OSRS Sailing guide for beginners step by step

Sailing is OSRS’s brand new skill that opens the seas, new islands, and a pile of activities: ship piloting, salvaging wrecks, port tasks, trials, and upgrades. Start by completing the intro voyage, learn the basic ship controls, pick one reliable early training method (salvaging for AFK, trials and bounty tasks for fast XP), and build the Crystal Extractor at level 73 when you can. Expect many balance tweaks as the skill matures; Jagex has already adjusted XP rates and quality of life after launch. Read on for a practical, step by step plan, XP expectations, money making tips, RuneLite plugin helpers, and common beginner mistakes so you can hit level 99 efficiently and enjoyably.

Why you should care about Sailing right now

Sailing is the first new skill to land in Old School RuneScape in many years, and it massively expands the playable map and the kinds of activities players can do. It combines exploration, light puzzle navigation, skilling loops, and equipment progression in a way that feels new in OSRS. The launch generated a lot of community excitement and immediate adjustments as players pushed the systems. Jagex has already published follow up patches to balance XP and smoothing, which means staying current is important if you want the best routes and methods.

Quick start checklist (what you need before you set sail)

An active OSRS account and access to the Sailing tutorial (it unlocks from the start of the update).
A few thousand gold for starter supplies and small ship upgrades; costs scale as you progress.
Basic combat and skilling gear if you plan to do higher risk routes or salvaging with monsters.
RuneLite installed and the Sailing plugin enabled when you feel comfortable using third party clients; community plugins give big QoL improvements.

Step 1. How to unlock and begin Sailing

Talk to the introductory NPC in the main port to begin the Sailing tutorial. The tutorial walks you through steering, basic maneuvers, and your first salvage.
Complete the first voyage. This unlocks your ship, access to nearby islands, and basic ship customization.
Familiarize yourself with the port menu and your ship dashboard. The first few voyages are gentle and intentionally tutorialized so you can learn without penalty.

Practical beginner tip: treat your first 30 minutes as a learning session. Make mistakes. You will get far more from hands on practice than from a single read through.

Step 2. Understanding the Sailing interface and basic mechanics

Sailing’s UI shows your ship status, speed, current route objectives, and salvaging/repair options. Key things to learn early:

Your ship’s movement is affected by upgrades and equipment. Lighter ships turn quicker, bulkier ships soak damage better.
Salvaging wrecks and exploring islands are the primary low level XP sources. Certain activities are AFK friendly, others require active navigation and mini tasks.
Environmental hazards exist depending on region and events. Learn the safe parking spots for salvaging so your ship does not get knocked about by hazards.
Many mechanics are interlinked: upgrade choices influence which tasks are efficient, and which ports you can reliably visit. The community is still mapping the absolute best combinations.

Step 3. Ships, upgrades, and early progression strategy

There are starter ships and upgrade tiers. As a beginner follow a conservative upgrade path focusing on utility over cosmetic value:

Buy or unlock a reliable starter hull. It should handle basic salvaging and port tasks.
Invest in a cargo hold upgrade early if you plan to salvage a lot. Inventory space reduces bank trips and increases XP per hour.
Skip expensive performance upgrades until you know which routes you like. Many early upgrades are flashy but offer limited benefit for beginner activities.
Save for the Crystal Extractor. This building is a game changer for passive XP once unlocked at the recommended level. Expect a noticeable efficiency spike when you build it.

Practical cost note: treat your ship as an evolving tool. Prioritize upgrades that reduce downtime and bank trips.

Step 4. How Sailing XP works right now

Sailing XP is earned through many activities: salvaging wrecks, port tasks (including bounties and courier jobs), trials, exploration rewards, and passive systems like the Crystal Extractor. Important recent changes mean XP numbers changed during the early live period:

Jagex issued an XP review and balance pass to reduce and rebalance some of the highest yielding sources and to buff underperforming activities. Expect more nerfs and buffs while the community and devs iterate.

Specific mechanics to remember:

Salvaging can be fairly AFK for long stretches if you find a safe spot and auto-harvest options.
Trials and bounty tasks yield higher XP per hour but require more attention and better upgrades.
The Crystal Extractor gives passive XP based on harvests; its output and tuning have been changed since launch, so check current patch notes before planning around it. Recent adjustments reduced the per-harvest XP to curb early exploits.

Step 5. Best beginner training methods, step by step

Below are practical, level-graded plans to take you from 1 to 99 while balancing fun, AFK time, and cost.

Levels 1 to 30: Learn by doing

Focus: Familiarize yourself; complete starter trials and rookie port tasks.
Activities: Short voyages, basic salvaging, introductory tasks from nearby ports.
Why: These activities teach navigation and the crafting short loops in a low-risk environment. You will still be figuring out controls, so feel free to play slower.

Levels 30 to 60: Mix of salvaging and task chains

Focus: Increase salvage runs and start bounty tasks.
Activities: Salvage safer wrecks repeatedly, take on port courier and bounty tasks for better XP. Build cargo capacity upgrades.
Why: Salvaging becomes more efficient with inventory upgrades. Bounty tasks give better XP per hour but demand attention.

Levels 60 to 80: Trials and efficient routes

Focus: Complete trials and the more efficient port task chains.
Activities: Target trial chains that yield concentrated XP. Use RuneLite sailing plugins to find optimal spots and highlight salvage points.
Why: Trials scale well with modest upgrades and give consistent, concentrated XP.

Levels 80 to 99: High XP routes and AFK salvage

Focus: Efficient, repeatable loops such as barracuda trials or highest-yield salvage routes. Use your Crystal Extractor and other passive systems when beneficial.
Activities: The fastest XP often requires attention and investing in specific ship upgrades. For players who prefer AFKable progress, salvaging with good parking spots and extractor uptime will still get you there, albeit slower. Recent community estimates place fast times to 99 in the 70 to 100 hour window depending on method. Expect variance because of patching.

Practical numbers: community guides have published time to 99 estimates based on different approaches. A focused trial and bounty strategy can reach 99 in roughly 70 to 100 hours for efficient players, while fully AFK salvage could take significantly longer.

How to choose the right method for your playstyle

You want minimal attention: focus on salvaging and passive extractor use. Expect longer total time, but low effort.
You want speed: focus on trials, bounties, and optimized routes. Requires attention and some investment in ship upgrades.
Balanced approach: mix bounty tasks for bursts of XP with salvage between tasks to stay comfortable.

Money making while you level Sailing

Sailing activities are not just XP sinks. Early money making is possible from:

Loot from salvaged shipwrecks. Prioritize items with repeatable market value and avoid hoarding low value debris.
Salvage components that you can sell or use for upgrades yourself. Keeping some resources for ship upgrades reduces your net cost and speeds progression.
Port task rewards. Some tasks award tradable items or coin rewards.
Mid-game activities such as courier runs can net decent GP per hour if you avoid expensive hull repairs. Recent patches adjusted drop rates and salvage yields to smooth income, so your GP per hour can vary by patch.

Beginner tip: sell bulk low value loot automatically to avoid inventory clutter. Use bank presets or a resource threshold so you do not waste time micro-managing.

RuneLite plugins and QoL tools every beginner should use

Community plugins have been quick to add Sailing support. The RuneLite Plugin Hub and community creators released utilities for marking salvage spots, showing optimal parking locations, and tracking trials and tasks. These plugins dramatically reduce the learning curve.

Must-have plugins for beginners:

Salvage spot highlighter: shows the best tile to park for consistent yields.
Route tracker: highlights trial routes and port sequences.
UI overlays: show extractor timers, repair status, and cargo fill percentage.
Alert plugins: notify you when a high-value salvage spawns or when a task completes.

How to use them responsibly: enable only the plugins you need to avoid clutter. Follow plugin hub verification steps so you do not install untrusted add-ons.

Important balance changes and things to watch for

The Sailing rollout has been active and iterative. There were early incidents of overpowered XP sources, for example an exploitable consumable that granted far too much XP. Jagex applied hotfixes to nerf those instances. After launch the developers released a Sailing XP review patch that reduced or rebalanced the highest yielding sources and buffed weaker ones. That means historic guides with raw XP numbers may be out of date. Always cross check the latest patch notes before committing to a route that relies on a single mechanic.

Notable recent adjustments:

Crystal Extractor harvest XP per action was lowered during a balance pass to prevent too rapid passive gains.
Salvaging XP and drop rates had tweaks that altered best parking spots and profitability.
Several high-value trivialities were patched quickly after the community found exploits.

Practical consequence: stay flexible and have a backup route in case an activity you like is nerfed.

Common beginner mistakes and how to avoid them

Chasing early flashy XP without learning the mechanics. Learn the basics first or you will waste GP.
Overspending on premature upgrades. Buy utility and cargo first; performance upgrades later.
Not using RuneLite plugins. QoL tools save time and reduce mistakes.
Ignoring the dev blog and patch notes. Skill balance can shift quickly in the first months.
Trying to compete for leaderboard spots in the very first hours without a plan. Speed runners will exploit early advantages; it is a different race.

Beginner friendly progression checklist (compact)

Complete the tutorial and first voyage.
Upgrade cargo hold early.
Complete basic port tasks and keep a queue of salvaging runs.
At level 73, aim to build the Crystal Extractor if you want passive gains. Keep in mind the extractor’s output has been rebalanced, so check current numbers. Skycoach+1

Advanced tips to shave hours off your 1 to 99

Combine high XP tasks with passive salvage downtime so you are always gaining something.
Use RuneLite overlays to track exact respawn windows and extractors timers. This reduces idle time between runs.
When a particular high XP route is nerfed, switch to a diversified approach rather than betting everything on one method. This also protects you against future adjustments.

Is Sailing worth training for Ironman accounts?

Yes, Sailing can be very Ironman-friendly. Salvaging yields resources you can use yourself, reducing the need to buy certain items. Port tasks and trials also reward materials that help self-sufficiency. That said, Ironmen should plan upgrades carefully; vendor sellbacks are limited, and certain trade-dependent routes are less viable on pure self-supply accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long to get Sailing 1 to 99?
Depends on the method and attention. Community estimates vary: efficient, attentive players using trials and bounty chains can reach 99 in roughly 70 to 100 hours. AFK salvage methods take longer. These estimates have fluctuated with balance patches, so treat them as ranges rather than guarantees.

Is sailing AFKable?
Partially. Salvaging in a safe spot can be semi-AFK, and the Crystal Extractor adds passive gains. Trials and bounty tasks require more attention.

What is the Crystal Extractor?
A passive building you can construct that periodically harvests crystals or resources that grant XP. It was tuned after launch to reduce per-harvest XP to prevent too rapid passive leveling, so check the latest patch notes before planning around it.

Which RuneLite plugins should I install first?
Start with salvage spot highlighter, extractor timer, and route tracker. These three give the best immediate returns for beginners.

Do I need combat to do Sailing?
Not initially. Most early activities are non-combat. As you explore further islands and certain salvage sites, you may need basic combat gear for safety.

Closing thoughts

Sailing is one of the most exciting additions to Old School RuneScape in years. It offers a rich mix of skilling, exploration, and incremental progression that will reward both methodical players and those who like to optimize. As a beginner, focus on learning the controls, building cargo and utility upgrades first, and choosing a training method that matches how much attention you want to give the game. Keep an eye on patch notes and community guides because the devs are actively balancing XP and rewards in response to player behavior. With a sensible plan, you can enjoy the journey and reach level 99 without burning out.