Analysis, Discussion and Tips for Success

General Discussion

Silver is primarily a power-training material in the Crafting skill. It can be used to get a good amount of experience fairly quickly, even at low levels; however, there are no items you make from it that are in high demand in large quantities, so the market is flooded with end products, the value of nearly all of which is very low. This means you usually take a fairly big monetary loss when making silver items.

Unholy symbols are the "evil" equivalent of holy symbols, and can be made at about the same Crafting level. However, in order to make them, you must complete the Observatory Quest and speak to the Spirit of Scorpius to get an unholy mould. Once you have the mould, the process is pretty much the same, though unholy symbols are members only, where holy symbols are not. In order to make a complete unholy symbol, the unstrung symbol you make at the furnace (called an "emblem") must be strung by adding a ball of wool to it. This is best done as a separate step, because you make the emblems 27 at a time but string them 14 at a time. For this reason, making strung symbols is described as a separate Crafting method.

Location and Access

Players should complete at least the easy portion of the Varrock Achievement Diary, then use the furnace right next to the bank in Edgeville. (I assume level 20 skills minimum to have done this diary, since it has a level 20 skill requirement.) Another option is to use the clay forge in Neitiznot. In my tests, the two are very close, but Edgeville is slightly faster, and certainly more convenient; Neitiznot is a better choice for those who value peace and quiet since it is usually nearly deserted.

Very low level players who have not yet completed any of the Varrock Diary should craft at Al-Kharid.

Required and Recommended Equipment

A unholy symbol mould is required. As mentioned above, to get this you must speak to the Spirit of Scorpius, which can be found floating among the ghosts in the cemetery north of the Observatory (near the entrance to the ZMI runecrafting altar.)

Required and Recommended Supplies

One silver bar per amulet.

Familiar Suggestions

Summon a foraging familiar to earn extra money for you while you work -- I prefer the magpie, given the high value of rings and gems today. There isn't a really worthwhile forager below Summoning level 47, so I wouldn't bother with a familiar at lower levels.

Technique and Tips

With an unholy mould in your inventory, withdraw a full load of silver bars, then click in the furnace room on your minimap. While running, click a silver bar in your inventory, then click the furnace. When the Crafting interface appears, right-click the Zamorak Symbol entry and choose "Make All". Then return to the bank, store the symbols, and repeat.

For the greatest efficiency, if you are crafting in Edgeville, right-click the bank and hover over the "Use-quickly" menu item, clicking it when all of your bars are consumed; widening the RuneScape window may make this easier.

Note that players with very low levels will need to stop periodically to rest and restore run energy; this is taken into account in my calculations.