Rune longsword

The rune longsword is a weapon stronger than the adamant longsword, but slower than the rune scimitar by 0.6 seconds or one bar. Like all rune weapons, it requires 50 Attack to wield. It is the third strongest longsword available to free players after the corrupt dragon longsword and gravite longsword, although it is the strongest non-degradable longsword available in F2P.

Players can make a rune longsword with the Smithing skill at level 91 using two rune bars, giving the player 150 Smithing experience.

Before the rune scimitar made a popularity breakthrough (late 2006 - early 2007), the rune longsword was the most popular weapon used by free-to-play players. Players may purchase a rune longsword at the Grand Exchange in Varrock. It can also be bought from Scavvo in the Champions' Guild, the weapon shop in Keldagrim, obtained as a reward from Level 3 Treasure Trails, or rarely from Shades of Mort'ton silver key chests.

Choice of weapon
With the Evolution of Combat, the rune scimitar and rune longsword now have the same damage per second and slashing style, with slight differences only in attack speed, damage and weight.

The rune longsword was widely considered to be the second-best non-degrading non-members weapon, surpassed only by the rune scimitar. However, this belief was controversial because many players considered the rune sword (rune shortsword), which has the same attack speed as the scimitar, to be superior.

Some players considered the benefits of the rune longsword versus the Rune scimitar to be dependent upon the ratio of the player's attack and strength levels, with a higher ratio of attack level to strength level making use of the rune longsword more advantageous than the scimitar, and vice-versa. This depended on the monsters that were fought, but the difference was largely insignificant. In PvP situations, one could wish to use a longsword in favour of a scimitar in order to land consistent, slightly higher blows, instead of rapid, yet lower blows of rune scimitars. This effect only applied to armoured fights.

Rune longswords could also be more effective against foes weak to stab (i.e. chainbodies or dragons). The rune longsword provided more flexible fighting options than the scimitar, so players could vary their training amongst certain monsters to more effectively wield the longsword.

However, with specific enemy weaknesses and weapon attack styles, it can still be concluded that each weapon has its place.

Trivia

 * On 28 July 2009, the Animation Pack 1 update changed the appearance and attack animations of the rune longsword to what it currently is today, along with the godswords, rune and dragon scimitars, the dragon longsword and the abyssal whip.
 * On 23 July 2009, five days before the scheduled update, the rune longsword image in the Grand Exchange database was replaced by the new model. Players found the image and posted about it in the RuneScape Forums, making it widely known before Jagex removed the image a few hours later. Five days later the image was once again put up along with the official release.
 * Like most other swords, on 12 April 2011, the rune longsword received an update changing its grip when held by a player.

Rune longsword Rune Longsword Rune longsword Rune longsword