Old School Runescape (Osrs) - Best Ranged Gear

Ranged has proved to be the most devastating combat style in all of Old School RuneScape.

Being able to deal hard-hitting damage from a distance in any scenario has made the Ranged combat style one of the best setups to go for when going for pure DPS.

Recommended Read: Who Is the Best Slayer Master in OSRS?

Some of the best Ranged gear can go for hundreds of millions of gp, but equipment and other Ranged items still go for a hundredth of that price.

While all of them have their own requirements to equip and use, investing in the best Ranged gear will absolutely work out in the long run in Old School RuneScape.

The best Ranged gear in OSRS includes the Masori armour set, the Twisted Bow, the Ava’s devices,  the Twisted Buckler, the Zaryte Crossbow, the Venator ring, and many other high-tier Ranged items.

Best Ranged Weapons

At its core, Ranged gear is all about making your attacks as accurate as possible so you can consistently deal damage over a period of time.

While there are other effects and bonuses that may come with certain items, the Ranged combat style is pure DPS in Old School RuneScape.

Here are the best ranged weapons to use in the game.

Twisted Bow

The Twisted Bow, the most well-known and expensive weapon on this list, has proven to be one of the most powerful weapons in Old School RuneScape. It requires 85 Range to equip.

With its price range varying around 1.4-1.6t (that’s “t” as in “trillion”), the Twisted Bow has incredible bonuses, making it used in high-level PvM scenarios.

Its +70 Ranged Attack and +20 Ranged Strength, combined with the ability to use Dragon Arrows, make it an endgame item that players strive to get.

A lesser-known fact is that the Twisted Bow has a passive effect that increases its Ranged attack and strength based on how high the target’s Magic level is. This makes it incredibly powerful against bosses like TzKal-Zuk, Zulrah, Vorkath, and many more.

Aside from buying it from another player, you can obtain the Twisted Bow as a rare reward from the Chambers of Xeric.

Zaryte Crossbow

Previously discussed in our guide for the best ranged weapons, the Zaryte Crossbow is the strongest crossbow in the game. It requires 80 Ranged and shares traits similar to the Twisted Bow.

The Zaryte Crossbow sells for around 450m on the Grand Exchange but can also be earned using a Nihil Horn on an Armadyl Crossbow.

Both items can be received as drops from bosses (Nex and Commander Zilyana, respectively) in the God Wars Dungeon.

It has a jaw-dropping +110 Ranged Atack bonus, along with minor defensive stats and a +1 Prayer bonus, making this one of the only weapons in OSRS to have a bonus to Prayer.

The Zaryte Crossbow also has a passive effect that increases the effect of enchanted bolts. For example, if you are using Diamond Bolts (e), the cap for the maximum hit for its enchanted effect goes from 115% to 126%.

The Zaryte Crossbow also has a special attack that automatically triggers the effect of the enchanted bolt they are using with it (as long as the next attack hits, which the crossbow doubles its accuracy for).

Dragon Hunter Crossbow

If you prefer to spend your time killing draconic creatures like Vorkath or Chambers of Xeric, the Dragon Hunter Crossbow may be your Ranged weapon of choice.

Requiring 70 Ranged to use, it is considered one of two “dragonbane weapons” that provide additional accuracy and damage when fighting dragons.

Any kind of bolt can be used with it, so you may benefit from both the increased 30% and 25% accuracy and damage, along with enchanted bolt effects when fighting draconic monsters.

The Dragon Hunter Crossbow currently sells for around 65m on the Grand Exchange but can also be obtained as a rare reward from the Chambers of Xeric.

It is worth noting that the Dragon Hunter Crossbow’s ability does stack with other offensive boosting items like the Slayer Helm or Void Knight equipment.

Heavy Ballista

In the PvP community, the Heavy Ballista reigns supreme over every other Ranged weapon.

Requiring completion of the “Monkey Madness II” quest and 75 Ranged to use, it is a powerful two-handed weapon that is known for its high-hitting damage.

The Heavy Ballista has a +125 Ranged Attack bonus and an extra +15 Ranged Strength bonus.

What makes the Heavy Ballista so powerful is that it uses javelins as ammunition as opposed to bolts or arrows, meaning you can add the +150 Ranged Strength bonus from Dragon Javelins to hit incredibly high.

Often paired with the Ranged Void Knight set, the Heavy Ballista is a dangerous weapon to be on the other end of when you are in the Wilderness.

Bow of Faerdhinen

Otherwise known by the OSRS community as the “bowfa,” the Bow of Faerdhinen is a powerful bow requiring 80 Ranged and 70 Agility to use.

What makes it so special is that it generates its own ammunition, so you do not need to worry about arrow costs. It also gives a +128 Ranged Attack and +106 Ranged Strength bonus, the highest in the entire game.

However, there are a couple of downsides to using this bow. For starters, it has a moderately slow attack speed when compared to most crossbows, so it can still be out DPS’d in some scenarios.

The standard version of the bow also degrades over time. However, you can use 2,000 Crystal Shards on the Bowfa with a singing crystal in Prifddinas to make it so it does not degrade anymore.

The Bow of Faerdhinen is also untradable when active, as it is created from using an Enchanted Crystal Weapon Seed and 100 Crystal Shards, so creating one is a bit of an investment.

The Bow of Faerdhinen can also benefit from the bonuses of Crystal Armour, getting an extra +15% Raged Strength and +30% Ranged Attack when wearing the full set.

The main appeal of this bow (and the standard Crystal Bow) is that it has a range distance of up to 10 tiles, which can be incredibly useful for scenarios like the Inferno, where you need to attack from as far as possible.

Best Ranged Armour

These are the best ranged armour pieces in the game.

Masori Armour

The Ranged equivalent to Torva Armour, Masori Armour is the best Ranged armour in Old School RuneScape.

While it requires 80 Ranged and 30 Defense to use, its stats are second to none in terms of Ranged offensive and defensive capabilities.

The full set can be purchased on the Grand Exchange for around 170m, or each item can be obtained as a reward from the Tombs of Amascut.

Furthermore, a fortified variant requires adding Armadylean Plates to each of them, which will cost an additional 80m if buying them from elsewhere.

The keynote for the standard Masori Armour is that it provides a +82 Ranged attack and +59 Ranged Defense when worn all together.

It also provides defensive bonuses akin to Barrows armour while giving an additional +8 Ranged Strength.

The fortified variant provides the same offensive bonuses but nearly doubles all of its defensive bonuses. The fortified Masori Armour also provides a +3 Prayer bonus (+1 per item).

Armadyl Armour

While not as good as Masori Armour, Armadyl Armour is still a strong armour set that comes at around half the price.

Requiring 70 Ranged and 70 Defense to equip, it can be bought for around 85m in total or obtained as drops from Kree-arra in the God Wars Dungeon.

The full set gives you a +63 Ranged Attack and +98 Ranged Defensive bonus, along with +3 Prayer.

While its defensive stats are average for tier 70 armour, its +120 Magic Defensive makes it great for tanking enemies with high Magic attack or strength.

A chisel can be used on each Armadyl Armor piece to create the Armadylean Plates used to fortify Masori Armour.

Thus, Ironman, who has attained Masori Armour can still have a use for the Armadyl Armour that they may have collected earlier.

Blessed D’Hide Armour

One of the more unique armour sets in Old School RuneScape is the various Blessed D’Hide Armour.

Sold on the Grand Exchange for varying prices between a couple of thousand gp to a few hundred thousand, they are naturally brought into OSRS as rewards from Hard tier or higher clue reward caskets.

Blessed D’Hide shares the same stats as Black D’hide armour, including the 70 Ranged and 40 Defense requirement to use.

The key difference is it also provides a +6 Prayer Bonus (+1 per item), and the different variants represent the different gods (key to those who enter the God Wars Dungeon often).

Unlike other armour sets, its items do not stop at the body, chaps, and helm. There are also bracers, boots, and a shield that you can equip to complete the set.

While there are better alternatives for those armour slots, they are relatively cheap if absolutely needed in a pinch.

Blessed D’Hide Armour often gets compared to the Karil’s Armour set, which is also Ranged-based.

While both of them share extremely similar stats, being about to equip armour that doesn’t degrade and has an additional Prayer Bonus can make a major difference for players.

Void Knight Outfit (Range Helm)

The Void Knight Outfit has a long history of turning players into a glass cannon in Old School RuneScape.

Only requiring 42 Attack, Strength, Defense, Magic, Ranged, Hitpoints, and 22 Prayer to equip, this untradable armour set can turn mid-game players into high DPS roles against even the toughest of bosses.

The Void Knight Outfit can only be obtained as a reward from the Pest Control minigame.

In exchange for completing rounds of Pest Control, you will earn Commendation Points that you can save up and use to purchase each of the armour sets.

The standard Void Knight Outfit comes with a Top, Robe, and Gloves. You will then need to wear the associated helm for the combat style needed (in this case, the Ranged helm) to gain the additional bonuses.

Using the Void Ranger Helm with a completed Void Knight Outfit will give an additional +10% Ranged accuracy and damage. It is worth noting that you must wear all four items at the same time to get this effect.

Unfortunately, it does not have the best defensive bonuses, so you are still left somewhat vulnerable to opposing attacks.

But you can still make up for it by using the additional boost to Ranged Attack and Strength in most scenarios you may come across.

Being able to only have to switch a helm to change combat styles makes this set incredibly popular for completing hybrid/tribriding content such as raids or Vorkath.

Continuing with this, you can earn the ability to upgrade your Void Knight armour to the elite variant after completing the Hard Tier Western Provinces Achievement Diary.

We previously made a guide on how to get Elite Void Knight Armour and the process behind it, but after you complete the diary, you can talk to the Elite Void Knight at the Outpost and spend more Commendation Points to upgrade your set.

The Elite Void Knight Armour gives an additional +2.5% accuracy and damage to all combat styles, on top of a +6 Prayer Bonus.