OSRS Giants’ Foundry Strategy Guide
10.06.2024 - 20:29:31
Game Guides , Runescape
You unlock a lot of things after beating the Sleeping Giant's quest in OSRS. Aside from the awesome rewards at the end, as well as the great storytelling, you'll also be treated to unlocking the Giant's Foundry in the game. This special minigame is fun and rewarding but if you're unprepared, it can be quite hard to be successful at it.
What Is OSRS Giants' Foundry?
The Giants' Foundry is a minigame where you're tasked with helping Kovac create new weapons for other giants. You'll need to use the machinery within the foundry to complete this task.
To do the minigame, you must first acquire a commission from Kovac. Once that's done, you'll have to set the mold, fill the crucible, and pour the liquid metal you'll be given for the commission. The good news is that there's a bank chest nearby so getting materials isn't going to be hard.
While the crucible can take in a variety of items, you can only use metal bars that can also be made through Smithing. Each item in the crucible costs 2 bars each. Not all items can be made using this minigame. Gear such as dragon equipment, black/white equipment, and even trimmed armor sets are not allowed.
Before creating a weapon, you'll be given tasks called commissions that serve as a guide to what you're going to make. The goal is to make a weapon as close to the request as possible. Commissions are described with two terms spiked, narrow, etc.
After being given a commission, Kovac will then have you choose from his Mould Library. Like in the description, it's important to make sure that you're getting the molds right. The mold doesn't affect the quality of the weapon you're making but it's still an essential element to the success of the minigame.
With the mold chosen, you'll have to head to the crucible next. You'll know you're in the right place if you see a stone vessel that's hanging on top of hot magma. Aside from being where you do the minigame, the vessel also serves as the storage for molten metal bars that you'll use while forging.
The storage can hold up to 28 metal bars. Adding more than the crucible's capacity is possible but any metals outside of the 28 limit will be put to waste. You're given the option to empty the crucible but if you do so, you'll lose all metal bars that are currently inside of it.
You cannot pour into a mold if it's filled and you haven't submitted the current result yet. The difficulty of the weapon you're creating will vary depending on the metal you're using. The higher the tier of the metal, the more difficult it will be to create a weapon out of it.
Refinement
Apart from choosing the mold and the right materials, the most important part of Giant's Foundry is the refinement process. This part of the minigame gives you access to many important tools.
- Trip hammer: This is mainly used on tempered swords and you can use it to remove any kinks on the blade. With this tool, you can increase the sword's progress by 2% and its cooldown phase by 2.5%.
- Grindstone: You can only use this once your sword is on Medium Temperature. It can sharpen the blade further. Your sword gains 1% progress and it increases temperature by 1.5% every 2nd tick.
- Polishing wheel: Once the sword reaches cold temperatures, you can use the wheel to clean it and give the tool a shiny finish. While using the tool, the sword gains 1% progress and cools down by 1.7% every 2nd tick.
- Lava pool: Once you're done with the wheel, you can dip it in the lava pool to heat it up. You can do slow and fast heating depending on what you need.
- Waterfall: This is the opposite of the lava pool. Like the lava pool, it has fast and slow options.
- Preform Storage: If you're out of time to play or you need to log off temporarily, you can store your progress inside the Preform Storage. You can pick up where you left off anytime.
The goal is to make sure that the weapon you're tempering reaches 100% completion. The tools above will help you accomplish that so you need to be smart when it comes to using them. You gain a small amount of Smithing XP every time you use the correct tool but this isn't a good way to train the skill due to the small returns.
As you're doing the minigame, you'll be guided by a HUD that shows which tool is should be used at that time. If you fail to follow the guide, you'll damage the sword and even reduce its quality. Hitting 0 during the minigame will cause you to lose your materials. You'll have to talk to Kovac to begin a new commission.
Sweet Spot
You can spot a gold or yellow border while refining your weapon. This is a sweet spot window that lasts for around 6 seconds. As this happens, make sure to click the machine as soon as you can. If done successfully, you can gain around 5% progress on your next tick. Nothing happens if you miss the sweet spot.
Handing In The Weapon
Once you reach 100% with the current sword, you can then hand it to Kovac to finish the commission. You'll get a huge amount of Smithing XP, a few coins, and Foundry Reputation. Your rewards will be based on the quality of the sword that you create. Any coin rewards are put into your bank immediately unless you're in an Ironman Run.
You can check out a few special records of your performance as well. Those include the time of completion for the sword, as well as your personal best for the minigame. There's no limit to how many times you can do the Giants' Foundry and in most cases, players use this as a means to train Smithing and to earn gold.
How To Get To Giants' Foundry
- Use the Grouping teleport to reach the Giants' Foundry.
- Employ an amulet of glory teleport to swiftly arrive at the Al Kharid Palace.
- Utilize a ring of dueling teleportation to access the PvP Arena.
- Take a gnome glider flight to reach Kar-Hewo.
- Pass through the toll gate from Lumbridge for your journey.
Giants' Foundry Requirements
First off, you should finish the Sleeping Giants' quest before you can access this minigame. Other than that, make sure to prepare these items as well:
- Metal bars or any equipment that can be made using metal bars. This includes bronze to run armor and weapons. We highly suggest stocking up on these items first before doing the minigame.
- Bucket or Ice gloves. These will be used to pick up the molded weapons. The bucket can be acquired at the Giants' Foundry.
Quick Guide |
What is this? A workshop for giants? Required Items: 20 inventory spaces available after the repairs, 1 bucket of water or ice gloves, 1 chisel, 1 hammer, 10 nails, 1 wool, 3 oak logs
Make-A-Sword
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Where To Get Metals For Giants' Foundry
If you're planning on doing Giants' Foundry several times, we highly suggest getting a bunch of metal first so that you can do it all in one trip. Here are a few ways to get metals in the game.
- Grand Exchange - This is the easiest way to get the materials you need for forging but of course, it will require gold. The good thing about the Grand Exchange is that you can buy metals with high buy limits so you can really stock up on the goods if needed.
- Weapons And Armor - As we've said before, you can also use smithable weapons and armor to get metals for the Giants' Foundry. The downside to this is that the amount of metals you'll get from here is smaller than what you used when making the gear. This is only a good source of metals if you've been leveling up your Smithing skill beforehand and have a huge stock of metal armors and weapons. Other than that, it's still best to stick with the Grand Exchange.
- Buying Weapons And Armor - This is the same as above but this time, you'll need to buy the gear directly from the shop instead of smithing them. This is the worst way to get metals as you're wasting a ton of money by doing these. You're also missing out on Smithing XP.
Giants' Foundry Strategy Guide
For many players, the Giants' Foundry is regarded as one of the toughest minigames in OSRS. We can't blame them though as there are a lot of mechanics and hidden calculations to get the best results possible.
One of the most common mistakes that people make is setting the sword's temperature right at what's acceptable isn't recommended. This can reduce quality and is actually harder to do. Giving your sword a bit of margin when it comes to the temperature is more practical. Here are a few strategies to consider.
- Changing between tools for maximum temp control: By clicking the right tool at the right time, you can switch between fast and slow cooling/heating. This makes it a lot easier for you to control your temperature and it takes less effort to do so. As you practice this more and more, you'll be able to transition between temperatures much easier which can eventually help improve your overall control.
- Passive Cooling: The hammer and the polish wheel are the two most useful tools for this minigame. With the passive cooling method, you can easily adjust the temperature for it to get to the required range. You can use both tools to bring the temperature right to the very edge of the limits and it does require a bit of fine-tuning and patience.
- Measuring Temperature Changes: One of the most important skills to master when it comes to the Giants' Foundry is knowing how to properly monitor the changes in the temperature. There should be a white line just outside the temperature range. You can use this as a means to easily know when it's time to disengage with the tool you're using. Basically, you'd want to stop using the tool once this outline appears.
- Using Sweetspots: Completing a commission without using sweet spots can be very hard especially when you're using longer sword molds. Make sure to always keep track of sweet spots as these will make it easier for you to finish the weapon on time. This is especially the case if you have the Smiths' Uniform with you.
- Play In Worlds With Fewer People: As the Giants' Foundry is all about precision and timing, it's best to play in less populated worlds while doing this. This can prevent tick stutters and lag as well. Playing the minigame with lag is bad as it can really put you off of your game.
As a last tip, make sure to get the Smiths' Uniform first using your Foundry Reputation. Most players get the molds so that they have a wider selection to choose from but the bonuses from the Smiths' Uniform will allow you to progress in the minigame with a higher rate of success.
Hourly Rates
Below is the table detailing the average experience and gold rates for optimal alloys, considering average commission scores, optimal molds, optimal player performance, and without the Smith's Uniform. Keep in mind that Kovak will give you different commissions. This table also doesn't consider how you perform per request. Additionally, changes in Grand Exchange market prices will affect expenses and profits when you're opting to buy your metals.
Alloy | Swords/hr | Material cost | XP/hr | Rep/hr | Reward GP/hr | Using bars | Using items | |||
Bars/hr | Items/hr | Profit/hr | GP/XP | Profit/hr | GP/XP | |||||
Bronze/Iron | 16 | 96,944 | 1,040 | 97,920 | 1,264 | 195,840 | 98,896 | 1.01 | 194,800 | 1.99 |
Iron/Steel | 16 | 139,328 | 17,472 | 133,920 | 1,568 | 267,840 | 128,512 | 0.96 | 250,368 | 1.87 |
Steel/Mithril | 14 | 216,580 | 96,040 | 164,640 | 1,722 | 329,280 | 112,700 | 0.68 | 233,240 | 1.42 |
Mithril/Adamantite | 12 | 430,584 | 253,512 | 198,000 | 1,836 | 396,000 | −34,584 | -0.17 | 142,488 | 0.72 |
Adamantite/Runite | 11 | 2,195,116 | 1,643,796 | 253,110 | 2,068 | 506,220 | −1,688,896 | -6.67 | −1,137,576 | -4.49 |
How Is Sword Quality Calculated In Giants' Foundry?
For many players, the real challenge in the Giants' Foundry is knowing how to calculate the results in the game. There's more to it than your performance, the materials used, and other factors. OSRS takes into consideration a few calculations that show what type of sword you're getting in the end. What you should at least keep in mind is that higher-quality swords are harder to make.
The quality of the final weapon is measured by adding the metal score to the mold score. Each type of metal and mold that you use has its own hidden value which ranges from 10 to 199. Getting a score of 10 happens when you use only bronze bars and have mismatching molds. On the other hand, you can get 199 by using high-quality metals and molds that they match with.
If you damage the weapon in any way, you get deducted 10 points each time. This happens when you use the wrong tools or you get bad temperatures.
With that logic, it's best to create an alloy using several metal types instead of solely relying on just one. For instance, you should create a sword with rune metal as a base as it results in a starting value of 60. However, if you create one with an equal amount of adamant and rune metal, you can double the base score.
For a better understanding of the score, check out the value of the metals.
Alloy | Level | Score | Difficulty |
All Bronze | 15 | 10 | Lowest |
All Iron | 15 | 20 | Low |
All Steel | 30 | 30 | Low |
All Mithril | 50 | 40 | Low |
All Adamant | 70 | 50 | Low |
All Rune | 85 | 60 | Medium |
19 Steel / 9 Mithril | 50 | 59 | Low |
18 Mithril / 10 Adamant | 70 | 89 | Medium |
19 Adamant / 9 Rune | 85 | 118 | High |
14 Adamant / 14 Rune | 85 | 130 | Highest |
If you're short on metals, you can also refine metal weapons and armor that you make by using your Smithing skill. Each piece of armor should require at least two bars of metal to create.
A higher metal score doesn't just mean higher sword quality, it can also mean that the sword is harder to create. This table shows how many sections you'll need to make depending on the weapon's metal score.
Alloy tier | Metal score | Sections |
Lowest | 10-19 | 3 |
Low | 20-59 | 4 |
Medium | 60-89 | 5 |
High | 90-119 | 6 |
Highest | 120-130 | 7 |
Another factor that will affect the quality of the sword is the size of the temperature bars that will appear while playing Giants' Foundry. The larger the size of the bar, the higher the metal score is. Once you reach 130 points, the bar should be down to its full size. Due to the difficulty of the minigame, we highly advise you to pick lower metals when you're just new so you can get the hang of the minigame first.
On the other hand, the mold score is calculated by the two descriptions that are provided by the commissions. The highest score you can get by choosing the right mold is 69. You can get this by using a Light Flat commission and then picking the right molds for it. If you use default molds, the best score you can get is 46 points. Other commissions can get you somewhere between 50 to 60. On the other hand, the lowest score you can get is 24.
Don't be too stingy when it comes to picking molds. Unlike the type of metal you use, this will not affect how difficult the current commission is. After getting the Smiths' Uniform, make sure to start unlocking each of the molds one by one so that you'll have a higher chance of picking the right molds.
Mold name | Mold type | Style | Optimal commissions | |||||
Broad | Narrow | Heavy | Light | Spiked | Flat | |||
Chopper Forte | Forte | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Gladius Ricasso | Forte | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Disarming Forte | Forte | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Medusa Ricasso | Forte | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
Serpent Ricasso | Forte | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
Serrated Forte | Forte | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
Saw Blade | Blade | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Defenders Edge | Blade | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Fish Blade | Blade | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Medusa Blade | Blade | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Stiletto Blade | Blade | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
Gladius Edge | Blade | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
People Poker Point | Tip | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Chopper Tip | Tip | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Medusa's Head | Tip | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Serpent's Fang | Tip | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Gladius Point | Tip | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Saw Tip | Tip | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
You get rewarded with more points by doing harder commissions. To get all of the molds in the game, you'll need a total of 5,400 points. If you currently don't meet the level for the mold that you want to use, you can use temporarily boosting to increase your level high enough for those molds.
Be warned though that it your level drops below after using the boost, you won't be able to use the molds that you have. However, you can continue using it as long as the metal is already poured on the preformed.
Level | Mold name | Mold type | Cost (Rep) | Style | Optimal commissions | |||||
Broad | Narrow | Heavy | Light | Spiked | Flatv | |||||
50 | Stiletto Forte | Forte | 300 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
51 | Defender Base | Forte | 300 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 + 1 tied |
61 | Juggernaut Forte | Forte | 350 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
70 | Chopper Forte +1 | Forte | 400 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 3 + 1 tied |
79 | Spiker! | Forte | 450 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 4 |
48 | Flamberge Blade | Blade | 300 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
50 | Serpent Blade | Blade | 300 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
59 | Claymore Blade | Blade | 350 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
71 | Fleur de Blade | Blade | 400 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
80 | Choppa! | Blade | 450 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
49 | Corrupted Point | Tip | 300 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
52 | Defenders Tip | Tip | 300 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 + 1 tied |
60 | Serrated Tip | Tip | 350 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
69 | Needle Point | Tip | 400 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 + 1 tied |
81 | The Point! | Tip | 450 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 3 + 1 tied |
Kovak will shake things up by giving you a variety of combinations for objectives within the minigame. Assuming you're aiming to get the highest sword quality possible, belowis a table of the best combinations that you can get.
Commission | Forte | Blade | Tip | Score |
Broad Heavy | Medusa Ricasso | Medusa Blade | Saw Tip | 44 (22+22) |
Broad Light | Medusa Ricasso/Chopper Forte | Medusa Blade/Saw Blade | Chopper Tip | 24 (20+4) |
Broad Spiked | Medusa Ricasso | Medusa Blade/Saw Blade/Defender's Edge | Saw Tip | 30 (22+8) |
Broad Flat | Medusa Ricasso | Medusa Blade | Saw Tip/Gladius Point | 36 (22+14) |
Narrow Heavy | Serrated Forte | Gladius Edge | Gladius Point | 46 (22+24) |
Narrow Light | Serpent Ricasso | Stiletto Blade | Serpent's Fang | 42 (22+20) |
Narrow Spiked | Serrated Forte | Stiletto Blade | Serpent's Fang | 38 (24+14) |
Narrow Flat | Serpent Ricasso | Stiletto Blade | Gladius Point | 44 (22+22) |
Heavy Spiked | Serrated Forte | Gladius Edge/Medusa Blade/Defender's Edge | Saw Tip | 38 (24+14) |
Heavy Flat | Medusa Ricasso | Gladius Edge | Gladius Point | 44 (22+22) |
Light Spiked | Serpent Ricasso/Disarming Forte | Saw Blade | Serpent's Fang | 30 (18+12) |
Light Flat | Serpent Ricasso | Stiletto Blade | Gladius Point | 36 (14+22) |
Giants' Foundry Rewards
The rewards you can get on the minigame will be dependent on how much you're willing to spend. As you complete commissions, you can get Foundry Reputation. Aside from molds, you can use the points to get more rewards at the Reward Shop. Here's what you can buy.
Item | Foundry Reputation |
Double ammo mold | 2,000 |
Kovac's grog | 300 |
Smithing catalyst | 15 |
Ore pack | 200 |
Smiths tunic | 4,000 |
Smiths trousers | 4,000 |
Smiths boots | 3,500 |
Smiths gloves | 3,500 |
Colossal blade | 5,000 |
Players mostly do this minigame for the colossal blade. It's a highly valuable item that those who prefer melee combat will love. When you're attacking targets of size 1×1, the Colossal Blade's stats are similar with the barrelchest anchor. The difference is that it has a slightly higher slash bonus compared to the anchor's crush bonus. What's even better is that has lower requirements than the barrelchest anchor, which demands 40 Strength, 50 Prayer, and 40 Ranged for completion of The Great Brain Robbery quest. This makes the colossal blade a great alternative for the anchor. Particularly when it comes builds with lower Prayer, such as the 15, 31, and 43 Prayer builds.
The Colossal Blade needs to be unlocked only once. If lost under any circumstance, it can be re-acquired from Perdu for 300,000 coins, provided you don't already possess another copy. In PvP encounters above level 20 Wilderness, the item will drop as 225,000 coins for the killer.
The colossal blade lacks a special attack which could be a deal breaker. However, it compensates with a passive effect that makes short work of larger monsters. Itt's passive effect enhances the wielder's maximum hit against larger enemies. This effect is calculated as MaxHit + [2 × min(MonsterSize, 5)], meaning the maximum hit is increased by double the monster's size value, but capped at 10. Here, MonsterSize represents the number of game squares on one side of the monster's occupied space. For instance, Sarachnis, a size 5x5 monster, has a MonsterSize of 5.
Aside from the colossal blade, you should focus on getting the Smiths' Uniform as well. The Smith's gloves give a chance of bonus progress with each machine tick, and when combined with the full set, this bonus is guaranteed. This effectively increases the experience gain by approximately 15%, depending on the sword's difficulty. Combining the Smith's gloves with ice gloves allows for seamless retrieval of the preform.
After handing in a blade, Kovac restores 50% of your run energy. Even without wearing the graceful outfit, it's highly unlikely that you'll deplete your energy, so the outfit isn't necessary. With 75 agility and without wearing graceful, you can wear approximately 15 kg of additional gear along with the preform. To offset the negligible weight of the preform and the Smith's Uniform, you can use weight-reducing items like the hood and cape, if desired.
Ready For The Giants' Foundry?
The Giants' Foundry can seem intimidating at first but in reality, it's not as complicated as others make it out to be. It's an excellent minigame that rewards you with very important items. With proper technique and a sound strategy, you'll be able to get all of the rewards from the shop in no time.