In OSRS, melee is built up of three main skills, this is Attack, Strength and Defence. Each is trained independently and can be done in any order. However, to maximise your efficiency you will want to prioritise strength first, then attack and finally defence. A good rule in general is to try and keep your strength between 10 and 20 levels higher than the others.
Best Melee Gear by level in OSRS
As you progress to higher levels, this will unlock new armour and weapons that can be used. Upgrading as and when you can (depending on your budget) is very important. As it increases your damage output, making monsters die faster. So, you gain exp and money faster in whatever you’re doing. Below is an outlined gear progression for most players.
Level 1 – 20 Strength/Attack/Defence
- Full iron armour with scimitar
- Amulet of Strength
- Combat Bracelet
At these low levels of combat there isn’t much on offer. Grabbing a full iron armour set with a scimitar, amulet of strength and combat bracelet is the most optimal for melee training. You could also grab an Event RPG from Draynor, as this is a faster melee weapon that is good for low level training.
Level 20 – 30 Strength/Attack/Defence
- Full mithril armour with scimitar
- Amulet of Strength or Fury
- Combat Bracelet
At level 20 you should look to upgrade your gear to mithril for the next bit of progression. Additionally, if you can afford an amulet of fury then it’s a worthwhile upgrade to your damage capabilities.
Level 30 – 40 Strength/Attack/Defence
- Full Adamantite with scimitar
- Amulet of Strength or Fury
- Combat Bracelet
The Adamantite set and scimitar should be bought from levels 30 onwards. This will be the last traditional armour set that we will use in the melee gear progression. Amulet of fury and combat bracelet still remain good here.
Level 40+ Strength/Attack/Defence
- Berserker helm (level 45+)
- Fighter Torso
- Rune Platelegs
- Climbing boots or Rune Boots
- Rune Defender
- Rune Gloves
- Amulet of Fury or Strength
At this point we can start looking at some of the strong untradeable items in OSRS. Items like the Fighter Torso are particularly powerful with a +4 strength bonus and it’s free. The same can be said for the Rune Defender and Gloves. These items are a good long term investment for melee based combat.
Level 60+ Strength/Attack/Defence
- Full Obsidian armour
- Obsidian sword
- Beserker necklace
- Berserker ring (i)
- Dragon Defender
- Barrows Gloves
- Dragon Boots
- Fire Cape
The obsidian bonuses for melee are extremely good compared to other items in this combat bracket. If you’re training via nightmare zone, you can even opt to use this set until level 99 as it’s very efficient here.
Untradeable upgrades such as the barrows gloves, fire cape and dragon defender should be a priority to get. In addition to imbuing your berserker ring for double the offensive bonus. The Dragon Boots are also an affordable upgrade towards the best melee boots available in this bracket.
Level 75+ Strength/Attack/Defence
- Neitiznot Faceguard
- Bandos Chestplate and Tassets
- Avernic Defender
- Infernal Cape
- Ferocious Gloves
- Primordial Boots
- Torture amulet
- Ultor Ring (Bellator for niche situations)
- Ghrazi Rapier or Scythe of Vitur
The upgrades begin to get more expensive at this tier. You always want to prioritise weapon upgrades over armour, this applies to all three combat styles. You then want to look at what can have the most benefit on max hits (strength bonus) for the price it costs.
For example, cheap upgrades like the ferocious gloves and amulet of torture should be higher priority than upgrading to one piece of Torva Armour at level 80+. In general, while torva is best in slot, it is extremely expensive and for this reason should be one of the last things you buy.
Players should also invest in the Ultors Ring, this ring has the highest strength bonus of any ring (12+). This is best used for everyday melee combat, slayer training and most bossing. A Bellator ring can be used in niche scenarios, where the enemy has a significantly high defence and the accuracy provided from the Bellator would be advantageous.
Best in Slot Melee Gear
Below is an example of the best in slot melee gear. One example for one-handed weapons and another for two-handed.
Personalised Gear Advice
Gear Progression can often be very individual to the player’s account. Especially if you’re restricted by budget or play ironman. There are lots of discord servers that you can visit to get personalised gear advice and feedback by experienced players. We’ve listed some of these servers below.