Skills Overview

#Everything you do counts

In Ashenvale there are no classes and no wasted time. Every swing, chop, cast and cooked fish gives permanent experience in a skill, and every skill goes from level 1 to 99. Even a run where nothing good drops still levels you up.

#The twelve skills

Skill	Type	Trained by
Melee	Combat	Fighting with swords, axes and maces
Ranged	Combat	Fighting with bows
Magic	Combat	Fighting with staffs and wands
Defence	Combat	Taking hits
Vitality	Combat	Every kill, whatever you fight with
Prayer	Combat	Burying bones, or offering them at an altar
Mining	Gathering	Mining ore rocks
Woodcutting	Gathering	Chopping trees
Fishing	Gathering	Fishing spots on rivers and pools
Smithing	Production	Smelting bars and smithing gear
Cooking	Production	Cooking fish
Crafting	Production	Bows, staffs, fishing rods, planks, gems, jewellery and building your house

Each skill has its own guide in this section, and its own page listing every unlock by level.

#Levels and XP

The XP needed for each level grows steadily, so early levels come in minutes and the last few take real dedication. Half of the XP needed for level 99 comes after level 92. Reaching 99 in a skill is a true badge of honour, and it earns an achievement and a title ("Master of Mining", for example).

Your total level is all twelve skill levels added together. It shows on the hiscores and counts toward achievements like Jack of All Trades.

#Combat level

Your combat level shows next to your name. It blends your combat skills: your best attack style (Melee, Ranged or Magic) counts most, and Defence, Vitality and half your Prayer add the rest. A brand-new hero is level 3, and a hero with every combat skill at 99 is level 126.

Combat level decides which daily bounties you get, and some content opens at a combat level, like Nightmare lairs.

#How the skills feed each other

The skills are built to lean on each other:

• Gathering feeds production. Mining gives ore for Smithing. Woodcutting gives logs for Crafting. Fishing gives fish for Cooking.
• Production feeds combat. Smithing and Crafting make weapons and armour, and a smith's or crafter's work can come out magic. Cooking makes the food that keeps you alive in a boss fight.
• Combat feeds everything. Monsters drop ore, gems, bones, crafting orbs and gathering tools, and gear can roll bonuses to skilling (faster gathering, more Mining XP, and more).
• Everything feeds the market. Anything you gather or make can be sold to players who'd rather fight than mine, and the other way round. Merchants never sell ore, bars, logs, fish or gems, so those prices are set by players alone.

#Gathering

To gather, tap a rock, tree or fishing spot. Your hero keeps working it until you move away.

Each gathering skill has its own tool: a pickaxe, an axe or a fishing rod. Every hero starts with a basic set, and better tools gather faster and can roll bonuses like extra resources, more XP, gems or gold. Without one you still can, but only at 50% speed. See Gathering Tools.

• Level requirements. Each rock, tree and fishing spot needs a minimum level. You'll see the level on the skill's page.
• Success chance. Each attempt can fail. The higher your level above the requirement, the more often you succeed: min(95%, 35% + 2.5% × (your level − required level)).
• Depletion. Rocks and trees run out after a while and grow back. When one runs out, your hero walks to the nearest free one of the same kind. If none are free, they wait and start again when one grows back. Fishing spots never run out.
• No bag space. Ore, logs, fish and other materials go into your material pouch, not your gear bag. You can carry up to 999 of each material: at the limit, gathering it stops with a message ("You can't carry more than 999 Copper Ore — bank some"). Bank the rest at any Bank Chest and carry on. See The Bank.
• Speed. A better tool, and Gathering Speed on your tool or gear, makes every attempt come around faster.

#Production

Stand at a station (Furnace, Anvil, Cooking Range or Crafting Bench), pick a recipe and how many to make. Your hero works through the batch until it's done or you run out of materials. If the result is a material and you already carry 999 of it, crafting stops before it uses up any ingredients.

Gear you make at the Anvil or Crafting Bench has a chance to come out magic, and the higher your skill, the higher its item level, which means better possible rolls. See Loot & Rarities.

#AFK skilling

Start gathering or crafting, then close the game. When you come back, you're credited for the time you were away, at 80% of your normal rate, for up to 60 minutes. A report shows what you earned.

• It works for gathering and for production at a station. Production stops early if you run out of materials.
• Both stop early once you carry 999 of what you're making (the report says so), so bank before you log off.
• Playing actively is always faster, but a quick session before bed still counts.
• In a browser, your hero keeps working at the full rate while the tab stays open, even in the background.

#Skilling pets

Every gathering and production skill has a rare pet you can find while training it. See Pets.

Skill	Pet	Bonus
Mining	Rock Golem	+5% gathering speed
Woodcutting	Timber Beaver	+5% gathering speed
Fishing	River Heron	+5% gathering speed
Smithing	Forge Sprite	+10 armour
Cooking	Hearth Cat	+15 life
Crafting	Gem Crab	+8% magic find

#Skill guides

• Combat: Melee, Ranged, Magic, Defence, Vitality, Prayer
• Gathering: Mining, Woodcutting, Fishing
• Production: Smithing, Cooking, Crafting