What Is The Fastest Way For Ironmen To Get Soft Clay?

Ironman mode is a way to play RuneScape that limits players to being entirely self-sufficient. Ironmen cannot trade with other players, use the Grand Exchange, or pick up items dropped by other players. Everything must be obtained solo.

Soft clay is an important item for ironmen because it is used to craft clay items like urns, pots, bowls, and jewelry. It is obtained by mixing clay with water, which softens it and makes it malleable for crafting. Soft clay is in high demand for ironmen because crafting clay items is an efficient early method for leveling Crafting and Magic.

Quest Rewards

Completing certain quests in RuneScape rewards players with soft clay, which can be a good way for ironmen to obtain it. Some of the most notable quests that give soft clay as a reward are:

• The Digsite Quest – This beginner quest rewards players with 15 soft clay upon completion. It has low requirements, so it’s a good option for ironmen to get soft clay early on.
• The Giant Dwarf Quest – Players are rewarded with 12 soft clay for finishing this novice quest. It has some higher skill requirements, but gives good Crafting experience too.
• Lost City Quest – This lengthy novice quest rewards players with 10 soft clay at the end. It unlocks other content like the dragon longsword.

Completing quests that offer soft clay as a reward can be an easy way for ironmen accounts to get some starting soft clay. The quantities are not huge, but useful in the early game. The Digsite and Lost City quests are good to complete fairly early for their soft clay rewards.

Mining Clay Rocks

One of the most basic but reliable methods for obtaining soft clay is mining clay rocks. Clay rocks can be found in several locations across RuneScape at various Mining levels:

• Rimmington Mine – Level 1 Mining, best for low level Ironmen
• Crafting Guild Mine – Level 40 Mining (need a brown apron to enter the crafting guild however)
• South-west Varrock Mine – Level 20 Mining
• North-east Varrock Mine – Level 15 Mining
• Grand Tree Mine – Level 15 Mining
• Rellekka Mine – Level 30 Mining

Mining clay at the Rimmington mine is likely the best option for early level Ironmen, until unlocking higher level mines. Mining clay rocks provides 17.5 Mining XP per clay mined. The XP rates will vary based on your Mining level, but roughly 1,000-2,500 XP/hr can be expected at lower levels. Mined clay rocks regenerate quickly so there is little downtime between rocks. Using Varrock armor to teleport to the north-east Varrock mine can help speed up the process. Mining clay rocks is not the fastest method but requires little setup or investment.

Temple Trekking

Temple Trekking is a members-only minigame where players guide followers through Morytania’s haunted woods. Completing a trek earns the player reward tokens based on the follower’s health at the end. These reward tokens can be exchanged with an NPC for various rewards, including soft clay packs.

The amount of soft clay received scales based on the difficulty of the trek. Easy treks provide around 20 soft clay, medium 40, and hard 60+. The XP reward for Temple Trekking also scales with difficulty, making this a useful way for ironmen to train a variety of skills while obtaining soft clay. Choosing the right followers and keeping their health high will maximize the reward potential.

Managing Miscellania

One good way for ironmen to get a steady supply of soft clay is by managing their kingdom in Miscellania. By investing money into the clay resource, you can collect a stack of soft clay every day from the kingdom’s coffers. The amount of clay received is determined by your current approval rating, with higher approval resulting in more clay per day.

It’s recommended to maintain an approval rating of at least 90-100% in order to maximize the daily clay output. Make sure to top up the kingdom’s coffers whenever you collect resources, as the workers will slowly drain it over time. For ironmen short on cash, managing Miscellania presents a nice passive way to accumulate soft clay without needing to gather it yourself.

Stealing from Crafting Stalls

Thieving soft clay from crafting stalls in Ardougne is one option for ironmen. There are three different crafting stalls that can be stolen from:

• East Ardougne – Located north of the church, has the highest success rate.
• West Ardougne – Located south of the marketplace, moderate success rate.
• South Ardougne – Located near the zoo, lowest success rate.

To steal soft clay, ironmen will need:

• Level 5 Thieving for East Ardougne stall
• Level 15 Thieving for West Ardougne stall
• Level 20 Thieving for South Ardougne stall

The amount of soft clay received per successful theft ranges from 1-8. Although stealing has variable output, it can be a decent way for ironmen with lower Thieving levels to obtain soft clay.

Buying from Shops

Buying soft clay from shops can provide a decent supply, but is limited by the daily stock available. The two most notable shops to buy soft clay from are the crafting guild shop in Rimmington and Betty’s Magic Emporium in Port Sarim.

The Rimmington crafting guild shop stocks up to 100 soft clay per day. To access this shop, players need at least level 40 Crafting and to have entered the crafting guild at least once. Betty’s Magic Emporium in Port Sarim stocks up to 30 soft clay daily. Other general stores around Gielinor stock smaller quantities as well.

Buying from shops can be convenient since it doesn’t require any effort beyond visiting the shops. However, the daily supply is limited and buying out shops can get expensive. This method may be helpful to supplement other soft clay sources but isn’t ideal as a main method.

Other Methods

In addition to the main methods mentioned, there are a few other ways ironmen can obtain soft clay, although they tend to be slower or more limited. These include:

Managing kingdom (Ardougne) – Players can manage their Kingdom of Miscellania and set workers to mine clay. This produces a passive, daily income of soft clay and iron ore. However, it is very slow compared to other methods.

Managing claimed island (The Arc) – At the player-owned port, high level players can claim islands and assign settlers to produce clay. This is extremely slow but 100% afk. The amount is heavily restricted compared to other methods.

Managing port – Using the player-owned port, players can get soft clay and clay stone as random loot from voyages. This is too inconsistent and slow for intentional soft clay farming.

Recommended Method

For maximum efficiency, temple trekking is likely the best overall method. Here are the main pros and cons to consider:

Temple Trekking

Pros:

• Provides a consistent and reliable stream of soft clay
• Doesn’t require mining, which can be slow for ironmen with low levels
• Provides other useful rewards like silver bars, herbs, etc.

Cons:

• Requires partial completion of In Aid of the Myreque quest
• Can take some time to gather tokens and resources to access higher reward rates
• Requires more active participation than afk mining methods

While mining clay rocks can technically be faster when considering only the rate of obtaining soft clay, temple trekking provides a more well-rounded method. The quest requirements are relatively low, it provides assorted useful rewards, and can be done semi-afk once properly set up. This makes it the best blend of fast and convenient.

Conclusion

In summary, the fastest ways for ironmen to obtain soft clay generally involve managing Miscellania, mining clay rocks, completing quests with clay rewards, temple trekking, and stealing from crafting stalls. Each method has its pros and cons in terms of requirements, efficiency, and convenience.

For ironmen in the early or mid-game without access to Miscellania, completing The Dig Site quest can be a good option for an initial stack of soft clay. Mining clay rocks in various locations like Rimmington mine, Crafting Guild, and West Varrock mine is also relatively fast with low requirements. Temple trekking offers consistent clay rewards scaled to Thieving level.

Once an ironman unlocks Managing Miscellania, investing in clay there becomes the most efficient long-term method. At higher levels, stealing from crafting stalls in Ardougne and stalls in Keldagrim can yield large amounts of clay quickly. Players should buy any clay they find at charter ship crews and in specialty shops to supplement other methods.

With some planning and focus on the best sources, ironmen should be able to maintain a consistent supply of soft clay for training Crafting and constructing teleport tablets.