osrs-codex/codex/training/magic-alch-handoff.yaml

id: magic-alch-handoff
title: Magic training via alchemy (LA → SII → HLA handoff)
domain: training
tags: [magic-training, alching, f2p, xp-training]
status: verified
version: 1
updated: "2026-08-27"   # ISO dates must stay quoted — YAML 1.1 parses bare dates to datetime.date

summary: >
  The standard F2P alchemy training path: Low Level Alchemy from level 21
  (31 xp/cast), an optional Superheat Item window from 43 (53 xp/cast, smelts
  ore into bars), then High Level Alchemy from 55 (65 xp/cast, the wiki's
  recommended end-state). All three spells are F2P and stay castable after
  their unlock levels, so the handoffs are efficiency recommendations, not
  hard caps.  

accounts:
  membership: f2p            # LA, SII and HLA are all members=No spells
  min_level: 21              # Magic 21 — Low Level Alchemy unlock
  requires_quest: []
  requires_other:
    - "Staff of Fire equipped (drops LA/SII/HLA rune cost to 1 nature rune per cast)"
    - "A bank with GE access within reach (runes + alch items come from the GE)"

best_practice:
  equipment:
    - item: staff of fire
      why: "unlimited fire runes — the rune cost of every alchemy spell drops to a single nature rune per cast"
      source: "OSRS wiki — High Level Alchemy (rune cost table; Staff of fire)"
  techniques:
    - name: hand off LA -> HLA at level 55
      why: "LA page: 'Players with level 55 Magic are generally recommended to use High Level Alchemy instead, as it provides more coins and experience per cast' — 65 vs 31 xp/cast, 60% vs 40% of item value"
      source: "OSRS wiki — Low Level Alchemy (Comparison with High Level Alchemy); High Level Alchemy (infobox: level 55, 65 xp)"
    - name: optional Superheat Item window 43-55
      why: "SII unlocks at 43 (53 xp/cast) and smelts ore into bars without a furnace — a training window that can profit when ore/bar margins are positive; it cannot be cast on noted ore, so it needs an ore inventory rather than a note stack"
      source: "OSRS wiki — Superheat Item (43 Magic, 53 xp, F2P; 'smelt ore into bars without a furnace'; 'cannot be cast on noted ore')"
    - name: buy GE items below alch value, cast on noted items at a bank
      why: "HLA page: 'Players who train this way can break even on the cost of runes, or even turn a profit, by buying items on the Grand Exchange for a lower cost than the item's High Alchemy value'; all alchemy spells work on noted items, saving bank withdrawals per cast"
      source: "OSRS wiki — High Level Alchemy (GE buying for break-even/profit; noted-item casting)"
    - name: treat the handoffs as soft efficiency choices
      why: "all three spells remain castable past 21/43/55 and stay on the standard F2P spellbook, so the tier switches optimise xp/cast and cost rather than gate the path"
      source: "OSRS wiki — Low Level Alchemy; Superheat Item; High Level Alchemy (level + experience infoboxes, members=No)"

economy:
  # Per-cast economics at 2026-08-27 snapshot (prices.runescape.wiki latest):
  # staff of fire -> 1 nature rune per cast. Nature rune id 561 buy 145
  # (mapping limit 18000, cross-checked against Module:Exchange/Nature_rune,
  # members=false, lowalch 72 = 40% of value 180 — consistency assertion).
  # Income/net per cast depend on the alched item, so they live in the
  # per-activity entries (low-alch-f2p, f2p-alch-catalog): this entry only
  # prices the shared consumable.
  item: nature rune
  item_id: 561
  cost_per_cycle: 145        # one nature rune per cast (staff of fire), buy price 2026-08-27
  xp_per_hour: 117000        # HLA tier (65 xp/cast, ~1800 casts/hr at the 3-tick spell speed — derived; LA tier 55800, SII tier 95400)
  supplies:
    - item: nature rune
      qty_per_cycle: 1
      source: ge
      ge_limit: 18000        # mapping + Module:Exchange agree
  profit_drivers:
    - "XP per cast by tier (wiki infoboxes): LA 31 (level 21) / SII 53 (level 43) / HLA 65 (level 55)"
    - "HLA can break even or profit on GE-bought items priced below their High Alchemy value (HLA page); LA is a loss at current prices (see low-alch-f2p)"
    - "SII turns a profit only when ore + nature costs stay under the resulting bar's GE price — re-check margins per window (SII page)"

state_machine:
  initial: idle
  terminal: [complete, failed]
  states:
    idle:
      goal: be at a bank with GE access, staff of fire equipped, nature runes in stock
      next: [cast, bank_supplies, complete, failed]
    cast:
      goal: cast the current tier spell (LA below 43, SII 43-55 if chosen, HLA from 55)
      next: [cast, bank_supplies, complete, failed]
    bank_supplies:
      goal: deposit coins, restock nature runes (+ ores if running the SII window)
      next: [cast, idle]
    complete:
      goal: magic level target reached
    failed:
      goal: hard failure — stop, log ERROR sentinel, alert
  transitions:
    - from: cast
      when: "nature rune count < buffer (or ore count < buffer in SII window)"
      to: bank_supplies
    - from: cast
      when: "level 43 reached and the SII window is chosen (margins positive)"
      to: cast
    - from: cast
      when: "level 55 reached"
      to: cast
    - from: idle
      when: "magic level >= target"
      to: complete

actions:
  - id: a1
    step: reach-bank
    verb: move_to
    target: bank
    params:
      location: "nearest bank with GE"
      method: [teleport, walk]
    on_fail: retry
    anti_ban:
      delay: [400, 1600]

  - id: a2
    step: buy-supplies
    verb: ge_buy
    target: grand-exchange
    params:
      item: "nature rune (and ores during the SII window)"
      qty: "fill to buffer"
      max_price: "live low + 5%"
    on_fail: retry
    anti_ban:
      delay: [1200, 3000]

  - id: a3
    step: cast-tier-spell
    verb: use_item_on
    target: "tier supply in inventory (noted stack for LA/HLA, ore for SII)"
    params:
      spell: "Low Level Alchemy | Superheat Item | High Level Alchemy (per current tier)"
      item: "cheapest live candidate in inventory"
      on: "itself"
    on_fail: retry
    anti_ban:
      delay: [1600, 3400]    # 3-tick cast = ~5.4s game; stay under it, humanised

  - id: a4
    step: bank-loop
    verb: bank_inventory
    target: bank
    params:
      deposit: [all coins, all products]
      withdraw: "nature runes up to buffer (+ ores during the SII window)"
    on_fail: alert

run_control:
  iteration: "one cast"
  max_iterations: null
  break:
    every: [8, 14]           # bank cycles (breaks land on bank visits)
    for: [45, 120]           # seconds of idle AFK
  stop_conditions:
    - "magic level >= target"
    - "gp under floor"
    - "3 consecutive failed casts (client issue — do not loop)"

risk:
  ban_level: low
  notes:
    - "3-tick cast cadence is the main detection vector; keep anti_ban delays."
    - "The valuable-item warning fires on item GE value (not alch value) — the script must handle the warning widget when alching high-value items (HLA page)."
    - "SII ore-buy bursts are pace-sensitive like any GE buy; respect the 4h limit window."

sources:
  - "OSRS wiki — Low Level Alchemy (21 Magic, 31 xp/cast, members=No, 3-tick, 40% of item value; 'recommended to use High Level Alchemy instead' at 55 Magic)"
  - "OSRS wiki — Superheat Item (43 Magic, 53 xp/cast, members=No; smelts ore into bars without a furnace; cannot be cast on noted ore)"
  - "OSRS wiki — High Level Alchemy (55 Magic, 65 xp/cast, members=No, 60% of item value; GE buying for break-even/profit; noted-item casting; valuable-item warning)"
  - "prices.runescape.wiki/api/v1/osrs/mapping (id 561 nature rune: members=false, limit 18000, value 180, lowalch 72; limit cross-checked against Module:Exchange/Nature_rune — agree)"
  - "prices.runescape.wiki/api/v1/osrs/latest (nature rune buy 145, snapshot 2026-08-27)"
verified: "2026-08-27"  # keep quoted (YAML 1.1 date parsing)

related:
  - low-alch-f2p
  - f2p-alch-catalog
  - high-alch-p2p