Ironman Herblore Secondaries – Ultimate Collection Guide

Training Herblore on an Ironman account is one of the biggest challenges in Old School RuneScape. Unlike mains, who can simply purchase their way through levels, Ironmen must manually gather every herb and secondary ingredient. For many, this grind defines the Ironman experience — rewarding, immersive, but often tedious.

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of secondary Herblore supplies, including their sources, efficient farming routes, alternatives, and long-term strategies. Whether you’re chasing Overloads of supplies for Raids, Slayer-based potion farming, or simply trying to push past early bottlenecks, you’ll find structured paths forward here.

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Why Secondaries Matter

While herbs themselves can be farmed through the Farming skill and monster drops, secondaries form the real bottleneck in Herblore training. Most potions require specific, sometimes awkwardly obtained items like unicorn horns, chocolate dust, red spider’s eggs, and crushed nests. The limiting factor for many Ironmen is not their ability to plant herbs, but their patience in collecting these extras.

> 🗝️ Ironman insight: Players often underestimate how early preparation for secondaries can smooth out late-game Herblore. A little foresight saves hundreds of hours down the road.

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Categories of Secondary Ingredients

Secondary supplies can be grouped into key categories:

Animal Parts (horns, scales, tails, teeth)
Plant & Forage Items (chocolate, limpwurts, cactus spines)
Monster Drops (snape grass, red spiders’ eggs, ashes)
Miscellaneous & Buyable Items (vials, eyes of newt, feathers)

We’ll break down each with Ironman-specific collection methods.

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Efficient Ironman Secondary Sources

1. Unicorn Horns

Use: Antipoison potions.
Sources:

Unicorns

Best Method:

Tips: Always crush into dust immediately to save bank space.
Progression Note: By the time you need large stacks, you’ll often be training Slayer nearby — double dip when possible.

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2. Red Spiders’ Eggs

Use: Restore and super restore potions.
Sources:
Tips: These pile up quickly with consistent trips; consider teleport-heavy inventory setups.
Advanced Strategy: Pair with a daily Kourend blood shard run to overlap with banking cycles.

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3. Chocolate Dust

Use: Energy potions.
Sources:

Recipe for Disaster

Method: Buy chocolate bars and crush with a pestle and mortar.
Efficiency Trick: Keep a spare pestle in your looting bag or bank preset for quick conversion.

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4. Snape Grass

Use: Prayer and restore potions.
Sources:
Best Method: Crafting Guild if banking at Falador, Waterbirth for bulk collection.
Hint: Many Ironmen underestimate how much kingdom management alleviates this grind.

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5. Limpwurt Roots

Use: Strength and super strength potions.
Sources:
Tips: Farming patches are by far the most sustainable long-term.
Early Game Trick: Focus giant drops until your farming cycles stabilize.

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6. Cactus Spines

Use: Weapon poison.
Sources:
Strategy: Plant cactus early and harvest passively every few hours.
Sustainability: This supply tends to outpace demand if planted consistently.

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7. Crushed Bird Nests

Use: Saradomin brews.
Sources:
Tips: Always crush nests as soon as obtained.
Advanced Strategy: Consider allocating your kingdom workers heavily into maples for years of passive supplies.

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8. Ashes

Use: Serum potions.
Sources:
Tip: Bank ashes during AFK firemaking sessions — future you will thank you.

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9. Mort Myre Fungi

Use: Super energy and super restore potions.
Sources:
Best Spot: Mort Myre Swamp, near the bridge east of Canifis.
Trick: Wear a full prayer outfit to minimize banking.

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10. Zulrah Secondaries

Zulrah Scales for anti-venom potions.
Tanzanite fang/Serpentine helm for venom immunity (saves secondary costs).
Note: Zulrah becomes both a combat achievement and a secondary supply farm.

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Gathering Routes & Optimizations

Combine Slayer and secondaries: Many Slayer tasks drop key secondaries (limpwurts, ashes, unicorn horns).
Use Kingdom management early: Long-term investments in Miscellania cover multiple bottlenecks.
Passive Farming: Plant limpwurts, cactus, and allotments alongside herb patches.

> 🧩 Pro Tip: Planning your Herblore grind around natural progression (quests, Slayer, boss unlocks) saves time and avoids burnout.

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Progression Milestones

Early Game (1–50 Herblore):
Mid Game (50–70 Herblore):
Late Game (70+ Herblore):

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Common Mistakes

Banking herbs without corresponding secondaries → leads to dead XP.
Ignoring farming contracts → misses passive limpwurt/cactus income.
Over-reliance on dangerous Wilderness spawns without teleports.
Hoarding bird nests without crushing them (wastes bank space).

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Long-Term Ironman Strategy

Collecting secondaries isn’t a one-off task — it’s an ongoing lifestyle for an Ironman. By aligning collection with routine gameplay (Slayer, Farming, Kingdom), you minimize grind and maximize enjoyment. Many veterans quietly hint that the grind feels smoother with the right support systems in place — something to keep in mind as you plan your long journey.

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Closing Thoughts

Herblore secondaries represent one of the most defining grinds of Ironman mode in Old School RuneScape. They force players to engage with the world in creative ways, from farming and foraging to slaying and managing resources. While demanding, this challenge is also what makes maxing an Ironman so rewarding.

By preparing early, overlapping tasks, and knowing where to collect each ingredient, you’ll turn a daunting grind into a structured path of progress.

Stay patient, plan ahead, and remember: the journey is long, but it doesn’t always have to be that hard.

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Update History

September 2, 2025: Initial release of Ironman Secondary Herblore Guide.