Runescape Quest Guide :: Getting Started Questing

The game of Runescape has over 120 quests! This newcomers guide has an introduction and detailed walkthroughs of a couple of the easier quests that are great to get started with. Once you've done those quests you might want to check out this massive Runescape quest guide from Killer Guides which packs in over 100 pages of walkthroughs.

In this Runescape quest guide I’ll show you how to access quest information in game, how to find quests to do and explain concepts like the quest difficulty and pre-requisites. You will first be introduced to the world of questing within Runescape while you are on the tutorial. This is a mandatory part of the game for new players and it gently introduces you to all of the game basics.

Accessing Quest Information In Game

Once you have gone through the tutorial you will have several icons in your Toolbar and you’ll have a small mini map of the game containing lots of icons. In the image below I have circled in yellow the quest icon, it looks a bit like a snow flake.

Clicking this icon will bring up a list of quests divided into “Free Quests” that can be played by anybody, and “Member’s Quests” that can only be paid by players who have a paid subscription. Clicking on the name of the quest will bring up some information about it in the main screen, such as who to speak to in order to get started. Try clicking on the quest “Dragon Slayer” in the free area, this will show the following:

Notice that after it tells you who to speak to, it also says that you need to be able to defeat a level 83 Dragon, and have 32 Quest Points. These are known as pre-requisites and they vary among the quests.

Quest Rewards

One of the pre-requisites for the Dragon Slayer quest (which is the most difficult of the Free quests by the way, so don’t think you can jump into it if you have only recently started playing!) is that you must have 32 Quest Points. Every quest that you complete will give you various rewards, including between 1 and 5 quest points.

This forces you to complete some of the easier quests before being able to start the more challenging ones which makes sense. Quests also give you other types of rewards such as gold coins (money!), items and skills. In all of the Runescape quest quides published here I’ll point out exactly what the rewards are for each one.

Quest Difficulty & Length

First of all, some quests are made more difficult simply by having pre-requisites. For example, the ability to defeat a level 83 dragon does not come easily or quickly so that makes the Dragon Slayer quest very difficult.

Some quests also take longer than others however one of the great things about Runescape is that you can log out at any time and come back to a quest later.

The Next Step...

Now that I've shown you the basic I'll post guides for some of the easier quests that are great for newcomers to get started on. Keep scrolling down for those. Also, don't forget that these guides are just two of over 120 available. For the definitive Runescape quest guide head on over to Killer Guides.

Runescape Quest Guide :: Sheep Shearer

The Sheep Shearer quest is a great one to start with if you are new to the game. This Runescape quest guide is the first of several to be covered here in detail. Once you've finished these quests I'm sure you'll want to do more and if you get stuck Killer Guides has put together the most comprehensive Runescape quest guide around with over 100 pages of information.

Difficulty: Easy
Length: Short
Quest Starter: Fred the Farmer
Quest Points: 1
Gold Coins: 60
XP: Crafting (150)

Before You Start

To be able to complete this quest without too much running around, make sure you have 21 free inventory slots before you start, otherwise you’re going to have to do parts of the quest in two or more batches depending on how much room you have in your inventory.

Step 1: Talk to Fred the Farmer

From Lumbridge, head north along the road until you see a small chicken farm on your left. I’ve indicated the position on the map below.

Go inside the building and talk to Fred the Farmer:

He’ll start talking about his sheep:

If you probe him he’ll ask you to help shear them for him:

He’ll also talk about something called ‘The Thing’ which is supposedly some kind of sheep. I didn’t see it while I was doing the quest and I’ve not heard of anyone else who did so that might just be a bit of fun :-) Fred will tell you to pick up the shears

Step 2: Shear the Sheep

Before you leave the building, check the table against the wall. There are shears on there that you can pick up so you don’t need to buy them. You get to keep these after the quest is finished which is quite handy.

Once you’ve picked up the shears head out of the building and head back down the road. The sheep pen is right next to the building but you need to go a little ways back down the road to find the gate to get in. Now the fun starts!

Your mission is to run after the sheep trying to shear them but they’ll run away from you. Make sure you are running and not walking as that makes it much easier to chase the buggers down! I found that I could make them into a corner sometimes. In the picture below you can see that there are two types of sheep in the field.

The big fat fluffy ones are the ones that need shearing and the skinny looking ones have already been done. Also check what you click on because if you accidentally click on a Ram you’ll attack him instead of shearing! They are only level 2 but they just take ages to kill and don’t drop anything useful so it’s just a waste of time.

One last thing... some of those sheep have special bouncy legs and they spring up in the air to get away from you. Highly amusing :-) And don't bother chasing those ones because you won't catch them!

Successfully shearing a sheep will put one wool in your inventory:

Step 3: Spin the Wool

Once you have as much wool as you can carry, head back to the Lumbridge Castle where you started the game. Upstairs there is a spinning room:

Just click on that and it will bring up a panel showing you what you can spin. If this is your first quest then you’ll probably only have “Ball of Wool” available. Each wool spins into one Ball of Wool:

Step 4: Return the Wool to Fred the Farmer

Run back up the road to the farm and give Fred your balls of wool to complete the quest. Note that if you did not have enough room in your inventory for all 20 at once you can turn them in to Fred in batches. That’s it, quest complete!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this Runescape quest guide and found it useful. Once you've finished Sheep Shearer you might want to try Cook's Assistant and after that there are still over 120 quests left to explore. I haven't written guides on all of those - there's no need because Killer Guides has already done a brilliant job of that with their ultimate Runescape Quest Guide which gives complete walkthroughs of all the best quests in the game.

Runescape Quest Guide :: Cook's Assistant

When you first arrive in Lumbridge after completing the new player tutorial if you chat to the Lumbridge Guide he will point you towards this quest. In this Runescape quest guide I’ll show you all of the quest details step-by-step. This should be just your very first step in the world of questing in Runescape as there are over 120 quests to explore. Killer Guides has put together the best of the best of these quests into their ultimate Runescape Quest Guide weighing in at over 100 pages.

Cook’s Assistant

Difficulty: Easy
Length: Short
Quest Starter: Cook, Lumbridge Castle
Quest Points: 1
XP: Cooking (300)

Step 1: Talk to the Cook

Lumbridge castle is just a little ways down the road from where you start in the game. It is on three floors and you get to the higher floors you need to use the stairs that are at the castle corners. The Cook is in his kitchen on the bottom floor:

Start talking to the Cook and he’ll tell you about the mess he’s in:

It turns out that the silly cook has forgotten to buy the ingredients he needs for a very important birthday cake. So he enlists your help in getting them:

You can also ask him for further details on each of the items and he’ll tell you where you can get them. I’ve put a screenshot here to show you where you’ll be going on the quest:

Step 2: Get a Pot and Bucket

You need a pot to hold the flour and a bucket to hold the milk. Both of these items are given to you during the tutorial so you should already have them in your inventory. If you’ve lost them somehow just buy them at the general store on the way to get the flour. They only cost 1gp each.

Step 3: Get the Flour

After speaking to the Cook, head back out of the castle and then travel North along the road until you find the wheat field indicated on the map. There is a massive field there but you only need to pick one. Don’t go crazy and pick loads like I did :-)

Wheat can be turned into flour at the Mill which is conveniently placed right next to the field. Walk in there and chat to Millie the Miller if you like. Millie will tell you to climb the ladder to get to the top of the mill where you’ll find a hopper. Put your wheat grain in the hopper and then pull the lever. The wheat will be milled into flour which will come out down the bottom so you need to climb back down the stairs to collect it. You need to have an empty pot in your inventory to be able to pick up the flour.

Step 4: Get the Egg

From the mill travel back to the road and then head east until the road starts to bend southwards. Now travel along the river until you find a small bridge. Cross the bridge, continue until you meet the road and then head north until you find a chicken farm on your left.

In the farm there are two spots where eggs will spawn on the ground every few seconds. The first is in the main area where there are lots of chickens wandering around and the second is in the north west corner of the farm around the back of the main building. Here is a picture of my character standing next to this egg:

Step 5: Get the Milk

There is a field full of cows just over the road from the chicken farm. Some of the cows are attackable but you want the Dairy Cows. When you hover over one you’ll get the option to milk it rather than attack it. You will need to have an empty bucket in your inventory to collect the milk.

Step 6: Bring the Ingredients to the Cook

With all your ingredients collected you can head back to Lumbridge Castle and speak to the cook who will be very grateful for your help:

One last thing... once you’ve completed the quest talk to the Cook again and ask him if you can use his range. A cooking range allows you to cook food and the one in Lumbridge Castle is better than others because it is less likely to burn food so this becomes an excellent place to do further cooking.

That's the last of my Runescape quest guides that I've done for this newcomer tutorial, I do hope you enjoyed reading it and found it useful. Please don't let that be the end of your journey however. Check out Killer Guide's ultimate Runescape Quest Guide. It packs a punch at over 100 pages of detailed quest walkthroughs.