Introduction
Magic is one of the most useful and versatile skills within Gielinor. Once you have learnt to use it properly, you'll find that it complements many other skills within the game, while also acting as an incredibly powerful tool in its own right.
There are two sides to Magic: combat and non-combat. The use of Magic in a fight may be vital in gaining the upper hand and ultimate victory. Outside of combat, Magic can be used to teleport around Gielinor quickly, used in combination with other skills, or even for making money out of items you have obtained or made yourself.
You will find that heavy armour, particularly metallic armour, conducts Magic. Mages will often find themselves more effective against a hand-to-hand fighter in full armour than other enemies. You will notice enemies in full metal armour will be hit harder by spells, and wearing heavy metal will negatively affect your ability to cast spells successfully. Unfortunately, while great against warriors, mages will find themselves weak against Ranged attacks.
Runes
Main Article: Runes
To cast spells you will need the correct runes. Each type of rune contains a different type of power and is used when casting different types of spells, as shown below:
Toggle table of runes
| Rune |
Description |
Counts as |
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Rune |
Description |
Counts as |
Air rune |
One of the four elemental runes. A building block of Magic |
N/A |
Earth rune |
One of the four elemental runes. A building block of Magic |
N/A |
Fire rune |
One of the four elemental runes. A building block of Magic |
N/A |
Water rune |
One of the four elemental runes. A building block of Magic |
N/A |
Body rune |
Used in curse spells |
N/A |
Mind rune |
Used in curse spells |
N/A |
Cosmic rune |
Used in enchantment spells |
N/A |
Chaos rune |
Used in curse spells |
N/A |
Nature rune |
Used in transmutation spells |
N/A |
Death rune |
Used in high level spells |
N/A |
Law rune |
Used in teleport spells |
N/A |
Soul rune |
Used in high level spells |
N/A |
Blood rune |
Used in high level spells |
N/A |
Astral rune |
Used in lunar spells |
N/A |
Dust rune |
A rune which represents earth and air |
x1 x1 |
Lava rune |
A rune which represents earth and fire |
x1 x1 |
Mud rune |
A rune which represents water and earth |
x1 x1 |
Mist rune |
A rune which represents water and air |
x1 x1 |
Smoke rune |
A rune which represents air and fire |
x1 x1 |
Steam rune |
A rune which represents fire and water |
x1 x1 |
Armadyl rune |
Enhanced version of the air rune |
N/A |
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Combination runes, such as steam rune count as 1 rune for each type of element bound within it. For example, a mist rune counts as 1 water rune and 1 air rune at the same time, meaning that you could cast Water Strike (Level 5 Magic: 1 water rune and 1 air rune to cast) with 1 mist rune.
For more information on how to obtain combination runes, please visit the Runecrafting section.
Casting Spells
See Also: Ability Book
Ability Book
Clicking on the book on your side interface brings up the Ability Book. Clicking on the Magic tab will show all of the spells (and abilities) available to you within your chosen spellbook (see Spellbooks).
If the picture of a spell is darkened, it means that either you do not have a high-enough level to cast it, or you do not have the runes in your inventory to do so.
To cast any spell, just left-click on its icon and then click on your desired target. Some spells can only be cast on monsters and players, while others can only be cast on yourself or items.
To get more information on a spell, simply move your mouse cursor over its icon.
You can use the 4 sub tabs to select either Magic abilities, combat-spells, teleports and skilling-spells.
Hovering over a spell
A description of the spell and a list of which runes are required will be shown when you move your mouse over it. Each required rune has a number shown below a picture of it. This indicates how many of that rune is required in order to cast the spell. The number will be in red when you do not have enough of those runes.
There are two ways of casting combat spells. If you left-click on a spell in your ability book you will cast it on your current target once. With a right-click you can 'autocast' it, this means it will replace your auto-attack until one of the following occurs: you elect to stop, you cast another spell, the opponent is defeated, or your rune supply runs out. While a spell is selected as an 'autocast spell' - it will have an outline around it on your magic spellbook - you will autocast that spell when you target your next opponent.
To stop selecting your autocast spell is very simple: just right-click its icon in your spellbook and select 'Auto-cast' again.
You are only able to autocast combat spells. The default action for non-combat spells is single-cast.
Spell Books
There are four spellbooks:
- Standard Spellbook - This is the spell book that all players have access to. It consists of combat related spells and teleports.
- Lunar Spellbook - Upon completing Lunar Diplomacy this spellbook will be unlocked. It consists of skilling related spells and teleports.
- Ancient Spellbook - Upon completing Desert Treasure this spellbook will be unlocked. It consists of combat related spells and teleports.
- Dungeoneering Spellbook - Within the halls of Daemonheim, this spellbook will be used as a replacement for your chosen spellbook. It consists of combat related spells and teleports.
Spellbooks change which spells appear under the combat-spells, teleports and skilling-spells tabs, but do not affect Magic abilities.
Getting Magic Experience
Experience in Magic is provided to you each time you cast a non combat spell. When fighting a creature, experience is gained for damage done with spells as well as for casting the spell; this XP will be granted upon its death.
When you cast combat-related spells, there is a chance of failure. This is dependent on a few factors such as your magical attack bonuses, the magical defence bonuses of your opponent and your Magic level. If you fail to hit your opponent, you will still gain the base experience for casting the spell and you will still use the runes required to cast it, but you will see a 'splash' effect on your opponent showing the failure of the spell. The higher level spells are more likely to fail, but as your Magic ability improves, you will cast spells successfully more of the time.
Using the combat experience interface, you can choose where you want your XP to go. For Magic, your choices are:
| Choice |
XP |
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| Balanced |
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| Magic |
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| Defence |
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The Wizards' Guild
Main Article: Wizards' Guild
The Wizards' Guild is located in the centre of Yanille - South of Ardougne - and is only accessible to those whose Magic level is 66 or above.
As you enter the guild you will see Wizard Distentor, who is the head of the Guild. He is there to welcome you and to teleport you to the rune essence mine if you so wish.
Zavistic Rarve is the Grand Secretary of the Guild and is able to tell you what you can do while you are here.
To access the rune shop you will need to speak to the rune shop owner; he has a plentiful supply of runes and a selection of staves.
The second floor consists of three magic portals as well as a vial respawn on the table.
The portals lead to:
- The east portal teleports you to the Wizards' Tower, south of Draynor Village.
- The south portal teleports you to the Dark Wizards' Tower, north of the Crafting Guild.
- The west portal teleports you to Thormac the Sorceror's house, just west of Catherby.
Don't forget to visit Wizard Frumscone in the dungeon area of the Guild. Here you will find a group of zombies in a cage, which you can practice your Magic on. If you wish to collect their drops, don't forget to bring runes to cast Telekinetic Grab.
Boosting Experience Gain
Training Hints and Tips
- Try using your Magic alongside other skills. For example, high alching bows while Fletching, and enchanting jewellery during Crafting is fast and easy experience.
- Save your coins and train your Runecrafting skill by crafting your own runes. Conversely, use an Elemental staff for infinite runes of that staff type.
- Wear the appropriate Magic gear for the Magic bonus and to make spells more accurate.
- It is possible to train all of your skills while Dungeoneering, and Magic is no exception. You are able to both find and make runes in Daemonheim, making it easy to practice your Magic on unsuspecting enemies. You can also gain Magic experience by completing magic skill doors.
Enchanted Crossbow Bolts
Enchant bolt interface
If you have gem-tipped crossbow bolts you may like to try enchanting them. Each type of gem can have a different enchantment imbued into it which can unleash a special Ranged effect, so that certain bolts become far superior against certain foes.
In your spellbook you will discover the level 4 spell 'Enchant Crossbow Bolt'. This is a collection of spells that allows you to enchant whatever gem-tipped bolts you happen to have on you. As it is the gem that stores the enchantment, only gem-tipped bolts can be enchanted in this way.
As you can see, enchant bolt is not necessarily a level 4 spell, and you will need a higher Magic level in order to enchant the higher level bolts.
If you have the appropriate type of bolt equipped or in your inventory, as well as the requisite runes, you will be able to enchant your bolts. Each casting of the spell will enchant up to ten of the same type of bolt (it will only enchant fewer if you do not have ten equipped or in your inventory).
Blastboxes and Surgeboxes
These arcane devices absorb and store the runes that would be used to cast spells, meaning that you only have to use one inventory space when casting them. Choose a type of spell for your blastbox (bolt, blast) or surgebox (wave, surge) by right-clicking them and selecting 'Check/charge', or charge it with the required runes for a spell by clicking 'Charge'.
Casting your chosen type of spell will decrease the number of rune charges in the box. You may still use a staff in conjuction with the box to cast spells, and you may use non-stored runes in conjunction with runes from the box, as long as you are using them both to cast spells that are of the same type as the box.
Magic Boosts
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The Wizard's mind bomb is a drink that can adjust your Magic level. If your Magic level is 49 or below, the Mind Bomb will increase it temporarily by 2 levels. If your Magic level is above 49, your level will be boosted 3 levels temporarily. The mature version will increase your level by 3 or 4 levels. These items can be purchased from the inns at both Burthorpe and Falador. |
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It is also possible for members to drink potions to temporarily increase their level. A Magic potion, which will temporarily increase a player's Magic skill by 4 levels, a Magic essence potion by 3 levels, and an Extreme magic potion by 7 levels. |
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Obtained as a reward from the Family Crest quest, Chaos gauntlets can increase the damage that bolt spells inflict by a maximum of 30. |
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Created in Player-Owned Ports, this soup temporarily boosts combat stats in the Wilderness by 10%. |
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The Vecna skull can boost your Magic level by 6 when activated. |
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The Magic cape can increase your Magic level by 1 when worn. |
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A red Spicy stew, amongst other things, has a random chance to increase your Magic level by up to 6 levels (or decrease it by the same). |
Using the Summoning skill, you'll find that there are a few familiars that might be useful for training your Magic. Of particular note is the Wolpertinger, whose special move boosts your Magic level.
Useful Items
Frequently Asked Questions
Magic and Spells
1. Where can I get runes?
There are a number of ways in which you are able to obtain runes, as shown below:
- Make them yourself, through the use of the Runecrafting skill.
- Runes may be bought from other players.
- Runes are often dropped by monsters on their death.
- Runes can often be found within chests.
- Runes may be bought from the rune shops in Varrock and Port Sarim.
- Runes may be bought from the Wizards' Guild.
- Runes may be bought from the Mage Arena.
- Runes may be bought from Ali Morrisane.
- Runes can be stolen/bought from Ape Atoll.
2. How can I calculate my maximum hit?
Your max hit with magic attacks is based on:
- The damage rating of the active spell
- Hit bonuses provided by your equipment.
- Your Magic level (and any potions, prayers or buffs affecting this)
- The damage modifier of the ability being used (such as 125% of active spell damage)
The exact conversion of these factors into a maximum hit is something only our development team know and would prefer not to give out.
3. What affects my magic defence?
Magic defence depends on your Magic skill level, Defence level and equipment you are wearing.
The higher your skill levels and Magic bonus, the less likely you are to get hit. You will also receive less damage from a spell.
4. What affects my magic damage?
Certain staves and wands can increase the magic damage that you cause while wielding them.
The following items all increase magic damage by 10%:
The Staff of light increases magic damage by 15%.
You can also get a percentage increase to your magic damage if your magic level is boosted beyond its actual level (by drinking potions, for example). The percentage increase can be calculated by taking the number of levels you have boosted and then multiplying it by 4. For example, the extreme magic potion gives 21% extra magic damage, which is 7 boosted levels multiplied by 4. As the boost to your magic level reduces, so will this percentage decrease.
5. How does experience work for my Magic skill?
You get a certain amount of experience points for actually casting a spell, the quantity of experience depends on which spell you cast.
If you cast a combat spell, though, you will get experience for the damage done to the monster, awarded once the monster dies.
6. How does Wizard's Mind Bomb work?
If your Magic level is 49 or below, the Wizard's mind bomb will increase it temporarily by 2 levels. If your Magic level is above 49, your level will be boosted 3 levels temporarily.
7. Do area effect attacks cause damage to people wearing the same wilderness cape as me in Clan Wars?
Yes, all area effect attacks will cause damage to anyone in the blast area while playing Clan Wars. Wearing a Wilderness cape does not stop you from taking damage. It only stops anyone who has the same cape on from having 'Attack' as their default option when they click on you.
8. If I cast the 'confuse' spell twice in a row, will my opponent's attack be reduced by 10% instead of 5%?
You cannot cast a spell that lowers an opponent's statistics on a player who is already suffering from the effects of that spell.
9. I have my spell book set to Ancient Magicks and want to become a free-to-play player, do I have to change it back to normal Magic or will it be locked?
When your subscription expires and your credits are depleted, the spell book will change to normal Magic on its own. If you enter a free world before your subscription expires it will be locked and you will be unable to use it.
Enchanted Amulets and Necklaces
10. What does the binding necklace do?
The Binding necklace allows combination runes to be crafted without failing. It will work 15 times until it breaks or disappears.
11. What does the games necklace do?
When this item is first made, it will have eight charges in it.
A player may choose to activate the power of the necklace to teleport them from whatever location they are in Gielinor (though not from within the deep Wilderness) to the Barbarian Outpost, the Games room in the basement of Burthorpe Castle or to the Gamers' Grotto (for Clan Wars, Fist of Guthix or Stealing Creation).
Once all of the eight charges are used, the item will crumble to dust, meaning that you must choose to either buy or make a new one.
13. How do I recharge my amulet of glory?
You will need to dip the amulet of glory into the fountain at the Heroes' Guild to give the amulet 4 teleport charges.
Enchanted Rings
14. What does the ring of stone do?
The ring of stone grants you the ability to turn yourself into a rock, any attempts to do anything other than type via the chat box will cause the user to return to normal.
It may also have other magical abilities which are unknown at this time.
15. What power does the ring of wealth give you?
The ring of wealth increases the chance of getting a rare drop when you kill a monster. You will never get items that are not normally dropped by that monster (e.g. a dragon medium helmet from a chicken) but you may get something that the monster seldom drops.
Things like Treasure Trail rewards, which aren't monster drops, are not affected by the ring of wealth (Barrows rewards are improved by the ring's effects, but only slightly).
16. If I buy a ring of recoil from another player, is there any way for me to tell if it has been used a lot and is about to shatter? Or, when it is passed to someone else (traded), does it start new fully charged?
It doesn't matter how many times someone else has used a Ring of recoil, as any ring you wear will be able to deal as much damage as the last ring you wore (unless you have completely used one and then put on a new one).
The Ring of recoil will shatter once it has dealt 400 damage, it will only deal damage when the person wearing it is being hurt. If you were to deal 200 damage with one ring of recoil and then switch to another ring - that second ring will shatter after 200.
If another player had previously worn the second ring and dealt 390 points of damage, then given it to you, it will still shatter for you after 20 uses.
17. What does the ring of forging do?
If you are wearing the Ring of forging it will allow you to smelt 140 iron ore with a 100% success rate.
18. What does the ring of duelling do?
19. My ring of life did not teleport me back to Lumbridge, why?
The Ring of life will not work in the deeper parts of the Wilderness, nor in the Duel Arena. It also does not protect you if your health drops from 10% to 0% in one hit.
Mage Arena
110. What rewards do I get from the Mage Arena?
You can get three different staves from the Mage Arena. These are the staves of the three gods. You have to finish this game before you can choose one of these staves.
Once you have completed the game, you can pick either the staff of Guthix, Saradomin or Zamorak. Before you can use these staves and the Divine Storm spell outside of the Arena you need to cast the spell 100 times. This will cost you 200 air runes, unless you choose to use a staff imbued with air power.
20. Do I need to take anything with me?
It is recommended that you take runes to cast your most powerful missile spells. Equipment which improves your Magic accuracy and good food are also recommended.
21. What level Magic do I need to start the Mage Arena?
The Mage Arena is located in the deep Wilderness so will be a dangerous trip. To access the Arena you need to have a Magic level of 60.
23. There are spider webs blocking my way into the Arena, how do I get past them?
You can use a slashing weapon or the knife in your toolbelt to cut through them.
24. Is it possible to get another staff after I have selected my first staff?
If you speak to the Chamber guardian you can purchase the other staves for 80,000 coins each.
25. I have lost my cape of Saradomin/Zamorak/Guthix and I was wondering if there was any way of getting it back?
You can go back to the statue of your chosen god and receive another cape, or choose a different statue to receive the cape of one of the other gods.
26. If I have combination runes and normal runes in my inventory and I cast a spell, which runes will the spell use up?
See Also
Magic Related Skills
The following skills help with the Magic skill:
- Prayer - Providing positive benefits to aid in your combat. For members, your Prayer List can also be swapped for Curses which can give negative effects to your enemies.
- Summoning - If you are struggling to fend off more difficult enemies, the familiars that you can summon through the Summoning skill can help.
Magic Related Quests
For quests that give Magic experience as a reward, please refer to the Magic Rewards page.
Magic Related Minigames
The following minigames help with the Magic skill:
- Mage Training Arena - Practice some non-combat spells in this building north of the Duel Arena and the guardians may give you some generous rewards and experience.
Magic Related Distractions & Diversions
The following D&Ds help with the Magic skill:
- Tears of Guthix - If Magic is your weakest skill, try the Tears of Guthix D&D.
- Champions' Challenge - Although no reward experience is provided, this D&D will grant you the appropriate XP for using Magic to defeat the champions.
Magic Related Equipment
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This content is in more than one section. Click to view the Combat Portal. |
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