Old School RuneScape is the 2013 fork of a 2007 backup of RuneScape, and it is not a mode inside RuneScape 3. Separate servers, separate accounts, separate membership, separate high scores. Steam app 1343370 is Jagex's official client for it rather than a distinct game, and the client is free while membership is not. Jagex polls new content to paying members and needs 70 percent yes to pass, a bar lowered from 75 percent at the end of 2022, which is why the game still plays like 2007 with two decades of member approved additions layered on.
Starting Old School RuneScape can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Old School RuneScape is a mmo game built around Twenty four skills, every one capped at 99 and Content polls needing 70 percent yes. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Melee training | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Ranged training | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Magic training | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Pure and skiller builds | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Ironman and Group Ironman | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Ranged training. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Ironman and Group Ironman as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Twenty four skills, every one capped at 99
There is no level 120 and no Invention here. Sailing became the twenty fourth skill on 19 November 2025 and stops at 99 like the rest, which puts the members maximum total level at 2,376.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Twenty four skills, every one capped at 99 works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Lumbridge
The starting town and the free to play tutorial area. Cows, chickens and goblins here are the first training ground, and the respawn point sits in the castle.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Toxic blowpipe: it's the most accessible early upgrade. A rapid Ranged weapon fed with darts and Zulrah's scales. Its speed makes it dominant against low defence targets where many small hits beat one large one.
Step 4: Understand Content polls needing 70 percent yes
Members vote on proposed content and a proposal needs 70 percent approval to enter the game. That threshold dropped from 75 percent in late 2022 because fewer than six percent of members were voting, which meant a tiny minority could block almost anything.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Varrock
The largest free to play city, holding a Grand Exchange entrance, banks and several early quest lines. Most accounts move here once Lumbridge stops giving useful experience.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Twenty four skills, every one capped at 99
There is no level 120 and no Invention here. Sailing became the twenty fourth skill on 19 November 2025 and stops at 99 like the rest, which puts the members maximum total level at 2,376.
Content polls needing 70 percent yes
Members vote on proposed content and a proposal needs 70 percent approval to enter the game. That threshold dropped from 75 percent in late 2022 because fewer than six percent of members were voting, which meant a tiny minority could block almost anything.
Tick based combat on a 0.6 second tick
The game runs on a fixed 0.6 second tick, and everything from attack speed to prayer switching resolves on it. Advanced play is mostly about fitting more actions into the same ticks rather than about reaction speed.
Grand Exchange trading and bonds
The Grand Exchange is the central market for nearly every tradeable item. Bonds are the only Jagex sold item that enters that economy: you buy one for real money and sell it for coins, or buy one with coins for membership. There are no loot boxes, no purchased experience and no gear store.
Account modes including Ironman and Group Ironman
Standard accounts trade freely. Ironman accounts cannot trade or take other players' drops. Group Ironman, released on 6 October 2021, lets two to five players share a restricted economy among themselves while staying cut off from everyone else.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Treating this as the same game as RuneScape 3 and expecting shared accounts, membership or high scores
2. Paying for the Steam client, which is free; membership is the separate cost
3. Training combat past the bracket you wanted before deciding on a PvP build
4. Carrying valuable gear into the Wilderness, where death drops everything
5. Skipping quests in favour of raw levels, then finding half the content locked
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Twenty four skills, every one capped at 99 and Content polls needing 70 percent yes
- Choose Ranged training as starting build
- Clear Lumbridge main content
- Acquire Toxic blowpipe or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Varrock
- Do not follow RuneScape 3 guides. Old School has no Evolution of Combat, no Invention, no Necromancy and no level 120 skills. RS3 gear names, ability bars and training methods do not exist here, and applying them will waste days.
- Quests unlock more than experience does. Several bosses, teleports and skill methods are locked behind quests, so a mid level account that has ignored questing will hit walls a lower level account with the same quests never notices.
Tips for New Players
- Do not follow RuneScape 3 guides. Old School has no Evolution of Combat, no Invention, no Necromancy and no level 120 skills. RS3 gear names, ability bars and training methods do not exist here, and applying them will waste days.
- Quests unlock more than experience does. Several bosses, teleports and skill methods are locked behind quests, so a mid level account that has ignored questing will hit walls a lower level account with the same quests never notices.
- Sailing is members only and launched on 19 November 2025. It runs Raft at level 1, Skiff at 15 and Sloop at 50, with 56 docking points and 27 islands reachable no other way, and it is the only skill that exists in Old School and not in RuneScape 3.
- Bonds are Jagex's only route into the game economy. You can buy one with real money and sell it on the Grand Exchange, or buy one with coins to pay for membership. There are no loot boxes, no purchasable experience and no gear store.
- Track bond prices before committing. A bond traded around 12 million coins on the Grand Exchange in August 2026, down from a summer range closer to 13 million, and that price moves with membership pricing and player supply.
- Combat level tops out at 126, calculated from Attack, Strength, Defence, Hitpoints, Prayer, Ranged and Magic. If you want a PvP account in a lower bracket, decide before you train, because levels cannot be removed.
- Learn the 0.6 second tick rather than fighting it. Prayer switching, weapon switching and tick manipulation on skills all resolve against that fixed interval, and most high level content assumes you understand it.
- Araxxor requires 92 Slayer and only spawns on a spider or araxyte task, so plan Slayer levels around it rather than expecting to walk into the Morytania Spider Cave whenever you want.
- Yama, released on 14 May 2025, is a duo boss in Yama's Domain inside the Chasm of Fire and needs A Kingdom Divided completed. The Doom of Mokhaiotl, released 31 July 2025 in the Ruins of Mokhaiotl, instead descends floor by floor, with each floor harder than the one above it.
- Vote in polls if you hold membership. A proposal needs 70 percent yes to pass and historically under six percent of members vote, so an individual ballot carries far more weight here than in almost any other live game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Old School RuneScape the same as RuneScape 3?
No. They are separate games on separate servers with separate accounts, separate membership and separate high scores. Old School began in 2013 from a 2007 backup, and progress on one does not exist on the other. Steam app 1343370 is only the Old School client.
Does the Steam version cost money?
The client is free. Membership is a separate subscription paid to Jagex or bought in game with a bond. The free to play game is a genuine slice of content but excludes most skills, most quests, all raids and the entire Sailing skill.
How many skills are there and what is the level cap?
Twenty four skills after Sailing arrived on 19 November 2025, and every one of them stops at 99. Maximum members total level is 2,376, and maximum combat level is 126 across the seven combat skills. There are no 120 caps here, unlike RuneScape 3.
How does the polling system work?
Jagex puts proposed content to paying members and it needs 70 percent yes to pass. The threshold was lowered from 75 percent at the end of 2022 because turnout was under six percent of members, letting a small minority veto proposals.
What are the raids and is a fourth coming?
Three raids are live: Chambers of Xeric, Theatre of Blood and Tombs of Amascut. Jagex has a fourth raid on its 2026 roadmap, and it had not launched as of 12 August 2026, so treat any details you read about it as provisional.
More Old School RuneScape Guides
- Old School RuneScape Old School RuneScape Overview
- Old School RuneScape Best Builds
- Old School RuneScape Tier List
- Old School RuneScape Walkthrough
- Old School RuneScape Tips & Tricks
- Old School RuneScape Weapons Guide
- Old School RuneScape Combat Guide
- Old School RuneScape Boss Guide
- Old School RuneScape Maps & Locations
- Old School RuneScape Crafting Guide
- Old School RuneScape Classes & Characters
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