Pay-to-play Ranged training

This article is about the pay-to-play guide. For the free players' guide, see Free-to-play Ranged training.

Ranged training

When training Ranged, it's recommended to always use the best armour you can afford. While using throwing knives was once a popular method (Specifically iron knives), steel or mithril darts are a better option now, as they are cheaper, share the same attack speed as iron knives, and have equal or better range bonus.

Tip: The Rapid attack mode gives the best XP/hour.

Cannoning caged ogres 1 - 80 (fast but expensive)

Ogres can be killed in the Combat Training Camp after completing Biohazard and Dwarf Cannon to use a cannon. Using a cannon here is quite a lot of exp and can lead to relatively quick levelling at early levels. This is a great method for low levels as there are no level requirements to use the cannon. However, using a cannon is quite expensive for the cannonballs and most players may not be able to afford it. It is better exp later to use red chinchompas on skeletons in Ape Atoll dungeon, however.

Cannoning ice trolls

One of the most efficient ways of training range while remaining an affordable method is cannoning ice trolls. If you've completed the Fremmenik Trials quest, setting up a cannon a few steps south of the easternmost coal rocks in the Fremmenik Isles will allow you to safespot the ice trolls from behind the rocks, and refill your cannon with little trouble. Depending on your range level and how many cannonballs you bring (which limits trips to the bank), you can get 60-100k xp/hr while making most, if not all of your money back, and even profitting in some cases.

It's recommended to be able to use telegrab so you don't have to incur damage retrieving drops, and to be able to low or high alch drops. If using low alch, it is best to save the rune items, granite shields, expensive seeds/ herbs, noted raw sharks, and balls of wool to sell on the grand exchange, while alching the rest. Food is not necessary but a small amount should be brought to be safe. Lower level players should beware, as without protect from melee, ice trolls can hit in the 20's while you run to the safe spot. The most effective strategy is to bring enough cannonballs to allow you to acquire a full inventory of non-alched items, before banking or teleporting to the grand exchange with a ring of wealth.

With level 80 prayer for a dragonbone necklace, bone crusher and fremennik shield (for the females) you can have infinite prayer points while using protect from melee.

Levels 1 - 10

To begin training Ranged, start out by killing chickens in the Lumbridge chicken farm. If you are just starting out it is also recommended that you collect their feathers to sell for more ammo.

Recommended gear

Start out by wearing a leather cowl, leather body, leather vambraces, and leather chaps. Other optional but very useful items include an amulet of glory, obsidian cape, and a combat bracelet. However, none of these items are necessary, especially since training ranged from 1-10 will only take about 20-30 minutes.

It is recommended you start out with as many darts as you can afford as you will be using these for a large part of your Ranged training. Note: First start with iron darts and optionally progress to steel, mithril and adamant.

Levels 10 - 20

Once you've hit level 10 Ranged, move onto the cow pen just northeast of the Lumbridge chickens. Here you will be dealing with monsters with slightly higher Hit points. If you wish you can pick up the cowhide and sell it in the Grand Exchange, bank in Lumbridge as needed.

Recommended gear

If you manage to get 10 Defence, you can switch to hard leather armour, which has slightly better stats.

Levels 20 - 40

Once level 20 you should move to the Stronghold of Security and go to the minotaurs located on the first floor. From here until level 40 you will be killing these as well as the wolves as you get to a higher level.

Tip:You can use the safespot which is located in the first room on the right, it'll be at the back of the room behind the stone fencing, you can shoot through the fence. (Note: this is recommended for lower level players).

Recommended gear

You should now be wearing a coif, studded leather body, and studded chaps in addition to everything previously listed.

Note: At level 25 you can switch to frog-leather armour. At level 30, you can equip snakeskin armour. Level 28 allows you to use a Dorgeshuun crossbow, which fires decently quickly and uses bone bolts, which are by far the most powerful ammunition available for their cost. The Dorgeshuun crossbow will remain viable even at high Ranged levels.

At level 30 it is also highly recommended to complete Animal Magnetism to get Ava's attractor/accumulator; Ava's devices will return your ammo provided that you are not wearing a metallic body (e.g chainbody), which will save a lot of money and time as you will not have to buy as many bolts and need to pick them up as often.

Alternative:

Fighting Chaos druids in the Taverley Dungeon is relatively fast experience, and you can make profit from their herb drops.

Levels 40 - 60

At level 40 Ranged it's highly recommended to go to Sand Crabs on the south-eastern coast of Zeah or one of the following options:

• Ogres east of Castle Wars or at King Lathas's training ground. (Note: there are almost always masses of players using dwarven multicannons here)
• Flesh Crawlers in the Stronghold of Security in Barbarian Village
• Moss giants north-west of Ardougne or in the Varrock Sewer
• Hill Giants in the Edgeville Dungeon
• Yaks on Neitiznot
• The range competition at the Ranging Guild
• Green dragons at level 11 to 37 Wilderness
• Fire giants after Waterfall Quest
• Rock Crabs in Rellekka
• Experiments in Fenkenstrain's dungeon

Recommended gear

Once you have achieved level 40 Ranged you can wear Green dragonhide armour (requires 40 Defence and completion of Dragon Slayer for body). Upon completion of the Fremennik Trials you can also wear an Archer helm (with 45 Defence) and spined armour which has stats equivalent to green dragonhide.

Switch to blue dragonhide armour (and upgrade to Ava's accumulator) at level 50.

Levels 60 - 80

• Ankou in the Stronghold of Security. Also have good drops.
• Ammonite Crab on Fossil Island
• TzHaar in Mor Ul Rek
  • Recommended items: Rune crossbow with mithril bolts or broad bolts (55 slayer), or Dorgeshuun crossbow with bone bolts (try to use better weapons by this time) and dragonhide armour. Blessed dragonhide armour offers the same stats as black d'hide but with an additional prayer bonus.
  • There are many safespots to hide behind.
  • Be wary of kill stealers (multicombat area) and arrow robbers.

Another valid option for members between levels 65-70 is Pest Control, experience rates are between 15,000-30,000 experience per hour. One can go from 65-70 Ranged in about the same amount of time that it takes to obtain a complete set of void armour with 1 helmet

Recommended gear

Switch to Red dragonhide armour at level 60 and Black dragonhide armour at level 70.

Ava's Accumulator will decrease the amount of arrows lost substantially.

Levels 80 - 99

• Use Red chinchompas to kill Skeletons in the Ape Atoll Dungeon. Grey chinchompas are a cheaper, slightly slower alternative. It is important to note that if you die all of your Chinchompas are lost on death!
• After a player has started chapter II of the quest Monkey Madness II, they can use the chinchompa method at Maniacal monkeys. This offers significantly better experience rates when compared to skeletal monkeys. They also frequently drop 1-dose prayer potions which can negate the cost of using Protect from Melee.
• TzHaar in Mor Ul Rek.
• Players who have 72 Slayer can safespot Skeletal Wyverns in the Asgarnian Ice Dungeon. This is a slow, but very profitable and afkable way of training Ranged.
• Nightmare Zone with super range potion and absorption potions can be a viable training method for anyone who cannot afford chinchompas. Using a blowpipe and steel darts, experience caps around 85k per hour, with minimal cost. Slower alternatives for players on a budget are using a rune crossbow with broad bolts, magic shortbow (i) with rune arrows or knives/darts stronger than mithril. This will yield between 60 and 70k per hour, depending on armour and level.

Recommended gear

If chinning at skeletal monkeys or Maniacal monkeys on Ape Atoll it's highly recommended you use ranged Void armour obtained from the Pest Control minigame. The salve amulet(ei) is also highly recommended when chinning skeletal monkeys. The respective boosts from the void and the salve amulet (ei) WILL stack, giving you a 30% boost to damage and accuracy (salve amulet's damage and accuracy boost only affect your primary target, however this reduces splashing as chinchompas will miss all targets if they miss the main target). If using hawk eye or eagle eye, the boost will become 40%, or 45%. Eagle eye drains prayer points at twice the rate of hawk eye, so the more frequent trips for prayer potions may make eagle eye counterproductive. Do not forget a one click teleport or a greegree (note: the greegree cannot be equipped while in combat). 

Slayer

Slayer is never a bad idea to train any combat skill because it adds variety to your training. Level 55 Slayer is required for using broad bolts which are as cheap as steel bolts but have the same bonuses as adamant bolts. Slayer can result in good drops and consistent money making, as well as training more than 2 skills (Ranged, Slayer and Hitpoints). Another reason training Slayer is important for a ranger is because the quest, Animal Magnetism, requires level 18 Slayer (this can be bypassed with completion of the quest Wanted! which has no Slayer requirement and grants 5000 experience in Slayer to take you straight to level 20). Animal Magnetism gives a player the ability to purchase and use Ava's device, which is a great item to use in the cape slot. 

Training ranged whilst on a task also enables the player to use a black mask (i)/Slayer helmet (i) for a 15% boost to ranged accuracy and damage (compared to Void ranger, which offers 10% accuracy and damage improvement) while also taking advantage of the accuracy bonuses of dragonhide or Armadyl armour. 

Players can also use a dwarven multicannon whilst ranging monsters on Slayer tasks. This is often very costly, but it significantly increases experience rates for both Slayer and Ranged. If not safespotting, bring food and some defence/super defence potions for longer trips.