The Ultimate OSRS F2P Crafting Guide (1-99)

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Some folks look down on Crafting. Perhaps they think if you’re not producing food to keep heroes alive or forging molten metal into implements of war, you’re wasting your time. Their loss, I suppose. It’s easy to dismiss Crafting as just another time-consuming skill for minimal reward, but you’d be smart not to sleep on Crafting.

Those amulets and rings that give you the critical edge in battle? All lovingly made by hand with the Crafting skill — and enchanted with Magic besides. Ranged armor, too. All those leather bits and bobs that make up for letting someone get too close for comfort start with a needle and thread in the hands of a skilled craftsperson. Its utility can’t be understated. And frankly, role-playing your way across Gielinor as an artisan who makes a living turning raw materials into useful gear is a pretty good time. 

Or perhaps you’re just looking to max another skill. No matter why you’re here, if Crafting sounds like your jam, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s crack into the High Ground Gaming 1-99 Crafting Guide OSRS F2P edition. 

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OSRS F2P Crafting Guide: From Humble Beginnings

Early days in the Crafting profession won’t look all that glamorous or exciting. If you grind it out directly, there will be lots of shearing sheep, spinning wool, and making clay pots or gloves.

Thankfully, there are a few quests you can do (and may have already done) that can boost you straight to level 8 Crafting — just a short hop away from more exciting content.

To prepare for a long and exciting career as a craftsperson, you should also have a few items stockpiled in your inventory or bank. We’ll get to exact numbers later, but for now, simply ensure you have a plan to pick up some cowhides (perhaps obtained through Combat training), a needle and threads, moulds (for rings, amulets, and necklaces), and a chisel. All of these are obtainable from your local neighborhood Al Kharid Crafting Store.

Also in Al Kharid, just north of the bank, is the tanner. Bring cowhides to the helpful fellow, and he’ll transmute your hides into leather for a cost. You could also source ready-made leather from the Grand Exchange — how you proceed depends on how much cowhide and liquid assets you have lying around. Either way, leather is leather.

You might need to world-hop a bit for threads, but you’ll only really need one needle. Perhaps consider looking to the Grand Exchange to source the quantity you’ll need. For max level Crafting, you’ll be going through a fair bit of them. You’ll also need gold bars and gems, which are obtainable through Mining — a good skill to level in tandem with Crafting until you can mine gold and silver. 

Quests completed and item sources locked, your next step is Level 20 Crafting, and then this train don’t stop until we hit 99. Buckle up — this is where we get into the OSRS Crafting Guide F2P meat-and-potatoes.

Crafting Meat-and-Potatoes

First things first, let’s spin some wool and work some leather. You’ll be starting in Lumbridge. Get a pair of shears for 1gp from the general store and head over to the sheep pen. Be sure to get your cowhide/leather together along with the needle and threads you’ll need. You’ll be running the wool to the spinning wheel on the second floor of Lumbridge Castle, with the option to bank on the third floor as needed.

Assuming you completed the quests above, here are the stats on getting to Level 20 Crafting. 

If you’re not tired of leather already, don’t worry — there’s plenty more to do from here. But now it’s time to talk gold and glittering things. 

At Level 20 Crafting, you unlock the ability to cut sapphire gems and forge sapphire rings with a ring mould in any furnace. The process of cutting gems is simple — use a chisel with an uncut gem in your inventory and elect to cut all the gems of the same type in one chain. Your character will get to work, netting a clean 50XP per sapphire cut. And there’s even more XP waiting if you elect to make the rings. 

Some folks choose to simply sit at the Grand Exchange, mass cutting gems and selling the results at a small loss. Ever wonder why uncut gems cost more on the GE than cut gems? Now you know! Be advised that forging gold and gem-encrusted jewelry can be costly if you aren’t sourcing your own gold ore and gems through Mining. Of course, that also comes with a time cost. The approach from here is really up to you. Mix and match to your heart’s content.

Since we plan to ride this roller coaster all the way to Level 99, we’re going to focus on “minimal effort” approaches to leveling. Amulets are out because they require an additional input in the form of balls of wool, but they’re also the only items non-members can enchant. Food for thought.

Assuming we’re sticking with high-velocity items, that leaves gem cutting, rings, necklaces, and of course, more leather armor. 

Brace yourself — the climb to 99 starts now. 

You’ll notice that we shift from making something with our gems to just cutting the gems in short order. That’s because the XP reward for making items shifts to being equal or outweighed by the XP reward for simply cutting them at rubies and above.

Once you hit diamonds, there aren’t any more gems available to non-members. To keep it from becoming a one-note song, we’ll throw some leather armor back in there to spice things up. But frankly, nothing can beat cutting gems for raw experience-per-hour. If you’ve got the capital and are willing to sell back your cut gems to offset losses, that may be the ideal route to 99. 

If you prefer some variety, read on. 

Note that for Hardleather bodies, you’ll need hard leather instead of regular leather. It costs a few coins more than regular leather at the tanner but offers a good deal more protection for Rangers or cheap Warriors. Save your diamonds this time around if you can, and we’ll use them to make some more goodies.

Wrapping Up the OSRS F2P Crafting Guide

Any way you slice it for any skill you look at, the final stretch to 99 is a grind. You may never wish to see another diamond again in your life once you ding that last level up. But you made it. You stuck it out, and you checked another Level 99 skill off your to-do list in OldSchool Runescape. Hopefully, thanks to our humble Crafting Guide, OSRS F2P has another master craftsperson roaming the realm. 

Now merch those diamonds and other items you made. Recoup some of your losses. There are more skills to be conquered, and you can bet the path to the top is littered with spent gold coins. Whenever you’re ready to begin your next adventure, we’ll be here with more skill guides to come.

Related Reading

• OSRS F2P Prayer Guide
• OSRS F2P Fishing Guide
• OSRS F2P Cooking Guide
• OSRS F2P Mining Guide
• OSRS F2P Smithing Guide