Ultimate Ironman Guide/Hunter

UIM Guide

Hunter training on an ultimate ironman is very similar to that of a regular account. The skill is most notable as a source of bird nests for Saradomin brews, red chinchompas for Ranged combat, and grimy herbs for Herblore training with the herbiboar. Most methods require little preparation or inventory space, so Hunter can be feasibly combined with Farming training.

Recommended training methods

Levels 1–9: Natural history quiz

Completing the Natural history quiz in the Varrock Museum rewards 1,000 experience in both Hunter and Slayer. This is enough experience to get to level 9 Hunter, which helps skip the slow, early training levels.

Levels 5–80/99: Bird house trapping

<mapframe group="pins" align="right" text="Locations of the Fossil Island bird house hunting spots." plane="0" width="320" y="3828" x="3722" height="320" zoom="1" mapID="0">

{"features":[{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"coordinates":[3677.5,3882.5],"type":"Point"},"properties":{"mapID":0,"providerID":0,"group":"pins","description":"

X/Y: 3677,3882

","plane":0,"icon":"greenPin"}},{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"coordinates":[3678.5,3815.5],"type":"Point"},"properties":{"mapID":0,"providerID":0,"group":"pins","description":"

X/Y: 3678,3815

","plane":0,"icon":"greenPin"}},{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"coordinates":[3763.5,3755.5],"type":"Point"},"properties":{"mapID":0,"providerID":0,"group":"pins","description":"

X/Y: 3763,3755

","plane":0,"icon":"greenPin"}},{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"coordinates":[3768.5,3761.5],"type":"Point"},"properties":{"mapID":0,"providerID":0,"group":"pins","description":"

X/Y: 3768,3761

","plane":0,"icon":"greenPin"}}],"type":"FeatureCollection"}

</mapframe>

Main article: Bird house trapping

Bird house trapping is a passive way to train Hunter over time. At higher levels, players can use the bird nests to make Saradomin brews for Herblore experience.

It is strongly recommended to have noted logs, so the player can quickly unnote them at a bank chest. Noted logs can be obtained from Wintertodt, Ents, and various bosses. Cutting the logs is only recommended for low-level birdhouses, as cutting high-level logs (such as yew logs) adds a lot of extra time. If cutting the logs, it is advised to keep an axe in the inventory, and have teaks or mahoganies planted in the hardwood tree patches on Fossil Island if making those bird houses. For obtaining magic logs, cuttings Ents in the Woodcutting Guild can be faster than manually cutting magic trees.

The best method to get to Fossil Island is using the mounted digsite pendant in a player-owned house. Making one requires level 82 Construction, which can be boosted from level 74. If the player does not have the mounted digsite pendant, it is recommended to make multiple digsite pendants beforehand so the player can do multiple runs without having to make more jewellery. A slightly slower but easier alternative at lower levels is to take the gnome glider from Al Kharid to the Digsite and barge to Fossil Island.

Hop seeds can be bought from Draynor Seed Market in Draynor Village or Amelia in the Farming Guild. Alternatively, pickpocketing Master Farmers will give plenty of barley seeds, which can be stored for later use. A hammer and chisel can be sourced from any tool store in the player's player-owned house, or bought at any number of general stores (including the one located on Fossil Island).

At higher levels, bird house trapping becomes worthwhile if the player is using the nests to make Saradomin brews. For this, players will need to carry unfinished toadflax potions to use with the bird nests each run. Empty nests may also be high alched for a slight profit and passive magic experience.

The effective experience rates are shown in the table below. The rates only count the actively spent time doing the runs, so the real-time rates will a lot lower. The time spent for a run assumes the player is using noted logs and already has the seeds. A bird house run takes around 105 seconds when using the mounted digsite pendant. When using digsite pendants, a run takes around 145 seconds when including the time making the jewellery and some downtime lost to gearing up for a run.

Type		Level		XP/run		XP/h (mounted)		XP/h (necklaces)
	Regular	5	5	1,120	60	38,400	2,100	27,800	1,500
	Oak	14	15	1,680	80	57,600	2,700	41,700	2,000
	Willow	24	25	2,240	100	76,800	3,400	55,600	2,500
	Teak	34	35	2,800	120	96,000	4,100	69,500	3,000
	Maple	44	45	3,280	140	112,500	4,800	81,400	3,500
	Mahogany	49	50	3,840	160	131,700	5,500	95,300	4,000
	Yew	59	60	4,080	180	139,900	6,200	101,300	4,500
	Magic	74	75	4,560	200	156,300	6,900	113,200	5,000
	Redwood	89	90	4,800	220	164,600	7,500	119,200	5,500

For more information, see Ultimate Ironman Guide/Herblore.

Levels 69–99: Carnivorous chinchompas

Note: Partial completion of the Eagles' Peak quest is required to be able to set box traps.

Hunting carnivorous chinchompas offers the fastest experience from level 69 onwards. Red chinchompas are mainly used for Ranged training, but they are also useful against Kree'arra and Callisto. However, red chinchompas will disappear on death or when dropped, so they must be placed on a table if the player needs to die for item management purposes.

Players will need to either have completed Song of the Elves (requires level 70 Hunter, not boostable) for access to the Gwenith Hunter area, or the hard tasks of the Western Provinces Diary (requires level 69 Hunter, boostable with a hunter potion or a spicy stew) for access to the red chinchompa hunting ground, as normal areas are usually crowded and hunting there offers significantly worse experience rates due to fewer chinchompa spawns. The Gwenith Hunter area is the best location to hunt carnivorous chinchompas, but the red chinchompa hunting ground is also viable and offers only slightly lower rates. However, the experience rates are significantly reduced below 80 Hunter, so it can be worthwhile to train with bird houses to 80 Hunter and start hunting red chinchompas when the player can place 5 traps at a time.

The fastest way to get to the Gwenith Hunter area is to use a spirit tree to Prifddinas, exiting the city north and running a bit north-east. The red chinchompa hunting ground is easily accessed by using the fairy code AKS and running south-west.

It is possible to place traps one tick faster via tick manipulation. Furthermore, when correctly timed, it is possible to lay a trap instantly after picking up another (also known as trap resetting); this is done by moving to the desired spot on the same tick as laying the previous trap, picking up the next, and clicking it up as soon as possible in the inventory. This increases experience rates notably, but requires more effort and accurate clicks.

Experience rates scale depending on the player's level and performance. When hunting in the Gwenith Hunter area and using tick manipulation, the player can expect to gain up to 95,000–100,000 Hunter experience per hour at level 70, and 110,000–115,000 experience at level 79. The experience rates are increased to around 140,000–150,000 Hunter experience per hour at level 80 and 160,000–170,000 experience per hour at level 90. At level 99, players can gain up to 195,000–205,000 Hunter experience per hour.

For more information, see Ultimate Ironman Guide/Ranged and Ultimate Ironman Guide/Item Management.

Levels 80–99: Herbiboars

		734	381
		315	232
		275	175
File:Stamina potion(4).png	File:Stamina potion(4).png	413	386
File:Stamina potion(4).png	File:Stamina potion(4).png	275	220
File:Stamina potion(4).png	File:Stamina potion(4).png
File:Stamina potion(4).png895	File:Stamina potion(4).png		File:Numulite.png14116

Main article: Herbiboar

Tracking herbiboars on Fossil Island is a decent low-effort alternative to catching carnivorous chinchompas from level 80 onwards. While this method offers a lot slower Hunter experience than hunting chinchompas, it yields various herbs and small amounts of passive Herblore experience, as well as some fossils for later Prayer training. The herbs can be noted at the tool leprechaun near the hardwood tree patches on the island, and the fossils at the fossil storage near the mycelium pool for later use.

Players will need to have the herb sack and a lot of stamina potions for this method, as without them the experience rates would be a lot slower and this method would not be worth doing. It is also recommended to have a high Herblore level (85+ recommended) to get better-quality herbs upon harvesting.

Experience rates scale depending on the Hunter level, and long-term rates will vary depending on how often herbs are noted at the tool leprechaun. On average, players can expect to gain anywhere from 120,000 to 150,000 experience per hour.

For more information, see Ultimate Ironman Guide/Herblore and Ultimate Ironman Guide/Prayer.

Other methods

Levels 9–15: Feldip weasels

With a noose wand, Feldip weasels may be caught in the Feldip Hunter area south of Yanille (fairy ring aks). Teleporting with the Castle Wars option on a ring of dueling, then walking south, is a quick way to reach the area. Two burrows are located east of the dungeon icon near the centre of the area. A guide to catching Feldip weasels may be found here.

Levels 15–29: Ruby harvests + copper longtails

Catching ruby harvest and copper longtails offers the fastest experience from level 15 to 29. Acquire a butterfly net, butterfly jars, 2 bird snares and proceed to Piscatoris Hunter area (fairy ring AKQ) by using either a Piscatoris Teleport or by running north along the west wall of the Tree Gnome Stronghold. Head just south of the yew tree marked by the icon on the mini-map and set up bird snares to catch copper longtails, and while waiting catch butterflies that are flying around in this area. Players can gain up to around 17,000–18,000 Hunter experience per hour with this method.

Players can alternatively camp a butterfly spawn location by simply standing on it and spam clicking underneath your character. This grants around 12,000–13,000 Hunter experience per hour, and hardly drains any run energy. As each butterfly rewards 24 experience, catching a total of 401 ruby harvests is required to reach level 29.

Levels 29–43: Swamp lizards

A player setting up a net trap.

From level 29 to level 43 Hunter, catching swamp lizards is the fastest way to train Hunter. At level 40 Hunter, it becomes possible to set up three traps at once, so it is recommended to bring three ropes and three small fishing nets if intending to train past level 40. Players should expect around 20k-25k experience per hour from level 29 to level 40 Hunter. Once it is possible to set up three traps, experience rates significantly increase, ranging from 40k-54k experience per hour from level 40 to level 59 Hunter.

Levels 43–60: Falconry

Catching spotted kebbits, and both spotted and dark kebbits at level 57 using the falconry technique offers the fastest experience from level 43 to 60. They are located in the Piscatoris falconry area east of the fairy ring AKQ. While this provides higher experience rates than catching lizards, it is also more click-intensive.

Falcons cost 500 coins to rent and can be used for an unlimited amount of time in the area until the player leaves. In order to hunt with falcons, Matthias the falconer requires players to have empty hands, weapon, and shield slots. It is also worth bringing a bonecrusher, as it will automatically bury the bones from the kebbits, resulting in half the time spent dropping items. Enter the Piscatoris falconry area, and rent a gyr falcon to catch these kebbits. Note that re-entering the Piscatoris falconry area mode requires you to pay the 500 coin fee again.

Players can gain up to around 55,000–61,000 Hunter experience per hour at level 43, increasing to around 70,000 experience per hour at level 56. At level 57 when dark kebbits become available, players can gain up to 75,000–80,000 Hunter experience per hour. These rates can be achieved by using kebbit spawns in the south-eastern area and minimising the travel distance of the falcon and your own walking distance by standing as close to the kebbits and their spawns as possible.

Levels 60–69: Red salamanders

Catching red salamanders offers the fastest experience from level 60 to 69. Even though they become available at level 59, catching kebbits in the Piscatoris falconry area offers slightly faster experience than catching red salamanders with only 3 traps.

Red salamanders are located just south of the entrance to the Ourania Cave. They can be reached with the Ourania Teleport from the Lunar spellbook (71 Magic) or by teleporting to Castle Wars and running north. Alternatively, use a spirit tree to teleport to the Khazard Battlefield and run west. It is recommended to use the trees south of the altar when training as there are four trees compared to the three north-east of it so take 5 ropes and nets and you can reset traps before picking up collapsed ones. Wear weight-reducing equipment, ideally the graceful outfit, to ensure you always have run energy. Drop the salamanders as soon as possible to reduce energy consumption. If not possible, bring stamina potions.

Players can gain up to around 80,000–85,000 Hunter experience per hour at level 60, increasing to around 100,000–105,000 experience per hour at level 69. Before level 60, players can only expect to gain around 55,000–60,000 Hunter experience per hour with 3 traps.

Level 60-99: Maniacal monkeys

With the completion of Monkey Madness II, maniacal monkeys become available in Kruk's Dungeon. They require bananas as bait so bringing Bones to Bananas runes or tabs is necessary. There are bones available on the floor of the dungeon you can use for the spell. You must climb on a stunted demonic gorilla to set traps, this disables the use of the spell book so you need to leave the area to cast. If you use tabs you can break them while riding the gorilla instead. They give 1,000 Hunter experience per monkey and a damaged monkey tail that can be crafted into sinew with a knife giving 15 Crafting experience. There is also a 1/5,000 chance to get a monkey tail which can be used to string a ballista.

Maniacal monkeys provide a way less intensive and afk training compared to herbiboar and chinchompas. This method is the most afk method but one of the least efficient ways to get 99 Hunter as an ultimate ironman since they produce no useful supplies for you to use for training (like herbs or chins for later experience).

This method offers roughly 50,000–65,000 Hunter experience per hour at level 60 and 65,000–120,000 experience per hour at 99 while not being very click intensive.

Note: To maximize the afk aspect of this training pre-make bones to banana tablets in your POH study for the duration of your grind. To get the best use out of your Bones to Banana tablets, maximize your open inventory spaces.

Levels 46/57/72/91–99: Hunters' Rumours

Main article: Hunters' Rumours

Players can choose to complete Hunters' Rumours assigned by Guild Hunters in the Hunter Guild. Guild Hunters will tell the player to investigate rumours of a specific hunter creature, which the player needs to hunt until a rare creature part is dropped. Each Guild hunter has a specific unboostable Hunter level requirement, with Novice, Adept, Expert and Master rumours being unlocked at levels 46, 57, 72 and 91, respectively.

Most hunter gear required for rumours can be purchased at Imia's Supplies within the guild. Notably, nets and ropes cannot be obtained in the area, so around a half-inventory of free space is required to avoid re-obtaining nets and ropes between possible salamander rumours. Item management will become considerably simpler once the Huntsman's kit is obtained, as it can store all hunter gear including nets and ropes in one inventory slot.

Many of these rumours require at least 4 free inventory slots, but players will benefit from keeping at least half of their inventory free. Players will also benefit greatly from access to fairy rings as most of the creatures are located near them. Depending on rumour block list and tasks received, players can expect over 150,000 xp/h at level 72 and over 220,000 xp/h at level 91. Players can also passively gather red chinchompas should they leave them unblocked.

Completing rumours will reward loot sacks which contain various amounts of herbs, bird nests, logs (based on woodcutting level), sun-kissed bones, hunter meats, and blessed bone shards. These rewards are all in noted form and can aid in leveling Herblore and Prayer on a new account. Completing rumours will quickly accumulate noted birds nests which can later be made into saradomin brews.