You’re standing at the Grand Exchange. The fountain is bubbling, someone is spamming a gambling bot script, and you’ve got about 40k in your bank. It sucks. We've all been there, staring at a set of Bandos chestplate prices wondering how on earth people afford this stuff without selling their soul to a gold-buying site. Old RuneScape money making isn't just about clicking a rock for ten hours. It’s a weird, shifting ecosystem of supply, demand, and sheer patience.
Most guides tell you to go kill Vorkath. Sure, if you have the gear. But what if you don't?
The Great Misconception of High-Level Bossing
Everyone talks about Zulrah or the Theatre of Blood as the "only" way to make bank. Honestly, that’s a trap for mid-level players. You spend two million gold on supplies just to learn the mechanics, die forty times, and end up with a pile of grapes and flax. Real wealth in OSRS—the kind that gets you a Twisted Bow—usually starts with boring, consistent methods that people overlook because they aren't "flashy."
Take bird house runs. You’ve heard of them. Do you actually do them every hour? Probably not. Hunter is one of those skills that feels like a chore, but bird houses are basically a passive income stream for your account. You spend 90 seconds running around Fossil Island and you walk away with bird nests that sell for a premium because saradomin brews are always in demand. It’s consistent. It’s reliable.
Then there’s the herb run. If you aren't doing Ranarrs or Toadflax, you’re essentially leaving money on the ground. Most players ignore the farm patches because they want the "big drop." They want that 1 in 5,000 chance at a sigil. But while they’re going dry for three weeks, the guy doing his herb runs has quietly banked 10 million gold. It’s about the "gp per hour" vs the "effort per hour."
Why the Grand Exchange is a PvP Zone
The GE isn't just a shop. It's a battlefield. Flipping is the most misunderstood aspect of old RuneScape money making because people think you need a billion gold to start. You don't. You need to understand margins.
Basically, you’re looking for the gap between what someone is willing to sell an item for instantly and what someone is willing to pay to get it right now. High-volume items like Zulrah scales, oak planks, or even fire runes have tiny margins, but they move fast. If you can make 2 gold per item on a million items, you just made 2 million gold while sitting at the bank doing nothing. It’s basically legal printing of money.
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But you have to be careful. The market reacts to updates. When Jagex announces a new boss, the items required for that boss skyrocket. If you’re watching the Dev Blogs, you can predict these swings. If a new dragon boss is coming, buy dragon hunter crossbows early. If a new magic-weak raid is announced, watch the price of occult necklaces. It’s speculative, sure, but it’s how the richest players stay rich.
Skilling Isn't Dead, You're Just Doing It Wrong
A lot of people say skilling is useless for profit because of boss drop tables. They’re halfway right. Bosses drop too many noted ores and logs. It's a problem. However, certain skilling activities remain incredibly lucrative because they are "click-intensive" or locked behind high requirements that the average "lazy" player won't do.
Hallowed Sepulchre is the perfect example.
If you have the Agility level and the patience to learn the movements, the Grand Coffin at the end of floor five is a gold mine. You aren't just getting Agility XP; you’re getting Sanfew serums, ranarr seeds, and the elusive Ring of Endurance. It’s one of the few places in the game where your actual skill at the game—your ability to time clicks and pathing—directly translates to gold.
Compare that to something like Blast Furnace.
- Runite Bars: Massive profit, but requires 85 Smithing and a lot of focus.
- Gold Bars: Best XP, but you lose money.
- Steel Bars: Low entry barrier, great for beginners, but gets boring fast.
You have to pick your poison. If you want to make old RuneScape money making feel less like a job, you have to rotate your activities. Spend an hour at the Blast Furnace, then go do a slayer task. Don't burn out.
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The Slayer Myth
Slayer is often touted as the ultimate money maker. Here's the truth: Slayer is a money sink until level 75. Maybe even 80. You’re spending money on prayer potions, cannonballs, and food. You’re killing bloodvelds and fire giants that drop absolute junk.
But once you hit Gargoyles, Nechryael, and eventually Kraken or Cerberus? The gates open. Gargoyles are a favorite for a reason. They’re aggressive, they’re easy to kill, and their drop table is almost entirely alchables. You don't even need to use the GE; you just bring an alchemy staff and turn their drops into raw cash. It’s the ultimate "chill" money maker for someone watching Netflix on another screen.
Wilderness Risks vs. Rewards
The Wilderness is terrifying for most. That’s exactly why the money there is so good. If you’re willing to risk a bit of gear, the Revenant Caves are arguably some of the best raw GP in the game.
Revenants drop "ancient statues" that you sell to an NPC for straight cash. No market fluctuations. No waiting for a buyer. Just pure coins. The catch? Pkers. You will get attacked. But if you learn how to tank, how to use the agility shortcuts, and how to "freeze and log," you can make millions an hour with very little setup.
The Wilderness bosses like Artio or Calvar'ion are also surprisingly good. They’re "singles-plus," meaning only one person can attack you at a time. This makes escaping much easier than it used to be in the old multi-combat days. The dragon pickaxe drop is no longer exclusive to the wilderness, which lowered the profit slightly, but the regular drops—grapes, ores, and runes—keep the profit per hour high enough to justify the heart palpitations.
The Low-Level Hustle
If you're starting from scratch, honestly, go to the Varrock sewers or the Hosidius kitchens. Collecting items that people are too lazy to get themselves is a tried-and-true method.
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Take "crushed nests." You buy bird nests, use a mortar and pestle, and sell them back. It’s click-intensive. It’s mind-numbing. But it’s a guaranteed profit margin because high-level herblore trainers value their time more than their gold. They will pay you a premium to do the clicking for them. This applies to cleaning herbs, making unfinished potions, or even tanning dragonhides.
It’s the "service economy" of Gielinor.
Ironmen and the Economy
It’s worth mentioning that the rise of Ironman mode has actually changed how old RuneScape money making works for regular players. Ironmen need specific items in bulk, but they can't buy them. This means certain items are always in high demand by the "main" accounts who are providing services or items that Ironmen would otherwise have to grind.
While Ironmen can't trade, their presence keeps the price of "supplies" high. When a new Ironman-friendly update drops, the rest of the economy feels the ripples. Always keep an eye on what the "iron community" is complaining about—it usually points toward a market opportunity for regular players.
Understanding the "Tax"
The Grand Exchange tax was a massive shift. A 1% cut on sales might not seem like much, but it effectively removed billions of gold from the game. It also created the "item sink" mechanic where the game actually buys items off the market to delete them.
This has stabilized the prices of high-end gear like the Scythe of Vitur or the Osmumten's Fang. Before the tax, these items were crashing hard. Now? They hold value. For you, the money maker, this means your big drops are more likely to stay valuable over time. You don't have to worry as much about your bank value evaporating overnight because of hyper-inflation.
Actionable Steps for Your Bank Account
Stop looking for a "get rich quick" scheme. It doesn't exist unless you get lucky at the Sand Casino (which is gone now anyway, thank goodness).
- Audit your daily routine. If you aren't doing a bird house run and an herb run every time you log in and out, you’re failing the baseline test. That’s an easy 100k-200k for five minutes of work.
- Unlock the Throne of Miscellania. Get your kingdom running. Put max cash in the coffers, keep your reputation at 100%, and set your workers to Teak hardwoods and Bird Nests. It’s free money every week.
- Find your "Consistent" boss. For some, it’s Zulrah. For others, it’s Vorkath or even just Barrows. Barrows is still fantastic money for mid-levels, especially with the Morytania Hard Diary completed for those extra runes.
- Invest in your stats. The best money maker is a high combat level. Don't sit at 70 Strength forever. Get to the Nightmare Zone, get your stats up, and get into high-level Slayer or Raids. The faster you kill things, the more money you make.
- Watch the margins. Use online trackers to see what items are being traded heavily. Look for "bottleneck" items—things required for popular quests or training methods—and see if you can provide them.
Old RuneScape money making is a marathon. You’ll have days where you get a 30 million gold drop and days where you lose 500k in supplies. The players with the 10-billion-gold banks aren't necessarily luckier; they’re just more consistent. They understand that every gold piece counts, whether it comes from a lucky raid drop or from picking up a stack of air runes someone left on the floor. Get your graceful outfit, grab some stamina potions, and start the grind. There’s no shortcut to the top of the high scores.