Herblore is a vital skill in Old School RuneScape, allowing players to create a wide array of potions with various beneficial effects. From enhancing combat prowess to restoring vital stats, Herblore potions are essential for both PvM (Player vs Monster) and PvP (Player vs Player) activities. This buyable skill is known for its relatively fast training speed, especially for main accounts, and is indispensable for Ironmen who rely on self-sufficiency for their potion needs.
Training Herblore unlocks significant advantages. Many quests, including popular ones like The Dig Site, Legends’ Quest, and Song of the Elves, require specific Herblore levels to begin or complete. Achieving level 70 Herblore is necessary for obtaining the Quest Cape, while level 90 is needed for the prestigious Achievement Diary Cape. Furthermore, high-level Herblore is crucial for tackling challenging content like the Chambers of Xeric raid, where level 78 is needed for optimal brews and restores, and level 90 unlocks the creation of all potions within the raid.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know to master Herblore, from the very basics to achieving level 99. We’ll cover efficient training methods, cost-effective strategies, and even profitable approaches to make your Herblore journey as smooth as possible.
Herblore Skill Basics
Before diving into potion making, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of the Herblore skill. To begin your Herblore journey, you must first complete the Druidic Ritual quest. This short and easy quest has no skill requirements and only requires gathering four types of raw meat. The quest takes place entirely within Taverley, making it easily accessible for new players.
There are several methods to gain Herblore experience in OSRS. Cleaning grimy herbs provides a small amount of experience, making it a profitable option for lower levels. Barbarian Training unlocks Barbarian Mixes, offering another training method. Herbal tars can be created using swamp tar and clean herbs. After completing Song of the Elves, Divine Potions can be made with crystal dust. However, the primary method for training Herblore, and the focus of this guide, is making standard potions.
Potion Creation in Detail
The most common way to train Herblore involves creating potions. This process typically involves combining an unfinished potion with a secondary ingredient. Unfinished potions and secondary ingredients for most potions are readily available on the Grand Exchange (GE). This accessibility makes Herblore a “buyable skill,” meaning you can purchase your way to level 99, albeit at a cost.
Efficient potion making involves purchasing supplies in bulk and then creating potions in a bank area for quick restocking. To maximize speed on PC, utilize in-game keybind settings. Setting the escape key to close interfaces and configuring the bank’s left-click withdraw quantity to 14 can significantly speed up the process. This setup allows for rapid withdrawal of ingredients, closing the bank interface, combining ingredients, and repeating the process. Making a full inventory of 14 potions can be done in approximately 17 seconds with practice.
Choosing which potion to make for optimal training depends heavily on Grand Exchange prices, which fluctuate. It’s crucial to consider the cost per experience point (GP/XP) to determine the most efficient method at any given time. This guide will provide optimal methods based on current GE prices, but it is highly recommended to use a GP/XP calculator to ensure you are using the most cost-effective or fastest method based on real-time market conditions. Several useful calculators are linked in the resources section below.
Essential Items for Herblore Training
Two key items can significantly enhance your Herblore training: the Amulet of Chemistry and Botanical Pies.
The Amulet of Chemistry is invaluable for reducing the overall cost of Herblore training. When worn, it provides a 5% chance to create an extra dose of potion per potion made. This bonus dose is especially beneficial when making expensive potions, as it effectively increases your potion yield and reduces material costs. The amulet has 5 charges, with each charge costing approximately 200 coins. Therefore, if a single dose of the potion you are making is worth more than 200 coins, using the Amulet of Chemistry will result in a net profit.
Botanical Pies offer a temporary Herblore level boost of +4 when consumed. Currently priced around 1.5k GP on the Grand Exchange, these pies allow you to access higher-level potion recipes earlier than your base level would normally permit. For example, with a Botanical Pie, you can start making Prayer Potions at level 34 Herblore instead of the required level 38. This early access can significantly speed up your training progress.
When using Botanical Pies, it’s advisable to activate the Preserve prayer and equip gear with the best prayer bonus. This combination helps to prolong the duration of your prayer points, allowing for extended training sessions without interruption.
Level 1-99 Herblore Training Pathways
This guide outlines three distinct pathways to reach level 99 Herblore: the Cheapest Pathway, the Fast & Cheap Pathway, and the Fastest Pathway. Each pathway balances cost and training speed differently, allowing you to choose the best option based on your budget and time commitment. All cost estimations are calculated after selling the created potions back to the Grand Exchange, meaning the initial supply cost will be higher, but a portion will be recouped through sales.
Cheapest Herblore Training Pathway
The Cheapest Pathway is designed for players who prioritize minimizing expenses while training Herblore. This method is the slowest of the three pathways but is significantly cheaper. It is estimated to cost around 35 million GP and take approximately 60 hours to reach level 99.
- Level 1-26: Attack Potions. Start your journey by making Attack Potions.
- Level 26-99: Energy Potions and Prayer Potions. Transition to Energy Potions and then Prayer Potions, utilizing Amulets of Chemistry throughout this range to maximize efficiency and potentially reduce costs further. Prayer Potions at higher levels can provide around 215,000 XP per hour.
Fast & Cheap Herblore Training Pathway
The Fast & Cheap Pathway offers a balance between training speed and cost. It is faster than the Cheapest Pathway but more expensive. This pathway is estimated to cost around 50 million GP and take approximately 45 hours to reach level 99.
- Level 1-52: Follow the Cheapest Pathway (Attack Potions, Energy Potions, Prayer Potions). Begin with the same potions as the Cheapest Pathway to build your initial levels.
- Level 52-90: Super Energy Potions. Switch to making Super Energy Potions, continuing to use Amulets of Chemistry.
- Level 90-99: Super Combat Potions. At level 90, transition to Super Combat Potions. These potions offer higher XP rates, around 320,000 XP per hour, but are made with four ingredients. Withdraw 7 of each ingredient to make 7 Super Combat Potions per inventory.
Fastest Herblore Training Pathway
For players who prioritize speed above all else, the Fastest Pathway is the optimal choice. This method is the most expensive but provides the quickest route to level 99 Herblore. It is estimated to cost around 105 million GP and take only approximately 35 hours of training.
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Level 1-77: Varied Potion Making. For the absolute fastest XP, make each potion as soon as you unlock it. This involves a more diverse range of potions compared to the other pathways.
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Level 77-99: 1-Tick Potions or Saradomin Brews.
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1-Tick Potions (Level 77+): At level 77, you can start 1-ticking potions for extremely high XP rates. This method is most effective with stackable secondary ingredients. It involves using ingredients on each other every game tick while holding down the space bar. Mastering 1-tick Herblore can significantly boost your XP rates.
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Saradomin Brews (Level 81+): If 1-ticking is too intensive or difficult, Saradomin Brews offer the fastest cost-effective training method without tick manipulation starting at level 81. Use Amulets of Chemistry when making Saradomin Brews to improve profitability.
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Profitable Herblore Methods
For players looking to offset the costs of Herblore training or even make a profit while leveling, several profitable methods exist. These methods often offer lower XP rates compared to the fastest training methods but can be beneficial for building your bankroll.
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Guthix Rests (Level 18+): Making Guthix Rests is profitable, primarily due to their demand in PvP. This method can net around 500,000 GP per hour while providing approximately 50,000 Herblore XP per hour. It’s a decent option for early Herblore levels and players with limited starting capital.
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Cleaning Grimy Herbs (Level 25+ for Ranarrs): Cleaning grimy herbs involves purchasing them in their grimy state from the Grand Exchange and then cleaning them to sell for a higher price. This method is very click-intensive but can be profitable, especially at lower levels. Cleaning Ranarr weeds from level 25 onwards can yield around 200,000 GP per hour and 75,000 XP per hour. Profit rates for cleaning herbs are highly dependent on current GE prices, so using a calculator is recommended.
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Unfinished Potions (Level 30+ for Ranarrs): Creating unfinished potions by combining a clean herb with a vial of water is a consistently profitable Herblore money-making method. While it provides no Herblore experience, the profit rates are among the highest in the skill. Making unfinished Ranarr potions from level 30 can earn over 600,000 GP per hour, and unfinished Snapdragon potions from level 63 can yield over 700,000 GP per hour. As with herb cleaning, profit margins fluctuate with GE prices, so consult a calculator for up-to-date profitability.
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Divine Potions with Crystal Dust (Post Song of the Elves): After completing the Song of the Elves quest, you can collect Crystal Shards from various activities and crush them into Crystal Dust. This dust is used to create Divine Potions. Making Divine Super Combat Potions is currently the most profitable use of Crystal Shards, with each shard being worth approximately 12,000 GP when converted into Super Combat Potions. You also gain a small amount of Herblore XP per shard used.
Herblore Training Tips for Ironmen
For Ironmen, Herblore is often considered one of the most time-consuming skills to train due to the need to gather all herbs and secondary ingredients independently. Unlike main accounts, Ironmen cannot simply purchase supplies from the Grand Exchange, making resource management crucial.
Herb runs and managing your kingdom of Miscellania are essential for consistent herb supply. Herb runs involve planting and harvesting herbs in various farming patches around Gielinor, while Miscellania can be managed to passively gather herbs over time.
To start Herblore training as an Ironman, you can purchase Vial of Water packs from general stores; the store near the Ardougne Zoo is easily accessible. Eye of Newt packs can be bought from Jatix in Taverley or Betty in Port Sarim. Early training can involve making Guam potions and then Attack Potions using these readily available supplies. For other potions, secondary ingredients will need to be gathered through monster drops, farming, or other methods.
At higher levels, completing the Hard Desert Diary unlocks the ability to create bulk unfinished potions, which saves significant time for Ironmen by reducing the number of actions needed. Ultimate Ironmen can optimize their training by making potions in the southwestern area of the Grand Exchange. Here, they can mix potions at the bank and then quickly note them by speaking to Bob Barter, streamlining the process for this restricted game mode.
Conclusion
Happy herbing, and we’ll see you in the next guide! Be sure to like and subscribe for more Old School RuneScape guides and content. Thanks for reading!
