Updated in January 2023

Most MMOs take you into a campaign that features the most important characters, areas, and actions, and only then do they let you do whatever you want. Old School Runescape is an entirely different case. It is an MMORPG sandbox game that purposely seems inarticulate, complex, and even repulsive sometimes. You will go through a five-minute tutorial, after which you will get the bare minimum about the game and then be immediately thrown into the thick of things. It is a game where you will have to add the Wiki to your browser bookmarks before you can play more or less comfortably. But if you are ready for a rigorous tutorial and if you enjoy complete freedom of action, this is the perfect title for you.

The main determinant of gameplay in OSRS is grinding and account development, which can be anything – from buying this or that item or reaching enough money to achieving level 99 in one of the professions. The player sets their own goals in Old School Runescape, and that is the best part of the game.

OSRS has a variety of activities that the player can use to farm gold. For example, Woodcutting. A very relaxing skill, by the way. Today we will talk about it and discuss the pros and cons of this very pastime.

Why train Woodcutting

Woodcutting is probably one of the most controversial skills of all in the game. At first, it may seem like it brings almost no profit at all compared to the others. And the player will be partly right to think so. But the main point of Woodcutting is that a high level of this skill opens up access to exclusive quests and locations. For example, the Song of the Elves mission. If you complete it, you get access to Elf City.

As you develop Woodcutting and acquire more and more various Axes, the process will start to speed up, and you will start to earn significantly more money accordingly. All in all, Woodcutting is not a bad skill for AFK players to make money without distracting from other content presented in the game.

What equipment do you need for Woodcutting

To start Woodcutting, the player will need an Axe and nothing more. And trees, of course. A lot of trees.

Best Axes for Woodcutting in OSRS

Item	Woodcutting level	Attack level
Bronze axe	1	1
Iron axe	1	1
Steel axe	6	5
Black axe	11	10
Mithril axe	21	20
Adamant axe	31	30
Rune axe	41	40
Dragon axe	61	60
Blessed axe	21	20
3rd age axe	61	65
Infernal axe	61	60
Crystal axe	71	70

An Axe is an Axe, regardless of its characteristics. The way they all work is the same – only the purchase price and their potential differ. The best Axe is considered a Crystal one. Every player wants it. But the catch is that it is also one of the most hard-to-get items in the OSRS. To receive it, you need to pass the Song of the Elves quest and have at least level 71 of the Woodcutting skill, which in practice is rare for many players. Almost all gamers play with Dragon Axe or Infernal Axe. You can get Dragon Axe much earlier, and it has a special attack that allows you to temporarily increase your Woodcutting skill by 3 units. This allows you to chop trees even if you do not have enough skill level to do so.

As for the Infernal Axe, it is cool as well. But to use it, the player should have at least level 85 Firemaking and level 61 Woodcutting. The trick with the Infernal Axe is that this hatchet can, with some chance, burn down a felled log, giving some experience to the Firemaking skill scale. The chance is about 1 in 3, and the Axe can burn about 5000 logs in total, after which it will need to be recharged with a Smouldering Stone. Also, Infernal Axe has the same special attack as Dragon Axe and very similar visual effects, essentially making it a complete counterpart to Dragon Axe, but on some kind of steroids.

There is not much point in talking at length about the remaining Axes. They just work – cut wood and give resources. You cannot say that the Axes before the Rune one are any different. That is, they do not have any special effects or counters to look out for. You will change them as your character develops. So, when the Rune Axe loses its relevance and runs out of steam (which will happen around level 60), you will change it to the cooler Dragon Axe, which you might run with up to the Crystal Axe, skipping the Infernal one.

Lumberjack outfit and Woodcutting Guild in OSRS

A Lumberjack outfit is a set of clothing that gives additional experience when worn during Woodcutting. To wear any part of this set, you will need at least 44 (without buffs) perk levels. Each equipped part of the set increases the experience gained for Woodcutting by 0.2-0.8% (depending on the part of the set). Wearing the full set gives an additional 0.5% experience bonus, bringing the total bonus for the entire Lumberjack set to 2.5%.

Remarkably, this bonus stacks with other sources of bonus experience. For example, with the 10% experience bonus when cutting maples from the Kandarin Diary quest chain.

But the Lumberjack outfit is not just a means of speeding up your leveling process. This set will also be required to complete certain quests in OSRS. For example, for the Sherlock master skill challenge. If you are not wearing the Lumberjack outfit, you will be unable to take up the challenge, let alone complete it.

A Lumberjack outfit is a really rare set of clothes. The thing is, you can only get it from a certain mob, Undead Lumberjacks, which are only spawned within one event called Temple Trekking minigame. So if you manage to grind a Lumberjack outfit alone or with a team, be sure to keep this costume for yourself. It is just perfect if you decide to do some Woodcutting leveling.

As for the Woodcutting Guild, it is a closed community of players, membership of which will give the gamer some nice bonuses when levels up the Woodcutting skill. It is worth noting, however, that getting into this Guild can be quite difficult. The fact is that the player must have at least level 60 of the Woodcutting skill to enter it. This is a huge number – every OSRS player knows this. But there is a downside to this. The 60-skill level required to join the Woodcutting Guild does not have to be permanent. It can be boosted, and you can still join the community. In addition to a certain skill level, you will also need to have at least 75% Hosidius favour.

Best Woodcutting locations

In total, there are a huge number of locations in OSRS where you can cut down multiple trees. Some of the instances are found everywhere, and some only in certain locations. For example, several Dying trees can be found in such locations as Varrock or Lumber Yard; several Maple trees in Near Seers’ Village And Sinclair Mansion, Corsair Cove Resource Area, while the most common tree, which bears the telling name “Tree”, can be found anywhere.

The rarest tree, which can earn a hefty 380 XP, is in the Woodcutting Guild. We are talking about the Redwood tree, of course. For cutting it, you will need a skill level of at least 90 and the last, toughest Axe – the Crystal one.

Below you can see a detailed table of where and which trees can be found in the game:

Tree name	Location	Logs earned	Required woodcutting level	Woodcutting XP
Tree	Everywhere	Logs	1	25
Dying tree	Varrock, Lumber Yard	Logs	1.00	25
Dead tree	Haunted’ or ‘Dark’ forests, such as in the Wilderness, around Draynor Manor or in many areas of Morytania, such as the Haunted Woods	Logs	1.00	25
Evergreen	Camelot, Taverley, Barbarian Village	Logs	1.00	25
Jungle tree	Karamja	Logs	1.00	25
Achey tree	In the Feldip Hills and south of Castle Wars	Achey logs	1.00	25
Oak	Many forests	Oak logs	15.00	37.5
Willow	Near most bodies of water (e.g. Draynor Village, Catherby)	Willow logs	30.00	67.5
Teak tree	Several in the Hardwood Grove in Tai Bwo Wannai Village and on Etceteria, and one tree in the woods south of Castle Wars	Teak logs	35.00	85
Maple tree	Near Seers’ Village and Sinclair Mansion, Corsair Cove Resource Area	Maple logs	45.00	100
Arctic pine	On Neitiznot	Arctic pine logs	56.00	140
Hollow tree	Haunted Woods	Bark	45.00	UP to 357
Mahogany tree	Several in the Hardwood Grove in Tai Bwo Wannai Village, on Etceteria, and on Ape Atoll, Kebos Lowlands	Mahogany logs	50	125
Yew tree	Many forests, namely south of Seers’ Village, Woodcutting Guild	Yew logs	60	175
Magic tree	Lletya, Mage Training Arena, around Sorcerer’s Tower, Resource Area Woodcutting Guild, Myths’ Guild	Magic logs	75	250
Redwood tree	Woodcutting Guild	Redwood logs	90	380

AFK methods levels 1 – 99

There are a total of 3 basic AFK profitable methods of raising the Woodcutting skill in OSRS. We suggest looking at each of them and comparing them with each other.

The first thing to decide is which farming tool you are going to use. You have several options here:

• Rune Axe;
• Dragon Axe;
• Infernal Axe or Crystal Axe.

Each of them is good in its way. Of course, all players will want to do Woodcutting with Infernal or Crystal Axe, but the problem is that these two are very expensive. The Infernal Axe will require 1.3 million GP to build. Furthermore, it will also require a player to have at least 61 levels of Woodcutting skill, so this option should be put off, if not completely, then at least for a long time. Crystal Axe is a similar story. The easiest way to swing and chop is with the Rune Axe – it is the best tool for non-members.

So, let’s get on with the leveling.

№1 method (the fastest one)

From level 1 to 15

Until you reach level 15, you can just relax and do Woodcutting at your pleasure. You will not be able to find any particular profitable places now anyway. You only need 97 logs to reach level 15.

From level 15 to 30

At this stage, you need to chop Oak trees. In total, you will need to chop about 293 logs, and you will end up at level 30. Players have noted that the fastest way to chop the required number of trees is in the Varrock location. To be more precise, it is in the nearby forest, which is outside.

From level 30 to 35

Now you need to stick to cutting Willow trees. You will need to chop a total of around 134 trees to reach level 35. The fastest way to do this is at Draynor Village, on the outside. Draynor Village is pretty close to Varrock, so you can quickly get from one location to the other. If you are a F2P gamer, you can do chopping at this location up to level 99. If you are ready to spend a colossal amount of time, of course, since you will have to fall 192,905 trees to reach the last level in Woodcutting here.

From level 35 to 99

In the final stage, which runs from level 35 to 99, you will need to focus on chopping Teak trees. There are several options here for how you can level up. You can choose not to resort to any tick manipulation, in which case you will only have to chop until level 62. If you decide to use them, keep in mind that you will have to cast low-level rune spells, which will take some time.

From level 62 (if you are F2P)

If you choose to stay on a F2P basis, your choice after reaching level 62 of the Woodcutting skill is to chop a Blisterwood tree in the Darkmeyer location. If you work with these trees, you will need 167,114 experience points to reach the maximum level. That is not a lot.

From level 65

Once you reach level 65, start chopping down the Sulliusceps Mushrooms that can be found on Fossil Island. Here you only need 99,095 experience points to reach rank 99 in Woodcutting. It is not that much. Tree experience farming in this location is one of the most profitable in the whole game. The stumbling block is that before you can access this location, you will need to complete the Bone Voyage quest. Also, Fossil Island is a really dangerous location with lots of strong mobs and traps. You will need some powerful equipment to fight back against the enemies here. It is highly advisable to have a Regen Bracelet, an Antidote (Spine Mushrooms can poison and cause a lot of damage), a Digsite Pendant, a Rake, a Dragonfire Shield, and a small amount of food.

From level 90

Congratulations! You have earned a well-deserved rest. Once you reach level 90 on farming trees in other locations, you can move on to chopping Redwood trees that are in Woodcutting Guild. But just do not forget that you will need to gain access to that place first. However, it will be quite easy to do so by this stage of character development. Just pick up your favorite Axe and get into the half-AFK mode. You will need to chop 20,232 logs to reach the final 99th skill level.

№2 method (the laziest one)

As the name suggests, this is the most passive and methodical method of boosting the Woodcutting skill. The main point here is that you will simply switch Axes in time – from one to the other. In other words, you will switch from a less leveraged one to a more leveraged one. The character will have to be controlled only occasionally. You also do not have to move particularly between locations.

From level 1 to 60 level upgrade will look like this:

• Levels 1 to 15 – Regular trees (97 total logs);
• Level 15 to 30 – Oak trees (293 total logs);
• Level 30 to 35 – Willow trees (134 total logs);
• Level 35 to 99 – Teak trees (153,083 total logs);
• Level 30 to 60 – Willow trees (3,858 total logs).

“Why do you need so many logs from level 35 to 99 Woodcutting?!” – you might ask. The reason is that during this time, you will be using Rune hatchet, which is pretty good but has no cool features (unlike Dragon, Infernal, or Crystal Axes). You can, however, cut down Willow trees instead of Teak ones, as they give you more experience for the same amount of time.

As soon as you reach level 60 of the Woodcutting skill, it makes sense to join the Guild. Apart from the fact that you will get a permanent (albeit invisible) bonus of 7 units to your Woodcutting skill. If you decide to join the Guild, your progression will be as follows:

• Level 60 to 75 – Yew trees (5,353 total logs);
• Level 60 to 90 – Yew trees (28,987 total logs);
• Level 60 to 99 – Yew trees (72,919 total logs);
• Level 75 to 90 – Magic trees (16,544 total logs);
• Level 75 to 99 – Magic trees (47,297 total logs);
• Level 90 to 99 – Redwood trees (20,232 total logs).

№3 method (the non-standard one)

In general, this method is not much different from the first method, except that you will be following a slightly different route. You will also need to join the Woodcutting Guild.

From level 1 to 15

Here you will need to chop normal trees using the starting hatchet (the Iron Axe) until you reach level 6 of the Woodcutting skill. Then you will need to use the Steel Axe until level 11. Then it will be replaced by the Black Axe. Each log felled at this stage will give you 25 XP, and you will get about 11 thousand XP per hour. It will take you around 10-15 minutes to reach level 15.

From level 15 to 30

Here you will need to focus on cutting Oak trees. You will be cutting them with Black and Mithril Axes, earning 20,000 XP per hour. These 15 levels will take you around 40 minutes to complete.

From level 30 to 60

This is where you will be chopping Willow trees and getting Willow logs. Your Axes are Mithril, Adamant, and Rune. In total, you will spend around 7-9 hours at this stage, gaining 35,000 XP per hour.

From level 35 to 60

Here you will have to chop Teak trees using the same hatchets as in the previous round (i.e., Adamant, Rune). You will spend roughly the same amount of time here as you did at levels 30 to 60. It is just an alternative way of leveling up – Teak trees are harder to reach than Willow trees, but they give slightly more experience. So you will get 42,000 XP per hour.

It gets trickier from here. Brace yourself.

From level 60 to 90

Here, your next target is chopping Yew trees and collecting Yew logs. Being a F2P gamer, you will likely be using the Rune Axe most of the time, so this is the hardest part of the build. You will spend about 100-120 actual hours here. But at the same stage, you will start getting GP profits. You can earn about 5.5 million GP for levels 60-90 in Woodcutting by using the AFK farm method.

From level 90 to 99

The final part of the alternative route. This is where you will wield the Crystal Axe – with no other options or exceptions. It will take you a total of 120-140 hours to complete these 9 levels, as you will be averaging 60,000 XP per hour. This is also a profitable stage, and you will get approximately 5.8 million GP for completing these 9 levels.

(Bonus) From level 75 to 99 (Full AFK-mode)

This is an alternative variant to the alternate means of boosting. Here you will earn a huge amount of money for those 24 levels (about 49-50 million GP). You will be wielding Crystal Axe (starting with level 70 Woodcutting skill). On average, you will gain much less experience – only 24,000 XP, but you will not have to put in much effort. For the most part, you will be standing AFK. You will have to spend almost 500 real hours on leveling if you decide to use this option to boost your character’s Woodcutting skill, but it is the best option for lazy gamers.

F2P method levels 1 – 99

The fastest way to expedite the Woodcutting training in F2P mode is to optimize the experience you will receive for completing quests or felling trees. In general, your route will not differ much from the AFK method, except that you should keep in mind that in the beginning, it is better to drop logs on the ground rather than collect them for sale. You can do it later when you get a better tool (like Dragon Axe or Infernal one).

From level 1 to 15

Chop up the normal trees with the starter Axe. Swing up to level 15 however you like – the order and locations are not important here.

From level 15 to 30

At these levels, turn your attention to the Oak trees. Your farming spots are Draynor or Varrock.

From level 30 to 99

F2P players will need to cut Willow trees from level 35 to 99. This will be the fastest way to reach the maximum level. As a F2P player, you should continue chopping Willow trees around Draynor Village.

P2P method levels 1 – 99

P2P player progression, as paradoxical as it may sound, will generally be no different from F2P or AFK player progression in many aspects. It will just be slightly faster.

From level 1 to 15

You will cut with the starting Axe normal trees as in the previous swing. There’s not much to add here. Once you get to level 15, move on.

From level 15 to 35

You do not have to reinvent the wheel here, either. You need to cut Oak trees in Draynor or Varrock.

From level 35 to 99

If you are a P2P player, you will progress to level 60 of Woodcutting, as described in the previous paragraphs. But from level 60, you will have to shift your focus to Teak trees. The point is that if you are a P2P player, you will be able to cut them in the Catherby location, where the concentration of Teak trees is very high. As a P2P player, you will also be able to afford to receive a Dragon Axe or Infernal Axe as quickly as possible.

What are the best Woodcutting buffs?

In Old School Runescape, you have many options for how you can boost your Woodcutting skill. Some of these ways are permanent, while others only work for a limited time. Here is a list of them:

• Axeman’s folly – a drink that increases the Woodcutting skill by 1 unit. It also heals the player by 1 hitpoint and reduces Strenght and Attack by 3. This is a questionable buff, as Axeman’s folly is quite difficult to make. It requires a 49 skill level of Cooking. But if you are lucky enough to be in Keldagrim or Port Phasmatys, check out the brew and brew yourself an ale!
• Mature Axeman’s folly is the real deal. It is similar to Axeman’s folly, only much stronger, increasing your Woodcutting level by 2 points.
• Axes (Dragon, Infernal, Crystal, 3rd Age) – all these end-game hatchets give significant buffs to Woodcutting. Their disadvantage is that these three Axes are all very rare and hard to obtain. We have mentioned the first three Axes before, but what about 3rd Age? This is a very rare hatchet, requiring an Attack skill level of 65 and a Woodcutting skill level of 61 to use. It is essentially the counterpart to the Dragon Axe, only very rare.
• Spicy Stew is another good option to boost the Woodcutting skill. If you add brown spices, you will get a very significant boost to your Woodcutting level – as much as 5 units.

Woodcutting quests

Quest	XP	Required woodcutting level	Other requirements
Enlightened Journey	1,500	–	20 Quest Points, 20 Firemaking, 30 Farming, 36 Crafting
Recipe for Disaster (Skrach Uglogwee subquest)	1,500	–	41 Cooking, 20 Firemaking
Heroes’ Quest	1,575	–	55 Quest Points, 53 Cooking, 53 Fishing, 25 Herblore, 50 Mining
Monk’s Friend	2,000	–	–
Animal Magnetism	2,500	35	18 Slayer, 19 Crafting, 30 Ranged
The Eyes of Glouphrie	2,500	25	5 Construction, 46 Magic
The Fremennik Trials	2,812	40	25 Fletching
Icthlarin’s Little Helper	4,000	–	–
The Fremennik Isles	10,000	56	20 Construction, 40 Agility
Grim Tales	14,000	71	58 Thieving, 45 Farming, 52 Herblore, 59 Agility
Song of the Elves	20,000	70	70 Agility, 70 Construction, 70 Farming, 70 Herblore, 70 Hunter, 70 Mining, 70 Smithing

In Old School Runescape, you can find many quests that require a certain level of Woodcutting skill. These include the previously mentioned classic quest Song of the Elves, the most difficult Grim Tales quest, and the initial quests like Animal Magnetism and The Fremennik Trials, which do not require a high level of Woodcutting skill from the player.

Incidentally, there are also quests in OSRS that not only require you to have a certain Woodcutting level but also give you XP points into that piggy bank on their completion. Here is a list of them:

• Enlightened Journey – 1,500 XP
• Recipe for Disaster – 1,500 XP
• Heroes Quest – 1,575 XP
• Monk’s Friend – 2,000 XP
• Animal Magnetism- 2,500 XP
• The Eyes of Glouphrie – 2,500 XP
• The Fremennik Trials – 2,812 XP
• Ichtlarin’s Little Helper – 4,000 XP
• The Fremnnik Isles – 10,000 XP
• Grim Tales – 14,000 XP
• Song of the Elves – 20,000 XP

FAQ

Okay, you can learn the Woodcutting skill by chopping down trees. But if I want to use the alternative of doing quests to progress? Which mission should I look out for?

Well, up to skill level 30, it is quite possible to run on quests by completing them. Here are some of them that will help you reach level 30 Woodcutting as quickly as possible:

• Enlightened Journey;
• Recipe for Disaster Heroes’ Quest;
• Monk’s Friend;
• The Fremennik Trials;
• Icthlarin’s Little Helper.

Once you have completed them all, you will get to skill level 30, after which you can start leveling using the more classic methods outlined in this guide.

How helpful are buffs in Woodcutting at all? I understand that they exist and so on, but should I really use them?

Definitely yes. All the buffs aimed at increasing the skill level in OSRS are a great thing. Simply joining the Guild will permanently give you a +7 to your Woodcutting level, allowing you to progress through the game even faster.

OK, now I am pretty strong in OSRS, and I just want to make money with Woodcutting. What can I do?

To chop Magic trees – is the best way to farm money. Magic trees are located in the Guild. Each set of Magic logs can be sold for 900 coins, so it is a good method to earn money. Conveniently, the Woodcutting Guild also has a place with a lot of these trees, where the bank chest is located as well. Chopping Magic trees will increase your monetary potential, allowing you to accumulate a couple of tens of thousands of GP.

Conclusion

Woodcutting is not a bad profession in OSRS, even though the player will have to spend a lot of time on it. In the later stages of the game, when the gamer can get an Infernal Axe or better, he can earn a good amount of GP by cutting trees, which makes Woodcutting quite a profitable skill.

You can make upwards of 1,000 coins an hour with a sufficiently high level. Quite a few trees can be chopped for woodcutting experience and profit. The most famous tree types for woodcutting in OSRS include oak, willow, yew, and magic trees.

It is an incredibly tranquil activity that requires no effort, and it can be seamlessly combined with another account or movie-watching.

Woodcutting is also required for many interesting quests. Yes, it may not be the most useful skill in the game, but the pleasure a player can get from meditative Woodcutting is invaluable in its way.

In this guide, we have considered what Woodcutting is, how best to do it, what items or clothes to equip, etc., so that now you will have no difficulty with the Old School Runescape progression in this area.

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