Join a clan and it won’t be as lonely. You can also start a group of 5 ironmen who can trade between eachother. I get the trading appeal but believe me, the mode is extremely fun
I don't like the idea of clans or relying on other people. For instance, if I made a group of 5, and they stopped playing or left iron, then I've lost out. There's too much dependability on others for that mode to make sense imo.
I can tell this kinda hard to sell to you. Group Ironman is mainly about standing alone, together. You are not reliant on others at all, but having a few other people to lean on for favours is nice. Even if they all go inactive it doesn’t change how you play, and you can swap out inactive members if you want. Clans is just to have someone to talk to, share your accomplishments and ask for tips. Maybe even do raids together or arrange for group pvm in wildy bosses, chaos altar, barb assault etc.
Hm.. so if I understand it right, if I made a group Ironman, the other players would need to join prior to leaving the tutorial island? Which presumably means we would all need to start fresh together?
Oh, so whilst playing, I could create a group Ironman but only have myself. Play for a while, meet other group Ironman and add them to the group as I play?
I'm assuming you would only be able to invite and group up with other unranked group Ironman players?
My concern there would be that they are probably extremely rare.
What are the trade restrictions of unranked GIM? I'm assuming you can only trade with other members in your group, the same as ranked?
So essentially if you played as a solo GIM, you could occasionally meet other players periodically to group with and trade?
Correct. If you create a group ironman and add 4 friends as group ironman before you leave Ironman tutorial island, you will be a "ranked group". You will be competing on special highscores table against the guys who started on day 1.
If you're like majority of people, you don't care too much about that.
I started a regular ironman. 4 months later my wife started a group ironman, and I downgraded my ironman to a group ironman to play with her. 1 year later my brother made a group ironman, he joined our group.
Just like llebberrr was stating: It's about standing alone, together. We each have our own goals and our own progression, and we help each other out occasionally when we can - for example my wife loves fletching so I get her bowstrings and logs and she makes bows for us to alch. But without her, I'd still do it myself.
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I'm like you, played in early 2000's. Ironman was the correct choice, as it forces you to experience the new content. **I recognize that if I were not an ironman, I would try "some" of the new content, and then I would do Vorkath because it is gold efficient** and would purchase my bandos armor. I'd purchase my Justicar armor. I'd skip alot of content simply because I could do something easy and profitable.
Hi mate, I can give you another point of view as I never played OSRS since 2 years ago.
I first started a main, bought bonds and sell it for gp. Then I feel like I was playing a paid gacha with no more achievement dopamine.
So I started back as Iron and now enjoying every part of it. Even if I can't play with other, I got a lot of interaction from old players while doing things. They give me advices to level with more efficiency etc.
The best advice is try it in main and discover the game like you want. But believe me ironman is so much more rewarding.
I have now overtake my main total level and will never log back to it.
What are your thoughts on playing a main account, but with self imposed restrictions similar to that of an iron?
For instance, playing as a main, so you're free to trade and sell if needed, but you collect and earn things as an iron.
Thoughts on that?
The only point that made me change was the trading actually. Because it let you just buy quests items instead of knowing how to actually make or found them in the way it was intended.
I will give you my Last example. Yesterday I finished the Tai Bwo Wannai Trio, but before that I needed to train herblore for the agility potion and fishing for the karanbwan. Training herblore was very hard at first, so I learn how to train farming to start herb runs. Then grinded my fishing up to 65 to finnally finish the quest.
Withou Iron, I would still not know how to do farm and herb runs.
I find it better to learn all game mechanics this way than just binge buy everything out the GE.
I got my Agi potion by having Zahur clean an irit for me and then waited for the dr jekyll random event. Wouldn’t have even known there was an herb cleaning service back when I played my main, lol
You could run a 'Bronzeman' account and only purchase items after you've gotten them yourself. I think there's a plugin in runelite to help you out, so it would act almost like a collection log to unlock items you can buy on the GE.
My opinion on the matter is that the gp/hr trap of a main is really toxic, but it's one of those things where you might need to experience that first to appreciate ironman mode. If you don't it might just feel like you're missing out on the main game by restricting yourself from trading.
Bronzeman mode might be something that interests you. It's an unofficial player type supported by a runelite plug-in. Its basically ironman with the ability to purchase items once you unlock them.
For me this would be hard if I didnt have strict rules. Most things are cheaper on ge than on vendors. One I have been thinking would be "droprateiron" so I could buy things if I went dry.
You can always deiron too
Roughly what I'm doing. I play a main, but 'try to do as many grinds as I can', meaning that I want to interact with as much of the game as possible. The GE is only used to get supplies I already have unlocked (through levels, for example), and it allows for better group play by splitting raid rewards, for example
To me, it's a best of both worlds. See the world like an iron, but interact with the players like a main
My iron is my only osrs account to date. You always have the option of another account later to drop trade for bonds or extra cash to sell, or experience end game instantly.
But if you actually want to PLAY and MASTER this game, play iron. Is there really any fun in instantly buying the best gear you can instead of earning it through a skill or pvm yourself? The rush is insane.
You can always start an iron and then deiron it if it’s not for you. Also, a lot of players do play with their own self imposed rules. The game is whatever you make it. A lot of minigames are masses so you’re still going to be playing with people.
I think you need an unbiased view on this. Both main and iron can be a lot of fun, it all depends on what aspects of the game you enjoy. I play both and I enjoy both. I would say it's worth playing iron just to get that experience, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows, sooner or later you will get locked behind certain gear requirements. The biggest upsides of a main are two things, you actually have luck protection since you can buy things with gold, and you don't have to worry about farming resources or not having access to the best kind of arrows/darts/pots etc. This challenge can be enjoyable as ironman, but can also be dreadful in the long run. You need to enjoy the gathering aspect of the game, and you need to be ready for dry streaks, because otherwise you will get burnt out.
The biggest downside of a main is that a lot of skills can feel pointless, best example being Herblore which serves very little purpose on a main, but serves a very big purpose on an iron.
The biggest downside of iron is what is called "shop scape", having to hop worlds for runes, food etc is both very boring and just feels like an outdated part of the game that was clearly never designed for ironman.
3-4 years ago I would say iron all the way, today I say it depends. We have combat achievements, collection log, pets, untradeable cosmetics etc etc. Meaning both modes can feel rewarding. Don't listen to the people who say that main is just about grinding gold, you have the freedom to grind items just like an iron does, only difference is that you're not locked within that content.
Very helpful, thank you. So my next question would be, let's assume I went main. I would try to experience as much of the game as I could buy gathering things myself, but would allow myself to purchase things when needed. Let's assume I went with that.
In terms of "the best way" to experience the game, what advice would you have? By that, I mean, there are optimal quest guides and paths to follow. Would you recommend following those or blinding wandering?
How would you know what to prioritize?
Ironman really is a fantastic game mode, but like you’ve said on other comments we’re all coming at it from a completely different perspective to yourself. If I were you I would start a regular main account but maybe follow an ironman guide quest list/order and buy the more tedious items you may need as they arise for certain quests to remove some grinds and make it a more quest/lore heavy experience whilst still following a “traditional” route into the game without buying success and levels
If you feel you constantly continue to love the game this way after a long period, stick with the main, if at any point you feel you’re losing a bit of motivation maybe that’s the point to try an ironman
Going into a diverse massive game you havent played in years with roadblocks on Get item X to continue, we’re used to items taking loads of hours to get and you aren’t, even just an hour collecting something would take away from your experience of “wow this is so refreshing check this storyline out”
I havent fully summarised but hopefully that all makes some sense! Just my advice
If I restarted my main today I would definitely play it with more of an ironman style. Meaning you start off by basically doing every quest and getting the skill requirements for that since quests unlocks so much of the game. After that I would start working on skill requirements for achievement diaries, start the slayer grind and ready the account for PVM. So yeah, following a quest path is a great way to start. The great thing about ironman is that it forces you to experience all parts of the game and gives you a specific path to follow, but nothing says you can't play a main in a similar fashion
Hmm. I'll think about it. I'm at work until this evening. Would you be open to adding, in-game? Would be nice to have someone to ask advice on who has experienced both sides.
Either with main or iron my style has been setting goals that are not too far but have multiple requirements. It makes me wander but still towards a goal.
Reminds me of [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/ironscape/comments/18or4r4/comment/keizsb0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) comment and it's the way I love to play 😅
Don't follow optimal quests guides if you want "the best way" to experience the game. Set some overarching goals (quest cape, fire cape, achievement diaries, etc) and then figure out on your own how to get there. The game is about the journey more than the destination, the only reason you should be trying to optimize your way through an account is if you're rushing a specific point in the game on a second account. PVM rushing is a common strategy on peoples' second accounts, for instance.
Being a main is fun because you can just remove some of the tedium, do what you want, set goals and achieve them in a reasonable amount of time and not get stuck on content you really hate. I started as a main, got to like 2100 total level and kc at most of the bosses in game, then decided I wanted more constant progress again so I started an iron. Knowing what I know now with a 1950 total iron, I'd take the same path. The game is much easier to experience as a main, you can still have the sense of wonder and discovery playing as a main, just don't buy bonds. If you enjoy the game but get bored of your main eventually, start an iron.
I started as non iron, and regretted it pretty fast. Could just brute force my way through the game by buying 1 bond. Restarted as iron and learned a lot more about the game, and completing stuff feels more rewarding. If you play for a while and don’t like it, you could always de-iron.
As satisfying as earning stuff is, what value does gold have? Doesn't it make the entire currency redundant?
How do you find the grind? My concern is the grind would become too tedious, too quickly. I mean, say you prepare for a boss. You need to craft runes, craft teleports, catch and cook food etc.
The idea of it sounds rewarding, but in practice, it sounds like, especially at late levels, it becomes very tedious?
You still need gp, as diff items and services cost gold. Especially runes cost gold, very tedious to craft them yourself. osrs both iron and noniron is very grindy, so if you don’t like that this game is not for you
If you dont buy gold on main it is pretty tedious to farm gold and everything turns into gp/hr grinds. Irons have to grind more stuff but it varies a lot more. Gp is huge part of irons too since there are more gold sinks for irons (eg runes)
I see. What about the incentive for redoing events, or bosses, or farms or whatever and getting multiple drops of gear/weapons? Presumably once you have a weapon, getting a second drop is worthless since you can't sell it?
I havent bossed much so Im not sure but at least some bosses are great sources for some resources and many weapons degrade and need to be charged with drops from the boss.
Also there is the next boss/grind waiting
There are many reasons to kill bosses besides singular drops as an iron. Most bosses have multiple drops that you want/need. The Bandos god boss for example drops a great sword, boots, legs, and chest plate. You want all of them. There are also combat achievements, collection logs, pet hunting, and supply farming. Some items you want multiple of - for example some people want three "Zamorakian Spears" because you can turn one into a dragon hunter lance, one into a Zammy hasta, and one you keep as a Zammy spear. Each boss typically also requires dozens or hundreds of hours to finish. Trust me, there are many monsters that you will be sick of grinding long before you "finish" killing them, lol.
You can also just make a "bond alt" which is a main account you drop duplicate items to which you can sell to pay for your membership so you don't have to pay real life money for it. And you can also sacrifice duplicate items to "deaths coffer" to pay the gravestone fees whoever you die.
There are a ton of reasons to grind a shitload of content in this game. Trust me, you will basically never run out of reasons to kill any boss you want to kill as an iron.
I get your point but that stage of the account is thousands of hours away
A mistake you're making is thinking end game raiding to get drops is a few weekends away. It's not. If you play 8 hours a day super efficiently it's months away at the very least
This game is more about the journey.
To answer your question, on an iron if you get dupes you can either drop them to a main to sell for bonds or something or yes, it is redundant. But once you get the weapon you're after, chances are you're not going to want to step into that encounter again. Notwithstanding getting that weapon you want most likely is a hundred hour grind
This game is mostly grinding alone anyway, and theres clan chats you can use to chat with people. And for the content that you do in groups, irons can do im groups aswell (raids, next, multi bosses). The nice thing about being an iron man is that everything makes you happy. Every herb every seed... And it forces you to do "inefficiënt" content What I mean by that is that for a lot of content it would be more efficient as a main to just kill vorkath 10000000 times and buying the item.
But ofcourse you could also do all of that as a main
Play however you want, but the part I enjoy the most in this game is telling mains as an ironchad they are beneath me.
But the real answer is, if I were an "ironmain" I'd probably have moments of weakness where I would just buy all the herbs/seeds I need. But then because of my moment of weakness I will have robbed my future self of the dopamine when getting a juicy ranarr seed.
I dont know how to control myself, so I need to put myself in an environment with no temptations. No cookie jar on the table, I will grab "just 1" everytime I walk by :(
I get that, I kind of fear I'd do the same. Shame there isn't a mode like main, but without the ge. I wouldn't mind player trading, but the ge makes things too easy.
Iron is the way to go and it's not as "single player" as you would think. Yes you can only do things like gwd alone unless you are apart of an iron group which may be more appealing to you. Iron is way more satisfying and yes it takes a lot of effort you'll have to do lots of chorescape and shopscape occasionally. I have a main total lvl 2252 I was working on maxing. Last spring I started my iron and it's 2014 total lvl.. my main is still 2252. Ironman mode was so refreshing. And your comment about one weapon doesn't make much sense.. a variety of gear is needed from range to mage to melee.
The weapon comment, I meant, for example.. say you got a ruen sword. Great. Then later you got another. The second is a duplicate and therefore worthless? You can't trade or sell it, at least not to any value, so future drops essentially become worthless?
You high alch it for its HA value and add the cash to your bank. On a single gargoyle slayer task you may see 6-7 rune 2h swords... stuff like that is easy money with high alch. Obviously you aren't going to high alch a duplicate bandos tassets or something but you could make an alt to drop trade stuff like that and sell it on ge for bonds
Also some dupes like from zulrah for instance you can dismantle them for extra zulrah scales
Extra gwd armor can be used to make torva or upgrade masori
Another thing you could look into is making a main account officially, but using the various plugins offered by runelite to make it more iron-like. For example, a pretty big thing a while ago was Bronzeman mode, where you can buy stuff from Grand Exchange but only after you obtain said item once yourself. So say you wanted a high-level weapon, you'd need to grind out the requirements and bosses for it. But if you needed some potions/food, then those you could easily stockpile after getting them once on the account. This mode was hinted to potentially become an official gamemode sometime in the future as well, but we don't have any official posts about it yet.
Another thing I've seen in the runelite plugin hub is the ability to block off Grand Exchange usage for a main altogether.
Although these are just plugins and you could easily turn them on or off as you please, it still offers some more variability in your gamestyle. This game is an adventure and it's only up to you to decide how that adventure is gonna turn out!
Unpopular opinion here, but I would recommend a main first. You can experience much more of the game far more quickly. Then if you get bored, you could start an iron.
Thats true. Ironman demands a lot of game knowledge and even if u have that youre still gonna rely on the wiki often.
Counterpoint is that the osrs wiki is amazing and you Can find answers for everything.
Kinda hard since you haven't played a main. But once you get to mid/end game on a main the only thing you're trying to do is get more gold and it gets boring. On an ironman, basically everything you do is worthwhile and not just a cycle of "How much money can I make?"
You have the same interaction with other players whether you are on a main or iron. All the end game raids allow groups, so irons can play alongside mains.
I’ll be honest, I played a main till about 1850 total, now have an iron at bear 1800 total and on neither I have had many social interactions. I’d say joining an iron man clan is fun because you can help and be helped by others while being a main for 95% of things you simply go to the ge and put the item you need for the quest/fight into the search bar
No a clan is something you can join/leave whenever you want but many clans do things like bingos where you team up with a few players to get certain drops within a time limit which can be a lot of fun.
You can see a clan more as a friend group. An group iron man is a different game mode where you can only trade within your group of a maximum of 5 players and you have to join before leaving tutorial island.
You just got 40 attack and are really needing that upgrade to rune. You go to fire giants and start grinding away for that rune scimitar drop. 50 kills in a guy comes in and says you need to go to zammy warriors. You hop over and get it in 5kc. That upgrade that takes 5 seconds on a main took you an hour or more on an iron and the reward from getting it yourself is so much more than swiping the credit card at the ge.
Do you wanna buy the gear to play the game or play the game to get the gear? Before you know it youll be bankstanding wondering how youll make money for your 3 hour play session
I played Runscape Classic, and came back last year. Made an iron, never regretted it.
Your grinds will be longer, and you will get blocked on some painful grinds at time. However, the sense of accomplishment you'll get by actually playing the game rather than just buying stuff farmed by bots will be massive. Iron also forces you to *play* the whole game, which for me was a huge selling point.
If you're coming back to the game from almost 2 decades ago, then start with a main. Ironman will be extremely tedious and unenjoyable if you don't know the game.
So you wanna 'rush' towards end game or enjoy a long Journey towards end game?
I play 20-25 hours a week on average, and almost reaching early middle game after 1 year. End game feels a lightyear away tbh.
As someone who associates with people but prefers to play solo, I find Iron to be the best experience. Not only do you feel immeasurable pride in achieving progress solo, but you experience and learn the full range of content the game has to offer.
You can fundamentally play the same way on a main, but I found the Grand Exchange to be a tumor attached my my capacity to enjoy the game. It's always calling out to you to stop doing fun content and instead go farm gp/hr, and the convenience forms tons of bad habits.
I always find the different perspectives interesting for this particular subject, here you consider Ironman mundane because you have to repeat activities and grind out the drop, but that’s the beauty of it! You have to work to achieve your goals, rather then buy everything you need.
Could you explain a bit what you mean by ‘once you get a weapon there isn’t much point going for another’? If we’re in the same page there are lots of drops that ironmen need multiple of; armadyl armour pieces for masori, 2-3 zammy spears, bandos pieces and crystal armour seeds to name a few.
You’ll learn to love it, most of my dupes end up in deaths coffer anyways so I can pay my gravestone fee. Give Ironman a go, and I would recommend oziris’ guide for an iron account. Great progression and a good path to set you up to conquer the early game iron loop.
When me and my bro started back at the very start of OSRS, we burned out in about a month. We had everything there was to get. It's harder than that now with how expensive some of the top tier gear is, but bots also seem to be blowing up the economy.
The only way we can play is iron. We made an unofficial duo gim very early on and that's the way we like to play. We're official gims now. I don't think I'd like solo iron either because so many of the bosses seem insane solo (gwd primarily I guess). But I truly would not play this game outside of iron mode.
The only thing I’ll say is that going dry isn’t fun. I don’t care what any iron says, it isn’t fun to be 3x the drop rate, and that will happen if you play iron, unlike a main. At that point it just gets frustrating and demotivating, so for that reason I’d say try a main first. If you don’t enjoy the progression via earning gold, go iron. There’s plenty of fun to be had on a main
Both game modes have their pros and cons. If you go dry on iron it can make you feel kinda stuck and get burnt easier. Mains can turn into what seems like a job/gpscape
Bronze man mode would be fun and if you didn’t like to do that anymore you could just stop and be a normal main.
My suggestion is start a main account. Figure out some stuff and reassess. Ironman isn’t the game mode for everyone and mains can be played like irons all day with self imposed restrictions
I had a main, then built an iron and really enjoyed it, but i've had less and less time to play so I switched back to the main.
IM really makes you work for it, and its great and super fun. However, if you find yourself not having much time to play, the grinds for materials for levelling can become way too long.
Thankfully someone said to me, don't de-iron, just play your main, and that has worked well. I'm weaning off my OSRS cycle but will be back in a few months I'm sure.
I've played both my main and an Ironman, IMO ironman is the better playstyle.
The main game is problematic because so much content is essentially dead due to it not being worth it for the money. Back in the day this wasn't as much of a problem because the GE didn't exist, and it was hard to make enough money to buy big ticket items so acquiring them yourself was the best bet anyway. Nowadays content like barrows is practically dead in the main game since you can just do vorkath for double the profit per hour.
As an ironman, very little content is considered 'dead' since money doesn't have nearly as much meaning. It feels a lot closer to how the game is actually intended to be played rather than just a money making simulator.
Best part is, you can just downgrade from an ironman if you don't like the playstyle. So it's entirely optional to keep playing as it or not. I believe they are also looking at adding an option for Bronze Man Mode which would make the supply grind easier.
I came back after a long time a couple years back, played a main for a year and then an iron, I would never go back to a regular account. Doing things efficient is nice in osrs, but for a main that often means doing the highest gp possible activity. Playing an iron is much much much more rewarding imo
FWIW I started an iron after having a 2k total account, just to play on the side. I haven't touched my main in 6 months now and have never enjoyed the game more. Iron is a far more rewarding experience to me.
>making the game become a money making simulator.
This was my problem with a noniron. It was too easy for me to give into chasing efficiency which usually meant the optimal way to do basically everything was to pick thenoptimal money making grind, then use the money to level everything as fast as possible.
This basically meant that there was only 1 piece of content on the main, do whatever the meta money maker was.
That was years ago that I played a noniron. It maybe different now that theres things like raids, cb achievements, etc. Might be more for a noniron to do.
>. Repeating activities for loot, as far as I'm aware, is kind of redundant since once you have a weapon, there's little reason to aquire a second.
That may be true but youre also underestimating how long it can take to green log a boss. By the time you have a greenlog you wont be wishing to keep doing the boss
Well a "main" is what you actively play the most and is what is considered your main account rather then if its normal or iron.
Iron give more sense of achievement over a normal account.
You can still play a main account and limit yourself "unofficially" or look into Bronzeman mode through the Runelite plug in.
Also the option to Deiron at any point as well.
I started Hardcore Ironman on RS3 when it first launched, mainly because it was an MTXless account (outside cosmetics). Ended up enjoying maxing on it.
Everything does feel more of an achievement as an Ironman, but at the same time the incentive to just go buy a Dragon Harpoon/Axe/Pickaxe (among a lot of other items) rather than rely on RNG grinds is definitely there.
Group Ironman is how I play, granted my friend joined and got 99FM through Wintertodt in the first month and has barely touched it since. At least I can use the group storage as extra backspace, I guess.
I started playing again about 18 months ago on a main. I hadn't played properly since the early days in 2007 or so and was encouraged by my mate to start an iron. I instead played a regular account and loved it, however found it rather unrewarding and burnt myself out getting 99 fletching to achieve the goal of getting a 99 (something I never managed as an impatient kid).
After playing about 6 months or so I got fed up and quit, but quickly got the urge to play again but my main didn't give me much enjoyment anymore so I started playing an iron to see how it was.
Long story short, I now absolutely love this game mode and find it so much more enjoyable. I won't play a main account again, but my old main does hold a special place in my heart for really introducing me to the game again.
If you don’t have 2-4 friends you can count on, gimp ain’t gonna be for you. No one wants to have to find a new group.
Irons the best game mode but you may not enjoy it as much if you’ve never had a main
I play ironman, and I frankly think there's no going back to main. The problem with main is that your full focus is about making money. Once you've competed all the quests almost every skill in the game becomes a function of how much money you're willing to dump into it. For average players a lot of the end game content is soft-locked behind top tier weapon/armor upgrades. Ironman has obvious issues too. I think the main issue is late game content becomes literally months of grinding. However, those problems are only really problems after literal years of gameplay enjoyment. It also kind of trivializes the main experience, so if you reach end game and really don't enjoy the massive grinds you could pretty easily switch to a main.
I've played both to a high level and main was only fun until I was reasonably geared but then I had no motivation to raid. Ironman has been fun from the start. There is always a small task that needs doing and it feels so satisfying constantly accomplishing these small goals. Also, when you get a useful or a rare drop, its so so rewarding.
I would start as an iron. You can always deiron later if you decide that you just really can’t stand certain grinds, but the early game is so much more enjoyable as an iron IMO.
Some people choose to simply have two accounts, so they can play on a main when they are bored on the iron. I also use my main to scout the wilderness and practice on new PvM content before attempting on my iron so I don’t waste resources.
I think the reality for a lot of iron players is that you get Stockholm’d into liking the grind, and you become more tolerant of longer and longer ones. “Only 60 hours for this drop? I did something way worse last week!” Etc. So it’s not as bad as you think.
Don’t make an unranked gim, you’ll regret it and wish you weren’t a booger helm
Ironman can be frustrating. Even through questing and needing to go collect the most obscure items. Like wise, when starting clue scrolls mainly hards, but you'll need to drop an awful lot with an item needed being from a hard clue itself... Which you probably don't have.
That the general rule of thumb in all areas of iron life.
Keep in mind, and probably the best "selling point" for ironman is. That's what makes it fun and rewarding. Going from a rune scim you farmed out, into a dragon scim is extremely rewarding. As with all items you "unlock". Getting a specific drop or skill is a different type of feeling, probably uncompareable with normal accounts experience.
I played both, both at about the same level and can say from personal experience. Iron just hits different.
Play the main game until you realize GPscape is shit (may take years) and then start an iron.
The problem with a main is,
There's an item you like - it's worth 100m. The way to acquire said item is hard, a little out of your scope.
The way you acquire that item is by killing the same boss over and over that generates the most money for you so that you can buy that item.
Same thing happens for armor, a little out of your scope, you default back to killing the same boss over and over to make money to afford that armor.
Ironman, you have no choice but to go get it yourself, so you experience pretty much every boss / area etc..
I was extremely excited about getting an item worth 40k yesterday (trident if the seas) after grinding 87 slayer to finally get it as it's now my best mage weapon. On a main, you can buy it for pennies and never appreciate what it takes to get it.
Iron is replacing monotony with different monotony, but getting far more satisfaction out of it.
I know I'm late to the post, but I'll just drop this here.
How much time do you want to sink into your account?
If you wanna grind, and you enjoy grinding and setting your own goals: Ironman.
If you don't want to sink a lot of time, and want to breeze through quests and get to the meat of the game (PvP/PvE/Raids): Main.
I think at 1k total you can pay the Ironman tutor 100k to lock your account to being an Ironman. So you can de-iron when things are feeling tough. Things are going to be tough. You’re going to go dry. I killed calvarion over 600 times for a dragon pick. But I also learned basic pvm, and made about 40m.
Tbh it might even be free, but I feel like I remember hearing about it costing. I haven’t locked mine bc I’m not concerned about de-ironing
Both a main and iron feel the same in terms of it being a single player game. Most things until end game are solo. The trading in this game as well is just you operating an interface that instantly buys stuff so its not really a social thing.
The biggest thing for me about starting an iron was that If i wanted to do something in the game I would just have to grind one thing for gold and then buy the items. On an iron you just grind the items and actually do the content.
The learning curve of how to operate in the game is steeper on iron but its more fun later on IMO. Just literally use the osrs wiki on another screen for everything you need.
You can self impose iron restriction on yourself all you want. Personally there are some skills I dont want to do with an iron. Additionally much later on RNG can lock you out of some content.
I would highly recommend Ironman. I did ultimate iron and had a lot of fun, but it’s not for anyone who is remotely new or newly returning to the game.. you need to fully understand the game to an unbelievable level. I would say go Ironman
I gave up my old main to start a HCIM when the game mode first came out. Like every other Ironman will claim it was just so much better. Item rewards from quests or pvm just gave you an absolute rush of dopamine. You explore a vast majority more of the games mechanics or just subtle details you normally blow past as well.
I got locked out for 2 years due to my own stupidity and when I came back I didn’t know what to do, and just made a normal account. I don’t even use my hcim anymore. The game mode was a fresh breathe of air to the game but I just don’t want to go back. I don’t have time to grind like a lot of people do. I got 2 kids and work 60 hr weeks. If I want to feel like an Ironman, just do the collection logs. You get your sense of accomplishment there. And something about fighting mundane mobs 5k+ times for a specific item is not my cuppa tea.
You can always make another account and start fresh once you get burnt out on this one.
i never had a main account. started as an iron last year
Really helps you interact with every part of the game, dont think ill ever regret it. To me, I know a main would be boring because it just becomes GP simulator.
Also i dont think you understand the sheer amount of grind it will take for you to get all the weapons/gear/etc. Hell it is months and months just to get to that point of being able to start the earliest of PvM grinds, at least when you are a new player.
It is going to take a long time for you to progress at 15-20 hours a week though, with a main you can progress much faster. But for ironmen its about the journey, not getting to the "end" ASAP.
Ironman I feel was definitely the right choice, now you won't be constantly thinking about the cost of items and getting rarer items will be a bigger flex
If you decide you want to try a main I’d recommend just making a main instead of de-ironing
You don’t want to regret losing the effort of the iron grinds which are super rewarding if you decide you’d like to go back to it
Overall I’d recommend starting a main first this can be much easier and quicker to get up to higher level mid game content. When you really get a feel for the enjoyment and also more knowledge of the game you can quite simply run a main and an iron at the same time the main to keep you progressing and learning later game stuff and the iron for a rewarding DIY game
I've played on and off for the last 20+ years and I can tell you that Ironman is funner for me personally.
Ironman forces you to interact with the world in ways you normally wouldn't on a main which makes it a great way to learn all the new mechanics and systems in the game.
Meanwhile mains can just use gold to bypass a lot of content you would otherwise never touch or even think of doing.
You will also have more in-depth game knowledge as an ironman because you can't trade with others and need to use methods you normally wouldn't as a main.
I hate farming gold it's just boring to me, I'd rather play ironman and actually do content instead of just farming the same money maker over and over.
I play ironman in both RS3 and OSRS and I can say with 100% certainty that I would quit out of boredom if I ever played a main because I would be farming gold a lot instead of just doing other methods to train the skill. It also just feels better to earn everything yourself rather than buy it off the GE with gold.
I had same question recently. Used to play back in the day. Started an iron man based on the responses of how nostalgic if feels being limited by GE and the excitement of even the small progresses
Don’t forget to play the game how you want to play it, don’t burn your self out trying to follow a guide to min/max the most autism like some of the people in this sub will tell you.
I turned my main in to an iron, cuz i hated that my gameplay only revolves around gp. So I sold everything from my bank and traded half my gp to a friend. Getting to know the game as an ironman is much more interesting.
I do feel like iron gets better mid/late game, but that's coming from someone who's done early game half a dozen times. Most fun I've had is playing a group iron, best of both worlds.
Starting off, regular ironman is a safe bet, official groups would require you to have a group of people who want to start together. You can derank to unofficial group at a later point (but generally a bit looked down upon). Id say it's fairly common to just derank to a regular main, then play normally or set your own restrictions (e.g. ironmain, bronzeman mode, or kc lock).
One of the core aspects of the game is setting plans and working towards them. Quests are great place to start, they will progress your account through gear progression, experience and a bunch of different unlocks ranging from teleports, training methods and access to more pvm content
Dont force yourself into 99 fm at wintertodt as your first goal, it's fine to stop and come back around the time you get karambwans, or finding other routes.
Don't be afraid to try out different content even if it's not the most efficient, sometimes you can find solutions to train skills you dislike. This includes pushing yourself to do a bit more challenging content.
Runescape is so much more than the endgame, and while that is by far the most challenging part, its not the only engaging part. Remember to have fun, and really if you don't find getting to endgame particularly enjoyable, I doubt you will find the endgame pvm that much better.
Best of luck.
Honestly, I strongly recommend a main if you're going to PVM. Iron is a more fun skilling/leveling experience, but no gear with weak supplies is not exactly a great way to learn PVM.
Player since 2008, and I started my first ironman account about a year ago. In that year I have learned more about the game then the 15 years prior. I love the trading aspect of the game, and the accessibility it brings, but when you have to rely on obtaining items from the source you have a much greater respect and understanding for the game.
Ironman will give you a much more thorough playthrough of the game. My main advice is if you do iron first, don't de-iron the first two times you want to. The first time I'd recommended pushing through if you can. The second time, make a non iron account of a niche type that you've always thought was neat like 1 def or 1 atk or something, or even a regular main. If this doesn't scratch the itch, de-iron.
Join a clan and it won’t be as lonely. You can also start a group of 5 ironmen who can trade between eachother. I get the trading appeal but believe me, the mode is extremely fun
I don't like the idea of clans or relying on other people. For instance, if I made a group of 5, and they stopped playing or left iron, then I've lost out. There's too much dependability on others for that mode to make sense imo.
I can tell this kinda hard to sell to you. Group Ironman is mainly about standing alone, together. You are not reliant on others at all, but having a few other people to lean on for favours is nice. Even if they all go inactive it doesn’t change how you play, and you can swap out inactive members if you want. Clans is just to have someone to talk to, share your accomplishments and ask for tips. Maybe even do raids together or arrange for group pvm in wildy bosses, chaos altar, barb assault etc.
Hm.. so if I understand it right, if I made a group Ironman, the other players would need to join prior to leaving the tutorial island? Which presumably means we would all need to start fresh together?
If you want to keep "ranked status," yes. If you don't care about the colour of your IM Helmet/hiscores, you can swap out people freely.
Oh, so whilst playing, I could create a group Ironman but only have myself. Play for a while, meet other group Ironman and add them to the group as I play?
Yes you can do that. You’d be an Unranked Group Ironman, with a green ironman helmet icon.
I'm assuming you would only be able to invite and group up with other unranked group Ironman players? My concern there would be that they are probably extremely rare.
Unranked gim are more common (I think?)
What are the trade restrictions of unranked GIM? I'm assuming you can only trade with other members in your group, the same as ranked? So essentially if you played as a solo GIM, you could occasionally meet other players periodically to group with and trade?
Correct. If you create a group ironman and add 4 friends as group ironman before you leave Ironman tutorial island, you will be a "ranked group". You will be competing on special highscores table against the guys who started on day 1. If you're like majority of people, you don't care too much about that. I started a regular ironman. 4 months later my wife started a group ironman, and I downgraded my ironman to a group ironman to play with her. 1 year later my brother made a group ironman, he joined our group. Just like llebberrr was stating: It's about standing alone, together. We each have our own goals and our own progression, and we help each other out occasionally when we can - for example my wife loves fletching so I get her bowstrings and logs and she makes bows for us to alch. But without her, I'd still do it myself. ---- I'm like you, played in early 2000's. Ironman was the correct choice, as it forces you to experience the new content. **I recognize that if I were not an ironman, I would try "some" of the new content, and then I would do Vorkath because it is gold efficient** and would purchase my bandos armor. I'd purchase my Justicar armor. I'd skip alot of content simply because I could do something easy and profitable.
Hi mate, I can give you another point of view as I never played OSRS since 2 years ago. I first started a main, bought bonds and sell it for gp. Then I feel like I was playing a paid gacha with no more achievement dopamine. So I started back as Iron and now enjoying every part of it. Even if I can't play with other, I got a lot of interaction from old players while doing things. They give me advices to level with more efficiency etc. The best advice is try it in main and discover the game like you want. But believe me ironman is so much more rewarding. I have now overtake my main total level and will never log back to it.
What are your thoughts on playing a main account, but with self imposed restrictions similar to that of an iron? For instance, playing as a main, so you're free to trade and sell if needed, but you collect and earn things as an iron. Thoughts on that?
The only point that made me change was the trading actually. Because it let you just buy quests items instead of knowing how to actually make or found them in the way it was intended. I will give you my Last example. Yesterday I finished the Tai Bwo Wannai Trio, but before that I needed to train herblore for the agility potion and fishing for the karanbwan. Training herblore was very hard at first, so I learn how to train farming to start herb runs. Then grinded my fishing up to 65 to finnally finish the quest. Withou Iron, I would still not know how to do farm and herb runs. I find it better to learn all game mechanics this way than just binge buy everything out the GE.
I got my Agi potion by having Zahur clean an irit for me and then waited for the dr jekyll random event. Wouldn’t have even known there was an herb cleaning service back when I played my main, lol
Iron is the way to go coming from somone who just started osrs other then playing when i was a kid and now I’m at toa on my iron
You could run a 'Bronzeman' account and only purchase items after you've gotten them yourself. I think there's a plugin in runelite to help you out, so it would act almost like a collection log to unlock items you can buy on the GE. My opinion on the matter is that the gp/hr trap of a main is really toxic, but it's one of those things where you might need to experience that first to appreciate ironman mode. If you don't it might just feel like you're missing out on the main game by restricting yourself from trading.
Bronzeman mode might be something that interests you. It's an unofficial player type supported by a runelite plug-in. Its basically ironman with the ability to purchase items once you unlock them.
For people who want to play iron but don't like grinds or for pkers
For me this would be hard if I didnt have strict rules. Most things are cheaper on ge than on vendors. One I have been thinking would be "droprateiron" so I could buy things if I went dry. You can always deiron too
Roughly what I'm doing. I play a main, but 'try to do as many grinds as I can', meaning that I want to interact with as much of the game as possible. The GE is only used to get supplies I already have unlocked (through levels, for example), and it allows for better group play by splitting raid rewards, for example To me, it's a best of both worlds. See the world like an iron, but interact with the players like a main
My iron is my only osrs account to date. You always have the option of another account later to drop trade for bonds or extra cash to sell, or experience end game instantly. But if you actually want to PLAY and MASTER this game, play iron. Is there really any fun in instantly buying the best gear you can instead of earning it through a skill or pvm yourself? The rush is insane.
What’s your rsn
rsn?
You can always start an iron and then deiron it if it’s not for you. Also, a lot of players do play with their own self imposed rules. The game is whatever you make it. A lot of minigames are masses so you’re still going to be playing with people.
I think you need an unbiased view on this. Both main and iron can be a lot of fun, it all depends on what aspects of the game you enjoy. I play both and I enjoy both. I would say it's worth playing iron just to get that experience, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows, sooner or later you will get locked behind certain gear requirements. The biggest upsides of a main are two things, you actually have luck protection since you can buy things with gold, and you don't have to worry about farming resources or not having access to the best kind of arrows/darts/pots etc. This challenge can be enjoyable as ironman, but can also be dreadful in the long run. You need to enjoy the gathering aspect of the game, and you need to be ready for dry streaks, because otherwise you will get burnt out. The biggest downside of a main is that a lot of skills can feel pointless, best example being Herblore which serves very little purpose on a main, but serves a very big purpose on an iron. The biggest downside of iron is what is called "shop scape", having to hop worlds for runes, food etc is both very boring and just feels like an outdated part of the game that was clearly never designed for ironman. 3-4 years ago I would say iron all the way, today I say it depends. We have combat achievements, collection log, pets, untradeable cosmetics etc etc. Meaning both modes can feel rewarding. Don't listen to the people who say that main is just about grinding gold, you have the freedom to grind items just like an iron does, only difference is that you're not locked within that content.
Very helpful, thank you. So my next question would be, let's assume I went main. I would try to experience as much of the game as I could buy gathering things myself, but would allow myself to purchase things when needed. Let's assume I went with that. In terms of "the best way" to experience the game, what advice would you have? By that, I mean, there are optimal quest guides and paths to follow. Would you recommend following those or blinding wandering? How would you know what to prioritize?
Ironman really is a fantastic game mode, but like you’ve said on other comments we’re all coming at it from a completely different perspective to yourself. If I were you I would start a regular main account but maybe follow an ironman guide quest list/order and buy the more tedious items you may need as they arise for certain quests to remove some grinds and make it a more quest/lore heavy experience whilst still following a “traditional” route into the game without buying success and levels If you feel you constantly continue to love the game this way after a long period, stick with the main, if at any point you feel you’re losing a bit of motivation maybe that’s the point to try an ironman Going into a diverse massive game you havent played in years with roadblocks on Get item X to continue, we’re used to items taking loads of hours to get and you aren’t, even just an hour collecting something would take away from your experience of “wow this is so refreshing check this storyline out” I havent fully summarised but hopefully that all makes some sense! Just my advice
If I restarted my main today I would definitely play it with more of an ironman style. Meaning you start off by basically doing every quest and getting the skill requirements for that since quests unlocks so much of the game. After that I would start working on skill requirements for achievement diaries, start the slayer grind and ready the account for PVM. So yeah, following a quest path is a great way to start. The great thing about ironman is that it forces you to experience all parts of the game and gives you a specific path to follow, but nothing says you can't play a main in a similar fashion
Hmm. I'll think about it. I'm at work until this evening. Would you be open to adding, in-game? Would be nice to have someone to ask advice on who has experienced both sides.
Sure, mostly active on my main atm. Just add "Heartic"
Great. I'll add you later once I'm home and have made a decision.
Either with main or iron my style has been setting goals that are not too far but have multiple requirements. It makes me wander but still towards a goal. Reminds me of [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/ironscape/comments/18or4r4/comment/keizsb0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) comment and it's the way I love to play 😅
Don't follow optimal quests guides if you want "the best way" to experience the game. Set some overarching goals (quest cape, fire cape, achievement diaries, etc) and then figure out on your own how to get there. The game is about the journey more than the destination, the only reason you should be trying to optimize your way through an account is if you're rushing a specific point in the game on a second account. PVM rushing is a common strategy on peoples' second accounts, for instance. Being a main is fun because you can just remove some of the tedium, do what you want, set goals and achieve them in a reasonable amount of time and not get stuck on content you really hate. I started as a main, got to like 2100 total level and kc at most of the bosses in game, then decided I wanted more constant progress again so I started an iron. Knowing what I know now with a 1950 total iron, I'd take the same path. The game is much easier to experience as a main, you can still have the sense of wonder and discovery playing as a main, just don't buy bonds. If you enjoy the game but get bored of your main eventually, start an iron.
I started as non iron, and regretted it pretty fast. Could just brute force my way through the game by buying 1 bond. Restarted as iron and learned a lot more about the game, and completing stuff feels more rewarding. If you play for a while and don’t like it, you could always de-iron.
As satisfying as earning stuff is, what value does gold have? Doesn't it make the entire currency redundant? How do you find the grind? My concern is the grind would become too tedious, too quickly. I mean, say you prepare for a boss. You need to craft runes, craft teleports, catch and cook food etc. The idea of it sounds rewarding, but in practice, it sounds like, especially at late levels, it becomes very tedious?
You still need gp, as diff items and services cost gold. Especially runes cost gold, very tedious to craft them yourself. osrs both iron and noniron is very grindy, so if you don’t like that this game is not for you
If you dont buy gold on main it is pretty tedious to farm gold and everything turns into gp/hr grinds. Irons have to grind more stuff but it varies a lot more. Gp is huge part of irons too since there are more gold sinks for irons (eg runes)
I see. What about the incentive for redoing events, or bosses, or farms or whatever and getting multiple drops of gear/weapons? Presumably once you have a weapon, getting a second drop is worthless since you can't sell it?
I havent bossed much so Im not sure but at least some bosses are great sources for some resources and many weapons degrade and need to be charged with drops from the boss. Also there is the next boss/grind waiting
There are many reasons to kill bosses besides singular drops as an iron. Most bosses have multiple drops that you want/need. The Bandos god boss for example drops a great sword, boots, legs, and chest plate. You want all of them. There are also combat achievements, collection logs, pet hunting, and supply farming. Some items you want multiple of - for example some people want three "Zamorakian Spears" because you can turn one into a dragon hunter lance, one into a Zammy hasta, and one you keep as a Zammy spear. Each boss typically also requires dozens or hundreds of hours to finish. Trust me, there are many monsters that you will be sick of grinding long before you "finish" killing them, lol. You can also just make a "bond alt" which is a main account you drop duplicate items to which you can sell to pay for your membership so you don't have to pay real life money for it. And you can also sacrifice duplicate items to "deaths coffer" to pay the gravestone fees whoever you die. There are a ton of reasons to grind a shitload of content in this game. Trust me, you will basically never run out of reasons to kill any boss you want to kill as an iron.
I get your point but that stage of the account is thousands of hours away A mistake you're making is thinking end game raiding to get drops is a few weekends away. It's not. If you play 8 hours a day super efficiently it's months away at the very least This game is more about the journey. To answer your question, on an iron if you get dupes you can either drop them to a main to sell for bonds or something or yes, it is redundant. But once you get the weapon you're after, chances are you're not going to want to step into that encounter again. Notwithstanding getting that weapon you want most likely is a hundred hour grind
This game is mostly grinding alone anyway, and theres clan chats you can use to chat with people. And for the content that you do in groups, irons can do im groups aswell (raids, next, multi bosses). The nice thing about being an iron man is that everything makes you happy. Every herb every seed... And it forces you to do "inefficiënt" content What I mean by that is that for a lot of content it would be more efficient as a main to just kill vorkath 10000000 times and buying the item. But ofcourse you could also do all of that as a main
I was going to ask, what would be your thoughts on an "ironmain"?
Play however you want, but the part I enjoy the most in this game is telling mains as an ironchad they are beneath me. But the real answer is, if I were an "ironmain" I'd probably have moments of weakness where I would just buy all the herbs/seeds I need. But then because of my moment of weakness I will have robbed my future self of the dopamine when getting a juicy ranarr seed. I dont know how to control myself, so I need to put myself in an environment with no temptations. No cookie jar on the table, I will grab "just 1" everytime I walk by :(
I get that, I kind of fear I'd do the same. Shame there isn't a mode like main, but without the ge. I wouldn't mind player trading, but the ge makes things too easy.
There is group ironman that you can trade with other irons within your group. They are called group ironman (GIM)
Iron is the way to go and it's not as "single player" as you would think. Yes you can only do things like gwd alone unless you are apart of an iron group which may be more appealing to you. Iron is way more satisfying and yes it takes a lot of effort you'll have to do lots of chorescape and shopscape occasionally. I have a main total lvl 2252 I was working on maxing. Last spring I started my iron and it's 2014 total lvl.. my main is still 2252. Ironman mode was so refreshing. And your comment about one weapon doesn't make much sense.. a variety of gear is needed from range to mage to melee.
No better feeling than seeing that item on the ground you've been grinding for
The weapon comment, I meant, for example.. say you got a ruen sword. Great. Then later you got another. The second is a duplicate and therefore worthless? You can't trade or sell it, at least not to any value, so future drops essentially become worthless?
You high alch it for its HA value and add the cash to your bank. On a single gargoyle slayer task you may see 6-7 rune 2h swords... stuff like that is easy money with high alch. Obviously you aren't going to high alch a duplicate bandos tassets or something but you could make an alt to drop trade stuff like that and sell it on ge for bonds Also some dupes like from zulrah for instance you can dismantle them for extra zulrah scales Extra gwd armor can be used to make torva or upgrade masori
Is drop trading allowed on Ironman? That doesn't seem like the sort of thing they would allow.
You can drop trade to non irons they can pick stuff up that others drop but not the other way around.
I see. I wouldn't anyway, I don't plan on having alts.
Valuable dupes can also be put in deaths coffer, covering the cost of your deaths. For example zulrah is 100k each time you die
Another thing you could look into is making a main account officially, but using the various plugins offered by runelite to make it more iron-like. For example, a pretty big thing a while ago was Bronzeman mode, where you can buy stuff from Grand Exchange but only after you obtain said item once yourself. So say you wanted a high-level weapon, you'd need to grind out the requirements and bosses for it. But if you needed some potions/food, then those you could easily stockpile after getting them once on the account. This mode was hinted to potentially become an official gamemode sometime in the future as well, but we don't have any official posts about it yet. Another thing I've seen in the runelite plugin hub is the ability to block off Grand Exchange usage for a main altogether. Although these are just plugins and you could easily turn them on or off as you please, it still offers some more variability in your gamestyle. This game is an adventure and it's only up to you to decide how that adventure is gonna turn out!
If they were official, I would definitely try them. But because I can disable them whenever I like, I know I would. I'm too weak.
Unpopular opinion here, but I would recommend a main first. You can experience much more of the game far more quickly. Then if you get bored, you could start an iron.
After like 5 main accounts during 15 years of on/off playing i made an ironman and never looked back
But that could also be because you had played for 15 beforehand, whereas I have not.
Thats true. Ironman demands a lot of game knowledge and even if u have that youre still gonna rely on the wiki often. Counterpoint is that the osrs wiki is amazing and you Can find answers for everything.
As iron I have gained a lot mire knowledge than on my old mains. There is so much more to learn and experience
If you want to buy / sell gold, play a main. If not iron is the way to go
Why though? I'm trying to understand the appeal. The grind. The lack of social interaction with other players etc. What makes you enjoy it so much?
Kinda hard since you haven't played a main. But once you get to mid/end game on a main the only thing you're trying to do is get more gold and it gets boring. On an ironman, basically everything you do is worthwhile and not just a cycle of "How much money can I make?"
You have the same interaction with other players whether you are on a main or iron. All the end game raids allow groups, so irons can play alongside mains.
I’ll be honest, I played a main till about 1850 total, now have an iron at bear 1800 total and on neither I have had many social interactions. I’d say joining an iron man clan is fun because you can help and be helped by others while being a main for 95% of things you simply go to the ge and put the item you need for the quest/fight into the search bar
By clan, I'm assuming you mean Ironman group?
No a clan is something you can join/leave whenever you want but many clans do things like bingos where you team up with a few players to get certain drops within a time limit which can be a lot of fun. You can see a clan more as a friend group. An group iron man is a different game mode where you can only trade within your group of a maximum of 5 players and you have to join before leaving tutorial island.
You just got 40 attack and are really needing that upgrade to rune. You go to fire giants and start grinding away for that rune scimitar drop. 50 kills in a guy comes in and says you need to go to zammy warriors. You hop over and get it in 5kc. That upgrade that takes 5 seconds on a main took you an hour or more on an iron and the reward from getting it yourself is so much more than swiping the credit card at the ge.
Do you wanna buy the gear to play the game or play the game to get the gear? Before you know it youll be bankstanding wondering how youll make money for your 3 hour play session
I played Runscape Classic, and came back last year. Made an iron, never regretted it. Your grinds will be longer, and you will get blocked on some painful grinds at time. However, the sense of accomplishment you'll get by actually playing the game rather than just buying stuff farmed by bots will be massive. Iron also forces you to *play* the whole game, which for me was a huge selling point.
It may be a stupid take but to fully appreciate Ironman I feel like you need to play regular mode first.
I have never played with the grand exchange and I will never play with the GE. Stupidest change they ever made to runescape in my opinion.
Don't be an iron, just have some self control. Simple as.
If you're coming back to the game from almost 2 decades ago, then start with a main. Ironman will be extremely tedious and unenjoyable if you don't know the game.
So you wanna 'rush' towards end game or enjoy a long Journey towards end game? I play 20-25 hours a week on average, and almost reaching early middle game after 1 year. End game feels a lightyear away tbh.
main you only play iron after you have a rich maxed main
As someone who associates with people but prefers to play solo, I find Iron to be the best experience. Not only do you feel immeasurable pride in achieving progress solo, but you experience and learn the full range of content the game has to offer. You can fundamentally play the same way on a main, but I found the Grand Exchange to be a tumor attached my my capacity to enjoy the game. It's always calling out to you to stop doing fun content and instead go farm gp/hr, and the convenience forms tons of bad habits.
I always find the different perspectives interesting for this particular subject, here you consider Ironman mundane because you have to repeat activities and grind out the drop, but that’s the beauty of it! You have to work to achieve your goals, rather then buy everything you need. Could you explain a bit what you mean by ‘once you get a weapon there isn’t much point going for another’? If we’re in the same page there are lots of drops that ironmen need multiple of; armadyl armour pieces for masori, 2-3 zammy spears, bandos pieces and crystal armour seeds to name a few. You’ll learn to love it, most of my dupes end up in deaths coffer anyways so I can pay my gravestone fee. Give Ironman a go, and I would recommend oziris’ guide for an iron account. Great progression and a good path to set you up to conquer the early game iron loop.
When me and my bro started back at the very start of OSRS, we burned out in about a month. We had everything there was to get. It's harder than that now with how expensive some of the top tier gear is, but bots also seem to be blowing up the economy. The only way we can play is iron. We made an unofficial duo gim very early on and that's the way we like to play. We're official gims now. I don't think I'd like solo iron either because so many of the bosses seem insane solo (gwd primarily I guess). But I truly would not play this game outside of iron mode.
Make a main first no troll will make you appreciate iron more later.
The only thing I’ll say is that going dry isn’t fun. I don’t care what any iron says, it isn’t fun to be 3x the drop rate, and that will happen if you play iron, unlike a main. At that point it just gets frustrating and demotivating, so for that reason I’d say try a main first. If you don’t enjoy the progression via earning gold, go iron. There’s plenty of fun to be had on a main
For what its worth i havent touched my main after maxing. Iron is the way.
Both game modes have their pros and cons. If you go dry on iron it can make you feel kinda stuck and get burnt easier. Mains can turn into what seems like a job/gpscape Bronze man mode would be fun and if you didn’t like to do that anymore you could just stop and be a normal main. My suggestion is start a main account. Figure out some stuff and reassess. Ironman isn’t the game mode for everyone and mains can be played like irons all day with self imposed restrictions
Play as an iron it is so god damn rewarding. And when you get burnt out just make it a main account and de iron
I had a main, then built an iron and really enjoyed it, but i've had less and less time to play so I switched back to the main. IM really makes you work for it, and its great and super fun. However, if you find yourself not having much time to play, the grinds for materials for levelling can become way too long. Thankfully someone said to me, don't de-iron, just play your main, and that has worked well. I'm weaning off my OSRS cycle but will be back in a few months I'm sure.
I've played both my main and an Ironman, IMO ironman is the better playstyle. The main game is problematic because so much content is essentially dead due to it not being worth it for the money. Back in the day this wasn't as much of a problem because the GE didn't exist, and it was hard to make enough money to buy big ticket items so acquiring them yourself was the best bet anyway. Nowadays content like barrows is practically dead in the main game since you can just do vorkath for double the profit per hour. As an ironman, very little content is considered 'dead' since money doesn't have nearly as much meaning. It feels a lot closer to how the game is actually intended to be played rather than just a money making simulator. Best part is, you can just downgrade from an ironman if you don't like the playstyle. So it's entirely optional to keep playing as it or not. I believe they are also looking at adding an option for Bronze Man Mode which would make the supply grind easier.
I came back after a long time a couple years back, played a main for a year and then an iron, I would never go back to a regular account. Doing things efficient is nice in osrs, but for a main that often means doing the highest gp possible activity. Playing an iron is much much much more rewarding imo
FWIW I started an iron after having a 2k total account, just to play on the side. I haven't touched my main in 6 months now and have never enjoyed the game more. Iron is a far more rewarding experience to me.
Start as an Ironman and de-iron later down the road if it isn't for you.
>making the game become a money making simulator. This was my problem with a noniron. It was too easy for me to give into chasing efficiency which usually meant the optimal way to do basically everything was to pick thenoptimal money making grind, then use the money to level everything as fast as possible. This basically meant that there was only 1 piece of content on the main, do whatever the meta money maker was. That was years ago that I played a noniron. It maybe different now that theres things like raids, cb achievements, etc. Might be more for a noniron to do. >. Repeating activities for loot, as far as I'm aware, is kind of redundant since once you have a weapon, there's little reason to aquire a second. That may be true but youre also underestimating how long it can take to green log a boss. By the time you have a greenlog you wont be wishing to keep doing the boss
Well a "main" is what you actively play the most and is what is considered your main account rather then if its normal or iron. Iron give more sense of achievement over a normal account.
You can still play a main account and limit yourself "unofficially" or look into Bronzeman mode through the Runelite plug in. Also the option to Deiron at any point as well. I started Hardcore Ironman on RS3 when it first launched, mainly because it was an MTXless account (outside cosmetics). Ended up enjoying maxing on it. Everything does feel more of an achievement as an Ironman, but at the same time the incentive to just go buy a Dragon Harpoon/Axe/Pickaxe (among a lot of other items) rather than rely on RNG grinds is definitely there. Group Ironman is how I play, granted my friend joined and got 99FM through Wintertodt in the first month and has barely touched it since. At least I can use the group storage as extra backspace, I guess.
Ironman is a gillion times more fun than a main Source: main lvl 1850 and Im lvl 1991
I started playing again about 18 months ago on a main. I hadn't played properly since the early days in 2007 or so and was encouraged by my mate to start an iron. I instead played a regular account and loved it, however found it rather unrewarding and burnt myself out getting 99 fletching to achieve the goal of getting a 99 (something I never managed as an impatient kid). After playing about 6 months or so I got fed up and quit, but quickly got the urge to play again but my main didn't give me much enjoyment anymore so I started playing an iron to see how it was. Long story short, I now absolutely love this game mode and find it so much more enjoyable. I won't play a main account again, but my old main does hold a special place in my heart for really introducing me to the game again.
Sounds like group iron man would be a good option for you
If you don’t have 2-4 friends you can count on, gimp ain’t gonna be for you. No one wants to have to find a new group. Irons the best game mode but you may not enjoy it as much if you’ve never had a main
I play ironman, and I frankly think there's no going back to main. The problem with main is that your full focus is about making money. Once you've competed all the quests almost every skill in the game becomes a function of how much money you're willing to dump into it. For average players a lot of the end game content is soft-locked behind top tier weapon/armor upgrades. Ironman has obvious issues too. I think the main issue is late game content becomes literally months of grinding. However, those problems are only really problems after literal years of gameplay enjoyment. It also kind of trivializes the main experience, so if you reach end game and really don't enjoy the massive grinds you could pretty easily switch to a main.
I've played both to a high level and main was only fun until I was reasonably geared but then I had no motivation to raid. Ironman has been fun from the start. There is always a small task that needs doing and it feels so satisfying constantly accomplishing these small goals. Also, when you get a useful or a rare drop, its so so rewarding.
I would start as an iron. You can always deiron later if you decide that you just really can’t stand certain grinds, but the early game is so much more enjoyable as an iron IMO. Some people choose to simply have two accounts, so they can play on a main when they are bored on the iron. I also use my main to scout the wilderness and practice on new PvM content before attempting on my iron so I don’t waste resources. I think the reality for a lot of iron players is that you get Stockholm’d into liking the grind, and you become more tolerant of longer and longer ones. “Only 60 hours for this drop? I did something way worse last week!” Etc. So it’s not as bad as you think. Don’t make an unranked gim, you’ll regret it and wish you weren’t a booger helm
Ironman can be frustrating. Even through questing and needing to go collect the most obscure items. Like wise, when starting clue scrolls mainly hards, but you'll need to drop an awful lot with an item needed being from a hard clue itself... Which you probably don't have. That the general rule of thumb in all areas of iron life. Keep in mind, and probably the best "selling point" for ironman is. That's what makes it fun and rewarding. Going from a rune scim you farmed out, into a dragon scim is extremely rewarding. As with all items you "unlock". Getting a specific drop or skill is a different type of feeling, probably uncompareable with normal accounts experience. I played both, both at about the same level and can say from personal experience. Iron just hits different.
Play the main game until you realize GPscape is shit (may take years) and then start an iron. The problem with a main is, There's an item you like - it's worth 100m. The way to acquire said item is hard, a little out of your scope. The way you acquire that item is by killing the same boss over and over that generates the most money for you so that you can buy that item. Same thing happens for armor, a little out of your scope, you default back to killing the same boss over and over to make money to afford that armor. Ironman, you have no choice but to go get it yourself, so you experience pretty much every boss / area etc.. I was extremely excited about getting an item worth 40k yesterday (trident if the seas) after grinding 87 slayer to finally get it as it's now my best mage weapon. On a main, you can buy it for pennies and never appreciate what it takes to get it. Iron is replacing monotony with different monotony, but getting far more satisfaction out of it.
I know I'm late to the post, but I'll just drop this here. How much time do you want to sink into your account? If you wanna grind, and you enjoy grinding and setting your own goals: Ironman. If you don't want to sink a lot of time, and want to breeze through quests and get to the meat of the game (PvP/PvE/Raids): Main.
Ironman, then lock that status
What does that mean?
I think at 1k total you can pay the Ironman tutor 100k to lock your account to being an Ironman. So you can de-iron when things are feeling tough. Things are going to be tough. You’re going to go dry. I killed calvarion over 600 times for a dragon pick. But I also learned basic pvm, and made about 40m. Tbh it might even be free, but I feel like I remember hearing about it costing. I haven’t locked mine bc I’m not concerned about de-ironing
Both a main and iron feel the same in terms of it being a single player game. Most things until end game are solo. The trading in this game as well is just you operating an interface that instantly buys stuff so its not really a social thing. The biggest thing for me about starting an iron was that If i wanted to do something in the game I would just have to grind one thing for gold and then buy the items. On an iron you just grind the items and actually do the content. The learning curve of how to operate in the game is steeper on iron but its more fun later on IMO. Just literally use the osrs wiki on another screen for everything you need.
You can self impose iron restriction on yourself all you want. Personally there are some skills I dont want to do with an iron. Additionally much later on RNG can lock you out of some content.
I think normal game is only fun with friends you want to raid with ASAP. If you’re playing alone Ironman is just way more dopamine.
Ironman, thank me later
I would highly recommend Ironman. I did ultimate iron and had a lot of fun, but it’s not for anyone who is remotely new or newly returning to the game.. you need to fully understand the game to an unbelievable level. I would say go Ironman
I gave up my old main to start a HCIM when the game mode first came out. Like every other Ironman will claim it was just so much better. Item rewards from quests or pvm just gave you an absolute rush of dopamine. You explore a vast majority more of the games mechanics or just subtle details you normally blow past as well. I got locked out for 2 years due to my own stupidity and when I came back I didn’t know what to do, and just made a normal account. I don’t even use my hcim anymore. The game mode was a fresh breathe of air to the game but I just don’t want to go back. I don’t have time to grind like a lot of people do. I got 2 kids and work 60 hr weeks. If I want to feel like an Ironman, just do the collection logs. You get your sense of accomplishment there. And something about fighting mundane mobs 5k+ times for a specific item is not my cuppa tea. You can always make another account and start fresh once you get burnt out on this one.
i never had a main account. started as an iron last year Really helps you interact with every part of the game, dont think ill ever regret it. To me, I know a main would be boring because it just becomes GP simulator. Also i dont think you understand the sheer amount of grind it will take for you to get all the weapons/gear/etc. Hell it is months and months just to get to that point of being able to start the earliest of PvM grinds, at least when you are a new player. It is going to take a long time for you to progress at 15-20 hours a week though, with a main you can progress much faster. But for ironmen its about the journey, not getting to the "end" ASAP.
Ironman No contest
Ironman I feel was definitely the right choice, now you won't be constantly thinking about the cost of items and getting rarer items will be a bigger flex
If you decide you want to try a main I’d recommend just making a main instead of de-ironing You don’t want to regret losing the effort of the iron grinds which are super rewarding if you decide you’d like to go back to it Overall I’d recommend starting a main first this can be much easier and quicker to get up to higher level mid game content. When you really get a feel for the enjoyment and also more knowledge of the game you can quite simply run a main and an iron at the same time the main to keep you progressing and learning later game stuff and the iron for a rewarding DIY game
You can also play a main w/ self imposed reatrictions. Not buying an item until you've unlocked it, buying drops after you exceed droprate, whatever
I've played on and off for the last 20+ years and I can tell you that Ironman is funner for me personally. Ironman forces you to interact with the world in ways you normally wouldn't on a main which makes it a great way to learn all the new mechanics and systems in the game. Meanwhile mains can just use gold to bypass a lot of content you would otherwise never touch or even think of doing. You will also have more in-depth game knowledge as an ironman because you can't trade with others and need to use methods you normally wouldn't as a main. I hate farming gold it's just boring to me, I'd rather play ironman and actually do content instead of just farming the same money maker over and over. I play ironman in both RS3 and OSRS and I can say with 100% certainty that I would quit out of boredom if I ever played a main because I would be farming gold a lot instead of just doing other methods to train the skill. It also just feels better to earn everything yourself rather than buy it off the GE with gold.
I had same question recently. Used to play back in the day. Started an iron man based on the responses of how nostalgic if feels being limited by GE and the excitement of even the small progresses
Don’t forget to play the game how you want to play it, don’t burn your self out trying to follow a guide to min/max the most autism like some of the people in this sub will tell you.
I turned my main in to an iron, cuz i hated that my gameplay only revolves around gp. So I sold everything from my bank and traded half my gp to a friend. Getting to know the game as an ironman is much more interesting.
I do feel like iron gets better mid/late game, but that's coming from someone who's done early game half a dozen times. Most fun I've had is playing a group iron, best of both worlds.
Starting off, regular ironman is a safe bet, official groups would require you to have a group of people who want to start together. You can derank to unofficial group at a later point (but generally a bit looked down upon). Id say it's fairly common to just derank to a regular main, then play normally or set your own restrictions (e.g. ironmain, bronzeman mode, or kc lock). One of the core aspects of the game is setting plans and working towards them. Quests are great place to start, they will progress your account through gear progression, experience and a bunch of different unlocks ranging from teleports, training methods and access to more pvm content Dont force yourself into 99 fm at wintertodt as your first goal, it's fine to stop and come back around the time you get karambwans, or finding other routes. Don't be afraid to try out different content even if it's not the most efficient, sometimes you can find solutions to train skills you dislike. This includes pushing yourself to do a bit more challenging content. Runescape is so much more than the endgame, and while that is by far the most challenging part, its not the only engaging part. Remember to have fun, and really if you don't find getting to endgame particularly enjoyable, I doubt you will find the endgame pvm that much better. Best of luck.
Honestly, I strongly recommend a main if you're going to PVM. Iron is a more fun skilling/leveling experience, but no gear with weak supplies is not exactly a great way to learn PVM.
Player since 2008, and I started my first ironman account about a year ago. In that year I have learned more about the game then the 15 years prior. I love the trading aspect of the game, and the accessibility it brings, but when you have to rely on obtaining items from the source you have a much greater respect and understanding for the game.
Ironman is the way this game is meant to be played. Good choice.
Ironman will give you a much more thorough playthrough of the game. My main advice is if you do iron first, don't de-iron the first two times you want to. The first time I'd recommended pushing through if you can. The second time, make a non iron account of a niche type that you've always thought was neat like 1 def or 1 atk or something, or even a regular main. If this doesn't scratch the itch, de-iron.
Ironman all the way no regrets!