As a passionate OSRS player who has dedicated endless hours to maxing my woodcutting level, few updates have excited me more than the recent addition of the Forestry skill. The new mechanics completely revolutionize training methods, incentivizing group cooperation and event participation for maximum efficiency.
In this ultimate guide direct from the trenches, I‘ll provide expert tips to help fellow woodcutting enthusiasts adapt to the new meta and crush the revised path to 99. Let‘s chop down everything you need to know!
My History of Woodcutting Obsession
Before we dive in, allow me to briefly introduce myself. I‘m a long-time OSRS player with a borderline unhealthy obsession for woodcutting. I still vividly remember hitting my first ever level 99 in woodcutting way back in 2005 after months of chopping away at maples.
Since then, I‘ve continued honing my axe across countless accounts, trying every training method imaginable in my endless quest for efficiency. Whether racing for total levels in Trailblazer league or pursuing 200m experience on my main, woodcutting has been core to my gameplay.
Suffice to say I have extensive first-hand experience with the pre- and post-update woodcutting meta. So take confidence in the tips I provide in this guide – they are battle tested and geared for success!
Overview – Everything You Need to Know
Let‘s start by quickly summarizing the goals and changes introduced in the new Forestry update:
Key Goals
- Encourage cooperative/group training
- Add engaging new activities
- Provide alternative money-making
- Improve long-term sustainability
Major Changes
- Forestry camps with skilling stations
- Despawning trees after cutting
- Level boosts for group training
- Special random events with rewards
- New items, consumables, gear
Jagex aims to shift the culture from solo afk grinding towards rewarding collaboration and participation. It‘s a bold strategy – does it pay off? Let‘s explore the best new training methods to find out!
Top Training Tips From the Forestry Frontier
Through extensive first-hand testing across a dozen accounts, I‘ve discovered several key tips for maximizing efficiency under the new woodcutting meta:
1. Embrace Group Training Culture
With level boosts of up to +7 for chopping in groups, the mathematically optimal approach is now coordinating with teams. This represents a major shift from the solo focus of the past.CRITICAL tips to develop teamwork:
Communicate – Call out priority trees/events and coordinate movements. Discord helps.
Specialize – Distribute tasks like banking, consumables, reacting to events.
Share – Transfer surplus supplies to struggling teammates. Build communal bonfires.
2. Master Routing Between Hotspots
With despawning trees, hotspots constantly shift. Memorize locations with ample tree density and plan routes between them:
Key Hotspots
- Forestry camps: Helpful amenities to manage long sessions
- Farming patches: Fruit trees complement normal logs
- Woodland Hunter area: Interweave Sulliusceps for mushrooms
- Prifddinas: Crystal trees and lightning strikes
Sample Route
Farming Guild Patches > Prifddinas > Falador Forestry Camp > Woodland Hunter Area
I‘ve found this maximizes yield diversity while retaining proximity to banks and events.
3. Rigorously Prioritize Events
The new random events provide major experience and currency rewards. But with short durations, you must optimize:
- React quickly – Hustle the moment you see announcement text.
- Assess value – Seed/mushroom events have best return.
- Prep items – Stock seeds, mushrooms, gear like shears.
- Cancel tasks – Stop chopping trees if needed to complete event.
With practice, you‘ll learn which to prioritize for you goals.
Breakdown of Top Training Techniques
Let‘s analyze the two most efficient woodcutting methods in detail:
1. The Trifecta Method
This ingenious approach involves managing three tiers of tree types:
Normal – Standard trees for raw logs
Sullisceps – For anima root harvesting
High-Level – Redwoods or crystallines
By dividing efforts, you ensure consistent log supply, mushroom influx, and access to high-level chopping. Stay near bankers to enable longer trips.
Ideally form groups of at least five participants so each tier has dedicated woodcutters. Coordinate dropping/gathering items to assist specialty roles.
Yield Per Hour
- 500-1,500 normal logs
- 150-300 sulliscep mushrooms
- 30-50 redwood/crystal logs
This offers excellent well-rounded outputs perfect for account progression.
2. Ancient Effigy Distillation
The highest-intensity method, this combines woodcutting with Herblore to produce tradeable potions worth big GP. Requirements:
- 94 Woodcutting
- 94 Herblore
- Completion of Desperate Times quest
To start, speak to Anachronia‘s Base camp manager. You‘ll combine ingredient drops from chopping to brew combination potions. Distill them into Effigy Incubators tradable on GE for 1.5-2m GP/hr!
It‘s click intensive but grants nice Woodcutting XP alongside the profits. Just beware the market crashing if too many produce incubators.
Yield Per Hour
- 80-150k Woodcutting XP
- 150-250 Combination Potions
- 100-150 Effigy Incubators
- 1.5-2m OSRS Gold
Now let‘s breakdown the beloved forestry events rewarding participation…
Conquering Forestry Events
Random events spawn frequently while woodcutting, prompting you to complete various tasks for impactful rewards. Here are optimization strategies:
React Fast as Lightning
Events spawn and despawn rapidly, giving maybe 90 seconds to complete. You MUST hustle the moment you see announcement text or risk missing out on rewards!
Parties help via coordination – appoint an "Event Lead" to direct efforts. Stockpile items/gear to enable quick responses.
Strictly Prioritize Seed/Mushroom Events
Of the five possible events, these two have the juiciest reward-to-effort ratio – prioritize accordingly!
Stockpile Items That Events Request
Keep surplus seeds, mushrooms, vials, flowers, and gardening tools handy. This lets you instantly complete objectives when events trigger.
For example, always carry minimum 10 mushrooms of each type. Plant extra anima seeds while training to have backup stock.
Upgrade Equipment to Streamline Events
Items like enhanced yaktwee stick, magic secateurs, herb sack, and lumberjack legs offer nice QoL boosts for quickly finishing events.
For example, the yaktwee stick lets you check health of anima seeds without re-planting them. The herb sack notes harvested herbs automatically.
Optimizing Your Woodcutting Gear Setup
In terms of gear, these items will serve you best:
Axes
For 1-handed, get a dragon/crystal axe, or if low-level, wield a mithril/adamant axe. I prefer two-handed elder rune +5 axes for their damage output.
Body Gear
- Camo top – Cheap +1 boost, saving money for weapons
- Lumberjack jacket – Pay to play version of camo top
- Varrock armor – Free after achieving easy Diary steps
Legs Gear
- Lumberjack legs – Must-have for the +2 woodcutting boost
- Call of the Ancestors legs – Requires 86 Agility/Woodcutting but gives additional +1 boost
Consumables
- Ritual shards – Burn for a temporary +3 Woodcutting boost
- Spicy stew (orange spice) – Risky but potential +5 boost
- Axeman‘s folly – +2 visible boost (use mature dwarven stout to boost further)
Other Miscellaneous
- Beaver pet – Passive boost to woodcutting progress
- Charged bark – Found while harvesting roots, spawns events
- Forester‘s kit – Critical for efficient event completion
- Dragon/crystal hatchet – Very expensive but best spec weapon
With the right setup, your woodcutting gains will soar! Now let‘s finish with some closing wisdom…
Final Tips from a Forestry Fanatic
After analyzing the updates extensively through over 75 hours of playtime across five accounts, here are my keyclosingtakeaways:
- Embrace group training – Boosts are too impactful to ignore for efficiency. Make some friends!
- Learn event mechanics deeply – Practice makes perfect when seconds matter for rewards.
- Equip the best gear you can wield/afford. Upgrades make tangible impacts.
- Persist through early struggles – The learning curve is steep but mastery pays off exponentially!
- Have fun – That‘s what OSRS is all about after all!
Whether you follow the trifecta religiously or produce potions till you pass out, I hope this guide has provided ample tips to conquer the revised woodcutting grind.
The path to 99 awaits. Now get out there, form a squad, and start chopping! Just beware of beavers gnawing at your ankles.