Starting Area
Burthorpe's points of interest
Players will begin their RuneScape journey in Burthorpe where an invasion is being held off. This is a guided tutorial and various characters and
tutors will walk you through a series of
tasks. These tasks will introduce you to each area of the game, giving you specific and optional things to do.
The map to the right shows the key locations in Burthorpe and the table below shows what each map icon means. You can find out more about the map icons in World Map. Taverley's points of interest are shown further down the page.
Burthorpe Key
Agility tutor |
Altar |
Apothecary |
Bank |
Combat tutor |
Distraction / Diversion |
Dungeon |
Food shop |
Herblore tutor |
Hunter tutor |
Loom |
Loyalty rewards shop |
Minigame |
Prayer tutor |
Smithing tutor |
Spinning wheel |
Sword shop |
Quest start |
Runecrafting tutor |
Water source |
Taverley's points of interest
Taverley Key
Construction tutor |
Cooking tutor |
Cooking range |
Dungeoneering tutor |
Farming patch |
Farming tutor |
Firemaking tutor |
Fishing spot |
Fishing tutor |
Fletching tutor |
Pet shop |
POH portal |
Shortcut |
Slayer tutor |
Transportation |
Watermill |
Woodcutting tutor |
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Warnings
A common warning
As you travel about RuneScape you'll undoubtedly discover several places that can be hazardous, when you enter these a warning will pop up, usually looking like the warning to the right. After you have visited these locations several times you will be able to turn the warnings off. If you'd prefer to have them turned on, you can visit the Doomsayer in Lumbridge.
Achievements & Challenges
The Achievements and Challenges systems are available for those who want to learn about Gielinor by doing it themselves. The system can be accessed by clicking on the icon on your sidebar showing a sheet of paper with a green tick, which will reveal your Pinned Task. Click on Open Noticeboard to read the details of each task and complete them to unlock rewards that can be gained from Explorer Jack in central Lumbridge.
You can also visit the shops in Lumbridge, Burthorpe and Taverlery to receive free items - a taster of what the shops have for sale. There is a limit to the number of times you can receive these free items in a short period, but they are useful for replacing the odd fishing rod or pickaxe that has been lost.
Navigating RuneScape
Main article: World Map
RuneScape is a massive world, and it's pretty easy to get lost if you're new. To help you find your way around, you'll probably find the world map a useful tool. Simply click on the globe in the top-right of the game screen to open a map centred on your location.
Some important locations also feature signposts. You can use these to find out what cities or towns are nearby, along with some basic directions to get there.
Quests
Main article: Quests
There are different levels of quests in RuneScape - Novice, Intermediate, Experienced, Master and Grandmaster.
To find the starting location of possible quests to begin, look for the Quest Start symbol on your minimap.
To start you off, there are a selection of quests you can do in and around the Burthorpe/Taverley area. We recommend the following::
- Let Them Eat Pie
Start by speaking to Nails Newton, outside the Pick and Lute tavern in Taverley.
- Wolf Whistle
Start by speaking to Pikkupstix in Taverley.
- Druidic Ritual
Start by speaking to Kaqemeex at the stone circle north of Taverley.
- Death Plateau
Start by speaking to Denulth in Burthorpe.
For a list of all of the novice quests available in RuneScape please see the Novice Quests listings.
When you've completed a couple, you might like to look through your Quest Journal for more to do. There are well over a hundred quests in RuneScape, so you might like to order them by difficulty, your progress, or whether they are free or members' quests. You can do this using the drop-down menu at the top of the quest list, and you can remove any quests you cannot start by checking the 'Filter' option.
To show you where the quests begin, you can right-click any quest in the list and select 'Show on the world map'. This will load the world map and centre it on the quest start, so you can quickly determine where you need to go. You can also right-click on a quest and set it as an objective.
Skills
Main article: Skills
Skills are the abilities of player characters, which may be improved by practising them. Performing actions using skills rewards the player with experience in the appropriate skill(s). Once enough experience is gained, your level in the skill will increase. As higher levels are reached, more activities become available for that skill.
When you first arrive in RuneScape you may find that you need to obtain various items before you can start training your skills. Many of the items you need to get started are provided for free by the various skill tutors found around Burthorpe and Taverley.
Note that while all skills can be accessed by free-to-play players, some (marked with 
in the list below) can only be trained to level 5. Players wishing to continue levelling those skills will need to subscribe.
Combat Skills
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Melee combat is usually what you think of when you imagine combat: using a sword to attack. It is divided into - Attack, Defence, Constitution and Strength. Defence and Constitution are more global aspects of this skill, being valuable for all combat types.
You can find out more about Melee in Melee - The Basics. |
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Magic combat uses runes in combination to cast many different spells. Magic is very useful against Melee users due to their reliance on metallic armour which conducts magic easily. There are also various non-combat spells that can be used with other skills.
You can find out more about Magic in Magic - The Basics. |
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Ranged combat allows a player to keep their distance from their target, using weapons such as bows and throwing knives to slay their enemies. Ranged does more damage against Magic users whose armour is unable to resist piercing objects.
You can find out more about Ranged in Ranged - The Basics. |
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Prayer works alongside your combat choice. Prayers can boost your skills, reduce damage and even protect against certain attacks.
You can find out more about Prayer in Prayer - The Basics. |
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Summoning is the art of bringing familiars through from another realm to assist you. The familiars you summon mostly help against your enemies, but some can assist with other skills too.
You can find out more about Summoning in Summoning - The Basics. |
Artisan Skills
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Construction allows you to build your own home as well as providing a source of income if you choose to sell your wares to other players.
You can find out more about Construction in Construction - The Basics. |
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In RuneScape, food heals you when you eat it, so Cooking is a useful skill to provide yourself with food to heal those lost life points.
You can find out more about Cooking in Cooking - The Basics. |
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Crafting is a very useful skill, allowing you to make a variety of objects. Crafting helps in a lot of other skills, from Cooking to Farming and even Ranged combat.
You can find out more about Crafting in Crafting - The Basics. |
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This is one of the easiest skills to start training as all you need is a tinderbox and some logs. Firemaking is useful for cooking meat or fish when you are not near a Cooking range.
You can find out more about Firemaking in Firemaking - The Basics. |
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Fletching allows you to make bolts, arrows and other projectiles for your ranged weapons. You can use these yourself or sell them to other players.
You can find out more about Fletching in Fletching - The Basics. |
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Herblore is a skill that is useful for all players, no matter their combat style as it can produce potions. These potions can raise skills and heal.
You can find out more about Herblore in Herblore - The Basics. |
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For players who use Magic in their combat, Runecrafting is the perfect skill to compliment this as it allows you to make the Runes you use to cast spells.
You can find out more about Runecrafting in Runecrafting - The Basics. |
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It's a good idea to make some armour to protect yourself against attacks when building up your combat skills. You can do this by smelting the ores that you get through Mining and then smithing the bars into armour.
You can find out more about Smithing in Smithing - The Basics. |
Gathering Skills
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Farming allows you to produce your own food. It is a good skill to use for money making as you can sell this food to other players. You can also heal yourself in combat with your produce.
You can find out more about Farming in Farming - The Basics. |
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This skill gives you a method of obtaining food other than by killing an animal and cooking its meat. It is an essential skill throughout the game, as fish can be caught in most waterways and along much of the coastline.
You can find out more about Fishing in Fishing - The Basics. |
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Hunter is a skill involving stealth and camoflague. Using a variety of methods, Hunter lets you catch animals all over RuneScape.
You can find out more about Hunter in Hunter - The Basics. |
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Mining allows you to extract different materials from certain rocks. These ores can be used to make weapons and armour through Smithing.
You can find out more about Hunter in Hunter - The Basics. |
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This skill is useful because it enables you to obtain a ready supply of logs that you can burn to cook food, or fletch into bows and arrows. To start, you just need a hatchet.
You can find out more about Woodcutting in Woodcutting - The Basics. |
Support Skills
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Agility enables you to run for longer and get through various obstacles and shortcuts throughout RuneScape.
You can find out more about Agility in Agility - The Basics. |
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Visiting the halls of Daemonheim can be a great way to introduce yourself to the skills and combat of RuneScape. Training your Dungeoneering is also safe, so you don't have to worry about dying and losing your hard-fought items.
You can find out more about Dungeoneering in Dungeoneering - The Basics. |
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Slayer lets you kill what could previously not be killed. Specific methods for killing these creatures are provided by a Slayer Master.
You can find out more about Slayer in Slayer - The Basics. |
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Taking from the rich and giving to... yourself. Thieving is a good way to gain wealth in RuneScape by liberating it from others.
You can find out more about Thieving in Thieving - The Basics. |
For more information about all the skills available to train in RuneScape please see the Skills section of the Game Guide.
Other Players
Playing an online role-playing game like RuneScape will require you to communicate and sometimes rely on the help of others in order for you to complete your tasks. Some players make use of this opportunity by trading with others and creating alliances to build up a network of friends that they can rely on in-game to help them. For more information about the advantages of having friends in RuneScape please see our Controls guides on Friends and Trading.
