OSRS Rubium XP Rates Are Getting Massive Changes

Jagex has officially responded to the growing controversy surrounding Rubium mining and incendiary cannonball smithing in Old School RuneScape. After just a few days of the Red Reef update being live, players discovered that the new Rubium content was producing some extremely powerful experience rates — in some cases, rivaling or even surpassing the best methods already in the game. A large amount of cheap OSRS GP can provide significant assistance.

Now, Jagex is stepping in with major balance changes aimed at bringing the new content more in line with long-term game progression. While some players are upset about the nerfs, others believe the changes are necessary to preserve balance within Mining and Smithing.

Here is a breakdown of everything changing and why the debate has become so heated.

Why Rubium Mining Became So Controversial

The biggest issue came from tick manipulation methods involving Rubium rocks.

Players quickly discovered that with optimal tick manipulation and various Mining boosts, Rubium mining could reach around 133,000 Mining XP per hour. That is essentially equal to 3-tick granite mining, which has long been considered one of the fastest Mining training methods in OSRS.

The difference, however, is that Rubium mining was significantly easier and more rewarding.

Traditional granite mining requires constant dropping of resources and extremely intensive gameplay. Rubium, on the other hand, provides stackable splinters that automatically accumulate in your inventory. Players do not need to spend time dropping items, making the method far more relaxed while still offering a top-tier experience.

Even more importantly, those splinters have real value because they are used to craft incendiary cannonballs. That means players were not only getting granite-level XP rates, but also earning large amounts of profit at the same time.

According to Jagex, this created a serious balance problem.

Jagex Explains the Economic Concerns

The developers stated that if Rubium remained the best Mining method in the game, the market would eventually become flooded with Rubium splinters. That would cause the value of the resource to crash and make incendiary cannonballs extremely cheap.

Since incendiary cannonballs are essentially a direct upgrade over standard cannonballs, they could quickly become the default option for most players if their cost dropped too low.

Jagex also pointed out that Ironman accounts would likely feel forced into Rubium mining because it would massively outperform traditional Mining and Smithing progression methods.

In other words, the problem was not simply about experience rates. It was about how the new method completely outclassed existing content in terms of XP, profit, convenience, and usefulness all at once.

The Mining Changes Explained

To solve the issue, Jagex is making several major adjustments to Rubium mining.

The first and most controversial change is the removal of tick manipulation interactions. Players will no longer be able to use advanced mining methods to achieve the extremely high XP rates currently possible.

In addition, the base Mining XP per Rubium action is being reduced by roughly 20%, dropping from 30 XP to 24 XP per successful mine.

At first glance, this sounds like a heavy nerf, but Jagex is also improving the AFK side of the method.

Rubium rocks will now always last for at least three successful mining attempts before they can begin depleting. Previously, players were only guaranteed two successful actions. This makes the activity more relaxed and consistent for casual players.

On top of that, higher Mining levels will now grant more Rubium splinters per action. Players at level 96 Mining, for example, will be able to receive up to three splinters at once.

The result is a major shift in how the content functions.

Instead of being an ultra-fast, sweaty training method, Rubium is being repositioned as a slower but more AFK and profitable alternative.

Current 1.5-tick Rubium methods can reach around 133,000 XP per hour with roughly 4,700 splinters gained. After the changes, AFK Rubium mining is expected to provide somewhere between 51,000 and 75,000 XP per hour, while increasing splinter output significantly.

That means less XP overall, but far better resource generation.

Why Some Players Still Like the Changes

Although many players dislike the removal of tick manipulation, others believe the update is healthier for the game overall.

The main argument is simple: Rubium was effectively “granite mining but better in every way.”

It offered nearly identical experience rates while being less intensive, more profitable, and far more convenient. From a balance perspective, it simply invalidated older Mining methods too efficiently.

Some players have also pointed out that Jagex is not necessarily against high XP Mining methods in general. The issue is specifically that Rubium combined too many advantages into a single activity.

A future high-level Mining method with stronger requirements and lower profit could still exist without causing the same problems.

Massive Smithing Changes Are Also Coming

Mining was not the only issue. Smithing incendiary cannonballs also produced unexpectedly high XP rates.

Players discovered they could achieve around 220,000 Smithing XP per hour while creating rune incendiary cannonballs. Since both cannonballs and Rubium splinters are stackable, the method required almost no movement or banking.

Jagex explained that this broke one of Smithing’s traditional balancing systems.

Normally, Smithing XP is tied closely to the value of bars being consumed. However, incendiary cannonballs effectively rewarded players twice for the same resource. Players already gained Smithing XP when making the cannonballs originally, then gained huge additional XP when converting them into incendiary versions.

To address this, Jagex is dramatically changing the process.

Instead of being slow with massive XP rewards, smithing incendiary and chainshot cannonballs will become at least four times faster while only granting a small “token” amount of Smithing XP.

Essentially, the activity is being transformed into a quick upgrade process rather than a full training method.

Why the Smithing Nerf Makes Sense

Although some players are disappointed, the original method was incredibly expensive and realistically only accessible to the richest players in the game.

At nearly 30 OSRS GP per XP, very few players would actually use the method for long-term training. Most regular players could never justify the cost.

As a result, the original design would likely have turned into a niche strategy used only by ultra-wealthy mains looking for maximum XP with minimal effort.

The reworked version should make cannonball upgrading more practical and accessible to ordinary players instead of functioning as a luxury training method.

The Bigger Picture

Overall, these Rubium and Smithing changes show how quickly new content can disrupt OSRS balance when powerful XP methods, profit, and low-intensity gameplay are combined.

While some players will always dislike nerfs, Jagex’s reasoning is understandable. Rubium was simply doing too many things too well at the same time.

The new version of the content will still offer strong profits, relaxed gameplay, and useful resources — just without completely overtaking existing Mining and Smithing methods.