Fletching calculator
Bows, bolts and darts, ranked by what an experience point costs today.
Fletching is among the cheapest skills to take to 99, and several methods are close to break-even because the finished product sells for nearly what the parts cost.
Darts give the fastest experience by a wide margin but consume dart tips at a real cost. Bow stringing is slower and often nearly free. Which suits you depends on whether time or GP is scarcer.
Fletching levels
1 to 99
Must be higher than current
Methods
10 methods| Method | Level | XP each | XP/hr | Actions | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maple longbow (u) | 55 | 58 | 152K | 223,576 | 86h |
| Broad bolts | 55 | 3 | 30K | 4,344,811 | 434h |
| Adamant darts | 55 | 8 | 75K | 1,737,925 | 174h |
| Ruby bolts | 63 | 6 | 50.4K | 2,068,958 | 259h |
| Diamond bolts | 65 | 7 | 56K | 1,862,062 | 233h |
| Yew longbow (u) | 70 | 75 | 195K | 173,793 | 67h |
| Yew longbow (string) | 70 | 75 | 195K | 173,793 | 67h |
| Rune darts | 81 | 10 | 100K | 1,303,444 | 130h |
| Magic longbow (u) | 85 | 92 | 238K | 142,453 | 55h |
| Magic longbow (string) | 85 | 92 | 238K | 142,453 | 55h |
Actions and hours assume you use one method the whole way, which almost nobody does. Rates are for steady play with the usual setup; treat them as a planning figure rather than a promise. Methods above your current level are dimmed.
How this is calculated
Experience per action and the level each method unlocks at are game data. Everything else is arithmetic on the experience table:
experience needed = xp at target level − xp at current level
actions = experience needed ÷ experience per action
hours = experience needed ÷ (experience per action × actions per hour)Actions per hour is the one estimate in there. It assumes steady play with the setup people normally use for the method, and it is the number to be sceptical of — a rate quoted for someone with perfect banking is not the rate you will hit on a first attempt.
What this does not account for
- Cost. This site no longer reads live Grand Exchange prices, so nothing here is ranked by what it costs. For most skills the cheapest method and the fastest are different, and this tool only answers the second.
- Failure rates. Where a method can fail or burn, every attempt is counted as a success. The notes flag the methods where that matters most.
- Switching methods. The actions and hours columns assume you use one method for the whole range, which almost nobody does. Read them as a per-method comparison rather than a plan.
About training Fletching
- Cutting logs into unstrung bows and then stringing them are two separate actions, each giving the same experience. The table treats them separately.
- Darts are made ten at a time in practice, which is why the actions-per-hour figure is so much higher than the other methods.
- Bolt tipping and enchanting are different skills — tipping is Fletching, enchanting is Magic.
Worth knowing
Recipes, levels and experience values are game data. If you spot one that is wrong, please tell us — accuracy is the only thing that makes a calculator worth using.
Actions per hour assume steady play with the usual setup. Your first hour at a new method will be slower than the figure here.