Pay-to-play melee training

This article provides information for members about effective ways to train Attack, Strength, Defence, and Constitution through melee combat. It contains some general training tips and suggests suitable monsters to kill for a wide range of levels. In this article, monsters are sorted according to the level of the skill being trained, not the recommended overall combat level.

This article assumes that players are training Attack, Strength, Defence, and Constitution more or less equally. If not, go to the pure melee guide.

Tips

 * Complete Slayer tasks whenever possible in order to train Slayer while training other combat skills. Slayer Masters tend to assign monsters that are good to train melee combat skills on, some of which are listed on this article. Additionally, a higher Slayer level allows players to kill stronger Slayer monsters, some of which have very valuable drops.
 * Wear a ring of wealth whenever fighting a monster that drops items on the rare drop table. It is possible, although rare, to receive drops worth many millions of coins.
 * Carry an emergency teleport at all times. A simple House Teleport tablet is cheap and could end up being a lifesaver.
 * Use potions in order to boost skill levels and increase experience rates. A super set (consisting of super attack, super strength, and super defence potions) is recommended.
 * Try to fight monsters with low Defence but high amounts of lifepoints. Lower Defence means the monster is easier to hit, and higher lifepoints means kills take longer, so less time is spent out of combat, therefore providing more experience.
 * When fighting monsters that are aggressive, turn on Auto Retaliate for an easier training experience.
 * Training in the Wilderness is generally a bad idea, due to the threat of player killers. Most monsters that are found in the Wilderness can be found elsewhere, or have better alternatives in non-Wilderness locations.

Weaponry

 * The abyssal whip is a very popular weapon for combat training due to its rapid attack speed, high slash and strength bonuses, relatively low cost, and the fact that it is only one-handed. Its chief disadvantages are its lack of stab and crush attacks, its lack of a useful special attack, and its lack of an option for training Strength. Many players use the abyssal whip when training Attack or Defence and use another weapon for training Strength. Some may choose to train all three at once with an abyssal whip through the Controlled stance, though the experience is less per skill.
 * Popular Strength-training weapons include the dragon scimitar, the Saradomin sword, Korasi's sword, and the chaotic rapier. All are fast weapons with reasonably high stats. The Brackish Blade may be a good alternative to a dragon scimitar, as they have the same stats, and the Brackish Blade has arguably a better special attack especially against NPCs, and the Brackish blade's stab attack style may also be beneficial as a large number of monsters are weak to stab. It also has a better special, raising attack, strength and defence levels based on your hit
 * Generally speaking, when fighting monsters with low Defence, a fast yet weak weapon is preferable over a slow yet strong weapon. Players should avoid training with most two-handed swords (with the exception of the Saradomin sword), including godswords.
 * If using a one-handed weapon, many players wield a dragon defender in their off-hand for its substantial offensive bonuses. However, some players may also use a dragonfire shield for its defensive bonuses and strength bonus, or another shield with good Defence bonuses.
 * The special attack bar is a useful, self-renewing source of various benefits. Some players use special attacks to deal extra damage, such as with the dragon dagger and Armadyl godsword. Some players use special attacks to heal with weapons like the Saradomin godsword and enhanced excalibur. It can also be used for boosts; the dragon battleaxe's special attack boosts Strength approximately as much as a super strength potion. (If using a dragon battleaxe's special attack, use of restore potions is recommended to counteract the lowering of Attack, Defence, Ranged, and Magic.)
 * Poisoned weapons are not recommended. While poison may help achieve faster kills, no experience is awarded for poison damage, thus stealing needed experience.

Armour
For extended combat training, armour with good defensive bonuses is generally recommended. Such armours include rune, dragon, Barrows, and Bandos. Bandos armour is particularly popular among players who can afford it, due to its high defensive bonuses and its Strength bonuses. Barrows armour is a cheaper alternative, sacrificing strength for defence, although the fact that it degrades with use means that players will incur a maintenance cost while using it.

Some players prefer to use Void Knight equipment, which sacrifices some defensive capability in exchange for increased offensive power. The Void melee helm, when worn with the rest of the set, increases Attack and maximum hits by 10% each. However, it is worth noting that Barrows gloves, by themselves, offer extremely similar bonuses to the Void Knight melee set, but only takes up one equipment slot instead of four.

Sacred clay equipment, rewards from Stealing Creation, doubles the experience gained from combat, even if only one piece is worn. It offers the same defensive bonuses as rune armour.

Healing
Food is the most common, and one of the most simple, ways to restore lifepoints in the game. However, the problem with food is that only a certain amount, defined by available inventory space, can be brought on a training trip. In order to reduce banking time, and therefore increase experience rates, many players use alternative sources of healing in addition to, or instead of, conventional food.


 * Bunyips, requiring level 68 Summoning, are familiars that heal their summoners 20 lifepoints every 15 seconds. Over a 44 minute lifetime, one bunyip can heal up to 3,520 lifepoints (a little more than a full inventory of lobsters' worth of healing).
 * Unicorn stallions require 88 Summoning and have a special move, Healing Aura, which restores up to 15% of the total lifepoints of the summoner. The special move expends 20 special move points, and can be used three times in a row before the special move bar needs to recharge. Additionally, unicorn stallions can cure poison and disease at the cost of a couple of Summoning points.
 * Guthan the Infested's set of Barrows equipment is a popular choice for combat training because of its high Defence bonuses and its set effect, which players can use to heal themselves. However, use of Guthan's has a few downsides. Each of the pieces of equipment degrades when used in combat, eventually breaking after 15 hours of combat; they must then be repaired before they can be used again. Use of Guthan's helm prevents the use of other head-slot items, such as a slayer helm or face mask. Furthermore, Guthan's spear is merely an average weapon, and all of its attack styles, except for Defensive, are Controlled, so it is unable to train Attack or Strength by itself. For these reasons, some players bring a set of Guthan's in addition to their regular armour set, and switch between the two as necessary when needing to heal.
 * Bones to Peaches is a spell unlocked at the Mage Training Arena which allows players to convert bones and big bones into peaches, each of which heals 80 lifepoints. Players who have not unlocked this spell can instead buy and use Bones to Peaches tablets.
 * Enhanced excalibur is a reward from completing the hard Seer's Village Tasks. It is an upgrade to the Excalibur. Its special attack boosts Defence by 15% and heals 40 lifepoints every 2 seconds for 10 seconds, for a total of 200 lifepoints. This uses 100% of the special attack bar.
 * Players who complete the elite Seers' Village tasks can further upgrade the enhanced excalibur's special attack, which doubles the healing from 10 seconds to 20 seconds (for a total of 400 lifepoints, at 40 lifepoints every 2 seconds).
 * Soul Split requires 92 Prayer and access to the Ancient Curses. It heals its user 20% of the damage dealt if it is activated during a successful hit against a monster. Because of its rapid drain rate, many players use the Prayer flashing technique to drastically reduce, or outright nullify, Prayer point drain.
 * The Saradomin godsword's special attack, Healing Blade, deals 10% extra damage and restores lifepoints equal to half the damage dealt, and Prayer points equal to 1/4th of damage dealt, for 50% special attack energy. If the attack hits, it will always restore a minimum of 100 lifepoints and 50 Prayer points.

Potions

 * Potions are a big part to training as well, and sometimes are worth the extra cost.
 * They can increase your training xp/hr rate for a price, and can cut off hours when training for high levels.
 * It can help to get 96 Herblore for Overloads which makes training much faster. Other Extreme potions such as Extreme attack, Strength, and Defence can work too.
 * If unable to create Overloads or Extremes due to low Herblore, Super sets work just as fine. To cut down on expense, regular Strength potions and Attack potions are also effective. Combat potions, which are inexpensive, also work.

Men or women
Men and women are functionally equal.

Moss giants
1Only at Pirate's Cove.

2Access to Pirate's Cove requires that Lunar Diplomacy be started. Access to the Moss Giant Island requires 10 Agility. Access to the Varrock Sewers resource dungeon requires 65 Dungeoneering. Players who wish to access Brimhaven Dungeon must bring a hatchet and pay 875 coins per visit; however, the fee is waived for players who have completed the hard Karamja Tasks.

Kalphite Soldiers
1A rope is needed for the first visit to the Kalphite Lair, but not for visits thereafter.

Ice giants
1Heroes' Quest must be completed to a degree before players can access the ice giants at White Wolf Mountain.

Armoured zombies

 * Extremes are reduced to super potion(s) boosted levels when the player enters the wilderness to recharge prayer at the altar, which makes extremes less effective.

Vyrelords/Vyreladies
Note: Vyreladies and vyrelords are functionally equivalent.

Blue dragons
1Access to the Ogre Enclave requires completion of the Watchtower quest. The Taverley Dungeon resource dungeon requires 60 Dungeoneering. Players may only kill blue dragons in Kuradal's Dungeon when Kuradal assigns them as a Slayer task, which requires at least 75 Slayer and a combat level of 110. Access to the Blue Dragon under the Heroes' Guild requires completion of the Heroes' Quest

Hellhounds
1Witchaven Dungeon requires partial completion of Family Crest. The Taverley Dungeon resource dungeon requires 55 Dungeoneering. Players may only kill hellhounds in Kuradal's Dungeon when Kuradal assigns them as a Slayer task, which requires at least 75 Slayer and a combat level of 110.

Fire giants
1Access to the Brimhaven Dungeon requires a hatchet and a fee of 875 coins, although players who have completed the hard Karamja Tasks pay no fee. The Waterfall Dungeon requires partial completion of Waterfall Quest, and its resource dungeon additionally requires 35 Dungeoneering. Players must start Desert Treasure and wear a face mask or equivalent to enter the Smoke Dungeon. Access to the Chaos Tunnels requires completion of the miniquest Chaos Tunnels: The Hunt for Surok.

Cyclopes
1Requires a combined total of level 130 in Attack and Strength, or level 99 in either.

Activities
In addition to conventional monster killing, players may train their melee skills by playing various activities, most of which still involve combat.

Castle Wars
In the game of Castle Wars, a player is required to have at least 2 other friends to help him with this XP process. The two friends will join a separate team as the main XP earner. As the game begins, one will carry the flag and come to the base of the victims. The victims are required to go out and heal up as fast as possible, while being attacked by the XP earner. The XP is currently considered the one of the best XP/Hour on Runescape. The XP is reported to be as high as 260k/h if done to perfection.

Pest Control
In the game of Pest Control, players must defend a Void Knight from an onslaught of monsters.

Troll Invasion
During Troll Invasion, players stand before the gates of Burthorpe and defend the town from an assault by mountain trolls.

Warriors' Guild activities
Training activities in the Warriors' Guild grant experience to Attack, Strength, or Defence. These activities include:
 * The dummy room, for training Attack
 * The shotput room, for training Strength
 * The catapult room, for training Defence

Soul Wars
In the game of Soul Wars, players do battle in order to eliminate each side's avatar.

TzHaar Fight Cave
During the TzHaar Fight Cave, players must single-handedly best wave after wave of unique TzHaar monsters, ultimately fighting the fearsome level 702 TzTok-Jad.