Port Management
The Port Management interface allows the player to focus on an area of the map and suggest which scrolls they would prefer to find first.

It also allows the player to choose which area their captains should focus voyages on. This allows you to specialise in certain resources. If you are finding a new area particularly difficult, you can continue working at an older area until you feel able to tackle the tougher voyages.

Archipelago Map
The archipelago map shows the information of currently unlocked island that your voyages can reach. The map features animated clouds that can be turned off if the player finds them distracting. Mousing over the various areas brings up general information about the region on the bottom left and specifics about the islands within those regions in the bottom right portion of the interface. There is also a status thermometer bar shows the player's progress towards unlocking the next available region ("zone").

The Regions and their basic descriptions are listed below, specifics about their individual islands are listed in their main articles:

The West
"The vast landmasses and violent history of the western continent have produced many disparate communities, whose main commonality is their lust for adventure and advancement. Now they are aware of the east, and the ships begin to sail..."

The Arc
"The only part of the Archipelago where westerners are often seen, and seen in increasing numbers.  It is mostly tribal and its khans are mainly fishermen.  Forests of wood and bamboo are common."

The Skull
"Parts of The Skull are heavily fortified in fear of invasion from the west.  Khans in this area take advantage of the local gunpowder production to maintain a warlord's status; they tend to mistrust westerners."

The Hook
A source of slate.

The Scythe
This area is ripe with cherry wood.

The Bowl
A source of jade.

The Pincers
A source of stainless steel

Ship Name Editor
The Ship Name Editor interface allows you to alter the three parts of your ships' names. This is accessed by clicking the pen icon next to your ships. This can be done regardless of if your ship is docked or away on a voyage. You can individually alter the prefix, as well as the second and third sections of your ship's name. Names have no effect on the performance of your ships, and are purely cosmetic. Each of the prefix, second, or third sections (or even the entire name) may be randomized by the click of a button, as well.

Prefixes Allowed
(None), H.M.S., P.T.K, V.C., D.L.V., Longship, G.R.V., U.S.S., U.S., The

First Section Names Allowed (by Filter)
General (None) Properties/Attributes Fine, Beautiful, Fierce, Cursed, Shameful, Terrible, Lusty, Naughty, Problem, Broken, Scurvy, Burning, Skilled, Foul, Rabid, Filthy, Vile, Disgraceful, Mad, Hot, Cold, Swift, Deadly, Massive, Unsinkable, Unimaginable, Unbearable, Implacable, Excessive, Illustrius, Plundering, Rising, Good Ship, Bad Ship, Alright Ship, Pure, Void, Unwanted, Dark, Solar, Lunar, Northerly, Easterly, Westerly, Southerly, Slaty, Gorgeous, Sturdy, Misty, Leaky, Seasick, Bloody, Blasted, Rusty, Threadbare, Gallant, Ribald, Fervent, Earnest, Toothless, First, Second, Third, Final Personality/Mood Saucy, Merry, Jolly, Happy, Angry, Sad, Nervous, Morbid, Serene, Brave, Insightful, Fearful, Wily, Honest, Proud Actions Laughing, Weepiing Smiling, Raging, Reeking, Terrifying, Flying, Wandering, Prancing Colours Black, White, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Brown, Grey Names/People/Professions Queen, King, Princess, Prince, Lord, Lady, Mary

Second Section Names Allowed (by Filter)
General Ship Names Mary, Susan, Ellie, Rose, Roger, Nigel, Jack, Guthix, Saradomin, Zamorak, Zaros, Seren, Bandos, Amadyl, Amascut, Apmeken People/Professions Strumpet, Wench, Crusader, Warrior, Old Soul, Knave, Chile, Corsair, Reaver, Buccaneer, Gent, Lass, Madam, Queen, King, Princess, Prince, Knight, Officer, Servant, Raider, Knight*, Hunter, Earl *Yes, it is duplicated at this time in the interface

Items/Objects Face, Heart, Pearl, Diamond, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Machine, Craft, Engine, Crusher, Wreck, Hulk, Sword, Dagger, Whip, Claws, Staff, Axe, Hammer, Knife, Marrow Classics Dreadnaught, Enterprise, Defiant, Indomitable, Unsinkable, Unimaginable, Implacable, Illustrious, Bounty, Serenity, Harmony, Intrepid, Bane Properties/Attributes Doom, Fury, Rage, Terror, Calm, Flyer, Dasher, Treade, Wanderer, Chaser, Catcher, Loner, Revenge, Promise, Lament, Demand, Excess, Pride, Grace, Disgrace Animals Beast, Leech, Pig, Mare, Stallion, Monkey, Penguin, Lion, Camel, Kitten, Duck, Dog, Dragon, Sea Dog, Serpent, Narwhal, Squid, Octopus, Manta, Tentacle, Oyster, Barnacle, Anchovy, Bass, Salmon, Lobster, Tuna, Swordfish, Shark Places Lumbridge, Falador, Varrock, Ardougne, Lleyta, Ghorrock, Kharyrll, Musa, Brimhaven, Sarim, Gielinor, Runescape Sentient Races Gnome, Troll, Elf, Human, Vampyre, Faerie, Siren, Seaborn, Angel, Demon, Devil Nouns, various Gammon, Coral, Mind, Chaos, Death, Blood, Law, Ocean, Sea, Cloud, Wind, Wave, Storm, Tide, Rain, Sun, Moon, Glimmer, Shine, Sparkle, Glow, Blow, Time, Age, Aeon, Epoch

Playing the game
The main idea is for players to send their ships with the correct crew members and ship upgrades so that the success of the trip is maximized. This is done by filling each of the green indicator bars as high as possible. Each voyage may have one, two, or three of the following indicators: Morale, Combat, Seafaring. There is no difference in the effects that these stats have on the success of a voyage. All "daily" items (such as new voyages, new crew availability, Black Marketeer tradeables, etc.) within the Player Owned Ports mini game reset at 00:00 UTC.

For the best chance of success, players should choose their crew members and ship components so that all of the requirement indicators are filled as fully as possible with the available crew members, remembering that the overall success potential of the voyage is equal to the least filled indicator. Thus, it will be more likely to be a successful mission if all indicators were showing 75% of necessary requirements than if two were showing 100% and one was showing 56%. Only indicators which affect the outcome of the voyage are shown. For example, if a voyage requires only 800 combat, morale and seafaring stats are irrelevant to the success and thus are not shown.

Speed is a fourth stat which is different from the other three. The speed does not affect the success of a voyage, but does affect the amount of time that it takes for each voyage to complete.

Strategies
In the early stages, focus on completing every voyage successfully. Because there are a limited amount of standard and special voyages per day, it's more important to complete the voyages that pose the least risk first, before attempting higher risk voyages later in the day. In other words, maximize your success rates for the voyages you can manage (90% or more success rate) and leave others until more upgrades are acquired or until crew members level up from easier voyages. One voyage failed means one less voyage's worth of progress for your port, which is important since there are a limited amount of daily voyages that you can take. In some cases, a failed voyage could also mean the death of a potentially skilled and valuable crew member. As of this time, rerolling voyages is never a good idea as it will take away from your total voyages for the day. It is better to just complete easy voyages for the experiences, and harder ones should be attempted if success rates can be raised to reasonable levels (60% or higher).

Increasing voyage success rate means using the right combination of crew member and ship upgrades. Voyages may require 1 or more of the following stats: Morale, Seafaring, or Combat. Using crew member, ship upgrades, or items that effect those stats will increase the success rate.

Crew members are particularly important for the success of a voyage. Early crew member can be identified easily for their skills by looking at the color of their bandana. Red bandanas indicate a crewman with high combat stats, blue for seafaring, and green for morale. (This heuristic doesn't apply for many later crew members.) Using a Brimhaven Pirate with only 150 Combat won't increase the success rate of a voyage which requires Morale. However, if success rate is adequate, even without a full crew, it still may be beneficial to include additional crew member to fill the voyage. Any crew member that is part of a successful voyage gains experience and can level up, increasing their stats. Those bolstered stats can improve the success rate on future voyages, so it's useful to try to level up your crew members whenever possible. In order to maximize crew experience it is best to try and focus on better crew members quickly, it is more effective to have a level 3 catherby fisherman with 200 seafaring than a level 3 smuggler with 100.

Ship upgrades are also particularly important for the success of a voyage, especially because any upgrade unlocked can be used on any ship you own on all future voyages. Five upgrades can be applied to the ship, but only one (the rudder) doesn't particularly aid in success rate. Deck items are likely the most important investment in ship upgrades, since they can be used twice on any ship you own, so therefore have a larger value to the success rate of your voyages. Rudder upgrades can be delayed since they don't particularly add to the success rate of your voyages.

Voyages to further portions of the east may take more time, but in time you'll be able to manage 3 or 4 ships to speed up the rate you complete your daily voyages. Rudder upgrades and some varieties of crewmen may also improve voyage speed. Speed decreases base voyage time more the longer the voyage is.

Certain items can also bolster ship stats on a voyage temporarily. These can be earned through a Distraction & Diversion, which can randomly occur when checking the status of a returning voyage.

Modifying a ship
Once unlocked, ships are already built for the player. Using resources, players can upgrade their ships using five customizable hotspots: Clicking on the hotspot gives players a list of possible upgrades. Each option shows its specific stats, its resource costs to buy, and either a grey or gold padlock if the upgrade has not been purchased, or a green check-mark if it has been purchased and is currently in use on that ship (purchased, currently unequipped upgrades will show neither padlock or checkmark). The stats displayed are coloured green if the upgrade would improve that stat from the current equipment, white if there would be no change in that stat, or red if it would cause a degradation in a particular stat.
 * Rams/Figureheads
 * Deck Items 1
 * Deck Items 2
 * Rudders
 * Hulls

Once an upgrade is purchased, players can use them on any ship, even at the same time. Upgrades do not have to be purchased in the order displayed in the interface. If the player has the resources to purchase an upgrade, the padlock symbol will be gold. If the player has insufficient resources, then the padlock symbol will be grey. The upgrade options for the two deck hotspots are identical, and upgrades unlocked in one hotspot are automatically unlocked in the other.

The costs and stats of each upgrade are listed in the tables below:

Crew
There are many types of crew members which are broken down into sections below.

Each crew member has statistics in Morale, Combat, Seafaring, and Speed. These are determined by three factors:
 * The base stats of the particular type of unit, which are given in the table under "Other crew members".
 * Random bonuses specific to an individual unit. These do not appear in the crew roster until the unit is recruited.
 * Any traits that the unit has.

Level
Each crew member has a level, which starts at 0 and can be increased by sending them on voyages. When a crew member gains a level, their stats are increased by 10% of their base stats. This does not take into account any increases due to previous level-ups, individual bonuses, or traits. Therefore, for example, a Smuggler will always gain 7 Seafaring and only 7 Seafaring per level, no matter what her current stats are.

Traits
Crew members may have a "trait" which provides extra bonuses to the ships when the crew member is part of a crew on a voyage. These traits are attached to the crew member when recruited and thus cannot be changed. Captains and first mates have a high chance of having these traits. Explanations of the traits can be seen when hovering over the trait. The possible traits are listed below:
 * No trait - No bonuses
 * Cowardly - Reduced Combat
 * Eager - Improved morale
 * Eagle-Eyed - Improved seafaring
 * Good fortune - Increases the chance of gaining a random event on completing a voyage (does not stack)
 * Merchant - Improve the goods retrieved from a mission by 10% (does not stack)
 * Misery guts - Negative morale bonus
 * Plucky - Improved combat
 * Rallying Cry - All exp gains for this crew member's boat are increased by 10% (does not stack)
 * Short Sighted - Reduced Seafaring
 * Solidarity - Gives +25 or +50 to all stats per unique crew member aboard (does not stack)
 * Staunch - Will give its own life to save a crewman in distress

Captains
Every crew must have one and only one captain. In addition to their standard stats, each captain has a given "personality" listed under their trait. These do not seem to affect game play, but they do affect the appearance and dialogue of the captain. They are listed below:
 * Abrasive
 * Calm
 * Cowardly
 * Eccentric
 * Exuberant
 * Vicious
 * Plucky

Other crew members
The statistics and costs of each possible crew member are listed in the table below:

Voyages
After equipping and crewing a ship, players send it out into the Eastern seas to attempt to accomplish a voyage. The length of a voyage varies depending on the distance traveled, difficulty of the voyage, and the combined speed statistics of the ship and crew. The estimated time of arrival (ETA) for each ship on a voyage can be seen by clicking on the vessel or by checking the logbook item while outside the port. With the proper setup, some voyages only take 15 minutes while others last over an hour.

Once a ship has returned, players receive a notification in their chatbox. Players must return to their port to check on the success of the voyage. Voyages can be successful or unsuccessful. Some successful voyages bring back resources such as Chimes, Bamboo, Black Slate, and Jade. Other successful voyages bring adventurers to the port, unlock new islands, or bring back parts of elusive scrolls for high level armour and food or scrimshaws. A failed voyage does not bring back any reward. In addition, failed voyages may result in damage to the ship, loss of a crew member, or both.

Standard voyages
A list of the names of standard voyages and type of reward:
 * Howdy Pilgrims -
 * Cyclosis - New island
 * Troubled Waters -
 * Supply and Demand -
 * X Marks the Spot - Chimes and Bamboo
 * Explore the Seas -
 * A Daring Raid -
 * The Arc Beckons -
 * First Contact -
 * A Friend Indeed -
 * A Cracked Skull -

Special voyages
A list of the names of the special voyages and type of reward:

Meg the adventurer
Meg is a young girl and aspiring adventurer who can be found in your Player-owned port in the south west corner. Once each week (the week resets on Wednesday) she will ask for your advice on how to deal with several situations that she has encountered on her adventures. After advising her, she will teleport out to her adventures. At the end of a day she will give you a Treasure chest, with a reward that depends on the quality of the advice she was given. See the main article for strategies and reward information.

Ninja Assassins
After a successful voyage you may get to play a minigame that has you search for ninjas in 5 barrels around the dock then search out their targets through a series of clues. If you guess wrong you get another clue, finding all 5 targets will gain you a few small rewards. You can just guess the convict because there are no penalties for it.This random guessing can be made faster if you look for the gender hint, this will tell you if you are identifying the wrong gender target. Also if you don't find a Ninja there will be an arrow pointing to one.

Surula's bar
After a successful voyage, the player may get to play a minigame where they will control Surula and will have to serve beer to 20 clients in the bar area in 10 minutes. Surula can hold only 2 beer glasses and over the time she serves the clients, she will have to keep getting more from her bar in order to continue, as there are twenty clients to be served. It is quite simple seeing that you can serve all of them in about two minutes unhurriedly. The reward shares the same simplicity, it is not impressive but it is worth the time of the random event.

Possible Rewards

 * Crew Reroll
 * Captain Reroll
 * Voyage Reroll
 * Resources
 * Powder keg
 * Bag of winds
 * Ration Pack
 * Powder keg
 * Seasinger's bottled cry
 * Lifeboat
 * Lotus-tint spectacles
 * Fortune of the sea

Rewards
Among the range of rewards available from player-owned ports are degradable level 85 armours: Tetsu armour, which is melee class, Death Lotus armour, which is ranged class, and Seasinger's robes, which are magic class. These items can be created by players with 90 Smithing, Crafting, and Runecrafting respectively (non-assistable and the materials are untradeable). Players can create two versions of this armour: tradeable versions with slightly lower stats that crumble to dust when fully degraded, and untradeable versions with slightly higher stats that can be repaired either with coins or port resources. Other available rewards include the high level food rocktail soup and scrimshaws, items for the new pocket slot.

Tetsu armour

 * Helm
 * Body
 * Legs

Sea singer's robes

 * Headband
 * Robe top
 * Robe bottom

Death Lotus armour

 * Hood
 * Chestplate
 * Chaps

Scrimshaws

 * Log-splitting Scrimshaw
 * Rock-crushing Scrimshaw
 * Tree-shaking Scrimshaw
 * Gem-finding Scrimshaw
 * Scrimshaw of Vampyrism
 * Scrimshaw of Strength
 * Scrimshaw of the Elements
 * Scrimshaw of Magic
 * Scrimshaw of Cruelty
 * Scrimshaw of Ranging

Other

 * Rocktail soup
 * Experience

Cultural references

 * The names of some of the islands are references to characters in the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Music Unlocked

 * Sea Folk - When you enter the port for the first time.
 * Sea Hear - When you enter the port for the first time.
 * Sea You Late Oar - When you enter the port for the first time.
 * Shanty Instrumental - When you enter the port for the first time.
 * Stick Your Oar In - When you enter the port for the first time.
 * Stick Your Ale In - Walk north from the portal entrace and go near the bar.

Trivia

 * Before the release players received an in-game message saying "Avast mateys, the next Runescape game update will be in approximately 30 minutes".
 * The Chinese word in the top left of the Archipelago map is "端口" (duānkǒu) which is the wrong translation of port. Duānkǒu refers to a computer port or interface. The correct translation should be "港口" (gǎngkǒu), this may be one of Jagex's notorious plays on words.
 * The Chinese word in the bottom left of the Archipelago map is "指南針" (zhǐnánzhēn), meaning compass.
 * When attempting to drop something at the port, players receive an in-game message saying "The Port Sarim Private Docks Authority thanks you for not littering."
 * A player can name their ship "The Black Pearl", a reference to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. You can also call it "Lady Lumbridge", a reference to the quest Dragon Slayer (ironically, a ship you owned).
 * Against popular beliefs, this activity doesn't put boundaries to Eastern Land related quests, because JaGeX said they would make them accessible after they're done updating the mainland.
 * In the Captain's log there the player can see the current Runedate, a reference to the popular TV Series Star Trek.