The Best Melee Weapons in RS3
01.04.2025 - 16:28:23
Game Guides , RS3 Guides , Runescape
Runescape 3 is an old game and as such there are a lot of items that have been introduced to the game over the years. This can make it confusing to figure out which items are better than others. This is especially true for weapons as they have a bunch of different stats and special effects. In this guide, we will take a look at Runescape 3's melee weapons and figure out which one is best depending on a given scenario. Having the best weapon in Runescape 3 is not enough as you need to know the best perk and ability combos to use said weapons, you can check out our Runescape 3 Melee Perk & Ability guide to learn all about this subject!
2-Handed Melee Weapons
Ek-ZekKil
This weapon is considered to be the best RS3 melee weapon by many. Requiring level 99 Strength to equip, this incredible sword is obtained by combining 3 items which are all obtained by beating the Zuk (inferno) which makes this item incredibly expensive so get your Runescape 3 Gold pieces ready, because this thing costs a whopping 1B!
This weapon has a tier 95 accuracy and damage, which are 2765 and 2123.3 respectively. This is not the highest in the game but you can put it next to the highest weapon by upgrading this weapon with a shard of genesis. This item however is a drop from the Nakatra, Devorer Eternal which is an end-game boss making the price of this upgrade 2.1B.
It is highly coveted by many players as this upgrade brings the damage and accuracy of this legendary weapon to tier 100!
This weapon is also considered an obsidian weapon so you can use a berserker necklace with it to gain a 5% damage bonus, which might not seem like much but combined with the powerful stats and special effects of this weapon it becomes quite substantial. This weapon is a degradable weapon and has 60,000 charges of combat. After the charges are depleted, the weapon will turn into a broken one but fret not you can repair it by paying 4.8M gold.
Special Attack
We have arrived at the reason why this weapon is considered to be the best in the game. The bleed effects are extremely strong in melee combat on RS3, and this weapon has the best bleed effect in the game. Using this special attack costs 50% adrenaline and cleaves the target for 110%-140% ability damage. After this initial cleave the target will take 6 bleed hits dealing 60%-75% ability damage but each subsequent bleed hit deals multiplicative 5% increased damage from the previous. Which makes this special attack totally busted. You can also extend the duration of this bleed by using a masterwork spear of annihilation and using more bleed-inducing abilities on the same target.
The maximum amount of bleed hits you can get on a target is 14 and for simpler understanding, this makes the special attack deal a total of 1286%-1610% ability damage. You can also combine a glove of passage into the mix for 20% damage increase to bleeds.
The abilities that extends the duration of this bleed are as follows:
- Dismember
- Combust
- Fragmentation shot
- Slaughter
- Blood tendrils
- Massacare
- Deadshot
- Roar of Awakening special attack
- Abyssal scourge passive effect, abyssal parasite
The following abilities cannot extend the duration of the bleed:
- Corruption blast/shot
- Puncture
- Magma tempest
- Incendiary shot
- Morrigan's javelin special attack
- Abyssal wine whip special attack
- Strykebow special attack
- Bloat
- Devorer's contagion
Masterwork 2h Sword
In terms of raw stats, this weapon is the best weapon in the game possessing a whopping tier 100 stats and requiring level 99 attack to wield. The damage stat of this weapon is 2235 and the accuracy stat is 3100. This sword is much cheaper costing only 106M gold and if you are an Ironman you can smith this weapon your selves as it is not a boss drop but a smithable item requiring level 110 Smithing. To smith this item you first need to complete the achievement: "It Still Should Have Been Called Aetherium".
This weapon is also augmentable which is a huge advantage as we will see some weapons that aren't augmentable. If not augmented this weapon has 100,000 charges of combat and costs only 800K gold to repair. Being so accessible and cheap alongside its stats makes this weapon extremely viable for any new player looking to get into end-game PVM activities.
Zaros Godsword
It is good to see a godsword still holding out the tradition of being one of the best. This weapon boasts a solid tier 92 melee stats and requires level 92 Attack to wield. These melee stats are 2056 Damage and 2577 Accuracy.
This weapon can be crafted using pure,volcanic, and corrupted anima alongside a dormant Zaros godsword. It can also be augmented, otherwise it holds 60,000 charges of combat and can be repaired with 4.8M gold just like Ek-ZekKil. This is a solid weapon for anyone to use costing around 200m gold but high-level PVMers use this sword purely for its special attack so let's take a look at it.
Special Attack
The special attack of this weapon costs 50% adrenaline and upon its use, it creates a black hole under your character that affects a 7x7 grid and lasts for 21 seconds. When you are inside this 7x7 area you gain a 25% increased melee damage. Furthermore, if the targeted creature is inside this grid it will continuously take 35%-45% ability damage every 1.8 seconds. This makes this weapon an ideal special attack switch during boss encounters.
This special attack however has an 60 second cooldown but if you want to be boosted for the entire duration you can cast your berserk right after the black hole finishes.
Masterwork Spear of Annihilation
This legendary spear is the upgraded version of the spear of annihilation which requires level 99 Smithing and 83 Archaeology. Just like the masterwork 2h sword this weapon also requires "It Still Should Have Been Called Aetherium" achievement to be completed or you just buy it for around 313M. It is a tier 92 weapon requiring level 92 attack to wield. Having 2056 damage and 2577 accuracy it is the best-in-slot weapon against the corporeal beast.
This weapon is degradable and will require glorious bars to repair but you can augment the weapon to circumvent this effect. The main reason why players use this spear is not because of corp but because of its passive effect.
Passive Effect
Any melee damage over time effects AKA bleeds will have their duration extended by 50%, making this a great choice for any melee bleed build. It synergises perfectly with the Zuk sword and gloves of passage.
Noxious Scythe
Coming up at the 5th spot and one of my favorite weapons the Noxious Scythe. This weapon is a tier 90 weapon that requires level 90 Atack to wield and 90 Crafting to make. It is made by combining 4 different arraxor parts. It costs 361M gold.
This weapon is great for Slayer PVMing as it has an increased range of 2 tiles, making AOE attacks extremely effective against groups of enemies as they get to damage a 5x5 grid.
It has 60,000 charges of combat and can be fixed for 4.5M but you can augment it to get rid of degradation. It also has a small special attack that uses 100% adrenaline to summon a mirroback spider that soaks up 50% of the damage you receive and deflects it back to your attacker. This spider has 10K health.
Primal 2H Sword+5
This weapon was introduced with the first Smithing and Mining update. It is a tier 90 weapon and is the lesser version of the masterwork 2h sword. It requires level 99 Attack to wield.
This weapon is good if you are short on cash as it only costs 5.2M. It is weaker than other weapons as it cannot be augmented.
Terrasaur maul
Terrasaur maul is a tier 80 weapon that requires level 80 Strength to equip. This weapon costs 257M gold and the reason for that is its passive effect. While using this weapon you get the following boosts against ranged classed enemies that have a weakness to crush:
- +12.5% damage boost
- +10% hit chance
- +5 affinity towards targets that are weak to crush attacks
You can further amplify these effects with an enchantment of savagery, which costs 30M. Doing so will permanently enhance your maul with a 5% damage boost so 12.5% becomes 17.5%.
So in general the mauls effective damage tier is between tier 94-97 and the accuracy tier is between 89-92. This weapon is also degradable and has 60,000 charges of combat and costs 2M gold to repair.
Swordy McSwordFace
This weapon is not the best weapon by a mile but it is the best non-degradable weapon in the game so you won't ever need to pay a maintenance fee. It costs 51M gold, and it is a tier 80 weapon requiring a level 80 Attack to wield. This weapon also cannot be augmented.
Dual-Wield Melee Weapons
Dark Shard of Leng & Dark Sliver of Leng
These two weapons are the best dual-wield melee weapons on Runescape 3. Each of these weapons costs around 1B. Both of them are tier 95 weapons and require level 95 Attack to wield. Both of these weapons are degradable and have 60,000 charges of combat and both cost 3.2M gold to repair or you can augment them. The combination of these two weapons can be summed up to: hit fast an deal more damage.
Passive Effects
The Dark Shard has a passive effect that provides a 10% chance for attacks to apply a stack of Primordial ice while the Dark Silver has 1% chance. Primordial ice can stack up to 10 stacks and has the following effects:
- Increases the weapon special attack damage by 18%-22% ability damage per stack.
- Reduces the adrenaline cost of the special attack by 12% per stack.
- If both weapons are equipped you also gain the frostblades effect. This effect makes melee abilities deal 24% additional damage.
Special Attack
Costs 30% adrenaline and has a 15-second cooldown It deals 100%-120% ability damage the your primary target and 150%-180% ability damage to 9 additional enemies if they are within 1 tile of your player character. This consumes all of your primordial ice stacks.
Abyssal Scourge
This weapon is a buffed-up abyssal whip dropped from the abyssal lords which requires level 115 Slayer to kill. It is a tier 92 weapon requiring level 92 Attack to wield and is the second-best one-handed melee weapon in the game. This weapon costs 77M gold, has 60,000 charges of combat, and costs 2.2M gold to repair. It can be augmented. The main appeal of this weapon also comes from its passive effect.
Passive effect
This weapon is the bleed weapon as each hit on a target using this weapon can apply a stack of abyssal parasites on the target, dealing between 18-31 damage per stack every 1.8 seconds. The fun part is you can stack up to 50 on a single target and each of your hits refreshes the bleed duration.
This passive effect combined with its cheap price and high tier makes this weapon a perfect choice for non-sweaty PVMers who just want to AFK a high health target.
Khopesh of Tumeken and Khopesh of Elidnis
Both of these weapons are a solid tier 92, requiring level 92 Attack to wield. Tumeken costs 69M while the Elidnis costs 111M making them a cheap duo. They don't have any special attack or a passive effect but they can be augmented. If not augmented they have 60,000 charges of combat and can be repaired with 1.6M gold each.
Rather than using both of these weapons at the same time you can get the Elidnis as your off-hand and use the abyssal scourge on your main hand.
Drygore Weaponry
Drygore weaponry are very old weapons at this point but they still are a tier 90 weapon requiring level 90 Attack to equip. They are really cheap compared to other weapons costing only around 30M each. They can be augmented which is a huge plus and they cover every melee attack style in the game. Longsword is for slash, rapier is for stab and mace is for crush. Also, the mace provides an additional +9 Prayer bonus.
Conclusion| Weapon | Tier | Attack Type | Special Features |
| Ek-ZekKil | 95 (100 with upgrade) | 2H | Best bleed effect |
| Masterwork 2h Sword | 100 | 2H | Highest raw stats |
| Zaros Godsword | 92 | 2H | Black hole special |
| Masterwork Spear | 92 | 2H | 50% bleed extension |
| Noxious Scythe | 90 | 2H | 2 tile range |
| Dark Shard & Sliver | 95 | Dual-wield | Primordial ice stacks |
| Abyssal Scourge | 92 | Main-hand | Abyssal parasites |
| Khopesh (pair) | 92 | Dual-wield | High tier, no special |
| Drygore Weapons | 90 | Dual-wield | All attack styles |
When choosing a melee weapon in RuneScape 3, consider your budget, combat style preference, and intended use. For high-end PVM, the Ek-ZekKil or Dark Shard/Sliver combo offers the best performance but at a premium price. Mid-tier players should consider the Masterwork 2h Sword or Abyssal Scourge for excellent performance at reasonable prices. Budget-conscious players can still achieve good results with Drygore weapons or even the non-degradable Swordy McSwordFace.
Remember that the best weapon is only as good as the player using it - understanding mechanics, proper ability rotations, and appropriate perk setups will always outweigh raw weapon stats. Happy adventuring!