A 99 Construction party. A lag spike. One player who would not stop.
On 6 June 2006, a celebration inside a player-owned house in RuneScape turned into one of the most infamous moments in online gaming. A bug let a handful of players attack anyone, anywhere, and the most notorious of them walked into Falador and started killing. This is the full story: what happened, who was banned, what players lost, how Jagex later turned it into a tribute, and where you can play the game today.
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🎉 What Happened on 6/6/06
RuneScape had just added the Construction skill, which let players build their own houses. A rich player known as Cursed You raced to become the first person with level 99 Construction, and to celebrate he threw a huge party in his house in Rimmington, inviting the whole game.
The house had a combat ring, and the crowd was so large that the game began to lag badly. At some point the host ejected the guests. Because of a bug, some players who had been fighting in the ring did not lose their player-versus-player (PvP) ability when they were thrown out, so they could attack other players outside the Wilderness, where PvP was never supposed to be possible.
The most notorious was Durial321. His rampage lasted about an hour: first Rimmington, then Falador, the biggest city in the game at the time, then Edgeville. He was seen wearing a green partyhat he had looted from a victim. Jagex eventually disconnected him. The date, 6/6/06, made many players suspect it was planned, though there is no evidence for that.
🔍 See Falador Massacre screenshots on Google ImagesOpens a Google Images search. Screenshots come from fan recordings of the original event.
🐞 How the Bug Worked
In RuneScape, a player who dies drops everything they carry for others to loot, so PvP is normally limited to the Wilderness. The house party combat ring was a safe PvP zone. When the lagging house kicked everyone out, players who were still flagged as fighting kept that state in the open world.
Durial321 later explained in an interview that he died at the exact moment he was kicked out, which confused the game engine and left him able to attack. Many players got the ability, but nobody used it as far as he did.
🎭 Key Players and Roles
💸 The Losses and the $500,000 Claim
The real damage was to players. Anyone killed dropped their items, and Jagex did not roll back the servers, so what was lost stayed lost. The most valuable item reported was a green partyhat, one of the rarest and most expensive items in the game.
You may see videos claiming the event caused losses of around $500,000. There is no official figure from Jagex. Numbers like that are estimates of real-world value based on what rare items and gold could fetch on the black market, so treat them as storytelling rather than fact. What is certain is that the loss of wealth, and the sense of security, hit many players hard.
🚫 The Bans
Durial321 was permanently banned for bug abuse, and so were the other players who took part. Bug abuse is treated as a serious offence in RuneScape. Cursed You was reportedly banned a little later, in August 2006, but for real-world trading (selling in-game items for money), not for the bug.
🕯️ The 2016 Tribute
For the tenth anniversary in June 2016, Jagex turned the infamous day into an in-game event. In Old School RuneScape, a server message announced that Cursed You was hosting a 99 Construction party on world 111, the same world as the original. Durial321's chathead appeared laughing in Falador, green partyhats spawned on the ground, and a giant Durial321 appeared for players to fight. PvP in Falador was opened as a safe event, so nobody lost items this time. RuneScape 3 also ran a similar live event, with Durial321 appearing in the Falador Party Room.
📚 Read more about Durial321 on the fan wiki▶️ Official Trailer and Play the Game
RuneScape is a free-to-play MMORPG by Jagex, so there is nothing to buy to start. The official trailer is at the top of this page. Use the buttons below to play on the official sites.
🎮 Play RuneScape Free (Official Site) 🛡️ Play Old School RuneScape (Official Site)Both games are free to start, with optional paid membership. Always download from the official sites.
📋 Event at a Glance
⚖️ Fact Check: What Is Confirmed and What Is Not
Confirmed: the party by Cursed You, the PvP bug, Durial321's killing spree in Rimmington, Falador and Edgeville, the permanent bans, the lack of a rollback and the 2016 tribute events.
Disputed or unverified: the exact trigger of the bug, whether the date 6/6/06 was deliberate, the number of players involved, and the claimed real-money loss of $500,000. Sources disagree on details such as how many partyhats were looted, so be careful with exact numbers.
🧠 Our Verdict: 9.2/10 for Historic Impact
The Falador Massacre is a perfect example of what makes online worlds special: a single bug, a huge crowd and a few players who changed the game's culture overnight. It hurt many players at the time, yet a decade later the same community celebrated it, and Jagex chose to embrace it rather than hide it. It also remains a lesson about how fragile a virtual economy is when a bug meets real player wealth.
This is our personal score for how significant the event was, not a review of the current game.
Why it became legendary
• A dramatic, one-hour rampage in the biggest city
• Huge crowds and a famous host
• Green partyhat loot and the 6/6/06 date
• Fan videos that preserved it
• A playful tribute ten years later
The other side
• Real players lost hard-earned items
• No rollback or compensation
• Bug abuse and real-world trading got people banned
• Many numbers online are exaggerated
Who should read this? MMORPG fans, gaming history lovers and anyone curious about how a bug can shape a community. Who should skip it? Anyone looking for a game review or a guide to today's RuneScape.
💬 Your Questions, Answered
What was the Falador Massacre?
A bug-abuse event on 6 June 2006 in which players kept PvP ability after a house party and killed others in Falador and nearby towns.
Who was Durial321?
The player who became the face of the event. He was disconnected after about an hour and later permanently banned.
Who was Cursed You?
The first player to reach 99 Construction, who hosted the party. He was reportedly banned later for real-world trading.
Did players get their items back?
No. There was no rollback, so lost items were gone for good.
Was it really a $500,000 loss?
That figure is an unverified estimate. Jagex never published an official total.
Can it happen again?
No. The bug was fixed and PvP is now area based. The 2016 tribute was a safe recreation.
Is RuneScape free to play?
Yes. You can play free and upgrade to membership if you want more content.
Final call: the Falador Massacre is gaming folklore at its best, chaotic, unfair and unforgettable. Were you in Falador that day? Tell us your story in the comments.