For players enjoying free-to-play (F2P) Oldschool Runescape, the dream of earning a bond for membership purely through in-game money making is often considered. In RuneScape 3 (RS3), achieving this through F2P methods in a reasonable timeframe is quite feasible. However, when it comes to Oldschool Runescape (OSRS), particularly through skilling, the reality is significantly more challenging. This article explores why relying on F2P skilling for OSRS bond money making may not be as practical as many hope, especially if you’re aiming for an AFK (away from keyboard) approach.
One popular F2P money-making skill, fishing, quickly reveals the difficulties. Due to the persistent issue of undetected and unbanned bots, fish prices in OSRS have plummeted to historically low levels. As highlighted by SirPlugger’s observations, fishing bots can operate with impunity, reaching high levels like 82 without intervention. This botting problem severely undermines the profitability of fishing for legitimate F2P players seeking to make Oldschool Runescape money.
Woodcutting is another F2P skilling method often suggested for generating OSRS gold. While potentially more lucrative than fishing in the current market, the sheer time investment required to make bond money through woodcutting is substantial. Referencing calculations from the OSRS community, obtaining enough GP for an OSRS bond might necessitate cutting around 40,000 yew logs. The most accessible F2P yew tree locations, such as behind Varrock Castle, yield approximately 130-220 yew logs per hour, according to the Oldschool Runescape Wiki.
Even at an average rate of 175 yew logs chopped per hour, accumulating 40,000 logs would demand an astonishing 229 hours of dedicated woodcutting. Committing to an eight-hour “workday” of OSRS woodcutting would still translate to roughly 19 days of labor just to afford a single OSRS bond, which only grants 14 days of membership. This stark reality illustrates the immense time commitment required to make bond money through F2P woodcutting in Oldschool Runescape.
In conclusion, while technically possible to make Oldschool Runescape money in F2P to purchase a bond through skilling, the efficiency and practicality are questionable. Methods like fishing are hampered by botting, and even more viable skills like woodcutting demand an extensive time investment that may outweigh the benefits for many players seeking free membership through bonds. For those serious about obtaining membership through in-game earnings, exploring alternative, potentially more active and efficient, money-making strategies within F2P or considering purchasing membership directly might be more realistic pathways in Oldschool Runescape.
