Discovery

Discovery is a combo skill of slayer/crafting with its benefits including perks that help with killing various monsters around Gielinor and Zeah. Everything from increasing drop rates making yourself stronger or the monsters you face weaker is included in the perks.

Getting started

Teleports

The only necessary teleport for the Discovery skill is located in the Teleport Panel > Skilling > Discovery. The only available teleport will take you to the laboratory.

In the laboratory, there are 3 interactable objects as well as a bank on the east wall.

Relic machine

The relic machine holds and maintains your relics. By using the option "Open Collection" you can view all relics as well as the ones you currently possess. The ones unavailable to you will be greyed out but you will still be able to see what they do. Swapping between relics is as simple as clicking on the relic you wish to use. Here you can also turn in any duplicate relics you own for bonus experience.

Note: Relics excluding the general relic cannot be used on monsters outside of its class (e.g. dragon perks cannot be used on Olm)

Discovery book

The discovery book holds information on the various Discovery research classes. These are locked based on what level discovery you have. Higher tier monsters give better experience rewards and relics. You can also swap your Research class at any point without losing progress.

Higher tier monsters give better experience rewards and relics.

Workbench

The workbench is where you will earn the majority of your discovery experience. Here you can craft bindings, pages, and workbooks used to turn in for discovery experience.

The higher your discovery level the more advanced materials you can use to create your books resulting in more experience for each one turned in. All information for crafting books may be found in the discovery skill guide located in your Skills tab.

Field notes

In your equipment tab you may have noticed a new icon in between your "Items lost on death" and "Follower functions" tabs.

This icon is your field notes tab and it does two things. By left clicking the icon you open up your current progress for the field notes you have selected. Any monsters you have already attained field notes for will be marked out with a red line. You cannot receive more than one field note per monster.

While also not necessary to complete all of your field notes it is highly recommended as the experience rates will vary wildly based upon completion.

Levelling strategy

Levels 1-50

Levels 1-50 are arguably the most tedious of the discovery levels as the monsters you kill and relics you receive are uninteresting. Therefore the goal is to get to 50 as soon as possible.

Field notes

Go to the laboratory and using the discovery book begin tracking the highest level discovery research class you have available. If you are starting at level 1 that will be basic beings. Then check your field notes tab in your equipment slot to check which monsters to kill to receive research notes. Filling out a tab is important so kill these monsters until you have received field notes for each one.

Back to the lab again

Once you have a completed list of research notes you should have gained a few levels in discovery just from finding the notes. Teleport back to the laboratory and using your skills tab for discovery create the best workbooks from bindings and pages that is available to you. The first levels go by quickly so if you like you can only make a few and continually upgrade as you level.

It's just a theory!

So you've completed all your research notes, you have a pile of notebooks sitting in your bank but now what? By left clicking the Workbench at the laboratory you are met with three options, but we're only going to focus on the important one "Publish Theory". With an inventory of notebooks you can select this option to redeem them for a chunk of experience per book which scales based on which research class you selected. You can simply rinse and repeat this at the nearby bank to level your discovery in a more traditional noncombative way.

Levels 50-60

After reaching level 50 is when your discovery experience begins to climb exponentially. At level 50 you unlock the "Field Observations perk"

This perk allows you to gain a chance of receiving Discovery xp with every researchable monster you kill. If you are trying to level Discovery as quickly as possible this is the perk you want to be using.

New classes

With level 50 you also unlock the first useful research class Morytania. The relics in this class include extra damage against the monsters in the slayer tower, extra rolls from the barrows chest and bonecrusher xp multiplers. However these perks are also followed by more challenging research notes including one for every Barrows brother which can take some time.

Choices

This is the part of the guide where you get to choose what you want out of the Discovery skill. If you think it would be fun to grind for all of the perks in the Morytana region and beyond then by all means have fun. If you would prefer to get 120 discovery as fast as possible then the rest of the guide will be tailored more to you. At level 50 you have the basics down and can level the skill however you choose.

Powerleveling

If you're looking to level discovery as fast as possible I recommend skipping the Morytania Research class as it is nearly halfway filled with Barrows brothers and the Grotesque Guardians. Using the previous methods to attain level 60 or 70 is preferable.

Levels 60-90

Upon reaching level 60 or 70 depending on how far you decided to train is when you unlock the Kingdom of Kourend and Dragons, research classes. Both of these classes are relatively easy to grind barring a few exceptions and upon completion offer much higher experience per book than any previous class.

Kourend or Dragons?

This part of the skill devolves more into personal preference. As of writing this I used the Dragons class to reach 99 and except for a few (adamant dragons I hate you) it was relatively easy and also as a bonus helped achieve 99 prayer. A good friend used Kourend and besides Skotizo and the brutal dragons found it AFK and very easy. Look through the research monsters and decide what would more interest you to grind for.

Relics that actually do something?

This part of the discovery grind is where you start to receive relics that are incredibly useful as well as the duplicates providing large sums of experience. Everything from increased dark totem drop and superior spawn chance to huge damage bonuses against dragons while under the effects of antifire potions the perks in these tiers start to make a noticeable impact on your playstyle.

Levels 90+

At this point you're an expert in the discovery skill and no doubt don't need a guide however for those that do here you go.

What classes to grind for?

At level 90 you unlock the first boss exclusive Research class. The God Wars Commanders class offers some of the most impactful perks yet along with the highest base experience you'll have available at the time (nearly double the base xp of Dragon class) But at this point you're likely late game with other grinds and this is where discovery takes a more 'backseat' role.

The late game

If desired you can use Kourend or Dragon class to reach 120 discovery though you will be taking over twice as long. I recommend using the Boss class as its more than likely what you're already currently grinding for gear upgrades or money and getting the research notes and relics along the way can be more of a bonus than a grind. Remember you can also swap your Research class at any point without losing progress so if going to the God Wars Dungeon don't forget to switch to that class to earn discovery exp.