OSRS Prayer Leveling 1-99 Guide

Everyone has a tough time in OSRS figuring out which Skills to master. Whether combative or for other purposes, all of the Skills in the game are special and important in their own way. Of the 20+ Skills in the game, one that doesn't let its practicality known from the get-go is the Prayer Skill.

It might not seem like a vital skill for your journey in the game but it is definitely one of the best skills to get to level 99 as early as possible. Unfortunately, this is also one of the hardest Skills to master in the game whether you're on a free or paid account. With this guide, however, we'll make that journey easier for you.

What Is OSRS Prayer?

Prayer is a combat Skill that's available to all players in OSRS - non-members and members included. As you progress through the Skill, you get to unlock new Prayers which can assist you in combat in many ways. Some of the buffs include Attack boosts, Magic immunity, Hitpoint regeneration, and much more.

Once a Prayer is activated, a resource called Prayer Points are slowly drained and once out, will immediately cause your current buff to end. Regaining Prayer Points is as simple as praying at any altar scattered throughout the world. In some cases, there are monsters or areas that automatically drain your Prayer Points too.

Leveling your Prayer Skill can be done in many ways and bones are most or less likely involved. You can bury them, offer them to gilded altars, and even convert them to ectofuntus. While there are many ways to level Prayer, the challenge lies in finding the materials needed to do so.

OSRS Prayer Level 1-99 Guide

Training the Prayer skill in OSRS is infamous within the community for being extra hard and demanding. It's even more so when it comes to training your Prayer Skill on a free-to-play account. Regardless of what account type you have though, we have a guide for both of them so read on.

OSRS Prayer F2P Leveling Guide

Before you proceed reading, keep in mind that F2P Prayer training is one of the hardest and most time-consuming Skill training in the game. Even with this optimized and efficient method, it's going to take a lot of effort to get to 99 on a free account. What's important to know though is that it's doable.

Questing For A Huge Level Boost

You can jumpstart your level 99 journey by doing The Restless Ghost. Finishing the quest nets you 1,125 Prayer XP which will get you to level 9 upon completion. What's great is that there are no prerequisites for this quest.

To start this quest, you'll need to speak to Father Aereck located in the chapel southeast of Lumbridge Castle. Just a fun fact, this is one of the six quests that launched with OSRS!

Camdozaal

If you want a less click-intensive method of training Prayer, head to the altar in the Ruins of Camdozaal. For this method, you'll need at least level 7 Fishing and Cooking. You also should have completed Below Ice Mountain. For maximized XP gain, do this with level 33 Fishing and Cooking so that you can get tetra which offers the highest XP gain or Prayer. Here's how this step works.

1. Use a small fishing net to catch fish that are in the nearby fishing spot in Camdozaal.
2. Prepare the fish at the preparation table with a knife. If you don't have a knife, there should be one on the floor near the table. This gives you Cooking XP.
3. Take your prepared fish at the altar to get Prayer XP.

You can get 2,400 XP for Prayer per hour at best. The best thing is that you're also going to get 5,600 Fishing XP and 7,400 Cooking XP as well.

Power-Burying

The optimal way to achieve the best prayer XP rates in free-to-play involves burying large quantities of bones and demonic ashes purchased from the Grand Exchange. Understandably, this method is both click-intensive and costly, making it a demanding approach. However, given that Prayer stands as perhaps the most challenging skill to train in the free-to-play realm, this method is arguably the most efficient one available. Though it comes with a high price tag, smart money-making strategies can help offset the costs effectively.

For the quickest Prayer training, focus on burying big bones and scattering vile ashes simultaneously. This method allows for a rapid 40 Prayer XP per tick, requiring just two swift clicks to bury and scatter, resulting in a potential of nearly 116,000 XP per hour. However, achieving this maximum rate in practicality is challenging due to the intense clicking and necessary banking. Realistically, expect to reach around ~100,000 XP per hour.

To illustrate the scope of this method, from Levels 1 to 99, you'd need a staggering 325,861 big bones (costing 71,689,420 GP) and an equivalent amount of vile ashes (costing 211,483,789 GP). It's a substantial investment, but it's the swiftest path to mastering your Prayer skill in free-to-play.

Here's a quick run-down on the XP gain and costs with this method.

Combat Leveling

You can also do combat to level your Prayer. While risky, this method gets you XP in Attack, Magic, or Range Skill so it's going to be worth it. Just make sure that you're well equipped for this.

In low-level areas, you'll find ample opportunities to gather free bones, often left behind by players who focus on monster hunting without collecting their loot. Here are some common spots and enemies where you can easily gather bones:

• Lumbridge Swamp
• Chicken Pens
• Cow Fields
• Goblins (e.g., near the gate to Al Kharid)
• Imps (commonly found south of Falador) - Drop fiendish ashes that yield 10 Prayer XP when scattered.

These locations are frequently visited and offer a consistent supply of bones left on the ground.

As you progress to higher-level areas, focusing on specific monsters can optimize your bone gathering for Prayer training. Here are areas and monsters that drop big bones or ashes:

Big Bones:

• Giant Frogs (Lumbridge Swamp)
• Hill Giants (Edgeville Dungeon or Giants' Plateau)
• Moss Giants (Varrock Sewers or Crandor)
• Ice Giants (Asgarnian Ice Dungeon)
• Ogresses (Corsair Cove Dungeon)

Vile Ashes:

• Lesser Demons (Crandor and Karamja Dungeon, Lava Maze, or Demonic Ruins)
• Greater Demons (Demonic Ruins)

For efficient Prayer training, targeting giant frogs is the fastest option due to their low hitpoints and defense. However, for greater profits, you can also kill lesser demons at higher levels, although this method offers a lower prayer XP rate.

Wilderness Training

The BoneYard, located in the Wilderness just north of Varrock, offers a prime opportunity for gathering bones and big bones without engaging in combat. Here are some recommendations and strategies to make the most of this method:

• Food (optional): As there are level 20-25 skeletons in the area, consider bringing enough food to sustain you if you choose not to fight them.
• Armour: Given the Wilderness location and presence of skeletons, wear armor that you don't mind losing in case of an attack.
• Weapon (optional): If you decide to combat the skeletons, a weapon will be necessary. Fighting them not only gains you a bit of combat XP but also yields bones upon defeat.

Method One:

1. Run in and swiftly collect bones.
2. Retreat to a safe spot and bury the bones.
3. Repeat this cycle.

Method Two:

1. Engage and defeat skeletons to acquire their bones. Having a higher combat level will make this process easier.
2. Once the area is clear and safe, gather all the bones dropped.
3. Proceed to bury all the bones.
4. Repeat this sequence.

Method Three:

1. Although this method delays the start of your prayer training, it involves waiting in two non-aggressive areas among the bone piles.
2. After 10 minutes, the skeletons will cease being aggressive in those specific areas.
3. Be cautious not to wander too far and enter a new aggressive area, as it would reset the aggression timer.
4. No need for food or armor in this method, and if you keep your weight at 0 kg, you can efficiently run around burying bones for an extended period before running out of run energy.
5. Despite the 10-minute wait to commence training, you can expect a faster XP rate once you start collecting and burying bones continuously.

OSRS Prayer P2P Leveling Guide

Although still challenging, leveling your Prayer Skill to 99 on a P2P account is still a lot easier compared to a free account. Aside from that, you have access to more Prayers, more Quests, and areas to train Prayer. Here are some methods worth doing when leveling Prayer on a P2P account.

Questing For A Huge Level Boost

As with the F2P method, you should start off by doing a few quests first. These quests will help boost your level significantly. Here are the quests you should do before doing any actual Prayer training.

1. Restless Ghost
2. Priest in Peril
3. Recruitment Drive
4. Holy Grail

Completing these four quests will reward you with 14,531 Prayer XP which is more than enough to get you from level 1 to 30 on a free account.

Bones At The Gilded Altar

To level up your Prayer skill rapidly, the most efficient method is offering bones at a gilded altar in a player-owned house. When you light both incense burners at the altar, you receive an impressive 350% XP boost per bone. For example, a dragon bone offers 72 Prayer XP when buried, but when used on the gilded altar with both burners lit, it grants 252 XP.

Constructing a gilded altar necessitates a Construction level of at least 75, which can be temporarily boosted. The type of incense burner (whether oak, mahogany, or marble) does not influence the XP bonus; all of them provide the same boost and stay lit for the same duration. Lighting an incense burner requires level 30 Firemaking and a marrentill herb. Additionally, it's recommended to have level 45 Magic for teleportation spells like Camelot Teleport and Teleport to House.

When offering bones, it's a good idea to use the bank chest near Camelot Castle in a PvP world. This chest is the closest to a teleport and is located in a safe area, protecting you from potential player killers. Equip a dust battlestaff and ensure you have a tinderbox and law runes in your inventory. Withdraw 24 bones and two marrentills from the bank, teleport to your house, light the incense burners, and proceed to offer the bones at the gilded altar. Speed up the process by manually using each bone on the altar. Afterward, teleport back to Camelot and repeat the procedure.

If you don't have the necessary Construction level to build a gilded altar, you can utilize the altar of a house party host. Official worlds for hosted gilded altars are 330 (US East), 465 (Germany), and 512 (UK) at the Rimmington house portal. You can bring noted bones and unnote them by using Phials in the house next to the portal for a fee of 5 coins per note.

The XP rates can vary based on the type of bone you use and your efficiency. With optimal banking and precise clicks, you can offer around 2,550 bones per hour, assuming you manually use each bone on the altar. This translates to approximately 1,340,000 XP per hour with superior dragon bones and 643,000 XP per hour with dragon bones. If you use alternative accounts to light the incense burners and fetch bones from the bank, you can increase the rates to about 3,500 bones per hour, or even higher if you hire runners. However, if you do not manually use the bones on the altar, you can offer up to 1,070 bones per hour.

Bones At The Chaos Temple

If you're seeking a slightly slower but significantly more cost-effective method for training Prayer, offering bones at the altar within the Chaos Temple in the Wilderness is a viable option. This temple, situated in level 38 Wilderness within a multi-combat zone, houses an altar that offers the same experience boost as a gilded altar with two burners lit. Additionally, there's a 50% chance that the bone won't be consumed, effectively doubling the experience gained per bone. However, exercise caution as encountering player killers is a real risk due to the dangerous nature of the area.

To utilize this method, you can bring noted bones and un-note them at the Elder Chaos druid just outside the temple for 50 coins per note. Keep in mind that this increases the risk of losing bones to player killers. To minimize risk, it's advisable to carry only an inventory of unnoted bones and suicide to bank for more bones.

Getting to the altar swiftly involves using Ghorrock Teleport (or the respective house portal) and heading south. If you don't have the Magic level for Ghorrock Teleport, you can use the respective teleport tablet instead. Alternatively, if you have an Ancient Obelisk in your player-owned house and have completed hard tasks in the Wilderness Diary, you can use it to teleport to level 44 Wilderness and then run south. Another option is to use Cemetery Teleport on the Arceuus spellbook or the respective house portal and head north, although this method is slightly slower.

Experience rates can vary based on the bone used and encounters with player killers. When manually using bones on the altar, you can offer approximately 2,000 bone offerings per hour. This translates to roughly 500,000 experience per hour using dragon or wyvern bones, and an impressive 1,050,000 experience per hour using superior dragon bones. With maximum efficiency and uninterrupted training, you could potentially gain up to 1,800,000 experience per hour when using superior dragon bones. If you incorporate runners into the process, slightly higher rates can be achieved.

Strategy For Chaos Temple Run

Understandably, this method is particularly risky. To help mitigate the risks involved, here's a simple strategy to follow.

If you're looking to minimize risk, consider traveling to the altar from the bank for every inventory of bones and using the suicide method to get back to the bank quickly. Though less risky than bringing noted bones to the altar, it's important to note that this approach is a bit slower.

To proceed with this method, it's highly recommended to have your respawn point set to Ferox Enclave or Edgeville. These are the closest respawn points to a bank, albeit unlocking them will cost you 5,000,000 coins. Alternatively, you can opt for PvP worlds, where a bank chest is conveniently located right next to a respawn point.

Here's how to execute this method:

1. Gather bones, a teleport to the Wilderness, and optionally a locator orb or a dwarven rock cake from the bank.
2. Teleport to the Wilderness and head to the Chaos Temple to offer the bones at the altar.
3. Lower your Hitpoints using the locator orb or the dwarven rock cake, then suicide to the wine of zamorak spawn. Alternatively, you can let the Chaos Fanatic kill you.
4. Run from the respawn point to the nearest bank to get more bones. Repeat this process.
5. For added survival against potential player killers, you may choose to wear a piece of defensive equipment like Dinh's bulwark. This will increase your chances of lasting long enough to use up all your bones before succumbing to attackers.

Another approach is to wear Zealot's robes when employing the suicide strategy. The bone-saving effect of the altar stacks with the Zealot's robes, providing slightly more value from the bones. Additionally, the Zealot's robes are protected over the bones upon death.

If you encounter a precarious situation, logging out is always an option to consider. There's a short window in between dying and logging out successfully though so keep your cursor on the logout button.

Noted Bones

Bringing noted bones is riskier, but a lot faster than using the suicide method. However, this method is only recommended for players with a combat level of at least 50 and up. The risk of getting PK'd is significantly high with this method.

However, some low-level combat pure player killers can sometimes be found at the altar, so some caution should still be given.

High-level players should wear good defensive gear while 3- or 4-iteming more expensive armor pieces, and bring some Saradomin brews along with sanfew serums or super restores to have a higher chance of escaping player killers. Players will also have very limited space for supplies, as it is best to have as much inventory space as possible for the bones.

Gear setups can vary depending on how much money the player has available. It is generally best to prioritize Magic defense while having decent defensive bonuses against Melee and Ranged attacks. When choosing protected items, the fortified Masori body or the Armadyl chestplate, a tank shield such as elysian/spectral spirit shield or dinh's bulwark, and staff of the dead (if using an off-hand shield) are considered the best options. The rest of the equipment should consist of fairly cheap or easily replaceable items.

If the player is confident using Protect Item, the serpentine helm or the fortified Masori chaps (or the Armadyl chainskirt) can be brought as the extra item. It is still possible to get smited, so it may be a good idea to keep the smite risk reasonable. In a certain death situation prioritize having enough Prayer points to keep Protect Items active.

Reanimating Ensouled Heads

When looking for a less intensive yet cost-effective method for Prayer training, reanimating ensouled heads and dealing with the reanimated monsters in the Dark Altar could be your solution. While it's not the fastest training method, it demands less effort compared to manually offering bones at altars.

To embark on this method, ensure you have at least 60% favor in Arceuus. You'll also need quick access to the Dark Altar, which can be facilitated by unlocking the fairy ring code "cis." Additionally, having a means of fast travel to fairy rings, like the one in your Player-Owned House, quest point cape, or Salve Graveyard Teleport, is beneficial. Carrying a rune pouch is highly recommended to save inventory space. Stocking up on ensouled heads in advance is a good idea, as their trade volumes on the Grand Exchange can be low.

Experience rates will vary depending on the ensouled head type and your combat stats. With high combat stats, you can reanimate up to 220 ensouled heads per hour, resulting in approximately 343,000 experience per hour when using ensouled dragon heads. Using a cannon to dispatch reanimated monsters faster can increase your rates, but it comes at a slightly higher cost. Moreover, you'll also gain some passive combat and Magic experience during this training.

Passive Training Methods

Passive training presents a cost-effective and time-efficient way to train Prayer, especially when combined with other activities like Slayer training or in areas like the Nightmare Zone where extended stays are planned without the need to bank drops.

Bonecrusher

Using the bonecrusher or bonecrusher necklace charged with ecto-tokens, when you defeat a monster that drops bones, the bonecrusher will automatically crush them. You'll receive half the Prayer experience you would have gained from burying the bones yourself, or the full amount if you've completed the elite Morytania Diary. Each usage consumes one charge.

Ash Sanctifier

If you have an ash sanctifier charged with death runes, defeating a monster that drops ashes will automatically scatter them. This grants you half the Prayer experience you would have received from scattering the ashes yourself, or the full amount if you've completed the elite Kourend & Kebos Diary. Using the sanctifier consumes one charge.

Ectoplasmator

The ectoplasmator is a great tool, granting you Prayer experience equal to 20% of a spectral creature's maximum health when you defeat them, like an aberrant specter. It requires 40 Prayer and can be obtained as a reward from the Soul Wars minigame for 250 Zeal Tokens. Additionally, it stacks with the bonecrusher when defeating a spectral monster that also drops bones, such as ankou.

Bird's Eggs

During activities like woodcutting or emptying Bird houses, you may occasionally obtain bird's nests containing red, green, or blue bird's eggs. These nests can be offered to the shrine at the woodcutting guild for 100 Prayer XP each, allowing for passive experience gain while training other skills.

OSRS Prayer Mechanics Explained

There are quite a few mechanics that you need to be aware of when it comes to the Prayer Skill in OSRS. These mechanics will more or less make your life a lot easier, especially when it comes to training and getting the most out of the Skill. For this section of the guide, we'll talk about those mechanics and dive deep into how they work exactly.

1. Prayer Drain

While active, each prayer gradually consumes a player's prayer points. Various prayers drain prayer points at different rates, with lower-level prayers like Thick Skin depleting them at a slower pace compared to higher-level ones like Steel Skin.

The prayer bonus, determined by equipped gear, helps to reduce the rate at which prayer points are drained. you can easily view their prayer bonus in the Equipment Stats window. Only specific types of armor, clothing, weapons, and jewelry provide a prayer bonus.

In practice, each point of prayer bonus effectively extends the duration that prayer points last by approximately 3.33%.

Let's take Protect from Melee for example. If you have a Prayer bonus of 0, your points will start to drop at a rate of 1 point every 3 seconds. If you have a gear that provides a +15 Prayer bonus, you can increase the duration of the prayer by 50% as it will deplete at 1 point per 4.5 seconds instead of every 3 seconds.

However, it's important to note that the prayer bonus does not aid in countering the side-effects of locations and monsters that drain Prayer.

Regarding prayer drain mechanics, each prayer possesses an associated drain effect, and the sum of all activated prayers contributes to an internal prayer drain counter every game tick. When this counter surpasses a specific threshold, known as the player's prayer drain resistance, one prayer point is deducted, and the player's current prayer drain counter value decreases by their prayer drain resistance. Since this can occur more than once per game tick, it's possible to lose more than one prayer point within a single game tick.

you begin with a base prayer drain resistance of 60, which is increased by 2 for every point of prayer bonus. In the example provided earlier, a player with a prayer bonus of +15 would have a prayer drain resistance of 90, instead of the base 60. Consequently, this would extend the average duration for prayer points to deplete by about 50%.

Some areas drain and enemies drain your Prayer Points faster. An example of this is the Crypts area in the Barrows.

2. Prayer Flicking

Prayer flicking is a technique wherein you utilize prayers in combat while lessening the usual cost of Prayer drain. The essence of this technique lies in activating prayers right before their effects are necessary and swiftly deactivating them immediately after.

By doing so, you can prevent their prayer points from being continuously drained between attacks. Specifically, for protection prayers in prayer flicking, the player activates the prayer just before being hit and turns it off right after the hit lands. This efficient method consumes minimal prayer points and, when executed rapidly, can completely negate prayer point usage.

While prayer flicking demands precision and expertise in timing, mastering it can be highly advantageous. Successful prayer flicking conserves prayer points, enabling you to engage in combat for extended durations or boost damage rates through offensive prayers. In certain situations, prayer flicking can exploit game mechanics, rendering adversaries like Dessous incapable of attacking the player. With flawless execution, no prayer points will be depleted, regardless of the fight's duration.

However, it's important to acknowledge that achieving perfect timing may be challenging for most players. Wearing gear with a substantial prayer bonus significantly extends the duration for which one can effectively pray. Flicking becomes notably simpler when battling a monster that aligns with the weapon's speed, especially when accompanied by in-game sounds. A metronome set to 100 beats per minute (or once every 0.6 seconds) can aid in practice and refining one's timing.

On the flip side, prayer flicking comes with its downsides. It necessitates a high degree of click intensity, involving the constant activation and deactivation of prayers. Additionally, investing time to develop proficiency and consistency in this technique is imperative. Incorrectly executing prayer flicking, especially in high-risk scenarios, can lead to unfavorable outcomes, as you may find yourself without prayers active at critical moments.

To master prayer flicking, precise timing is essential. Here's a detailed approach for effective prayer flicking:

• Combat Prayers: Activate the prayer on the game tick you attack.
• Protection Prayers: Activate the prayer on the tick your enemy's attack animation begins (not necessarily when you take damage).
• Against Monsters: Knowing the monster's attack speed is beneficial for successful prayer flicking.

Offensive Prayer Flicking:

• Activate the offensive prayer just before your attack animation begins (and the XP drop appears, if your hit is successful).
• Swiftly deactivate the prayer within the next tick to avoid consuming prayer points.

Choosing the Right Monster for Practice:

• Start with monsters that have a 2.4-second (4 tick) melee attack interval while using a 4-tick weapon if you're new to prayer flicking.
• Consider practicing during Slayer tasks for a safe learning XP.
• Monsters like Mutated Bloodvelds are ideal for practice—non-aggressive, accurate hits, and easily accessible.

OSRS Prayer List

Of course, the most important aspect of the Skill is the Prayers that you can use in combat. These are some of the most useful abilities in the game and are known for turning things around when it comes to the toughest fights that OSRS has to offer. Here's what those Prayers are.

Dominate Mobs With Prayer

Prayer is undeniably one of the best abilities to level up in OSRS. The sheer amount of use you can get out of Prayers warrants the time and effort you put into this Skill. Once you have access to more Prayers and Prayer Points, you'll be hard to stop in OSRS.