Ranged

By: Salmoneus
Special Thanks to: Bren the Bli, Damaged500, Emin, Itch, lordgoofygoobadagr8, Lukepwnage, Micronblast, Moneylover, Patou, Ploksox, Qbond008, Roy, Scooby, Teacuptime, TheOther815, TitanTyrant, Toasonic, Ultra_Leo, Zak

Ranging is another distinctive combat skill, allowing you to attack your enemies from a distance, rather than close-up. This gives you the advantage, since most of your enemies are unable to attack you from far away, and you have the opportunity to inflict massive amounts of damage before they even reach you!


The Basics

Rangers can be quite powerful as they become stronger and more experienced at the art of Ranging, but you need to know several things before starting out.

Basic Equipment

The weapon of choice for many Rangers is the Bow, which uses arrows to hit your enemy. There are 2 kinds of bows: Shortbows and Longbows. Shortbows are known to fire arrows more quickly than Longbows, but they're mainly used for close combat. You can also use a Crossbow and bolts, but generally they are less effective as you become a more experienced Ranger, since they only add 6 to Ranged Attack.

The basic Ranging equipment can be bought from Lowe's Archery Store in Varrock, located just northeast of the General Store, and also from a new Arrow Merchant in Rimmington which is a great place to buy supplies due to the fact that most people disregard it, and the stocks are always high.

There's also a Member's shop in Catherby that sells more advanced equipment, the Grand Tree Shop that sells bows and arrows, and of course the Ranging Guild. The Fletching skill can be used to make bows and arrows.

Combat Info

Now that you have your Ranging equipment, equip the bow and arrows (or crossbow and bolts) by clicking on them in your Backpack. To attack an enemy, just click on the "Attack" option to begin firing arrows or bolts. The most effective way to attack an enemy would be to stand behind an obstacle such as a gate or table, since they will be unable to attack you. Although, some of your foes may have the ability to attack you with their own Ranging weapons.

Ranging a Barbarian

You may also notice that some of your arrows "disappear" after hitting an enemy. This is simply due to the fact that some of your arrows will be damaged on impact or the enemy, and your character will not even try to salvage them.

When you equip a Bow, you have the choice of using 1 of several Fighting Styles; each of which give different amounts of experience, although each style gives about 1.3xp to Constitution:

  • Accurate - This style of Ranging is slightly slower, but more accurate than the 'Rapid' style will give 4xp to your Ranged level.
  • Rapid - This Ranging Style sacrifices accuracy, but fires about 1 second faster than the 'Accurate' style. It gives 4xp to your Ranged level.
  • Longrange - This style fires arrows at about the same speed as the 'Accurate' style, but it gives 2xp each to both Ranged and Defence.

Ranged Combat Styles

Helpful Drinks

Ranging PotionIf you need a small boost to your Ranged level, have a drink of a Ranged Potion. it will increase your Ranged level by 15% for a short amount of time, and it can be made with your Herblore level if you're a Member.

Bows & Arrows

Bows

Bows are the most widely used Ranging weapons, using arrows as their ammo. There are various Bows that you can use, although Free-Players can use up to Maple Bows. The Ogre bow is obtained from the Big Chompy Bird Hunting Quest. Crystal Bows are only available after completing the Roving Elves Quest. Check below for more info about it.

Bow Chart
PictureBowRanged Attack BonusRanging Level
Training Bow Training Bow 8 1
Shortbow Shortbow 8 1
Longbow Longbow 8 1
Oak Shortbow Oak Shortbow 14 5
Oak Longbow Oak Longbow 14 5
Willow Shortbow Willow Shortbow 20 20
Willow Longbow Willow Longbow 20 20
Maple Shortbow Maple Shortbow 29 30
Maple Longbow Maple Longbow 29 30
Ogre Bow Ogre Bow 38 30
Composite Ogre Bow Composite Ogre Bow 38 30
Yew Shortbow Yew Shortbow 47 40
Yew Longbow Yew Longbow 47 40
Yew Composite Bow Yew Composite 49 40
Magic Shortbow Magic Shortbow 69 50
Magic Longbow Magic Longbow 69 50
Magic Composite Bow Magic Composite Bow 71 50
Seercull Bow Seercull Bow 69 50
Dark Bow Dark Bow 95 60
Crystal Bow Crystal Bow 100-64
See Below Section
70
Agility: 50

Longbow Sight

The Longbow Sight is an item which can be attached to either a Maple Longbow or a Magic Longbow, creating a Maple Longbow (sighted) or a Magic Longbow (sighted). It can be bought for 10,000 Dungeoneering Tokens, and requires level 45 Dungeoneering, as well as 45 Ranged (for Maple Longbows) or 55 Ranged (for Magic Longbows) to attach. The Longbow Sight increases the Ranged attack bonus and the attack speed of the bow. Sighted bows, as well as the Longbow sight itself are available to freeplayers.

The Ranged attack bonus of a Maple Longbow is increased from 29 to 110 when sighted, and the Ranged attack bonus of a Magic Longbow is increased from 69 to 140 when sighted. The Longbow Sight can be removed from a bow at any time.

Crystal Bow

After completing the Roving Elves Quest, members have the opportunity to buy a Crystal Bow for 900,000gp. You must have at least level 70 Ranging to use the bow. Unlike other bows, the Crystal Bow uses no ammo, and instead fires a magical shot. When you first start using it, it will have 2,500 uses, and each time you fire it, the remaining shots will decrease (As well as the attack bonus). If you right-click on the bow, you'll see a rating out of 10, depending on how many shots you have left.

Crystal Bow Attack Ratings
PhaseRange Attack Bonus
10/10 100
9/10 96
8/10 92
7/10 88
6/10 84
5/10 80
4/10 76
3/10 72
2/10 68
1/10 64

When all 2,500 shots have been used up, the bow stops working and turns into a crystal seed. This seed can be regrown into a fully charged bow by Ilfeen the Roving Elf, who can be found in central Isfadar. The first time you have a crystal bow recharged it will cost 900,000gp, but the price reduces after that:

Crystal Bow Recharge Cost
RechargeCost
First 900,000gp
Second 720,000gp
Third 540,000gp
Fourth 360,000gp
Fifth and Onwards 180,000gp

It's also worthwhile noting that you can have more than one Crystal Bow at once, by purchasing more Crystal Seeds and charging them.

Arrows

Arrows can be made from different metals, stronger metals being able to inflict more damage and be more difficultly damaged. Free-Players can use up to Adamantite Arrows. Members can also poison arrows by using a Weapon Poison Potion with them to poison up to 5. Better arrows will require you to use a certain bow or higher in order to Range with them.

Arrow Chart
PictureArrowRequired Bow
Training Arrows Training Arrows Training Shortbow
Bronze Arrow Bronze Any
Bronze Brutal Bronze Brutal Composite Ogre
Iron Arrow Iron Any
Iron Brutal Iron Brutal Composite Ogre
Steel Arrow Steel Oak
Steel Brutal Steel Brutal Composite Ogre
Black Brutal Black Brutal Composite Ogre
Mithril Arrow Mithril Willow
Mithril Brutal Mithril Brutal Composite Ogre
Broad Arrow Broad Arrow -
Adamant Arrow Adamantite Maple
Adamant Brutal Adamantite Brutal Composite Ogre
Rune Arrow Rune Yew
Rune Brutal Rune Brutal Composite Ogre
Ogre Arrow Ogre Ogre
Dragon Arrow Dragon Dark

Crossbows & Bolts

Crossbows

There are quite a few different types of Crossbows in RuneScape, which are another type of Ranging weapon that fire Bolts rather than Arrows, and are slower than Bows. It's for this reason that they are not as commonly used by Rangers.

Crossbow Chart
PictureCrossbowRanged Attack BonusRanging LevelBolts
Crossbow Regular 6 1 Bronze
Phoenix Crossbow Phoenix 6 1 Bronze
Bronze Crossbow Bronze 18 1 Bronze
Blurite Crossbow Blurite 30 16 Up to Blurite
Iron Crossbow Iron 42 26 Up to Iron
Dorgeshuun Crossbow Dorgeshuun 42 28 Bone
Zanik's Crossbow Zanik's 78 48 Bone
Steel Crossbow Steel 54 31 Up to Steel
Mithril Crossbow Mithril 66 36 Up to Mithril
Adamant Crossbow Adamant 78 46 Up to Adamant
Hunter's Crossbow Hunter's 55 50 Kebbit
Rune Crossbow Rune 90 61 Up to Rune
Karil's Crossbow Karil's 84 70 Bolt Racks

Crossbow Notes

  • Blurite Crossbows are untradeable, and can only be smithed after completing the Knight's Sword Quest.

Bolts

There are nearly as many types of Bolts as there are Crossbows. These are the main ammo for Crossbows, and can be made with your Fletching and Smithing skills. Regular bolts may be poisoned with Weapon Poison. Most of them can also be "modified" with special tips to pack more of a punch. these tips include:

  • Opal - Use a chisel on an Uncut Opal, Mined from the Shilo Village rocks.
  • Pearl - Use a chisel on a Pearl, Fished with a Big Net.
  • Barbed - Traded for tickets at the Ticket Merchant in the Ranging Guild.
  • Gem - Use a Chisel with a gem to cut it, and then use your chisel on it again to make bolt Tips.

Here is a chart of the different kinds of bolts you can make, as well as the Bolt Tips you can add to them:

Crossbow Bolt Chart
PictureBoltPossible Tips
Bronze Bolt Bronze Barbed & Opal
Blurite Bolt Blurite Jade
Iron Bolt Iron Pearl
Silver Bolt Silver -
Bone Bolt Bone -
Steel Bolt Steel Red Topaz
Mithril Bolt Mithril Sapphire, Emerald & Mithril Grapple
Adamant Bolt Adamant Ruby & Diamond
Kebbit Bolt Kebbit Kebbit Spike
Long Kebbit Bolt Long Kebbit Long Kebbit Spike
Rune Bolt Rune Dragonstone & Onyx
Broad tipped bolts Broad-Tipped -
Bolt Rack Bolt Rack -

Enchanted Bolts

Bolts with special tips (Gems, Pearl, or Opal) may be enchanted with your Magic skill to have all sorts of interesting (and helpful) effects on your enemies. Simply place any bolts you wish to have enchanted in your backpack, and then click on the level 4 "Enchant Bolt" spell in your spellbook, to see a menu of possible enchantments. then just select one to enchant your bolts.

Bolt Enchantments
Magic LevelBoltRunesEffect
4 Opal 1 Cosmic, 2 Air Chance of a lightning bolt hitting your enemy causing damage.
7 Sapphire 1 Cosmic, 1 Water, 1 Mind Chance of stealing your enemies Prayer Points.
14 Jade 1 Cosmic, 2 Earth Chance of throwing your opponent to the ground.
24 Pearl 1 Cosmic, 2 Water Chance of hitting your enemy with a wave of water (extra effective against fire-based equipment).
27 Emerald 1 Cosmic, 3 Air, 1 Nature Chance of poisoning your enemy.
29 Red Topaz 1 Cosmic, 2 Fire Chance of decreasing your enemies Magic level.
49 Ruby 1 Cosmic, 5 Fire, 1 Blood Chance of losing 10% of your hits to remove 20% of your enemy's hits.
57 Diamond 1 Cosmic, 10 Earth, 2 Law Chance of decreasing your enemy's Ranged Defence.
68 Dragonstone 1 Cosmic, 15 Earth, 1 Soul Chance of hitting your opponent with "DragonBreath" (Antifire Shield negates this).
87 Onyx 1 Cosmic, 20 Fire, 1 Death Chance of leeching your opponent's hits.

Mithril Grapples

You've probably seen the "secret spy" movies in which a thief makes a cunning entrance with a grappling hook. Well, now you can use your own Mithril Grapple to scale walls and pass over certain Agility obstacles.

Mith GrappleTo accomplish this, simply Smith a Mithril Grapple and some mithril Bolts and attach them. Use a coil of Rope with the Grappling Hook, and with a Crossbow equipped, use the Grapple with the shortcut to scale it. Be sure to have a spare though, as these devices can sometimes break!

Bolt Pouches

Bolt PouchPouches can be bought from the Crossbow Salesman in Keldagrim, and are designed to hold multiple type of bolts at the same time, meaning that you'll have more room for other items in your backpack.

Crossbow bolt pouch

The pouch has four slots, and each slot is able to carry up to 255 bolts of any type, for a total of 1,020. If you right-click on a slot with bolts in it, you'll be able to either equip them or remove them from the pouch. When the pouch is dropped, all of the bolts currently inside will appear on the ground, and the pouch itself will disappear.

Throwing Weapons

Darts

Throwing darts are very fast one-handed weapons which can be poisoned with a Weapon Poison Potion. You can make throwing darts once you complete the Tourist Trap Quest by Smithing a Dart Tip, and then adding Feathers to them.

Throwing Darts
PictureDartRanging LevelRanged Attack Bonus
Bronze Dart Bronze 1 +3
Iron Dart Iron 1 +4
Steel Dart Steel 5 +5
Black Dart Black 10 +7
Mithril Dart Mithril 20 +8
Adamant Dart Adamant 30 +11
Rune Dart Rune 40 +15
Dragon Dart Dragon 60 +18

Throwing Knives

Like throwing darts, throwing knives are one-handed ranging objects which have a very fast attack speed. They can also be poisoned with Weapon Poison.

Throwing Knives
PictureKnifeRanging LevelRanged Attack Bonus
Bronze Knife Bronze 1 +4
Iron Knife Iron 1 +5
Steel Knife Steel 5 +8
Black Knife Black 10 +10
Mithril Knife Mithril 20 +11
Adamant Knife Adamant 30 +15
Rune Knife Rune 40 +25

Throwing Axes

Throwing Axes can be bought from the Tribal Weapons shop in the Ranging Guild, and are also dropped by numerous monsters. These weapons are wielded with one hand, although they are slower than throwing darts and knives.

Throwing Axes
PictureAxeRanging LevelRanged Attack Bonus
Bronze Thrownaxe Bronze 1 +4
Iron Thrownaxe Iron 1 +5
Steel Thrownaxe Steel 5 +8
Mithril Thrownaxe Mithril 20 +12
Adamant Thrownaxe Adamant 30 +17
Rune Thrownaxe Rune 40 +26

Javelins

Much like throwing knives and darts, these weapons are wielded with one hand. They are also quite powerful ranging weapons.

Javelins
PictureJavelinRanging LevelRanged Attack Bonus
Bronze Javelin Bronze 1 +5
Iron Javelin Iron 1 +8
Steel Javelin Steel 5 +12
Mithril Javelin Mithril 20 +17
Adamant Javelin Adamant 30 +24
Rune Javelin Rune 40 +38

Chinchompas

Chinchompas are stackable range weapons that can be obtained through the Hunter skill. The unique property about chinchompas is that they explode and damage everything in a 3 by 3 square centered around the target in multi-way combat zones. This can be very useful for training, and a guide about it can be found in the Ranging Help guide. Chinchompas are stackable, but cannot be 'Dropped' on the floor, since they are animals they are 'released'. They are tradeable but come at high prices.

Chinchompas
PictureChinchompaRanging Level
Chinchompa Chinchompa 45
Red Chinchompa Red Chinchompa 55

There is one final thing to note about chinchompas: The attack style. Instead of having an accurate, a rapid and a long range setting, chinchompas have 3 different fuse lengths. Choosing a length appropriate to your distance from the target increases the damage, and the longest fuse results in Defence experience as well as ranged experience.

Salamanders and Swamp Lizards

Salamanders and Swamp Lizards can be caught while Net Trapping in RuneScape, and and are powerful ranging weapons when fueled with Swamp Tar and a specific herb. To create the fuel needed to power these creatures, simply obtain 15 Swamp Tar, as well as the herb specified below. Use a Pestle and Mortar with the herb to mix it with the tar, which will in turn make Herb Tar. Then wield both the tar and the creature, and select your attack style to gain experience in a certain combat skill:

  • Flare - Ranged experience.
  • Scorch - Strength experience.
  • Blaze - Magic experience.
Salamanders and Swamp Lizards
PictureCreatureHerbRequired LevelsAttack Bonuses
Swamp Lizard Swamp Lizard Guam 30 Ranging, Magic and Attack +10 Ranged
+20 Strength
+22 Magic
Orange Salamander Orange Salamander Marrentil 50 Ranging, Magic and Attack +19 Ranged
+29 Strength
+31 Magic
Red Salamander Red Salamander Tarromin 60 Ranging, Magic and Attack +37 Ranged
+47 Strength
+49 Magic
Black Salamander Black Salamander Harralander 70 Ranging, Magic and Attack +59 Ranged
+69 Strength
+71 Magic

Dwarven Multi-Cannon

Cannon BarrelCannon BaseCannon FurnaceCannon StandThis extremely powerful Ranging Cannon can be bought for a nominal fee of 750,000gp, after you complete the Dwarf Cannon Quest. The cannon can hold up to 30 Cannonballs, Smithed from a Steel Bar (1 Bar makes 4 Cannonballs), and it is made up of a base, stand, furnace, and barrel. To use it, you must set up all four pieces on the floor, and load it with Cannonballs. After that, it will continue to rotate, hitting any nearby enemies.

Although the Dwarven Multicannon is a very cool weapon, there are a few things to note. First, you can't use it against extremely tough enemies such as the Kalphite Queen, King Black Dragon, Abyssal Demon or any of the Metal Dragons, as they will destroy it. Second, using it for extended periods of time will cause your cannon to degrade (you'll see a message alerting you of this). If this happens, simply pick it up and set it back down again.

However, if the cannon degrades completely, it will disappear and leave only Cannonballs behind. When that happens, you must head back to Nulodion and get a replacement cannon.

Ranging Armor

There are 2 main kinds of Ranging armor in RuneScape, which increase both your Defence and Ranged Attack. These armors are Crafted from either regular Leather or Dragon Leather, which gives protection against Magical attacks as well.

Leather

This is the most basic type of Ranging Armor, but it offers some protection against attacks. Some pieces of leather armor can be Studded with Steel Studs.

Leather Armor
PictureLeather ArmorRanged Attack BonusRanged Defence Bonus
Cowl Cowl 1 3
Coif Coif 2 4
Leather Body Leather Body 2 9
Studded Body Studded Leather Body 8 25
Hardleather Body Hard Leather Body 8 15
Leather Chaps Chaps 4 0
Studded Chaps Studded Leather Chaps 6 16
Leather Vambraces Vambraces 4 0

Snakeskin Armor

This armor is slightly stronger than regular leather or studded armor, and it requires at least level 30 Ranging and Defence to wear. Check out the Tai Bwo Wannai Cleanup Activity guide for info about making it.

Snakeskin Armor
PictureSnakeskin ArmorRanged Attack BonusRanged Defence Bonus
Snakeskin Bandana Bandana 4 2
Snakeskin Body Body 12 35
Snakeskin Chaps Chaps 6 10
Snakeskin Vambraces Vambraces 6 0
Snakeskin Boots Boots 3 0

Dragonhide Leather

Dragon Leather can only be made from Dragonhide, which is dropped by the different kinds of Dragons roaming around RuneScape. There is Green, Blue, Red and Black Dragon Leather, each of which requires at least 40 Defence and a specific Ranging level.

Dragon Leather Armor
PictureLeather ArmorRequired LevelsRanged Attack BonusRanged Defence Bonus
Greeb D'hide Body Green Body 40 Ranged
40 Defence
15 40
Green D'hide Chaps Green Chaps 40 Ranged 8 22
Green D'hide Vambraces Green Vambraces 40 Ranged 8 0
Blue D'hide Body Blue Body 50 Ranged
40 Defence
15 45
Blue D'hide Chaps Blue Chaps 50 Ranged 11 25
Blue D'hide Vambraces Blue Vambraces 50 Ranged 9 0
Red D'hide Body Red Body 60 Ranged
40 Defence
20 50
Red D'hide Chaps Red Chaps 60 Ranged 14 28
Red D'hide Vambraces Red Vambraces 60 Ranged 10 0
Black D'hide Body Black Body 70 Ranged
40 Defence
30 55
Black D'hide Chaps Black Chaps 70 Ranged 17 31
Black D'hide Vambraces Black Vambraces 70 Ranged 11 0
Green D'hide CoifBlue D'hide CoifRed D'hide Coif Blessed Dragonhide Coif 70 Ranged
40 Defence
7 8

Spined Armor

Spined Armor can only be acquired from materials gathered by killing Dagannoths on Waterbirth Island, and it cannot be bought in any shop. There are different types of Spined Armor: Ranged, Magic and Melee. We're after the Ranged Armor in this case.

Dagannoths will drop hides, which you can take back to Sigli the Hunter in Rellekka to have made into armor. You will need 6 Dagannoth hides, 1 Circular Hide, 1 Flattened Hide, 1 Stretched Hide, and 22,500gp to make a full set. to complete the set, you need to get the gloves and boots by killing Dagannoths.

The helm, body and chaps all require 40 Ranged and Defence, while the boots and gloves have no requirements.

Spined Armor
PictureSpined ArmorRanged Attack BonusRanged Defence Bonus
Spined Helm Helm 6 6
Spined Body Body 15 20
Spined Chaps Chaps 8 8
Spined Gloves Gloves 0 0
Spined Boots Boots 0 0

Other Equipment

Aside from Leather and Dragonhide Ranging armor, there are also special kinds of equipment that you can get.

Robin Hood Hat & Ranger Boots are only obtained through Treasure Trails, although they can also be traded.
Karil the Tainted's set, including the armor and crossbow are obtained from the Barrows. It requires 70 Ranging and Defence to use.

Other Ranging Equipment
PictureItemRanged Attack BonusRanged Defence BonusObtained From
Ranger Boots Ranger Boots 8 0 Treasure Trails
Robin Hood Hat Robin Hood Hat 8 4 Treasure Trails
Archer Helm Archer Helm 6 6 Rellekka Helm Shop
Karil's Coif Karil's Coif 3 10 Barrows
Karil's Leathertop Karil's Leathertop 30 57 Barrows
Karil's Leatherbottom Karil's Leatherbottom 17 33 Barrows
3rd Age Coif 3rd Age Coif 9 8 Treasure Trails
3rd Age Body 3rd Age Range Top 30 55 Treasure Trails
3rd Age Chaps 3rd Age Chaps 17 31 Treasure Trails
3rd Age Vambraces 3rd Age Vambraces 11 0 Treasure Trails
Archer ring Archer's Ring 4 4 Dagannoth King Loot
Toktz-xil-ul Obsidian Ring 69 0 TzHarr Equipment Shop

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Published on: September 05, 2004 12:40 AM UTC by Salmoneus
Updated on: August 30, 2011 06:13 AM UTC by Salmoneus