178,000 players just voted for their MMO's first new skill in 17 years, and the race was unbelievably close

After weeks of fiery debate, not to mention technically spending 17 years using the same 23 skills, Old School Runescape players have finally voted on the new skill that they want developer Jagex to continue refining and, if all goes well, ultimately add to the game. The dead heat results are in, and OSRS players want to play pirates by way of the Sailing skill. 

Jagex published the poll results earlier today. A total of 178,951 players took part in the poll, which was split between Sailing, Taming, and Shamanism. Sailing would let players explore the open seas in search of adventure and treasure; Taming is about raising permanent animal companions to assist you; and Shamanism would introduce a spirit realm with its own crafting system that lets players augment gear. 

Here's how the votes were distributed, straight from the in-game poll: 

Question 1 - After reading the new skill pitch blog, which concept(s) for a new skill in OSRS would you be happy to see refined further? Select all that apply. 

• Sailing - 59.1% (105,799 votes)
• Taming - 39.9% (71,290 votes)
• Shamanism - 58.8% (105,208 votes)
• I didn't like any of them - 12.4% (22,209 votes)
• Skip question - 1.1% (1,961 votes) 

Question 2 - Which new skill pitch is your favorite?  

• Sailing - 36.4% (64,248 votes)
• Taming - 17.9% (31,631 votes)
• Shamanism - 33.4% (58,926 votes) 
• I didn't like any of them - 12.4% (21,841 votes) 

The first question in the poll allowed for multiple choices so that players could express their overall interest, while the second question asked them to zero in on a specific idea. In both categories, Sailing just barely beat Shamanism, which was the early favorite among many players due to its potential to bring about a whole new meta for gear. It's possible that Sailing's long history was a factor here; the idea was initially floated back in 2015, but it never solidified until now due to a lack of a more formal and cohesive pitch. 

As Jagex explained, "Sailing has been chosen as both the community’s favorite skill pitch and the skill we’ll take forward into refinement." I'm assuming there would have been some sort of follow-up if Sailing had only won one of these two categories, which really puts the closeness of the race into perspective. 

Jagex addressed this possibility in its post, noting that "we considered [a tiebreaker] when it became clear that the two pitches were neck-and-neck, but ultimately we decided that this approach had too much potential to hinder the process." Additionally, it says "we want the community to really come together during the refinement phase" rather than form two competing parties. 

In a pool of nearly 179,000 votes, one category was decided by less than 600. Even the more definitive second category was fairly close, with a gap of just 3%. It's been 17 years since OSRS added a new skill, the last being Hunter in 2006 – back when it was technically just Runescape, before its Old School revival in 2013 – so it's wild to see its 24th skill potentially decided by such a thin margin. 

"We’ve already taken on board early feedback about community deal-breakers, such as the navigational mechanics and the concern that the skill will feel like a minigame," Jagex says of Sailing. "In the near future, we’ll present a more detailed explanation for what refinement means for Sailing. Our kick-off meeting is scheduled for later this week!" 

The developer was quick to note that it's also "important to talk about what’s next for our runner-up skill," Shamanism. 

"While Sailing will of course be our primary focus, we want to reassure you all that we’re open to exploring more skills in the future. Your feedback regarding Shamanism was clear: you love the concept of the ‘spirit realm’ and see the potential to revitalize under-utilized areas of the game. You also like the idea of expanding our rich lore – and in general, a production and gathering skill was something the community felt fit Old School RuneScape to a T. 

"Because Shamanism has already proved so popular, it will be going into our backlog for refinement at some point after Sailing is complete – assuming the community still wants it by then!" 

This vote is just the start of a longer back-and-forth process that will see Sailing repeatedly tweaked, re-polled, released in beta, and only then added to OSRS. Jagex stressed that "we’re still open to adding more skills in future, and you still have the chance to make a significant impact to the development of the winning skill." I can't wait to see how Sailing progresses, not just because it's a landmark addition to OSRS, but also because it has the potential to be one of the biggest community wins in the entire MMO genre.

OSRS is the only place you'd see a record-setting 771-hour "speedrun."