Questing will not only boost your skills far faster than grinding, but it also sets you up with RuneScape gold valuable rewards and unlocks crucial skills for survival.

Establish a Sustainable Resource Strategy

In Ironman mode, resource gathering is king. You won't be buying your way to 99s, so you need a long-term plan for collecting everything you need.
Essential Gathering Skills

Woodcutting: Provides logs for Firemaking, Fletching, and early Construction. Aim to progress toward yews and later magic logs.

Mining: Critical for ores, which are used in Smithing and Crafting. Start with copper and tin, then move to iron and beyond.

Fishing & Cooking: Vital for a steady food supply. Start with shrimp and anchovies, then move to salmon, tuna, and lobsters.

Fletching: Craft your own ranged gear. Train alongside Woodcutting.

Crafting: Gather cowhides, tan them, and make your own leather armor and ranged gear.

Herblore: Unlocked after Druidic Ritual, this is essential for potion making. Farming herbs becomes key in the mid-game.

Early on, multitasking is essential. Chop and burn logs (Woodcutting + Firemaking), fish and cook food (Fishing + Cooking), mine and smith (Mining + Smithing)—always double up on skilling opportunities when possible.

Start Combat Training Smart

You'll need combat levels to survive—and to complete many essential quests. But Ironman combat requires planning.
Best Early Combat Spots

Chickens: Great for early melee XP, feathers (for Fletching), and bones (Prayer).

Cows: Drop cowhides (Crafting), raw beef (Cooking), and bones.

Goblins: Drop bronze and iron items, coins, and bones. Easy, quick XP.

Stronghold of Security: This F2P dungeon offers coins (10,000 GP!), early monsters to kill, and boots with minor stat bonuses.

As you progress, move to:

Al Kharid Warriors (early Defense training)

Hill Giants (for big bones and limpwurt roots)

Sand Crabs (solid AFK training and HP)

Early Combat Gear Tips

Kill goblins or use quest rewards for initial armor.

Train Crafting to make leather armor.

Use smithing to make bronze, iron, and steel gear.

Complete quests like Vampire Slayer or Fight Arena for early Attack and Strength XP.

Train Prayer Efficiently from Day One

Prayer is one of the most important skills for Ironmen, especially for PvM later on. But without access to dragon bones on the GE, you must make the most of early bones.
Early Prayer Tips

Always bury bones from chickens, cows, and goblins.

Unlock the Ectofuntus or a Gilded Altar in a POH for better XP later.

Complete The Restless Ghost early for a massive XP boost.

Save big bones dropped by hill giants and store them for future use with an altar. You'll want Protect from Melee and other key prayers unlocked as soon as possible.

Unlocking Key Skilling Resources

Beyond just gathering and combat, other core skills play major roles in your early Ironman journey:
Crafting

Cowhide + tanning = leather gear.

Use crafting to make your own jewelry (Emerald ring → Ring of Dueling, etc.).

Early Crafting helps with later Slayer and Farming unlocks.

Smithing

Use bronze → iron, → steel for your early armor and weapons.

Consider completing The Knight's Sword early for RS gold for sale a massive Smithing XP boost.