Why Almost Every New OSRS Player Fails at Making Money

Making money in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is one of the hardest lessons for new players. You might train your stats, complete some quests, and pick up a few gear upgrades, but when it comes to stacking real GP, most beginners hit a wall. The truth is, 99% of new players never make significant money—not because the game is unfair, but because they fall into the same traps over and over.

In the early game, money is painfully slow. You’re out there killing cows, mining iron, or fishing lobsters, and earning 50k GP per hour feels like a huge win. Every teleport scroll is a luxury. Every new piece of armor feels like a distant dream. Naturally, many players think, “If I can’t make good money now, how will I ever afford a whip, barrows gear, or a bond?”

Here’s the secret OSRS doesn’t tell you: the game snowballs. The more you progress—through skills, quests, and gear—the more doors open. Early GP is stingy, but once you’ve proven yourself, the game becomes incredibly generous. Progress is the multiplier. The more you unlock, the more you earn, and the more you earn, the faster you unlock even more.

If you’re grinding for your first few hundred thousand RuneScape gold and wondering how others have billions, don’t quit. Focus on building your account. Unlock everything you can because the longer you stick with it, the faster your GP will start to compound. It’s not about getting rich immediately—it’s about laying the foundation for effortless wealth later.

Stop Grinding Outdated Methods

Most new players get stuck in inefficient early-game money-making methods: cows for hides, mining coal, or fishing lobsters. These top out at 50–150k GP per hour—barely anything. Modern alternatives are far more profitable. Early minigames like Wintertodt can earn 200–300k GP per hour while providing useful supplies like herbs, seeds, and ores.

Combat methods can also outperform outdated skilling. Hill giants in Edgeville Dungeon, for example, drop big bones and limpwurks, providing both GP and prayer XP. Stop following “classic” advice from 2007 guides. Research methods that fit your current levels—Wintertodt, Tempero’s fishing spots, Hill giants—and instantly double or triple your GP per hour.

Invest in Quests

Quests are the hidden key to money, yet many new players avoid them. Certain quests unlock gear and tools that make money-making much easier:

Recipe for Disaster: Unlocks Barrows gloves, long-standing best-in-slot gloves for new players.

Lost City: Grants the Dragon dagger and Dragon longsword, enabling earlier access to profitable bosses.

Animal Magnetism: Unlocks Ava’s device, saving millions in ammunition and providing a ranged boost.

Fairy Tale Part II: Unlocks the fairy rings for faster travel and more efficient money-making routes.

Garden of Tranquility: Adds extra farming patches, boosting passive income from herbs and crops.

Focus on quests that provide these unlocks. Every time you complete one, you’re investing in future GP. Skipping these quests for small, inefficient grinds keeps you poor.

Use the Grand Exchange Smartly

Many new players treat the Grand Exchange (GE) like a shop: buy low, sell low, repeat. This wastes money. Instead, learn basic flipping strategies. Buying and selling herbs, ores, runes, or potions with a small margin can earn 200–500k GP per hour with minimal risk.

Even simple strategies—like slow-selling bulk items or avoiding tax-heavy sales—add up. The more GP you have, the larger your margins become. Avoid instant selling everything and reinvest profits into methods that scale with your account.

Don’t Ignore Slayer and Bossing

Slayer is one of the most profitable mid-level activities, yet many beginners stick to random monster kills. Aberrant specters drop herbs worth 400–600k per hour, bloodvelds drop 300–400k, and Dust Devils can net 1 mil per hour with rune drops.

Bossing is another overlooked goldmine. Even early bosses like Barrows can earn 500k–1 mil per hour if RNG is kind. The Giant Mole averages 300–600k per hour. Avoiding combat content keeps beginners poor. Start with safer bosses, then gradually push into riskier, higher-reward encounters.

Avoid Bad Spending Habits

Beginners often waste GP on constant small upgrades instead of saving for major milestones. Spending 200k on Rune armor now, then another 100k on minor gear, is less efficient than saving for a whip at 70 attack—a staple that dramatically improves every combat method.

Invest in skills that generate long-term GP. Construction, farming, and Herblore all pay back over time. Every coin should either save or make you more GP in the future. Cosmetic purchases and inefficient upgrades delay wealth accumulation.

Train Profitable Skills

Skilling has a reputation for being slow money, but the right skills are highly profitable:

Farming: Herb runs, and trees yield steady GP.

Hunter: Red chinchompas at 63 hunter earn 600–800k per hour; black chins over 1 mil.

Runecrafting: Double cosmics at 59, astrals at 82, bloods at 77.

Smithing: Cannonballs, bars, and other items provide steady, AFK GP.

Even simple daily activities like herb runs or birdhouse runs generate passive income over time. Skilling unlocks better money-making methods and sets up long-term financial success.

Embrace Risk

Finally, risk is where the biggest rewards lie. Wilderness bosses and tough Slayer tasks may seem intimidating, but the cheap Runescape gold potential is enormous. Learning bosses like Zora or Volcanic creatures may cost a few deaths, but profits range from 2–3 mil per hour once mastered. Avoiding risk keeps players broke. Start safe, then gradually push into higher-stakes content.

Conclusion

So why are 99% of new players broke? Outdated methods, skipped quests, poor GE habits, ignoring Slayer and bosses, bad spending habits, undertrained skills, and risk avoidance. The solution isn’t playing harder—it’s playing smarter. Unlock quests, invest in skills and gear that pay off, and push yourself into challenging content.

The players who get rich combine Slayer, skilling, bossing, flipping, and quests. This variety keeps the game fun while naturally progressing into the high-level money-makers. Mix money-making with fun activities, and OSRS will stop feeling like a grind and start feeling like profit.