Ironman Construction Training OSRS Ultimate Guide

Ironman Construction Training OSRS Ultimate Guide

Training Construction as an Ironman in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is a unique challenge due to the mode’s self-sufficiency requirements. Unlike regular accounts, Ironmen can’t rely on the Grand Exchange for planks, making resource gathering a core part of the journey. This guide dives into efficient methods, material strategies, and tips to level Construction from 1 to 99, tailored specifically for Ironman accounts. Whether you’re aiming for a maxed Player-Owned House (POH) or just useful teleports, we’ve got you covered with practical steps to succeed.

Construction is one of the most rewarding skills for Ironmen, unlocking powerful features in your POH that streamline gameplay. From teleportation hubs to restoration pools, a well-built house saves time and resources across other skills. However, it’s also one of the most resource-intensive skills, requiring planks that you’ll need to source yourself. Understanding the benefits and planning your approach is key to making the grind worthwhile.

Key Benefits of Construction for Ironmen

  • Teleportation Portals: Build portals for instant travel to key locations like Varrock or Camelot, reducing reliance on runes.
  • Restoration Pools: Recover hitpoints, prayer, and run energy, perfect for Slayer or bossing.
  • Storage Solutions: Costume rooms and STASH units free up bank space, critical for Ultimate Ironmen.
  • Mythical Cape Mount: Boosts plank efficiency at higher levels, saving resources.
  • Quest and Diary Requirements: Levels like 50 or 83 unlock diary tasks and quest rewards.

Challenges of Ironman Construction

The biggest hurdle is gathering planks, as Ironmen must cut logs and convert them at a sawmill or through other methods. This adds a Woodcutting grind and coin costs for plank-making. Time management becomes crucial, as you’ll balance gathering, converting, and building to optimize experience rates.

Early Levels (1-33) Starting Your Construction Journey

Getting started with Construction as an Ironman is about leveraging quests and low-cost methods to skip tedious early levels. The goal is to reach level 16 quickly for efficient training with Crafting Tables.

Questing for Early Experience

Quests are a lifesaver for early Construction levels, providing experience and even a POH. Here’s the best one to prioritize:

  • Daddy’s Home: Rewards 544 Construction XP (enough for level 8), a POH, and 25 planks. Requires 5 bolts of cloth (3,250 coins), so weigh this against buying a house for 1,000 coins.
  • Tower of Life: Needs level 10 Construction, grants 1,000 XP, pushing you closer to level 16.

Complete Daddy’s Home first to secure your house, then focus on gathering basic materials.

Gathering Early Planks

Regular planks are your go-to for levels 1-16. Here are the best sources:

  • Barbarian Outpost: 4 plank spawns near a bank. World-hop to collect ~600 planks/hour with weight-reducing gear.
  • Port Khazard: Plank spawns near a bank, similar to Barbarian Outpost.
  • Tempoross: Fishing minigame rewards regular and oak planks, though in small quantities. Good for passive gains while training Fishing.
  • Wintertodt: Requires a POH to gain Construction XP (4x your level per brazier repair). Train to level 20 Construction first to maximize XP, then combine with Firemaking.

Training Methods (1-16)

Build Crude Wooden Chairs in your POH’s Parlour (2 planks, 2 nails each, 58 XP). Use nails from the sawmill operator at the Lumber Yard. At level 8, switch to Wooden Chairs (3 planks, 3 nails, 87 XP) until level 16.

Level 16-33 Crafting Tables

At level 16, build Crafting Table 1 in your POH’s Workshop (4 oak planks, 240 XP). This is material-efficient and faster than chairs. Source oak planks by cutting oak trees near Rimmington or Seers’ Village, then convert at the sawmill.

Mid-Level Training (33-50) Scaling Up Efficiency

Mid-levels focus on oak-based furniture to balance cost and XP rates. You’ll also start planning for teak planks as you approach level 47 for a game-changing method.

Oak Larders (33-50)

From level 33, build Oak Larders in the Kitchen (8 oak planks, 480 XP each). These offer solid XP rates and are affordable for Ironmen cutting their own logs. Cut oaks at the Woodcutting Guild or Gnome Stronghold, then use your POH butler to convert logs to planks (requires level 40 Construction for a Demon Butler).

Obtaining Oak Planks

Method Planks/Hour Notes
Barbarian Outpost Spawns ~600 Free, but requires world-hopping.
Cutting Oaks + Butler 5,000-7,000 Fastest; needs coins for sawmill fees.
Managing Miscellania ~100-200/day Passive; assign workers to hardwood.
Tempoross Low quantities Passive while Fishing.

The butler method is the most efficient: teleport to Camelot, grab logs, teleport to your POH, send the butler to the sawmill, and repeat. This yields thousands of planks per hour, saving time for building.

Alternative Mahogany Homes (40+)

At level 40, Mahogany Homes contracts become available. These involve building furniture for NPCs across Gielinor, offering ~2-3x more XP per plank but slower overall (~50-100k XP/hour vs. 200-300k for Oak Larders). Use this if you want a more interactive method or lack coins for sawmill fees. Stockpile noted planks from activities like Shayzien gang drops for efficiency.

High-Level Training (47-99) Mythical Capes and Beyond

Level 47 unlocks the most efficient Ironman Construction method, provided you’ve completed Dragon Slayer II. From here, it’s all about maximizing XP per plank and scaling to 99.

Mounted Mythical Capes (47-99)

At level 47, build Mounted Mythical Capes in the POH’s Quest Hall (3 teak planks, 1 mythical cape, 370 XP each). The mythical cape (from Dragon Slayer II) grants a 100 XP bonus per build, boosting XP per plank to 123 (vs. 90 for standard teak furniture). This drastically reduces the logs needed for 99, making it the go-to method.

XP Rates: Expect 400-600k XP/hour with a good plank supply, depending on your butler’s efficiency.

Sourcing Teak Planks

  • Fossil Island Teaks: Cut teaks, use the agility shortcut to bank, and convert via butler. Fastest active method.
  • Ape Atoll Teaks: Post-Monkey Madness II, cut teaks and teleport to POH for butler conversion. Use Arceuus spellbook for quick returns.
  • Managing Miscellania: Assign 5 workers to teak Woodcutting for ~500-700 logs/day. Best passive option.
  • Wintertodt Crates: Supply crates drop teak logs based on Woodcutting level; decent for low-effort gains.
  • PvM Drops: High-level bosses like Zulrah or Chambers of Xeric drop teak/mahogany logs, supplementing your stock.

Mahogany Furniture (70+)

For variety, switch to Mahogany Benches at level 77 (4 mahogany planks, 560 XP). These are faster than teaks but costlier. Use mahogany logs from Miscellania or PvM if coins aren’t a bottleneck. Expect ~700k XP/hour with a maxed butler.

Tips and Tricks for Ironman Construction

Maximize your efficiency with these strategies to save time, coins, and sanity while training Construction.

Optimizing Plank Conversion

  • Plank Sack: Unlock via Mahogany Homes to carry more planks, reducing bank trips.
  • Plank Make Spell: At 86 Magic (post-Dream Mentor), this Lunar spell converts logs to planks at 70% of sawmill cost, granting Magic XP (~90k/hour).
  • Butler Management: Upgrade to a Demon Butler at level 50 for faster plank runs. Keep 500k+ coins in your POH coffers to avoid interruptions.

Passive Resource Gathering

Use downtime to stockpile logs:

  • Managing Miscellania: After Royal Trouble, assign workers to teak/mahogany for steady log income. Maintain 750k coins daily for max output.
  • Forestry Events: Gain logs and bark while Woodcutting, tradable for sawmill vouchers at the Forestry shop.
  • Wintertodt/Tempoross: Combine with Firemaking/Fishing for logs and planks alongside other rewards.

Ultimate Ironman Considerations

Ultimate Ironmen face extra challenges due to no banking. Use these workarounds:

  • Mahogany Homes: Best method, as it uses fewer planks and provides combat XP. Store noted planks from Shayzien drops.
  • Item Retrieval Service: Store logs/planks to free inventory space during training.
  • Limestone Attack Stones: At level 59, build these in the Games Room for decent XP with minimal inventory management.

Money-Saving Tips

Construction eats coins for sawmill fees, so optimize your funds:

  • High Alchemy: Unlock at 55 Magic to alch PvM loot for sawmill coins.
  • Agility Pyramid: At 30+ Agility, earn ~200k coins/hour selling artefacts, ideal for early-game funding.
  • Teak Over Mahogany: Stick to teak planks unless you’re swimming in coins, as mahogany doubles the cost for marginal XP gains.

Training Construction as an Ironman in OSRS is a grind, but with the right strategy, it’s a rewarding investment. Focus on quests early, scale with oak and teak methods, and leverage passive sources like Miscellania to ease the log burden. By level 83, you’ll have a maxed POH with teleports, pools, and storage that make your Ironman life infinitely easier. Happy building!