Protean hides, bars, and planks: oh my! Not sure which useful protean to pull out of that blue Treasure Hunter crate?

Just like body builders need lots of protein to power up their workouts, Runescape skillers need proteans to max out their gains. Protean items come in all shapes and sizes: cogs, memories, traps, planks, logs, hides, and bars. But, not all proteans are created equal. When you get that lucky large protean pack from Treasure Hunter, what kind should you choose?

Each protean grants experience in a particular skill. Hides give Crafting XP, bars give Smithing XP, planks give Construction XP, and so on. Protean logs can be used for Fletching or Firemaking training, or you can turn them into planks at a sawmill. If you get a protean you don’t want, you can exchange them for another kind at a 3:2 ratio. 

When choosing the right protean for you, consider a few things. First, what is the traditional training method like for the skill? Is it click intensive? How much experience can you gain per hour? Is it expensive? 

Contrast that with the protean method for skill training. Do the proteans grant more XP, or at a faster rate? Do they save you lots of cash? Do they make the training easier?

Based on those considerations, here are how the proteans stack up. 

Protean Memories and Cogs: Don't Bother

Memories and cogs aren’t really worth your time. They take more time to process than other proteans. Plus, the experience from memories and cogs don’t really surpass traditional Divination and Invention training methods.

For example, if you have 95 Divination, a clan avatar boost, decorated urns, and the full divination outfit, you will gain approximately 144,825 experience per hour with protean memories. With lower levels, you’ll get less. But what happens if you use the same equipment at the Hall of Memories? At just level 85 Divination, you’ll gain about 130,000 experience per hour. In XP terms, protean memories just don’t measure up.

Protean Logs: Take It or Leave It

Don’t get me wrong—protean logs aren’t a bad choice. If you want to train both fletching and Firemaking at the same time, they’re the best choice available. But if you’re training Firemaking or Fletching separately, it’s better to train traditionally. 

Here’s why: logs for fletching and Firemaking are relatively cheap (excluding Elders). Magic logs, for example, cost ~388 coins. At 75 Firemaking, adding them to a bonfire gains 309.5 XP per log. That’s a cost of 1.25 coins per experience gained—a low cost-to-XP ratio. Protean logs grant 354 XP per bonfire at level 99, so they don’t hold a big XP advantage. 

Similarly, fletching with magic logs actually yields a profit. An unstrung magic shieldbow sells for ~438 coins. Even purchasing the unstrung shieldbows and stringing them (a much faster XP rate) still gains a little profit (material cost of 695 coins, selling for 907 coins). 

Traditional training for Firemaking and fletching is both cost-effective and relatively quick. Got a stack of protean logs? Consider converting them into planks at a sawmill for only 5 coins each. 

Protean Traps: A Good Choice

If in doubt, protean traps are a safe bet simply because they’re convenient. They give a moderate experience boost over traditional training, too. Your hunting success rate increases, and each successful catch grants an extra 25% XP. Even failed catches earn 50% of the XP you would have gotten. 

You don’t have to bait or smoke these traps. The best part? Clicking the “auto-deploy” option lets you sit back and relax. Your avatar will redeploy fallen traps and lay new ones—no clicking needed. 

Protean Planks: A Great Choice

If you find traditional Construction training tedious (who doesn’t?), then protean planks are a necessity. They substitute for any kind of plank, awarding experience for the plank it replaces. Making an oak chair? You’ll earn 60 experience per plank. A mahogany bench? That’s 140 experience per plank. 

Protean planks don’t grant any additional experience over traditional training. But, they make Construction training much less tedious. Normally, a player must make repeated trips to a bank for supplies or send a servant to do so. Protean planks stack in the inventory, eliminating those pesky bank trips. 

Your best bet is to save protean planks for mahogany Construction items. This approach will give you the most experience.

Protean Hides: An Excellent Choice

Getting 99 Crafting is a cinch—if you’ve got the money for it. At level 85, players can make black dragonhide shields. This method grants around 550,000 XP per hour, but there’s a catch: each shield costs a whopping 5,000 coins to make. That cost totals to 8 million coins per hour! 

There are cheaper methods to train Crafting. Some, like crafting urns, will even gain a profit. However, the experience rates are considerably slower.

Protean hides are the best of both: they’re free, and their experience rate is excellent. Crafting protean hides at level 85 grants about 282,000 experience each hour. The best part? Since you can craft 60 proteans with a single click, they’re an afk Crafting method. 

Protean Bars: The Best Choice

Protean bars have it all: they’re cost-effective, grant good XP, and they turn Smithing training. into a click-less endeavor. 

One of the best methods for traditional Smithing training is making adamant platebodies. If you use a Pack Yak, a bank chest near an anvil, and bank presets, you could gain 360,000 XP each hour. But, it’s an intensive method, and you have to buy or collect all the materials yourself. The net cost of making each platebody is nearly 4,000 coins. 

Once you hit level 85 Smithing, protean bars grant 450 XP each. This totals to 337,500 experience per hour at no cost! If in doubt, protean bars are the way to go. 

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