This idea is a little impromptu because I just started trying this money maker out a couple of days ago. Basically, when the price of Granite started its suicidal high dive into an empty pool I decided that it was time to come up with something that would still provide a tidy income but be fairly easy to acquire. So I came up with potatoes.

First thing we need to start my “Hot Potato” technique of money making is to get our hands on potatoes. This should be no problem for anyone. There are potato fields all over Runescape. My favorite one is between Lumbridge and Draynor Village. From that field you can easily fill your inventory, run to the Draynor bank, and run back to the field. And the best thing is the potatoes are free. Of course you can also farm your own potatoes, which gives the added benefit of nominal farming experience. But maybe you are a complete lazy arse. In that situation potatoes can be purchased on the Grand Exchange for around 96 gp.

Step two of the “Hot Potato run for the Money” is to get your hands on pats of butter. I highly recommend churning your own butter [GEC 619 gp]. Purchasing it on the GE will deeply cut into you profits and nullify any point to doing this technique. Thankfully, churning butter is not hard. All you need is a bucket of milk. In this situation I purchase the milk on the GE for around 112 gp. But you can also just as easily milk the dairy cows throughout Runescape. I recommend using the farm south of Falador. The cows are near to a churn and a bank isn’t too far away. For me, I buy the milk and then churn the butter in the Cooking Guild which is within sneezing distance of the Grand Exchange. The churn is on the second level (1st floor/story for our European friends).  If you have completed the Varrock achievment diary then you can use the bank of the first floor of the guild.

Step three is very easy. Bake the potatoes. Find a range. Do not use open fires. I use the Cooking Guild and the ranges located right by the churn. After I have all the potatoes I want cooked, I return the Grand Exchange and start the finishing touches. Use the pats of butter on the potatoes. When you see the little yellow ‘x’ on your potato you know you have a food item worth around 977 gp (market price). A full inventory of baked potatoes with butter will earn upwards of 20k in gold. When I get a good rhythm going I average out to about 60k in an hour. Fast and easy money.

Some final thoughts. Try not to accidentally eat the potatoes. At every step in the potato cooking process, left clicking will cause you to automatically eat the potato.  Churning the butter takes time and is boring. Make sure you don’t accidentally time out while you wait.  Don’t forget to be wearing a Chefs Hat if you plan on using the Cook Guild.

BTW: How I come up with these money making tips usually falls between one of two techniques. Either I get ideas from other blogs and fan sites (which I normally try to credit). Or I go through the Grand Exchange database on the Runescape website and find simple items selling for over 500gp. If I can acquire these items at a fraction of the GE cost then I go about finding a routine that uses time and resources efficiently. Then I test to see how hard it is to sell the items on the GE. If everything goes smoothly I post about it here. One last disclaimer: The Grand Exchange market is highly volatile and market prices referenced in this blog are highly subjectible to change.

PS: Prices listed in this article come directly from the GEC and are up-to-date within 24 hours.

Every once in a while I am asked how I made my money. I suppose this question comes up because my outfit of choice consists of gold trimmed rune bodyplate and shield, dragon boots, legs, and helmet, a combat bracelet, a ring of wealth, and an amulet of fury. All together my day-wear outfit runs about 5 million gp. I don’t wear this kind of outfit to show off and be flashy, I simply like how it looks with the golds and blues and reds. But people do get the impression that I am rich, which compared to many other players, I am not. But I am comfortable and when people ask me how I make my money I refer them to my blog. That is part of the reason I started this blog in the first place, so I wouldn’t have to go into long stories in chat during the game. So here is my story and some very basic tips (which I may expand on in later articles) about making Runescape money.

First, the story about me. When I first started Runescape I was pretty antisocial. Actually, I still am. I did not (and still do not) want to interact directly with other players. At least not much. A simple hello to someone I know is all I really want to muster. In the old days there was no Grand Exchange so I was restricted to the stores for any sales I might want to do. I knew I could get more money by player trading, but I just didn’t want to have to haggle with people. My public trade option has been permanently turned off for four years now. Because of this I had no real desire to even sell anything in the stores for the piddly prices they provided. But I am a pack-rat. So for years I just stored stuff in my bank account, never knowing how valuable it would eventually become. I kept collecting seeds, and herbs, and ores week after week. I only used what I needed for skills or combat. I never sold runes even though I never used runes because I did not like the magic skill. My bank was just getting fatter with clutter and junk every progressive year.

Finally the Grand Exchange opened and I decided to check it out. It was a way to make player to player trades in a fair market system without having to deal directly with other players. Essentially the Grand Exchange is a brokerage system without the fees (yet). Plus, even better, there is no timing or world requirements. Someone on world 3 at four in the morning could sell me, for example, rune platelegs on world 103 at ten in the evening. It makes for a perfect system for me.

Then I decided to see what some of my stuff was selling for. I had no idea that some the “junk” I had collected was so valuable. I had a couple of million gp in Ranarr alone.  A few more million in other herbs. Well, of course, that tipped me off to using Chaos Druids as a money maker. I had tens of millions in even the most basic of runes and ores. When the Grand Exchange opened I basically won the lottery and had a whole new world open up to me. Now I could play Runescape to make gp. Prior to the Exchange I would play just simply to train skills and perform quests (which are still fun things to do). But I had new options of play.

So that is how I made my money, at least initially. But I have also spent a lot of my wind fall and will sometimes drop a quarter million off at the party room in Falador. I’m now down to a reasonably simple personal value, with maybe a net worth of only twenty million gp. But I try to add about a half million each week. I call that meager because there are many players who have hundreds of millions of gp, and quiet a few billionaires. I would say I am middle class in the Runescape world.

But you have to be smart about money if you want to make it rich in Runescape and hold on to that money. Just like the real world. Screenblazer mentioned some of these tips in his entertaining blog.  But they are worth repeating here.

First, fish your food people. If you have the level to fish swordfish and/or lobsters and you are broke, then stop paying for the damn things and fish it yourself. Plus you’ll get fishing experience.

Second, stop spending every gp you got.  There is nothing more annoying than some level 95 dipshit who is bagging at the Grand Exchange because he/she spent all their money. My policy when I encounter these people is to tell them that if they need money to sell the freaking dragon chainbody they are wearing for 8.8m gp. Don’t go asking me for money if you are wearing more expensive crap then I am.

Third, have patience. Yes fishing takes time, Yes farming takes time, Yes mining takes time. Guess what people, it’s gonna take time to make money.

Forth, if you are trying to sell something on the Grand Exchange at market price and it doesn’t sell instantly, then give it some time. Drop the price after a day or two. Part of the reason the Runescape economy is on a downward spiral right now is because no one wants to wait for their trades to complete, so everyone is selling for minimum value. Almost everything I have mentioned in this blog over the last few months has dropped in value by almost ten percent because people want instant gratification. Have patience people.

Fifth, look for little hidden tricks of making money. I have some listed here on this blog. While passing through the Lumbridge swamps collect ten or twenty swamp tars. It only takes a couple of minutes and you walk away with a couple of grand. Or when passing by unicorns, kill them and take their horns. If you saw a large pile of 900gp worth of coins on the street in Varrock would you just walk by?  Hell no.  So why walk by that unicorn.

Sixth, you need to be smart. Most mid level players while fighting combat should be filling up their inventory with only items worth 400gp or more. Ignore that friggen bronze longsword when that inventory slot could be holding an uncut ruby. At the same time don’t go ignoring those 9 mithrel bolts. Each one is worth 90 gp and are stackable. For the most part, if it is stackable or noted I will pick it up. There are a few exceptions like body runes.  But most importantly think about what drops you are getting, what drops you can get, and which ones are worth your time picking up.  Also, you must invest in a ring of wealth (25k on the Exchange).  The ring is a simple addition and well worth the money.

Seventh, stop frigging asking for price checks. Good grief people, do you have any idea how annoying that is? Most browsers have multiple tabs. Open up another tab to the Grand Exchange database and look up that price yourself. Most of the time it will be faster. Plus it is a wonderful source of information on which drops are truly worth picking up.

And finally, experiment with new things. If you are not making enough money then maybe you aren’t doing the right things. Maybe try out a few mini games. Quite a few have money rewards and many also reward xp. Look at quest guides on the Internet to see which quests have monetary rewards and try those quests if you can. Fight different monsters then usual. And don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a monster has to be powerful to have decent drops. Chaos Druids and Cockroachs can make you are small fortune and are easy to kill.

Good Luck

One thing I like to repeat on a regular basis throughout this blog is that I am not an expert on making money in Runescape. But I do have several procedures I like that make me a tidy income. Bullseye Lantern filling is just such a technique. It’s not the best way to make gp out there, but it does provide almost a guaranteed 100% profit.  Any way to double your investment is always worth mentioning.

I recommend buying unfilled Bullseye Lanterns on the Grand Exchange as opposed to making them from scratch. They sell for around 185gp. I buy around a hundred at a time and I usually do not have to wait at all for the sale to complete. To fill these empty lanterns you need to use swamp tar on a special still. Swamp tar can be easily and quickly collected in the Lumbridge swamps. But tar is also reasonably priced on the Grand Exchange for around 195gp.

There are two stills in the world of Runescape. One is located in Rimmington, but it is reasonably far away from a bank. The other still is in Dorgesh-Kaan . This still is ideal because it is very close to a bank, thus allowing for less time running and more time filling.

The filling process is tedious, but if you can get a rhythm going it will go by fairly fast. First you need to use the tar on the still. Then you need to use an empty lantern on the still. That’s it, you’re done filling the lantern.  But remember a couple of things.  Each of the steps have to be performed in order. Also, the still does not store oil so you can only use one tar at a time and then fill a lantern.  It is also important to keep track of which lanterns you have already filled.  An empty lantern looks identical to a filled lantern.  I personally leave one slot open in my inventory and use it as a place holder between full and empty lanterns. If things go well I can go from the GE to Dorgesh-Kann, fill and bank a hundred lanterns, and teleport back to the GE in about twenty minutes.

Here is the financial break down of this procedure. A hundred lanterns and swamp tars cost 38k. Filled Bullseye Lanterns sell for 900gp. That means a hundred lanterns bring in 90k for a net profit of 52k.

The one major negative to this technique is that Bullseye Lanterns do not sell immediately. But they will sell eventually over the course of a few hours. I am happy to wait a few hour to collect my 52k profit from twenty minutes of work.

Note:  As with anything concerning the Grand Exchange, prices listed in this blog are subject to changes in the Runescape economy.

One of the joys of being a mid level player in the world of Runescape is that I still learn something new almost every time I play. Take for example my most recent discovery; Unicows. A few days ago I wrote a blog article about Unicorns and the value of their horns. While doing research for that post I discovered that there was another beast, the Unicow, that also drops Unicorn Horns. This discovery set my course in Runescape for the following couple of days.

The Unicow is a creature created by players after they have completed the Tower of Life quest. This particular quest is fairly easy and most members should be able to complete it without too much difficulty. If you want a little bit of a head start, I would recommend bringing along some construction tools like a hammer and saw. To start the quest talk to Effigy just outside the Tower of Life which is located just south of Ardougne, east of the Monastery, and north of Port Khazard. I use a charged combat bracelet to teleport to the Monastery and then walk to the tower, but there is also a nearby Fairy Ring and a couple of boat docks.

Once the quest is complete you will be able to create Unicows (and a couple of other odd beasts) in the basement of the Tower of Life. To create Unicows you will need one Unicorn Horn and one Cowhide. Use these items on the Symbol of Life Alter in the northwest section of the dungeon. Once the Alter is activated a Unicow (combat level 25) is created.

Unicows will always drop one to four Unicorn horns. They will also drop Green Satchels and Tea Flasks, which in my opinion are useless. When harvesting from these creatures I only take with me one Unicorn Horn and thirteen Cowhides. One horn is all that is needed since the Unicows will always drop at least one horn to replace the one offered to the alter. I’ve noticed it takes about thirteen hides to create enough Unicows to fill my inventory with 28 horns. The process is pretty straight forward and goes quickly. Once I have a full inventory I leave and run to the Ardougne bank (southeast branch), make a deposit and withdraw 13 hides, and run back to Tower of Life.

Other creatures can also be made at the various alters in the dungeon. But it seems to me that the only creature that drops anything of financial value is the Unicows. If you run out of cow hides, there are a couple of cows south of the tower, just north of Yanille. Or cowhides can be purchased on the Grand Exchange for about 145gp. The value of Unicorn Horns varies wildly in Runescape and can go from 825gp to 950gp depending on the economy. It is totally within the realm of reason to be able to collect upwards of 100k worth of horns per hour.

Good luck and good hunting.

While roaming the lands of Runescape, don’t ignore the value of adult Unicorns. Their horns sell for 1738 gp on the Grand Exchange and they are easy to kill for most levels of players. They are found in many areas of Runescape, though I usually only bother with the two located between the Barbarian Village and Edgeville. There is also another one that roams around the Lumbridge Swamp just southwest of the Castle.   If you have access to the Fairy Rings, you can use code BIS and land right inside the Unicorn Pen at the Ardougne Zoo (there are two here).  There are some ill-tempered Black Unicorns in the Wilderness north of Edgeville.  There are a few unicorns north of the chapel on Entrana.  There are also two south/southeast of Varrock.

Outside of those, I would recommend keeping your eyes open and you will spot more.  The respawn rate is respectable but not rapid, so I only kill the ones I stumble upon and then move on to other projects. But for a beginner, an hour hanging out just south of Edgeville can turn a tidy little profit. While waiting for the Unicorns to respawn, fight other low level creatures in the area to get a little extra combat xp and pass the time.  Remember this advice applies to adult Unicorns. Unicorn Foal don’t drop horns.

After doing a little more research, I discovered that Unicows can be created in the Creature Creation dungeon under the Tower of Life.  They drop up to four horns, but you will need a unicorn horn and cowhides to create them.  In any case, you are still making a net profit of between 1 and 3 horns per horn used.  More information about how this technique works is located in my dedicated Creature Creation blog article.  You must have completed the Tower of Life quest to create Unicows.

Unicorns: CL-15, HP-19; UnicowS: CL-25, HP-24; Black Unicorns (CL-27, HP-29)