OSRS Ranged Weapons Guide

Becoming a Ranger in OSRS sounds easy but it's far more challenging than it looks. One of the ways to make it easier on your end is by bringing the right weapons for the job. In OSRS, there are lots of weapons to use in the game and we're going to discuss the best ones that you'll need to take with you. Before anything else, here's what you need to know about Ranged weapons.

OSRS Ranged Weapons

This is an attack type in OSRS that puts you at a safe distance over enemies. You'll have a wide selection of weapons to choose from including crossbows, darts, and much more. Unlike melee weapons, you can deal damage with Ranged weapons up to a maximum of 10 tiles depending on what you're using.

Unlike melee weapons, Ranged only has one attack type. Melee weapons are divided into Slash, Stab, and Crush. Magic weapons are divided to different elements. Ranged weapons on the other hand, have access to a wide variety of arrows and bolts, and other ammo. Below is a list of all attack styles for all Ranged weapons.

Ammo

The unique mechanic of Ranged weapons is that they'll all need some form of Ammo to use. Not all Ranged weapons can use all ammo. For instance, bolts are for crossbows and bows are for arrows. Here is a list of all ammo in OSRS currently.

Best Ranged Weapons In OSRS

When picking the best Ranged Weapon in OSRS, it's important that you choose not only basing on the damage. But also on the overall useability of the weapon. Here are our top 10 Ranged weapons in the game.

10. Dorgeshuun Crossbow

Number 10 is a surprise choice: this is the Dorgeshuun Crossbow. Now, this isn't a very powerful ranged weapon in and of itself, so this might surprise some people. But we did mention on this list that we would be considering how powerful a weapon is at different times in the game, and this is extremely powerful for when you're just starting out, especially in Deadman seasons.

This was one that barely anyone played other than a few players. It's a very good crossbow because it has a very fast attack speed, which is unusually fast; it's like a tick faster than most crossbows. It's very cheap-you can buy it under Lumbridge after you complete The Lost Tribe quest, or you can just buy it from the GE.

It even has a special attack, which many low-level weapons don't have. How many level 28 weapons have a special attack? You can use it if you complete the Death to the Dorgeshuun quest. The special attack's effect isn't that good; it can hit a little bit more accurately depending on the situation and has a chance to lower defense, but it's still unusually good for something this low level.

The bolts are also really cheap, so at this time in the game, when you probably don't have Ava's Accumulator, you hardly even need to pick up the bolts. There are really a lot of uses for this crossbow: it's a one-handed weapon, you can use a shield, it's really good for safe spotting, and it's pretty good for training defense at the same time because the speed reduction for long range is not as punishing as most crossbows would be.

It really outclasses most ranged weapons early on in the game as far as affordability and durability. Obviously, it's useless for someone with our ranged level, but all of these attributes for low levels, Deadman, and Ironmen allow it to just sneak into the first spot on this list.

9. Dwarf Multicannon

Number 9 is the only ranged weapon that you cannot actually equip: this is the Dwarf Multicannon, which you can get after the Dwarf Cannon quest. This is an item you can put on the floor, and it acts more like a turret than a cannon. It's basically going to constantly shoot all of these monsters for you.

It doesn't work against other players, unfortunately-that would be pretty fun-but it actually does work as a little turret for you for monsters and bosses, which is pretty unbelievable that it works on some bosses. Even though it is very expensive to use, unlike the Dorgeshuun Crossbow, it can actually make you a lot of GP.

You're just seeing it here; we almost have a cannon factory going on at Venenatis, and we just make absolute bank. Not only can it make you GP, it also gives you ranged XP, which is an interesting design choice because you're not doing the work-the cannon is doing the work; you just have to reload it.

We know the XP is halved, but that's still free ranged XP on top of the XP you're getting from whatever weapon you're using at the time. It's also amazing for Slayer; it just completely changes the complexion of that skill and makes things AFK, which we're always a fan of. You can just stand near the cannon, occasionally reload it, sit there with auto-retaliate, and relax, which is nice. You can also upgrade the cannonballs a little bit, which makes this really a game changer.

8. Heavy Ballista

Number 8 is the Heavy Ballista, which is a very powerful weapon. Honestly, there's not too much to say about this one other than it's kind of the BFG of RuneScape. This hits extremely high; it's very slow, but it has a lot of ranged bonus, it's extremely accurate, and it really packs a punch. The weapon deals a significant amount of damage especially if you use Dragon Javelins on it. A lot of players often overlook this because it's a literally a huge burden to carry but in our opinion, this weapon is well worth the trouble. With enough investment, you can take this to a wide selection of activities.

7. Black Chinchompa

Number 7 is an extremely unique ranged weapon: this is the Black Chinchompa, which is a very expensive ranged weapon to use. But this is basically a throwing weapon where it explodes when you hit something with it, so it can actually hit multiple opponents. There are actually a lot of uses for this. It's very good for training, although we wouldn't recommend it for that because most people use ranged a lot past 99, so all that XP that you spent on training is gonna go to waste.

But it is very good at bosses because there's actually a little trick with it: the damage that you deal with Black Chinchompas is based on the monster you're hitting. In this example, we can use it on the minion at Armadyl, and it actually will have the same defense for both monsters. So the Kree'Arra boss will have the same defense as the minion, which is extremely overpowered. We think they actually fixed it at one point and reverted it because it was so overpowered, but people really liked doing it. So this is a very useful weapon; it's good in many situations, and it's even good in PvP in some clan wars.

You can really get creative and find some great uses for Black Chinchompas if it's worth the cost. Be careful, though, because if you die, then all of the chinchompas will run away, and you cannot pick them up off the ground. So you can actually lose a lot of money from a disconnect or a careless death if you have a lot of Black Chinchompas on you-believe us, we know from experience.

6. Crystal Bow

Number 6 is a weapon that has really stood the test of time and is still very useful as a mid-level bow: this is the Crystal Bow, which is the only ranged weapon in the game that doesn't really require ammunition.

You literally don't need anything in your ammo slot to use it. We might be a little biased because this is a very nostalgic weapon for us. When it was first launched a couple of years ago, the weapon was very popular main because of how it looked. But even today, this is a pretty useful weapon. You can wear a blessing in the ammo slot because it doesn't require arrows, so that gives you some prayer bonus. It has a very long range-even on rapid, it still shoots ten squares, which is extremely far. It's a very accurate bow; it's been buffed multiple times.

It no longer requires recharging; it always keeps its full stats, which is really awesome. And with the Land of the Elves quests, you can actually get crystal armor, which gives it an accuracy and damage bonus, which is really cool. It's also pretty cheap to use overall. This is an older video of us doing Jad, but even today, it makes Jad pretty easy to deal with the healers just because it shoots from so far away. It's also pretty fast-it has whip speed with rapid, which is kind of unexpected for a bow.

The only real issue with it is there's nothing really special about it that makes it really pop-there's no special attack or effect or anything that hits a 50 or lowers defense or something like that. It could really use a special attack to make it good for high levels, but in the meantime, it's still a pretty relevant weapon all these years later.

5. Craw's Bow

Number 5 on the list is the Craw's Bow, which is dropped by revenants in the Wilderness. The great thing about this bow is that if you charge it with revenant ether, you get a 50% accuracy and damage bonus versus any monster in the Wilderness, making this one of the best weapons to use overall in all the Wilderness, at least in PvM situations.

This is really a big deal; it's good at revenants, which are one of the best moneymakers in the game for many players. It's good for Wilderness Slayer, which is a very good way to get points.

It's even decent in PvP-you wouldn't go out and use this to PK with, but if you need to defend yourself in PvP, you can actually do it with this weapon. There are some downsides to it, though-you need to charge it with at least 1,000 revenant ether, which can be kind of expensive because if you die, that is always lost on death.

It's also not great because you can't use a shield with it, so that's kind of an issue at places like Venenatis. But overall, this thing hits really high, it's really accurate, and it's super fast as well. So overall, it's the best weapon by far in this whole area of the game.

4. Dragon Hunter Crossbow

Number 4 is the Dragon Hunter Crossbow, which is a rare reward from the Chambers of Xeric. This is the first crossbow on our list, and it's really a beast. It's really good versus any dragons or even dragon-like creatures like Olm.

It gives a 30% accuracy and damage bonus versus any of these creatures, which is pretty insane. You can just see some of the hits here on Vorkath; it's absolutely nuts. It's also not really a bad crossbow versus normal monsters-in fact, it gives a 95 ranged bonus, which is very high, especially for a relatively fast one-handed ranged weapon.

Now, this bow actually used to be pretty mediocre when it came out, and for a long time afterward. It only gave a 10% accuracy and damage bonus versus dragons, which was okay. It was still the best bow versus many dragons despite that low amount, but it wasn't really that great-you could use other bows and not really lose much. Then, eventually, in 2019, they increased that to 30%, which has made it a real beast.

There's actually a lot of speculation that they'll do this to other bows and crossbows and ranged weapons as well, like the twisted bow-maybe giving that a bigger boost at some point as well. This is pretty expensive-it costs about 45 million GP-but it will pay for itself if you do a lot of bossing, so it's really worthwhile for many high-level players.

3. Eclipse Atlatl

Next is the Eclipse Atlatl. This weapon was added to the game early this year and you can get it as a reward from the Eclipse Moon boss from the Perilous Moon.

The Eclipse Atlatl has a special effect that allows it to inflict a burning effect on your target that stacks again and again. If you're able to take advantage of this stacking effect, you can quickly decimate the HP of any target, be it in PvP or PvE. Along with the other moon equipment from the Perilous Moons, the Eclipse Atlatl is considered one of the new metas when it comes to PvE. While mostly used as a means to whittle down the health of enemies before dealing a huge blow, it's still fairly powerful compared to other PvE Ranged weapons.

2. Twisted Bow

Number 2 is the Twisted Bow, which is one of the most expensive items in the game, costing over a billion GP. This bow is a real game-changer because of its unique effect: it has a passive ability that increases its accuracy and damage based on the magic level of the target.

This makes it incredibly powerful against high-level magic users like the Great Olm in the Chambers of Xeric, the Inferno, and many other bosses. The Twisted Bow has a 5-tick attack speed, which is the same as the Crystal Bow, but it has a much higher max hit.

This bow has revolutionized PvM in Old School RuneScape and is a must-have for any serious PvMer. While very expensive, it still holds a distinct place in the hearts of many players and they are more than willing enough to grind for it.

1. Blowpipe

And finally, the number 1 ranged weapon in Old School RuneScape is the Blowpipe. This weapon has been a staple in the game for years and is still one of the best all-around ranged weapons. It has a very fast attack speed, high accuracy, and decent max hit. The Blowpipe uses darts as ammunition, which are relatively cheap and easy to obtain. It also has a special attack that heals the user for 50% of the damage dealt, making it a great weapon for both PvM and PvP. The Blowpipe is incredibly versatile and can be used in almost any situation, making it the best ranged weapon in Old School RuneScape.

All Ranged Weapons In OSRS

While there are a lot of great weapons in OSRS, you should definitely try each one out at least once. Below is a list of all available Ranged Weapon in the game currently.

Composite Bow

Composite bows are not very common. With the exception of the comp ogre bow, they are far more difficult to obtain because you can only get them from Treasure Trails and cannot be produced by Fletching. They fire slightly faster and have slightly higher accuracy than longbows. Given its speed and range, the Crystal bow can be categorized as a composite bow; nevertheless, it degrades differently from the others and produces its own ammunition.

Longbow

Although they shoot arrows more slowly than shortbows, longbows are capable of firing arrows farther and faster at their targets. They cost more because of their longer attack range, but they have precisely the same stats as the shortbow. Because of their slow pace, they are rarely utilized frequently, but occasionally they are employed to shoot opponents from a distance. It can hit targets up to ten squares away, which is why archers frequently use it to shoot their foes (such as while camping behind a far-off wall and sniping a lesser demon).

Shortbow

Two-handed ranged weapons that shoot arrows are called shortbows. They have a limited range, but they fire more quickly than composite and longbows. All shortbows have an attack range of 7 spaces, or 9 when utilizing long range.

Chinchompa

This weapon type is only available to P2P players and it's easily one of the best for training. They can only be obtained by purchasing them from other players or by using the Hunter skill to set a box trap.

Like burst and barrage spells, they are thrown and explode upon impact, hitting all targets within a 3x3 area. You cannot retrieve them even when they don't cause damage, unlike other throwing weapons.Chinchompas employ special mechanics whereby their accuracy is determined by your chosen combat style, as well as the number of squares you must travel to reach your target. All surrounding targets will be hit if the primary target is hit successfully, as it also acts as the accuracy roll for those targets. In order to harm a close opponent with a higher Defense, it can be helpful to target an opponent with a lower Defense; Kree'arra is a prominent example of this.

Crossbow

Crossbows are a type of ranged weapon used in combat that can only be wielded by those with a specific Ranged level. With the exception of Karil's crossbow, they are horizontal and held with one hand, unlike bows, which prevents you from using your other hand to use a shield.

If you are a free-to-play player, it is advised to stick with bows because the crossbows you have access to are weak. Members, on the other hand, have quite strong crossbows. Bolts are the ammo used in crossbows.

The typical attack range of a regular crossbow is 7, while the long range is 9. The Drogeshuun crossbow has an 8-inch long range and a 6-inch normal attack range. The Armadyl, Zaryte, and Karil's crossbows have long distance range of 10 and a standard attack range of 8.

Fixed Device

In the Mourning's End Part I quest, the fixed device is a Gnome contraption that shoots dye on Farmer Brumpty's sheep. To wield it, you need to be in level 60 Ranged. It is held with both hands over the shoulder. The game uses colored toads as ammunition, which you can create by putting dye in ogre bellows and then using the bellows on a swamp toad in the colors red, yellow, green, or blue. The device may only be used when it is loaded with ammunition, and only one toad may be placed within at a time. Its two attack options are "Aim and fire," which allows you to shoot toads at sheep, and "Kick," which is a simple kicking attack, as its name suggests.

In the event that a device is misplaced, you can retrieve it from a chest in the Mourner Headquarters and request that the gnome prisoner repair it. More leather, toad crunchies, and another magic log will be needed for this. Even after finishing Mourning's End Part I, he will continue to do this. But after completing the Song of the Elves, you can remove fixed devices from the same chest that were carrying the broken ones.

Ranged Weapons In OSRS

There's a reason why lots of players love creating Rangers in OSRS and that's because builds like these are actually very fun to play as. If you want to check out some of the best weapons without the hardwork, don't be afraid to contact RPG Stash for help!