Guide · Start here

Ironman

Choose Standard or Hardcore Ironman, understand solo rewards and death, or permanently surrender the mode and become Regular.

Ironman characters earn their own equipment, supplies and rewards. Choose Standard Ironman or Hardcore Ironman when creating a character. A Regular character cannot turn Ironman later.

The modes

ModeWhat it means
RegularThe ordinary shared economy and player events
Standard IronmanIronman restrictions, without a Hardcore status to lose
Hardcore IronmanThe same restrictions, plus Hardcore status until an unsafe death
Fallen IronmanA former Hardcore character after an unsafe death; play continues with Standard restrictions and a permanent Fallen identity

Fallen is a result of play, not a character-creation choice. An unsafe death does not delete your character. Ordinary item-loss rules still apply. A safe death, such as in the Stone Guardian chamber, keeps Hardcore status; do not assume a boss is safe merely because it has its own arena.

What you can and cannot share

ActivityIronman rule
Trading and Auction HouseNo player trading or market buying and selling
Other players' dropped itemsCannot take them as a supply source
Player eventsCannot host, join or collect shared event rewards, including daily events
Shared prize chests and giveawaysNo Event Chest, party-chest or shared giveaway rewards
Free signup and referral rewardsNot available to Ironman characters
Paid Subscription, Skill and Combat cardsMay buy them from the Subscription vendor and redeem them; their XP benefits apply normally
Personal skilling rewardsMay earn Skilling Keys and open the Skilling Chest
Quests and skillsProgress through them using your own earned supplies and eligible rewards

You can watch events, read their status and leave their areas. That does not make you eligible for their prizes. Construction and Alchemy are available to Ironman characters too; their material and level requirements still apply.

The card exception lets supported Ironman modes buy cards from the Subscription vendor in Lumbridge with their own coins: a Subscription card for 100,000 coins, a Skill or Combat card for 1,000,000. Subscription time, card XP boosts and subscriber benefits work for them as for other supported characters. It does not open trading, and Ironmen still cannot get cards from crackers, chests, events or the Void Circuit Keeper. See Cards and subscriptions.

Solo monster rewards

For ordinary monster loot and combat XP, an Ironman kill must be yours alone. A shared fight does not become a solo kill because you dealt the most damage or the final blow.

  • You may help in a shared fight where attacking is allowed, but you do not receive ordinary loot, combat XP, Slayer credit or kill-record rewards from that shared kill.
  • A monster actively claimed by another Ironman refuses your attack.
  • Quest-specific kill progress can still work where that quest explicitly supports it. This is not a general exception for loot.

Some abandoned ordinary monsters reset to full health after a quiet period so another player can begin a fresh solo attempt. Bosses and special encounters do not all use that recovery, so find a fresh target when ownership is unclear.

Ironman does not make the Wilderness safe. You can fight other players under the ordinary combat rules, but cannot collect their death loot or take part in the bounty rewards. See Combat and Wilderness rules before entering.

Giving up Ironman status

Talk to the Ironman Registrar in Lumbridge at (119, 653), or choose Surrender. Standard, Hardcore and Fallen characters can become Regular. The registrar gives two confirmations.

Finish combat and any claimed monster, leave private activities, close your bank or shop and finish exchanges first. Remove Ironman armour from your equipment. If the registrar says a restricted reward or settlement is still owed, resolve it before trying again. Your character's progression is not restarted; the change removes the mode and its restrictions.

The Chronicle ladders

Open the World Chronicle and choose Standard Ironman, Hardcore Ironman or Fallen Ironman. Each ladder ranks its current characters by total level, then total experience.

An unsafe Hardcore death moves that character into Fallen. Fallen characters can keep training and climbing their ladder; it is not a frozen record of their stats at death. Surrendering Ironman status removes the character from these Ironman ladders.