So I’m gonna tell you about this pet calculator that literally changed how I hunt for skilling pets. Found it after wasting way too much time doing things the wrong way.
Picture this. I’m at Barbarian Fishing for like 200 hours straight, no Heron in sight. My hand is cramping from 3-tick fishing and I’m starting to lose my mind. That’s when my clan mate Jake tells me about this calculator he’s been using.
The thing is super basic. Pick your skill, pick your method, type in your XP rate, hit the button. Boom, it tells you roughly how long you’re looking at.
Why I Actually Started Using It
First time I plugged in my Fishing grind, the calculator spit out 340 hours for Heron. I’d already done 200, so I had some perspective on whether that felt right. Honestly? Pretty close to what I was experiencing.
But here’s where it got interesting. I tested different methods:
Barbarian Fishing: 340 hours estimated Drift Net: 280 hours estimated
Karambwans: 450 hours estimated
Nobody told me drift nets were better for pets! I switched immediately and got Heron about 80 hours later. Could’ve saved myself weeks if I’d used this thing earlier.
The Reality Check I Needed
Let me be straight with you. Skilling pets take FOREVER. Like, stupid amounts of time. This calculator doesn’t lie about it either.
When I was planning my Runecrafting pet grind, I put in blood runes and nearly choked on my coffee. 500+ hours. Five hundred hours of clicking the same altar over and over. That’s when you realize maybe you should do it while watching Netflix or something.
My actual pet times so far:
- Heron (Fishing): 283 hours
- Beaver (Woodcutting): 167 hours
- Phoenix (Firemaking): 412 hours
- Rock Golem (Mining): Still grinding at 380 hours
The Phoenix grind almost broke me. Four hundred hours at Wintertodt. I still have nightmares about “The cold of the Wintertodt seeps into your bones.”
How This Changed My Approach
Before finding this calculator, I just picked whatever method seemed good and hoped for the best. Terrible strategy.
Now I actually compare things. Like when I wanted the Agility pet, I looked at different rooftop courses:
Ardougne Rooftops: Best XP but same course forever Seers Village: Decent rates, teleport makes it faster Pollnivneach: Lower rates but different scenery
The calculator helped me figure out that mixing courses would only add maybe 30 hours to the total grind, but keep me from going crazy. Worth it.
Some Methods Are Just Better for Pets
Here’s something most people don’t know. XP per hour doesn’t always equal better pet chances. The calculator factors in action speed, which matters way more than you’d think.
Take Smithing. I was gonna do Platebodies because the XP looked good. But cannonballs give you way more individual actions per hour, even though the XP sucks. More actions = more pet rolls. Got Goldie after 145 hours of cannonballs instead of the 280+ hours estimated for platebodies.
Woodcutting was similar:
- Magic logs: Slow actions, terrible for pets
- Teaks: Fast actions, way better pet rates
- Regular trees: Even faster, but XP is awful
The math doesn’t always match what seems obvious.
Planning Multiple Pet Grinds
Once I started using this calculator regularly, I mapped out my whole pet hunting plan. Sounds nerdy, but it actually works.
I prioritized pets based on time estimates and what I could handle:
Short grinds first (under 200 hours):
- Thieving for Rocky
- Hunter for Herbiboar
- Cooking for Skillbert
Medium grinds (200-350 hours):
- Fishing for Heron ✓
- Woodcutting for Beaver ✓
Long grinds for later (350+ hours):
- Runecrafting for Rift Guardian
- Mining for Rock Golem (currently here)
This way I get some wins early and stay motivated for the brutal ones.
Real Talk About RNG
The calculator gives you averages, but RNG doesn’t care about averages. My friend Mike got Phoenix on his second Wintertodt game. I hate him.
Meanwhile, I’m at 380 hours mining and still no Rock Golem. The calculator estimated 310 hours. Sometimes you just get unlucky.
But here’s the thing – without the calculator, I wouldn’t know if I was being unlucky or if my method sucked. Now when I go over the estimate, I know it’s just bad RNG, not bad planning.
The Mistakes I Made Early On
Looking back, I wasted so much time before using this calculator:
Mistake 1: Did yews for Beaver because they were “AFK.” Took forever. Mistake 2: Tried to get Rift Guardian doing nature runes. Absolutely terrible rates. Mistake 3: Went for Giant Squirrel doing Gnome Stronghold course because it was “easy.” Wrong again.
Each of these mistakes probably cost me 100+ extra hours. That’s weeks of grinding for nothing.
How I Use It Now
Every time I plan a new pet, I spend 10 minutes with this calculator first. I test different methods, input my realistic XP rates (not the crazy theoretical ones from guides), and pick what works for my schedule.
My process:
- Check what methods are available
- Test my actual XP rates for each one
- Factor in how much attention I can give
- Pick based on total time, not just hourly rates
For the Agility pet, I realized I could only do high-attention courses for about 2 hours at a time. So even though Ardougne had better rates, mixing in some easier courses would prevent burnout.
The Bottom Line
Pet hunting in OSRS is basically a part-time job. This calculator just helps you figure out which part-time job you’re signing up for.
I’ve gotten 4 pets so far using this thing to plan my grinds. Could I have gotten them without it? Maybe. But I definitely would’ve wasted way more time doing inefficient methods.
The grind is still brutal. RNG is still RNG. But at least now I go into each pet hunt knowing roughly what I’m dealing with. That peace of mind is worth everything when you’re 300 hours deep into clicking the same rock over and over.