With an MMO that’s been operating for a quarter-century and has plans for at least that long to go, you might well expect that some balancing and adjustments are necessary to keep the game running well. RuneScape’s team calls this “game health,” and in a two-part blog post it explained why such work is important for the long-term viability of the MMO and what’s coming up in the short-term.

The big focus right now is on an upcoming loot and economy patch designed to rebalance the influx of desired items and materials into the game. “Although quantities were lowered across the board, in various places, we replaced lower-value items with items that currently carried higher values,” the devs explained.” This was done to ensure the drop tables still carry some weight and variety across the table as a whole, rather than continuing to drop already low value items at even lower quantities. On the flip side, we increased the chance for rare items in several places.”

Meanwhile in Old School RuneScape, Jagex is exploring “a treasure trove of concepts” for its upcoming sailing skill. This month, the studio released a poll asking for feedback about sailing quests, area expansions, and deep sea trawling. Who doesn’t love a good trawling now and then?