You know that feeling when you get a clue scroll drop and wonder if it’s worth stopping everything to complete it? I used to ignore most clues because I thought they were just time wasters. Boy, was I wrong about some of them.
This clue scroll calculator changed how I approach treasure trails completely. Instead of guessing which clues are worth my time, I actually know the expected value now. Makes the whole decision process so much easier.
My Clue Scroll Journey (The Good and Ugly)
The Early Days of Ignorance
Started playing OSRS and clue scrolls seemed like distractions. Got an easy clue from a goblin, spent 30 minutes running around for 20k loot. Thought all clues were that terrible and ignored them for months.
Biggest mistake ever.
The Master Clue Reality Check
Friend convinced me to try a master clue he couldn’t complete. Took me 3 hours of googling solutions and running across the map. Reward? 50k worth of junk and a rune item.
That’s when I realized I needed to understand clue economics properly. Some clues print money, others are complete time wasters.
What This Calculator Actually Shows You
Simple concept but powerful results. Pick your clue type from the dropdown and see the real expected value. Not just the maximum possible reward that gets you hyped, but the actual average return you can expect.
Why This Matters
Most players focus on the big ticket items. Third age pieces, Gilded armor, rare cosmetics worth hundreds of millions. But what’s your actual chance of getting those? And what do you typically get instead?
The calculator breaks this down with real data.
Breaking Down Each Clue Type
Beginner Clues These are interesting. Super quick to complete, almost no requirements, but rewards are obviously limited. I used to skip these completely until I realized they’re actually decent GP per hour when you factor in completion time.
Takes maybe 5-10 minutes for most beginner clues. Even if you’re getting 30-50k average, that’s still reasonable money for the time invested.
Easy Clues The bread and butter for many players. Decent requirements, reasonable completion times, and some genuinely good rewards mixed in with the junk.
I’ve done hundreds of easy clues over the years. Most give you standard rewards, but I’ve hit some nice ranger boots and other valuable items that made it all worthwhile.
Medium Clues This is where things get interesting. Medium clues can drop ranger boots, which are worth serious money. But they also drop a lot of garbage.
The calculator shows you whether that time investment makes sense based on your current goals and efficiency standards.
Hard Clues My personal favorite tier. Hard clues have good item variety, reasonable completion times for experienced players, and some genuinely valuable rewards.
Rune god armor pieces, third age items, gilded gear. The potential is there, but so is the risk of spending an hour for 100k worth of runes.
Elite Clues High requirements, longer completion times, but the reward potential is massive. Third age pieces from elite clues can be worth billions.
Problem is, most elite clues don’t give you anything close to that. The calculator helps you decide if the gamble is worth it for your situation.
Master Clues The ultimate treasure trail experience. Combines steps from all other tiers, requires extensive game knowledge, and can take hours to complete.
But when they hit, they HIT. Some of the most valuable items in the game come from master clues. Question is: are you willing to invest the time for those odds?
Real Examples from My Clue Grinding
The Easy Clue Streak
Decided to test easy clues for a week. Did about 50 of them tracking everything. Most were disappointing, but hit ranger boots twice and some decent god armor pieces.
Without the calculator, I might have quit after the first 20 mediocre rewards. Knowing the expected value helped me push through for the bigger picture.
Master Clue Madness
Tried focusing on master clues for a month. Completed 12 of them, spending 2-4 hours each. Got mostly junk, but one clue gave me a third age platebody worth 2.1 billion at the time.
That one item made the entire month worthwhile, but without that lucky hit, I would have lost money considering the time investment. The calculator would have shown me those odds upfront.
Medium Clue Efficiency Testing
Spent two weeks grinding medium clues specifically hunting ranger boots. Did 200+ clues, got 3 pairs of rangers and various other decent drops.
The calculator predicted almost exactly what my total return would be. Having that expectation set properly made the grinding much more bearable.
How I Use This Tool Now
Before Starting Any Clue Session
Check the calculator first. If I’m in efficient mode trying to maximize GP per hour, I might skip certain clue types entirely. If I’m just playing casually, maybe I’ll do whatever clues I get regardless of efficiency.
Planning Clue Grinds
Want to grind clues for a specific goal? The calculator helps me pick which tier gives me the best shot at reaching my target profit within a reasonable timeframe.
Reality Check Tool
Sometimes you get caught up in the excitement of potential rewards. “This master clue could give me third age!” The calculator brings you back to earth with realistic expectations.
Common Misconceptions About Clue Scrolls
“Higher Tier Always Better”
Not necessarily true. Elite clues take way longer than hard clues but don’t always justify the time investment. Sometimes medium clues are more efficient than elites for pure profit.
“You Need Perfect Gear”
Seen players refuse to do clues because they don’t have ornate pool or max teleports. You don’t need perfect efficiency to make clues profitable. The calculator shows returns for average completion times.
“Bad RNG Means Clues Suck”
Did 20 hard clues and got junk? That’s normal. Clue scrolls are gambling, and you need proper sample sizes to see the real returns. Don’t judge based on small streaks.
The Economics of Clue Scrolls
Opportunity Cost Reality
This is huge. Maybe hard clues give you 200k average reward, but they take 45 minutes to complete. Could you make more than 200k in 45 minutes doing something else?
The calculator gives you the data to make that comparison properly.
Market Fluctuations
Clue rewards change value constantly. Ranger boots might be 35M one month and 45M the next. Fashion items spike during events. The calculator should ideally account for current market prices.
Time Investment Variability
Your completion time matters enormously. If you can bang out easy clues in 8 minutes but take 90 minutes for hard clues, that completely changes the efficiency equation.
Strategies That Actually Work
The Mixed Approach
Don’t focus on just one clue type. Keep a variety in your bank and do whatever you’re in the mood for. Sometimes you want quick easy clues, sometimes you want to grind a long master clue.
Batch Processing
Get a bunch of the same clue type and do them all at once. You’ll get into a rhythm and complete them faster. Plus, you’ll see the real average returns instead of getting discouraged by individual bad clues.
Requirement Planning
Higher tier clues need better stats and quest completion. Plan your account progression to handle the clues you want to focus on efficiently.
Personal Clue Scroll Wins and Fails
Best Hits Third age platebody from master clue (2.1B), ranger boots from medium clues (multiple times), various god armor pieces that sold for decent money.
Worst Streaks 20 consecutive hard clues with garbage rewards, master clue that took 4 hours and gave me 200k worth of items, elite clue streak where I lost money on supplies.
The Learning Curve Took months to get efficient at clue completions. Now I can bang out most hard clues in 30-40 minutes. That efficiency improvement totally changed the profitability equation.
Questions This Calculator Answers
Wondering if that clue in your bank is worth completing? Check the expected value against your time investment.
Trying to decide between different clue types? Compare the expected returns and pick what fits your goals.
Want to know if clue scrolls are worth focusing on? See the realistic profit potential for each tier.
Planning to grind clues for a specific item? Understand the odds and expected time investment.
The Real Value of This Tool
Setting Proper Expectations
Clue scrolls are gambling. You might hit big, you might get junk. But knowing the odds helps you make informed decisions about your time investment.
Efficiency Planning
If you’re trying to maximize your gameplay efficiency, this tool shows you exactly where clue scrolls fit into your money making methods.
Goal Setting
Want to make 100M from clue scrolls? The calculator can help you estimate how many clues of each type you’d need to complete on average.
Bottom Line Thoughts
Clue scrolls can be incredibly rewarding or complete time wasters depending on your approach and luck. This calculator gives you the data to make smart decisions instead of just hoping for the best.
I wish I had this tool years ago when I was making gut decisions about which clues to complete. Would have saved me from a lot of inefficient grinding and helped me focus on the clue types that actually matched my goals.