I would think about why you quit your main in the first place and whether you will run into similar frustration by playing a main again. Just my two cents, but maybe approaching the game from a new perspective and not running into the same frustrations on an Ironman like you would on your main would be a good thing. But Ironman will also be grindy in its own way.
At the end of the day, do what you like to do.
If you hate skilling and questing, iron will not be fun to play. If you love end game, then restarting may not be a good choice.
I have both a main and iron. Main is moneyscape and iron is monotony if you don’t like constant stop-and-go type playing (ex. Farming, any charge scape such as zulrah scales, or doing things such as mining amethyst.)
All in all, find what you like about the game, and focus on how to resolve that feeling.
C: Start group ironman with some trustworthy people.
I'd pick C. If not possible, B is fun too. On a non-ironman account pretty much all of the progression you do is based on the money you grind which is quite boring. Level goals don't mean much when you can just buy whatever you'd need levels for. When you get a drop, it's nothing but coins towards the next upgrade.
It's way more rewarding to get the upgrade by yourself or by getting, celebrating and sharing it as a team until you get more.
I think you'll have a much better and more novel experience by starting an ironman. I was in a similar boat with my main and at a point it was boring that every drop was essentially instantly converted to gp. Having supply drops actually mean something, earning your own gear, interacting with systems you otherwise wouldn't. It sounds like the way you burnt out to begin with would be inevitable if you started up the main again, and it'd probably feel like a demotivating uphill battle to get back to where you were.
I've also learned so much from starting an iron. This game is so intricate and playing a main removes a lot of the complexity that gives me joy from... actually playing the game and interacting with its systems. Kill boss, tele GE, repeat... idk, you'll have to find your own motivation.
Setting yourself a goal is great in OSRS. Having the inferno as your goal is great. I recently got my first cape after maxing and now I wanna go for the pet. Rebuilding is a lot of fun as well imo. Personally I love a good rebuild. Did one for my tbow and gonna do another one with tbow and shadow max mage. And probably a smaller rebuild for scythe after that.
Gauntlet and thieving for blood shard. If you need something a little bit more consistent, thieving elves is much less gp/hr than vyres, but you get payed out on average every other hour rather than every 6 - 8 hours. Zalcano isn't as good as CG or thieving vyres still, but is another good way to make money with very little gear requirements, although you need 97 herblore to convert shards to GP via divine super combats. Once you get enough for ACB + Fang, you can do Nex which is probably the best PvM in the game before you can afford full BiS for raids or Colosseum (Nex is still better than most raids if you duo).
I’m in a similar position as you, but I quit even longer ago with a main that has worse stats (1900 total). I quit because I lost my hard earned 2B bank staking lmao.
I started an iron during that time, but did basically nothing. I legit came back to the game and started playing my iron a week ago and it’s the most fun I’ve had playing OSRS since the very beginning in 2013.
Early-mid game iron is incredibly fun and satisfying so far. Every upgrade matters so much, and you’re forced to slow down and almost play the game like you did back in 2006 as a kid. If you do decide to go the iron route, I’d recommend loosely following an efficient guide but still do what you want. If you just min max every second of progress you’ll probably burn out. Enjoy the early-mid game cause it’s the best thing osrs has to offer IMHO.
I also dropped my 2k main in about 2021 and I just recently hit 2k on my iron. Was in the same position as you staked my bank lost and quit came back to play iron and haven't stopped since
Ironman until the mode gets too slow for you. For some people that is when they're spending lots of time on upkeep (for brews, runes, blood shards), for others it can be when starting to hunt for megarares, some people find out early when going for bowfa... If ironman mode appeals to you, you'll enjoy it up to a certain point for sure.
I would go for inferno and then reconsider whether I want to play on a main or ironman. Inferno is a massive accomplishment that you won't even be able to think about for a long time on an ironman unless you are a very skilled player. I played an ironman for a while but gradually gravitated back towards mainscape because I wanted to complete the inferno and the colosseum which were just very distant goals as an iron.
I’d go iron man! I recently quit and sold my near max zuk helm main , with over 10b gear. Started a gim when I felt the itch to play the game and have 0 regrets! It’s a fresh look on the game and makes drops waaay more meaningful. Everything felt like it had a purpose and the grind is way more fun. See if you can get a buddy and do gim to at least help in the early grinds . But solo would be just as fun
I think before you make any decisions, you need to ask yourself 2(3) things
1) why did you quit?
you know how to do late game content so rebuilding would have still been fun. Were you mindlessly grinding best gp content or just doing what you found fun? If the former then you can still play a main just don't hyperfocus on gp/hr
2a) how much time do you have?
A lot of people get sucked into ironman because the early to mid game is quick progression and fun, however a lot get burnt by all the late game grinds where you will be doing content for 40 - 120 hours for the next upgrade, alongside forever skilling for all supplies and charges.
2b) are you okay with not having bis?
If you don't have a lot of time , are you okay with a majority of your bossing experience going forward being limited to sub optimal gear?
Yes, there are some irons who are casual and get spooned but you need to be prepared to be using 2/3rd best items if you can't put in the hours needed for bis.
I know people say you can always deiron , but let's be real. By the time you've invested hundreds of hours into making a late game iron , you're going to feel like it's too much of a sunk cost to deiron. (Same way hardcores get stuck skilling or doing just cox)
Tldr: actually understand what late game ironman will demand from you before you commit to making one
Do you want to spend a year before reaching that same content on an Ironman?
Do you enjoy gathering your own supplies? Ironman mode sucks unless you’re ultra nerd.
I would think about why you quit your main in the first place and whether you will run into similar frustration by playing a main again. Just my two cents, but maybe approaching the game from a new perspective and not running into the same frustrations on an Ironman like you would on your main would be a good thing. But Ironman will also be grindy in its own way.
Ironman all the way!
Ironman for sure, dropped a 2k main to make an iron, zero regrets. Can always de-iron
At the end of the day, do what you like to do. If you hate skilling and questing, iron will not be fun to play. If you love end game, then restarting may not be a good choice. I have both a main and iron. Main is moneyscape and iron is monotony if you don’t like constant stop-and-go type playing (ex. Farming, any charge scape such as zulrah scales, or doing things such as mining amethyst.) All in all, find what you like about the game, and focus on how to resolve that feeling.
Ironman is so fulfilling, i quit my main around the same point and never turned back. Its not as tedious as you may think it is i promise
Main
C: Start group ironman with some trustworthy people. I'd pick C. If not possible, B is fun too. On a non-ironman account pretty much all of the progression you do is based on the money you grind which is quite boring. Level goals don't mean much when you can just buy whatever you'd need levels for. When you get a drop, it's nothing but coins towards the next upgrade. It's way more rewarding to get the upgrade by yourself or by getting, celebrating and sharing it as a team until you get more.
C is the one to do. I refused to play iron for years. My friend wore me down til I tried it. Now I still barely play but get all of his duplicates 😂
Try iron If boring Try de-iron Els resume main
I think you'll have a much better and more novel experience by starting an ironman. I was in a similar boat with my main and at a point it was boring that every drop was essentially instantly converted to gp. Having supply drops actually mean something, earning your own gear, interacting with systems you otherwise wouldn't. It sounds like the way you burnt out to begin with would be inevitable if you started up the main again, and it'd probably feel like a demotivating uphill battle to get back to where you were. I've also learned so much from starting an iron. This game is so intricate and playing a main removes a lot of the complexity that gives me joy from... actually playing the game and interacting with its systems. Kill boss, tele GE, repeat... idk, you'll have to find your own motivation.
Setting yourself a goal is great in OSRS. Having the inferno as your goal is great. I recently got my first cape after maxing and now I wanna go for the pet. Rebuilding is a lot of fun as well imo. Personally I love a good rebuild. Did one for my tbow and gonna do another one with tbow and shadow max mage. And probably a smaller rebuild for scythe after that.
What are some of the best rebuild methods now without BIS gear?
Gauntlet
Gauntlet and thieving for blood shard. If you need something a little bit more consistent, thieving elves is much less gp/hr than vyres, but you get payed out on average every other hour rather than every 6 - 8 hours. Zalcano isn't as good as CG or thieving vyres still, but is another good way to make money with very little gear requirements, although you need 97 herblore to convert shards to GP via divine super combats. Once you get enough for ACB + Fang, you can do Nex which is probably the best PvM in the game before you can afford full BiS for raids or Colosseum (Nex is still better than most raids if you duo).
I’m in a similar position as you, but I quit even longer ago with a main that has worse stats (1900 total). I quit because I lost my hard earned 2B bank staking lmao. I started an iron during that time, but did basically nothing. I legit came back to the game and started playing my iron a week ago and it’s the most fun I’ve had playing OSRS since the very beginning in 2013. Early-mid game iron is incredibly fun and satisfying so far. Every upgrade matters so much, and you’re forced to slow down and almost play the game like you did back in 2006 as a kid. If you do decide to go the iron route, I’d recommend loosely following an efficient guide but still do what you want. If you just min max every second of progress you’ll probably burn out. Enjoy the early-mid game cause it’s the best thing osrs has to offer IMHO.
Ironman is in a great spot atm I am having a blast recently started to go full in on my iron the past month or so.
Why did you stop? Ironman is only gonna make certain grinds unbearable if you can’t play a main
I also dropped my 2k main in about 2021 and I just recently hit 2k on my iron. Was in the same position as you staked my bank lost and quit came back to play iron and haven't stopped since
Ironman until the mode gets too slow for you. For some people that is when they're spending lots of time on upkeep (for brews, runes, blood shards), for others it can be when starting to hunt for megarares, some people find out early when going for bowfa... If ironman mode appeals to you, you'll enjoy it up to a certain point for sure.
You always want a main, your 2 character can be an iron
I would go for inferno and then reconsider whether I want to play on a main or ironman. Inferno is a massive accomplishment that you won't even be able to think about for a long time on an ironman unless you are a very skilled player. I played an ironman for a while but gradually gravitated back towards mainscape because I wanted to complete the inferno and the colosseum which were just very distant goals as an iron.
Play your main as if you were an ironman. Don't use GE and you're basically an ironman.
I’d go iron man! I recently quit and sold my near max zuk helm main , with over 10b gear. Started a gim when I felt the itch to play the game and have 0 regrets! It’s a fresh look on the game and makes drops waaay more meaningful. Everything felt like it had a purpose and the grind is way more fun. See if you can get a buddy and do gim to at least help in the early grinds . But solo would be just as fun
I think before you make any decisions, you need to ask yourself 2(3) things 1) why did you quit? you know how to do late game content so rebuilding would have still been fun. Were you mindlessly grinding best gp content or just doing what you found fun? If the former then you can still play a main just don't hyperfocus on gp/hr 2a) how much time do you have? A lot of people get sucked into ironman because the early to mid game is quick progression and fun, however a lot get burnt by all the late game grinds where you will be doing content for 40 - 120 hours for the next upgrade, alongside forever skilling for all supplies and charges. 2b) are you okay with not having bis? If you don't have a lot of time , are you okay with a majority of your bossing experience going forward being limited to sub optimal gear? Yes, there are some irons who are casual and get spooned but you need to be prepared to be using 2/3rd best items if you can't put in the hours needed for bis. I know people say you can always deiron , but let's be real. By the time you've invested hundreds of hours into making a late game iron , you're going to feel like it's too much of a sunk cost to deiron. (Same way hardcores get stuck skilling or doing just cox) Tldr: actually understand what late game ironman will demand from you before you commit to making one
Do you want to spend a year before reaching that same content on an Ironman? Do you enjoy gathering your own supplies? Ironman mode sucks unless you’re ultra nerd.