In Old School RuneScape (OSRS), Treasure Trails are a rewarding and engaging activity that adds an extra layer of adventure to the game. These quests are a perfect blend of puzzles, exploration, and treasure hunting, allowing players to solve clues to eventually uncover valuable rewards, including some of the most coveted and unique items in the game. Whether you're a seasoned player or just starting out, Treasure Trails are a fun way to enhance your OSRS experience and earn incredible loot.

In this article, we'll dive deep into the world of Treasure Trails, covering everything you need to know about starting, progressing through the various clue tiers, and reaping the rewards of these exciting quests.

What Are Treasure Trails?

Treasure Trails are a series of clues that lead you on an epic scavenger hunt across the world of OSRS. They were have since become one of the most popular and rewarding activities for players who enjoy exploration, puzzle-solving, and potentially lucrative rewards.

There are three main types of Treasure Trails:

Beginner Treasure Trails - These are the easiest and require the least amount of effort to complete. They typically involve simple clues that don't require high-level stats or expensive items.

Easy Treasure Trails - A step up from the beginners, these require more time and effort, with more challenging clues and better rewards.

Medium, Hard, and Elite Treasure Trails - These offer progressively harder clues, with Elite Trails providing the best rewards, including unique items like the Third Age gear and the coveted Gilded Armour.

The aim of each Treasure Trail is to follow a series of clues, which may involve riddles, coordinates, and sometimes even puzzles, to ultimately discover a hidden treasure chest. Completing these tasks rewards you with valuable items, such as cosmetic gear, rare weapons, OSRS gold, and more. The complexity and value of the rewards increase with the difficulty of the clue tier.

How to Start a Treasure Trail

To begin your journey into the world of Treasure Trails, you need to acquire a Clue Scroll, which acts as your starting point. Clue Scrolls can be obtained in several ways:

Killing Monsters - Many monsters drop Clue Scrolls as random loot, and certain monsters are more likely to drop specific types of clue scrolls. For example, Kebbits in the Relekka area drop beginner clue scrolls, while Barrows Brothers may drop hard clues.

Looting Chests - Chests in dungeons or special locations may also contain clue scrolls.

Treasure Chest/Other Locations - Completing certain quests or obtaining scrolls through events can reward you with Clue Scrolls.

Once you've obtained a Clue Scroll, open it to begin your first step. The Clue Scroll will provide a puzzle, often in the form of a riddle, coordinates, or a specific task (such as "wear a certain item and talk to a specific NPC"). From there, the next clue will be revealed, guiding you on your journey.

Clue Scroll Tiers and Their Requirements

The difficulty of Treasure Trails is separated into five distinct tiers, and each tier comes with its own set of challenges:

1. Beginner Treasure Trails

Clue Requirement: Beginner Clue Scrolls are the easiest to solve, often involving basic actions like talking to NPCs, wearing specific items, or going to specific locations.

Typical Rewards: The rewards from beginner clues are usually cosmetic, such as clue scroll outfits, and other low-tier items like coins or runes. While the rewards aren't spectacular, they are still fun to collect.

2. Easy Treasure Trails

Clue Requirement: Easy Clue Scrolls generally require a bit more effort and can involve tasks like digging, searching containers, or completing simple puzzles. You may also have to wear specific gear, such as a green d'hide body or a swordfish for specific clues.

Typical Rewards: Easy clues offer better rewards than beginners, including ammunition, uncommon cosmetics, and some useful gear like runes, potions, and weapons.

3. Medium Treasure Trails

Clue Requirement: These clues are a step up and may involve more challenging puzzles, such as map coordinates, cipher texts, and more complex NPC interaction.

Typical Rewards: Medium clues often reward you with rune gear, coins, improved cosmetic items, and sometimes higher-tier items like Gilded Items or coins.

4. Hard Treasure Trails

Clue Requirement: Hard Clue Scrolls offer the most challenging puzzles, often requiring the completion of miniquests, dungeons, or boss fights. These clues may involve coordinate clues, ciphers, and complex interactions with high-level NPCs.

Typical Rewards: The rewards for Hard Clue Scrolls include high-tier cosmetics, like Gilded armor, Third Age gear, and valuable items like cheap RS gold.

5. Elite Treasure Trails

Clue Requirement: The most difficult and rewarding type of clue, Elite Clue Scrolls offer the most complicated puzzles and may require high combat stats or a substantial amount of in-game experience. Elite clues often require players to complete difficult bosses, solve complex ciphers, or perform a series of complicated actions across the game world.

Typical Rewards: Elite clues provide the most valuable and sought-after items, such as Third Age gear, Dragon items, and rare cosmetics. Completing these scrolls can lead to some of the best rewards in OSRS.

Clue Types and How to Solve Them

Throughout your Treasure Trails journey, you will encounter various clue types that you'll need to solve in different ways:

Coordinates Clues - These involve navigating to a specific location on the map. Once you're at the location, you may need to dig, search a chest, or interact with an NPC to find the next clue.

Riddle Clues - These clues are puzzles that require you to interpret a riddle and perform specific actions, like talking to a certain NPC or wearing certain items.

Cipher Clues - These require you to decrypt a message. Players may need to use the Caesar cipher or another decryption method to interpret the message and move forward.

Puzzle Box Clues - Some clues require solving a puzzle box. This can be either a visual puzzle or a logic puzzle where you must arrange pieces in the correct order or location.

Anagram Clues - Some clues are in the form of anagrams, requiring you to unscramble letters to form the correct name or phrase.

Map Clues - These clues involve following a map to a specific location, where you'll need to dig or search for the treasure.

Treasure Trails Rewards

The rewards from Treasure Trails vary greatly depending on the tier of the clue. Some of the most valuable rewards include:

Third Age Gear: The ultimate prize for many players, the Third Age items are the rarest and most expensive items in the game. These include Third Age robes, Third Age range, and Third Age platebodies. They are often used in high-level PvP and PvM scenarios due to their impressive stats and rarity.

Gilded Armor: Another highly desirable reward, the Gilded Armor set is a cosmetic set with decent stats, perfect for players looking to show off their wealth.

Dragon Items: Various Dragon weapons and armor can be earned from Treasure Trails, such as Dragon boots, Dragon full helm, and Dragonstone jewelry.

Cosmetic Gear: Many of the rewards are cosmetic, such as hats, cloaks, and swords that make your character stand out from the crowd. Items like the Mime Mask, ZGS, and Cloak of the Bear are fan favorites.

Tips for Completing Treasure Trails

Prepare for Combat: Some clues require you to fight bosses or high-level enemies. Ensure your gear and inventory are well-equipped before embarking on a clue.

Use Clue Scroll Solvers: Tools like OSRS Clue Scroll solvers can help you decode ciphers or solve puzzles more easily.

Time Management: Be prepared for longer Treasure Trails to take significant time. Some clues require completing miniquests or tasks that can take a while, so plan accordingly.

Profit from Clues: Many players profit significantly from Treasure Trails by selling valuable rewards, like Third Age gear, on the Grand Exchange. Even lower-tier rewards can yield good money, such as runes and coins.

Conclusion

Treasure Trails in Old School RuneScape are one of the most rewarding and engaging activities the game has to offer. They blend exploration, puzzle-solving, and treasure hunting to provide a fulfilling and exciting experience. Whether you're after valuable rewards like Third Age gear or simply enjoy the thrill of the hunt, Treasure Trails offer something for everyone. By completing clues, solving puzzles, and uncovering hidden treasures, you'll be able to unlock rare items and have a great time along the way. So grab your Clue Scroll, start solving, and enjoy the adventure that awaits!