Attack range
The attack range of a weapon or spell is the maximum number of "squares" away from a target, both diagonally and orthogonally, from which the player wielding the weapon or casting the spell may attack the target and deal damage or other effects. This forms a square area, not a circle, which means that the player will effectively have increased range in their diagonal direction by a factor of .
As an example, a dragon crossbow has a range of 7, setting it to longrange increases the range by 2, and shooting it diagonally you can multiply by the root of two, giving you a total distance equal to over 12 tiles. The walked distance is still 9 tiles though.
Players may use a weapon's attack range to their advantage to avoid possible damage from monsters by hiding behind chairs, small rocks, cages, etc. Such areas are known as safespots where a player stands in a specific "square" and uses such weapons to retain Hitpoints. This tactic is known as "safespotting", or "farcasting" when done with magic.
Melee weapons
Almost all melee weapons have an attack range of 1, but cannot make attacks diagonally. Halberds are special melee weapons which have an attack range of 2.
Halberds
Halberds are melee weapons; they provide melee attack bonuses and do not require ammunition. They are useful for hitting across various objects (such as chairs, small rocks, cages, etc.) allowing players to safely kill a monster from a short distance using melee. Not all in-game objects can be used to safespot a target, so players must be aware when fighting powerful monsters as the game moves the player towards the monster to attack if the object is impassable. This effect is also present in all ranged weapons and spells.
Special attacks
- Dragon and crystal halberds, as well as all attacks from the scythe of vitur, have a wide 3×1 range, except in contact with large monsters which take up more than 1 square.
- The dragon 2h sword's special attack has a 3×3 range centred on the target.
- Dinh's bulwark's special attack has an 11×11 range centred on the target.
Magic spells
All combat magic spells have an attack range of 10 regardless of the level of the spell of which to cast it. Powered staves with the exception of the Tumeken's shadow have a default range of 7, but also allow longrange attack style. Tumeken's shadow has a default range of 8.
Players using the ice spells from the Ancient Magicks spellbook or binding spells from the standard spellbook can prevent monsters or players from moving, then run a few squares away and continue to attack. This is particularity useful in areas where there are no safespots or when a player needs to quickly take cover from damage. This tactic is known as "farcasting" and saves a great deal of Hitpoints as most players and monsters only have a one square attack range.
- All "Burst" or "Barrage" Ancient Magicks spells have a 3×3 AoE around the primary target.
- Tele Group teleport spells from the Lunar Spellbook allow for teleportation of players in a 3×3 range.
- Some spells will continue to follow their target even after they are outside range (e.g. if someone casts teleblock on a player, but they teleport before being blocked, the block will follow the player to their destination).
Ranged weapons
Ranged weapons have the greatest variety of weapon attack ranges. All ranged weapons (except for Dwarf multicannon) have two types of ranged attack modes, a normal attack range and longrange attack. Normal attack range is the maximum attack range while using accurate mode or rapid mode.
Longrange mode increases attack range by 2, maxing out at 10, and any Ranged experience gained is split between Ranged and Defence. As it results in a slower attack speed than rapid mode, longrange is mainly only used to safespot monsters.
| Weapon Type | Normal Range | Long Range |
|---|---|---|
| Salamander[1] | 1 | N/A |
| Darts | 3 | 5 |
| Knives | 4 | 6 |
| Throwing axes | 4 | 6 |
| Comp ogre bow | 5 | 7 |
| Toxic blowpipe | 5 | 7 |
| Hunter's spear | 5 | 7 |
| Tonalztics of ralos | 5 | 7 |
| Dorgeshuun crossbow | 6 | 8 |
| Eclipse atlatl | 6 | 8 |
| Mud pie | 6 | 8 |
| Crossbows | 7 | 9 |
| Shortbows | 7 | 9 |
| Long-range crossbows[2] | 8 | 10 |
| Seercull bow | 8 | 10 |
| Light and heavy ballista | 9 | 10 |
| Chinchompa | 9 | 10 |
| 3rd age bow | 9 | 10 |
| Craw's bow | 9 | 10 |
| Webweaver bow | 9 | 10 |
| Longbows | 10 | 10 |
| Ogre bow | 10 | 10 |
| Composite bows | 10 | 10 |
| Crystal bow | 10 | 10 |
| Dark bow | 10 | 10 |
| Bow of faerdhinen | 10 | 10 |
| Twisted bow | 10 | 10 |
- ^ Unlike melee weapons, salamander users may attack a monster as long as it is adjacent to it. Melee weapons may only attack directly north, south, west, or east.
- ^ Crossbows with extended range, such as Armadyl crossbow, Karils crossbow, Zaryte crossbow, Hunters' crossbow, Hunters' sunlight crossbow.
Other equipment
- The Dragonfire shield's operated attack has a range of 10.
- The Ring of recoil and Vengeance are effective at any range.
See also
| Combat | |
|---|---|
| Maximum hit | |
| Damage per second | |
| Mechanics | |
| Other | |