Firstly, when woodcutting for any significant period of time, invest in a dragon woodcutting axe. There are many rumours, claims, and opinions regarding the axe, however as you find in the knowledge base, it does affect cutting speed. Even a slightly enhanced cutting rate will save you hours in the long run.
From personal experience, and the advice of many friends, I've determined some data about woodcutting, in relation to experience per hour.
- Cutting willows (Barbarian Outpost) ~ 45k experience per hour.
- Cutting yews (Catherby Bank) ~ 40k experience per hour.
- Cutting mages (Lletya forest) ~ 27k experience per hour.
My calculations are based on these amounts, so please bear with me. So, those for those of you who are going to go for 99 woodcutting, it seems like willows are the way to go! Maybe not! let me explain.
Assuming you are starting from level 75, you'll need approximately twelve million experience, now let uscompare each method in terms of total hours needed:
- Cutting willows ~ 265 Hours.
- Cutting yews ~ 300 Hours.
- Cutting mages ~ 445 Hours.
If you cut willows to reach 99 woodcutting, you have made, say for arguments sake, five million. Using yews - approximately twenty million. Cutting mages will give you nearly fifty-two million!
The difference (in relation to time), between willows and mages, is 180 hours. The difference (in relation to profit), between willows and mages, is forty-seven million. It follows logically, that if you did cut willows, you finish 180 hours before some-one cutting mages. This is where you need your average income, to compare methods. From this, it can be said that those extra 180 hours will result in an extra forty-seven million in profit around 260k per hour.
For an extra 35 hours, 15 million can be made (willows to yews). That's an average income of 430k per hour. That means, if your income is lower than 430k an hour, don't cut willows.
The key to training efficiently, is to determine just what you are looking for. If money is NO issue, the sure, cut willows. However, if your average income is 430k or lower, yews would be a more efficient way of training. For those rune crafters living off 250k an hour, or fishers making 100k an hour, don't cut willows.
Although this example is based on training to level 99, the basic principal can be applied to other levels.
In summary
If your average source of income produces 430k or lower, cut yews. For those who earn more than 430k per hour, or those who just want pure speed, willows are your ideal option.
There are two popular and optimum places to cut willows and yews - south of Barbarian Outpost for willows, west of Catherby for yews.
If you can, try and find a *deserted* populated world. That may seem like an oxymoron, but if you are on a world such as two, the trees will re spawn more rapidly, and other cutters are generally too distracted to train (merchanting for example).
