Old School RuneScape Sailing Guide

Progressing through all 99 sailing levels in Old School RuneScape‘s latest upgrade could quickly turn into a disaster if you have no clear roadmap. This guide will provide you with tips and tricks on how sailing actually works in OSRS, including Sea Charting, Port and Courier Tasks, Salvaging, and Bounty Hunting.

How Sea Charting Works

It’s important to start your sailing journey correctly by using the Captain’s Log that allows you to track tasks easily, with markers, spyglasses, rocks, and currents. Chart all the regions for bonus XP and use rapid shortcuts to get there faster. Don’t go into Salvaging or Bounty Hunting, and start with easy quests and tasks. Here’s the most efficient progression path for levels 1-45 before you can go into the more dangerous territories:

The Best Port and Courier Tasks

Be sure to combine general quests with port tasks for maximum travel XP. If you’re really efficient, you can earn as much as 55–75k XP per hour of gameplay, which will significantly boost your progression towards level 99. Use notice boards at ports, pick up and load the cargo, sail towards a given destination, unload at the ledgerand earn XP with coinsNote that every time you complete a round-trip, your XP is effectively doubled. Here are the best port and courier spots:

• Early game: Pandemonium, Port Sarim, Musa Point.
• Mid game: Rellekka, Aldarin, Sunset, Port Roberts, Etceteria.
• Late game: Prifddinas, Tirannwn Bight, Port Tyras, Deepfin.

The best strategy here is to stack tasks to the same ports and use a crew with Jobless Jim and Olga who will carry out all the work. Note that the longer the distance to the next port, the more XP you earn. You can also charter and teleport between the different notice boards, but summon your boat carefully, or it may drop your cargo.

How to Salvage and Bounty Hunt

You can start salvaging as soon as you reach level 15 or higher. To be able to salvage wreckage goods, you’ll need a skiff and a salvaging hook. Then, park at a wreckage and auto-gather resources, which you can process at any port for extra XP. The best spot for salvaging is the Chinchompa Island, but you’ll need at least two crew members, such as Jim and Jenkins. Here’s a complete breakdown of how much XP you can earn at different levels using the following types of hooks:

Lastly, once you reach level 30 or higher, you can start taking on the bounty hunts, which will boost your XP gain even further, although they can be quite dangerous. You can find these bounty hunts at the notice boards and sail to the location of the monster that needs to be killed. Use cannons with steel or mithril balls, collect all the valuable drops once they’re dead, and claim the bounty at any port master. Here’s the most optimal progression path for bounty hunting:

It’s highly advisable to skip bounties that require you to hunt and kill Narwhals or Krakens, as these monsters are extremely hard to defeat. Also, don’t forget to regularly repair your kits between the hunts, or you may get stuck without enough cannonballs.