RS3 Necromancy Rituals Guide
Rituals are the primary non-combat training method for the Necromancy skill in RuneScape 3. They also produce most of the materials you need to upgrade Necromancy gear and craft necrotic runes. Understanding how rituals work — and which setups give the most value — separates casual practitioners from efficient ones.
The Two Ritual Sites
You have access to two ritual sites, each with different tradeoffs.
Um Ritual Site is unlocked by completing the Necromancy! tutorial quest. This is where you start. It gives full experience for every ritual performed. Its only downside is that the northern glyph spots are inaccessible until level 90 Necromancy (when you clear the mounds of dust covering them). Note that level requirements for unlocking tile tiers cannot be boosted.
Ungael Ritual Site is unlocked by completing Requiem for a Dragon, which requires level 75 Necromancy. It gives 20% less experience than Um, but component durability is higher and all tile spots are accessible even before level 90. This makes Ungael more AFK-friendly, since you don’t have to repair glyphs and candles as often.
Ritual Site Tile Tiers
Both sites expand in three tiers:
| Tier | Level Required | Glyph Spots | Light Source Spots |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Necromancy | 5 | 4 |
| 2 | 60 Necromancy | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 90 Necromancy | 11 | 10 |
These tiers cannot be boosted. You must have the base level to clear mounds of dust.
The Six Ritual Types
Each ritual requires specific focus objects and uses particular glyph combinations.
Communion Rituals
Communion rituals convert bones and mementos into souls, which fill the Well of Souls and unlock Talent tiers. These can only be performed at the Um ritual site, not Ungael.
- Lesser Communion (level 5): Accepts basic bones (1 soul), big bones (2 souls), baby dragon bones (3 souls), wyvern bones (4 souls), broken memento (6 souls), fragile memento (8 souls).
- Greater Communion (level 60): Dragon bones (10 souls), Dagannoth bones (12), Airut bones (14), Ourg bones (16), hardened dragon bones (18), dragonkin bones (20), spirit memento (24).
- Powerful Communion (level 90): Dinosaur bones (30 souls), frost dragon bones (40), reinforced dragon bones (50), robust memento (60), powerful memento (75).
The maximum output with full Multiply glyphs and alteration necklace at lesser communion tier is 748% of base output. At greater it’s 604%, and powerful is 388%.
Necroplasm Rituals
These convert lower-tier necroplasm into higher tiers. You need necroplasm to craft ghostly ink for drawing glyphs.
- Lesser Necroplasm (level 5): 200 Weak necroplasm → 100 Lesser necroplasm
- Greater Necroplasm (level 60): 200 Lesser necroplasm → 100 Greater necroplasm
- Powerful Necroplasm (level 90): 200 Greater necroplasm → 100 Powerful necroplasm
Ensoul Rituals
Ensoul rituals produce ensouled bars, cloths, and threads used to upgrade Necromancy weapons and armour. They require the Kili Row quest to be completed first.
- Lesser Ensoul Material (level 20): converts lesser unensouled bars, spider silk pieces, or thread.
- Ensoul Material (level 60): converts standard unensouled bars, mystic armour pieces, or Springsheared/Summerdown/Fallfaced/Winterwold wool.
- Greater Ensoul Material (level 80): converts greater unensouled bars, Subjugation armour, or Algarum thread.
Essence Rituals
These convert pure essence into impure essence, which is needed to craft necrotic runes at the Necromantic Rune Temple. They require partial completion of Rune Mythos.
- Lesser Essence (level 24): 200 Pure essence → 40 Impure essence (base), up to 270 max
- Greater Essence (level 80): 400 Pure essence → 100 Impure essence (base), up to 604 max
- Powerful Essence (level 95): 800 Pure essence → 300 Impure essence (base), up to 1,164 max
Ectoplasm Ritual
The Manifest Ectoplasm ritual (level 95) converts 20 Buckets of Slime into 55 Ectoplasm as a base, up to 213 with maximum multiply output. Ectoplasm is used for drawing alteration glyphs and conjuring spirits in combat.
Miscellaneous Rituals
Various quest-specific rituals that mostly serve story progression. These include Empower Vessel (level 40, for Vessel of the Harbinger quest) and Soulfarer (level 75, for Requiem for a Dragon).
Glyphs: The Core of Every Ritual
Each ritual requires a specific arrangement of foundational glyphs drawn on the ritual site. There are four core glyph types: Elemental, Reagent, Change, and Commune. The tier of glyph used determines the tier of the ritual.
In addition, you can place alteration glyphs in any unused spot to modify rituals:
- Multiply: Increases the output quantity
- Attraction: Increases soul attraction (more ritual disturbances)
- Protection: Protects components from disturbance damage
- Speed: Reduces ritual duration
Glyph Durability
| Glyph Type | Tier 1 Uses | Tier 2 Uses | Tier 3 Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational | 6 (Um) / 7 (Ungael) | 12/14 | 18/21 |
| Alteration | 3/3 | 6/7 | 9/10 |
Wearing an alteration necklace multiplies all alteration glyph effects by 120%. If you have the level 99 Necromancy cape, you can attune it to any alteration glyph to provide that glyph’s effect for free during rituals.
Ghostly Ink
You need ghostly ink to draw glyphs. There are four tiers:
| Ink | Level | How to Obtain |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 1 | Buy from Soul Supplies shop in City of Um |
| Regular | 20 | Craft: 20 Lesser Necroplasm + Vial of Water + Ashes |
| Greater | 60 | Craft: 20 Greater Necroplasm + ingredients |
| Powerful | 90 | Craft: 20 Powerful Necroplasm + ingredients |
Ritual Disturbances
Disturbances are random events that occur during rituals. They grant bonus experience and items when properly handled. Your soul attraction percentage determines how likely disturbances are and which tier spawns.
- 1–100% soul attraction: Wandering Soul — click to dismiss; rewards basic bones, mementos, moonstones
- 101–200% soul attraction: Shambling Horror — click the horror then its target to sever the link; rewards necroplasm, mementos, moonstones
- 201–300% soul attraction: Corrupt Glyphs — click the three symbols in numeric order (1, 2, 3 by the number of vertical lines); rewards higher mementos, moonstones, necroplasm
- 301%+ soul attraction: Disturbance is guaranteed at every possible opportunity
Disturbance Timing
Disturbances don’t happen on every tick — they only happen on specific “disturbance ticks” determined by the ritual type. For a lesser necroplasm ritual (33 progress ticks), disturbances can happen on ticks 20 and 8.
Beneficial Ritual Items
| Item | Effect |
|---|---|
| Alteration necklace (enchanted moonstone) | Alteration glyph effects ×120% |
| Necromancy cape (level 99) | Provides one alteration glyph effect for free |
| Ritualist’s outfit (Treasure Hunter promo) | +1% XP per piece, +1% set bonus (up to +6%) |
| Underworld Grimoire 1–4 | Stacking bonuses to disturbance XP, necroplasm output, teleports, and free daily supplies |
Quick Tips
- At Um, always keep attraction glyphs active to maximize disturbance frequency and bonus XP.
- At Ungael, consider running without attraction glyphs for a fully AFK experience.
- Focus on necroplasm rituals while leveling to keep yourself stocked on ghostly ink for higher-tier glyphs.
- Powerful Communion rituals (level 90) using robust and powerful mementos give the most souls per ritual tick, but dinosaur and frost dragon bones are cost-effective alternatives.
