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WhileOld School RuneScapehas over 20 skills,seven of them are directly linked to combat. Unlike Magic and Ranged, Melee offers three separate skills that must all be levelled independently for combat to function properly.
Attack levels are required for wielding more powerful weapons. Strength levels are necessary for dealing more damage. And Defence levels are directly tied to how often you block incoming damage and which types of armour you may wear.
OSRS: Magic Levelling Guide (1-99)
If you’re struggling to level magic in Old School Runescape then OSRS: Magic Levelling Guide (1-99) will be sure to help.
Unless you’re a pure,you need to train all of these skillsto get the most out of melee combat.
This guide will tackle the best ways to get your combat up quickly and efficientlywhile suggesting some gear to pick up on your journey to 99.
Starting Off (1-40+)
As with most skills in OSRS, you’re going to want to start by completing as many quests that offer combat XP as possible.
The beginning levels of all skills in OSRS are notoriously tedious, so,the quicker you can get to dealing more damage, the more XP you’re going to earn in the long run.
Luckily,Melee skills have some of the best early quest rewards in the entire game, so you won’t be at level 1 for long.
Quest Name
Description
XP Rewards
Waterfall Quest
The quest is famously one of the first quests that many people do when starting a new account. With 0 bosses to defeat and only one section where you may be in a little danger, this is a no-brainer.
13,750 Attack and Strength XP
Fight Arena
Another quest with no requirements. This can be done very early in your journey. While there may be bosses, they can all be safe spotted and dealt with by using early-game magic spells like fire strike, or something like a bone crossbow.
12,150 Attack XP
Tree Gnome Village
This quest is very similar to the previous one with a final boss who can be easily trapped and safe-spotted.
11,450 Attack XP
The Grand Tree
Consider completing Tourist Trap first for the Agility XP reward. The Black Demon Boss can be safe-spotted once more.
18,400 Attack XP
Holy Grail
This quest is fantastic as it offers a high amount of early defense and Prayer XP with a very simple boss that can easily be tackled by hitting and walking away, a tactic known as flinching.
11,000 Prayer XP and 15,300 Defence XP
Dragon Slayer
One of the most famous F2P quests, as a Member this quest can be easily tackled with some good gear. In addition, it gives some brilliant rewards.
18,650 Strength and Defence XP
Fremmenik Isles
While this quest can be a little trickier than the others, it offers a brilliant helmet that can be used for a long time. The Helm of Neitiznot gives strength and prayer bonus, perfect for training your combat abilities.
20,000 XP in a melee combat skill of your choice
Haunted Mine
While the boss of this quest can be difficult at lower levels, upon completion, you gain access to a brilliant amulet that helps you deal with undead enemies.
22,000 Strength XP
Once you’ve completed all these quests, something that can be done very early in an account lifecycle, you will be well on your way.
For example, by simply completing these quests, you will earn 55,750 Attack XP, not accounting for the 20,000 from Fremmenik Isles, which will take you to44 Attack-enough to wield Rune weaponry.
And remember, at this point, you won’t have even started training the skill.
These are just a few examples of good quests to complete early on, there are many more that give less Melee XP, but that are just as worthwhile to complete, like Vampire Slayer.
Training your skills (40s-60s)
While there are more quests to complete if you feel like focusing on the Quest Cape, at this point, the XP rewards won’t be making as noticeable an impact on your levels.
One of the best things you’re able to do at these early levels is totrain on something that has a lot of hitpoints but not that much defense.
While Slayer is tempting, it’s best to put this off until your stats are a little higher. Many Slayer monsters will tear you apart, and unless you’re outputting a good amount of damage, the tasks will be unbearably slow.
Consider something like Sand Crabs or Ammonite Crabs. Ammonite Crabs have 100 Hitpoints, and if you’re wearing something like Adamant or Rune armor, they will very rarely hit you.
Pick up a Rune Scimitar from the Grand Exchange, the most efficient Rune Weapon for training, and set your combat style to Strength Training.
Your focus at this point is to level your Strength skill. The higher damage you can hit, the quicker you will kill enemies, and the more XP you will gain.
There are other monsters to train against, but Ammonite Crabs are the most AFK, while also droppingfossils which can be offered to the Varrock Museum for XP rewards.
Consider training your stats against crabs while doing other things like watching series or even while you’re at work with OSRS mobile. You’ll be 70 in no time.
Unlocking the Defender
At this point, you’re going to want to unlock some better gear to bolster your account.One of the best unlocks you’re able to have is the Untradeable Dragon Defender.This is an item that will be with you for practically your entire OSRS account, so unlock it sooner rather than later.
Once you have 65 Attack and 65 Strength, you can enter the Warrior’s Guild. There are many activities here, but you’ll want to focus on killing reanimated armor, to collect as many tokens as possible.
Every 10 tokens will give you 1 minute to kill Cyclops upstairs,so gather a solid amount and keep your fingers crossed.
Don’t forget to leave the room after every new defender you obtain.
In the general scheme of things, this isn’t a long grind, but it will be one of the first grinds of your OSRS career, so it may seem like forever. The defenders drop one after another from Bronze to Rune, and then Rune to Dragon in the basement area.
Strength Bonus
The drop rate of a defender is 1/50,so the faster you’re able to kill the Cyclopes, the better. This may take you 3 Hours. It may take you 15. The game doesn’t hate you; it’s just random. But you’ll get it eventually, and either way, it’s good combat XP.
There are other great unlocks you can obtain that last a long time in your account lifecycle. Consider trying Barbarian Assault for the Fighter Torso, Recipe for Disaster for the Barrows Gloves and The Fight Caves for a Fire Cape
Time to Slay (70-99)
While this is certainly not the quickest way to get to 99, it is certainly one of the most efficient in terms of the entirety of your OSRS account.
OSRS: Slayer Levelling Guide (1-99)
If you’re not sure where to begin levelling Slayer in Old School Runescape, then our OSRS: Slayer Levelling Guide (1-99) will be sure to help.
Slayer will help with (of course) your Slayer skill, Prayer, Melee abilities and Money Making.
You shouldn’t start Slayer without at least 43 Prayer. If you don’t have this, consider completing more quests, or complete some activities in Varlamore and collect Bone Shards.
If all of your melee skills are at level 70 and you have 43 Prayer and 70 Hitpoints, you should be at around 85 Combat. At this point, you can use the Slayer Master Nieve/ Steve.
You should always be using a Black Mask, or rather a Slayer Helmfor the boost that it gives to accuracy and damage.
Average Mid-Level Combat Set-up
Equipment slot
Slayer Helm
Amulet of Glory/Fury
Abyssal Whip
Dragon Defender
Proselyte Hauberk
Proselyte Cuisse
Barrows Gloves
Dragon Boots
Berserker Ring (i)
Unlike Magic, there aren’t many tasks which are especially great for Melee training. But I would recommend anything where you can AFK for large periods of time, like killing Greater Demons in the Catacombs of Kourend or Gargoyles in the Slayer Tower Basement.
You can use Proselyte Gear to make your prayer potions last longerandsomething like an Abyssal Whip which will dramatically increase your DPS.
Don’t forget to use Super Potions while training Slayer, and if you have the money, consider using Piety also.Maxing the Slayer Skill will often result in you maxing your other combat skills.
OSRS: Best Tasks to Block
If you’re unsure where to start in Osrs’s Slayer skill, then OSRS: Best Tasks to Block will be sure to help.
If you’re training on balanced, which means the XP is being split between Attack, Strength and Defence equally, it may seem like you’re only getting 10-20k XP per hour in each.
But don’t forget you’re also training Slayer and Hitpoints while earning money from the drops.
This is a very slow process, something that takes months if not years, but on the bright side, it’s also very relaxed, and you can do other things in the meantime.
While expensive gear like the Amulet of Rancour is important and will improve your DPS, it’s better to focus on levels, as they will be far more useful in the long term.
Alternative Methods
Of course, there are other methods if Slayer isn’t your preferred choice. Consider using a full set of Dharoks’ Equipment in the Nightmare Zone, or training on Sulphur Naguas in Varlamore.
Or you may always try your hand at Raids and Slayer Bosses.Anywhere you’re killing things, you’re going to be earning Combat XP.
While these two things again might not be efficient XP-wise, some of the drops you can get will go towards buying more gear, which, in turn, gets you XP faster.
In addition, it’s important to note that OSRS isn’t always about what’s most efficient;it’sabout whichever method you enjoy the most.
Efficient grinding will often cause players to burn out faster. If you really want to hit 99, focus on what you enjoy, whichever method doesn’t make you dread logging on every day, and eventually, you’ll reach your target.
