Ranged



Ranged is one of the three combat classes in RuneScape. It involves using bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons to take down opponents, and wearing armour based on various monsters' hides. Players who specialise in this skill are known as rangers or archers.

The Combat Triangle dictates that Rangers are strong against Mages, but weak against Melee fighters.

Ranged's ability to attack from a distance means that a player can safespot a Melee monster while fighting from safety. However, this is not very useful as Melee monsters have high Ranged defence.

Attack Types
Ranged combat has three attack types: Arrows, Bolts, and Thrown weapons.



Ranged Attack
To the right of the Inventory button is the Equipment menu. From here, players can view their combat stats. Ranged weapons increase in accuracy as the minimum Ranged level, required to wield the bow, increases. The general trend is that Ranged weapons of the same "tier" have the same accuracy value. Ranged armour does not hinder the accuracy of Ranged weapons, nor does it improve Ranged accuracy. However, wearing a piece of Melee or Magic armour piece, instead of the Ranged counterpart, reduces the effectiveness of Ranged combat.

Despite common perception, shieldbows have a slower rate of fire than shortbows but compensate with a longer range. With this in mind, a shortbow is usually recommended over the shieldbow for faster experience, making the shieldbow more efficient for ammo preservation and long range combat. Crossbows are extremely accurate and have the potential for powerful hits, but their rate of fire is considered relatively slow. One-handed "Pistol" crossbows also allow players to equip a left-handed item like a shield or god book, which can offer decent Range bonuses.

Players can also use Ranged prayer such as Eagle Eye to improve Ranged attack.

Bows
Bows are the original ranging weapon, and require two hands to wield. With a few notable exceptions, bows of all types require arrows to be equipped in the ammunition slot. Types of bows include shortbows, composite bows, and shieldbows. Shieldbows fire arrows farther and act as a shield providing defensive bonuses, though they do not shoot as fast as shortbows. Composite bows are a compromise of power and speed, providing a balanced ranged style. It is usually recommended that players use a shortbow when ranging, especially when training, to deal more damage over time. However, a shieldbow may be advantageous in situations where distance and defence are needed over firepower. For example, using a shieldbow while shooting from the battlements of Castle Wars will allow players to hit targets who cannot be reached with a shortbow.

Chargebows generate their own ammunition and so don't require any arrows to be equipped. Chargebows can be found south of Varrock as drops from the low-level mages. They are also dropped by goblins in Lumbridge. They are designed for beginner rangers and if you have considerable experience in ranging, you will receive a notice on your screen urging you to start using better bows or crossbows. If you're a non-member ranger, it is suggested that you keep the chargebow handy because of its ability to shoot without ammunition.

Higher level bows can use increasingly powerful arrows. For example, shortbows made of the lowest level wood (normal) can only use bronze or iron arrows. Non-members can only use arrows up to rune arrows with a magic shortbow or magic shieldbow.

The crystal bow is a special type of bow which does not require arrows. It degrades as it is used until it turns into a crystal weapon seed, much like Barrows armour. The crystal bow can be obtained as an optional reward after completing the Roving Elves quest. It requires 70 Ranged and 50 Agility to wield.

The zaryte bow is the third most powerful bow, behind the strykebow and noxious bow and tied with the attuned crystal bow, and works just like the crystal bow, it produces its own arrows and degrades in combat. After firing 60,000 shots, it will break, but it can be restored at the same places barrows armour can be repaired.

Crossbows
Crossbows are weapons that are well-liked by rangers, generally because some crossbows are faster than bows and can be wielded with a shield or an offhand version. They use bolts instead of arrows, some of which can be gem-tipped, or enchanted for a chance of a special effect when striking. Crossbows can fire mithril grapples as well, used to pass agility obstacles.

Crossbows come in three different types - "Pistol" crossbows which occupy the weapon slot, off-hand "pistol" crossbows which occupy the shield slot, and two-handed crossbows which occupy both slots.

Throwing weapons
Members have a wide range of throwing weapons at their disposal. Though they are not as popular as bows or crossbows, some players prefer them over other ranged weapons due to their speed, particularly at lower levels.

Examples of throwing weapons are:
 * Throwing knives
 * Darts
 * Javelins
 * Throwing axes
 * Toktz-xil-ul (throwing rings)
 * Chinchompas and red chinchompas

Throwing weapons are quite rare due to their low damage offered but are very used against the Vyrewatch, since the only blisterwood ranged weapon is the blisterwood stake and against mutated jadinkos due to the bonus damage offered by sagaie (a type of javelin) when used against them.

Chinchompas are used for hitting multiple opponents at once.

Dwarf weaponry
There are two types of dwarf ranged weaponry: the Dwarf multicannon and the hand cannon. These are some of the strongest ranged weapons in the game and are becoming more popular for ranged training. Many players tend to use the multicannon when training in crowded areas. The multicannon is able to rapidly attack NPC's on its own (sometimes firing two or three rounds into larger monsters in one pass). The Hand cannon is becoming ever more popular amongst player killers due to its low price and strong damage offered.

Ranged armour
Rangers have their own sets of armour made out of various materials. Ranger armour is resistant to magic but weak against melee. Also, most armour sets designed for ranging give no Prayer bonuses (with the exception of Armadyl armour, where most items give a +1 bonus to Prayer).

Leather armour
Leather armour is good for beginning rangers. It is very cheap and can be made with the Crafting skill. Leather armour can also be bought at the Grand Exchange.

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 and Temple Trekking minigames, or by killing level 35 snakes on Mos Le'Harmless Island. It requires 30 Ranged and 30 Defence to equip.

The whole snakeskin set is not usually worn by rangers due to the large amount of snakeskin hides needed. However, the snakeskin boots and snakeskin bandanna offer rangers a much cheaper alternative to the highly priced ranger boots and Robin Hood hat.

Spined armour
Spined armour is Fremennik armour designed for rangers. Spined armour can be bought from the Rellekka armour store after completing The Fremennik Trials. Note that you must bring the raw materials in order to buy the armour, which can be obtained from killing dagannoths and their kin in the Waterbirth Island Dungeon.

Dragonhide armour
Dragonhide armour is the most popular and the recommended ranging armour. Free players can only wear green and blue dragonhide armour and must complete the Dragon Slayer quest in order to wear the blue dragonhide body. Red, black and royal dragonhide sets are only available to members. Members can also use Crafting to make dragonhide armour from tanned dragon hides.

There are also variants of dragonhide, with fur and gold-trimmed green and blue dragonhide bodies and chaps available from treasure trails. Also, there are god-blessed dragonhide sets with the equivalent bonuses of black dragonhide, which require 60 range and 40 defence for all the pieces. Note that all trimmed and god-blessed dragonhide armours do not offer additional stat bonuses and are purely for aesthetic use. However, it is worth noting that blessed dragonhide coifs do not degrade like a normal black d'hide coif.

Karil the Tainted's armour set
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. Some rangers still use this tactic. Many rangers have asked for the set effect to be changed. Nevertheless, it is considered to have little to no use in most other situations.

Armadyl armour
Armadyl armour is great for high levelled rangers. Although it is expensive, it provides some of the best defence against magic compared to all other ranged armour. The full set does give a prayer bonus of +6, which can be useful (+7 if also wearing the shield). This armour is commonly used in minigames such as Castle Wars due to the high amount of enemy players using magic spells.

Morrigan's equipment
Morrigan's equipment is a portion of Ancient Warriors' equipment. It is either obtained by killing revenants or through the Grand Exchange. It has fairly high requirements; to wield this set, players must have 78 Defence and 78 Ranged (for the corrupt set, 20 Defence and 20 Ranged are necessary). It has the Ranged Strength bonuses equivalent to pernix armour, but is very costly and not used by many players due to its short life span of 1 hour of combat (15 minutes of time worn for the corrupt set).

Pernix equipment
Pernix armour is a set of degradable high level Ranged armour that requires 80 Ranged, 80 Defence, and 80 Constitution to wear. This armour is classified as a power armour, which gives a total of 74 extra base damage. Pernix armour pieces may only be obtained as rare drops from Nex, the boss of the Zarosian stronghold of the God Wars Dungeon, the Ancient Prison. Pernix armour is currently the third-highest level Ranged armour in the game, behind death lotus armour, and sirenic armour.

Void Knight armour (Ranged)
A popular choice for pures and hybrids alike, these are mostly used to increase damage by 5-7%. The potency of this set rivals that of black dragonhide armour.

This set is considered to be one of the best armour sets for ranged due to its cheaper cost and set effects, since players are paid in coins and experience to get it (although the cost of arrows used in Pest Control may offset the payment).

Sirenic armour
Sirenic armour is level 90 power armour that degrades and cannot be repaired. It can be made by high-level crafters using sirenic scales (drops from high-level Slayer monsters), algarum thread and a needle. It has the highest damage bonus of any Ranged armour in the game and armour bonus equal to the superior death lotus set, but it is extremely expensive to use.

Other weapons
Members also have access to many other kinds of weapons. Among them:
 * Ascension crossbow
 * Coral crossbow
 * Chaotic crossbow
 * Dwarf multicannon
 * Hand cannon
 * Hunter's crossbow
 * Holy water
 * Crystal bow
 * Ogre bow and ogre arrows
 * Ogre composite bow and brutal arrows
 * Salamanders
 * Chinchompas
 * Dark bow
 * Dorgeshuun crossbow
 * Zanik's crossbow
 * Toktz-xil-ul
 * Guthix bow
 * Saradomin bow
 * Zamorak bow
 * Zaryte bow

Training
It is advised to use safespots for each of these strategies in order to conserve health. Members may also find it useful to use sacred clay weapons or armour for training, as these double the amount of experience gained with a trade-off of taking the time to obtain them.



Non-member training
As a non-member you don't have many options when it comes to training range. You can train with a bow and arrows, which is the most expensive way to train range as a non-member depending on what arrows you are using. You can also train using a chargebow. The chargebow is received as a drop from a lot of F2P monsters including chickens and cows.

Lower levels: it is recommended to use Kayle's chargebow. Even though it is relatively weak, Kayle's chargebow does not require any ammo, especially at lower levels this is a good choice to save money, time, and train rapidly. Even more profitable is to kill cows (for both hides and meat to make money on the side) are recommended at Beefy Bill, who will transport them to your bank for a 10% fee.

Lower to mid-levels: another way to train is to kill minotaurs with a chargebow, or your best bow and iron arrows. Minotaurs drop iron arrows a lot and provided that the player isn't hurt a lot by these low level monsters, can stay there indefinitely. But most minotaurs are weak, so you will be safe.

Mid to high levels: players seeking to train Ranged at higher levels should kill lesser demons with either a magic shortbow or, if possible, a gravite shortbow. It is highly recommended to bring a shieldbow, such as a magic shieldbow (sighted) for healing or, if need be, as the main ranged weapon that provides extra protection, which shortbows lack. An amulet of power and a team cape both provide a Ranged critical hit percentage bonus and these items should be worn when fighting lesser demons. Food is recommended to prolong trips, because the five minute cooldown of Rejuvenate may be too long as lesser demons are somewhat accurate, even when players are wearing blue dragonhide armour.

Members training
Training Ranged as a member can be very expensive or time consuming depending on how you choose to train it.

If you are willing to spend money and earn back as much as three times what you spent (and have a Ranged level of 40 or higher) then the Ranging Guild is the fastest way to get experience. You play the archery competition and receive tickets, which you spend however you like.

The cheapest and still feasible way to train Ranged is simply using a bow and arrows or crossbow(s) and bolts. This is best done in single combat and is one of the slower methods to train ranged but also the cheapest depending on what arrows/bolts you use. It is best if you attack something behind a safespot so that you do not have to worry about taking damage. However, some monsters have attacks that make safespotting ineffective, such as dragons' firebreath. The best place to gain ranged xp is in the Ancient Caverns killing waterfiends as they provide 942 experience in ranged (not counting Constitution xp).

If you have no money and want to train Ranged you can either kill monsters using melee for arrows and then use them to train range, or use a chargebow (the chargebow is dropped from many free-to-play monsters and is very weak but uses no ammo). Chargebows are not recommended for members to use because there are much better methods to train.

Other
The maximum boost (while not on slayer assignment) can be achieved wearing Void Knight equipment Ranging set, a ranging skillcape, using an extreme ranging potion, and the Rigour prayer.

The Void Knight ranging set, purchased for 850 Pest Control Commendation Points, increases ranged accuracy and maximum hit by 10% (though testing shows the boost is truly around 20%) and is thus very useful in training Ranged.

The absolute maximum boost can be gained while wearing a Void Knight ranging set, using an extreme ranging potion, and using the Rigour prayer while having a slayer assignment in Kuradal's Dungeon and wearing a ferocious ring, as a full slayer helm/focus sight gives only a bonus of +15% while on slayer assignments, while the Void Knight ranging set gives a +10% damage to bonus as well as Ranged level, effectively bumping the boost to +20%.

Arrow and bolts droppers
Note that very few players choose to "gather" their arrows from the loots of NPCs. It is far easier to purchase the required quantity on the Grand Exchange and then regain any lost profit through combat.

Free-to-play and members

 * Al-Kharid warriors (bronze arrows: 9 and bronze bolts: X)
 * Ankou in the Stronghold of Security and Forinthry Dungeon (adamant arrow: 20, depending on level)
 * Barbarians in Barbarian Village (bronze arrows: 15)
 * Barbarian women in Barbarian Village (bronze arrows: 10)
 * Black knights (mithril arrows: 3)
 * Catablepon (mithril arrows: 5-14 and bronze arrows: 2, depending on level)
 * Archer guards in Falador (steel arrows: 1-5 and bronze arrows: X)
 * Guards in Falador (steel arrows: 1-5 and bronze arrows: 7)
 * Varrockian guards (steel arrows: 1-5, bronze arrows: X, and bronze bolts: 1-20)
 * Hill giants (iron arrows: 3, 6 and steel arrows: 10)
 * Ice giants (adamant arrows: 5)
 * Ice warriors (adamant arrows: 3, 5 and mithril arrows: 5)
 * Men (bronze arrows: 7 and bronze bolts: 3-12)
 * Minotaurs (Bronze arrows: 3, 6 and iron arrows: 1-14)
 * Moss giants (iron arrows: 15 and steel arrows: 30)
 * White knights at Falador Castle (mithril arrows: 2-9 and adamant arrows: 2-9, depending on level)
 * Women (bronze arrows: 7)
 * Zombies (iron arrows: 8, mithril arrows: 1-2, and steel arrows: 5-14, depending on level)
 * Creatures in the Lumbridge Catacombs (bronze arrows: up to 40)

Players can also collect arrows dropped from players when playing in the Wilderness, but this is not recommended as it is easy to get killed unless you are in a safe spot.

Members only

 * Abyssal demons (rune arrows: 42-45 and steel arrows: 150)
 * Armoured zombies (mithril arrows: 8)
 * Aquanites (adamant Bolts 10, and Rune bolts 5)
 * Dagannoth (steel arrows: 15 and 7-30, depending on level)
 * Dark beasts (rune arrows: 42)
 * Dust devils (rune arrows: 12)
 * Chaos druids (mithril bolts: 2-12)
 * Fire giants (rune arrows: 12-42 and steel arrows: 150)
 * Gargoyle (rune arrows: 40)
 * Giant mole (iron arrows: 690)
 * Guards in Ardougne (steel arrows: 1-5, bronze arrows: 1-5, and iron bolts: 4-12)
 * Guards in Burthorpe (steel arrows: 12 and bronze arrows: 12)
 * Guards in Ranging Guild (mithril arrows: X, steel arrows: X, and iron arrows: X)
 * Mutated bloodveld in Meiyerditch Dungeon (rune arrows: 6)
 * Red dragons (rune arrows: 4)
 * Skeletal Wyverns (adamant bolts: 5-19, bone bolts: 4-29, mithril bolts: 20-33, and rune bolts: 7, 13)
 * Waterfiends (mithril arrows: 90)
 * PvP - freeload in PvP to get any arrow (but only if you're lucky will you manage to pick up good arrows)
 * Steel dragons (adamant bolts: 5-12, and rune bolts 2-19)
 * King Black Dragon (rune arrows: 50)

Trivia

 * Previously, when shooting with a bow, players appeared to be left-handed as they shoot by holding the bow with their right hand and pulling the string with their left. This was contradictory to the fact that, when using close-combat, the player wields their weapon in their right hand and their shield/book/defender/etc. in their left. This was fixed with the Evolution of Combat update.