When you first log in, you'll go through RuneScape gold (https://www.rsorder.com) Tutorial Island, which introduces core mechanics like combat, skilling, and navigation. You'll also choose your account type:
Regular account - the standard way to play.
Ironman - self-sufficient mode, no trading or help from others.
Group Ironman - team-based version of Ironman.
Pick whichever style matches your goals. New players should generally stick to regular accounts unless they want the extra challenge.
Improving Your Visual Experience
OSRS is charmingly old-school, but with modern clients like RuneLite, you can make it look and feel much smoother.
GPU Plugin - ma###ively improves graphics quality. Playing without it feels outdated.
Animation Smoothing - controversial, but worth trying. Some love the polished look, others prefer the jagged nostalgia.
Roof Toggle - type:toggleroofs or adjust settings so roofs vanish, letting you see inside buildings.
117 HD Plugin - reimagines the game in a more modern style. Some find it immersive, others too flashy-try it for yourself.
Stretched Mode - lets you play full-screen in cla###ic fixed mode without tiny visuals.
UI Customization - switch between fixed, resizable, or modern layouts. In resizable mode, you can move your chat box, inventory, or minimap anywhere on screen.
These tweaks don't change gameplay but make your experience smoother and more enjoyable.
Essential In-Game Settings
Before diving in, make sure you adjust a few key settings:
PK Skull Prevention - prevents you from accidentally attacking another player in the wilderness and losing your gear.
Player/NPC Attack Options - set both to left click where available. This avoids misclicks and ensures you always attack what you intend to.
Keybinds - a###ign useful shortcuts:
F1 = Combat
F2 = Inventory
F3 = Prayer
F4 = Magic
F5 = Equipment
Escape to Exit - lets you leave menus instantly by pressing Escape.
Shift-Click Drop - hold Shift to quickly drop items, invaluable for training and inventory management.
These changes may seem small, but they make a huge difference in long-term play.
Understanding Skills
OSRS has 23 distinct skills, ranging from combat stats like Attack and Magic to gathering and crafting skills like Fishing and Smithing. Every skill serves a purpose-unlocking resources, quests, gear, or bosses.
Don't burn yourself out by grinding one skill endlessly. Instead:
Try different activities early to see what you enjoy.
Use quests to level up faster-many offer skill XP rewards.
Mix AFK training (like chopping trees or fishing) with more active methods (like Slayer or bossing) to keep things fresh.
Remember, progression is about long-term goals. Focus on skills that support what you want to do, whether that's PvM, questing, or making RuneScape gold.
Use the Wiki (Seriously)
The OSRS Wiki is one of the best game resources ever made. It contains everything-from XP rates and quest guides to drop tables and obscure mechanics.
Pair it with RuneLite's Quest Helper plugin, which walks you step by step through quests. A task that might take hours blind can be done in minutes with the helper. Unless you're specifically doing a "guideless" challenge, don't hesitate to use these tools-they save time and frustration.
Quests: More Than Just Story
Quests in OSRS are legendary, both for their quirky writing and their rewards. Many unlock:
New areas
Key items (like the ability to wield dragon weapons)
Huge XP boosts in early levels
For example, Cook's a###istant gives cooking experience right away. Others unlock essential transportation or bosses. Completing quests early helps propel your account into the mid-game much faster.
Minigames to Try Early
Minigames in OSRS are not just fun-they're often incredibly rewarding:
Tempoross - great Fishing and Cooking XP, plus useful supplies.
Guardians of the Rift - excellent Runecrafting XP and early runes.
Wintertodt - Firemaking XP plus loot like logs, herbs, and coins.
Whether you're an Ironman gathering supplies or a main account looking for profit, these minigames are worth your time.
Travel and Agility
The world of Gielinor is ma###ive. Walking across the map can take 30 minutes-so efficient travel is crucial.
Agility - raises run energy regeneration so you can sprint longer.
Magic Teleports - unlock through training Magic or buying teleport tablets from the Grand Exchange.
Transportation Methods - unlock fairy rings, spirit trees, and amulets of glory as you progress.
Travel efficiency is a game-changer, saving hours over time.
Setting Your Own Goals
Unlike many MMOs, OSRS doesn't funnel you down one set path. You choose your goals:
Train combat for powerful weapons and bosses.
Master skills to unlock new money-making methods.
Chase pets, rare drops, or achievement diaries.
The game is most rewarding when you decide what excites you, then build your progression around that.
Final Thoughts
Starting OSRS can feel overwhelming, but it's also one of the most rewarding MMO experiences out there. With RuneLite plugins, smart settings, quests, and the help of the wiki, you can quickly move past the learning curve and start enjoying the endless freedom the game offers. Having enough OSRS gold can help you increase your freedom.
Experiment, set goals, and most importantly-have fun. Old School RuneScape is a marathon, not a sprint.
The Free-to-Play Ultimate Ironman journey has always been about chasing long-term goals with patience and consistency. In the previous milestone, You wrapped up a staggering 1,500-hour runecrafting grind, reaching the halfway point toward 99. With your inventory cleared and a fresh focus, set out on a new mission that would ultimately lead you to one of the most iconic weapons in Old School RuneScape: the rune scimitar.
Stocking Up at Ogres
The adventure began once again with ogre warriors. This spot has always been a reliable source of law and nature runes while offering pa###ive prayer and crafting experience. Prayer, in particular, is my weakest skill in F2P, and every bit helps. Along the way, you hit some impressive milestones-level 105 Ranged and a ma###ive 25 million Ranged XP. Rune stacks grew steadily, and the OSRS GP pile crossed 10 million, a welcome recovery after spending 40 million on arrows in the last episode.
But after hours of grinding, You realized ogres weren't the most efficient source of prayer XP, nor would you ever need hundreds of thousands of runes. It was time to switch gears.
A Risky Wilderness Grind
With stock of law runes, deep into level 42 Wilderness, where two nature rune spawns promised big returns. The method was simple: every two law runes spent telegrabbing natures would yield about seven nature runes. These runes are critical in F2P since they enable superheating, one of the fastest ways to train smithing.
Preparation was essential. You can pack swordfish for food-ditching my old pizza-making routine-and geared up as best I could. Wilderness trips are always dangerous, but the payoff made the risk worthwhile.
PKing Bots for Profit
While world-hopping between rune spawns, something unexpected: bot farms. Dozens of suspicious accounts lingered around caves and lava dragons. Out of curiosity, I began attacking them-and to my surprise, many went down easily, dropping loot ranging from rune platebodies to stacks worth 80k-130k.
Whether they were bots or gold farmers, I wasn't sure, but eliminating them became a side hobby. In the process, I pocketed 2-3 million cheap OSRS GP, turning what could've been a monotonous grind into something far more entertaining.
The Smithing Superheat Marathon
With a mountain of nature runes ready, I shifted into the next phase: training smithing through the superheat method. Equipped with a rune pickaxe, hammer, fire staff, and ores from the Dwarven Mine, I mined, superheated, and smithed bars in a continuous cycle.
The grind delivered consistent progress:
86 Smithing unlocked rune axes permanently.
87 Smithing opened up rune maces.
89 Smithing, the milestone level, allowed me to boost to create rune scimitars.
Alongside smithing, I gained levels in other skills. 95 Magic and 96 Mining came during this push, as tens of thousands of nature runes burned away in the forge. Even with crowds of buy RS gold (https://www.rsorder.com) bots cluttering the Dwarven Mine, I pushed through. By the end, the grind felt worth every click.