Crafting, a venerable skill in Runescape 3 since 2001, is more than just a requirement for the coveted max cape. This guide will explore why training Crafting is beneficial, detail the most effective training methods, and highlight how you can even profit while leveling this versatile skill in RS3.
One of the primary appeals of Crafting is its accessibility for both active and AFK (Away From Keyboard) training. Many methods are semi or fully AFK, allowing you to train while multitasking – whether you’re working, studying, or catching up on your favorite shows. If you’re looking for efficient experience gains while engaged in other activities, RS3 Crafting is an excellent choice.
Furthermore, certain Crafting methods can be surprisingly profitable. Turning your training into an AFK money-making venture is entirely feasible. Crafting also allows you to create urns, valuable items that enhance experience gain in almost every other skill in Runescape 3. These finished urns are untradeable, making Crafting the only way to acquire them.
Crucially, a high Crafting level is indispensable for creating or combining some of the most powerful gear and weapons in Runescape 3. While some of these items are tradeable, crafting them yourself from raw materials is often more cost-effective. Many high-tier items are untradeable altogether, making a high Crafting level essential for end-game content.
Beyond gear and profit, Crafting is also intertwined with numerous quests in Runescape 3. Many of these quests are not only enriching in lore but also unlock vital content and areas. For those aiming for a quest cape or completionist goals, leveling Crafting is necessary to access and complete a significant number of quests. Here is a comprehensive list of quests with Crafting level requirements:
- Gunnar’s Ground – Crafting level 5
- Observatory Quest – Crafting level 10
- The Giant Dwarf – Crafting level 12
- The Great Brain Robbery – Crafting level 16
- Animal Magnetism – Crafting level 19
- Creature of Fenkenstrain – Crafting level 20
- Elemental Workshop 1 – Crafting level 20
- The Golem – Crafting level 20
- Shades of Mort’ton – Crafting level 20
- Shilo Village – Crafting level 20
- Tears of Guthix – Crafting level 20
- In Aid of the Myreque – Crafting level 25
- One Small Favour – Crafting level 25
- Smoking Kills – Crafting level 25
- Cold War – Crafting level 30
- Shadow of the Storm – Crafting level 30
- The Slug Menace – Crafting level 30
- Lost City – Crafting level 31
- The Darkness of Hallowvale – Crafting level 32
- Haunted Mine – Crafting level 35
- Missing My Mummy – Crafting level 35
- Enlightened Journey – Crafting level 36
- A Fairy Tale 3, Battle at Ork’s Right – Crafting level 36
- The Fremennik Trials – Crafting level 40
- Swan Song – Crafting level 40
- Elemental Workshop 4 – Crafting level 41
- Rum Deal – Crafting level 42
- Toktz-Ket-Dill – Crafting level 43
- Cabin Fever – Crafting level 45
- The Fremennik Isles – Crafting level 46
- Legacy of Seergaze – Crafting level 47
- The Hand in the Sand – Crafting level 49
- Enakhra’s Lament – Crafting level 50
- Legends’ Quest – Crafting level 50
- In Pyre Need – Crafting level 52
- Some Like It Cold – Crafting level 56
- Kindred Spirits – Crafting level 60
- Lunar Diplomacy – Crafting level 61
- The Branches of Darkmeyer – Crafting level 64
- Rocking Out – Crafting level 66
- Love Story – Crafting level 67
- Do No Evil – Crafting level 68
- The Void Stares Back – Crafting level 70
- Plague’s End – Crafting level 75
- Ritual of the Mahjarrat – Crafting level 76
- The Light Within – Crafting level 80
- Sins of the Father – Crafting level 85
- Jed Hunter – Crafting level 91
As the extensive list demonstrates, a significant Crafting level unlocks a wealth of content in Runescape 3. Even for those aiming for the highest-tier achievements, such as completing all aerial tasks, a Crafting level of 98 (boostable) is required.
Essential Items and Tools for Efficient Crafting
Before diving into specific training methods, understanding the tools and items that can significantly boost your Crafting efficiency is crucial. These items, while sometimes requiring an initial investment, will save you considerable time and resources in the long run.
Artisan’s Outfit
Acquired from the Stealing Creation reward shop for 500 Stealing Creation points, the Artisan’s Outfit provides a cumulative experience boost. Each piece grants a +1% Crafting experience bonus when worn, and equipping the full set provides an additional +1% set bonus, totaling a +6% experience boost.
- Artisan’s bandana: +1% Boost
- Artisan’s top: +1% Boost
- Artisan’s legs: +1% Boost
- Artisan’s gloves: +1% Boost
- Artisan’s boots: +1% Boost
- Set bonus: +1% Boost
Modified Artisan’s Bandana
For an extra 100 Stealing Creation points, upgrading to the Modified Artisan’s Bandana offers further utility. Beyond the experience boost, it provides three daily teleports to the Crafting Guild, a convenient daily claim of free clay, and a 5% chance to save leather when crafting.
Portable Crafter
Portable Crafters can be obtained through trading with other players, the Grand Exchange, or as a Treasure Hunter reward. Deploying a Portable Crafter near a bank creates a temporary crafting station that offers significant bonuses:
- 10% base experience bonus
- 10% chance to save hides or clay per crafted item
- 5% chance to produce gems (excluding onyx and hydrix)
Portable Crafters can also be used for tanning hides, adding to their versatility.
Scroll of Dexterity
Purchased from the Dungeoneering reward shop for 20,000 Dungeoneering tokens and requiring level 60 Dungeoneering and Crafting, the Scroll of Dexterity unlocks a permanent passive ability. This ability offers a chance to save materials when crafting items that require three or more of the same material, conserving resources during bulk crafting.
Brooch of the Gods
This skilling off-hand enhances the benefits of using a Portable Crafter. When combined with a Portable Crafter, the Brooch of the Gods increases:
- Hide and soft clay saving chance to 20%
- Gem saving chance to 10%
Torstol Incense Sticks
Burning Torstol Incense Sticks provides a temporary boost to your base Crafting experience. Overloading with these sticks maximizes the experience increase to 2%, offering a noticeable boost during training sessions.
Sacred Clay Needle
Another Stealing Creation reward, costing 20 Stealing Creation points, the Sacred Clay Needle provides a one-time bonus of 24,450 Crafting experience upon use, offering a quick boost.
Crafting Potion
Crafting Potions temporarily boost your Crafting level by 3, allowing you to create items that would normally be beyond your current level. This is useful for accessing higher-level crafting methods or completing specific tasks.
Dwarven Army Axe
When crafting items from leather, hard leather, and soft clay, wielding a Dwarven Army Axe provides a +3 base experience bonus per item, accumulating to a significant boost over time.
Inspire Genius Relic Power
Unlocked at level 118 Archeology, the Inspire Genius relic power provides a passive 2% bonus experience to all skills when active, including Crafting.
Crafting Cape/Crafting Master Cape
Upon reaching level 99 or 120 Crafting, you can purchase skill mastery capes. These capes offer practical benefits:
- Unlimited thread for crafting.
- A 0.75% chance to cut all gems of the same type in your inventory at once. (Note: While the first gem cut can trigger Portable Crafter and crystal chisel effects, subsequent gems cut by the cape effect do not benefit from these bonuses).
Artificer’s Measure
This untradeable item, requiring level 99 Crafting, 102 Archeology, and level 40 Dungeoneering to craft, provides several powerful perks:
- Increases the activation chance of the Scroll of Dexterity by 25%.
- When the Scroll of Dexterity activates, you gain a buff providing a 0.5% Crafting and Construction experience boost, stacking up to 10 times for a total of 5%. This buff lasts for 5 minutes and can be refreshed.
- Provides a 5% chance to duplicate manufactured items during glassblowing and urn crafting, also applying to flasks, crystal flasks, and ogre flasks.
Level 1 to 99 and Beyond: Crafting Training Methods
Almost any Crafting method can be used to reach 200 million experience. The optimal method depends on your goals: maximizing experience rates, minimizing costs, or seeking profit. Below are some of the most effective methods, allowing you to choose based on your priorities and resources.
Levels 1-46+ Molten Glass
Crafting Molten glass, which is used to create various glass items using a glassblowing pipe, is a solid starting method. Ironmen can produce molten glass by combining buckets of sand and soda ash in a furnace. Always prioritize crafting the highest-level glass item you can.
From level 46 Crafting, you can craft unpowered orbs. These are not only good experience but can also be sold for profit due to their use in staff crafting.
- Average Unpowered Orb Experience: ~91,000 EXP/H
- Full Focus Unpowered Orb Experience: ~120,000 EXP/H
Levels 1-77+ Pottery and Jewellery
Pottery and Jewellery crafting is a slower but often profitable training path. This method encompasses crafting various items from jewellery to skill urns, many of which can generate profit while training. Use the following table to select a suitable training item based on your level and profit goals:
| Levels | Product | EXP/Item | Items Needed | Profit (GP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1+ | Bowstring | 15 | Flax | 406 |
| 2-5 | Cracked Mining Urn (nr) | 29.8 | 2x Clay | 546 |
| 5-6 | Gold Ring | 15 | Gold bar | -745 |
| 6-7 | Gold necklace | 20 | Gold bar | -497 |
| 7-8 | Gold bracelet | 25 | Gold bar | -802 |
| 8-12 | Gold amulet (unstrung) | 30 | Gold bar | -506 |
| 12-15 | Fragile cooking urn (nr) | 42 | 2x Clay | -487 |
| 15-20 | Fragile fishing urn (nr) | 49 | 2x Clay | -689 |
| 20-22 | Sapphire ring | 40 | Gold bar & Cut Sapphire | -491 |
| 22-23 | Sapphire necklace | 55 | Gold bar & Cut Sapphire | 1575 |
| 23-24 | Sapphire bracelet | 60 | Gold bar & Cut Sapphire | 831 |
| 24-29 | Sapphire amulet (unstrung) | 65 | Gold bar & Cut Sapphire | -1125 |
| 29-30 | Emerald necklace | 60 | Gold bar & Cut Emerald | 1985 |
| 30-36 | Emerald bracelet | 65 | Gold bar & Cut Emerald | 426 |
| 36-40 | Plain cooking urn (nr) | 72.9 | 2x Clay | -1757 |
| 40-42 | Ruby necklace | 75 | Gold bar & Cut Ruby | 1636 |
| 42-55 | Ruby bracelet | 80 | Gold bar & Cut Ruby | 801 |
| 55-72 | Dragonstone ring | 100 | Gold bar & Cut Dragonstone | 2596 |
| 72-74 | Dragonstone necklace | 105 | Gold bar & Cut Dragonstone | 3690 |
| 74+ | Dragonstone bracelet | 110 | Gold bar & Cut Dragonstone | 3770 |
| 76-77 | Decorated fishing urn (nr) | 122 | 2x Clay | 7712 |
| 77+ | Decorated runecrafting urn (nr) | 128 | 2x Clay | 6738 |
| 80+ | Dragonstone amulet (unstrung) | 150 | Gold bar & Cut Dragonstone | 2744 |
Level 20+ Gem Cutting
Gem cutting is among the fastest Crafting training methods, albeit expensive. If rapid experience gain is your priority and cost is not a major concern, gem cutting becomes viable from level 20 onwards. Aim for cutting approximately 4000 gems per hour for optimal experience rates. Note that crushing opals, jades, or red topazes for profit is only recommended at level 89 Crafting or higher.
- Level 1 Crafting: Opal – ~60,000 Experience per hour / ~-244,000 Profit per hour
- Level 13 Crafting: Jade – ~80,000 Experience per hour / ~2,500,000 Profit per hour
- Level 16 Crafting: Red topaz – ~100,000 Experience per hour / ~376,000 Profit per hour
- Level 20 Crafting: Sapphire – ~200,000 Experience per hour / ~-276,000 Profit per hour
- Level 27 Crafting: Emerald – ~270,000 Experience per hour / ~-116,000 Profit per hour
- Level 34 Crafting: Ruby – ~340,000 Experience per hour / ~-84,000 Profit per hour
- Level 43 Crafting: Diamond – ~430,000 Experience per hour / ~-608,000 Profit per hour
- Level 55 Crafting: Dragonstone – ~550,000 Experience per hour / ~-3,900,000 Profit per hour
- Level 72 Crafting: Onyx – ~670,000 Experience per hour / ~-182,000,000 Profit per hour
- Level 79 Crafting Hydrix – ~790,000 Experience per hour / ~2,800,000,000 Profit per hour
Sustaining onyx or hydrix cutting for a full hour is typically impractical due to cost and intensity. Dragonstones usually represent the upper limit for sustained high-experience gem cutting.
Level 24-80+ Stringing Amulets
Stringing amulets, while less popular, is another viable training method. This involves purchasing unstrung amulets from the Grand Exchange and using wool to string them. At level 80 Magic, the String Jewellery spell can automate this process for your entire inventory, significantly speeding it up.
| Amulet | EXP/Item | Crafting Level | Profit/Hour (GP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sapphire Amulet (unstrung) | 65 | 24 | ~-1,800,000 |
| Opal Amulet (unstrung) | 15 | 27 | ~-1,000,000 |
| Emerald amulet (unstrung) | 70 | 31 | ~1,400,000 |
| Jade amulet (unstrung) | 20 | 34 | ~4,500,000 |
| Topaz amulet (unstrung) | 30 | 45 | ~3,000,000 |
| Ruby amulet (unstrung) | 85 | 50 | ~1,400,000 |
| Diamond amulet (unstrung) | 100 | 70 | ~2,600,000 |
| Dragonstone amulet (unstrung) | 150 | 80 | ~-138,000 |
Level 54+ Crafting Battlestaves
Crafting battlestaves is a rapid training method but requires pre-stocking the necessary components. It’s advisable to accumulate components over time as you can purchase up to 1,000 battlestaves from the Grand Exchange every 4 hours. Here are the battlestaves you can craft and their approximate experience rates per hour:
- Crafting level 54: Water battlestaff – ~220,000 Experience per hour
- Crafting level 58: Earth battlestaff – ~247,000 Experience per hour
- Crafting level 62: Fire battlestaff – ~275,000 Experience per hour
- Crafting level 66: Air battlestaff – ~302,000 Experience per hour
Level 63+ Dragonhide Armour
Unlocking at level 63 Crafting, Dragonhide armour crafting is a highly favored, fast, but often costly method. Select the dragonhide type based on your budget and desired experience rate:
| Armour Type | Crafting Level | EXP/H | Profit/H (GP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green dragonhide body | 63 | ~297,000 | ~1,400,000 |
| Green dragonhide shield | 64 | ~396,000 | ~411,000 |
| Blue dragonhide body | 71 | ~336,000 | ~-920,000 |
| Blue dragonhide shield | 72 | ~448,000 | ~-2,100,000 |
| Red dragonhide body | 77 | ~374,000 | ~-750,000 |
| Red dragonhide shield | 78 | ~499,000 | ~-1,000,000 |
| Black dragonhide body | 84 | ~412,000 | ~820,000 |
| Black dragonhide shield | 85 | ~550,000 | ~1,200,000 |
| Royal dragonhide body | 93 | ~451,000 | ~2,300,000 |
Levels 75+ AFK Harps
For a significantly more AFK experience, training with harps in Prifddinas (requires access to the elven city) is ideal. This method demands minimal attention, requiring only occasional clicks to prevent logout. It also yields a small amount of Construction experience alongside Crafting.
- EXP/H: ~50,000
Additional Crafting Training Methods
Beyond the primary methods, several other activities can contribute to your Crafting experience.
Enchanting Jewellery
After crafting jewellery, enchanting them not only significantly increases their value but also provides a substantial amount of Magic experience. This dual-skill training can be an efficient way to progress both Crafting and Magic.
Signs of Porter
Necklaces up to dragonstone level can be converted into Signs of Porter, provided you have the necessary Divination level. While Signs of Porter are untradeable, they are incredibly useful for various activities, offering convenient teleportation of gathered resources.
Crafting Spider Silk
High-level players farming Corpse Spiders for invention components will accumulate substantial amounts of spider silk and thread. Crafting these into armour is a completely free, albeit slower, method to gain Crafting experience while engaging in combat and invention training.
Weaving in Clan Citadel
Utilizing the loom in a Tier 5 or higher Clan Citadel offers free and relatively quick Crafting experience. The experience gained scales with your Crafting level, with higher levels potentially yielding 120,000-200,000 experience weekly from this method.
Grinding Sandstone with Telekinetic Grind
This highly click-intensive method leverages the Telekinetic Grind spell (level 89 Magic, Lunar Diplomacy quest completion) to rapidly grind sandstone. Stockpiling sandstone beforehand and maximizing your clicks per minute can yield up to 400,000 experience per hour, making it one of the fastest methods for dedicated players.
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