Combat Guide: Difference between revisions

{{V|1.1.1}}

=Introduction=

This guide is written for characters playing the [[Game Mode#Standard|Standard]] game mode. If playing {{Icon|Hardcore}} or {{Icon|Adventure}} modes, preparation for certain events is different, especially for the {{ZoneIcon|Fire God Dungeon}} due to the differences in the [[Combat Triangle]]. This guide will assume there are no self-imposed restrictions put upon the account, if you choose to restrict your character in some way, you have to figure out how to get around it.

Progression in Melvor Idle primarily revolves around combat; while there is of course progression in all of the non-combat skills, that progression all serves to make you better at combat. This guide will break the game into multiple sections and try to give advice for each. The sections this guide will look into, and roughly how long they will take are as follows:

** Where most of the game opens up and when combat gets exciting. The player has obtained reasonable gear, is able to fight the majority of monsters in Combat Areas and the first few Slayer Areas comfortably, and is starting to prepare to get more specialized gear from combat to progress. This section can take anywhere up to about a month or two, and is marked by the completion of {{ZoneIcon|Volcanic Cave|}}.

** This section revolves around finishing your armor sets, maxing out your stats, and completing long term achievements like the God Dungeons. This section can take up to several months, and is usually marked by completion of {{ZoneIcon|Into the Mist}}.

** This is when the player is working on upgrading their weapons in the {{ZoneIcon|Dark Waters}} Area, upgrading their armor in the {{ZoneIcon|Unhallowed Wasteland}} Area, and fully preparing to defeat the {{ZoneIcon|Impending Darkness Event}}. This step contains long grinds, but if enough preparation has already been done, it should only take a few weeks at most.

** Here the player finishes any achievements that haven't been mopped up yet, with the goal of filling the completion log with anything that hasn't been worth the time. This step's length is variable, as it depends on how much has already been completed, and how optimal/lucky the player is finishing up. Prepare to spend multiple days hunting for an item you'll never actually use!

* {{Skill|Agility}} - Many of the obstacles provide important combat bonuses.

* {{Skill|Astrology}} - "Hidden Levels" provide accuracy and damage bonuses, as well as other powerful and important passive benefits.

* {{Skill|Summoning}} - Tablets provide boosts to combat effectiveness and deal damage on their own. The {{ItemIcon|Dragon}} burn effect is particularly great against high hp enemies.

* {{Skill|Cooking}} - Cook food to eat so you don't die!

* {{Skill|Farming}} - Farm food to eat so you don't die! Farming is particularly useful because it does not require you to actively spend time on it, you can farm food 'while doing combat' for example.

* {{Skill|Smithing}} - {{Skill|Attack|Melee}} armor and weapons.

* {{Skill|Fletching}} - {{Skill|Ranged}} ammunition and weapons.

* {{Skill|Crafting}} - Jewelry with unique effects and {{Skill|Ranged}} armor.

* {{Skill|Runecrafting}} - {{Skill|Magic}} armor and weapons.

* {{SkillReq|Firemaking|99}} - The {{ItemIcon|Firemaking Skillcape}} and {{ItemIcon|Ash}}

* {{Skill|Township}} - The Trader can be used to exchange goods for food and consumable items that make combat easier.

 

All gear has certain stats that link it to one of the three combat styles: {{Skill|Attack|Melee}}, {{Skill|Ranged}}, or {{Skill|Magic}}. Gear that is more difficult to obtain is ''usually'' better. Closer to endgame, the choices become more situational.  

''For stat breakdowns and math, use the [[Combat Simulator]] or read the {{Icon|Combat}} page.''

====Attack Interval====

{{Main|Reference=Attack Interval}}

 

''Attack Speed'' is determined primarily by the default Attack Interval on weapons and affects how long it takes between attacks. It is given as seconds per attack, so lower is better. Some things that affect attack speed are:

* {{ItemIcon|Elder Crown}} - Drop from {{Icon|Elder Vampire|type=monster}}.

* {{ItemIcon|Sand Treaders}} - Drop from {{Icon|Turkul Riders|type=monster}}.

* {{Icon|Surge I|type=aurora}} / {{Icon|Surge II|type=aurora}} / {{Icon|Surge III|type=aurora}} - Spells.

* {{PetIcon|Otto}} - Pet from {{ZoneIcon|Dark Waters}}.

* {{ItemIcon|Knight's Defender}} - {{Skill|Thieving}} from {{Icon|Knight|type=thieving}}, Melee only.

* {{ItemIcon|Ring of Barrage}} - {{SkillReq|Crafting|90}} ring.

* {{ItemIcon|Guardian Amulet}} and {{ItemIcon|Spiked Shell Ring}} - Negatively impacts attack speed.

** Guardian Amulet - Drops from {{ItemIcon|Earth Chest|Earth Chests}} upgraded from {{ItemIcon|Earth Shard|Earth Shards}}, {{ZoneIcon|Earth God Dungeon}}.

* [[Slow]] and [[Frostburn]] Debuffs

{{Main|Reference=Damage Reduction}}

 

* {{ItemIcon|(G) Dragon Platebody|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|(U) Black D-hide Body|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Air Expert Wizard Robes|notext=true}}- Upgraded versions of the highest level armor pieces from skilling.

* {{ItemIcon|(G) Ancient Platebody|notext=true}} - All Ancient tier gear, when fully upgraded

* {{ItemIcon|Ragnar God Platebody|notext=true}} - All God Dungeon gear

''{{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier I|Auto Eat}}'' is an upgrade that automatically eats equipped food after a certain health threshold. '''Upgrading this as quickly as possible is critical.''' Auto Eat Tier, along with {{Skill|Hitpoints}} and Damage Reduction controls what content is accessible without a chance of death.  

With {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier III|Auto Eat}}, the type of food does not matter as long as one does not run out of it. Eating either {{ItemIcon|Potatoes}} or {{ItemIcon|Whale (Perfect)}} will both keep the player alive as long as they have enough of either. The main difference between any given food sources is the time spent {{Skill|Cooking}}, {{Skill|Fishing}} or {{Skill|Farming}} instead of fighting monsters.

''Auto Eat Threshold'' is the HP value necessary to trigger Auto Eat, lowering the necessary HP/DR required. In the base game, only one item affects the Auto Eat threshold:

 

* {{Skill|Astrology}} constellation {{ConstellationIcon|Vale}}.

* {{ItemIcon|Elder Crown}}

* {{SpellIcon|Fervor I}}

* {{ItemIcon|Warlock Amulet}}

* A character that is level 15 Strength with +5 Hidden Strength Levels would calculate their Melee Max Hit based on their Effective Level of 20

* A character that is level 99 with +5 Hidden Strength Levels would calculate their Melee Max Hit based on their Effective Level of 104, even when their level is capped and can't go any higher.

====Reflect Damage====

With this effect, whenever the player takes damage, they will also deal a portion of that damage immediately back to the enemy. Reflect does NOT reduce the amount of damage taken. Reflect damage cannot kill an enemy, does not provide XP, and has a 2 second cooldown before it can activate again.

 

 

After killing any monster, there will be a respawn time of 3 seconds before the next monster appears. During this time the player cannot deal damage, and therefore cannot gain XP. This means that a monster respawning can be considered a guaranteed miss (or two).

 

* {{Skill|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. Each melee weapon has stats that favor one of the styles, and using the correct one will boost the player's accuracy substantially.

* Magic Damage Bonus: Determines max hit.

* Magic Attack Bonus: Determines accuracy.

* Ranged strength bonus: Determines your max hit.

* Ranged attack bonus: Determines your accuracy.

===Minimum Hit and Special Attacks===

Each normal attack made by the player or an enemy will deal a random amount of damage between its minimum value and its maximum value, for all monsters, and for players without any bonuses, the Minimum Hit is 1.

 

* {{ItemIcon|Air Acolyte Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Water Acolyte Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Acolyte Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Acolyte Wizard Hat|notext=true}} all {{Skill|Runecrafting}} armor.

 

Special Attacks are typically found on weapons have a percentage chance of triggering when in combat and will replace your standard attack. If the player has multiple items that grant a special attack, and the combined total adds to greater than 100%, the game will attempt to normalize the chance of using either attack. For example, if the player is wearing both an {{ItemIcon|Ancient Sword}} and a {{ItemIcon|Ring of Blade Echoes}}, the player will have a 50% chance of using Life Leach, and a 50% chance of using Blade Echoes. A list of equipment and spells with special attacks can be viewed on the [[Special Attacks]] page.

Beyond just stats, many pieces of equipment have passive effects that increase stats that don't directly make the player better in combat.

Passive effects are bonuses that are always in play. These can increase damage dealt, {{GP}} GP earned or simply provide more item drops. Item doubling is incredibly powerful as it increases the amount of items received independently of damage dealt or respawn time. This can be found on multiple items and buffs, including:

* {{Skill|Agility|Spike Jump}}

* {{Skill|Agility|Pillar of Skilling}}

[[Combat Simulator]] is a Mod that allows you to estimate many attributes of combat, such as death rate, XP/hr, drops/hr, DPS, and so on. With Combat Simulator, it is trivial to check if your setup is going to work or not. It simulates combat at high speeds using the games own code, so it's quite accurate. As of game version v1.1.1 this mod has not yet been updated to work with the new built in mod manager and is currently not available.

[https://silberdrachi.github.io/CanIIdle/ Can I Idle] is a site built by Silber. You enter some of the stats found on the combat page and see which enemies you can or can't idle. It's a very useful tool throughout the game. As of v1.1 the site is no longer being updated for anything beyond the base game, however it will still be entirely accurate for players who have not purchased any expansions. It will only be inaccurate for Elite/Master {{Skill|Slayer}} tasks for players who have completed {{ZoneIcon|Impending Darkness Event}} and have purchased the {{TotH|Throne of the Herald Expansion}}.

==The Early-Early Game: Levels 1-40==

Early on, the game is primarily about leveling up your core combat stats, getting a feel for the combat systems, and acquiring basic combat equipment.

All three combat styles are connected. It is impossible to use only one style throughout the game if you wish to complete all content. The [[Combat Triangle]] determines how much damage and damage reduction you have against enemies of each different combat style, and is very important in choosing how to approach combat.

It is highly recommend to level all styles to not be in the position where you finished are almost ready to take on a dungeon that requires a specific combat style, and then have to level that skill from level 1 for 2 weeks.  

The earliest for most players is the {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} upgrade, purchased in the shop for {{GP|1000}}k, followed by the {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}}, found in the {{ZoneIcon|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.

* {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}}

** These monsters drop useful items and are good targets for gaining experience with {{Skill|Attack|Melee}}, {{Skill|Ranged}}, and {{Skill|Magic}}, as long as you are following the combat triangle, and are the end-point of this section

{{Skill|Slayer}} is a skill that mostly revolves around fighting monsters in special areas called Slayer Areas, these areas function similarly to normal Combat Areas such as the {{ZoneIcon|Farmlands}}; however, each {{Skill|Slayer}} Area also has a negative passive modifier that applies to all combat that takes place there. In the early game, there's not much that can be done about Slayer Area Effects, so they can be ignored.

** The "Extend Task" button will charge another fee of {{SC|SC}} and add a amount of monsters to the current task. Including the fee, completing an extended task will always provide more slayer coins in total than if the task was not extended.

* {{Skill|Slayer}} XP is earned by fighting Slayer Tasks or by killing enemies in Slayer areas, these amounts stack, so a greater amount of XP is earned by doing Slayer Tasks in Slayer Areas.

It is recommended to start with {{Skill|Slayer}} Tasks as early as possible, working towards unlocking {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Slayer}} as the primary goal. Be aware that this can take some time as the enemies the player is able to kill at this stage will not drop very many {{SC|SC}}.

* The least amount of effort to do this would be to simply re-roll until the monster the player is currently fighting is the current slayer task, and then extending that task to make it last as long as possible.

* Using Slayer Tasks as often as possible can be a great way to level multiple skills at once.

** This is especially useful against {{MonsterIcon|Plant}}, {{MonsterIcon|Cow}}, and {{MonsterIcon|Chicken}} and other very low level monsters.

As the player is just being introduced to combat, this section will try to be as simple as possible, while also setting some guidelines for the rest of the guide. The tables in each section in this entire guide will generally provide bare minimum recommendations. Some notes on how to use the information given:

* The player has enough [[Damage Reduction]] to survive against enemies when [[Auto Eat]] is not enough by itself.  

For the first section, the player will likely not have any cape, amulet, rings, {{Skill|Prayer}}, {{Skill|Herblore|Potions}}, {{Skill|Astrology}} bonuses, or {{Skill|Agility}} obstacles. With proper bonuses, the player can attempt much more difficult content and make progress a lot faster. Some notes on the first section:

* When choosing a proper monster to farm, it is recommended to follow a priority rule:  

# Drops something that useful.

# Is the current Slayer Task.

# Highest XP/hr.  

Hitting the same enemy for 2 weeks because they are the "best" is a really boring way to play the game.

And finally, using [[Combat Simulator]] and [https://silberdrachi.github.io/CanIIdle/| Can I Idle] should be your guide over anything printed here. This guide accepts no responsibility for untimely deaths.

===Melee===

Most players start combat with {{Skill|Attack|Melee}} as it does not require the overhead of {{Skill|Fletching}} Ammunition for {{Skill|Ranged}} or {{Skill|Runecrafting}} Runes for {{Skill|Magic}}.

For Melee, use {{Skill|Smithing}} to wear and wield the highest level gear available.

 

Smithing armor can be upgraded ({{ItemIcon|Bronze Helmet|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|(S) Bronze Helmet|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|(G) Bronze Helmet|notext=true}}) twice from the Bank, once with {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver Bars}} and the second time with {{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold Bars}}. Typically, upgrading armor isn't really worth the extra time spent until at least {{ItemIcon|Adamant Helmet|Adamant}}.

 

Melee leveling is split across 3 different skills, {{Skill|Attack}}, {{Skill|Strength}}, and {{Skill|Defence}}.

* {{Skill|Attack}} is trained using the {{Skill|Attack|Stab}} Attack Style

* {{Skill|Strength}} is trained using the {{Skill|Strength|Slash}} Attack Style

* {{Skill|Defence}} is trained using the {{Skill|Defence|Block}} Attack Style

In general, all Melee weapons have Stat distributions that encourage the use of the following Attack Styles:

! {{Skill|Attack|notext=true}} Level

! {{Skill|Attack}} Weapon

! {{Skill|Defence}} Weapon

! Recommended Monster

! Idleable Dungeons

| rowspan="2" | 1

| {{ItemIcon|Bronze Dagger|Bronze}}

| {{ItemIcon|Bronze Scimitar|Bronze}}

| {{ItemIcon|Bronze Dagger|Bronze}}

| {{ItemIcon|Bronze Helmet|Bronze}}

| rowspan="2" | {{Icon|Cow|type=monster}}

| {{ItemIcon|Iron Dagger|Iron}}

| {{ItemIcon|Iron Scimitar|Iron}}

| {{ItemIcon|Iron Dagger|Iron}}

| {{ItemIcon|Iron Helmet|Iron}}

| {{ItemIcon|Steel Dagger|Steel}}

| {{ItemIcon|Steel Scimitar|Steel}}

| {{ItemIcon|Steel Dagger|Steel}}

| {{ItemIcon|Steel Helmet|Steel}}

| {{ItemIcon|Black Dagger|Black}} / {{ItemIcon|Steel Dagger|Steel}}

| {{ItemIcon|Black Scimitar|Black}} / {{ItemIcon|Steel Scimitar|Steel}}

| {{ItemIcon|Black Dagger|Black}} / {{ItemIcon|Steel Dagger|Steel}}

| {{ItemIcon|Black Helmet|Black}} / {{ItemIcon|Steel Helmet|Steel}}

| {{Icon|Tentacle|type=monster}} / {{Icon|Skeleton|type=monster}}

| {{ItemIcon|Mithril Sword|notext=true}} / {{ItemIcon|Mithril Dagger|Mithril}}

| {{ItemIcon|Mithril Scimitar|Mithril}}

| {{ItemIcon|Mithril Dagger|Mithril}}

| {{ItemIcon|Mithril Helmet|Mithril}}

| rowspan="3" | {{Icon|Frozen Archer|type=monster}}

| 30

| {{ItemIcon|Adamant Sword|notext=true}} / {{ItemIcon|Adamant Dagger|Adamant}}

| {{ItemIcon|Adamant Battleaxe|notext=true}} / {{ItemIcon|Adamant Scimitar|Adamant}}

| {{ItemIcon|Adamant Battleaxe|Adamant}}

| {{ItemIcon|Adamant Helmet|Adamant}}

| rowspan="2" | 40

| {{ItemIcon|Rune Sword|notext=true}} / {{ItemIcon|Rune Dagger|Rune}}

| rowspan="2" | {{ItemIcon|Rune Battleaxe|notext=true}} / {{ItemIcon|Rune Scimitar|Rune}}

| rowspan="2" | {{ItemIcon|Rune Battleaxe|Rune}}

| rowspan="2" | {{ItemIcon|Rune Helmet|Rune}}

| {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword|}}

| {{Icon|Bandit|type=monster}}

** {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword}} {{SkillReq|Attack|40}} - Drops from {{ZoneIcon|Frozen Cove}} /{{Icon|Ice Monster|type=monster}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Elerine Spear}} {{SkillReq|Attack|40}} - Drops from {{Icon|Elerine Warrior|type=monster}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Almighty Lute}} - Drops from {{MonsterIcon|Wandering Bard}}.

* Equipment:

** {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Strength}} - Drops from {{MonsterIcon|Mummy}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Torture}} - Rare drop from {{MonsterIcon|Fierce Devil}}, {{ZoneIcon|Deep Sea Ship}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Obsidian Cape}} - Drops from {{MonsterIcon|Adamant Knight}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}} - Drops from {{ZoneIcon|Spider Forest}}.

! {{Skill|Ranged|notext=true}} Level

! Recommended Monster

| rowspan="3" | {{ItemIcon|Normal Longbow}}

| rowspan="4" | {{ItemIcon|Leather Cowl|Leather}}

| rowspan="3" | {{Icon|Cow|type=monster}}

| rowspan="2" | {{ItemIcon|Oak Longbow}}

| rowspan="2" | {{ItemIcon|Steel Arrows}}

| {{Icon|Skeleton|type=monster}}

| rowspan="3" | {{ItemIcon|Hard Leather Cowl|Hard Leather}}

| {{ItemIcon|Willow Longbow}}

| {{Icon|Wizard|type=monster}}

| {{ItemIcon|Maple Longbow}}

| rowspan="2" | {{Icon|Bandit|type=monster}}

| {{ZoneIcon|Undead Graveyard}}

| {{ItemIcon|Yew Longbow}}

|}

 

====Gear Goals====

** {{ItemIcon|Elerine Longbow}} {{SkillReq|Ranged|50}} - Drops from {{MonsterIcon|Elerine Archer}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Ranged}} - Drops from {{MonsterIcon|Bandit}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}} - Drops from {{ZoneIcon|Spider Forest}}.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In general, {{Skill|Magic|Defensive}} is always the most efficient Attack Style to use, as training {{Skill|Defence}} with {{Skill|Magic}} uses the least amount of time and damage while remaining efficient.

 

 

It is recommended to choose a spell, staff, robes, and aurora that use as many of the same primary {{ItemIcon|Air Rune|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Water Rune|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Rune|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Rune|Elemental Runes}} as possible.

 

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

|-

| {{SpellIcon|Surge I|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Air Rune|notext=true}}

| {{ItemIcon|Air Expert Wizard Robes|notext=true}}

|-

| {{ItemIcon|Earth Rune}}

| {{ItemIcon|Mystic Earth Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Rune|notext=true}}

| {{SpellIcon|Earth Surge|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Rune|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Air Rune|notext=true}}

| {{SpellIcon|Fervor I|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Rune|notext=true}}

| {{ItemIcon|Earth Expert Wizard Robes|notext=true}}

| {{ItemIcon|Fire Rune}}

| {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Air Rune|notext=true}}

| {{SpellIcon|Fire Surge|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Rune|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Air Rune|notext=true}}

| {{SpellIcon|Surge I|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Air Rune|notext=true}}

| {{ItemIcon|Fire Expert Wizard Robes|notext=true}}

Each non-Wind spell also has the option of using {{ItemIcon|Mist Rune|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Dust Rune|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Smoke Rune|Combination Runes}}. Combination Runes are a good way to level {{Skill|Runecrafting}} as they are worth significantly more XP than their individual counterparts; crafting combination runes for spells you plan to use is a great way to make more efficient use of your {{Skill|Runecrafting}} leveling.

 

When using Combination Runes, look to synergize your staff with any Aurora also being cast, as their rune cost reduction does not apply to Combination Runes. For example, there is no benefit to using a {{ItemIcon|Fire Battlestaff}} with {{SpellIcon|Fire Wave}} if you are casting the spell with {{ItemIcon|Smoke Rune|Smoke Runes}}, but there would be a benefit of using a {{ItemIcon|Air Battlestaff}} with {{SpellIcon|Fire Wave}} if you were also casting {{SpellIcon|Surge II}}.

! {{Skill|Magic|notext=true}} Level

! Armor

! Recommended Monster

| {{ItemIcon|Staff of Air}}

| rowspan="2" | {{Icon|Wind Strike|type=spell}}

| rowspan="2" | {{ItemIcon|Air Acolyte Wizard Hat|Air Acolyte Wizard Robes}}

| rowspan="2" | {{MonsterIcon|Tentacle}}

| rowspan="2" |  

|-

| 10

| {{ItemIcon|Air Battlestaff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Water Battlestaff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Battlestaff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Battlestaff|Battlestaves}}

| rowspan="2" | {{Icon|Wind Bolt|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Water Bolt|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Earth Bolt|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Fire Bolt|type=spell|Bolt Spells}}

| rowspan="2" | {{MonsterIcon|Giant Crab}}

| rowspan="2" |  

| {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Water Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Earth Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Fire Staff|Mystic Staves}}

| {{Icon|Wind Blast|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Water Blast|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Earth Blast|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Fire Blast|type=spell|Blast Spells}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Giant Crab}}

** {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Water Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Earth Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Fire Staff|Mystic Staves}} {{SkillReq|Magic|40}} - Craftable with {{SkillReq|Runecrafting|70}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Nature's Call Staff}} {{SkillReq|Magic|40}} - Drops in two pieces from {{MonsterIcon|Elerine Mage}} and {{MonsterIcon|Druid}}

** {{ItemIcon|Enchanted Cape}} - Drops from {{MonsterIcon|Master Wizard}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Magic}} - Drops from {{MonsterIcon|Master Wizard}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}} - Drops from {{ZoneIcon|Spider Forest}}.

{{ZoneIcon|Volcanic Cave}} (and {{ZoneIcon|Dragons Den}} to a lesser extent) is the first real challenge the game presents to you, and preparing for it will likely take a couple of weeks of grinding for standard accounts.

This is where the [[Combat Triangle]] becomes extra important, and ignoring it entirely can be deadly or progress hampering.

The primary goal of this section is to replace all equipment and weapons obtained from non-combat skills with upgrades obtained from combat. Do note that all {{ItemIcon|Ancient D-hide Body|notext=true}} {{ItemIcon|Ancient Wizard Robes|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient Platebody|Ancient Armor}} is technically skippable, it will be replaced quite quickly with the armor from the God Dungeons, especially if these are done as early as possible. They are left in the guide as it is very common for players to get them anyways, and they can make progression a lot smoother.

* [[Auto Slayer]]

* {{ItemIcon|Ancient Platebody}} from the {{ZoneIcon|Volcanic Cave}}.

====Equipment Options====

* {{ItemIcon|Desert Wrappings}} - Drops from {{Icon|Turkul Archers|type=monster}} - less DR than the {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}}, but more well rounded stats.

* {{ItemIcon|Priest Hat}} - Drops from {{Icon|Priest|type=monster}}.

Many of the important items for this stage of the game are found from monsters in {{Skill|Slayer}} Areas, so it is helpful to have decently high level Slayer before going too far.

At this stage the player should be geared enough to be comfortably dealing with Normal difficulty tasks, and moving in to Hard difficulty tasks by the end of this step.

* {{ItemIcon|Slayer Helmet (Basic)}} - unlocked in the Shop by completing 15 Normal Slayer Tasks

* {{ItemIcon|Slayer Gear Upgrade Kit (Strong)}} - unlocked in the Shop by completing 25 Hard Slayer Tasks

Slayer Areas sometimes require items that must be purchased using {{SC|SC}} from the [[Shop]] such as the {{ItemIcon|Mirror Shield}} and {{ItemIcon|Desert Hat}}. The monsters locked in slayer areas will not be rolled in slayer tasks until the item has been purchased from the shop. Also, if you are using {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Slayer}}, monsters locked behind an item will never appear if the item is not equipped; you can leverage this to control the task rolls.

====Leveling====

! {{Skill|Attack|notext=true}} Level

! {{Skill|Attack}} Weapon

! {{Skill|Strength}} Weapon

| {{ItemIcon|Rune Scimitar|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Rune Battleaxe|Rune}}

| {{ItemIcon|Rune Helmet|Rune Armor}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Bandit}}

| 50

| {{ItemIcon|Desert Sabre}} / {{ItemIcon|Rune Battleaxe|Rune}}

| {{ItemIcon|Rune Helmet|Rune Armor}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Bandit}}

| {{ItemIcon|Dragon Claw}} / {{ItemIcon|Dragon Sword|Dragon}}  

| {{ItemIcon|Dragon Claw}} / {{ItemIcon|Dragon Battleaxe|Dragon}}

| {{ItemIcon|Dragon Helmet|Dragon Armor}}

| {{ItemIcon|Ancient Sword}} / {{ItemIcon|Warberd}}  

| {{ItemIcon|Ancient 2H Sword}} / {{ItemIcon|War Axe}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Holy Archer}}

|}

* Equipment:

** {{ItemIcon|Elite Amulet of Strength}} - Drops from combining 100 {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Strength}}

** {{ItemIcon|Elite Amulet of Defence}} - Drops from combining 100 {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Defence}}

** {{ItemIcon|Elite Amulet of Glory}} - Drops from combining 100 {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Glory}}

** {{ItemIcon|Sandstorm Ring}} {{SkillReq|Attack|50}} - Drops from {{Icon|Sand Beast|type=monster}}.

** {{ItemIcon|Desert Wrappings}} - Drops from {{Icon|Turkul Archers|type=monster}}

====Leveling====

! {{Skill|Ranged|notext=true}} Level

| {{ItemIcon|Rune Arrows}}

| {{ItemIcon|Green D-hide Body|Green D-hide}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Master Wizard}}

| {{ItemIcon|Rune Arrows}}

| {{ItemIcon|Blue D-hide Body|Blue D-hide}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Master Wizard}}

| {{ItemIcon|Emerald Bolts}}

| {{ItemIcon|Red D-hide Body|Red D-hide}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Master Wizard}}

| {{ItemIcon|Emerald Bolts}}

| {{ItemIcon|Black D-hide Body|Black D-hide}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Superior Eyed Monster}}

====Gear Goals====

 

** {{ItemIcon|Scaled Shield}} - Drops from  {{MonsterIcon|Holy Archer}}

 

 

{| class="wikitable"

| {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Water Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Earth Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Fire Staff|Mystic Staves}}

| {{Icon|Wind Blast|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Water Blast|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Earth Blast|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Fire Blast|type=spell|Blast Spells}}

| {{ItemIcon|Air Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Water Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Adept Wizard Hat|Adept Robes}}

| {{MonsterIcon|Giant Crab}}

| 50

| {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Water Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Earth Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Fire Staff|Mystic Staves}}

| {{Icon|Wind Wave|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Water Wave|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Earth Wave|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Fire Wave|type=spell|Wave Spells}}

| {{ItemIcon|Air Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Water Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Adept Wizard Hat|Adept Robes}}

| 60

| {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Water Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Earth Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Fire Staff|Mystic Staves}}

| {{Icon|Wind Surge|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Water Surge|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Earth Surge|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Fire Surge|type=spell|Surge Spells}}

| {{ItemIcon|Air Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Water Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Adept Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Adept Wizard Hat|Adept Robes}}

| rowspan=2 | 70

| {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Water Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Earth Staff|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Mystic Fire Staff|Mystic Staves}}

| rowspan=2 | {{Icon|Wind Surge|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Water Surge|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Earth Surge|type=spell|notext=true}}{{Icon|Fire Surge|type=spell|Surge Spells}} / {{Icon|Slicing Winds|type=spell}}

| rowspan=2 | {{ItemIcon|Air Expert Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Water Expert Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Expert Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Expert Wizard Hat|Expert Robes}} / {{ItemIcon|Ancient Wizard Hat|Ancient Wizard Robes}}

| rowspan=2 | {{MonsterIcon|Venomous Snake}}

| {{ItemIcon|Magic Wand (Elite)}} / {{ItemIcon|Air Imbued Wand|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Water Imbued Wand|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Earth Imbued Wand|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Fire Imbued Wand|Imbued Wands}}

====Gear Goals====

** {{ItemIcon|Shaman Ring}} - Drops from {{MonsterIcon|Shaman}}.

The major goal of this section is to find and equip {{ItemIcon|(G) Ancient Platebody|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|(U) Ancient D-hide Body|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient Wizard Robes|Ancient Armor}}

{{ItemIcon|Ancient Wizard Hat|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient Wizard Robes|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient Wizard Bottoms|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient Wizard Boots|Ancient Wizard Robes}} come from the {{ZoneIcon|Hall of Wizards}}.

* As with most Magic equipment, these robes do not need to be upgraded to get the full benefit.

{{ItemIcon|Ancient D-hide Body|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient D-hide Chaps|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient D-hide Vambraces|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient D-hide Shield|Ancient D-hide Armor}} comes from the {{ZoneIcon|Dragons Den}}.

* {{ItemIcon|Ancient D-hide Shield}} has a second upgrade, the {{ItemIcon|Scaled Shield}}, which is best in slot for Ranged for a long time.

{{ItemIcon|Ancient Helmet|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient Platebody|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient Platelegs|notext=true}}{{ItemIcon|Ancient Shield|Ancient Plate Armor}} comes from the {{ZoneIcon|Volcanic Cave}}.

* {{ItemIcon|Ancient Shield}} has a fourth upgrade, the {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}}, which is best in slot for Melee for a long time. Upgrading this shield requires 7050 {{ItemIcon|Dragon Bones}}.

Due to the nature of the game, it is entirely possible to skip Ancient armor completely, and go straight to the next section. This does however require a bit more knowledge of how the game works, and is not necessarily recommended. The {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}} and the {{ItemIcon|Scaled Shield}} are two important items that should not be skipped.