Pay-to-play melee training

This article is about the members' guide. For the free players' guide, see Free-to-play melee training.

This article provides information for members about effective ways to train Attack, Strength, and Constitution through melee combat. It contains some general training tips and suggestions for suitable monsters to kill for a wide range of levels. In this article, monsters are sorted according to the level of the skill being trained, not the recommended overall combat level.

This article assumes that players are training Attack, Strength, and Constitution more or less equally. If not, see the pure melee guide.

General training notes

• Use the best equipment you have and a weapon that has a style the monster you are fighting is weak to. (For example, moss giants are weak to slash attacks so it is a good idea to attack them with weapons such as the abyssal whip or the dragon 2h sword rather than weapons using crush or stab).
• Complete Slayer tasks whenever possible in order to train Slayer while training other combat skills. (+10% att/str bonus while wearing a black mask or slayer helm when on a task). However, remember that Slayer tasks may give you monsters with weaknesses to ranged or magic, rather than melee.
• Wear a ring of wealth whenever fighting a monster that drops items on the rare drop table if you are interested in valuable drops rather than slightly faster experience rates from rings with combat-related stats.
• An emergency teleport that can be activated with one click can be useful to avoid death. A simple house teleport tablet is cheap and could end up being a lifesaver.
• Use of potions to boost skill levels is essential to maximise experience rates. A super set (consisting of super attack, super strength, and super defence potions) is recommended.
• Completing some of the easier quests such as Fight Arena, Holy Grail, Waterfall Quest, Scorpion Catcher, and Tree Gnome Village gives efficient combat experience if done at a low combat level.

Abilities

• Healing abilities are a must have for extending the length of a training trip. The Resonance ability is a basic level Defence ability, that causes the next hit to heal instead of damage you. Rejuvenate is an ultimate Defence ability that restores 40% of your life points over several seconds. Regenerate is a basic Constitution ability that uses whatever adrenaline you have left to restore your health if you're not in combat.
  • Although the Resonance and Rejuvenate abilities require a shield to be equipped, you only need to equip the shield for as long as it takes to activate the ability if you prefer to dual wield or use two-handed weapons.
  • Another great healing ability is Guthix's Blessing, which will heal you 8% of your maximum lifepoints every two seconds, up to ten seconds. This ability should only be used when not in direct combat with a monster as the summoned butterfly can be attacked and killed, ending the effect prematurely.
• Consider using threshold abilities instead of ultimate ones; the damage done by thresholds is lower, but they use less adrenaline, meaning more than one can be used in a row.
• Set up your action bar before you go into combat, making sure all the abilities you want to use are on there, and that all the abilities are ones you can use with the weapons you have. Remember that you can have multiple bars set up at once, and there is no penalty for changing which one you're using.

Common equipment, accessories, and setups

Weaponry

• Each melee weapon can train attack, strength, and defence. Just click on the abilities button and choose the skill you wish to train.
• Jot down monster weaknesses and utilise them. Using a crush weapon against a monster weak to crush gives a much higher chance to hit against that monster, and significantly higher hits. Avoid monsters who have a weakness to ranged attacks, as they will have a very high defence to melee attacks.
• Always use the best tier of weapons you can wield and afford. Better weapons ensure higher damage output and a higher chance to hit. 
• The abyssal whip is a popular weapon for combat training due to its rapid attack speed and low cost. It can be upgraded to the abyssal vine whip (a level 75 weapon) however this requires level 80 slayer. The non-degradable off-hand equivalent for an abyssal vine whip is the enhanced excalibur .
• The next best weapons above whip vine/excalibur are chaotic (level 80) and Drygore weaponry (level 90). However chaotic and drygore weaponry degrade with use and will incur a maintenance cost.

• Main hand: Drygore weaponry > Chaotic weaponry > Korasi's sword/Abyssal vine whip > Abyssal whip
• Off-hand:  Drygore weaponry > Chaotic weaponry > Jessika's sword > Enhanced excalibur > Off-hand dragon claw
• Two-handed: Chaotic maul/Chaotic spear > Godswords > Barrows weapons

Armour

For extended combat training, consider wearing high defence and lifepoint armour (such as Barrows armour). This allows for prolonged training in one sitting. However, a better choice for training would be to use offensive armour (such as Bandos armour), as it will allow you to increase your damage output and kill at a faster rate.

Barrows armour is a cheaper alternative to Bandos armour, and can be used with the corresponding weapons for powerful set effects. The tradeoff, however, is that it degrades with use, meaning that it will incur a maintenance cost. Alternatively, the Void knight melee armour (from the Pest Control minigame) has a set effect of increasing your attack and strength bonuses, but at the cost of having low defensive stats. This is a viable way to train melee fast due to the increased damage output, if you are willing to use extra food or, if available, Soul Split.

Sacred clay equipment, a reward from Stealing Creation, gives a set amount of bonus experience that is rewarded as players train. This allows players to wear any armour, while still receiving the bonus experience. However, you can normally earn more experience from killing monsters than from the time it takes to get a piece of sacred clay equipment. Therefore most players choose to use their Stealing Creation on skills that cost money to train rather than combat, which is usually profitable.

Armour types:

• High Defence: Tetsu armour > Barrows armour > Dragon armour > Rune Armour
• Attack Bonus: Torva armour > Bandos armour > Void knight melee set > Rock-shell Armour

Accessories and other equipment

Having a good set-up overall includes using the best accessories too, such as capes, rings and amulets. These items are typically the best to use:

• Cape: Completionist cape > Max cape > TokHaar-Kal > Fire cape > (Trimmed) skill cape > Obsidian cape
• Gloves (Offensive): Razorback gauntlets > Torva gloves > Bandos gloves > Rockshell gloves
• Gloves (Defensive): Pneumatic gloves > Culinaromancer's gloves (10)
• Boots: (Offensive): Torva boots > Bandos boots > Rockshell boots
• Boots (Defensive): Steadfast boots > Dragon boots
• Ring: Warrior ring (i) > Sixth-Age circuit > Warrior ring > Berserker ring > Ring of wealth
• Amulet: Brawler's knockout necklace > Saradomins whisper > Amulet of fury > Amulet of glory > Amulet of power
• Aura: Vampirism > Equilibrium

Healing

After the Evolution of Combat, food is much less necessary than it was before. Generally speaking, most of the time you will not need food if you use healing abilities such as Rejuvenate, an ultimate ability which restores 40% of your health (but requires a shield, and can only be used once every 300 seconds, due to a recent update), Regenerate, which can be used outside combat to convert remaining adrenaline into health, and Resonance, which makes the next attack that hits you heal instead of dealing damage.

Other methods of healing include:

• Using food
• Guthan the Infested's equipment has excellent defence bonuses, a feasible two-handed weapon, and a set effect, which players can use to heal themselves. However, use of Guthan's has a few downsides. Use of Guthan's helm prevents the use of other head-slot items, such as a slayer helm or face mask. In addtion, though Guthan's spear is a good training weapon, it pales in comparison to stronger weapons such as Godswords and chaotic/Drygore weaponry.
• Bones to Peaches is a spell unlocked at the Mage Training Arena which allows players to convert bones and big bones into peaches, each of which heals 80 life points. Players who have not unlocked this spell can instead buy and use bones to peaches tablets.
• Soul Split requires 92 Prayer and access to the Ancient Curses. It heals its user 10% of the damage dealt if it is activated during a successful hit against a monster. Because of its rapid drain rate, many players use the prayer flashing technique to drastically reduce, or outright nullify, Prayer point drain.
• The Saradomin godsword's passive effect, Healing Blade, has a 25% chance of healing the player 3% life points and 3% prayer points every hit.
• Auras such as vampirism help by healing the player by 5% of damage dealt with every hit.
• Healing familiars such as the Bunyip and Unicorn stallion.

Potions

• Potions are well worth the extra cost. They increase your training xp/hr rate significantly. 
• It can help to get 96 Herblore for overloads which makes training much faster. Other extreme potions such as extreme attack, strength, and defence are also worth the added cost.
• If unable to create overloads or extremes due to a low Herblore level, super sets work well too.
• Regular combat potions are more cost effective than attack potions and strength potions because they combine the effects of both while being cheaper than the two individual items combined.

Suggested training monsters

Note: These level guidelines are for all three styles, Attack, Strength, and Defence.

Level 1-40

Image	Name	Level	Life Points	Experience	Pros	Cons	Notes
	Goblins	Level 2	100	33 XP	Gives good xp when compared to the difficulty of killing them. Excellent drops such as grapes. Best spot behind lumbridge		If you do not pick up the drops it will go even faster. You will have level 30 in about an hour or so. Keep experience on Balanced.
	Troll Brute	Level 2	50	40 XP	Gives great xp, very easy to kill.	Drops are less cool	They can be seen in the northern most cave in Burthorpe. There are also Troll mages that have slightly better drops.

Level 40-60

Image	Name	Level	Life Points	Experience	Pros	Cons	Notes
	Rock Crab	Level 71	2,550	293 XP	Low drop Chance includes Gems, Herbs, Herb seeds, Caskets, and Level 1 clue scrolls. Edible seaweed can be eaten to elongate your trip. More efficient than on the last step, as they will hit you less often. Can be found in large numbers.	The Fremennik Trials required for best locations. Without the Trials, the best area is out-of-the way. Their attacks are accurate, even on high level armour.	Try doing these at level 40 or 50.
	Dagon'Hai monk	Level 77	2,500	252 XP	They are weak to crush. They can drop Dagon'Hai robes. Low life points, making for quick kills. Max hit of ~450 damage.	Poor drops in general. There are aggressive Zamorak warriors and Zamorak mages in the area.
	Ogre	Level 67	4,800	303 XP	They can be safespotted while using a halberd,  negating the need for food. They have a rather better percentage of dropping Gold Charms than Rock Crabs	Poor drops make these poor for making money.

• Note: Requires the Biohazard quest, in order to access. After the quest, the Ogres within the Combat Training Camp can be accessed and killed by entering the loose railing in the cage, or hit with a halberd. The Ogres are for ranged combat only, making this ineffective for any melee attacks. At lower levels, these may not be advised, as they can hit much higher than some monsters, but as you become higher level, these can be excellent, as they can be quickly killed, and their spawnpoints are within a few squares of each other, as well as not being able to walk out of distance.

Level 60-70

Image	Name	Level	Life Points	Experience	Pros	Cons
Fight Caves	TzHaar Fight Caves	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	Being a safe minigame, dying is no cause for worry. Tokkul can be earned from playing this, and can be spent on valuable rewards from Tz-Haar shops.	The creatures do not drop anything, and hence no direct monetary gain is possible from this activity.
	Pest Control	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	Commendation points gained from this game can be spent on additional exp. If you die during the game, you will respawn safely with all your items. Games last shortly, and the coins gained is ten times your combat level.	This minigame can become somewhat repetitive over time. There is little direct monetary gain from this method. All combat experience earned from this minigame is halved.
	Hellhounds	Level 92	3,300	361 XP	They are weak to slash. Killing hellhounds can be a good source of charms and hard clues. This method is both fast and requires little attention.	They have no drops other than charms, clues, and effigies. Soul split, a Saradomin godsword, or a full set of Guthan's Armour is almost necessary for prolonged trips. Without the aforementioned curse, food and banking is required, hampering exp rates.
	Fire Giants	Level 85	6,700	424.8 XP	The drops from fire giants can be quite profitable. In the Waterfall Dungeon and the Brimhaven Dungeon, lots of these creatues spawn in a close vicinity. They are weak to slash.	They can do moderate damage with their ranged attacks, and require food at lower levels. They are no longer aggressive, due to a silent update 9 July, 2013.
	Deadly Red Spider	Level 95	3,400	399 XP	They are weak to crush. Killing deadly red spiders can be a good source of charms. Normally red spider eggs spawn near red spiders and it is good money making	They have no drops other than charms and effigies. Their ranged attacks can hit fairly hard even against melee armour. At lower levels, using anything other than crush attacks can hamper experience rates. They are very frequently crowded, which means there will often be less for you to fight.

Level 70-80

Image	Name	Level	Life Points	Experience	Pros	Cons
Fight Caves	TzHaar Creatures	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	The drops from these creatures are somewhat valuable, such as Tokkul for the valuable onyx. There is a bank nearby.	The monsters can hit quite high on lower levelled players. Attacking a TzHaar-Hur may cause other nearby TzHaar to attack.
	Dagannoth	Level 110 and 112	2,750  and     2,800	295 and 310 XP	There are many of these creatures located in the Waterbirth Island Dungeon and the Lighthouse Dungeon. Using AoE abilities, with the possible use of Balmung's increased damage against them, many of these creatues can be killed fairly quickly.	Due to the large number of them, a player could easily be piled and killed. The money return from these monsters isn't that great. An update reduced the aggression range of the ones in Waterbirth, hampering xp rates. A cannon can be used to bypass this, but the cannonball usage can be very costly.
Dust Devil	Dust Devils	Level 85	8,000	446 XP	They are weak to crush. These monsters have a very rare chance of dropping a Dragon Chainbody, potentially giving considerable profit. These monsters can be assigned as a slayer task daily through the use of a Mask of Dust/Helm of Devilry.	They require a gas mask, face mask, masked earmuffs, a slayer helmet, or a full slayer helmet in order to fight them, or the player will be hit for large amounts of damage. All of these (except for the gas mask and face mask) require completion of Smoking Kills. They require a Slayer level of 65 to kill.
	Living Rock Creatures	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	The drops can be quite profitable. They aren't exceptionally crowded. They have a low defence level and low life points. The living rock strikers are weak to crush.	The creatures can hit very accurately, and food could be needed for lower levelled players. They are fairly spread out throughout the caverns. Spawn rates are completely dependent on the player; they take longer to spawn if their remains are not mined.
	Frost Dragons	Level 112	8,500	1141.2 XP	The bones can be collected for a massive profit, along with other valuable drops. A Bonecrusher and Split dragontooth necklace, and using either Soul Split or Deflect Magic, if on Ancient Curses, or Protect from Magic and Piety if on the normal prayers, along with antifire protection can potentially negate all damage. Using a Bonecrusher and demon horn necklaces negates the need for prayer potions and significantly increases the exp per hour. They are weak to stab.	They require 85 Dungeoneeering to fight. Being careless or not paying attention can lead to a swift death. The dragons hit high and accurately, so good method of restoring life points is necessary. Super Antifire Potions are also a semi-requirement, as they will increase kills per hour significantly. Their defence is fairly high, and using anything other than stab weapons can hamper experience rates.
	Armoured Zombies	Level 86	6,200	469 XP	The zombies don't hit very high if using higher end gear, making food optional. Drops can be somewhat valuable. There is a prayer altar nearby to recharge prayer points.	They require partial completion of Defender of Varrock to fight.

Level 80-90

Image	Name	Level	Life Points	Experience	Pros	Cons
	Mutated jadinkos	Baby:134 Guard:138 Male:144	3350, 6000, 6000	379.8, 569.9, 646.3	The drops are somewhat profitable, and they drop food commonly. Very easy to kill, allowing for very fast experience rates. The untradeable drops can be used to train at the Herblore Habitat. They are weak to stab.	They require a Slayer level of 80, 86 and 91 to kill respectively. Their melee attacks are very accurate and can cause consistent damage. They will use hard-hitting magic attacks if you try to run away.
	Spiritual Rangers	Level 140	7,000	661 XP	They are weak to melee, making kills quick.	They require a Slayer level of 63 to kill. Residing in the God Wars Dungeon, precautions relating to the location must be taken. Are fairly spread out, and lack profitable drops. The Armadylean rangers cannot be fought with melee.
	Fight Cauldron	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	Varies depending on the creature.	A safe minigame, death should be of little concern. Considered the best exp in the game, this minigame allows for very quick levelling.	Requires completion of The Brink of Extinction to access. Some monsters aren't weak to melee, hampering the exp/hour.
	Nechryael	Level 138	8,000	661 XP	Killing them in the Slayer Tower with a contract can give good experience and money. They are weak to crush.	Food may be required. They require a Slayer level of 80 to kill. The death spawns that they summon can be an annoyance if the player chooses to kill them.
	Exiled Kalphite Guardians	Level 140	7,000	693.9 XP	Very good charm drops can be obtained. The money gained from killing these is quite good.	The area to kill them could be dangerous, especially if piled by multiple creatures. They can cause poison, though it is mild and generally ignored.
	Abyssal demons	Level 140	8,500	693.9 XP	Killing them in the Slayer Tower with a contract can give good experience and money. They have good drops. They are weak to slash.	Higher stats will give better experience rates. As such, melee stats of 85+ are a semi-requirement. They require a Slayer level of 85 to kill. Players will need food as they can hit hard and very accurately. Some of the better drops require the player to be on a Slayer assignment.

Level 90-99

At this level, almost any monster that you wish can be killed, but some of the more preferred ones are listed below.

Image	Name	Level	Life Points	Experience	Pros	Cons
	Waterfiend	Level 107	8,000	934 XP	The drops are profitable. Considered one of the best ways to obtain crimson charms in the game.	They have a very high defence. Are strong against melee. Primarily use magic attacks. They are the most common way for high levels to train combat skills, so it may be hard to get a kill in some worlds.
	God Wars Dungeon Bosses (excluding Nex)	Level 210	40,000 to 75,000	4,430 to 5,630 XP	Drops can be very valuable. At high levels, the bosses are entirely soloable.	Risk of dying is incredibly high, and even when prepared it may be difficult to recover items from a gravestone. A killcount hampers exp gain, as it takes time between banking trips. Depending on the boss, it may be crowded, and can hamper xp rates looking for a world.
	Automaton Tracer	Level 115	20,000	1,261 XP	All loots are noted, allowing for long trips. They are weak to crush. Can drop the Pneumatic gloves, worth 212,184 coins. Can be easily accessed with the Sixth-age circuit.	Can take a while to kill because of their high lifepoints. Can only be killed when all parts of The World Wakes is completed, which requires Ritual of the Mahjarrat, Branches of Darkmeyer, Firemaker's Curse, The Chosen Commander, and The Void Stares Back quests, which require other quests and high skill levels. The shockwave special can easily kill you. Using anything other than crushing attacks can hamper experience rates.
	Airut	Level 122	16,875	1,980 XP	Valuable drops, including Razorback gauntlets. Most loots are noted.	They have a very dangerous special attack if not paying attention. Dual wielded melee weapons are also required to counter this special attack. During the fight they will increase their defence, making kills longer and hampering experience rates. They require a slayer level of 92 to damage. The player must be on a Slayer assignment to receive Razorback gauntlets as a drop.