Runescape, for those of you who are not already familar with it, is a massive online role-playing game that attracts millions of players world wide, male & female, and all ages and skill levels. If you are not familar with this awesome online adventure game, and would like to learn more, I do have another guide that tells more about the game and how to get started. For now, I am going to talk about the available skills that your Runescape character can develop and master. Some of these skills are only available for paid members.

AGILITY: Agility is one of the most helpful skills known to Members, as having a higher level will allow you to run longer distances. You'll have the ability to use all sorts of different Agility obstacles and courses, and some areas are only accessible by using the skill. Many quests also require that you have some experience in Agility. This is not one of the easier skills to develop.

ATTACK: Attack is an important aspect of combat, as it determines how accurate your hits will be on your opponents. As your Attack level increases, you'll be able to wield stronger weapons. By fighting often, this is an easier skill you can develop.

CONSTRUCTION: Construction is a new skill in RuneScape that allows you to make all sorts of things, including toys, furniture for houses, decorations, and other cool furnishings for your own Player Owned House. You are even able to train other skills in your Player Owned House, and there are a number of cool things you can do, like have parties or build a deathtrap for other player to try to complete for a prize. This can be s pretty easy, but oftentimes cumbersome, skill to develop.

COOKING: Like many people say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day; even for a RuneScaper. Many foods like fish, pies and pizzas can only be eaten when cooked over a stove or an open fire, but it's the fastest way to heal your hitpoints up. This is one of the easier skills to develop.

CRAFTING: Crafting is a valuable skill in RuneScape, giving you the ability to make pottery, leather, craft your own jewelry and Battle Staffs, make vials and orbs from hot sand, as well as other helpful uses. It's pretty easy to develop if you are willing to put in the time and effort.

DEFENSE: Defense is one of RuneScape's most important Combat skills. Unlike popular belief, Defense does not decrease the amount of damage inflicted upon you. Instead, it determines how often a foe will hit you, and it allows you to wear better armor types. This is one of the easiest skills to develop.

FARMING: Farming is another interesting skill in RuneScape, tied in with Cooking and Herblore. You have the ability to grow your own variety of plants, from fruits and vegetables, to herbs, trees and other useful plants! Be prepared to get your hands dirty and to do a bit of digging as well! I honeslty have not even tried to develop this skill in my game, so I do not know whether it's easy or hard.

FIREMAKING: There's nothing like a hot meal cooked over an open fire while hiking through the land of RuneScape, and if there isn't a stove to be found, this skill may come in handy. This is fairly simple to develop.

FISHING: Fishing is an important skill that many RuneScapers rely on for food, since there are many areas full of healthy fish to catch. Other people choose to sell their catches for money, or trade them for other things that they can use. Since there's a variety of fish to catch, and many places to go fishing, this is an enjoyable skill. But of course, there are several kinds of lures and other tools to use, and Members can even take part in a mini-game! You can develop this skill with minimal effort.

FLETCHING: Fletching is a useful skill allowing you to make your own bows and arrows, as well as several other useful types of weapons that are used in Ranging. This Members' skill is not only helpful for making weapons to Range with, but it's also a great and fun way to make a profit. I have not tried this skill yet, so I cannot comment on how easy or hard it is to develop.

HERBLORE: Herblore can be quite an interesting skill, allowing you to brew your own potions and mixtures by combining the correct ingredients together. Each potion has a unique effect when you drink or use it, such as curing poison, raising your defense, or adding poison to a dagger. Of course, this is a Members-Only skill, and you need to complete a certain quest before you can begin making potions. Again, another skill I personally have not yet tried. My son says it's fairly easy.

HUNTER: The hunter skill is a very interesting skill in RuneScape, giving you the ability to track, set traps, and catch all sorts of creatures that you would otherwise be unable to interact with. It takes patience though, and you'll need to start small and work your way up to the tougher creatures - but it's worth it! Takes some effort, but overall fairly easy to develop.

MAGIC: Magic is a unique skill in RuneScape, allowing you to cast spells using magical Runes imbued with special powers. You can do so many things with this skill, from teleporting to cities instantly, changing a stack of bones into tasty bananas, or even sending a fiery missile towards your opponent! This is one of my favorite skills and the most commonly used for high level attacks.

MINING: For some RuneScapers, the tap, tap sound of a pickaxe against a rock is all that's needed to get the day started. This handy skill allows you to get ores from a rock, which can be used in smithing or trading, and it can be quite profitable once you can mine some of the various kinds of metals. Fairly simple to develop, but utterly boring. I think I actually fell asleep once while doing it.

PRAYER: Prayer can give you a huge advantage when facing even the meanest of enemies during combat. It can come in handy if you need an extra burst of strength, a moment of being invincible to magic, or even a faster healing time! Since there are so many things it can help with, Prayer is a skill worth getting better at, even though it can be quite tedious at times. Another skill I have not used nor tried to develop. My son has and says it takes quite a while and a lot of effort to build.

RANGING: Ranging is another distinctive combat skill, allowing you to attack your enemies from a distance, rather than close-up. This gives you the advantage, since most of your enemies are unable to attack you from far away, and you have the opportunity to inflict massive amounts of damage before the even reach you! This is fairly easy to develop.

RUNECRAFTING: Runecrafting is both a fun and useful skill, giving you the ability to make your own Runes from scratch. This skill can probably be considered a Mage's best friend, as spells can often use up many Runes, and with this ability you'll be able to craft your own! Before you can begin Runecrafting, you need to complete a certain quest.  My son says this is somewhat confusing to do at first, but once you get the hang of it then it goes much smoother.

SLAYER: The Slayer skill is much like your Combat skill, although slightly different. This Members-Only skill allows you to fight and kill monsters that you would normally be unable to defeat without the Slayer skill and equipment. I am not 100% sure, but I think you have to have a certain attack level to hone on this one.

SMITHING: The ability to forge your own weapons and armor out of various metals found in RuneScape can be quite a useful skill. It can also be profitable, since as you gain experience and are able to smith better armors and weapons, the more money you will make from selling them. This is pretty easy to develop.

STRENGTH: Strength is a very important combat skill. It determines how much you will hit when you attack something. With a high strength level and lots of strength-boosting gear, you can hit very high when you are are in combat. One of the easiest to develop.

THIEVING: Thieving is definitely one of the most interesting skills in the game, with a variety of things for both the casual thief and the professional kleptomaniac to practice on. This Members-Only skill gives you the ability to pickpocket quick cash from characters, steal tasty cakes and disarm dangerous traps that you may run into while adventuring. In my opinion, this skill is one of the funnest, however being dishonest.

WOODCUTTING: Last, but not least, you have the woodcutting skill. For many adventurers, woodcutting is an essential skill to build fires to cook over so that you can have a hot meal while hiking through the terrain. For experienced Fletchers, trees can be made into strong arrows and hand-made bows to use while Ranging. Fairly simple, but not something I have really tried to work on. You need this skill for improving your construction.

Looking for additional guides about Runescape? Then check them out my reading my other guides.