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Old School RuneScape — Progression Guide

Tutorial Island to Grandmaster Combat Achievements, in the order that keeps the account moving — because in OSRS combat level is a poor measure of progress and unlocks are the real one.

mmo✓ Verified in-gameSummer Sweep Up — Hunter & Skilling (August 19, 2026)Progress is permanent — no reset454 steps

What this guide is

A run-along checklist, not an article. Old School RuneScape has no weekly lockout and almost nothing here resets — this page is permanent progress, so nothing on it clears itself.

OSRS does not have a linear campaign followed by an endgame. Your account advances through quests, skills, transportation, diaries, Combat Achievements, untradeables, spellbooks, Slayer, bossing, raids, Sailing, your house and collection goals all at once. That is why combat level measures so little: an account with a Quest Cape, a developed house, Elite Void, a Fire Cape, a Bowfa, Hard Diaries and a full transport network is far further along than a higher-combat account missing them.

The phases are ordered, but they overlap heavily and are not gates. Phase 8 runs alongside the Phase 7 Quest Cape grind for most accounts, and skilling in Phase 12 happens throughout. Where something genuinely is a hard requirement it is marked gated.

A main and an Ironman use this page differently. With the Grand Exchange available, a main should measure progress by quest unlocks, untradeables, transportation, diaries, prayers, the house, PvM skill and Combat Achievements — never by bank value. An Ironman route is far more interconnected, and Farming, Herblore, Slayer, Crafting, Construction, Miscellania and the resource loops carry the whole account; the Bowfa and Crystal Armour package in Phase 5 is the single most transformative step on that path.

Tags you'll see on steps

These appear beside individual steps in the walkthrough.

capstoneFinishes a phase, or is the thing the phase was building toward.
milestoneA major unlock — the point where what you can do changes shape.
gatedA hard requirement. Content further down is inaccessible without it.
permanentCannot be undone once chosen.
long grindA large time investment. Worth planning around rather than drifting into.
rebalancedChanged by a recent update — older guides describe it differently.
laterListed here for context; you will actually do it in a later phase.

Walkthrough

Verified for Summer Sweep Up — Hunter & Skilling (August 19, 2026)✓ Verified in-game
Sections
Phase 0 — Account setup12

Everything here is done once, before the account is worth investing time in. Account type is the only decision on this page you cannot undo.

Set the account up properly0 / 6

Do this before you have anything worth stealing, not after. The account type decision is permanent and shapes every phase below — an Ironman route weighs Farming, Herblore and Slayer far more heavily than a main does.

  • Complete Tutorial Island
    The whole thing, including the bank and combat tutors.
  • permanentChoose your account type
    Normal, Ironman, Hardcore Ironman, Ultimate Ironman or Group Ironman. This is the one irreversible choice here — Ironman modes can be dropped later but never added.
  • Secure the account with a Jagex Account
    Migrate or create one before you build any value on the account.
  • Enable strong authentication
    Two-factor on the Jagex Account, and keep the recovery details current.
  • Set a bank PIN
    Set it early; the delay on changing it is there for your benefit.
  • Set up your client
    The official client or RuneLite. Configure ground items, tile markers, loot tracking and quest helper to taste — none of it is required, all of it saves time.
First account goals0 / 6

Small and quick, but they decide how painful the next twenty hours feel.

  • Unlock basic Lumbridge, Varrock and Falador travel
    Learn the free routes before you own paid ones.
  • Assemble starter melee, ranged and magic kit
    All three styles. OSRS combat is a triangle and skipping a corner blocks content later.
  • Get a reliable teleport method
    Home teleport plus a bought or crafted option.
  • Start banking Quest Points immediately
    Quests are the fastest early progression in the game, not a side activity.
  • Start Prayer toward 43
    Bury or offer bones from the first kill onward — 43 Prayer is the phase-defining unlock below.
  • Start Agility early
    Run energy is the single biggest tax on a low-level account, and it is the one you can pay down in advance.
Phase 1 — New adventurer24

Roughly 1–40 in most skills and a low combat level. The efficient path here is quest experience, not manual training — the official wiki’s optimal quest route is built on exactly that principle, and quest rewards skip most of the low-level grind outright.

High-value early quests0 / 16

These are picked for what they give you rather than for story order. Several are prerequisites for content many phases below, which is why they are worth doing before they are strictly needed.

  • capstoneWaterfall Quest
    No combat requirements at all, and it is the best early Attack and Strength experience in the game.
    Reward Large Attack and Strength XP
  • Tree Gnome Village
    Combat XP and the start of the Spirit Tree network.
    Reward Attack XP, Spirit Tree access
  • The Grand Tree
    More combat and utility progression plus the gnome glider network.
    Reward Attack XP, gnome transport
  • Fight Arena
    Major early Attack experience.
    Reward Attack XP
  • Witch’s House
    One of the largest early Hitpoints boosts available.
    Reward Hitpoints XP
  • Druidic Ritual
    Unlocks Herblore, which does not exist on your account until this is done.
    Reward Herblore unlocked
  • gatedPriest in Peril
    Opens Morytania and gates a long list of later quests.
    Reward Morytania access
  • Rune Mysteries
    Starts Runecraft and unlocks the Abyss questline later.
    Reward Runecraft unlocked
  • gatedThe Dig Site
    A prerequisite for a surprising amount of later content.
  • Plague City
    Begins the Elf series that ends at Song of the Elves in Phase 5.
  • Biohazard
    Continues the Elf series.
  • The Tourist Trap
    Strong early experience rewards.
  • Fishing Contest
    Short, and a prerequisite for later quests.
  • The Knight’s Sword
    The largest early Smithing boost available.
    Reward Smithing XP
  • Lost City
    Unlocks Zanaris and the Dragon longsword and dagger.
    Reward Zanaris, Dragon dagger access
  • Dwarf Cannon
    Unlocks the Dwarf multicannon, which changes how Slayer and low-level bossing feel.
    Reward Dwarf multicannon
Early skill targets0 / 8

Recommended targets, not hard gates — treat them as the point at which the next phase stops being painful rather than as requirements.

  • 30+ Attack, Strength and Defence
    Quest rewards will carry most of this.
  • 30+ Ranged
    Needed far more often than new players expect.
  • 30–40 Magic
    Enough for the standard teleport spells.
  • capstone43 Prayer
    Unlocks Protect from Melee, Protect from Missiles and Protect from Magic. This is the most transformative early unlock in OSRS — it changes which quests and which encounters are survivable at all.
    Reward Protection prayers
  • 30+ Agility
    Run energy, and the shortcuts start paying off.
  • Start Herblore
    After Druidic Ritual. Ironmen should treat this as a core system from here on.
  • Start Farming
    The earlier the first tree and herb patches go in, the earlier the passive experience compounds.
  • Start Slayer
    Even slowly. Slayer levels gate a large fraction of everything below.
Phase 2 — Build the account’s infrastructure29

The objective of this phase is to stop walking everywhere. OSRS changes character once transportation, teleportation and the recurring account systems are unlocked, and almost everything after this assumes you have them.

Fairy Rings0 / 4

One of the most important transport systems in the game, and one of the most commonly deferred too long.

  • Complete Fairytale I — Growing Pains
    The prerequisite.
  • milestoneStart Fairytale II — Cure a Queen far enough to unlock Fairy Rings
    You do not need to finish the quest to get the network.
    Reward Fairy Ring network
  • Keep a Dramen or Lunar staff accessible
    Required to use the rings until later unlocks remove the need.
  • Learn the codes you will actually use
    A handful of destinations cover most of the value; the full list is reference, not memorisation.
Spirit Trees0 / 4

The second transport network, and it grows with your Farming level.

  • Complete Tree Gnome Village
    If not already done in Phase 1.
  • Progress The Grand Tree
    Adds destinations.
  • Unlock further Spirit Tree destinations
    Through quests and Farming.
  • Plan a Spirit Tree for the POH
    Later, once Construction allows it.
Fossil Island0 / 5

A quest unlock that opens a training island, a transport network and a passive resource loop at once.

  • Complete Bone Voyage
    Requires the Dig Site.
  • Unlock the Mushroom transport network
    Fast travel around the island.
  • Get access to Ammonite Crabs
    One of the best AFK combat training spots in the game for a mid-level account.
  • rebalancedStart birdhouse runs if you want them
    The August 19 2026 update cut birdhouse Hunter XP sharply on most tiers while raising nest output around 50%. They are now a passive nest and profit activity rather than mandatory Hunter training — worth running, no longer worth building your Hunter plan around.
    Reward Bird nests
  • Start collecting fossils
    They feed the island’s own reward systems.
Ava’s devices0 / 3

Ranged ammunition recovery. Skipping it makes every ranged training method more expensive than it needs to be.

  • Complete Animal Magnetism
    Several small skill requirements, none of them slow.
  • Obtain Ava’s Accumulator
    The mid-tier version, and enough for a long time.
  • laterUpgrade to Ava’s Assembler later
    Comes from Vorkath progression after Dragon Slayer II, in Phase 5.
Morytania transportation0 / 4

A region that is awkward to move around until a specific set of unlocks lands.

  • Complete Priest in Peril
    If not already done.
  • milestoneComplete Ghosts Ahoy and obtain the Ectophial
    A free unlimited teleport to Port Phasmatys.
    Reward Ectophial
  • Progress the Myreque questline
    It runs all the way to The Blood Moon Rises in Phase 7.
  • Work toward Drakan’s Medallion
    From the later Myreque quests.
Varlamore0 / 5

The modern region, and the entry point to a lot of current content.

  • Complete Children of the Sun
    The introduction to Varlamore.
  • Progress the Varlamore questlines
    They continue into Phase 5 and Phase 6.
  • Unlock the Quetzal transport system
    Varlamore’s own fast travel.
    Reward Quetzal network
  • Explore Varlamore training methods
    Several are best-in-slot for their skill at your level.
  • Work toward Perilous Moons
    The region’s introductory PvM, picked up properly in Phase 4.
Start the Achievement Diaries0 / 4

There are 492 Achievement Diary tasks across 12 regions in four tiers. The single most common mistake is treating them as endgame content — the rewards are quality-of-life you want for the whole journey, not a trophy at the end of it.

  • Start the Easy diaries
    Most Easy tasks are things you will do anyway.
  • Clear Easy tasks opportunistically while questing
    Check the diary for the region you happen to be in.
  • Start Medium diaries as skills allow
    The daily reward claims on your checklist scale with these tiers.
  • Keep diary requirements in mind when training
    A few levels chosen deliberately unlock several tasks at once.
Phase 3 — Early midgame47

Roughly 50–80 combat and 40–60 in most skills. This phase assembles the classic OSRS midgame toolkit — the untradeables and account systems that a main and an Ironman both want.

Monkey Madness I0 / 3

The standard melee weapon upgrade for most of the midgame comes from here.

  • Complete Monkey Madness I
    Long, and worth it.
  • milestoneUnlock the Dragon scimitar
    The default melee training weapon until far later.
    Reward Dragon scimitar
  • Open up broader Ape Atoll access
    Needed for Monkey Madness II in Phase 5.
Warriors’ Guild and the Defender ladder0 / 5

A pure time investment with a permanent payoff.

  • Reach the Warriors’ Guild requirement
    Combined Attack and Strength, or 99 in either.
  • Obtain a Bronze Defender
    The ladder starts here and each tier drops the next.
  • Work up through the defender tiers
    Bronze through Rune, each dropped by the tier below.
  • capstoneObtain the Dragon Defender
    A permanent best-in-slot melee shield slot for most of the game.
    Reward Dragon Defender
  • laterUpgrade to the Avernic Defender eventually
    From Theatre of Blood in Phase 9, or bought.
Barbarian Assault0 / 2

One minigame, one permanent reward, and it stays relevant for hundreds of hours.

  • Learn the four Barbarian Assault roles
    Attacker, Defender, Healer and Collector.
  • capstoneObtain the Fighter Torso
    One of the most useful permanent untradeable melee unlocks a developing account can get.
    Reward Fighter Torso
Fremennik progression0 / 4

A questline that quietly supplies a best-in-slot helmet and a lot of access.

  • Complete The Fremennik Trials
    Also unlocks the Lunar Isle chain later.
  • Complete The Fremennik Isles
    Leads to the helmet.
  • milestoneObtain the Helm of Neitiznot
    A long-term melee helmet.
    Reward Helm of Neitiznot
  • Continue into the later Fremennik quests
    Including The Fremennik Exiles when the requirements are met.
Slayer foundation0 / 6

Slayer combines combat experience, money, gear unlocks and boss access in one skill, which is why it appears in every phase from here on.

  • Train Slayer alongside your combat training
    Tasks are the combat training, not an interruption to it.
  • milestoneGet access to the Slayer Helmet
    Requires 55 Slayer and the Slayer points for the pieces.
    Reward Slayer Helmet
  • Imbue the Slayer Helmet when you can
    Through Nightmare Zone points or the Soul Wars equivalent.
  • Build a block and preference list
    Blocking the tasks you hate is worth more than any single unlock here.
  • Unlock the useful task extensions
    Spend points on extensions for the tasks that make money.
  • Work toward higher-tier Slayer masters
    Each one raises the quality of your task list.
Slayer level thresholds worth planning around0 / 11

These are the levels that unlock a specific monster, boss or piece of quest progression. They are listed so you can aim training at the next one rather than drifting.

  • 65 Slayer — Dust Devils
    And the Dragon Chainbody drop.
  • 69+ Slayer — quest progression
    Several later quests gate here.
  • 70 Slayer — Kurasks
  • gated74 Slayer — The Blood Moon Rises
    A current-content requirement, in Phase 7.
  • 75 Slayer — Gargoyles
  • 80 Slayer — Nechryaels
  • milestone85 Slayer — Abyssal Demons
    The Abyssal Whip.
    Reward Abyssal Whip access
  • 87 Slayer — Kraken
  • 91 Slayer — Cerberus
    Primordial, Pegasian and Eternal boots.
  • 93 Slayer — Thermonuclear Smoke Devil
  • 95 Slayer — Alchemical Hydra
Farming and Herblore0 / 6

For an Ironman this is not skilling, it is the supply chain the whole account runs on. For a main it is passive experience and money.

  • Run herbs regularly
    The single highest-value recurring habit in the game.
  • Unlock the additional herb patches
    Each one raises the yield of the same run.
  • Unlock Farming Guild access
    As Farming level allows.
  • Start Farming Contracts
    Guild currency and useful seeds.
  • Plant trees and fruit trees on your runs
    Fast Farming experience for very little time.
  • Build a sustainable potion supply
    Ironmen especially: potions are what make Phase 4 PvM possible.
Managing Miscellania0 / 4

A passive resource engine that costs you a few minutes every several days.

  • Complete Throne of Miscellania
    The unlock.
  • milestoneComplete Royal Trouble
    Substantially improves the system and slows approval decay.
  • Fund the Kingdom coffer
    Around 500,000 gp for full output, or 750,000 gp with Royal Trouble done.
  • Set your workers to what your account needs
    Herbs, wood, coal or fish depending on where your bottleneck is.
Player-owned house0 / 6

Construction is a utility skill first and a skilling skill second. What you build changes how fast every later phase runs.

  • Establish a house and a basic teleport room
    Even a cheap one saves real time.
  • Add an altar
    Prayer training and, later, spellbook altars.
  • Add useful storage
    Costume and treasure storage frees the bank.
  • Add mounted transportation and portal chambers
    As Construction allows.
  • Start upgrading rejuvenation facilities
    The pool is the reason most players build a house at all.
  • Add a jewellery box
    Removes a whole category of teleport item management.
Phase 4 — Established midgame43

Roughly 80–105 combat and 50–70 in most skills. This is the phase where the account starts to feel complete from a utility standpoint, and the shorthand for finishing it is Fire Cape, Barrows Gloves, Dragon Defender and Piety.

Recipe for Disaster0 / 11

One of the most important milestones on the account, and it is really ten quests in a trench coat. Each subquest has its own requirements, so this runs alongside everything else in the phase rather than in one sitting.

  • Start Recipe for Disaster
    The Cook’s assistant chain.
  • Free the Mountain Dwarf
  • Free the Goblin Generals
  • Free Pirate Pete
  • Free the Lumbridge Guide
  • Free Evil Dave
  • Free Skrach Uglogwee
  • Free Sir Amik Varze
  • Free King Awowogei
    The most demanding subquest of the set.
  • Defeat the Culinaromancer
    The finale, fought as a gauntlet.
  • capstoneBuy Barrows Gloves
    Best-in-slot hands for all three combat styles for most of the game. Barrows Gloves are the clearest single marker that an account has reached the established midgame.
    Reward Barrows Gloves
King’s Ransom and Piety0 / 4

The biggest melee damage increase available to a midgame account, and it comes from a quest rather than an item.

  • Complete King’s Ransom
    The Camelot questline.
  • Clear the Knight Waves Training Grounds
    A genuine combat challenge at this stage.
  • Reach 70 Prayer
    The requirement to actually use it.
  • capstoneUnlock Piety
    A very large melee accuracy and strength boost.
    Reward Piety
Desert Treasure I and Ancient Magicks0 / 3

The spellbook that most PvM and Slayer runs on.

  • Complete Desert Treasure I
    Four demanding sub-bosses.
  • capstoneUnlock the Ancient Magicks spellbook
    Ice and blood spells.
    Reward Ancient Magicks
  • Learn where Ice Barrage and Blood Barrage actually matter
    Slayer, multi-combat training and most later PvM.
Lunar Diplomacy and the Lunar spellbook0 / 3

The utility spellbook. Less glamorous than Ancients and used just as often.

  • Complete Lunar Diplomacy
    Requires The Fremennik Trials.
  • Unlock the Lunar spells
    Including the teleports and the utility casts.
    Reward Lunar spellbook
  • Complete Dream Mentor
    Unlocks the higher-tier Lunar spells and a Hitpoints reward.
A Kingdom Divided0 / 3

The Kourend finale, and a prerequisite for content two phases below.

  • Work through the Kourend questline
    Client of Kourend onward.
  • gatedComplete A Kingdom Divided
    Also the gate on Yama in Phase 8.
  • Pick up the Arceuus combat and utility unlocks
    Thralls in particular are a large PvM upgrade.
The early PvM ladder0 / 11

No fixed order — this is a menu for building mechanical confidence before the harder content. Pick what your gear and your patience suit.

  • Introductory bosses — Obor, Bryophyta, Giant Mole, Scurrius
    Low stakes, real mechanics.
  • Skilling bosses — Tempoross, Wintertodt, Hespori
    No combat gear needed and genuinely useful rewards.
  • Barrows
    The classic midgame money maker and a gear source in its own right.
    Reward Barrows equipment
  • Sarachnis
    A good first real boss.
  • Dagannoth Kings — Rex, Prime and Supreme
    Ring drops that stay relevant for a very long time.
  • King Black Dragon
  • Crazy and Deranged Archaeologist
  • The Wilderness demi-bosses — Calvar’ion, Spindel and Artio
    The lower-level versions of the Wilderness bosses.
  • milestonePerilous Moons
    Varlamore’s introductory PvM, and a strong gear step for a midgame account.
    Reward Moon equipment
  • Amoxliatl and The Hueycoatl
    Modern Varlamore encounters.
  • The Royal Titans
    A modern duo boss designed for this stage.
Fire Cape0 / 4

The defining midgame PvM milestone, and the one that most clearly separates an account that has learned to fight from one that has only levelled.

  • Build a sustainable ranged setup
    The cave is a long fight and your supplies are finite.
  • Learn the Fight Cave waves
    Knowing what spawns where is most of the difficulty.
  • Learn Jad prayer switching
    Practise on a simulator before you spend an hour reaching him.
  • capstoneDefeat TzTok-Jad and claim the Fire Cape
    Best-in-slot melee cape until the Infernal Cape, and a hard requirement for the Inferno later.
    Reward Fire Cape
Achievement Diary progression0 / 4

By the end of this phase the diaries should be well underway, because their rewards make the next phase faster.

  • Complete every practical Easy diary
  • Complete most or all Medium diaries
  • Start the Hard diaries
    These are the tier where the rewards get genuinely strong.
  • Prioritise the rewards that compound
    Transportation, Slayer, Farming, Prayer, resource collection and bossing rewards first.
Phase 5 — High-level account unlocks39

Roughly 100–115+ combat and 65–80+ in most skills. These are the big quest unlocks — each one opens a region, a boss or a gear line that the endgame assumes you have.

Song of the Elves0 / 6

The largest single account unlock in OSRS, and the end of a questline that started back in Phase 1 with Plague City.

  • Work through the Elf series
    Underground Pass, Regicide, Roving Elves, Mourning’s End Part I and II.
  • long grindReach the base 70 skill requirements
    Seven skills at 70 — plan this well in advance.
  • capstoneComplete Song of the Elves
    A grandmaster quest with a real fight at the end.
  • Unlock Prifddinas
    A city full of best-in-slot skilling resources.
    Reward Prifddinas
  • Unlock The Gauntlet and The Corrupted Gauntlet
    A solo challenge that gives no gear advantage — everything inside is made inside.
    Reward Gauntlet access
  • Unlock Zalcano
    A skilling boss with strong rewards.
The Crystal gear package0 / 6

Especially transformative for an Ironman, because it turns a solo challenge into a full ranged setup with no trading required.

  • Learn The Gauntlet
    The normal mode first.
  • Learn The Corrupted Gauntlet
    Significantly harder and where the real drop rates are.
  • Get consistent Corrupted Gauntlet completions
    Consistency matters more than speed for the drops.
  • milestoneObtain an Enhanced Crystal Weapon Seed
    The Bow of Faerdhinen.
    Reward Bow of Faerdhinen
  • Obtain Crystal Armour Seeds
    The armour set that the bow scales with.
  • capstoneAssemble the Bowfa and Crystal Armour package
    One of the strongest general-purpose Ironman progression steps in the game.
    Reward Bowfa + Crystal
Dragon Slayer II0 / 5

A grandmaster quest that unlocks a boss most accounts kill thousands of times.

  • Reach 200 Quest Points
    The requirement, and it means clearing a broad spread of earlier quests.
  • capstoneComplete Dragon Slayer II
  • Unlock Vorkath
    Reliable, learnable, and one of the best money makers at this level.
    Reward Vorkath
  • Unlock the Myths’ Guild
  • Obtain Vorkath’s Head and upgrade to Ava’s Assembler
    The final tier of the ammunition saver from Phase 2.
    Reward Ava’s Assembler
Monkey Madness II and Zenyte jewellery0 / 6

The gear line that finishes most of your jewellery slots permanently.

  • Complete Monkey Madness II
    Requires Monkey Madness I and a spread of skills.
  • Unlock Demonic Gorillas
    A major Ironman gear checkpoint — the Zenyte shard source.
    Reward Demonic Gorillas
  • Craft or buy the Amulet of Torture
    Melee.
  • Craft or buy the Necklace of Anguish
    Ranged.
  • Craft or buy the Tormented Bracelet
    Magic.
  • Craft or buy the Ring of Suffering
    Defensive, and imbue it when you can.
Beneath Cursed Sands0 / 3

The gateway to the raid that most players should raid first.

  • Complete Beneath Cursed Sands
  • milestoneUnlock Tombs of Amascut
    Enterable far earlier than the other two raids, which is exactly why it is the right first one.
    Reward ToA access
  • Try Entry Mode when you are combat ready
    Picked up properly in Phase 9.
Desert Treasure II — The Fallen Empire0 / 7

Four new bosses and the ancient equipment lines that come off them.

  • Clear the prerequisite questlines
    A long list including Secrets of the North and the Mahjarrat chain.
  • capstoneComplete Desert Treasure II
  • Learn Vardorvis
  • Learn Duke Sucellus
  • Learn The Leviathan
  • Learn The Whisperer
  • laterPursue the Awakened variants later
    Genuinely aspirational content, revisited in Phase 10.
While Guthix Sleeps0 / 3

A grandmaster quest and the current top of the Mahjarrat storyline.

  • Complete the Temple Knight and Mahjarrat prerequisites
    Including Defender of Varrock and The Curse of Arrav.
  • capstoneComplete While Guthix Sleeps
  • Pick up the Demonbane progression it unlocks
The Final Dawn0 / 3

The Varlamore finale, and the gate on one of the game’s newer endgame encounters.

  • Work through the Varlamore questline to The Final Dawn
  • Complete The Final Dawn
  • milestoneUnlock Doom of Mokhaiotl
    A delve system where each layer is more dangerous and more valuable than the last. The early delves sit around Corrupted Gauntlet difficulty; the deep ones are advanced PvM.
    Reward Doom of Mokhaiotl
Phase 6 — Sailing and the modern world36

Sailing released on November 19, 2025 as the 24th skill, and it is not a skill to leave for the Max Cape grind. It now gates quests, regions and account progression directly — 62 Sailing is a hard requirement for the newest region in the game.

Level 1+ — become a captain0 / 5

The introduction, and it is short.

  • Complete Pandemonium
    The Sailing introduction quest.
  • Receive your first raft
    And the Captain’s Log with it.
  • Start Port Tasks
    Rotating tasks from the port noticeboards. They refresh daily and again once you clear enough from a board, so they are deliberately not daily-capped content.
  • Start Sea Charting
    Mapping the oceans is its own progression track.
  • Take part in Ocean Encounters while travelling
    They happen whether you plan for them or not.
Level 12–55 — build the ship up0 / 9

A run of quests and unlocks that each raise what you can survive out on the water.

  • Level 12+ — complete Prying Times
    And pick up the charting tools.
  • Level 15+ — obtain a Skiff
    The first real boat.
  • Level 15+ — unlock Shipwreck Salvaging
  • Level 22+ — complete Current Affairs
    Improves charting capability.
  • milestoneLevel 30+ — unlock the first Barracuda Trial
    Currently the high-intensity, high-experience training route for the skill.
  • Level 30+ — start Bounty Tasks if you want them
  • Level 45+ — complete Troubled Tortugans
    Expands the available oceans and ports.
  • Level 52+ — complete The Red Reef
    When the requirements are met.
  • Level 55+ — unlock the next Barracuda Trial
    And the major boat teleportation and utility improvements.
Level 62 — Wyrmscraig0 / 10

Released July 29, 2026, and the newest permanent progression content in the game. 62 Sailing is a hard gate: there is no other way in.

  • gatedReach 62 Sailing
    The access requirement for the island.
  • milestoneSail to Wyrmscraig and explore it
    A player-designed island with its own quest, boss, Slayer master and skilling content.
    Reward Wyrmscraig access
  • Complete Fallen From Grace
    Requires 62 Sailing, 60 Crafting, 53 Mining and 47 Runecraft, and awards 2 Quest Points.
  • Start Goat Hunting at the required Hunter level
    The island’s Hunter activity.
  • Unlock Sunstone Golem Crafting
    The island’s Crafting content and its rewards.
  • Unlock the repeatable Mad Angel encounter
    Wyrmscraig’s repeatable boss.
    Reward Mad Angel
  • milestoneUnlock Mortimer as a Slayer master
    Aimed at higher-level Slayer players and now an important branch of modern Slayer progression.
    Reward Mortimer
  • Progress Mortimer’s task system and rewards
    His tasks carry modifiers the other masters do not offer. Note that as of August 19 2026 Partner Slayer can no longer be used to roll six task choices between two players, and his tasks cannot be shared with anyone who has not unlocked him.
  • Pick up the Wyrmscraig transport options
  • Chase the Wyrmscraig uniques that suit your account
    Including the Jeweller’s Chisel, which as of August 19 2026 cuts bolt tips in 2 ticks instead of 5 with a 1-in-10 chance of doing two gems at once.
High-level Sailing0 / 12

The keel thresholds are the ones worth planning training around — each tier raises survivability against progressively stronger ocean encounters.

  • 22 Sailing — Iron keel
  • 39 Sailing — Steel keel
  • 54 Sailing — Mithril keel
  • 66 Sailing — Adamant keel
  • 85 Sailing — Rune keel
  • 97 Sailing — Dragon keel
  • Fully explore the available oceans
  • Complete the Sea Charting objectives
  • Complete the advanced Barracuda Trials
  • Develop high-tier crewmates and ship facilities
  • Progress the high-level Bounty Tasks
  • capstoneReach 99 Sailing and buy the Sailing Cape
    Reward Sailing Cape
Phase 7 — Quest Cape22

The cleanest single measure that an account has graduated from general midgame progression. The current maximum is 339 Quest Points. Treat the Quest Cape as "progressed enough to enter almost everything" rather than as the end of the game.

Finish the Dragonkin and Gnome lines0 / 3

Mostly done by now if you followed the earlier phases.

  • Dragon Slayer I and Dragon Slayer II
  • The Eyes of Glouphrie and The Path of Glouphrie
  • Monkey Madness I and Monkey Madness II
Finish the Elf line0 / 3

Started in Phase 1, finished in Phase 5 for most accounts.

  • Plague City, Biohazard, Underground Pass, Regicide
  • Roving Elves, Mourning’s End Part I and Part II
  • Song of the Elves
Finish the Desert and Mahjarrat line0 / 4

The longest interlocking chain in the game.

  • Desert Treasure I and Secrets of the North
  • Desert Treasure II — The Fallen Empire
  • Defender of Varrock and The Curse of Arrav
  • While Guthix Sleeps
The Blood Moon Rises and Vampyrium0 / 9

The Myreque finale, released in 2026, and one of the most demanding current quest checkpoints on the account. Notable gates include 74 Slayer and 74 Woodcutting.

  • Complete In Search of the Myreque through A Taste of Hope
    The early Myreque chain.
  • Complete Sins of the Father
  • Complete A Night at the Theatre
    Also the Theatre of Blood unlock.
  • gatedReach 74 Slayer and 74 Woodcutting
    Among the requirements — plan these in advance.
  • capstoneComplete The Blood Moon Rises
    The grandmaster finale to the Myreque storyline.
  • Unlock Vampyrium and its skilling ecosystem
    A whole region of post-quest content.
    Reward Vampyrium
  • Progress the Venator line
  • Learn the Maggot King
  • Chase the Vampyrium equipment upgrades that suit your account
Quest Cape completion0 / 3

Every quest in the game, and then the cape.

  • Complete every remaining available quest
    Including the short ones you have been skipping.
  • milestoneReach 339 Quest Points
    The current maximum.
  • capstoneBuy the Quest Point Cape from the Wise Old Man
    In Draynor Village.
    Reward Quest Point Cape
Phase 8 — High-level PvM40

This phase overlaps the Quest Cape grind rather than following it. The ordering below is by mechanical difficulty, not by requirement — there is no forced sequence.

Tier 1 — fundamentals0 / 5

Where you learn to read an attack rather than react to a health bar.

  • Scurrius
  • Barrows
  • Perilous Moons
  • Sarachnis
  • The Royal Titans
Tier 2 — intermediate0 / 8

Learnable, repeatable, and where most accounts make their money.

  • Dagannoth Kings
  • Zulrah
    Rotation-based and worth learning properly once.
  • Vorkath
    From Dragon Slayer II.
  • Phantom Muspah
  • Grotesque Guardians
  • Kraken
  • Cerberus
    The boot upgrades.
  • Thermonuclear Smoke Devil
Tier 3 — advanced0 / 8

Real mechanical demands, and the point where gear stops being the limiting factor.

  • Corrupted Gauntlet
  • Alchemical Hydra
  • Vardorvis, Duke Sucellus, The Leviathan and The Whisperer
    The Desert Treasure II four.
  • Araxxor
  • Yama
  • Doom of Mokhaiotl
  • The Maggot King
  • The Mad Angel
    Wyrmscraig’s repeatable boss.
God Wars Dungeon0 / 6

Four generals, each with its own gear line, and the traditional entry into team PvM.

  • Learn General Graardor
    Bandos.
  • Learn K’ril Tsutsaroth
    Zamorak.
  • Learn Commander Zilyana
    Saradomin.
  • Learn Kree’arra
    Armadyl.
  • Learn the solo methods where they exist
    Most are soloable with the right setup.
  • Build up the GWD-tier gear
    Bandos, Armadyl and the godsword hilts.
Nex0 / 4

The step above God Wars, and the source of the strongest melee armour in the game.

  • Complete The Frozen Door
    The access requirement.
  • Learn the Nex mechanics
    Four phases with distinct prayer and positioning demands.
  • Start in larger teams
    Then work down to efficient small teams.
  • Pursue the Torva and Zaryte upgrades
    Torva armour and the Zaryte crossbow.
    Reward Torva, Zaryte
Yama0 / 3

Designed as a step beyond the Desert Treasure II bosses.

  • Complete A Kingdom Divided
    The gate, from Phase 4.
  • Learn base Yama
    Solo or with a partner.
  • Progress into the stronger contract variants
Doom of Mokhaiotl0 / 6

One of the better bridges between normal high-level PvM and the aspirational content in Phase 10, because the difficulty curve is yours to set.

  • Complete The Final Dawn
    The gate, from Phase 5.
  • Learn Delve 1
  • Work down through the delves
    Each layer is harder and more valuable.
  • Learn the cash-out decision
    Knowing when to leave is the actual skill here.
  • milestoneReach Delve 8 comfortably
  • Push deep delves beyond the normal range
    Aspirational, and tied to Combat Achievements.
Phase 9 — Raids28

OSRS has three live raids. A fourth, The Fractured Archive, is scheduled for Autumn 2026 and is not live as of August 21, 2026 — it is deliberately absent from the steps below rather than pre-listed, and will be inserted here when it releases.

Tombs of Amascut — raid 30 / 10

Normally the right first raid: the invocation system lets you set the difficulty yourself, so you can enter far earlier than the other two and scale up as you learn.

  • Complete Beneath Cursed Sands
    The gate, from Phase 5.
  • Learn Entry Mode
    No risk, all of the mechanics.
  • Learn each path and boss
    Akkha, Ba-Ba, Kephri and Zebak, then Wardens.
  • Run low-invocation raids
  • milestoneReach 150 invocation
    The first meaningful reward threshold.
  • Get comfortable with Normal Mode
  • Push toward 300+ invocation
  • Learn Expert Mode
  • Complete the ToA Combat Achievements
  • Chase Fang, Lightbearer, Masori and the Shadow
    The reward table, roughly in order of how often you will use them.
    Reward ToA uniques
Chambers of Xeric — raid 10 / 7

The oldest raid, and the most variable: layouts are randomised, so scouting is a skill in its own right.

  • Learn scouting and layouts
  • Learn the Great Olm
    The fight the whole raid builds toward.
  • Complete standard Chambers of Xeric
  • Learn efficient team raids
  • Learn solo CoX if it suits you
    A very different and very rewarding challenge.
  • milestoneLearn Challenge Mode
    Fixed layouts, much higher difficulty.
  • Chase the Twisted Bow, Ancestral, Dexterous and Arcane prayer scrolls
    Reward CoX uniques
Theatre of Blood — raid 20 / 11

The most mechanically demanding of the three, and the least forgiving of a weak team.

  • Learn Entry Mode
  • Learn Maiden
  • Learn Bloat
  • Learn Nylocas
    The style-switching room that catches most people.
  • Learn Sotetseg
  • Learn Xarpus
  • Learn Verzik Vitur
  • Complete normal Theatre of Blood
  • Get comfortable in efficient teams
  • milestoneLearn Hard Mode
  • Chase the Scythe, Avernic Defender and Sanguinesti Staff
    Reward ToB uniques
Phase 10 — Aspirational endgame26

The phase where mechanical skill matters at least as much as gear, and in places more. Nothing here is required for a complete account — it is here because it is what "good at OSRS" currently means.

The Inferno0 / 7

Still the premier PvM accomplishment in the game.

  • gatedObtain a Fire Cape
    A hard requirement, from Phase 4.
  • Build the ranged and magic setup
  • Learn the blob mechanics
    The core skill the whole cave tests.
  • Learn wave solving
    Knowing the order to kill things in is most of the fight.
  • Learn triple Jad
  • Learn TzKal-Zuk
  • capstoneDefeat TzKal-Zuk and claim the Infernal Cape
    Reward Infernal Cape
Fortis Colosseum0 / 8

Wave-based, modifier-driven, and represented throughout Master and Grandmaster Combat Achievement progression.

  • Get access to Civitas illa Fortis
    Through the Varlamore questline.
  • Learn the early waves
  • Learn invocation and modifier management
    Choosing your own difficulty is the mechanic.
  • Progress deeper consistently
  • Learn Sol Heredit
    The final fight.
  • capstoneComplete the Colosseum and claim Dizana’s Quiver
    Reward Dizana’s Quiver
  • Bless and upgrade the Quiver
  • Pursue the advanced Colosseum Combat Achievements
Advanced raid and boss challenges0 / 11

The content that Master and Grandmaster Combat Achievements are actually made of.

  • Chambers of Xeric Challenge Mode
  • Theatre of Blood Hard Mode
  • High-invocation Tombs of Amascut
  • Solo raid challenges
  • Speedrun and restriction-based Combat Achievements
  • Awakened Desert Treasure II bosses
  • High-contract Yama
  • Deep Doom of Mokhaiotl delves
  • Advanced Nex teams
  • Phosani’s Nightmare
  • Repeated Inferno completions
Phase 11 — Combat Achievements6

Arguably the best official measure of PvM progression the game offers. There are currently 637 tasks worth 2,630 points, and the tiers below are cumulative point thresholds rather than task counts.

The six tiers0 / 6

Each tier unlocks its own reward set, and the rewards are genuinely useful rather than cosmetic.

  • Easy — 41 points
  • Medium — 161 points cumulative
  • milestoneHard — 416 points cumulative
    An excellent midgame objective and a natural target around the Fire Cape stage.
  • Elite — 1,064 points cumulative
    At this point the account has meaningful experience across a large part of OSRS PvM.
  • milestoneMaster — 1,904 points cumulative
    Genuine endgame territory.
  • capstoneGrandmaster — 2,630 points
    High combat stats, extensive boss access, strong equipment and very high mechanical proficiency. This is the strongest definition of finished PvM progression OSRS currently offers.
Phase 12 — Skilling milestones19

Skilling has no required order, so this tracks broad milestones and the specific unlocks worth aiming at rather than a sequence.

Broad level milestones0 / 7

Base levels are the useful unit here, because quest and diary requirements come in clusters.

  • Base 30, then base 40
    Early account.
  • Base 50, then base 60
    Developing account.
  • Base 70
    The Song of the Elves range.
  • Base 80
  • Base 90
  • milestoneYour first level 99
  • Pick up the skillcapes that carry a useful perk
    Several have daily abilities tracked on the checklist page.
Specific levels the current game gates on0 / 4

These come up in quest and content requirements often enough to be worth aiming at deliberately.

  • 74 Slayer and 74 Woodcutting
    The Blood Moon Rises.
  • 72 Cooking, 72 Smithing and 72 Thieving
    Common late quest requirements.
  • 75 Magic and 75 Firemaking
  • 62+ Sailing
    Wyrmscraig access.
Skilling unlocks worth planning around0 / 8

Not levels, but the things those levels open.

  • Agility — Graceful, shortcuts, Hallowed Sepulchre
    The Sepulchre is both training and money.
  • Construction — basic, then utility, then near-max POH
    Roughly 82–84 Construction with boosting covers most high-level utilities.
  • Crafting — jewellery, then Zenyte capability
    Essential for Ironmen after Demonic Gorillas.
  • Farming — Farming Guild, Contracts, Hespori, Spirit Trees
  • rebalancedHunter — Rumours, the Hunter Guild, and active methods
    After the August 2026 rebalance, birdhouses are a passive nest source and the active methods carry the training.
  • Runecraft — Temple of the Eye and Guardians of the Rift
    The GOTR rewards are on your one-time unlocks list.
  • Smithing — Blast Furnace and Giant’s Foundry
  • Fishing — Tempoross, karambwans and the Sailing methods
Phase 13 — Achievement Diaries16

492 tasks across 12 regions. The Easy and Medium tiers should already be underway from Phase 2 — this phase is about finishing them, because the Elite rewards are late-game account completion in their own right.

Easy and Medium0 / 2

Twelve regions each. Most Easy tasks are things you have already done.

  • Complete all twelve Easy diaries
    Ardougne, Desert, Falador, Fremennik, Kandarin, Karamja, Kourend & Kebos, Lumbridge & Draynor, Morytania, Varrock, Western Provinces and Wilderness.
  • Complete all twelve Medium diaries
    The tier where the daily resource claims start being worth real money.
Hard0 / 1

An excellent target around the Quest Cape and PvM transition.

  • milestoneComplete all twelve Hard diaries
    The rewards here are the ones that change how you travel and train.
Elite0 / 13

Late-game account completion. Each of these requires high levels across several skills and, in some cases, real PvM.

  • Ardougne Elite
    84 buckets of sand delivered to your bank daily.
  • Desert Elite
  • Falador Elite
  • Fremennik Elite
  • Kandarin Elite
  • Karamja Elite
    Includes a daily Fight Cave resurrection.
  • Kourend & Kebos Elite
    Unlimited Mount Karuulm teleports.
  • Lumbridge & Draynor Elite
    Explorer’s ring 4 — 30 free High Alchemy casts a day.
  • Morytania Elite
  • Varrock Elite
    120 discounted battlestaves a day.
  • Western Provinces Elite
    Includes a daily Zulrah resurrection.
  • Wilderness Elite
  • capstoneBuy the Achievement Diary Cape
    All twelve Elite diaries complete.
    Reward Achievement Diary Cape
Phase 14 — Gear milestones17

OSRS gear is highly encounter-specific and there is no single best-in-slot ladder, so this tracks the handful of upgrades that genuinely change what you can do rather than enumerating every item. The full ladders are in the group notes — they are reference, not a completion list.

Melee0 / 7

Full ladder for reference: rune weaponry, Dragon scimitar, Dragon dagger and rune or dragon armour early; then Dragon Defender, Fighter Torso, Helm of Neitiznot, Barrows Gloves, Fire Cape, Barrows armour, Abyssal Whip and the specialised stab and crush weapons; then Amulet of Torture, Ferocious Gloves, ring upgrades, Bandos, Osmumten’s Fang, Avernic Defender and the Neitiznot Faceguard; and finally Torva, the Scythe of Vitur and the Infernal Cape.

  • milestoneComplete the midgame melee kit
    Dragon Defender, Fighter Torso, Helm of Neitiznot, Barrows Gloves and a Fire Cape. This combination is the shorthand for a mature midgame combat account.
  • Abyssal Whip
    85 Slayer, or bought.
  • Amulet of Torture and Ferocious Gloves
    Zenyte jewellery and the Cerberus reward.
  • Bandos or equivalent strength armour
  • Osmumten’s Fang
    From Tombs of Amascut.
  • Avernic Defender
    From Theatre of Blood.
  • capstoneEndgame melee — Torva and the Scythe of Vitur
Ranged0 / 5

Full ladder for reference: shortbows, rune crossbow and Ava’s Accumulator early; then Blowpipe, blessed d’hide or better, and Ava’s Assembler; then Necklace of Anguish, Bow of Faerdhinen with Crystal Armour and the Dragon Hunter Crossbow; and finally Masori, the Twisted Bow, the Zaryte Crossbow and Dizana’s Quiver.

  • Toxic Blowpipe and Ava’s Assembler
    The midgame ranged core.
  • Necklace of Anguish
  • milestoneBow of Faerdhinen and Crystal Armour
    The Corrupted Gauntlet package from Phase 5.
  • Dragon Hunter Crossbow
    Where the target is a dragon, which is more often than you would think.
  • capstoneEndgame ranged — Masori, Twisted Bow, Zaryte Crossbow and Dizana’s Quiver
Magic0 / 5

Full ladder for reference: elemental staves, Iban’s Staff and the Ancient Staff early; then a Trident, Ahrim’s, the Occult Necklace and the Mage Arena II cape; then the Toxic Trident, Tormented Bracelet, Virtus and Ancestral progression and the Sanguinesti Staff; and finally Tumeken’s Shadow, full Ancestral and the imbued god cape.

  • Trident and Occult Necklace
    The midgame magic core.
  • Mage Arena II cape
    And imbue it.
  • Tormented Bracelet
  • Ancestral or Virtus progression
  • capstoneEndgame magic — Tumeken’s Shadow and the imbued god cape
Phase 15 — Completionist endgame34

OSRS has no conventional ending, so this phase is where you decide what "complete" means. Nothing below is more correct than anything else beside it.

The capes0 / 3

The traditional completion markers, and each one means something different.

  • Maintain the Quest Cape after every new quest
    It untrims itself the moment a quest releases.
  • Complete all 492 Achievement Diary tasks and buy the Achievement Diary Cape
    Reward Achievement Diary Cape
  • Unlock every required non-holiday music track and buy the Music Cape
    Reward Music Cape
Maxing0 / 6

There are now 24 skills, and the Max Cape requires all of them at 99. Total level 2,376, and the cape costs 2,376,000 gp.

  • 99 in all eight combat skills
    Attack, Strength, Defence, Ranged, Magic, Prayer, Hitpoints and Slayer.
  • 99 in all gathering skills
    Mining, Fishing, Woodcutting, Farming and Hunter.
  • 99 in all artisan skills
    Smithing, Crafting, Fletching, Herblore, Cooking, Firemaking, Construction and Runecraft.
  • 99 Agility and 99 Thieving
  • 99 Sailing
    The 24th skill, and the newest addition to the Max Cape requirement.
  • capstoneReach 2,376 total level and buy the Max Cape
    Reward Max Cape
PvM completion0 / 10

The full set, and the point at which Grandmaster Combat Achievements become realistic.

  • Fire Cape, Infernal Cape and Dizana’s Quiver
  • All three raids completed
  • Chambers of Xeric Challenge Mode
  • Theatre of Blood Hard Mode
  • High-invocation Tombs of Amascut
  • Awakened Desert Treasure II progression
  • Deep Doom of Mokhaiotl progression
  • Advanced Yama contracts
  • Master Combat Achievements
  • capstoneGrandmaster Combat Achievements
Collection log, pets and clues0 / 11

There is no universal endpoint here, so these are milestones rather than a finish line. Pick the ones you care about and ignore the rest — that is the intended way to use this group.

  • 100 collection log slots
  • 250 slots
  • 500 slots
  • 750 slots
  • long grind1,000+ slots
  • Complete specific boss and raid logs
  • Complete the clue collections
  • Complete the minigame collections
  • Your first skilling pet
  • Your first boss pet
  • Complete all six clue tiers
    Beginner, Easy, Medium, Hard, Elite and Master.
Experience goals0 / 4

Prestige rather than progression. 200M is the per-skill experience cap.

  • 25M experience in a favourite skill
  • 50M experience
  • 100M experience
  • long grind200M experience
    The cap. An extreme prestige goal, not normal progression.
Optional — PvP progression16

Deliberately optional and deliberately last. Nothing in PvP blocks PvE completion, and no step above requires anything here. It is included because PvP is a genuine progression track of its own, with its own learning curve.

Beginner0 / 6

Learn the rules of the space before you learn to fight in it.

  • Learn the Wilderness mechanics
    Levels, multi zones, and what is safe where.
  • Learn skull mechanics and item protection
    What you keep when you die, and when.
  • Practise in Last Man Standing
    No risk to your own items — the correct place to learn.
  • Learn basic prayer switching
  • Learn freezes and entangles
  • Learn special attack timing
Intermediate0 / 5
  • Practise anti-PKing
    Surviving is a separate skill from killing.
  • Try Bounty Hunter
  • Learn gear switches
  • Learn combo eating
  • Learn weapon combos
Advanced0 / 5
  • NH and tribrid fighting
  • Deep Wilderness PKing
  • High-risk PvP
  • Advanced Bounty Hunter
  • PvP Arena competition
Announced for later in 2026 — nothing to tick yet0

On Jagex’s official 2026 roadmap but not released, so these carry no steps and no invented detail. THE FRACTURED ARCHIVE — Old School’s fourth raid, Autumn 2026; when it lands it belongs in Phase 9, with its final placement depending on where its difficulty actually sits. THE GRAVEYARD — a Master-tier quest continuing the Olaf’s Quest storyline, plus a new Agility method, Autumn 2026. BINGO SYSTEM — a permanent version of the Bingo feature built for Grid Master, Autumn 2026, subject to a poll first. PVP TUTORIAL — introductory PvP content to teach the fundamentals in a safer setting, listed as throughout 2026. NEW REGIONAL SERVERS — worlds for South Africa, Japan and Singapore, 2026 TBC. The Halloween and Christmas events are confirmed on the roadmap for 2026 with no dates published; they will appear on the events page once Jagex dates them, and are deliberately not guessed at here.