Free-to-play melee training

Equipment

Players should always use the best scimitar they can equip. Use an amulet of strength if it gives you a higher max hit than an amulet of power for your Strength level, otherwise use the amulet of power for more accuracy and defence. Use full armour sets against monsters that use melee and ranged armour against monsters that use magic. A chainbody is more useful than a platebody against monsters that use crush.

Use Fancy boots or Fighting boots awarded in the Stronghold of Security, or leather boots if you can't be bothered to reclaim stronghold boots when you die.

Wear a team cape or coloured cape.

Get 40 Ranged so you can wear green d'hide vambraces.

Goblins (level 2) for levels 1-10

Cross the bridge in front of Lumbridge Castle and you should see an abundance of Goblins. These Goblins are level 2 and should pose no threat to a new player wishing to train from level 1 skills, although it is recommended to bring some armour as they can hit.

Pros: They are fairly weak at: level 2, and therefore can be easily slain for 20-24 experience. Generally no food is involved so you don't need the cost, they also occasionally drop cabbages. There are a lot of Goblins in this area so you won't usually have trouble training here efficiently, plus it is generally close to the bank of Lumbridge so you can have a relatively good access to your stored items.

Cons: Having said about the abundance of Goblins it has become a very common place for new players to first train their stats, so if you're on a heavily populated world don't be surprised to find 10 or more players in that area. They have a tendency to hit 1's on players with little defence and no armour.

Recommended gear:

• Bring some form of armour

Cows (level 2) for levels 1-10

Cross the bridge in front of Lumbridge Castle, turn left and head north past the Goblins until you get to the cow field.

There is another cow field to the north of Lumbridge which occasionally has less people than the field next to the goblins. Go north past the general store in Lumbridge and the sheep field to reach it.

Pros: They are weak; have low defence meaning you can hit often and have a high amount of hitpoints allowing you to stay in combat for a long time compared to other mobs around their level. They drop cowhides, which you can pick up and sell on the grand exchange, and can also drop meat which you can cook if you ever get low on health or if you want to train your Cooking skill.

Cons: The cow fields are usually quite full with players.

Chickens (level 1) for levels 1-10

Chickens can be found by the farmhouse across from the cow field, north-east of Lumbridge, across the bridge. There is another farmhouse with chickens next to the other cow field north of Lumbridge near the sheep farm.

Pros: Chickens are very weak and drop feathers and raw chicken. Collect the stackable feathers for later fly fishing or selling at the Grand Exchange. Cook the raw chicken at the cooking pot inside the house to raise Cooking level to cook trout and salmon that will later be used in Barbarian Village.

Cons: Somewhat crowded, maybe even more so than cows. Chickens also have very low hitpoints meaning significant time is spent out of combat.

Monks (level 5) for levels 1-9

Monks can be found at the Monastery west of Edgeville and of north-west of Barbarian Village.

Pros: Respawn time for them is short. The monks heal themselves which lets you hit them more, ie: you gain even more xp. They also deal minimal damage to the player. Plus, if you somehow get low on health, speak to Abbot Langley or any of the monks and ask them to heal you.

Cons: Normally crowded

Recommended gear: Bronze / Training gear

Seagulls

Seagulls have very low defence like chickens but higher HP. They can be found at Port Sarim and Corsair Cove. But it is best to kill the ones on Corsair Cove as they have 10 HP rather than 6 HP.

Giant rats (level 6) for levels 10-20

Walk out of Lumbridge Castle and turn right. Walk through the graveyard and keep walking south until you see Giant rats on your right hand side, in Lumbridge Swamp. Bring a fishing net and raise your Fishing and Cooking levels to 20 and 15 respectively. This will allow you to catch your fish and cook them in Barbarian Village.

Pros: There's usually plenty of rats to fight here as they are spread out across the whole swamp. They drop raw rat meat which can be cooked and eaten or the nearby net fishing spots can be used near the fishing instructor. There is an extra net that spawns near him should you need one. If the swamp ever runs out of rats you can also attack the frogs, although they seem to have higher defence which makes them sub-optimal for training.

Cons: Occasionally crowded enough that finding a rat is hard. Food may also be required. You may also have to run short distances for kills.

Recommended gear:

• The best weapon you can use at your level.
• A tinderbox and an axe so you can cook shrimp and rat meat.

Al-Kharid warriors (level 9) for levels 20-30

To find these, make your way to Al Kharid Palace, in the rooms on the east and west you should find them.

Many guides recommend fighting these enemies at a much earlier level in the game. However, they also expect you to bring inventory after inventory of food. If you are keeping your stats balanced, you should have no problem taking these guards down at level 20 combat stats.

Pros: Players will find that these guards can attack automatically, when a different guard is attacked. This means less clicking if your auto-retaliate is on. Their defence is fairly weak and like cows the health of the guards is high for their level. Furthermore, if you want to store any loot you find or take out more food, the bank is conveniently located just west of the palace.

Cons: This is a multi-combat area, meaning more than one guard can attack the player at once. However at 20+ Defence, you should have no worry. The spawn is mediocre and sometimes can't sustain the amount of players there. Also, multiple players can attack the same guard, which can occasionally lead to other people stealing your target.

Recommended gear:

• Bring a slashing or stabbing weapon.
• Wear a platebody. However you should preferably be wearing full sets of armour by now.
• Buy kebabs from Karim for 1gp each if needed. However this is time consuming and won't train your other skills.
• Alternatively fish for shrimp in the river to the south of the bank. Make sure to bank some logs beforehand because there's no wood trees in Al Kharid. There is however a range in the building next to the bank you can cook on.

Barbarians (Level 10) for levels 20-29*

Barbarians are found in Barbarian Village, which can be reached by walking west out of Varrock, following the path past Juliet's house, and crossing the bridge. As you enter the village from the east, the barbarians you will see here are level 10, but the ones in the hall in the north of the village are level 17. Training costs can be lowered at earlier levels by using the nearby fly fishing location to catch and cook trout/salmon, at earlier levels food will be needed for sustained training.

2 Cooked meat also spawns at a consistent rate in the north hall.

Pros: They have poor defence and 25 hit points meaning 100 melee exp and approximately 33 hitpoint exp per barbarian. This value is higher than even guards, this allows you to stay for higher levels if you feel like doing so.

Cons: This is a multi-combat area, so another player can attack the barbarian you are fighting. Loot is virtually useless with the exception of runes which can be used to train Magic.

Recommended gear:

• A fly fishing rod and feathers (which can be collected from chickens near Lumbridge)

Giant frogs

Giant frogs are found in Lumbridge Swamp. They have high HP, low defence, and do little damage. They are great to train on to get 40 Attack so you can equip a rune scimitar.

Hill Giants (level 28) for levels 30-50

Hill Giants are found in the Edgeville Dungeon. They may be accessed through the house north-east of Barbarian Village and west of the Cooking Guild if the player has a brass key. The key can be bought from the Grand Exchange or attained within the dungeon itself by entering through the Edgeville access point. High level players can also fight them in the Lava Maze in the Wilderness or north east of Varrock for a doubled chance of getting giant keys.

Pros: Low defence for their level. Good drops for low level players, every hill giant drops big bones which go for 262 coins on the Grand Exchange. They also drop giant keys that you can use to fight the Obor boss when you are high level. High level players may also want to kill Hill giants in the Wilderness for double the giant key drop rate.

Cons: They tend to be very crowded and they can hit quite hard at lower levels. They are aggressive to players under level 57. At higher levels they are inferior to Moss Giants for XP, and inferior to ogresses for moneymaking.

Recommended gear:

• Get free salmon from fishers from Barbarian Village, otherwise buy Apple pies and sell the pie dishes after you eat them.
• Wear a chainbody as giants use crush

SOS Flesh Crawlers for levels 40+

Flesh Crawlers are the best afk monsters for low level players or players who want long training trips. They are found on the second level of the Stronghold of Security. But they can be very crowded at times.

Drops: Expect to see a lot of Body runes, ashes, coins, iron ore, and occasionally gems and part of the sceptre. (You will likely be AFK most of the time, it's not recommended as a good money making method)

Hobgoblins

There is nothing particularly amazing about Hobgoblins, aside from the fact they have decent HP and can be found in very high numbers.

SOS Zombies

Zombies are a good afk alternative to Flesh Crawlers for players with 40+ Defence. They are found on the 2nd level of the Stronghold of Security.

Moss giants (level 42) for levels 40+

Moss giants are located in the Varrock Sewers, Crandor, and the deep Wilderness. You will need a slash weapon to access them in the Varrock Sewers, enter through the man hole just east of the Varrock Palace.

Pros: Low defence, slow attacks, decent drops, and a good amount of HP. They drop useful items such as law runes, nature runes, and big bones.

Cons: Their attacks are fairly accurate and they hit up to 7. They can be overcrowded at times. If you are at or below 84 combat and fight them in the Varrock Sewers, multiple giants may target you at once.

Recommended gear:

• An inventory of food, staff of fire for high alchemy, air runes for teleportation.
• For equipment, wear chain armour as giants use crush attacks.
• Giants are weak to slash (you will also need slash to access them in the Varrock Sewers)

Ice giants

Ice giants are a bit inferior to Moss Giants for XP, but it can be fun to train in different areas. They can be found in the Asgarnia Ice Dungeon or at the far north-west corner of the Wilderness.

SOS Giant spiders for levels 70+

Just bring a few strength potions and an inventory of apple pies to the 3rd level of the Stronghold of Security. Let your character auto retaliate against them and run to a different area and back when they stop being aggressive. 70+ Defence is highly recommended. These are the fastest afk XP for high defence F2P players.

Ogress Warriors for levels 80+

Ogress Warriors can be found in the Corsair Cove Dungeon. They drop the best loot out of all free to play monsters but also have the highest defence and strong attacks. It is recommended you bring strength potions, a chisel for gems, and a staff of fire for high alchemy. It is recommended you prayer flick Ultimate Strength for maximum damage or Protect from Melee if you are a low defence player/pure or want to have longer trips.

Ogress Shamans (requires 37 Prayer)

Ogress Shamans have the same drops as warriors but have far less competition. They are considerably more accurate with their attacks, but if you have mastered prayer flicking, they are the best high level monster to kill in F2P. In the first dungeon on the island, head south east to the room with two shamans, a fire, and a raw tuna spawn. Once the shamans have stopped being aggressive, you can cook the tuna on the fire to heal yourself indefinitely whenever you mess up on prayer flicks. You can stay there as long as your prayer lasts and accrue an inventory worth millions of gp in a single trip.

Greater demons (requires 43 Prayer)

Head to the Greater Demonic Ruins deep in the Wilderness. Here your prayer will recharge indefinitely so long as you stay in a certain radius. Bring monk robes, an amulet of strength, and a rune scimitar. You can pray protect from melee and a 5% attack or strength boost prayer with this set-up. Turn on auto-retaliate, stand near a demon spawn, and let your character automatically fight for 10 minutes or so. When the demon stops being aggressive, run out of the area and run back. If you get any valuable loot, open a second game client and trade it to an alternative account in a secluded area, then log out of your alternative account until you get more loot to trade to it. This is the most afk method to train in F2P, though pkers might disrupt your gains. You can always use the canoe system with a cheap axe to get deep into the wilderness again.

Alternative accounts in Clan Wars

If you have pure accounts with low defence and high HP, stock them up with wines and attack them in the free for all Clan Wars portal. This is the fastest way to gain combat XP in F2P.