MMO dev reassures bamboozled players that mysterious new items are real, but only drop in a special new way

Old School RuneScape developer Jagex has reassured players that the mysterious new items in its MMO are real but says they only drop in a special new way.

Earlier this week saw the arrival of Desert Treasure 2 - The Fallen Empire, Old School RuneScape's first Grandmaster quest since 2019. Described as the game's "most ambitious quest to date", it continues the storyline of 2005's Desert Treasure and offers four brand new bosses, as well as a host of powerful rewards. "It's absolutely dripping with lore, answers to unanswered questions, and ties to loose ends", the developer said on Steam.

Still, it's brought with it a conundrum all of its own when it comes to the new loot, known as Vestiges, which players get by defeating the new bosses. These can be used to create powerful rings, but they are so rare that many players were questioning whether or not they actually existed. 

Over on the official Old School Runescape Twitter page, Jagex was quick to respond to the claims, confirming that the prized components are, in fact, real. "We've seen speculation that the ring attachments aren't dropping," it said. "Before it snowballs into a mystery bigger than the Mahjarrat, we'd like to confirm one thing. They can drop. We checked."

Though it does considerably add to the intrigue with its follow-up tweet in which it reveals that "they don't drop in the same way normal drops do." 

Of course, players are now wondering what exactly this strange drop mechanic could be. Over on the RuneScape subreddit, one writes, "You need the ring of visibility to see the rings." Another's theory is that drop rates are "tied to kill time", so the quicker you kill a boss, the higher your chances of claiming that special loot. Others guess that they have "a really low drop rate and some sort of bad luck mitigation" or that you have to "'get the drop' some arbitrary number of times" before you can actually pocket your prize.

The developer hasn't offered any sort of clue but does promise to share how it all works within the next two weeks. In the meantime, all you can do is keep battling those bosses and keep your fingers crossed.

In the mood for something else? Check out our best MMORPG list for more great living worlds you can experience with others.