Swordfish

This article is about cooked Swordfish. For the raw form, see Raw swordfish.

For the item used in the quest Hunt for Red Raktuber, see Swordfish (Hunt for Red Raktuber).

Old School RuneScape uses the British convention for floor numbering: Ground floor, first floor, etc.

Swordfish

Release date	June 11 2001 (Update)
Members?	No
Quest item?	No
Tradeable?	Yes
Equipable?	No
Edible?	Yes
Stacks?	No
High Alch	240 coins
Low Alch	160 coins
Destroy	Drop
Store price	400 coins (Fionella)
Examine	I'd better be careful eating this!
Weight	0.4 kg

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A Swordfish

A Swordfish is a type of fish that players can catch, cook, and use as food. They are considered the best healing food in free-to-play because they can heal 140 Life Points in one bite. (A Pumpkin can heal the same amount in one bite, however players are strongly advised to not consume these due to their extremely high value) Fionella keeps a stock of 10 on the first floor of the Legends' Guild. They are also a possible reward from Level 2 Clue Scrolls. Swordfish is the best fish that can be cooked in a F2P world.

Fishing

Players can catch swordfish with a minimum level of 50 in Fishing, granting 100 Fishing experience per catch. Fishing for swordfish takes a longer amount of time than lobsters because tuna is caught along with them.

Raw swordfish can be fished from the sea with a harpoon (in your Toolbelt or inventory, wielding a barb-tailed harpoon is another possibility) in various locations, such as Catherby, Musa point, and the fishing guild. When harpoon fishing, it is very likely that more tuna will be caught than swordfish. With a Jan. 2010 update, a high agility may allow two swordfish to be caught at once, although experience is only gained for a single one.

Barbarian fishing is another possible option when fishing for swordfish. Hand fishing gives an extra 10 Strength experience for each swordfish, and requires level 70 Fishing and level 50 Strength. Note that barbarian fishing is a members-only ability. Contrary to popular belief, barehanded fishing is NOT slower than regular fishing with a Harpoon. The only difference resides in the awarded Strength experience when using fishing barehanded. Note that barbarian (Barehanded) fishing in Cage/Harpoon slots will require a Fishing level of 70 and a Strength level of 50.

Cooking

Tools/Utensils	Harpoon (none needed when using Barbarian fishing)
Ingredients	Raw swordfish
Fishing Level	50 (70 when using Barbarian fishing)
Fishing Method	Harpoon, bare hands
Fishing Spot	Cage/Harpoon or Harpoon/Net
Fishing Experience	100
Cooking Level	45
Level at which it stops burning	86 (81 with cooking gauntlets)
Cooking Experience	140(Range) 154(bonfire)
Range Only?	No
Instructions	Use raw swordfish with a fire or range.
Servings	1
Life Points per Serving	140

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Swordfish can also be cooked with a minimum level 45 in Cooking, granting 140 Cooking experience, or with the bonfire cooking bonus 154 cooking experience. Players can accidentally burn swordfish while cooking until they reach level 86 in Cooking, or until level 81 when using Cooking gauntlets.

At cooking level 45, cooking swordfish yields an 80% burn rate; therefore, it is not recommended that players cook swordfish until their level is 60 or above. If you do not mind burning a moderate number of swordfish, level 50 cooking yields a burn rate of approximately 30%. At 67 cooking using the Lumbridge castle special stove, you will burn about 20% (98/500) of the swordfish. At 80 cooking using the Lumbridge castle special stove, you will burn about 5.7% (28/493) of the swordfish (0 to 4 burnt in each pocket full). Using cooking gauntlets at cooking level 80, you will burn approximately 0.2% of the swordfish. At 80 cooking using logs, you will burn about 8.7% (45/516) of the swordfish (0 to 7 burnt in each inventory).

In January 2011, an unprecedented price drop in the Grand Exchange set raw swordfish lower than cooked swordfish. This offered players an opportunity to buy raw swordfish, cook it, and market it at a higher price. Also, unless the player's cooking level is exceptionally high, burnt fish will offset the profits from cooking.

Economic impact

Swordfish has generally been a popular trading item among merchants in the Grand Exchange. Demand for swordfish has been consistently high as it is the highest-healing Free-to-Play fish. With the introduction of Stiles on 21 April 2010, free-to-play players can fish and bank Swordfish between 3 and 4 times faster than before. This has led to a substantial increase in the supply of swordfish and therefore a dramatic decrease in their price, from 500 gold to around 260 gold. Swordfish is now in high supply, and is much more affordable than it was prior to the update. In addition, the price of swordfish fell to record lows after the Return of Free Trade, to about 150 gold.

However, following Bot-Nuking Day/ClusterFlutterer, the supply of swordfish from botting severely decreased which resulted in swordfish prices rising to over 350 gold.

Dropping monsters

Levels 1 to 99

Monster	Combat level	Quantity	Rarity
Gnoeals	84, 93	1	2Common
Yeti	93	1	2Common
Aviansie	69, 71, 73, 79, 83, 84, 89, 92, 94, 97, 131, 137, 148	5	3Uncommon
Black Heather	34	5 (noted)	4Rare
Donny the Lad	34	5 (noted)	4Rare
Locust ranger	98	1	5Very rare
Speedy Keith	34	5 (noted)	5Very rare

Levels 100 and above

Monster	Combat level	Quantity	Rarity
Dagannoth guardian	148	1	2Common
Aviansie	69, 71, 73, 79, 83, 84, 89, 92, 94, 97, 131, 137, 148	5	3Uncommon
Bronze dragon	131	1–2	3Uncommon
Dagannoth Rex	303	5	3Uncommon
Desert strykewyrm	130	2	3Uncommon
Locust lancer	109	1	4Rare

Trivia

• When Barbarian fishing Swordfish, the fish used to appear to come out fully cooked, rather than the pink raw colour.
• The value of one Swordfish in Mobilising Armies is 81 Investment Credits.
• A bug with the toolbelt mechanism is such that players with 55-69 Fishing will automatically hand-fish for tuna, which thereby makes it impossible for them to catch swordfish until level 70 unless they equip a Sacred Clay Harpoon, Barb-Tail Harpoon or keep an extra harpoon in their inventory. This has not yet been fixed.

See also

• Big swordfish
• Swordfish gloves