Pay-to-play melee training

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

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This article provides information about effective ways to train Attack, Strength, Defence, and Hitpoints through melee combat.

This guide is organised into sections based on skill levels. For example, if the section header is Levels 20 to 30, you should begin training at the area with an Attack and Strength level of at least 20. Defence is also preferred to be at that level, but is not always required. The solution to lower Defence is to bring more food, or use food that heals more.

General training notes

• The Waterfall Quest will give you both 30 Attack and Strength if completed at level 3 combat.
• Strength can be trained without training Hitpoints with barbarian fishing and at the Blast Furnace pump, which requires 30 Strength.
• Defence can be trained by using Ancient Magicks on defensive or chinchompas on Long fuse against Maniacal monkeys for more experience per hour than using melee.
• Players can complete Slayer tasks to train Slayer while simultaneously training combat stats. This is an effective combat training method as well as providing profit in most cases.
• When fighting dangerous monsters it is suggested to bring a teleportation tablet or if your Magic level is high enough, teleportation runes in order to quickly escape. Note that a tablet can be more easily clicked from your inventory and takes up less space than runes for a teleport spell.

Recommended quests

To start off, it is strongly recommended to complete quests that give a lot of melee experience. This allows players to wear much better equipment and have much higher damage output when they start training.

A lot of the quests are quick to complete and only have few requirements. Most of them include boss fights, which can be made trivial with protection prayers, and many of the bosses can be safespotted with Magic or Ranged. It is strongly recommended to complete Witch's House to get Hitpoints higher.

The recommended quests for early melee experience are listed in the table below. Completing all of them would give the player a total of 65,275 Attack, 27.537.5 Strength, and 15,300 Defence experience. This would get the player up to level 45 Attack, level 37 Strength, and level 31 Defence without doing any melee training.

Quest	XP rewards	Requirements	Enemies to defeat	Notes
Witch's House	6,325	None	Witch's experiment (level 19, 30, 42 and 53)	The last two forms of the Witch's experiment can be safespotted. Using Magic is recommended throughout the fight.
Waterfall Quest	13,750 and 13,750	None	None	Players need to withstand and evade attacks from level 86 Fire Giants and level 84 Moss Guardian. Having at least level 17 is recommended, so that the player cannot die in one hit from full Hitpoints.
Death Plateau	3,000	None	None	Unlocks spiritual creatures as a Slayer task.
Fight Arena	12,175	None	Khazard scorpion (level 44), Khazard ogre (level 63), Bouncer (level 137)	The bosses can be safespotted, and using Magic is recommended to defeat them.
Tree Gnome Village	11,450	None	Khazard Warlord (level 112)	The Khazard Warlord can be safespotted, or flinched by walking in and out of his attack radius. Using Magic is recommended.
Vampyre Slayer	4,825	None	Count Draynor (level 34)	Count Draynor is fairly easy to defeat with some combat stats.
The Grand Tree	18,400	25	Black Demon (level 172)	Completion of Tree Gnome Village is recommended for access to spirit trees. The Black Demon can be safespotted, and using Magic is recommended to defeat the monster.
Holy Grail	15,300	20 , completion of Merlin's Crystal	Black Knight Titan (level 120)	The Black Knight Titan can be flinched by simply stepping out of his melee range.
Scorpion Catcher	6,625	31 , completion of Alfred Grimhand's Barcrawl	None	Requires being able to run past level 172 black demons and level 64 poison spiders.
Mountain Daughter	1,000	20	The Kendal (level 70)	The Kendal can be safespotted.
Horror from the Deep	4,662.5	35 , completion of Alfred Grimhand's Barcrawl	Dagannoth (level 100) and Dagannoth Mother (level 100)	Unlocks dagannoth as a Slayer task. Having 40 is strongly recommended for Protect from Missiles against the Dagannoth Mother's Ranged attacks. This quest is a prerequisite for the final fights of Recipe for Disaster.
Tai Bwo Wannai Trio	2,500 and 2,500	15 , 30 , 5 , completion of Jungle Potion	Monkey (level 3)	Having access to fairy rings makes this quest faster.
XP rewards total		65,275 , 27.537.5 and 15,300

Additional quests

There are also other quests that give Attack, Strength, and Defence experience, but they have higher requirements. Some of them are listed in the table below.

Once completed, the Recipe for Disaster quest gives access to the Culinaromancer's gloves. They provide significant offensive bonuses.

Quest	XP rewards	Requirements	Enemies to defeat	Notes
Dragon Slayer I	18,650 and 18,650	32	Elvarg (level 83) and various other monsters	Unlocks all dragon tasks for Slayer. This quest is a prerequisite for Heroes' Quest.
Heroes' Quest	3,075 , 3,075 , 3,075	55 , 53 , 53 , 25 , 50 ; completion of Shield of Arrav, Lost City, Merlin's Crystal, and Dragon Slayer I	Ice Queen (level 111) and various other monsters	This quest is a prerequisite for Legends' Quest, which needs to be started for the Sir Amik Varze subquest of Recipe for Disaster.
The Fremennik Trials	2,812 , 2,812 , 2,812	25 , 40 , 40 if crafting your own lyre	Draugen (level 69) and Koschei the deathless	Prerequisite for wearing Fremennik helmets.
The Fremennik Isles	Two lots of 10,000 Combat experience (choose between Strength, Attack, Defence or Hitpoints).	40 , 20 , completion of The Fremennik Trials	Ice Troll King (level 122)	Awards the helm of neitiznot and the ability to wield it.
Olaf's Quest	12,000	40 , 50 , completion of The Fremennik Trials	Ulfric (level 100)	Unlocks brine rats as a Slayer task.
Underground Pass	3,000	25	Multiple (between level 13 and 91)	Prerequisite for Legends' Quest.
Nature Spirit	2,000	Completion of Priest in Peril and The Restless Ghost	3 Ghasts (level 30)	Prerequisite for the Lumbridge Guide subquest of Recipe for Disaster, and unlocking fairy rings.
Fairytale I - Growing Pains	2,000	Completion of Lost City and Nature Spirit	Tanglefoot (level 111)	Prerequisite for unlocking fairy rings.

Suggested training methods for best experience

Completing the Waterfall Quest at level 1 Attack and Strength will instantly bring the player to level 30 in each. This quest has no requirements, making it the fastest way to train a brand new account to these levels, skipping much of the slow low-level training. However, there are several aggressive and hard-hitting monsters during the quest, so players may want to train some Defence and Hitpoints levels in order to make the quest safer. See the Waterfall Quest guide for more information on how to complete this quest.

Levels 1 to 10

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Chicken	North-east of Lumbridge just east of River Lum, south of River Lum in Farmer Fred's chicken coop	1	3	None
Advantages			Disadvantages
No food required			Only 3 Hitpoints (12 experience) per kill Non-aggressive

Levels 10 to 60/70

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Ammonite Crab	Fossil Island	25	100	Bone Voyage	Armour and food for low defence levels. Digsite pendant. Build the bank chest on Fossil Island to get access to a nearby bank
Advantages			Disadvantages
The best monster for training at medium and high combat levels Very high health targets with low Defence and Attack ability, meaning you won't need much food if any High in number, easy to group and kill in groups Automatic aggro, meaning there are many AFK spots			Often crowded Stops aggro after 10 minutes. Must be reset by walking away and coming back. The distance required to reset their aggro status fluctuates but usually stays between 1 and 15 tiles. There are instances where it is further away

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Sand Crab	Beach south of Hosidius, Crabclaw Isle, Crabclaw Caves	15	60	10,000 coins to enter Crabclaw Isle, or have started The Depths of Despair to enter the Crabclaw Caves. There are also spots with no requirements	Armour and food for low levels. If you are farming on the beach south of Hosidius there is a bank chest nearby so inventory space is not a concern. Using a full inventory of super attack and super strength potions increases considerably the DPS, which ultimately increases the experiences rates per hour
Advantages			Disadvantages
Very high health targets with low Defence and Attack ability High in number, easy to group and kill in groups Automatic aggro, meaning there are many AFK spots			Often very crowded Stops aggro after about 10 minutes, must be reset by walking about one screen away

Levels 60/70 to 99

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Nightmare Zone	North of Yanille, north-west of the bank	Varies	Varies	At least 5 quests that Nightmare Zone requires	Refer to the Nightmare Zone page for more information
Advantages			Disadvantages
Fastest solo experience per hour for Attack and Strength in the game (using Dharok the Wretched's equipment) Alternatively, offers the most AFK training method in the game (using normal customisable rumble setup with absorption potions) Use of overload and absorption potions, gained from NMZ points which reduces need for super combat and prayer potions Points can be used for imbues which upgrade equipment, or to purchase herb boxes for some profit No competition from other players; Nightmare Zone is instanced and deaths are safe (Unless playing as a Hardcore Group Ironman) - you will not lose any items upon death/leaving apart from dropped items in the arena			Requires a coin fee in order to start, and some quests in order to utilise Players may need super combat and prayer potions for the first few games as they have no points No drops other than spending points

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Slayer	Varies	Varies	Varies	None	Combat level 100 to use Duradel, black mask or slayer helm, various teleports and quests
Advantages			Disadvantages
Barrage tasks are the most efficient way to train Defence and Magic Melee tasks offer good experience rates due to the damage and accuracy bonuses of the slayer helm Trains the Slayer skill at the same time Can be profitable depending on the task list			Overall, efficient Slayer training gives relatively low amount of experience in Attack and Strength, as most of the Slayer experience is gained by barraging Efficient Slayer training has many requirements, including already having high Melee stats, completing most of the game's quests to unlock teleports and blocking bad tasks Profitable Melee tasks do not give good experience rates in Slayer Only doing cannonable Melee tasks will result in a loss. Many Slayer spots can often be crowded Worse Melee experience per hour than using Dharok the Wretched's equipment in Nightmare Zone Much less AFK compared to using normal customisable rumble setup with absorption potions in Nightmare Zone

Other methods

You may use these if the above methods are too crowded or otherwise not available. However, they are not as good as the other methods.

It is not recommended to train melee for profit at low levels. It is usually better to train with crabs, Slayer, or the Nightmare Zone and do something else to make money for overall more efficient play. For example, killing Hobgoblins for two hours will give both less money and less experience than spinning flax for one hour and training on crabs for one hour. Low-level players looking to make money for early gear should check out the Money-making guide.

Here are some easy options for training melee if you do want to kill monsters for profit and still get decent experience rates.

Levels 1 to 10

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Chicken	North-east of Lumbridge just east of River Lum, south of River Lum in Farmer Fred's chicken coop	1	3	None
Advantages			Disadvantages
No food required Feathers are dropped in groups of 5-15 and are stackable, and can be sold for some profit Bones will drop frequently, allowing the player to train their prayer as well			Only 3 Hitpoints (12 experience) per kill Non-aggressive

Levels 10 to 60

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Rock Crab	North of Rellekka, Waterbirth Island	13	50	To access Waterbirth Island, you must have started The Fremennik Trials quest. If you haven't finished the quest, it will cost 1,000 coins to travel there. There are also spots with no requirements	Armour and food for low levels. Camelot teleport tabs or runes will bring you somewhat close
Advantages			Disadvantages
Very, very high health targets with low Defence and Attack ability High in number, easy to group and kill in groups			Often crowded Stops aggro after 10-15 minutes

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Experiment	Experiment cave	25	100	Priest in Peril, started Creature of Fenkenstrain	Armour and food for low levels. Ectophial, started Fairy Tale II - Cure a Queen for access to fairy rings (ALQ) or other teleport to Canifis for ease of access
Advantages			Disadvantages
Identical stats to the Ammonite crabs above Very, very high health targets with low Defence and Attack ability, meaning you won't need much food if any Single combat area, meaning no chance of shared kills Not crowded			Experiments are usually a few squares apart Only drops bones; no other drops Cannot be grouped Not aggressive, will require manual clicking

Levels 10 to 20

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Men and Women	Varies, including Lumbridge	2	7	None	Your best weapon and armour. Food if you try this from level 3
Advantages			Disadvantages
Very common and weak NPC Most of the profit will come from herbs, including the valuable Ranarr weed Often close to banks Decent amount of hp so you don't have to switch targets as often as you do when fighting chickens			If you are unlucky and do not get many herbs you won't make much money Non-aggressive Often not grouped close together

Levels 20 to 30

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Al-Kharid warrior	Al Kharid Palace	9	19	None	Decent but cheap food like trout or salmon. Alternatively, you can buy kebabs for 1 coin each in Al Kharid. Also bring your best armour and weapons, because they can deal some damage
Advantages			Disadvantages
Lots of warriors to fight Aggressive if one warrior is attacked — all nearby others will come and fight. This makes it easy to always be fighting something Bank is very, very close by They frequently drop valuable herbs			Often crowded Reliant on herb drops for profit

Levels 30 to 60

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Chaos druid	Edgeville Dungeon, Chaos Druid Tower	13	20	Decent combat, level 46 Thieving if fighting in Chaos Druid Tower	Food. Your best weapon and armour if fighting outside of the Wilderness. Only three valuable items and a Looting bag if fighting in Edgeville dungeon
Advantages			Disadvantages
Great profit for a low level monster, drops valuable herbs, runes, and mithril bolts Not far from a bank and teleport if using an Amulet of glory or Ardougne teleport Aggressive			Easiest spot to reach is in low-level Wilderness, where players may be attacked by other players or may accidentally attack another player, Skulling themselves, unless PK Skull Prevention is turned on in the settings. Non-wilderness locations are far from a bank or require decent thieving They deal decent damage to low level players Sometimes crowded

Levels 40 to 60

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Moss giant	Catacombs of Kourend, Varrock Sewers	42	60	Mid-level combat	Food, armour, High alchemy runes, Teleport to house tablets for using another player's house to teleport to Kourend to reach the Catacombs, ring of dueling for banking
Advantages			Disadvantages
Fairly high Hitpoints for level Decent herb, seed, and alchable drops Chance of dropping a Mossy key, which allows the player to fight Bryophyta, who also has good drops and a chance of dropping the valuable Bryophyta's essence Chance of dropping pieces of the dark totem, which allows the player to fight Skotizo once they are a higher level Always drops big bones which can be sold for guaranteed profit or used for Prayer experience while training			It can be hard to reach the Catacombs of Kourend for low-level players. Regular players should use the Kourend portal in the Player-owned house of another player on World 330. Hits hard if you have low defence or armour Without Mossy key or valuable seed drops, they are usually not worth the time and food it takes to kill

Levels 60 to 70

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Wilderness Slayer	Wilderness	Varies	Varies	None	Slayer helm, Dragon defender, many Slayer points to block bad tasks, food, burning amulet, amulet of glory, high ranged for dragonhide armour
Advantages			Disadvantages
The damage and accuracy bonuses of the Slayer helm often make killing your Slayer task great melee experience Trains the Slayer skill at the same time, letting you work towards the profitable slayer monsters and bosses Many Slayer monsters have good drops Accumulates Slayer points much quicker than normal Slayer. You can save up a lot of these very quickly before starting normal Slayer later on Far fewer requirements than normal Slayer. Not many quests help navigate the Wilderness All monsters killed on Wilderness Slayer assignments have a chance of dropping a valuable Larran's key. Players with average luck can expect to get about one per task			Some Slayer tasks do not give good experience per hour. If the player has not accumulated enough points to block those tasks yet they may be stuck training slowly for a while The player is constantly in danger of being killed by another player, especially in greater than level 30 Wilderness. It is highly recommended to set player attack options to "Hidden" so they don't accidentally Skull The player cannot bring their most expensive gear. Only ever bring three valuable items in the Wilderness: a weapon, a dragon defender, and the Slayer helm. The player can bring an additional item without losing it upon death if the prayer Protect Item is used at the time of death, bringing the total items protected up to four The player should use cheap items like climbing boots, dragonhide armour, and the amulet of glory Some common slayer tasks cannot be killed with melee, such as lava dragons

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Green dragon	Wilderness in various locations	79	75	Dragonfire protection, good weapons, food, and armour	Food. Only three valuable items and a Looting bag. Ring of dueling to teleport to a bank. A games necklace to teleport to Corporeal Beast
Advantages			Disadvantages
Every kill is guaranteed to drop a green dragonhide and dragon bones which make up most of the profit Also drops ensouled dragon head and nature runes Aggressive			Green dragons are only easily reached in medium-level Wilderness, where players may be attacked by other players or may accidentally attack another player, Skulling themselves, unless PK Skull Prevention is turned on in the settings Dragonfire protection, such as from an anti-dragon shield, is required to fight them No good rare drops They can deal heavy damage, so a lot of food is required Often crowded with both other green dragon farmers and player-killers

Levels 70 to 99

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Slayer	Varies	Varies	Varies	None	85 combat to use Nieve, Slayer helm, various teleports and quests
Advantages			Disadvantages
The damage and accuracy bonuses of the Slayer helm often make killing your Slayer task great melee experience Trains the Slayer skill at the same time, letting you work towards the profitable Slayer monsters and bosses Many slayer monsters have good drops Accumulates Slayer points which allow you to unlock items and block tasks you don't like			Some Slayer tasks do not give good experience per hour. If the player has not accumulated enough points to block those tasks yet they may be stuck training slowly for a while Efficiently training Slayer has many requirements, including completing most of the game's quests to unlock teleports and blocking bad tasks Some Slayer tasks cannot be killed with melee Many Slayer spots can often be crowded

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Gargoyle	Slayer tower	111	105	75 Slayer, Rock hammer, Priest in Peril	Guthan the Infested's equipment, a Kharyrll teleport portal, access to fairy rings or a Slayer ring. Your best armour and weapons. High level alchemy runes. Gargoyle smasher Slayer perk
Advantages			Disadvantages
Consistently drops valuable items like rune armour and noted bars Below-average offensive capabilities for their level. Players with high defence can easily sustain their health with Guthan's equipment, a Saradomin godsword, or food Most of its drops are noted or are alchable, meaning the player can stay indefinitely without needing to bank Aggressive Easy to kill without paying attention with the Gargoyle smasher Slayer perk			Above-average defence for their level, will give less experience per hour than other options 75 Slayer requirement No rare valuable drops, just consistently good drops Far from a bank They can deal heavy damage to low-level players Often crowded

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Monkey Guards	Marim	167	130	Started Monkey Madness I and have not completed Monkey Madness II	Dharok's set
Advantages			Disadvantages
Seldomly used, so not many players visit apart from the occasional player completing Monkey Madness I Aggressive as long as a monkey greegree is not worn (though they become tolerant like other aggressive enemies) Nearby altar allows for infinite Prayer points			No drops Non-aggressive after you have completed Monkey Madness II Antipoison is required as there are poisonous level 1 spiders, which share the same aggression mechanic as the monkeys and gorillas of Ape Atoll Teleport is needed if you need to quickly leave the area if not near a staircase/ladder

Levels 90 to 99

Monster name	Location(s)	Combat level	Hitpoints	Requirements	Recommendations
Rune dragon	Lithkren Vault	380	330	Dragon Slayer II	High combat including prayer, dragonfire shield, a zamorakian hasta or abyssal dagger, insulated boots, digsite pendant, armour with high defences, super combat potions, food
Advantages			Disadvantages
Rune dragons are the most profitable non-boss monster a high level player can kill for profit with melee while not paying too much attention Drops a runite bar and dragon bones on every kill, as well as frequently dropping valuable rune and dragon equipment Has a chance of dropping several valuable rare items including the dragon limbs Is close to the digsite pendant Lithkren teleport Not too crowded			Requires very expensive gear and completion of Dragon Slayer II The dragons deal heavy damage even with max stats and the best items in the game. Players must keep their health above 60 to avoid dying to a ranged attack and melee attack combo Rune dragons can heal themselves with their unblockable special attack. If the player is unlucky or weak the dragons will heal faster than they can be killed The player must frequently bank to get lots of high-level food and potions to fight the dragons effectively Their high defence yields below average experience rates At this point in their account, players should have access to better money makers such as Vorkath and Zulrah

Equipment choice

Items will be listed in order of how much they increase general melee damage per second. In nearly all cases, optimising for offensive stats is more effective than optimising for defensive or balanced stats, especially when fighting the low-offence, high hp monsters on this list. In addition, optimising for strength is usually better than optimising for accuracy except against high-defence monsters.

Head-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Torva full helm	0	0	0	-5	-5	+59	+60	+62	-2	+57	+8	0	0%	+1
	Neitiznot faceguard	0	0	0	0	0	+36	+34	+38	+3	+34	+6	0	0%	+3
	Serpentine helm	0	0	0	-5	-5	+52	+55	+58	0	+50	+5	0	0%	0
	Helm of neitiznot	0	0	0	0	0	+31	+29	+34	+3	+30	+3	0	0%	+3
	Berserker helm	0	0	0	-5	-5	+31	+29	+33	0	+30	+3	0	0%	0
	Obsidian helmet	0	0	0	0	0	+25	+23	+26	0	+24	+3	0	0%	0

Three of these items provide the same strength bonus of +3, so choose between them based on their other stats such as their defence or availability. Note that these strength-boosting helmets are almost always better than helmets that only provide accuracy, such as the warrior helm, for general training. Also note that when training Slayer, a Slayer helm (or black mask) will always provide the greatest damage increase over any of these.

Cape-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Infernal cape	+4	+4	+4	+1	+1	+12	+12	+12	+12	+12	+8	0	0%	+2
	Fire cape	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1	+11	+11	+11	+11	+11	+4	0	0%	+2
	Mythical cape	0	0	+6	0	0	+8	+8	+8	+8	+8	+1	0	0%	+1

If the player does not have access to any of these, an obsidian cape or a Cape of Accomplishment can be used instead due to their moderate defence bonuses, however they will not increase damage. The Ardougne cloak also provides stab accuracy bonus and moderate prayer bonus.

Neck-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Amulet of torture	+15	+15	+15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+10	0	0%	+2
	Amulet of fury	+10	+10	+10	+10	+10	+15	+15	+15	+15	+15	+8	0	0%	+5
	Amulet of glory	+10	+10	+10	+10	+10	+3	+3	+3	+3	+3	+6	0	0%	+3
	Amulet of power	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	+6	0	0%	+1
	Amulet of strength	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+10	0	0%	0

• Depending on your stats, for monsters with low defence, an amulet of strength can be better than an amulet of power, amulet of glory, or even an amulet of fury.
• When fighting undead monsters and not using a Slayer helmet, the salve amulet and its upgraded version the salve amulet (e) are the best neck-slot items.

Body-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Torva platebody	0	0	0	-18	-14	+117	+111	+117	-11	+142	+6	0	0%	+1
	Bandos chestplate	0	0	0	-15	-10	+98	+93	+105	-6	+133	+4	0	0%	+1
	Inquisitor's hauberk	-3	-3	+12	-11	-10	+67	+55	+71	0	+35	+4	0	0%	+2
	Fighter torso	0	0	0	-40	0	+62	+85	+62	-10	+67	+4	0	0%	0
	Obsidian platebody	0	0	0	0	0	+55	+78	+56	-15	+60	+3	0	0%	0

• Both the Bandos chestplate and the fighter torso provide the same strength bonus, but the Bandos chestplate has much better defences.

Shield-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Avernic defender	+30	+29	+28	-5	-4	+30	+29	+28	-5	-4	+8	0	0%	0
	Dragon defender	+25	+24	+23	-3	-2	+25	+24	+23	-3	-2	+6	0	0%	0
	Rune defender	+20	+19	+18	-3	-2	+20	+19	+18	-3	-2	+5	0	0%	0
	Adamant defender	+13	+12	+11	-3	-2	+13	+12	+11	-3	-2	+4	0	0%	0
	Dragonfire shield	0	0	0	-10	-5	+70	+75	+72	+10	+72	+7	0	0%	0
	Toktz-ket-xil	0	0	0	0	0	+40	+42	+38	0	+65	+5	0	0%	0
	Book of war	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+2	0	0%	+5

• When fighting dragons, a Dragonfire shield is the best melee offhand item due to its ability to block dragonfire while having high strength and defence bonuses. IMPORTANT: The "Uncharged" Dragonfire shield has about 1/3 the defensive characteristics of the charged shield. If the dragonfire protection and high defence are not needed, defenders are better due to their accuracy bonuses.

• As defenders require access to the Warriors' Guild and thus a combined Attack and Strength level of 130 (for example, level 65 in both), the Toktz-ket-xil or dragonfire shield should be used until that requirement is met. If the required Defence levels for those items (60 and 75 respectively) isn't met, a book of war can be used.

Legs-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Torva platelegs	0	0	0	-24	-11	+87	+78	+79	-9	+102	+4	0	0%	+1
	Bandos tassets	0	0	0	-21	-7	+71	+63	+66	-4	+93	+2	0	0%	+1
	Obsidian platelegs	0	0	0	0	0	+46	+43	+41	-10	+40	+1	0	0%	0
	Fremennik kilt	0	0	0	-21	-7	+11	+10	+10	-4	+10	+1	0	0%	0
	Torag's platelegs	0	0	0	-21	-7	+85	+82	+83	-4	+92	0	0	0%	0
	Verac's plateskirt	0	0	0	-21	-7	+85	+82	+83	0	+84	0	0	0%	+4
	Dragon platelegs/skirt	0	0	0	-21	-7	+68	+66	+63	-4	+65	0	0	0%	0
	Rock-shell legs	0	0	0	-21	-7	+51	+49	+47	-4	+49	0	0	0%	0
	Rune platelegs	0	0	0	-21	-11	+51	+49	+47	-4	+49	0	0	0%	0

• Torva platelegs, Bandos tassets, Obsidian platelegs and Fremennik kilt are the only leg slot wearable items which increase attack effectiveness. The rest are included to show defensive stats and give options which are less expensive.

Hands-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Ferocious gloves	+16	+16	+16	-16	-16	0	0	0	0	0	+14	0	0%	0
	Barrows gloves	+12	+12	+12	+6	+12	+12	+12	+12	+6	+12	+12	0	0%	0
	Dragon gloves	+9	+9	+9	+5	+9	+9	+9	+9	+5	+9	+9	0	0%	0
	Rune gloves	+8	+8	+8	+4	+8	+8	+8	+8	+4	+8	+8	0	0%	0
	Regen bracelet	+8	+8	+8	+3	+7	+6	+6	+6	+3	+6	+7	0	0%	0
	Adamant gloves	+7	+7	+7	+4	+7	+7	+7	+7	+4	+7	+7	0	0%	0
	Granite gloves	+5	+5	+9	-3	-1	+8	+8	+8	-3	+5	+7	0	0%	0
	Combat bracelet	+7	+7	+7	+3	+7	+5	+5	+5	+3	+5	+6	0	0%	0
	Mithril gloves	+6	+6	+6	+3	+6	+6	+6	+6	+3	+6	+6	0	0%	0

Feet-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Primordial boots	+2	+2	+2	-4	-1	+22	+22	+22	0	0	+5	0	0%	0
	Dragon boots	0	0	0	-3	-1	+16	+17	+18	0	0	+4	0	0%	0
	Spiked manacles	0	0	0	-3	-1	0	0	0	-4	0	+4	0	0%	0
	Guardian boots	0	0	0	-3	-1	+32	+32	+32	-3	+24	+3	0	0%	+2
	Granite boots	0	0	0	-3	-1	+15	+16	+17	-0	+8	+3	0	0%	0
	Rune boots	0	0	0	-3	-1	+12	+13	+14	0	0	+2	0	0%	0
	Climbing boots	0	0	0	0	0	0	+2	+2	0	0	+2	0	0%	0
	Adamant boots	0	0	0	-3	-1	+10	+11	+12	0	0	+1	0	0%	0

Ring-slot items in order of effectiveness

Item		Attack bonuses					Defence bonuses					Other
	Berserker ring (i)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+8	0	0	+8	0	0%	0
	Brimstone ring	+4	+4	+4	+6	+4	+4	+4	+4	+6	+4	+4	0	0%	0
	Berserker ring	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	+4	0	0	+4	0	0%	0
	Warrior ring	0	+4	0	0	0	0	+4	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0
	Tyrannical ring	0	0	+4	0	0	0	0	+4	0	0	0	0	0%	0
	Treasonous ring	+4	0	0	0	0	+4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0

• Rings should be imbued at the Nightmare Zone as soon as possible. Also note that the Warrior, Tyrannical, and Treasonous rings only benefit one attacking style each, while the Brimstone ring benefits all melee combat. If the player cannot afford any of these rings, a ring of wealth is a decent alternative to help improve rare drop table rolls and pick up coins, but it does not increase damage. Low level players can benefit from a ring of recoil, as 10% + 1 of the damage received by the player (rounded down) is dealt to the attacker, and always recoils at least 1 damage when the player is hit.

Weapon choice

Choosing a weapon

• In most cases, choosing a weapon with an attack speed of 4 (2.4 second interval) will be the best choice for dealing the highest damage per second. Slower weapons almost always give less experience overall against low defence monsters, even if they do more damage per hit, but may deal more against high defence monsters.
• Monster vulnerability may cause certain weapons to perform better than their stats suggest. For example, most dragons are weak to Stab, making the otherwise weaker zamorakian hasta a better choice than the abyssal whip when fighting them. Check a monster's wiki page to see its defensive bonuses and consider picking a weapon it is weak to.

Training weapons in order of effectiveness

• Note: All one-handed weapons in this table will have their stats displayed as if they were paired with an avernic defender to make a fair comparison to two-handed weapons.

If you do not have access to a shield at all, such as if you do not want to risk an additional item in the Wilderness or you have not yet unlocked the requirements for a certain offhand equipment, some fast two-handed weapons like the Saradomin sword become worth using.

The weapons listed here with level requirements of less than 70 Attack will include the dragon defender bonuses instead of the Avernic one, while weapons with a requirement of less than 60 will not include the bonuses of a defender, as it is unlikely that someone using one of these low level weapons would have access to one due to the 130 Attack+Strength requirement. As noted above, players with 60 Defence without access to defenders should be using the Toktz-ket-xil.

Weapon Name	Requirements	Primary Attack Style	Primarily Used to Train	Attack & Strength Bonus (with Avernic defender, if applicable)	Price	Notes
Osmumten's fang	82 Attack	Stab	All Stats	+135 Stab +111 Strength	45,766,641	This weapon will be better than the Ghrazi rapier on monsters that have very high defence bonuses due to its passive effects.
Ghrazi rapier	80 Attack	Stab	All Stats	+124 Stab +97 Strength	58,017,328	This is one of the best melee training weapons. Its strength bonus is tied with the Inquisitor's mace and the Blade of Saeldor. It does not degrade and it primarily uses the Stab attack style.
Inquisitor's mace	80 Attack	Crush	All Stats	+123 Crush +97 Strength	286,976,508	This is one of the best melee training weapons. Its strength bonus is tied with the Ghrazi rapier and the Blade of Saeldor. It does not degrade and it primarily uses the Crush attack style.
Blade of saeldor	80 Attack	Slash	All Stats	+123 Slash +97 Strength	127,361,120	This is one of the best melee training weapons. Its strength bonus is tied with the Ghrazi rapier and the Inquisitor's mace. However, it must be charged with Crystal shards, which can be obtained from either doing various activities around Prifddinas, or from exchanging certain crystal seeds with Amrod. This effectively makes the sword require Song of the Elves to use. Each shard grants 100 charges; the weapon can store up to 20,000 charges and loses one charge with each hit (regardless of whether the hit is successful or not.) One can bring it and 1,000 crystal shards to a singing bowl to make Blade of Saeldor (c), which is non-degradeable and non-tradeable (requires Lv.82 Crafting and Smithing).
Voidwaker	75 Attack 60 Magic	Slash	All stats	+109 Slash +88 Strength	206,029,606	This is the best non-degradeable weapon for all attack styles at level 75.
Abyssal tentacle	75 Attack	Slash	Attack, Defence	+119 Slash +94 Strength	1,582,258	While it is the fourth strongest weapon in the game, the tentacle's cost per attack, of 123.13, makes training far more expensive, but provides a boost of +8 Slash and +4 Strength. The costs adds up to 184,698.30 coins per hour, completely degrading after 10,000 hits. Not specifically for sale in the Grand Exchange. Created by combining an Abyssal whip with a Kraken tentacle.
Abyssal whip	70 Attack	Slash	Attack, Defence, All stats on Controlled	+111 Slash +90 Strength	1,231,322	This is the most common training weapon, especially considering that it is affordable and does not degrade. The whip is the second-strongest non-degradable Attack and Defence training weapon in the game. Using this weapon on Controlled is an easy, but slower way to reach 99 Attack, Strength, and Defence since all the experience is spread across these three skills. One disadvantage of the abyssal whip is that it cannot train strength without training Attack and Defence at the same time, so pures should avoid using it to train.
Saradomin's blessed sword	75 Attack	Slash	Strength	+100 Slash +88 Strength	6,259,116	Similar to the Abyssal tentacle, this weapon degrades. Each hit costs 20.56, costing 30,841.80 per hour of constant use. This is the third-best Strength training weapon in the game. After 10,000 hits, the sword crumbles to dust, and you get the Tear back. Not specifically for sale in the Grand Exchange. Created by combining a Saradomin sword with a Saradomin's tear.
Abyssal bludgeon	70 Attack 70 Strength	Crush	Strength	+102 Crush +85 Strength	11,316,152	This is the second-best non-degradable Strength training weapon. It is very useful when fighting a monster with a vulnerability to Crush weapons, such as Revenants and Vet'ion. However, its fairly high cost and only slight upgrade over more affordable weapons make it less popular than them.
Zamorakian hasta	70 Attack Barbarian training	Stab	Defence All stats on Controlled	+115 Stab +83 Strength	4,328,407	This weapon is not generally chosen for everyday training due to only being able to train on controlled or defensive. It is both weaker and more expensive than the Abyssal whip. It is primarily used against monsters with a weakness to Stab, such as all types of dragons. It also has a decent Crush bonus, so it can be used as an alternative to the Abyssal bludgeon for fighting Crush-weak enemies like Kalphites and Vet'ion.
Abyssal dagger	70 Attack	Stab	Strength	+105 Stab +83 Strength	2,125,875	The fourth-best one-handed Strength training weapon. It should not be used for Attack training unless a Stab weapon is needed.
Staff of the dead	75 Attack 75 Magic	Slash	Strength	+99 Slash +80 Strength	4,975,219	The fifth-best one-handed Strength training weapon. It is more accurate with a defender than the next-best Strength training weapon, the Saradomin sword, but has lower strength. This makes the staff better against high-defence monsters, but it is much less affordable. Also it is strictly worse than the Abyssal dagger, which should usually be used instead unless slash is needed.
Saradomin sword	70 Attack	Slash	Strength	+82 Slash +82 Strength	205,612	The Saradomin sword is a much more affordable Strength training weapon than anything above it on this list. Against lower defence monsters such as Yaks, the Saradomin sword will on average do higher damage per second than the Staff of the dead due to its higher strength. However, this sword's lack of a shield and the staff's magic capabilities and melee accuracy make the staff usually more desirable if you can afford it.
Sarachnis cudgel	65 Attack	Crush	Strength	+93 Crush +76 Strength (dragon defender)	191,221	The Sarachnis cudgel is typically not used for training, as it has only minor benefits over the Dragon scimitar and has a 5 Attack higher requirement to wield, and when compared to the higher tier weapons that require 70+ Attack such as the Saradomin sword and Staff of the dead it's outclassed in terms of melee strength. However, the cudgel can pull ahead in rare cases where the target is vulnerable to crush.
Viggora's chainmace	60 Attack	Crush	Strength	+91 Crush +72 Strength (dragon defender)	14,156,935	This is tied for the best training weapon for all attack styles at level 60 with the Dragon Scimitar, without having to be charged or do any quests. If charged, an additional 50% melee accuracy and damage boost is applied when attacking any NPC in the Wilderness, making this weapon often better than every other weapon as the fastest way to train if done in the wilderness. However, it is significantly more expensive than the Dragon Scimitar and poses a threat of money loss (in charges) if killed in the wilderness. Additionally, the mace is slightly less accurate than the Dragon Scimitar when paired with one of the various defenders, as defenders generally provide higher offensive stab/slash bonus than crush bonus.
Dragon scimitar	60 Attack Monkey Madness I	Slash	All Stats	+91 Slash +72 Strength (dragon defender)	59,926	This is tied for the best training weapon for all attack styles at level 60 with the Viggora's Chainmace. In addition, the Dragon scimitar is a much cheaper alternative to all of the weapons listed above, making it very popular even among some high level players. For Attack and Defence training, it should be replaced with the Abyssal whip as soon as one can afford and equip it.
Dragon sword	60 Attack	Stab	All Stats	+90 Stab +69 Strength (dragon defender)	56,607	This is comparable to the Dragon scimitar in stats, but without the quest requirement of Monkey Madness I.
Leaf-bladed battleaxe	65 Attack 55 Slayer	Crush	Strength	+96 Slash +95 Crush +98 Strength (dragon defender)	60,268	This weapon has the highest strength bonus in the game for a single handed weapon. It also has the second highest Crush attack bonus for a single handed weapon. This weapon is great to use against beasts which are weak to crush.
Dragon longsword	60 Attack Lost City	Slash	All Stats	+93 Slash +77 Strength (dragon defender)	59,228	A viable alternate training weapon before being able to use the Dragon scimitar since Monkey Madness I is a much longer and harder quest than Lost City. It should be noted that the Dragon longsword attacks 1 game tick slower than the Dragon scimitar, making it less damage per second than the Dragon scimitar for training.
Leaf-bladed sword	50 Attack 55 Slayer	Stab	All Stats	+67 Stab +50 Strength (no defender)	40,844	This weapon is the second best option at 50 attack, behind the Granite hammer. It requires 55 Slayer in addition to attack levels, so it's not used often outside of killing Turoths and Kurasks.
Granite hammer	50 Attack 50 Strength	Crush	All Stats	+57 Crush +56 Strength (no defender)	128,318	This is the best melee training weapon at 50 Attack and Strength. However, it is slightly more expensive than other weapons at this level.
Brine sabre	40 Attack	Slash	All Stats	+47 Slash +46 Strength (no defender)	208,796	A more expensive alternative to the Rune scimitar, the Brine sabre boasts 2 additional slash and strength bonus, while also possessing a special attack. This makes it a popular training weapon for those who have the money.
Rune scimitar	40 Attack	Slash	All Stats	+45 Slash +44 Strength (no defender)	15,119	The prototypical RuneScape weapon. This is your best bet for a cheap and effective training weapon at this level.
Granite longsword	50 Attack 50 Strength	Slash	All Stats	+65 Slash +62 Strength (no defender)	20,814	This weapon attacks slower than the Granite hammer, Leaf-bladed sword and Rune scimitar, making it usually worse overall.
Other Scimitars	< 40 Attack	Slash	All Stats	Varies	Varies	Before reaching 40 Attack, it is recommended to train with the highest level scimitar that is available at your Attack level.

Other equipment options

Obsidian equipment + Berserker necklace

Wearing the obsidian platebody, obsidian platelegs, and the obsidian helmet gives a 10% damage and accuracy bonus to melee obsidian weapons. Wearing the berserker necklace also gives another 20% damage bonus to Obsidian weapons. Combining all four of these items with the Toktz-xil-ak (Obsidian sword) can actually give faster experience rates than anything in the table above against low-defence monsters, such as those in the Nightmare Zone. However, the set has below-average defence and does not allow the use of a Slayer helmet. If the player cannot use all five items, they should not be using the Toktz-xil-ak.

Void knight equipment

Wearing the Void melee helm with the full Void Knight equipment set gives a 10% melee damage and accuracy bonus. This bonus accuracy makes it good against certain high-defence monsters like the Corporeal Beast. It is a good alternative for players with 42 combat stats who do not have access to high-strength gear. However, this set gives less strength than other melee equipment and has significantly lower melee and ranged defence, making it usually worse for training than high strength gear.

Dharok the Wretched's equipment

Wearing a full set of Dharok the Wretched's equipment gives the set effect of increasing the player's damage the lower their remaining hitpoints are. Using a dwarven rock cake or locator orb the player can intentionally keep their health at 1 hp while using Protection prayers to block all forms of damage. If the player has a source of prayer or damage block, such as by using prayer potions, absorptions (Nightmare Zone only), or an altar, the player can safely use the set's effect to deal very high amounts of damage and gain fast experience. However, the set degrades after 15 hours of use and must be repaired in order to keep its stats.

Guthan the Infested's equipment

Wearing a full set of Guthan the Infested's equipment gives the set effect of a 25% chance to heal the player by the damage dealt. This set deals less damage than some of the best options on the list, but it allows players to train for long periods of time without banking to heal. Players can bring the four pieces in their inventory, train on their normal high-strength equipment, and switch to the Guthan's equipment only when their health gets low. Popular monsters for this tactic are gargoyles, nechryael, and bandits. However, the set degrades after 15 hours of use and must be repaired in order to keep its stats.