The Rune defender is the second strongest defender available in the game, surpassed by the Dragon defender. It is used for its attack bonus and is held in the off-hand slot, in place of a shield; it requires level 50 Attack and Defence to wield.

The Rune defender is dropped by Cyclopes on the top floor of the Warriors' Guild. To enter, a player must either have Attack and Strength levels with a sum of at least 130, or have an Attack or Strength level of 99. Strength potions or Attack potions cannot be used to reach the level requirement. Players must show their Adamant defender to Kamfreena to obtain the rune defender as a drop. The Ring of wealth does not affect the chances of getting it as a drop.

The Rune defender gives the same strength bonus as the Obsidian shield, but is more commonly used when using melee due to its Attack bonuses for melee. A Rune defender is commonly combined with a Dragon Longsword , Dragon scimitar, Abyssal whip, Chaotic rapier or Chaotic longsword for its strength and attack bonus. The rune or dragon defender must be wielded to fight the Cyclossus.

Combat Stats
Class Slot Melee Weapons Main Off Damage - 120 Accuracy - 381 Type - Stab Attributes Armour rating76 Life bonus+375 Prayer bonus0 Critical bonuses 0% 0% 0% Attack speed FastestInterval: 2.4 seconds
Compare item	A player wielding a rune defender
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v • d • e Defender
Bronze • Iron • Steel • Black • Mithril • Adamant • Rune • Dragon

v • d • e Rune equipment
Melee Weapons	Dagger • Hatchet • Mace • Claw(m) • Duradel's Sword • Longsword • Scimitar • Spear(m) • Warhammer • Battleaxe • Two-hander • Halberd(m) • Hasta(m) • Pickaxe
Ranged weapons/ammo	Crossbow(m) • 2h crossbow(m) • Bolts(m) • Arrows • Brutal arrows(m) • Darts(m) • Javelins • Throwing axe(m) • Throwing knife(m)
Off-hand weapons	Battleaxe • Claw • Crossbow • Dagger • Dart • Knife • Longsword • Mace • Scimitar • Sword • Throwing axe • Warhammer
Armour	Helm • Full helmet (t) (g) • Square shield • Kiteshield (t) (g) • Chainbody • Platebody (t) (g) • Plateskirt (t) (g) • Platelegs (t) (g) • Boots(m) • Gloves(m) • Gauntlets • Defender(m) • Spikeshield • Berserker shield
Gilded armour	Full helm(m) • Kiteshield(m) • Platebody(m) • Plateskirt(m) • Platelegs(m)
Rune god armour	Guthix Guthix full helm • Guthix kiteshield • Guthix platebody • Guthix plateskirt • Guthix platelegs Saradomin Saradomin full helm • Saradomin kiteshield • Saradomin platebody • Saradomin plateskirt • Saradomin platelegs Zamorak Zamorak full helm • Zamorak kiteshield • Zamorak platebody • Zamorak plateskirt • Zamorak platelegs Ancient (Zaros) Ancient full helm(m) • Ancient kiteshield(m) • Ancient platebody(m) • Ancient plateskirt(m) • Ancient platelegs(m) Bandos Bandos full helm(m) • Bandos kiteshield(m) • Bandos platebody(m) • Bandos plateskirt(m) • Bandos platelegs(m) Armadyl Armadyl full helm(m) • Armadyl kiteshield(m) • Armadyl platebody(m) • Armadyl plateskirt(m) • Armadyl platelegs(m)
Heraldic armour	Type 1 Rune helm (h1) • Rune shield (h1) • Rune platebody (h1) • Rune plateskirt (h1) • Rune platelegs (h1) Type 2 Rune helm (h2) • Rune shield (h2) • Rune platebody (h2) • Rune plateskirt (h2) • Rune platelegs (h2) Type 3 Rune helm (h3) • Rune shield (h3) • Rune platebody (h3) • Rune plateskirt (h3) • Rune platelegs (h3) Type 4 Rune helm (h4) • Rune shield (h4) • Rune platebody (h4) • Rune plateskirt (h4) • Rune platelegs (h4) Type 5 Rune helm (h5) • Rune shield (h5) • Rune platebody (h5) • Rune plateskirt (h5) • Rune platelegs (h5)
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