[Top 15] Old School RuneScape Best Ranged Gear (And How To Get Them

Old School RuneScape Best Ranged Gear
By
Arthur Grainger
Updated:
21 Apr 2024

Introduction

I have compiled this list of the best Ranged gear from OSRS, starting from fifteen down to one! Of course, this is not all the equipment for training Ranged, but it is some of the best that I think you should try out to get the most out of this combat style. Ranged is one of my all-time favourite armour, combat styles and has helped me gain many slayer and combat levels. I am also hunting my Giant Mole pet with some of these methods!

 

 15. Dragon hunter crossbow 

A player wielding the Dragon Hunter Crossbow.

The Dragon hunter crossbow is a reward from the Chambers of Xeric and requires 65 Ranged to wield. It is a one-handed weapon that can fire up to dragon bolts. On the 4th of January 2018, the crossbow came into the game.

The crossbow has a passive effect when fighting draconic creatures, increasing the Ranged accuracy by 30% and the damage by 25%. You can stack these bonuses with void equipment, salve amulets, and the slayer helm.

The crossbow has a +95 Ranged Attack bonus, and its Attack speed is 6. Moreover, the crossbow has an Attack range of 7 tiles that you extend with the long-range Attack style. 

What makes the dragon hunter crossbow awesome?

  • It is the best crossbow for killing dragons.
  • How to get the dragon hunter crossbow:
  • Buy from other players in the GE for around 67m
  • Complete The Chambers of Xeric for a chance at the bow as a reward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-M8VmKvhqY 

Item name details: 

 

14. Void Equipment

A player wearing full Ranger Void.

The Void Knight equipment was released into the game on the 17th of July 2007, with the release of Pest Control. The reward for completing this minigame is commendation points, and a total of 850 points is needed to get a complete set with one helmet.

This Ranged equipment is helpful as it is an excellent low-level choice of armour for extra Ranged damage boost with the whole set equipped. Moreover, you only need 22 Prayer and 42 Attack, Strength, Defence, Hitpoints, Ranged, and Magic to wield it. 

The set effect with the void ranger helm is a +10% to Ranged damage and accuracy, and this can be upgraded with the elite ranger version for an additional 2.5% bonus. However, this requires the hard Western Provinces diary.

The set collectively gives:

  • +87 stab, slashing, and crush Defence bonus.
  • +85 Magic Defence bonus
  • +87 Ranged Defence bonus

What makes the void ranger set awesome?

  • It costs no money to obtain
  • Great for low levels
  • Often used for low-risk PKing (player-killing)

How to Get the void ranger set:

Item name details: 

 

13. Necklace of Anguish

A player wearing void with the Necklace of Anguish.

The Necklace of Anguish is the best-in-slot for Ranged Attack and Ranged Strength bonus released on the 6th of May 2016 with the release of Monkey Madness II. It requires 75 Ranged to equip.

The Necklace gives:

  • +15 Ranged Attack bonus
  • +5 Ranged Strength bonus
  • +2 Prayer bonus

What makes the void ranger set awesome?

  • It's one of the few non-ammo slots to provide a range Strength bonus. 

How to Get the Necklace of Anguish:

Item name details: 

 

12. Barrows gloves

Barrows gloves.

Barrows gloves are a robust set of gloves that are a reward you can obtain from the Culinaromancer's Chest after Recipe for Disaster. They were released on the 15th of March 2006 and only require level 41 Defence at the lowest to wear (based on the quest requirements).

Of all the gloves in OSRS, the barrows gloves give the best Ranged offensive bonuses, even more than black d'hide vambraces. They are also well-balanced for other combat styles only surpassed by one late-game alternative. 

The gloves give:

  • +12 stab, slashing and crush for Attack and Defence bonus.
  • +6 Magic for Attack and Defence bonus.
  • +12 Ranged for Attack and Defence bonus.
  • +12 melee Strength.

What makes the barrows gloves awesome?

  • Great for low levels.
  • Only 130k.

How to get barrows gloves:

Item name details: 

11. Bow of Faerdhinen

A player wielding the bow of Faerdhinen.

The bow of Faerdhinen is a Magical bow that requires 75 Ranged and 70 agility to wield, being realised into the game on the 30th of June 2021. It has the highest Ranged Attack and Ranged Strength bonus in the game due to its Attack speed. 

This bow is powerful, but when worn with full crystal armour it is even more so! The set applies damage and accuracy boosts to the bow. 

Like all crystal equipment, the bow starts off with 10,000 charges with each hit accounting for one charge on the So regardless of whether a bow does damage or not a charge will be spent and to recharge it you need to use crystal shards on it.

The bow gives:

  • +128 Ranged Attack bonus
  • +106 Ranged Strength bonus
  • It has an Attack speed of 5 and a range of 10 squares.

What makes the bow awesome?

  • Costs no money to obtain
  • Requires high stats and lots of quest requirements to access Prifddinas.

How to get the bow:

Item name details: 

 

10. Pegasian boots

Pegasian boots.

Pegasian boots have the strongest Ranged Attack bonus in OSRS and were released on the 27th of August 2015. They require level 75 Ranged and Defence to be worn and can be created by using a pegasian crystal with ranger boots (requires 60 runecrafting and Magic).

The boots collectively give:

  • -12 Magic Attack bonus
  • + 12 Ranged Attack bonus
  • + 5 to all Defence bonuses.

What makes the pegasian boots awesome?

  • The best Ranged Attack bonus of any boots.

How to get pegasian boots:

Item name details: 

 

9. Archer's ring (i)

Archer's ring (i).

The archer's ring (i) is an upgraded version of the archer's ring (originally released in 2005), which was released on the 26th of September 2013. It can be upgraded from the normal ring through Nightmare Zone (NMZ) for 650,000 points or Soul Wars (SW) for 260 Zeal Tokens.

It is the best ring overall for Ranged based on its Attack, and Defence bonuses and is very cheap compared to other best-in-slot pieces of armour.

The ring gives:

  • +8 Ranged Attack bonus
  • +8 Ranged Defence bonus

What makes the archer's ring (i) awesome?

Item name details: 

 

8. Blessed Dragonhide Armour

A player wearing bless d'hide armor (Sara set).

Blessed dragonhide armor is a great type of lightweight Ranged equipment with good stats. All sets require level 70 Ranged and 40 Defence with stats identical to the regular black dragonhide armour, but with an added Prayer bonus!

These hide armours cannot be crafted and can only be obtained from cluescrolls or buying from other players. Moreover, to add to this swag they come in six variants to choose from:

  • Guthix
  • Saradomin
  • Zamorak
  • Armadyl
  • Bandos
  • Ancient

The sets collectively give:

  • -15 Stab and slashing Attack bonus
  • - 11 Crush Attack bonus
  •  -56 Magic Attack bonus
  • + 79 Ranged Attack bonus
  • +121 Stab Defence bonus
  • +106 Slashing Defence bonus
  • +130 Crush Defence bonus
  • +109 Magic Defence bonus
  • +112 Ranged Defence bonus
  • + 6 Prayer bonus

What makes the sets awesome?

  • Very cheap
  • Lightweight
  • Prayer bonus
  • Support your god of choice!
  • Best Ranged set for Defence stats overall.

How to Get the void ranger set:

Item name details: 

 

7. Armadyl Armour

A player wearing Armadyl armour

Armadyl Armour is a set of Ranged armour made up of an Armadyl helmet, Armadyl chest plate, and Armadyl chain skirt. It requires 70 Ranged and 70 Defence to be worn and is the best option overall for Ranged Attacking without extra Defence stats; d'hide is preferred. The set was released with God Wars on the 17th of October 2013. 

Often the set is used because of its Prayer bonus with minigames such as Fight Caves and other activities where the conservation of Prayer is essential. 

The set collectively gives:

  • - 18 Stab, slashing, and crush Attack bonus.
  • - 30 Magic Attack bonus
  • + 63 Ranged Attack bonus
  • + 94 Stab Defence bonus
  • + 82 Slashing Defence bonus
  • + 105 crush Defence bonus
  • + 120 Magic Defence bonus
  • + 98 Ranged Defence bonus
  • + 3 Prayer bonus 

What makes Armadyl Armour awesome?

  • The best overall Ranged damage for a set.
  • Do not degrade like other equipment like Karil's.
  • Good Defence stats.

How to get Armadyl Armour set:

Item name details: 

6. Diamond dragon bolts (e) 

Diamond dragon bolts (e)

The special attack effect.

 Diamond dragon bolts (e) are some of the best types of ammo you can fire with a crossbow in OSRS. They are an enchanted version of dragon bolts with crafted diamond tips released into the game on the 4th of January 2018. 

Diamond dragon bolts (e) have a chance of triggering an armour piercing effect which increases the max hit by 15% and ignores an opponent's Defence and your own accuracy.  If the hard Kandarin Diary is done there's a 10% increase to these special effects taking effect, and 11% overall with each hit.

The stats of diamond dragon bolts (e):

  •  +122 Ranged Strength bonus.

What makes the diamond dragon bolts (e) awesome?

  • Armour piercing effect
  • Ranged Strength bonus 

How to get diamond dragon bolts (e):

Item name details: 

 

5. Armadyl Crossbow

A player wielding the Armadyl Crossbow.

The Armadyl Crossbow was released into the game on the 17th of October 2012 with the release of the God Wars Dungeon. It is dropped by Commander Zilyanna and requires 70 Ranged to wield. 

The bow has a passive effect where the higher the targets Magic level or Magic accuracy, the higher the bow's damage and accuracy. This accuracy caps out at 140, while the damage caps a 250. Within the Chambers of Xeric, the caps increase to 350. These effects make the ow great for killing monsters with high Magic levels like brutal black dragons and the Alchemical Hydra. 

The bow has a +70 Ranged Attack bonus and a +20 Ranged Strength bonus. In addition, its Attack speed is six and the bow has an Attack range of 10 tiles which cannot be extended with the long Ranged Attack type.
What makes the Armadyl Crossbow awesome?

  • The only crossbow with a Prayer bonus
  • It is the best crossbow outclassed only by the dragon hunter crossbow against dragons.

How to Get the Armadyl Crossbow:

Item name details: 

 

4. Twisted Bow

A player wielding the twisted bow.

The twisted bow is a reward from the Chambers of Xeric and requires 75 Ranged to wield. It is a two-handed weapon that can fire up to dragon arrows. On the 5th of January 2017, it was released into the game.

The bow has a passive effect where the higher the targets Magic level or Magic accuracy, the higher the bow's damage and accuracy. This accuracy caps out at 140, while the damage caps a 250. Within the Chambers of Xeric, the caps increase to 350. These effects make the ow great for killing monsters that have high Magic levels like brutal black dragons and the Alchemical Hydra. 

The bow has a +70 Ranged Attack bonus and a +20 Ranged Strength bonus. In addition, its Attack speed is 6, and the bow has an Attack range of 10 tiles which cannot be extended with the long-Ranged Attack type.
What makes the twisted bow awesome?

  • Kills monsters with a high Magic level very quickly.
  • Very good against most bosses like the Giant Mole.
  • Long Ranged of 10 tiles.
  • The best bow in the game.

How to Get the twisted bow:

Item name details: 

 

3. Ava's Assembler 

Ava's Assembler worn by a player.

Ava's assembler is a Magical item released on the 4th of January 2018 with the Dragon Slayer II quest. It is an upgraded version of Ava's Accumulator, which functions similarly except with an increased Ranged Strength bonus. This cape slot item requires 70 Ranged to equip, but the downgraded one only needs 50 Ranged.

Ava's assembler can randomly gather Ranged mithril equipment when worn. Moreover, it has an 80% chance of saving ammunition, with the remaining 20% breaking. Finally, compared to Ava's accumulator, it never drops ammo to the ground.

Ava's assembler gives the following stats:

  • +8 Ranged Attack bonus
  • +1 stab, slashing, and crush Defence bonus.
  • +8 Magic Defence bonus
  • +2 Ranged Defence bonus 
  • +2 Ranged Strength bonus

In all Ranged combat, you should have Ava's assembler or accumulator because not only does it have great Defence and Attack bonuses, but it helps save on ammo! The only thing that bypasses it in this slot is the 99 Ranged cape or the maxed cape.
What makes Ava's Assembler awesome?

Item name details: 

 

2.   Dwarf cannon 

A dwarf cannon set up.

 The dwarf cannon is a genuinely unique part of OSRS! A player does not equip it, but instead, they place it on the ground. It is a reward you can purchase and use after completing the Dwarf Cannon Quest that came out on the 27th of May 2003. 

It is a popular weapon used for slayer and killing various monsters to farm for resources or other rewards. It Attacks with Ranged and cannonballs, reloaded into the cannon at 30 per time. However, it is limited where the cannon can be set up. 

Players often use the cannon to kill the Giant Mole and rock crabs.

The cannon is made of:

  • Cannon barrels
  • Cannon base
  • Cannon furnace
  • Cannon stand

You load the cannon with:

  • Cannonballs
  • Granite cannonballs (increase max hit from 30-35)

The Cannon Relies on:

  • The accuracy bonus of Ranged if using Ranged weapons.
  • The accuracy bonus of melee if using melee weapons.

What makes the cannon awesome?

  • Passive Ranged experience and damage.
  • Kill monsters and bosses quicker.
  • Not very expensive.

How to get the cannon:

Item name details:

 

1. Toxic Blowpipe

A player wielding the Toxic Blowpipe.

The toxic blowpipe is an iconic OSRS Ranged weapon released on the 8th of January 2015 with the Zulrah boss. It is a two-handed weapon that uses darts up to the dragon and requires 75 Ranged.

The weapon is charged using Zulrah scales and has a 25% chance to cause the venom to penetrate the opponent during combat. If you wear this with the serpentine helm, this chance increases to 100%. 

The special attack!

Another great thing about this weapon is its special Attack. When killing the giant mole or other creatures, you might find that you are low on Hitpoints. The special Attack' toxic siphon' increases your accuracy by 100% for the following Attack and damage by 50%. If you damage the target, the amount halved will be applied to your Hitpoints. Moreover, it consumes 50% of their run, which makes it useful for PKing.

The blowpipe gives a +30 Ranged Attack bonus and a +20 Ranged Strength bonus. Moreover, it has an Attack speed of 3, and its Ranged is five games squares. Therefore, it can be used in three combat styles, accurate, rapid, and long-range. However, the best is generally quick as the Attack speed increases by one tick. Unless you want an extra distance of two squares between yourself and the target, then long-range is best.

The toxic blowpipe is the best-range weapon in most situations, except when niche targets require a stronger weapon or a shield to negate damage. At a low level and on a tight budget, this is the best Ranged weapon. In addition, This weapon works well on slayer tasks with a cannon and slayer helmet.

What makes the toxic blowpipe awesome?

  • Poisons targets
  • It doesn't break the bank
  • Quick for slayer tasks
  • Great for getting a fire cape
  • Heals with its special Attack

How to Get the toxic blowpipe:

Item name details: 

Useful Resources

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Arthur Grainger
My life is dedicated to RPGs, fantasy, creative writing, and archaeology. I am a real life Indiana Jones! But I am also a gnome, storyteller, a friend and so much more!
Gamer Since:
1995
Favorite Genre:
RPG
Currently Playing:
Old School Runescape and DND 5e
Top 3 Favorite Games:
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine , The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion