OSRS Best Weapons for Each Combat Style

In Old School RuneScape (OSRS), players have access to various combat styles, each with its unique strengths and strategies. Choosing the best weapons for each combat style is crucial for efficiently tackling monsters, bosses, and PvP scenarios. In this in-depth guide, we'll explore the top weapons in OSRS for Melee, Ranged, and Magic, along with detailed descriptions and examples of where they shine as best-in-slot choices.

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Melee

1. Abyssal Whip & Abyssal Tentacle:

Attack Style: Slash

Special Attack: None

The Abyssal Whip is an iconic melee weapon, renowned for its fast attack speed and high accuracy. It's a versatile choice suitable for a wide range of situations, making it popular among players. The weapon is primarily used for Slayer tasks, low to mid-level PvM (Player vs. Monster) activities, and PvP (Player vs. Player) combat.

Where it shines: The Abyssal Whip is best suited for tasks that involve low to mid-level monsters with relatively low defense. It's an excellent choice for completing Slayer tasks efficiently and effectively. Additionally, the Abyssal Whip's relatively affordable price makes it accessible to many players. The Abyssal Tentacle further shines in PvM and PvP activities and is often considered one of the most powerful items available in the game (behind Raid tier weapons). 

Below are the stats for each (Left: Abyssal Whip and Right: Abyssal Tentacle):

2. Ghrazi Rapier:

Attack Style: Stab

Special Attack: None

The Ghrazi Rapier is a powerful and sought-after weapon that boasts high accuracy and damage output. This makes it an exceptional choice for high-level PvM encounters and boss fights, where precision and effectiveness are critical. As a stab weapon, it's particularly effective against monsters weak to stab attacks.

Where it shines: The Ghrazi Rapier is the go-to weapon for high-level PvM content and challenging boss encounters, such as Raids, Chambers of Xeric, and high-level Slayer tasks. Its precise and potent strikes make it invaluable for defeating formidable opponents. In most instances where defence levels are lower in PvM encounters, this is the best-in-slot weapon of choice.

Below are the stats for Osmumten's fang:

3. Scythe of Vitur:

Attack Style: Slash (with AoE effect)

Special Attack: None

The Scythe of Vitur is a two-handed melee weapon with a unique area-of-effect (AoE) attack, allowing players to hit multiple targets at once. Its wide attack range and devastating slashing attacks make it an excellent choice for tasks and boss fights with numerous clustered monsters or minions.

Where it shines: The Scythe of Vitur excels in scenarios where players face multiple opponents in close proximity. It's particularly effective during Slayer tasks with grouped monsters like Dust Devils, Nechryaels, and boss fights with minions.

Below are the stats for Scythe of Vitur:

4. Osmumten's Fang:

Attack Style: Stab/Slash 

Special Attack: The Osmumten's Fang possesses a special attack named "Eviscerate," which depletes 25% of the user's special attack energy when utilized. This particular attack enhances the accuracy of the subsequent hit by 50%, and determines damage rolls based on the fang's absolute maximum hit. For instance, if the fang's true maximum hit is 60, the successful strike would yield damage ranging from 9 to 60, in contrast to the usual damage roll of 9 to 51.

The Osmumten's Fang is a single-handed piercing weapon, procured as an uncommon prize from the Tombs of Amascut. This weapon once belonged to Pharaoh Osmumten, who was renowned for his hunting prowess. An Attack level of 82 is necessary to handle this weapon.

Where it shines: The Osmumten's Fang excels in almost every boss and high level content encounter in OSRS. The passive of the fang scales the higher a monsters defence is making it widely used for these types of encounters. 

Below are the stats for Osmumten's fang:

Ranged:

1. Twisted Bow:

Attack Style: Accurate

Special Attack: None

The Twisted Bow is considered one of the most potent ranged weapons in OSRS. Its unique mechanic scales its damage based on the opponent's magic level, making it exceptionally effective against high magic level enemies and bosses with substantial hitpoints.

Where it shines: The Twisted Bow is unparalleled in high-level PvM content, such as the Chambers of Xeric, Theatre of Blood, and boss fights where the enemy has a high magic level, like Zulrah and the Great Olm.

Below are the stats for the Twisted Bow:

2. Armadyl Crossbow:

Attack Style: Accurate

Special Attack: "The Armadyl's Eye" (Consumes 50% special attack bar to increase accuracy and damage by 50% for one hit)

The Armadyl Crossbow is a reliable and well-balanced ranged weapon that offers excellent accuracy and damage output. Its special attack, "The Armadyl's Eye," provides a temporary boost to accuracy and damage, making it a suitable option for increasing burst damage in specific situations.

Where it shines: The Armadyl Crossbow is a versatile choice for general PvM encounters, boss fights with no specific weaknesses, and situations where players want to optimize their DPS (Damage per Second) output.

Below are the stats for the Armadyl Crossbow:

Magic:

1. Kodai Wand:

Spellbook: Ancient

Special Attack: None

The Kodai Wand is a powerful wand that enhances the accuracy and damage of combat spells from the Ancient Spellbook. As a high-level magic weapon, it shines in challenging PvM content and boss fights where Ancient Magic spells are particularly effective.

Where it shines: The Kodai Wand is best utilized in high-level PvM activities like the Chambers of Xeric, Theatre of Blood, and other boss fights where Ancient Magic spells, such as Ice Barrage and Blood Barrage, are essential for success.

Below are the stats for the Kodai Wand:

2. Trident of the Swamp:

Spellbook: Standard

Special Attack: None

The Trident of the Swamp is a popular and widely used magic weapon among accounts that are just getting into late game activities (along with iron accounts). It doesn't traditionally consume runes when casting combat spells however it does use charges (Zulrah scales, and runes), making it a cost-effective option for magic training and PvM activities for main accounts. As a standard spellbook weapon, it's effective against monsters weak to magic attacks.

Where it shines: The Trident of the Swamp is an excellent choice for Slayer tasks, low to mid-level PvM activities, and situations where players need consistent magic damage output without worrying about rune costs.

Below are the stats for the Trident of the Swamp:

3. Sanguinesti Staff:

Spellbook: Standard

Special Attack: None

The Sanguinesti Staff is a powerful magical weapon in Old School RuneScape, requiring 82 Magic to wield. It's one of the weapons associated with the Theatre of Blood, an intense player versus environment challenge.

The staff uses blood runes to cast built-in spells, attacking enemies with a barrage of blood projectiles. Importantly, these attacks have a unique mechanic: they have a 1/6 chance of healing the user for 50% of the damage dealt, acting much like a vampyric effect. This makes the Sanguinesti Staff a popular choice for activities where sustain is crucial.

Where it shines: The Sanguinesti Staff shines in content where the player may need a bit more life preserve (Tombs of Amascut or Dagannoth Kings) Since the price of this staff is relatively high, it's not considered a high priority item until all other upgrades are made on an account.

Below are the stats for the Sanguinesti Staff:

4. Tumeken's shadow:

Spellbook: Standard

Special Attack: None but Passive: The Tumeken's shadow possesses a unique passive effect tied to its inherent spell. This effect triples the player's magic attack bonus and magic damage derived from their equipped gear (quadrupling within the Tombs of Amascut). However, the augmented magic damage resulting from this feature is limited to a maximum of 100% Magic Strength.

The Tumeken's shadow is a formidable two-handed magic staff, necessitating a Magic level of 85 to utilize. This extraordinary item can be exclusively obtained as a scarce drop from the Tombs of Amascut. The sun serves as the power source for this remarkable staff, which was fashioned by the deity Tumeken amidst the Kharidian–Zarosian War to counter the aggressive onslaught of the Zarosian Empire. Additionally, this staff was employed in the creation of two enormous automata, Tumeken's Warden and Elidinis' Warden, which were endowed with the divine quintessence of Tumeken himself and his consort, Elidinis.

Where it shines: The Tumeken's Shadow is the most powerful magic staff in Old School RuneScape and is used in almost any content where magic is dominate such as Tombs of Amascut. The large price associated with is due to these properties and uses within the world of Gielinor. 

Below are the stats for the Tumeken's Shadow:

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