The Croesus Front introduces RuneScape’s first ever skilling boss

Jagex has unveiled details regarding the third Elder God Wars front. Following the Nodon and Glacor fronts, the newly announced Croesus front will introduce the first-ever RuneScape skilling boss. That means that it will be the first boss that is defeated through the use of gathering skills rather than combat.

Those familiar with RuneScape may realize that this is not technically the MMORPG’s first skilling boss. Whilst the main RuneScape client has never received one, the retro-inspired Old School RuneScape has several. That includes Wintertodt, the primary way in which OSRS players train their Firemaking. Given its popularity on Old School RuneScape, it was only a matter of time that the modern game got an equivalent.

The Croesus Front

Being RuneScape‘s first skilling boss, Croesus introduces ideas never seen before. For one, it will be impossible to die during the fight. Although teams will be able to lose if they don’t deal enough damage via skilling. The specific mechanics of the fight are still unknown and will stay a secret until the boss is released.

Speaking of which, we have a release date. The Croesus Front will be added to RuneScape on September 27. This includes the boss itself as well as the new skilling nodes that can be found outside of the arena. There are nodes for four skills: Woodcutting, Fishing, Hunter, and Mining. These will offer a low-intensity alternative for training these skills at higher levels.

Rewards

Rewards wise, defeating Croesus provides a chance of receiving one of several rare drops. Amongst these is a new set of tier 90 Magic tank armor. Whilst similar to Achto, the new Cryptbloom Armor provides several additional effects focused on reducing incoming damage. These armor effects scale based on the number of individual pieces worn.

Furthermore, two new skilling off-hands are up for grabs. The Tagga’s Core Hammer is a level 80 Mining off-hand that speeds up the process of mining minerals when equipped. It provides a +10% critical strike chance and increases critical strike damage against rocks by 35. The other new off-hand is Sana’s Frytorch. This is used for Woodcutting and provides a flat +6% success rate buff as well as a 1 in 5 chance of receiving an extra log.

An interesting side effect of both new skilling off-hands is that they can be used to farm Splintering and Deathspore Arrowtips. These new arrow tips are used to craft tier 95 arrows that should help bows become more relevant in the meta. The full details can be seen in the unveil blog, but needless to say they are very powerful.

Those looking for some quality of life items won’t be disappointed. The new Seed Bag that is craftable with materials dropped by Croesus can carry up to fifty different types of seed at once. Also, The Croesus front will introduce a Rune Pouch upgrade into RuneScape which carries four different runes and provides a 25% chance to save runes during combat.

And of course, what would a God Wars front be without a new God Book. This time around we’re getting the Scripture of Bik, a skilling-focused pocket item. When used whilst training non-combat skills, there’s a chance for a Catalyst of Alteration to spawn. Clicking on this will boost XP gained by 5% for one minute and reward between one and three randomly tiered clue scrolls.