If you want to get your hands on an elite clue as fast as possible, I strongly suggest picking one of the following methods:
Hallowed Sepulchre (high intensity Agility training, considered to be the best for elites) Sarachnis (fastest way of getting one through bossing) Shades of Mort’ton (Firemaking and Prayer training, can unlock other items too) The Gauntlet (chance for a “jackpot” item worth over 140 million) Barrows (easiest “boss” that rewards clue scrolls, decent profit per hour) Crystal Implings (minimal Hunter training)
Best Methods for Elite Clues
1. Hallowed Sepulchre
The Hallowed Sepulchre, located deep beneath the vampyre city of Darkmeyer, is a mid to high Agility training minigame that requires quick analysis and fast reaction speeds. To explain it as plain as possible, the Sepulchre is a timed gauntlet of agility obstacles, divided up in 5 different floors. The first floor has a requirement of 52 Agility, with each floor beyond that needing an additional 10 Agility levels in order to be accessed (so 62 for the second, 72 for the third, etc). During each floor, players can find and loot different Coffins, which among other items can also grant clue scrolls (with a 1/60 chance for an elite). Additionally, there’s a single Grand Hallowed Coffin at the end of the last floor that has a double the normal drop-rate for an elite clue – and a 1/200 chance for a Ring of Endurance (worth a little over 46 million). The addition of coffins giving clues is a recent update to the game, so many players might not be aware of it. Note: You must have completed the master quest “Sins of the Father” to access Darkmeyer and the Hallowed Sepulchre.
2. Sarachnis
Before other updates came in, Sarachnis used to be the best way to acquire an elite clue – but that’s not to say it’s still not great! If you’ve got high-end gear and the stats to go with it, you should be able to average about 60 kills per hour – and an elite clue if you’re right on the drop-rate (1/60). Sarachnis also drops hard clues (1/40), so it’s one of the best bosses to kill if you’re after clues of both types.
3. Shades of Mort’ton
Another recent (in the grand scheme of things) update that most of the playerbase is oblivious to is the reworked Shades of Mort’ton minigame. In this partly cooperative minigame, players must kill a wide variety of shades, cremate their remains in sacred pyres, and finally plunder the chests hidden in the ancient tunnels beneath Mort’ton. The golden chests are the only ones that can give elite clue scrolls, effectively locking this method behind 95 Firemaking. Other possible unique rewards from them also includes:
The Zealot’s Robes (a prayer training outfit) Gold Locks/Coffin (special cape that stores shade remains) Two kinds of Runescrolls (a way to imbue Splitbark armour) Amulet of the Damned
And of course “regular” loot such as rune and adamant items. I’d greatly recommend Shades of Mort’ton to anyone that’s looking for elite clues, and for anyone that has yet to get 99 Firemaking or Prayer.
4. The Gauntlet
The Gauntlet is a solo-only minigame. In this game, the player is thrown empty-handed into a randomly generated dungeon, and is tasked to defeat its boss within a limited amount of time. Within this time limit, the player can explore the dungeon, kill monsters, gather resources, and craft equipment, with the purpose of making the end goal as easy (and painless) as possible. The Gauntlet has two tiers of difficulty:
The Normal Gauntlet, with a more lenient and forgiving time limit. The monsters, including Hunleff (the final boss) are easier to kill and deal less damage. The Corrupted Gauntlet, in which everything is out to get you, including the timer. This is one of Old School Runescape’s toughest pieces of content to master, and can take quite a lot of tries before you get your first completion.
Other than that, the main difference between the two difficulties are the rewards, with the Corrupted Gauntlet’s average loot being more generous, and the unique drop rates being better (1/25 vs 1/20 for an elite clue). These are also most noteworthy items that you can get from the Gauntlet:
Enhanced crystal weapon seed (the best item, worth over 145m) Crystal armour seed Crystal weapon seed Youngllef (the pet, great to flex on your friends)
Note: The Gauntlet is located in Prifddinas, which requires completion of the grandmaster quest “Song of the Elves”.
5. Barrows
Almost every player has had some experience with Barrows during their RuneScape career. Be it being deathly afraid of Dharok back in 2007, or zipping through it nowadays to complete the collection log, Barrows is one of Runescape’s most iconic minigame/boss. This is possibly the easiest way for a low level player to get their hands on an elite clue, since the “soft” requirements are essentially 43 Prayer and about 50 Magic. The base chance for an elite starts at 1/200, and drops all the way to 1/33 when all six of the brothers have been killed.
6. Crystal Implings
One of the more unorthodox ways of getting an elite clue is through Crystal Implings. These little devils can be found flying around Prifddinas, and catching them (with 80 Hunter) has a 1/50 of giving an elite. Since Crystal Implings are on a set timer and respawn (one per world) of approximately every 30 minutes, it’s possible to hop through different worlds and catch multiple per hour. The average loot from a Crystal Imp is worth roughly 75k, so you’re also making some decent cash while doing this (3,7m per clue on average!). And as we’ve already mentioned, Song of the Elves is a requirement to get inside the city of Prifddinas.
Bonus Clue Hunting Tips
Planning on looking for buried treasure? Here’s a few things you should know before starting your journey:
Completing the Elite Combat Achievements will increase the chance of receiving an elite clue from all sources (except implings) by 5%. You’re only able to hold one clue of every tier at a time, so make sure to complete any before trying to get a new one! You can combine Crystal Impling hunting with an activity like high-alching to be more efficient. Elite coordinate clues may spawn a flying Armadylean guard that can’t be reached with melee attacks, and requires either Ranged or Mage attacks to be killed. Completing 200 elite clues will reward you with an equippable cosmetic Giant Casket.
