Runescape Game Play

I have been training woodcutting since I first started playing Runescape, in fact woodcutting was one of my first 2 skills to get a fairly high level, the second being mining, I am not a great fan of woodcutting or mining now.
I decide to go for 99 woodcutting because over the years I had got it to 96 and just a few levels would get me another cape.

To get to 96 I cut the best tree I could, I wasn't bothered about time because it was not my main cash generating skill and I was in no hurry, oaks are a very good tree to chop at lower levels (not to bad at higher levels either), xp is fast and you get loads of birds nests and tree seeds, my favourite spot for oaks was just outside the west gate at Varrock, easy to chop as there are 3 trees, you only need to chop 2 because they respawn quickly.
Had I done it for speed I would have stayed there for a few levels above the minimum for cutting willows, instead I went to willows when I could and chopped there until I could chop yews, the best willow place is Draynor Village chop and bank and repeat.

As soon as I could chop yews I chopped yews, I wasn't bothered about cash I just wanted to chop yews, the xp although not as good as willows was adequate for me and I enjoyed chopping there, the spot I preferred was west of Catherby using the Catherby bank to unload, the fun at Catherby is its a fancy dress chopping area, players like to wear their full Dragon, Dharoks, elegant and Ringmaster now, dress to impress is the dress code for Catherby.

I like to change training spot so would normally chop yews at catherby, occasionally chop willows at Draynor and oaks at Varrock just for a change of scenery.

When I could chop magics I had a go at them, Magic trees are very slow, and when I say slow I mean verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow, but none the less they are fun to chop for a while if you want to sleep, chat or just fight of randoms, Lletya is my place of choice for magic trees, use the teleport crystals to bank and run the short distance back to the trees.
When magics were first there they were very noisy and only choppable if you turned sound off, luckily Jagex have reduced the sound so you can still listen to what you are doing, its quite relaxing to chop at Lletya.

Even with the ability to chop magic trees it is still a lot quicker xp to chop willows, even more so than yews, there is the option to chop teaks which are better xp than willows, the only problem with teaks is there is no bank near so you either burn or drop, I personally don't want to play with every log that I chop so I stick at willows, teaks are great if you want to train fire making at the same time but guaranteed RSI if you don't, if you want to chop teaks the best place is Ape Atoll, you can chop as a monkey so you don't get attacked.

Chopping aids
There are numerous ways to help your chopping efficiency, this is where the term "noob bait" comes in, this is a name I made up to describe a situation to guarantee questions from many players.

Lumberjack
Lumberjack clothing is obtained from the Temple Trekking mini game, it adds a small amount of xp per log when chopping, with the full set it adds 2.5% more experience, over time the 2.5% adds up quite considerably, with this set alone you will get 99 wood cutting 2.5% faster than without, you need level 44 woodcutting to wear Lumberjack.
The down side is it can take a very long time to get the Lumberjack Jacket, it took me 2 weeks almost constant playing the mini game, I may have been able to get more xp chopping for the 2 weeks but I wanted the set and there are other good prizes from the trekking game.

Beaver
The beaver familiar gives you a woodcutting boost of 2, this is invisible so it can not help you chop a tree 2 levels higher than you can currently chop but you will be chopping at a speed that a player 2 levels higher can, this works out as a 2% woodcutting increase so you can get 99 woodcutting 2% faster, the beaver also collects planks and logs up to yew, this can cover the cost of the shards for the beaver pouch and it uses a willow log to make so you are chopping them anyway.

Inferno Adze
The Inferno Adze doesn't give you a woodcutting boost but it burns a percentage of the logs you chop, they simply catch fire and whiz over your shoulder, I have included it here because if you burn the logs you do not need to bank so often, they are burnt as you chop so no time is wasted burning them, I estimate that about 1/4 to 1/3 are burnt as you chop so you can save as much as a bank trip per 3 to 4 full loads.
I have got my last 2 firemaking levels without burning a single log, firemaking is a waste of time as far as I am concerned so levelling with no direct intervention from me is a bonus, although it is a waste of time it is still a skill and one day I will master it, just not a priority at the moment.
You need 92 firemaking to get and wield an Inferno Adze, you obtain the Inferno Adze by completing the mini game after the All Fired Up quest.

Rabbits foot
Wearing a Rabbit foot around your neck is reported to increase the amount of bird nests you can get when chopping, I cant say that I have noticed but if Jagex say it does then it must, birds nests are desirable beacuse the ground nests have value for herblore and the tree seeds are worth up to 180k for magic seeds at current prices.

Noob bait
Just because people are low level or don't understand something doesn't make them a noob, I just call it this as a bit of humour.
I wear all the above and you can imagine the amount of people who ask where I get this where I get that, does it do this, does it do that, its OK but after the 5th person in 2 minutes asks it can get a bit tedious, luckily other players like to show off their knowledge and tell the next person who asks.

I no longer wear my slayer cape chopping as that gets far too many "Do emote" comments.

Strategy
There is a tendency for people to chop their own tree, there is no reason to have your own tree, in fact it is detrimental for all people chopping, it is far better to go to a tree that everyone is chopping, this will make the tree fall quicker but at least if the tree falls and you move onto another there is always a tree to chop, if every one has a different tree at the same time and they all fall (this often happens) then everyone is stood around gaining no XP.
The trees fall at the rate of the lowest level woodcutter so if you are a high level woodcutting player and you join a low level the tree will fall quicker but at least you can chop.

My top tip is, Chop and enjoy, if you don't enjoy take a break, I take slayer breaks very regularly.