Bots in RuneScape—it’s a story as old as time. For as long as players have enjoyed the game, there have been those who seek to exploit the system for profit through automated programs. It seems like no matter how many updates or bans are rolled out, the problem persists. But there’s one bot farm that’s been causing issues for years now, and it’s still running rampant, completely unchecked. I’m talking about the Soul Wars bots—an issue that refuses to go away, even months after the community first raised its concerns.
It’s been about three months since I released a video exposing the bot farm operation happening at Soul Wars. Back then, I observed four games running simultaneously across 10 different worlds, with bots making tens of thousands of dollars a month from the farm. I thought, “Surely, Jagex will address this soon.” But three months later? The bots are still at it, operating in full force. Not only that, but the prices of certain items—like adamant bolts, rune arrows, and rune bolts—have stayed suppressed at artificially low levels, directly tied to the influx of items generated by these bots.
I’ve brought up the issue during streams as well, sharing clips and updates. But no matter how much noise is made, it seems like Jagex is either unwilling or unable to put a stop to this persistent problem.
The Economics of Soul Wars Botting
Let’s talk numbers. Over the past few months, I’ve made some key investments in items like Rune arrows, Adamant bolts, and Rune bolts. I purchased these items at low prices, hoping the market would recover once the bots were dealt with.
- Rune Arrows: I bought these at 60 OSRS gold, and three months later, they’re still sitting at 60 GP.
- Adamant Bolts: I picked these up at 15 GP, and now they’re at 20 GP.
- Rune Bolts: These were 50 GP, and now they’ve skyrocketed to 409 GP.
- Blood Runes: Purchased at 210 GP, now at 235 GP.
- Soul Runes: Bought at 170 GP, currently at 164 GP.
- Coal: No clue what I paid for it, but it’s up from 140 GP to 151 GP.
What’s most infuriating is that the prices of these items were held down by bots, and it’s clear that nothing has changed in terms of their influence. A quick glance at GE tracker shows that prices for items like Adamant bolts and Rune bolts peaked just before October 2022—right around the time Soul Wars bots began flooding the market. These bots are single-handedly responsible for the collapse of prices, and the market has never truly recovered.
The Persistence of the Problem
When I first encountered these bots, I thought for sure that the exposure would lead to action from Jagex. After all, these bots weren’t even trying to hide. They were spamming games non-stop, generating vast quantities of in-game currency by simply completing Soul Wars games in an automated fashion. It should’ve been easy to identify these bot accounts—just look for the ones participating in Soul Wars games 24/7.
But the problem didn’t go away. If anything, it got worse. I recently rechecked the situation, and sure enough, the bots are still running in full force. Thanks to a friend, I got a list of worlds with bot activity, and sure enough, the moment I logged in, I found myself surrounded by bot accounts. These bots weren’t trying to blend in—they were blatant, and their actions were predictable. There they were, running games, completing tasks, and exchanging items—all while raking in millions of GP.
I even got a closer look at their activity. These accounts weren’t just playing the game—they were mules. One bot account had accumulated over 27,000 Soul Wars Zeal. Another account had recently completed its first game, showing a fresh 500 total level. It was clear that a single person was running multiple accounts—at least 80, possibly more—simultaneously. There’s no way a legitimate player would be operating that many accounts at once.
But here’s the thing—Jagex can’t ban these accounts for just being bots. The rules are clear: you can’t be banned until you break a rule, such as selling the gold you’ve farmed. This creates a huge loophole where gold farmers can continue their operations without fear of being banned until they attempt to sell their loot. And by that time, they’ve already made a substantial profit, often from the items they generate through automated botting in Soul Wars.
The Gold Farming Crisis
While the bots are a problem in and of themselves, the real issue lies in the larger gold farming operation behind them. It’s no longer just a handful of bots running a few games; it’s now a fully-fledged gold farming operation, with dozens of accounts running games, accumulating Zeal, and generating vast quantities of items like Adamant bolts, Rune arrows, and Rune bolts.
The main problem with gold farming in RuneScape is that Jagex can’t act until the gold is sold. So while Jagex bans the occasional bot, the gold farmers continue to reap the benefits of their automated gameplay. One gold farmer running 80 accounts can generate hundreds of thousands of cheap RuneScape gold worth of items every day. Each game nets them crates that contain valuable items, like Adamant bolts. The more accounts they have, the more profitable they become.
One particular gold farmer I observed had 80 accounts running at the same time, each one completing games and accumulating Zeal, which is then converted into Spoils of War crates. These crates can yield valuable items, and the gold farmer sells the contents, making a substantial profit. A single game can produce up to 50 Adamant bolts per account, which translates into hundreds of thousands of bolts across all accounts.
Jagex’s Inaction: The Conspiracy Theory
Now, I’m not usually one to jump to conclusions or wear a tinfoil hat, but after all this time, I’m starting to wonder if there’s something more going on. Could Jagex be aware of the issue and simply turning a blind eye? Maybe they’re letting the bots run because the membership fees they generate are too valuable to ignore. After all, these gold farmers are buying bonds to fund their accounts, which means Jagex is getting a cut of the profits.
But here’s the thing—if Jagex would just ban these accounts before they have the chance to sell their gold, the whole operation would collapse. Instead, they seem content to let these bots and gold farmers continue, even though they are ruining the game economy for legitimate players. I get it—it’s a difficult issue to tackle, but it’s hard to ignore the sheer scale of the problem at this point.
What Needs to Be Done?
Jagex needs to take a more proactive approach to dealing with Soul Wars bots and gold farmers. The idea of banning gold farmers before they sell their gold might be controversial, but it’s clear that something needs to change. No legitimate player is going to run 80 OSRS Accounts at once. Jagex has the tools to track IP addresses, account activity, and suspicious patterns of behavior. They can detect these gold farming operations before the gold is sold.
In the end, this issue won’t go away until Jagex starts addressing it more aggressively. The Soul Wars bots are still here, and they’re still ruining the game’s economy. The question is, how much longer will Jagex continue to let it happen? And how much longer will players have to suffer the consequences?
Let me know in the comments what you think should be done about this problem. Should Jagex start banning gold farmers before they sell their gold, or is there another solution we haven’t considered yet? One thing’s for sure: something needs to change.