OSRS Treasure Trails beginner guide 2026: clue tiers, dig spots, puzzle boxes and the new puppy helper

What Treasure Trails are

Treasure Trails is OSRS's clue-hunting minigame. Monsters across Gielinor drop clue scrolls; each clue contains a riddle, map, coordinates or puzzle that leads to the next step, and finishing all the steps on a scroll earns a reward casket. It is one of the oldest systems in the game and still one of the best ways to chase rare cosmetics.

Clues come in five tiers for normal players: beginner, easy, medium, hard and elite, plus master for end-game clue hunters (covered in our master clue guide). The tier decides how many steps you solve, what the steps require, and the quality of the casket.

Because clue scrolls are untradeable and steps require no combat in most tiers, Treasure Trails is a friendly activity for mid-level players — and the new puppy helper from the September 2026 dog quest makes digging steps even more approachable.

The clue tiers explained

Beginner clues have a single step and no skill requirements; they drop from pickpocketing and low-level sources around Varrock and Lumbridge. Easy clues take 1-2 steps and are the standard entry point — they drop from low-level monsters and random events, and their steps stick to low-level areas.

Medium clues run 2-4 steps, mostly in members' areas, and drop from mid-level monsters (including many Slayer creatures). Hard clues take 3-5 steps, need mid-high skill levels, and drop from stronger monsters and bosses. Elite clues take 4-6 steps, demand high skill levels and travel, and drop from high-end PvM and the high-tier clue caskets themselves.

The master tier (6-8 steps, from Watson and lower-tier caskets) is the domain of dedicated clue hunters; if you are new, beginner through hard is the sensible progression, and each tier teaches the same step types.

• Beginner: 1 step, no requirements — pickpocketing/low-level sources.
• Easy: 1-2 steps, low-level monsters and random events.
• Medium: 2-4 steps, mostly members' areas, mid-level monsters.
• Hard: 3-5 steps, mid-high skills, stronger monsters and bosses.
• Elite: 4-6 steps, high skills and travel, high-end PvM.
• Master: 6-8 steps, Watson and casket drops — see the master clue guide.

Dig spots and the new puppy helper

Dig steps are the heart of Treasure Trails. A map scroll shows a location with an X, a coordinate clue gives exact map coordinates, and some cryptic clues point to a spot — in every case you walk there, equip a spade and dig. If your clue has a dig step, the dig location is marked on the clue itself, so the skill is really in navigation, not guesswork.

The September 2026 update (A Ruff Situation quest) added a companion that supports exactly this: the official news post states your puppy 'can help you dig for Treasure Trail steps'. The puppy is a low-requirement reward (the quest only needs 15 Crafting), which makes it the earliest clue-hunting helper available to new accounts.

Practical tip: always carry a spade while running clues, and remember that some dig spots sit in dangerous areas — bring food and be ready to run, especially for hard and elite steps.

Other step types: puzzles, emotes and coordinates

Puzzle boxes are sliding-tile puzzles that unlock a new step or the casket itself — they take a few minutes the first time and seconds once you learn the technique. Emote clues ask you to perform a specific emote at a specific place while wearing exact gear; STASH units store that gear at the location so you can do the step without bringing it, and the master clue guide explains the full emote/STASH system.

Anagram clues rearrange an NPC's name (find and talk to that NPC), cryptic clues are word riddles, and coordinate clues point to a map location you dig at. Combat steps appear in higher tiers — usually a single low-level enemy to defeat.

None of these require special items beyond a spade and sometimes a light source or rope, which is why clues are so popular with mid-game players: the reward comes from knowledge, not gear.

Rewards: from rune items to third-age

Casket rewards scale with tier. Beginner and easy caskets hand out rune equipment, cash and small cosmetic drops; medium adds trimmed rune gear; hard and elite caskets can drop gilded equipment, ornament kits, ranger boots and, on the very rare table, third-age and druidic robes — some of the most valuable items in the game.

The clue-hunting pet is the bloodhound, dropped from elite and master caskets at an extremely low rate; our bloodhound money guide covers the hunting economics. Everything in a casket is tradeable unless noted, and casket contents are often worth more sold than used.

For a new player, the realistic goal is simple: do beginner and easy clues for cosmetics and cash, learn the step types, and let higher-tier clues drop naturally as your combat level grows.

Where to start in 2026

Start with the A Ruff Situation quest if you want the puppy helper — it is quick (15 Crafting) and gives you the dig-assist companion immediately. Then pick up beginner and easy clues from the sources listed above and run them until the step types feel automatic.

Before long you will want the convenience unlocks: a spade in your bank tab, the Home teleport and a few runes to travel, and eventually STASH units for emote steps. The master clue guide covers everything above the elite tier if you get the bug.

Treasure Trails has been part of OSRS for over two decades, and the 2026 puppy addition shows Jagex still cares about the system's entry experience — a good time to start your first clue.