OSRS optimal quest guide: best order, XP rewards and efficiency tips

What is the optimal quest order?

The optimal quest order is a community-curated sequence designed to minimise the amount of time you need to spend training skills. The principle is simple: by completing quests in a specific order, the XP rewards from earlier quests provide the skill levels needed to start later quests, reducing the amount of direct grinding.

For example, starting with Waterfall Quest (which has no skill requirements) gives you 13,750 Attack and Strength XP — enough to skip the early combat training entirely. Then The Knight's Sword provides 12,725 Smithing XP, bypassing the slow early smithing levels. Each subsequent quest builds on the rewards from previous ones.

The guide does not aim to minimise total completion time, travel distance, or cost. It focuses purely on XP efficiency. For route efficiency, consider using quest helper plugins and teleport tabs.

Best early quests for maximum XP

These are the quests that provide the most value for new accounts. They should be completed as early as possible regardless of your long-term goals.

Waterfall Quest is the single most important early quest. It has no requirements, takes 10 minutes to complete, and rewards 13,750 Attack and Strength XP. This can take a new account from level 1 to 30+ Attack and Strength instantly.

The Knight's Sword requires 10 Mining and rewards 12,725 Smithing XP — enough to jump from level 1 to 29 Smithing. This is one of the most efficient XP-to-time ratios in the game.

Tree Gnome Village rewards 11,450 Attack XP and unlocks the Spirit Tree network. Fight Arena rewards 12,150 Attack XP. Together, these quests can push your Attack to 40+ without any combat training.

Other critical early quests: Witch's House (6,325 HP XP), Dwarf Cannon (4,000 Slayer XP), The Grand Tree (18,400 Attack XP, 2,150 Magic XP), and Priest in Peril (unlocks Morytania).

Quest reward categories and their impact

Quest rewards in OSRS can be grouped into several categories: skill XP lamps, permanent unlocks, equipment, transportation, and spellbooks.

Skill XP lamps are the most common reward. Many quests offer a choice of which skill to receive XP in, allowing you to fill gaps in your skill requirements. The key is to save these lamps for skills that are slow to train, such as Runecraft, Agility, or Prayer.

Permanent unlocks include access to new areas (Feldip Hills, Fossil Island, Kebos Lowlands), new training methods (Bird houses, Herbiboar), and new activities (Fairy Rings, Spirit Trees). These unlocks are often worth more than the raw XP rewards.

Equipment unlocks include the Dragon scimitar (Monkey Madness I), Barrows Gloves (Recipe for Disaster), and the Neitiznot faceguard (The Fremennik Exiles). These items are best-in-slot for many levels and make training significantly faster.

How to plan your own quest route

While the official optimal quest guide provides a complete order, you can customise it based on your goals. If you want the Quest Cape, follow the full order. If you only want specific unlocks (like barrows gloves or fairy rings), focus on the quests that lead to those unlocks.

The OSRS wiki's optimal quest guide is maintained by the community and updated whenever new quests are released. It includes a full table listing every quest with columns for quick-guide links, new skill levels, quest points, and additional info. Bookmark this page and check it whenever you're planning a quest session.

For tracking your progress, use the in-game quest list, third-party plugins (Quest Helper, Optimal Quest Guide plugin), or the LootPath quest planner tool. The key is to never complete quests out of order — you might miss an easy XP reward that would have saved you hours of training.