.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
The boosts that matter
Magic has more boosts than any skill, but most of them only work inside one minigame or raid. Outside those, five items cover nearly every situation.
| Boost | Levels at 90 Magic | How it works | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magic potion | +4 | Flat +4, made at 76 Herblore | Drains like any boost |
| Battlemage potion | +4 | Magic +4 and a super defence boost in one dose | Needs 80 Herblore to make, so it costs more |
| Imbued heart | +10 | 1 + 10% of your level | Once every 7 minutes |
| Saturated heart | +13 | 4 + 10% of your level, no drain for 5 minutes | Once every 5 minutes |
| Forgotten brew | +10 | 3 + 8% of your level | Lowers Attack, Strength and Defence |
The battlemage potion saves an inventory slot in magic-heavy fights where you also want the Defence. The ancient brew gives a smaller Magic boost (+6 at 90) and restores some Prayer points, at the price of melee stats. Red spicy stew rolls Magic between -5 and +5; it is fine for a one-off requirement and useless in combat.
Casting spells above your level
A visible Magic boost counts for spell requirements, including Ancient Magicks and Lunar spells. It does not count for equipping staves or robes, which always check your base level. The table shows the lowest real level that reaches some popular spells with each boost.
| Spell | Magic needed | Magic potion | Imbued heart | Saturated heart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Blitz | 82 | 78 | 74 | 71 |
| Lvl-7 Enchant | 93 | 89 | 84 | 81 |
| Ice Barrage | 94 | 90 | 85 | 82 |
| Vengeance | 94 | 90 | 85 | 82 |
| Fire Surge | 95 | 91 | 86 | 83 |
| Spellbook Swap | 96 | 92 | 87 | 84 |
Barraging at 85 with a heart is a well known trick, but watch the clock: the heart's boost drains a level a minute, and it can only be used every 7 minutes. For a long task, a stack of magic potions or battlemage potions is more dependable.
Boosts in combat
Your current Magic level feeds into both accuracy and, for powered staves such as the trident and the Eye of Ayak, the max hit itself. That is why serious magic setups use a heart before every kill and why the saturated heart, made by adding 150,000 ancient essence to an imbued heart, is one of the more sought-after upgrades. The extra +3 and the paused drain add up over a long fight. You can test the difference on the osrs dps calculator by changing the potion setting.
Minigame and raid boosts
The big numbers in the table come from potions you cannot take out of their activity: kodai potions and overloads in Chambers of Xeric, super magic potions and overloads in Nightmare Zone, potions of power in Soul Wars, and the bandages in Theatre of Blood. They are listed so you know what to expect inside, not as something to buy.
Decay and timing
Visible boosts fall by one level per minute on a background timer, so the first level can go almost at once. The saturated heart is the exception: it holds the boost for 5 minutes before it starts to fall. Boosts do not stack, so drinking a magic potion while a heart is active only helps once the heart has drained below +4.
For the levels and runes of every spell, see the full list of OSRS magic spells with cost per cast, or go straight to Ice Barrage. The Magic calculator covers xp to your target, the magic training guide covers routes, and the heart has its own imbued heart price page.