Giants' Foundry/Strategies

This guide provides detailed information as to recommended equipment and alloys, the acquirement of materials and workings of refinement of a preform in the Giants' Foundry.

Recommended equipment

The Smiths' Uniform, a set obtainable in this minigame, will provide a chance of bonus progress upon each machine tick, with guaranteed bonus on a full set, making for noticeably increased earning rates by about 15%. The Smiths gloves can be combined with ice gloves, making retrieving the preform seamless.

Kovac restores 50% run energy after handing in a blade. Without the graceful outfit, it is very unlikely that the player will deplete their energy, so it is neither required, nor recommended. The hood and cape (or other weight-reducing items) can be used to compensate for the minute weight of the preform and the Smiths' Uniform, but the benefit is not tangible; the slots may be simply left empty.

Earning Rates

This table shows the earning rates of experience and gold for the best alloys at a given Smithing level, with the average scoring of commissions, all optimal moulds being available, optimal player performance, but without the Smiths' Uniform. It should be noted that both the performance and the commissions issued will vary, and so these rates may also slightly vary hour-to-hour, albeit within 10% of deviation. Similarly, changes in Grand Exchange market prices will also result in changes in expenses and thus profits.

Unless stated otherwise, the alloys are in a 1:1 ratio. Claws are not considered as smelting material due to high difficulty in obtaining a sufficient amount.

Alloy	Level	Cost in bars per hour	Cost in items per hour	XP per hour	Foundry rep. per hour	Avg. Revenue per hour	Using bars		Using items
							Profit/h	GP/XP	Profit/h	GP/XP
Bronze-Iron	15	101,024	12,240	97,920	1,264	195,840	94,816	0.97	183,600	1.88
Iron-Steel	30	168,448	30,912	133,920	1,568	267,840	99,392	0.74	236,928	1.77
Steel-Mithril	50	254,996	120,540	164,640	1,722	329,280	74,284	0.45	208,740	1.27
Mithril-Adamant	70	468,384	312,648	198,000	1,836	396,000	−72,384	0.37	83,352	0.42
Adamant-Rune	85	2,238,390	1,690,920	253,110	2,068	506,220	−1,732,170	−6.84	−1,184,700	−4.68

Refinement mechanics

Tool characteristics

The waterfall and lava pool both offer two different rates of temperature change, the faster one being accessible via right-click. In addition, the longer the time the character is spending there, the faster the rate becomes, easily jumping 10% of the entire temperature bar in one tick if left unattended.

The Trip hammer is significantly slower than the other machines, but progresses in larger chunks. Some attention should be given to the progress bar, and occurences where the temperature drops out of range in between strikes is also more likely.

The polishing wheel cools down the sword the fastest of all machines by a considerable margin and care should be taken to not have one's attention wander while operating it. To complete a polishing section without re-heating the blade without a sweet spot bonus is extremely unlikely.

The grinder is the only tool to heat the sword up instead of cooling it, and it does so relatively quickly, where finishing a grinding section without a sweet spot is only feasible in higher-difficulty swords. Less practiced players may cause damage to the sword by placing the temperature on the high end of range by mistake.

The preform storage functions quite simply, but it may be beneficial to point out that if the player leaves the Foundry, for example by the main entrance, the preform will be unequipped and placed in storage on its own. The storage stand is the only intended way to unequip the preform.

The Refinement HUD features a thin white border that appears around the temperature range and progress section where the sword is situated. It is very helpful when edging a temperature range to affirm the player may work the preform, or to resolve edge cases where the progress arrow is stuck between two sections.

Temperature management

It is scarcely useful to attempt to set the temperature of the sword to the very edge of acceptable range, be it during heating, cooling, or working the sword. However, more practiced players may find the small margin it provides comforting due to a variety of reasons described both above and below. If the player desires tighter temperature control, the following tips may help.

The temperature adjustment acceleration over time is desirable when transitioning between extremes (fresh out of polish to hammering and vice versa), but it makes stopping at a precise temperature complicated. There are two ways to navigate this: The player can be ready to left-click the tool at the right time, immediately transitioning from fast adjustmest to slow adjustment and spending a few ticks refining the last bit of travel. More practiced players can do the same, but right-clicking the tool and waiting to click the fast adjustment option again. This resets the rate back to the base one, and if the player has a good eye for the temperature meter, may be able to only spend one or two ticks fine-tuning the transition between tools.

Performing the more advanced method may still place the temperature slightly below the desired point, or slightly above. With the hammer and polish wheel, passive cooling can be accounted for in a way where the temperature can be brought slightly higher than the required range, and allowed to trickle down onto the very high end of the range just as the player arrives to the machine. This requires finesse, as the precise temperature cannot be easily controlled and neither can be the passive cooling. It can therefore be preferable to end temperature adjustment slightly inside the grinder/polish wheel range, as otherwise the player may have to wait for the sword to cool for too long.

The natural cooling of the sword is not constant, it oscillates in general and is not reliable. When edging the temperature while working a machine, particularly the trip hammer, keep a very close eye on the white outline around the temperature range. If it disappeares, try to disengage immediately.

Passive cooling is especially tricky, but also potentially helpful, during grinding. Since the grinder is the only machine that heats up the sword instead of cooling it, it is preferable to adjust temperature to the low end of the range, which makes it far easier to fall out of range sometime between the player leaving the waterfall/lava lake and beginning grinding, and the uncertain cooling rate may become treacherous. On the other hand, the passive cool slightly pulls the temperature back while it is being brought up by the grinder, making it possible to complete the section in one action on a 6-section sword with the narrowest of margins and some overlap from the previous section's progress, without a "sweet spot" event (the quick-time event which awards a lump of progress). Most of the time, the best a player can hope for is being one stroke away from finishing grinding and so slightly above range that they may simply wait by the machine idle, with passive cooling allowing for the final stroke sooner than one would run to the waterfall and back.

Progress management

If doing a sword of 5 sections or less, it is not possible to complete a stage of progress within one round of cooling or heating except through sweet spots, and it is also exceptionally difficult on a 6-section sword without them (as mentioned above). They are unreliable, however, and without bonuses from the Smith's Uniform, will not complete the polishing wheel in one action, even on a 6-section sword. This is the main reason why it's usually a waste of time trying to push the temperature to the very edge of a range to get the most out of a single adjustment: The margins by which the section falls short of completion are far too great to be compensated by squeezing extra 1% of temperature range out of precise control. In fact, doing this while working with a tool may cost the player a sweet spot.

Keep in mind the sweet spot occurences and whether they have all passed for a given sword. It is possible that the very last strike of the tool which places the temperature out of range also triggers the coming of a sweet spot, which can now no longer be used. Unless all sweet spots have appeared, it is recommended to interrupt work one stroke before the temperature falls out of range and adjust temperature.

Players may want to consider staying off heavily populated worlds while playing in the Foundry. Occasional tick stutters may throw one off and delayed input response may cause the character to interact with a machine longer than intended, potentially resulting in damage.

Obtaining materials for recycling

Obtaining smithed weapons and armour from the Grand Exchange to be used in the Foundry may result in additional profit. However, acquiring a decent stock of such items may take a few hours and the player should note that many of the compatible items have a relatively low buy limit of 125, which may be fully spent in 2-3 hours of playing the Foundry, depending on the item.

Smithing items on one's own purely to be used in the Foundry will result in financial loss; the less bars required per item, the greater the loss, as the bar lost in each smithed item could have been used directly in the Foundry. Nevertheless, it provides the player a means to draw experience from a given volume of bars twice: Once in smithing, once in the Foundry.

The cheapest method for obtaining rune materials is to use rune platebodies.

For adamant materials, players may find that Aneirin's Armour in Prifddinas has a stock of adamant and mithril armour that could be suitable when making alloys. Platelegs and skirts provide the best value at his shop.

The claws may seem like a near-universal choice for savings, but are impractical due to extremely low stocks, taking days to purchase in some cases.

Bronze

Bronze bar price: 216

Item		Recycled bars	Grand Exchange				Specialty store
			GE price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars	Daily volume	Store price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars
	Bronze scimitar	1	178	178.00	38.00	3,342	32	32.00	184.00
	Bronze longsword	1	100	100.00	116.00	722	40	40.00	176.00
	Bronze full helm	1	74	74.00	142.00	3,946	44	44.00	172.00
	Bronze sq shield	1	95	95.00	121.00	1,496	48	48.00	168.00
	Bronze claws	1	182	182.00	34.00	3	15	15.00	201.00
	Bronze warhammer	2	93	46.50	169.50	2,875	61	30.50	185.50
	Bronze battleaxe	2	90	45.00	171.00	1,547	52	26.00	190.00
	Bronze chainbody	2	101	50.50	165.50	689	60	30.00	186.00
	Bronze kiteshield	2	113	56.50	159.50	2,850	68	34.00	182.00
	Bronze 2h sword	2	451	225.50	−9.50	1,335	80	40.00	176.00
	Bronze platelegs	2	387	193.50	22.50	2,006	80	40.00	176.00
	Bronze plateskirt	2	105	52.50	163.50	126	80	40.00	176.00
	Bronze platebody	4	112	28.00	188.00	3,805	160	40.00	176.00

Iron

Iron bar price: 230

Item		Recycled bars	Grand Exchange				Specialty store
			GE price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars	Daily volume	Store price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars
	Iron scimitar	1	158	158.00	72.00	5,995	112	112.00	118.00
	Iron longsword	1	82	82.00	148.00	1,272	140	140.00	90.00
	Iron full helm	1	135	135.00	95.00	3,445	154	154.00	76.00
	Iron sq shield	1	111	111.00	119.00	591	168	168.00	62.00
	Iron claws	1	78	78.00	152.00	24	50	50.00	180.00
	Iron warhammer	2	61	30.50	199.50	3,850	224	112.00	118.00
	Iron battleaxe	2	89	44.50	185.50	1,570	182	91.00	139.00
	Iron chainbody	2	148	74.00	156.00	3,018	210	105.00	125.00
	Iron kiteshield	2	109	54.50	175.50	4,238	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Iron 2h sword	2	99	49.50	180.50	2,205	280	140.00	90.00
	Iron platelegs	2	153	76.50	153.50	3,551	280	140.00	90.00
	Iron plateskirt	2	92	46.00	184.00	1,484	280	140.00	90.00
	Iron platebody	4	106	26.50	203.50	29,430	560	140.00	90.00

Steel

Steel bar price: 522

Item		Recycled bars	Grand Exchange				Specialty store
			GE price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars	Daily volume	Store price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars
	Steel scimitar	1	189	189.00	333.00	6,548	400	400.00	122.00
	Steel longsword	1	171	171.00	351.00	2,922	500	500.00	22.00
	Steel full helm	1	185	185.00	337.00	3,384	550	550.00	−28.00
	Steel sq shield	1	257	257.00	265.00	1,447	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Steel claws	1	254	254.00	268.00	602	175	175.00	347.00
	Steel warhammer	2	222	111.00	411.00	8,697	640	320.00	202.00
	Steel battleaxe	2	228	114.00	408.00	7,200	650	325.00	197.00
	Steel chainbody	2	290	145.00	377.00	4,593	750	375.00	147.00
	Steel kiteshield	2	293	146.50	375.50	6,351	807	403.50	118.50
	Steel 2h sword	2	375	187.50	334.50	4,857	1,000	500.00	22.00
	Steel platelegs	2	419	209.50	312.50	5,404	1,000	500.00	22.00
	Steel plateskirt	2	437	218.50	303.50	1,572	1,000	500.00	22.00
	Steel platebody	4	917	229.25	292.75	56,906	2,000	500.00	22.00

Mithril

Mithril bar price: 779

Item		Recycled bars	Grand Exchange				Specialty store
			GE price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars	Daily volume	Store price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars
	Mithril scimitar	1	522	522.00	257.00	8,625	1,040	1,040.00	−261.00
	Mithril longsword	1	573	573.00	206.00	2,071	1,300	1,300.00	−521.00
	Mithril full helm	1	774	774.00	5.00	5,591	1,430	1,430.00	−651.00
	Mithril sq shield	1	752	752.00	27.00	1,916	1,716	1,716.00	−937.00
	Mithril claws	1	164	164.00	615.00	518	522	522.00	257.00
	Mithril warhammer	2	1,008	504.00	275.00	8,511	1,660	830.00	−51.00
	Mithril battleaxe	2	1,128	564.00	215.00	4,227	1,690	845.00	−66.00
	Mithril chainbody	2	1,078	539.00	240.00	10,654	1,950	975.00	−196.00
	Mithril kiteshield	2	1,121	560.50	218.50	12,308	2,431	1,215.50	−436.50
	Mithril 2h sword	2	1,218	609.00	170.00	9,226	2,600	1,300.00	−521.00
	Mithril platelegs	2	1,324	662.00	117.00	12,910	2,600	1,300.00	−521.00
	Mithril plateskirt	2	1,355	677.50	101.50	2,312	2,600	1,300.00	−521.00
	Mithril platebody	4	2,765	691.25	87.75	148,784	5,200	1,300.00	−521.00

Adamant

Adamantite bar price: 2,009

Item		Recycled bars	Grand Exchange				Specialty store
			GE price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars	Daily volume	Store price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars
	Adamant scimitar	1	1,618	1,618.00	391.00	3,088	3,840	3,840.00	−1,831.00
	Adamant longsword	1	1,593	1,593.00	416.00	3,299	3,200	3,200.00	−1,191.00
	Adamant full helm	1	1,843	1,843.00	166.00	10,211	3,520	3,520.00	−1,511.00
	Adamant sq shield	1	1,989	1,989.00	20.00	3,332	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Adamant claws	1	1,112	1,112.00	897.00	2	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Adamant warhammer	2	2,965	1,482.50	526.50	2,988	4,120	2,060.00	−51.00
	Adamant battleaxe	2	2,714	1,357.00	652.00	13,589	4,160	2,080.00	−71.00
	Adamant chainbody	2	2,886	1,443.00	566.00	3,178	4,800	2,400.00	−391.00
	Adamant kiteshield	2	2,958	1,479.00	530.00	12,246	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Adamant 2h sword	2	3,528	1,764.00	245.00	10,200	6,400	3,200.00	−1,191.00
	Adamant platelegs	2	3,483	1,741.50	267.50	16,931	6,400	3,200.00	−1,191.00
	Adamant plateskirt	2	3,902	1,951.00	58.00	775	6,400	3,200.00	−1,191.00
	Adamant platebody	4	9,500	2,375.00	−366.00	270,235	16,640	4,160.00	−2,151.00

Rune

Runite bar price: 12,526

Item		Recycled bars	Grand Exchange				Specialty store
			GE price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars	Daily volume	Store price	Price per bar	Profit per bar vs GE bars
	Rune scimitar	1	15,040	15,040.00	−2,514.00	13,409	38,400	38,400.00	−25,874.00
	Rune longsword	1	18,675	18,675.00	−6,149.00	44,557	32,000	32,000.00	−19,474.00
	Rune full helm	1	20,599	20,599.00	−8,073.00	62,748	35,200	35,200.00	−22,674.00
	Rune sq shield	1	22,456	22,456.00	−9,930.00	16,961	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rune claws	1	9,657	9,657.00	2,869.00	227	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rune warhammer	2	25,149	12,574.50	−48.50	33,526	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rune battleaxe	2	24,486	12,243.00	283.00	14,269	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rune chainbody	2	29,492	14,746.00	−2,220.00	23,813	47,500	23,750.00	−11,224.00
	Rune kiteshield	2	32,067	16,033.50	−3,507.50	63,153	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rune 2h sword	2	37,914	18,957.00	−6,431.00	43,804	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rune platelegs	2	37,899	18,949.50	−6,423.50	46,810	60,800	30,400.00	−17,874.00
	Rune plateskirt	2	37,958	18,979.00	−6,453.00	15,991	60,800	30,400.00	−17,874.00
	Rune platebody	4	38,490	9,622.50	2,903.50	47,489	84,500	21,125.00	−8,599.00

Metal score

1 bar alloys

Bar	Level	Score
Bronze	15	10
Iron	15	20
Steel	30	30
Mithril	50	40
Adamant	70	50
Rune	85	60

2 bar alloys

The highest metal score for each bar combination is highlighted.

Bar 1	Bar 2	Level	Number of Bar 1	27	26	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
			Number of Bar 2	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
Bronze	Iron	15		11	12	12	13	14	15	16	16	17	18	18	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20
Bronze	Steel	30		11	13	15	16	17	19	20	21	22	24	25	25	26	27	28	28	29	29	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30
Bronze	Mithril	50		12	14	17	19	21	23	25	26	28	29	31	32	33	35	36	36	37	38	39	39	40	40	40	40	40	40	40
Bronze	Adamant	70		13	16	19	21	24	26	29	31	33	35	37	39	41	42	43	45	46	47	48	48	49	49	50	50	50	50	50
Bronze	Rune	85		13	17	21	24	27	30	33	36	39	41	43	46	48	50	51	53	54	55	57	57	58	59	59	60	60	60	60
Iron	Steel	30		22	24	26	28	30	32	33	35	36	37	38	38	39	40	40	40	40	40	39	39	38	37	37	35	34	33	31
Iron	Mithril	50		23	26	29	32	35	37	40	42	43	45	46	48	49	50	50	51	51	51	51	50	50	49	48	46	45	43	42
Iron	Adamant	70		24	28	32	36	40	43	46	48	51	53	55	57	58	60	60	61	62	62	62	61	61	60	59	57	56	54	52
Iron	Rune	85		25	30	35	40	44	48	52	55	59	61	64	66	68	70	71	72	72	73	73	73	72	71	70	68	67	65	62
Steel	Mithril	50		34	38	42	46	49	52	55	57	59	61	62	63	64	65	65	65	64	63	62	61	60	58	55	53	50	47	43
Steel	Adamant	70		35	41	46	51	55	59	63	66	69	71	73	75	76	77	78	78	77	77	76	74	73	70	68	65	62	58	54
Steel	Rune	85		37	44	50	56	61	66	71	75	78	82	84	86	88	90	90	91	91	90	89	88	86	83	81	77	74	69	65
Mithril	Adamant	70		47	53	60	65	71	75	80	83	86	89	91	93	94	95	95	94	93	92	90	87	85	81	77	73	68	62	56
Mithril	Rune	85		48	57	65	72	78	84	90	94	98	102	105	107	108	110	110	110	109	107	105	103	100	96	91	86	80	74	67
Adamant	Rune	85		60	70	79	88	95	102	108	114	118	122	125	127	129	130	129	129	127	125	122	118	113	108	102	95	87	79	69