In Runescape, there are countless ways to train mining, even for free players. No matter what method you choose, mining takes a long time to level up in comparison to other skills.
There are a few helpful things that you can do to speed up your training, and reach your goal faster though. The training is found to be tedious by most people, but not only will a high mining level be useful in the long run, but you will also make a lot of money by the time you reach your goal.
The most important thing to remember as you advance through the lower levels of mining is to buy the best OSRS item for the skill you are training. For example, start with buying an iron pickaxe, and have a steel, mithril, adamant, and rune pickaxe ready for when you have the level required to use them. Also, know your mining locations. The most popular place for advanced F2P miners is the dwarven mines.
For the absolute fastest training, it is best to have a dungeoneering level of 15, which is required to use the bank deposit box in the dwarven mines, and a combat level of 64 so that you will not be attacked by the scorpions located in the mines. If you do not have both of these stats, it is recommended to train elsewhere.
*Levels 1-14*
These levels are the easiest to level up. You have four options: copper, tin, essence, and clay. Mining rune essence will be the most profitable method, but also the slowest training. If you have a dungeoneering level of at least 15, you can use the dungeoneering entrance in the dwarven mines which contains a bank deposit box. There are copper rocks located in the southeastern part of the mine, slightly north of the mining guild. These rocks are in very close proximity to the bank deposit box, making it the best place to train.
*Levels 15-29*
At level 15, you will be able to mine iron rocks! These will be much slower than mining for copper at lower levels, but grant much more experience, and are more profitable. Iron rocks are scattered all over the f2p world, but at this level it is important to find a location that is not crowded. Often times, nobody is mining the two rocks near the bank deposit box in the dwarven mines (labeled iron spot ‘A’ in the image). When it is not crowded, this is the best place to mine due to its close proximity to the bank.
*Levels 30-60*
Once you achieve a mining level of 30, you gain the ability to mine coal! Although many players switch to coal here, it is actually better to remain on iron because iron is far faster to mine, and doesn’t offer a great enough difference in experience to compensate for the speed. Mining iron does not only grant faster experience than coal, but it is more profitable as well. The players that mine coal at this time do so to make steel bars using the coal that they mine along with the iron that they previously mined. Switching between coal and iron is also a good idea so that you don’t get bored sticking to one thing.
*Levels 60-84*
Upon reaching a mining level of 60, you will be allowed into the mining guild which is located just south of the previously mentioned mining locations, in the dwarven mines. Even at this level, however, iron mining is faster training than coal. For the absolute fastest mining experience, it is best if you use the three iron rocks slightly northwest of the mining guild (labeled iron spot ‘B’ in the image), and use the bank deposit box in the dungeoneering entrance when your inventory is full. These levels always feel as if they take forever, no matter what method you choose to use. Many players choose to mine massive amounts of coal in the mining guild instead, because there is often competition for the iron spot.
*Levels 85-99*
If you’ve made it this far, you can finally mine the long anticipated runite ore! If you wish to continue training in a free to play world, your best bet is to continue mining for iron (at iron spot ‘B’). The majority of players upgrade to a paid account by this time and have access to “concentrated coal” and “concentrated gold” for training.
The road will be long and difficult, but if you follow these pointers, you should be able to make your way to your goal efficiently. Free to play mining training is long and tedious, making it all the sweeter when the ultimate goal is reached!
