Combat pure


 * ''Pure may also refer to pure essence, a type of rune essence.
 * Twin redirects here. For the Random Event, see Grab the Evil Twin.

A Pure is a player who works solely on certain skills, focusing all their attention to make those skills stronger. However, this leads to a pure having relatively low skills in other areas. Pures fall into around five categories: Melee-Related Pures, Mage-Related Pures, Range-Related Pures, Tanks, and Hybrids.

Combat Pures
Combat pures train only combat skill levels. Combat pures are more common than non-combat pures, and are usually made for player killing. The purpose of having a combat pure is to be specialized in one combat skill, thus being very good at a low level. Defence and prayer are normally sacrificed when being a combat pure, as they always add to combat level. Though prayer does contribute to the combat level at a lower rate, it has a few advantages, such as the protect item, ultimate strength, smite, and piety prayers. Combat pures are no longer as effective as they used to be, due to the fact the the majority of the non-pure population have realized that to protect themselves from pures, they simply have to train their defense to about level 70.

At the Tutorial Island, any skill can only be trained up to level 3, so you can come away from there with Attack level 3, Strength level 3, ranged level 3 (arrows will be replenished by the instructor, so train on rapid) and all your magic practice done (runes will be replenished only if you were unlucky enough to miss with every spell). Although getting all of your combat skill levels up to level 3 raises your combat level to level 5, it is well worth it. Even a pure Ranger or Mage should avail themselves of the 100% pure training in Attack and Strength, since the early level-up to level 6 (warrior) will put you outside the aggressive limit of level 2 giant rats, and training the preferred skill to level 7 and beyond will make it the determining factor for combat level. It also means that you can equip a steel weapon.

Some quick tips:
 * To avoid training Defence, do not fight in a defensive or controlled style. Always double check the attack style you are using. Doing so prevents unwanted levels being gained.
 * To avoid training Hitpoints, train on the dummies until no longer able to, or make the most of the Tutorial Island, as all training there appears not to result in any hitpoints gain. For warriors, you can complete the Vampire Slayer Quest to earn 4825 Attack experience.
 * To avoid training Prayer, do not bury bones and do not take on or complete the "Restless Ghost" quest.

Combat pures vary with their combat class (ranger, mage, or warrior), so they are discussed below.

Reasons for getting defence when Pure
There are many reasons why one would be interested in getting Defence levels while being a Pure. One of which is to wear better armour which may give better statistic bonuses. Another reason why one might get defence levels is to get hit damage less often. Or, to simply not be a Pure anymore.

'Initiate/Mystic Pures'
Some players choose to get their defence to a level of 20 so as to be able to wear Mystic robes and Initiate armour. Mystic, for a much larger magic attack bonus which helps while spellcasting. Others will get 20 Defence for Initiate armour so as to have a greater prayer bonus which will help in keeping one's prayer level up for longer periods of time.

'Rune Pures' and 'Zerker Pures'
Other players choose to get 40 defence or 45 for a greater selection of armour. Those who get 40 defence usually get it to have access to Rune armour which gives a large Melee and Range defence bonus. Then, those who wish to gain 5 more defence levels do so for a certain Fremennik helmet known as a Berserker Helmet. Other 'perks' that come with 45 defence are:


 * The ability to wield a Fighter torso
 * The ability to wield Dragon and Barrows Gloves from the quest Recipe for Disaster.
 * Having a relatively low Combat Level while having access to better armour.

'Barrows Pures'
A Barrows pure is considered a Player Killer with a Defence level of 70. Most Player Killers who choose to raise their defence levels to this extent do it to wear a powerful set of armours known as Barrows.

Mage Pures
A description often used for a PKer that routinely fights using the Magic skill. Pure mages can hit for lots of damage at a low level, ideally killing their target before it has a chance to run, but at higher levels, the power of Magic is greatly weakened.

In P2P, low-level (30-40's) PKing with Mage is highly discouraged with the large population of Range Pures and improved dragonhide armour that weaken the accuracy of magic spells immensely. The use of mystic is rare due to the fact that it needs 20 defence, and is an expensive loss if the player dies. However, in more recent times, the strategy of using prayer to enhance the accuracy of magic spells have become more common and favored, because the player does not risk any expensive types of magic robes

The Mage Pure has no use for low level prayer - even protect item will not save runes, though it may be worth it to save a battlestaff or a piece of Member's mage armour.

Also, mage pures tend to die more often than other pures, mainly because of their low hitpoints level, which is often due to training with curse and alchemy (otherwise noncombat) spells, whereas other pures tend to have a higher hitpoints level and are able to take more hits before needing to eat.

Range Pure
A term often used for any PKer that routinely fights using the Ranged skill.

Since defence is only required to wear the body section of the leather armour, a level 20 ranger can upgrade to Studded chaps and a Coif, and a level 40 with no defence can wear green dragon vambraces and chaps, Coif and the basic leather body.

For P2P rangers, it is advised to wear the highest-level Dragonhide that is available for the player's range level. The Magic Shortbow is a must for PKing, as it has a special attack unlike other bows and with the use of rune arrows, medium to high level rangers prove quite deadly. Rangers succeed most in the high level 30's to the low level 40's.

With the addition of the Dark Bow and Rune Crossbow, rangers at higher combat levels have a much higher chance of defeating other players in armour, compared to the magic short bow.

The Range Pure has no use for low level prayer, except to protect a crossbow or dark bow - protect item will not save arrows.

Hybrid
A hybrid is a term usually used for combat pures. A hybrid works on multiple skills. The most common hybrid is a range and mage. It is difficult to use, but it should be possible to have equal primary statistics in two or even three classes of combat or at least a working ability in one or two other combat classes. Usually it is best to work on only 2 different combat types, rather than working on 3. Otherwise your combat will be high and your combat skill level will not be the best it can be.

Carrying two or three different sets of equipment would leave a hybrid with a lot to lose and very little space for food, but enable you to stand in two or three points of the combat triangle.
 * Armoured warrior is weak against Mage (if you have no other choice, take off your armour and charge the mage if you are willing to take a risk.)
 * Mages are weak against Rangers, as range armour is better defensively against magic than mage gear is against arrows.
 * Ranger is generally weak against Warrior (use bind to stop the warrior approaching if mage-range hybrid, and make good use of obstructions such as forest or fences).

At the very least, the Mage or Ranger should carry a backup weapon and train attack and strength to do worthwhile damage with it, better than hitting with their staff or bow when out of ammunition. A slashing weapon is also needed to enter areas protected by a web.


 * Range/Mage: Speedy damage and a huge blast to finish them off. At higher levels, mage is merely used to teleblock and bind other players, and to attack melee player killers in metal armour.
 * Melee/Ranged: Uses dragonhide legs/vambs. The player switches from the bow when the opponent is low on hp to a Granite Maul, TzHaar-Ket-Om (Obsidian Maul), Rune 2h Sword, or a Dragon Dagger.
 * Any/Mage: Enables teleport spells, bind, and combat spells, and increases resistance to magic.
 * Any/Melee: Gives an excellent backup combat method when out of runes or arrows, and good for kills that aren't worth wasting non-renewable gear on.
 * Mage/Melee: An increasingly popular strategy among lower levels is to Ice Blitz an enemy from a distance, then quickly special them using a granite maul or dragon dagger(p++). This prevents the enemy from escaping, while allowing the player to inflict damage a few seconds before they reach the person.
 * Prayer/Melee (paladin) Basically a "holy warrior", the paladin's ability to kill at close range and have protection prayers is actually a pretty good combo.

Defence Pure or Tank
A defence pure or tank is a PKer with defence solely in mind. While they may raise Attack to 70 for an Abyssal Whip for easier Defence training, they most likely will not use it in the Wilderness.

Most PKers will combine either Range or Mage with Defence in order to make a 'Tank'. One which has defence but also a large array of spells/bows and stat beneficial armour at their disposal.

Using Prayer
In addition to 5, 10 or 15% boosts to your stats, at level 25, one can save an additional item if one dies while the prayer is active (and only one item, if you are "skulled" for attacking other players which still gives you a chance to save your most valuable item in your pack).

At level 31, you have access to the Prayer Guild which contains an altar to recharge prayer to two above one's base prayer level.

At level 37, one gains the "Protect from Magic" prayer, very useful for those wearing armour with a negative or low mage defence bonus.

At level 40, one gains the "Protect from Missiles" prayer which can defend oneself from all forms of ranged attacks (excluding mage).

At level 43, the last of the protection prayers is "Protect from Melee" which protects against melee attacks.

For P2P, many higher levels get 52 prayer for Smite. When this prayer is active, for every 4 damage inflicted on your opponent, 1 prayer point is removed from their prayer. "Smite" is commonly used to get another player's protected item. During intense and hectic situations, players using "protect item" are often forced to make a choice to eat food, or drink a prayer potion when nearing death. If the player dies, and does not renew their prayer after running out, they will lose the item that would normally have been protected.

Protection prayers are disliked by many pure players, but they can give a big advantage to the player using the protection prayer. For example, a pure mage with level 35 magic would hit up to 12. But with protection prayer, they can only hit up to 6.

Criticism
Some players argue that because pures only work on few skills, they are weak in different aspects of the game. Other criticisms against low-level pures include the belief that making a skiller is seemingly pointless since they can do similar things on a player's main account. Also, many criticisms are directed towards the Ranged Pures, hence Ranging and Magic take the longest to increase a full combat level.

Many pures, due to the extremely competetive nature of player killing, may insult others. Sometimes they do it so much, it almost becomes a personality trait and is carried out of the wilderness and into the rest of their gaming life. This is where people often get the idea that pures are mean, disrespectful, selfish, etc.

For anyone who uses a more balanced character to make and give things to their pure fighter, attention must be drawn to Rule 8 of the rules section on runescape.com.
 * Rule 8.
 * You may create more than one RuneScape account, but if you do, you may not log in more than one account at any time, and they must not interact with each other in any way. This includes 'drop trading' or any other method of item transfer.

Please note that this includes giving items to a friend and having that friend give them to the other account.