Level Up Your Prayer: A Bone-afide Guide to the Best Bones for OSRS Prayer Training

So, you’re looking to boost your Prayer level in Old School RuneScape? Excellent choice! Prayer is a vital skill for virtually every build, offering powerful buffs and essential protection against the dangers of Gielinor. But with so many bones scattered across the land, which ones should you be offering to the heavens?

The short answer: Superior Dragon Bones are generally considered the best overall option for Prayer training in OSRS due to their high experience yield. However, the “best” bone depends on your budget and how much time you are willing to commit to training. Let’s dive deeper to find the optimal bone for your needs.

Understanding the Bone Landscape

Before we crown a champion, let’s survey the contenders. Different bones offer varying amounts of experience when used on an altar or buried. Some are readily available and cheap, while others require slaying formidable monsters. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most popular choices:

• Normal Bones: The most basic option, these provide a minimal amount of experience. Generally not recommended for serious training.

• Big Bones: A step up from normal bones, offering slightly more experience. Still not ideal for efficient training, but a decent option for ironmen early game.

• Dragon Bones: A classic choice, Dragon Bones provide a good balance between experience and cost. They’re readily available from dragons and are a popular choice for players on a budget.

• Wyvern Bones: Similar to dragon bones in experience, but sometimes more readily available or cheaper depending on the market.

• Dagannoth Bones: Provide more experience than dragon bones, making them a faster training method, but often at a higher price point.

• Superior Dragon Bones: The gold standard. Offering the most experience per bone, these are the fastest way to 99 Prayer, but also the most expensive.

The Gilded Altar: Your XP Oasis

The gilded altar in a player-owned house (POH) is the preferred method for training Prayer due to the 50% experience bonus it provides. Lighting incense burners further enhances this bonus, making it even more efficient. Finding a player-owned house is easy in the relevant world, allowing for quick and efficient training.

Maximizing Your XP Gains

Several strategies can drastically increase your Prayer experience per hour. Here are a few key techniques:

• Left-Click Configuration: Configure your inventory to “Use” bones with a left-click. This dramatically speeds up the offering process compared to right-clicking. This tip is discussed in GamesLearningSociety.org articles on optimizing game interactions.

• Incense Burners: Always light both incense burners in the POH chapel to maximize the experience bonus from your gilded altar.

• Runners: Utilizing other players to transport bones from the bank to the altar allows for almost continuous prayer, resulting in peak XP/hr.

Choosing the Right Bone for You

Ultimately, the best bone for Prayer training depends on your individual circumstances:

• Budget: If you’re on a tight budget, Dragon Bones or Wyvern Bones offer a good balance of experience and affordability.

• Efficiency: If you prioritize speed above all else, Superior Dragon Bones are the undisputed champion.

• Ironman: Ironmen need to consider availability. Big Bones can be good for early levels, while Slayer tasks that drop Dragon Bones are ideal mid game.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the fastest way to train Prayer in OSRS?

The fastest way is to use Superior Dragon Bones on a gilded altar in a player-owned house (POH), with both incense burners lit, while utilizing runners to minimize banking time. This can achieve experience rates upwards of 1,800,000 XP per hour.

2. How much do Superior Dragon Bones cost?

The price of Superior Dragon Bones fluctuates based on the in-game market. Check the Grand Exchange for the most up-to-date pricing.

3. Where can I obtain Superior Dragon Bones?

Superior Dragon Bones are primarily obtained as drops from high-level Slayer monsters like Wyverns, Vorkath, and Raids.

4. Is it worth using an ectofuntus instead of a gilded altar?

While the ectofuntus offers slightly higher experience per bone than a non-lit gilded altar, the process of grinding bones and buckets of slime is time-consuming and often less efficient overall. The gilded altar is still recommended.

5. How many Dragon Bones do I need for 99 Prayer?

The number of Dragon Bones required depends on your starting level. Use an OSRS experience calculator to determine the exact amount needed based on your current Prayer level. However, expect somewhere in the ballpark of 27,000 Dragon Bones from level 1 to 99.

6. Can I use Big Bones on a gilded altar?

Yes, you can use Big Bones on a gilded altar. They provide 37.5 experience when offered, with additional experience granted by lit incense burners.

7. How do I get to a gilded altar?

Use the Portal Nexus, a House Tablet, or the teleport spell on a piece of jewelry.

8. Are there any Prayer training methods besides using bones?

Yes, alternative methods include:

• Chaos Temple: Offering bones at the Chaos Temple in the Wilderness. Be cautious, as it’s a PvP area.
• Ectofuntus: As mentioned earlier, grinding bones and slime at the ectofuntus.
• Sinister Offering Spell: Offering bones using the Sinister Offering spell.
• Sacred Bone Burner: Offering bones in the Sacred Bone Burner after achieving the appropriate faith level in your player-owned house.

9. What is 1-tick Prayer?

1-tick Prayer is an advanced technique that allows you to offer bones at a faster rate than normal. It involves precise timing and mouse clicks to minimize the delay between offerings, potentially increasing your experience per hour.

10. Is burying bones a viable Prayer training method?

Burying bones is a very slow and inefficient method of training Prayer. It’s generally only recommended for extremely low levels or as a last resort.

11. What stats do I need to efficiently use a gilded altar?

No specific stats are required to use a gilded altar. However, having higher Hitpoints can be useful for surviving potential interruptions from other players in shared POHs.

12. How much does it cost to build a gilded altar?

Building a gilded altar requires Construction levels. The cost will depend on the materials you use, such as gold leaves, marble blocks, and mahogany planks. Plan carefully to minimize expenses.

13. What are the best items to bring to a gilded altar for training?

• Bones (the type you’ve chosen)
• Dust Battlestaff (for house teleport)
• Tinderbox (for lighting incense burners)
• Law Runes (for house teleport)
• Prayer Potions (to maintain Prayer points)

14. How do I change my left-click option to “Use” for bones?

Right-click on a bone in your inventory, select “Configure,” and then set your left-click option to “Use.”

15. Are there any quests that provide significant Prayer experience?

Yes! The following quests provide a large amount of prayer XP:

• The Restless Ghost
• Priest in Peril
• Ghosts Ahoy
• Rag and Bone Man
• Mountain Daughter
• Spirits of the Elid
• Swan Song

Final Thoughts

Training Prayer in OSRS can be a grind, but with the right strategy and the best bones for your budget, you’ll be smiting demons and protecting yourself from harm in no time! Remember to maximize your efficiency with a gilded altar, incense burners, and optimal click configurations. Good luck on your path to 99 Prayer! The Games Learning Society encourages players to understand the mechanics of the game to improve their skill and knowledge.