The Ultimate OSRS F2P Combat Guide (1-99)

The singing swing of a keenly honed blade sets the blood to dancing in the veins like nothing else. From time immemorial, great warriors have risen to do battle with the monsters that plague humankind, whether they were literal beasts in the forests and vales or legendary monsters that emerged from the mists of myth, granting the heroes that vanquished them a tale worth telling.

Now it’s your turn to rise and earn your tale. In this OSRS combat guide for F2P, we’ll track your meteoric rise from humble commoner of Gielinor to mighty champion, charting a course as you learn to wield blade and battleaxe while putting the fear of Saradomin in the monsters of Asgarnia and Misthalin. It’s sure to be a long and perilous journey. But you’re not one to shy away from a challenge, are you? 

I thought not. The definitive 1-99 combat guide for OSRS F2P starts right here — but should you see your quest through, your legend will never end. 

OSRS F2P Combat Guide: Preparing for 99 Combat Stats

Combat Guide 1
Mitch Gentry / High Ground Gaming

I hope you like questing, because if you’re looking to max combat stats, you’re likely going to want to complete dang near every available F2P quest there is. Not for the XP — though there’s a little XP to be had — but because you’re going to want to complete Dragon Slayer so you can wear rune platebody armor. The time spent on quests will be a drop in the bucket next to the time spent maxing stats, though, and you’ll ideally be completing them concurrently with other combat training. 

In order to begin Dragon Slayer, you need 32 quest points so you can enter the Champions’ Guild. How you get those quest points is up to you, but if you’re looking to minimize your time spent questing, you may want to consider the following list:

Quest NameQPLevel Requirements
Cook’s Assistant1None
Sheep Shearer1None
The Restless Ghost1None
Pirate’s Treasure2Ability to defeat a level 4 enemy
Doric’s Quest115 mining is helpful
Witch’s Potion1None
Rune Mysteries1None
Romeo & Juliet5None
Black Knights’ Fortress312 Quest Points; the ability to defeat level 33 enemies
Prince Ali Rescue3Ability to defeat level 26 enemies
Goblin Diplomacy5None
Demon Slayer3Ability to defeat one level 26, three level 20, and two level 7 enemies with melee
The Corsair Curse2Ability to defeat a level 35 enemy
Vampyre Slayer3Ability to defeat a level 34 enemy

The sections outlined later in this guide will go into more detail on which quests you’ll want to pursue, so don’t see the above list as content you need to knock out before you can even begin. It’s more complimentary in practice. The goal is completing Dragon Slayer so you can don that sweet, sweet rune platebody. A few hitpoints saved here and there will add up over hundreds of hours of training.

Combat Guide 3
Mitch Gentry / High Ground Gaming

As you may have gathered, the gear you bring along for the ride is important. Generally, when training combat stats, you’re going to want to use a weapon that offers a Strength bonus for better max hits. In the case of F2P players, your best strength weapon will be the scimitar across all tiers. 

As you farm gold and sell your loot, plan to make trips back to stores or the Grand Exchange to upgrade your armor and weapons. You’ll always want the highest tier plate armor you can wear and the matching scimitar. 

To round out your equipment, you’ll find that a kiteshield provides valuable protection, and the fighting boots obtained from the Stronghold of Security will be your Best-in-Slot boots. Lastly, an amulet of strength or an amulet of power will be your best magical supplements — though you’ll likely favor the strength amulet for the same reasons you’ll want the scimitar. 

Now it’s time to talk leveling. The OSRS combat leveling guide for F2P we’ve put together below will have common threads whether you’re looking for efficient XP or maximum profit, but there will be certain milestones where you get to make a choice. When you’re grinding monsters for days on end, variety is the spice of life.

It’s also important to remember there are actually three different skills that govern melee combat in OldSchool RuneScape: Attack, Strength, and Defense. You didn’t think this was a single skill guide, did you? 

The Road to 99 and Its Many Paths

Combat Guide 2
Mitch Gentry / High Ground Gaming

The road to level 99 in any (or all) combat stats will take you all across the face of OldSchool RuneScape’s world — and occasionally beneath it, especially if you’re questing at the same time. Like every other skill, there are three fundamental paths for you to consider: the max experience path, the max profit path, and the max fun path (assuming “fun” for you means an occasional change of pace).

These paths remain largely the same across Attack, Strength, and Defense. Lest you forget, the F2P combat guide for OSRS is technically (and by necessity) a 3×99 skill guide. The specific skill you level as you fight depends on the attack style you choose: accurate for Attack, aggressive for Strength, defensive for Defense, and controlled if you want to distribute the XP evenly across all three. 

Naturally, controlled attacks are the slowest route to 99, but they may prove valuable when preparing for certain combat-heavy quests. This is especially true early on if you want to keep your levels mostly in sync (even though rushing Strength allows you to hit harder than a freight train).

Now, let’s take a look at the three paths before you.

The Path of Experience

If you want to sprint straight to 99 in any combat stat, the monster progression below will get you there. 

TargetLevelsLocation
Chickens/Goblins1-10Lumbridge
Monks10-20Edgeville Monastery
Giant rats20-30Lumbridge Swamp
Giant frogs30-35Lumbridge Swamp
Flesh crawlers35-45Stronghold of Security Level 2
Zombies45-55Stronghold of Security Level 2
Giant spiders55-99Stronghold of Security Level 3

As you might notice, following this path means you’ll be spending a lot of time in the Stronghold of Security. If you’re looking to AFK train and power through shows on Netflix, perhaps that’s your jam.

The Path of Wealth

If you’d rather have some extra coin to show for your efforts, consider the following quest path.

TargetLevelsTarget ItemsLocation
Chickens1-5FeathersLumbridge
Cows5-15CowhideLumbridge
Minotaurs15-25Iron arrows, rune essence, gems, oresStronghold of Security Level 1
Giant frogs25-35Big bonesLumbridge Swamp
Hill giants35-45Big bones, limpwurt roots, runes, giant keysEdgeville Dungeon
Hobgoblins45-55Limpwurt roots, gems, runesWest of Crafting Guild
Moss giants55-70Weapon/armor drops, gems, runes, big bonesVarrock Sewers
Ice giants70-80Weapon/armor drops, adamant arrows, gems, runes, big bonesAsgarnian Ice Dungeon
Ogresses80-99Weapon/armor drops, runes, gemsCorsair Cove Dungeon
Lesser demons80-99Weapon/armor drops, runes, gemsKaramja Dungeon

Note that you have two different options for wrapping up from Level 80 to 99: ogresses and lesser demons. Their drops are pretty similar, so it’s up to you which direction you want to go.

If you prefer to go with ogresses, we recommend completing The Corsair Curse for optimal access to Ogress Warriors and Shamans. Plan for trips to the GE to sell your loot as well.

The Path of Variety

If variety is your objective, then this final path will likely pique your interest.

TargetLevelsLocation
Chickens1-10Lumbridge
Monks10-20Edgeville Monastery
Minotaurs20-30Stronghold of Security Level 1
Hill giants30-40Edgeville Dungeon
Hobgoblins40-50West of Crafting Guild
Moss giants50-60Varrock Sewers
Giant spiders60-70Stronghold of Security Level 3
Ice giants70-80Asgarnian Ice Dungeon
Ogresses80-90Corsair Cove Dungeon
Lesser demons90-95Karamja Dungeon
Ogresses95-99Corsair Cove Dungeon
Lesser demons95-99Karamja Dungeon
Greater demons95-99Demonic Ruins (Wilderness)

You’ve got three routes to finish the grind starting at Level 95: ogresses, lesser demons, and greater demons. Consider those to be organized in escalating order of risk and reward. 

Like we said before, ogresses and lesser demons are approximately equivalent in the amount of risk you adopt and the amount of reward you can expect. Greater demons provide the highest risk/reward ratio — not just because of the bump in combat level, but due to their location deep in the Wilderness where PKers are wont to slip a blade between your ribs. 

Note that your Prayer Points will automatically and slowly recharge in the Demonic Ruins, providing another angle to the use of greater demons for training. The points recover fast enough to make use of at least one overhead prayer and two lower-level prayers. If you’ve been burying big bones instead of selling them, you might find this option more appealing.

Wrapping Up the OSRS F2P Combat Guide

Combat Guide 4
Mitch Gentry / High Ground Gaming

Whichever path you choose, you’ve now reached the end of the F2P OSRS combat guide. You’re likely 99 in one (if not more) combat stats, and you’ve earned your place among the pantheon of Gielinor’s legendary heroes. But your journey doesn’t end here — far from it. Now that you’re the biggest and baddest around, leveling skills like Mining or Smithing might be a tad easier, no? 

But they can wait for another day. Savor your victory — you’ve earned it.

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