OSRS: What Are Clue Scrolls & Why Would I Want Them?

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Clue scrolls, otherwise called Treasure Trails, are a series of riddles and puzzles that take you all around Old School RuneScape. If you can solve these puzzles then you have a chance at some great rewards. Clue Scrolls have levels ranging from beginner to master, with the beginner scrolls being very simple with only a few steps, while the master scrolls have complex puzzles, multiple steps, and combat challenges.

Each step of a clue scroll will grant you a new clue to solve, until the final clue eventually uncovers a Clue Casket – and this will contain your reward.

Ultimately, completing a clue scroll will yield an assortment of random drops, and offer you a chance at some seriously unique rewards.

For example, the average loot obtainable from a hard clue scroll is around 100k, while a master clue scroll’s average loot is typically worth about 400k.

There’s also the chance to receive unique loot and armour like 3rd age, Gilded, Ranger Boots, and God Dragon Hide armour, which can be worth anywhere from millions to even billions (no joke!)

This makes clue scrolls highly desirable among certain players.

RuneScape players who regularly do clue scrolls are referred to as “Clue Hunters”, and they focus on completing as many clues as possible for a chance at those ultra rare items.

 

What Types of Clues Exist?

In OSRS there are 6 different levels of clues:

Beginner, easy, medium, hard, elite, and master.

Most of these clues can be obtained from fighting different monsters, or looting impling jars. However, the higher the level of clue, the harder it will be to obtain.

For example, a medium clue can be obtained from most mid-level monsters such as Guards or Dagannoths, as well as mid-level impling jars.

On the other hand, elite clues can only be obtained from Bosses, very high level enemies, or high level impling jars – making them substantially rarer.

Master clues are the only exception to the above. They can only be obtained as a reward from completing other clues, or from Watson, who’s located on Zeah. He’ll give you a master clue scroll if you give him an easy, medium, hard, and elite clue scroll.

 
Opened clue scroll with contents
Image source by @ButcherOrge
 

Best Ways To Get Clue Scrolls

Obtaining clue scrolls isn’t too hard, provided you know what to do!

Easy clue scrolls are best obtained in the HAM hideout, and can be pickpocketed from members with relative ease. A high thieving level will make this task a lot simpler.

Medium clue scrolls can either be obtained from Eclectic Implings, which can be bought and looted, or from Falador guards. Having the Falador medium diary completed will increase the odds of a clue scroll dropping as well.

Hard Clues are best to get from Hellhounds, since this is their only other drop besides bones. And they’re easy to take out with little effort.

You can substantially increase the odds of getting a hard clue scroll drop by using a Ring of Wealth (i) in the Wilderness on these Hellhounds.

Elite clues are a bit trickier, as they’re generally only obtainable from bosses. The boss that drops elites the most is Sarachnis, who’s fairly easy to kill, and has a drop rate of 1/60. So this would be the fastest way to obtain elite clues.

Alternatively, raids like the Chamber of Xeric provide clue scrolls at a fairly decent rate too.

Master clue scrolls, as previously mentioned, can only be obtained by trading other clues to Watson.

 
OSRS Open Treasure Chest in Battle
Image source by Virtoso
 

Which Clue Levels Are The Best?

The best clues to do are medium, hard, and master clues.

Most players in OSRS agree that they offer the best rewards, while also being worthwhile to complete without investing tons of time.

Medium clues are primarily hunted for Ranger Boots, which are worth around 35m. So they’re a very desirable item for sure.

Since these clues are generally quite fast and easy to complete, most players feel that medium clues can be a decent money maker, provided they get the coveted Ranger Bot drop every now and then.

Hard clues offer consistent cash and alchable items such as runes, which make them amazing for ironmen who need the cash.

These hard clues also provide access to God Dragonhide, which is some extremely useful range armour. And these hard-level clues are even capable of dropping gilded equipment, and the coveted 3rd age armour set.

I hope you can see that with hard clue scrolls, the potential to make millions very quickly is entirely possible!

Master clues are done mostly by players hunting large profits, or the very rare Bloodhound pet – which is a 1/1000 drop from these clue scrolls.

Master clues drop an assortment of rare items too, such as ornamental kits which are worth many millions of gp. Plus master clues can even drop the most expensive item in the entire game: the 3rd age pickaxe.

As of this writing, a 3rd age pickaxe could sell for about 2.1 billion coins (check here for some recent prices).

Ultimately, the master level clues are only worth doing if you have an end-game account with high stats, because there are high stat and gear requirements to go along with them.

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