One of OSRS's best events is coming to Runescape, and it's going to cause chaos

While I am very much a sucker for the traditional MMORPG grind, sometimes you just want something new. Chopping down trees can only be so interesting, especially when you're leveling a new character from scratch, but, on the flip side, endgame content can start to grow a little stale after a while. Drawing inspiration from OSRS, Runescape is getting a brand new limited-time mode that features mammoth, rapid XP gains and a whole slew of game-changing relics. This is Leagues: Catalyst.

If you're familiar with OSRS' Leagues, Runescape's take will be familiar. Like Ironman, player trading at the Grand Exchange will be disabled, alongside the daily Treasure Hunter quests and anything with microtransactions. You'll need to start a fresh character on a League-specific world, and you'll spawn in Lumbridge, where there's a handy NPC (aptly named the Leagues Sage) to break everything down. Let me take a crack at summarizing the best bits, though.

The vast majority of your Leagues adventures will be spent completing unique tasks. Each task you complete will reward you with League Points, which you can then use to unlock a new relic. Easier tasks will net you ten points, while master-level tasks will score you 400; there's a spectrum of difficulties, meaning you can either spend your time taking down various smaller mobs, or dedicate a few hours to higher-level content.

Tasks exist across all of the game's skills (Jagex's examples include milking cows and beating up goblins), and will take you to every corner of Gielinor, which is new if you're an OSRS enthusiast. Instead of locking you into certain regions, Runescape lets you complete tasks in any area, so get your walking boots on.

As you rack up points, you'll be able to access different relics. These game-changing items are spread across seven tiers, each more powerful than the last. You'll need to choose one per tier, and you'll be offered the choice between Animal Wrangler (grants you a fishing and hunter harpoon, alongside a 50% increased catch rate), Divine Woodcutter (allows you to burn trees as you cut them down and enhances divination), and Excavator (fuses mining and archaeology) as soon as you log in.

At tier seven you'll find the likes of Everlasting Faith, which decreases damage taken when a player has a protection prayer or curse block cast on them, allows you to revive at full hit points, and removes the drain from prayer points. It's absolutely wild, and I love it.

If you do make it all the way up to the top, you'll be able to grab a series of rewards, including a new outfit, as well as overrides for your hatchet, pickaxe, harpoon, and the mysterious catalyst staff. If you're feeling competitive, there are Leagues trophies to collect, too, from bronze all the way up to dragon.

Runescape's Leagues: Catalyst begins today, Monday September 15, and runs until Monday November 10. You can also pick up a new, Leagues-focused membership running from today until the event's end. Priced at $21.99 / £15.99 (one month costs $13.99 / £9.99, so you're saving around $20 / £10), it's available until Sunday September 21.

If the idea of a subscription puts you off, check out our list of the best free MMOs. Alternatively, if it's the 'MMO' part that sounds terrifying, we have a rundown of all the best fantasy games to give you the magic without the 'massive.'

Are you excited for Runescape's take on Leagues? Let us know on Discord, and share which relic you're most excited about.