OSRS Ironman Giants' Foundry Guide: Alloys & Rewards
Do Sleeping Giants at 15 Smithing, earn 2,000 rep for the Double Ammo Mould first, then work toward Smiths' Uniform (15,000 rep total). Use shop-bought warhammers early, Blast Furnace ores mid-game, and Slayer drops late-game. The 19:9 Adamant/Rune ratio is the ironman sweet spot at 85+ for 200-250k XP/hr.
Giants’ Foundry is the best Smithing XP per bar in the game. Every bar you feed into the crucible yields roughly 10x XP - an efficiency no other Smithing method can match. For ironmen, this is game-changing: since you can’t buy bars from the GE, every bar is a scarce resource with an opportunity cost. Giants’ Foundry extracts maximum value from each one.
But there’s more: the minigame is the only source of the Double Ammo Mould, which doubles your cannonball output. Cannonballs are the ammunition for the Dwarf Multicannon - ironmen need thousands of them. Having a mould that cuts your cannonball grinding in half is arguably the single best Smithing unlock in the game.
Requirements
To start Giants’ Foundry, you need:
- 15 Smithing (non-boostable)
- Sleeping Giants quest (short intro quest, no prerequisites)
- Ice gloves or bucket of water (to handle the hot preform)
- Pickaxe (to mine commission moulds)
The Sleeping Giants quest requires 3 oak logs, 1 wool, 10 nails, 1 chisel, 1 hammer, and 1 bucket of water - all obtainable from a fresh account.
How It Works: The Commission Loop
Every commission follows the same 4-step cycle. Once you understand this, you can replicate it indefinitely.
Step 1: Get a Commission
Talk to Kovac at Giants’ Foundry. He assigns you a sword commission described by two words (e.g., “Narrow” and “Spiked”). These words tell you which moulds to prioritize for maximum bonus points.
Step 2: Select Moulds & Load the Crucible
Head to the Mould Library and pick three moulds (one Forte, one Blade, one Tip) that best match the commission words. You get a bonus Mould Score for matching well.
Then load the crucible with 28 bars worth of metal. This is the key ironman decision point:
- Use raw bars directly, OR
- Use shop-bought warhammers (2 bars each), OR
- Use PvM drop equipment (4 bars per platebody, etc.)
Critical rule: Never smith bars into items yourself just to recycle them. You lose one bar per item in the conversion. Only feed the crucible with raw bars, shop items, or PvM drops.
Most importantly: use two different metals (an alloy). Single-metal loads score significantly lower. A Steel + Mithril alloy will always beat pure Steel, even with fewer total bars.
Step 3: Smelt
Pour the crucible contents into the mould. The metal casts and you receive a preform to work on.
Step 4: Refinement (The Active Part)
This is where the real work happens. Shape the preform using three tools, each requiring a specific temperature zone:
| Tool | Temperature | Progress | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trip Hammer | Hot | +2% per 5 ticks | Fastest progress, slowly cools sword |
| Grindstone | Medium | +1% per 2 ticks | Moderate progress, slowly heats |
| Polishing Wheel | Cold | +1% per 2 ticks | Moderate progress, cools quickly |
You manage temperature using the Lava Pool (heats) and Waterfall (cools). Your goal is to complete each section 100% without making mistakes.
Watch for Sweet Spots: Approximately 2-3 times per commission, the entire HUD gains a thick gold border for ~6 seconds. Click once during this window for +5% bonus progress and quality recovery. Sweet spots are essential for finishing tough sections, especially the Polishing Wheel which cools too fast to finish cleanly without them. Hitting a sweet spot shortly after it appears also recovers a portion of any lost quality from earlier mistakes - so don’t give up on a sloppy run.
Each mistake costs -10 quality. A mistake is using the wrong tool for the current temperature zone. Quality directly translates to XP, so avoiding mistakes is more valuable than marginally better alloys.
Quality and XP Formula
Your final XP is determined entirely by sword quality:
Quality = Metal Score + Mould Score − (Mistakes × 10)
The Metal Score depends on which alloy you chose:
| Alloy | Metal Score | Sections | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze only | 10 | 3 | Early rep farming |
| Iron only | 20 | 4 | Low-level |
| Iron + Steel | 40 | 5 | Early-mid game |
| Steel + Mithril | 65 | 5 | Mid-game sweet spot |
| Mithril + Adamant | 95 | 6 | Late-mid game |
| Mithril + Rune | 110 | 6 | Good if mith is plentiful |
| Adamant + Rune | 130 | 7 | Peak quality, 85+ |
Mould Score adds 24-69 bonus quality depending on how well your selected moulds match the commission. Best moulds + best alloy + zero mistakes = maximum XP per commission.
The 19:9 Adamant/Rune ratio: At 85+, load the crucible with 19 adamant bars and 9 rune bars. This achieves ~97% of maximum quality while using significantly fewer rune bars than full Rune alloys. It’s the ironman sweet spot for efficiency.
XP Rates
| Alloy | Smithing Level | XP/hr |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze/Iron | 15-30 | ~50k |
| Iron + Steel | 30-50 | ~70k |
| Steel + Mithril | 50-70 | 90-120k |
| Mithril + Adamant | 70-85 | 150-190k |
| Adamant + Rune (19:9) | 85+ | 200-250k |
With Smiths’ Uniform: Add +15% via faster refinement animations. Peak rates reach 250-275k XP/hr at 85+.
To put this in perspective: at 150k XP/hr average, expect roughly 80-100 hours of active play to reach 99 from level 15.
Ironman Bar Sourcing: The Core Challenge
Since ironmen can’t buy bars from the GE, you must self-source all metal. Here’s the ranked strategy by account stage:
Early Game: Shop-Bought Warhammers
The most accessible and fastest early option.
| Shop | Metal Tiers | Stock | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Torum Blacksmith | Bronze-Steel | High | Best option - bank nearby, requires Perilous Moons started |
| Vigr’s Warhammers (Keldagrim) | Iron-Steel | Reliable | Classic, no prerequisites |
| Skulgrimen’s (Rellekka) | Iron-Mithril | Decent | Waterbirth/Rellekka area |
| Aneirin’s Armour (Prifddinas) | Mithril-Addy | High | Requires Song of the Elves |
| Fortis Blacksmith (Varlamore) | Various | Good | Useful early-game option |
Each warhammer = 2 bars. Each platebody = 4 bars. Warhammers are faster to farm per shop cycle.
Mid Game: Blast Furnace Ore Seller
Once you have decent GP, buy ores from Ordan (the BF Ore Seller in Keldagrim) up to mithril. Smelt them at the Blast Furnace (which halves coal requirements), then feed bars to Giants’ Foundry. Roughly half the price of shop-buying equivalent warhammers.
Late Game: Slayer Drops
The most efficient source - zero extra cost since drops are already collected:
- Rune platebodies from high-level Slayer (Abyssal Demons, Skeletal Wyverns) = 4 rune bars each
- Adamant gear from mid-tier Slayer tasks
- Mithril drops from various monsters
Feed drops directly to the crucible without smithing them first. One rune platebody from an Abyssal Demon = 4 free rune bars.
Rewards and Priority Order
Foundry Reputation buys cosmetics, moulds, and critical upgrades. Here’s the ironman priority:
Tier 1: Essential First
| Item | Cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Double Ammo Mould | 2,000 | Doubles cannonball production - arguably the single best ironman unlock |
The Double Ammo Mould is not optional. Cannonballs are the ammunition for the Dwarf Multicannon. You need thousands of them for Slayer. This mould cuts your cannonball grinding in half. Buy it before anything else.
Tier 2: High Value (Work Toward)
| Item | Cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 5-6 key moulds | ~2,000-2,500 total | Improves Mould Score → more XP per commission (compounding effect) |
| Smiths’ Uniform (full set) | 15,000 | +15% XP rate from animation speed reduction |
The Smiths’ Uniform is a long grind (15k rep), but natural if you’re doing GF as your main Smithing method. Don’t rush it - you’ll earn rep passively while training.
Smiths’ Uniform breakdown:
- Boots: 3,500
- Gloves: 3,500
- Tunic: 4,000
- Trousers: 4,000
Critically, the Smiths’ Gloves combine with Ice Gloves to form Smiths’ Gloves (i) - giving you both the hot preform handling AND the animation speed bonus simultaneously. Combine them immediately.
Tier 3: Optional
| Item | Cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Remaining moulds | ~2,900 | Completes the collection; diminishing returns |
| Kovac’s Grog | 300 | +4 Smithing boost, tradeable, useful for boosting into content |
| Colossal Blade | 5,000 | Situationally useful vs large monsters (60 Attack requirement) |
| Ore Packs | 200 each | Minor ore supplement - low priority for ironmen |
Progression Path by Stage
| Stage | Level | Alloy | Bar Source | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early | 15-30 | Bronze/Iron | Shop warhammers | Earn 2,000 rep → Double Ammo Mould |
| Early-mid | 30-50 | Iron + Steel | Shop warhammers | Buy 5-6 key moulds |
| Mid | 50-70 | Steel + Mithril | BF Ore Seller (Ordan) | Work toward Smiths’ Uniform |
| Late-mid | 70-85 | Mithril + Adamant | BF ores + Slayer drops | Complete Smiths’ Uniform |
| Late | 85+ | Adamant + Rune (19:9) | Slayer drops primary | 200-250k XP/hr |
Key rule: Don’t rush high-tier alloys if your bar supply can’t sustain sessions. Consistent mid-tier beats interrupted high-tier grinding.
Giants’ Foundry vs Blast Furnace: When to Use Each
Giants’ Foundry and Blast Furnace aren’t competitors - most ironmen use both strategically:
| Scenario | Use GF | Use BF Gold |
|---|---|---|
| Want reputation rewards | ✅ | ❌ |
| Have PvM drops to use | ✅ | ❌ |
| Want fastest raw XP | ❌ | ✅ (230k+ XP/hr) |
| Low gold ore supply | ✅ | ❌ |
| Smithing 70+ | ✅ (competitive) | ✅ |
Typical ironman strategy: Do BF gold for fast level bursts when you want to push levels quickly. Do GF for everything else - reputation grinding, using up PvM drops, and building gear unlocks.
Related Guides
- Smithing 1-99 - Full Smithing guide covering Blast Furnace and Giants’ Foundry
- Slayer Guide - Primary source of late-game bar drops (rune/adamant gear)
- Mining Guide - Ore sources for BF → GF pipeline
- Early Ironman Money Making - GP for shop-buying bars