Degradation

Degradation is the process by which some armour, weapons, and tools gradually wear down with use until they either break completely or reach a "charge" of zero. Degradable items can degrade in one of a few ways, and some items are repairable or rechargeable at a cost while others are not and crumble to dust. A repairable or rechargeable item will either become unusable or will have reduced stats until it has been repaired or recharged.

Degradation mechanics
When an item fully degrades (reaches 0 charges), it can either:
 * Degrade "to dust" - it falls apart completely, vanishing; for example: Amulet of the damned, most enchanted jewellery below dragonstone like rings of forging/dueling/recoil.
 * Revert to a component, which can then be used to re-make the item (at a cost); for example: crystal equipment, Slayer ring.
 * Turn into an broken or drained version, which can be repaired (at a cost); for example: Barrows equipment, toxic equipment, Iban's staff, tridents. Sometimes, the item retains usability, but loses some benefits; for example: Amulet of glory, Ring of wealth, Combat bracelet.

Many items have the charge amount as part of their name; those that do not give the charges remaining (often as a percentage) using the Check-charges right-click option for the item.

All degradable items have a number of charges, the amount of which varies by the item. There are three main methods by which an item can degrade, only one of which the item uses.

Combat
Items that degrade in Combat either last up to a certain duration (e.g. 15 hours of combat) or lose one charge for every hitsplat done by the user or to the user - that is, one charge for:
 * Every hit taken
 * Every attack tick

These two methods are collectively referred to as per hit.

Upon death, most degradable equipped items lose charges. This is most notable with Barrows armour, but this also refers to untradeable items in PvP. A full list is here.

Examples of items that degrade in combat include:
 * Abyssal tentacle
 * Arclight
 * Barrows equipment
 * Crystal bow
 * Crystal halberd
 * Crystal shield
 * Saradomin's blessed sword

A full list of degradable combat equipment is here.

Use
Items that degrade with use lose charges each time it is used, or each time its passive effect activates while in use.

Examples of items that degrade with use:
 * Black mask (10)
 * Crystal saw
 * Enchanted sapphire, emerald, ruby, and diamond rings, bracelets, and necklaces
 * Enchanted silver jewellery and dragonstone jewellery
 * Iban's staff
 * Infernal axe
 * Infernal pickaxe
 * Slayer ring
 * Toxic equipment
 * Trident of the seas/swamp

Time
Items that degrade with time lose one charge each tick while equipped or activated, or items that become decayed when time has elapsed or decay overtime. As of now, the only known item to coincide with time is the Dwarf multicannon.

Special cases

 * The dwarf multicannon decays. After 25 minutes of being set up, it becomes broken, but players can repair it on the spot, or a free replacement could be obtained from Nulodion should they log out. Picking the cannon up and setting it up again resets the timer.

Similar mechanics
The main similar mechanic to degradation is consumption, which is used by things like food and potions. For the purpose of this page, those are definitionally not part of the degradation mechanics.