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1-99 Fletching Guide (PROFIT/AFK) 0-Time (OSRS 2020)
Date 2020-08-11
Type guide
Video youtu.be/_dz_wbfSEmc

Summary

A 1-99 Fletching guide from 2020 covering profitable AFK bow fletching/stringing with a level-by-level table, and the zero-time methods (darts, bolts, tipping) that can be done alongside Agility or Slayer. Gnomonkey notes bow fletching gives about 20m GP profit to 99 and that he fletched yew longbows to 99.

Outline

  • 0:00 Intro: Fletching as a common first 99 and the guide's sections
  • 0:26 Quests that skip to level 30; why bow fletching is AFK and profitable
  • 1:00 Levels 1-35: headless arrows
  • 1:26 Levels 35-50: willow shortbows and longbows
  • 1:53 Levels 50-65: maple shortbows and longbows
  • 2:50 Levels 65-85: yew shortbows and longbows
  • 3:50 Levels 85-99: magic longbows
  • 4:22 Zero-time methods: darts and bolts
  • 5:22 Almost zero-time methods and Hallowed Sepulchre bolt tipping
  • 6:48 Closing: fletch during Agility training

Topics covered

Fletching

  • (0:00) Gnomonkey describes Fletching as one of the most common 99s, often finished as a player's very first 99, because it has many methods from fast and expensive to AFK and profitable.
  • (0:00) Bow fletching to 99 provides about 20m GP profit.
  • (0:26) Completing Animal Magnetism, Big Chompy Bird Hunting, Zogre Flesh Eaters, Temple of Ikov and the Fremennik Trials skips you straight to Fletching level 30.
  • (0:26) Bow fletching is not necessarily efficient, but it is very AFK and profitable and turns Fletching into an easy bank-standing skill; you can either fletch unstrung bows or string them, with the same XP and requirements.
  • (0:26) Stringing bows is faster than fletching them but less AFK, with varying GP rates, and the profit comes from strung bows typically alching for decent value.

Bow fletching

  • (1:00) Levels 1 to 35: adding feathers to arrow shafts to make headless arrows is the best option for profitable XP, since fletching bows before level 35 is slower and costs money.
  • (1:00) Attaching feathers to shafts gives up to 45k XP an hour; combining 24,406 shafts and feathers reaches level 35 for a profit of 67k GP in 2020, taking about half an hour.
  • (1:26) Levels 35 to 40 (willow shortbows): stringing costs money but fletching logs gives a profit, at 55k XP an hour; 445 logs reach level 40 for a profit of 10k GP.
  • (1:26) Levels 40 to 50 (willow longbows): fletching gives up to 70k XP an hour and a profit; 1,545 logs reach level 50 for a profit of 60k GP, while stringing was not profitable.
  • (1:53) Levels 50 to 55 (maple shortbows): about 85k XP an hour fletching and up to 120k XP an hour stringing, which now breaks even; 1,307 bows reach level 55 for a profit of 315k GP.
  • (1:53) Levels 55 to 65 (maple longbows): about 100k XP an hour cutting and 140k XP an hour stringing; 4,851 bows reach level 65, with a profit of 315k GP cutting or 425k GP stringing, so stringing is more profitable.
  • (2:50) Levels 65 to 70 (yew shortbows): 115k XP an hour cutting or 165k XP an hour stringing; they were not profitable to cut but profitable to string; 4,269 bows reach level 70 for a 180k GP profit stringing.
  • (2:50) Gnomonkey says yew longbows (levels 70 to 85) are typically the most profitable logs to cut in the game, with almost equal profit stringing versus fletching, and that he did them all the way to 99.
  • (2:50) Reaching level 85 with yew longbows takes 33,613 logs for about 3.2m GP profit regardless of method; going to 99 would take 163,598 logs for about 16m GP profit.
  • (2:50) Gnomonkey recommends skipping magic shortbows (unlocked at level 80) entirely because they are fairly expensive to make, going straight to yew longbows until level 85.
  • (3:50) Levels 85 to 99 (magic longbows) are the fastest XP for bows in the game: up to 155k XP an hour fletching and 225k XP an hour stringing.
  • (3:50) Going from 85 to 99 on magic longbows takes 106,840 logs, netting about 14m GP profit for stringing and only 2.4m GP for fletching.

Zero-time Fletching

  • (4:22) Fletching darts or finishing bolts does not interrupt movement and has no dialogue box, so you can fletch while doing Agility between actions, or while doing things like Slayer.
  • (4:22) Multiple sets can be fletched in a single tick, so zero-time Fletching is as fast as you can click; Gnomonkey calls it technically zero time because it can be trained entirely while doing other methods.
  • (4:22) Zero-time methods almost never provide profit and are usually decently expensive.
  • (4:22) Broad bolts are the only profitable zero-time option, but they require unlocking them for 300 Slayer points, give only 3 XP per bolt, and have a very low buy limit of 7,000, so they are not realistic unless you stockpile them.
  • (4:22) Dragon bolts are probably the most cost-effective zero-time option: they require 84 Fletching, cost only 2.5 GP per XP and give 12 XP per bolt.
  • (4:22) Most darts are incredibly expensive: dragon darts are the fastest at almost 14 GP per XP and mithril darts the cheapest at almost 6 GP per XP; darts give typically double the XP of the equivalent bolt but cost over twice as much.

Hallowed Sepulchre

  • (5:22) Almost-zero-time Fletching options are adding gem bolt tips to bolts, creating arrows and creating javelins; javelins and arrows are very expensive but give insane XP rates, while bolt tipping is typically profitable.
  • (5:22) These almost-zero-time options are not great for standard Agility courses because it takes a tick to start fletching and it is much slower.
  • (5:22) In the Hallowed Sepulchre Gnomonkey found bolt tipping better than rapid fletching darts or bolts, because much of the time is spent waiting for traps to line up, which can be spent AFK tipping bolts.
  • (5:22) Gnomonkey can typically tip about 1,000 bolts in a five-floor Sepulchre run, adding an extra 50k GP profit and 7k free Fletching XP per run, which comes out to about 50k XP an hour and 350k extra GP an hour on top of the Agility XP.
  • (5:22) Doing bolt tipping for long periods needs a very large cash stack and time for offers to fill in the Grand Exchange, since buy limits are typically only 11,000.
  • (5:22) In regular Agility training you realistically cannot tip bolts; arrows and bolts are your only options because there is not as much time between pauses.
  • (6:48) Gnomonkey recommends giving Fletching a shot during Agility training: it makes training more intensive but saves a lot of time overall on your account.