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Strategies and Methods for Efficient Training with Potions Buying Grimy Herbs to Make Potions

Not all potions are created equal when it comes to matters of experience and cost-effectiveness: some involve much greater financial losses than others. I showed a couple of examples of these when I looked the skill’s economics. While some players simply work on whatever is the highest-level potion they are able to make at any given time, this is far from best approach. Efficient training requires that you consider not only the XP you get from making potions, but also what each is going to cost you.

I invested some time calculating the skill activity ratings of various potions—skill activity value (SAV), skill activity speed (SAS), and time value equivalent (TVE)—to see which were the best for leveling. And as it turns, out, only a few potions really stand out as being viable options for training.

Table 27 shows the eight potions that I’ve found to be the best in terms of providing good XP rates and minimizing the amount of money lost if you buy all of your own ingredients. For each potion, the table shows the materials that go into it and the cost of each, based on actual costs to buy on the Grand Exchange at the time I wrote this article (i.e., the price I actually paid, not the so-called “fair market price”.) In the case of strength potions, the figure is the floor value enforced by the GE for that potion, but it does sell at that price (at least right now, anyway.)

I then calculated the amount of money lost per potion, and the SAV, SAS and SAP scores for each. The last column shows the TVE for each potion relative to the one directly above it in the table: this is an indication of whether moving up to the next potion in the list as you gain the necessary levels is worthwhile. The SAS figures are based on my measured speed of 45 seconds to make 14 potions (which is the same regardless of the potion made).

The SAV numbers show you how much you are paying per XP for these potions, while the SAS tells you how much XP you are getting for your money. The SAV numbers are all pretty close here, because I didn’t bother listing potions with very high negative SAVs: they aren’t worth making. For example, there’s no reason to make regular restore potions when they cost more to make than energy potions, sell for less, and give about the same XP.

You can see from the SAS figures that Herblore is a very fast XP gainer once you have the ingredients. But also look at the SAP column, and you’ll see that you can spend anywhere from 466k to over 2 million an hour to get that XP!

The TVE figures help you understand what you gain by moving up to the next higher-level potion in the list, if and when you are able to. As explained in the discussion of activity ratings, the TVE of a faster activity compared to a slower one represents how much money you need to earn per hour in the time the faster activity saves you, to compensate for the additional cost (if any) of that faster option. A negative number means the faster option always is better; a positive number means the faster option only makes sense if you can typically make that much money per hour.

For example, energy potions have a TVE of 1,160 relative to strength potions. While energy potions provide 35% faster XP per hour compared to strength potions, they come at a whopping 122% greater loss of money per hour, which you’d have to earn 1.16 million per hour to compensate. For most people, this isn’t worthwhile. On the other hand, going from super attack potions to super energy potions, we see a TVE of -1,067. The negative figure means that you’d lose much more money getting the same XP with super attacks than you would just making the super energies, so it always makes sense to do them instead.

Note the TVE of 1,967 for Sara brews compared to super restores: while they give a fair bit more XP per hour, it is going to cost you a lot to get those extra points—this is only a good choice for a rich player in a hurry. J

Figure 163 shows a map of the potions I recommended in Table 27, illustrating roughly how each falls in terms of the trade-off between training speed and cost.

It is essential to keep in mind that the calculations indicating the best training potions depend entirely on the current prices for potions and components. Since the best potions have fairly comparable SAV scores, even small changes in the market can have a big impact on which potions are the best to make. In fact, changes to the game could make it so that some of the potions in my table are no longer worth considering, while other potions that right now are uneconomical become more viable.

The bottom line is that you’ll have to remain vigilant and keep track of prices. TruthScape’s weekly TWIRP reports are a good place to start, though they do not track all potion and ingredient prices.

Also watch out for situations where potions are changing rapidly in value due to market trends, price manipulation and so forth. For example, as I wrote this, Sara brews were in the process of correcting in price from a huge run-up; they may well be a better training option once the dust settles.

Most herblorists not only make potions but also consume some themselves, either in combat or in training other skills. If you fall into that category, you have two basic ways you can go in getting your potions. First, you can make pots you need for yourself as a primary means of training. Second, you can train using the most cost-effective potions, sell those and buy the potions you need for other skills.

The first method is better suited to players who value self-sufficiency over economy. There’s a natural elegance to making potions for one’s own use, and this also means that you do not have to worry about buying and selling. On the other hand, you can pay a rather severe price for taking this approach: some potions involve rather huge losses relative to what components are worth, which can greatly increase the relative cost of Herblore, or alternately, slow down its training, depending on how you look at things.

For example, suppose I’m training Hunter and need 100 Hunter potions. To buy all the ingredients to make these potions will cost a whopping 196k, whereas I can purchase the potions already done for 21k. That 175k savings could then be applied to more cost-effective potions: for example, since super attacks lose 1,067 gp each, I could make and sell 164 of them, yielding 16,400 Herblore XP—4,400 XP (37%) more than I’d get making the Hunter pots.

What if I already have the avantoes? Consider this. I still need 100 kebbit teeth dust, which cost 52.6k. Instead, I could buy the Hunter potions for 21k, buy 100 mort myre fungi for 58.4k, and use the fungi and the 100 avantoes to make 100 super energy potions, which I can sell for 93.3k. In the first case, I lose 52.6k and earn 12,000 Herblore XP; in the second I make 13.9k and earn 11,750 Herblore XP. The 66,500 gold piece difference can then be used to buy more vials, ingredients and so forth.

Bottom line: I only recommend the “make your own” approach for potions that aren’t cost effective to those who greatly value self-sufficiency. Even then, I strongly advise against making potions that essentially waste valuable herbs: it is just foolish to waste ranarrs on defence potions or toadflax on Agility potions, in my opinion.

Strategies and Methods for Efficient Training with Potions Buying Grimy Herbs to Make Potions