Old School RuneScape Guide – Best Tips and Tricks for Leveling Crafting

Crafting is one of the most versatile and rewarding skills in Old School RuneScape (OSRS). It allows you to create jewelry, armor pieces, and various other useful items, many of which are highly sought after for both their utility and value. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player looking to boost your crafting level quickly, this guide covers the best tips, tricks, and methods for leveling Crafting efficiently in OSRS.

Understanding Crafting in OSRS

Crafting in OSRS involves turning raw materials like gems, leather, and glass into finished goods such as rings, necklaces, and armor. This skill is integral for players interested in combat, quests, and making money. The skill ranges from level 1 to 99, and progressing through the levels requires increasing amounts of experience, which can be gained by crafting different OSRS gold.

Getting Started: Early Level Crafting (Levels 1-20)

For new players just starting out, crafting leather items is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to gain early crafting experience.

Step 1: Crafting Leather Gloves and Boots

Materials Needed: Cowhide (can be bought raw or tanned into leather)

How to Get Cowhide: Kill cows around Lumbridge or Al Kharid or buy cowhides from the Grand Exchange.

Tanning: Visit the tanner in Al Kharid to turn cowhide into leather (costs some coins but speeds crafting).

Items to Craft: Leather gloves, leather boots, or leather cowls.

Experience: These items grant decent XP and are cheap to craft in bulk.

Tip: Always carry a needle and thread in your inventory; these are required for crafting leather items.

Leveling from 20 to 40: Leather and Gold Jewelry

At this stage, you can continue crafting leather but start branching into gold jewelry, which offers faster XP but costs more.

Step 2: Craft Gold Rings and Necklaces

Materials Needed: Gold bars and molten glass (for some jewelry), plus a furnace and an anvil.

How to Get Gold Bars: Smelt gold ore at a furnace (e.g., in Al Kharid or Edgeville) or buy gold bars from the Grand Exchange.

Experience: Gold jewelry gives significant XP per item but requires both crafting and smithing skills if you smelt the bars yourself.

Step 3: Craft Sapphire Rings (Gem Cutting)

Crafting sapphire rings requires cutting sapphires (gem cutting skill) and then making rings.

This method provides good XP, but sapphires can be expensive.

Efficient Mid-Level Crafting (Levels 40-70)

This range is where many players start focusing on glassblowing and making battlestaves or jewelry.

Method 1: Glassblowing

Items: Molten glass can be turned into items like vials, orbs, and unpowered orbs.

Experience: Crafting unpowered orbs grants excellent XP, making it a popular mid-level method.

Requirements: A furnace to melt glass, and a glassblowing pipe to craft items.

Method 2: Battlestaves

Items: Attach orbs to battlestaves (air, water, earth, fire).

Experience: High XP rates and decent profit.

How to Get Orbs: Buy from shops or the Grand Exchange.

Tip: Use the Fairy Ring network to quickly access shops like the Wizard’s Tower or Varrock for orb supplies.

Method 3: Gold Jewelry Crafting

Crafting gold necklaces and rings remains efficient if you can afford the materials.

Consider stringing amulets like sapphire, emerald, or ruby for a mix of XP and profit.

Advanced Crafting (Levels 70-99)

Once you reach higher levels, more lucrative and fast XP methods become available.

Method 1: Dragonhide Armor Crafting

Materials Needed: Green, blue, red, or black dragonhides.

Where to Get: Slayer tasks drop hides; you can also buy from the Grand Exchange.

Items to Craft: Vambraces, bodies, chaps.

Experience: High XP per item, but dragonhide is expensive.

Tip: If you want to save money, focus on green dragonhide, which is cheaper but yields less XP.

Method 2: Battlestaves (Air, Water, Earth, Fire)

At high levels, crafting elemental battlestaves with orbs is very fast and profitable.

Combine crafting with other skills like Runecrafting to gather orbs yourself.

Method 3: Making Zulrah’s Scales (via Zulrah drops)

While not directly crafting, you can combine crafting with Zulrah boss drops to buy or make items for leveling.

Useful Tips and Tricks for Leveling Crafting

1. Use Crafting Guild

The Crafting Guild (located in Ardougne) requires 40 Crafting and 60% Hosidius favor.

Benefits include a bank chest and a furnace nearby, speeding up crafting.

Using the guild significantly reduces travel time and makes crafting efficient.

2. Buy Materials in Bulk

Use the Grand Exchange to buy materials in bulk to save time.

Look for deals on gold bars, dragonhide, and orbs.

Always compare buying raw materials versus finished products for cost-effectiveness.

3. Use Portable Forges and Tools

Portable forges or anvils (from minigames or player-owned houses) can reduce crafting time.

Use tools like the Needle and Thread, Glassblowing Pipe, and Chisel to avoid interruptions.

4. Complete Crafting-Related Quests

Quests like “Animal Magnetism” and “Jungle Potion” unlock access to items and areas beneficial for crafting.

Completing quests often grants crafting XP lamps, giving a boost early on.

5. Efficient Inventory Setup

Carry only necessary items: tools, materials, and food if required.

Use inventory spaces wisely to maximize the number of craftable items per trip.

6. Use Experience Boosts

Use lamps, bonus XP events, or gear with XP bonuses to speed up leveling.

Occasionally, the game offers double XP weekends or events—plan crafting during these times.

7. Consider Skill-Combining

Combine crafting with other skills like Mining and Smithing to smelt your own bars.

This saves money and helps develop multiple skills simultaneously.

Crafting for Money vs. Crafting for XP

Depending on your goals, crafting can be oriented towards making money or maximizing experience gain.

For XP: Focus on high XP per hour methods like battlestaves and dragonhide crafting.

For Money: Stringing amulets or crafting jewelry like diamond rings can yield profits.

Balanced: Some methods, like crafting battlestaves, provide both decent XP and good profit margins.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Leveling Crafting

Not having enough materials: Always stock up before starting a crafting session to avoid frequent trips.

Ignoring the Crafting Guild: It’s a major time saver.

Crafting low XP items at high levels: This slows your progress.

Overpaying for materials: Use the Grand Exchange and watch market prices.

Not using XP boosts: Missed opportunities can prolong leveling.

Final Thoughts

Leveling Crafting in Old School RuneScape requires a good balance of patience, planning, and resource management. By choosing the right method for your level, budget, and goals, you can maximize your experience gain and even make a profit along the way. Whether you start by tanning leather or jump straight into crafting battlestaves, the Crafting skill is both enjoyable and rewarding.

Take advantage of the Crafting Guild, bulk buying, and XP boosts to buy OSRS gold to level 99. Most importantly, enjoy the process—crafting is a versatile skill that enhances your overall OSRS gameplay.