RuneScape: Range Weapons

Range weapons come in many forms. Here are some of the best and how they compare.

Magic Shortbow

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The Magic Shortbow is the strongest shortbow in the game, using all arrows up to rune. It has a 69 range attack, and is a simple yet effective weapon.

The Magic Shortbow’s special attack shoots 2 arrows in rapid succession. With proper timing, this can mean that 3 arrows are shot at once.

The use of the Magic Shortbow is very limited. Due to its high attack speed, it a good choice for PvP, being cheap to replace if you die. Using the Magic Shortbow to light a fire can help you cook food when you need to.

The disadvantage of the Magic Shortbow is its relatively low accuracy. This means that other weapons are more favourable in most situations.

Crystal Bow

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The Crystal Bow is the strongest bow in the game, and requires the completion of Roving Elves to use. When fully charged, it has a 100 range attack power and 70 range strength, the most powerful bow in the game! However, this comes with price of losing power when it losses a charge. This occurs every 250 shots, and reduces the range attack by 4 and the range strength by 2. Instead of arrows, the Crystal Bow uses charges as ammunition.

When the Crystal Bow runs out of charges, it will revert to a crystal seed, which is charged back into a Crystal Bow. This costs 900k the first time, but becomes cheaper every time you charge it, with a minimum cost of 180k.

To recharge Crystal Bows, you need to see Ifeen in Tirannwn.

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The main advantage of this bow is its high accuracy and decent damage. Possible locations this is used includes for training slayer and in the Fight Caves. Due to the need to recharge the bow, it is not recommended for training at one location for a long time.

The disadvantage of the Crystal Bow is its need to be constantly recharged, as well as the lack of a special attack. Running out of charges and needing a new bow may mean you need to bring a few extra before going to train.

Dark Bow

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The Dark Bow is another powerful bow. It has a range attack bonus of 95 and can use all types of arrows. It is the slowest weapon in the game, but shoots 2 arrows at a time. It is dropped by a Dark Beast, requiring 90 slayer to kill.

The Dark Beast is the only monster that drops the Dark Bow.

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The Dark Bow’s special attack differs with the type of arrow you use. With any but dragon arrows, it does 30% more damage with a minimum of 5 damage. With dragon arrows it does 50% more damage with a minimum of 8 damage.

The main use of the Dark Bow is for PvP. With the right equipment and boosts, the special attack with dragon arrows can do up to 48 damage per hit, meaning a total possible 96 damage. This large amount of damage will almost kill a player.

A player using the special with dragon arrows.

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The disadvantage of the Dark Bow is that, when not using Rapid attack style, it is possible for other players to “steal” the monster your fighting due to it low speed. As a result of it low speed, it is not recommended to use it when training.

Rune Crossbow

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The Rune Crossbow is the strongest crossbow available. It is able to use any bolt, and has a range attack of 90. Being one-handed, a shield can be used along with it unlike bows.

The Rune Crossbow is a popular weapon to use because it is the most cost effective weapon to use. With 55 Slayer, it is possible to use Broad-tipped bolts, which are cheaper than and as strong as adamant bolts. This allows it to do large amounts of damage, but is slower than the Magic Shortbow and the Crystal Bow. As well, the Rune Crossbow lacks a special attack dispite being the strongest crossbow.

The Rune Crossbow is an excellent weapon to use for almost every situation. One use of it is for when killing dragons, allowing a anti-dragon shield to be used as well. This also applies for other shields as well, allowing you to use a strong range weapon without sacrificing any defence. Alternatively, an unholy book could be used to further increase its range attack, boosting the range attack stronger than all range weapons except a fully charged Crystal Bow.

Hand Cannon

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The Hand Cannon is the newest range weapon, and is the most deadly range weapon available. With 90 range attack, it can only be obtained from cannoneers, found after the quest Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf. Using only Hand Cannon shots for ammunition, it can deal up to 56 damage in one hit.

A cannoneer, only monster that drops the Hand Cannon.

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The main disadvantage of the Hand Cannon is that it may explode every time you use it, with a lower chance the higher your firemaking level. Even with 99 firemaking, there is still a possiblity of it exploding, making it unreliable.

The special attack of the Hand Cannon increases the accuracy of the attack, at the cost of slower attack speed and higher chance of exploding.

The main use of the Hand Cannon is for PvP. As it can deal up to 56 damage, two quick shots is enough to kill a player. Aside from this, it is unreliable due to the possibility of exploding when training.

While some range weapons are stronger than others, the best type to use will vary depending on the situation. Experimenting with different ones will help you find the one right for you.