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.
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 |
Ring |
Bonus |
Information |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+4 slash attack and + 4 slash defence bonuses |
It is one of the four Fremennik rings and is dropped by Dagannoth Rex. |
Cape |
Bonus |
Requirements |
Information |
|
+11 defence bonus in all attack styles. |
None |
It is a piece of Obsidian armour and lacks any requirements |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
Neck slot items |
Bonus |
Information |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
Boot |
Bonus |
Requirements |
Information |
|
+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. |
|
|
+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 |
|
+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. |
Gloves |
Bonus |
Requirements |
Information |
|
+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. |
|
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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 |
Shield slot item |
Bonus |
Requirements |
Information |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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 |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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. |
|
+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 |
|
+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. |