Over the past year, Old School RuneScape has quietly undergone one of the biggest skilling shake-ups in its history. With the introduction of Sailing and a steady stream of content updates, we’ve seen an explosion of new training methods across nearly every skill. Some are niche, some are experimental, but a handful stand out as genuinely meta-changing-especially for players looking to optimize time, efficiency, and resources, whether through in-game grinding or choosing to buy OSRS gold to accelerate progression. In this guide, we’ll break down the best new training methods added in the last year and explain why you should be incorporating them into your skilling plans in 2026.

Crafting: Sailing Yarns Are Shockingly Good

One of the most underrated additions is the new Sailing yarns. Both hemp yarn (39 Crafting) and cotton yarn (73 Crafting) offer competitive experience rates while remaining profitable. The method couldn’t be simpler: buy hemp or cotton balls from the Grand Exchange and spin them on a spinning wheel.

The best location is the spinning wheel at Neas Retreat, unlocked after completing Children of the Sun. It’s extremely close to a bank, allowing fast cycles with minimal downtime. Hemp yarn provides roughly 100k Crafting XP per hour, while cotton yarn reaches up to 170k XP per hour and can generate up to 1M GP per hour. For an easy, low-effort Crafting method, this is hard to beat.

For slightly higher XP, players can use the spinning wheel and loom on Fossil Island to immediately turn yarn into sail components. This boosts XP but reduces profit, so check prices before committing.

Thieving: Port Roberts Stall Method

Port Roberts introduces a unique, low-intensity Thieving method unlocked at 50 Sailing. The stalls never deplete and automatically reloot, but rotating guards force you to stay alert. The optimal strategy is the “4-2 method”: steal four times from your highest-level stall, switch to a secondary stall for two loots, then return.

At level 65 Thieving with the spice stall, you can earn around 120k XP per hour, scaling up to 250k XP per hour with cannonball and ore stalls. A nearby deposit box makes banking effortless. For Ironmen, the non-depleting gem stall is exceptional, yielding over 1,000 gems per hour.

Woodcutting: Ironwood Logs Replace Redwoods

Ironwood trees may be the new gold standard for AFK Woodcutting. Requiring 80 Woodcutting and access via 72 Sailing (or 80 Farming), they offer Redwood-level AFK with higher XP rates. The best location is Sunble Island, accessible by sailing.

With a forester kit equipped, trees have a fixed four-minute despawn timer, allowing long AFK sessions. XP rates sit around 75–80k per hour without Forestry events and exceed 100k per hour with them. A nearby buildable bank chest minimizes downtime, making this a strong contender for AFKing to 99.

Runecrafting: Astral Runes via Teleport to Boat

A new Astral Runecrafting setup uses Teleport to Boat tablets to place you near the Astral Altar. While the requirements are steep-75 Sailing, 69 Construction, 82 Runecrafting, Lunar spells, and a costly bottled storm-the payoff is solid.

This method is relatively low intensity and yields 65–70k Runecrafting XP per hour alongside roughly 1.5M GP per hour in profit. Once your boat is summoned near Lunar Isle, the route becomes extremely consistent and convenient.

Mining: Lead Ore Power Mining

Lead ore is a strong low-level power mining option unlocked at just 25 Mining. Triple ore spots become available with Sailing progression, and XP rates scale beyond iron, reaching up to 75k XP per hour without tick manipulation. Players can drop the ore for maximum XP or bank it for profit.

Combat Magic: Frost Dragons

Frost dragons are one of the strongest AFK Magic training methods currently available. With 87 Sailing for Grimstone access and at least 75 Magic, players can exploit the dragons’ 100% fire weakness. Using Fire Wave or Fire Surge yields over 100–140k Magic XP per hour while earning around 2M GP per hour.

Hunter: Crab Trapping Is Meta

Crab trapping is now arguably the best active Hunter training method from level 21 to the 70s. Red crabs offer 50k XP per hour at level 21, blue crabs exceed 120k XP per hour at level 48, and rainbow crabs reach up to 150k XP per hour. The method is static, meaning XP rates don’t scale-making it incredibly strong as soon as it’s unlocked.

Construction: Shipwright Workbenches

Finally, Construction received a much-needed low-intensity alternative. Crafting hull parts at shipwright workbenches functions like a standard buyable skill, removing the click-intensive nature of traditional training. XP rates reach roughly 450k per hour, and while it’s slightly slower, the reduced strain makes it ideal for long sessions. Hull parts are simpler and more cost-effective than repair kits, especially when paired with a plank sack.

Final Thoughts

These methods represent some of the strongest skilling options OSRS has ever seen. Whether you value efficiency, profit, or low intensity, the 2026 skilling meta has something for everyone-and Sailing has firmly reshaped the game for the better, giving players more flexibility in how they train and manage resources, especially for those looking to stretch their progress further with options like cheap RS gold alongside smart in-game methods.