Gear progression in Runescape isn’t as linear as other games within the same genre. Whether you're playing a restrictive build (like a pure), lacking wealth, or attacking certain enemies will affect what gear you'll use. Having said that, there's still a general progression path for OSRS Gear, and this guide will serve to point you in the right direction. You might also be interested in our RS3 gear progression guide.
If you’re looking for cheap gear, head on over to our OSRS Items page. Or, stock up on some OSRS Gold to buy gear on the Grand Exchange.
Table of Contents
What should I know about OSRS Gear?
As you level up, more gear will become available depending on your combat stats and quests unlocked. One unique aspect about RuneScape is that you can get max combat stats using cheap, low-level gear while sacrificing experience rates. You may mix or match pieces of gear at any level if you can’t afford some upgrades, especially from raids or treasure trail drops.
Non-Ironman gear progression
Melee Gear Progression
Melee consists of 2 skills: Attack and Strength. Some would argue for Defense being a third stat for melee. However, since it can be leveled using other forms of combat and also limits Ranged and Magic equipment, it’s more of a neutral combat stat — kind of like Prayer or HP. However, we'll be assuming in this guide that you're leveling all combat stats for your preferred style of combat in tandem (that is, that you're keeping all combat stats within the same “bracket” for acquisition of new gear). Regardless, these skills can be trained in any order — just consider that it can take longer to train both melee stats compared to Ranged or Magic, but it's ideal for end-game content.
Here's a general path on how you should upgrade your melee training gear.
1-19 Str/Att/Def:
- Full Iron/Steel/Black Armor Set
- Combat Bracelet
- Iron Boots
- Any cape
- Amulet of Strength
- Any ring
- Goblin Paint Cannon – (This should quickly be replaced with a Steel (at level 5 Attack) and Black (at level 10 Attack) Scimitar, once access is gained — you should then also use a Kiteshield with the freed-up shield slot)
Note: For this level bracket, you'll quickly be able to do Steel (at level 5 Defense) and Black (at level 10 Defense) instead of Iron — this is due to how fast levelling occurs in the early game.
As for the gloves, Recipe For Disaster (RFD) will provide you with the appropriate ones for your level, depending on the subquests completed. Just remember to complete more subquests as you get stronger to gain access to better gloves!
20-29 Str/Att/Def:
- Full Mithril Armor Set
- Combat Bracelet
- Mithril Boots
- Any cape available
- Amulet of Strength
- Any ring
- Mithril Scimitar
Things will be quite simplistic for this bracket of stats, as well as the next — you're still quite low level, so you won’t have access to anything outrageous.
30-39 Str/Att/Def:
- Full Adamantite Armor Set
- Combat Bracelet
- Adamantite Boots
- Any cape
- Amulet of Strength
- Any ring
- Adamantite Scimitar
Same as the last bracket, you're sitting right on the cusp of where stuff gets good — this means standard Plate armor and a Scimitar will be your best bet for just a little while longer.
40-59 Str/Att/Def:
- Rune Full Helm (replace with Berserker Helm at 45 Defense)
- Fighter Torso or Rune Platebody (interchangeable, Fighter Torso is better offensively, while the Rune Platebody has higher defensive bonuses overall)
- Rune Platelegs
- Rune Gloves
- Rune Boots or Granite Boots (at 50+ Defense and Strength)
- Rune Defender
- Obsidian Cape
- Amulet Strength or Amulet of Fury (if you can afford it)
- Any ring
- Brine Saber or Granite Hammer (at 50+ Attack and Strength)
Right at level 40 Str/Att/Def, a full set of Rune armor will be the best armor available to you — just note that equipment will be swapped out as we make our way to 60 in all these stats.
Note: You'll be required to complete several Quests and Mini-Games before you can wear some of this equipment.
For the Fighter Torso, you'll have to participate in the Barbarian Assault minigame to acquire it — as it's untradeable and impossible to acquire otherwise. Meanwhile, the Rune Platebody requires the completion of Dragonslayer I to wear, but players will be happy to find that it is tradeable. The same goes for the Berserker Helm, which requires the completion of The Fremennik Trials quest in order to wear, but is otherwise tradeable as well. Now, unlike the others, the Rune Defender will take a little bit more work as it requires access to the Warriors’ Guild, where you'll have to kill Cyclopes and work your way up to a Rune variety (starting from Bronze) after acquiring all the lower-level Defenders.
60-74 Str/Att/Def:
- Berserker Helm or Neitiznot Faceguard (at 70+Defense)
- Dragon Platebody or Dharok’s Platebody (at 70+ Defense)
- Dragon Platelegs or Bandos Tassets (at 65+ Defense)
- Barrows Gloves
- Dragon Boots
- Dragon Defender or Avernic Defender (at 70+ Attack and Defense)
- Fire Cape
- Amulet of Fury or Amulet of Blood Fury (if available)
- Imbued Berserkers’ Ring
- Dragon Scimitar or Abyssal Whip (at 70+ Attack)
Note: Using full obsidian armor, an Obsidian Sword, and a Berserker Necklace at level 60-69 may be favored due to the multiplicative stacking of strength bonuses — the deficit will come with regard to lower Defense bonuses as well as a lower attack bonus. The level 70+ loadout will pretty much always be better than obsidian gear.
75+ Str/Att/Def (End Game):
- Torva/Oathplate/Justiciar armor (take your pick)
- Ferocious Gloves
- Primordial boots
- Avernic defender (Cannot be used while wielding a 2-h weapon)
- Infernal Cape
- Amulet of Torture (with 75+ HP)
- Ultor Ring
- Possible weapons: Abyssal tentacle or Scythe of Vitur (at 80+ Attack and 90+ Strength)
The Oathplate Armour is the absolute best in the game in regards to slashing-based weaponry. It's the only armor in the game with high attack bonuses for slashing while also having high defensive bonuses. This is worth considering if you want to experiment with different weapons.
Ranged Gear Progression
Ranged is a skill that has an easier linear progression, as accuracy and max hits go up within just one skill. Most high-level equipment will require a minimum Defense level, which can be trained with long-Ranged or with melee — which is more efficient. Otherwise, a pure can remain one Defense and access most equipment with a few exceptions. As for the Bows, it's recommended, and if affordable, to imbue the weapon to gain Ranged bonus. Same for the Magic Shortbow (i) (50+ Ranged) to make better use of the special attack.
Here's a general path on how you should upgrade your Ranged training gear.
1-19 Ranged:
- Leather Cowl
- Leather Body
- Leather Chaps
- Leather Vambraces
- Leather Boots
- Combat Bracelet
- Any boots
- Any cape
- Amulet of Glory
- Any ring
- Bows: Shortbow or Oak Shortbow (at 5+ Ranged)
- Knives: Iron/Steel/Black Knives (at 1, 5, 10 Ranged and 4, 7, 8 Strength respectively)
It’s a simple setup for beginner level Ranged, options are limited so there’s not much to say — just remember to use the best arrows available for the bow that you’re using, in this case it’s going to be Iron and Steel — depending on if you’re still on the regular Shortbow or using the Oak Shortbow.
20-29 Ranged:
- Coif
- Studded Body
- Studded Chaps
- Mithril Gloves (with the Recipe For Disaster quest partially completed)
- Frog Leather Boots (with 25+ Ranged and Defense)
- Any cape
- Amulet of Glory
- Any ring
- Willow Bow (Mithril arrows recommended) or Mithril knives (at 10+ Strength)
Recipe For Disaster is quite a long quest comprising many other smaller quests; we recommend visiting a separate guide regarding that one, as it can get quite messy.
30-39 Ranged:
- Full Snakeskin armor (with 30+ Defense): coif, body, chaps, boots, and vambraces
- Ava’s Attractor
- Amulet Glory
- Any ring
- Maple Shortbow with steel arrows or higher
Perhaps the simplest bracket, not much to say except for completing Animal Magnetism to acquire Ava’s Attractor, just get the gear and start leveling!
40-69 Ranged:
- Chromatic dragonhide armor: body (with at least 40+ Defense), chaps, and vambraces
- Ranged Boots or Mixed Hide Boots (with 60+ Ranged and 50+ Defense)
- Ava’s Attractor or Ava’s Accumulator (at 50+ Ranged)
- Amulet of Glory
- Imbued Archers Ring
- Yew Shortbow with Rune arrows → Magic Shortbow with Amethyst Arrows → Rune Crossbow with enchanted bolts or broad bolts (at 55+ slayer)
Remember to swap to the next d’hide armor in line once you’ve leveled up your Ranged stat, the order goes: Green d’hide → Blue d’hide → Red d’hide.
Note: Training Slayer will sometimes require special gear, including the Slayer Helmet (I) when working towards a higher level. Otherwise, these gear setups should be more than apt for PvM or training.
70-74 Ranged:
- Black or blessed dragonhide armor: body (with 40 Defense), chaps, coif, and boots.
- Dragon or Barrows Gauntlets
- Ranged Boots
- Armadyl god book
- Ava’s assembler
- Amulet of Fury
- Imbued Archers Ring
- Armadyl crossbow with enchanted bolts
The trend of d’hide continues, now with access to Black d’hide. We’re able to get enchanted variants.
Note: There is no way of crafting the enchanted versions or acquiring them through drops. The only way to get your hands on a pair is extremely rare through treasure trails, which means trading is the only realistic way of getting the set — it is, however, well worth it for the stat bonuses.
75+ Ranged (End Game):
- Armadyl Armor (at 70+ Defense): coif, body, and chaps
- Zaryte Vambraces
- Pegasian boots (at 75+ Defense)
- Ava’s assembler
- Necklace of Anguish
- Venator Ring
- Possible weapons: Toxic Blowpipe, Twisted Bow – This depends on the type of damage needed.
Alternatively, the Bow of Faerdhinen (c) can be used as a generalist weapon with its extremely powerful stats. You'll have to use and degrade the regular before acquiring the corrupted version that doesn’t degrade, but this'll happen as you simply play. You could also just use 2000 Crystal Shards with a Singing Bowl to corrupt it immediately.
Magic Gear Progression
Magic is unique in the sense that the majority of gear affects only accuracy rather than maximum damage. Because of this, players may hybrid defensive gear and neglect the magic bonus with most PvM or PvP setups unless the target enemy has very high Defense.
Here's a general path on how you should upgrade your Magic training gear.
1-19 Magic:
- Blue/Cream/Green/Pink/Turquoise Hat
- Zamorak robe top & bottom
- Iron Gloves
- Any boots
- Any non-negative shield (not below 0 in terms of magic attack)
- Any cape
- Amulet of Glory
- Any ring
- Any elemental staff needed for your spells
20-39 Magic:
- Xerician robes (with 10+ Defense): hat, top, bottom
- Mithril Gloves
- Any boots
- Ancient book or Broodoo Shield (with 25+ Defense)
- Any cape
- Amulet of Glory
- Any ring
- Any elemental staff needed for your spells
40-59 Magic:
- Mystic Set (with 20+ Defense) or Infinity Set (with 50+ Magic and 25+ Defense)
- Infinity Boots
- Tome of Fire (50+ Magic)
- Ardougne Cloak (highest level unlocked)
- Iban’s Staff (50+ Magic)
Note: The intention of using Iban’s Staff is to gain access to the spell Iban Blast, which is the hardest-hitting spell in the Standard Spellbook — absolutely necessary if you want to deal as much damage as possible at this level.
60-74 magic
- Bloodbark Set (with 60+ Defense)
- Mage’s Book, Tome of Fire, or Malediction ward (with 60+ Defense)
- Any God Cape (after completing The Mage Arena)
- 3rd Age Amulet (with 65+ Magic and 30+ Defense)
- Imbued Seers Ring
- Ancient Staff (with 50+ Attack)
With this setup, we'll be swapping out our Spellbook — the BloodBark Set will allow us to heal for 35% of the damage we do with Blood Spells from the Ancient Spellbook. You can swap to it at the altar in the Ancient Pyramid once you’ve completed the Desert Treasure I quest.
Note: The Ancient Staff can be upgraded into the Ancient Sceptre and wielded at 70+ Magic, 60+ Strength, and 50+ Attack.
75+ Magic (End Game):
- Virtus Set (with 78+ Magic and 75+ Defense)
- Tormented bracelet
- Eternal Boots (with 75+ Defense)
- Arcane Spirit Shield (with 75+ Defense and 70+ Prayer)
- Any Imbued God Cape
- Occult necklace
- Magus Ring
- Possible weapons: Mystic Smoke Staff, Kodai Wand, Staff of the Dead, or a Toxic Trident
Ironman gear progression
Limitations & Money-Making
With the regular gear progression out of the way, we can start considering how an Ironman account might progress in comparison. Because the core principles of Ironman gameplay are centered around interacting with other players as little as possible, the progression curve will look very different, and very messy — this is primarily due to not having access to the Grand Exchange or being able to trade with other players in any way at all. Despite this, there's still a point to acquiring gold, as trade with NPCs is still a possibility — gold is also important for things such as Quests and at higher levels, repairing degraded equipment.
The best and most consistent way to make money as an Ironman is through using High Alchemy — to turn items into gold. This is pretty much the only way of converting redundant items to gold, considering selling items to NPC traders comes at a severe deficit, assuming the trader is even willing to purchase the item from you. A second way is to level up Agility. You can do this from level 1 at the Rooftop Agility Course at Draynor Village, then do the rooftop course at Al-Kharid until you reach level 30 Agility. Then you'll gain access to the Agility Pyramid in the Kharidian Desert — an Agility course that rewards you with a Pyramid Top when completed, which can be sold to Simon Templeton for 10,000 gold. You can find him standing next to the bottom left corner of the Pyramid. Considering that the failure rate can be quite high at level 30 Agility, you may want to train on some more Agility to increase your consistency in the long run. Consider doing this for a time, and then use your gold to purchase runes, level up Magic to 55, and transition to killing enemies for high-value loot for the sake of Alchemy.
Note: Waterskins will be needed to resist the Desert Heat; they can be purchased for cheap from various NPCs.
Due to the limitations of being an Ironman, the items included will sometimes be balanced for ease of access and may not technically be “best in slot."
Melee Gear Progression:
Melee is probably the least tedious out of the three combat styles to fight as, as an Ironman, since you don’t have to worry about restocking on any kind of Runes or Ammunition like Magic and Ranged.
1-39 Str/Att/Def:
- Full Metal set: From Iron to Adamant
- RFD gloves: From Hardleather to Mithril
- Any cape
- Steel Boots (after completing Wanted!)
- Any cape
- Amulet of Strength or Amulet of Power
- Any ring
- Scimitars: From Iron to Adamant
Just like with the non-Ironman progression, RFD will be essential to getting good Gloves, especially since we can’t just buy a Combat Bracelet right off the bat.
40-59 Str/Att/Def:
- Adamant Full Helm, swap to Berserker Helm, then Helm of Neitiznot (with 45 and 55 Defense, respectively)
- Fighter Torso
- Rune Platelegs
- Rune Gloves
- Black Boots (With 50 Slayer, dropped from Bloodveld)
- Rune Kiteshield
- Any cape
- Amulet of Glory
- Any ring
- Baronite Mace
The Rune Platelegs & Kiteshield will be tedious to obtain, since they drop from Obor, The Hill Titan, which requires a Giant Key every time you want to roll a chance at getting the drops you want. Consider visiting our Obor guide if you’re not sure how to handle him.
60-69 Str/Att/Def:
- Dragon Med Helm
- Fighter Torso
- Dragon Platelegs
- Barrows Gloves
- Black Boots
- Dragon Defender
- Obsidian Cape or Fire Cape (if you’ve completed the fight caves)
- Amulet of Glory
- Imbued Berserker Ring
- Dragon Longsword or Dragon Scimitar (if Monkey Madness I is completed)
All of the Dragon equipment you see can be acquired in the same place, namely the Revenant Caves — just be careful and look out for PKers, since the caves are located in the Wilderness.
70-74 Str/Att/Def:
- Dharok’s, Guthan’s, Torag’s, or Verac’s equipment
- Barrows Gloves
- Dragon Boots
- Fire Cape
- Amulet of Glory
- Imbued Berserker Ring
- Greataxe, Warspear, Hammers, or Flail, with respect to the armor set — make sure the weapon matches the armor to make use of extra bonuses.
75+ (Endgame) Str/Att/Def:
- Torva/Oathplate/Justiciar armor (take your pick)
- Ferocious Gloves
- Primordial Boots
- Avernic Defender (Cannot be used while wielding a 2-h weapon)
- Infernal Cape
- Amulet of Torture (with 75+ HP)
- Ultor Ring
- Possible weapons: Abyssal tentacle, Scythe of Vitur, Ghrazi Rapier, Noxious Halberd
Ranged Gear Progression
Ranged progression will actually be rather simple, all thanks to easily available Ammunition from the Ranging Guild. Certain weapons might be a concern, since many of them require high Fletching levels, but not too bad, just time-consuming and tedious.
1-19 Ranged:
- Leather Cowl
- Leather Body
- Leather Chaps
- Leather Vambraces
- Leather Boots
- Any cape
- Amulet of Accuracy
- Any ring
- Bronze Crossbow with bronze bolts
We’ll start off with a Bronze Crossbow, but very quickly move onto bows, as high-level arrows are much easier to come by. If you don’t mind spending time Fletching high-level bolts, then you can use crossbows — just be aware that using crossbows will be very time-consuming in comparison.
20-29 Ranged:
- Coif
- Studded Body (with 20+ Defense) or Frog-leather Body (at 25+ Ranged, with 25+ Defense)
- Studded Chaps or Frog-leather Chaps (at 25+ Ranged, with 25+ Defense)
- Leather Vambraces
- Leather Boots or Frog-leather Boots (at 25+ Ranged, with 25+ Defense)
- Any Cape
- Amulet of Power
- Any ring
- Willow Shortbow with Mithril Arrows
30-39 Ranged:
- Snakeskin Bandana (with 30 Defense)
- Snakeskin Body (with 30 Defense)
- Snakeskin Vambraces (with 30 Defense)
- Snakeskin Boots (with 30 Defense)
- Ava’s Attractor
- Amulet of Power
- Any ring
- Maple Shortbow with Adamant Arrows
Animal Magnetism is an absolutely essential quest to complete for anyone attempting to optimize their Ranged loadout, since it makes Ava’s Devices available to you. You start by getting access to the Attractor at level 30, then the Accumulator at 50, and lastly the Assembler at 70. Due to the incredibly wide spread of levels for each of them, the cape slot will simply always be hosting the best device available.
40-49 Ranged:
- Spined helmet (with 40+ Defense) or Archer Helm (with 45+ Defense)
- Spined Body (with 40+ Defense)
- Green Dragonhide Chaps
- Green Dragonhide Vambraces
- Snakeskin Boots (with 30+ Defense)
- Ava’s Attractor
- Amulet of Glory
- Any ring
- Yew Shortbow with Rune arrows
50-59 Ranged:
- Archer Helm
- Blue Dragonhide Body
- Blue Dragonhide Chaps
- Blue Dragonhide Vambraces
- Snakeskin Boots (with 30+ Defense)
- Ava’s Accumulator
- Amulet of Glory
- Any ring
- Magic Shortbow with Amethyst Arrows
60-69 Ranged:
- Archer Helm
- Red Dragonhide Body
- Red Dragonhide Chaps
- Red Dragonhide Vambraces
- Mixed Hide Boots
- Ava’s Accumulator
- Amulet of Glory
- Imbued Archers Ring
- Craw’s Bow
70-74 Ranged:
- Karil’s Coif (with 70+ Defense)
- Karil’s Leathertop (with 70+ Defense)
- Karil’s Leatherskirt (with 70+ Defense)
- Black Dragonhide Vambraces
- Boots of Brimstone
- Ava’s Assembler
- Amulet of Glory
- Imbued Archers Ring
- Karil’s Crossbow
Note: The Crossbow we use here can only fire specialized Ammunition, namely Bolt Racks. These are a reward for completing Barrows, but can also be bought from NPC traders.
75+ Ranged:
- Armadyl set or Masori armor (with 80+ Ranged, and 80+ Defense for the fortified variant)
- Zaryte Vambraces (with 80+ Ranged and 45+ Defense)
- Boots of Brimstone
- Ava’s Assembler
- Necklace of Anguish
- Venator Ring
- Possible weapons: Toxic Blowpipe, Twisted Bow – This depends on the type of damage needed.
Magic Gear Progression
Magic progression can have some ups and downs for an Ironman account. Pretty much all single-type runes can be purchased from NPC traders in Magic Shops (aside from Wrath Runes). However, if you want to get your hands on some combination Runes — like Dust Runes — you'll unfortunately have to go and level your Runecrafting to acquire them with any amount of consistency.
1-19 Magic:
- Blue Wizard Hat
- Any non-negative body (not below 0 in terms of magic attack)
- Blue Wizard Robes
- Iron Gloves
- Any boots
- Any non-negative shield (not below 0 in terms of magic attack)
- Any cape
- Amulet of Magic
- Any ring
- Any elemental staff needed for your spells
20-39 Magic:
- Xerician robes (with 10+ Defense): hat, top, bottom
- Ancient book or Broodoo Shield (with 25+ Defense)
- Mithril Gloves
- Any boots
- Ardougne Cloak (highest level unlocked)
- Amulet of Magic
- Any ring
- Any elemental Staff needed for your spells
The Ardougne Cloaks will be quite a convenient part of Magic progression, since they're acquired through simply completing achievements and speaking with Two-pints, a friendly NPC in East Ardougne.
40-59 Magic:
- Mystic Set (with 20+ Defense or Infinity Set (with 50+ Magic and 25+ Defense)
- Infinity Boots
- Tome of Fire (50+ Magic)
- Ardougne Cloak (highest level unlocked)
- Amulet of Power
- Any ring
- Iban’s Staff (50+ Magic)
Iban’s Staff will be essential to casting Iban Blast, the most powerful spell available at this level. Tome of Fire also helps out by easing the use of Fire Runes.
60-74 magic
- Bloodbark Set (with 60+ Defense)
- Mage’s Book, Tome of Fire, or Malediction ward (with 60+ Defense)
- Any God Cape (after completing The Mage Arena)
- Occult Necklace
- Imbued Seers Ring
- Ancient Staff (with 50+ Attack)
With this setup, we'll be swapping out our Spellbook — the BloodBark set will allow us to heal for 35% of the damage we do with Blood Spells from the Ancient Spellbook. You can swap to it at the altar in the Ancient Pyramid once you’ve completed the Desert Treasure I quest.
Note: The Ancient Staff can be upgraded into the Ancient Sceptre and wielded at 70+ Magic, 60+ Strength, and 50+ Attack.
75+ Magic (End Game):
- Virtus Set (with 78+ Magic and 75+ Defense)
- Tormented bracelet (with 75+ HP)
- Eternal Boots (with 75+ Defense)
- Arcane Spirit Shield (with 75+ Defense and 70+ Prayer)
- Any Imbued God Cape
- Occult necklace
- Magus Ring
- Possible weapons: Mystic Smoke Staff, Kodai Wand, Staff of the Dead, or a Toxic Trident
Void Knight Equipment
Void Knight equipment is considered to be end-game gear, but it's circumstantial. It's used to tribrid between Magic, Ranged, and Melee depending on which hood you have equipped. This can also be an economical alternative to high-end gear, especially for Ironmen who can’t really get rare drops using low-level gear.
The requirements for Void Knight gear are 42 attack, Strength, Defense, Ranged, Magic, and 22 Prayer. There is a hood for each combat style that includes: Melee (10% to damage), Ranged (10% to damage), and Magic (45% to accuracy). Upgrading to Elite Void gives a Prayer bonus of 6 and an additional 2.5% increase to Magic and Ranged damage.
Wrap-up
If you're going for max combat, or are aiming to unlock high-level content, this OSRS Gear guide will serve you well while leveling up. You may have noticed that the largest differences between Ironman progression and non-Ironman progression are usually around the mid-levels. This is because early game equipment is easily available from NPCs who can just sell you the stuff. As for why the late-game equipment looks so similar, it’s because there's usually only one or a few logical endpoints for what the “strongest” build can be considered. This leaves the mid-levels to be the most chaotic but probably also the most fun for an Ironman, since you’re mixing and matching whatever you’ve got in hopes of a strong build.
Whatever the case, I hope this guide served you well in your OSRS journey, and good luck on any future adventures!
