Fastest Skills to Reach 2200 Total Level in Old School RuneScape

Fastest Skills to Reach 2200 Total Level in Old School RuneScape

Reaching a 2200 total level in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is a significant milestone, showcasing dedication and skill diversity. As of April 2025, with 23 skills and the upcoming Sailing skill on the horizon, players need efficient strategies to hit this goal. This guide dives into the fastest skills to train, balancing experience rates, cost, and enjoyment, to help you optimize your grind to 2200.

The total level in OSRS is the sum of all skill levels, with a current maximum of 2,277 for members (excluding Sailing, which will push it to 2,376). Hitting 2200 requires an average skill level of about 96 across 23 skills. Some skills offer faster experience rates, making them ideal for boosting your total level quickly, while others are slower or costlier. We’ll focus on the fastest, most accessible methods, considering both free-to-play (F2P) and pay-to-play (P2P) options.

Why Prioritize Fast Skills?

Faster skills reduce the overall time spent grinding, letting you unlock high-level content like PvM, quests, or diaries sooner. They’re often less click-intensive or have AFK (away-from-keyboard) methods, which suit casual players. However, speed often comes at a cost—either gold or attention—so we’ll balance efficiency with practicality.

Top 5 Fastest Skills to Train

Old School Runescape Skills Tier List Community Rankings TierMaker

Based on experience rates, accessibility, and community data, here are the fastest skills to train toward a 2200 total level. These skills consistently offer high XP per hour with optimized methods.

Firemaking

Why It’s Fast: Firemaking tops the list due to its simplicity and scalability. The Wintertodt minigame provides massive XP rates, even at low levels, with minimal requirements.

  • Method: Wintertodt (requires 50 Firemaking).
  • XP/Hour: Up to 300k at high levels.
  • Cost: Low (supplies like food cost ~100k/hour).
  • Pros: Semi-AFK, provides Construction XP, and yields rewards like logs and gems.
  • Cons: Requires decent Hitpoints to survive cold damage.

Path to 96: Start with regular logs to 50, then spam Wintertodt. You’ll hit 96 in ~40-50 hours, depending on efficiency.

Cooking

Why It’s Fast: Cooking offers high XP rates with cheap materials, especially in P2P. It’s nearly profit-neutral with certain methods.

  • Method: Cooking wines (level 35) or fish (e.g., karambwans at 65+).
  • XP/Hour: 400k-500k with wines, 200k-300k with fish.
  • Cost: Wines cost ~500k/hour; fish can be profitable if caught.
  • Pros: AFK-friendly, low requirements, F2P viable.
  • Cons: Repetitive, requires banking.

Path to 96: Cook raw fish to 35, then make wines to 68. Switch to karambwans for 96 in ~30-40 hours.

Prayer

Why It’s Fast: Prayer is the fastest skill to 99, thanks to high-XP offerings at the Chaos Altar or gilded altars.

  • Method: Chaos Altar with dragon bones (P2P, Wilderness).
  • XP/Hour: Up to 1.2m with optimal setup.
  • Cost: ~10-12m/hour for dragon bones.
  • Pros: Extremely fast, boosts combat survivability.
  • Cons: Expensive, risky in Wilderness.

Path to 96: Use big bones (F2P) or ensouled heads to 43, then dragon bones at Chaos Altar. Expect 96 in ~10-12 hours with a big budget.

Farming

Why It’s Fast: Farming is passively trained through tree and herb runs, offering huge XP with minimal active time.

  • Method: Tree runs (yews/magic) + herb runs (ranarr/snapdragon).
  • XP/Hour: ~1m (spread over runs).
  • Cost: 2-5m/hour, but herbs can break even.
  • Pros: Passive, profitable, unlocks high-level content.
  • Cons: Requires teleport runes, initial seed costs.

Path to 96: Start with oak trees and low-tier herbs at 15. Scale to magic trees and snapdragons by 75. Reach 96 in ~5-7 hours of active time over weeks.

Magic

Why It’s Fast: Magic offers versatile training via splashing, high alchemy, or teleports, with combat methods scaling well.

  • Method: High alchemy or stun-alching (55+).
  • XP/Hour: 60k-80k (alching), 100k+ (stun-alch).
  • Cost: Alching can profit; stun-alch costs ~1m/hour.
  • Pros: AFK (alching), improves combat, F2P options.
  • Cons: Click-intensive without automation.

Path to 96: Splash to 55 (F2P), then high alch or stun-alch to 96. Takes ~100-120 hours but pairs with other skills.

Balancing Fast Skills with Slower Ones

While the above skills are the fastest, you’ll need to train others to hit 2200. Slower skills like Agility (165 hours to 99) or Runecrafting (~200 hours) can drag progress. Here’s how to integrate them efficiently.

Combat Skills for Multi-Skill XP

Combat skills (Attack, Strength, Defence, Ranged, Magic) are moderately fast (~150 hours to 99 each) and often trained together. Methods like Nightmare Zone or Sand Crabs offer AFK XP across melee skills, boosting your total level while unlocking PvM content.

  • Tip: Train Slayer alongside combat for passive XP and profit. Slayer to 96 takes ~120 hours but synergizes with combat.

Gathering Skills for Profit

Skills like Woodcutting, Fishing, and Mining are slower (100-150 hours to 99) but can fund expensive skills like Prayer or Herblore. For example, cutting yew logs (Woodcutting) or fishing monks (Fishing) provides XP and gold to offset costs.

Sample Skill Priority Table

Skill Approx. Hours to 96 Cost (GP) Recommended Method
Firemaking 40-50 ~5m Wintertodt
Cooking 30-40 ~10-20m Wines/Karambwans
Prayer 10-12 ~100-120m Chaos Altar
Farming 5-7 (active) ~50-100m Tree/Herb Runs
Magic 100-120 ~50m or profit High Alchemy

Strategies to Optimize Your Grind

Hitting 2200 isn’t just about picking fast skills—it’s about smart planning. Here are key strategies to streamline your journey.

Questing for Early Levels

Quests like Waterfall Quest (13,750 Attack/Strength XP) or The Grand Tree (18,400 Attack XP) give early boosts, saving hours. Complete the Optimal Quest Guide from the OSRS Wiki to knock out low-level grinding for multiple skills.

AFK Training for Efficiency

Use AFK methods like Sand Crabs (combat), wines (Cooking), or high alching (Magic) to train while multitasking. These reduce burnout and let you progress during downtime.

Fund Expensive Skills Early

Prayer and Herblore are costly but fast. Grind profitable skills like Woodcutting or Slayer early to build a cash stack, then power-level these skills to spike your total level.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

The road to 2200 has traps that can slow you down. Here’s how to stay on track.

Don’t Neglect Quests

Skipping quests forces you to grind low-level XP manually. Quests like Fight Arena or Holy Grail provide massive XP for minimal effort.

Balance Cost and Speed

Power-leveling (e.g., dropping ores in Mining) is fast but costly. If your budget is tight, mix profitable methods (e.g., fishing monks) with fast ones to stay sustainable.

Avoid Burnout

Grinding one skill for hours leads to fatigue. Rotate between skills—pair AFK Cooking with active Slayer or passive Farming runs—to keep the game fun.

Final Thoughts: Reaching 2200 total level in OSRS is a marathon, but focusing on fast skills like Firemaking, Cooking, Prayer, Farming, and Magic can shave hundreds of hours off your grind. Combine these with smart questing, AFK methods, and a balanced approach to slower skills. With dedication, you’ll hit that 2200 milestone and unlock the best of Gielinor. Happy skilling!