Is There Value in OSRS’ Free-to-Play Content?

OSRS’ Free-to-Play Content could still hold value through questing, LMS, and some skilling methods.

OSRS can be played in free-to-play mode or as a member. There are huge differences between the two types of accounts because, in the free-to-play mode, you can only access a limited number of skills and a limited number of areas. This means you’ll also have fewer methods to earn OSRS gold. Many of the OSRS items you can get in OSRS are members only, and even on the GE, you’ll have fewer slots to buy or sell items to obtain OSRS gold.

What Happens When You Go From Being A Member to A F2P Player

A significant difference between a F2P player and a member is the number of maximum bank slots you can have. This can be a huge deal, especially if you’re not consistent with your membership, as you won’t be able to deposit more OSRS items in your bank if it’s already filled. You will also not be able to use or trade member-exclusive items. You won’t even be able to see their names, as they will all appear under a generic name called ‘members item.’ This means that unless you sell these OSRS items before your membership expires or if you don’t plan to renew, you will no longer be able to obtain OSRS gold for them. It’s always wiser to sell your member-specific OSRS items if you don’t plan on renewing your membership and keep the OSRS gold or your cash stack instead.

If you’re in a members-only zone when your membership expires, you will teleport the next time you log in to Lumbridge. In Lumbridge, you will only be able to access the bank upstairs and not the more accessible one in the basement that you unlock during RFD (Recipe for Disaster quest).

OSRS Questing

The free-to-play content can have a lot of value for a particular category of players. For example, if you want to try out RuneScape without committing to paying the monthly fee, you can do so in the free two play worlds and get a taste of how the game feels. You will have a few F2P quests with unique storylines to try out.

Currently, 22 F2P quests are available for you to get a feel of the game. For example, with the rune mystery quest, you’ll unlock a new skill, Runecraft. With the Dragon Slayer 1 quest, you’ll unlock new gear and new monsters to kill. With the Below Ice Mountain quest, you’ll unlock a new area, the ruins of Camdozaal.  Then there’s the Prince Ali Rescue quest, where you’ll receive free passage between Lumbridge and Al’Kharid.

This will also give you a pretty good and realistic taste of how quests work for members. The only difference is that some quests for members unlock minigames or new activities, such as the Temple of the Eye quest for the Guardians of the Rift minigame or Sleeping Giants quest for the Giants’ Foundry.

Last Man Standing

LMS (Last Man Standing) is a great PvP minigame available to F2P players. The minigame recently received an update that will give you more variations as you might get one of the three builds (main, zerker, or 1 defense pure) instead of only the main. Not only is it a great way to learn the ropes of PvP, but you’ll be able to earn a decent amount of GP playing it.

OSRS Bosses

Sadly, it is impossible to get a real feel of OSRS’ bossing experience in F2P. You’ll only have access to two bosses, both of which are sporadic bosses that you can only kill now and then when you drop a key from their respective giants. You can get one for the hill giants boss, Obor, and one for the moss giants boss, Bryophyta. This does not represent the full member OSRS experience with amazingly designed bosses and raids that will keep you on for hours.

OSRS Skilling

Skilling is also on the lower end for the f2p as you will only be able to level 15 skills:

• Attack
• Strength
• Defense
• Hitpoints
• Ranged
• Magic
• Prayer
• Runecraft
• Mining
• Smithing
• Crafting
• Woodcutting
• Firemaking
• Fishing
• Cooking

You can still level some of these skills, especially as a beginner or to try out the game, but some of them will be a pure pain to level as a F2P. This is the case for the Prayer skill, which is not worth training on F2P because the methods are painfully slow. However, leveling Woodcutting and Firemaking to 50 on F2P won’t take much longer than for members. Combat skills are also excellent because you won’t have access to many essential gear pieces to make leveling combat efficient.

OSRS Money Making

The last point to consider when discussing the value of the F2P content in OSRS is the possibility of earning OSRS GP. Like all the other considerations, you’ll have more difficulty making money on F2P than on members. The highest method for which you will need 99 Smithing will only give you a bit over 500k OSRS Gold per hour, while for members, you can earn at least double with various methods.

Is It Worth Paying for A Membership?

Paying for the membership is only worth it if you’ll play OSRS regularly. Unless you’re thinking of only playing the game casually, you’re better off not spending the money. There’s a lot of content you’ll miss in the F2P mode, like having fewer ways to farm OSRS gold, but it can be argued that there’s still value to be had there.