OSRS Herblore is the members-only skill that turns grimy herbs into potions. To train it you complete the Druidic Ritual quest, then brew the highest-XP potion you can afford at each level — Attack potions at 3, Prayer potions at 38, Super combat at 90, Saradomin brew at 81. The fastest 1-99 path costs 200-280M GP at standard pace, or roughly 23 hours of click time at 1-tick speeds. The cheapest path is tar-making and cleaning grimy herbs. The newest method, Mastering Mixology (released September 2024), unlocks at level 60 and currently gives the best balance of XP and reward unlocks at 81+.
This guide covers every level bracket from 3 to 99, the quest XP shortcuts, the Mastering Mixology minigame, AFK tar-making, and the modern unlocks (Alchemist's amulet, Prescription goggles) that have replaced the older Amulet of chemistry meta. All XP rates and recipes are verified against the OSRS Wiki.
What's new in OSRS Herblore (2024-2026)
The biggest single addition is Mastering Mixology in Aldarin, released 25 September 2024 with Varlamore Part Two. It introduced the Huasca herb (level 58), the Aldarium secondary, and a reward shop containing the Alchemist's amulet (15% 4-dose chance, replaces the older Amulet of chemistry), Prescription goggles (10% chance not to consume a secondary), Chugging barrel and Potion storage. New high-level potions added in the same window: Prayer regeneration potion (58), Goading potion (54), Surge potion (81), Forgotten brew (91) and Super antifire potion (92).
Why train Herblore
Herblore is one of the two skills (the other is Prayer) that you train to enable other content rather than for the levels themselves. The payoff is steep: Super combat potions, Saradomin brews and Super restores are required to clear every late-game raid, and the Amulet of chemistry / Alchemist's amulet / Prescription goggles pipeline lets you self-sustain the brews you'll burn through. Level 78 unlocks Saradomin brews (the universal raid potion); level 90 unlocks Super combat (the universal melee potion).
Druidic Ritual — the unlock quest
You need raw rat meat, raw beef, raw chicken and raw bear meat. Buy all four off the Grand Exchange — total cost is trivial. Walkthrough:
- Travel to Taverley. Talk to Kaqemeex at the stone circle just north of town to start the quest.
- Walk south to the Herblore shop in Taverley. Talk to Sanfew upstairs.
- Enter the Taverley dungeon (south of town, down the ladder). Head north past the level 22 and 25 skeletons to a gate guarded by two level 19 Suits of armour. Either kill them or spam-click the gate until it opens.
- Use each piece of meat on the Cauldron of Thunder to enchant it.
- Return to Sanfew with the enchanted meats, then back to Kaqemeex to finish.
Reward: 250 Herblore XP, granting level 3.
Quest XP shortcuts
Quests are the cheapest XP per click. Total Herblore XP available across all quests is 171,850 (level 36 from a fresh account). Stack the starter quests first to skip the grindiest early levels:
| Quest | Herblore req | Other reqs | XP reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Druidic Ritual | — | — | 250 |
| Jungle Potion | 3 | — | 775 |
| Recruitment Drive | — | 12 QP | 1,000 |
| Heroes' Quest | 25 | 55, 53, 53, 50 | 1,325 |
| The Dig Site | 10 | 10 Agi, 25 Thieving | 2,000 |
| Shades of Mort'ton | 15 | 20 Crafting, 5 Firemaking | 2,000 |
| Zogre Flesh Eaters | 8 | 4 Smith, 30 Fletch, 30 Ranged | 2,000 |
| Fairytale II — Cure a Queen | 57 | 40 Thieving, 49 Farming | 3,500 |
| Land of the Goblins | 48 | 38, 40, 45 | 8,000 |
| My Arm's Big Adventure | 31 | 10 Cooking, 29 Farming | 10,000 |
| Eadgar's Ruse | 31 | — | 11,000 |
| Grim Tales | 52 | 45, 58, 59, 71 | 15,000 |
| Song of the Elves | 70 | all skills 70 | 40,000 |
| While Guthix Sleeps | 65 | extensive — see wiki | 75,000 |
Useful Herblore unlocks
Wear or carry these whenever you brew at scale:
- Amulet of chemistry — 5% chance to brew a 4-dose potion instead of 3-dose. 5 charges per amulet, lasts ~100 potions on average. Use from Ranarr (level 38) onward.
- Alchemist's amulet (Mastering Mixology reward) — same effect as above but 15% chance, no charges. Replaces Amulet of chemistry once unlocked.
- Prescription goggles (Mastering Mixology reward) — 10% chance not to consume the secondary ingredient. Stacks with the amulet.
- Spicy stew (orange) — temporary boost of up to ±5 Herblore. Useful for boosting into recipes a few levels early (e.g. Saradomin brew at 76).
- Mort myre fungus / Snape grass / Red spiders' eggs — set up bulk farming or buying routes early; these are the secondary bottlenecks for Super energy, Prayer potion and Super restore respectively.
Level-by-level Herblore training (3 to 99)
Level 3-12: Attack potions and Anti-poison
From level 3 brew Attack potions (Guam potion + Eye of newt). At level 5 swap to Anti-poison (Marrentill potion + Unicorn horn dust). Both are cheap and you only spend ~30 minutes here before the quest XP from Jungle Potion + Recruitment Drive + The Dig Site bumps you to level 19.
Level 12-26: Strength potions
Strength potions (Tarromin potion + Limpwurt root). Limpwurt root drops from Hobgoblins, Hill Giants and Cockatrices, or grows on a flower patch at 26 Farming. If you've stacked the starter quests you can skip this bracket entirely.
Level 26-38: Energy potions
Energy potions (Harralander potion + Chocolate dust). Chocolate dust comes from using a pestle and mortar on Chocolate bars, sold at Grand Tree Groceries and Funch's Fine Groceries.
Level 38-45: Prayer potions
Switch to Prayer potions (Ranarr potion + Snape grass). Ranarr seeds become high-value at this point — start your Farming herb runs if you haven't. Snape grass grows on its dedicated patch in Trollheim (61 Farming) or drops from Tribesmen.
Level 45-52: Super attack and Super anti-poison
Super attack (Irit potion + Eye of newt) at 45, then Super anti-poison (Irit potion + Unicorn horn dust) at 48. Both share the same Irit base so don't switch herb types.
Level 52-55: Super energy
Super energy potions (Avantoe potion + Mort myre fungus). Mort myre fungus comes from Bloom-casting on dead logs in Mort Myre Swamp with a Blessed silver sickle, or as a drop from Swamp crabs south of Port Phasmatys.
Level 55-63: Super strength
Super strength potions (Kwuarm potion + Limpwurt root). At level 60 you can also start Mastering Mixology (see below) which becomes the parallel meta from here.
Level 63-69: Super restore
Super restore potions (Snapdragon potion + Red spiders' eggs). Red spiders' eggs spawn in the Varrock sewers (2 spawns), Forthos dungeon (11 spawns — best), and as drops from Temple spiders.
Level 69-72: Antifire
Antifire potions (Lantadyme potion + Dragon scale dust). Dragon scale dust comes from Blue dragon scales (pestle and mortar). Brutal blue dragons in Catacombs of Kourend are the best farm spot.
Level 72-81: Ranging potions
Ranging potions (Dwarf weed potion + Wine of Zamorak). Wine of Zamorak is telegrabbed from Chaos Temple altars (33 Magic). Plenty of supply on the GE since it's a popular money-maker.
Level 81-99: Saradomin brew (and beyond)
Saradomin brew (Toadflax potion + Crushed nest) is the standard 81-99 grind — most-used potion in the game and still one of the higher XP-rate options. Bird nests come from Woodcutting and birdhouse traps.
Higher-level alternatives once you can afford them:
- Surge potion (level 81, Torstol + Demonic tallow) — restores 25% spec attack, 5-min cooldown.
- Super combat potion (level 90, Super attack + Super strength + Super defence + Torstol) — universal melee potion, often profitable in bulk.
- Forgotten brew (level 91, Ancient brew + Ancient essence) — upgraded ancient brew for magic combat.
- Super antifire potion (level 92, Antifire + crushed superior dragon bone).
- Anti-venom+ (level 94, Anti-venom + Torstol) — needed for Zulrah and several Slayer tasks.
Mastering Mixology — fastest XP from 81+
Released 25 September 2024 with Varlamore Part Two, Mastering Mixology is a Herblore minigame at Aldarin in Varlamore. Requirements: level 60 Herblore (not boostable) and completion of Children of the Sun.
Mechanic in three steps: refine clean herbs or unfinished potions into Mox, Aga and Lye paste at the digweed station; combine pastes at the Mixing Vessel to fulfil potion orders; deposit completed potions to earn Mox/Aga/Lye resin. Spend resin at the reward shop.
XP rates scale with level — by 81 Herblore (where you have access to every potion recipe) you can hit roughly 105k XP/h. Below 81 the rate drops sharply because fewer recipes are unlocked. Most efficient play uses 3 free inventory slots and chains potions back-to-back.
Even at lower XP/h than 1-tick brewing, Mixology is worth doing for the rewards:
| Reward | Why you want it |
|---|---|
| Alchemist's amulet | 15% chance to brew a 4-dose potion instead of 3-dose (vs 5% for the older Amulet of chemistry). No charges. |
| Prescription goggles | 10% chance to not consume the secondary ingredient. Stacks with the amulet. |
| Chugging barrel | Stores up to 24 doses of one potion type for use in PvM. |
| Potion storage | Bank-side storage for finished potions, dramatically speeds up potion management for PvM accounts. |
AFK Herblore — tar-making
Tar-making combines a herb with 15 Swamp tar in one click for ~5 seconds of activity per inventory slot — the most AFKable Herblore method. Stockpile Swamp tar in advance: the GE buy limit is 13,000 every 4 hours, which is roughly half an hour of brewing.
| Level | Result | Base herb | XP/hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Guam tar x15 | Guam leaf | 61,000 |
| 31 | Marrentill tar x15 | Marrentill | 86,000 |
| 39 | Tarromin tar x15 | Tarromin | 110,000 |
| 44 | Harralander tar x15 | Harralander | 145,000 |
| 55 | Irit tar x15 | Irit leaf | 170,000 |
Cleaning grimy herbs — the cheap path
Cleaning grimy herbs is the cheapest method — frequently profitable on Ranarr, Snapdragon and Torstol, depending on GE prices. The trade-off is click intensity: one click per herb, ~2,500 herbs/hour at peak. XP per herb scales linearly: Guam 2.5 → Torstol 15.
Always check the price gap between grimy and clean before committing. Ironmen who can't buy potions outright should pair this with our OSRS Ironman money-making guide to fund the secondary ingredients.
Sourcing herbs and secondaries
Every Herblore-grade herb in OSRS — Guam through Torstol — grows in Farming herb patches. The 9 main patches (Catherby, Falador, Ardougne, Morytania, Hosidius, Troll Stronghold, Harmony Island, Weiss, Farming Guild) take 5-10 minutes per cycle. See our complete OSRS Farming guide 1-99 for the full herb-run setup.
Herb Farming requirements (planting level / cleaning Herblore level): Guam 9/3, Marrentill 14/5, Tarromin 19/11, Harralander 26/20, Ranarr 32/25, Toadflax 38/30, Irit 44/40, Avantoe 50/48, Kwuarm 56/54, Huasca 58/58, Snapdragon 62/59, Cadantine 67/65, Lantadyme 73/67, Dwarf weed 79/70, Torstol 85/75.
Buying tip: stockpile mid-tier herbs (Ranarr, Snapdragon, Toadflax) and corresponding seconds (Snape grass, Red spiders' eggs, Crushed nest) in 3-day windows when prices dip. Bird nests from Woodcutting are the most volatile — check GE price history before committing capital.
How much does 1-99 Herblore cost?
Costs vary with GE prices, but as a rough planning baseline:
- Standard fast path (Attack → Energy → Prayer → Super series → Saradomin brew): roughly 200-280M GP from level 3 to 99.
- Mastering Mixology only (60-99): near break-even — cost depends on whether you buy clean herbs or grow your own.
- Tar-making path: ~5-10 GP per XP, so 13M XP × ~6 GP = ~80M GP. Slowest XP rate of the three.
- Cleaning grimy herbs: often profitable but ~50-70 hours of clicking from 50-99.
If you'd rather skip the gold grind, you can buy OSRS gold and brew at full speed, or hand the whole thing off via our OSRS Power Leveling service.
Final notes
For most players the 99 Herblore goal is the wrong target — level 78 (Saradomin brew) and level 90 (Super combat) are the two real unlocks. Once you have both, every raid in the game is supplied. Mastering Mixology is the sensible long-tail goal after that, because the Alchemist's amulet and Prescription goggles compound on every potion you brew for the rest of the account's life.
Brewing potions made you more gold than expected? You can sell your extra OSRS gold for the best rates. For account-wide planning see our OSRS Slayer training guide (the skill that burns the most Saradomin brews) and our Ironman beginner guide if you're playing self-supplied.