OSRS Ironman Diary Guide: Which Diaries to Do First
Do all Easy diaries ASAP for free XP lamps and battlestaves. Key Hard diaries before grinding: Morytania Hard before Barrows (50% more runes), Desert Hard before Herblore (Zahur makes unfinished potions), Ardougne Hard before heavy Thieving (10% global success), Falador Hard before Giant Mole (noted drops). Late game: Lumbridge Elite (fairy rings without staff, 6th Slayer block) is the single best elite diary but requires quest cape.
Achievement Diaries are one of the most valuable systems for ironmen - and one of the easiest to neglect. Each diary region offers permanent, account-wide rewards that compound over thousands of hours of play.
The timing matters more than anything else. The difference between doing Morytania Hard before vs after Barrows is hundreds of thousands of runes. Desert Hard before vs after Herblore training is millions of GP saved on unfinished potions. This guide ranks every diary by ironman impact and tells you exactly when to complete each one.
1. Easy Diaries - Do All of These First
Easy diaries have minimal requirements (base 30-40 stats) and every single one gives useful rewards. Complete them all as early as possible.
| Diary | Key Reward | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Varrock | 15 daily battlestaves from Zaff (7k each) | Primary early GP source - craft into air/fire battlestaves and alch |
| Ardougne | Unlimited Ardougne Monastery teleport | Closest teleport to a fairy ring + altar, used constantly |
| Kourend & Kebos | Hosidius kitchen access, disease-free Hosidius patches | +5% cooking success, saves time on farming runs |
| Lumbridge & Draynor | 30 free low alchs/day, 2 run energy restores | Free GP, saves runes early |
| Falador | Falador Shield 1 (25% prayer restore once/day) | Free prayer restore, useful early |
| Kandarin | 30 daily flax-to-bowstring exchanges, 5% more marks of grace at Seers’ | Bowstrings + Agility bonus |
| All diaries | XP lamps (2,500 XP each at 30+) | Put on Herblore, Runecraft, or Prayer |
2. Medium Diaries - Natural Mid-Game Checkpoints
Complete these as requirements align (base 50-60 stats). Don’t grind for them - most complete naturally as you quest and train.
| Diary | Key Reward | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Varrock | 30 daily battlestaves, GE teleport toggle | Double the Easy tier GP |
| Ardougne | 10% pickpocket success in Ardougne, 3 daily farm patch teleports | Faster Ardy Knights, convenient herb runs |
| Fremennik | 10% Miscellania approval boost | Less maintenance on Kingdom |
| Kandarin | 5% herb save at Catherby, faster spinning wheel | Every saved herb counts over thousands of runs |
| Kourend & Kebos | 5% chance double dense essence, 20 free dynamite/day | Runecrafting efficiency |
| Falador | 54 Agility shortcut in Motherlode Mine | MLM efficiency |
| Morytania | 5% Slayer Tower XP bonus, ghostspeak amulet on legs | Slayer QoL |
3. Hard Diaries - Do These BEFORE These Grinds
This is the most important section of this guide. Hard diaries gate critical content, and completing them at the right time saves enormous amounts of resources.
| Diary | Key Reward | Do BEFORE… | Key Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morytania | 50% more Barrows runes, bonecrusher | Barrows grinding | 70 Prayer, 71 Agility, Desert Treasure I |
| Desert | Zahur makes unfinished potions (200gp), Wesley crushes items (50gp) | Herblore training | 68 Magic, 65 Thieving, 70 Agility |
| Ardougne | 10% global pickpocket success | Heavy Thieving (Ardy Knights, Master Farmers, Elves) | 72 Thieving, Mourning’s End Part II |
| Falador | Noted Giant Mole drops, mole locator | Giant Mole farming (tree seeds) | 72 Slayer, 70 Prayer |
| Varrock | 60 daily battlestaves | Anytime - more GP is always good | 95 Cooking (highest req) |
| Western Provinces | Red chinchompa private area, crystal halberd | Red chin hunting, Zulrah | 75 Thieving, Zulrah KC |
| Kandarin | 10% herb save Catherby, 10% enchanted bolt proc, Seers’ bank teleport | Extended herb farming, PvM with bolts | 75 Smithing, 70 Prayer |
| Fremennik | Noted adamantite bars from GWD, Waterbirth teleport, Tan Leather spell | GWD, DKs | 75 Thieving, 72 Magic, Lunar Diplomacy |
| Kourend & Kebos | Ash sanctifier (half Prayer XP from ashes), slayer helm acts as Shayzien helm | Demon Slayer tasks | 70 Smithing, 74 Farming |
| Lumbridge & Draynor | 10% more Tears of Guthix XP | Anytime - helps lowest skill | 70 Cooking, 70 Crafting, full RFD |
| Karamja | Unlimited Shilo Village mine teleport | Gem mining for Crafting | 53 Agility, 100+ Combat |
| Wilderness | Obelisk destination selection, noted wines of zamorak | Wilderness activities | 75 Smithing, 68 Slayer |
4. Elite Diaries - Late-Game Goals
Elite diaries require high 80s-90s stats. Most ironmen complete these gradually as requirements come naturally through Slayer, bossing, and general progression.
Ranked by ironman impact:
| Diary | Key Reward | Why It Matters | Hardest Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumbridge & Draynor | Fairy rings without staff, 6th Slayer block slot, 30 free high alchs/day | Frees inventory slot everywhere, better Slayer tasks | Quest cape (all quests) |
| Morytania | Bonecrusher grants full Prayer XP, Harmony herb patch (disease-free) | Massive passive Prayer from Slayer, extra herb patch | 96 Fishing |
| Kourend & Kebos | Ash sanctifier grants full Prayer XP, no boots in Karuulm dungeon | Full Prayer XP from demon ashes during Slayer | 95 Slayer |
| Ardougne | 84 daily buckets of sand to bank, unlimited farm patch teleports | Huge for Crafting (glassblowing), farming QoL | 91 Smithing, 94 Magic |
| Fremennik | Noted DK bones, 15% Miscellania approval boost | Massive Prayer XP from DK trips, Kingdom QoL | 82 RC, all GWD generals |
| Karamja | Unlimited Duradel teleport, noted metal dragon bars | Slayer QoL, free bars from tasks | 91 RC |
| Kandarin | 15% herb save at Catherby, first 200 coal auto-banked daily | Best herb save in game | 90 Smithing, 87 Magic |
| Western Provinces | Nieve/Steve grant same points as Duradel, free Zulrah resurrection/day | Slayer flexibility, HCIM safety | 93 Slayer, 1000 chompies |
| Varrock | 120 daily battlestaves | Best daily money - diminishing returns if GP isn’t a bottleneck | 89 Smithing, 95 Cooking |
| Desert | Unlimited Nardah/Kalphite teleports, full desert heat protection | Convenience - KQ access, no waterskins | 95 Fletching, 85 Prayer |
| Falador | Disease-free Falador tree patch, larger amethyst mine | Farming QoL, amethyst arrows | 91 Farming, 88 RC |
| Wilderness | Noted dragon bones from wilderness dragons, free Resource Area | Alternative Prayer source, niche | 96 Magic, 90 Cooking |
5. Diary XP Lamps - Where to Use Them
Every diary tier gives an Antique Lamp with bonus XP. The XP scales with the diary tier:
| Tier | XP | Minimum Skill Level |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 2,500 | 30 |
| Medium | 7,500 | 40 |
| Hard | 15,000 | 50 |
| Elite | 50,000 | 70 |
Best skills to use lamps on:
| Skill | Why | When |
|---|---|---|
| Herblore | Hardest ironman skill, secondary-limited, expensive | Always a good default choice |
| Runecraft | Slowest skill, painful diary requirements (91 for Karamja Elite) | If you’re far from 77+ RC |
| Prayer | Bone/ash-limited for ironmen, no easy passive training | If you need Prayer levels for diary/quest reqs |
| Construction | Plank-limited, every level unlocks useful POH rooms | If pushing for specific POH unlocks |
| Agility | Slow and tedious, many diary requirements | If you need Agility for a specific diary |
6. Combat Achievements - The Diary-Adjacent System
Combat Achievements work on a points system and reward Ghommal’s Hilt upgrades. These function similarly to diary rewards and are worth pursuing alongside diaries:
| Hilt Tier | CA Points | Key Ironman Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 (Medium) | 161 pts | Nullifies Barrows prayer drain (with hilt equipped) |
| Tier 3 (Hard) | 416 pts | Unlimited GWD teleports, private GWD instances (150k), halved NMZ/Soul Wars imbue costs |
| Tier 4 (Elite) | 1,064 pts | GWD KC reduced to 30, superior spawn rate 1/150 |
| Tier 5 (Master) | 1,904 pts | Thralls last 50% longer, Lucky Penny (5% charge save) |
7. Requirements - What Comes Naturally vs Needs Grinding
Come naturally through ironman gameplay:
- Combat stats (Attack, Strength, Defence, Ranged, Magic) - from Slayer
- Cooking - you cook everything you eat
- Farming - herb and tree runs
- Slayer - core ironman activity
- Thieving - Ardy Knights and Master Farmers
- Firemaking - Wintertodt
- Hunter - birdhouse runs
- Fishing - Tempoross and food gathering
Require intentional effort:
- Runecraft - 91 for Karamja Elite is the most dreaded diary requirement in the game
- Smithing - 91 for Ardougne Elite. Giants’ Foundry helps significantly
- Agility - 90 for Ardougne Elite. Pure grind, no shortcuts
- Prayer - 85 for Desert Elite. Ironmen must earn all bones/ashes themselves
- Quest cape - for Lumbridge Elite. Often the actual bottleneck, not the skill levels
Related Guides
- Mid-Game Goals - When Hard diaries become natural checkpoints
- Late-Game Goals - Elite diary context in late-game progression
- Herblore Guide - Desert Hard + Zahur interaction
- Crafting Guide - Varrock diary battlestaff pipeline
- Miscellania Guide - Fremennik diary + Kingdom interaction
- Slayer Guide - Bonecrusher and Slayer block slot context