2 hours ago
Finally, stop waiting until everything's perfect. Bossing is about experience, not just gear. Advanced mechanics like Akkha's Butterfly or perfect Zebak tiles are great to learn, but not essential to RuneScape gold start.
Get in there, learn by doing, and embrace dying. Every death is a lesson in timing, positioning, or mechanics. Keep a little OSRS GP in your bank for death fees and push forward-you'll be amazed how quickly your skill improves.
The more time you spend actually bossing, the faster you'll become comfortable with higher-end content and start earning those big drops.
Final Thoughts
You don't need perfection to start bossing-you just need preparation. Focus on your core unlocks, grab the most useful diaries, pick the upgrades that feel worth your time, and then just go for it.
The Complete Beginner's Guide to Old School RuneScape
You've just spawned in Lumbridge. Your stats are all level one, your gear looks like it came from a medieval thrift shop, and you have no idea what to do next. Sound familiar? Perfect-you're in the right place.
Runescape can feel like a massive, confusing sandbox when you're new. With hundreds of skills, quests, and thousands of hours of content, it's easy to get lost. This guide breaks down what to actually do as a new player, offering a real direction without spoon-feeding you every click.
The Philosophy of RuneScape
First, let's set expectations. If you're coming from games like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV, you'll need to adjust your mindset. OSRS isn't about sprinting to "endgame." There is no endgame. The entire experience-early, mid, and late game-is the point.
Progress in OSRS takes time. Big content creators you see flexing maxed accounts have spent thousands of hours grinding. But that's what makes progress feel so meaningful-everything you achieve is permanent. There are no expansions that reset your progress or obsolete your items. Every level you earn and quest you complete stays valuable forever.
RuneScape is a slow-burn RPG where the grind is the game. Every small milestone feeds into a larger web of goals. Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
Your First Real Goal: Questing
Once you finish the tutorial and land in Lumbridge, your priority is clear-start questing. Quests give massive experience rewards compared to low-level skilling, and they unlock better methods for almost every activity in the game.
Start by installing the Quest Helper plugin from the RuneLite hub. It automatically tracks quest steps in-game and saves you tons of time. Then, check out the Efficient Quest Guide on the official OSRS Wiki-it lists quests in an order that chains XP and unlocks together smoothly.
Even if you don't care about efficiency, using the Wiki is essential. It's the single best resource in the game, full of accurate and community-maintained information for every skill, quest, and boss.
Completing quests like Waterfall Quest, Grand Tree, Tree Gnome Village, and Fight Arena early on will skyrocket your combat stats without needing to grind on goblins. By the time you've done a dozen or so quests, you'll have access to faster training areas, useful teleport options, and equipment upgrades.
Skilling, Dailies, and Diaries
In between quests, you'll need to train skills to meet requirements. Don't just grind mindlessly-try out mini-games like Wintertodt (Firemaking), Tempoross (Fishing), or the new Fletching mini-game. These activities give good XP and let you interact with other players.
As you progress, you'll unlock Achievement Diaries. These are region-specific task lists that grant XP lamps and permanent benefits, like faster run energy restoration or better teleport options. They're often overlooked by beginners but are worth tackling as soon as possible.
Once you hit around 500 total level, you can start doing "dailies" or "hourlies"-short, repeatable activities that give great passive XP and cheap OSRS GP. For example, Herb runs and Birdhouse runs take only a few minutes each and can make you rich over time. They're optional, but an excellent way to make steady progress without long grind sessions.
Combat Training and Gear Progression
Now that you've got some quest points and base stats, it's time to gear up. OSRS combat progression is designed to be gradual, but also rewarding.
Your first big upgrades should be the Dragon Scimitar, Barrows Gloves, and Dragon Defender. These items are incredibly strong for early and mid-game players and will last you for hundreds of hours.
If you're an Ironman, don't stress about making money early. Focus on unlocking useful gear through quests and bosses rather than wasting time looting or "money making."
Once you've hit around level 50-60 in combat stats, try your first boss: Scurrius the Rat King. It's a forgiving fight that teaches basic boss mechanics while dropping solid XP and loot. For more chill training, check out the Gem Crab, a new semi-AFK boss that's great for buy RS gold leveling.
Get in there, learn by doing, and embrace dying. Every death is a lesson in timing, positioning, or mechanics. Keep a little OSRS GP in your bank for death fees and push forward-you'll be amazed how quickly your skill improves.
The more time you spend actually bossing, the faster you'll become comfortable with higher-end content and start earning those big drops.
Final Thoughts
You don't need perfection to start bossing-you just need preparation. Focus on your core unlocks, grab the most useful diaries, pick the upgrades that feel worth your time, and then just go for it.
The Complete Beginner's Guide to Old School RuneScape
You've just spawned in Lumbridge. Your stats are all level one, your gear looks like it came from a medieval thrift shop, and you have no idea what to do next. Sound familiar? Perfect-you're in the right place.
Runescape can feel like a massive, confusing sandbox when you're new. With hundreds of skills, quests, and thousands of hours of content, it's easy to get lost. This guide breaks down what to actually do as a new player, offering a real direction without spoon-feeding you every click.
The Philosophy of RuneScape
First, let's set expectations. If you're coming from games like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV, you'll need to adjust your mindset. OSRS isn't about sprinting to "endgame." There is no endgame. The entire experience-early, mid, and late game-is the point.
Progress in OSRS takes time. Big content creators you see flexing maxed accounts have spent thousands of hours grinding. But that's what makes progress feel so meaningful-everything you achieve is permanent. There are no expansions that reset your progress or obsolete your items. Every level you earn and quest you complete stays valuable forever.
RuneScape is a slow-burn RPG where the grind is the game. Every small milestone feeds into a larger web of goals. Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
Your First Real Goal: Questing
Once you finish the tutorial and land in Lumbridge, your priority is clear-start questing. Quests give massive experience rewards compared to low-level skilling, and they unlock better methods for almost every activity in the game.
Start by installing the Quest Helper plugin from the RuneLite hub. It automatically tracks quest steps in-game and saves you tons of time. Then, check out the Efficient Quest Guide on the official OSRS Wiki-it lists quests in an order that chains XP and unlocks together smoothly.
Even if you don't care about efficiency, using the Wiki is essential. It's the single best resource in the game, full of accurate and community-maintained information for every skill, quest, and boss.
Completing quests like Waterfall Quest, Grand Tree, Tree Gnome Village, and Fight Arena early on will skyrocket your combat stats without needing to grind on goblins. By the time you've done a dozen or so quests, you'll have access to faster training areas, useful teleport options, and equipment upgrades.
Skilling, Dailies, and Diaries
In between quests, you'll need to train skills to meet requirements. Don't just grind mindlessly-try out mini-games like Wintertodt (Firemaking), Tempoross (Fishing), or the new Fletching mini-game. These activities give good XP and let you interact with other players.
As you progress, you'll unlock Achievement Diaries. These are region-specific task lists that grant XP lamps and permanent benefits, like faster run energy restoration or better teleport options. They're often overlooked by beginners but are worth tackling as soon as possible.
Once you hit around 500 total level, you can start doing "dailies" or "hourlies"-short, repeatable activities that give great passive XP and cheap OSRS GP. For example, Herb runs and Birdhouse runs take only a few minutes each and can make you rich over time. They're optional, but an excellent way to make steady progress without long grind sessions.
Combat Training and Gear Progression
Now that you've got some quest points and base stats, it's time to gear up. OSRS combat progression is designed to be gradual, but also rewarding.
Your first big upgrades should be the Dragon Scimitar, Barrows Gloves, and Dragon Defender. These items are incredibly strong for early and mid-game players and will last you for hundreds of hours.
If you're an Ironman, don't stress about making money early. Focus on unlocking useful gear through quests and bosses rather than wasting time looting or "money making."
Once you've hit around level 50-60 in combat stats, try your first boss: Scurrius the Rat King. It's a forgiving fight that teaches basic boss mechanics while dropping solid XP and loot. For more chill training, check out the Gem Crab, a new semi-AFK boss that's great for buy RS gold leveling.