Introduction
Surviving in the harsh world of Old School RuneScape? Whether you’re battling ferocious monsters in the Wilderness, tackling challenging bosses, or simply trying to skill in peace, one thing is universally important: food. It’s the lifeline of every adventurer, the key to staying alive and achieving your goals. But with so many options available, from easily-obtained snacks to expensive delicacies, how do you choose the best food OSRS has to offer?
This guide will delve deep into the world of OSRS food, providing you with the knowledge you need to make the right choices for your playstyle and goals. We’ll explore the strengths and weaknesses of various food types, covering everything from the early-game staples that will get you started to the late-game powerhouses needed for the most challenging content. No matter your combat level or skill level, understanding the best food options is vital to your success in Gielinor. So, grab your cooking range, sharpen your knife, and get ready to learn all about the culinary side of Old School RuneScape.
Essential Early Game Sustenance
When you’re just starting out in Gielinor, the focus is on surviving and leveling up. Healing is essential, and the choices are generally limited and cheap. Let’s examine some of the best options to keep you going during these crucial early levels.
Cooking meat is your first introduction to self-sufficiency. Raw cow meat or chicken meat can be obtained by killing cows or chickens respectively, found in various locations, most notably Lumbridge. Cooking these will produce cooked versions of the meat. While offering modest healing, they are extremely accessible. They are also relatively cheap, with the raw ingredients being easy to come by. The cooking experience is simple to get and helps you improve your skill.
Cooking Shrimp is another viable option early on, and easy to obtain. They’re cheap, and easy to fish with a low fishing requirement. You will require a very low cooking level and offers a small amount of healing. This is a great food to begin with, especially when fishing.
Cooked Sardines and Herring are slightly more advanced than shrimp, but still obtainable early through fishing. Fishing them is relatively easy, giving you some healing while leveling up. They’re a small step up from shrimp and provide a slightly better healing boost.
The main advantage of these early-game foods is their accessibility and low cost. They won’t carry you through difficult encounters, but they’re perfect for training combat, completing low-level quests, and general exploration.
The best early-game food choice depends on your skill focus. If you’re also leveling fishing, consider fishing and cooking your own sardines or herring. If not, buying Cooked Meat is a good alternative, or killing the cows yourself. Regardless, the investment in these items is minimal, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your character’s development.
Mid-Game Meal Prep
As you progress and combat becomes more demanding, you will need to move onto better food to survive. Here’s a rundown of the best food options for this stage of your adventure.
Trout and Salmon offer a significant step up in healing power compared to the earlier options. They become available at higher fishing levels, and offer a decent healing potential. They’re often obtained by fishing. They are still generally affordable and provide a reasonable balance of healing and cost.
Tuna and Lobster provide another leap in healing. Obtaining them requires higher fishing or purchasing them from shops. Lobsters can be obtained quite easily from shops in Port Sarim, making it convenient if you have the funds. Tuna requires a higher fishing level. These foods are a good choice for mid-level bossing or training Slayer.
Swordfish is another viable option at this level. The cooking level is the same as that of tuna but offers more healing, and often requires fishing to acquire. As with tuna and lobsters, they are a good option for a variety of activities.
Monkfish offers the same healing potential as swordfish. They can be fished at a higher level, and give more experience than salmon and trout. Making your way to this food is a solid step forward, offering good healing for your adventure.
At this stage, the best food option depends on your budget and your activity. Lobster remains a good and affordable option, while monkfish and swordfish provide more healing for more demanding content.
The key here is to find a balance between healing efficiency and cost. As your needs grow, you might want to focus on training your cooking and fishing to improve the quality of your food.
Late-Game Culinary Champions
As you delve into the most challenging content that Old School RuneScape has to offer, you’ll need to have the best food OSRS has available.
Anglerfish represents a significant jump in healing efficiency. When consumed, they overheal your hitpoints, going beyond your maximum hitpoints, allowing for more survivability. Anglerfish are obtained through fishing, requiring a high fishing level. They can be expensive, but the benefit is undeniable. They are a staple in high-level PvM.
Sharks provide excellent healing, making them another good choice. They can be fished or purchased, but they are expensive. Sharks provide excellent healing, perfect for bossing and high-level combat. Sharks are a reliable source of healing when paired with an Anglerfish.
Karambwans offer an unique and powerful advantage. When consumed, they are eaten instantly, allowing for a rapid healing cycle. They are especially useful in combination with other slower-eating food items, such as sharks or anglerfish. Karambwans are best obtained by fishing. They are a crucial part of high-level PvM strategies.
Saradomin Brews provide an advantage over traditional food items because they provide more than just healing. While they do restore a small amount of hitpoints, they have two key effects. They also increase your attack, strength, defense, and hitpoints levels while lowering your magic and range levels. The effects are very useful for difficult bosses. They’re made with the Herblore skill. The high cost means they’re mainly used during bossing.
Super Restores offer another key component of high-level PvM. These potions restore your stats. They are made with the Herblore skill and can be expensive. They are often used alongside Brews to recover any levels lost from their debuff effects.
For high-level PvM, Anglerfish, Sharks, Karambwans, Brews, and Restores are often used together to optimize efficiency. The key is to balance healing, healing speed, and resource cost.
Additional Considerations: Tailoring Your Menu
The best food isn’t just about healing; it’s about efficiency and strategy.
Certain activities require specific food choices. For instance, when facing the Corporeal Beast, you may want a balanced approach to healing due to the complexity of the fight. For bosses like Vorkath, you might need high-healing food and fast-eating items like Karambwans. For PvP, you might value the instant heal of a Karambwan or a fast healing rate from brews.
Alternative food sources can also be crucial. Farming may provide additional resources to use. Food drops from Slayer tasks can offset the need to purchase food.
Inventory management is also a critical component of good food management. Efficient inventory organization can increase your survivability.
Conclusion: Fueling Your Success
Choosing the right food is a fundamental aspect of success in Old School RuneScape. From the humble beginnings with Cooked Meat to the late-game power of Anglerfish and Karambwans, your food choices directly impact your ability to survive, thrive, and achieve your goals. The path to mastery involves understanding the strengths of each food type and applying them appropriately.
Remember to consider your combat level, your available budget, the activity you’re undertaking, and your preferred playstyle. Experiment, find what works best for you, and always be prepared to adjust your strategy. Ultimately, the “best food OSRS” is the one that keeps you alive and lets you keep enjoying everything this classic game has to offer.
What’s your favorite food item in OSRS and why? Let us know in the comments! Happy adventuring!
