Herblore is the skill that lets you create various potions. Whether you want to recover energy, prayer, or boost your combat ability, this is the skill to train. If you need help figuring out where to start, we'll be showing you the fastest ways to reach level 99 Herblore and which potions are the most profitable.
It is a reasonably expensive skill to level up, especially if you're sourcing materials from the GE. Collecting all the needed materials is possible, but it'll take longer. Ironmen have no choice, while regular players have the choice between buying and manually gathering the materials.
Recommended Items and Equipment
These recommendations are not required but will speed up your training time. Some have additional conditions or take effect when making specific potions. If you're not interested in making those, it's alright not to have them.
Portable Well - It's s source of free vials of water. Potions from this water provide a +10% Herblore XP bonus and a 5% chance to create an extra one. The latter effect does not trigger for Combination potions, but the bonus XP still applies.
Perfect Juju Herblore Potion or Perfect Plus Potion - +5% more experience when making 6-dose Combination potions. It lasts 1 hour per dose, so one bottle can last 4 hours.
Botanist Outfit - Each piece adds a 1% XP bonus to Herblore. Wearing the complete outfit caps out at 6%.
Modified Botanist's Mask - Along with the 1% Herblore XP bonus, it gives a 5% chance to duplicate the potions you brew. The effect stacks with the one from Portable Wells.
Factory Outfit - Wearing three pieces adds a 10% chance to create 4-dose potions instead of 3-dose. This stacks with the bonuses provided by the Morytania Legs 4 and Desert Amulet 4. The whole set offers an experience boost, making brewing unfinished potions the same as cleaning herbs.
Scroll of Cleansing - Gives the player the 'Wasteless Herblore' ability. Wearing one gives a 10% chance to create potions twice as fast and not to use up an ingredient when adding it to water, coconut milk, or an unfinished potion. Effects trigger with Juju, Combination, and Extreme potions.
Shadow-Touched Training - Equipping the set spawns Manifested Knowledge every 4 minutes, granting 10% of a Small Experience Lamp's boost.
Torstol Incense Sticks - This incense stick's 4 potency levels increase Herblore EXP gain by 2% (0.5% for every level). You can overload by using 6 of them to get this effect immediately. Otherwise, levels increase every 10 minutes.
Brooch of the Gods - Doubles the chances of the Portable Well creating a duplicate potion.
'Wise' Weapon Perk - Provides 4% more experience.
Inspire Genius Relic Power - Players with at least 118 Archaeology can activate this power at the Mysterious Monolith for a 2% increase to Herblore XP gain.
Botanist's Amulet - 5 charges of a 5% chance to brew 4-dose potions instead of 3-dose ones.
Morytania Legs 4 - 20% chance of creating 4-dose Prayer Renewal potions when mixing them in Morytania.
Desert Amulet 4 - 20% chance to make 4-dose Super Antifire potions when mixing them in the desert.
Envenomed Perk - 10% chance to mix 4-dose Weapon Poison or Antipoison
Voice of Seren - During Meilyr Hour, making Combination potions in Meilyr District provides a 20% bonus EXP.
Fastest Methods (Fairly Expensive)
When following this method, always:
- Use Portable Wells, especially the one in Lumbridge Bank on World 84 (20% increased bonus, half from the Well, the other half from Pulse Cores)
- Decant your potions into 4-doses by talking to War at War's Retreat, then sell them.
- Find out the actual trading price of the potion.
If you have grimy herbs, cleaning them also gives some Herblore EXP. Whether you want to use clean or grimy ones is up to you. Decanting is only sometimes needed, but depending on the potion you want to sell, this may increase or decrease your profits.
Levels 1-19: Doing Quests
Complete the following quests to reach Herblore 19:
- Druidic Ritual
- Jungle Potion
- Recruitment Drive
- The Dig Site
Levels 9-12: Attack Potions
Otherwise, if questing isn't for you or you can't do The Dig Site, you can make Attack potions in the specified level interval. You'll need Vials of Water, Guam, and Eyes of Newt. Ironmen can fight Chaos Druids for a steady source of Guam.
Levels 12-26: Strength Potions
The next step is brewing Strength potions. This needs Vials of Water, Tarromin, and Limpwurt Roots, which can be farmed with the Farming skill or by battling Hill Giants. Another method is going to the resource dungeon, which requires 20 Dungeoneering.
Levels 26-38: Energy Potions
With a Vial of Water, Harrlander, and Chocolate Dust, you can make Energy Potions. This can make you lose some gold if you buy all the ingredients from the GE.
Levels 38-55: Prayer Potions
These are made by mixing Vials of Water, Ranarr, and Snape Grass. Everybody needs this potion, so a good profit can be made by making them.
Levels 55-63: Super Strength Potions
Some water, Kwuarm herbs, and Limpwurt Roots should be your main focus in this level interval. This is one other potion that can give you a bit of profit. Selling different kinds will be slightly over breaking even.
Levels 63-72: Super Restore Potions
Upon reaching level 63, it's time to switch to making Super Restores. This requires Vials of Water, Snapdragon, and Red Spiders' Eggs.
Levels 72-81: Super Ranging Potions
Collect some Dwarf Weed and Wine of Zamorak for this potion, along with Vials of Water. It might take a long time because you'll make 7,000+ of these potions to reach level 81.
Levels 81-88: Saradomin Brews
You'll need a ton of Toadflax, Crushed Nests, and Vials of Water. This may only be 7 levels, but the required XP for moving to the next is considerable. Creating 12,000+ of these potions should do the trick.
Levels 81/88-99: Extreme Potions and Overloads
From here, you have three choices.
The most expensive path is to create equal amounts of Extreme potions (4,000 each of Attack, Ranging, Magic, Defense, and Strength). When reaching level 96, you should have enough to make Overloads to 99.
Another expensive method is to reach 96 and buy all the ingredients needed to make Overload potions until 99.
For a cheaper option, from level 81, you can create the following potions to 99 (depending on your budget):
- Extreme Magic
- Extreme Strength
- Extreme Attack
- Saradomin Brew
- Super Magic Potion
- Super Ranging Potion
- Super Defense
- Super Strength
- Super Attack
This last option is not recommended for first-time players, as Overload potions are required for PvM activities.
Profitable Potions
While training, you can create these and be profitable simultaneously. You'll slow down slightly while doing this, so you should decide whether to level up faster or get more gold.
Harrlander Tar - Available at level 44. It's an early option to be profitable, but there will be better ones down the line.
Super Defense - Becomes an option at level 66. It provides a good balance between leveling up and profitability.
Guthix Rest - According to the game's wiki, this potion will provide the most gold when sold.
Other Potions to Sell:
- Summoning Potion
- Super Antipoison
- Super Energy
- Prayer Potion
Beyond Herblore 99
If you want to level up past 99 and reach 120, here are some steps you can follow. It will be expensive, though. Weigh the pros and cons, or ensure you have enough gold to do it first.
99-101: Poison Bombs
Its ingredients are a Bomb Vial, Primal Extract, Irit, Poison Slime, and Weapon Poison++. The reason why this is expensive is that you can't break even when selling them.
101-107: Sticky Bombs
Stockpile some Bomb Vials, Primal Extracts, Beak Snots, Dinosaur Claws, and Cadantine. It's cheaper than the above but will still result in a loss.
107-118: Vulnerability Bombs
You'll need a ton of Bomb Vials, Primal Extracts, Soul Runes, Chaos Runes, Bottled Dinosaur Roars, and Dwarf Weeds. With the experience required to reach 118, you must make a total of 51,000+ bombs to reach that level and take the next step.
118-120: Powerburst of Feats
By this step, you're at the last stretch. Your following product is the Powerburst of Feats, requiring Powerburst Vials, Primal Extracts, Snapdragons, Summoning Potions, and Bottled Dinosaur Roars. The total number of potions you must make to reach level 120 is 11,709.
Additional Tips and Tricks
A Double XP Weekend event is the best time to level up Herblore. As a side effect of doubling your XP gain, all the requirements are cut in half. That makes things cheaper and faster.
You can do Daily Challenges to supplement your skilling. It only asks you to make two potions and provides you with as much experience as a Huge EXP Lamp.
Training Herblore alongside Slayer is possible, as many high-leveled enemies drop herbs. However, using this method will take longer.
Buying Vials of Water packs can be more efficient if you make unfinished potions.
You can continue making a potion past the assigned levels but only do so if the potential gains are better. Deciding whether you want more XP or gold is up to you.
The Wilderness Warbands is another method of training Herblore. However, it can be dangerous, necessitating a party to make it safely.
Bank presets can help when making potions. Withdraw your 14 Vials of Water and primary ingredient and set them as one. Then withdraw the secondary material and create another preset. Afterward, you don't have to click each component one by one.
Players with a sufficient farming level can grow herbs and become self-sufficient in training Herblore. This effectively cuts training costs, though they have to figure out a source for the other ingredients.
Have Fun Maxing Out Herblore
Whether your goal was level 99 or 120, we hope our guide has helped you figure out how to train Herblore comfortably. Enjoy the perks and potions you can make with the skill!
