RuneScape Generic Guide

Well, this is a guide to help those who are having issues leveling up certain skills.

Obviously, there is no way to instantly level up, but there are good techniques!

For the 3 basic stats:
Attack

Strength

Defense;

It’s best to train on monsters your level or above. Training on monsters above your level with high HP means more damage and indeed, more XP.

Defense hits lower numbers but you get hit less, I find attacking Cockroach Soldiers a good place to train it with food. (If you’re high enough leveled.) For those of you who are about say level 40-50, the first Security Cave Zombies are a perfect place to train. (Food recommended.)

Next up on the list we have HP.

HP is probably the most tedious thing to level up, it takes 3x the XP and levels 1/2 as fast as the first 3 basic skills. HP DOES affect your overall Combat Level. As far as I know, besides going in the duel arena without armor fighting someone with a 2h, there is no really good way to level HP. It levels on its own eventually.

And next we have Magic.

Well, the very best way to level Magic Skill is by going to FOG (Fist Of Guthix) since you get free runes, and you can only gain items not lose any vs other people. Using Magic in FOG is also probably the best way to get FOG Tokens for rare items. (Magic does affect Combat Level.)

Then, we have the Ranged Skill.

For Ranged, I find the best place to train is in the Barbarian Village Dungeons, where the Hill Giants reside.

You’ll find a locked cabin outside of Barbarian Village and will need a Brass Key to get inside. There are plenty of places to go to not get attacked from the Hill Giants, so any Combat Level of 30+ shouldn’t have trouble as a Ranger down there. (If Melee and only about level 30, food recommended.)(Ranged Skill DOES affect Combat Level.)

Now Prayer.
For Prayer, the best place is the same as Ranged. Big Bones drop with every kill in the Hill Giant’s dungeon, and each gives 16 Prayer XP, 4x that of normal bones. (Prayer DOES affect Combat Level.)

Well, that’s all the Combat Level-affecting Non-Member skills, on to the other skills.

Mining; Mining is very boring to level up, and takes forever to run from a mine to a bank. However, the best way to level up mining is through Coal and Gold ores. If you can find a stash, Mithril, Adamant, and Runite ores obviously give more XP, but are hard to find as take a large Mining level to mine.

Smithing; The best way for a lower level to smithe is by Steel Bars, 2 Coal and 1 Iron ore per bar. To do this, simply mine 1,000 Coal and 500 Iron ores. This will make a total of 500 bars, and will get you a lot higher in your XP. I found a better way though, but if you don’t have the materials it can take longer. Why not get Crafting XP instead huh? Mine Gold Ore, and smithe it into bars. Once you have the bars, make amulets with an Amulet mold. (May have to make rings if your Crafting Skill is too low.) Now, you have made a good amount of Smithing and crafting XP, but there’s still more to do. Take balls of wool, and string your Amulets. Then if it’s Emerald Amulet or below, you can enchant it. Now you’ve made Smithing, Crafting, and even Magic XP. Not bad, hm?

WoodCutting; The greatest way to level up WoodCutting (After getting it level 30) is to go to Draynor Village, and cut thousands of Willows. Willows give the best XP of any log; actually, let me clarify. Willows don’t give more XP than Yews. But you can’t get 2 Yews in 5 seconds most of the time can you? 2 Willows = 1.2 Yews. Yep, Willows are faster. Keep cutting there for a while, but for money cut Yews.

RuneCrafting; Best way to level up RC is by going to Big Bank in Falador. Follow the south road and then you’ll come to a highway man and a fork in the road. Take the road that doesn’t lead to Draynor Village. Then, after a few seconds of walking down that road, head south into the trees. You should see Mages here, simple to kill. These mages each drop their own Talismans, which are required (Unless you have a Tiara) to make runes. Once you have a good amount of runecrafting skill, say..26, go to Fist of Guthix. Here, get Earth RuneCrafting Gloves, they give better XP. Mine Rune Essence in Varrock, also required to make Runes. (Not Recommended to buy them.) You have to complete Mysterious Runes quest to go behind the small Varrock bank to a Rune Shop, once you completed the quest you can “Teleport Arbury” and mine Rune Essence. From the Small Varrock Bank, head on the road leading out of the City. Follow the road towards the wilderness, and you should pass up a Musician, he will help in running back and forth making Earth Runes. Keep walking past the Musician towards the Lumber Yard. You should see the Earth Altar. Make earth runes with the gloves equipped, and you get great XP.

Cooking; A good way to level up Cooking (While below level 25) is to go past the Lumbridge Farm where all the sheep are. Bring an Axe and a Tinderbox. Kill chickens at the farmer’s house, and cut down local Oaks. This will also slowly level up Woodcutting and Firemaking. Once you have a higher level, you can go to Karijama and fish Lobsters (With 40+ Fishing) and cook them. Much more XP.

Firemaking; If you’re rich, buy willow logs to burn. If you’re poor or just don’t want to spend money, go back to Draynor where you raised your WoodCutting level, and cut and burn willows. Pretty fast XP.

Fishing; After doing the quest in Port Sarim, take 30 gold with you and a lobster cage (For 40+ fishers). Go to Karijama via the boat you got in the Port Sarim quest. Go past the seaport, and once you see the Karijama General Store, turn to your Avatar’s immediate right. Pass some Banana Trees to find a good Fishing spot. (Recommended to bring an Axe and a Tinderbox to cook them.) For lower level fishers, take a Fishing Rod with bait, or a Fly Fishing Rod with Feathers, and go to the Barbarian Village fishing spot.

Well, that’s all the non-member skills. I hope this guide helped you.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What about Clan Wars for leveling the first 3 basic attack skills? Or the Dueling Arena?

A: No, CW and the DA are definitely not the best ways to gain XP. Unless you’re using Strength and can hit hard numbers fast on your opponent, there’s really no good XP involved. As far as CW, many times you get ganged on and end up dying early, therefore not getting much XP.

Q: My Axe broke on a Willow in Draynor Village that turned to an Ent! Do I have to spend 10k on a new Rune Axe?

A: No, go to Bob’s Axes in Lumbridge, with about 500 coins. When you exit the main castle, turn to your right (Toward the Chapel.), keep going until you see a guy named “Bob” in a room. Ask him to fix it.

Q: How do I get Fishing Bait? I can’t seem to find it anywhere!

A: Many many enemies drop random amounts of fishing bait. For much easier leveling, I’d suggest just buying bait.

Q: What arrows are best for raising my Ranged Skill? Should I always use the best ones I can?

A: No, always use Iron or Steel arrows while training your skill. During Clan Wars or Fist of Guthix or even Duel Arena you can use Mithril/Adamant. Otherwise it’s far too expensive.

Q: Is there a better place to mine than the Falador Mines? The Scorpions keep attacking me.

A: Regrettably, the Falador Mines is the best place to mine. You can go to other places, but preferably just stay behind the rocks.

Q: Are you ever going to do a Guide on Member’s Skills?

A: Maybe, if I ever become a Member. You can’t really make a guide on something you don’t know after all.

Q: Can I comment on this post to ask a question you don’t have previously answered?

A: Of course you can, I check my topics daily, and will answer any and all questions.