Last updated: Apr 17 2025

OSRS Melee Gear Armour Progression Guide

Melee armours are designed to provide high melee attack and defence bonuses. They are typically made from metal like bronze, iron, Steel, Black/white, Mithril, Adamant, Rune, and Dragon. Most of these can be made using smithing skills. In this guide, we have listed the best melee armours, progressing from those with the lowest melee defence bonuses to the highest.

OSRS Melee Armour Progression by Level

Defence level	Armour	Additional requirements
1	Iron armour	None
5	Steel armour	None
10	Black armour	None
10	White armour	Wanted!
20	Mithril armour	None
20	Initiate armour	10 prayer and Recruitment drive
20	Shayzien armour	Can only be received as a drop from Shayzien Soldiers
30	Adamant armour	None
35	Samurai armour	None
30	Proselyte armour	20 prayer and Slug Menace
30	Inquisitor's armour	70 strength
40	Rune armour	Dragon Slayer I
40	Rock-shell armour	The Fremennik Trials
42	Void Knight equipment	850 pest control points with atleast 42 attack, strength, defence, hitpoints, ranged, magic and 22 prayer
50	Granite armour	50 strength
50	Blood moon armour	75 strength
60	Obsidian armour	None
60	Dragon armour	Legend’s Quest for sq shield, Dragon Slayer I for platebody
65	3rd age melee equipment	None
65	Bandos armour	None
70	Guthan the infested’s equipment	70 defence
70	Verac the Defiled’s equipment	70 defence
70	Dharok the Wretched’s equipment	70 defence
70	Torag the Corrupted’s equipment	70 defence
75	Justiciar armour	None
80	Torva armour	None

OSRS Melee rings progression

Ring	Bonus	Information
Ultor ring	+12 strength bonus	It gives the highest strength bonus of any other ring in OSRS. It requires players to have killed Vardrvis at least once to wear. Only players with atleast 90 magic and 80 crafting can create it.
Bellator ring	+20 slash attack bonus and +6 strength bonus	This ring gives the highest slash attack bonus of any ring. Players must have killed the Whisperer at least once to wear. It also requires 90 magic and 80 crafting to create.
Berserker ring (i)	+8 strength bonus	It is the upgraded version of the regular berserker ring which can be done by with 650,000 nightmare points, 260 soul wars zeal tokens or a scroll of imbuing purchased for 200 Emir’s Arna reward points.
Berserker ring	+4 strength bonus	This ring is mainly used to increase the player’s maximum hit and also makes a big difference when facing monsters with low defence.
Warrior ring	+4 slash attack and + 4 slash defence bonuses	It is one of the four Fremennik rings and is dropped by Dagannoth Rex.

OSRS Melee capes progression

Cape	Bonus	Requirements	Information
Obsidian Cape	+11 defence bonus in all attack styles.	None	It is a piece of Obsidian armour and lacks any requirements
Fire cape	+11 defence bonus in all attack styles. +1 attack bonus in all attack style. It gives an additional +4 strength bonus	Completed the TzHaar Fight Cave	It is a reward for completing the TzHaar Fight Cave. Follow our guide here to learn to quickly obtain this item.
Infernal cape	+12 defence bonus in all attack styles. +4 attack bonus in all melee attack styles and +1 attack bonus in ranged and magic. It gives an additional +8 strength bonus	Defeated TzKal-Zuk in the Inferno	This is the most powerful melee cape in terms of overall bonuses and it is awarded for defeating TzKal-Zuk in the inferno.

OSRS Melee amulets progression

Neck slot items	Bonus	Information
Amulet of rancour	+25 attack bonus in melee attack styles. It also gives a +12 strength and a +2 prayer bonuses.	It is the upgraded version of the amulet of torture and requires 90 hitpoints to wear.
Amulet of torture	+15 attack bonus in all melee attack styles. It gives a +10 strength and +2 prayer bonus	It is an enchanted zenyte amulet, requiring 75 hitpoints to equip.
Amulet of fury	+10 attack bonus in all attack styles and +15 defence bonus in all attack styles	It is generally regarded as the most versatile amulet of the best all-arond bonuses.
Amulet of glory	+10 attack bonus in all attack styles and +3 defence bonus in all attack styles. It gives +6 strength and +3 prayer bonus	This is a dragonstone amulet enchanted by magic spell lvl-5 enchant.

OSRS Melee boots progression

Boot	Bonus	Requirements	Information
Aranea boots	+6 ranged attack, +4 strength, and +1 prayer bonus.		They have no requirements to wear and are the best in slot boots for one defence pures and zerkers.
Dragon boots	+16 stab defence bonus, +17 slash defence bonus, and +18 crush defence bonus. It gives a +4 strength bonus	60 defence	They require 60 defence to wear and offer the second-highest strength bonus of any boot
Primordial boots	+2 attack bonus in all melee attack styles. +22 defence bonus in all melee attack styles. It gives an additional +5 strength bonus.	75 strength and defence	These boots require 75 strength and defence to wear. It can be created by using a primordial crystal with a pair of dragon boots.

OSRS Melee gloves progression

Gloves	Bonus	Requirements	Information
Regen bracelet	+8 attack bonus in all melee attack styles. It gives +6 in melee defence styles. It gives an additional +7 strength bonus		When worn, it doubles the player’s natural hitpoints regeneration amount, healing 2 hitpoints per minute instead of the standard 1 hitpoint per minute.
Dragon gloves	+9 attack bonus in all melee attack styles. It also gives the same bonus defensively. It gives an additional +9 strength bonus	Completion of eight subquests of the Recipe for Disaster quest	Dragon gloves can be purchased from the Culinaromancer’s chest after completion of all eight Recipe for Disaster subquest.
Barrows gloves	+12 attack bonus in all melee attack styles. It also gives the same bonus defensively. It gives an additional +12 strength bonus	Completion of the entire Recipe for Disaster quest	Barrows gloves can be purchased for 130,000 coins after the completion of entire recipe for disaster quest. Check our OSRS barrow gloves guide to learn how to quickly get this pair of gloves.
Ferocious gloves	+16 attack bonus in all melee attack styles. It gives an additional +14 strength bonus	80 attack and defence	It is the best-in-slot of gloves for melee as it provides the highest bonuses in all melee attack styles

OSRS Offensive Melee shields progression

Shield slot item	Bonus	Requirements	Information
Unholy book (filled with Zamorakian pages)	+7 stab attack bonus, +9 slash attack bonus, +8 crush attack bonus, +8 ranged defence bonus, and +5 prayer bonus.	Horror from the Deep	This is the God book aligned with Zamorak. It provides the best all-around bonus of all 3 types.
Rune defender	+20 stab attack bonus, +19 slash attack bonus,s, and +18 crush attack bonus. It also gives the same bonus defensively. It gives an additional +5 strength attack.	40 attack and defence	It is dropped by cyclopes on the top floor of the Warriors’ Guild after showing adamant defender or better.
Dragon defender	+25 stab attack bonus, +25 slash attack bonus, and +23 crush attack bonus. It also gives the same bonus defensively. It gives additional +6 strength attack.	60 defence	It requires 60 defence to equip and can be obtained from the level 106 Cyclopes found exclusively in the Warrrior Guild’s basement.
Avernic defender	+30 stab attack bonus, +29 slash attack bonus and +28 crush attack bonus. It also gives the same bonus defensively. It gives an additional +8 strength attack.	70 attack and defence	It is obtained by combining a dragon defender with an Avernic defender hilt, requiring 70 attack defence to wield.

OSRS Defensive Melee shields progression

Rune Kiteshield	+44 stab attack bonus, +48 slash defence bonus, +46 crush defence bonus, and +46 ranged defence.	40 defence	The Rune kiteshield is the second best smithable kiteshield. It is often used as a tank shield by low-risk and void rangers since it is cheaper and provides decent melee defence bonus
Granite shield	+40 stab defence bonus, +42 slash defence bonus, +38 crush defence, and +65 ranged defence bonus	50 attack and 50 strength	It is popular for its superior ranged defence bonus compared to other shields at this combat level.
Toktz-ket-xil	+40 stab attack bonus, +42 slash defence bonus, +38 crush defence bonus, +65 ranged defence, and +5 ranged strength bonus.	60 defence	Although this shield has lower melee defence bonuses than the rune kiteshield, it has higher ranged defence.
Dragon SQ shield	+50 stab attack bonus, +52 slash defence bonus, +48 crush defence bonus, and +50 ranged defence.	60 defence and completion of Legend’s quest	This shield does not provide protection against dragonfire but has great defensive bonuses, one of the best for mid-level players.
Dragon fireshield	+20 stab attack bonus, +25 slash defence bonus, +22 crush defence bonus, and +7 strength bonus.	75 defence and having started Dragon slayer I	It is one of the best shields in the game, behind Elysian spirit shield and Dinh’s Bulwark. It has dragonfire protection and partial protection against the Icy breath of Wyverns.
Dinh’s Bulwark	+106 stab attack bonus, +109 slash defence bonus, +109 crush defence bonus, and +38 strength bonus.	75 attack and defence	Due to its high defensive bonuses, the Dinh’s bulwark is the strongest shield in the game. However, it is a two-handed shield so no other weapon can equipped with it
Elysian Spirit shield	+63 stab attack bonus, +65 slash defence bonus, +75 crush defence bonus, and +57 ranged defence.	75 defence and 75 prayer	This shield has the highest crush defence in the shield slot and can be considered one of the most powerful shields when it comes to reducing damage from different attacks.

About Author

Petecleff13

Petecleff13 is a passionate writer who has authored hundreds of articles in many areas throughout the years. He has also played OSRS with several account builds for over 5 years. He uses his passion for playing OSRS and writing to provide informative guides for both novice and experienced OSRS players. He is originally from South Africa and joined LuckyCharmGold as an Author in 2020.

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