OSRS Medium Clue Requirements Your Ultimate Guide
Medium clue scrolls in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) offer a thrilling mix of puzzles, exploration, and rewards, making them a favorite for players seeking adventure and profit. Whether you’re hunting for ranger boots or just enjoy the treasure trail experience, understanding the requirements for medium clues is key to success. This guide dives into the skills, quests, items, and strategies needed to tackle every medium clue step, optimized for both beginners and seasoned clue hunters.
Medium clue scrolls are part of the Treasure Trails activity in OSRS, where players solve a series of clues to unlock a reward casket. These scrolls typically involve 3 to 5 steps, blending riddles, anagrams, coordinate clues, and emote challenges. Unlike easy clues, medium clues introduce more complexity, such as coordinate digging or NPC interactions, but they avoid the Wilderness, making them safer than harder tiers.
Why Pursue Medium Clues?
Medium clues strike a balance between accessibility and reward potential. They’re faster to complete than hard or elite clues and can drop valuable items like:
- Ranger boots (worth millions in the Grand Exchange)
- Mithril armor sets
- Unique cosmetics like crier coats or gnomish firelighters
The average loot value is around 174,114 coins, though excluding ranger boots, it drops to about 46,851 coins, making them a solid money-making method for mid-level players.
Skill Requirements for Medium Clue Scrolls
While medium clues don’t demand maxed skills, certain levels are needed to equip items or access areas for clue steps. Below is a breakdown of the highest skill requirements to complete every medium clue.
Core Skill Levels
| Skill | Level | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 30 | Wield adamant weapons for emote clues |
| Defence | 30 | Wear adamant armor for emote clues |
| Ranged | 40 | Wear green d’hide chaps or coif |
| Magic | 33 | Cast Telekinetic Grab for certain clues |
| Agility | 35 | Access shortcuts or areas like Gnome Stronghold |
Boosting Skills Temporarily
If you’re short on a skill level, boosts can help. For example:
- Wizard’s mind bomb (+3 Magic boost for level 33 Telekinetic Grab)
- Agility potion (+3 Agility for shortcuts)
Note that temporary boosts won’t work for equipping items, so ensure your base level meets the gear requirements.
Quest Requirements for Medium Clues
Some clue steps lead to areas locked behind quests. Completing or starting these quests grants access, saving you from dropping a clue scroll. Here’s what you need.
Essential Quests
The following quests are either required or recommended to unlock all medium clue locations:
- Biohazard – Access to the Combat Training Camp
- Horror from the Deep – Partial completion for Lighthouse access
- The Fremennik Trials – Access to Miscellania
- Tourist Trap – Partial completion for Desert Mining Camp
- Sea Slug – Partial completion for Fishing Platform
- Dragon Slayer – Access to Crandor for green d’hide body clues
- Fairytale II – Cure a Queen – Start for fairy ring access (highly recommended)
Quest Tips for Efficiency
Starting Fairytale II is a game-changer, as fairy rings speed up travel for coordinate clues. If you’re not ready to complete full quests, progressing just enough to unlock the area (e.g., reaching the Lighthouse in Horror from the Deep) is often sufficient.
Item Requirements and Inventory Setup
Medium clues often require specific items, especially for emote clues, where you perform actions in designated locations. Having the right gear ready saves time and frustration.
Emote Clue Items
Emote clues require you to equip certain gear and perform two emotes, after which an NPC (Uri) hands you the next clue. Common items include:
- Adamant platebody and platelegs
- Green d’hide chaps or body
- Mithril kiteshield
- Amulet of strength
- Ring of dueling (for teleport convenience)
Note for Ironmen: A clue step requiring adamant boots is blocked, but you may need to craft or hunt for items like snakeskin boots (45 Crafting or 74 Hunter).
Inventory Setup for Speed
To complete clues efficiently, organize your inventory with:
- Spade – For digging at coordinate or map clue locations
- Teleport runes/tabs – Law, cosmic, and astral runes for Lunar spellbook teleports
- Fairy ring access – Dramen staff or completion of Fairytale II
- Bank fillers – To quickly withdraw eclectic impling loot when farming clues
Pro tip: Use a steel key ring or achievement diary cape to free up inventory space if you’re not maxed.
Strategies for Completing Medium Clues
Success in medium clues comes down to preparation and efficiency. Here are actionable tips to streamline your treasure trail experience.
How to Obtain Medium Clues
You can acquire medium clue scrolls through various methods, each with its own pros and cons:
- Killing monsters – Guards in Falador (1/106 drop rate with Falador Medium Diary) or pyrefiends in the Wilderness God Wars Dungeon (1/64 with Ring of Wealth (i))
- Pickpocketing – Gnomes (1/150 drop rate) or HAM members
- Eclectic implings – Catch in Puro-Puro (50 Hunter) or buy jars (1/25 chance for a clue)
- Unique method – Feed a monkey bananas at Ardougne Zoo (1/256 chance, one-time only)
Tackling Clue Types
Medium clues feature several puzzle types. Here’s how to approach them:
- Anagrams – Rearrange letters to find an NPC’s name (e.g., “orchestra” = “carthorse”). Online solvers can help.
- Coordinate clues – Use a spade to dig at the exact spot. A sextant isn’t needed anymore, but fairy rings speed up travel.
- Cryptic clues – Solve riddles pointing to specific locations or NPCs. Check online databases for quick solutions.
- Map clues – Dig at the marked spot on the map. No monsters spawn, so they’re straightforward.
Maximizing Efficiency
To complete medium clues at a rate of ~30 per hour, follow these tips:
- Use teleports – Lunar spellbook, fairy rings, or teleport tabs to minimize travel time.
- Bank smartly – Keep clue items in a dedicated bank tab for quick access.
- Avoid overthinking – If a clue stumps you, check community resources like the OSRS Wiki for answers.
Warning: If you die in the Wilderness above level 20 with a clue scroll, it disappears unless protected by a clue box or kept on death. In lower Wilderness (level 20 or below), it stays on the ground for an hour if killed by a player.
By meeting the skill, quest, and item requirements outlined above, you’ll be well-equipped to conquer medium clue scrolls in OSRS. Whether you’re chasing the elusive ranger boots or just enjoying the treasure hunt, these clues offer a rewarding blend of challenge and excitement. Grab your spade, stock your inventory, and start your next Treasure Trail today!