Completion of Digsite Quest A minimum of 100 Kudos in the Varrock Museum
This is a members-only area, since the Digsite Quest and most of its requirements can only be obtained by pay-to-play players. So F2P are unfortunately out of luck here.
Teleports & Routes To Fossil Island
We’d like to suggest 4 ways of getting to Fossil Island, ranked below from best to worst:
Digsite Pendant teleport Gnome Glider (Lemanto Andra), and running east Senntisten teleport, and running north Varrock teleport, and running east
The Digsite Pendant is the best means of transportation here, since it leaves you by the boat. And it can even take you inside the Island once you unlock it. The Gnome glider is similar, though it’s a one way trip, so you can’t go back with it. The Senntisten teleports are closer to the Exam Center, so you’ll have to run for a bit. Or if no other options are available, teleporting to Varrock will be good enough. But what’s there to do on Fossil Island? Why would you bother traveling here? Let’s find out.
Hunting Activities
If you’re interested in the Hunter skill, then you’ve come to the right place! Herbiboars can only be found in Fossil Island, and they can yield large amounts of XP per hour, along with a decent amount of profit in herbs. Starting at 80 Hunter and 31 Herblore, this activity is about tracking down the Herbiboar through a series of tunnels located in the forest. Once you finally find it, you may stun it and harvest it! The amount and quality of herbs you’ll get will vary with your Herblore level. This method is quite intensive, but can yield over 120k Hunter XP per hour, while still leaving 200k GP an hour in profits – and a 1 in 6500 chance for the rare Herbi pet with every run! If Herbiboar seems too intensive or you lack some levels, then you might be interested in Bird Houses. Starting at level 5 Hunter, this method is similar to Farming in that players set traps and come back after some time (~1 hour) to get the loot and some experience. Simply create a birdhouse with Clockwork and some logs, put it up in a Birdhouse spot, and come back after a while. It also works great since there’s 4 spots on Fossil Island, which is the maximum amount of birdhouses you can have at any given time. It’s worth noting that higher tiers of logs require a higher Hunter level, but also yield more XP and rewards. This method is highly popular since it demands little time and effort, while bird nests and seeds are highly valuable.
Mining Activities On Fossil Island
To the East you’ll find an active volcano, accompanied by a mining spot that includes rocks ranging from Iron to Runite. Along the path you may find Ash Piles, which will grant Volcanic Ash when mined. These can be used to create Ultracompost, the best compost for your Farming crops in the game. At the volcano’s peak is the entrance to the Volcanic Mine minigame. Entering requires 50 Mining, 150 Kudos, and requires that you’ve fully built the Museum Camp. This minigame consists of mining a huge boulder of minerals that move along a stream of lava. While doing so, players must coordinate to fend off lava monsters, and mine/place boulders to keep the Mine’s pressure steady, or the whole chamber could collapse on them! While it does have a learning curve, this method can yield over 80k Mining XP an hour while being relatively AFK. As a result, players who flock here enjoy a more laid-back experience, or maybe they just don’t want to engage with the skill too much. Volcanic Mine also has its own point system, allowing you to exchange them for rewards ranging from Ores to an upgrade for your Fertilize Soil lunar spell.
Fossil Island’s Underwater Section
Fossil Island has a unique location under the sea, where the player may interact with mermaids. These offer a variety of activities, along with their own currency called Mermaid’s Tears. For those interested in Farming or Crafting, this is the only place in Old School RuneScape where you can grow Giant Seaweed. Giant Seaweed can be cooked for large amounts of Soda Ash, and are virtually free to obtain. The entire eastern side of this section is dedicated to Agility and Thieving. The area contains a number of chests, with obstacles and tunnels surrounding them. One chest at a time will contain treasure, allowing the player to search it for rewards. This method offers a mix of Thieving and Agility XP that could be worth your while! Drift Net fishing offers a mix of Fishing and Hunter XP – and this involves the player crafting fishing nets and luring fish directly into them. The loot ranges from Sardines all the way to Sea Turtles, based on the player’s Fishing level. Combining both skills, you can obtain over 200k XP an hour.
Sulliuscep Woodcutting
Sulliusceps are an alternative way of grinding your Woodcutting skill, requiring Level 65. This consists of running around the Tar Swamp and chopping down these mushroom trees. Once a tree gets chopped down, it will regrow in another spot inside the Swamp, following a rotation. Players must then make their way to it, through fallen logs and Tar Monsters, and repeat the process. While no relevant loot is obtained from the skill, it’s a laid back and fast way to gain experience, reaching around 90k XP per hour. And these rates will go up with your Woodcutting level. So if you’re interested, pay the Tar Swamp a visit.
Fossil Island’s Combat Activities
Ammonite Crabs are similar to Rock and Sand crabs: Low defence, high HP (100!) monsters that are amazing for grinding Combat skills. With a max hit of 1, Ammonite Crabs can be found in the beach near the Mushroom Forest. While being locked behind a quest, this area is generally crowded due to its convenience. Nevertheless, if you manage to find an empty spot, this is recommended for AFK training and high XP rates. In the eastern corner of the Underwater section of Fossil Island, you’ll find Lobstrosities. These can be fought with magic or a Brine Saber, and may drop a variety of runes and seeds. While a fishing bowl cannot be worn in this area, there are plenty of air bubbles to fill out our oxygen meter. Due to its inconvenient location and low variety of available gear, Lobstrosities don’t see too much movement. Nevertheless, they can be great as a side activity while you wait for your Giant Seaweed to grow. Located in the Wyvern Caves, Fossil Island Wyverns are high level enemies that can be fought by high level players. There are 4 varieties of them with varying combat levels, requiring 66 Slayer to kill them (82 for the strongest ones). Similar to Skeletal Wyverns, a regular anti-dragon shield won’t work here. You’ll need to bring an Elemental, Dragonfire, or Ancient Wyvern Shield, or else you’ll be devastated by their unique ice attacks. They can also attack with melee and ranged. Fossil Island Wyverns have a large drop table, including alchables, runes, herbs, and seeds. For those lucky enough, an Ancient Wyvern Visage can be obtained at a drop rate of 1 in 10,000, which allows for the creation of an Ancient Wyvern Shield. This is the only shield in the game that nullifies the freeze effect from wyverns! Located deep inside the Tar Swamp, the Deranged Archeologist is a demiboss similar to the Crazed Archeologist in the Wilderness. This is a great entry-level boss for players that want to get into PvM, but still lack mechanical abilities. Upon his defeat, the player may obtain a variety of alchables and seeds, along with a chance for the rare drop table. While the profit may not be much, it certainly adds up over time. And it’ll help a lot until you can move on to harder content.
Unidentified Fossils
During your activities on Fossil Island, you can obtain unidentified fossils of varying rarities. These can be used in four different ways:
Completing displays in the Varrock Museum. Each completed display grants the player Kudos and an XP lamp, adding up to 120k XP in total! Trading the Fossil Collector on the Island. He’ll take your spare fossils for some Numulite, up to 500 for Rare ones. Using them in the Mycelium Pool. This requires pyrophosphite and calcite, and will grant Prayer XP for each fossil, depending on rarity (up to 2500 per fossil) Charging your Ancient Wyvern Shield
We recommend completing the Museum displays first, since the amount required is quite large, and the exact quantity will vary for each player. Charging the Shield is a good option if you have one too, since it can only be charged with fossils or Numulite. If you still have fossils lying around and you’d like some Prayer levels, definitely offer them at the pool, since it can really add up! We don’t recommend trading fossils for Numulite, since this currency isn’t used much, and it can also be bought from other players too. And that’s it! Fossil Island has lots of content suitable for most skills in the game, all across different level ranges with plenty of rewards. And this whole area is just locked behind one really easy quest. So if you still haven’t gone to Fossil Island, make sure to pay it a visit sometime. Bone voyage!
