Ranged
From the RuneScape Wiki, the wiki for all things RuneScape
Ranged is the combat style that allows players to shoot enemies from a distance with projectiles. Players who practice the ranged combat style are often referred to as rangers or archers. The current minimum to be ranked on the hiscores in Ranged is 40 Ranged and 38,942 experience.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
In the RuneScape combat triangle, Ranged is effective against Magic, and weak to Melee.
Ranged combat allows players to shoot enemies from afar; therefore, it is recommended that players stand behind an obstacle so that they can avoid damage, though still deal damage to the opponent.
Similar to the other combat classes, ranged combat has a variety of attack styles: accurate, rapid, and long-range.
All the attack styles provide both ranged xp (experience points) and hitpoints xp. The amount experience gained by each style is shown in the table below.
| Attack Style | Damage | Ranged XP | Defence XP | Hitpoints XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1.33 |
| Rapid | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1.33 |
| Long-range | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1.33 |
The rapid attack style will attack the opponent the quickest, whereas accurate and long-range attacks hit the opponent at an equal, slower rate. It is recommended that you train using the Rapid attack style. This will give a high rate of experience, but will use a greater number of arrows compared to the Accurate style. Accurate mode will improve your chance of hitting. Long-range allows you to attack from a greater distance, while also offering defence xp, with reduced ranged xp. Ranged armour and weapons offer both ranged defence and attack bonuses. The ranged attack bonus determines how accurately the ranger hits. The ranged defence bonus determines how effective the armour is against ranged attack. The ranged level and arrows used by the ranger determine how high the damage can be.
- Max Hit (Free to play): Using adamant arrows, with a maple shortbow or longbow, the Eagle Eye prayer activated, and level 99 Ranged, a player's maximum damage able to be dealt (max hit) is 18.
- Max hit (Members): 165, on a steel titan using Ruby bolts (e), and full void knight armour with a Void ranger helm
[edit] Range bonus
To the right of the inventory menu is the equipment menu. Here, players can see their stat bonuses. These bonuses give players advantages and disadvantages in combat.
Ranging armour has one of the the highest defences against magic attacks, along with giving a range attack bonus and range defence bonus. The higher the magic defence bonus is, the better defence a player has against mages.
Players can also use ranged prayer spells to give themselves an extra boost while ranging.
[edit] Ranged weapons
- Main article: Ranged items
[edit] Shortbow and longbow
Both the shortbow and longbow of all types of wood require arrows as ammunition.
Arrowheads are made using the smithing skill. Completed arrows are made using feathers and arrow shafts using the fletching skill.
Higher level bows can use increasingly powerful arrows as you progress. For example, shortbows made of the lowest level wood (normal) can only use bronze or iron arrows. Non-members cannot use all the bows available in the game and can only use arrows up to adamant with maple bows.
Players also have a choice as to what kind of bow they want. There are two kinds of bows: shortbows and longbows. Longbows are the more accurate and fire arrows further, though they can't shoot as fast. It is usually recommended that players use a shortbow when ranging, especially when training, to deal more damage over time. Usage of longbows requires less arrows, allowing you to use arrows made of greater metals, thus dealing a bit more damage.
The Lumbridge Ranged Tutor can provide a training bow for new players. It's a bow for rangers fresh from the tutorial. Claiming from the ranged tutor (north of the Lumbridge guide and south of the general store) will give you a training bow and 25 training arrows. You may get 25 more training arrows every 30 minutes, however the magic tutor and the ranged tutor work on the same 30 minute time block, so you can only have either arrows or runes every 30 minutes, not both.
Because of the time limit of 30 minutes, when your ranged level gets higher, it is a waste of time waiting for the 30 minutes to be up so that you can get more training arrows. At around level 5 ranged it would pay to switch to the shortbow with iron arrows.
[edit] Arrows
Arrows are used for ammunition with bows. The better the arrow, the higher damage a player can deal. However, some arrows can only be shot by certain bows, and some bows can only shoot certain arrows. Non-members can only use bronze to adamant arrows. Members have rune and dragon arrows, in addition to special kinds of arrows used in Quests.
[edit] Crossbows
Crossbows are one-handed ranged weapons (meaning the player can wield a shield with a crossbow) that are often reviewed by players as better all-round weapons for training and pking. They require bolts instead of arrows; bolts are made with the smithing and fletching skills. Bolts can be poisoned and enchanted as well. Crossbows are made with crossbow stocks from logs using fletching, metal limbs using smithing, and bowstring spun from flax using crafting. Limbs come in all the armour types (bronze, iron, etc.). There are also some special types of crossbows, like the Phoenix crossbow.
Crossbows are much stronger than bows. A player can hit well into the 50s with onyx-tipped runite bolts and a rune crossbow. They are also the favorite item of PKing teams in Bounty Hunter. Although crossbows and bolts cost more, (for example mithril bolts are almost 80 gp each in the Grand Exchange) they offer high dps in pvp situations. But because of the amount of bolts required for training and the speed, most players will either buy cheaper bolts (iron as opposed to rune) or use a shortbow when fighting monsters from a safe-spot.
[edit] Bolts
Bolts are the ammunition for crossbows. Members can create them with the smithing and fletching skills. Silver bolts, however, are crafted rather than smithed. Bolts that do not have gem tips can be poisoned, while gem tipped bolts can be enchanted. These options are only available to members. Karil the Tainted's crossbow can use bolt racks which can not be fletched or smithed but instead can be found in the Barrows minigame or bought from Ak-Haranu that resides in Port Phasmatys.
[edit] Enchanted bolts
If a member has gem tipped bolts, then they have the option of enchanting them. Each type of gem has a different magic in it, making some bolts better than others. To enchant bolts, players have to click on the spell book and use the level 4 spell Enchant Crossbow Bolt. Doing so will make a menu pop up that will ask what kind of gem tipped bolts they want enchanted.
Each spell require runes as well as a certain magic level. Players can only enchant 10 bolts per spell. Both enchanted and non-enchanted bolts can be traded.
[edit] Mithril grapple
Members can use a mithril grapple as a tool for scaling high obstacles, such as walls. Rangers can create mithril grapples and attach them to mithril bolts provided with the required smithing level. To use the grapple, players use a rope with the grapple and then use it on the shortcut. Players will need to have a crossbow equipped to use the grapple.
Each time a player uses their grapple, there is a chance that it will break. It cannot be repaired, meaning if a player's grapple does break, they will need to make a new one. Shortcuts that require grapples also require ranged, Strength, and agility levels.
[edit] Pouches
Members have access to a bolt pouch, allowing them to carry a variety of bolts without occupying too much of their bank or inventory space. They can be purchased from the crossbow sales dwarf in Keldagrim. Each player is also restricted to only one bolt pouch at any time. Destroying it or losing it upon death will result in having all the bolts in the pouch to be dropped onto the floor.
Bolt pouches can only hold 4 different kinds of bolts. To store bolts in a pouch, players have to use them with the pouch. Left-clicking on the pouch will open a menu showing players what bolts are currently in the pouch. Each of the four slots can hold up to 255 bolts. Bolts can be removed from the pouch or equipped by right-clicking on them. Grapples, however, cannot be stored in pouches. Bolt pouches are also untradable.
[edit] Throwing weapons
- Main article: Ranged items
Members have a wide range of throwing weapons at their disposable. Though not as popular as bows or crossbows, some players prefer them over other ranged weapons as some weapons; namely knives and darts. These are the fastest weapons in the game, giving faster ranged experience.
[edit] Best armour
The following armour gives the highest possible ranged attack bonus for members:
| Item | Image | Ranged attack bonus | Ranged defence bonus | Requirements to wear/use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armadyl helmet |  | +10 | +8 | 70 ranged and 70 defence |
| Ranger boots |  | +8 | 0 | 40 ranged |
| Armadyl chestplate |  | +33 | +57 | 70 ranged and 70 defence |
| Armadyl legs |  | +20 | +33 | 70 range and 70 defence |
| Crystal bow |  | +100 when fully charged | 0 | 70 ranged and 50 agility, Completion of Roving Elves |
| Barrows gloves |  | +12 | +12 | completion of Recipe for Disaster |
| Ava's accumulator |  | +4 | +4 | 50 range and completion of Animal Magnetism |
| Archers' ring |  | +4 | +4 | none |
| Amulet of Fury |  | +10 | +15 | none |
| Total | +201 | +133 | 70 ranged, 70 defence, 50 agility, completion of Recipe for Disaster, Roving Elves, and Animal Magnetism |
[edit] Best F2P Pure armour
The following armour gives the highest possible ranged attack bonus for f2p pures.
| Item | Image | Ranged attack bonus | Ranged defence bonus | Requirements to wear/use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green dragonhide coif |  | +4 | +5 | 40 ranged |
| Leather boots |  | 0 | 0 | none (Only boots without range penalty) |
| Green dragonhide body |  | +15 | +40 | 40 ranged and 40 defence completion of Dragon Slayer |
| Green dragonhide chaps |  | +8 | +22 | 40 ranged |
| Maple Shortbow or Maple longbow |   | +29 | 0 | 30 ranged |
| Green dragonhide vambraces |  | +8 | 0 | 40 ranged |
| Cape |  | 0 | +2 | none |
| Explorers ring |  | +0 | +0 | completion of Lumbridge and Draynor Diary (Offers +1 Prayer Bonus)(Cannot be taken into Bounty Hunter) |
| Amulet of Power |  | +6 | +6 | none (Offers +1 Prayer Bonus) |
| Total | +70 | +75 | 40 ranged, 40 defence |
[edit] Best P2P Pure armour
The following armour gives the highest possible ranged attack bonus for p2p pures.
| Item | Image | Ranged attack bonus | Ranged defence bonus | Requirements to wear/use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin hood hat |  | +8 | +4 | 40 ranged |
| Ranger boots | | +8 | 0 | 40 ranged |
| Black dragonhide body |  | +30 | +55 | 70 ranged and 40 defence |
| Black dragonhide chaps |  | +17 | +31 | 70 ranged |
| Crystal bow | | +100 | 0 | 70 ranged 50 agility and completion of Roving Elves |
| Black dragonhide vambraces |  | +11 | 0 | 70 ranged |
| Ava's accumulator | | +4 | +4 | 50 range and completion of Animal Magnetism |
| Archers' ring | | +4 | +4 | none |
| Amulet of Fury | | +10 | +15 | none |
| Total | +192 | +113 | 70 ranged, 50 agility, 40 defence, completion of Animal Magnetism and Roving Elves |
[edit] Popular armour
- Main article: Ranged items
Rangers have their own sets of armour made out of various materials. Ranger armour is good against magic, though weak against melee. Also, all armour designed for ranging give no strength or prayer bonuses (with the excepton of Armadyl armour, which gives a +1 bonus to prayer with each piece worn), and most give no stab, slash, or crush attack bonuses.
[edit] Leather armour
Leather armour is good for beginning rangers. They are very cheap and can also be crafted. Leather armour can often be found in Al-kharid's general store, as many crafters often sell leather items there.
[edit] Snakeskin armour
Snakeskin armour is only available to members. Snakeskin armour can be made through the crafting skill from snakeskin, which can be obtained by killing snakes that appear in the Tai Bwo Wannai Cleanup, Temple Trekking minigames or by killing level 35 snakes at Mos'le Harmless Island.
The whole snakeskin set is hardly worn by rangers due to the huge amount of snakeskin hides needed. However, the snakeskin boots and bandanna offer most rangers a much cheaper alternative to the highly priced ranger boots and Robin Hood hat.
[edit] Spined armour
Spined armour is Fremennik armour armour for rangers, and the Spined helm, body, and chaps give a slight range bonus. Spined armour can be bought from the Relleka armour store (must have completed The Fremennik Trials)and also be earned from drops by the Dagganoths under Waterbirth Island.
[edit] Dragonhide armour
Dragonhide armour is the most popular and the recommended armour players wear when ranging. Free players can only wear green dragonhide armour, and must complete the Dragon Slayer quest in order to wear the green d'hide body. Blue, red, and black dragonhide is only available to members. Members can also craft dragonhide armour from dragon hides.
[edit] Karil the Tainted
Members can obtain a set of ranged barrows equipment, Karil the Tainted's, as a reward from the Barrows minigame. When a player is ranging with the complete set, including Karil's crossbow, some ranged attacks have a chance of reducing the opponent's agility. Before the December 2007 Wilderness updates, many Karil's rangers would go to the wilderness agility course and lower the agility of the target, making them unable to escape. Besides this spiteful use, the set effect has been given much negative criticism on the Runescape Official Forums.
[edit] Other weapons
Members also have access to different kinds of weapons. They are:
- Dwarf multicannon
- Holy water
- Crystal bow
- Ogre bow and ogre arrows
- Ogre composite bow and brutal arrows
- Seercull
- Experimental crossbow
- Salamanders
- Chinchompas
- Dark bow
[edit] Training
It is advised to use Battle Tactics for each of these strategies in order to conserve health.
[edit] Non-member training
| Level | What & Where? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1-20 | Chickens in Lumbridge | Collect the feathers and bones they drop for a small profit and prayer experience. |
| 1-30 | Goblins in Lumbridge | Although it is possible to start with goblins, they are harder to kill and has a lower profit rate compared to chickens. |
| 20-30 | Cows in Lumbridge, near the Crafting Guild, near the Draynor Village farming patch, or in the field at Gnomecopters. | You can hide behind the troughs. You can collect the cowhides and bank either at Lumbridge, Al-Kharid, or you can bank at Falador or Draynor. The Gnomecopter field is a great place to train since there are safe spots and there are four bank deposit boxes near the Gnomecopter pilots. |
| 1-30 | The NPCs behind bars at Port Sarim's jail | Players cannot get back their arrows unless they can cast Telekinetic Grab. |
| 20-50 | Scorpions in the Dwarven mines | Lots of spawns and low defence.The downside is that they have low health. |
| 20-40 | The wizards in the Wizards' Tower south of Draynor Village | The mid-level is recommended as, although the wizards are especially vulnerable to archers in ranging armour, they can fight back at distance with moderate power. |
| 20-40 | Minotaurs in the Stronghold of Security | Minotaurs are easy to kill from behind the fence. They drop iron and bronze arrows so the player will likely never run out of arrows. |
| 30-40 | Al-Kharid Warriors in Al Kharid | Food may be needed though as this is a multicombat area and many warriors can attack the player simultaneously. |
| 30-40 | Barbarians in Barbarian Village | Players can range them across tables in the bar. |
| 30-40 | Goblins in the Stronghold of Security | Less suggested than minotaurs, as they drop little to nothing of value or use to a ranger. |
| 30-50 or + | Scorpions at the top of the volcano on Karamja | Hide behind the entrance to the volcano cave and shoot down the mountain on the scorpions, they cannot attack you from here. |
| 30-50+ | Hill Giants in the Edgeville Dungeon | There are several safe spots where you can range the giants without worrying about health. |
| 40-50 | Guards in or on Varrock Castle | The second floor of the Port Sarim jail is another good spot, with 5 guards and obstacles. |
| 40-60 | Flesh crawlers in the Stronghold of Security second level | These monsters not only supply you with a decent drop. (be it ranarr, runes, noted iron ore, or other herbs) They are weak against ranged attacks, also the other players with you may not pick up there own drops giving you even more. Varrock bank is very close. |
| 40-65 | White Knights in White Knights' Castle (for players who haven't completed Wanted!) | The centre of Falador. A good spot is on the 1st floor (2nd in USA) where there are cages so the White Knights can't harm you. |
| Black Knights in Black Knights' Fortress (for players who have completed Wanted! , no matter non-members and members) | Go up from the secret passage. The cage in that floor is a good spot to range. If players have Protect from melee and ranged-boosting prayer, go to the cell with 2 black knights connected to a room with altar on the same floor. Turn on prayer and recharge when it is zero. Note: Killing white knights will deduct your black knight kills hence your rank. | |
| 50-99 | Moss giants on Crandor Island | A good spot to range from is in front of the bush near the coal and adamant rocks. |
| 60-99 | Ice giants in the Ice Cave | A good spot to range from is in the southeast corner near some stalagmites. Ice warriors may still be able to reach you though. |
| 60-99 | Lesser demons in Karamja's volcano | A good spot to range from is from behind some stalagmites. |
| 60-99 | Black knights at the Black Knights' Fortress | Players can range them across the table on the first floor. |
| 60-99 | Greater demons at the Wilderness | Players can ranged them inside the ruins, as a best safespot, or while fighting the dark red ones, there's a safespot on the northern side of the ruins. For the purple one (not the purple eyed one), use the bones as a safespot. Be warned though, this is a Revenant hotspot. |
| 80-99 | Ankous at the Stronghold of Security | Players can range them across a group of skeletons in the room west of the treasure room. |
| 65-99 | Cockroach soldiers at the Stronghold of Player Safety | Players can range them while other players attack in a multi-combat zone. The drops are among the best on f2p, so it is also a good moneymaker. While the soldiers have a high defence, they are not so resistant to ranged, providing easier kills. Be warned though that cockroach soldiers can also attack with ranged. They will actually hit harder with ranged than melee, with a max hit of 12 and 8 respectively. Therefore, it is advised to have a high defense or to wear some rune armour when fighting these. |
[edit] Members training
| Level | What & Where? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1-30 | Chickens in Lumbridge | Good for collecting feathers for fletching but no real good drops |
| 1-30 | Rats in Varrock's sewers | |
| 10-30 | Monks in monastery | Will heal players when asked |
| 20-50 | Barbarians in Barbarian Village | Cooked beef and beers respawn on the table in the hut in the north part of barbarian village. If you stand in the ring of mining rocks by then entrance to the Stronghold of Security that is a safe spot so you will be safe. |
| 30-50 | Al-Kharid Warriors in Al Kharid | Food may be needed though as this is a multi-combat area and many warriors can attack the player simultaneously. |
| 30-99 | Rock Crabs north of Rellekka | This is a multicombat area and dwarf cannons are often used, find less crowded worlds to train at the Rock Crabs. |
| 30-99 | Yaks on Neitiznot Island. | Bone Crossbow with many Bone Bolts, or iron throwing knifes are recommended. This combination hits as well as adamant arrows. Yaks have 50 HP, like Rock Crabs, but are easier to kill as you do not need to wake them up and they are less crowded. Cannons are not a problem here for it is a single combat zone. |
| 40-70 | White Knights | Drops iron bars and ore, so players who completed Doric's Quest can use the anvil north of Falador to make iron knives, or kill the chicken nearby and make darts. |
| 50-70 | Hobgoblins | Drops natures and Limpwurts which can be sold for a moderate profit. |
| 50-70 | Lesser Demons | Steel arrows/bolts or better recommended |
| 50-70 | Black Knights | |
| 40-99 | Experiments (found during Creature of Fenkenstrain) | Food isn't really needed as experiments have a max hit of 1 and rarely hit it. |
| 46-70 | Green Dragons east of Clan Wars in Wilderness | Green dragonhides and Dragon bones sell for high profits, and players can use the rocks and skeletons as safespots. The only downside is the area is usually busy, and revenants may appear and attack players. |
| 50-70 | Ogres | King Lathas' training area after the Biohazard quest |
| 50-99 | Blue Dragons in Taverley Dungeon or Ogre Enclave | Both locations contain safe spots to range the dragons easily. Blue dragonhides and Dragon bones also sell for a great profit. |
| 60-70 | Hellhounds | Drops level 3 clue scrolls on occasion. |
| 60-99 | Pest Control | Iron Arrows recommended since you won't have time to pick them up, also Crystal Bow and Chinchompa's for higher level players. Ava's devices from Animal Magnetism may help to conserve arrows, and the Dorgeshuun Crossbow with bone bolts is also useful. |
| 60-99 | Fire Giants in Waterfall Dungeon or Brimhaven Dungeon | Plenty of safe spots and good drops |
| 60-99 | Red Dragons in Brimhaven Dungeon | Red dragonhides and Dragon bones sell for a significant profit. However, players should beware of Wild dogs or have a combat level of 127+ whilst ranging. |
| 70-99 | Black Demons in Brimhaven Dungeon | |
| 70-99 | Aviansies in the god wars dungeon | Pretty common drop of 4 adamant bars which makes good profit. Prayer potions and Protect from Missiles is strongly recommended. God items to protect from Saradomin and Zamorak followers is recommended. |
| 75-99 | Monkey Skeletons in the Monkey Madness dungeon | Using Red chinchompas, these are the fastest Ranged XP in Runescape, with experience coming in over 200k Xp per hour. They can be used at level 55, but around those levels experience is pretty slow as the player doesn't hit often. Protect from Melee is a must as the area is multicombat and the skeletons hit very hard. The downside is that this method is quite expensive, costing around 40 million coins from level 75. |
The Dungeon of Tolna can be an excellent area to level Ranged for players who have finished Animal Magnetism and have Ava's accumulator or Ava's attractor. Creatures can be ranged from the central lobby without retaliating; as the device will collect arrows as they are fired, Ranged can be trained without fear of damage or having to pick up arrows.
A good way to make money whilst training range is to kill chromatic dragons for their hides and bones. Blue dragonhides can fetch over 2k coins each and red and black 3-3.5k. Black hides are not recommended for collecting to be sold though as the black dragons high defence as well as the hide price in comparison to red's makes it impractical.
If going to a dragon location for the first time it is recommended to take an anti-fire shield and a one handed ranged weapon (javelins, crossbow, etc) to check a safe spot works. Pures need to take extra care as they are at higher risk to dragonfire.
[edit] Temporary boosts
- Ranging potion - Boosts ranged level by 3 levels plus an additional 10%, up to a maximum range boost of 13.
- Sharp Eye. Ranged Prayer - Increases ranging by 5%
- Hawk Eye. Ranged Prayer - Increases ranging by 10%
- Eagle Eye. Ranged Prayer - Increases ranging by 15%
- Wild pie - Boosts ranged by 4
The maximum boost can be achieved using a fully charged Crystal bow, Armadyl armour, ranger boots, archer ring, Ava's Accumulator, Barrows gloves, Ranging potion and Eagle Eye prayer.
The void knight ranging set exchanged for 850 pest control points increases accuracy and maximum hit by 10%, and is very useful in training range.
[edit] Arrow and bolts droppers
Free-to-play and members
- Al-Kharid Warriors (steel:2)
- Ankous in the Stronghold of Security (Adamant:5-14)
- Barbarians in Barbarian Village (Bronze:15)
- Catablepon (mithril:1-3)
- Guards (Steel:1, members: iron bolts)
- Hill Giants (iron:3 and steel:10)
- Ice Giants (adamant:5)
- Ice Warriors (adamant:2 and mithril:3)
- Minotaur (bronze:9 or iron:5-12)
- Moss Giants (iron:15 or steel:30)
- Zombie (steel:5-9)
- White Knights (mithril and adamant)
- Black Knights (mithril:3)
Members only
- Dust Devils (Rune:12)
- Fire Giants (Rune:12)
- Red Dragons (Rune:4)
- Dark Beasts (Rune:42)
- Chaos druids (mithril bolts:2-12)
[edit] See also
| Skills | ||
| Free skills |               
| |
| Members skills |         
| |
