Royal crossbow

The Royal crossbow requires 85 Ranged and 70 Smithing to create, and it can shoot only royal bolts. The weapon focuses on damage over time, as opposed to large hits, and is best suited for high-level monster slaying, especially bosses. It is extremely ineffective against other players, as the damage is consistently 50-60, and there is no bleeding effect.In the wilderness this weapon is unusable and will be unable to hit high or lock on other players.

The Royal crossbow was released along with the Queen Black Dragon. It can only be made by acquiring the royal crossbow components from the Queen Black Dragon's treasure chest after defeating her. The components are rare so it may take many kills to get them. The components may also be purchased from other players. One must attach the components, by speaking with Thurgo near Mudskipper Point, to a coral crossbow in order to create a Royal crossbow (unforged). The components required are:
 * Coral crossbow
 * Royal frame
 * Royal torsion spring
 * Royal sight
 * Royal bolt stabiliser

WARNING: If you destroy the Royal Crossbow you will NOT receive the pieces to put it together again.

The total cost of the above items when bought from the Grand Exchange is. (Excluding the coral crossbow of course, which is rewarded free upon completion of Song from the Depths). However, this price will not be accurate until the Grand Exchange and market prices have a chance to settle in the weeks following the release.

You must charge the crossbow the first time by choosing the Brandish option in front of the Queen Black Dragon's Extreme Fire Breath (4th Phase).

As the Royal Crossbow is used, it begins to degrade. It will last 10 hours in combat before degrading fully and becoming Royal Crossbow (degraded). In this state, it can be repaired in one of two ways: It can be taken before the Queen Black Dragon's extreme fire attack and brandished, or it can be taken to Thurgo to be repaired, though this will require each of the four royal crossbow parts to be added once again.

It should be noted that once the Royal Crossbow has been forged by the Queen Black Dragon, it can never be split apart again, so it becomes permanently bound to the player unless lost on death or destroyed, in which case it will not be reimbursed. It will be left under a gravestone on death. Upon death in the wilderness, 5k appears on the ground for the killer.

Use in Combat
When used in combat, the crossbow fires shots at the same speed as all other crossbows, consuming one bolt per shot. The difference, is that for every shot that deals damage, there will be 2 additional hits, each one 8 seconds after the other. The effect this causes is essentially 3 hits per bolt spread over 16 seconds. This can be stacked, and tests have shown that 5 consecutive hits will - even if the player stops attacking - yield 10 additional bleed hits, each timed off their own initial hit. It is unknown if there is a limit to how many shots can stack into this effect, but it's confirmed to be at least 5.

At the start of combat, successful hits will hit up to 20% of the maximum hit of the royal bolts, based on the +125 ranged attack bonus. These hits also have a 70% minimum hit of that maximum. (Example: A player with 99 Ranged, on rapid style, has a maximum hit of approximately 320, with no potions, prayers, or damage-boosting items. With the royal bolts, this would appear as a maximum hit of approximately 64, with the minimum being approximately 44.)

After nine attacks within the bleed-out period (these shots do not need to deal damage, they just need to be fired at the same monster), the crossbow locks on to the target, and the damage increases to 25% of the maximum, while the minimum is raised to 70% of that value. (An example based on the above parameters would yield a maximum hit of 80 and a minimum hit of 56, approximately.)

While these values may seem low, it should be remembered that each shot yields essentially three hits, and these hits can continue to stack over time with successful hits. This is why the crossbow is best suited to boss-encounters and high-level slaying.

As stated above, none of these factors matter against other players, as the crossbow will always hit a maximum of 60 and a minimum of 50 on players, and there will be no bleeding effects.

When the swift gloves special is activated the extra bolt currently ignores the royal crossbow's maximum damage effect. This allows the bolt's +125 ranged strength bonus to go into full effect making it capable of hitting 450+ with the extra bolt. That can also mean that the extra bolt has the potential to hit lower than the minimum hits. It is not currently known if this is an intended effect.

Royal crossbow/Chaotic crossbow/Sighted Magic longbow comparison
The crossbow beats the chaotic crossbow's ranged attack bonus by 15 points, making it the most accurate one handed ranging weapon in the game. However, the royal crossbow can only fire royal bolts, therefore the chaotic crossbow still remains the most accurate metal bolt-firing crossbow. The sighted magic longbow beats the royal crossbow in ranged bonus by 5, but must be used with two hands. The higher accuracy advantage of the sighted magic longbow may be curtailed by both the royal and chaotic crossbows' chance to hit higher damage, if not as often.

A major drawback to the Royal crossbow is its damage cap against other players: it has a minimum hit of 50 and a maximum hit of 60 against players, limiting its usefulness in PvP scenarios. However, it is especially effective in PvM situations, and particularly in boss battles, since it has a multiplier that increases its damage over time during long battles against the same monster. An exception to this is the Corporeal beast, against which the Royal crossbow suffers the same damage reduction as any non-spear weapon.

Trivia

 * This crossbow can be used to grapple into Armadyl's Eyrie with a grappling hook.
 * This is the only crossbow in the game where you can see the bolt in the crossbow.