Drops

Drops, also known as Monster drops or Loot, are the items monsters leave for the killer when they die. Drops can be picked up by players. Drops often include bones, coins or other items. A lot of monsters have "100% drops", which is an item or items that are always dropped by that monster. 100% drops are most commonly bones or demonic ashes. Certain monsters have more than one type of 100% drops. A good example of monsters who have more than one type of 100% drops are metal dragons, who drop bones as well as metal bars of their corresponding metal composition.

Typically, the player who attacks the monster first will see the drop before other players, and the attacked NPC is marked with an asterisk (*) to denote such "ownership". This does not apply to certain bosses which still award their loot based on the amount of damage done.

Large monsters (that take up more than one square) will always drop their drops in the south-westernmost square. This also applies to any Ranged ammunition that falls to the ground when ranging those monsters.

In very rare occasions, when right clicked the exact same moment as the monster dies, a screen may appear with the 100% drop only (and arrows if ranged is used) and not with the other drops. Then if right clicked on the same spot again, the drops are present. This shows that RuneScape first lets the monster drop its 100% drop, and then quickly calculates the other drops and then they appear too. To improve the chance for this to happen, log on to a world with high ping.

Currently, when right-clicking to pick up drops, the member items are in a beige colour while non-member items are in a grey-blue colour.

Lightbeams


Since an update on 19 November 2013, valuable and various other rare drops will be highlighted by a lightbeam when they're dropped. These lightbeams will only show for a short while though.

Items highlighted by a lightbeam are:
 * Drops with a Grand Exchange value of over
 * Court summons
 * Champion's scrolls
 * Dragon eggs
 * Soulstones
 * Slayer heads
 * Abyssal head
 * Kurask head
 * Crawling hand
 * Cockatrice head
 * Basilisk head
 * Kbd heads
 * Kq head
 * Rare Dungeoneering drops
 * Strange token
 * Dragon rider boots
 * Dragon rider gloves
 * Starved ancient effigy
 * Ascension signets
 * Cresbot
 * Vitalis pet

Historical
Prior to the Evolution of Combat, drops were nearly always awarded to the player who dealt the greatest amount of damage before the monster died. After the Evolution of Combat, drops will be given out depending on what type of monster it is. When against a non-boss common monster, like a Ganodermic beast, the player who hit first will receive the drop. When against a unique boss monster or minion, such as Nex (who is the boss) or Fumus (who is a bodyguard of Nex), the player who got the first hit will receive the 100% drop (if any), and the player who did the most damage will receive the secondary drops.

After the release of PvP worlds, a randomised drop was given to the winner of a PvP battle. These drops included axes, pickaxes, platebodies, platelegs, potions, food, Corrupt dragon equipment, corrupted Ancient Warriors' Equipment (m), and brawling gloves (m). Since the reintroduction of pre-2007 Wilderness on 1 February 2011, PvP worlds no longer exist.