Tips and Tricks for Leveling in OSRS: Melee Leveling Guide

Old School RuneScape (OSRS) offers a rich and diverse world of gameplay, where players can explore, quest, fight bosses, and most importantly, level up their skills. When it comes to combat, Melee is one of the most popular and versatile styles, allowing players to deal damage up close and personally. Whether you're aiming for a high combat level, trying to reach max stats, or seeking to improve your PvM (Player vs Monster) prowess, understanding the best strategies for melee training can make the process more efficient and enjoyable.

In this guide, we will walk you through the tips, tricks, and optimal methods for leveling Melee stats (Attack, Strength, Defence) in OSRS. With the right approach, you can maximize your experience gains, save OSRS gold, and even enjoy a more relaxed training experience.

Understanding Melee Skills in OSRS

In OSRS, there are three core melee skills that contribute to your combat level:

Attack: Determines how accurate your hits are with melee weapons.

Strength: Affects how much damage you can deal with melee weapons.

Defence: Determines your ability to absorb damage from opponents, increasing your overall survivability in combat.

To level up your combat stats efficiently, it's important to understand the nuances of each skill and how they interact with one another. Strength and Attack go hand-in-hand when it comes to increasing damage output, while Defence enhances your ability to withstand damage.

General Tips for Melee Training

Focus on One Stat at a Time:

While it's tempting to level up Attack, Strength, and Defence all at once, it's often more efficient to focus on one stat at a time. This will allow you to fully utilize your equipment and optimize your combat style.

Attack first: If you're aiming to improve accuracy, focus on leveling up Attack to hit higher consistently.

Strength after: Once you've leveled up Attack to a comfortable level, focus on Strength to increase your damage output.

Defence last: Defending yourself can be helpful, but maxing out your offensive stats will allow for faster kills, which leads to more experience gains in the long run.

Train at Places with Multiple Enemies:

Training on monsters that spawn in groups or have high hitpoints and low defence is highly efficient for Melee training. Killing multiple creatures in a short period of time will help you earn more experience.

Some great training spots include areas like the Ankous, Sand Crabs, and Experiments. These monsters allow for continuous combat, reducing the time spent moving between targets.

Prioritize Strength:

Strength is arguably the most important stat for maximizing your Melee experience gains because it directly increases your damage output, resulting in faster kills and more experience per hour. To ensure maximum Strength gains, always use the best weapon for your level, and consider equipment that boosts Strength or damage output.

Use a Slayer Task:

Slayer tasks often involve a wide variety of enemies with relatively high hitpoints. By training Melee on these monsters, you'll be able to earn Slayer experience in addition to your combat stats. The added bonus of drops and rewards from Slayer tasks can make them an even more efficient training method.

Try to focus on tasks that are optimal for Melee training, such as Aberrant Spectres, Cave Slimes, or Bloodveld.

Use Prayer for Experience Boosts:

Using Prayers can give you a significant experience boost, especially in terms of damage. Prayers like Piety and Rigour can increase your effectiveness, resulting in faster kills. While Piety is locked behind a Quest (King's Ransom) and requires 70 Prayer, it's well worth the effort, as it provides a 23% damage increase.

Best Training Locations for Melee

Now that we've covered some general tips, let's delve into the best locations for training each Melee skill.

1. Training Attack:

Sand Crabs (level 1):

Sand Crabs are a classic starting point for training Melee stats. They have a relatively low Defence level and offer a steady stream of experience. They also respawn quickly, making them an excellent choice for efficient combat training.

Location: Hosidius (Karamja).

XP/hr: Around 30,000 – 50,000 XP per hour.

Ammonite Crabs (level 1):

Ammonite Crabs are similar to Sand Crabs but offer slightly more experience per hour. They are particularly popular for AFK training, allowing you to leave your character attacking the crabs while you attend to other tasks.

Location: Fossil Island.

XP/hr: Around 45,000 – 60,000 XP per hour.

Experiments (level 25):

Experiments are an excellent choice for players who want a higher experience rate and better loot. They have high hitpoints and low Defence, making them perfect for extended training sessions.

Location: Experiments are located in the Experiment Cave in the Northwest of the Mort Myre Swamp.

XP/hr: Around 70,000 – 90,000 XP per hour.

2. Training Strength:

Stronghold of Security (level 15):

The Stronghold of Security offers some great early training spots, such as the Minotaurs. These monsters drop a variety of useful items and are very manageable for players with relatively low combat stats.

XP/hr: Around 60,000 – 100,000 XP per hour.

Slayer Tasks (level 40):

As mentioned earlier, Slayer tasks are a great way to train Strength while also completing other goals. Killing monsters like Hellhounds, Black Demons, and Turoths will yield solid XP rates.

XP/hr: This varies depending on the task but can range from 50,000 – 100,000 XP per hour.

Nightmare Zone (level 70):

Once you've unlocked the Nightmare Zone, it becomes one of the best places for training Strength. This method requires the Cannon and high Ranged levels, but it offers huge XP gains per hour.

XP/hr: 200,000 – 350,000 XP per hour (with the correct setup).

3. Training Defence:

Sand Crabs/Ammonite Crabs (level 1):

Both Sand Crabs and Ammonite Crabs are great for training Defence passively. Since these monsters have high hitpoints and low damage output, you can train without needing to constantly eat.

XP/hr: 30,000 – 50,000 XP per hour.

Cave Horrors (level 58):

If you want a higher XP rate and are willing to face off against some more dangerous monsters, Cave Horrors are an excellent option. These monsters drop Black Masks, which is an added benefit.

XP/hr: Around 60,000 – 80,000 XP per hour.

TzHaar Fight Cave (level 70):

If you're up for a challenge, completing the Fight Cave offers massive experience rewards and the opportunity to train Defence. The TzHaar monsters in the cave drop useful loot, and the training is particularly rewarding.

XP/hr: 100,000 – 150,000 XP per hour.

Efficient Melee Training Methods

Use the "Cannon" for Fast Kills:

A Dwarf Multi Cannon is an excellent tool for speeding up your Melee training. The cannon fires automatically at targets in its vicinity, allowing you to focus on your character's actions while it racks up damage.

The Cannon is best used in locations with multiple monsters, like the Stronghold of Security, Slayer tasks, and Barrows.

Use "Auto-Retaliate" for AFK Training:

For some more relaxed training sessions, use the "auto-retaliate" feature, which allows your character to continue attacking enemies passively. This works particularly well at locations like Sand Crabs, where monsters have low damage output and spawn in groups.

Switch Between Attack Styles:

To optimize your combat XP per hour, consider switching between different attack styles depending on your goals. For example, use Controlled attack styles to gain experience in all three Melee stats (Attack, Strength, and Defence) simultaneously.

Use the "Nightmare Zone" for AFK Strength Training:

The Nightmare Zone is one of the best places for training Strength as it allows for a mix of passive AFK training while completing quests and other goals.

Conclusion

Training Melee stats in OSRS can be both rewarding and fun, especially if you use the right methods and training spots. Whether you prefer fast-paced combat, AFK training, or Slayer tasks, there are a variety of ways to level up your Attack, Strength, and Defence. Or you can use the simple method of buy RS gold to make you stronger quickly! By following the tips and strategies outlined in this guide, you'll be able to maximize your experience gains, minimize downtime, and have a more enjoyable experience on your journey to max combat stats.

Happy training!