Skills

Skills are a player's abilities that may be developed throughout the game. Skills are trained by various actions which use that skill, which give experience in the skill, until enough experience is earned for the next level. Some skills allow players to cook, chop down trees, make fires, use magic, make runes, and so on. Some skills support each other. For example, logs obtained from Woodcutting can be used for Firemaking, and fires from Firemaking can be used for Cooking food, and food can be used to replenish life points to help in Combat. The higher your levels are the more of the skill you will have access to.

There are currently 25 skills in RuneScape. Members have access to all 24, while free-to-play can only advance in 15 of them, with less advantages.

You can also train a skill at the same time you gain money! For this, please refer to the Money-making guide, though, is your decision.

All skills but Constitution start out at level 1. Constitution starts out at level 10. Players can advance a skill to level 99; after that, they can increase their experience up to 200,000,000 - but gain no more levels for doing so. A player's combat level begins at 3, because of 10 Constitution. The maximum combat level a member can reach is 138. Non-members can reach up to level 126 because a non-member can't train the Summoning skill. See the hiscores for the relative rankings of the different skills.

If a knowledgeable player were to start a new character, with certain assumptions for efficiency in activities like training combat and summoning with slayer, it would take approximately 3600 hours to go from all level 1 skills to all level 99 skills.

Skills can be temporarily boosted or lowered by using certain items or equipment, such as Capes of Accomplishment, beer, potions, and pies.

If a player is in the top 2,000,000 players in a skill, and is of level 30 or greater in that skill, they will appear on the hiscores.

It has also been confirmed by Mod MMG that a new skill will be introduced to RuneScape sometime during 2010. Which skill this is, however, has not been announced. On Monday the 25th of January Mod SteveW responded to a comment on the Runescape Channel saying that the new skill would be released in a month with 28 days. The next day, Tuesday the 26th of January, Mod Crow posted on the YouTube Runescape Channel the following: "Hi all, just thought I would quickly clear up something. It appears no one really got Mod SteveW's attempt at humour when he said it will be in a month with 28 days in it. ALL month's have 28 days in them! It was a cheeky way of saying 'No sneak information' from the Steveanator." This seems to be a confirmation that the skill will be released in February, however, all months have at least 28 days, so Jagex likely did not want to set any sort of date for the release.

Mod Fetzki said in the Q&A that this new skill will take free players beyond the free player map.

"We’ll also be casting a critical eye over our existing skills, searching for holes, and filling them with new training activities and rewards. That’s before we even mention the new skill that is coming in 2010!"

- Andrew, Mark Gerhard and Mod Fetzki



Free to play skills
Free players have access to 15 skills.

Member skills
Members have access to 9 additional skills:

Skills types
There are four types of skills in RuneScape: Combat, Resource, Production, and Character Development.

Combat: - These skills involve fighting in Combat.
 * Attack, Defence, Strength, Magic*, Ranged, Summoning**, Slayer***, Prayer, and Constitution.

Resource: - These skills involve regular spawns.
 * Woodcutting, Mining, Fishing, Farming, and Hunter

Production: - These skills involve creating Resource items into other, generally more useful, items.
 * Smithing, Cooking, Fletching, Firemaking, Crafting, Herblore, Runecrafting, and Construction.

Character Development: - These skills help with travel and making money.
 * Agility and Thieving.

* Magic could be a Production Skill because of Enchantment, Superheat Item and Lunar Spells. It could also be a Character Development Skill because of Teleport Spells (a commonly used method of travel) and Alchemy Spells.

** Summoning familiars have a wide variety of abilities. Although most are designed to help with combat, several have gathering based abilities (not considered Resource because you don't take anything from the environment), others Production abilities, and others help with traveling, making them have Character Development abilities.

*** While Slayer is related to combat, it does not contribute to combat level.

Levels
The equation below calculates exactly the minimum experience needed for a given level:


 * Experience Required $$ = floor \left[ \frac {\displaystyle\sum_{n = 1} ^ {L - 1} floor \left( n + 300 \times 2 ^ {n/7} \right) } {4} \right] $$, where L = skill level

The above equation can be approximated with minimal rounding error as:


 * Approximate Experience Required $$ = \sum_{n = 1} ^ {L - 1} \left( \frac {n} {4} + 75 \times 2 ^ {n/7} \right) $$, where L = skill level

This approximation can then be used to find the maximum additional experience required to level up:


 * Additional Experience Required to Level Up $$ = \frac {L} {4} + 75 \times 2 ^ {L/7} $$, where L = current level

Example
You want to find the experience that it would take to level up from 28 Strength to 29 Strength:


 * Additional Experience Required to Level Up $$ = \frac { \left( 28 \right) } {4} + 75 \times 2 ^ { \left( 28 \right) /7} = 7 + 75 \times 2 ^ {4} = 7 + 75 \times 16 = 1207 $$

It takes 83 experience points to get from level 1 to 2 in any skill. Thus, it would take a maximum of 1207 experience points to get from level 28 to level 29.

Combat skills
To calculate the experience gain for combat skills, a simple equation can be used:
 * Experience earned = 4 x d ÷10
 * where d = damage dealt to an opponent

Using sacred clay weapons and armour enables the player to gain double experience for a certain period of time.

When you use controlled mode the experience gained is divided between all three of Attack, Defence and Strength.

Constitution
To calculate the experience gain for Constitution, another simple equation can be used


 * Experience earned = 4/3 x d ÷ 10 = 1.33 x d ÷ 10
 * where d = damage dealt to an opponent

Experience Boosters:

For certain skills, you can use Stealing Creation equipment to double your xp gained.

These skills are:


 * Smithing/Construction - Sacred Clay Hammer
 * Crafting - Sacred Clay Needle
 * Melee/constitution - Sacred Clay Melee Armour
 * Magic/constitution* - Sacred Clay Mage Armour
 * Range/constitution - Sacred Clay Range Armour
 * Woodcutting - Sacred Clay Hatchet
 * Fletching - Sacred Clay Knife
 * Hunting** - Sacred Clay Butterfly Net
 * Mining - Sacred Clay Pickaxe
 * Fishing - Sacred Clay Harpoon

* The Magic boost only works with combat-related spells.

** The Hunting boost only works with implings and butterflies.

*** The Combat boost works while using armour not related to the specific combat type. (ex. using Melee Sacred Clay Legs will give an experience boost to range while the player is ranging.)

For certain skills, you can use the Penance horn from Barbarian Assault to double your xp gained.

These skills are:


 * Firemaking with logs
 * Mining ores
 * Completing agility courses (not including Werewolf Skullball or the Agility Pyramid)

Hints from Q&A sessions

 * In the February Q&A it was confirmed the new skill would not be a money sink skill.
 * It is definite that there is a new skill coming to RuneScape in 2010.
 * In the first question of a Q&A with Mark Gerhard in a Developer's Blog dated 6 August 2009, he confirmed that the new skill was available for all players, as since he was instated as CEO, he would give more updates to the free-version of the game, reiterating that the free-version is not a demo.
 * In Mod Fetzki's Q&A 2010, Fetzki said that this new skill will take free players beyond the free player map.
 * Mark has shed some light on it too:


 * Mod MMG (Mark Gerhard, CEO) confirming that Sailing would not be a skill in the time of his career as CEO, but during a live Q&A session with Mark Gerhard (Mod MMG), he claims he was only joking, but lead belief that the new skill is less likely to be Sailing.

Quote from MMG in the live Q&A session on 6 July 2009:


 * Here are some questions giving more clues:

Q) "Probably a question you saw coming - Can you shine anymore light on the new skill that's coming?"

A) Mod Mark: "Honestly, it’s not the Sailing skill. That was a crazy rumour based on a picture of a mage on a dock, who apparently is sailing a ship. He isn’t, and there is no Sailing skill. Interestingly, several of the team here at Jagex love sailing, so it did give us some cool ideas for the future. Oh, and the new skill is far better than sailing."

Q) "Without giving away the new skill, could you briefly describe the awesomeness of said skill?"

A) Mod Mark: "Haha, I really can't without giving bits of it away. All I can say is that I personally found it unique, inventive and thoroughly enjoyable. I certainly hope the players will feel the same way. What I can say is that it’s not too far away now so you will be able to make your own mind up soon."

It is also revealed on the RuneScape official youtube channel, Mod Paul M gave a hint at the new skill. The only hint was that it started with a 'B'. However, there has also been a hint that the "B" was just a red herring. 

Q) "When can we expect the new skill? What is it? Any hints? Can you confirm it has nothing to do with boats? Can you confirm it doesn't begin with a ‘B’? Necromancy? Archaeology? Can you say anything about those two things? Can you say whether it will be expensive, fast or slow XP, or anything of the sort?"
 * Now we have proof it is a "red herring" in the recent Q&A 2010 with Mod Fetzki:

A) Mod Fetzki: "I cannot say it has nothing to do with boats because a ship is featuring in it quite prominently, but I can repeat that it is not Sailing or anything like that. The skill doesn't start with a 'B'. It won't be expensive."


 * Excl made the joke that the new skill will be queuing (line forming) but obviously this IS NOT the new skill as it doesn't make sense. He claim in the video that he have no clue what is the new skill going to be. His clues however may point to a new skill, but they may be Red Herrings set up by Jagex or Excl himself or simply part of the joke.
 * It is speculated that it could have something to do with the Assassin who returns in The Temple at Senntisten and says that he will "keep his eye on you". This would be similar to the way that summoning started. He may be your mentor. And on the forums, players have suggested an alternative melee combat style. However, there is a problem with this theory, the assassin is a members only character, but Jagex has stated that the new skill will be both Members and Free-to-play.
 * Mod Mark recently discounted the idea of adding mounts, stating that they would impossible to implement right now (perhaps due to the limitations of their RuneScript coding language).

Hints on the forums
Je suis désolée mais les développeurs ne sont pas intéressés par de nouvelles compétences pour le moment. When translated, it means: "I'm sorry, but our gamecreators are not interested in new skills at the moment." This means that they were already busy on a new skill.
 * Mod arko on the french forums said on February in 2009:


 * In a future updates forum thread, Forum Moderator Xaror has commented on the following: (recently gathered FACTS about the skill)
 * "I can give you the hint that it will involve lots of skill. And combat. And combat skill."
 * The skill is unique and not similar to another skill.
 * It will involve all current skills!
 * The skill will partially be F2P.
 * The new skill DOES take you beyond the current free map.
 * Aspects of the skills will be good for Pures in PVP.
 * It won’t have any impact on your combat level.
 * The skill doesn't start with a ‘B’.
 * Training will not be money driven.
 * A ship is featuring in it quite prominently.
 * It's not Sailing or anything like that.
 * No start quest.
 * No other skill levels required for any part of the skill.
 * It won’t be released this month (February).
 * It will be released closer to the middle of the year than to the end of the year."


 * In response to the hot speculation about what the new skill would be, Xaror has responsed to a number of guesses and opinions made by players in a forum thread, although he stresses that he knows nothing more than an ordinary player.

Stat Wipe
Back in RuneScape Classic, people caught botting would be stat-wiped, meaning all their skills would be taken back to 1, including Hitpoints. When RS2 came out, Jagex banned (most) of these accounts. As of February 2010, these accounts are extremely rare. Few rumours go around that there are only 5 to 10 of these accounts left.