Combat Guide

Combat Guide

Introduction

This guide is meant to replace the great, but outdated, Gear Progression guide written by Tim Feels. Much of the content will be adapted from his work and updated to match the current state of the end game.

As stated there, this guide will not give you DR requirements for Dungeons (though it will give recommended gear), nor will it give you the most efficient level paths. With the current amount of content in the game, we highly recommend using the excellent Combat Simulator browser extension for measuring the optimal XP/hr rates for whichever combat style you are using.

The base guideline of gear progression is to have the highest possible damage whilst not dying, as dying will result in you losing a piece of gear. Losing your Tidal Edge from greed really sucks.

There are now a multitude of skills that provide useful resources to combat. To summarize:

• Agility * Many of the obstacles provide combat bonuses
• Herblore * Diamond Luck IV potions are among the highest DPS increases in the game
• Thieving * There are a multitude of useful item drops from several NPCs, including Chapeau Noir, Knight's Defender, and others
• Astrology * These are easy to obtain bonuses to your character. The hidden levels provide accuracy bonuses, as well as other nice easy to acquire boosts
• Summoning * The tablets provide boosts to combat effectiveness and do damage. The dragon burn effect is great against hard to hit enemies.

Some other skills are necessary for smooth progression, or to provide the bankroll necessary for progression:

• Fletching
• Smithing
• Crafting (Jewelry and ranged armor)
• Firemaking (XP boost is no joke)
• Fishing/Farming/Cooking (Food)

Gear Stats

All gear has certain stats linking it to certain combat styles (melee, ranged, or magic). More difficult to obtain gear is (usually) better. Once you approach the endgame, the choices become more situational rather than strictly better.

For stat breakdowns and math, use combat simulator or read the Combat wiki page.

Shared Stats

Attack Speed

Attack Speed, or AS, is determined mainly by the attack speed of your weapon. It is given as seconds per attack, so lower is better. Things that affect your attack speed are:

• Elder Crown (Helmet, drops from Elder Vampire)
• Sand Treaders (Boots, drops from Turkul Riders)
• Surge 1/2/3 spells
• Otto (Pet from Dark Waters)
• Knight's Defender (Thieving from Knight, melee only)
• Guardian Amulet and Spiked Shell Ring (These negatively impact your attack speed)

   * Guardian Amulet (Drops from Earth Chests upgraded from Earth Shards, Earth God Dungeon)
   * Spiked Shell Ring (Upgrade from 10 Guardian Rings and 500 Stinging Essence. Endgame item)

• Slows

Damage Reduction

Damage Reduction, or DR, is for the majority of the game the stat to optimize for. DR, HP, and Auto Eat tier all determine what is the highest damage hit you can survive, and relatedly what content you can... idle. This is not an exhaustive list, but DR can be found on:

• All trimmed armor pieces
• All Ancient tier gear
• All god dungeon gear
• Silver Diamond Ring/Necklace
• DR potions 1/2/3/4
• Safeguard/Stone Skin (Prayer)
• Leonardo (Defense Pet)
• Erran (Earth God Dungeon Pet)
• Agility Obstacles
• Battleheart (Prayer, reduces enemy DR)
• Absorbing Shield (Gain DR, lose evasion rating)

Auto Eat Threshold

Auto Eat Threshold reduces the effective HP necessary to trigger your auto eat, lowering the necessary HP/DR required. This is a somewhat new feature, so we highly recommend you test this in Combat Sim. This can be found on:

• Agility Obstacles
• Famished Potion 1/2/3/4
• Wasteful Ring (Drops from Wicked Greater Dragon)

1. 1. 1. Slayer Area Effectiveness Reduction

Slayer Area Effectiveness Reduction reduces the affect of the slayer area effects on your character when fighting in one of these areas. These can range from annoying (Forest of Goo, Arid Plains) to downright progress blocking (Dark Waters, Unhallowed Wasteland). This is another stat where Combat Sim testing is highly effective. This stat can be found on:

• Pillar of Combat (Agility capstone)
• Hunter Ring (Drops from Hunting Greater Dragon)
• All slayer armor from the shop (higher tier provides more)

1. 1. 1. Armor/Evasion Rating

These are included on all pieces of armor, and are highly linked to the combat triangle. The higher the number, the better.

1. 1. Melee Stats

Melee gear focuses on 4 stats:

• Strength bonus: One of the factors that determines max hit
• Stab/Slash/Block bonus: Determines the accuracy (chance to hit) of that particular attack style. Every weapon favors one of the styles, and using the correct one will boost your effective DPS.

1. 1. Magic Stats

Magic armor and weapons focus on 2 stats:

• Magic Damage Bonus: A % increase in max hit
• Magic attack bonus: Determines your accuracy

Additionally, magic also benefits from Rune Preservation Chance and Rune Cost Reduction. These can be found on:

• All staves
• All imbued wands (Crafted via Runecrafting from Elite Wands)
• Book of Eli (Drops from Hall of Wizards dungeon)
• Book of Occults (Drops from Necromancer)
• Salem (Magic Pet)
• Skull Cape (Slayer Shop)

1. 1. Ranged Stats

Ranged armor and weapons focus on 2 stats:

• Ranged strength bonus: Determines your max hit
• Ranged attack bonus: Determines your accuracy

Additionally ranged gear also benefits from Ammo Preservation. This can be found on:

• Ranger Boots (Drops from Spider Chest, Spider Forest)
• Ranger Cap (Drops from Spider Chest, Spider Forest)
• Ranged Skillcape
• Cape of Ranged Preservation
• Marahute (Ranged Pet)
• All Throwing Knives and Javelins
• Throwing Power Gloves (Negatively impacts ranged preservation using throwing weapons)

1. 1. 1. Special Attacks and Loot Passives

Beyond stats, many pieces of equipment have Special Attacks or passive effects.

Special Attacks have a percentage chance of triggering when in combat and will replace your standard attack. The gear with specials is truly too numerous to list.

Loot Passive effects are bonuses that are always in play. These will increase your GP/hr as well as provide more loot to speed up many of the long grinds in the game. These can be found on:

• Chapeau Noir (Rare Thieving Drop)
• Aorpheats Signet Ring (Made with parts A/B, collected from doing combat/non*combat skills while wearing a Gold Topaz Ring)
• Gloves of Silence (Drops from Thief)
• Fine Coinpurse (Thieving Woman)
• Gold Crested Shield (Thieving King)
• Jeweled Necklace (Low Town Thieving Drop)
• Ring of Wealth (Royal Castle Thieving Drop)
• Sneak*Ers (Rare Thieving Drop)
• Pillar of Generosity (Agility capstone)

1. Using Combat Simulator (Or Not)

1. How to use this Guide

All of the combat skills tie into each other, and it is impossible to be a Melee pure or vice versa if you wish to do all of the content in the game.

Most people start with melee as it is the easiest to gear and train. We highly recommend leveling all of the skills in tandem so you aren't like me, where you finish Volcanic Cave and then have to level your ranged from level 1 for 2 weeks.

Slayer should be leveled alongside your core combat skills. Some of the best items in the game drop exclusively in slayer areas, and it will provide plenty of opportunities to level up your combat skills.

1. Early Game (Pre*Volcanic Cave)

An early goal for most players is the Amulet of Looting, found in the Spider Forest, which will make combat a fully automated activity. Beyond that, it's mainly a matter of learning how combat works and leveling up your skills. Some general goals for all classes are the following drops:

• Elite Amulet of Defence (Drops from Undead Graveyard or from combining 100 Amulet of Defense) Provides 2% DR, which will carry you through God Dungeons in the neck slot
• Amulet of Looting (Drops from Spider Forest)
• Sand Treaders (Drops from Turkul Riders)
• Desert Wrappings (Drops from Turkul Archers)

PSA: The following item recommendations are up to T70, as that is where you will likely begin clearing Volcano. These are not all strictly necessary, but they do all help a significant amount.

1. 1. Melee

Before Volcanic, you can grind the Knights Castle area to find most of your upgrades to supplant any gear not gained from smithing. You can also get some very good melee weapons in pre*Volcanic Cave areas. Drops to look for:

• Amulet of Torture (Rare drop from Fierce Devil, Deep Sea Ship)
• Sunset Rapier (One of the best melee weapons early, Deep Sea Ship)
• Ancient Sword (Drops from Deep Sea Ship)
• Warberd/War Axe (2H, Drops from Raging Horned Elite/Seething Horned Elite)
• Sandstorm Ring (Drops from Sand Beast)
• Desert Sabre (Drops from Turkul Giant)
• Dragon Claw (Drops from Griffin)
• Ancient Claw (Very long grind, drops from Pegasus)

1. 1. Ranged

• Ranger Hat/Boots (Drops from Spider Forest dungeon)
• Ancient Crossbow (Drops from Dragon's Den dungeon)
• Ancient Longbow (Drops from Bandit Base dungeon)
• Ancient Dragonhide gear (Drops from Dragon's Den dungeon)
• Desert Shortbow (Drops from Turkul General)

1. 1. Magic

• Miolite Sceptre (Drops from Miolite Caves dungeon)
• Miolite Gear (Drops from Miolite Caves dungeon)
• Ancient Magic Gear (Drops from Hall of Wizards dungeon)
• Book of Eli (Drops from Hall of Wizards dungeon)
• Mystic Staves (Craftable, Runecrafting)
• Magic Wand (Powerful) (Drops from Dark Wizard)
• Shaman Ring (Drops from Shaman)

   * Upgrades into Nature's Blessing Ring with 10,000 Nature runes)

• Nature's Call Staff (Drops from Elerine Mage and Druid, combine both halves)

   * Upgrades into Nature's Wrath Staff with materials from Giant Moth and Miolite Caves dungeon)

1. Volcanic Cave

Volcanic Cave is usually done with melee gear, as it is very easy to fill out the required DR via smithing. A full gold trimmed set of Dragon armor provides 30% DR, as shown in the below table. Level 99 smithing is required to trim a full set.

[Untitled](https://www.notion.so/73ad59acf1ff4197beef40779923c6b1)

For gloves:

• You will need to either get the Paladin Gloves (4% DR) dropped by Paladins in the Holy Isles Slayer area, or some form of Dragonhide Vambraces (U).

   * The variants that are equivalent to or better than the Paladin Gloves are Red Dhide (4% DR), Black Dhide (5% DR), and Ancient Dhide (6% DR). Ancient Dhide Vambraces are dropped by the Dragon's Den dungeon and upgraded using Elder Dragonhide. The others are dropped by the Spider Forest dungeon or crafted using the Crafting skill.

For capes:

• You will need either the Knight's Cape (1% DR) from thieving the Knight or Squire, or the Skull Cape if you absolutely need the extra DR ((3% DR) Not recommended for Melee or Ranged, it reduces your attack bonuses by a significant amount). If you do not need the extra 1% DR provided by the Knight's Cape, you may use any Skillcape (if you have one), or the Obsidian Cape dropped by Adamant Knights.

   * Note: Once you clear Volcano once, swap your cape to the Fire Cape! It provides 2% DR and has better stats than the noncombat skillcapes.

For boots:

• Pretty straightforward, the boots you will most likely use are the Dragon Boots (G), as these provide 6% DR and decent offensive bonuses. If you do not have the smithing level (94) to craft these, you can use the Rune Boots that are dropped by the Rune Knight and upgrade those to Rune Boots (G) for 5% DR.

For jewelry:

• You can use the Silver Diamond Ring (1% DR) if you need the extra DR, and the Elite Defense Amulet that was listed above. If you do not need the 1% DR from the Silver Diamond Ring, you can use the Gold Sapphire Ring to add reflect damage in order to clear the Volcano faster.

   * If you do not have the Elite Defense Amulet, the Gold Sapphire Necklace provides 1% DR if you are facing Ranged with Melee, and the same is true for other sides of the combat triangle using the Gold Emerald Necklace (Ranged v Magic) and the Gold Diamond Necklace (Magic v Melee).

Once you clear Volcanic Cave 100 times, you will unlock the basic tier of Ancient Magic * Slicing Winds, Icicle Barrage, and Ignite. Of these, as of patch 0.23, Icicle Barrage is by far the strongest. Ancient Magic is way better than what basic magic can give you at your current level, but it is not affected by damage amplification in any way (Except for the combat triangle). No curses, no debuffs, no gear buffs.

1. Mid Game (God Dungeons)

Congratulations on beating Volcanic Cave. You now have the Fire Cape, your first useful cape. It provides 2% DR, which will greatly speed things up.

Your next objective is the God Dungeons. The four god dungeons, whilst somewhat intimidating, are all handled the exact same way once you complete Air God. Each is beaten with the gear from the previous tier.

• Air God (Ancient Melee gear from Volcanic Cave)
• Water God (Aeris God gear from Air God)
• Earth God (Glacia God gear from Water God)
• Fire God (Aeris God gear from Air God (Recommended) | Glacia God gear is possible and is faster, but requires significantly more DR)

Some additional useful drops for the midgame are the following, found in Elite Tier slayer areas:

• Elder Crown (Drops from Elder Vampire)
• Elite Magic Wand (Drops from Cursed Maiden, used for Imbued Wands)
• Bounty Hunter (Greatly accelerates the Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs grind)
• Elite Slayer Gear (Purchased in shop)

None of the above are needed, but definitely worth obtaining here. You should also be nearing max combat as you progress through the dungeons.

To unlock the ancient spells, you will need to run each of the God Dungeons 100 times. Each dungeon also provides extremely useful drops, some of which are BiS.

At this point you can probably begin to make your way towards one of the longest grinds in the game, Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs. FEZ, as it is often called, is made from the upgrading process by combining 2 of every Elite amulet, 10 Amulets of Fury, and 10 Amulets of Torture.

This item is by no means necessary, but it is very useful as a "catch all" type of amulet. No matter what situation you're in, FEZ is probably a good choice. See the following link for best practices while farming for the amulet.

[Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs/Guide](https://wiki.melvoridle.com/w/Fury_of_the_Elemental_Zodiacs/Guide)

1. 1. Air God Dungeon

To start with, begin by collecting the full set of Ancient Melee gear from Volcanic Cave. A full set will provide 28% DR. Additionally, work on completing the Dragonfire Shield. This provides 8% DR and 30 hitpoints, and is useful through the end of the game.

Additionally, complete Infernal Stronghold so that you can get Infernal Cape, which increases DR to 4%.

You should have upgraded your melee weapon. Dragon Claw is probably the minimum, though Sunset Rapier will also do. We would highly recommend grinding Pegasus for Ancient Claw fragments, as Infernal Claw is extremely good through ITM. Slicing Winds/Gust are highly effective.

You will need about 46% DR to complete the dungeon. Notable drops include:

• Deadeye Amulet * BiS for Ranged
• Stormsnap * Situationally useful, but almost mandatory for farming Ocean Song
• Aeris God Gear * Ranged BiS
• Deadeye Ring * Save at least 10 for Unhallowed Wasteland ring upgrades

1. 1. Water God Dungeon

At this point, you should have a full set of Aeris God Gear. For your weapon, you should be using Ancient Crossbow, or Slayer Crossbow if you don't have one. Dragonfire Shield as well makes this a breeze so you can use Aorpheats in the ring slot.

Emerald Bolts are probably your best bet. Jadestone bolts work too if you have those.

This dungeon is a breeze if you have the above gear. Notable drops:

• Warlock's Ring * Save at least 10 for Unhallowed Wasteland ring upgrades
• Cloudburst Staff * One of the BiS weapons for magic. Situationally useful.
• Glacia God Gear * Magic BiS
• Elite Magic Wands * Useful for imbued wand crafting

1. 1. Earth God Dungeon

Same ordeal as the Water God Dungeon. Equip the previous set of armor, then get to work. By now, you should likely have Skull Cape, one of the BiS capes for magic. Air Imbued Wand is highly recommended so you can use Gust.

Again, this dungeon is easy. Notable Drops:

• Guardian Ring * Save at least 10 for Unhallowed Wasteland ring upgrades
• Guardian Amulet * Situationally useful melee amulet
• Earth Layered Shield * BiS melee shield. Provides *12%* DR
• Terran God Gear * The defense oriented melee set. Helps you splash melee pieces to hit DR thresholds.

1. 1. Fire God Dungeon

This dungeon is a bit harder than the previous, as it mixes both melee and magic enemies. For that reason, use the Aeris God set. Gear setup is similar to the Water God Dungeon, but focuses primarily on DR breakpoints. Consider using the Stone Skin prayer or DR potions. Getting enough DR without using prayer or potions will severely hamper your clear times, as you won't be equipping the proper DPS gear.

Highly recommend using combat sim to ensure you aren't killed by Ragnar or Ignis. Notable drops:

• Fighter Ring * Save at least 10 for Unhallowed Wasteland ring upgrades
• Fighter Amulet * One of the BiS amulets for melee. CC is absolutely critical at high level combat.
• Ragnar God Gear * Offensively oriented BiS melee gear.

1. Preparing for *Into the Mist*

Into the Mist is one of the most difficult challenges in the game. The Insane difficulty is accurate. It cannot be idled.

To start, you first fight 20 Afflicted versions of randomly chosen monsters between combat level 165 and 677. Any monster, save those from Unhallowed Wastelands or Dark Waters, including bosses, can be chosen.

Affliction is a special status effect applied by monsters that reduces your max HP. This means that the encounters are a race against the clock, forcing you to kill the enemy before your affliction stacks get too high. Due to this, it is recommended that you focus on DPS above all else when choosing your three gear sets.

This dungeon cannot be completed without the Dungeon Equipment Swapping upgrade purchased from the shop.

It is highly recommended that you have acquired *all* previously available BiS gear for each combat style before attempting ITM.

Recommended Gear from Best to Worst:

• All BiS God Dungeon Gear
• Diamond Luck Tier 4 potions
• Combat Agility Obstacles
• Ragnar Godsword, Terran Godsword, Darksteel Dagger
• Stormsnap, Ancient Longbow, or Ancient Crossbow
• Dragonfire Shield, Scaled Shield (Upgraded Ancient Dhide (U) with materials from Toxic Swamps)
• Miolite Shield
• Skull Cape
• Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs
• Air Imbued Wand
• Ancient Arrows, Dragon Arrows, Jadestone Bolts
• Level 84 Prayer

1. Into the Mist

ITM consists of 3 set order phases.

1. 1. Phase 1 * Ranged

1. 1. Phase 2 * Magic

1. 1. Ahrenia * Melee

1. T90 Farming

Following completion of Into the Mist, you now have access to Dark Waters, the penultimate slayer area. These 3 mobs drop fragments for the T90 weapons, the most powerful weapons in the game. These are extremely long grinds, and require quite a bit of preparation. Each weapon requires 100 fragments, and the fragments have a 2% drop rate. That's 5,000 kills on average.

1. Preparing for *Impending Darkness*

1. Impending Darkness

Each Bane kill drops the following loot, in this set order:

• Shield of Melee Power
• Shield of Ranged Power
• Shield of Magic Power
• _
• Bones (Pet)