Starting your adventure in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) can be exciting, but quickly realizing you need gold to progress can be daunting. Many players find the early game grind for gold to be a significant hurdle. While some enjoy the challenge of bootstrapping their account, others prefer to accelerate their progress and dive into the more engaging content OSRS has to offer. Gold in Old School RuneScape is essential; it fuels your character’s growth, allowing you to purchase better equipment, train skills, and access various aspects of the game. This guide is designed to provide new players with effective strategies to earn OSRS gold in the early stages of the game. These methods are specifically tailored for beginners and include options for both free-to-play (F2P) and members, ensuring everyone can find a path to financial success in Gielinor.
Effective Money Making Methods in OSRS for New Players
Navigating the vast world of Old School RuneScape and understanding the best ways to accumulate wealth can be overwhelming for new players. Fortunately, there are several accessible and reliable methods to earn OSRS gold right from the start. These methods are designed to be beginner-friendly, requiring minimal starting capital and low skill levels.
Completing the Stronghold of Security
The Stronghold of Security is an excellent starting point for any new Old School RuneScape account. Located in the heart of Barbarian Village, just west of Varrock, this dungeon serves a dual purpose: educating players about online account security and rewarding them with a substantial amount of gold. By navigating through the Stronghold’s levels and answering security-related questions correctly, players are rewarded with 10,000 gold coins upon reaching the final floor. This initial cash injection provides a significant boost to any new adventurer, allowing for the purchase of starter gear or supplies. The Stronghold is available to all players, regardless of membership status, making it a universally recommended first step in any OSRS money making journey.
Varrock Shop Runs: Buying Low and Selling High at the Grand Exchange
Understanding the game’s economy is key to effective money making in Old School RuneScape. One simple yet profitable method involves leveraging the price differences between local shops and the Grand Exchange (GE). The Grand Exchange, situated in north Varrock, acts as the central marketplace where players buy and sell items with each other. Shop prices around Varrock, and across Gielinor, are often fixed and can differ significantly from the player-driven prices at the GE.
This method capitalizes on these discrepancies. Players visit various shops in Varrock, purchasing items that are priced lower than their current GE value. Two particularly lucrative shops for this method are the Varrock Staff Shop and the Aubury’s Rune Shop. By buying staves and runes from these shops and then immediately selling them at the Grand Exchange, players can realize a quick profit.
However, it’s crucial to monitor Grand Exchange prices, as they fluctuate based on player demand. Before investing heavily in any shop item, always check its current GE price to ensure a profitable margin. Not all Varrock shops offer profitable items, so diligent price checking is essential to avoid losses and maximize your OSRS gold gains. This method is accessible to all players and provides a practical introduction to market dynamics within Old School RuneScape.
Spinning Flax into Bowstring: A Crafting Method for Members
For Old School RuneScape members, spinning flax is a consistently profitable early game crafting activity. This method combines skill training with money making, offering a more engaging approach compared to simple shop runs. To begin, players need to reach level 10 Crafting, which can be quickly achieved by crafting leather armor from cowhides.
The optimal location for flax spinning is Lumbridge Castle. The castle conveniently houses both a spinning wheel and a bank, allowing for efficient repetition of the process. Players purchase flax from the Grand Exchange and then transport it to Lumbridge Castle. Using the spinning wheel, flax is transformed into bowstring.
The profit margin in flax spinning is significant. While flax may cost around 4 gold coins on the GE, bowstring typically sells for over 100 gold coins each. This substantial difference allows players to convert a small investment in flax into a considerable profit in bowstring, all while simultaneously training their Crafting skill. This method is a reliable source of OSRS gold for members looking to combine profit with skill progression.
Tanning Cowhides into Leather for Profit
Gathering and tanning cowhides is another accessible money making method available to all Old School RuneScape players. Players can acquire cowhides either by purchasing them from the Grand Exchange or by killing cows at the Lumbridge cow farms. Killing cows also provides early combat experience, making it a multi-faceted activity for new players.
Once a sufficient quantity of cowhides is collected, players should travel to Al Kharid, located east of Lumbridge. Within Al Kharid, near the bank, is a tanner shop, marked by a brown shirt icon on the map. For a small fee per hide, the shopkeeper will tan cowhides into leather.
By efficiently transporting hides between the bank and the tanner, players can quickly convert raw cowhides into tanned leather. The profit comes from the price difference between cowhides and leather. Cowhides typically cost around 150 gold coins at the GE, while leather sells for over 200 gold coins. This margin, multiplied by the volume of hides tanned, results in a steady income stream. For players with more starting capital, this method can also be scaled up by tanning dragonhides for even greater profits, although this requires a higher initial investment. Tanning leather is a straightforward and consistently profitable method for generating OSRS gold in the early game.
Stealing Wines of Zamorak: A Free-to-Play Magic Method
The Wines of Zamorak method is a well-known and highly effective money making strategy for free-to-play Old School RuneScape players. This method leverages the Telekinetic Grab spell to obtain valuable Wines of Zamorak from the Chaos Temple in Asgarnia, near Falador.
The primary requirement for this method is level 33 Magic, which is needed to cast Telekinetic Grab. To optimize efficiency, players should equip a Staff of Air for free air runes and bring law runes for the spell. Wizard mind bombs can also be used to temporarily boost magic levels for faster spellcasting, though not strictly necessary.
The strategy involves using Telekinetic Grab to steal Wines of Zamorak located on a table inside the Chaos Temple. For lower-level players or those without high total levels, it is advisable to grab a single wine and then immediately exit the temple. The monks within the temple will become aggressive if they witness the theft. Re-entering the temple once the wine respawns minimizes confrontation.
Players with a total level of 500 or higher gain access to an upstairs area within the temple by wearing a full Zamorak monk robe set. This upstairs area contains a Wine of Zamorak spawn point that is significantly easier and safer to access, greatly increasing the efficiency of this method.
Stealing Wines of Zamorak is a consistently profitable and relatively fast way for F2P players to generate OSRS gold, requiring only a moderate Magic level and offering a good return on time invested.
Conclusion: Start Earning Gold in Old School RuneScape Today
These money making methods provide a solid foundation for new players to establish their wealth in Old School RuneScape. From the guaranteed reward of the Stronghold of Security to market manipulation with Varrock shops, crafting bowstrings from flax, tanning cowhides, and the magical theft of Wines of Zamorak, there are diverse options to suit different playstyles and account types. By utilizing these strategies, new adventurers can overcome the initial financial hurdle, equip themselves for greater challenges, and fully enjoy the rich and engaging world of OSRS. Begin your gold-earning journey today and watch your Old School RuneScape adventure flourish.
