Beginner's Guide to Old School RuneScape
This comprehensive beginner's guide will walk you through the essentials-how to get started, what to focus on, how the economy works, and what to expect in your early journey through Gielinor.
1. Setting Up Your Account
Before diving into the world of OSRS, you need to create a RuneScape account through the official website. After that, you can choose between playing on a web browser, through the official client, or on mobile (iOS and Android). Old School RuneScape is free-to-play, but many features, quests, and skills are locked behind the membership paywall, which costs around $10/month.
Pro tip: Start as a free-to-play (F2P) player to get a feel for the game, and upgrade later if you enjoy it.
2. Choosing Your World
OSRS has multiple worlds (servers). Some are designated for PvP (player-versus-player), some for Deadman Mode, and others are regular. As a beginner, stick to regular F2P or members' worlds, depending on your account status. Look for a world with a moderate population (300-800 players) to avoid overcrowding but still have others to interact with.
3. Interface and Controls
The game may look dated, but OSRS is feature-rich and functional. Here's a breakdown of key elements:
Minimap (top-right): Shows your location and nearby NPCs or objects.
Inventory (backpack icon): Displays your items.
Stats tab (bar graph icon): Shows your skill levels.
Quest log: Keeps track of completed and in-progress quests.
Chat box: Interact with players or toggle private/public chats.
Use left-click to interact and right-click for more options. Movement is mouse-based, and you can rotate the camera with the arrow keys or middle mouse button.
4. First Steps in Lumbridge
You'll spawn in Lumbridge, the starting town for all new players. A helpful tutorial introduces basic game mechanics-combat, skilling, and questing. Once completed, you'll be free to roam.
Your early goals in Lumbridge:
Talk to the Lumbridge Guide and explore the castle.
Kill some chickens or goblins to practice combat and collect feathers and bones.
Visit Bob's Axe Shop to get a basic axe for Woodcutting.
5. Your First Skills
OSRS has 23 skills in F2P (and 28 in members), and each can be leveled up to 99 (or 120 for some). Here are key skills to focus on as a beginner:
a. Combat (Attack, Strength, Defence, Hitpoints)
Train these by fighting goblins, cows, and chickens. Combat experience is gained by using different attack styles. Equip a sword and shield, and use "Aggressive" mode to train Strength, "Accurate" for Attack, and "Defensive" for Defence.
b. Magic
Buy runes from the magic shop in Varrock and start casting spells like Wind Strike. Magic is great for both combat and teleportation later on.
c. Ranged
Use a shortbow and bronze arrows to train ranged. It's safe and effective, especially from behind obstacles.
d. Prayer
Bury bones dropped by monsters to train Prayer. Higher levels offer protective and stat-boosting prayers.
e. Woodcutting, Firemaking, and Cooking
Chop trees for logs (Woodcutting)
Burn logs (Firemaking)
Cook meat/fish on a fire (Cooking)
f. Fishing and Mining
Start with net fishing in Lumbridge.
Mine copper and tin rocks southeast of Lumbridge and smelt them into bronze bars (Smithing).
Skilling is slow at first, but each level gives you access to better tools and higher-tier content.
6. Making Your First Gold
OSRS gold is essential. Here are beginner-friendly methods to make money:
Feathers and Raw Chicken: Kill chickens, pick up their drops, and sell to general stores or other players.
Mining and Smithing: Smelt ores into bars and sell.
Fishing: Cooked or raw fish like shrimp and trout are in demand.
Collecting Items: Bones, cowhides, and runes from monsters can be sold at the Grand Exchange.
Pro tip: Once you reach Varrock, use the Grand Exchange (the in-game marketplace) to buy and sell items easily.
7. Beginner Quests to Do First
OSRS quests are fun and often reward you with experience, gear, and lore. Here are excellent starter quests:
Cook's Assistant (Lumbridge): Short and simple.
The Restless Ghost: Gives you early Prayer XP.
Romeo & Juliet: Great introduction to Varrock.
Doric's Quest: Mining experience and cash.
Imp Catcher: Easy Magic XP.
These quests help jump-start your stats and get you familiar with the world.
8. Important Areas for Beginners
Lumbridge: Start here, train combat, cook, and quest.
Varrock: Home to the Grand Exchange and many key shops.
Al Kharid: Access to desert content and useful skilling areas.
Draynor Village: Great for thieving and farming.
Barbarian Village: Fly fishing and strongman combat training.
Unlocking teleportation methods through Magic or jewelry helps reduce travel time between locations.
9. F2P vs Members: When to Upgrade
The F2P world gives you a great taste of OSRS, but it's limited. Membership unlocks:
100+ new quests
7 additional skills (Agility, Slayer, Herblore, Farming, etc.)
New areas like Morytania, Tirannwn, and Fossil Island
Player-owned houses (Construction)
Minigames and bosses
Better buy OSRS gold methods
Once you've hit level 30+ in a few skills and completed most F2P quests, consider subscribing.
10. Safety Tips for Beginners
Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your account.
Never share your password, even with "Jagex Mods."
Avoid scam trades or too-good-to-be-true offers.
Don't download third-party clients unless they are approved by Jagex
11. What's Next?
As you progress in OSRS, you'll find your own playstyle. Some players love skilling, others pursue PvM (player vs monster), and many enjoy questing or merching (market trading). You can also try:
Clue scrolls (treasure hunts)
Minigames like Castle Wars or Pest Control
Bossing for rare loot
Slayer for a mix of combat and profit
There's no "right" way to play RuneScape-your journey is what you make of it.
Final Thoughts
Old School RuneScape offers one of the most rewarding MMORPG experiences out there. Its charm lies not in flashy graphics but in meaningful progress, community-driven content, and freedom of play. As a beginner, be patient, explore at your own pace, and don't be afraid to ask questions-whether in the in-game chat, on the OSRS subreddit, or community Discords.
With time and dedication, you'll go from killing goblins in Lumbridge to slaying dragons, mastering skills, and carving your own legend into the annals of Gielinor.
Welcome to Old School RuneScape. Your adventure starts now.