Heed the call of Ashenfall, adventurer, and prepare to return to RuneScape: Dragonwilds 1.0. Since its Early Access launch in April 2025, Jagex has transformed the survival-crafting adventure with new regions, skills, bosses, gear, quests, combat systems, and plenty of quality-of-life improvements. If you're a returning player, it can be tricky to learn what's changed. Luckily, we've gathered all the info that returning players need to know.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds Returning Player Guide - All New Content, Updates, & Changes Since Early Access Launch

Now that RuneScape: Dragonwilds 1.0 is live, the Kuldra Saga has reached its conclusion with the arrival of the Scorned Wilderness. If you haven't visited Ashenfall since launch, there's more to see and discover than ever before. There are new ways to traverse the world, new areas, new foes, new skills, and an enormous list of both bug fixes and quality-of-life additions. Here, we'll break down the biggest new features that have been added in patches during the game's Early Access and 1.0 releases.

0.8: Magic Arrives

Magic was the first major skill addition after Early Access launched. It allowed players to level up their Magic in order to unlock powerful Skill Spells, such as Surge and Confuse, as well as plenty of Spell Upgrades. Version 0.8 also introduced Hard Difficulty, coziness improvements, Palisade Walls, and plenty of building changes. If you are returning from the game's initial Early Access release, do not overlook Magic. Magic doesn't just deal damage. Leveling it up is a great way to give yourself more mobility, gathering, and survival options. The 0.8 updates also introduced several features that you might overlook:

• Solo Game Pausing
• Cape Racks
• Improved Item Pickup
• Improved Protection From Dragon attacks While Indoors
• Crafting and Building Directly From Nearby Chests in 0.8.3

The ability to craft and build from nearby chests' contents was a huge time saver in particular.

0.9: Become a Ranger

Version 0.9 added the Ranged Skill. This means you no longer need to spend as much time slaying foes up close and personal. The Ranged skill introduced:

• Bows and One-Handed Crossbows
• The Fletching Bench
• New Arrows and Bolts
• Hunter Sense
• Snares
• Trick Shots
• Enchanted Ammunition
• A Dedicated Arrow and Bolt Inventory Tab

Version 0.9 also introduced the enormous addition of Creative Mode and Custom World Settings. Creative Mode removes many of the normal survival restrictions and allows you to run free through Ashenfall however you like. Meanwhile, Custom Worlds let you adjust survival and world event settings to your exact preferences.

0.10.0 - 0.10.2: Fellhollow

This was an enormous update for RuneScape: Dragonwilds. It added an entire new region known as Fellhollow. This eerie zone is crawling with the undead, new NPCs, quests, vaults, resources, and the Soul Rifting debuff mechanic. Along with this update, some other big additions were:

• Farming
• Steel weapons and armor
• Green Dragonhide
• Splitbark gear
• New Vestiges
• New Enemies and Faction Enemies
• New Bosses and Mini Bosses
• Mounts
• New Building Pieces

Arguably the most important addition on this list for new players is farming. Farming is enormously helpful for returning players. It's one of the best ways to regularly give yourself ingredients for alchemy, healing, and combat buffs. Starting a simple little garden patch as soon as you have access to a crafting table should be high on your list of priorities when returning to Ashenfall.

0.11.0 - 0.11.1: Dowdun Reach & Fishing

Once again, a new area was added, though it wasn't as large as Fellhollow. Dowdun Reach added some new quests, new building pieces and decorations, and a major rework to Runecrafting. However, the two biggest additions were fishing and allowing skill progression all the way to level 99. Fishing is another resource-gathering skill, and it has plenty of helpful spells you can learn as you level it up. In fact, Fishing, like every skill now, has different bonuses for you to unlock all the way up to level 99. It takes a lot of work, but there are plenty of improvements to enjoy along the way to break it up and make it more exciting.

0.12.0 - 0.12.1: Umbral Sands

This was the biggest content update before 1.0 arrived. The new region Sunscorch brought a blistering desert for players to explore as well as the following:

• Fuzan, the Fire Dragon boss
• The Fight Cave
• The Nightmare Crucible
• Adamant tier gear
• Red Dragonhide
• Infinity Robes
• New Enemies
• New Minibosses
• New Vaults and Quests

One of the most important additions here is the Nightmare Crucible. This is a highly challenging gauntlet that sees you fight some of the game's toughest monsters. It's not easy, but it is a great way to get the incredibly valuable resource known as Ascension Cores. These allow you to upgrade your weapons to their highest possible level. A highly recommended upgrade to any returning player hoping to take on the endgame content added with 1.0. Later with update 0.12.1, the Agility skill was also added. Along with it came six different obstacle courses to level up your Agility skill while also teaching you how the new movement systems work. With a second jump, an air dash, and a few movement spells, players can now traverse Ashenfall easier and more quickly than ever before.

1.0: Scorned Wilderness

And, finally, we've reached RuneScape: Dragonwilds 1.0! With the arrival of the game's full release, yet another new area was added: the Scorned Wilderness. It is in this new region that players can take on the game's first raid. A challenging endgame-level event that culminates in a grand battle against Kuldra, the God Eater, bringing a close to Kuldra's Saga. Of course, 1.0 also brings an enormous list of other new additions, including the following:

• New Platforms + Crossplay Support (Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2)
• New 1.0 Gear
• Rune Armor
• Rune Weapons
• Black Dragonhide
• Ancestral Robes
• Dragon Armor
• Dragon Weapons
• Special Rewards for Defeating Kuldra
• Runite Ore
• Luminite Ore
• Magic Wood
• Runic Powder
• Draconic Vis Wax
• Wands
• Combat Overhaul

While 1.0 includes a heaping helping of new features, one of the most notable is the game's combat overhaul. For starters, special attacks now have a rechargeable special attack bar. Additionally, a successful parry will now restore 50% of your maximum stamina while also leaving enemies vulnerable to visceral attacks. There are also sprint attacks, the ability to do some attack canceling, and the all-new weapon type of Wands. With so much to see and do, returning players shouldn't have any difficulty filling their Ashenfall days. If you've been playing all along and fear that the RuneScape: Dragonwilds 1.0 update means the end, don't worry. The developers at Jagex have confirmed that plenty more updates are coming in the future. For now, dust off your favorite sword, grab your adventuring pals, and cleanse the world of Kuldra's menace once and for all!

What Should Returning Players Do First?

For players returning to RuneScape: Dragonwilds with the 1.0 update, here are some recommendations for where you should start with the game's current state.

• Gather Your Crew: With the expansion of RuneScape: Dragonwilds to new platforms, as well as its release on the Xbox Game Pass, it's never been a better time to get new and returning players involved. And you can enjoy the game in a persistent dedicated world with a server from BisectHosting! Just make sure you get set up before you begin progressing so you don't have to worry about starting over for others.
• Continue and Catch Up with the Main Story: No matter where you left off, you'll want to catch up on Kuldra's Saga and unlock the game's newer regions as you move toward the Scorned Wilderness and 1.0 content.
• Set Up Your Farming Early: In the current state of RuneScape: Dragonwilds, farming is an excellent skill for gathering renewable resources and is extremely helpful for long-term progression. The sooner you get your farm started, the better.
• Unlock A Mount: Returning players should make getting a mount early a priority, as it reduces your travel times significantly as you explore the map's many new regions.
• Catch Up On Skilling: Farming isn't the only useful skill to catch up early on, with Fishing and Runecrafting standing out as great additions to help support your journeys.
• Upgrade Your Gearset: No matter where you were on your progression path in the past, once you return, you'll want to catch your gear up to the latest content as soon as possible so you're prepared for end-game difficulty.
• Collect Ascension Cores: Ascension upgrades are an important aspect of tackling the hardest encounters. Complete Nightmare Crucible content and you'll thank yourself later.