Pay-to-play melee training
This article provides information about effective ways to train Attack, Strength, Defence, and Hitpoints through melee combat.
This guide is organised into sections based on skill levels. For example, if the section header is Levels 20 to 30, you should begin training at the area with an Attack and Strength level of at least 20. Defence is also preferred to be at that level, but is not always required. The solution to lower Defence is to bring more food, or use food that heals more.
General training notes
- The Waterfall Quest will get you to both 30 Attack and Strength if completed at level 3 combat.
- Strength can be trained without training Hitpoints with barbarian fishing and at the Blast Furnace pump, which requires 30 Strength.
- Defence can be trained by using Ancient Magicks on defensive or chinchompas on Long fuse against Maniacal monkeys for more experience per hour than using melee.
- Players can complete Slayer tasks to train Slayer while simultaneously training combat stats. This is an effective combat training method as well as providing profit in most cases.
- When fighting dangerous monsters it is suggested to bring a teleportation tablet or if your Magic level is high enough, teleportation runes in order to quickly escape. Note that a tablet can be more easily clicked from your inventory and takes up less space than runes for a teleport spell.
Recommended quests
To start off, it is strongly recommended to complete quests that give a lot of melee experience. This allows players to wear much better equipment and have much higher damage output when they start training.
A lot of the quests are quick to complete and only have few requirements. Most of them include boss fights, which can be made trivial with protection prayers, and many of the bosses can be safespotted with Magic or Ranged. It is strongly recommended to complete Witch's House to get Hitpoints higher.
The recommended quests for early melee experience are listed in the table below. Completing all of them would give the player a total of 65,275 Attack, 27,537.5 Strength, and 15,300 Defence experience. This would get the player up to level 45 Attack, level 37 Strength, and level 31 Defence without doing any melee training.
Quest | XP rewards | Requirements | Enemies to defeat | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Witch's House | 6,325 | None | Witch's experiment (level 19, 30, 42 and 53) | The last two forms of the Witch's experiment can be safespotted. Using Magic is recommended throughout the fight. |
Waterfall Quest | 13,750 and 13,750 | None | None | Players need to withstand and evade attacks from level 86 Fire Giants and level 84 Moss Guardian. Having at least level 17 is recommended, so that the player cannot die in one hit from full Hitpoints. |
Death Plateau | 3,000 | None | None | Unlocks spiritual creatures as a Slayer task. |
Fight Arena | 12,175 | None | Khazard scorpion (level 44), Khazard ogre (level 63), Bouncer (level 137) | The bosses can be safespotted, and using Magic is recommended to defeat them. |
Tree Gnome Village | 11,450 | None | Khazard Warlord (level 112) | The Khazard Warlord can be safespotted, or flinched by walking in and out of his attack radius. Using Magic is recommended. |
Vampyre Slayer | 4,825 | None | Count Draynor (level 34) | Count Draynor is fairly easy to defeat with some combat stats. |
The Grand Tree | 18,400 | 25 | Black Demon (level 172) | Completion of Tree Gnome Village is recommended for access to spirit trees. The Black Demon can be safespotted, and using Magic is recommended to defeat the monster. |
Holy Grail | 15,300 | 20 , completion of Merlin's Crystal | Black Knight Titan (level 120) | The Black Knight Titan can be flinched by simply stepping out of his melee range. |
Scorpion Catcher | 6,625 | 31 , completion of Alfred Grimhand's Barcrawl | None | Requires being able to run past level 172 black demons and level 64 poison spiders. |
Mountain Daughter | 1,000 | 20 | The Kendal (level 70) | The Kendal can be safespotted. |
Horror from the Deep | 4,662.5 | 35 , completion of Alfred Grimhand's Barcrawl | Dagannoth (level 100) and Dagannoth Mother (level 100) | Unlocks dagannoth as a Slayer task. Having 40 is strongly recommended for Protect from Missiles against the Dagannoth Mother's Ranged attacks. This quest is a prerequisite for the final fights of Recipe for Disaster. |
Tai Bwo Wannai Trio | 2,500 and 2,500 | 15 , 30 , 5 , completion of Jungle Potion | Monkey (level 3) | Having access to fairy rings makes this quest faster. |
XP rewards total | 65,275 , 27,537.5 and 15,300 |
Additional quests
There are also other quests that give Attack, Strength, and Defence experience, but they have higher requirements. Some of them are listed in the table below.
Once completed, the Recipe for Disaster quest gives access to the Culinaromancer's gloves. They provide significant offensive bonuses.
Quest | XP rewards | Requirements | Enemies to defeat | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dragon Slayer I | 18,650 and 18,650 | 32 | Elvarg (level 83) and various other monsters | Unlocks all dragon tasks for Slayer. This quest is a prerequisite for Heroes' Quest. |
Heroes' Quest | 3,075 , 3,075 , 3,075 | 55 , 53 , 53 , 25 , 50 ; completion of Shield of Arrav, Lost City, Merlin's Crystal, and Dragon Slayer I | Ice Queen (level 111) and various other monsters | This quest is a prerequisite for Legends' Quest, which needs to be started for the Sir Amik Varze subquest of Recipe for Disaster. |
The Fremennik Trials | 2,812 , 2,812 , 2,812 | 25 , 40 , 40 if crafting your own lyre | Draugen (level 69) and Koschei the deathless | Prerequisite for wearing Fremennik helmets. |
The Fremennik Isles | Two lots of 10,000 Combat experience (choose between Strength, Attack, Defence or Hitpoints). | 40 , 20 , completion of The Fremennik Trials | Ice Troll King (level 122) | Awards the helm of neitiznot and the ability to wield it. |
Olaf's Quest | 12,000 | 40 , 50 , completion of The Fremennik Trials | Ulfric (level 100) | Unlocks brine rats as a Slayer task. |
Underground Pass | 3,000 | 25 | Multiple (between level 13 and 91) | Prerequisite for Legends' Quest. |
Nature Spirit | 2,000 | Completion of Priest in Peril and The Restless Ghost | 3 Ghasts (level 30) | Prerequisite for the Lumbridge Guide subquest of Recipe for Disaster, and unlocking fairy rings. |
Fairytale I - Growing Pains | 2,000 | Completion of Lost City and Nature Spirit | Tanglefoot (level 111) | Prerequisite for unlocking fairy rings. |
Haunted Mine | 22,000 | 35 , completion of Priest in Peril | Treus Dayth (level 95) | Prerequisite for obtaining the Salve amulet, which provides combat bonuses against undead creatures. |
Suggested training methods for best experience
Completing the Waterfall Quest at level 1 Attack and Strength will instantly bring the player to level 30 in each. This quest has no requirements, making it the fastest way to train a brand new account to these levels, skipping much of the slow low-level training. However, there are several aggressive and hard-hitting monsters during the quest, so players may want to train some Defence and Hitpoints levels in order to make the quest safer. See the Waterfall Quest guide for more information on how to complete this quest.
Levels 1 to 10
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicken | North-east of Lumbridge just east of River Lum, south of River Lum in Farmer Fred's chicken coop | 1 | 3 | None | |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 10 to 60/70
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammonite Crab | Fossil Island | 25 | 100 | Bone Voyage | Armour and food for low defence levels. Digsite pendant. Build the bank chest on Fossil Island to get access to a nearby bank |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sand Crab | Beach south of Hosidius, Crabclaw Isle, Crabclaw Caves, beach on the Avium Savannah | 15 | 60 | 10,000 coins to enter Crabclaw Isle, or have started The Depths of Despair to enter the Crabclaw Caves. There are also spots with no requirements | Armour and food for low levels. If you are farming on the beach south of Hosidius there is a bank chest nearby so inventory space is not a concern. Using a full inventory of super attack and super strength potions increases your DPS considerably, which ultimately increases the experiences rates per hour. The spots on the Avium Savannah are also significantly less congested, so may be preferable. |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 60/70 to 99
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nightmare Zone | North of Yanille, north-west of the bank | Varies | Varies | At least 5 quests that Nightmare Zone requires | Refer to the Nightmare Zone page for more information |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scurrius | Varrock Sewers | 200 (Solo) 250 (Group) |
500 (Solo) 1,500 (Group) |
None | Combat level 60-90, armour, food, prayer potions, (super) combat potions |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Slayer | Varies | Varies | Varies | None | Combat level 100 to use Duradel, black mask or slayer helm, various teleports and quests |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sulphur Nagua | Neypotzli | 98 | 100 | 48 Slayer
20 Hunter 20 Fishing 20 Runecraft 10 Construction (Requirements for Perilous Moons, partial completion for access to Sulphur Nagua) 55 Attack for Glacial temotli. Sulphur blades are a cheaper alternative. 43 Prayer for Protect from Melee |
70 Attack and 75 Strength for Dual Macuahuitl
High Herblore 70 Prayer for Piety Full Blood Moon set |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pest Control | Void Knight Outpost | Varies | Varies | 70 Combat (for Intermediate Lander), 100 Combat (for Veteran Lander) | At least the medium tier of combat achievements completed |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Other methods
You may use these if the above methods are too crowded or otherwise not available. However, they are not as good as the other methods.
It is not recommended to train melee for profit at low levels. It is usually better to train with crabs, Slayer, or the Nightmare Zone and do something else to make money for overall more efficient play. For example, killing Hobgoblins for two hours will give both less money and less experience than spinning flax for one hour and training on crabs for one hour. Low-level players looking to make money for early gear should check out the Money-making guide.
Here are some easy options for training melee if you do want to kill monsters for profit and still get decent experience rates.
Levels 1 to 10
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chicken | North-east of Lumbridge just east of River Lum, south of River Lum in Farmer Fred's chicken coop | 1 | 3 | None | |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 10 to 60
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rock Crab | North of Rellekka, Waterbirth Island | 13 | 50 | To access Waterbirth Island, you must have started The Fremennik Trials quest. If you haven't finished the quest, it will cost 1,000 coins to travel there. There are also spots with no requirements | Armour and food for low levels. Camelot teleport tabs or runes will bring you somewhat close |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Experiment | Experiment cave | 25 | 100 | Priest in Peril, started Creature of Fenkenstrain | Armour and food for low levels. Ectophial, started Fairytale II - Cure a Queen for access to fairy rings (ALQ) or other teleport to Canifis for ease of access |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 10 to 20
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men and Women | Varies, including Lumbridge | 2 | 7 | None | Your best weapon and armour. Food if you try this from level 3 |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 20 to 30
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al Kharid warrior | Al Kharid Palace | 9 | 19 | None | Decent but cheap food like trout or salmon. Alternatively, you can buy kebabs for 1 coin each in Al Kharid. Also bring your best armour and weapons, because they can deal some damage |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 30 to 60
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chaos druid | Edgeville Dungeon, Chaos Druid Tower | 13 | 20 | Decent combat, level 46 Thieving if fighting in Chaos Druid Tower | Food. Your best weapon and armour if fighting outside of the Wilderness. Only three valuable items and a looting bag if fighting in Edgeville dungeon |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 40 to 60
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Moss giant | Catacombs of Kourend, Varrock Sewers, West of the Fishing Guild | 42 | 60 | Mid-level combat | Food, armour, High alchemy runes, Teleport to house tablets for using another player's house to teleport to Kourend to reach the Catacombs, ring of dueling for banking |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 60 to 70
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wilderness Slayer | Wilderness | Varies | Varies | None | Slayer helm, Dragon defender, many Slayer points to block bad tasks, food, burning amulet, amulet of glory, high ranged for dragonhide armour |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green dragon | Wilderness in various locations | 79 | 75 | Dragonfire protection, good weapons, food, and armour | Food. Only three valuable items and a Looting bag. Ring of dueling to teleport to a bank. A games necklace to teleport to Corporeal Beast |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 70 to 99
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Slayer | Varies | Varies | Varies | None | 85 combat to use Nieve, Slayer helm, various teleports and quests |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gargoyle | Slayer tower | 111 | 105 | 75 Slayer, Rock hammer, Priest in Peril | Guthan the Infested's equipment, a Kharyrll teleport portal, access to fairy rings or a Slayer ring. Your best armour and weapons. High level alchemy runes. Gargoyle smasher Slayer perk |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
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Monkey Guards | Marim | 167 | 130 | Started Monkey Madness I and have not completed Monkey Madness II | Dharok's set |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Levels 90 to 99
Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rune dragon | Lithkren Vault | 380 | 330 | Dragon Slayer II | High combat including prayer, dragonfire shield, a zamorakian hasta or abyssal dagger, insulated boots, digsite pendant, armour with high defences, super combat potions, food |
Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
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Equipment choice
Items will be listed in order of how much they increase general melee damage per second. In nearly all cases, optimising for offensive stats is more effective than optimising for defensive or balanced stats, especially when fighting the low-offence, high hp monsters on this list. In addition, optimising for Strength is usually better than optimising for accuracy except against high-Defence monsters.
Head-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Torva full helm | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | -5 | +59 | +60 | +62 | -2 | +57 | +8 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Neitiznot faceguard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +36 | +34 | +38 | +3 | +34 | +6 | 0 | 0% | +3 | |
Serpentine helm | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | -5 | +52 | +55 | +58 | 0 | +50 | +5 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Blood moon helm | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | -2 | +20 | +31 | +34 | +7 | +29 | +4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Inquisitor's great helm | -2 | -2 | +8 | -5 | -5 | +19 | +10 | +21 | 0 | +12 | +4 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Helm of neitiznot | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +31 | +29 | +34 | +3 | +30 | +3 | 0 | 0% | +3 | |
Berserker helm | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | -5 | +31 | +29 | +33 | 0 | +30 | +3 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Obsidian helmet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +25 | +23 | +26 | 0 | +24 | +3 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
- Three of these items provide the same Strength bonus of +3, so choose between them based on their other stats such as their Defence or availability. Note that these Strength-boosting helmets are almost always better than helmets that only provide accuracy, such as the warrior helm, for general training.
- When training Slayer, a Slayer helm (or black mask) will always provide the greatest damage increase over any of these.
Cape-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
File:Infernal cape.png | Infernal cape | +4 | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +8 | 0 | 0% | +2 |
Fire cape | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +11 | +11 | +11 | +11 | +11 | +4 | 0 | 0% | +2 | |
Mythical cape | 0 | 0 | +6 | 0 | 0 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +1 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Mixed hide cape | 0 | 0 | 0 | -15 | +5 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +5 | +1 | +1 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
If the player does not have access to any of these, an obsidian cape or a Cape of Accomplishment can be used instead due to their moderate Defence bonuses, however they will not increase damage. The Ardougne cloak also provides stab accuracy bonus and moderate Prayer bonus.
Neck-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amulet of rancour | +25 | +25 | +25 | -6 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +12 | 0 | 0% | +2 | |
Amulet of torture | +15 | +15 | +15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +10 | 0 | 0% | +2 | |
Amulet of fury | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +15 | +15 | +15 | +15 | +15 | +8 | 0 | 0% | +5 | |
Amulet of glory | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +10 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +6 | 0 | 0% | +3 | |
Amulet of power | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Amulet of strength | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +10 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
- Depending on your stats, for monsters with low Defence, an amulet of Strength can be better than an amulet of power, amulet of glory, or even an amulet of fury.
- When fighting undead monsters and not using a Slayer helmet, the salve amulet and its upgraded version the salve amulet (e) are the best neck-slot items.
Body-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Torva platebody | 0 | 0 | 0 | -18 | -14 | +117 | +111 | +117 | -11 | +142 | +6 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Bandos chestplate | 0 | 0 | 0 | -15 | -10 | +98 | +93 | +105 | -6 | +133 | +4 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Blood moon chestplate | 0 | 0 | 0 | -15 | -10 | +60 | +80 | +80 | +40 | +79 | +4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Inquisitor's hauberk | -3 | -3 | +12 | -11 | -10 | +67 | +55 | +71 | 0 | +35 | +4 | 0 | 0% | +2 | |
Fighter torso | 0 | 0 | 0 | -40 | 0 | +62 | +85 | +62 | -10 | +67 | +4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Obsidian platebody | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +55 | +78 | +56 | -15 | +60 | +3 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Mixed hide top | 4 | -2 | -3 | -15 | +27 | +33 | +39 | +43 | +30 | +32 | +2 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
- Four of these items provide the same Strength bonus, but the Bandos chestplate has much better defence.
Shield-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Avernic defender | +30 | +29 | +28 | -5 | -4 | +30 | +29 | +28 | -5 | -4 | +8 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Dragon defender | +25 | +24 | +23 | -3 | -2 | +25 | +24 | +23 | -3 | -2 | +6 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Rune defender | +20 | +19 | +18 | -3 | -2 | +20 | +19 | +18 | -3 | -2 | +5 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Adamant defender | +13 | +12 | +11 | -3 | -2 | +13 | +12 | +11 | -3 | -2 | +4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Dragonfire shield | 0 | 0 | 0 | -10 | -5 | +70 | +75 | +72 | +10 | +72 | +7 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Toktz-ket-xil | 0 | 0 | 0 | -12 | -8 | +40 | +42 | +38 | 0 | +65 | +5 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Book of war | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 0 | 0% | +5 |
- When fighting dragons, a Dragonfire shield is the best melee offhand item due to its ability to block dragonfire while having high Strength and Defence bonuses. IMPORTANT: The "Uncharged" Dragonfire shield has about 1/3 the defensive characteristics of the charged shield. If the dragonfire protection and high Defence are not needed, defenders are better due to their accuracy bonuses.
- As defenders require access to the Warriors' Guild and thus a combined Attack and Strength level of 130 (for example, level 65 in both), the Toktz-ket-xil or dragonfire shield should be used until that requirement is met. If the required Defence levels for those items (60 and 75 respectively) isn't met, a book of war can be used.
Legs-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Torva platelegs | 0 | 0 | 0 | -24 | -11 | +87 | +78 | +79 | -9 | +102 | +4 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Bandos tassets | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21 | -7 | +71 | +63 | +66 | -4 | +93 | +2 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Blood moon tassets | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21 | -7 | +30 | +50 | +49 | +32 | +46 | +2 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Inquisitor's plateskirt | -3 | -3 | +12 | -9 | -5 | +42 | +30 | +49 | 0 | +22 | +2 | 0 | 0% | +2 | |
Obsidian platelegs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +46 | +43 | +41 | -10 | +40 | +1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Fremennik kilt | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21 | -7 | +11 | +10 | +10 | -4 | +10 | +1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Torag's platelegs | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21 | -7 | +85 | +82 | +83 | -4 | +92 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Verac's plateskirt | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21 | -7 | +85 | +82 | +83 | 0 | +84 | 0 | 0 | 0% | +4 | |
Dragon platelegs/skirt | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21 | -7 | +68 | +66 | +63 | -4 | +65 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Rock-shell legs | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21 | -7 | +51 | +49 | +47 | -4 | +49 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Rune platelegs | 0 | 0 | 0 | -21 | -11 | +51 | +49 | +47 | -4 | +49 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Mixed hide legs | +3 | -1 | -2 | -10 | +14 | +20 | +23 | +22 | +16 | +20 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
- Items shown without strength bonus are included to show defensive stats and give options which are less expensive.
Hands-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ferocious gloves | +16 | +16 | +16 | -16 | -16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +14 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Barrows gloves | +12 | +12 | +12 | +6 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +6 | +12 | +12 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Dragon gloves | +9 | +9 | +9 | +5 | +9 | +9 | +9 | +9 | +5 | +9 | +9 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Rune gloves | +8 | +8 | +8 | +4 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +4 | +8 | +8 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Regen bracelet | +8 | +8 | +8 | +3 | +7 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +3 | +6 | +7 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Adamant gloves | +7 | +7 | +7 | +4 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +4 | +7 | +7 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Granite gloves | +5 | +5 | +9 | -3 | -1 | +8 | +8 | +8 | -3 | +5 | +7 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Combat bracelet | +7 | +7 | +7 | +3 | +7 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +3 | +5 | +6 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Mithril gloves | +6 | +6 | +6 | +3 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +3 | +6 | +6 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
Feet-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primordial boots | +2 | +2 | +2 | -4 | -1 | +22 | +22 | +22 | 0 | 0 | +5 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Dragon boots | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | -1 | +16 | +17 | +18 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Aranea boots | 0 | 0 | 0 | +5 | +6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0% | +1 | |
Spiked manacles | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Guardian boots | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | -1 | +32 | +32 | +32 | -3 | +24 | +3 | 0 | 0% | +2 | |
Granite boots | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | -1 | +15 | +16 | +17 | -0 | +8 | +3 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Rune boots | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | -1 | +12 | +13 | +14 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Mixed hide boots | 0 | 0 | 0 | -10 | +5 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +3 | +3 | +2 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Climbing boots | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | +2 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Adamant boots | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | -1 | +10 | +11 | +12 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
Ring-slot items in order of effectiveness
Item | Attack bonuses | Defence bonuses | Other | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ultor ring | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +12 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Berserker ring (i) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +8 | 0 | 0 | +8 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Brimstone ring | +4 | +4 | +4 | +6 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +6 | +4 | +4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Berserker ring | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Ring of shadows | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +5 | 0 | +2 | 0 | 0% | +2 | |
Warrior ring | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | |
Tyrannical ring | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 |
- Rings should be imbued at the Nightmare Zone as soon as possible. Also note that the Warrior, Tyrannical, and Treasonous rings only benefit one attacking style each, while the Brimstone ring benefits all melee combat. If the player cannot afford any of these rings, a ring of wealth is a decent alternative to help improve rare drop table rolls and pick up coins, but it does not increase damage. Low level players can benefit from a ring of recoil, as 10% + 1 of the damage received by the player (rounded down) is dealt to the attacker, and always recoils at least 1 damage when the player is hit.
Weapon choice
Choosing a weapon
- In most cases, choosing a weapon with an attack speed of 2.4 seconds (4 ticks) will be the best choice for dealing the highest damage per second. Slower weapons almost always give less experience overall against low Defence monsters, even if they do more damage per hit, but may deal more against high Defence monsters.
- Monster vulnerability may cause certain weapons to perform better than their stats suggest. For example, most dragons are weak to Stab, making the otherwise weaker zamorakian hasta a better choice than the abyssal whip when fighting them. Check a monster's wiki page to see its defensive bonuses and consider picking a weapon it is weak to.
Training weapons in order of effectiveness
- Note: All one-handed weapons in this table will have their stats displayed as if they were paired with an avernic defender to make a fair comparison to two-handed weapons.
- Note: Some Crush weapons in this table will have stats displayed as paired with the inquisitor's armour set and its respective defender, if applicable, to more easily showcase the enhancements the set effect offers to weapons that deliver Crush attacks.
If you do not have access to a shield at all, such as if you do not want to risk an additional item in the Wilderness or you have not yet unlocked the requirements for a certain offhand equipment, some fast two-handed weapons like the Saradomin sword become worth using.
The weapons listed here with level requirements of less than 70 Attack will include the dragon defender bonuses instead of the Avernic one, while weapons with a requirement of less than 60 will not include the bonuses of a defender, as it is unlikely that someone using one of these low level weapons would have access to one due to the 130 Attack+Strength requirement. As noted above, players with 60 Defence without access to defenders should be using the Toktz-ket-xil.
Weapon Name | Requirements | Primary Attack Style | Primarily Used to Train | Attack & Strength Bonus (with Avernic defender, if applicable) | Price | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Soulreaper axe | 80 Attack
80 Strength |
Slash | All Stats | +134 Slash
+121 Strength |
422,556,941 | Utilizing the weapon's "Soul stack" effect is required to achieve maximum experience rates. Each Soul Stack gives the player a +6% boost to their Strength level. Maintaining 5 soul stacks at all times, and not using the "Behead" special attack is optimal while training. It does not degrade and it primarily uses the Slash attack style. |
Osmumten's fang | 82 Attack | Stab | All Stats | +135 Stab
+111 Strength |
12,475,873 | This weapon will be better than the ghrazi rapier on monsters that have very high Defence bonuses due to its passive effects. |
Noxious halberd | 80 Attack | Slash | Strength, Defence
All Stats on Controlled |
+80 Stab +132 Slash +142 Strength |
20,255,798 | Two-handed weapon with a slightly slower attack speed of 3 seconds instead of 2.4 like most other weapons listed. Despite this, it is better than the other 80 Attack weapons when used with lower Strength bonus gear while being far cheaper. |
Ghrazi rapier | 80 Attack | Stab | All Stats | +124 Stab
+97 Strength |
46,256,730 | This is one of the best melee training weapons. Its Strength bonus is tied with the inquisitor's mace and the blade of Saeldor. It does not degrade and it primarily uses the Stab attack style. It is worth mentioning the player can attack with the Ghrazi Rapier every 2.4 seconds as opposed to the slightly slower attack rate of Osmumten's fang (every 3.0 seconds). |
Inquisitor's mace | 80 Attack | Crush | All Stats | +123 Crush
+97 Strength |
360,513,130 | This is one of the best melee training weapons. Its Strength bonus is tied with the ghrazi rapier and the blade of Saeldor. It does not degrade and it primarily uses the Crush attack style.
When combined with the inquisitor's armour, the weapon's enhanced Strength bonus and significantly improved accuracy become devastating against enemies with high Defence. The four-tick weapon speed and the capability to train all melee stats render it one of the best melee weapons available. |
Wearing Inquisitor's Armour | ||||||
+155 Crush
+107 Strength | ||||||
Blade of saeldor | 80 Attack | Slash | All Stats | +123 Slash
+97 Strength |
164,747,415 | This is one of the best melee training weapons. Its Strength bonus is tied with the ghrazi rapier and the inquisitor's mace. However, it must be charged with crystal shards, which can be obtained from either doing various activities around Prifddinas, or from exchanging certain crystal seeds with Amrod. This effectively makes the sword require Song of the Elves to use. Each shard grants 100 charges; the weapon can store up to 20,000 charges and loses one charge with each hit (regardless of whether the hit is successful or not). One can bring it and 1,000 crystal shards to a singing bowl to make blade of Saeldor (c), which is non-degradable and non-tradeable (requires level 82 Crafting and Smithing). |
Voidwaker | 75 Attack | Slash | All stats | +109 Slash
+88 Strength |
78,995,933 |
This is the best non-degradable weapon for training Strength at level 75. The special attack of the Voidwaker is a magic attack and grants Magic and Hitpoints skill experience. |
Abyssal tentacle | 75 Attack | Slash | Attack, Defence
All Stats on Controlled |
+119 Slash
+94 Strength |
1,860,860 | While it is the fourth strongest weapon in the game, the tentacle's cost per attack, of 132.60, makes training far more expensive, but provides a boost of +8 Slash and +4 Strength. The costs adds up to 198,895.80 coins per hour, completely degrading after 10,000 hits.
Not specifically for sale in the Grand Exchange. Created by combining an abyssal whip with a kraken tentacle. |
Abyssal whip | 70 Attack | Slash | Attack, Defence
All Stats on Controlled |
+111 Slash
+90 Strength |
1,325,972 | This is the most common training weapon, especially considering that it is affordable and does not degrade. The whip is the second-strongest non-degradable Attack and Defence training weapon in the game. Using this weapon on Controlled is an easy, but slower way to reach 99 Attack, Strength, and Defence since all the experience is spread across these three skills. One disadvantage of the abyssal whip is that it cannot train Strength without training Attack and Defence at the same time, so pures should avoid using it to train. |
Saradomin's blessed sword | 75 Attack | Slash | Strength | +100 Slash
+88 Strength |
4,240,444 | Similar to the abyssal tentacle, this weapon degrades. Each hit costs 15.27, costing 22,902.90 per hour of constant use. This is the third-best Strength training weapon in the game. After 10,000 hits, the sword crumbles to dust, and you get the Tear back.
Not specifically for sale in the Grand Exchange. Created by combining a Saradomin sword with a Saradomin's tear. |
Abyssal bludgeon | 70 Attack 70 Strength |
Crush | Strength | +102 Crush
+85 Strength |
35,478,322 | This is the second-best non-degradable Strength training weapon. It is very useful when fighting a monster with a vulnerability to Crush weapons, such as Revenants and Vet'ion. However, the fairly high cost and being only a slight upgrade over more affordable weapons make it a less popular choice for strength training.
If you can afford to combine this weapon with the inquisitor's armour set, the significantly improved accuracy and slightly improved damage make this weapon even more powerful. |
Wearing Inquisitor's Armour | ||||||
+135 Crush
+95 Strength | ||||||
Zamorakian hasta | 70 Attack |
Stab | Defence
All stats on Controlled |
+115 Stab
+83 Strength |
3,333,026 | This weapon is not generally chosen for everyday training due to only being able to train on controlled or defensive. It is both weaker and more expensive than the abyssal whip. It is primarily used against monsters with a weakness to Stab, such as all types of dragons. It also has a decent Crush bonus, so it can be used as an alternative to the Abyssal bludgeon for fighting Crush-weak enemies like Kalphites and Vet'ion. |
Abyssal dagger | 70 Attack | Stab | Strength | +105 Stab
+83 Strength |
2,228,452 | The fourth-best one-handed Strength training weapon. It should not be used for Attack training unless a Stab weapon is needed. |
Staff of the dead | 75 Attack 75 Magic |
Slash | Strength | +99 Slash
+80 Strength |
8,704,918 | The fifth-best one-handed Strength training weapon. It is more accurate with a defender than the next-best Strength training weapon, the Saradomin sword, but has lower Strength. This makes the staff better against high-Defence monsters, but it is much less affordable. Also it is strictly worse than the abyssal dagger, which should usually be used instead unless slash is needed. |
Saradomin sword | 70 Attack | Slash | Strength | +82 Slash
+82 Strength |
152,686 | The Saradomin sword is a much more affordable Strength training weapon than anything above it on this list. Against lower Defence monsters such as Yaks, the Saradomin sword will on average do higher damage per second than the staff of the dead due to its higher Strength. However, this sword's lack of a shield and the staff's magic capabilities and melee accuracy make the staff usually more desirable if you can afford it. |
Attack & Strength Bonus (with Dragon Defender, if applicable) | ||||||
Zombie axe | 65 Attack | Slash | All Stats | +129 Slash
+113 Strength |
2,032,394 | The zombie axe has a 5-tick weapon speed and does slightly less DPS than the abyssal whip against enemies with low Defence; however, it has a higher potential DPS against enemies with high Defence or that are weak to Crush.
The inquisitor's armour set makes the Crush style attack of the zombie axe slightly more powerful and extremely accurate. |
Wearing Inquisitor's Armour | ||||||
+145 Crush
+123 Strength | ||||||
Sarachnis cudgel | 65 Attack | Crush | Strength | +93 Crush
+76 Strength |
154,805 | The Sarachnis cudgel is generally not favored for training due to its marginal advantages over the dragon scimitar and its requirement of 5 additional Attack levels to wield. Compared to higher-tier weapons requiring 70+ Attack, like the Saradomin sword and staff of the dead, it falls short in melee Strength. Nonetheless, the cudgel may have the upper hand in rare situations where the target is susceptible to Crush attacks.
The inquisitor's armour set enhances the Crush Style attacks of the Sarachnis cudgel, increasing both power and accuracy. |
Wearing Inquisitor's Armour | ||||||
+125 Crush
+86 Strength | ||||||
Viggora's chainmace | 60 Attack |
Crush | Strength | +91 Crush
+72 Strength |
8,386,691 | This weapon is on par with the dragon scimitar as the best training weapon for all attack styles at level 60 Attack, requiring no charging or quest completion. When charged with revenant ether, it grants a 50% boost in melee accuracy and damage against NPCs in the Wilderness, often surpassing other weapons in training speed if used there. However, it is notably more expensive than the dragon scimitar and carries the risk of losing money through charges if the user is killed in the Wilderness. Moreover, when used with any of the defenders, the mace's accuracy is slightly inferior to that of the dragon scimitar, as defenders tend to offer greater offensive bonuses for Stab/Slash than for Crush.
The inquisitor's armour set significantly enhances the accuracy and damage of Viggora's chainmace by providing a buff to its base Crush and Strength bonus. This amplifies the chainmace's passive 50% boost in accuracy and damage against Wilderness NPCs, particularly when combined with either the salve amulet or the Slayer helmet. This is not advised though as this would be a significant risk. |
Wearing Inquisitor's Armour | ||||||
+122 Crush
+82 Strength | ||||||
Dragon scimitar | 60 Attack | Slash | All Stats | +91 Slash
|
59,468 | This is tied for the best training weapon for all attack styles at level 60 with the Viggora's chainmace. In addition, the dragon scimitar is a much cheaper alternative to all of the weapons listed above, making it very popular even among some high level players. For Attack and Defence training, it should be replaced with the abyssal whip as soon as one can afford and equip it. |
Dragon sword | 60 Attack | Stab | All Stats | +90 Stab
+69 Strength |
131,153 | This is comparable to the dragon scimitar in stats, but without the quest requirement of Monkey Madness I. |
Leaf-bladed battleaxe | 65 Attack 55 Slayer |
Crush | Strength | +96 Slash +95 Crush +98 Strength |
60,305 | This 5-tick weapon holds the third-highest Strength bonus for single-handed weapons. It is particularly effective against creatures susceptible to Crush damage and is only outperformed by the zombie axe within its level category.
The inquisitor's armour set enhances the Crush style attack of the leaf-bladed battleaxe, increasing its power and accuracy significantly. |
Wearing Inquisitor's Armour | ||||||
+127 Crush
+108 Strength | ||||||
Dragon longsword | 60 Attack |
Slash | All Stats | +93 Slash
+77 Strength |
59,175 | A viable alternate training weapon before being able to use the dragon scimitar since Monkey Madness I is a much longer and harder quest than Lost City. It should be noted that the dragon longsword attacks 1 game tick slower than the dragon scimitar, making it less damage per second than the dragon scimitar for training. |
Attack & Strength Bonus (No Defender) | ||||||
Sulphur blades | 55 Attack | Slash | All Stats | +72 Slash
+64 Strength |
21,912 | This is the best melee training weapon at 55 Attack, providing the highest Strength bonus before 60 Attack while being fairly cheap. |
Leaf-bladed sword | 50 Attack 55 Slayer |
Stab | All Stats | +67 Stab
|
40,587 | This weapon is the second best option at 50 Attack, behind the granite hammer. |
Granite hammer | 50 Attack
50 Strength |
Crush | All Stats | +57 Crush
+56 Strength |
333,516 | This is the best melee training weapon at 50 Attack and Strength. However, it is slightly more expensive than other weapons at this level. |
Brine sabre | 40 Attack | Slash | All Stats | +47 Slash +46 Strength |
271,734 | A more expensive alternative to the rune scimitar, the brine sabre boasts 2 additional slash and Strength bonus, while also possessing a special attack. This makes it a popular training weapon for those who have the money. |
Rune scimitar | 40 Attack | Slash | All Stats | +45 Slash +44 Strength |
14,940 | The prototypical RuneScape weapon. This is your best bet for a cheap and effective training weapon at this level. |
Granite longsword | 50 Attack 50 Strength |
Slash | All Stats | +65 Slash
|
19,942 | This weapon attacks slower than the granite hammer, leaf-bladed sword and rune scimitar, making it usually worse overall. |
Other Scimitars | < 40 Attack | Slash | All Stats | Varies | Varies | Before reaching 40 Attack, it is recommended to train with the highest level scimitar that is available at your Attack level. |
Other equipment options
Obsidian equipment + Berserker necklace
Wearing the obsidian platebody, obsidian platelegs, and the obsidian helmet gives a 10% damage and accuracy bonus to melee obsidian weapons. Wearing the berserker necklace also gives another 20% damage bonus to Obsidian weapons. Combining all four of these items with the Toktz-xil-ak (Obsidian sword) can actually give faster experience rates than anything in the table above against low-Defence monsters, such as those in the Nightmare Zone. However, the set has below-average Defence and does not allow the use of a Slayer helmet. If the player cannot use all five items, they should not be using the Toktz-xil-ak.
Void knight equipment
Wearing the Void melee helm with the full Void Knight equipment set gives a 10% melee damage and accuracy bonus. This bonus accuracy makes it good against certain high-Defence monsters like the Corporeal Beast. It is a good alternative for players with 42 combat stats who do not have access to high-Strength gear. However, this set gives less Strength than other melee equipment and has significantly lower melee and ranged Defence, making it usually worse for training than high Strength gear.
Dharok the Wretched's equipment
Wearing a full set of Dharok the Wretched's equipment gives the set effect of increasing the player's damage the lower their remaining Hitpoints are. Using a dwarven rock cake or locator orb the player can intentionally keep their health at 1 hp while using protection prayers to block all forms of damage. If the player has a source of Prayer or damage block, such as by using Prayer potions, absorptions (Nightmare Zone only), or an altar, the player can safely use the set's effect to deal very high amounts of damage and gain fast experience. However, the set degrades after 15 hours of use and must be repaired in order to keep its stats.
Guthan the Infested's equipment
Wearing a full set of Guthan the Infested's equipment gives the set effect of a 25% chance to heal the player by the damage dealt. This set deals less damage than some of the best options on the list, but it allows players to train for long periods of time without banking to heal. Players can bring the four pieces in their inventory, train on their normal high-Strength equipment, and switch to the Guthan's equipment only when their health gets low. Popular monsters for this tactic are gargoyles, nechryael, and bandits. However, the set degrades after 15 hours of use and must be repaired in order to keep its stats.
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