Magic training
OSRS Magic 1–99 Guide
Magic can grow while you fight, make useful items or train another skill. For faster levels, learn to keep several targets in a burst-spell stack. For a cheaper bank session, compare the finished item’s value with every ingredient you consume.
Updated
Combat is only one way to train Magic
Magic offers damage spells, enchantments and utility spells, so you can train while fighting, processing supplies or standing at a bank. Include both the runes and any item used by the spell when comparing costs. In combat, check your attack style if you need to avoid Defence XP.
Starting at level 1? See the quest route ↓Quest from 1 to 10 Magic
Optional quest route · order, requirements and next training method
Witch’s Potion and Imp Catcher skip the first few combat spells. Both are free-to-play quests without skill requirements.
Level 1 → 4 +325 Magic XP
Witch’s Potion
Before you start: Burnt meat, an eye of newt, an onion and a rat’s tail.
Speak to Hetty in Rimmington. Kill a rat after starting to obtain its tail, deliver the ingredients and drink from the cauldron.
Level 4 → 10 +875 Magic XP
Imp Catcher
Before you start: One red, yellow, black and white bead.
Bring the four beads to Wizard Mizgog upstairs in the Wizards’ Tower. Buy them on a main, or collect them from imps on an Iron.
Continue from level 10
From 10, use combat spells on a low-defence or safespottable target, upgrading the spell as you level. Enchanting sapphire rings is already available if you prefer a banked method.
Go to the training instructions →Later, Watchtower gives 15,250 Magic XP. It needs 14 Magic, 15 Thieving, 25 Agility, 14 Herblore and 40 Mining, so it is useful once the rest of your account has caught up.
Levels count the XP listed above from a fresh start. Making your own supplies, quest fights or optional lamps can put you further ahead.
For early combat, choose a monster you can hit reliably and keep attacking. Crabs are convenient; a safespotted target with the right elemental weakness can be faster. Wear Magic-appropriate equipment rather than a metal body which ruins your accuracy.
Sapphire jewellery at 7 provides an alternative to combat. At 27 you can enchant emerald jewellery, and at 55 High Level Alchemy becomes the familiar long-term option. The planner compares a specific ring, necklace or bow so its GP result includes the item, not just the spell.
Fastest Magic training
Fast Magic training can come from rapid utility spells or multi-target combat. Choose based on the unlocks, rune budget and secondary XP you want.
Levels 1–7: Wind Strike for the opening
A low-cost first combat spell when an air staff supplies the air rune. Damage adds XP beyond the spell’s 5.5 base XP.
Getting there
Start with nearby weak monsters outside Lumbridge. Move to a suitable crab spot or safespotted target when constant retargeting slows the session.
Bring and unlock
A staff of air, mind runes and armour without a large negative Magic attack bonus. Set Wind Strike to autocast.
- Choose a target which will not force you to eat after every hit. Start the autocast and watch whether you land damage.
- Keep moving to a fresh target when it dies, and bank before the runes run out.
- Use the next elemental spell when it matches a useful weakness. Fire spells are strong against ice giants; water spells work well on fire giants.
Move to stronger spells as they unlock and choose targets you can hit reliably. Wind Strike is useful for the opening levels, but slow for a long goal.
Cast Wind Strike until 7 if you are starting without quest XP, then begin enchanting sapphire jewellery for the bank route. To stay with combat, upgrade your combat spell as it unlocks rather than casting Wind Strike for the whole grind.
Levels 70–99: Bursting and barraging a stack
Hit a group of enemies with Ice Burst or Ice Barrage so each cast deals damage to several targets. At maniacal monkeys, keep the respawning monkeys together and autocast into the stack. The spell, number of targets and time spent regrouping them all affect your XP.
Getting there
For maniacal monkeys, reach Kruk’s Dungeon during Monkey Madness II and enter the training tunnels on Ape Atoll. Bring the greegree needed for travelling through the island. On Slayer tasks, use suitable multi-combat areas such as the Catacombs of Kourend instead.
Bring and unlock
Desert Treasure I, an Ancient autocasting weapon, spell runes and Protect from Melee. Prioritise Magic damage bonuses, then useful Prayer bonus against low-defence targets. Bring food, a teleport and Prayer restoration; use a rune pouch if it saves space.
- Tag several nearby targets with a fast ranged weapon, then move around a corner or between adjacent tiles to gather them into a small stack.
- Turn on Protect from Melee before letting the stack reach you. Autocast the chosen burst or barrage spell on the central target.
- Watch for targets spreading out or dying. Re-form the stack rather than continuing to pay for casts which hit only one or two monsters.
- At maniacal monkeys, pick up useful Prayer-potion drops and keep your Prayer topped up. On a Slayer task, loot worthwhile drops between stacks and count that time in the session.
Levels 70–94: Ice Burst
A practical first Ancient training spell. Better stacks usually improve the rate more than another small accuracy upgrade against these targets.
Levels 94–99: Ice Barrage
A stronger multi-target spell with a more expensive rune recipe. Compare the time saved with the extra cost per cast.
The spell’s base XP is awarded once per cast. Damage XP comes from the damage across the affected targets. Hitting nine targets does not mean multiplying the entire spell XP by nine.
Use Ice Burst from 70 to 94, then switch to Ice Barrage for faster training. The improvement depends on keeping several targets stacked; learn that part of the method before buying supplies for a long session.
Low-attention Magic training
Autocasting and automatic Lunar spells give useful pauses. Choose whether you want combat XP, a finished item or a cheap repetitive session.
Autocast on low-defence targets. Use a spell you can afford and a target that stays in combat. Keep enough Magic accuracy to hit unless you deliberately chose splashing. Reset aggression or select a new target when attacks stop. See autocast on low-defence targets.
Levels 7–99: Enchant jewellery at a bank
Enchant a banked stack of jewellery into useful teleport or utility items. Choose the spell and elemental staff for that particular recipe, cast on the first item and let automatic casting continue. Bank the enchanted items and repeat with another inventory.
Getting there
Use a bank where you can withdraw and deposit quickly; the Grand Exchange is convenient when buying supplies in small batches.
Bring and unlock
Use Lvl-1 Enchant for sapphire jewellery or Lvl-2 Enchant for emerald jewellery. Bring cosmic runes and a staff supplying water or air runes respectively. Keep the unenchanted jewellery and finished items together in a bank tab.
Sapphire rings: Lvl-1 EnchantA water staff supplies the water rune. Each ring consumes one cosmic rune and becomes a ring of recoil.
Emerald necklaces: Lvl-2 EnchantUse an air staff for this spell. Each necklace consumes one cosmic rune and becomes a binding necklace.
- Withdraw jewellery and cast the enchant spell on it. Let the inventory process, or cast manually if you want a faster pace.
- Deposit the enchanted items and repeat. Test that the finished jewellery sells before buying a long training stack.
Levels 7–27: Sapphire rings into rings of recoil
Use a water staff so the recipe consumes only the ring and a cosmic rune.
Levels 27–99: Emerald necklaces into binding necklaces
Use an air staff. Binding necklaces are consumed by combination-runecrafting methods, giving them a practical use beyond the Magic XP.
The margin belongs to the whole recipe: jewellery plus cosmic runes, minus the sold output after tax. A spell-rune-only cost omits most of the working capital.
Enchant sapphire rings from 7, then emerald rings from 27. At 55 you can switch to High Level Alchemy for faster active casting, or keep enchanting to 99 if you want the automatic inventory loop.
Levels 86–99: Automatic mahogany Plank Make
A longer-inventory option which makes Construction supplies. The spell has a coin fee as well as its rune and log costs.
Getting there
Use any convenient bank. The spell replaces the sawmill trip.
Bring and unlock
86 Magic, Dream Mentor and the Lunar spellbook. Dream Mentor requires 85 combat and Lunar Diplomacy requires 40 Defence, so this method is unavailable to a 1 Defence pure. Equip an earth staff and bring astral runes, nature runes, coins and mahogany logs.
- Withdraw an inventory of logs and cast Plank Make on one. Let the automatic sequence finish.
- Bank the planks, take more logs and repeat. Keep enough coins for the next inventory.
- For a faster active session, manually cast on each log. This can reach about 1,850 planks/hr with efficient banking, compared with the slower automatic process used here.
Mahogany costs 1,050 coins per plank to convert with the spell. The discounted sawmill fee does not include the log or runes.
75k Magic XP/hr is the relaxed automatic reference, about 833 planks/hr. Perfect automatic banking can approach 1,000; manual casting is a different pace.
From 86, use Plank Make for a banked route to 99 or stop when you have the Construction supplies you need. Switching on automatic casting gives longer breaks but a slower rate than casting each spell manually.
Make the combat estimate describe your session
A combat spell gives its base cast XP plus damage XP. For monkey training, choose your single-target spell max hit: the planner uses the Wiki’s measured low-intensity stacking reference and shows its planning allowance separately. You can instead enter your own casts per hour and average damage across the stack when your setup or rhythm differs.
Defensive casting awards 1.33 Magic XP per damage instead of 2, while also awarding Defence XP. Base spell XP stays the same. Choose it when training Defence is part of the goal, and expect slower progress towards a Magic-only target.
The planner counts the listed runes without a Kodai rune-saving effect or an elemental staff for Ancient spells. If your weapon saves or supplies runes, the actual consumption is lower. Prayer potions and other combat supplies belong in the extra hourly cost.
Use the Combat Calculator when comparing damage and kills for a chosen combat style. Powered staves have different XP rules from ordinary spells and do not receive a separate spellbook-cast XP reward.
Splashing is slower and gives only the spell’s base XP because the attacks miss. It needs an appropriate negative Magic attack bonus and a suitable location; ordinary accurate autocasting earns damage XP too.
Other worthwhile methods
Utility spells can advance another account goal while training Magic.
Levels 55–99: High Alchemy on magic longbows
Each bow and nature rune becomes 1,536 coins and 65 Magic XP. The fire staff supplies the spell’s fire runes.
Getting there
Alchemy can be cast wherever your other activity allows it. Stand near a bank for an initial test, or add it to a familiar Agility circuit once the clicks are comfortable.
Bring and unlock
A fire staff, nature runes and noted magic longbows. Other alch items have different buy limits, prices and coin values.
- Cast High Level Alchemy and click the noted bow stack. One bow is consumed each time.
- Repeat at the spell’s five-tick interval. Set the spellbook and item position to avoid unnecessary mouse movement.
- If combining alchs with another activity, count the casts you actually complete. Do not add 78k Magic XP/hr to a full Agility rate unless you can sustain both.
Alch coins are fixed and are not subject to GE tax. Buying the bows and nature runes still determines whether the session profits. A useful margin can disappear while buying the full stack.
Use High Level Alchemy from 55 to 99 while standing still or between other activities. At 70, bursting becomes a faster combat option if you have Desert Treasure I and a suitable multi-target area.
Levels 77–99: Superglass Make with giant seaweed
Prepare molten glass for Crafting while gaining Magic XP. One cast uses three giant seaweed and eighteen buckets of sand in this setup.
Getting there
Use a bank with a layout you can repeat quickly. No furnace is required: the Lunar spell performs the conversion.
Bring and unlock
77 Magic, Lunar Diplomacy (40 Defence required), a smoke battlestaff, astral runes, giant seaweed and sand. The staff supplies both elemental rune types.
- Withdraw three giant seaweed and eighteen buckets of sand, then cast Superglass Make.
- Deposit the glass which remains in your inventory and repeat. This faster route leaves overflow glass on the floor.
- If you choose to pick up the overflow, include that time. The average total yield becomes 28.8 glass per cast instead of the 26.1 retained by this route.
The same cast also awards 180 Crafting XP. Blowing the molten glass is a separate step; the Crafting Planner can include that entire chain.
600 casts/hr for the no-pickup loop, about 46.8k Magic XP and 15.6k retained glass per hour. The glass quantities are expected averages.
From 77 Magic, use Superglass Make when you also need molten glass for Crafting. Continue for the size of your glass goal, rather than making unwanted supplies just to reach 99 Magic.
Magic training that helps the next account goal
On an Iron, enchant the jewellery you will use and alch worthwhile drops or crafted items. Runecraft and shops provide runes, but collecting them has a time cost even when no GE purchase appears.
Superglass Make is particularly useful when you have giant seaweed and sand ready for Crafting. Plank Make can turn banked logs into Construction supplies, though using the sawmill and training Magic elsewhere may fit your time better.
Keep Ancient runes for tasks which make good use of multiple targets. Bursting a single ordinary monster costs the full spell recipe without getting the main benefit. Dust devils and nechryaels become worthwhile task opportunities once their Slayer requirements are met.
Other methods worth knowing
Enchanting bolts processes ten bolts per cast. Automatic casting and one-tick manual casting have very different rates; a fast click loop can also burn through expensive supplies rapidly. Try a small batch and check that the enchanted bolts sell before scaling up.
The Arceuus Library offers a rune-free alternative. Gather the requested books and use the reward on Magic; the XP scales with your level. RuneLite’s Kourend Library plugin shows book locations; the Useful client settings section explains how to use and reset its panel.
Mage Training Arena is useful when its unlocks matter, especially Bones to Peaches or Infinity pieces. Treat those rewards as the reason for the detour rather than comparing only raw XP/hour.
Splashing deliberately sacrifices damage for long periods of autocasting. It is slow, gives no damage-based Hitpoints XP and needs the appropriate negative Magic attack bonus. Ordinary combat usually advances the account more effectively when you are available to play.
Time and cost for your goal
Combat XP depends on damage, accuracy and targets per cast. Utility spells have fixed XP per cast but different materials. Keep the rune budget and any secondary Defence or Hitpoints XP attached to the method you choose.
Plan your Magic route or compare method quantities and costs.
Clicks and client settings
Find library books without guessing every shelf
These RuneLite plugins are included with the client. Find them in the plugin configuration sidebar, turn them on and open their settings.
Kourend Library: find the books
Enable Kourend Library and open its sidebar panel at the Arceuus Library. Use the book locations to choose which shelves to visit next and collect books for several readers in one trip. When the books move, reset the old locations in the panel and search again.
Choose your next goal
Open the Magic Training Planner for your method switches and time budget, or compare one method’s quantities in the Magic Calculator.