RuneScape Wiki

communityPowered

Weapon Types

Navigation: RuneScape Wiki >> Game Guide >> Combat >> Weapon Types


Below, a number of weapon types found in Gielinor are detailed.

Please note the 'Speed' bar: speedanim.gif. The more the speed bar is coloured in, the faster the weapon type is.

Melee Weapons

Weapon Description Speed
rune dagger.gif
Daggers
The dagger is one of the faster weapons in Gielinor. A dagger's attack style is stab, which is good against monsters with scaly armour. It can be used with a shield or an off-hand weapon. speed4.gif
rune sword1a.gif
Swords
The shortsword is a fast stabbing weapon that can be dual wielded or used with a shield. It deals significantly more damage than a dagger, albeit at a slower speed. It is generally a good all-round weapon and is not too expensive. speed5.gif
rune longsword1a.gif
Longswords
The warrior's friend. The longsword is excellent when slashing opponents. It can deal a good amount of damage, is faster than the two-handed sword, battleaxe or warhammer, and allows for use of an off-hand weapon or a shield. speed5.gif
rune scimitar1a.gif
Scimitars
The scimitar, like the longsword, is a slashing weapon. It is significantly weaker than the longsword, but it attacks slightly faster to compensate. It can also be dual-wielded or used with a shield. Slashing weapons are good against cloth and leather armour. speed4.gif
rune mace.gif
Maces
Maces are crushing weapons that can be dual wielded or used with a shield. Their crush attack style makes them useful against any plated opponents who can't easily absorb the impact. They are not as powerful as warhammers, battleaxes, or two-handed swords, but are much faster to compensate. Moreover, maces offer the unique aspect of a prayer bonus, which, combined with the quick attack speed, makes them ideal for situations such as PvP combat where prayers are often used. speed4.gif
rune axe.gif
Hatchets
The humble hatchet is a simpler slashing weapon, primarily meant for Woodcutting. It will serve as a sturdy weapon if nothing else is at hand, though. speed5.gif
rune battleaxe.gif
Battleaxes
The battleaxe is another slash-type weapon that can be used with a shield or an off-hand weapon. It can deal a significant amount of slashing damage, making it useful for PvP combat areas. However, it is as slow as a two-handed sword, and deals slightly less damage to boot. speed6.gif
rune warhammer.gif
Warhammers
The warhammer consists of a large metal 'head' on the end of a pole. It's not the subtlest of weapons, but is great for smashing your opponents. Like its slashing cousin the battleaxe, the warhammer deals large amounts of damage (at the cost of speed) and can be dual wielded or used with a shield, but deals less damage than spears or two-handed swords. The warhammer is perfect for fights against plated warriors. Statius's warhammer not only has the advantage of fantastic attack bonuses, it is also slightly faster than a normal warhammer. speed6.gif
rune 2handed1a.gif
Two-Handed Swords
The mighty two-handed sword packs an incredible punch and can be used with two-handed abilities as its name implies. However, this comes at the price of being one of the slowest weapons available, attacking at the same rate as battleaxes and warhammers. Moreover, they cannot be used with a shield or off-hand weapon. The damage it deals is considerably higher than most other weapons made of the same material. Very few pieces of armour can stand up to its power. speed6.gif
rune spear.gif
Spears member badge tiny.png
The spear is a lightweight, but very powerful two-handed stabbing weapon. In addition to being able to penetrate most armour types, it can use two-handed abilities and deal similar damage to two-handed swords. However, this also means they are equally slow as two-handed swords. speed6.gif
rune hasta.gif
Hastae member badge tiny.png
Hastae are one handed spears that are lighter, and therefore slightly faster. In addition, they can be used with an off-hand weapon or a shield. speed5.gif
rune claws.gifoff-hand rune claw.gif
Claws member badge tiny.png
A player with claws can attack as fast as a player with a dagger. However, claws are slashing weapons rather than stabbing. They can be dual wielded or used with a shield. Further, they feature the unique aspect of a small boost to critical hit chance. speed4.gif
rune halberd.gif
Halberds member badge tiny.png
The halberd doesn't hit quite as hard as the spear or two-handed sword, is equally slow, and cannot be used with a shield. However, it makes up for all of this by having a long reach, allowing the player to attack opponents over short distances and even over small obstacles. Halberds perform substantial slash attacks. speed6.gif
rune axe1.gif
Pickaxes
Any weapon is better than no weapon, and although a pickaxe is mainly used in Mining, it will serve as a decent crushing weapon if nothing else can be found. speed6.gif
granitemaul.gif
Mauls member badge tiny.png
Giving a large bonus to crush attacks, the damage a maul can inflict can be devastating on player and monster alike. These bonuses and the overall strength aspect of the granite maul come at the price of a very slow attack speed - slower than even two-handed swords. speed7.gif
abyssalwhip2.gif
Whips member badge tiny.png
Whips are powerful one handed weapons that offer a quick attack. Designed to inflict the most pain, they lash out to flagellate their targets. speed4.gif
godsword1.gif
Godswords member badge tiny.png
The godsword is possibly the most powerful weapon in existence, and the last almighty battle of the God Wars that created the Wilderness was fought over it. speed6.gif

Mage Weapons

Weapon Description Speed
staff.gif
Staves
Where a staff's name is preceded by the name of a rune, the wielder will never need that rune to cast spells. For example, a staff of fire or a fire battlestaff replaces the need for fire runes if they are equipped. They are two-handed, however, and cannot be used with shields or off-hand weapons. speed6.gif
firebs.gif
Battlestaves member badge tiny.png
Battlestaves have increased stats over standard staves. However, as with standard staves, they require both hands to use. speed6.gif
mud staff.gif
Mystic Battlestaves member badge tiny.png
Mystic battlestaves have even higher stats than battlestaves, but again, cannot be used with off-hand weapons or shields. speed6.gif
pennance trident.gif
Tridents member badge tiny.png
A trident is a three-pronged spear. It is long, heavy and slow to attack, but produces a great deal of damage. speed6.gif
teacher wand.gif
Wands member badge tiny.png
Although some of the fastest weapons in the game, wands offer little damage, being used to assist in the casting magical spells rather than providing any damage themselves. However, they can be used with shields or off-hand magic weapons, unlike staves. speed4.gif
godstaff.gif
God Staves member badge tiny.png
The god staves are gained at the Mage Training Arena. speed6.gif

Ranged Weapons

Weapon Description Speed
magic shortbow.gif
Shortbows
Bows are the favoured weapon of rangers. They use arrows as their ammunition. They are a handy weapon to have due to their compact size and excellent rates of fire and damage, but they have a much shorter attack range. speed5.gif
magic longbow.gif
Shieldbows
Shieldbows have a greater range than shortbows, but at the price of speed and damage. Due to their size - and as their name implies - they can be used as shields, helping to block incoming attacks. Like shortbows, shieldbows use arrows as their ammunition. speed6.gif
composite bow magic.gif
Composite bows member badge tiny.png
Composite bows fall somewhere between shieldbows and shortbows in regards to power. They cannot be fletched, but can be won from Treasure Trails. They also use arrows as their ammunition. speed6.gif
rune 2h crossbow.gif
Two-Handed Crossbows
Two-handed crossbows use bolts as their ammunition. They hit harder than shortbows and have a larger attack range, but are slower to compensate and they cannot be used with a shield. 2handed crossbows from bronze and above can use gem-tipped enchanted bolts that can trigger magical effects. For a list of which 2handed crossbows can fire which bolts, see Ammunition. speed6.gif
runite yew crossbow.gif
Crossbows
Lighter than 2handed crossbows, these smaller crossbows fire faster and can be used with shields, but deal significantly less damage and have a much shorter range. They have off-hand versions for those who like to duel wield. As with 2-handed crossbows, they use bolts for ammunition. speed4.gif
rune dart.gif
Darts member badge tiny.png
Darts have an excellent rate of fire, and can be used with a shield for Defence or off-hand darts for extra damage.. Obtaining darts is much easier than knives as you get more darts 'per bar' when Smithing.

Dragon darts can be found in Impetuous Impulses.
speed4.gif
rune knife.gif
Knives member badge tiny.png
Knives have an excellent rate of fire. While you do not get as many knives as darts when Smithing, knives have a slightly increased attack range, and are stronger. speed4.gif
hand cannon.gif
Hand Cannons member badge tiny.png
Hand cannons are two-handed ranged weapons that fire projectiles causing a great deal of damage at a reasonable speed. It requires the completion of Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf. speed6.gif
rune thrownaxe.gif
Throwing Axes member badge tiny.png
Throwing axes can be used to obtain a more powerful attack, but they come at the price of being slower than the other thrown weapons. speed6.gif
rune javelin.gif
Javelins member badge tiny.png
Javelins have a medium rate of fire and can inflict a fair amount of damage. speed6.gif
tzhaar ring.gif
Throwing rings member badge tiny.png
Used by the TzHaar, Toktz-xil-ul provide a good balance between speed and damage. speed6.gif
cannon barrel1.gif
Cannon member badge tiny.png
With completion of the Dwarf Cannon quest, you can buy a cannon that, when set up (and filled with cannonballs), will automatically fire at nearby targets and hit with incredible force. speedanim.gif


Combat
General Combat Triangle and TacticsWeaknessesCombat Academy
Combat Types MeleeRangedMagicSummoning
Weapons Weapon Types
Armour Armour TypesMelee ArmourRanged ArmourMagic Armour
Edit this Template Game Guide Toggle hidden content
RuneScape Wiki Toggle hidden content