Of all the combat styles in OSRS, melee is by far the most used.
It requires just an initial sunk cost and no ammunition or runes, like Magic or Ranging require.
There are also a total of three melee stats: Strength, Defence, and Attack, which all require attention. Having a deficiency in one of the three will mean that your character is not at its fully melee potential.
So training melee is extremely important, we agree on that.
But where should you train?
The best places might not be where you think, so let’s take a look at these great training spots for both F2P and P2P.
10. Al-Kharid Warriors
Our first training method is great for early F2P accounts.
The Al-Kharid Warriors will agro on you as you attack them, making them a great way to AFK some early experience.
They’re only combat level 9, and tons of them are around, meaning you can fight them rather quickly.
And they’re located conveniently close to a bank if you need to resupply, or if you need to stock up on some low level food, such as trout or salmon.
Ultimately, these make a great early option for low level accounts between levels 15 and 30.
Where to Find: In Al Kharid Palace.
9. Moss Giants
Here’s another F2P option, and Moss giants offer one of the better monsters to kill in F2P for this kind of training.
They have a good drop table, high hitpoints, and the ability to drop the Mossy Key which can be used to fight the Moss Giant Boss.
You’ll also be able to gather big bones, which are the best bones in F2P for training Prayer.
Members will even have a chance at a Giant Champion scroll, as well as an improved drop table offering seeds and herbs.
Where to Find: For F2P players I’d recommend the Varrock Sewers. Members can fight these in the Catacombs of Kourend.
8. Monkey Guards
Monkey Guards are an extremely underrated training spot, and are particularly good for Strength experience.
You’ll only be able to use this method after Monkey Madness I, and it only works until the end of Monkey Madness II, as the guards will no longer agro you after that point.
The best method here is to use full Dharok and a rock cake to stay under 3 hitpoints, while praying melee and making use of the altar.
This gives you the set effect for Dharok which will provide huge amounts of experience.
I’ll admit, this method is not profitable, but it does offer extremely fast experience.
Where to Find: On Ape Atoll by the altar inside the monkey city.
7. Rock Crabs
Rock crabs make a great early experience source, as they have a huge amount of hitpoints, hit very low, and you can find a bunch of them all at once.
And they’ll maintain general aggression for 15 minutes before needing to be re-aggroed.
One thing to mention is that the area is often crowded with low level players under 60 combat, as well as plenty of pures.
Because it’s not just a great place for melee, but also great for range too!
Where to Find: Waterbirth Island and the Northern beaches of Rellekka are the best places to fight rock crabs.
6. Sand Crabs
Sand Crabs are an upgraded version of rock crabs, found only on the beaches of Zeah.
They have almost non-existent combat stats, making them extremely safe.
They have 10 hitpoints more than rock crabs, but beyond that, they act in an almost identical way.
Sand Crabs also have a conveniently placed altar too, very close to their spawns.
This mean utilizing prayer can be beneficial here, as you can get extra bonuses from your various prayers, such Ultimate Strength or Chivalry.
Where to Find: On the beaches of Zeah, directly below Hosidius House. You can also find them on Crab Claw Island which costs 10k to go to.
5. Experiments
Experiments are another very popular option for training.
They have very high hitpoints and very low attack stats.
Plus there are multiple level experiments out there, with the level 25 variant being the most popular.
Unlike other options on this list, experiments are locked behind a quest: Creature of Fenkenstrain.
This can actually be good, since the area is often not as crowded as other spots mentioned on this list.
And there are multiple spawns available, meaning you should never need to wait for a monster.
But it’s worth mentioning these are also quite low profit to train on, because they have no worthwhile drops. So they’re purely for experience.
Where to Find: Found in the Experiment Cave. This cave becomes accessible half way through the quest “Creature of Fenkenstrain”.
4. Bandits
These are an awesome enemy to kill for experience, because there’s a method to always ensure they’re aggressive.
Wearing any Saradomin or Zamorak item will result in the Bandits continuously attacking you.
Wearing the full Guthan’s set (which passively heals you) in conjunction with a Saradomin item means that you’ll always be under attack, and keeping healthy along the way.
With auto retaliation on, this effectively means you never need to leave combat!
Bandits don’t have any notable drops besides the occasional rare herb, so they’re not as lucrative profit-wise. But that may not be what you’re after.
But if you do plan on using the Guthan’s method I mentioned above, I recommend bringing a Ring of Life with you.
This will ensure that you’re teleported to safety if you AFK too much, or if the Guthan’s set effect doesn’t heal you enough to survive.
Where to Find: You can find these bandits deep in the desert at the Kharidian Bandit Camp. An easy way to get there is to use the magic carpet system from the Shanty Pass. This will only cost a few hundred coins if you don’t have the desert diaries completed.
3. Yaks
Yaks are a useful method to train all three of the combat stats with, provide you have these creatures unlocked.
They have an extremely low combat level of 22, with 50 hitpoints, and almost non-existent defence and attack stats.
All of this combines to make a very weak high-hitpoint enemy.
They also drop hides, which could be used for some quick and easy crafting experience.
This method of grinding might be most useful for early game ironmen and ultimate ironmen.
Just note that Yaks are locked behind the Fremennik Isles quest, which requires that the Fremennik Trials quest is also completed (they’re in the same quest series).
As a result, the area is not at all crowded.
There’s also a bank located close by should you need it.
Where to Find: Yaks are located only on the Island of Neitiznot. You’ll see them as you arrive at the Island.
2. Slayer Tasks
In my opinion, Slayer Tasks offer the very best in terms of profitable training and long term experience.
Of all the entries on this list, slayer is by far the most profitable long-term.
Grinding these tasks for melee on your way to 99, you could expect to earn as much as 500m!
And while maxing out the 3 combat stats in OSRS, you should work on Slayer too. Because training it after you max your combat stats may be wasteful in terms of time management.
A high slayer level will also unlock new monsters and training methods for all of your stats.
Ultimately, training melee by slayer will mean your amount of experience will vary.
Some tasks could give only 30k experience hour, while others could give 70k experience.
Maxing your melee skills is a long task in itself, and Slayer does mix things up nicely – preventing you from getting too bored in the process.
I highly recommend this method.
Where to Find: Just talk to a slayer master to get your first Slayer task and see exactly what you should be hunting.
1. Nightmare Zone
The Nightmare Zone is easily the best melee experience spot in the game.
Nightmare Zone allows players to set up “Dreams” where they fight bosses that they’ve already defeated in quests.
What makes this location so good is that in NMZ, you can utilize potions that buff your stats to levels which are not possible in the normal game.
This allows you to maximize your damage output.
Furthermore, through the use of absorption potions, you can have huge amounts of health – which goes down rather slowly through the “rock cake method”.
You can even make a profit here too! Because by defeating quest bosses you unlock points, which can then be spent on things such as herb boxes, which can be sold for a high amount of gp.
This is a strong method for maxing melee if you can get here.
It’s AFK and profitable with zero risk.
I recommend this to players who are seeking to max quickly.
If you want to take your time, then I recommend the slayer route.
Where to Find: Located right outside of Yanille, right next door the bank.
