Jumping into a new game, let alone new MMO can be daunting – especially one as unique as Old School RuneScape. OSRS is a Sandbox MMO and is about adventure, self-discovery and most importantly: carving your very own path.In this newspost, we’ll be discussing everything to do with your settings and general tips before you explore, but if you’re looking for what to do in Gielinor or how Combat works, then use the buttons below.
What’s up first?
Well once you’ve created your account, your first decision is what client are you going to be using as there’s a couple of different options on the Jagex Launcher:
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Official Client
This is the core client, created by us and is the only one that is on both Desktop and Mobile (both Android & iOS). We’re currently working on our very own HD and Plugin Hub! |
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RuneLite
The client most used by players which offers a wide-range of options to help improve your experience through the use of Plugins, similar to add-ons in other MMOs! |
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HDOS
The second third-party client we support whose main feature is capturing the aesthetics of RuneScape from around 2010 alongside other gameplay enhancing features in the form of plugins! For this to show up on the Jagex Launcher, you’ll have to install it from the link above (beware of phishing links if you’re googling this for yourself) and then restart your Launcher! |
Gamemodes
So you’re on tutorial island, but you keep hearing people saying Ironman Btw and you might be wondering “What the hell is even that?”. Well fear not as we’ve broken the gamemodes down into their main principles.
Before we dive in, we’d like to clarify that you can ONLY choose your Ironman Status on Tutorial Island.
 This is your standard, straight-forward account which means you can do everything and anything… unless you have some self-imposed restrictions.
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 This gamemode means you stand alone. You won’t be able to trade with other players, buy things off the Grand Exchange or pick their items off the ground.
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 Why not take those restrictions above and give yourself one life as well? Your account WILL NOT be deleted if you die, you will just lose your status and continue as a regular Ironman.
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 If you really want to push the boat out, this has the same restrictions as regular Ironman, but with the addition of not being able to use a Bank. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR NEW PLAYERS.
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 Standalone… together. Play Ironman Mode in a team of 2 – 5. While you can’t trade with other players, you can trade within the group and have a space for shared storage.
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 This combines the rules of GIM but with Hardcore Ironman. Rather than one life, you’ll get a number equal to the number of people in your group… so be aware of your teammates!
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RunescapeGuides.com OSRS Wiki
Outside of this handy guide, we have one of the most passionate and community-driven playerbases there is. And that point stands at its peak with the OSRS Wiki, which we can comfortably say is one of the best Wikis ever made! We’ll be constantly linking different pages from this wonderful resource so if there’s anything you want to know more about – the Wiki’s got you covered.
If you can’t see the Wiki button, you can turn it on by searching ‘Wiki’ in the in-game settings menu. There’s also a handy little Discord server if you want to get more involved with the fantastic people over there!
The Chatbox
This might seem like a smaller feature outside of everything else we’ve covered, but we promise it is VERY important. The chat interface at a base level looks exactly as it says on the tin: a place to type messages to the world, your friends or clans via the different tabs at the bottom.
In reality it’s much more than that as not only will NPC dialogue appear here, but in-game messages will appear here that can notify you of anything from successfully lighting a fire, someone wanting to trade you or warning you of an incoming attack or effect.
 This is an overview of the interface and gives you a good idea of what you’ll be looking at throughout your time in Gielinor! Covering the chatbox, NPC Dialogue will appear here which you can also press ‘Space Bar’ to advance.
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Click on each icon to find out more.
Minimap
First, let’s already open up the world in a big way with the minimap. This handy section has a lot of key features that you’ll want keep note of while journeying around Gielinor.
You’ll see lots of little dots on the map and they represent different objects:
 Your Position
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Target Destination
Other Player
Item
NPC
Friend
Chat-Channel Member
Clan Member
Doors (Red)Most importantly, the minimap itself can be clicked on to move, so you can choose whether to use the game screen or minimap to venture. You can also zoom in and out of the minimap by using the scroll wheel, pinching on mobile or going into your settings and adjusting it manually.
World Map
Clicking on little globe (or using Ctrl+M) opens the World Map of Gielinor! There will be plenty of icons on the map but you can use the key on the left-hand side to help you understand what means what!
If you’re looking for a big city or notable locations, you can use the search button at the bottom! As a little note: you can’t click on the map to make your character move – it’s either the minimap or game screen!
Here’s some notable things to keep in mind with the Map:
 Agility Shortcut
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 Bank –
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 General Store
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 Dungeon –
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 Magic Shop
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 Quest –
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 Task Master
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 Transport –
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Clicking any item in the key will flash any icons on the map visible to you for easy locating.
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The text under the key such as: ‘You are here’ can be turned off by clicking them!
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If you’re unsure where to go, you can use the ‘Search’ bar to find areas and cities!
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The drop-down menu gives you access to view other maps outside the mainland.
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Data Orbs
These handy dandy circles have some very vital information that can be easily tracked here.
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Shows your current hitpoints. If this changes to another colour it means you’re affected by a status condition: Poisoned, Venomed or Diseased!    |
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A very important element for combat and a good way to track your Prayer as this displays your current Prayer points. Right-clicking this orb allows you to set-up ‘Quick Prayers’ which will turn on/off the selected prayers by simply clicking the orb!
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A very important feature, this will show you how much energy you have to run across the world. Clicking this button will turn your run On or Off. Within the Settings menu you can set a Run Threshold to automatically turn your run On when you reach a certain amount of energy!
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Some weapons have special attacks and this will display how much Special Attack energy you have. If you click this orb while equipped with a weapon that has a special attack, you’ll perform that attack on your next hit! You can hover over any weapon’s Special Attack bar in the Combat options to see what it does!
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Other Buttons
 CompassYou can use the compass to get your bearings while navigating the world. You can also right-click for options to quickly adjust your map to face the cardinal compass directions.
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 XP ButtonThis pop-out button can be clicked to show your XP drops. You can right-click the button to setup how the drops are displayed visually and even set goals for yourself.
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 Activity AdviserA lightweight guidance tool that uses your current stats and quests to recommend more quests for you to complete that might help progress your account.
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 Store OrbA quick way to access the store to purchase Membership or Bonds. Right-clicking it will give you the option to open your Bond Pouch. Can be removed in Settings.
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  Logout Button
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OSRS Wiki
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Control Panel
Top Tip: You can click any Control Panel tab to open them in-game but you can also assign Hotkeys via the ‘Control’ options in your settings to easily open each tab with F-Keys!
 The key area of the interface, so we’ll keep this straight to the point. The tabs here include: |
Click on each icon to find out more, or click on the Key icon at the left to see what each of the icons mean.
Recommended Settings
There’s a few options in the settings we’d recommend changing to help with your overall experience.
Check them out for yourself to adjust them before playing, and remember that you can search for any settings in the menu.
| Shift click to drop items
Simply hold Shift, then left-click on an item to drop it, no right-click needed. |
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| Hide Roofs
Allows you to see inside buildings without being inside them. |
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| Keybinds
Lets you keybind F-Keys on keyboards to open up different tabs. |
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| Scroll Wheel can change zoom distance
Lets the scroll wheel work for the camera zoom. |
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| View Distance (Official Client Only)
Increases the Draw Distance. |
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| Player Attack Options
Keeps you from accidentally attacking in the Wilderness. |
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| PK Skull Prevention
Prevents you from attacking a player if that were to Skull you. |
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| NPC Attack Options
Adjust the left-click option for interacting with NPCs. |
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| Middle Mouse button controls the camera
The easiest way to move your camera around. |
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| Max hit hitsplats
Tweaks the colour and look to easily show when you deal your Max Hit. |
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| Collection log – New addition popout
Get some nice popouts when you get a new item. |
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| Enable new-style skill guide interface
Swaps to a modern style that can be moved and resized. |
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| Ammo/Rune-picking behaviour
Arrows picked up will be automatically equipped & Runes created will be sent straight into the Rune Pouch. |
Tips & Tricks
Let’s give you some insightful advice on how to fully utilise everything that has been thrown at you thus far and hopefully make your adventure a little bit nicer!
This is probably the biggest piece of advice we can give everybody: It’s going to let you move, attack, pick-up items, swap your gear, turn your Prayers on, move your camera, it can do everything – so put aside anything else your brain is telling you! Left- and right-click are as important as each other! Where left-click options are the go-to functions, right-clicking an object will open up many more opportunities and interactions for you to explore. That goes specifically for the ‘Use’ function on most objects in your inventory as it is used to make that item interact with another – whether that’s on an object in the world for a quest or combining it with another to create something. |
The beauty about a lot of the grinds on Old School is that they can be done while doing something else. Unless you need to lock-in for a Quest, taking down a boss or completing an intense task, it’s super easy to watch or play something while you grind certain activities. Either sling it over to your second monitor or load up Mobile to continue getting those well-earned levels! |
Within the Settings tab, under the Display minitab, you can change what your client UI looks like. Fixed Classic, will give you a small interface akin to playing back in 2007. The two Resizable layout give you two different versions with a wider screen, which you can resize freely. Find which one suits you and play the way you want! |
Use the Grouping minitab in the Chat-Channel tab to find a bunch of teleports you can use for free. These have a 30-minute cooldown once used. NOTE: that some of these need to be unlocked and you’ll gain access to more as you explore the world and level up. If you can’t use a teleport, it’ll tell what you you need to do in order to unlock it – so keep an eye on your chat! |
Use the Cog in the Quest tab to filter your Quests to sort by recommended, hide completed quests or change the colours of the different states. |
If you’re ever in doubt of what to do in a Quest, click on the quest you’re doing in the Quest tab to bring up the Quest Journal. NOTE: You can sort your Quests by ‘Status’ to see your ‘In Progress’ quests first using the method above. |
You’re able to check your Collection Log, Combat Tasks, Achievement Diaries and Quests by clicking on the boxes in the Character Summary tab. |
If you want to join a friend in a world, right-click their name in the Friends List tab and select ‘Hop-to’. |
Emotes can be looped by right-clicking the Emote and selecting ‘Loop’. |
