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This article is about the Runecrafting skill. For information on training Runecrafting, see Runecrafting training (F2P) (P2P).

Runecrafting

Runecraft (also known as Runecrafting) is a skill that allows players to craft their own runes for Magic spells. The experience earned from making runes is small, making Runecraft a very slow skill to train, on par with Agility, and due to the need for constant running and banking, it is fairly click and attention intensive. However, due to the constant demand for different types of runes, it can create a very generous profit.

Due to how slow Runecraft is to train, many players look to avoid training Runecraft, and use the experience from lamps and books of knowledge and from playing Tears of Guthix to raise the stat without having to train it. 

With the release of the Blood and Soul altars on 7 January 2016, training Runecraft has become less time consuming for high-level Runecrafters, with blood runes reaching experience rates of around 38,000 per hour and soul runes reaching up to around 47,000 experience per hour. Alternatively, if the player is willing to put in the effort, lava runes can be crafted for up to 78,000 experience per hour at higher levels.

Listen to audio.
Runecrafting level-up music (link)
The first music that can be played when levelled up.
Listen to audio.
Runecrafting level-up music (link)
The second music that can be played when levelled up.

Creating runes[]

Runes are crafted from either rune essence, pure essence, or dark essence. Players learn about essence through the Rune Mysteries quest. For F2p Players.

Rune essence[]

Rune essence

Normal rune essence is used to craft airmindwaterearthfire and body runes. This is the only type of essence free players can obtain by mining.

Pure essence[]

Pure essence

Pure essence is used to craft any runes (except blood and soul runes), and is the only kind of essence which can be made into cosmicchaosastralnaturelaw, death and wrath runes. Level 30 Mining is required to mine pure essence.

Dark essence[]

Dense essence block
Dark essence block
Dark essence fragments

Dark essence fragments are used to craft blood and soul runes. Creating them requires level 38 Mining and Crafting, and 100% favour with the Arceuus House of Great Kourend.

Obtaining rune essence[]

Main article: Rune essence mine
Both rune and pure essence can be mined in the Rune essence mine. Completion of Rune Mysteries is required to access the mines. Members with a Mining level of 30 or higher will always obtain pure essence when mining in the mine, and all other players will obtain rune essence.

To access these mines, players must talk to certain NPCs who can teleport them to the mines. A player can either talk to the NPC and ask to be teleported, or right-click on the NPC and select the "teleport" option. There are five NPCs that can teleport players to the essence mines, two of whom are available to free players:

A second mine is located on Lunar Isle, which does not require a teleport from an NPC but is a fairly long walk from a bank with some Suqahs on the path to the mine.

Other methods of obtaining essence include trading with other players and purchasing from the Grand Exchange, monster drops, rewards from the Nightmare Zone, or the daily reward from the medium or higher Ardougne Diary.

Obtaining dark essence fragments[]

Main article: Arceuus essence mine
Dense essence blocks can be mined in the Arceuus essence mine. They can be taken to the Dark Altar northwest of the mines to be made into Dark essence blocks, and then chipped with a chisel and pickaxe to make Dark essence fragments. Level 38 Mining and Crafting are required to mine dense essence blocks. Players require 25% Arceuus favour to mine Dense essence blocks, and 100% favour to create dark essence blocks and craft blood and soul runes.

Dense essence blocks and Dark essence blocks can be banked but are untradeable. Dark essence fragments can not be banked.

Altars[]

Main article: Runecrafting altar
Altars are where players make their runes. A talisman or a tiara is needed to enter these altars, which are hidden inside "mysterious ruins." Players can find altars by finding them on their own, using a talisman or tiara to locate, or by asking other players. To find an altar using a talisman, players can right-click on the talisman and click on the "locate" option. This will give a message in the chatbox that tells the player the direction they need to go in to find the altar.

When a player has found the mysterious ruins, they then need to enter the ruins. The player can enter by using their talisman on the ruins. If they are wearing an enchanted tiara, they can use the left-click "Enter" option on the ruins instead.

Inside the altar area, the player can then use their essence with the altar to craft runes, or use an unenchanted Tiara on the altar if they have the corresponding talisman to enchant the tiara.

Altar locations[]

The table below lists the locations of where the altars are found (members-only altars are written in italics).

Altar Runecrafting iconLevel
required
Location Nearest bank(s)
Air altar 1 South of Falador and northeast of the Crafting Guild. East Falador/Crafting Guild (with the hard Falador diary)
Mind altar 2 Between Ice Mountain and Goblin Village. West Falador/Edgeville
Travelling through the Wilderness and teleporting with an amulet of glory to Edgeville takes approximately 1 minute.
With the Arceuus spellbook, you can cast the Mind Altar Teleport to directly teleport to near the altar entrance.
Water altar 5 South of Lumbridge in the swamp and southeast of Draynor Village. Lumbridge/Draynor Village
Teleporting to Draynor Village with an amulet of glory takes ~1 minute.
With a Dramen staff, you may also bank at Zanaris for a time of 1 min 30s (requires completion of Lost City).
Earth altar 9 Northeast of Varrock, near the Lumber Yard. East Varrock

Using a ring of dueling to teleport to Castle Wars and then using the Balloon transport system is fast as well. The one-way trip takes a bit longer but you only have to walk one way which makes it faster.

Fire altar 14 Northeast of Al Kharid, next to the Duel Arena. Al Kharid/Castle Wars
Using a ring of dueling to Duel Arena, craft, then teleport to Castle Wars bank and repeat.
Body altar 20 Between Ice Mountain and Barbarian Village; south of the Edgeville Monastery. Edgeville
Cosmic altar 27 The southern part of Zanaris. Zanaris
Using the Agility shortcuts is much faster.
Chaos altar 35 Wilderness level 9, northwest of Edgeville. During What Lies Below, players can get to the chaos altar without entering the wilderness. Edgeville/East Varrock
The Edgeville route goes through the mysterious ruins, the Varrock route goes through the Tunnel of Chaos (unlocked during What Lies Below).
Astral altar 40 Lunar Isle, no talisman required. Lunar Isle
Equipping a staff of earth and casting Moonclan Teleport will save walking time, although 1 space is needed for law runes; provides additional Magic experience.
Nature altar 44 North of Shilo Village. Shilo Village (unlocked after Shilo Village)
Advised to use the Abyss or Fairy rings instead due to time involved.
Law altar 54 Northern part of Entrana. Void Knights' Outpost (via ship)/Draynor Village/Castle Wars
Using a Ring of dueling to Castle Wars bank with the Balloon transport system is the fastest method without the use of the Abyss.
Death altar 65 On the bottom level of the temple from Mourning's Ends Part II. Lletya
Advised to use the Abyss instead due to time involved.
Blood altar 77 Arceuus House, Great Kourend in Zeah. No talisman required. Banking not required.
Soul altar 90 Arceuus House, Great Kourend in Zeah. No talisman required. Banking not required.
Wrath altar 95 South of the Myths' Guild. Myths' Guild

Talismans[]

Talismans are important as they are needed to make runes. To obtain talismans, players will have to kill monsters or buy them from other players. However, except from Abyss monsters, talismans are an uncommon drop from monsters, making them difficult to obtain. Right clicking them and selecting locate gives a direction to find the altar for that particular type of rune.

Each talisman has a name that indicates what kind of rune a player can make with it. For example, to make air runes, a player needs to find an air talisman.

Note: All elemental talismans (air, water, earth and fire) can be dropped by the corresponding Elemental wizard south of Falador, close to Malignius Mortifer.

Abyssal monsters have a chance to drop any talisman except death and wrath talismans.

Talisman Dropped by/Obtained by
Image Name
Air talisman Air talisman Dropped by impsgoblins and wizards. One is also obtained upon completion of the Rune Mysteries quest.
Mind talisman Mind talisman Dropped by impswizards, and dark wizards.
Water talisman Water talisman Dropped by wizards and dark wizards.
Earth talisman Earth talisman Dropped by menwomenwizardsdark wizards, and Al-Kharid warriors.
Fire talisman Fire talisman Dropped by wizardsskeletons without weapons, and dark wizards.
Elemental talisman Elemental talisman Dropped by Abyssal monsters, allows entry to altars of all four elements, but cannot be bound into a tiara.
Body talisman Body talisman Dropped by guardswizardsHill Giants, and dark wizards.
Cosmic talisman Cosmic talisman Common reward from caskets (big net fishing or dropped by certain monsters) and the Quiz Master Random eventsmystery box.
Chaos talisman Chaos talisman Dropped by hobgoblinsskeletonsice warriorsshadow warriorslesser demonsHill Giants, and fire giants.
Nature talisman Nature talisman Dropped by hobgoblinsJogrestribesmenmoss giantschaos druidskalphites, Flesh Crawlers, minotaurs and green dragons.
Law talisman Law talisman Reward for finishing the Troll Strongholdquest.
Death talisman Death talisman Dropped by dark beasts and is obtained during the Mourning's Ends Part IIquest.
Wrath talisman Wrath talisman Dropped by Vorkath, Adamant dragons, and Rune dragons after the Dragon Slayer IIquest.

Tiaras[]

Talismans take up a space in a player's inventory, allowing them to only hold 27 essence in their inventory. However, a tiara can be equipped, allowing them to craft runes a full inventory of 28 essence. Players can either craft a tiara or buy one from another player.

If a player has a grey tiara with no markings on it, then it is unenchanted. To enchant a tiara, the player needs to bring the talisman to an altar (explained in the next section). For example, if a player wants to make air runes wearing a tiara, then they will have to bring their air talisman to the Air altar and combine the talisman and the tiara. Players can also earn some Runecrafting experience from making a tiara, shown in the table below. Additionally, making a tiara does not have a Runecrafting level requirement.

Tiara Experience
Image Name
Air tiara Air tiara 25
Mind tiara Mind tiara 27.5
Water tiara Water tiara 30
Earth tiara Earth tiara 32.5
Fire tiara Fire tiara 35
Body tiara Body tiara 37.5
Cosmic tiara Cosmic tiara 40
Chaos tiara Chaos tiara 42.5
Nature tiara Nature tiara 45
Law tiara Law tiara 47.5
Death tiara Death tiara 50
Wrath tiara Wrath tiara 52.5
Note: There is no astral, blood or soul tiara/talisman as the altars are found in the world, not in another realm.

Abyss[]

Main article: Abyss
Players can also be teleported inside the ruins by using the Abyss, which does not need a tiara or a talisman to use. This is possibly the best way to craft your own runes. However, despite being much faster in many cases, players often choose not to use this route due to the risk of the Wilderness. Players travel to level 5 Wilderness to be teleported.

Crafting runes[]

When a player has entered the mysterious ruins, all they have to do is click on the altar. They will then craft all the essence they hold into a rune.

Rune Essence
required
Level
required
Experience
Image Name
Air rune Air rune Normal/Pure 1 5
Mind rune Mind rune Normal/Pure 2 5.5
Water rune Water rune Normal/Pure 5 6
Earth rune Earth rune Normal/Pure 9 6.5
Fire rune Fire rune Normal/Pure 14 7
Body rune Body rune Normal/Pure 20 7.5
Cosmic rune Cosmic rune Pure 27 8
Chaos rune Chaos rune Pure 35 8.5
Astral rune Astral rune Pure 40 8.7
Nature rune Nature rune Pure 44 9
Law rune Law rune Pure 54 9.5
Death rune Death rune Pure 65 10
Blood rune Blood rune Dark 77 23.8
Soul rune Soul rune Dark 90 29.7
Wrath rune Wrath rune Pure 95 8

Crafting multiple runes[]

As a player's Runecrafting level increases, they can make more runes. However, they only earn experience based on the amount of essence they use. The number of runes made from the essence in a player's inventory in an action that gains a level is determined by the player's level before the Runecrafting action, even if crafting the same amount of essence one piece at a time would yield more runes.

Wrath, Blood and soul runes cannot be multicrafted.

Rune Lvl for 2x Lvl for 3x Lvl for 4x Lvl for 5x Lvl for 6x Lvl for 7x Lvl for 8x Lvl for 9x Lvl for 10x
Air 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99
Mind 14 28 42 56 70 84 98 (112) (126)
Water 19 38 57 76 95 (114) (133) (152) (171)
Earth 26 52 78 (104) (130) (156) (182) (208) (234)
Fire 35 70 (105) (140) (175) (210) (245) (280) (315)
Body 46 92 (138) (184) (230) (276) (322) (368) (414)
Cosmic 59 - - - - - - - -
Chaos 74 - - - - - - - -
Astral 82 - - - - - - - -
Nature 91 - - - - - - - -
Law 95 - - - - - - - -
Death 99 - - - - - - - -

5x Earth Runes can only be achieved with a skill level of 99 with a +5 boost from an Evil stew and is the only Rune that has a reachable multiple requirement that is past a skill level of 99 with Fire Runes being just shy of being an accessible 2nd; Others are possible but are not accessible with the current existing boosts. It is currently unknown if Cosmic and later runes have any multiplier for 3x or higher.

Note: Death & Law Runes are the only runes that can yield multiple runes that does not follow the normal levelling conventions.

Combination runes[]

Members have an extension to Runecrafting, which is the ability to combine two runes into one item.

To craft combination runes, a player needs to take existing runes that are one half of the combination, with a matching talisman (not a tiara), along with an equal amount of pure essence to the altar which comprises the other half of the combination. Use the existing runes or the talisman for the existing runes on the altar. This has a 50% chance of success, and will consume the talisman whether successful or not. Players can wear a binding necklace to have a 100% chance of success instead.

The player may use the Lunar spell Magic Imbue to make combination runes without needing the opposing talisman. Using Binding necklaces and Magic Imbue to craft lava runes can yield the highest Runecrafting experience per hour in Old School RuneScape.

Rune Combination Level
required
Experience
(Low)
Experience
(High)
Image Name
Mist rune Mist rune Air & Water 6 8 8.5
Dust rune Dust rune Air & Earth 10 8.3 9
Mud rune Mud rune Water & Earth 13 9.3 9.5
Smoke rune Smoke rune Air & Fire 15 8.5 9.5
Steam rune Steam rune Water & Fire 19 9.3 10
Lava rune Lava rune Earth & Fire 23 10 10.5

Players receive less experience at the lower-levelled altars. For example, making mist runes at the air altar will give 8 experience for each rune made, while making them at the water altar will give 8.5 experience for each rune made.

Normally when Runecrafting, there is a delay after clicking on the altar which restricts the player from performing any action for a couple seconds. There is no such delay when crafting combination runes, so you can empty pouches or use teleports such as dueling rings immediately after crafting them.

Rune running[]

An alternative method for training Runecrafting is by using rune runners. A runner is a player that changes noted essences into unnoted essence by converting them in a bank or a shop. At the appropriate altar, the runner trades the Runecrafter changing unnoted essences for noted essences and some fee (usually coins or runes). The Runecrafter increases the amount of essences processed and the runner gets a good reward.

Running essence for crafters is most often done at the Ourania Altar as well as nature and law altars.

Tips[]

  • It is highly recommended to complete Heroes' Quest to greatly reduce the cost and time of Runecrafting in the Abyss. Completion of Heroes' Quest allows players to recharge their Amulets of Glory with charge dragonstone jewellery scrolls, and allows the recharging of 27 amulets in the inventory, plus one worn amulet, in a single click. With this method, the most efficient use would be to purchase or acquire 28 Amulets of Glory, allowing for 112 Edgeville teleports before requiring the player to recharge the amulets. This method saves a significant amount of time for a relatively small initial investment.
  • Using a ring of dueling while making fire runes and lava runes allows teleporting a short distance (less than 20 squares) from the fire altar entrance and quick banking via the Castle Wars teleport. Each ring will only last for four trips, but because this method saves time and run energy, it is greatly preferred compared to banking at the Duel Arena.
  • Members may find it more convenient to use pouches with them when mining essence or crafting runes. Pouches can be obtained by killing the monsters in the Abyss. When bank trips are short (e.g. using the Wizards' Guild), the overhead of handling the pouches negates the additional essence carrying capacity.
  • It is recommended that players mine a large amount of essence and bank it all, and then craft runes with 28 essence in their inventory each time. For example, a player should mine 28 essence, bank them, and go back to the mines and repeat until a sizeable amount of essence has been banked. This method is faster than mining 28 essence and then crafting the runes. (For water and earth runes, the gain is unclear unless this technique is combined with teleportation between bank and altar, since those two altars are only slightly nearer to banks than to Rune essence mine teleport points.)

Weight reduction[]

  • When mining essence, players should be only carrying a pickaxe and essence pouches so that they can run longer.
  • All pickaxes mine Abyss shortcuts at the same rate. The black pickaxe is the best pickaxe to use as it has a weight of 0 kg, although a bronze pickaxe can be used as a cheaper substitute especially if the player can reach 0 kg weight anyway.
  • Members should always wear the boots of lightness. The boots can be obtained from the Temple of Ikov (the quest is not required to pick them up) and provide 4.5 kg of weight loss. These boots are enough to negate the weight of a pickaxe and/or a tiara and cost nothing to obtain.
  • With the appropriate Hunter level, players can wear a spotted/spottier cape to further reduce weight and increase their running duration.
  • Penance gloves from the Barbarian Assault minigame provide a 4.5 kg weight reduction.
  • Graceful outfit can be beneficial, but not always necessary since most players won't be carrying more than 4.5 kg worth of items. Wearing full Graceful outfit makes run energy restore 30% faster while standing or 'busy'.

Crafting Nature runes[]

When crafting nature runes on southern Karamja, there are a number of ways to craft them, because the altar is so far from a bank. Possible ways to craft nature runes are:

  1. Have a large amount of noted essence and some money. Sell as much essence as the player's inventory can hold to the general store northwest of the altar, then buy them all back. The player can then go the nature altar and craft their runes and repeat. However, some other players may be doing the same thing, making players buy another player's essence.
  2. Some players use runners to bring them unnoted essence in exchange for noted essence, some cash and/or some runes.
  3. From Al Kharid, travel north to the gnome glider. Ride the glider to the Grand Tree and then to Karamja. Travel northwest, cross the river via the log, and then head southwest to the nature altar. The player can then craft their runes. When they are done, they can use either an amulet of glory to teleport to Al Kharid or use a ring of dueling to bank at Castle Wars and then teleport to the Duel Arena.
  4. Use the Abyss, using an amulet of glory to teleport to Edgeville and bank there and then repeat, use the Edgeville dungeon teleport with Ancient Magicks, or teleport home and use a mounted amulet of glory.
  5. Move your house (Construction skill) to Brimhaven. Teleport to home and run to the Nature altar.
  6. Use the fairy ring teleport system.
    • From Edgeville, run to the ring across the river and use the ckr teleport to get close to the altar. Craft and use a teleport method to get back to the Edgeville bank.
    • From Castle Wars/Clan Wars, use Ardougne cloak 2 or above, and run to fairy ring east of the teleport point. Use ring of dueling to go Castle Wars/Clan Wars. *Clan Wars has portal to restore run energy.
    • From Castle Wars/Clan Wars, use Necklace of passage to Wizards' Tower, and run to fairy ring south of the teleport point. Use ring of dueling to go Castle Wars/Clan Wars.
  7. Use the boat system to travel to the Ship Yard on Karamja. Run to the Nature altar. Use Camelot Teleport (standard spells) or Catherby Teleport (Lunar spells) to bank and repeat.

Crafting Law runes[]

When crafting law runes on Entrana, there are a number of ways to craft them, because the altar is so far from a bank. Remember no weapons or armour of any kind are allowed here. Possible ways to craft law runes are:

  1. Walk from Draynor Village to Port Sarim. Board the boat. Craft and use an amulet of glory to return to Draynor Village. Have at least 10+ charged glories for this method.
  2. Use the Abyss method. Have at least 10+ charged glories for this method. This method isn't recommended because you can't use armour or weapons to protect against PKers and Abyss monsters. Also it limits the ways to get into the inner ring in the abyss.
  3. After doing the Enlightened Journey quest you can unlock the balloon route to/from Castle Wars. After this route is unlocked, it is one of the fastest and safest methods to craft law runes. You wear a law tiara, a ring of dueling and a spotted cape. In the inventory, bring logspure essence and pouches. The sequence then is: Castle Wars bank, balloon ride to Entrana, walk to the altar and craft your runes, use a ring of dueling to teleport back to the Castle Wars bank.
  4. Leave Entrana via the boat, then run to the Void Knights' Outpost boat and use the Void Knights' Outpost bank.

Weight-reducing outfit[]

This outfit will enable you to run for longer periods of time when Runecrafting thus increasing your crafting rate. Possible items that can be worn:

Weights with items equipped
Item Weight Loss
Spotted/spottier cape -3 kg or -5 kg respectively
Boots of lightness -4.5 kg
Penance gloves -5 kg
Total -12.5 kg or -14.5 kg

In the Abyss this might be helpful, as you will be crossing the Wilderness ditch, rendering yourself vulnerable to player killers.

Magic defence with items equipped
Item Magic defence bonus
Black/Red d'hide body +50 or +40 magic defence
Black/Red d'hide chaps +26 or +20 magic defence
Black/Red d'hide vamb +8 or +6 magic defence
Total +84 or +66 magic defence

Temporary boosts[]

Main article: Temporary skill boost
Runecraft cape emote

A player wearing a Runecraft cape (t) and performing the Skillcape emote

There are three boosts available to members. None of these boosts stack:

  • For up to +5, players may eat orange spicy stews from Evil Dave to get a random boost between -5 to +5.
  • For +1, at level 99, players can wear and operate the runecraft cape.
  • Talking to Oldak in Dorgesh-Kaan may raise or lower a players runecrafting level by up to two points.

Quests rewarding Runecrafting experience[]

Quest Experience
reward
Runecrafting req. Other requirements
Enter the Abyss
(miniquest)
1,000 - -
The Slug Menace 3,500 30 Runecrafting icon 30 Crafting icon, 30 Slayer icon, 30 Thieving icon
Devious Minds 5,000 50 Runecrafting icon 65 Smithing icon, 50 Fletching icon
Lunar Diplomacy 5,000 - 61 Crafting icon, 40 Defence icon, 49 Firemaking icon, 5 Herblore icon, 65 Magic icon, 60 Mining icon, 55 Woodcutting icon
The Eyes of Glouphrie 6,000 - 5 Construction icon, 46 Magic icon, 45 Woodcutting icon
What Lies Below 8,000 35 Runecrafting icon 42Mining icon, (unless you have access to the Abyss)
Total 28,500

Skill choice[]

Upon completing any of the following quests, players may choose to allocate experience to Runecrafting. These rewards usually come in the form of items, such as lamps or books, and are independent of any experience rewards directly received for completing the quest.

Quest Experience
reward
Skills available Skill requirements
Client of Kourend 500 twice Any -
Fairytale II - Cure a Queen 2,500 Any skill above 30 49 Farming icon, 57 Herblore icon
A Tail of Two Cats 2,500 twice Any skill above 30 -
The Great Brain Robbery 5,000 Any skill above 30 16 Crafting icon, 30 Construction icon, 50 Prayer icon
King's Ransom 5,000 Any skill above 50 65 Defence icon
Darkness of Hallowvale 2,000 three times Any skill above 30 5 Construction icon, 20 Mining icon, 22 Thieving icon, 32 Crafting icon, 33 Magic icon, 40 Strength icon
Curse of the Empty Lord
(miniquest)
10,000 Any skill above 50 Some players will need 31 Prayer icon
One Small Favour 10,000 twice Any skill above 30 36 Agility icon, 25 Crafting icon, 18 Herblore icon, 30 Smithing icon
Recipe for Disaster
(The final battle)
20,000 Any skill above 50 175 Quest point icon, 48 Agility icon, 50 Mining icon, 53 Fishing icon, 53 Thieving icon, 25 Herblore icon, 59 Magic icon, 40 Smithing icon, 50 Firemaking icon, 40 Ranged icon, 40 Crafting icon, 10 Fletching icon, 10 Slayer icon, 36 Woodcutting icon
Total 74,500

See also[]


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