Combat
Combat is four trainable skills — Melee, Ranged, Magic and Hitpoints. You train them by fighting monsters in combat areas and dungeons.
The four combat skills
| Skill | How it trains | What it raises |
|---|---|---|
| Melee | Fighting with a melee weapon equipped | Melee damage & accuracy |
 Ranged | Fighting with a ranged weapon (consumes ammo) | Ranged damage & accuracy |
 Magic | Casting combat spells (consumes runes) | Magic damage & accuracy |
 Hitpoints | Earned automatically from all combat | Max HP — equal to Hitpoints level × 10 |
Combat XP
Every hit, and every kill, awards XP to your active style and to Hitpoints:
- Style XP =
damage × 4. - Hitpoints XP =
damage × 1.33. - Monsters below your level pay less. Both are multiplied by
min(1, (monster level + 10) ÷ (your level + 10)). Style XP uses the level of the style you attack with; Hitpoints XP uses your highest combat style. At level 99 a level-30 monster pays 37%; anything at or above your level pays in full. - Dungeons use the dungeon's highest wave level for every wave, so the easy opening waves are not penalised on their own.
Damage & accuracy
Each swing is resolved against the target's Defense:
- Max hit =
floor(1 + level ÷ 5 + styleBonus ÷ 2), plus any spell / ammo / whetstone damage. - Your hit chance =
(level + styleBonus + 5) ÷ (level + styleBonus + 5 + monsterDefense × 0.5 + 5), clamped to 10–95%. A monster's hit chance on you uses your Defense in full. styleBonusis your equipped gear's bonus for the active style — compare it on the Gear pages.
Combat triangle
Each style is strong against one and weak against another. With the advantage you gain +15% hit chance, deal +10% damage and take -10% damage (and the inverse with the disadvantage).
| Your style | Strong vs | Weak vs |
|---|---|---|
| Melee | Ranged | Magic |
| Ranged | Magic | Melee |
| Magic | Melee | Ranged |
Food, Auto-Eat and dying
Your Hitpoints are Hitpoints level × 10. Cooked food heals: every food's heal is on its item page and on Cooking.
- Auto-Eat (free, Permanent Upgrades) eats for you before every monster hit. It tops you up towards full HP with the first food in your priority order that fits in the missing HP, so no healing is wasted. Only when nothing fits and the next hit could kill you does it eat a bigger food anyway, because surviving matters more than the overheal.
- Your food priority order decides what is eaten first, and any food you switch off is never eaten. Food that is not in the order is eaten after the foods that are.
- Regeneration: you heal 1 HP per minute out of combat and in it, online and offline. The
Rapid Heal prayer doubles it. Between dungeon waves nothing else heals you. - When you die your HP refills to full and the fight stops. You keep everything you looted and lose nothing else; in a dungeon the run ends and starts again from wave 1. With
Ultimate Backup you start Woodcutting or Mining instead of standing idle. - Running out of food is what usually ends a long fight, so check your food before you leave the game running.
Spellbook (Magic)
Magic attacks cast a spell from the Spellbook. The spell's max hit is added to your base max hit, and each cast uses its runes. 25 spells:
Auto (best) is the default choice: every cast picks the strongest spell you have the level and runes for, so you never need to switch by hand as you level. The Nova spells also need the 
Nova Codex in your inventory, from the Mages' Guild.
| Spell | Magic level | Max hit | Runes per cast | Also needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Basic Magic | 1 | +3 | none | — |
 Wind Strike | 1 | +15 | 1×  Air Rune, 1×  Mind Rune | — |
 Water Strike | 3 | +30 | 1× Air Rune, 1× Mind Rune, 1×  Water Rune | — |
 Earth Strike | 6 | +45 | 1× Air Rune, 1× Mind Rune, 1×  Earth Rune | — |
 Fire Strike | 10 | +60 | 1× Air Rune, 1× Mind Rune, 2×  Fire Rune | — |
 Wind Bolt | 14 | +60 | 3× Air Rune, 1×  Chaos Rune | — |
 Water Bolt | 16 | +70 | 2× Air Rune, 1× Chaos Rune, 1× Water Rune | — |
 Earth Bolt | 19 | +80 | 2× Air Rune, 1× Chaos Rune, 2× Earth Rune | — |
 Fire Bolt | 23 | +90 | 2× Air Rune, 1× Chaos Rune, 2× Fire Rune | — |
 Wind Blast | 28 | +85 | 4× Air Rune, 1×  Death Rune | — |
 Water Blast | 30 | +95 | 2× Air Rune, 1× Death Rune, 3× Water Rune | — |
 Earth Blast | 33 | +105 | 2× Air Rune, 1× Death Rune, 3× Earth Rune | — |
 Fire Blast | 37 | +115 | 2× Air Rune, 1× Death Rune, 4× Fire Rune | — |
 Wind Wave | 43 | +110 | 6× Air Rune, 1×  Blood Rune | — |
 Water Wave | 45 | +120 | 3× Air Rune, 1× Blood Rune, 3× Water Rune | — |
 Earth Wave | 48 | +130 | 3× Air Rune, 1× Blood Rune, 4× Earth Rune | — |
 Fire Wave | 52 | +140 | 3× Air Rune, 1× Blood Rune, 4× Fire Rune | — |
 Wind Surge | 57 | +135 | 7× Air Rune, 1×  Ancient Rune | — |
 Water Surge | 61 | +145 | 3× Air Rune, 1× Ancient Rune, 5× Water Rune | — |
 Earth Surge | 64 | +155 | 3× Air Rune, 1× Ancient Rune, 5× Earth Rune | — |
 Fire Surge | 68 | +165 | 4× Air Rune, 1× Ancient Rune, 5× Fire Rune | — |
 Wind Nova | 99 | +160 | 8× Air Rune, 1×  Soul Rune | Nova Codex |
 Water Nova | 99 | +170 | 4× Air Rune, 1× Soul Rune, 6× Water Rune | Nova Codex |
 Earth Nova | 99 | +180 | 4× Air Rune, 1× Soul Rune, 6× Earth Rune | Nova Codex |
 Fire Nova | 99 | +190 | 5× Air Rune, 1× Soul Rune, 6× Fire Rune | Nova Codex |
Arrows (Ranged)
Ranged attacks fire arrows. The best arrow you have is used, and its bonus is added to your max hit. Make them in Fletching.
| Arrow | Ranged level | Max hit bonus |
|---|---|---|
 Bronze Arrow | 1 | +10 |
 Iron Arrow | 10 | +25 |
 Steel Arrow | 25 | +40 |
 Mithril Arrow | 40 | +50 |
 Adamant Arrow | 55 | +65 |
 Rune Arrow | 70 | +75 |
 Dragon Arrow | 85 | +90 |
Whetstones (Melee)
Melee can use a whetstone. The best one you have selected and own is used, and its bonus is added to your max hit.
| Whetstone | Max hit bonus |
|---|---|
 Basic Whetstone | +10 |
 Fine Whetstone | +20 |
 Superior Whetstone | +30 |
 Master Whetstone | +45 |
| Dragon Whetstone | +60 |
Where to train
Pick targets by difficulty: Combat areas · Dungeons · Monsters.
- Combat areas open at a total level (all skills added together), not a combat level.
- Dungeons open at a Melee level. Some are also sealed until you finish a quest; the Dungeons list says which.
Best melee gear
The strongest item in each slot for this style. Open a slot to see the full ladder.
| Slot | Best pick | Bonus | Unlock | How to get | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Weapon |  (D) Sirius Destiny | [Diamond] +259 Melee Power, 2.4s Speed, −3.0% Damage Taken | Melee 85 |  Smithing — (D) Sirius Destiny (Lv 99) | 113 more |
 Off-hand |  (D) Dragonguard Bulwark | [Diamond] +152 Defense, −7.0% Damage Taken | Melee 99 | Smithing — (D) Dragonguard Bulwark (Lv 99) | 25 more |
 Head |  (D) Dragon Helmet | [Diamond] +70 Defense, −3.0% Damage Taken | Hitpoints 85 | Smithing — (D) Dragon Helmet (Lv 99) | 21 more |
 Body |  (D) Dragon Platebody | [Diamond] +176 Defense, −3.0% Damage Taken | Hitpoints 85 | Smithing — (D) Dragon Platebody (Lv 99) | 21 more |
 Legs |  (D) Dragon Platelegs | [Diamond] +140 Defense, −3.0% Damage Taken | Hitpoints 85 | Smithing — (D) Dragon Platelegs (Lv 99) | 21 more |
 Feet |  (D) Dragon Boots | [Diamond] +35 Defense, −3.0% Damage Taken | Hitpoints 85 | Smithing — (D) Dragon Boots (Lv 99) | 21 more |
 Hands |  (D) Dragon Gloves | [Diamond] +35 Defense, −3.0% Damage Taken | Hitpoints 85 | Smithing — (D) Dragon Gloves (Lv 99) | 21 more |
 Belt |  (D) Dragon Belt | [Diamond] +35 Defense, −3.0% Damage Taken | Hitpoints 85 | Smithing — (D) Dragon Belt (Lv 99) | 21 more |
 Cape |  Melee Skill Cape | +30 Melee Power | Melee 99 |  Quest reward — Warriors' Guild Trials | — |
 Necklace |  Ruby Necklace | +12 Melee | None |  Crafting — Ruby Necklace (Lv 60) | — |
 Ring |  KingBenjic's Stormcrowned Signet | +10 Melee, plus +1 max hit for every 10 Melee levels | None |  Senshi Chest — 0.62% ×1 (from  Senshi Trials) | 1 more |
No gear exists yet for: Charm.
Best ranged gear
The strongest item in each slot for this style. Open a slot to see the full ladder.
| Slot | Best pick | Bonus | Unlock | How to get | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon |  Scarlett's Bow | +55 Ranged Damage, 2.2s Speed. Double Shot: every 6th shot fires twice. | Ranged 50 |  The Night Market event shop: 400 Market Tokens (once) | 16 more |
| Head |  Black D-hide Cowl | +30 Defense, +15 Ranged | Crafting 97 | Crafting — Black D-hide Cowl (Lv 97) | 8 more |
| Body |  Black D-hide Body | +77 Defense, +38 Ranged | Crafting 99 | Crafting — Black D-hide Body (Lv 99) | 8 more |
| Legs |  Black D-hide Chaps | +61 Defense, +30 Ranged | Crafting 98 | Crafting — Black D-hide Chaps (Lv 98) | 8 more |
| Feet |  Black D-hide Boots | +15 Defense, +7 Ranged | Crafting 95 | Crafting — Black D-hide Boots (Lv 95) | 8 more |
| Hands |  Black D-hide Gloves | +15 Defense, +7 Ranged | Crafting 93 | Crafting — Black D-hide Gloves (Lv 93) | 8 more |
| Belt |  Black D-hide Belt | +15 Defense, +7 Ranged | Crafting 94 | Crafting — Black D-hide Belt (Lv 94) | 8 more |
| Necklace |  Emerald Necklace | +12 Ranged | None | Crafting — Emerald Necklace (Lv 60) | — |
| Ring |  Emerald Ring | +8 Ranged | None | Crafting — Emerald Ring (Lv 40) | — |
No gear exists yet for: Off-hand, Cape, Charm.
Best magic gear
The strongest item in each slot for this style. Open a slot to see the full ladder.
| Slot | Best pick | Bonus | Unlock | How to get | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon |  Penny's Wand | +40 Magic Damage, 2.3s Speed (one-handed), -1 Air/Water/Earth/Fire Rune per cast (min 1) | Magic 80 |  Runecrafting — Robes & Wands (Lv 80) | 6 more |
| Off-hand |  Elf's Grimoire of Measured Power | +10 Magic, reduces Air/Water/Earth/Fire Rune costs by 1 (min 1) | None |  Thieving — Mage (unique — 0.01%) | — |
| Head |  Penny's Hat | +21 Defense, +9 Magic | Magic 80 | Runecrafting — Robes & Wands (Lv 74) | 4 more |
| Body |  Penny's Robe Top | +54 Defense, +22 Magic | Magic 80 | Runecrafting — Robes & Wands (Lv 78) | 4 more |
| Legs |  Penny's Robe Bottoms | +43 Defense, +18 Magic | Magic 80 | Runecrafting — Robes & Wands (Lv 76) | 4 more |
| Feet |  Penny's Boots | +10 Defense, +4 Magic | Magic 80 | Runecrafting — Robes & Wands (Lv 70) | 4 more |
| Hands |  Penny's Gloves | +10 Defense, +4 Magic | Magic 80 | Runecrafting — Robes & Wands (Lv 71) | 4 more |
| Belt |  Penny's Belt | +10 Defense, +4 Magic | Magic 80 | Runecrafting — Robes & Wands (Lv 72) | 3 more |
| Cape |  Magic Skill Cape | +30 Magic | Magic 99 | Quest reward — Mages' Guild Trials | — |
| Necklace |  Aiden's Light | +10 Magic, −5% Damage Taken | None | Quest reward — Mages' Guild Trials | 1 more |
| Ring |  Eternal Signet of Ramon | +10 Magic, 5% chance to cast a spell twice | Magic 99 | Quest reward — Mages' Guild Trials | 1 more |
Penny's set (Weapon, Head, Body, Legs, Feet, Hands, Belt): worn together the 7 pieces give +15% Magic damage. That beats mixing in a piece with higher stats of its own, so the table lists the full set. Swap one piece out and the bonus is gone.
No gear exists yet for: Charm.