Technology

New Sailing Money Maker in OSRS: Farming Manta Rays for Ray Barbs

By Neha | December 15, 2025 | 9:25 am | No Comments
Farming Manta

With Sailing’s release in Old School RuneScape, players have been exploring the new skill for both progression and profit. Surprisingly, one of the most lucrative early–game methods does not require a high Sailing level, rare unlocks, or expensive gear. In fact, this method can be done on any boat, even low–level vessels, and still generates OSRS gold with solid consistency.

The strategy involves killing new Sailing mobs known as Manta Rays—level 114 enemies that are extremely easy to defeat and drop Ray Barbs, a high–value item currently trading for roughly 500,000 coins each.

Below is a full breakdown of how the method works, why it is so profitable, and how to maximise kills per hour using smart boat positioning and cannon mechanics.

Why This Method Works

Most high-level Sailing money makers require advanced ships, crew upgrades, or levels close to the 80–90 range. Frost Dragons, for example, remain one of the top GP/hour methods in the skill, but they require 87 Sailing just to access.

Manta Rays, however, are accessible far earlier. They are:

  • Only level 114
  • Easy to kill even on low–tier boats
  • Located very close to a bank
  • Passive in terms of damage—they hit nothing on your ship
  • Drop Ray Barbs, which are worth ~500k each

With a 1/16 drop rate, players average about five Ray Barbs per hour, resulting in roughly 2.5M–3.0M GP/hr depending on RNG.

How to Get There

The Manta Rays are found just south of a Defence Point with a bank directly nearby.

Steps:

  1. Sail to the designated Defence Point (one click away from the manta spawn).
  2. Dock your boat and use the nearby bank to gear up.
  3. Sail directly south to the manta spawn area.
  4. Begin tagging and killing them as they approach the boat.

Because they deal no damage to your ship, you can stay out indefinitely without repair kits.

Recommended Setup

Although the method works on any boat, maximising kill speed is where the profits come in. You have two options:

1. Using Cannons (Strongly Recommended)

Cannons fire automatically when a target is selected. With two cannons positioned on each side of the ship, you can fire both by turning your boat back and forth.

To improve cannon accuracy and damage, use:

  • Ranged potion
  • Ranged gear if you plan to attack manually as well

2. Manual Combat (Shadowing or Ranging)

If your boat does not have cannons, simply:

  • Tag the mantas using ranged attacks or Shadow spells
  • AFK even more comfortably
  • Still maintain respectable kills per hour

The method is slower without cannons, but still workable.

Advanced Technique: Double–Cannon Firing

To dramatically boost kill speed, you can “force” both cannons to fire at a single manta ray.

How it works:

Select the manta ray as your target. Turn your ship slightly so the NPC appears in the firing arc of one cannon. After that cannon fires, rotate the ship quickly in the opposite direction. The other cannon now fires at the same target. Repeat this back–and–forth movement.

You are effectively doubling your DPS on a single manta. This simple micro–rotation technique is the key to achieving maximum profits.

Additional Trick: Rapid Target Switching

Manta Rays follow your target selection. You do not have to hit them yourself to make your cannons fire.

Instead:

  • Click one manta: one cannon fires
  • Click the opposite manta: the other cannon fires
  • Alternate clicks for ultra–fast kills

Since your ship takes zero damage, you can even tag multiple mantas and clean them up as they reach the boat.

Profit Breakdown

During testing, the sample run produced:

  • 88 Manta Rays killed
  • 5 Ray Barbs obtained within ~56 minutes
  • All Ray Barbs instantly sold for ~500k each
  • Total profit: ~2.5M to 3M GP/hr

Despite the in-game value tag showing ~200k, the actual Grand Exchange sale values were around 444k–500k per Ray Barb, and every single one sold instantly.

Given the 1/16 drop rate, your expected hourly earnings are:

5 Ray Barbs × 500,000 GP = 2.5–3.0M GP/hr

RNG can push above or below this, but the method is stable overall.

Why This Method Is So Strong

This manta-farming technique stands out because:

  • No Sailing level requirements
  • Works on any boat
  • Safe—your boat takes zero damage
  • Simple, repeatable, and semi–AFK
  • High-value unique drop with a predictable rate
  • Near a bank for extremely low downtime

For players new to Sailing or looking for early-game money-making methods, this is one of the most accessible and profitable activities currently available.

Final Thoughts

Considering the lack of requirements, the safety of the method, and the ability to do it even on a level 15 boat, killing Manta Rays for Ray Barbs is one of the most unexpectedly profitable Sailing methods in OSRS right now.

Experiment with the double–cannon technique, practice target switching, and watch the Ray Barbs roll in. Many players overlooked this mob when testing deep-sea trolling or net–building content—but it turns out the Manta Rays are quietly among the best GP/hr options available today.

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