This app is RuneScape 3, the modern client, not Old School RuneScape. Jagex runs 29 skills here, and the newest of them, Necromancy, arrived on 7 August 2023 as a fourth combat style that sits outside the melee, ranged and magic triangle. Necromancy, Invention and Archaeology all climb to level 120 instead of stopping at 99.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | City of Um | Necromancy as a fourth combat style basics | Melee | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Elite Dungeons | Revolution and Full Manual ability bars mastery | Melee | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Prifddinas | Conjures, Necrosis and Residual Souls + gear | Necromancer or Melee | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Anachronia | Build optimization | Necromancer | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Lumbridge | Min-max | Necromancer or Skiller | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (City of Um)
The Necromancy hub in the Underworld, home to Kili, the soul forge and the Um Smithy where every death guard, skull lantern and robe upgrade is made.
Level/Difficulty: Necromancy 1 to 120 Key Rewards: Death guard and skull lantern tiers, Deathwarden and Deathdealer robes
What to Do in City of Um
- Learn Necromancy as a fourth combat style. Necromancy ignores the melee, ranged and magic triangle and runs its own gear line, the death guard main hand and the skull lantern off hand. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Melee as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Set Revolution up properly before you fight anything serious. Put Touch of Death, Soul Sap and your other Necromancy basics on the bar so the game fires them automatically, and keep the thresholds and ultimates on manual so you learn the timings that actually matter.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Omni guard or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Necromancy as a fourth combat style fundamentals
- Melee selected and functional
- City of Um main content cleared
- Ready for Elite Dungeons
Phase 2: Early Game (Elite Dungeons)
Three linked dungeons: Temple of Aminishi behind the Impressing the Locals quest, Dragonkin Laboratory in the deep Wilderness castle ruins, and The Shadow Reef with 16 possible mini bosses. All three have a story mode with reduced enemy health and damage.
Level/Difficulty: High combat with tier 80 gear or better, or story mode at any level Key Rewards: Ancient scales, draconic energy, eldritch crossbow components, Fury and Flurry codices, Masuta's warspear
What to Do in Elite Dungeons
- Work on Revolution and Full Manual ability bars. Revolution fires basic abilities off your bar automatically while you handle thresholds and ultimates yourself, and Full Manual returns every input for higher damage. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Omni guard if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Do each Kili's Knowledge assignment the moment you hit the next tenth Necromancy level. Skip two of them and you end up fighting tier 90 content in tier 70 robes, which reads as a damage problem but is really a gear problem.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Prifddinas.
- Consider whether Necromancer might suit your playstyle better than Melee.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Revolution and Full Manual ability bars integrated into gameplay
- Omni guard acquired
- Elite Dungeons fully cleared
- Ready for Prifddinas
Phase 3: Mid Game (Prifddinas)
The elf city unlocked by finishing Plague's End, split into eight clan districts. Two districts hold the Voice of Seren at a time and boost the activities in them.
Level/Difficulty: Skills 75 plus for most of the city Key Rewards: Seren stones, crystal tools, Voice of Seren experience bonuses
What to Do in Prifddinas
- Master Conjures, Necrosis and Residual Souls. Touch of Death deals 90 to 110 percent damage and banks four Necrosis stacks, while Soul Sap banks Residual Souls that Volley of Souls spends. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Death guard. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- At tier 70 the choice is Deathdealer power robes or Deathwarden tank robes. Take Deathdealer if you have a solid food and prayer supply, and take Deathwarden only if you are learning a boss whose damage you cannot yet dodge.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Invention gizmos and augmented gear for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Conjures, Necrosis and Residual Souls mastered
- Death guard acquired or in progress
- Prifddinas fully cleared
- Ready for Anachronia
Phase 4: Late Game (Anachronia)
The dinosaur island south east of the mainland, holding the Orthen dig site for Archaeology, Big Game Hunter creatures and a base camp whose totems buff your skilling.
Level/Difficulty: Hunter 70 plus, Archaeology from level 1 Key Rewards: Orthen artefacts, big game hides, base camp totem buffs
What to Do in Anachronia
- Finalize your build. You should be running Necromancer or Melee with optimized gear.
- Death guard should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Run every Elite Dungeon on story mode the first time. Enemy health and damage drop, you keep every bit of route knowledge, and the drops you give up are ones you would not have lived long enough to earn.
- Kili's Knowledge upgrades at the Um Smithy optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Lumbridge.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Death guard upgraded to max
- Anachronia fully cleared
- Ready for Lumbridge
Phase 5: Endgame (Lumbridge)
The starter town and the centre of free to play RuneScape, with the crater to the north, low level training spots and the first quests most accounts finish.
Level/Difficulty: Levels 1 to 30 Key Rewards: Free quests such as Cook's Assistant, early combat training, the Lumbridge lodestone
What to Do in Lumbridge
- Lumbridge tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Plan the Invention unlock backwards from Divination. Crafting, Divination and Smithing all need level 80 and none of them can be boosted, and Divination is the one that stalls most accounts for weeks.
- The endgame loop: run Lumbridge, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Skiller for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Kili's Knowledge upgrades at the Um Smithy mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Lumbridge fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Following an Old School RuneScape guide. OSRS is a separate game on a separate app with no abilities, no Necromancy and no Invention, so its combat advice does not transfer.
- Staying on Legacy Mode past the tutorial. It removes abilities entirely, which caps your damage far below what Revolution gives you for almost no extra effort.
- Skipping Kili's Knowledge assignments and then buying gear on the Grand Exchange to compensate. Necromancy progression is crafted, not bought.
- Chasing a tier 92 weapon while still wearing tier 70 armour. Survivability gates how long you last in a fight, and a dead player deals no damage at all.
- Training Divination last. It is the slowest of the three Invention requirements and leaving it until the end stalls the whole skill at exactly the point you want it.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Set Revolution up properly before you fight anything serious. Put Touch of Death, Soul Sap and your other Necromancy basics on the bar so the game fires them automatically, and keep the thresholds and ultimates on manual so you learn the timings that actually matter.
- Do each Kili's Knowledge assignment the moment you hit the next tenth Necromancy level. Skip two of them and you end up fighting tier 90 content in tier 70 robes, which reads as a damage problem but is really a gear problem.
- At tier 70 the choice is Deathdealer power robes or Deathwarden tank robes. Take Deathdealer if you have a solid food and prayer supply, and take Deathwarden only if you are learning a boss whose damage you cannot yet dodge.
- Run every Elite Dungeon on story mode the first time. Enemy health and damage drop, you keep every bit of route knowledge, and the drops you give up are ones you would not have lived long enough to earn.
- Plan the Invention unlock backwards from Divination. Crafting, Divination and Smithing all need level 80 and none of them can be boosted, and Divination is the one that stalls most accounts for weeks.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More RuneScape Guides
- RuneScape RuneScape Overview
- RuneScape Best Builds
- RuneScape Tier List
- RuneScape Beginner's Guide
- RuneScape Tips & Tricks
- RuneScape Weapons Guide
- RuneScape Combat Guide
- RuneScape Boss Guide
- RuneScape Maps & Locations
- RuneScape Crafting Guide
- RuneScape Classes & Characters
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