Last Updated: Sep 29, 2026
By 60
Gemstone Crab are one of the newest AFK training methods in Old School RuneScape, and they have quickly become the best option for players looking to train Melee or Ranged in a fully AFK & safe setting.
Much like Sand Crabs and Ammonite Crabs, Gemstone Crab offers long AFK periods while still providing excellent experience rates. However, they fix all of the biggest pain points of traditional crabs training.
Because Gemstone Crabs have infinite Hitpoints, you never have to worry about wasting damage or waiting for them to respawn. Combine this with their low damage output and 10-minute AFK timer, and you have one of the most relaxed training methods currently available.
Gamer note: From my experience, some players still default to Sand Crabs because they are the method everyone knows. While Sand Crabs are still a great option, Gemstone Crabs are generally the better choice for most accounts once you have access to them. They are easier to AFK, require no tedious resetting, and are especially useful for low Defence accounts that normally struggle with taking damage.
As with all other crabs, I would not recommend training magic here. In my opinion, this is a ‘noob trap’. There are so many effective ways to train magic (even from very low levels), the xp/h and gp spent here is simply not worth it for mage training.
If you've decided Gemstone Crab is the way to go, let's jump into everything you need to know before getting started!
1. What are the requirements to kill Gemstone Crabs? One of the best things about Gemstone Crabs is how accessible they are. Unlike Ammonite Crabs, which require Bone Voyage, or other training methods with multiple unlocks, Gemstone Crabs have only one real requirement: access to Varlamore.
To start training at Gemstone Crabs, you will need:
Complete Children of the Sun
Method to get to Varlamore
Your best combat gear to train with
That's it!
Children of the Sun is a very short novice quest with no skill requirements, no combat requirements, and no difficult fights. It can be completed very early into an account, making Gemstone Crabs one of the best AFK training options available to newer players. If you don’t want to deal with questing yourself, see our questing page here.
Gamer note: If you're building a low Defence account, I would highly recommend unlocking Gemstone Crabs as soon as possible. One of the biggest problems with traditional crab spots is that 1 Defence accounts can still take regular damage, forcing you to bank or bring food. Gemstone Crabs completely remove that problem and are easily one of the best long-term AFK training spots for pures.
Although there are no combat requirements, I would still recommend completing a few early quests before starting your grind. Unlocking better weapons, armour, and training gear will make a huge difference to your experience rates.
For Melee training, a good starting point in my experience is:
Waterfall Quest
Fight Arena
Tree Gnome Village
The Grand Tree
Vampyre Slayer
For Ranged training, completing Dwarf Cannon before starting your grind is also a great idea. The cannon can quickly get your early Ranged levels out of the way, allowing you to arrive at Gemstone Crabs with much better accuracy and equipment.
2. How should I get to and return to Gemstone Crabs? Getting to Gemstone Crabs is slightly more complicated than traditional crab spots because they are located in the Tlati Rainforest in Varlamore. However, once you have unlocked the area, returning is actually very straightforward thanks to the cave system that connects all three Gemstone Crab locations.
Unlike Sand Crabs or Ammonite Crabs, you don't need to worry about finding the exact spawn every time. Simply reach one of the Gemstone Crab locations, enter the nearby cave, and it will take you directly to the crab's current location.
Here are the quickest methods I would recommend.
For most players at this stage of the game, the fastest way to return to Gemstone Crabs is through the Quetzal Transport System.
The easiest route is:
Civitas illa Fortis teleport → Quetzal → Tal Teklan → Run south to Gemstone Crab
The Tal Teklan landing site is already available, making this the most accessible way to reach the crab early game. From Tal Teklan quetzal, simply run south into the Tlati Rainforest and enter the cave near the mining area. See below for the route:
This is the method I would recommend for all early game players looking to do Gemstone Crab.
Requirements:
Access to Varlamore
Access to the Quetzal Transport System (requires starting Twilight's Promise)
Pros:
Very Accessible
No consumables required
Perfect for early progressed accounts
Cons:
Requires extra Varlamore progression
If you have unlocked the Statue of Ates, the Pendant of Ates is the fastest teleport return option.
Simply teleport to Kastori with the pendant, then run north to the eastern Gemstone Crab location. From there, enter the cave and you will be taken to the active crab location.
This is especially useful for players who have progressed through Varlamore a little more and have access to this return method.
For players who already have fairy ring access, AIS is another available option.
The route is:
Fairy ring AIS → Auburn Valley → Achilka's boat → Tal Teklan/Kastori → Gemstone Crab
This method is slightly slower than the Quetzal route but might still be viable for people who don’t have access to teleports to Civitas illa Fortis and do have access to Ardougne cloak 1 and fairy rings.
If you're planning on spending a lot of time at Gemstone Crabs, I would definitely unlock the fastest teleport option available to your account.
The whole point of Gemstone Crabs is long AFK sessions, so spending an extra minute or two every time you bank/do a farm run quickly adds up over hundreds of trips.
My personal ranking order for returning would be:
Pendant of Ates → Quezal Transport → Fairy Ring AIS
Once you arrive, don't waste time searching for the crab. Just enter the nearest cave and it will take you straight to the active Gemstone Crab location.
Gamer note: One of the biggest improvements Gemstone Crabs have over older crab methods is that you never have to hop worlds looking for an open spot or wait for respawns. The cave system makes returning after banking extremely painless, which is one of the reasons this method has become so popular.
Melee If you're training melee, you can expect peak experience rates of around 100k xp/h at max combat. You can actually reach rates of around 130k xp/h if using potions and piety alongside max gear the whole time, but most players don’t do this as they’re looking for longer AFK time.
Starting out with 44 Attack and 30 Strength, you'll be looking at roughly 30k xp/h. From my experience, the fastest way to progress is by training your Attack and Strength 10 levels at a time, alternating between the two.
Below is a table showing the approximate melee experience rates you can expect at different levels. Your actual xp/h will vary depending on your gear and how efficiently you reset aggression.
Melee Levels | Rough EXP per hour |
40 Attack/Strength | ~30k-35k exp/h |
50 Attack/Strength | ~36k-41k exp/h |
60 Attack/Strength | ~45k-52k exp/h |
70 Attack/Strength | ~52k-60k exp/h |
80 Attack/Strength | ~66k-74k exp/h |
90 Attack/Strength | ~76k-84k exp/h |
99 Attack/Strength | ~89k-100k exp/h |
Range Ranged experience rates also top out at around 100k xp/h for the average player here. You can get up to around 130K xp/h with a blowpipe and pots/prayers used - but most places are here to heavily AFK and for a cheap training alternative, so avoid anything that requires extra attention/cost.
Starting at 40 Ranged with mithril darts, you can expect to earn around 33k xp/h.
Below is a table showing the rough Ranged xp/h you can expect at different levels. Your actual xp/h will vary depending on your gear.
Range Level | Rough EXP per hour |
40 Range | ~33k-36k exp/h |
50 Range | ~37k-41k exp/h |
60 Range | ~42k-49k exp/h |
70 Range | ~46k-57k exp/h |
80 Range | ~61k-74k exp/h |
90 Range | ~76k-90k exp/h |
99 Range | ~88k-100k+ exp/h |
Lucky (Charm) for you, we have full guides listed across our site for weapon progression!
Melee weapons For your melee gear, you can see our guide covering melee weapon progression here!
Range weapons For you rangers out there, you can see our guide for range weapon progression by tapping this!
I think there are 3 realistic alternatives when it comes to AFKing similar to Gemstone crab. I will list each of them below, with their differences & with our respective guides for each too!
Sand crabs I would say these are your second best option for a pure account. Another great alternative for lower defence accounts, also with very few requirements. You can see our full guide on Sand crabs by clicking here.
Monster | Gemstone Crab | Sand Crabs |
Location(s) | Varlamore | Zeah/Varlamore |
HP | Infinite | 60 |
Requirements | Children of the Sun quest | None |
XP/H | Highest | Med-High |
Rock crabs Rock crabs are very similar to sand crabs. They have slightly lower HP and are a little longer to return to, so are slightly worse overall. They are very uncontested though, so you should never have any problems finding a spot! Click here to see our full guide on everything Rock Crabs!
Monster | Gemstone Crab | Rock Crabs |
Location(s) | Varlamore | Rellekka |
HP | Infinite | 50 |
Requirements | Children of the Sun quest | None |
XP/H | Highest | Moderate |
Ammonite Crabs These are the second highest EXP rate you can get at crabs. It does come with a trade off though: You will be hit a lot more if you’re lower defence & they have higher requirements to access. Click here to see our full guide on Ammonite crabs.
Monster | Gemstone Crab | Ammonite Crabs |
Location(s) | Varlamore | Fossil Island |
HP | Infinite | 100 |
Requirements | Children of the Sun quest | Bone Voyage Quest |
XP/H | Highest | Med-High |
The short answer is: yes.
Gemstone Crab has quickly become one of the best AFK training methods because they solve many of the problems that come with traditional crab training.
Yes.
This is one of the biggest reasons Gemstone Crab is so popular. There is also no long winded aggression-reset process. You simply click on the tunnel and continue attacking the gemstone crab every 10 minutes.
Gemstone Crabs have the same 10-minute AFK timer as other crab training methods. As mentioned above, the reason it really shines is because of the lack of unnecessary aggression resetting.
Yes, but they deal very little damage compared to most other crab methods. The gemstone crab splits its damage across every player, so you will take very little damage.
It also has a max hit of 1, so wearing a ring of life here guarantees never being able to die on a HCIM.
Yes, they are the best option available when it comes to crab training.
In my experience, because of the reasons listed above, all experienced pure accounts use this method as their go to for AFK training.
Yes! If you bring a pickaxe with you, the top 16 players that dealt the most damage at the end of the kill will be able to mine its shell for 3 gems each, ranging from Opal → Dragonstone. So if you want a few extra gems, make sure to bring your pickaxe along!
That should cover everything you need to know about Gemstone Crab!
Whether you're building a pure, training a main account, or just looking for a relaxed way to grind combat levels, Gemstone Crabs are one of the best AFK methods currently available.
They might not have the nostalgia of Sand Crabs, but once you've spent a few hours here, you'll understand why so many experienced players have switched over.
Happy gemstone slayin’!
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