RuneScape/Skills/Ranged

Ranged is one of RuneScape's three 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 is 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 each other. 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 wield different bows and armour.

=Range Bonus= If you click on the menu to the right of the inventory menu, you'll see what you have equipped. If you look at the bottom of this menu, there will a small black box with the words "Attack Bonus" and "Defence Bonus" in yellow, and more words in gray underneath with plus signs and negatives. These are known as "bonuses" and help you fight.

There are two range bonuses, a "range attack bonus" and a "range defence bonus". A range attack bonus affects how often you hit, not how hard you hit. The higher the ranged attack bonus, the more often you'll hit. A range defence bonus affects how often you get hurt. The higher the ranged defence bonus, the less often your opponent will hurt you.

=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 each other, 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 similar 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. Members who have completed the Roving Elves quest can also use the famous Crystal Bow.

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.

Crystal Bow
After completing the Roving Elves quest members can buy and use these. It is amazing as it does not require ammunition of any kind, say goodbye to arrows! However, like the Crystal Shield, it has the bad habit of decaying over time until it goes back into its seed state at which point it can be recharged. It decays 10 times every 2500 shots, once it has decayed 6 times it is equal to the magic shortbow and as such becomes almost useless. One way players can get around this is by buying two bows, use one bow until it almost decays and switch to the other which will then decay instead (this works as the rate of decay is tied to the player, Jagex has threatened to change this system), this way the player can use a fully charged bow half of the time. But most players still prefer non-decaying equipment and will stick to magic shortbows.

=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 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. You also need 46 snakeskins for the full set since snakes are very small and don't have much skin on them. Snake skins can be obtained by killing bush snakes in the Tai Bwo Wannai Cleanup minigame.

=Dragonhide= Dragonhide is no doubt the best of all the armour rangers can wear. Members can make dragonhide, see the crafting guide how.

There are four types of dragonhide. There's green dragonhide, blue dragonhide, red dragonhide, and black dragonhide. Free players can only wear green dragonhide. Green dragonhide bodies can be bought from Oziach after finishing Dragon Slayer, and green dragonhide chaps and vambraces can be bought from the Champion's Guild. The other kinds of dragonhide cannot be bought in stores and must be bought from fellow players.

These are the much preferred armours when fighting player mages or NPCs that use magic in some form. Due to its extensive melee bonuses, black dragonhide is often worn by melee fighters since it weighs a lot less than metal armour and provides some defence if the opponent can also use some kind of magic or ranged attack.

Black Dragonhide
=PKing= PKing means "Player Killing", which is what the wilderness (also known as the wildy) is for. In the wilderness, there are "levels". For example, in wilderness level 1, you can only attack people who are either 1 level above or below your level, or have the same level as you.

In the wilderness, rangers have the advantage over mages (people who raise magic). Their arrows do good damage against them, as their range defence bonus is weak, and since your leather or dragonhide has good magic defence bonus, they won't hurt you much. However, warriors can do good damage against you, as leather and dragonhide has weak melee defence stats (stab, slash, and crush).

In the wilderness, here are some good tactics.


 * Bring a longbow and a shortbow. When fighting a person up close, use the short bow to hit fast. If they run, use a long bow to hit far.


 * Use obstacles to your advantage. For example, if there is a rock nearby, try to have you on side of it and the opponent on the other side.


 * Bring lots of good food to survive longer.


 * If you've raised your combat stats, magic, and range, then you can be quite a formidable opponent in the wilderness. Up close, use melee, or a short bow. When they run, snare them (members only, level 50 magic required) or, if your magic level is high enough and you've completed the quest Desert Treasure, then use Ancient Magicks (see magic guide) and freeze them and hit them hard. Using all three combat styles will make you a very hard opponent.

=Free to Play Training= If you are a free player, then here are some good places to raise your range level.


 * Level 1 to 30 - Range chickens. Lumbridge has two good spots, as well as the farm north of Port Sarim. This is a very good way to train range to level 30.


 * Level 30 to 60 - Range the guards in and outside Varrock Castle.


 * Level 50 to 60 - Range the hobgoblins near the Crafting Guild. You can range across the water from where the cows are, but you'll lose arrows this way as it takes awhile to run on the other side.


 * Level 50 to 60 - Range the White Knights in White Knights' Castle.


 * Level 50 to 99 - Range Moss Giants in Varrock's sewers or on Crandor. In the sewers, you can hide behind the rocks. There are also spots you can hide behind on Crandor. However, often crowded at peak times, when more than 150,000 people are on.


 * Level 60 to 99 - Range Lesser Demons inside Karmaja's volcano. You can also range the ones on Crandor, there are many hiding spots you can use both inside and outside. However, often crowded at peak times, when more than 150,000 people are on.


 * Level 60 to 99 - Range Ice Giants in the dungeon underneath Thurgo's house, south of Port Sarim. You can hide behind the stalactites and range them. However, often crowded at peak times, when more than 150,000 people are on.


 * Level 60 to 99 - Range Black Knights in Black Knights' Fortress.

=Members Training=
 * Level 1 to 30 - Gnomes at the Khazard Battlefield. There are plenty of gnomes to range and plenty of places to do it from. You can pick up your arrows as well. However the gnomes can be spread out in places.


 * Level 30 to 50 - Mountain Dwarves under White Wolf Mountain. Lots of dwarves here and it's easy to take cover behind the tables.


 * Level 50 to 70 - Ogres in The King Lathas training ground. There are several caged ogres here, and there's a door if you want to pick up your arrows. There is a ranged shop in the training ground as well that sells bronze arrows. Can get crowded at times. You have to complete the Biohazard before you can access it.


 * Level 60 to 99 - Fire giants in the Waterfall. You need to complete the Waterfall quest in order to gain access. Don't forget your Glarial's Amulet and some rope. Plenty of spots for cover, and great drops but can get very crowded. Fire giants are aggressive for a while.


 * Level 60 - 99 - Blue Dragons in Taverly dungeon. A few safespots, popular for their drops of dragon bones and blue dragon hides. Can get crowded, and recovering your loot can be hairy when there are multiple dragons around. Bring a dusty key to gain access or you'll need 70 agility to take the pipe shortcut.


 * Level 70 to 99 - Greater Demons in the Ogre Enclave. Four caged demons to shoot at. They drop rune larges and clues so bring telegrab runes. You need to start the Watchtower quest to gain access to this place. You cannot recover your arrows.