OSRS Agility 1-40 Guide: Quests vs Courses to Start Rooftop

Game screenshots and facts are cited from the Old School RuneScape Wiki (strategy, equipment, drops, and related pages). Writing is original editorial, not a copy of the wiki article.

Agility is one of Old School RuneScape's most straightforward but click-intensive skills. The upside? Higher Agility regenerates run energy faster and unlocks shortcuts that make every other grind feel smoother. The early levels are a fork in the road: you can grind low-level courses, or you can skip huge chunks with quest rewards. This guide compares both routes and maps the most efficient path to level 40, where rooftop courses really start to shine.

Before 40, you have access to Gnome Stronghold (level 1), Draynor Village (10), Al Kharid (20), and Varrock (30). Each rooftop course awards marks of grace, the currency for the graceful outfit, so the choice between questing and grinding has long-term consequences. We'll break down the methods, requirements, common mistakes, and the honest time/cost tradeoffs.

Now let's look at the two main paths.

1. The Questing Route: Skipping to 33 with Tourist Trap and Friends

If you don't mind a bit of combat and a few minutes of dialogue, quest rewards are the fastest way through the early Agility levels. Completing The Tourist Trap and choosing Agility for both experience rewards gives 9,300 XP, enough to jump from level 1 straight to 26. That's faster than running low-level courses, and it bypasses Gnome Stronghold and Draynor entirely.

Add Recruitment Drive, The Depths of Despair, and The Grand Tree and you'll collect 19,700 total Agility XP, which lands you exactly at level 33. These quests have modest requirements but all involve some combat, so bring food and a weapon. If you're already a mid-level account, this is a no-brainer; if you're a fresh level 3, you may need to train a few combat stats first.

After questing to 33, you can go straight to the Varrock rooftop course (level 30) and be only seven levels away from Canifis. That's a massive shortcut compared to someone who grinds Draynor and Al Kharid for hours.

What about the gaps?

If you only do The Tourist Trap to 26, you'll still need to bridge 26–30 before Varrock. Al Kharid (20) fills that gap, or you can use the Edgeville Dungeon monkeybars from 15–40 as a semi-AFK option. From 33–40, Varrock is the natural choice unless you want to test Brimhaven Arena (see below).

2. The Low-Level Course Route: Gnome Stronghold, Draynor, Al Kharid, Varrock

The traditional method starts at the Gnome Stronghold course at level 1. It's a simple loop, but the XP is modest and there are no marks of grace. Once you hit 10, move to Draynor Village, then Al Kharid at 20, and Varrock at 30. Rooftop courses award marks of grace randomly per completed lap, so Draynor onward starts your graceful outfit progress.

Low-level courses are more AFK than later ones—you can often click the same obstacle without moving the camera—but they're still active training. The main advantage is predictability: no quest requirements, no combat, and you can start immediately on a fresh account.

Alternative low-level methods

• Edgeville Dungeon monkeybars (15–40): A semi-AFK option where you click back and forth on a single obstacle. Low XP per hour, but minimal attention.
• Barbarian Fishing (15–74): Trains Agility alongside Fishing and Strength, but at a very slow rate. Only worth it if you're already grinding fishing.
• Agility Pyramid (30+): A desert course between Sophanem and Nardah that gives cash rewards, but it's far from efficient for pure XP.

Here's a quick comparison of the main 1–40 methods:

For most players, the quest skip into Varrock is the best balance of speed and eventual marks of grace. But if you hate questing, the standard rooftop ladder works fine.

3. Brimhaven Agility Arena: The Fast but Fiddly Alternative

Brimhaven Arena is often overlooked by low-level players, but it offers the fastest experience from level 20 to 47 according to the wiki. Entry costs 200 coins, and while level 40 is needed to pass every obstacle, the floor spikes trap only requires level 20—and can be boosted from level 15 with a summer pie. Spamming the spikes can net up to 30,000 XP per hour at very low levels, which is significantly faster than Draynor or Al Kharid.

Every 60 seconds, a pillar in the arena activates (marked by a yellow arrow). Tagging it gives bonus XP and an agility arena ticket, which you can trade to Pirate Jackie the Fruit for extra experience. At level 40, when you can pass every obstacle and tag pillars consistently, players report 45,000–50,000 XP per hour—rivaling Varrock and even some higher courses.

There are two big catches: you get no marks of grace, and the arena demands more attention than a simple rooftop loop. If you're only after fast XP and don't care about graceful yet, Brimhaven is hard to beat from 20 onward. Wearing Karamja gloves 2 or better boosts obstacle and ticket XP by 10%, making it even stronger.

4. The Efficient 1–40 Plan: Mixing Quests and Rooftops

For the fastest route to 40 while still building graceful progress, combine the best of both worlds:

1. Complete The Tourist Trap for 9,300 Agility XP (level 1 → 26).
2. Complete Recruitment Drive, The Depths of Despair, and The Grand Tree for another 10,400 XP (level 26 → 33).
3. From level 33, head to the Varrock rooftop course. Run laps until level 40. With stamina or energy potions, this gap takes roughly 45–90 minutes depending on click speed and fail rate.
4. At 40, switch to the Canifis rooftop course. Canifis is widely regarded as the best marks of grace location until level 60, so you'll rapidly build graceful pieces.

This plan skips the slowest early courses, still picks up marks from Varrock and Canifis, and reaches the 40 milestone in a fraction of the time of pure grinding. If you can't do the combat quests, replace step 1–2 with Gnome Stronghold 1–10, Draynor 10–20, Al Kharid 20–30, and Varrock 30–40; expect an extra couple of hours.

5. Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

• Staying at Gnome Stronghold past 10: Move to Draynor as soon as you can—the rooftop marks are worth it.
• Forgetting run energy: Bring energy or stamina potions. Running out of energy kills XP rates. Keep weight at 0 or below with boots of lightness and a spottier cape if available.
• Attempting Brimhaven spikes at low HP: You will fail occasionally and take damage. Bring food, or you'll spend more time banking than training.
• Ignoring pillar tagging at Brimhaven after 40: Tagging pillars every 60 seconds gives significant extra XP and tickets. If you skip them, you're leaving up to 30% of your hourly XP on the table.
• Skipping marks of grace entirely: If you plan to get graceful eventually, every hour spent on a non-rooftop method is an hour of zero marks. Balance is key.
• Not boosting with summer pies: At level 27 you can boost to Varrock (30), and at 35 you can boost to Canifis (40) with a +5 pie. Use this to start better courses early.
• Training on a course that's below your level: Once you hit the next rooftop unlock, move immediately. Draynor past 20 is inefficient, Al Kharid past 30 is wasteful.

6. Time, Cost, and the Honest Shortcut

Agility 1–40 isn't a long grind, but it's often the first taste of repetitive clicking for new accounts. The questing route can complete in under two hours if you're efficient with travel and combat. The natural course route typically takes three to five hours depending on attention and energy supplies. Brimhaven floor spikes can cut that to around two hours of active clicking but with no marks of grace.

In terms of gold, the methods are cheap. Tourist Trap and other quests cost little beyond food and stamina potions. Low-level courses are free. Brimhaven has a 200-coin entry fee and potential food costs. The real cost is your time. If you value an hour of your life more than the price of a few stamina potions, buying gold to fund supplies is a sensible trade—but you'll still have to click the obstacles yourself.

For players who want to skip the entire 1–40 sequence, an account service or boosting can be an honest shortcut. Flash Services offers live gold rates to fund the supplies you need, or you can explore leveling boosts if you'd rather not do the clicking. There's no judgment in valuing your time.

View live gold rates if you want to stock up on supplies before the grind.

7. From 40 Onward: What Comes Next

After level 40, the rooftop path becomes the default. Canifis from 40–60 is excellent for marks of grace, outpacing all other courses in that bracket. At 60, Seers' Village with the hard Kandarin diary becomes the best XP and marks combo until 80. From there, Rellekka, Ardougne, and eventually the Prifddinas course take over. If you prefer minigames, the Hallowed Sepulchre unlocks at 62 after Sins of the Father and offers the fastest XP in the game alongside valuable rewards.

The Foundation you build at 1–40 determines how quickly you can access these later methods. Questing to 33 and then closing the gap at Varrock is the most efficient way to start rooftop training without sacrificing too many marks of grace. If you choose Brimhaven for pure speed, accept that you'll need to camp Canifis later for graceful pieces.

8. Practical Next Step

Decide first: do you want maximum speed or balanced graceful progress?

• Speed: Do The Tourist Trap, then Recruitment Drive, The Depths of Despair, and The Grand Tree. Use Varrock to 40, then Canifis.
• No questing: Gnome Stronghold 1–10, Draynor 10–20, Al Kharid 20–30, Varrock 30–40, then Canifis.
• Ultra-fast but no marks: Brimhaven floor spikes from 20 (or 15 boosted) to 40, then switch to Canifis for graceful.

Set up your inventory before you begin: energy or stamina potions, a few summer pies for boosts, food for Brimhaven or quest combat, and weight-reducing gear like boots of lightness. Check the wiki for the latest XP rates and your chosen course's exact layout. Then start clicking—and if you'd rather skip the supply shopping, check live gold rates to fund your run.

Sources

• Agility training - OSRS Wiki
• Agility course - OSRS Wiki