Ranged

Ranged is one of the three Combat classes in Old School RuneScape. It involves using bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons to damage opponents from a distance, and Ranged armour can mostly be made from animal hides. Players who specialise in this skill are known as rangers or archers.

Rangers are capable of having the highest accuracy of any combat type, boasting a maximum of +217 to Ranged attack, beating both Magic with a maximum of +149, and Melee with a maximum of +168 to slash. For this reason, it is often used against monsters with very high Defence.

The Combat Triangle dictates that Rangers are strong against mages but weak against Melee fighters.

Range's ability to attack from a distance means that a player can safespot a Melee monster while fighting from safety. Keep in mind that some Melee monsters have high Ranged Defence, so a high Ranged level may be needed. Crossbows are useful against monster with high Defence, as they are very accurate.

Equipment
Weapons: The rapid combat stance gives the fastest attack speed of all three stances while having a lower maximum hit compared to the accurate or long range stances, which have a higher maximum hit. However, the accurate and long range stances have a slower attack speed. Also, the long range stance gives Defence experience, and as the name suggests, has a longer reach.

Knives/darts: Darts have the highest Attack speed in the game, but they do very little damage and are inaccurate. Knives are stronger than darts. Dragon darts are about as powerful as rune knives.

Throwing rings (Toktz-xil-ul) are as powerful as a magic shortbow with rune arrows.

Chinchompas: Chinchompas deal very little damage, but they hit multiple targets, making them excellent for training. Because of this, they are extremely expensive.

Shortbow/longbow: These bows both fire the same arrows, differing in speed and range, but not in damage or accuracy. Longbows could be used for additional range, but are slower than shortbows on rapid. The magic shortbow has a special attack which hits twice, and the magic longbow has a special attack which boosts accuracy.

Composite bow: These bows are similar to longbows, but have a faster attack speed and slightly higher accuracy. These bows can only be obtained from completing treasure trails or by trading with another player. The magic composite bow has the same special attack as the magic longbow.

Crossbow: Crossbows are very accurate, and crossbow bolts deal significantly more damage than arrows, making crossbows effective for training Ranged. Crossbows are also one-handed, so a shield or prayer book can be used for protection.

Bone Crossbow: This is the only crossbow which can fire the cheap bone bolts. It is also faster than normal crossbows, and has a special attack which lowers the target's Defence level.

Karil's Crossbow: Despite being a crossbow, it is more like a shortbow, requiring two hands and having a fast attack speed, along with longer range. Karil's crossbow will only work with bolt racks, which break when fired, making it expensive to use. This weapon should only be used against the TzTok-Jad and players, as everything else can be done more cheaply.

Ogre bow/Ogre composite bow: The ogre bow is extremely slow. It's only real use it to hunt chompy birds. The composite ogre bow has the same speed as a crossbow, but it can use brutal arrows. Rune brutal arrows have the same Ranged Strength bonus as dragon arrows.

Dark Bow: The dark bow is the slowest weapon in the game, but it fires two arrows at once. It is also the only bow which can fire dragon arrows, and it has a devastating special attack which boosts damage by 30% if using arrows that are not dragon, or by 50% if using dragon arrows. The special attack has a minimum damage of 5 per non-dragon arrow, or 8 per dragon arrow.

Toxic Blowpipe: The toxic blowpipe is a powerful ranged weapon that uses darts and Zulrah's scales for ammunition. Against monsters, it has the same speed as darts/knives, but against players, it has the same attack speed as shortbows. Additionally, the toxic blowpipe can inflict targets with venom, which deals additional damage over time.

Dwarf Multicannon: The Dwarf multicannon is a supplementary weapon that can be utilised to train Ranged without yielding any Hitpoints XP. Although higher levels and Ranged attack bonuses do help, there is no Ranged level requirement for it unlike other weapons. It is fast and powerful (with a max hit of 30) yet expensive to use, and there are a limited number of areas where it can be set up for usage. For example, it cannot be used against bosses except the Corporal Beast. Nonetheless, it's useful and great to have on board especially on certain Slayer tasks (e.g. Lighthouse dagannoths).

Enchanted crossbow bolts
Bolts that are tipped with gem stones that have a wide variety of effects. Here are the effects and runes/Magic levels required to enchant the gem-tipped bolt. Cut gems will yield 12 bolt tips, although an oyster pearl will yield 6.

Opal bolts (e): Level 4 Magic for enchant: 1 cosmic 2 air runes Lucky Lightning: Extra damage. 11 Fletching required.

Sapphire bolts (e): Level 7 Magic for enchant: 1 cosmic rune1 water rune1 mind rune Clear Mind: Prayer siphon. 56 Fletching required.

Jade bolts (e): Level 14 Magic for enchant: 1 cosmic rune2 earth runes Earth's Fury: Opponent knockdown. 26 Fletching required. Also requires completion of The Knight's Sword in order to obtain blurite ore.

Pearl bolts (e): Level 24 Magic for enchant: 1 cosmic rune2 water runes Sea Curse: Extra (water-based) damage - effective against monsters specializing in the fire element, such as Obsidian creatures. 41 Fletching required.

Emerald bolts (e): Level 27 Magic for enchant: 1 cosmic rune1 nature rune3 air runes Magical Poison: Greater chance of poison. 58 Fletching required.

Topaz bolts (e): Level 29 Magic for enchant: 1 cosmic runes2 fire runes Down to Earth: Lowers target's Magic (other players only). 48 Fletching required.

Ruby bolts (e): Level 49 Magic for enchant: 1 cosmic rune1 blood rune5 fire runes Blood Forfeit: -10% HP from self, -20% HP from target. 63 Fletching required.

Diamond bolts (e): Level 57 Magic for enchant: 2 law runes1 cosmic rune10 earth runes Armour Piercing: Ignore much of target's Ranged Defence. 65 Fletching required.

Dragon bolts (e): Level 68 Magic for enchant: 1 cosmic rune1 soul rune15 earth runes Dragon's Breath: Dragon-breath damage - Magical attack, effective against opponents with low Magic Defence. Antifire potions will decrease the hit. 71 Fletching required.

Onyx bolts (e): Level 87 Magic for enchant 1 cosmic rune 1 death rune20 fire runes Life Leech: Extra damage, HP siphon by 1/4 of hit. 73 Fletching required.