Free-to-play Firemaking training

Introduction
This article gives tips on training the Firemaking skill for Free players. Firemaking is often considered to be one of the easiest skills to train in F2P because of its fast experience rates and often low cost. Logs obtained "free" from training woodcutting can also easily be burnt to train firemaking, and cutting and burning a log will always give slightly more firemaking experience than woodcutting experience. P2P firemaking actually only offers a few boosts and extras, and the main methods of burning willow, maple, or yew logs are available in F2P.

In F2P, the only reasonable ways to get faster total experience per hour (in any skill(s)) than burning maple logs are cooking swordfish, making wines, smithing adamant platebodies, or smithing rune platelegs, all of which are much higher level and much more expensive than burning maple logs. If yew logs are bought and burned, only making wines would be faster experience per hour.

Basics

 * Training firemaking typically involves training near a bank and repeatedly withdrawing banked logs and burning them.
 * A Tinderbox is needed to light any fire.
 * A method sometimes called power firemaking is used when lighting consecutive fires. To power light, click use on the tinderbox with the logs just as your player is starting to stand up from lighting the previous fire. This results in the next fire being lit without seeing an animation of the player lighting the fire.
 * Fires can be lit at a rate of 1 per 4 game ticks, or 1 per 2.4 seconds. This fastest time per fire is achieved whenever there is no re-lighting animation.
 * The tinderbox may be placed anywhere in the inventory, but often is placed in the center of the inventory to decrease the average distance the cursor must be moved per log.
 * After lighting a fire, the player always moves west unless there's an obstacle.
 * Because lighting consecutive fires usually involves creating a line going east-west, places usually considered good to train firemaking have an east-west stretch of open space. Good places to train include The Grand Exchange, Falador east bank, Varrock west bank, Edgeville, and Draynor.

Level 1-15
At first, only normal logs, which give 40 experience each, can be burned. Trees, evergreens, dead and dying trees can be cut nearly everywhere in RuneScape, ranging from Lumbridge to the Wilderness. Also, on the second floor of Lumbridge castle, there are four logs spawns that can be lit along with logs brought by the player. Purchasing the logs for 1 to 15 firemaking is not necessary as getting level 15 is only several minute's work; only 61 logs have to be burnt to raise firemaking from level 1 to 15.

Level 15-30
After level 15, Oak logs, which give 60 experience each, should be burnt. Oak trees can be cut almost everywhere. Level 15 woodcutting to cut the oak logs may be useful; oak logs also can be easily bought from the Grand Exchange. About 183 oak logs have to be burnt to get from 15 firemaking to 30.

Level 30-45
After level 30, Willow logs, which give 90 experience each, should be burnt. Willow logs are always available at Grand Exchange for coins each, or they can be cut with 30+ woodcutting. Willow trees can be cut near the River Lum in Lumbridge, near Edgeville, near the sea south of Draynor bank, south of the cabbage patch northwest of Draynor Village, or in Rimmington. You could also go to a crowded world and go to a spot where many woodcutters are, and pick up the logs they often drop. The power leveling cost is coins per experience. Burning willow logs is essentially the cheapest way to train firemaking.

Level 45-60/99
After level 45, Maple logs, which give 135 experience each, should be burnt. Maple trees do not exist in F2P, but maple logs are a F2P item, and they be bought on the Grand Exchange for 36 coins each. The power leveling cost is coins per experience. Maples are perhaps logs most commonly used to train firemaking. They are much faster experience per hour than willows but are still very cheap. Maples actually used to be worth around 100 coins each, but decreased in price because they can be obtained in bulk from the the kingdom of Miscellania. Many players burn maples all the way to level 99 firemaking.

Level 60-99
Free players who want to train firemaking faster than allowed by maple logs may move up to NOFDOGFDOGFDGDRFGDFGDFGDFGDF

Maximizing number of logs burnt per hour
Lighting a line of 27 fires and then running back to the bank usually results in rounds of around 80 seconds. This means that approximately 1200 logs can be burnt per hour.

This rate can be increased by eliminating the need to run back to the bank. The most effective way to do this is to light a line of about 13 fires to the east after or before lighting a line of 13 fires to the west. This is sometimes called the "backward lighting" method. This can be done by clicking on the ground of the location of the next fire the instant the previous fire is lit, then quickly using the tinderbox on a log. If done correctly, the player will run to the new location and light the next fire without a re-lighting animation. By using this method, the round can start and end right next to the bank. Rounds can be completed in approximately 70 seconds instead of 80. Using this method can result in 1300 to 1400 logs burnt per hour.

An alternative way to speed up firemaking training without using the backwards lighting method is teleporting to the center of Varrock, lighting a line of fires west, banking at Varrock west, bank, and teleporting back to the center of Varrock with new logs.

The backwards lighting method can actually be used to light fires in any direction or even run while firemaking. A fire can typically be lit up to 4 squares away from the player. Attempting to light a fire over 4 squares away from the player may result in the player lighting the fire without even stopping running. It is possible to run continuously at full speed while lighting fires. However, this is very difficult to do and not really useful. However, the fact that the backwards lighting method works in any direction does mean that you do not necessarily need an open east-west space to train firemaking. It is possible to light lines north-south, diagonally, or even make designs such as hearts or circles. Having someone "steal your spot" is not a problem whatsoever if you can just start lighting in another direction.

Combining Woodcutting and Firemaking
Woodcutting and firemaking can be combined by cutting an inventory of logs, then burning them. The most effective F2P logs to perform this method on are willows. A great location for this is the willows south of Port Sarim. This location is usually empty because there is no bank nearby, but there is plenty of space to burn logs.

Cutting and burning yews would result in slower woodcutting and firemaking experience per hour because of reduced woodcutting speed.