Ranging is one of the most important combat skills in OSRS.
Almost every single boss has a range element to T. And the ability to fight from a distance is incredibly useful.
With literally dozens of options for equipment out there, which ranged gear is the best?
It can be hard to compare all of the stats – but I’ve done most of the work for you right here!
15. Green Dragonhide Set
As the first entry on our list, let’s show off the best in slot F2P range gear in the game.
This set is comprised of the green Dragonhide vambraces, the chaps, and the body. And it’s all easily obtainable, even for F2P players, plus it offers some respectable bonuses.
Note that to wear the green d’hide body you will need to have completed Dragon Slayer I, as it’s a pre-requisite. Same as for wearing the Rune Plate body.
The vambraces also have the best bonuses of any glove in OSRS, making them the best in slot for not only range but also melee!
Where to Get: You can purchase the vambraces and chaps at the champion’s guild. The body can be bought from Oziach in Edgeville.
14. God Dragonhide Set
God Dragon Hide holds the exact same stats as its Black Dragon Hide counterpart, but carries with it a sizeable prayer bonus of +1 per an item.
The set also has coifs and boots, which the normal Black Dragonhide set doesn’t offer.
The boots are especially popular since they’re actually affordable, act as a god item, and have decent bonuses.
The next biggest upgrade is almost 35m gp – making these boots a very nice alternative.
You can also store this set in your Player-owned House which can save you the bank space.
As a very sturdy two-handed weapon, the Heavy Ballista offers a massive +125 range attack bonus, and it hits hard!
It’s meant to be similar to a Godsword in terms of power and speed, hitting very slowly, but for high damage.
It also has a special attack which hits an enemy for 25% higher accuracy and damage!
The ballista is best suited to PvP situations as a knock out weapon.
Also it does require the completion of Monkey Madness II before you can wield it, along with getting up to level 75 in range. They’re fairly high requirements, but well worth the effort.
Where to Get: You’ll need to make the Heavy Ballista yourself, which requires a fair amount of components – all of which are dropped by Demonic gorillas.
12. Barrows Gloves
Barrows gloves are not only the current best in slot glove item for range gear – but they’re also the best all-round gloves in the game.
So these are great for using multiple styles at once.
They have a +12 Range attack and defence for stats, so they’re definitely useful across the board.
Barrows gloves can be difficult to obtain though, as you’ll need to have a minimum of 75 quest points first. Which means completing a ton of content!
Where to Get: Bought from the Culinaromancer’s Chest for 130k. This price will decrease with the completion of the Lumbridge Diary to 104k.
11. Robin Hood Hat
The Robin Hood Hat is has a decent range attack bonus of +8, along with some minor defences across the board.
Note you‘ll need at least 40 range to equip this.
But Robin Hood hats are popular primarily amongst pures, as they have no defence level requirement to wear.
So this actually becomes the best possible helmet to wear as a ranger if you’re a pure.
As a result, these hats are sometime worn in risk fights in PvP, as they also maintain a relatively high value of around 1.5m.
Where to Get: Obtainable only as a drop from hard clue scroll caskets
10. Armadyl Helmet
Here’s the first item within the Armadyl Armour set we’ve seen so far… the Armadyl helmet!
This is currently the best in slot helmet for range attack, with a +10 range attack bonus, beating the Robin Hood hat by +2.
It also has a +1 prayer bonus which makes it a nice choice for areas where you’re using prayer.
Note that you’ll need fairly high stats to wear this in the first place, as there’s a minimum level requirement of 70 defence and range to equip this for yourself.
It’s also useful to know that Falo the Bard may ask for this item as part of a Master Clue step.
Where to Get: Kree’arra drops this item at a 1/381 drop rate within the God War Dungeon.
9. Twisted Buckler
The Twisted Buckler offers the best off-hand range attack bonus in OSRS – sitting at +18 with defences roughly equal to an adamant square shield.
It does have a very high requirement to wield, since you’ll need level 75 defence and range first.
This makes it the highest-tier range shield in OSRS at the moment.
Where to Get: Only obtainable as a rare drop from completing the Chambers of Xeric.
8. Archers Ring (i)
The archers ring (i) is an imbued archers ring, meaning it has double the bonuses.
A normal archers ring has a +4 range attack and defence, while the imbued ring has a +8 in attack and defence – making it the best in slot ring for range!
It’s commonly used for most bosses where DPS is the focus, as well as on almost every Slayer Task.
The only place this could be replaced is in areas where defence is more important, or in special circumstances like fighting Zulrah.
I personally recommend making sure you get this ring, and get it imbued as fast as you can. The attack bonus is more than worth it.
Where to Get: The Archers Ring is one of the DKS drops, only dropped by Dagannoth Supreme.
7. Ava’s Assembler
Ava’s assembler is the best range cape item in OSRS. And it’s an upgrade on the existing Ava’s accumulator.
Stats-wise, it has a very nice range attack bonus of +8, with decent defences across the board – offering a notable magic defence of +8.
It also has a range strength bonus of +2.
And to unlock the assembler, you must have completed Dragon Slayer II and faced the boss Vorkath. You’ll need the uncommon drop of “Vorkath’s Head” to create the assembler.
The grind is well worth it though, as 80% of your ammunition is automatically recovered for you by the device. The remaining 20% is destroyed.
Where to Get: Obtainable from Ava, provided you take her an accumulator and the Vorkath head.
6. Pegasian Boots
Being an upgraded pair of Ranger Boots, the Pegasian Boots require at least level 75 in range and defence to wear.
But they offer a very nice +12 range attack bonus, and +5 in all defensive stats.
These boots are really well designed aesthetically too – and provide substantial bonuses for range builds.
As a result, they are very expensive, worth almost 35m coins!
They do have a negative magic bonus though – so take care not to wear them in situations where you’d need lots of magic during fights.
Where to Get: You’ll need a Pegasian Crystal and a pair of Ranger boots. To combine the two you also need at least level 60 runecrafting and magic. Combining them is irreversible, so be sure it’s what you want to do!
5. Amulet of Anguish
This item is a fantastic Zeynte-based amulet! It offers an insanely high +15 range attack bonus, a +5 range strength bonus, and even a +2 prayer bonus to boot – making it the best range-based necklace in OSRS by a mile.
Like all Zeynte jewelry, there’s a base requirement of at least level 75 hitpoints before you can wear it.
But this necklace is used literally everywhere you’re using the range skill. So there’s almost no excuse not to snag this very powerful necklace!
Where to Get: You’ll need to enchant a Zeynte necklace, which requires level 93 magic.
4. Armadyl Chain Skirt
As the second Armadyl item on this list, the Armadyl Chain Skirt is definitely worth chasing for rangers.
It offers a range attack bonus of +20 as well as decent defensive boosts across the board, with a very high magic defence of +40!
This chain skirt makes fantastic tank legs when facing mages, especially if you have a bow in your hands.
The only negative is that they have negative melee and mage attack bonuses – making them bad for multiple styles of combat.
But for range, there’s no better leg armour slot item. And these are incredibly powerful in most situations.
Note you’ll need at least 70 defence and range to equip them.
Where to Get: Kree’arra drops this chain skirt at a 1/381 drop rate within the God War Dungeon.
3. Armadyl Chest Plate
On to the last of the Armadyl armour items in this list.
The Armadyl chest plate offers a massive +33 range attack bonus and huge magic defence of +70! And the set also offers decent melee defence bonuses.
Like the chain skirt and the helm mentioned earlier, the armour does penalize melee and magic attack. So beware if (and when) you use this item.
But ultimately there’s nothing better for your body slot than this chest plate for ranging. And much like the other Armadyl items, you’ll need at least 70 defence and range to equip this.
Where to Get: Kree’arra drops this item at a 1/381 drop rate within the God War Dungeon.
2. Toxic Blowpipe
The Toxic blowpipe is easily one of the best DPS weapons in OSRS.
It has an incredibly fast attack speed of only 3 game ticks! For reference, other fast weapons such as the Abyssal Whip attack at 4 ticks.
But the blowpipe also offers more than just speed.
It boasts a 60+ range attack bonus, and when adding Rune Darts to the mix, you start to hit very quickly for very high amounts of damage!
As if this wasn’t powerful enough, the blowpipe also has a 25% chance to envenom enemies!
This goes up to a 100% chance if you use the blowpipe with a Serpentine Helmet.
Overall, I think most players would agree that the Toxic Blowpipe is a very versatile weapon. And can be used for a number of activities from raids to training.
You’ll definitely want this in your arsenal!
How to Get: The Toxic Blowpipe can only be obtained by crafting it from a Tanzanite Fang at level 53 Crafting. You can obtain a Tanzanite fang as a rare drop from Zulrah.
1. Twisted Bow
And the top spot on this list belongs to one of the most expensive bows in OSRS:
The Twisted Bow!
Valued at an insanely high 1.1 billion coins, this bow has a very powerful passive effect which makes it deadly against enemies with high magic levels. Basically it hits harder the higher your target’s magic level is.
You can expect to easily hit constant 70s and even 80s on enemies such as Olm and Commander Zilyana – which is why this weapon is so coveted!
Against standard enemies, the bow is actually sub-par. So you need to make sure to use it in the right scenario to fully capitalize on its powerful effects.
But with a bit of luck you should be able to pay off the bow fairly quickly – as you’ll be killing bosses in PvM all over the place with ease.
How to Get: The Twisted Bow is a mega-rare drop from the Chambers of Xeric, along with the Kodia Insignia and Elder Maul.
