Head banner

Current Head Banners

Head banners are the banners at the top of the RuneScape website. The first one, Island Assault, was released on 1 July 2008 when the RuneScape website received a huge makeover and the game itself was upgraded to RuneScape High Detail, before that just a logo was shown which would also change sometimes during holidays or major updates (these are also archived in the "Pre-2008" article below). Banners link to their corresponding news posts.

After the release of "Island Assault", the banner has been frequently featuring holiday events or major events in RuneScape. Since 2011, special offers and new quests were included, and from 2012 on, nearly every game update gets its own banner, many of which are additionally previewed and featured in the Lobby.

Charm Sprites

 * Event: Catch Charm sprites for bigger rewards
 * Scene: A player attempting to catch a Charm Sprite
 * Duration: 24 April -

New Super-Rares

 * Event: New super rares added to the Squeal of Fortune.
 * Scene: Squeal of Fortune in background with cards showing images of the new rares.
 * Duration: 19 April - 22 April

Elemental Outfits

 * Event: 4 new outfits added to Solomon's General Store.
 * Scene: Each outfit displayed in a panel.
 * Duration: 19 April -

Duel Arena rework

 * Event: Duel Arena rework.
 * Scene: Two players participating in a duel.
 * Duration: 16 April - 24 April

Castle Wars revamped

 * Event: Castle Wars rework.
 * Scene: Saradomin side of Castle Wars under attack.
 * Duration: 9 April - 19 April

Super-Rare a Day

 * Event: Super rares on the Squeal of Fortune lowering in rarity before being removed for good.
 * Scene: Calendar in the background next to Squeal of Fortune showing different rares on the days.
 * Duration: 9 April - 19 April

Samid's gloves

 * Event: Samid's gloves on the Squeal of Fortune.
 * Scene: Coins falling into a cooking pot.
 * Duration: 5 April - 9 April

Runescape Beta Programme

 * Event: Beta signups for the new HTML5 client.
 * Scene: Gielinor.
 * Duration: 4 April - 16 April

Dual-wielding Dungeoneering

 * Event: New Dungeoneering weapons, Charming imp reward.
 * Scene: Three adventurers wielding Daemonheim offhands.
 * Duration: 2 April - 9 April

Warband armour

 * Event: Cosmetic Archon outfit and Warlord outfit added to Squeal of Fortune.
 * Scene: A warrior in an Archon outfit charging ahead with knife drawn.
 * Duration: 29 March - 2 April

Wilderness Warbands

 * Event: Wilderness Warbands D&D released.
 * Scene: A character sneaking into an Armadylian camp.
 * Duration: 25 March - 9 April

Slayer masks

 * Event: 5 different Slayer masks available from the Squeal of Fortune.
 * Scene: A menacing image of the Mask of the Kura.
 * Duration: 22 March - 2 April

Skypouncer outfit

 * Event: Skypouncer Outfit membership card promotion.
 * Scene: A bearded man displaying the Skypouncer outfit.
 * Duration: 21 March -

Feast of Guthix

 * Event: First Age outfit, Coin of Balance, prayer event for the Squeal of Fortune.
 * Scene: Characters dressed in First Age outfits bearing food offerings to Guthix; a Coin of Balance being flipped in the foreground.
 * Duration: 15 March - 18 March

Tribute to Guthix

 * Event: Tribute to Guthix spring event.
 * Scene: A manifestation of Guthix holding a butterfly.
 * Duration: 12 March - 4 April

The World Wakes

 * Event: Release of a world-changing grandmaster quest, The World Wakes.
 * Scene: What seems to be an adventurer and Orlando Smith at the entrance of Guthix's first resting place. The adventurer seems to hover a torch over a sealed enigmatic door.
 * Duration: 4 March - 25 March, 2 April - 5 April

God Robes and Teleports

 * Event: Four god-themed outfits available from Solomon's General Store.
 * Scene: A character wearing Zamorak-styled robes teleporting with the respective animation.
 * Duration: 4 March - 12 March, 14 March - 25 March

The Origins of Gielinor

 * Event: Release of motion comic depicting Gielinor's beginnings in preview of The World Wakes.
 * Scene: What appears to be the Elder Gods conceiving Gielinor. Links to the video on RuneScape's official YouTube channel.
 * Duration: 28 February - 18 March

Old School RuneScape

 * Event: Release of Old School RuneScape, available free for a month to players who voted.
 * Scene: The same scene as the first banner, zoomed in on the conflict. Links to the Old School RS homepage.
 * Duration: 22 February - 14 March

Bestiary

 * Event: Release of the RuneScape Bestiary beta.
 * Scene: Kree'arra standing on a floating island.
 * Duration: 18 February - 4 March

Old School RuneScape poll

 * Event: Poll to determine extent of Old School RuneScape published. Banner links to special poll page.
 * Scene: A towering enemy locked in combat with a female warrior. Also includes the old RuneScape logo.
 * Duration: 15 February - 22 February

Valentine Yelps

 * Event: Valentines-themed items added to Squeal of Fortune; Valentine hearts.
 * Scene: Cupid and a hateful counterpart brandishing the Cupid bow and the Rosethorn wand, respectively.
 * Duration: 14 February - 25 February

Slayer Tower: Revamped

 * Event: Graphical rework of the Slayer Tower, addition of Slayer contracts and return of random event characters.
 * Scene: A brave adventurer preparing to walk into the intimidating Slayer Tower entrance, with Markus in the background.
 * Duration: 12 February - 18 February

Free Bank Space

 * Event: One Bank booster +50 available to all members.
 * Scene: An open bank vault with a glimpse of valuable items inside.
 * Duration: 5 February - 18 February

Replay Tokens Return

 * Event: D&D tokens return, Ramokee outfit on the Squeal of Fortune.
 * Scene: A woman wearing the Ramokee outfit and holding several replay tokens.
 * Duration:

Dragon Wolf

 * Event: Dragon Wolf pet, Dragon Wolf outfit.
 * Scene: The Dragon Wolf staring ahead partially obscured by shadow.

Sinkholes

 * Event: Release of Sinkholes.
 * Scene: A gorajo hoardstalker welcoming the viewer into what could be the treasure room of a sinkhole.
 * Duration:

Cash Bags

 * Event: Cash bags added to the Squeal of Fortune.
 * Scene: A sack of gold containing Yelps, among mountains of gold pieces.
 * Duration:

Shadow Series

 * Event: New Solomon's store skins
 * Scene: Shadow Series on display.
 * Duration:

Demonflesh Armour

 * Event: New Solomon's store skins.
 * Scene: Demonflesh Armour on display.
 * Duration:

Demon Flash Mobs

 * Event: Demon Flash Mobs event.
 * Scene: A hulking demon boss.
 * Duration:

Summoning Wheel

 * Event: Summoning-themed Squeal of Fortune promotion.
 * Scene: Yelps dressed in robes with a glowing summoning pouch across from him.
 * Duration:

Abduction Teleports

 * Event: New teleport animations added to Solomon's General Store.
 * Scene: A player being whisked away by a KGP agent.
 * Duration:

Desert Tasks

 * Event: Release of Desert Tasks.
 * Scene: An adventurer, with an Ancient staff in the Kharidian desert looking at a checklist.
 * Duration:

Crazy Construction

 * Event: Construction-themed Squeal of Fortune promotion.
 * Scene: Yelps pointing out Construction items on his wheel.
 * Duration:

Kalphite Cosmetic Outfits

 * Event: New Kalphite-themed skins from Solomon's General Store.
 * Scene: Two adventurers, one wearing the Kalphite Sentinel Outfit and the other wearing the Kalphite Emissary Outfit.
 * Duration:

Kalphite King

 * Event: Release of the Kalphite King.
 * Scene: A player face to face with the Kalphite King, which appears to be rising out of the desert sand.
 * Duration: 14 January -

Hati & Sköll

 * Event: Return of Hati and Sköll for the 2013 Winter event.
 * Scene: A fierce-looking Hati menacing the viewer amidst snow.
 * Duration: 14 January -

God Statues

 * Event: Release of God Statues.
 * Scene: Two adventurers peering up at an intimidating god statue under construction.
 * Duration: 3 January - 14 January

Splash page
On the previous splash page (the page you got on when visiting the RuneScape website for the first time) there were also a few banners promoting the game which can be seen below. Now it just shows some screenshots.

NOTE:On the website all these banners had small animations.

Trivia

 * As of 27 April 2012 no head banners were shown, instead it just showed the background which looks the same as the default banner but without any animations. This was most likely just a bug and has been fixed with the Runespan update.