Vigil

Vigil is Tideward's prayer skill, renamed from "Prayer". Bury bones and enchanted urns for Vigil Points, then choose up to two Vigils to keep active in a fight. Each Vigil spends points as it works and gives a boost: more accuracy, a bigger maximum hit, more evasion, faster healing or a ward against one style of attack. Vigil XP comes from fighting with them lit.

How Vigil works

Vigil Points come from what you bury: Bones give 1, Big Bones 3, Dragon Bones 5 and Hallowed Bones 10, and urns enchanted with Magic give 150 or 500. Bones drop in combat, and Magic's Bone Offering spell makes them on demand.

There are 31 Vigils, from Thick Skin at level 1 to Battleheart at 95, and two can be active at once. Most spend points each time you attack; the Wards spend them when an enemy attacks, and the healing Vigils when you regenerate. When the points run out, the Vigils go out, live or away.

Vigil XP is paid on the damage you deal while an XP-bearing Vigil is active, and the higher ones pay more: Thick Skin gives 0.033 XP per point of damage, Battleheart 0.267. The utility Vigils, Rapid Heal, Protect Item, Safeguard, the three Wards, The Last Breath, Rejuvenation and Stone Skin, carry no XP.

Tips for training Vigil

1. Pair one XP-bearing Vigil with a utility one: the first trains the skill, the second keeps you standing.
2. The Wards (Ward against Words at 46, Ward against Arrows at 48, Ward against Iron at 50) give an 80% chance to dodge magic, ranged or melee attacks, and spend 10 points each time an enemy attacks.
3. Protect Item (Vigil 26) keeps your gear on when you fall.
4. Handicraft makes Small and Medium Urns, and Holy Invocation in Alt. Magic enchants them to bury for 150 and 500 Vigil Points.

Skills that pair with Vigil

The 28 trades aren't isolated. Vigil works best alongside these:

Frequently asked about Vigil

Why is it called Vigil instead of Prayer?

"Prayer" is RuneScape's name for the skill. Tideward renamed it Vigil in the May 2026 rebrand to give the trade a name of its own.

Do prayers drain even when I'm offline?

Vigils keep working in a fight that runs while you are away, spending points exactly as they would live, and they go out when the points run out.

What's the most important prayer to unlock?

It depends on the fight. Protect Item (26) is the safety net for long sessions, the Wards (46 to 50) answer an enemy of one style, and the XP-bearing Vigils that match your combat style are how the skill trains.