Update: Jagex has confirmed that the proposed changes to OSRS Guardians of the Rift have officially left open beta and are available in the main game right now.
If you scroll down beneath this post, you can see our original article. It details the changes that OSRS was testing in detail. Since then, Jagex has made the following tweaks:
- You are now guaranteed to receive at least two Medium tier alters during the first two rounds, preventing previous instances when you received two Weak tier altars.
- The default action when clicking on the Uncharged Cell Table is now to take 10, with 1 being relegated to a right click. Taking 5 no longer exists.
- You now get Talismans as notes to prevent cluttering your inventory
If you’d like to see the Guardians of the Rift changes at a glance, here’s what they are:
- Guardians of the Rift now scales depending on the number of players.
- You can now build Guardians at the end of the round to earn Runecraft XP.
- You have to build Barriers or Guardians ahead of the beginning of the minigame to provide more time to mine. This doesn’t earn Runecraft XP.
- You are now guaranteed at least two Medium Altars during the first two rounds.
- You can use Cells on full HP Barriers in exchange for XP
- You can now repair Barriers for 12 Guardian Fragments instead of Essence
- You can now loot five rewards each search
- You can exchange 25 Abyssal Pearls for an additional search
- You can now use the Colossal Pouch at any Runecraft level, though the capacity scales depending on what level of Essence Pouches you can use
- Abyssal Pearls roll between 14 and 16 from 10 and 20
Original Post: OSRS Guardians of the Rift is set to receive a whole host of changes and improvements, and you can test them before they go live. Like the Wintertodt changes before it, the revamped Guardians of the Rift is in open beta.
That means Jagex can fix anything that’s broken, or the players simply don’t like, before the full release.
OSRS Guardians of the Rift Revamped
So, what’s changing in OSRS Guardians of the Rift? Well, likely the most impactful improvement is the removal of that cursed entry barrier. Those days of hammering click to get in as soon as it opens, only to accidentally click back out and lose your place. Curse you, entry barrier!
Instead, Jagex is introducing a scaling mechanic. Now, when Guardians of the Rift kicks off, over 100 players can enter. Now, you can leave or join freely and the Great Guardian will simply re-calculate its current charge and how much you need to complete the round.
But what happens if it doesn’t initially scale up to 100 players? Well, in that case the game is locked. That makes sense, as it means smaller teams or clans can tackle the minigame as it’s intended, without interruption.

Doesn’t That Mean the Event Will be Too Hard?
Jagex has accounted for that. For the first 20 players that join, the event will scale as normal. Every new player beyond that will see the Guardian scale by only 20% of the original number.
Why? Well, Jagex is (rightfully) concerned that not all players will play the event properly, so it’s factoring that in. This is likely why the minigame changes are going into open beta though, so we can see how it all plays out in action.
Have Guardians of the Rift Mechanics Changed?
Yes. Now, you can use uncharged cells to build up the lowest tier of Barriers and Guardians while the game is starting to help reduce the risk of failure. You won’t get Runecraft XP, but it’s helpful for smaller teams.
The phase where you mine Guardian Fragments hasn’t changed, but once the Rift opens you will notice changes to the Altars. If the first Catalytic Altar is Mind or Body, then the first Elemental won’t be Air, but Water instead. This means you are guaranteed at least one Medium Cell from the first round, helping reduce failure.
Crafting runes and charging cells hasn’t changed, but you can now recharge Barriers even when they’re at full HP. This means more Runecraft XP and Energy per game. Huzzah! There is a cap on this though, so you can’t exploit it. Again, this is something Jagex will be keen to assess during the beta.

Rounding up the changes, you can now use 12 Guardian Fragments to repair a destroyed Barrier, meaning you don’t have to craft Guardian Essence mid-battle.
What About Guardians of the Rift Rewards?
First off, you can now spend 25 Abyssal Pearls to gain an extra roll on the Rewards Guardian. That should help boost the drop rate for any item you’re trying to get.
The Colossal Pouch also now scales with you, so the rewards you get are more in line with what you actually eed. That also means you can now carry more Essence per Runecraft level. Result!
If you join the beta, you can also try out a few of the Guardians of the Rift rewards that you may not have unlocked yet. That includes:
- Raiments of the Eye
- Abyssal Lantern
- A full set of Runecraft pouches
- Binding Necklaces
- Varrock Armour
How Can I Enter the Guardians of the Rift Open Beta?
The Guardians of the Rift open beta is available right now. To check it out, simply visit one of the following Beta Worlds:
- 585
- 586
- 587
- 588
- 589

If you haven’t tested a beta world before, we recommend that you follow these steps to import your current character:
- Open settings
- Search ‘Beta’
- Click on ‘Convert save to beta worlds’
Now, click on the egg icon, then ‘Teleports’, and go immediately to ‘Guardians of the Rift’. You might also want to click on ‘All Gear’ to grab any items you need to participate.
What Else is Going on in OSRS Lately?
A lot! Jagex has recently unleashed the ‘Varlamore: The Rising Darkness’ update, which arrived alongside a new world boss, Hueycoatl. OSRS followed this up with a bunch of changes, including tweaks to the new ‘Mixology’ minigame.
To check it all out, go ahead and grab OSRS from Steam, Google Play, or the App Store.