RuneScape/Skills/Ranged

Ranged is one of Runescape's combat skills. Ranging involves attacking an enemy from a distance using certain objects, such as a bow and arrows.

If you only raise range as your combat stat, then you are called a "ranger". As a ranger, you hide behind objects to avoid damage, which is how the skill got it's name.

When you range something, you will throw items at them. However, only sometimes you will get them back. Your weapons will fall underneath the enemy when you've hit them. When the enemy is dead, grab your items. You'll notice that you'll have fewer weapons. This is because only sometimes you get back your items. This causes range to become an expensive skill, as you always have to buy more ammunition.

=Intro=

A bow and arrows are the recommended set for ranging, as they are fast and give good range bonuses. With your bow equipped, click on the icon with the two swords crossing eachother. Clicking on this will show that you can attack accurately, rapidly, or longrange.

If you use the accurate or rapid attack styles, receive four ranged exp and 1.33 hit points exp. So say you hit a 10 on your enemy. You will be given 40 ranged exp and about 5 hit points exp. If you use the longrange attack style, you will receive two ranged exp, two defense exp points and 1.33 hit points exp.

Many people consider the rapid attack style to be best for training, as using it allows you to shoot fast, thus giving you fast exp.

Also, there are "short bows" and "long bows". Long bows allow you to hit farther and harder, but you shoot arrows slow. Short bows allow you to shoot fast, but not hit as hard nor as far as long bows.

If you want to see your ranged defence and ranged attack, click on the icon with the man standing with his arms outstretched. When you've clicked on this icon, look down and you should see a small black window which you can scroll down on. If you scroll down, you can see your ranged attack and ranged defence.

The higher the ranged attack, the more often you will hit. The higher the ranged defence, the less you will be damaged. To increase these two stats, you need to wield a better bow or armour than you currently have wielded. However, you also need certain ranged levels to weild different bows and armour.

=Bows=

Below is a table with info about bows. "Lvl Needed" means ranged level needed to wield that bow. "Att Value" means how much that bow adds to your ranged attack.

=Specials=

The magic short bow (commonly referred to as the MSB) and the magic long bow (also known as the MLB) both have specials.

When you equip one of these bows, if you click on the icon with the two swords crossing eachother, and look at the bottom, you will see a bar and the word "special". When you are about to fire, you click on the "special bar". When you've clicked on it, the word "special" will highlight, and when you shoot your next arrow, you will do the special.

Each special also has a drain rate. A 50% drain rate means if you use the special once, your special bar will go down 50%. The special bar takes time to recharge.

The magic long bow's special allows you to shoots an arrow with a chance to hit higher than normal. Using the special reduces your special bar by 35%, so you can use it twice in a row, and then let the bar recharge.

The magic short bow's special allows you to shoot two arrows at once. Using the special reduces your special bar by 55%, making you wait a few seconds to let it recharge to use it again.

Many people prefer the MSB over the MLB as the MSB allows you to shoot faster and has a very good special.

=Arrows=

Arrows are used with your bow as weapons, or ammunition (ammo). The better the arrow, the higher you can hit, but you'll need a better bow to fire the better arrows. Free players can use all arrows except rune.

"Bow Required" means the minimum bow you need to use those arrows. The price of the arrows are store prices and not street prices.

=Crossbows and Bolts=

A crossbow is similiar to a bow, but instead you hold it with one hand, thus allowing you to wield a shield. However, crossbows only give +6 ranged attack value.

Crossbows are seldom used now, as they are slower than bows and their bolts take time to get. Bows are recommended over crossbows.

Below is a table with info about crossbows and bolts.

=Members Weapons=

Members have many different kinds of weapons they could use while ranging. These weapons include darts, throwing knives, javelins, and throwing axes.

Darts
Darts can only be made after you have completed The Tourist Trap. To make them, see the fletching guide. Darts are very fast, thus giving good exp, though take time to make. There are 6 different kinds of darts, listed below.


 * Bronze Darts
 * Iron Darts
 * Steel Darts
 * Mithril Darts
 * Adamant Darts
 * Rune Darts

Throwing Knives
Throwing knives can be smithed. Throwing knives are very fast and are easy to make. They are good for gaining exp. There are 6 different kinds of throwing knives, listed below.


 * Bronze Throwing Knives
 * Iron Throwing Knives
 * Steel Throwing Knives
 * Mithril Throwing Knives
 * Adamant Throwing Knives
 * Rune Throwing Knives

Javelins
Javelins are a monster drop and can be bought from the Ranged Guild. They are slow, but hit good. They are not recommended for gaining exp, as they're just too slow compared to shooting arrows with a bow. There are 6 different kinds of javelins, listed below. You can wield a shield with javelins.

Throwing Axes
Throwing axes can be bought from the Ranged Guild. They are very slow, but powerful. However, they are not recommended for gaining exp, as they're just too slow compared to shooting arrows with a bow. There are 6 different kinds of throwing axes, listed below. You can wield a shield with throwing axes.

=Leather Armour=

Leather armour is the ranger's armour. If you want to make leather yourself, see the crafting guide.

Leather armour gives good defence against mages, so if you want to fight mages, wear leather armour. However, warriors have an advantage over leather armour, so if you want to fight warriors, do not wear leather armour. Below is a table with info about leather armour.

=Snakeskin=

If you are a member and your [[RuneScape/Skills/Crafting|crafting] level is high enough, you can make snakeskin, or buy it from fellow players. It has better stats than leather, but requires a range and defence level of 30 to wear it.