Old School RuneScape – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

Playing OSRS can be difficult for newcomers. The UI, combat system, and skills may look outdated which might confuse some players into quitting. In this guide, I'll make things simple to avoid confusion and enjoy the gameplay of Old School RuneScape.

Don't forget to stock up on OSRS GP to level up quickly and get to do more things in Gielinor.

Tutorial Island

Welcome to the world of Old School RuneScape. When you log in for the first time, Tutorial Island is where you'll learn everything about how things work. There's plenty on this island - from banking and training skills to chat with other players around Gielinor. Once your character has been created (you can choose whatever name that suits), it will be off to Character Creation so they can get their appearance just right before starting out finally as a young novice adventurer ready and eager for action at last.

There are NPCs that will teach you to find your way around and learn the basics of this game. Follow their signs in order to get started.

On the final task of the tutorial, you are asked if you want to be an Ironman or not. As a beginner, it’s best that beginners don't become one since they have many disadvantages such as being unable to trade with other players.

Once you finish the tutorial, you will be teleported to Lumbridge where a game of your choosing awaits.

User Interface

The User Interface is probably the most complicated thing in this game, due to its age. But I will break down what a UI contains for beginners so that you can get up and running quickly on your very first playthrough. Note: This guide only focuses on the PC version of the game.

Chat Box

A chat box will appear at the bottom of your screen, allowing you to communicate with other players. It is also an easy way to monitor what process a player has going on in their game via the “Game” tab and talk about it.

Combat Options

In this tab, you can choose from one of the many different combat styles. Each style gives EXP a certain type of combat skill when fought in battle and has an Auto Retaliate option which allows for automatic fighting back while being attacked by others.

Skills Tab

In this tab, you can view your various skills and the current level of each. Every skill has its importance and the priority to train as a beginner based on what it will help with in-game.

Activities Tab

The Activities tab is used to view and manage four different activities in the game, each will be explained below.

Quest list

The Quest list makes it easy for you to see what quests are available. If you're a member, there are 121 different quests waiting just for you. You can tell which ones need your attention by looking at the requirements of each quest and figuring out how many points they will give before starting on them.

Achievement Diary

Following the Achievement Diary, in this tab, you can view diaries that will help to complete your journey and get some rewards. The tasks are listed below each diary so all of them should be completed before moving on with a new one.

Minigames

In the Minigames tab, you can teleport to a variety of different minigames. Some games require that you walk there first before unlocking teleportation - so make sure not to spend all your time in this tab. You can join chat rooms for each game and communicate with teammates through it as well.

Options Tab

This tab is basically the game settings panel. You can adjust how bright it will be, change your keybindings to suit you best, and even view a tutorial video if that’s what you need.

Emotes Tab

You can use various emotes by left-clicking on any of them. Emotes are unlocked as you accomplish tasks around the game and bond with your teammates.

Music Player Tab

You can make the most of your time in-game by unlocking new background music for different situations. By completing activities around the game, you will unlock more songs to play while playing.

Combat Mechanics

In OSRS, you don’t need flashy skills like other MMOs. You just use your basic attack to deal damage to enemies. Magic spells are also available for those who prefer more magic-oriented gameplay and want a little variety in combat strategy.

The amount of damage dealt with your opponent is random and dependent on stats, but gear can increase the likelihood that you'll inflict greater amounts. If you have maxed out in all combat skills then there's a high chance for this result.

In short, increasing your accuracy means being more likely to hit enemies and increase the damage you inflict. Increasing your strength will allow for stronger attacks that have a greater chance of hitting their targets. Increasing Accuracy Increases Hit Chance and Max Damage