The “never lucky” meme is one of the most well known Old School RuneScape memes, but its exact origins cannot be precisely pinpointed. Unlike other memes for which the origin is easy to track, like the gnome child meme, the “never lucky” meme’s origins are unknown. After throughout research I was able to find a few potential original sources of the meme.
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Meaning
The meme “never lucky” has been used in OSRS and other games with two meanings: the literal meaning and a sarcastic meaning.
Literal meaning
In the context of RNG games, such as Old School RuneScape, the collocation “never lucky” can be used to rant about bad RNG or going dry. If a player hits multiple zeros when their attack accuracy is high, that’s a “never lucky” situation. Similarly, when a player gets multiple other drops from a boss or monster, but not the one they are looking forward to, they might say “never lucky” to rant and exaggerate their bad luck streak.
Sarcastic meaning
On the flip side of the coin, other players use the “never lucky” collocation to express the opposite: that they got an incredibly rare drop or any other RNG form (like a max hit), unexpectedly. For example, a player getting two pairs of ranger boots from one clue scroll casket might say “never lucky” sarcastically to emphasize on how rare this luck is. It’s also a form of brag that references the negative “brag” perceived from players complaining about their bad luck.
Origins of the never lucky meme
Even though the meme has originated and evolved in gaming communities, the term is much older and has been used mostly with the literal meaning in books for centuries, as google Books Ngram Viewer shows.
First gaming mention: Pokecommunity? | 2006
The first mention of “never lucky” in a gaming setting I could trace is a PokéCommunity forum comment dating back to May 21, 2006. The comment states “I’m never lucky enough to get someone frozen, so why bother Ice Beam?” referencing the literal meaning of an exaggeration of the bad RNG the player is experiencing in that specific game. Even though this is the very first gaming related traceable mention of never lucky, the meme did not further expand in popularity until 2015.
Hearthstone origins? | 2015
In 2015 the “never lucky” meme gained a lot of popularity within another gaming community. According to some sources what made the meme gain a lot of popularity is a video from a Hearthstone tournament. On February 28th, 2015, a video from a Hearthstone tournament featuring a player called Forsen was released with the title “Forsen is never lucky”. The title directly references the player’s bad RNG in the game.
After that, plenty other “never lucky” videos of Forsen started appearing on various youtube channels.
First time in OSRS: Never lucky youtube series | 2016
On February 19th, 2016, the first OSRS traceable content that contained the “never lucky” term appeared, in the form of the very first episode of a series on a small youtube channel.
Never lucky OSRS explosion
Even though the meme can be traced back sooner than this, in July 2016 the term exploded and started being heavily used by scapers across platforms.
First time on Reddit
On July 2nd, 2016, the very first never lucky post appears on Reddit under the very name: Never Lucky. It got 18 upvotes and 16 comments, but remains in the history not just as another Jad victim, but as one of the very first traceable proofs of the Never Lucky meme in OSRS.
First time on Youtube
On July 6th 2016 “Never lucky” was used as a title for a video from OSRS’ temporary PvP game mode and competition: Deadman, season 2.
Further expansion
On July 19th of the same year a scaper posted a screenshot where they got two pairs of ranger boots inside one casket under the title “I am just NEVER lucky”. And on July 29th 2016 a short youtube video titled Gilded platebody never lucky appeared.
First time on a big youtube channel
The meme gained even more popularity when it first appeared on a big youtube channel, LowSoulGamers, on October 19th 2016. With currently over 100k subscribers the channel had the power to further boost the momentum of the meme!
ChatGPT about Never Lucky
When asked about the Never Lucky meme in OSRS, ChatGPT points towards B0aty, but upon further inquiries it is unable to locate any sources for the info it provides. I have also been unable to locate any B0aty video that could prove any direct link of the streamer to the meme.
“B0aty, who is one of the most popular OSRS streamers, was instrumental in popularizing the meme. He would frequently use the phrase “never lucky” in response to bad RNG (random number generation) events, such as not receiving rare drops during boss fights or going on long dry streaks without valuable rewards. His exaggerated, humorous reaction to such events resonated with viewers, who began adopting the phrase themselves”
Meme usage
Never Lucky has become one of the most popular memes in Old School RuneScape and it has been extensively used by scapers both to rant about their bad RNG and to celebrate their good RNG, as well as celebrate scapehood!
Never lucky tattoos
If it’s not your first time here you might know that I have a little big obsession with OSRS tattoos and created the biggest OSRS tattoos collection. And, to no surprise, there are some never lucky tattoos, like this one:
Good Never Lucky
Bad RNG Never Lucky
- no imbued heart – 22m Slayer XP
- 3 same skilling pets
Youtube series
This small youtube channel has started a never lucky series over a year ago.
Further read
