Combat

Combat is an event in Old School RuneScape in which two or more characters and/or monsters or NPCs fight.

Below is a brief explanation of the three combat styles that can be used.

• In melee combat, the maximum damage is determined by Strength, along with the strength bonuses provided by equipment. Accuracy is determined by Attack and the attack bonuses provided by weapons and other equipment. See the article Melee damage-per-second for more information on calculating Melee damage output.

• For Ranged combat, both the Ranged level and the type of ammunition determine the maximum damage. The accuracy is determined by the Ranged level and the equipment used. See the article Ranged damage-per-second for more information on calculating Ranged damage output.

• Magic-based damage is typically based on the selected Magic combat spell, not by Magic level (exceptions include Magic Dart, powered staves, and salamanders). Magic accuracy is affected by both the equipment bonuses and the Magic level. See the article on Magic damage-per-second for more information on calculating Magic damage output.

Even though each level is designated for one style of combat, multiple styles of combat can be used in one fight, since players can switch weapons at will and at any time. The act of using two or more combat styles in a fight to gain an advantage is called "hybridding".

The purpose of hybridding in player killing is to bypass protection prayers, and in more experienced play, optimize accuracy/defence via the combat triangle. Hybridding forces an opponent to switch prayer and gear accordingly for the best odds of living. It generally opens the door for a wide variety of tools to be used in conjunction with each other, whether it be utility or burst from magic spells or special attacks.

Hybridding against certain monsters that have phase specific vulnerabilities can be a major damage boost, such as the Phantom Muspah or Zulrah. Other bosses, such as Nylocas Vasilias or Akkha, cannot be harmed unless using correct combat styles. Raids have a wide variety of bosses who are vulnerable to different combat styles, generally always requiring gear for all styles. Oftentimes, a ranged or magic switch is required or highly encouraged for when bosses are out of melee range, as is with the Royal Titans or Nex.

Players gain combat skill experience from dealing damage. The normal value is 4 experience per damage in ranged and melee combat styles, and 2 experience per damage in Magic combat style. However, certain high defence monsters have higher experience per hitpoint damage ratio.^[1] The normal value for hitpoint experience gained is 1.33 experience per damage done.

Magic spells also grant experience for the spell cast, even if the spell splashes. Defensive mode in Magic and Ranged is also an exception. If a player uses Magic on defensive mode, the normal value is 1.33 experience to Magic and 1 experience to Defence per damage dealt, plus casting experience. For ranging with long range, the normal value is 2 Ranged experience and 2 Defence experience per damage dealt. If a player is using a melee weapon such as an abyssal whip or spear that shares experience between Attack, Strength, and Defence, then the normal value is 1.33 experience per damage done to Attack, Strength, and Defence.

Some monsters give increased experience. The normal amount of experience is multiplied by a constant based on the stats of the monster itself. If a monster has a multiplier, the bonus experience gained will be in the following skills: Attack, Strength, Defence, Ranged, Magic, Hitpoints, and Slayer. The formula for calculating the multiplier is:

^[2]

where the Average terms are defined as:

Some monsters have manually defined experience bonuses that ignore the formula. For example, Great Olm gives no bonus experience despite its high stats.

Fighting a player in PvP situations, e.g. Clan Wars, Wilderness or in a PvP World, can give increased experience.^[3] The normal amount of experience is multiplied by a multiplier based on the Combat level of the opponent. The formula for calculating the multiplier is:

Hitpoints is the skill that determines the maximum health of a player or NPC. When a player or NPC's health reaches zero they die. As such the Hitpoints skill plays an important role in combat. There are various methods of adjusting a player's hitpoints:

• Hitpoints regenerate at the rate of 1 Hitpoint per minute passively; Certain prayers and equipment can speed this effect up.

• Hitpoints are primarily restored through the use of food and potions. Some Magic is also be used, such as blood spells , the Heal Other spell, or the passive effect of the Sanguinesti staff. There are roundabout methods of healing, including healing others through butterflies and Magic, or going to an NPC for healing, such as a monk, but these methods are often ineffective and uncommon.
• It is possible to temporarily boost a player's health past their current maximum Hitpoints through the use of certain foods, potions, and equipment.

Defence is another skill which plays an active role in nearly all combat situations. Defence as a skill doesn't directly reduce the damage taken per hit; Instead, it causes the attacker to be more likely to miss their attack. In this way, Defence could be equated to "evasiveness".

While Defence is responsible for reducing the accuracy of most hits, it is only 30% effective against Magic spells. Instead, 70% of the reduction of accuracy for a spell is determined by the player's own Magic level.

Monster magic defence is not affected by their Defence level, only Magic level and Magic defence bonus. See Magic.

Prayer, the final combat skill. Each Prayer level grants an additional maximum "prayer point" which are used to activate temporary passive boosts that the player unlocks as they increase their Prayer skill (or receive as drops from certain monsters). Prayer effects include increasing stats while active, protecting items upon death, providing increased Hitpoints regeneration, and even the ability to prevent all incoming damage. While prayers are active, the player's Prayer points are slowly drained at a rate dependent on both the type of prayer and any prayer bonuses provided by equipment, and prayers can no longer be used when all prayer points have been drained. Unlike Hitpoints, prayer points do not regenerate over time (outside of the Demonic Ruins) and can only be restored by praying at an altar, consuming potions, or using certain Special attacks.

Combat with monsters in the sea while the player is on a boat has some additional mechanics:

• Boats have a unique armour mechanic and take damage in place of the player,
• Cannons can be manned by crewmates, and if so their accuracy is dictated by the player's Sailing level,
• Melee weapons outside of salamanders cannot be used.

While skills are an important aspect of Combat, damage done and received is mostly determined by external traits, and there is a multitude of other factors that contribute to the fight.

Generally, armour boosts a player's defensive capabilities by reducing the accuracy of incoming attacks, and weaponry boosts a player's offensive capabilities. However, armour may also provide offensive bonuses, and weapons usually provide minor defensive bonuses. For maximum effectiveness, players should use the best equipment available to them, since bonuses provided by equipment are at least as important as levels in combat skills.

The Elysian spirit shield, Dinh's bulwark, and Justiciar armour set effects are currently the only pieces of armour that provide general damage absorption abilities. Certain shields and potions can reduce the damage taken from Dragonfire and Icy breath, and the Neitiznot shield reduces damage taken from ice troll females and thrower trolls.

Stat increases are available to anybody through the use of potions and certain food items. Through skill boosts, one can temporarily increase a combat statistic to a higher level. These boosts can cause a player's combat stats to exceed the cap of 99.

Special attacks are specific to some weapons that a player can wield. Special attacks consume a set percentage of the special attack bar in exchange for an effect specific to the weapon, which may include extra damage, additional hits, stat drains, and many others.

All weapons have a specific speed, which determines the interval between successive hits. Fast weapons tend not to be as accurate or powerful as their counterparts. Fast, inaccurate weapons are ideal against enemies with low Defence, while slower, more accurate weapons fare better against enemies with high Defence.

v t e Combat Mechanics
Combat	Attack range Attack speed Auto Retaliate Autocast Combat triangle Special attacks Hitsplat Tanking Magical melee Magical ranged Ranged magic Ranged melee Typeless
Maximum hit	Maximum magic hit Maximum melee hit Maximum ranged hit Monster maximum hit
Damage per second	Damage per second/Melee Damage per second/Ranged Damage per second/Magic
Mechanics	Aggressiveness Buffs Elemental weakness Flinching Hit delay Retaliation Retreat Safespot Spawning Successful hit Maximum damage cap Flat armour Tolerance Wander radius PJ timer Red-X Line of sight
Other	Single-way combat Multicombat area Singles-plus combat Player killing