OSRS Ironman Melee 1-60: Quest XP & Early Weapons Guide

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.

For a new ironman, the first 60 melee levels can feel like a wall. Sand crabs are crowded, low-level monsters give pitiful XP, and every death resets your progress. But there is a smarter route: knock out a handful of zero-to-low requirement quests, grab a decent weapon, and train on monsters that never fight back. This guide maps the exact quest rewards, weapon milestones, and AFK alternatives that take an ironman from level 1 Attack to 60 Attack, Strength, and Defence without wasting hours at overrun training spots.

We'll also cover the tricks to avoid crowds on Varlamore's gemstone crabs, how to safespot quest bosses with basic Magic, and the one stat most players ignore until it's too late: Hitpoints. If you're planning a hardcore ironman, there are extra warnings here that will save your red helm.

Requirements & Who This Is For

This guide is written for ironmen who want to reach base 60 melee stats as painlessly as possible. It's not a Slayer guide — Slayer is best started at 60+ melee with a dragon weapon. If you are already 70 Attack/Strength/Defence, you've passed the content; check out Nightmare Zone instead.

Quest XP: The Smart Start to 40+ Melee

The single biggest early-game shortcut on an ironman is quest experience. Waterfall Quest has no requirements and rewards 13,750 Attack and 13,750 Strength — enough to jump from level 1 to 30 in both skills without killing a single monster. Stack a few more quests and you can be well past 40 Attack before you ever swing a weapon.

Here are the key quests for early melee XP, with requirements, rewards, and boss notes:

• Waterfall Quest: no requirements; 13,750 Attack + 13,750 Strength; boss can be safespotted or run past.
• Fight Arena: no requirements; 12,175 Attack; bosses can be safespotted with Magic.
• Tree Gnome Village: no requirements; 11,450 Attack; level 112 boss safespottable.
• The Grand Tree: requires 25 Agility; 18,400 Attack; boss safespottable.
• Vampyre Slayer: no requirements; 4,825 Attack; level 34 vampire, easy with melee.
• Death Plateau: no requirements; 3,000 Attack; no combat.
• Holy Grail: requires Merlin's Crystal and 20 Attack; 15,300 Defence; boss flinchable.
• Haunted Mine: requires Priest in Peril and 35 Agility; 22,000 Strength; boss safespottable.
• Dragon Slayer I: requires 32 Quest Points; 18,650 Strength and 18,650 Defence; boss is a level 83 dragon, can be killed with ranged or melee with antifire.
• In Aid of the Myreque: requires In Search of the Myreque, 25 Crafting, 15 Agility, 7 Magic; small XP in all three combat stats (2,000 each).

Total Attack XP from these quests: Waterfall 13,750 + Fight Arena 12,175 + Tree Gnome Village 11,450 + Grand Tree 18,400 + Vampyre Slayer 4,825 + Death Plateau 3,000 + In Aid of the Myreque 2,000 = 65,600 Attack XP, which lands you at approximately level 45 Attack. The remaining 15 levels can be ground out at crabs or other training spots.

Early Weapon Progression: What to Wield at Each Milestone

Weapon choice matters more than armour when training melee. Attack speed is king: a scimitar of a lower tier often outperforms a longsword of the next tier because you land more hits per minute. On an ironman, you can't just buy a rune scimitar from the Grand Exchange, so you'll work with what you can smith, buy from shops, or snag as drops.

• Level 1–10 Attack: bronze and iron weapons; an iron scimitar from shops is fine.
• 10–20 Attack: steel scimitar; black weapons are rare and not worth hunting.
• 20–30 Attack: mithril scimitar; buy from shops or smith it.
• 30–40 Attack: adamant scimitar; often dropped by Fire Giants or bought after unlocking certain shops.
• 40–60 Attack: rune scimitar is the classic goal. Ironmen typically obtain it from Fire Giants in the Waterfall Dungeon or by purchasing it from Scavvo's Rune Store after Dragon Slayer I. Verify current ironman-friendly sources on the wiki.
• 60 Attack: unlock the dragon dagger from Lost City for its special attack, then complete Monkey Madness I for the dragon scimitar — the iconic weapon for the next phase.

Crabs vs Quests: Where to Actually Spend Your Time

After the quest XP, you'll need to grind the remaining levels to 60. The most popular training spots are crabs, but not all crabs are equal. Sand crabs in Hosidius are always packed, ammonite crabs on Fossil Island are better but still busy, and gemstone crabs in Varlamore are the new AFK king with almost no competition.

Gemstone crabs appear at one of three mines in the Tlati Rainforest, stay stationary for exactly 10 minutes, and can be shared by up to 16 players per cycle. Because they effectively have infinite Hitpoints, there's no overkill waste — every hit is full XP. Ammonite crabs are still a solid fallback if you haven't unlocked Varlamore, but expect more competition. Sand crabs should be your last resort.

Efficient vs AFK: Choosing Your Training Style

There are two ironman mentalities: those who want to finish 60 melee as fast as possible, and those who want to click once every ten minutes while doing something else. This guide gives you both. The efficient path is quest XP first, then gemstone crabs with the best scimitar you can wield. The AFK path is identical, but you accept slightly lower XP per hour for long periods of no input.

Gemstone crabs require you to re-click every 10 minutes when they relocate, but you don't have to run in and out to reset aggression like at ammonite or sand crabs. That makes them perfect for working, studying, or watching a show. Ammonite crabs still require a small run every 10 minutes to reset their aggression, which adds a tiny bit of attention. Both methods are far less AFK than Nightmare Zone, but NMZ requires base 70 melee stats — a goal for later.

Hitpoints Comes Free

Because melee trains Hitpoints at 1.33 XP per damage dealt, you don't need a separate HP grind. By the time you hit 60 Attack, your Hitpoints will be around 55–60 as well, provided you didn't safespot every quest boss. If you did safespot a lot, your HP may lag; that's fine, just train normally at crabs and it catches up.

Common Mistakes Ironmen Make (And How to Avoid Them)

• Doing sand crabs while crowded instead of spending 20 minutes on Children of the Sun for gemstone crabs.
• Training melee from level 1 without doing Waterfall Quest first.
• Hardcore ironmen rushing Waterfall Quest with low Hitpoints and no safespot knowledge.
• Forgetting to safespot Fight Arena or Grand Tree bosses and getting comboed.
• Using a slow weapon like a rune warhammer because it has higher strength bonus.
• Ignoring Hitpoints, then being unable to survive later quests like Dragon Slayer I.
• Starting Slayer before 60 Attack; Slayer tasks are much slower without a dragon weapon.

Time & Cost Tradeoffs: When Buying Gold or a Boost Actually Makes Sense

Reaching 60 melee on an ironman is a time investment: roughly 6–10 hours following this guide, depending on your attention and gear. If you're a normal account, buying gold can cut that time dramatically by letting you purchase better weapons and armour, or even barraging gear for later. But ironmen cannot trade, so gold is useless there.

For ironmen, the 'honest shortcut' is simply following the quest route and using the best AFK crab spots. Some players also use boosting services where a skilled player completes the quests and training on their account. Be aware that account sharing violates Jagex's rules, and any service that asks for your password carries risk. Always verify the legitimacy of any service and understand the potential consequences before you commit.

If you're on a normal main and just want the levels fast, buying gold for a full obsidian set or better food can speed up training, but you still have to click. That's where the market comes in.

Practical Next Step: From 60 Melee to Slayer and Beyond

Once you have base 60 melee, the game opens up. Complete Lost City for the dragon dagger, then knock out Monkey Madness I for the dragon scimitar. From there, start Slayer with your best melee gear and begin working toward the abyssal whip at 85 Slayer. Nightmare Zone becomes a viable AFK method at 70 stats, so you can set long-term goals.

Don't forget to keep up with your Hitpoints and Prayer. A good next milestone is 70 in all melee stats plus 43 Prayer for protection prayers. Check the wiki's Ironman Slayer guide for the next phase of your account.

Sources

• Ironman Guide/Melee - OSRS Wiki
• Ironman Guide/Hitpoints - OSRS Wiki
• Weapons - OSRS Wiki