Gear & upgrades.

Introduction

This guide lists the general natural combat style progression template for new players to follow devised by the RuneScape Discord Luminaries in collaboration with PVME. From levels 1 - 20, where an item is marked P2P, this means it is a members item.

Last Revised: 11 June 2024

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All bars assume Revo++ is being used. The bars below are taken from the Youtube video: Necromancy revolution bars. Below we use the AoE Healing bars as our main AoE bar whilst you learn combat in RuneScape. It is worth noting that Necromancy ability bars can change upon every new ability unlock. Therefore, for more granular information on how to set up your ability bars at each ability unlock, check out the linked video above.

Talent Tree Unlocks

Talents allow the player to unlock and upgrade Necromancy abilities, incantations, and passive effects. Talents can be unlocked with talent points, which can be acquired by gaining experience in combat using necromancy as a combat style. Unlocking higher tiers requires a combination of Necromancy levels, an amount of souls contributed to the Well of Souls through rituals, at least one talent from the previous tier, as well as the completion of quests and are managed at the Well of Souls at the ritual site in the City of Um.

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We recommend you upgrade your talent tree in the following order:

⬥ Unlock as soon as possible over any unbought upgrades when you hit level 70

Levels 1 - 20

You must craft weapons and armour at least once to be able to equip them (excluding the tier 10 set)

Gear:

⬥ 1 ‎ ‎ Death guard (tier 10) & Skull lantern (tier 10)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Free from the quest Necromancy!

⬥ 20 Death guard (tier 20) & Skull lantern (tier 20)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the quest Kili Row

Armour

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⬥ 1 ‎ ‎ Deathwarden robe armour (tier 10)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Bought from Buried Bargains after completion of the quest Necromancy!

⬥ 20 Deathwarden robe armour (tier 20)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the quest Kili Row

⬥ Amulet of power

⬥ Deathstorm drape - Best in Slot cape for F2P

⬥ Silverhawk boots (non-ironman & P2P) can be freely claimed from the Marketplace and give a small damage boost.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The boots can be upgraded at lvl 20, 40, 50 and 60 respectively.

Rituals

To unlock Talents in tier 2 of the Talent Tree at level 20, the player will need 50 souls. To maximise souls per ritual, you can use a Fragile memento performing Lesser communication rituals. These are 8 souls per ritual before accounting for multiply glyphs.

Ability bars levels 1 - 20

1 When you begin, you will only have access to - this ability does not need to go onto your action bar if you have it set to automatically be used when no other abilities are available (this is the default setting).

⬥ At level 2 ‎ ‎ add

⬥ At level 8 ‎ ‎ add

⬥ At level 13 add

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⬥ At level 20 you will unlock the ability to command your skeleton conjure using if you have unlocked it at the talent tree. This ability overrides whilst your skeleton is summoned. If you have unlocked the command, swap around and .

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At level 20 your bar will look like the bar below:

Monsters to kill 1 - 20

⬥ 1 - 20 Ghostly Troll Thrower in City of Um cave.

⬥ 1 - 20 Monsters in Lumbridge Catacombs. Requires Blood Pact quest.

Levels 20 - 50

You must craft weapons and armour at least once to be able to equip them

Useful quests:

⬥ 24 Complete the quest Rune Mythos

⬥ 46 Complete the quest Vessel of the Harbinger

Gear:

⬥ 30 ‎ ‎ Death guard (tier 30) & Skull lantern (tier 30)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the achievement Kili's Knowledge I

⬥ 40 ‎ ‎ Death guard (tier 40) & Skull lantern (tier 40)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the achievement Kili's Knowledge II

⬥ 50 ‎ ‎ Death guard (tier 50) & Skull lantern (tier 50)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the achievement Kili's Knowledge III

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Armour

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⬥ 30 ‎ ‎ Deathwarden robe armour (tier 30)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the achievement Kili's Knowledge I

⬥ 40 ‎ ‎ Deathwarden robe armour (tier 40)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the achievement Kili's Knowledge II

⬥ 50 ‎ ‎ Deathwarden robe armour (tier 50)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the achievement Kili's Knowledge III

⬥ Obsidian cape or Cape of legends

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Latter requires completion of the quest Legends Quest

⬥ Salve amulet (e) - for combat with undead creatures

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the quest Haunted Mine and the miniquest Lair of Tarn Razorlor

⬥ Amulet of glory - for combat with non-undead creatures

⬥ Ring of Wealth

⬥ Tome of Um 2 (P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Tome of Um requires completion of the medium City of Um achievements

Rituals

To unlock Talents in tier 3 of the Talent Tree at level 40, the player will need 400 souls. To maximise souls per ritual, you can use a Fragile memento performing Lesser communication rituals. These are 8 souls per ritual before accounting for multiply glyphs.

Ability bars levels 20 - 50

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Bar at 20

⬥ At level 28 you unlock but don't add it to your bar just yet

⬥ At level 36 you unlock - an AoE ability that can heal you from surrounding targets. Add this to the front of your AoE bar

⬥ At level 40 you unlock and if you have unlocked them at the talent tree.

⬥ At level 48 you unlock - a damage over time ability. Add this to the end of your Single Target and AoE bars.

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At level 48 your bars will look like the bars below:

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Single Target

AoE

Monsters to kill 20 - 50

⬥ 20 - 30 Monsters in Lumbridge Catacombs. Requires Blood Pact quest.

⬥ 30 - 50 Dragith Nurn. Requires Blood Pact quest ( works if you have it!).

⬥ 30 - 40 Ghosts in any of their locations.

⬥ 40 - 50 Banshees in the Slayer Tower

Levels 50 - 70

You must craft weapons and armour at least once to be able to equip them

Useful quests:

⬥ 65 Complete the quest The Spirit of War

Gear:

⬥ 60 ‎ ‎ Death guard (tier 60) & Skull lantern (tier 60)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the achievement Kili's Knowledge IV

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After reaching 60 and finishing the above, refer to Necromancy for weapon advice

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Armour

⬥ 60 ‎ ‎ Deathwarden robe armour (tier 60)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the achievement Kili's Knowledge IV

⬥ Cape of legends

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the quest Legends Quest

⬥ Ring of Fortune

⬥ One of the God books

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the quest Horror from the Deep

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After reaching 60 and finishing the above, refer to Necromancy for armour advice

Rituals

To unlock Talents in tiers 4 and 5 of the Talent Tree at levels 60 and 70 respectively, the player will need 2,000 souls for tier 4 and 4,500 souls for tier 5. To maximise souls per ritual, wait until 60 to begin performing rituals again. You can use a Spirit memento performing Greater communication rituals. These are 24 souls per ritual before accounting for multiply glyphs.

Ability bars levels 50 - 70

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Bars at 50

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Single Target

AoE

⬥ At level 52 you unlock the ability to be able to conjure a second Spirit. Add to your bar.

⬥ At level 54 you unlock and - Soul strike is an AoE ability.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Add and replace with on your Single Target bar

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The AoE bar has changed a fair bit - you can see the new ability bar below

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⬥ At level 60 you will unlock the ability to command your ghost conjure using if you have unlocked it at the talent tree. This ability overrides whilst your ghost is summoned and increases the damage you deal to your target.

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⬥ At level 60 you will unlock the ability to command your zombie conjure using if you have unlocked it at the talent tree. This ability overrides whilst your zombie is summoned and is a strong AoE ability.

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⬥ At level 62 you unlock from the talent tree and add this to your AoE bar.

⬥ At level 66 you unlock and add this to your Single Target bar.

⬥ At level 66 add to your AoE bar.

⬥ At level 70 you unlock from the talent tree - this will override without you needing to change anything.

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At level 70 your bars will look like the bars below:

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Single Target

AoE

Monsters to kill 50 - 70

⬥ 50 - 60 Ankous in the Stronghold of Security 4th level.

⬥ 60 - 70 Shadow warriors in the basement of the Legends Guild

⬥ 50 - 70 The Abyss Monsters (req. Enter the Abyss miniquest).

⬥ 60 - 70 Armoured Zombies (req. Defender of Varrock quest, works!).

Frequently asked questions

⬥ Why are there only Dual Wield weapons listed here?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Necromancy currently only has Dual Wield weapons. This guide will be updated should this change in the future.

⬥ What are Special Attacks and how do I use them?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Certain weapons e.g. have special attacks - these are powerful abilities that you have to activate manually. Therefore, place outside your revolution bar (the abilities with gold trim around them) if your weapon has one. You can find the ability in your Constitution abilities.

⬥ Can I just train slayer?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You certainly can if you want some variety. It is, however, slower to train at lower combat levels.

⬥ Why are weapons upgrades more important than armour upgrades? / Why is power armour recommended over tank armour?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Frankly put: You gain more from hitting harder than from getting hit less. A higher tier weapon lets you hit harder by increasing hit chance and damage bonus. Power armour increases damage bonus too. This lets you hit harder and kill more monsters, which means more xp gained per hour.

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Introduction & Disclaimer

This guide lists the recommended general melee purchase/unlock progression for players to follow.

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Last Revised: 23rd October 2026

The order is subject to change at any time as prices change, updates occur, and knowledge expands

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Please note the following assumptions:

⬥ Priorities may be different if you are doing niche content

⬥ "ROI" (meaning return-on-investment) typically means quality-of-life upgrades or typical damage increase

⬥ We do not recommend selling an item to buy another, unless it is a direct upgrade

⬥ Unlisted items are not worth buying

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Feel free to ask in PvM help (external Discord) for a tailored list to the content that you do!

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Necromancy Upgrade Order

For further information on each upgrade, check Armour And Weapons, Perks and Perk Information, Permanent Unlocks, or Eof Specs

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Kili's Tasks

Upon reaching level 70 you have the option to choose your path between power and tank armour. Completing either branch allows you to also create the same tier weaponry.

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⬥ Deathdealer - experienced players

⬥ Deathwarden - less experienced players

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Note: these tasks are generally easier, but slightly more time consuming

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Stage 1: High ROI

⬥ Work towards everything in Free Upgrades

⬥ Upgrade to T70 Weapons

⬥ T70 Deathwarden (Tank Armour)

⬥ Craft the Deathwarden Nexus

⬥ Conjurer's Raising Amulet - 101,031

⬥ Upgrade to T80 Weapons

⬥ Scripture of Jas - 2,468,912

⬥ Equilibrium 2 - 13,787,779

⬥ Upgrade to T90 Weapons

⬥ Pick one ring to rule them all (you don't need both):

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Zorgoth's Soul Ring - upgraded version of quest reward from Requiem for a Dragon

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Occultist's Ring - 5,711,177

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Stage 2: Medium ROI

⬥ All other upgrades in Free Upgrades

⬥ The First Necromancer set - 366,596,708

⬥ Omni Guard - 275,851,499

⬥ Soulbound Lantern - 473,487,016

⬥ Best-in-slot weapon perks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• P6AS1 + AS4E2 + - 103,418,917

⬥ Scripture of Ful - 117,685,383

⬥ Essence of Finality (with T70 Death Guard) - 163,544,923

⬥ Divert - 22,178,750

⬥ T90 Flanking switch - 5,476,693

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Perked with Flanking 4

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Primarily for group based content, with some niche solo uses, skip if these do not pertain to you.

⬥ Equilibrium 4 - 134,937,162

⬥ Shard of Genesis Essence (1 covers both and ) - 631,546,595

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Stage 3: Low ROI

⬥ Ruination - 647,519,856

⬥ Vital Drain - 158,609,796

⬥ Invoke Lord of Bones - 57,655,051

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Applicable bosses include: Vorago, AoD, Sanctum of Rebirth

⬥ Devourer's Nexus - 19,832,576

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This is a higher priority if primarily doing group content

⬥ Misalionar's Death Mask and Cinderbane Gloves - 362,093,491 + 41,219,331

⬥ Deathtouch Bracelet - 34,498,346

⬥ Upgrade to T100 Flanking switch - 473,487,016

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Perked with F4E1 - 56,197,364

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Optionally dyed - 532,294,405

⬥ Invoke Arisen Flesh - 56,558,249

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

⬥ Common Mistakes to Avoid

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This guide will go over general damage output lessons, ability prioritisation, a learning path, and style-specific solutions for common PvM concerns

⬥ Knowledge of in-game ability/item descriptions is assumed, this guide aims to tie the tools together rather than list what they do

⬥ For general PvM terminology, damage tips, and revolution bars, check out their respective sections in DPM Advice Faq

⬥ To compare abilities, use RS Analysis' Necromancy Page, and add your gear

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> Core Necromancy Rotation

This section covers rotations using core style abilities before later unlocks are obtained

See Advanced Necromancy Rotations section further down for info on necromancy rotations using best-in-slot gear

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⬥ A typical Necromancy rotation uses the strongest Basic Abilities available to build adrenaline, and spends it on the strongest available Enhanced Abilities, Ultimate Abilities, or Special Attacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• While doing this, we must think about the following key considerations:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Basic ability patterns

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Buff usage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Stack management /

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Basic Pattern

⬥ The basic pattern uses Touch of Death and Soul Sap to build stacks, then spends them later

⬥ Touch of Death , Has high priority when cooldown is available

⬥ Soul Sap , Often used in blocks of 3 abilities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• [ → Ability → Ability ] → Repeat

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⬥ Stack spenders, Use these to spend your and stacks:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Finger of Death

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Prioritised inside of

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Often shouldn't be used when under 6 stacks due to adrenaline cost

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Volley of Souls

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Often shouldn't be used when under 5 stacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Death Guard Special Attack

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Spends all stacks, Often shouldn't be used when over 4 stacks

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⬥ Other strong abilities, These should be woven into rotations effectively:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Death Skulls

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Split Soul

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Bloat

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Command Skeleton Warrior

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Living Death

⬥ Living Death is the main buff to prioritise whenever there is an opportunity to deal damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The exception to this is when the fight would end too quickly, or mechanics occur, and you can't benefit from the full duration

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Ideally, enter boss fights and important phases with 100% adrenaline so you can activate it immediately

⬥ In Living Death , continue following the basic pattern of building and spending stacks, while maximizing Death Skulls usage:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Death Skulls

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Finger of Death

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Volley of Souls

⬥ Keep in mind you want to be using your other strong abilities in-between and your stack spenders

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Split Soul

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Bloat , only approximately every 20 seconds

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Command Skeleton Warrior

⬥ While waiting for cooldown, you do not want to needlessly camp 100% adrenaline, and can start building when is nearly ready to use again

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Conjures

Conjures are summoned allies that help you in combat and should be used everywhere, unless a good reason is stated

⬥ Vengeful Ghost should be kept active and commanded with before damage rotations, as this provides both passive damage and sustain throughout the fight

⬥ Skeleton Warrior should be kept active, with Command Skeleton Warrior woven into rotations when available for effective damage

⬥ Putrid Zombie is mainly kept active for passive damage, but Command Putrid Zombie can be used situationally for burst AoE

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This kills the Zombie, so only use it when the burst damage is worth needing to refresh or wait for the original conjure cooldown

⬥ Phantom Guardian is primarily defensive, reducing incoming damage while active

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• It builds Valour stacks over time when getting hit, which can be spent by Command Phantom Guardian for situational AoE damage

⬥ Conjure Undead Army is the standard way to summon or refresh conjures before key damage windows

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Can be configured by right-clicking and choosing the customise option

Stack Management

Necromancy rotations are heavily shaped by managing Necrosis and Residual Soul stacks effectively

⬥ Necromancy uses stack stack building basic abilities to unlock stronger spenders later in the rotation

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Touch of Death grants 4

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Soul Sap grants 1

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• These stacks should generally be built naturally while cycling your strongest available abilities

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⬥ Necrosis stacks are primarily spent on Finger of Death

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Try to avoid using below 6 for effective use

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• During Living Death prioritise Finger of Death and Necromancy higher than other weaker options

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Death Guard Special Attack consumes all to deal good damage and stun the target, can be used when at or less than 4

⬥ Residual Soul stacks are primarily spent on Volley of Souls

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Volley of Souls should be used with 5 for maximum value

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Soul Strike can be used with Flanking to deal good damage per soul, outside of your rotation

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• can be comboed alongside Threads of Fate to generate more in AoE scenarios

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Devourer's Guard Special Attack consumes all souls to deal good damage and stun the target, can be used outside of rotation as its own seperate rotation

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⬥ Good stack management means avoiding both early spending and overcapping

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Spending too early lowers the value of the stacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Overcapping wastes potential value the stacks

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> Rotation Examples

These are only suggestions to work from, and will not necessarily be applicable at all bosses or situations. For boss-specific rotations, see their respective guides.

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Starting Unlocks

⬥ Ring of Vigour or its passive effect after Extinction quest

⬥ Super Adrenaline or Enhanced Replenishment Potions

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Adrenaline potion rotations can be looped with the corresponding non-adrenaline potion rotation

⬥ Necromancy Talent Tree fully unlocked

⬥ Because Necromancy relies on multiple every , Try to obtain Igneous Kal-Mor as soon as possible

⬥ Conservation of Energy is highly recommended

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Living Death Rotation Examples

Rotations assume a regular prebuild of → → is done beforehand

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Example

⬥ → → → → → + → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → ( ends)

Example w/out Adrenaline Potion

⬥ → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → ( ends)

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These rotations demonstrate the fundamental structure of necromancy's core rotation, and show typical ways of setting up the triple while sticking to the basic pattern.

Divert can be used for extra adrenaline, particularly useful for casting during

If you do not meet the requirements to get three during your then settle for two and use other strong abilities to fill in gaps like

Outside of Living Death

General ability prioritization

1. Keep conjures alive and ghost commanded

2. if it gets a lot of value and doesn't hinder the rest of the rotation

3. if the target will live long enough for it to get value, and you have excess adrenaline for it

4. when available

5. over other basics, unless overcapping on stacks

6. woven in for adrenaline and building souls for a before next

7. at 6+ stacks

8. at 5

9. if you need the stun or burst damage from it

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⬥ When is about to come off cooldown build adrenaline for it and refresh

Assumes a rotation from above is used before this

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Example rotation

⬥ → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → →

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> PvM Decision Making

Next, we explore how necromancy solves common PvM scenarios using its versatile tools

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Area-of-Effect (AoE)

⬥ Threads of Fate is the default option for dealing with AoE scenarios as necromancy

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Longer range AoE targeting than other options while being very flexible in ability usage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use powerful abilities like → → → or use to build stacks like → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Can continue to be used even if target dies, this helps with killing multiple sets of enemies with one cast

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Can be used to briefly stun multiple targets with stun abilities such as /

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⬥ Spectral Scythe can be used for close range AoE multiple times

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• First activation is only an arc in front of the player, subsequent casts will hit all around the player

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Costly to use multiple times, but effective for smaller groups of close enemies

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⬥ Low Priority or Highly Situational

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Soul Strike provides a cheap spammable AoE option, but is often too weak or costs too many stacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Command Putrid Zombie deals good damage, but can often be unreliable and causes your to die, forcing you to refresh

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Bloat is best used when you kill the main target, causing it to spread to nearby enemies, good but low range and costs adrenaline

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Blood Siphon can be useful for large healing, but has very low AoE damage

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Short Damage Checks

⬥ Some PvM scenarios emphasise short phases and quick damage checks rather than keeping up a consistent flow of damage

⬥ In such cases, we have some of the following options:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Using and ahead of time

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Utilising abilities with late hit timings / to clip into the start of the next phase

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Spend all stacks quickly by using / /

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Utilising stalling with /

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ This only works with special attacks, normal necromancy abilities cannot be stalled and released

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ This can be combined with / / to utilise their effects

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Ring Selection

⬥ Necromancy has multiple rings to choose from. When making your selection, consider the following:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ on average generally provides the most single target damage with it giving stacks to use during

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ is more suited towards AoE situations, giving extra souls for and

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ is good when you want to use a specific rotation that doesn't rely on extra stacks from rings, and the target can take reflect damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ is good if none of the above apply or you want the extra protection

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> Advanced Necromancy Rotations

This section focuses on tactics that make full use of endgame tools available to necromancy . Players looking to optimise around Omni Guard and Devourer's Guard should use this section as reference.

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Omni Guard

⬥ Passively provides Death Spark which is great for generally dealing extra damage

⬥ can be used to ready at wars before starting the fight

⬥ The special attack readies in addition to dealing good damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Can be used as its own rotation by readying repeatedly like → → → → →

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Devourer's Guard

⬥ Passively provides Soul Reave which can be good for more specific situations

⬥ can be used to prebuild at wars faster

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• → → → →

⬥ Can be used for a double rotation when not able to do a rotation, useful at group scenarios:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 5 → → → → → → → → → → → → →

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Related guides

For further information and reading, you can refer to the following resources.

Note: If you have any difficulties in using the tools or understanding what the information means, you can always ask in PvM help (external Discord).

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Introduction

This guide lists the general natural combat style progression template for new players to follow devised by the RuneScape Discord Luminaries in collaboration with PVME. From levels 1 - 50, where an item is marked P2P, this means it is a members item.

Last Revised: 13 April 2024

Levels 1 - 20

Gear:

⬥ 1 Caitlin's staff

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Free from the quest Blood Pact and provides unlimited

⬥ 5 Mindspike

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Free and can be obtained from Gudrik in Port Sarim

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Unlimited supply of in the element the player chooses

⬥ 10 ‎ ‎ Imp horn wand, Imphide book

⬥ 20 ‎ ‎ Spider wand, Spider orb

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Armour

⬥ 1 ‎ ‎ Pathfinder armour

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This armour is free and can be obtained from Gudrik in Port Sarim.

⬥ 20 Spider silk robes

⬥ Amulet of Magic

⬥ Spellstorm drape - Best in Slot cape for F2P

⬥ Silverhawk boots (non-ironman & P2P) can be freely claimed from the Marketplace and give a small damage boost.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The boots can be upgraded at lvl 20, 40, 50 and 60 respectively.

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Ability bars levels 1 - 20

⬥ Use the lesser abilities as placeholders. These will update automatically as you unlock the full ability.

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Bar at 1 :

⬥ At level 2 add to Spot 1 on your bar

⬥ At level 3 add to Spot 3 on your bar

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At level 20 your bar will look like the bar below:

Monsters to kill 1 - 20

⬥ Ghostly Troll Thrower in City of Um cave.

⬥ Monsters in Lumbridge Catacombs. Requires Blood Pact quest.

Levels 20 - 50

Gear:

⬥ 30 Air/Water/Earth/Fire battlestaff (P2P only) or Batwing wand & Batwing book

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Former provides unlimited supply of / / /

⬥ 40 Mystic Air/Water/Earth/Fire staff (P2P only) or Splitbark wand & Splitbark orb

⬥ 50 Ancient staff (P2P only) or Iban's staff (P2P only) or Mystic wand & Mystic orb

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Ancient Staff requires completion of the quest Desert Treasure

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Iban's Staff requires completion of the quest Underground Pass

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Armour

⬥ 30 Batwing robes

⬥ 40 Lunar equipment > Splitbark armour

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Lunar equipment requires completion of the quest Lunar Diplomacy

⬥ 50 Skeletal armour (P2P) > Mystic equipment (F2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Skeletal armour requires completion of the quest The Fremennik Trials to be worn.

⬥ Obsidian cape (P2P) or Cape of legends (P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Latter requires completion of the quest Legends Quest

⬥ Amulet of glory (P2P)

⬥ Explorer's ring 3 (F2P) or Ring of Wealth (P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Former requires completion of the medium Lumbridge achievements

⬥ Silverhawk boots (non-ironman & P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The boots can be upgraded at lvl 20, 40, 50, and 60 respectively.

Ability bars levels 20 - 50

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Bar at 20 :

⬥ At level 37 you will unlock

⬥ At level 45 add to Spot 9 on your bar

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At level 45 your bar will look like the bar below:

Monsters to kill 20 - 50

⬥ Ghostly Troll Thrower in City of Um cave.

⬥ 30+: Dragith Nurn. Requires Blood Pact quest ( works!).

Levels 50 - 70

Gear:

⬥ 60 Guthix staff or Grifolic wand & Grifolic orb

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• bought from the Mage Arena - whilst there, unlock the special attack

⬥ 70 Crystal staff or Crystal wand & Crystal orb

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Both require 50 and completion of the quest Roving Elves

​

Armour

⬥ 65 Superior Skeletal armour - made using Skeletal armour and Fremennik equipment patches

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Whilst Superior Skeletal armour degrades, degradation takes a very long time - don't let this put you off!

⬥ 70 Subjugation robe armour

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This an expensive but worthwhile upgrade - it is okay to use Superior Skeletal armour until this becomes affordable

⬥ Salve amulet(e) if fighting undead.

⬥ Ring of Fortune

⬥ One of the God books

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the quest Horror from the Deep

Ability bars levels 50 - 70

Bar at 50 :

⬥ At level 55 add to Spot 2 on your bar and remove

​

At level 70 your bar will look like the bar below:

Monsters to kill 50 - 70

⬥ Dragith Nurn. Requires Blood Pact quest ( works!).

⬥ The Abyss Monsters (req. Enter the Abyss miniquest).

⬥ Armoured Zombies (req. Defender of Varrock quest, works!).

​

Frequently asked questions

⬥ At level 37 I unlock Detonate but it's not used on the bars. Why?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Detonate is an Area-of-effect ability that doesn't work well with revolution - you will have to activate this manually as it requires charging. Revolution will override the charge and "waste" the ability.

⬥ What are Special Attacks and how do I use them?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Certain weapons e.g. have special attacks - these are powerful abilities that you have to activate manually. Therefore, place outside your revolution bar (the abilities with gold trim around them) if your weapon has one. You can find the ability in your Constitution abilities.

⬥ How do I select a spell?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• To select a combat spell:

Spellbook → right click chosen spell → select auto cast → select option 3 (main hand & off-hand).

⬥ When should I change spells?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You should regularly upgrade your auto-cast to the highest available spell tier. You can find out a spell's damage level cap by checking its tooltip.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• For example: Air strike's damage cap is at level 16 - you can upgrade to Air bolt at level 17.

⬥ Can I just train slayer?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You certainly can if you want some variety. It is, however, slower to train at lower combat levels.

⬥ Why are weapons upgrades more important than armour upgrades? / Why is power armour recommended over tank armour?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Frankly put: You gain more from hitting harder than from getting hit less. A higher tier weapon lets you hit harder by increasing hit chance and damage bonus. Power armour increases damage bonus too. This lets you hit harder and kill more monsters, which means more xp gained per hour.

​

Introduction & Disclaimer

This guide lists the recommended general melee purchase/unlock progression for players to follow.

​

Last Revised: 26th October 2026

The order is subject to change at any time as prices change, updates occur, and knowledge expands

​

Please note the following assumptions:

⬥ The order assume a starting point of T70 gear

⬥ Priorities may be different if you are doing niche content

⬥ "ROI" (meaning return-on-investment) typically means quality-of-life upgrades or typical damage increase

⬥ We do not recommend selling an item to buy another, unless it is a direct upgrade

⬥ Unlisted items are not worth buying

​

Feel free to ask in PvM help (external Discord) for a tailored list to the content that you do!

​

Magic Upgrade Order

For further information on each upgrade, check Armour And Weapons, Perks and Perk Information, Permanent Unlocks, or Eof Specs

​

Stage 1: High ROI

⬥ Work towards everything in Free Upgrades

⬥ Guthix Staff + unlock its special attack - free!

⬥ Obliteration with Entry Level Perks - 2,158,626

⬥ Greater Concentrated Blast - 13,259,356

⬥ Planted Feet - 6,139,820

⬥ Kerapac's Wrist Wraps + Blast Diffusion Boots - 10,240,444

⬥ Elite Tectonic armour - 176,566,216

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Tectonic armour is a valid less expensive alternative - 45,166,837

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The elite version can be resold later; the regular version cannot

⬥ Cinderbane Gloves (only if doing poisonable content) - 41,219,331

⬥ Book slot: Scripture of Jas , Amascut or Chaotic Grimoire

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• - 2,468,912

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• - 1,837,525

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• - 150,000

⬥ Greater Chain - 194,916,977

⬥ Caroming 4 switch - TBC

⬥ Roar of Awakening - 124,106,922

⬥ Ode to Deceit - 104,862,098

⬥ Amulet of Souls - 38,647,279

⬥ Grasping Rune Pouches - 140,769,366

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use !pouches ‎to see how to fill and which spells are useable

⬥ Greater Sunshine

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• If purchasing from GE - 84,437,175

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• If crafting - 34,594,991

​

Stage 2: Medium ROI

⬥ All other upgrades in Free Upgrades

⬥ Reaver's Ring (only where >96% hit chance) - 69,355,116

⬥ Biting 4 - 80,228,265

⬥ Fractured Staff of Armadyl + Erethdor's Grimoire - 1,190,845,129

⬥ Tumeken's resplendence top + bottom - 413,360,920 + 537,421,215

⬥ Tumeken's resplendence boots + gloves + helm - 173,973,721 + 157,234,218 + 172,328,089

⬥ Channeller's Ring - 101,355,669

⬥ Essence of Finality (with Iban's staff) (with ) - 163,544,923

⬥ Magma Tempest - 271,912,878

​

Stage 3: Low ROI

⬥ Divert - 22,178,750

⬥ Best-in-slot weapon perks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• C4AS1 + L4E2 for dual-wield weapons + - 111,186,425

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• P6U4 AS4E2 for 2H weapons + - 84,562,576

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• AS4 is a very strong perk in its own right. If you fail going for AS4E2, feel free to use AS4 in its place for the time being.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Upon getting Aftershock you'll now need it on all of your weapons for that style

⬥ Shard of Genesis Essence - 631,546,595

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use on

⬥ Upgrade prayers depending on content:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Affliction - 647,519,856

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Eclipsed Soul + Divine Rage - 75,220,620

⬥ Vital Drain - 158,609,796

⬥ Enchantment of Metaphysics - 112,257,845

⬥ Corruption Blast - Free from Raids or 32,498,144

⬥ Essence of Finality (with Guthix Staff) (with ) - 163,544,923

⬥ Legatus' Emberstaff - 28,149,539

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Replace in

⬥ Cryptbloom set - 435,562,786

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Skip if not doing high-enrage bosses

⬥ Limitless - 129,670,000

​

Common Mistakes to Avoid

⬥ Common Mistakes to Avoid

​

​

This guide will go over general damage output lessons, ability prioritisation, a learning path, and style-specific solutions for common PvM concerns

⬥ Knowledge of in-game ability/item descriptions is assumed, this guide aims to tie the tools together rather than list what they do

⬥ For general PvM terminology, damage tips, and revolution bars, check out their respective sections in DPM Advice Faq

⬥ To compare abilities, use RS Analysis' Magic Page, and add your gear

​

> Core Magic Rotation

This section covers rotations using core style abilities before later unlocks are obtained

See Advanced Magic Rotations section further down for info on magic rotations using best-in-slot gear

​

⬥ A typical Magic rotation uses the strongest Basic Abilities available to build adrenaline, and spends it on the strongest available Enhanced Abilities, Ultimate Abilities, or Special Attacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• While doing this, we must think about the following key considerations:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Basic ability patterns

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Buff usage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Spell effects

​

Basic Pattern

If Greater Concentrated Blast is not unlocked, use the regular version instead

​

⬥ Greater Concentrated Blast should form the foundation of your rotation

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Try to follow with strong abilities that can critically strike

⬥ The basic pattern uses often in blocks of 3 abilities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• [ → Ability → Ability ] → Repeat

​

⬥ When building adrenaline, fill the empty slots with strong Basic Abilities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Dragon Breath

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Sonic Wave

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Combust

⬥ Then spend adrenaline on Enhanced Abilites, Ultimate Abilities, and Special Attacks:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Such abilities are often categorically referred to as spenders

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Omnipower

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Wild Magic

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Asphyxiate

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Lasts long enough to fill both empty slots between uses

⬥ This pattern helps ensure that your cooldowns are always cycling to allow for a consistent flow of strong abilities

​

Sunshine

It is assumed that either the Planted Feet perk or Greater Sunshine unlock has been obtained for the purposes of this guide

​

⬥ Sunshine is the main buff to prioritise whenever there is an opportunity to deal damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The exception to this is when the fight would end too quickly, or mechanics occur, and you can't benefit from the full duration

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Ideally, enter boss fights and important phases with 100% adrenaline so you can activate it immediately

⬥ In Sunshine , continue following the basic pattern while fitting in your most powerful spenders:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Omnipower

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Wild Magic

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Asphyxiate

⬥ Keep in mind that Damage-over-Time (DoT) abilities such as Combust are not affected by and most other damage buffs

⬥ While waiting for cooldown, you do not want to needlessly camp 100% adrenaline, and can start building when is nearly ready to use again

​

Other Buffs

Besides Sunshine, Magic has multiple buffing abilities that are meant to supplement and enhance its core rotation

​

⬥ Tsunami grants adrenaline per critical strike and is most often used alongside

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Synergises with abilities that have built-in critical strike chance boosts / /

​

⬥ Sonic Wave is typically used to save adrenaline while setting up +

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• It can also be used on spenders to help maintain high adrenaline while waiting on cooldown

​

⬥ Runic Charge can flexibly enhance different basic abilities but is most commonly used for:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• (1) + on either or to allow for more immediate adrenaline during the buff window

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• (2) + on either or for consistent critical strikes on your highest damaging abilities

​

⬥ Asphyxiate provides a critical strike damage boost after its full channel, often stacked with other buffs to maximise burst damage

​

Spell Effects

Magic spells can be clicked in the spellbook or right-clicked on an ability bar to be set to autocast, which 'selects' them to use with your abilities, like picking your ammo for a ranged weapon

​

⬥ When using abilities, stronger autocast spells can increase your ability damage and provide additional effects

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Autocast either Exsanguinate or alternatively Incite Fear if you plan to use Tsunami

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Otherwise, use the highest rank of blood / air spell available or Crumble Undead if applicable

⬥ Any damaging spell can be dragged onto a hotbar slot to act as although you will gain the secondary effect of that spell when used rather than the secondary effect of your autocast

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• It is recommended to do so to maintain a consistent hit timing for your , as certain spells such as hit slower than others

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This guide will use to denote basic attacks, although typically / / are chosen for faster hit timing and useful effects

⬥ Smoke Cloud should be prioritised on bosses that last over a minute, especially once further critical strike boosts are unlocked

​

> Rotation Examples

These are only suggestions to work from, and will not necessarily be applicable at all bosses or situations. For boss-specific rotations, see their respective guides.

​

Starting Unlocks

⬥ Ring of Vigour or its passive effect after Extinction quest

⬥ Super Adrenaline or Enhanced Replenishment Potions

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Adrenaline potion rotations can be looped with the corresponding non-adrenaline potion rotation

⬥ Greater Sunshine or Planted Feet perk

⬥ Greater Concentrated Blast and Greater Sonic Wave

⬥ Incite Fear and Smoke Tendrils in examples with Tsunami

​

1 Minute Examples

Example

⬥ + → + → → → → → → → → → → → → → → + → → → → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → + → →

​

Example w/out Adrenaline Potion

⬥ + → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → + → → → → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → + →

​

Tsunami Example

⬥ + → + → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → + → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → →

​

Tsunami Example w/out Adrenaline Potion

⬥ → + → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → + → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → →

​

Note: Rotations with Tsunami were tested with Reaver's Ring + Biting 4 at 23% critical strike chance

​

These rotations demonstrate the fundamental structure of magic's core rotation, and show typical ways of setting up the initial round of buffs while sticking to the basic pattern. With further upgrades, this rotation can be progressively iterated upon even through endgame upgrades.

​

> PvM Decision Making

Next, we explore how magic solves common PvM scenarios and other style-specific decisions it has to make

​

Area-of-Effect (AoE)

⬥ Chain / Greater Chain is the default option for dealing with AoE scenarios as magic

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Longer range AoE targeting than other options while being flexible in terms of adrenaline management

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use a powerful ability on the main target like → or high hitting special attacks such as

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ If the main target dies before the followup ability is cast, the effect will be lost

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Can be used to briefly stun multiple targets with stun abilities such as /

​

⬥ Magma Tempest deals high damage when targets are expected to survive for a longer period of time

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Targeted variant is good for setting up damage before enemies have spawned

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Is not classified as DoT damage, allowing it to benefit from Sunshine and other damage buffs

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Can mostly finish ticking if used between cooldown

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ can also help with tagging and luring enemies into 5x5 area

​

⬥ Low Priority or Highly Situational

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Barrage Spells provide a spammable AoE option but have restrictive 3x3 area and low damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Can be used for AoE healing or freeze

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Tsunami is usually only used for AoE when the timing lines up with when you would normally use it

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Dragon Breath may be used for lower target counts (<= 4) and can be boosted further with

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Corruption Blast has higher multipliers than and but is restrictive due to being classified as DoT and costing adrenaline

​

Spending Excess Adrenaline

⬥ Wild Magic is your go-to spender and deals more damage than other options under most circumstances

⬥ Essence of Finality Special Attacks are rarely needed for magic rotations due to the extremely low cooldown on

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• + can automatically fill up to 2/3 of your rotation on their own

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Iban's Staff and Legatus's Emberstaff can be used as the main options

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ For situations where you have adrenaline but no strong cooldowns available, or when fishing for high immediate burst damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Guthix Staff is used only when a hit chance boost is needed

​

Dealing with Movement

⬥ Bosses may require you to move for mechanics during Sunshine and/or mid-channel

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• occupies a 7x7 area, it is often possible to pre-position it to fit into any movement requirements a boss has

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Prioritise movement abilities / to quickly deal with mechanics and get back into rather than running normally

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ It's possible to input / on the same tick as the next ability to allow seamless repositions even after channels

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Simply tanking damage (with / if needed) is viable for expected and non-lethal amounts of damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• For extremely movement intensive phases it may be ideal to not use , in which case DoT such as / may go up in priority

​

Short Damage Checks

⬥ Some PvM scenarios emphasise short phases and quick damage checks rather than keeping up a consistent flow of damage

⬥ In such cases, we have some of the following options:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Shift timing to be used on → / precisely when required

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Pre- / purely for the buff before these scenarios begin if time allows

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Sources of damage that can be used ahead of time / /

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → → + can deal heavy damage while being completely adrenaline positive

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Utilising stalls and abilities with late hit timings to clip into the start of the next phase

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Equip a magic main-hand + melee off-hand and click under yourself to make stalling at short range easier

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Freely switch back to any magic weapon, then click the target to release the stall

​

Reaver's Ring vs Channeller's Ring

⬥ It may seem that Channeller's Ring pulls ahead due to the abundance of channelled abilities available to magic . However, the following should be considered:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• does not boost some of magic's strongest abilities / or Lightning Surge attacks during FSoA's special attack

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• has incredible synergy with Tumeken's Resplendence 4-piece effect that buffs

⬥ Therefore, the general recommendation is Channeller's Ring when using (4-piece+), and otherwise Reaver's Ring when hit chance is not an issue

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• However, it is also possible to actively swap between both rings, using for and otherwise

​

> Advanced Magic Rotations

This section focuses on tactics that make full use of endgame tools available to magic . Players looking to optimise around Fractured Staff of Armadyl and Tumeken's Resplendence should use this section as reference.

​

Sanctum Dual Wield Weapons

These weapons generally become outclassed as a camp weapon once is obtained, skip ahead if past this point of gear progression

​

⬥ Building stacks during is inefficient, but a single DoT use is required to keep stacks from expiring

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The best option for this is itself, since the first hit is not a DoT and is boosted by

⬥ Using Combust immediately before allows us to refresh at around 10s remaining on

⬥ The Conflagrate buff granted by can be held until ends to make use of it without overlapping on duration

​

Example:

⬥ → → + → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → ( ends) → → → (if it reset) → (strong filler while is running)

​

Notes:

⬥ Resets on during can be optionally held until after ends to have a strong filler option while waiting for cooldown

⬥ becomes a strong very strong ability while maintaining 10+ stacks, but better options are usually available during

⬥ Prebuilding with → at the Wars dummies allows you to quickly build 30 stacks of between boss kills

​

Fractured Staff of Armadyl

⬥ An effective rotation relies on landing critical strikes as often and reliably as possible

⬥ Passive critical strike damage boost generally overtakes at ~30%+ critical strike chance, making the primary camp weapon for endgame magic rotations

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• + should still be kept for the special attack

⬥ Where possible, you will overlap + + to get the most out of each effect

⬥ Critical strike chance checklist:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Biting 4

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Erethdor's Grimoire

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Either Reaver's Ring or Channeller's Ring

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Kal'gerion demon familiar with scrolls

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Tectonic , Elite Tectonic , or Tumeken's Resplendance armour

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Eclipsed Soul

​

Example:

→ + → → → → → → → → → (5-tick) → → → → → → + → ( ends) → (you may still opt to fill with between cooldown) → →

​

Notes:

⬥ Ability priorities don't change much since much of magic's strongest abilities already synergise well with critical strikes

⬥ When running into adrenaline issues, guarantees at least 4 critical strikes and that will be available immediately after

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 5-tick helps to line up the next cooldown perfectly, a useful trick for when is obtained

⬥ Make sure to set your autocast to before if stacks were not maintained

​

Tumeken's Resplendence

Although Tumekens is almost always better than running 3-piece Elite Tectonic , there may be situations where very short-term critical strike burst requirements make the latter set slightly better

​

⬥ This armour set is primarily used for its 4-piece and 5-piece effects that substantially buff

⬥ We will prioritise pushing out as quickly as possible after + +

⬥ We have 9s of critical strike damage buff to work with now, changing our priorities for the next few abilities after

⬥ with can generate a massive amount of critical strikes under , making it another reliable source of adrenaline similar to and

⬥ is now an excellent way to stack up / quickly. For example, → → can fully stack up near the start of

​

Example (1 minute):

→ + → → → → → → → (5-tick) → → → → → → → → + → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → (loops)

​

Notes:

⬥ We can now fit more abilities into each buff, allowing us to aim for + 2x under the buff

⬥ We actively utilise 5-tick to line up the second as early as possible

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Applicability of this can change from boss to boss

⬥ We still have a slot to fill in with , but can be replaced with any other if doing group bosses

⬥ itself becomes a solid damage ability while waiting for cooldown

​

Runic Charge and Adrenaline Renewal

⬥ In previous example rotations we have been using on to guarantee more adrenaline after

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This sacrifices a use on that we're unable to use on during the first buff

⬥ In reality, there are multiple considerations that allow us to optimise our uses

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Both and can be consistently skipped in the opener when is available

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Preparing ~10s before allows it to be used on as usual while having it come up back up soon after the first

⬥ In general, plan to use as early as possible as long as it won't be consumed on the wrong ability

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This allows you to potentially find spots to squeeze in additional uses

​

Example (1 minute+):

⬥ + → → + (as early as possible) → → → → → (5-tick) → → → → → → → → + → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → → → + → → → →

​

Notes:

⬥ Uses to get 2x + uses during first

⬥ Goes back to + for second sun since is now on cooldown

​

Temporal Anomaly

⬥ Due to its random nature, Temporal Anomaly (TA) is typically not written into rotations. However, using TA resets correctly can still result in improved kill times on average, even if the base rotation you work with is relatively static.

⬥ The value of most resets primarily comes down to the cooldown of the ability were you to use it again

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• For example, a reset is not particularly useful because it needs to be back up by the next (which cannot reset off TA), and casting it again runs the risk of de-syncing your major cooldowns

​

⬥ TA reset considerations

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Best reset, allows additional casts during that isn't otherwise possible

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• With 4-piece , can do the second cast earlier to get extra abilities under the buff near the end of

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Deals good damage, can replace the next or filler ability if a reset occurs

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Also allows additional casts under that isn't otherwise possible, though generally un-needed

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• in AoE-heavy scenarios

⬥ It's important to recognize that many TA resets will not be particularly useful in the context that they occur, don't feel obligated to use every one immediately. Often times, just prioritizing leads to the most consistent gains from TA, though fishing for more resets from abilities like can lead to higher peaks.

​

Related guides

For further information and reading, you can refer to the following resources.

Note: If you have any difficulties in using the tools or understanding what the information means, you can always ask in PvM help (external Discord).

​

Introduction

This guide lists the general natural combat style progression template for new players to follow devised by the RuneScape Discord Luminaries in collaboration with PVME. ‎ ‎From levels 1 - 50, where an item is marked P2P, this means it is a members item.

Last Revised: 13 April 2024

​

Attack and Strength are the two combat skills that define melee combat in Runescape.

⬥ General notes:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Attack affects accuracy and its level is what determines what melee weapons you can equip.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Strength determines your damage dealt with melee weapons.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The best defence is a good offence: weapon upgrades take precedence over armour upgrades!

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• As you get stronger, dual wield becomes better for single target combat and Two-handed (2H) for multi-way combat

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• To switch xp gain between and : Settings → Gameplay → Combat & Action bar → Combat XP. Tick the skills to enable how you want the XP focused.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• All bars assume "Revolution++" is being used: Settings → Gameplay → Combat & Action bar. Activate revolution, make the revo outline cover 10 slots, and tick the boxes for thresholds and ultimate abilities.

Levels 1 - 20

Gear:

⬥ 1 ‎ ‎ Bronze 2h sword or Bronze halberd; or Reese's sword & Reese's off-hand sword

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Latter are free from the quest Blood Pact

⬥ 5 ‎ ‎ Keenblade

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Free from Gudrik in Port Sarim

⬥ 20 Steel 2h sword or Steel halberd; or Steel dagger, mace, or warhammer + off-hand.

Armour

⬥ 1 ‎ ‎ Pathfinder armour

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This armour is free and can be obtained from Gudrik in Port Sarim.

⬥ 20 Steel armour

⬥ Amulet of strength

⬥ Bladestorm drape - Best in Slot cape for F2P

⬥ Silverhawk boots (non-ironman & P2P) can be freely claimed from the Marketplace and give a small damage boost.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The boots can be upgraded at lvl 20, 40, 50 and 60 respectively.

Ability bars levels 1 - 20

These bars assume you are training Attack and Strength at the same time.

⬥ Use the lesser abilities as placeholders. These will update automatically as you unlock the full ability.

​

Bar at 1 / : For Dual-Wield swap with

⬥ At level 2 add to Spot 1 on your bar

⬥ At level 3 remove and add to ‎ ‎Spot 4 on your bar

⬥ At level 8 add to ‎ ‎Spot 7 on your bar

​

At level 20 and , your bar will look like the bar below:

Monsters to kill 1 - 20

⬥ Ghostly Troll Thrower in City of Um cave.

⬥ Monsters in Lumbridge Catacombs. Requires Blood Pact quest.

Levels 20 - 50

⬥ Smithable gear will start having +1/+2/+3 upgrades. These improve their stats slightly but are generally not worth it.

⬥ Halberds are recommended for training on groups of enemies.

Gear:

⬥ 30 Mithril 2h sword (F2P) or Mithril halberd (P2P)

⬥ 40 Adamant 2h sword (F2P) or Adamant halberd (P2P)

⬥ 50 Rune 2h sword (F2P) or Rune halberd (P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• : Rune halberd can bought in Champion's guild.

​

Armour

⬥ 50 Rockshell armour (P2P) > Rune armour (F2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Former requires completion of the quest The Fremennik Trials.

⬥ Obsidian cape (P2P) or Cape of legends (P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Latter requires completion of the quest Legends Quest.

⬥ Amulet of glory (P2P)

⬥ Explorer's ring 3 (F2P) or Ring of Wealth (P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Former requires completion of the medium Lumbridge achievements

⬥ Silverhawk boots (non-ironman & P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The boots can be upgraded at lvl 20, 40, 50 and 60

Ability bars levels 20 - 50

These bars assume you are training Attack and Strength at the same time.

Bar at 20 : For Dual-Wield swap with

⬥ At level 24 add to Spot 5 on your bar.

⬥ At level 37 remove .

⬥ If 2H:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• At level 37 add to Spot 2 on your bar

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• At level 48 add to Spot 2 on your bar

⬥ If DW:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• At level 37 add to Spot 2 on your bar.

​

At level 50 and , your bar will look like the bar below:

​

Two-Handed (multi-target focused)

Dual-Wield

Monsters to kill 20 - 50

⬥ Ghostly Troll Thrower in City of Um cave.

⬥ 30+: Dragith Nurn. Requires Blood Pact quest ( works!).

Levels 50 - 70

Gear:

⬥ 60 Dragon 2h sword , Dragon spear or Dragon halberd

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Dragon halberd requires Regicide quest.

⬥ 70 Crystal halberd

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires 50 and completion of the Roving Elves quest

Armour

⬥ 65 Superior Rockshell armour - made using Rockshell armour and Fremennik equipment patches

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Whilst Superior Rockshell armour degrades, degradation takes a very long time - don't let this put you off!

⬥ 70 Bandos armour > Necronium armour

⬥ Salve amulet(e) if fighting undead.

⬥ Ring of Fortune

⬥ One of the God books

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the quest Horror from the Deep

Ability bars levels 50 - 70

These bars assume you are training Attack and Strength at the same time.

Bars at 50

Two-Handed (multi-target focused)

Dual-Wield

⬥ If 2H:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• At level 55 add Hurricane to Spot 2 on your bar

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Remove and change the following:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Move to Spot 4

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Move to Spot 5

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Move to Spot 6

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Move to Spot 7

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Move on spot 8.

⬥ If DW:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• At level 55 add Assault to Spot 6 on your bar

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• At level 67 add Decimate to Spot 4 on your bar

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Put and on Spots 5 and 6.

​

At level 70 and , your bar will look like the bar below:

​

Two-Handed (multi-target focused)

Dual-Wield

Monsters to kill 50 - 70

⬥ Dragith Nurn. Requires Blood Pact quest ( works!).

⬥ The Abyss Monsters (req. Enter the Abyss miniquest).

⬥ Armoured Zombies (req. Defender of Varrock quest, works!).

Frequently asked questions

⬥ Some dual wield weapons have more damage bonus than others. Are they better?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• No. When using abilities, weapons of the same tier deal the same amount of damage. Weapon speed and damage bonus together make it deal identical ability damage in the end.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You can safely mix different types of main hand and off-hand weapons.

⬥ Why is two-handed recommended over dual wield?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2H melee is better in multi-target situations than Dual-Wield, and therefore often lead to faster levelling.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• ‎ ‎Flurry (37 ), Quake (36 ), Cleave (48 ), and hurricane (55 ) are multi-target attacks, often called Area-of-Effect (AoE) abilities, that hit multiple nearby monsters.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• These are 2H abilities (except for ) and benefit greatly from halberd's larger attack range.

⬥ Can I just train slayer?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You certainly can if you want some variety. It is, however, slower to train at lower combat levels.

⬥ Why are weapons upgrades more important than armour upgrades? / Why is power armour recommended over tank armour?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Frankly put: You gain more from hitting harder than from getting hit less. A higher tier weapon lets you hit harder by increasing hit chance and damage bonus. Power armour increases damage bonus too. This lets you hit harder and kill more monsters, which means more xp gained per hour.

​

​

Introduction & Disclaimer

This guide lists the recommended general melee purchase/unlock progression for players to follow.

​

Last Revised: 23rd October 2026

The order is subject to change at any time as prices change, updates occur, and knowledge expands

​

Please note the following assumptions:

⬥ The order assume a starting point of T70 gear

⬥ Priorities may be different if you are doing niche content

⬥ "ROI" (meaning return-on-investment) typically means quality-of-life upgrades or typical damage increase

⬥ We do not recommend selling an item to buy another, unless it is a direct upgrade

⬥ Unlisted items are not worth buying

​

Feel free to ask in PvM help (external Discord) for a tailored list to the content that you do!

​

Melee Upgrade Order

For further information on each upgrade, check Armour And Weapons, Perks and Perk Information, Permanent Unlocks, or Eof Specs

​

Stage 1: High ROI

⬥ Work towards everything in Free Upgrades

⬥ Laniakea's Spear - 4,596,261

⬥ Am-hej - 3,618,865

⬥ Abyssal Scourge + Dark Ice Sliver - 61,348,598

⬥ 1st god book (Scripture of Jas or Amascut )

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• - 2,468,912

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• - 1,837,525

⬥ Jaws of the Abyss + Laceration Boots - 1,219,620

⬥ Precise 6 + Eruptive 4 on weapons - 1,890,243

⬥ Equilibrium 1 + Mobile X on armour - 607,853

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Choose X based on your preferred content (e.g., Demon slayer / Venomblood / Dragon slayer / Genocidal )

⬥ Greater Barge - 140,391,485

⬥ Greater Flurry - 105,122,602

⬥ Igneous Kal-Ket - free!

⬥ Crackling 4 + Ultimatums 4 on armour - 14,538,463

⬥ Flanking 4 on cheap offhand (if doing applicable content) - 5,476,693

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• E.g., Off-hand ripper claw - 479,865

⬥ Vestments of Havoc Boots + Hood - 188,996,451

⬥ Vestments of Havoc Bottom - 255,736,908

⬥ Cinderbanes (if doing poisonable content) - 41,219,331

​

Stage 2: Medium ROI

⬥ All other upgrades in Free Upgrades

⬥ Masterwork 2h sword - 208,272,023

⬥ Chaos Roar - 104,676,872

⬥ Vestment of Havoc Top - 376,747,432

⬥ Scripture of Ful - 117,685,383

⬥ Divert - 22,178,750

⬥ Ek-ZekKil - 2,074,004,041

⬥ Dragon Claws EoF - 163,544,923 + 2,083,633

⬥ Biting build

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Biting 4 - 80,228,265

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Champion's Ring - 5,367,155

⬥ Equilibrium build

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Equilibrium 4 - 158,413,014

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Masterwork Spear of Annihilation + Lunging 4 - 256,642,057

⬥ Both builds

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Enhanced Gloves of Passage - 80,267,425

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Impatient 4 + Devoted 4 on armour - 63,994,317

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Aftershock 4 on weapon

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Cheapest: combo'd with Precise 2 - 30,117,609

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Least waste: combo'd with Eruptive 2 - 50,012,498

​

Stage 3: Low ROI

⬥ Dark Sliver of Leng + Dark Shard of Leng - 514,810,441 + 513,407,384

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Higher priority if you are primarily speed-killing

⬥ Shard of Genesis Essence - 631,546,595

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use on EZK

⬥ Upgrade prayers depending on content:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Malevolence - 647,519,856

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Eclipsed Soul + Divine Rage - 75,220,620

⬥ Greater Fury - 381,307,292

⬥ P6R1 + AS4E2 for 2H weapons - 74,550,570

⬥ P6AS1 + AS4E2 for dual-wield weapons - 103,418,917

⬥ Enchantment of Agony - 72,899,043

⬥ Shard of Genesis Essence - 631,546,595

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use on

⬥ Nodon spike harness - 401,454,302

⬥ Vital Drain - 158,609,796

⬥ Limitless - 129,670,000

⬥ Varanus' Mercy EoF - 163,544,923 + 182,690,260

⬥ Enchantment of Heroism ( upgrade) - 67,068,689

​

Common Mistakes to Avoid

⬥ Common Mistakes to Avoid

​

​

This guide will go over general damage output lessons, ability prioritisation, a learning path, and style-specific solutions for common PvM concerns.

​

⬥ Knowledge of in-game ability/item descriptions is assumed, this guide aims to tie the tools together rather than list what they do.

⬥ Melee rotations are highly situational and often change based on boss timings, phase length, weapon setup, and how much switching is practical.

⬥ For general PvM terminology, damage tips, and revolution bars, check out their respective sections in DPM Advice Faq

⬥ For recommended upgrade order, see Melee

⬥ For invention perks, see Perks

⬥ If you need tailored advice for a specific boss or gear setup, ask in PvM help (external Discord)

⬥ To compare abilities, use RS Analysis' Melee Page, and add your gear

​

Abilities, Attacks and Weapons

​

Prioritising Basic Abilities

You should prioritise the following Basic abilities:

⬥ Punish if the target is <50% life points

⬥ Backhand with Flanking if the boss is not facing you

⬥ Greater Fury

⬥ Rend with Gloves of Passage

⬥ Adaptive Strike

⬥ Fury (if is not yet unlocked)

​

Do not use these Basic abilities to build:

⬥ Chaos Roar should be used before a heavy-hitting attack and its cooldown is too long

⬥ Greater Barge should be used before a strong channelled ability

​

Prioritising Stronger Abilities

When spending adrenaline, there are two primary considerations:

⬥ total damage over time (e.g., the start of a phase) vs. instant damage (burst damage, e.g., boss damage check window)

⬥ adren cost vs. total damage

​

In general, prioritise the following abilities and special attacks:

⬥ Berserk whenever possible

⬥ Ek-ZekKil during for fights lasting over 1 minute

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• First cast 280 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Further casts (Flamebound Rival ) 1045 AD​

⬥ Greater Flurry in 520 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• For its Berserk extension

⬥ Assault when 4+ 720 AD​

⬥ Greater Flurry with 4+ and target below ~71% life points

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• <71% LP 671 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• <50% LP 780 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• <35% LP 858 AD​

⬥ Overpower with Igneous cape 620 AD​

⬥ Assault with <4 560 AD​

⬥ Massacre with + not inside + your target can take damage for another 24s 1120 AD​

⬥ Slaughter with + not inside + your target can take damage for another 18s 810 AD​

⬥ Dismember with + Strength cape + Lunging perk + not inside + your target can take damage for another 18s 549 AD​

⬥ Overpower without cape 545 AD​

⬥ Varanus's Mercy 491.25 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Unless perked with Equilibrium

⬥ Leng Set special attack with 2+ Primordial Ice

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 4 stacks 475 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 3 stacks 435 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2 stacks 395 AD​

⬥ Greater Flurry when <4 or the target is >71% LP 520 AD​

⬥ Hurricane 320 AD​

​

Situational special attacks:

⬥ Granite Maul ignores cooldowns and can be spammed during a single GCD 125 AD​

⬥ Dragon Claws are seen as a direct downgrade from 400 AD​

​

Utility Abilities and Special Attacks

These setup tools are especially useful because they let you enter the fight with buffs already active:

​

⬥ Dragon Battleaxe for a 60s damage boost ( at War's Retreat → 100% adren → enter instance)

⬥ Annihilation to give a niche 30s damage-output buff

⬥ Zaros Godsword for a mini-zerk

⬥ Pulverise for its damage reduction effect

​

Building Adrenaline

Maximising your adrenaline is one of the key ways to output more damage, as you will be able to use stronger attacks.

​

There are many ways to build adrenaline, many of which you will see built into the rotations below:

⬥ Meteor Strike for 225% adrenaline gain over 30s

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Typically stalled at and used at the start of a fight, and again before each

⬥ Adrenaline Potions

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Typically used mid-rotation, with some giving instant adren and others giving adren-over-time

⬥ Jaws of the Abyss alongside bleeds

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Gives +2% adren per active bleed ( and from )

⬥ Natural Instinct

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2x adrenaline gained for 20.4s

⬥ Vestments of Havoc

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2-piece refunds 15-20% adrenaline after using a Melee ultimate ( )

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 4-piece raises max adrenaline to 120% with melee weapons

⬥ Divert

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Protects you from the next damaging attack and converts it to adrenaline

​

You may wish to follow a standard "adrenaline re-build rotation":

⬥ finishes → basics → → basics → → basics →

​

Maximising Berserk

You can empower Berserk in four ways:

⬥ 4-piece of Vestments of Havoc

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• extend by +6 seconds (giving more time to deal increased damage)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• increase max adrenaline by +20% (allowing for stronger abilities directly after )

⬥ Conservation of Energy relic and Ring of Vigour passive from Extinction quest

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• both regain +10% adrenaline after using

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• these are additive to +20%

⬥ Greater Flurry extends

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You can fit 2x "for free" in the buff window

⬥ Overpower can be used more frequently

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• cooldown is reduced from 30s to 9s

​

When the above are combined together :

⬥ consumes 100% → 80% adrenaline

⬥ lasts 19.8s → 35.4s

​

Maximising Chaos Roar

Chaos Roar should be saved for when a high-damage ability can be used directly after

⬥ It is strongest with large single-hit or multi-hit abilities where the full cast benefits

⬥ It is weaker with channelled abilities like Assault or Greater Flurry , as only the first hit is boosted

​

Strong follow-ups include:

⬥ Second (and subsequent) Ek-ZekKil spec

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Note: do not waste on your first

⬥ Igneous Overpower

⬥ Varanus's Mercy

⬥ Leng Set spec

⬥ Hurricane

⬥ Bleeds outside Berserk

​

Managing Bloodlust stacks

Bloodlust stacks are a important component of Melee DPM. Up to 4 (8 inside ) can be stored, which are generated from:

⬥ +1 any Basic ability (+2 inside )

⬥ +2 from Rend

⬥ +4 from Berserk

​

When spending you should prioritise:

⬥ Assault as your default

⬥ Greater Flurry if the target is below ~70% life points

⬥ Hurricane for AoE situations

​

Camping & Switching Weapons

Melee has multiple strong weapons, and the best option depends heavily on the situation:

⬥ Some rotations camp one weapon setup for simplicity

⬥ Some rotations switch between weapons to use specific abilities for extra damage

⬥ Some fights are too short or too awkward to make switches worthwhile

​

The most common "default" or "camped" weapons include:

⬥ Ek-ZekKil

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Camp Ek-ZekKil when the fight lasts over 1 minute

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Its value comes from Flamebound Rival while equipped (+12% damage and damage reduction)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Not reliant on RNG stacks, with higher single-GCD burst and stronger damage from the second minute onwards

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• More expensive, weaker in the first minute, and needs a dual-wield switch to stall / cast

⬥ Leng swords

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Camp Lengs for fights sub-1 minute, especially for higher first damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• They are cheaper, do not need an , and passively build Primordial Ice stacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Icy Tempest costs 0 adrenaline at 3+ (still requires +30% to use)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Stacks are RNG-based, making rotations more flexible, and damage falls behind from the second minute onwards

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Needs a 2h switch to stall / cast

⬥ Masterwork Spear of Annihilation

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Used mostly as a switch to apply , then return to your main weapon

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Ideally perked with Lunging 3/4 to maximise on bleed synergies

⬥ Consecrated keris + Dark sliver of leng

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Camp keris when your target is any follower of Amascut, including all Sanctum of Rebirth bosses and Amascut herself

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Increases your damage by ~37%

​

Building a Rotation

Take this section with a pinch of salt... every boss is different and in reality we build "situational" rotations based on:

⬥ Phases and immunity windows

⬥ Berserk buff uptime/downtime

⬥ Adrenaline levels

⬥ Available weapons

⬥ Pre-fight setup and utility abilities

⬥ Bloodlust stacks

⬥ Weapon special attacks

⬥ EoF usage

⬥ Vulnerability bombs

⬥ And more...!

​

The examples below are not fixed boss rotations. They show how to start with a simple Berserk window, then gradually add extra layers such as Greater Barge , weapon specs, bleeds, and pre-fight setup.

​

Step 1: Basic Rotation

At its core, a basic Melee damage cycle looks like...

​

⬥ Build adrenaline → → → high-damage abilities → finishes → repeat

​

Notes:

⬥ During , spend adrenaline on your strongest available abilities

⬥ Outside , continue using strong abilities, but begin saving adrenaline and cooldowns for when is nearly available again

​

Step 2: Greater Barge & Potions

It's time to put those pretty potions to good use...

​

⬥ + → (tc) boss → + → bleed → high-damage abilities

​

Notes:

⬥ Situationally, / may be switched ( → → )

​

Step 3: Adding pre-fight boosts

Who doesn't want free damage?!

​

⬥ At War's use → rebuild to 100% adrenaline at crystal

⬥ You can also stall and release an ability to gain a "free" ultimate at the start of the fight:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Option A) s → enter instance → r on a dummy

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Option B) s → enter instance → r + on boss

​

Step 4: Camped weapon specs

Weave in your primary weapon special attack during

​

Where camping Lengs

⬥ → s → → → → → → → → → → → → → → (5t) → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• stacks are naturally rng, so expect small changes from kill to kill

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Example video

​

Where camping EZK

⬥ → s → → → → → → → → → → → / → → → → / → s → r →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• For subsequent repeats, swap and

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Example video

​

Step 5: Putting it all together

This is it, the moment you've been waiting for, the BiS rotation...

​

⬥ At War's : → s

⬥ 1st (3rd, 5th...) Berserk: (tc) + r + + → s → → → → → → → → s → + r → → → → →

⬥ During Berserk cooldown: ( / ) until Berserk has 14.4s cooldown left → → ( / ) → → ( / )

⬥ 2nd (4th, 6th...) Berserk: → → → → → → → s → r + → 7t → → → → 8t → → s → r +

​

Introduction

This guide lists the general natural combat style progression template for new players to follow devised by the RuneScape Discord Luminaries in collaboration with PVME. From levels 1 - 50, where an item is marked P2P, this means it is a members item.

Levels 1 - 20

Gear:

⬥ 1 Kayle's chargebow

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Free from the quest Blood Pact

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Neither this bow nor the Quickbow requires ammo

⬥ 5 Quickbow

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Free and can be obtained from Gudrik in Port Sarim

⬥ 10 Iron crossbow, Iron off-hand crossbow & Iron bolts

⬥ 20 Steel crossbow, Steel off-hand crossbow & Steel bolts (F2P) / Opal bolts (e) (P2P)

​

Armour

⬥ 1 ‎ ‎ Pathfinder armour

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This armour is free and can be obtained from Gudrik in Port Sarim.

⬥ 20 Studded leather armour

⬥ Amulet of accuracy

⬥ Arrowstorm drape - Best in Slot cape for F2P

⬥ Silverhawk boots (non-ironman & P2P) can be freely claimed from the Marketplace and give a small damage boost.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The boots can be upgraded at lvl 20, 40, 50 and 60 respectively.

​

Ability bars levels 1 - 20

⬥ Use the lesser abilities as placeholders. These will update automatically as you unlock the full ability.

​

Bar at 1 : For Dual-Wield swap with

⬥ At level 2 ‎ ‎ add to Spot 1 on your bar

⬥ At level 3 ‎ ‎ add to Spot 4 on your bar

⬥ At level 10 swap to dual wield. This means replacing with

​

At level 20 your bar will look like the bar below:

Monsters to kill 1 - 20

⬥ Monsters in Lumbridge Catacombs. Requires Blood Pact quest.

Levels 20 - 50

Gear:

⬥ 30 Mithril crossbow, Mithril off-hand crossbow & Mithril bolts

⬥ 40 Adamant crossbow, Adamant off-hand crossbow & Adamant bolts (F2P) / Topaz bolts (e) (P2P)

⬥ 45 Chinchompas can be used for AoE combat - pair the Chinchompas with an off-hand crossbow (P2P)

⬥ 50 Rune crossbow, Rune off-hand crossbow & Emerald bolts (F2P) / Sapphire bolts (e) (P2P)

​

Armour

⬥ 30 Carapace armour

⬥ 40 Green dragonhide armour

⬥ 50 Spined armour (P2P) > Blue dragonhide armour (F2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Spined armour requires completion of the quest The Fremennik Trials to be worn.

⬥ Obsidian cape (P2P) or Cape of legends (P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Latter requires completion of the quest Legends Quest

⬥ Amulet of glory (P2P)

⬥ Explorer's ring 3 (F2P) or Ring of Wealth (P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Former requires completion of the medium Lumbridge achievements

⬥ Silverhawk boots (non-ironman & P2P)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The boots can be upgraded at lvl 20, 40, 50 and 60 respectively.

Ability bars levels 20 - 50

​

Bar at 20 : For Two-Handed swap with

⬥ At level 37 add to Spot 2 on your bar and remove

⬥ At level 45 add to Spot 9 on your bar

​

At level 50 your bar will look like the bar below:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Remove Ricochet in slot 9 if taking too much damage

Monsters to kill 20 - 50

⬥ Ghostly Troll Thrower in City of Um cave.

⬥ 30+: Dragith Nurn. Requires Blood Pact quest ( works!).

Levels 50 - 70

Gear:

⬥ 55 Red chinchompas can be used for AoE combat (P2P) - pair the Chinchompas with an off-hand crossbow and bolts

⬥ 60 Demon slayer crossbow, off-hand demon slayer crossbow & Diamond bolts

⬥ 70 Crystal bow or Crystal chakram & off-hand crystal chakram

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Both require 50 and completion of the quest Roving Elves

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The Crystal bow does not require ammo as it's a chargebow

​

Armour

⬥ 65 Superior Spined armour - made using Spined armour and Fremennik equipment patches

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Whilst Superior Spined armour degrades, degradation takes a very long time - don't let this put you off!

⬥ 65 Royal spiky vambraces

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Superior spined gloves are fine to use if you struggle obtaining these.

⬥ 70 Armadyl armour (excluding gloves)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This an expensive but worthwhile upgrade - it is okay to use Superior spined armour until this becomes affordable

⬥ Salve amulet(e) if fighting undead.

⬥ Ring of Fortune

⬥ One of the God books

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Requires completion of the quest Horror from the Deep

Ability bars levels 50 - 70

Bar at 50 : For Two-Handed with

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Remove Ricochet in slot 9 if taking too much damage

From levels 50 to 70 Ranged, there are no recommended abilities to add for Revolution. is not recommended due to being low damage output.

​

Monsters to kill 50 - 70

⬥ Dragith Nurn. Requires Blood Pact quest ( works!).

⬥ The Abyss Monsters (req. Enter the Abyss miniquest).

​

Frequently asked questions

⬥ Some Dual-Wield weapons have more damage bonus than others. Are they better?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• No. When using abilities, weapons of the same tier deal the same amount of damage. Weapon speed and damage bonus together make it deal identical ability damage in the end.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You can safely mix different types of main hand and off-hand weapons.

⬥ Why do I prefer crossbows to bows?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• At this stage in the game, crossbows are stronger than bows because of the enchanted effects on bolts.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This reverses when arrows have better effects in the later game.

⬥ When should I change ammo?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Damage is capped at the tier of the bow or the tier of the arrow - whichever is lowest. As you upgrade your bow/crossbow, you should also upgrade your ammo.

⬥ Can I just train slayer?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You certainly can if you want some variety. It is, however, slower to train at lower combat levels.

⬥ Why are weapons upgrades more important than armour upgrades? / Why is power armour recommended over tank armour?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Frankly put: You gain more from hitting harder than from getting hit less. A higher tier weapon lets you hit harder by increasing hit chance and damage bonus. Power armour increases damage bonus too. This lets you hit harder and kill more monsters, which means more xp gained per hour.

Introduction

This guide lists the general natural combat style progression template for players to follow.

Last Revised: 15 April 2026

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Disclaimer

Before looking here, check Free Upgrades.

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Priorities can of course change depending on the content being done by the player. You should note that when you upgrade weapons, you can sell the weapon being upgraded to deduct cost from the new weapon.

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If an item is not in the order it was deemed not worth buying.

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As prices change, updates occur, and knowledge expands, the order is subject to change at any time.

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Feel free to ask in PvM help (external Discord) for a tailored list for the content that you do!

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Early Money Making

To make money to fund your first style early on, it is recommended to do either Croesus or easy clue scrolls.

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Ranged Upgrade Order

This is a generalised order which assumes a starting point of T70 weapons and armour.

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For further information on each upgrade check the relevant section in Armour And Weapons, Perks and Perk Information, Permanent Unlocks, or Eof Specs.

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For a checklist version, visit the RS Wiki page at https://runescape.wiki/w/PvM_unlock_guide#Upgrade_order.

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If you would like specialised advice, ask in PvM help (external Discord).

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Stage 1: No Real Variance Based on Content

⬥ Decimation - 29,979,206

⬥ Planted Feet - 6,139,820

⬥ T90 Sirenic Armour + Nightmare Gauntlets + Fleeting Boots with Entry Level Perks - 14,469,946

⬥ Cinderbane Gloves - 41,219,331

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Skip if mostly doing poison-immune content.

⬥ Scripture of Jas - 2,468,912

⬥ Amulet of Souls - 38,647,279

⬥ Pernix's Quiver - 59,998,701

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At this point try to finish the majority of unlocks in Free Upgrades.

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Stage 2: Some Variance Based on Content/Wealth

All other upgrades in Free Upgrades.

⬥ Divert - 22,178,750

⬥ Greater Ricochet - 284,686,093

⬥ Gloomfire Bow - 191,671,259

⬥ Bow of the Last Guardian - 1,443,353,956

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Add into - 163,544,923

⬥ Eldritch Crossbow (Essence of Finality) - 1,080,899,164

⬥ Seren Godbow (Essence of Finality) - 780,955,877

⬥ Best-in-slot weapon perks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• P6C1 AS4E2 for 2H weapons + - 77,004,695

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• AS4 is a very strong perk in its own right. If you fail going for AS4E2, feel free to use AS4 in its place for the time being.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Upon getting Aftershock you'll now need it on all of your weapons for that style

⬥ Decimation (Essence of Finality) - 163,544,923

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Skip if not doing AoE content

⬥ T90 Dracolich Armour - 218,339,820

⬥ Stalker's Ring + Enchantment of Shadows + Biting 4 - 234,064,167

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• To make use of this ring, it is important to replace the Equilibrium perk with the Biting perk.

⬥ T92 Elite Dracolich Armour - 939,900,269

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Only upgrade to the full set all at once.

⬥ Scripture of Ful - 117,685,383

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Stage 3: Pretty Low ROI

⬥ Greater Death's Swiftness

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• If purchasing from GE - 84,752,097

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• If crafting - 34,594,991

⬥ Enhanced Nightmare Gauntlets + Enchantment of Dread - 82,981,413

⬥ Shard of Genesis Essence - 631,546,595

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use on

⬥ Desolation - 647,519,856

⬥ Erethdor's Grimoire - 120,654,238

⬥ Corruption Shot - 32,498,144

⬥ Limitless - 129,670,000

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Reminder - Disclaimer

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

⬥ Common Mistakes to Avoid

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This guide will go over general damage output lessons, ability prioritisation, a learning path, and style-specific solutions for common PvM concerns

⬥ Knowledge of in-game ability/item descriptions is assumed, this guide aims to tie the tools together rather than list what they do

⬥ For general PvM terminology, damage tips, and revolution bars, check out their respective sections in DPM Advice Faq

⬥ To compare abilities, use RS Analysis' Ranged Page, and add your gear

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> Core Ranged Rotation

This section covers rotations using core style abilities before later unlocks are obtained

See Advanced Ranged Rotations section further down for info on ranged rotations using best-in-slot gear

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⬥ A typical Ranged rotation uses the strongest Basic Abilities available to build adrenaline, and spends it on the strongest available Enhanced Abilities, Ultimate Abilities, or Special Attacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• To achieve this, we must think about the following key considerations:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Basic ability patterns

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Buff usage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Ammo effects

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Basic Pattern

⬥ The basic pattern comboes Galeshot into Rapid Fire when both cooldowns are available

⬥ can be thought of as buffing + 3 abilities of your choice, adding additional damage onto each hit

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Therefore, try to follow with strong multi-hit abilities

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• [ → → 3 Abilities] → [Filler] → [ → → 3 Abilities] → repeat

⬥ Ranged has other rotational synergies that help to fill empty ability slots

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Snipe + Piercing Shot

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Imbue: Shadows + Shadow Tendrils

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⬥ When building adrenaline, fill with available Basic Abilities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Ricochet

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Piercing Shot

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Basic Attack

⬥ Then spend adrenaline on Enhanced Abilites, Ultimate Abilities, and Special Attacks:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Such abilities are often categorically referred to as spenders

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Snap Shot

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Deadshot

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Snipe + Shadow Tendrils don't spend adrenaline but are still considered Enhanced Abilities

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• If adrenaline is limited, prioritise having enough adrenaline for your next → combo

⬥ With these considerations, we can ensure that cooldowns are always cycling to allow for a consistent flow of strong abilities

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Death's Swiftness

It is assumed that either the Planted Feet perk or Greater Death's Swiftness unlock has been obtained for the purposes of this guide.

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⬥ Death's Swiftness is the main buff to prioritise whenever there is an opportunity to deal damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The exception to this is when the fight would end too quickly, or mechanics occur, and you can't benefit from the full duration

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Ideally, enter boss fights and important phases with 100% adrenaline so you can activate it immediately

⬥ In Death's Swiftness , continue following the basic pattern while fitting in your most powerful abilities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• [ → → → → ] → [Fill w/ Basics and Spenders] → [ → → ...]

⬥ While waiting for cooldown, you do not want to needlessly camp 100% adrenaline, and can start building when is nearly ready to use again

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Other Buffs

Besides Death's Swiftness, Ranged has multiple supportive buffs that are meant to supplement and enhance its core rotation

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⬥ Imbue Shadows grants adrenaline per hit and is extremely important to pair with

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Synergises with multi-hit abilities / / and is vital to maintain a consistent flow of adrenaline during your damage buffs

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Keep in mind that Damage-over-Time (DoT) does not count as a hit for the purposes of

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⬥ Shadow Tendrils extends duration and should always be used once during a full

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⬥ Deathspore Arrows should be used to get a free , allowing for tremendously accelerated rotational setup

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 12 stacks can be obtained through a combination of + or with if necessary

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Start building in advance of cooldown so as to not waste time once it's available

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Rare situations may not allow enough time to stack , in which case a form of adrenaline potion can help with buff setup

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⬥ Because of ranged's reliance on multi-hit abilities for both damage and adrenaline, it is highly recommended to prioritise obtaining Greater Ricochet and Igneous Kal-Xil upgrades as early as possible in the style's progression

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Ammo Effects

Due to having considerably stronger and more consistent effects, it is recommended to use bows + arrows over crossbows + bolts in the current state of the game. The information in this guide will assume that the highest available tier of bow + arrows are being used.

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⬥ When using abilities, stronger ammunition can increase your ability damage and provide additional effects

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use Ful Arrows and Deathspore Arrows together for general use

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Use Black Stone Arrows or Wen Arrows when hit chance is needed

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ are otherwise equal to or worse than unless boss mechanics provide downtime to build stacks for free

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Otherwise, use the highest tier of generic ammunition available or Jas Bane arrows if applicable

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⬥ When using Pernix's Quiver , multiple keybind options are available that make ammo cycling easier

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• (1) Quiver Slot: Drag the empty quiver slot from your gear interface onto an action bar to cycle ammo in any currently equipped quiver

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• (2) Specific Quiver: Drag a specific quiver onto an action bar to either equip the quiver or, if already equipped, cycles its ammo

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• (3) Quiver ammo slot 1 + Quiver ammo slot 2: Utility Abilities in the ranged ability book which cycles ammo to the selected slot

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> Rotation Examples

These are only suggestions to work from, and will not necessarily be applicable at all bosses or situations. For boss-specific rotations, see their respective guides.

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Starting Unlocks:

⬥ Ring of Vigour or its passive effect after Extinction quest

⬥ Greater Death's Swiftness or Planted Feet perk

⬥ Shadow Tendrils

⬥ Greater Ricochet in later examples

1 Minute Examples

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Example:

⬥ → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → →

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Notes:

⬥ Breaking down this example into blocks:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Buffs start + build adrenaline: → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Basic pattern 1: → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Fill w/ basics + spenders: → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Basic pattern 2: → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Buffs end + build adrenaline: ( ends) → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Basic pattern 3: → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ We cut this one off short since comes back up

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Buffs come off cooldown: → → →

⬥ Most rotations will follow this overarching pattern, though each block may be executed differently depending on available upgrades

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Deathspore Arrows Example

Arrow swaps during rotations are denoted with the arrow before the ability

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⬥ 12 stacks ( / / ) → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → ( ends) → → → → → → (start building stacks) → → → → → → →

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Greater Ricochet Example

Once is obtained, can be quickly stacked with a simple combo of → → →

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⬥ 12 stacks → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → →

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Notes:

⬥ Greatly increases the availability of adrenaline during , allowing us to minimise basic ability usage

⬥ Outside of , we spend some adrenaline sparingly and make sure to have enough to on time with

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These rotations demonstrate typical ways of setting up the initial round of buffs while sticking to the basic pattern. With further upgrades, this rotation can be progressively iterated upon, with increasing availability of adrenaline allowing for more powerful spenders to be incorporated.

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> PvM Decision Making

Next, we explore some challenges that ranged commonly runs into during PvM and the tools and decisions it uses to solve them

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Area-of-Effect (AoE)

⬥ Decimation Special Attack is ranged's most powerful and versatile AoE tool

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Moderate 3-tile AoE search range with no cooldown, a minor adrenaline cost, and can be set up before enemies spawn

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Combo with powerful abilities like / / to quickly deal with AoE scenarios

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Every additional hit counts for the purposes of adrenaline gain, stack generation, and reduction on cooldown

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ If is not active, + can be an adrenaline-efficient way to make use of the effect

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Most often used from an Essence of Finality amulet (EoF) to allow use with higher tier weapons

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⬥ Bombardment can be used to quickly deal with low life point targets

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Upfront damage that doesn't require a prior ability cast to set up, but has more restrictive 2-tile AoE search range

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Outclassed by if enemies would live for 3 or more abilities, or are spread further apart from each other

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⬥ Low Priority or Highly Situational

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Ricochet / has a large 5-tile AoE search range, but does low damage and is generally not used for AoE purposes

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Corruption Shot also has a 5-tile AoE search range, but should only ever be used for that specific aspect of it

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Due to being DoT, does not benefit from damage buffs , but can deal moderate damage while under

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Spending Excess Adrenaline

⬥ High-level ranged spenders involve various stored EoF special attacks in order to optimise away from just spamming

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Gloomfire Bow and Dark Bow are used as the main options

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ is overall better in most cases, but is a cheaper early pickup and has a faster hit timing

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Some endgame rotations may be written using both for their respective advantages

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Eldritch Crossbow provides a significant damage buff anywhere you're able to pray (~15-30% depending on ability)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Seren Godbow is a high-damage, low-cost spender against any 5x5 or larger targets

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Comparable damage even to when it can be used to its full effectiveness

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• If physical or is your highest tier weapon, using their special attacks directly is also a powerful option

⬥ Aim to replace most instances of during with these spenders

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Short Damage Checks

⬥ Some PvM scenarios emphasise short phases and quick damage checks rather than keeping up a consistent flow of damage

⬥ In such cases, ranged has some of the following options:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Stacking ahead of time for a temporary stronger damage + hit chance buff than

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Abilities and buffs that can be used ahead of time / / / /

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Once is obtained, lining up high-damage procs can significantly contribute to your burst damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• On 5x5+ targets can be used flexibly for high on-demand damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Stalling abilities to release them with other spenders once these phases begin

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Sustaining with Ranged

⬥ Ranged has to frequently lock itself out of healing or inflict self-damage in order to maximise damage output

⬥ To plan around a lack of sustain, consider the following:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Prioritise lossless defensive and healing tools / / as your first resort

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Familiarise yourself with boss mechanics to anticipate periods of heavy or little incoming damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Optionally introduce into rotations after becoming comfortable at a boss

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Leave a few abilities of downtime in between to give yourself a chance to heal up

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ It is mainly important that it overlaps with your + pattern

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Drop if unable to maintain sufficient uptime for it to be worthwhile i.e. during twinshot

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Replace with a better spender if you don't actually need the extension on

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> Advanced Ranged Rotations

This section focuses on tactics that make full use of endgame tools available to ranged . Players looking to optimise around Bow of the Last Guardian and Elite Dracolich should use this section as reference.

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Assumed Unlocks:

⬥ Greater Ricochet

⬥ Igneous Kal-Xil

⬥ Gloomfire Bow EoF

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Interchangeable with before is obtained, though adrenaline will differ due to the lower hit-count

⬥ Conservation of Energy relic

⬥ Fury of the Small relic

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Used while testing listed rotations but it may not be necessary for all of them

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Berserker's Fury relic is the stronger damage option when adrenaline isn't an issue

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Eldritch Crossbow

⬥ Split Soul Special Attack acts as another buff in ranged's rotation that synergises with its main ability patterns

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Since heals more from powerful multi-hit abilities , similarly scales well off those same abilities

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Therefore it's important to maintain high uptime on especially during your → + 3 abilities pattern

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• which was mainly used for adrenaline and rotational filler becomes a powerful ability when comboed with +

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Example (1 minute):

⬥ 12 → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → →

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Notes:

⬥ Breaking down this example into blocks:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Buffs start: → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Basic pattern 1: → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Fill w/ basics + spenders: → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Prepare for basic pattern 2

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Basic pattern 2: → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Buffs end + build adrenaline: ( ends) → → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Prepare for basic pattern 3

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Basic pattern 3: → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Buffs come off cooldown: → →

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Bow of the Last Guardian

⬥ Optimising Perfect Equilibrium procs can result in some of the largest possible DPS increases for ranged. To understand how to plan around this effect, it's important to keep in mind hit-counts for common abilities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 1 stack: / / /

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ only generates 1 stack no matter how many secondary arrows land

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2 stacks: / /

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 3 stacks:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 7 (-1) stacks:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ It may be helpful to think of as generating -1 stacks (since it leaves you with 1 less stack than you started)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 8 (0) stacks: /

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Will put you back at the same number of stacks you had before

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⬥ Proc Priorities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Gloomfire Bow Special Attack should be used at 1 stack if is active or 5 stacks if not

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ is sensitive to the order that hits occur, so this ensures that the proc uses the powerful 3rd hit of

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Dark Bow Special Attack is more flexible than around starting stacks but deals less overall damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Snipe is an extremely powerful single hit and can usually be fit in between uses

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Snap Shot is typically only used as filler to increment stacks since its damage is strictly worse than other options

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⬥ BoLG Special Attack should always be used at least once early during to activate its buff

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The attack in itself does not deal tremendous damage and should not be heavily prioritised once the buff is active

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• When used from anywhere between 3-7 stacks, will proc and reset stacks to 0

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ This detail can be useful for setting up consistent rotations, since you can treat as a stack reset at the beginning of

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Building a Rotation

⬥ Plan stacks around the structure of abilities that are used regardless of stacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Keep to the basic pattern of → and , these abilities don't care about stacks to be strong

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• should still be primarily used to extend rather than as a proc since is calculated using pre-critical strike damage

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⬥ Plan around using ability sequences that line up multiple strong procs, the following are some suggestions:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 1 stack start:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → →

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‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2 stack start:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → → → →

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‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 3 stack start:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → →

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‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 0 stack start:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → → →

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ → → →

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⬥ A strong rotation will fit these ability sequences into the overall structure that the basic patterns provide

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• i.e. → → → [line up procs] → to extend → → → [line up procs]

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Example (1 minute):

Any rotation examples from here on will also account for stacks, it is encouraged to count the stacks as you read the rotations. Most will be used at 3-7 stacks, leaving you at 0, and all will be used at 1 stack.

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⬥ 12 → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → ( ends) → → → → → → → → → → → → → →

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Notes:

⬥ procs count as hits for so we now have more adrenaline to work with

⬥ can now be stacked using only → → since procs count towards stacks

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Elite Dracolich Armour

Elite Dracolich boosts ranged's basic pattern → into a burst window to deal massive damage with spenders

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⬥ With the full 5-set equipped, there will be a 4-ability window after to make use of buff

⬥ A common use of this window is 3 high damage spenders / + to generate adrenaline to continue your rotation

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Often times this only applies to the first during , as there is not enough adrenaline to fully utilise the second one

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• There are cases where 4 spenders can be used to maximise damage output instead, often when + are both available

⬥ This meshes nicely with existing ability sequences that line up procs

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Example:

⬥ 12 → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → →

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Notes:

⬥ Outside of + does not change much as there is not enough adrenaline to fully utilise the critical strike chance buff

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• The extra adrenaline from generally means an extra or while waiting on cooldown

⬥ This specific example uses a 2nd to refresh its buff for a larger proc during buff later

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Advanced Arrow Usage

This guide up to this point only covers basic usage of + , but there are additional considerations for other options as well as tricks to gain stacks more efficiently

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Using Deathspore Arrows

⬥ A tip to quickly stack 12 at the start of a fight is to stall either or in War's Retreat, then releasing with in the boss instance

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This most often shows up in rotations as s → r +

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This instantly maxes out stacks without having to do the slower → → build

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Alternate versions of this can exist that stall to be able to skip a setup ability before

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⬥ Stacking mid-fight can also be accelerated by using 2x as its cooldown comes back up

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This allows you to stay on your primary damage-boosting arrow for more abilities

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• → [ abilities] →

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Using Wen Arrows

⬥ Wen Arrows are considered when facing severe hit chance issues and/or downtime exists to build stacks for free

⬥ Note that throughout the example rotations in this section, not enough Basic Abilities are used to stack 10 between

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• We would have to give up a spender to stack during active uptime, as well as the damage boost from on multiple abilities

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Therefore, the general recommendation is to only use when downtime exists to build stacks for free

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ This can also be extended to time before a boss has spawned if other targets are available to attack

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Black Stone Arrows are a simpler way to solve mild hit chance issues

⬥ The most common ways of building stacks is by either swapping to them for / / or 2x in a similar fashion to

⬥ Stack consumption can be prevented by swapping to a different ammo , allowing for use of other spenders before the intended buff timing

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Even if the correct conditions exist for usage, it is still likely that a swap is needed for sections of downtime

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⬥ The resulting buff lasts for 15 ticks, or 6 abilities upon consumption. However, it's usually unfeasible to find the adrenaline for 6 consecutive spenders, so a during the buff may be necessary

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• i.e. → → → → → ( ends)

⬥ Alternatively the buff can be activated on any hit of by switching to during the channel

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This allows you to fill part of duration with depending on your available adrenaline and spenders

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Utilising Stalls in Combat

Multiple ranged abilities provide a duration-based buff that starts counting down when they are cast/released. Therefore, we can stall these abilities and release with the next ability to "extend" their buffs and gain other benefits.

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⬥ Ranged usually has to exit its attack range in order to stall, which can be challenging depending on the situation

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Therefore, it will typically only be recommended to use these tricks if the boss allows you to

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• and make it easier to temporarily exit attack range

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Against stationary bosses , you can simply find where your maximum attack range is and take a step back to stall abilities

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⬥ Galeshot can be stalled and released with to extend its buff duration to + 4 abilities rather than 3

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This is useful to gain a bit of extra damage, or a lot if you are planning to use as the 4th ability

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⬥ BoLG Special Attack can be stalled to extend the tail-end on its duration by an extra ability

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• This allows time for alignment usually in the second of

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Otherwise, rotations typically have to pick between using or first in , which each have their tradeoffs

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⬥ ECB Special Attack can be stalled into by another ability to gain damage from that ability without sacrificing duration

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Good candidates usually include or

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Example:

⬥ s → r + → ‎ ‎ → → s → r + → s → r + → → → → → s → r + → → → + s → r + → → → →

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Notes:

⬥ This is a relatively extreme example just to showcase all the above tricks

⬥ Stalling can also be used to prepare during boss immune phases and downtime

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• In these cases you may prefer to stall high-damage abilities such as / to carry in as much burst as possible

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Related guides

For further information and reading, you can refer to the following resources.

Note: If you have any difficulties in using the tools or understanding what the information means, you can always ask in PvM help (external Discord).

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