Invention is one of the elite skills in RuneScape 3. That means it has a maximum level of 120 and awards two capes, one at 99 and another at 120. Its primary function is to disassemble items for parts and then use that to create discoverable gadgets. You can also use it to augment specific equipment to improve their efficiency or strength.
Unlocking Invention
To open the skill, you must have 80 Crafting, Divination, and Smithing. It makes sense; Smithing and Crafting take care of the creative and creation aspects, while Divination provides the mystical aspect. Eligible players can go to the Invention Guild near Falador, southwest of the Dwarven Mine and northeast of the lodestone.
There they can talk to Doc to unlock the skill. He will also discuss the four ways to train it: Discovery, Materials, Manufacturing, and Augmenting.
Training Invention
As you see above, Invention has a slightly different training method than most other skills. We’ll go over the four ways one by one.
Discovery
This pertains to learning or obtaining blueprints. While specific sets are available at some reached levels, they still have to be discovered through the process so you can make the device. You can start it by interacting with Inventor’s workbenches. Tutorials will walk you through the Charge Pack, Augmentor, and Weapon Gizmo Shell blueprints.
Each device recipe will reward a ton of EXP, which can be boosted by:
- Double XP events
- Super or Extreme Invention Potions
- Advanced Pulse Cores
- The Wise Perk
If you’re going to discover a bunch of blueprints, try to get as many as possible of the above boosts before doing so.
Materials
As with any production skill, you’ll need materials to create something. Invention materials come from disassembling items. You can check what you can get using the Analyze ability. There are four types of materials:
- Common
- Uncommon
- Rare
- Junk
Usually, low-level items have a greater chance of producing junk. In contrast, the other end of the extreme will likely yield more desirable materials.
The more resources an item needed to be created, the more materials it would yield when disassembled. Although common and uncommon materials can be obtained from various sources, some rarer components can only come from specific items.
Players usually try to find a happy medium between junk rate and cost. After all, high-leveled equipment is expensive, so disassembling them seems a waste. Items that are too cheap, however, produce junk too often.
Adamant Salvage is one happy medium players have found. Some NPC shops also provide items that are in that sweet spot. They are Sir Vyvin’s White equipment, Varrock Sword Shop, Zaff’s Staff Shop, and more.
Manufacturing
Though this usually means creating gadgets from blueprints, other Invention-related items also work. That includes Divine Charges, Augmentors, and similar things. It’s the most obvious thing you’re going to do. After all, the skill is called Invention.
Augmentation
With an Augmentor, you can augment specific equipment. Afterward, they can level up that item to gain Invention XP later. It also allows you to add gimmicks to the object, which can add to the experience you gain. However, the former will still provide higher rates.
You can also add perks by exchanging materials for them when creating a gizmo. The type of material used directs what kind of bonus you get. Junk would result in useless or outright detrimental ones. You’ll see what you can get when adding the resources to your gizmo shell. The best ones to get are:
- Wise
- Enlightened
- Scavenging
The experience you get from leveling up augmented items cannot be boosted.
Some Suggested Training Paths
Levels 1-4
Completing the tutorial for the skill will put you just shy of level 4. You can make up the difference through disassembly.
Levels 4-27
Research the maximum equipment level 5 blueprints. Then, augment some tier 2 level 70/75 gear and level it up to 5. Disassembling these should give you enough to reach level 27. If not, you can do the quest ‘Back to the Freezer.’ or start disassembling relatively high-leveled gear. This will give you many materials instead of junk, making it worthwhile.
You can also craft Divine charges by mass disassembling relatively high-level but common items (like Magic Logs). You can even sell the extra products for a profit. Also, since you can get common items from various sources, you won’t be limited by the buy limits on the Grand Exchange. However, changing the stuff you use for disassembly would change how you fare on profits.
Levels 27+
At this point, you can level up augmented equipment to level 10. Black Salamanders are relatively cheap, making them an inexpensive way to gain experience. Augment and then disassemble after reaching the max level.
You can also eat some Invention-boosting consumables and discover blueprints, provided you always have Perfect results. This maximizes your skill level.
Later, siphoning will be an option, but it is recommended for items levels 9 and 12, depending on your priorities and resources. This method works in tandem with combat and augmenting high-level equipment. 80+ Shattered Worlds are an excellent training place for this.
You can also level up Invention by augmenting skilling tools and using that to train another skill. It’s a less intensive method than combat but also somewhat slower due to being able only to level up one tool. Still, it’s also cheaper as they require fewer charges and are generally inexpensive to replace. For those that are, such as Crystal ones, players prefer to siphon them.
This gives you a few ways to get Invention to 99 (slowest to fastest):
- Skilling while disassembling or siphoning tools
- Leveling Tier 90 item sets and siphoning them at level 12
- Training lower-tiered (70-85) gear and disassembling them at level 10
- Manufacture Weapon and Armor Gizmo shells, pack them with high-level materials to create perks, and repeat. It’s a costly method.
Alternative Methods
Discovery
While it’s not your primary source of experience, learning all blueprints from 1-118 will give you around 10.8 million experience. You can gain it earlier with Invention-boosting potions. However, since it is affected by Double XP Live events, it might be best to save higher-level (90+) recipes until one such occasion.
Experience Lamps and Bonus Experience
You can redeem Lamps and Stars for Invention after a 2016 update. That also means minigames such as Tears of Guthix and other alternative means to gain experience. However, Lamps and Stars redeemed for Invention will only give out half the XP it would provide on different skills. That makes it more inefficient than other methods, but it is still good to know.
Effigy Incubator
This is a monthly Distractions and Diversions event that lasts for 5 minutes. Within those 5 minutes, you must create effigies using 20 Enriched Nicknacks. The latter provides 10 Invention XP each, while the models will provide 2,500 XP each. That makes it very worthwhile. The average amount of effigies you can complete within 5 minutes is 8, yielding about 22,000 EXP a month.
Quests
Unfortunately, only one quest rewards Invention experience: Back to the Freezer. If you’ve done it before unlocking Invention, the XP will be held until you do so. Still, there could be more, and eventually, there will be.
Other Tips and Good-to-Know Information
Several calculators on the wiki can tell you the most optimized way to siphon or disassemble items for experience or profit.
A list of where to get components for augmentors
Base Parts:
- Shields and ‘hilted’ weapons (staves, battleaxes, claws, and halberds) from the White Knight shop
- Everything in the Varrock Sword Shop
- ‘Hilted’ weapons in the Warrior’s Guild Armory
Tensile Parts:
- Unstrung bows (Maple or better)
Flexible Parts:
- Unstrung bows (Maple or better)
- Spirit Terrorbird Pouches
Enhancing
- Ring of Slaying
- Crystal Flask
- Potions and Food
- Empty Light Orb
- Lantern Lens
- Herbs
Powerful
- Insulated Boots
- Polypore Dungeon Supplies
- Spirit Terrorbird Pouches
- White Magic Staves
- Zaff’s Staff Shop
The best tools to augment for skilling:
Woodcutting
- Dragon Hatchet
- Crystal Hatchet
Fishing
- (Enhanced) Fishing Rod-o-Matic
- Crystal Fishing Rod
- Tavia’s Fishing Rod
Mining
- Dragon Pickaxe
- Crystal Pickaxe
- Imcando Pickaxe
- Pickaxe of Earth and Song
Firemaking
- (Enhanced) Pyro-Matic
- Crystal Tinderbox
Smithing
- (Enhanced) Hammer-Tron
- Crystal Hammer
Archaeology
- Dragon Mattock
- Crystal Mattock
- Imcando Mattock
- Mattock of Time and Space
- Guildmaster Tony’s Mattock
Enjoy Invention in RuneScape 3
While this guide only leads to level 99, you can still use the same methods to reach 120. However, it will take much longer due to increased experience requirements. You’d use the same techniques and processes to level up.
Still, there’s much to enjoy about Invention. From augmenting and perks and various other exciting and helpful gadgets, there are many benefits from training the skill. Most importantly, have fun while doing so! That will make the time pass faster, and you’ll be at level 120 before you know it.
