Hit delay is the time between performing an attack (the animation starting) and the hit splat showing up (the attack dealing damage). Hit delay is measured in game ticks (one game tick being 0.6 seconds).
Melee
When attacking using a melee weapon, the hit delay always seems to be 1 game tick.
Ranged and Magic
When attacking using a ranged or magic weapon the hit delay seems to depend on the distance between the player and the target, and on the speed of the projectile. The distance is measured in squares (and is easily calculated by determining the minimum amount of steps your character has to walk in order to reach the target's square). The relation between distance and hit delay for ranged and magic attacks are shown in the following tables.
Ranged
Ranged attacks seem to follow this table.
| Distance (squares) | Hit delay (game ticks) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 3 |
| 8 | 3 |
| 9 | 4 |
| 10 | 4 |
Magic
Magic attacks are a bit slower and seem to follow this table.
| Distance (squares) | Hit delay (game ticks) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 4 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 8 | 5 |
| 9 | 5 |
| 10 | 5 |