Adamant Darts vs Rune Darts at Sand Crabs: 70–99 Ranged Cost Guide

Game screenshots and facts are cited from the Old School RuneScape Wiki (strategy, equipment, drops, and related pages). Writing is original editorial, not a copy of the wiki article.

The 70–99 Ranged grind is one of the longest single-skill hauls in Old School RuneScape. For many players, sand crabs are the default training ground: low defence, high HP, and aggressive enough that you can reset aggro and go semi-AFK. Pair a toxic blowpipe with metal darts and you get one of the fastest low-cost ranged setups in the game. But the devil is in the ammunition. Choosing between adamant darts and rune darts can easily swing your total spend by tens of millions of GP—without changing your time to 99 by nearly as much as you might think.

This guide is for players who already have 70+ Ranged and a blowpipe, want to train at sand crabs, and are wondering whether the premium price of rune darts is actually worth it. We’ll compare the two dart tiers, show you how to calculate real cost per XP, break down AFK vs efficient play, flag the mistakes that quietly drain your bank, and end with an honest look at when buying gold or a leveling service is the smart move.

Why Sand Crabs Are the Default 70–99 Ranged Spot

Sand crabs have a reputation for being the best balance of AFK time, XP rate, and supply cost for ranged training from the mid-70s all the way to 99. They have very low Defence, so even mid-tier gear lands hits consistently. Their high Hitpoints means you aren’t constantly switching targets, and their aggressive behaviour lets you reset aggro every ten minutes and then step away while auto-retaliate does the work.

• Low defence: Ranged accuracy matters less; stack Ranged Strength instead.
• High HP: Fewer target switches mean more time attacking.
• Aggressive: Auto-retaliate works well when you walk away and let them pile on you.
• Minimal supplies: Food is rarely needed with Protect from Melee or high Defence; prayer potions are avoidable with a bonecrusher or just tanking.

That said, sand crabs are not a secret hidden method. They are often crowded, especially on popular worlds, and you may need to hop or find a less busy beach. The trade-off is simple: sand crabs give you 80–90% of the AFK comfort of a true idle method while still delivering respectable XP per hour—far better than many slower alternatives.

Blowpipe Mechanics: What Darts Actually Do

The toxic blowpipe is a two-handed ranged weapon that uses darts as ammunition. Darts themselves are members-only thrown weapons with an attack range of 3 tiles (5 on longrange). They are one-handed when thrown normally, but when loaded into a blowpipe the blowpipe becomes two-handed and significantly boosts both ranged accuracy and ranged strength. That makes even cheap darts hit hard inside a blowpipe.

Here are the key mechanics you need to know before buying a single dart:

• Darts are ammunition, not just a weapon. In the blowpipe, they are consumed on each shot—but Ava’s devices return a large percentage.
• Rapid style is best. It gives +3 Ranged accuracy and the fastest attack speed. Never use accurate or longrange for training.
• Ava’s devices are non-negotiable. Ava’s attractor returns 60% of darts, accumulator 72%, and assembler 80%. Without one, you are throwing money away.
• Unpoisoned darts only. Poisoned darts cost more and provide zero extra XP at sand crabs because the crabs die before poison ticks matter. Load clean darts.

The blowpipe also has a special attack, but it is completely irrelevant for training. Using the spec at sand crabs wastes both spec energy and Zulrah’s scales without improving your XP per hour. Check the wiki for the exact Ranged level needed to wield a toxic blowpipe before you commit—having the requirement is assumed for this guide.

Adamant vs Rune Darts: The Real Differences

At first glance, rune darts seem like the obvious upgrade: they are a higher tier, so they must be better. And they are better—but the size of the improvement is often smaller than the price gap suggests. Adamant darts already give a solid ranged strength bonus inside a blowpipe, while rune darts add only a few points of max hit. At sand crabs, where defence is low and you rarely miss, that extra max hit translates into a modest increase in XP per hour. The question is whether the extra speed justifies the extra cost, which is a personal decision based on your GP per hour and how much you value your time.

The table above is qualitative because dart prices fluctuate constantly. Do not rely on old forum posts or even yesterday’s screenshot: check the Grand Exchange price graph on the wiki or in game before buying bulk. The price difference between adamant and rune darts is often the single largest factor in your decision.

Cost Per XP: How to Run the Numbers

The only way to make a rational adamant vs rune decision is to calculate the cost per XP for each dart type using current prices. The formula is straightforward:

• Effective cost per dart after Ava’s = (dart price) × (1 − Ava’s recovery rate)
• XP per dart = your average Ranged XP per successful hit, which depends on your max hit, accuracy, and whether you use rapid style.
• Cost per XP = effective cost per dart ÷ XP per dart

At sand crabs you rarely miss, so XP per dart is almost entirely driven by your max hit. Rune darts raise your max hit by a few points, so they give slightly more XP per dart. But because rune darts cost so much more per dart, their cost per XP is nearly always significantly higher than adamant’s. The break-even point is when your value of time (GP you could make per hour doing something else) exceeds the extra cost of rune darts times the XP saved per hour.

Here’s a concrete way to do it without trusting anyone’s numbers:

1. Wear your best Ava’s device (assembler if you have it).
2. Use adamant darts for one hour at sand crabs and record your XP gained and darts used (check the blowpipe’s ammo count before and after).
3. Repeat with rune darts for one hour.
4. Plug your actual dart prices into the formula above and compare cost per XP and XP per hour.

This one-hour test is more accurate than any guide because it reflects your exact gear, prayers, and attention level. If you can’t be bothered to test, use adamant darts as the default—they are mathematically the safer choice for most players.

AFK vs Efficient: Attention and XP Rates

Sand crabs offer a spectrum of attention levels, and the dart choice interacts with how you play. If you are fully AFK—resetting aggro every 10 minutes and walking away—then the XP difference between adamant and rune darts is often smaller because you lose time to being out of combat and not attacking at max speed. In that case, adamant darts are almost always the right choice: you are not actively using the extra DPS, so you are just burning GP.

If you are playing efficiently—watching your character, drinking ranging potions, resetting aggro instantly, and maybe using prayers—then the higher DPS of rune darts starts to matter. The extra max hits add up over a long session, and if you make enough GP per hour elsewhere, rune darts may be worth it.

For context, chinning maniacal monkeys is far faster than any sand crab method—potentially 700k+ XP per hour at high levels with the right gear—but it is orders of magnitude more expensive and requires Monkey Madness II progress. Sand crabs are chosen because they are cheap and AFK, not because they are fast. If your goal is pure speed, sand crabs are not the method; if your goal is relaxed training while you watch a movie, they are excellent.

Common Mistakes That Drain Your GP

Most players don’t waste GP by choosing adamant over rune—they waste it through sloppy mechanics. These are the most common errors I see at sand crabs:

• No Ava’s device. Without one, you lose every dart you fire. Even an attractor saves 60%.
• Using a metal body in the torso slot. Ava’s devices do not return ammunition if you wear a metal body. Wear dragonhide, void, or other non-metal chests.
• Using the blowpipe special attack. The spec consumes extra Zulrah’s scales and gives zero training benefit.
• Leaving the blowpipe on longrange. Longrange gives Defence XP and lower DPS. Always use rapid for ranged training.
• Buying rune darts “because they’re better” without doing the math. The extra XP per hour often costs more per XP than your time is worth.
• Not resetting aggro promptly. If the crabs stop attacking, you stand there doing nothing. Use a timer or set a mental reminder.

Fixing these mistakes usually saves more GP than switching from rune to adamant. Start with correct mechanics, then choose your dart tier based on the remaining budget.

Time-to-Goal: 70-99 Realistic Hours

The raw XP gap from 70 to 99 Ranged is just over 12 million experience. The exact total is on the wiki level table, but for planning purposes assume you need around 12.3 million additional XP. Your time to 99 depends entirely on your average XP per hour, which varies with gear, attention, and dart tier.

Rather than trust inflated rates from old guides, measure your own XP per hour at sand crabs. A simple method: note your Ranged XP, train for exactly one hour, then find the difference. If you earn 60,000 XP/h, 12.3 million XP takes about 205 hours. At 70,000 XP/h it’s 176 hours. At 50,000 XP/h it’s 246 hours. Those are enormous time investments, which is why many players look for ways to speed up the process—either with better gear, faster methods, or outside help.

When Buying Gold or a Service Is the Honest Shortcut

At this point the math is clear: adamant darts are cheaper per XP, rune darts are faster per hour, and the right choice depends on how much your time is worth. If you are already making 5 million GP per hour bossing, the extra cost of rune darts is trivial compared to the hours they save. If you are a casual player with little income, adamant darts are the only sane option.

What if you don’t want to spend 200 hours staring at crabs at all? That’s where buying gold or a leveling service becomes an honest shortcut. Buying gold lets you afford rune darts, better armour, or even the expensive chinning method without grinding moneymakers. A leveling service, if you choose to use one, removes the time requirement entirely. Not everyone wants to put in hundreds of hours for a virtual skill, and there is no shame in paying to skip the boredom—as long as you understand the risks and use a reputable marketplace.

We are not claiming any partnership with Jagex, and we are not telling you to break the rules. But the reality is that many players buy gold or use boosting services to fund their training. If that describes you, make sure you use a trusted platform with buyer protection and a history of reliable delivery.

Practical Next Step

Start by confirming you meet the blowpipe’s Ranged requirement and have completed Animal Magnetism for Ava’s devices. Buy a modest supply of adamant darts—enough for a few hours, not a lifetime—and run the one-hour test at sand crabs. Record your XP rate and dart usage. Then do the same with rune darts if you are curious. Compare cost per XP using current GE prices. If you are happy with the AFK pace, stick with adamant. If you want to shave hours and can afford it, switch to rune.

For further reading, check our Bone Crossbow vs Magic Shortbow for Ironmen: 1–70 Ranged Training Guide if you’re building up to this level, or our OSRS Ironman Melee: Slayer vs Crabs Training Guide if you’re also training melee at crabs. Both will help you widen the efficiency lens.

Finally, if the grind looks too long, revisit the previous section and consider whether buying gold to fund darts, scales, or even a full leveling service is the better use of your real-life time. The choice is yours—and now you have the numbers to make it honestly.

Sources

• Dart - OSRS Wiki
• Pay-to-play Ranged training - OSRS Wiki
• Sand Crab - OSRS Wiki