In Old School RuneScape (OSRS), mastering Skills is an essential part of progressing your character. Of the many Skills to train, Prayer often flies under the radar, especially for new players. However, Prayer is one of the most powerful Skills in the game and can give you an edge in combat through boosts to Attack, Magic immunity, and Hitpoint regeneration. Despite its usefulness, leveling Prayer is known for being one of the most challenging tasks in OSRS, particularly on free-to-play (F2P) accounts. This guide will help you navigate the complexities of training Prayer from levels 1 to 99.

What Is OSRS Prayer?

Prayer is a combat Skill that helps players unlock powerful abilities to assist them in combat. Prayers can boost your stats, provide protection from damage, and even heal you. These abilities are activated by spending Prayer Points, which slowly drain while a Prayer is active. When you run out of Prayer Points, your current Prayer will deactivate. You can restore your Prayer Points at altars found throughout Gielinor or by using certain items.

Training Prayer usually involves gathering and using bones. There are several ways to gain Prayer XP, such as burying bones, offering them on gilded altars, or using the Ectofuntus. Regardless of your method, leveling Prayer requires a significant investment of time and resources.

Is Prayer Worth Training?

The short answer is yes. Although Prayer is difficult to train, it’s extremely useful in OSRS, especially for end-game activities like raids, bossing, and PvP. Prayer provides a wide variety of buffs that make combat significantly easier. Many players aim to max Prayer as early as possible because of its importance in high-level gameplay. While it can be a grind, the benefits of maxing out Prayer far outweigh the effort.

OSRS Prayer Level 1-99 Guide

Training Prayer is notorious for being both costly and time-consuming. Depending on your account type—F2P or pay-to-play (P2P)—there are different strategies for maximizing your XP gains.

OSRS Prayer F2P Leveling Guide

Training Prayer on a free-to-play account is especially challenging due to limited resources and methods. However, it is possible to reach level 99, though it will require a lot of effort.

Questing for an XP Boost

Begin your Prayer journey by completing The Restless Ghost quest. This quest gives 1,125 Prayer XP upon completion, which will boost you to level 9. It’s a simple quest with no major prerequisites, and it’s a great way to jumpstart your Prayer training.

Camdozaal Altar Training

Another early Prayer training method for F2P players involves using the altar in the Ruins of Camdozaal. You’ll need at least level 7 in Fishing and Cooking, as well as completion of the Below Ice Mountain quest. Ideally, aim for level 33 in both Fishing and Cooking to maximize your XP gain. This method allows you to earn approximately 2,400 Prayer XP per hour, alongside Fishing and Cooking XP.

Power-Burying

For fast Prayer XP, power-burying bones and scattering demonic ashes is the most efficient method, though it can be costly. You can buy big bones and vile ashes from the Grand Exchange and bury or scatter them for fast XP gains. The process is click-intensive, but it’s the fastest way to level Prayer in F2P, netting around 100,000 XP per hour under optimal conditions. However, from levels 1 to 99, you would need approximately 325,861 big bones and the same number of vile ashes—so be prepared to invest a significant amount of osrs gold.

Combat Leveling

Alternatively, you can collect bones by defeating monsters. This method can be slower but also gives you combat XP in the process. Popular locations for gathering bones include:

Chicken Pens: Ideal for beginners as chickens have a low combat level.

Cow Fields: Similar to chickens but with more defense and HP.

Goblins (near Al Kharid gate): A step up from chickens and cows, also good for combat training.

Hill Giants (Edgeville Dungeon): Great for training melee combat and collecting big bones.

Moss Giants (Varrock Sewers or Crandor): Another source of big bones, though they’re tougher to defeat.

OSRS Prayer P2P Leveling Guide

On a P2P account, leveling Prayer is still challenging but far more manageable thanks to additional resources, quests, and methods.

Questing

Much like in F2P, starting with quests is a smart move for a big XP boost. Many P2P quests reward you with Prayer XP, making them essential for early leveling. Some key quests to complete include Priest in Peril and Mountain Daughter.

Gilded Altars

Using gilded altars is the fastest method for leveling Prayer in P2P. You’ll need to use Dragon Bones or Superior Dragon Bones on a gilded altar in a player-owned house. This method provides significantly more XP per bone than burying or scattering ashes. Additionally, if you’re able to light two burners at the altar, you can maximize your XP gains.

Ectofuntus

Another popular method in P2P is using the Ectofuntus. By offering bones to the Ectofuntus, you can gain 4x the normal XP you would get from burying bones. However, this method is more time-consuming than using a gilded altar.

Conclusion

Training Prayer in OSRS is a long and often expensive endeavor, but the rewards are invaluable. Whether you’re playing on a free or paid account, there are strategies you can use to make the grind more manageable. Maxing out Prayer is worth the effort for the powerful buffs it provides, making you a formidable force in both PvE and PvP combat.