Ironman: The standard mode—no trading, no Grand Exchange, complete self-sufficiency.

Hardcore Ironman (HCIM): Same restrictions as standard Ironman, but with one life. A single death reverts your account to RuneScape gold regular Ironman.

Ultimate Ironman (UIM): The most extreme version—no access to banks. You carry everything on your character or store items in your player-owned house.

This guide focuses primarily on standard Ironman gameplay but offers tips that benefit all three variations.

Questing: Your Fast Track to Progression

In Ironman mode, quests are your best friend. They provide vital experience, unlock useful tools and areas, and often reward you with valuable items that would otherwise take hours to obtain through grinding.

Essential Early Quests:

Cook's Assistant – Unlocks basic cooking functionality and introduces you to farming and food prep.

The Restless Ghost – Grants early Prayer XP, essential for unlocking Protect Prayers.

Doric's Quest – Provides a nice boost to Mining and grants access to a convenient anvil location.

Imp Catcher – A quick Magic XP reward that helps you unlock early combat spells.

Rune Mysteries – Unlocks Runecrafting, a skill vital for making your own runes.

Waterfall Quest – MASSIVE Attack and Strength XP without any combat requirements. Do this early.

Grand Tree / Tree Gnome Village – Unlocks the Spirit Tree transportation network and boosts Attack.

Focus on quests that give you early access to utility areas and fast XP in combat, Magic, Prayer, and Crafting.

Early Resource Gathering Priorities

Without access to the Grand Exchange or trading, you'll need to collect and process everything yourself. Prioritizing early resource collection and skilling is critical.
Key Gathering Skills to Train:

Woodcutting & Firemaking: Chop logs to buy Runescape gold train Firemaking and unlock quests like Wintertodt. Aim for Willow logs early, and later Yew for Fletching.