How to Make Death Runes in OSRS A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Make Death Runes in OSRS A Step-by-Step Guide

Death runes are essential for casting medium-level missile spells in Old School RuneScape (OSRS), such as Wind Blast, Water Blast, Earth Blast, and Fire Blast. Crafting them is a rewarding way to level up your Runecrafting skill while making a profit. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to make death runes in OSRS, covering requirements, methods, and tips to maximize efficiency. Whether you’re a seasoned player or a beginner, this blog post will help you master death rune crafting.

Before you can start crafting death runes, you need to meet specific requirements in terms of skills, quests, and items. Here’s what you need to get started.

Skill and Quest Requirements

  • 65 Runecrafting: This is the minimum level required to craft death runes at the Death Altar. Higher levels (especially 99) increase efficiency by allowing you to craft multiple runes per essence.
  • Mourning’s End Part II: Completing this quest grants access to the Death Altar, located in the Temple of Light. This is a challenging quest with multiple requirements, including 70 Agility, 60 Ranged, and completion of Mourning’s End Part I.
  • Rune Mysteries: This beginner quest unlocks the ability to craft runes in general.

Items Needed

  • Pure Essence: Used to craft death runes. You can mine it on members’ servers if your Mining level is 30 or higher.
  • Death Talisman or Tiara: Required to enter the Death Altar. Alternatively, you can use the Abyss for access without a talisman.
  • Runecrafting Pouches: Small, medium, large, giant, and colossal pouches increase the amount of essence you can carry per trip.
  • Amulet of Glory: For teleporting to Edgeville when using the Abyss method.
  • Pickaxe: Needed for navigating the Abyss.
  • Weight-Reducing Gear: Items like the Graceful outfit or Boots of Lightness reduce run energy depletion.

Methods to Craft Death Runes

OSRS 199 Runecrafting Guide NovaMMO

There are two primary methods for crafting death runes in OSRS: using the Death Altar directly or accessing it via the Abyss. The Abyss method is more efficient and profitable, so we’ll focus on both approaches.

Crafting via the Death Altar

The traditional method involves traveling to the Temple of Light and using the Death Altar directly. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Gather Pure Essence: Mine pure essence or purchase it from the Grand Exchange.
  2. Equip a Death Talisman or Tiara: This allows entry to the Death Altar. Alternatively, wear a Death Tiara to free up an inventory slot.
  3. Travel to the Temple of Light: From West Ardougne, head to the Underground Pass and navigate to the Temple of Light. Use a teleport to Lletya (if you’ve unlocked it) to save time.
  4. Enter the Death Altar: Use your talisman or tiara on the altar ruins to access it.
  5. Craft the Runes: Click the altar to convert your pure essence into death runes. Each essence yields one death rune (or two if you’re level 99 Runecrafting).
  6. Bank and Repeat: Return to a bank (e.g., in Lletya or Ardougne) and restock on essence.

This method is straightforward but time-consuming due to the long travel distance and complex navigation through the Temple of Light.

Crafting via the Abyss

The Abyss is the preferred method for crafting death runes due to its speed and profitability. Here’s a detailed guide:

  1. Prepare Your Inventory: Equip an Amulet of Glory, a pickaxe, and weight-reducing gear. Fill your inventory and pouches with pure essence.
  2. Teleport to Edgeville: Use the Amulet of Glory to reach Edgeville for quick access to the Abyss.
  3. Enter the Abyss: Speak to the Mage of Zamorak in low-level Wilderness (near the River Lum) to teleport to the Abyss. Be cautious of player killers—use a less-populated world and avoid bringing expensive items.
  4. Navigate the Abyss: Mine through rocks to reach the inner ring, then enter the death rift to access the Death Altar.
  5. Craft the Runes: Use your essence on the altar to craft death runes.
  6. Return to Edgeville: Teleport back using the Amulet of Glory and repeat the process.
  7. Repair Pouches: Every 8–9 trips, visit the Dark Mage in the Abyss to repair your pouches and prevent degradation.

Tip: At level 99 Runecrafting, you craft two death runes per essence, significantly boosting profits. Using a colossal pouch, you can carry up to 67 essence per trip, yielding up to 134 death runes at level 99.

Efficiency Tips for Crafting Death Runes

To maximize your experience and profits, follow these tips to streamline your death rune crafting process.

Use the Right Gear

Wearing the Raiments of the Eye set grants a 60% bonus to rune output, meaning you craft more death runes per essence without additional experience. Combine this with weight-reducing gear like the Graceful outfit to maintain run energy.

Optimize Your Route

When using the Abyss, stick to the northern rock mining spot for the fastest access to the inner ring. Use stamina potions to restore run energy and ensure you’re not overburdened with heavy items.

Boost Runecrafting Levels

If you’re below level 65, consider using Runecrafting potions to temporarily boost your level and access death rune crafting. For long-term gains, aim for level 99 to double your rune output.

Profitability of Crafting Death Runes

Crafting death runes can be a lucrative money-making method, especially via the Abyss. Here’s a breakdown of potential profits based on Runecrafting level and equipment.

Runecrafting Level Pouches Used Essence per Trip Death Runes per Trip Profit per Trip (Approx.)
65 Small–Giant 54 54 10,854 coins
75 Colossal 67 67 6,880 coins
99 Colossal 67 134 21,440 coins

Note: Profits are approximate and depend on Grand Exchange prices for pure essence and death runes. The table assumes 50 trips per hour and ignores minor costs like pouch repairs.

Alternative Ways to Obtain Death Runes

If crafting isn’t your style, you can still acquire death runes through other methods. Here are some alternatives:

Monster Drops

Several monsters drop death runes, making them a viable option for combat-focused players:

  • Ankous: Found in the Stronghold of Security, they have a high drop rate for death runes and are weak to crush attacks.
  • Nechryaels: Located in the Slayer Tower, they drop death runes and are great for Slayer tasks.
  • Dark Beasts: High-level Slayer monsters that frequently drop death runes.

Barrows Chest

The Barrows minigame offers a chance to obtain death runes from the chest, provided you have at least 631 rewards potential. This method requires high combat skills but can yield large quantities of runes.

Trading Cats

In West Ardougne, you can trade a grown cat to civilians for 100 death runes (or 200 if you’ve completed the Easy Ardougne Diary_softly>Ardougne Diary). This is a slow but reliable method, especially if you have multiple kittens to raise.

Magic Shops

Most Magic shops in OSRS (except the one on Ape Atoll) stock 250 death runes. Shops in Varrock, Port Sarim, and Yanille (Wizards’ Guild) are good options, though buying in bulk can be expensive.

Crafting death runes in OSRS is a profitable and skill-building activity that’s accessible once you meet the requirements. By using the Abyss method, optimizing your gear, and leveraging boosts, you can maximize both experience and gold. If crafting isn’t for you, alternatives like monster drops, Barrows, or trading cats provide other ways to stock up on death runes. Start your Runecrafting journey today and power up your Magic spells with a steady supply of death runes!