Server crash glitch
The server crash glitch or the 'W501 Glitch' is a major glitch that was revealed on 26-27 November 2019.
On 26 November 2019, an Old School RuneScape content creator disclosed information about a glitch which allowed players to duplicate items including coins by abusing server save states and crashes.[1] When a server crashes, players are reverted to their save state from either 15 minutes ago, or their last logout. This could be manipulated by trading coins with another player for example, logging out on the account which now has the coins, and then forcing a server crash within a 15 minute period. As the original player's save state reverts, their coins are returned (that they originally traded), but the second player keeps the traded coins. A similar glitch occurred on RuneScape seven months after the Old School RuneScape glitch was uncovered.
Players were able to crash servers by filling a server with hundreds of accounts and congregating them in Clan Wars multi-combat, then performing server-intensive actions such as engaging in combat or equipping items.
Aftermath
Jagex performed server maintenance soon after discovery of the glitch, though it is unknown what fixes have been put in place to prevent the glitch occurring again in some form. It did not result in a rollback of the game.
| “ | It's standard to not discuss active investigations and actions being taken, at least until after we've taken steps to resolve the issues. We became aware of a method being used to duplicate gold, and a combination of things - including tip-offs from Rendi and our system monitoring - led to us becoming aware of it very quickly. The Support and anti-cheating teams worked on removing a large amount of gold and investigated the accounts involved, whilst the SysAdmin and Engine teams were working on stopping it happening more. We remain diligent, and are yet to see any repeated occurrence of the exploit - work is continuing to improve our game systems to prevent this sort of thing from occurring again. | ” |
— Mod Sween[1]
|
The content creator who publicly disclosed the glitch initially did not receive an account ban.[2]
On 11 January 2021, it was rumored that malicious players were again causing servers to crash in order to duplicate items and money.[3]
On 9 July 2021, Jagex decided to ban the content creator who disclosed the glitch and several other alleged abusers after increasing concerns of bug abuse citing deliberate server crashes.[4]
References
| Notable glitches | |
|---|---|
| Related | |