In OSRS, Ranged is one of the three ways to fight. The other two are Magic and Melee.
Range is pretty different from the other two. Many players agree that it is the most popular style for high-tier PvM.
This is because many bosses and raids are won by players who use this style, and the DPS is just much higher.
A lot of useful weapons are also tied to the range skill, which makes it even more common.
But what are the best ones?
Let’s talk about some things you should have in your collection of ranged weapons.
12. Throwing Knife
Knives can be thrown. They are a type of Ranged throwing weapon. They can be poisoned and shields or god books can be used to protect them.
The Smithing skill can be used to make throwing knives, except for black and dragon swords. Each bar will turn out five throwing knives made of the same metal.
Throwing knives and darts are two of the fastest weapons in the game. They are often used for PvP or to learn Ranged. They can hit up to 4 tiles away, or 6 if they use longrange.
11. Ballista
Ballistae are a type of weapon with a long range.
You need a certain level in Ranged to use them.
Like bows, they are tools that are used with both hands.
They use javelins as their weapons.
You have to buy them from other players or make them with things that tortured or evil gorillas drop.
10. Dorgeshuun Crossbow
First on our list is the Dorgeshuun Crossbow, which is pretty good for an early game crossbow.
This thing has a good +42 range attack boost and is easy to get early in the game. It’s just locked behind an early quest called “The Lost Tribe.”
Note that it only shoots Bone Bolts, which are easy to get and cheap, and that it is one game tick faster than every other crossbow. This may not seem like much, but in the long run, it adds up to a strong damager per second.
Overall, this is a popular choice for Ironmen and early-game players who want to level up their Ranged skills quickly and cheaply.
How to Get: After completing The Lost Tribe you can buy this crossbow from Nardok.
9. Magic Shortbow (I)
Requiring level 50 The Magic Shortbow is the best ranged Shortbow in the game, and it can shoot Amethyst arrows, which makes it a very useful choice.
This shortbow also has a special attack called “snapshot” that costs 55% of the special bar and fires two arrows at the same time.
But this will only cost 50% of the special bar if you infuse the shortbow. Then it can be used again and again to do more damage.
This shortbow is easy to get, so Pk’ers often use it.
How to Get: You’ll need a magic log and a bow string to make this. This needs a level 80 skill in fletching.
8. Black Chinchompas
One of the best area-of-effect (AOE) guns in the game is the Black Chin.
When you throw it, it does damage to a 33 square area and everything in that area.
In PvM, the most damage you can do is 12. And this limit is 10 in PvP.
Because of how this ranged weapon works, it’s often used to hit a bunch of enemies at once to get a crazy amount of ranged experience.
This is often called “chinning,” and the Monkey Madness I and II tunnels are popular places to do it.
It’s important to know that if you die, you won’t be able to get your chins back because they’re “alive” and will run away. So keep that in mind if you want to have some fun with these.
To use these black chins, you need to have level 65 range.
How to Get: You can catch these with level 73 hunter in the Wilderness hunter area.
7. Dwarf Multicannon
The Dwarf Multicannon is a great tool that can be made by finishing the Dwarf Cannon quest.
One gun can be set up at a time, and it can hold up to 30 cannon balls. The gun can turn around in a full circle and shoot at any enemy that is close enough.
The total experience you get is half of what you would normally get for range experience and there is no experience for hit points.
But if you use this, you can still hit with your normal gear and just add damage with the cannon.
The gun will break down after 30 minutes of use, and you’ll have to fix it. But this doesn’t cost anything and only takes a click.
How to Get: You can buy this for 750k once you’ve completed the Dwarf Cannon quest from Nulodion.
6. Craw’s Bow
One of the three wilderness tools you can get by killing Revenants is Craw’s bow.
It’s also the best of the three weapons, in my view.
This has a +75 range attack bonus and +60 range strength, which are both very high. It is only used in the Wilderness because it hurts enemies there more than anywhere else.
Because of this special effect, the bow is 50% more effective and does 50% more damage. So, if you’re going to the Wilderness soon, you might want to take Craw’s bow with you.
To use this, you’ll need range level 60 and Ethereum ether to charge it, since it doesn’t use normal arrows and has its own ammo.
How to Get: This is dropped from Revenants in the Revenant Cave and is very rare.
5. Crystal Bow
This bow is like the Craw’s Bow in that it comes with its own ammo and slowly loses its effectiveness over time.
And, as you might guess from the name, Crystal Shards are what give this bow its power.
It has a +100 attack bonus when used at range to impress and a +70 strength bonus when used at range. It is also one of the few bows with an attack range of more than 10 squares, so it can fire from a very long distance.
This makes it very useful in Fight Caves and DKS, where distance is a good friend.
To use this bow, you need to be level 50 in agility and level 70 in shooting. You also need to have finished the quest “Roving Elves” and the Hard Western Province Diary.
It takes a lot of work, but it’s well worth it.
How to Get: You can get this bow from a crystal weapon seed, provided the quest and diary are complete.
4. Armadyl Crossbow
As one of the best crossbows in all of OSRS, the Armadyl Crossbow has an impressive +100 range attack bonus.
And like all crossbows, this is one-handed, meaning you can wear an offhand like a shield with it.
The Armadyl Crossbow (ACB for short) is the best for everything except fighting dragons, as the Dragon Hunter crossbow outclasses it there.
Also note that this requires 70 range to wield, and has a special attack that doubles your accuracy.
It’s also the only crossbow in OSRS to have a prayer bonus (which is +1).
How to Get: The Armadyl Crossbow is dropped solely by commander Zilyana in the Saradomin encampment at GWD.
3. Dragon Hunter Crossbow
This crossbow is now the best long-range weapon in its place for fighting dragon enemies like Vorkath.
Because it’s one of the Dragonbane guns in the game.
The Dragon Hunter Crossbow has a good +95 range bonus and makes damage and accuracy 30% better when used against dragons.
This ability stacks with the bonuses from the Void, the Slayer Helmet, and the Salve. So getting the right gear can make a big difference.
It is also the second best item for the ranged part of the fight against Olm in Chambers of Xeric.
But to use this crossbow, you need to have level 65 range. Only then can you go out and kill.
How to Get: A rare drop from the chambers of Xeric.
2. Toxic Blowpipe
This is easily one of, if not the best, all-around DPS weapons.
The blowpipe has a +60 range attack bonus, but it also has one of the fastest attack speeds in the game. This means that when you use it with high-level darts, you can quickly melt away your enemy’s health.
In PvM, a hit takes three game ticks, but in PvP, it takes four.
The blowpipe fires darts, and both darts and Zulrah scales are needed to fire it.
Every time a dart is fired, on average, two scales are used. This can make the price of the tool very high.
There is also a chance that your blowpipe can poison people. When used with the Serpentine Helmet, this chance goes from a 50% chance to a 100% chance.
Overall, you can use the blowpipe for raids, GWD, most slayer bosses, slayer jobs, and training your range. This weapon just works really well!
To keep it going, all you’ll need is a good amount of gp.
How to Get: You have to kill Zulrah and get a Tanzanite Fang. With 53 Crafting, you can make the Toxic Blowpipe out of the fang.
1. Twisted Bow
And now we have reached the top of our list. The Twisted Bow is the most wanted bow in OSRS and probably the best long weapon in the game.
It has +70 attack range and +20 strength range bonuses, but that’s not why it’s so famous.
The passive effect of Twisted Bows lets you hit harder depending on how high the magic level of your enemy is.
The farther you can hit, the higher your level.
This means that you can easily and almost always get an 80 on certain monsters. There’s no way to explain how much damage you can do here.
As an example, the Twisted Bow can hit up to 83 times outside of the Chambers of Xeric, but it can hit up to 104 times inside.
When you think about the fact that these are just normal attacks and not special ones, these numbers are crazy.
People often use the Twisted Bow for Giant Mole, Raids, KBD, Hydra, Fight Caves, and much more, since OSRS has a lot of monsters with high magic levels.
How to Get: On the mega-rare drop table for Chambers of Xeric.
