2009

This article documents a current event. Details may change rapidly as the event progresses, and the last updates to this page may not reflect the most current information.

2009 marks the 10^th anniversary of the formation of Jagex, and of the start of development for RuneScape Classic. It is also the "official Upgrade Year" for Jagex as mentioned in their 2009 Behind the Scenes update, released in January.

The following is a list of events that happened in RuneScape in 2009.

January

• 2 January
  • Behind the Scenes - January (2009) is released.
  • Behind the Scenes for the year 2009 is released.
• 6 January
  • In Pyre Need quest is released along with the Phoenix. Phoenix Lair, an addition to Distractions and Diversions is also released.
  • Players are no longer able to attack another player's familiar in single-way combat on a PvP world.
  • The "make-x" feature is introduced for filleting fish such as Leaping sturgeon, salmon and trout.
  • A second world for the Stealing Creation minigame is added.
  • The 2008 Christmas event is officially removed.
• 9 January
  • Players are reminded to change their passwords as "relatively large number" of players are using the "same few extremely common passwords".
• 13 January
  • The logout timer is extended from 90 seconds to 5 minutes.
  • A number of words are removed from the chat filter.
  • An alternative location for Varrock teleport is introduced, located at south of the Grand Exchange. Players wishing to change to this location may speak to the NPCs involved in the Varrock Diary.
  • Dragon daggers, and poisoned dragon daggers, can now be converted to coins via CoinShare.
  • Answers to the Betrayal at Falador Q&A are posted in the forums by the author, T. S. Church.
• 16 January
  • Armies of Gielinor, a RuneScape-based game is released in FunOrb.
• 20 January
  • Seers' Village Diary is released.
  • The alchemy prices of Crystal bows and shields are reduced.
  • The operating delays for the Slayer ring, combat bracelet and skills necklace are removed.
• 27 January
  • The Magic Interface is changed, enabling a player to sort spells by category.
  • A button is added to show players where they are on the world map.
  • A new teleport option is added to the Ring of duelling - to the Fist of Guthix minigame.
  • Players can no longer Fletch and use Alchemy spells while in the Great Orb Project.
  • Servers in US states are now identified according to individual states.
• 30 January
  • Maintenance is carried out on the RuneScape forums. The forums are offline during this maintenance period.

February

• 2 February
  • Jagex CEO, Geoff Iddison, is succeeded by Mark Gerhard.
  • Behind the Scenes for the month of February is released.
• 5 February: Postbag from the Hedge for the month of February is released.
• 9 February: The new CEO of Jagex, Mod MMG, announces changes to the RuneScape game, and talks about the Future of RuneScape.
• 10 February
  • Soul Wars, a team-based minigame, is released.
  • The rewards for the Seers' Village Diary are changed. Karamja gloves 3 reward from the Karamja Diary now grants free access to Brimhaven Dungeon.
  • The Quick Chat system is modified to allow greater access for players to converse with Player Moderators.
• 16 February
  • Mod MMG answers RuneScape questions posted by players in the RuneScape forums.
  • The first batch of questions are moved to the RuneScape forums.
  • Minor delays are announced for "Game updates" of the week.
• 17 February: Wilderness and Real-World Trading questions are answered by Andrew Gower.
• 25 February
  • Random events are updated.
  • Evil Trees, part of the Distractions and Diversions, are released.
  • Ava's Attractor and Ava's Accumulator are allowed into Soul Wars, and the Soul Wars avatars are upgraded to give them more power.
  • Lokar Searunner, Captain Bentley and Bill Teach are given right-click options to expediate travel.
  • The Quest List is given options to filter and to sort.
  • Price checking is made easier for players with the introduction of a new button.
• 27 February: The Bounty Hunter craters are closed temporarily due to several problems.

March

• 3 March
  • Deposit-all feature is introduced, where players can deposit all items in the inventory simultaneously.
  • Items Kept on Death interface is updated to show the total value of items carried and worn by the player.
  • The value of items that can be dropped while in combat is reduced to 1,000 coins.
  • Bird's nests' audio is updated to be more audible.
• 5 March
  • The Evil Tree wallpaper is released.
  • RuneScape Q&A continues with answers by Mod Mark, Paul Gower, and Mod Roderick.
• 12 March: The Chasm of Lights is added to Lores and Histories.
• 17 March
  • The Chosen Commander is released. It is the 150^th quest released by Jagex.
  • The Route-finding bug, where player characters would move in the wrong direction, is fixed.
  • Second server blackout of 2009 occurs.
• 25 March
  • Pre-purchase advice feature is introduced; which activates whenever items are purchased by players.
  • Dragon platebody is given a graphics overhaul.
  • The Equipment Stats screen for Ranged weapons is modified to allow players to see the "Ranged Strength" of weapons such as javelins, arrows and crossbow bolts.
  • The Prayer icon in the minimap is given an overhaul; prayers can now be activated or deactivated with a click.
  • For the Culinaromancer's Chest and the gnome cuisine shop in the Grand Tree, the stock prices are returned to their former state, and the option to sell stock back is removed.
• 26 March: The first future content Development Diary is released, which discusses an upcoming dwarf quest.
• 30 March: PayPal subscribers experience problems with the billing systems.
• 31 March
  • The rants section of the RuneScape Forums is reinstated.
  • Pay by SMS is made available in Australia.

April

• 1 April
  • Forum Maintenance is carried out on the RuneScape forums. The forums are offline during this maintenance period.
  • Glorious Memories is released.
  • 2009 April Fools is released, later removed on 8 April / 1 week later. (Features are: Cabbages running around, ability to wield cabbages, and the ability to catch, kick and tap cabbages)
• 2 April
  • The Dungeon Maps development diary is released.
  • RuneScape Duel Cards, a card game, is released.
  • Postbag from the Hedge 39 is released.
• 6 April: The Windows client for RuneScape is updated.
• 8 April: The 2009 Easter event, Splitting Heirs, is released.
• 9 April
  • The forums are opened to high-levelled free players.
  • The second part of the "New dwarf quest" Development Diary is released.
• 17 April: The Fairy Area Improvement development diary is released.
• 20 April: PayBySMS is made available in Canada.
• 21 April
  • Tale of the Muspah is released.
  • The process of picking seeds from bushes and trees is sped up.
  • Self-injury items can no longer kill a player.
• 23 April: The Run Energy development diary is released.
• 28 April
  • Several new hairstyles are released.
  • Summoning familiars' timer can be restored to 100% with the corresponding pouch.
  • The limit for pets owned is doubled.
  • Exchanging pouches and scrolls with Bogrog is now more straightforward.
  • Quest journals now provide a link to the corresponding QuestHelp page.
  • Lilies of the valley and Afro wigs are released.
• 30 April: The third part of the "New dwarf quest" Development Diary is released.

May

• 6 May: Bounty Hunter Wilderness-only PvP is released.
• 7 May: Tools for Games development diary is released.
• 11 May
  • Offence Appeal system is temporarily unavailable.
  • Offence Appeal system is updated.
• 14 May: The second part of the Fairy Area Improvement development diary is released.
• 15 May: Limited edition zipped hoodies based on The Chosen Commander are released in the Jagex Store.
• 19 May: Missing My Mummy is released.
• 21 May
  • The second part of Run Energy development diary is released.
  • The results of the Name a Pub Guaranteed-Content Poll are announced.
• 27 May: Dungeon maps and spam filter
  • The dungeon maps are released.
  • The less important game messages in the chat interface can now be filtered through the Spam filter.
  • Graphical improvements are made to the leprechauns, Hitpoints bar, hitsplats, minimap flag, and world globe icon under the minimap.
  • Any members' content (e.g. shortcuts) are removed from free-to-play worlds.
• 28 May
  • Postbag from the Hedge 40 is released.
  • The fourth part of the New Dwarf Quest development diary is released.
• 29 May: The Jagex Clan Cup 2009 results are announced.

June

• 1 June: PayBySMS is made available for players in Estonia and Lithuania.
• 2 June: The Hunt for Red Raktuber is released.
• 9 June: The run energy feature is upgraded.
  • The Rest feature glitch occurs due to this update.
  • World 64 crashes due to this update.
• 10 June: The Rest feature glitch is fixed.
• 11 June: The Macro-detection systems is updated.
• 12 June: The Friends List is unavailable for some users.
• 14 June: The third server blackout of 2009 occurs.
• 16 June
  • Several changes have made to PvP worlds, Bounty Worlds, and gravestones.
  • The special attack of the Abyssal whip now drains 25% of the target's run energy, compared to 10% previously.
  • Servers based in European countries are temporarily unavailable due to a hardware fault. This is fixed within the same day.
• 18 June: Membership cards are made available in 7-Eleven stores.
• 22 June: Extended Agility courses
  • Agility courses throughout Gielinor are extended.
  • Right-click quick starts are introduced for Balthazar Beauregard's Big Top Bonanza circus.

July

• 2 July: Wallie Cards is made available for players in Sweden.
• 3 July: The third part of the Fairy Area Improvement developers' blog is released.
• 8 July: Mobilising Armies is released, along with a new teleport spell to the area, and a graphical overhaul of the game interface and the introduction of the Notes tab. Several worlds crash due to the update.
• 10 July
  • The first part of the Infrastructure developers' blog is released.
  • Jagex opens a poll on Jagex security keys.
  • PayBySMS is made available in Singapore.
• 13 July: Incomm cards are made available at Rite-Aid and Wal-Mart.
• 14 July: Jagex performs website maintenance where the Hiscores server is successfully moved.
• 15 July
  • Mobilising Armies is added to Lores and Histories.
  • PvP world changes are announced.
  • Faruq's Tools for Games is released.
• 16 July
  • The first pack of the Animation Update developers' blog is released.
  • The fifth server blackout of 2009 occurs.
• 17 July
  • +1 Item Bounty Worlds are announced.
  • Jagex addresses the fifth server blackout of 2009.
  • Jagex continues to experience ISP problems.
• 21 July: The Curse of Arrav is released.
• 23 July
  • The first part of the Updates developers' blog is released.
  • Jagex releases the game and website in Brazilian Portuguese.
• 24 July
  • Jagex announces the release of the game and website in Brazilian Portuguese.
  • The first and second parts of of the Community Management developers' blog is released.
• 28 July
  • Poison Arrow Pub and Aquanite
    • The Poison Arrow pub is released.
    • Aquanite, a Slayer creature, is released.
    • Players now lose 20% of their Earning Potential (EP) if they teleport while in combat.
  • Animation Pack 1 is released.
    • Animations for several weapons and Agility are updated. Tweening, or animation smoothing, is introduced into the game.
• 30 July: A second Q&A session with Mark Gerhard and the Jagex staff is announced. A total of 6 Q&A sessions are announced, held every Thursday beginning 6 August 2009.

August

• 5 August: Postbag, Gallery and Wallpapers
  • Postbag from the Hedge: Issue 41 is released.
  • Players' Gallery for the month of August is released.
  • New-look Zanaris and Curse of Arrav wallpapers are released.
• 6 August: Mark Gerhard answers questions posted by RuneScape players. Mark Gerhard's answers are posted in a Developers' blog.
• 10 August: Fur 'n' Seek, the sequel to Rag and Bone Man, is released.
• 11 August: RuneScape Machinima Competition is announced.
• 18 August
  • Several changes are made to the Mobilising Armies minigame.
  • Menagerie, Familiar Controls and Butlers
    • The menagerie, a pet-owned house, is released.
    • The Summoning status globe in the minimap is improved with one-click options.
    • Butlers are now more knowledgeable when it comes to fetching items (and payments) from the bank. They will now follow players unless told not to.