Combat classes


 * Warrior here refers to the melee combat class. See Warrior (disambiguation) for other uses.

The three combat classes of RuneScape are the warrior, ranger, and mage. They are balanced so that each class is weak to one other and strong against one other, in what is called the "combat triangle." A player's combat class is determined from that player's skills. A rough way to determine a player's combat class is to compare the following, and the highest number is your combat class: Your combat class also affects your combat level, because in addition to Defence, Hitpoints, Summoning, and Prayer, the skills listed above for your combat class also contribute to your combat level.
 * 1/3 of your Attack level + Strength level = Warrior
 * Ranged level = Ranger
 * Magic level = Mage

While it was still possible to attack others in the Wilderness, combat triangle tactics were common. However, since PKing in the wild has been removed, the triangle moves elsewhere--namely, the 3 minigames found in the wild: Bounty Hunter, Clan Wars, and Fist of Guthix.

Melee
A melee, or warrior, uses the Melee combat style and is strong against rangers but weak against mages. Warriors generally wear heavy, metal armour that provides excellent defence against melee and ranged attacks, but inhibits the warrior's ability to perform ranged and magic attacks.

The two sub classes for the Melee combat style are Berserker and Warrior. The Berserker focuses primarily on their strength to deal massive damage, though not always frequently. Warriors focus on their defence and attack, as to hit constantly and be hit rarely.

Warriors are generally better than mages or rangers in the minigame Clan Wars, as it does not require much long-distance fighting, and there is not very much cover for mages/rangers to hide behind.

Ranger
A ranger, or bowman, or archer, uses the Ranged combat style and is strong against mages but weak against warriors. Rangers generally wear armour made from animal hide, and they use weapons that can hit from a distance. Updates to Range allow a ranger to also wear a Shield while attacking with a Crossbow, giving the ranger a potentially significant armor boost.

Sub classes include long bow and short bow rangers, depending on whether the player wants power or speed, respectively.

Rangers are considered the best combat class for Bounty Hunter because they have decent defense and can attack from a distance. It is very common to see pure rangers slay other classes quickly in this minigame.

Mage
A mage, or wizard, uses the Magic combat style and is strong against warriors but weak against rangers. Mages generally wear robes for armour and wield staves for weapons. However, robes and a staff aren't what make a mage powerful, rather their potent array of spells. To cast spells, mages use runes; stones that are magically-energized.

Sub classes are divided into ancient magicks and modern magics for combat related activities. Players using the modern magic spell book have general spells for reducing a foes combat skills, temporarily binding an opponent to a square, and doing damage and teleports. Players who use the ancient spells are looking to counter-act all players instincts to run. Note yhat you have to make the Desert Treasure quest before Ancient Magicks.

Mages are considered the best class for the minigame Fist of Guthix, because they can bind the target, preventing them from escaping (the whole point of the minigame). Also, because stats are reduced, all attacks become slightly more potent, allowing mages to hit through armor like dragonhide which is usually spell-proof.