Swordfish

For the item used in the quest Hunt for Red Raktuber, see Swordfish (Hunt for Red Raktuber).

A swordfish is a type of fish that players can catch, cook, and use as food. They are considered the best healing food in free-to-play because they can heal up to 1400 life points in one bite. Fionella keeps a stock of 10 on the of the Legends' Guild. They are also a possible reward from level 2 clue scrolls. Swordfish are the best fish that can be cooked in a free to play (F2P) world.

At level 55 Divination members can weave 40 gleaming energy with one swordfish to create a portent of restoration VI or an attuned portent of restoration VI at 67 Divination, which heal 675 or 900 life points respectively.

Fishing
Players can catch swordfish with a minimum level of 50 in Fishing, granting 100 Fishing experience per catch. Fishing for swordfish takes a longer amount of time than lobsters because tuna is caught along with them.

Raw swordfish can be fished from the sea with a harpoon (in your tool belt or inventory, wielding a barb-tailed harpoon is another possibility) in various locations, such as Catherby, Musa point, and the Fishing Guild. When harpoon fishing, it is very likely that more tuna will be caught than swordfish. With a January 19 2010 update, a high Agility level may allow two swordfish to be caught at once, although experience is only gained for a single one. When doing a task to catch swordfish, catching two counts towards two even though experience is only granted for the first catch.

Barbarian fishing is another possible option when fishing for swordfish. Hand fishing gives an extra 10 Strength experience for each swordfish, and requires level 70 Fishing and level 50 Strength. Note that barbarian fishing is a members-only ability. Contrary to popular belief, barehanded fishing is NOT slower than regular fishing with a harpoon. The only difference resides in the awarded Strength experience when using fishing barehanded. Note that barbarian (barehanded) fishing in Cage/Harpoon slots will require a Fishing level of 70 and a Strength level of 50.

Cooking
Swordfish can also be cooked with a minimum level 45 in Cooking, granting 140 Cooking experience, or with the bonfire cooking bonus 154 cooking experience. Players can accidentally burn swordfish while cooking until they reach level 86 in Cooking, or until level 81 when using cooking gauntlets.

At Cooking level 45, cooking swordfish yields an 80% burn rate; therefore, it is not recommended that players cook swordfish until their level is 60 or above. If you do not mind burning a moderate number of swordfish, level 50 Cooking yields a burn rate of approximately 30%. At 67 Cooking using the Lumbridge castle special stove, you will burn about 20% (98/500) of the swordfish. At 80 Cooking using the Lumbridge castle special stove, you will burn about 5.7% (28/493) of the swordfish (0 to 4 burnt in each inventory). Using cooking gauntlets at Cooking level 80, you will burn approximately 0.2% of the swordfish. At 80 Cooking using logs, you will burn about 8.7% (45/516) of the swordfish (0 to 7 burnt in each inventory).

In January 2011, an unprecedented price drop in the Grand Exchange set raw swordfish lower than cooked swordfish. This offered players an opportunity to buy raw swordfish, cook it, and market it at a higher price. Also, unless the player's Cooking level is exceptionally high, burnt fish will offset the profits from cooking.

Economic impact
Swordfish has generally been a popular trading item among merchants in the Grand Exchange. Demand for swordfish has been consistently high as it is the highest-healing free-to-play fish. With the introduction of Stiles on 21 April 2010, free-to-play players can fish and bank Swordfish between 3 and 4 times faster than before. This has led to a substantial increase in the supply of swordfish and therefore a dramatic decrease in their price, from 500 coins to around 300 coins. Swordfish is now in high supply, and is much more affordable than it was prior to the update. In addition, the price of swordfish fell to record lows after the Return of Free Trade, to about 150 gold.

However, following Bot-Nuking Day/ClusterFlutterer, the supply of swordfish from botting severely decreased which resulted in swordfish prices rising to over 350 gold.

After the Evolution of Combat update, prices have suffered variations, that gradually lowered its market value, set nowadays to 170-180 gp at the GE.

Since legacy mode was introduced, there has been an increase in the price of swordfish because many players started PKing again and, as it is the highest healing food in f2p, people started buying more of them.

Levels 1 to 99

 * }

Levels 100 and above

 * }

Other
Noted swordfish can sometimes be found inside barrels.

Trivia

 * When barbarian fishing swordfish, the fish used to appear to come out fully cooked, rather than the pink raw colour.
 * The value of one swordfish in Mobilising Armies is 81 Investment Credits.
 * A bug used to exist with the tool belt mechanism such that players with 55-69 Fishing would automatically hand-fish for tuna, which thereby made it impossible for them to catch swordfish until level 70 unless they equipped a sacred clay harpoon, barb-tail harpoon or kept an extra harpoon in their inventory.