Runescape Skill - Range Guide

The Basics

Rangers can be quite powerful as they become stronger and more experienced at the art of Ranging, but you need to know several things before starting out.

Basic Equipment

The weapon of choice for many Rangers is the Bow, which uses arrows to hit your enemy. There are 2 kinds of bows: Shortbows and Longbows. Shortbows are known to fire arrows more quickly than Longbows, but they're mainly used for close combat. You can also use a Crossbow and bolts, but generally they are less effective as you become a more experienced Ranger, since they only add 6 to Ranged Attack.

The basic Ranging equipment can be bought from Lowe's Archery Store in Varrock, located just northeast of the General Store, and also from a new Arrow Merchant in Rimmington which is a great place to buy supplies due to the fact that most people disregard it, and the stocks are always high.

There's also a Member's shop in Catherby that sells more advanced equipment, the Grand Tree Shop that sells bows and arrows, and of course the Ranging Guild. The Fletching skill can be used to make bows and arrows.

Combat Info

Now that you have your Ranging equipment, equip the bow and arrows (or crossbow and bolts) by clicking on them in your Backpack. To attack an enemy, just click on the "Attack" option to begin firing arrows or bolts. The most effective way to attack an enemy would be to stand behind an obstacle such as a gate or table, since they will be unable to attack you. Although, some of your foes may have the ability to attack you with their own Ranging weapons.

You may also notice that some of your arrows "disappear" after hitting an enemy. This is simply due to the fact that some of your arrows will be damaged on impact or the enemy, and your character will not even try to salvage them.

When you equip a Bow, you have the choice of using 1 of several Fighting Styles; each of which give different amounts of experience, although each style gives about 1.3xp to Hitpoints:

• Accurate - This style of Ranging is slightly slower, but more accurate than the 'Rapid' style will give 4xp to your Ranged level.
• Rapid - This Ranging Style sacrifices accuracy, but fires about 1 second faster than the 'Accurate' style. It gives 4xp to your Ranged level.
• Longrange - This style fires arrows at about the same speed as the 'Accurate' style, but it gives 2xp each to both Ranged and Defense.

Helpful Drinks

If you need a small boost to your Ranged level, have a drink of a Ranged Potion. it will increase your Ranged level by 15% for a short amount of time, and it can be made with your Herblore level if you're a Member.

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Bows & Arrows

Bows

Bows are the most widely used Ranging weapons, using arrows as their ammo. There are various Bows that you can use, although Free-Players can use up to Maple Bows. The Ogre bow is obtained from the Big Chompy Bird Hunting Quest. Crystal Bows are only available after completing the Roving Elves Quest. Check below for more info about it.

Bow Chart
Picture	Bow	Ranged Attack Bonus	Ranging Level
	Training Shortbow	8	1
	Shortbow	8	1
	Longbow	8	1
	Oak Shortbow	14	5
	Oak Longbow	14	5
	Willow Shortbow	20	20
	Willow Longbow	20	20
	Maple Shortbow	29	30
	Maple Longbow	29	30
	Ogre Bow	38	30
	Composite Ogre Bow	38	30
	Yew Shortbow	47	40
	Yew Longbow	47	40
	Yew Composite	49	40
	Magic Shortbow	69	50
	Magic Longbow	69	50
	Magic Composite	71	50
	Seercull	69	50
	Dark Bow	95	60
	Crystal Bow	100-64 See Below Section	70 Agility: 50

Crystal Bow

After completing the Roving Elves Quest, Members have the opportunity to buy a Crystal Bow for 900,000gp. You must have at least level 70 Ranging to use the bow. Unlike other bows, the Crystal Bow uses no ammo, and instead fires a magical shot. When you first start using it, it will have 2,500 uses, and each time you fire it, the remaining shots will decrease (As well as the attack bonus). If you right-click on the bow, you'll see a rating out of 10, depending on how many shots you have left.

Crystal Bow Attack Ratings
Phase	Range Attack Bonus
10/10	100
9/10	96
8/10	92
7/10	88
6/10	84
5/10	80
4/10	76
3/10	72
2/10	68
1/10	64

When all 2,500 shots have been used up, the bow stops working and turns into a crystal seed. This seed can be regrown into a fully charged bow by Ilfeen the Roving Elf, who can be found in central Isfadar. The first time you have a crystal bow recharged it will cost 900,000gp, but the price reduces after that:

Crystal Bow Recharge Cost
Recharge	Cost
First	900,000gp
Second	720,000gp
Third	540,000gp
Fourth	360,000gp
Fifth and Onwards	180,000gp

It's also worthwhile noting that you can have more than one Crystal Bow at once, by purchasing more Crystal Seeds and charging them.

Arrows

Arrows can be made from different metals, stronger metals being able to inflict more damage and be more difficultly damaged. Free-Players can use up to Adamantite Arrows. Members can also poison arrows by using a Weapon Poison Potion with them to poison up to 5. Better arrows will require you to use a certain bow or higher in order to Range with them.

Arrow Chart
Picture	Arrow	Required Bow
	Training Arrows	Training Shortbow
	Bronze	Any
	Bronze Brutal	Composite Ogre
	Iron	Any
	Iron Brutal	Composite Ogre
	Steel	Oak
	Steel Brutal	Composite Ogre
	Black Brutal	Composite Ogre
	Mithril	Willow
	Mithril Brutal	Composite Ogre
	Broad Arrow	-
	Adamantite	Maple
	Adamantite Brutal	Composite Ogre
	Rune	Yew
	Rune Brutal	Composite Ogre
	Ogre	Ogre
	Dragon	Dark

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Crossbows & Bolts

Crossbows

There are quite a few different types of Crossbows in RuneScape, which are another type of Ranging weapon that fire Bolts rather than Arrows, and are slower than Bows. It's for this reason that they are not as commonly used by Rangers.

Crossbow Chart
Picture	Crossbow	Ranged Attack Bonus	Ranging Level	Bolts
	Regular	6	1	Bronze
	Phoenix	6	1	Bronze
	Bronze	18	1	Bronze
	Blurite	30	16	Up to Blurite
	Iron	42	26	Up to Iron
	Dorgeshuun	42	28	Bone
	Zanik's	78	48	Bone
	Steel	54	31	Up to Steel
	Mithril	66	36	Up to Mithril
	Adamant	78	46	Up to Adamant
	Hunter's	55	50	Kebbit
	Rune	90	61	Up to Rune
	Karil's	84	70	Bolt Racks

Notes:

• Blurite Crossbows are untradeable, and can only be smithed after completing the Knight's Sword Quest.

Bolts

There are nearly as many types of Bolts as there are Crossbows. These are the main ammo for Crossbows, and can be made with your Fletching and Smithing skills. Regular bolts may be poisoned with Weapon Poison. Most of them can also be "modified" with special tips to pack more of a punch. these tips include:

• Opal - Use a chisel on an Uncut Opal, Mined from the Shilo Village rocks.
• Pearl - Use a chisel on a Pearl, Fished with a Big Net.
• Barbed - Traded for tickets at the Ticket Merchant in the Ranging Guild.
• Gem - Use a Chisel with a gem to cut it, and then use your chisel on it again to make bolt Tips.

Here is a chart of the different kinds of bolts you can make, as well as the Bolt Tips you can add to them:

Crossbow Bolt Chart
Picture	Bolt	Possible Tips
	Bronze	Barbed & Opal
	Blurite	Jade
	Iron	Pearl
	Silver	-
	Bone	-
	Steel	Red Topaz
	Mithril	Sapphire, Emerald & Mithril Grapple
	Adamant	Ruby & Diamond
	Kebbit	Kebbit Spike
	Long Kebbit	Long Kebbit Spike
	Rune	Dragonstone & Onyx
	Broad-Tipped	-
	Bolt Rack	-

Enchanted Bolts

Bolts with special tips (Gems, Pearl, or Opal) may be enchanted with your Magic skill to have all sorts of interesting (and helpful) effects on your enemies. Simply place any bolts you wish to have enchanted in your backpack, and then click on the level 4 "Enchant Bolt" spell in your spellbook, to see a menu of possible enchantments. then just select one to enchant your bolts.

Bolt Enchantments
Magic Level	Bolt	Runes	Effect
4	Opal	1 Cosmic, 2 Air	Chance of a lightning bolt hitting your enemy causing damage.
7	Sapphire	1 Cosmic, 1 Water, 1 Mind	Chance of stealing your enemies Prayer Points.
14	Jade	1 Cosmic, 2 Earth	Chance of throwing your opponent to the ground.
24	Pearl	1 Cosmic, 2 Water	Chance of hitting your enemy with a wave of water (extra effective against fire-based equipment).
27	Emerald	1 Cosmic, 3 Air, 1 Nature	Chance of poisoning your enemy.
29	Red Topaz	1 Cosmic, 2 Fire	Chance of decreasing your enemies Magic level.
49	Ruby	1 Cosmic, 5 Fire, 1 Blood	Chance of losing 10% of your hits to remove 20% of your enemy's hits.
57	Diamond	1 Cosmic, 10 Earth, 2 Law	Chance of decreasing your enemy's Ranged Defense.
68	Dragonstone	1 Cosmic, 15 Earth, 1 Soul	Chance of hitting your opponent with "DragonBreath" (Antifire Shield negates this).
87	Onyx	1 Cosmic, 20 Fire, 1 Death	Chance of leeching your opponent's hits.

Mithril Grapples

You've probably seen the "secret spy" movies in which a thief makes a cunning entrance with a grappling hook. Well, now you can use your own Mithril Grapple to scale walls and pass over certain Agility obstacles.

To accomplish this, simply Smith a Mithril Grapple and some mithril Bolts and attach them. Use a coil of Rope with the Grappling Hook, and with a Crossbow equipped, use the Grapple with the shortcut to scale it. Be sure to have a spare though, as these devices can sometimes break!

Crossbow Bolt Pouches

Pouches can be bought from the Crossbow Salesman in Keldagrim, and are designed to hold multiple type of bolts at the same time, meaning that you'll have more room for other items in your backpack.

The pouch has four slots, and each slot is able to carry up to 255 bolts of any type, for a total of 1,020. If you right-click on a slot with bolts in it, you'll be able to either equip them or remove them from the pouch. When the pouch is dropped, all of the bolts currently inside will appear on the ground, and the pouch itself will disappear.

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Throwing Weapons

Throwing Darts

Throwing darts are very fast one-handed weapons which can be poisoned with a Weapon Poison Potion. You can make throwing darts once you complete the Tourist Trap Quest by Smithing a Dart Tip, and then adding Feathers to them.

Throwing Darts
Picture	Dart	Ranging Level	Ranged Attack Bonus
	Bronze	1	+3
	Iron	1	+4
	Steel	5	+5
	Black	10	+7
	Mithril	20	+8
	Adamant	30	+11
	Rune	40	+15
	Dragon	60	+18

Throwing Knives

Like throwing darts, throwing knives are one-handed ranging objects which have a very fast attack speed. They can also be poisoned with Weapon Poison.

Throwing Knives
Picture	Knife	Ranging Level	Ranged Attack Bonus
	Bronze	1	+4
	Iron	1	+5
	Steel	5	+8
	Black	10	+10
	Mithril	20	+11
	Adamant	30	+15
	Rune	40	+25

Throwing Axes

Throwing Axes can be bought from the Tribal Weapons shop in the Ranging Guild, and are also dropped by numerous monsters. These weapons are wielded with one hand, although they are slower than throwing darts and knives.

Throwing Axes
Picture	Axe	Ranging Level	Ranged Attack Bonus
	Bronze	1	+4
	Iron	1	+5
	Steel	5	+8
	Mithril	20	+12
	Adamant	30	+17
	Rune	40	+26

Javelins

Much like throwing knives and darts, these weapons are wielded with one hand. They are also quite powerful ranging weapons.

Javelins
Picture	Javelin	Ranging Level	Ranged Attack Bonus
	Bronze	1	+5
	Iron	1	+8
	Steel	5	+12
	Mithril	20	+17
	Adamant	30	+24
	Rune	40	+38

Chinchompas

Chinchompas are stackable range weapons that can be obtained through the Hunter skill. The unique property about chinchompas is that they explode and damage everything in a 3 by 3 square centered around the target in multi-way combat zones. This can be very useful for training, and a guide about it can be found in the Ranging Help guide. Chinchompas are stackable, but cannot be 'Dropped' on the floor, since they are animals they are 'released'. They are tradeable but come at high prices.
There is one final thing to note about chinchompas: The attack style. Instead of having an accurate, a rapid and a long range setting, chinchompas have 3 different fuse lengths. Choosing a length appropriate to your distance from the target increases the damage, and the longest fuse results in defense experience as well as ranged experience.

Chinchompas
Picture	Chinchompa	Ranging Level
	Chinchompa	45
	Red Chinchompa	55

Salamanders and Swamp Lizards

Salamanders and Swamp Lizards can be caught while Net Trapping in RuneScape, and and are powerful ranging weapons when fueled with Swamp Tar and a specific herb. To create the fuel needed to power these creatures, simply obtain 15 Swamp Tar, as well as the herb specified below. Use a Pestle and Mortar with the herb to mix it with the tar, which will in turn make Herb Tar. Then wield both the tar and the creature, and select your attack style to gain experience in a certain combat skill:

• Flare - Ranged experience.
• Scorch - Strength experience.
• Blaze - Magic experience.

Salamanders and Swamp Lizards
Picture	Creature	Herb	Required Levels	Attack Bonuses
	Swamp Lizard	Guam	30 Ranging, Magic and Attack	+10 Ranged +20 Strength +22 Magic
	Orange Salamander	Marrentil	50 Ranging, Magic and Attack	+19 Ranged +29 Strength +31 Magic
	Red Salamander	Tarromin	60 Ranging, Magic and Attack	+37 Ranged +47 Strength +49 Magic
	Black Salamander	Harralander	70 Ranging, Magic and Attack	+59 Ranged +69 Strength +71 Magic

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Dwarven Multi-Cannon

This extremely powerful Ranging Cannon can be bought for a nominal fee of 750,000gp, after you complete the Dwarf Cannon Quest. The cannon can hold up to 30 Cannonballs, Smithed from a Steel Bar (1 Bar makes 4 Cannonballs), and it is made up of a base, stand, furnace, and barrel. To use it, you must set up all four pieces on the floor, and load it with Cannonballs. After that, it will continue to rotate, hitting any nearby enemies.

Although the Dwarven Multicannon is a very cool weapon, there are a few things to note. First, you can't use it against extremely tough enemies such as the Kalphite Queen, King Black Dragon, Abyssal Demon or any of the Metal Dragons, as they will destroy it. Second, using it for extended periods of time will cause your cannon todegrade (you'll see a message alerting you of this). If this happens, simply pick it up and set it back down again.

However, if the cannon degrades completely, it will disappear and leave only Cannonballs behind. When that happens, you must head back to Nulodion and get a replacement cannon.

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Ranging Armors

There are 2 main kinds of Ranging armor in RuneScape, which increase both your Defense and Ranged Attack. These armors are Crafted from either regular Leather or Dragon Leather, which gives protection against Magical attacks as well.

Leather

This is the most basic type of Ranging Armor, but it offers some protection against attacks. Some pieces of leather armor can be Studded with Steel Studs.

Leather Armor
Leather Armor	Ranged Attack Bonus	Ranged Defense Bonus
Cowl	1	3
Coif	2	4
Leather Body	2	9
Studded Leather Body	8	25
Hard Leather Body	8	15
Chaps	4	0
Studded Leather Chaps	6	16
Vambraces	4	0

Snakeskin Armor

This armor is slightly stronger than regular leather or studded armor, and it requires at least level 30 Ranging and Defense to wear. Check out the Tai Bwo Wannai Cleanup Mini-Game guide for info about making it.

Snakeskin Armor
Picture	Snakeskin Armor	Ranged Attack Bonus	Ranged Defense Bonus
	Bandana	4	2
	Body	12	35
	Chaps	6	10
	Vambraces	6	0
	Boots	3	0

Dragon Leather

Dragon Leather can only be made from Dragonhide, which is dropped by the different kinds of Dragons roaming around RuneScape. There is Green, Blue, Red and Black Dragon Leather, each of which requires at least 40 Defense and a specific Ranging level.

Dragon Leather Armor
Picture	Leather Armor	Required Levels	Ranged Attack Bonus	Ranged Defense Bonus
	Green Body	40 Ranged 40 Defense	15	40
	Green Chaps	40 Ranged	8	22
	Green Vambraces	40 Ranged	8	0
	Blue Body	50 Ranged 40 Defense	15	45
	Blue Chaps	50 Ranged	11	25
	Blue Vambraces	50 Ranged	9	0
	Red Body	60 Ranged 40 Defense	20	50
	Red Chaps	60 Ranged	14	28
	Red Vambraces	60 Ranged	10	0
	Black Body	70 Ranged 40 Defense	30	55
	Black Chaps	70 Ranged	17	31
	Black Vambraces	70 Ranged	11	0
	Blessed Dragonhide Coif	70 Ranged 40 Defense	7	8

Dagannoth Armor

Dagannoth Armor can only be acquired from materials gathered by killing Dagannoths on Waterbirth Island, and it cannot be bought in any shop. There are different types of Dagannoth Armor: Ranged, Magic and Melee. We're after the Ranged Armor in this case.

Dagannoths will drop hides, which you can take back to Sigli the Hunter in Rellekka to have made into armor. You will need 6 Dagannoth hides, 1 Circular Hide, 1 Flattened Hide, 1 Stretched Hide, and 22,500gp to make a full set. to complete the set, you need to get the gloves and boots by killing Dagannoths.

The helm, body and chaps all require 40 Ranged and Defense, while the boots and gloves have no requirements.

Dagannoth Ranged Armor
Picture	Spined Armor	Ranged Attack Bonus	Ranged Defense Bonus
	Helm	6	6
	Body	15	20
	Chaps	8	8
	Gloves	0	0
	Boots	0	0

Other Equipment

Aside from Leather and Dragonhide Ranging armor, there are also special kinds of equipment that you can get.

Robin Hood Hat & Ranger Boots are only obtained through Treasure Trails, although they can also be traded.
Karil the Tainted's set, including the armor and crossbow are obtained from the Barrows. It requires 70 Ranging and Defense to use.

Other Ranging Equipment
Picture	Item	Ranged Attack Bonus	Ranged Defense Bonus	Obtained From
	Ranger Boots	8	0	Treasure Trails
	Robin Hood Hat	8	4	Treasure Trails
	Ranger Helm	6	6	Rellekka Helm Shop
	Karil's Coif	3	10	Barrows
	Karil's Leather Top	30	57	Barrows
	Karil's Leather Bottom	17	33	Barrows
	Third Age Coif	9	8	Treasure Trails
	Third Age Range Top	30	55	Treasure Trails
	Third Age Range Legs	17	31	Treasure Trails
	Third Age Vambraces	11	0	Treasure Trails
	Archer Ring	4	4	Dagannoth King Loot
	Obsidian Ring	69	0	TzHarrEquipment Shop