OSRS Best Bolts For Training, PKing and PvMing

Last updated September 2026. GE prices checked September 2026.

Broad bolts are the cheapest damage in OSRS at about 52 GP each, so they win for training once you have 55 Slayer. For PKing, use dragonstone dragon bolts (e), and for bossing, open with ruby dragon bolts (e) and swap to diamond dragon bolts (e) once the boss is low.

The Ranged strength on your bolts stacks straight onto your crossbow, so a rune crossbow with runite bolts and the same crossbow with bronze bolts are two different weapons. Enchanted bolts add effects that can take 100 Hitpoints off a boss in one shot, and the right one changes with the target.

I split the rankings into three categories because a player is not a monster: ruby rolls 6% in PvM and 11% in PvP, and diamond rolls 10% and 5%. For training, price comes first. A thousand dragon bolts fired into Sand Crabs cost close to 3M GP, while runite bolts cost 80K.

How I Tested These Bolts

Every DPS and max hit on the bolt cards comes from the OSRS DPS calculator. The gear is the same behind every bolt, so only the ammunition changes:

• 99 Ranged, a ranging potion, Rigour and the Rapid attack style
• Masori (f) mask, body and chaps, Ava's assembler, necklace of anguish, Zaryte vambraces, pegasian boots, a venator ring and a twisted buckler
• No Slayer task and no Hard Kandarin Diary, so every proc chance is the base rate
• Each bolt fired from the cheapest crossbow that loads it: adamant for diamond bolts (e), rune for the other runite-tier bolts and dragon for every dragon bolt

The training cards are measured against an active Sand Crab. The bossing cards are measured against General Graardor at his full 255 Hitpoints. He is not a dragon, undead or fiery, so all four enchanted effects fire on him. A Sand Crab has 60 Hitpoints, which makes ruby's percentage effect look worthless and puts it last.

The PKing cards carry no DPS figure, because the calculator only models players fighting monsters. They show what one proc does to an opponent on 99 Hitpoints instead.

How Enchanted Bolts Work

Five mechanics decide which bolt is correct, and they outweigh the Ranged strength number on the tooltip. A proc, throughout this guide, is the enchanted effect firing: an extra hitsplat on top of your normal shot.

• Four of them fire whether the shot lands. Opal, pearl, ruby and diamond roll their effect independently of the accuracy check, so they put damage on the screen where you would otherwise see a zero. Dragonstone, onyx and emerald need a successful hit first, which makes them worse than their percentage looks when your accuracy is low.
• PvM and PvP rates are different for the same bolt. Ruby is 6% against monsters and 11% against players. Diamond is 10% against monsters and 5% against players. Onyx is 11% against monsters and 10% against players.
• The Hard Kandarin Diary permanently raises every enchanted bolt proc chance by 10% of its value, and you do not need to wear the headgear. Ruby goes from 6% to 6.6% in PvM; diamond from 10% to 11%. It is free damage and it is the first thing I would go and get.
• The Zaryte crossbow makes bolt effects 10% stronger, not more frequent. Ruby becomes 22% of current Hit Points with a 110 cap, and diamond a 26% max hit increase. Its 75% special attack doubles accuracy and guarantees the bolt effect on a landed hit. The Armadyl crossbow instead doubles the base activation chance for one shot.
• Ranged strength on bolts adds to your crossbow, so upgrading ammunition can be a bigger jump than upgrading the crossbow itself.

Matching Bolts To Your Crossbow

Your crossbow tier decides which bolts you can load. That means an adamant crossbow at 46 Ranged, a rune crossbow at 61 and a dragon crossbow at 64, which opens the dragon bolt line. My OSRS ranged weapon progression guide explains when to buy each crossbow.

Bolts requiring 46 Ranged: fire from an adamant crossbow or better. Bolts requiring 61 Ranged need a rune crossbow or better, which covers runite bolts, broad bolts, amethyst broad bolts and every runite-tipped enchanted bolt. Dragon bolts and all of their enchanted variants require 64 Ranged and a dragon, dragon hunter, Armadyl or Zaryte crossbow.

So the dragon bolt line is 64, not 61. If you are sitting at 61 Ranged with a rune crossbow, dragonstone dragon bolts are not an option yet. You want the runite-tipped dragonstone bolts (e) at +117.

One more note on enchanting: the Magic level depends on the gem, not the metal. Opal is 4 Magic, ruby 49, diamond 57, dragonstone 68 and onyx 87, whether you are enchanting bronze bolts or dragon ones.

Best Bolts For Training

Broad bolts win for training, at about 52 GP for +100 Ranged strength. Each training card shows DPS against an active Sand Crab. Training is the one category where price should drive the decision, because you fire thousands of shots and none of them pays you back.

I have ranked these on damage per GP rather than raw strength, because that is the only number that matters when the ammunition is pure overhead. I've said so where a bolt requires a Slayer. Read the OSRS P2P Ranged Training guide here, which covers all training methods that require these bolts.

GE prices checked September 2026.

1. Broad Bolts

Effect: +100 Ranged strength, no proc

Best with: Rune crossbow or better, 61 Ranged and 55 Slayer

Broad bolts cost about 52 GP for +100 Ranged strength, a third cheaper than runite for 15 less Ranged strength. Per point of Ranged strength, that is 0.52 GP against runite's 0.70. Divide the GE price by the strength bonus and you get the same answer.

The only thing in the way is 55 Slayer, and if you don't have it yet, runite bolts in the next entry are your answer. They also open up Turoth and Kurask ten Slayer levels before the amethyst version does.

2. Runite Bolts

Effect: +115 Ranged strength, no proc

Best with: Rune crossbow or better, 61 Ranged

Runite bolts cost about 80 GP each for +115 Ranged strength, with nothing to enchant. For pure XP they are my default below 55 Slayer, because they ask for nothing but the Ranged level.

No special effect is fine when you are firing thousands of shots a trip, and the GP you save per bolt are what let you keep firing them. Broad bolts beat them on cost per point of damage, but only once you have the Slayer level behind you. Until then, runite is the one to buy.

3. Diamond Bolts (e) For Training

Effect: Armour Piercing, 10% in PvM

Best with: Adamant crossbow or better, 46 Ranged

Diamond bolts (e) are the answer between 46 and 61 Ranged. They give +105 strength and a 10% chance to ignore the target's Defence, add 15% to your max hit, and cost about 123 GP.

Nothing else you can fire from an adamant crossbow comes close in damage per GP, even with adamant bolts, and adamant bolts cost more at about 170 GP. This is what I would put in any account that has not reached a rune crossbow yet.

4. Amethyst Broad Bolts

Effect: +115 Ranged strength, no proc

Best with: Rune crossbow or better, 61 Ranged and 65 Slayer

Amethyst broad bolts have the same strength as runite for about two and a half times the price, so on raw numbers they lose. What you are buying is Turoth and Kurask access, since those two need broad ammunition to be damaged at range.

If you take Slayer tasks regularly, keeping 5,000 or so in the bank saves you swapping ammunition halfway through a task.

5. Dragonstone Bolts (e)

Effect: Dragon's Breath, 6% for +19 damage at 99 Ranged

Best with: Rune crossbow or better, 61 Ranged

Dragonstone bolts (e) are the training bolt for when training pays you. A 6% chance of 19 extra damage on top of +117 strength is a real uplift on a Slayer task with decent drops.

At about 342 GP, they cost four times as much as runite, so I use them on tasks that make money and drop back to runite for grinding. Justine at Ferox Enclave sells 20 for 3 Last Man Standing points, which is the cheapest way in if you play the minigame at all.

Best Bolts For PKing (PvP)

Dragonstone dragon bolts (e) are the PKing default: 6% for 19 extra damage, no cost to yourself, and +122 Ranged strength behind it. Everything in this section is a dragon bolt, since at +122 strength the extra max hit matters more in a fifteen-second fight than the price does.

Ruby dragon bolts (e) have the highest proc rate in PvP at 11% and are deliberately not on this list. Blood Forfeit costs 10% of your own current Hitpoints every time it fires. It stops firing once you are too low to pay, which is when you need it most. They are ranked first for bossing instead.

GE prices checked September 2026.

1. Dragonstone Dragon Bolts (e) For PKing

Effect: Dragon's Breath, 6% for +19 damage at 99 Ranged

Best with: Dragon crossbow or better, 64 Ranged

Dragonstone dragon bolts (e) are my default PKing bolt. 6% for 19 extra damage, no cost to yourself, and +122 Ranged strength behind it.

Two things kill Dragon's Breath in PvP: dragonfire immunity and Protect from Magic. Anyone worth fighting is praying, so treat the proc as dead against an opponent with it on.

At around 2,833 each they sit between diamond at 2,649 and opal at 2,877, and a gap of under 250 GP is not what decides a fight.

2. Opal Dragon Bolts (e) For PKing

Effect: Lucky Lightning, 5% for +9 damage at 99 Ranged

Best with: Dragon crossbow or better, 64 Ranged

Opal dragon bolts (e) have the smallest effect of the dragon bolts, 9 extra damage on a 5% roll, but the effect costs you nothing and works on everybody. At around 2,877 each they cost 44 GP more than dragonstone, without the dragonfire caveat.

The effect rolls independently of your accuracy, so it lands on shots that would otherwise have missed. A sensible pick if you expect your opponent to be running antifire protection.

3. Onyx Dragon Bolts (e) For PKing

Effect: Life Leech, 10% in PvP for +20% damage and healing

Best with: Dragon crossbow or better, 64 Ranged

Onyx dragon bolts (e) proc 10% of the time in PvP for 20% extra damage, plus healing worth a quarter of what you dealt. In a long fight, sustain is the difference between finishing and eating.

The obstacle is the price: roughly 9,285 a bolt, three times a dragonstone. I bring these to fights I expect to win, not to open scraps in the Wilderness.

Spending 9,285 on a bolt for a full stack is a significant investment, and it’s gone if you meet an untimely end. If farming GP isn't your idea of a good evening, consider buying OSRS gold from here to quickly refill your supplies without the hassle.

4. Diamond Dragon Bolts (e) For PKing

Effect: Armour Piercing, 5% in PvP

Best with: Dragon crossbow or better, 64 Ranged

Diamond dragon bolts (e) proc only 5% of the time against players, half their PvM rate, which is why they come last here. They do have a proc that ignores the target's Defence. Against someone sitting in full Justiciar that is worth more than the rate suggests. Situational, and not the bolt I would load by default.

Best Bolts For PvM

Ruby dragon bolts (e) open a boss, and diamond dragon bolts (e) finish it. PvM is where enchanted bolts change kill times rather than shaving a second off. That pairing matters: ruby while the boss has a large health pool, diamond once it doesn't. Each card in this section shows DPS against General Graardor at full health.

GE prices checked September 2026.

1. Ruby Dragon Bolts (e) For Bossing

Effect: Blood Forfeit, 6% in PvM for 20% of the target's current Hitpoints, capped at 100

Best with: Dragon crossbow or better, 64 Ranged

Ruby Dragon Bolts (E) is the standard boss opener. 20% of the target's current Hitpoints, capped at 100, means every proc against anything at 500 health or above is a flat hundred damage.

At the Corporeal Beast, Nex or Vorkath that is enormous. Corp is better than it looks: the Beast halves damage from ordinary bolts but takes the ruby effect in full. Each one costs 10% of your own Hitpoints, so bring food, and expect to stop using them partway through the kill.

2. Diamond Dragon Bolts (e) For Bossing

Effect: Armour Piercing, 10% in PvM for +15% max hit with the target's Defence ignored

Best with: Dragon crossbow or better, 64 Ranged

Diamond dragon bolts (e) finish the kill that ruby dragon bolts (e) opened. 10% in PvM, ignoring the target's Defence and adding 15% to your max for that shot. The accuracy half is worth more than it looks against well-armoured bosses. Read the OSRS ranged armour progression guide to know how to build perfect gear against monsters.

3. Dragonstone Dragon Bolts (e) For Bossing

Effect: Dragon's Breath, 6% for +19 damage at 99 Ranged

Best with: Dragon crossbow or better, 64 Ranged

Dragonstone dragon bolts (e) are the dependable all-rounder for bossing. A flat 19 extra damage doesn't scale with the target's health, which makes it steadier than ruby on smaller bosses and long Slayer tasks.

The thing to watch is dragonfire immunity, because anything protected against it ignores the proc. Vorkath and the metal dragons are the obvious exclusions.

4. Onyx Dragon Bolts (e) For Bossing

Effect: Life Leech, 11% in PvM for +20% damage and healing

Best with: Dragon crossbow or better, 64 Ranged

Onyx dragon bolts (e) have the highest proc rate of any dragon bolt in PvM at 11%, adding 20% damage and healing you for a quarter of it. That healing extends solo trips.

Two problems: about 9,285 GP each, and the effect does nothing against undead, which rules out undead Slayer tasks and Vorkath with it. Worth the spend inside raids and at bosses where trip length justifies it.

5. Diamond Bolts (e) For Bossing

Effect: Armour Piercing, 10% in PvM

Best with: Adamant crossbow or better, 46 Ranged

Diamond bolts (e) are the budget version of diamond dragon bolts (e), and they let a mid-level account still boss properly. Identical 10% Armour Piercing proc to the dragon variant, with +105 strength instead of +122, at roughly 123 GP against 2,649. Until you own a dragon crossbow, use this PvM ammunition.

Other Bolts Worth Knowing About

Six more bolt types appear on Slayer tasks and in PvP: emerald bolts (e), adamant bolts, onyx bolts (e), ruby bolts (e), bolt racks, and silver bolts. None of them beats the picks in the three rankings for general use.

Emerald Bolts (e)

Emerald bolts (e) proc at 55% in PvM and 54% in PvP, by far the highest rate in the game, and apply 5-damage poison. That is the whole problem: the poison is tiny and does nothing to a poison-immune boss, so the headline number flatters them badly. I only use them in PvP, for chip damage.

Adamant Bolts

Adamant bolts are plain +100 strength at 46 Ranged with no proc. At around 170 GP they cost more than diamond bolts (e) at 123, which leaves them no argument before 61 Ranged. Check both prices before you buy either.

Onyx Bolts (e) And Ruby Bolts (e)

Onyx bolts (e) and ruby bolts (e) are the runite-tipped and adamant-tipped versions of the two effects that matter most. Onyx bolts (e) are +120, second only to dragon bolts, and they fire from a rune crossbow at 61 Ranged for about 8,500 instead of 9,285.

Ruby bolts (e) are +103 at 46 Ranged for about 190 GP, which is the cheap way to open a boss with Blood Forfeit before you own a dragon crossbow. If you are building a budget PvM setup, it is these two alongside diamond bolts (e), not adamant.

Bolt Racks

Bolt racks only fire from Karil's crossbow, give +55 Ranged strength and have no effect. Relevant purely because Karil's crossbow needs them, not because you would choose them.

Silver Bolts

Silver bolts sit below even iron bolts at +36, and they fire from an iron crossbow or better. They exist for one reason: they are one of the few ammo types that will hurt a Vampyre Juvinate. Keep a small stack for the tasks that need them and ignore them otherwise.

Which Bolts I'd Buy

If you are training and you have 55 Slayer, buy broad bolts. They are the cheapest damage on the market and nothing else in that table gets near them. Without the Slayer level, buy runite and stop thinking about it.

Either way the money you save funds the rest of your account, and diamond bolts (e) fill the gap below 61 Ranged better than anything else.

If you are PKing, Dragonstone Dragon Bolts (e) do the most reliable work for the least risk. Opal is the pick against anyone running antifire protection, since Lucky Lightning cannot be blocked that way.

Onyx is excellent and expensive enough that losing a stack stings. Ruby belongs at a boss rather than in a fight, because Blood Forfeit charges you 10% of your own Hitpoints per proc.

If you are bossing, learn the ruby-to-diamond swap and learn it properly: ruby while the health bar is long, diamond once it is low. That one habit does more for your kill times than picking whichever bolt has the biggest number next to it.

And go and finish the Hard Kandarin Diary. It permanently lifts how often every enchanted bolt effect you will ever fire goes off by 10%, for a one-off effort. That is the best value in this entire article, and it does not cost any GP.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the strongest bolt in OSRS?

Dragon bolts, at +122 Ranged strength, in any enchanted form. Below 64 Ranged the strongest you can fire are onyx bolts (e) at +120 from a rune crossbow, then runite and amethyst broad bolts at +115. Strength is only half the question though; the enchanted effect decides most of the damage.

What are the most cost-effective bolts in OSRS?

Broad bolts, at about 52 GP for +100 Ranged strength. That is 0.52 GP per point of strength against runite's 0.70, which makes them the cheapest damage in the game. They need 61 Ranged and 55 Slayer. Without Slayer, runite bolts at about 80 GP are the answer.

Are diamond bolts (e) better than runite bolts?

For bossing yes, for pure training no. Diamond bolts (e) are +105 against runite's +115, but they proc 10% of the time in PvM. Each proc ignores the target's Defence and adds 15% to your max hit. At about 123 GP against 80, that trade is worth it anywhere accuracy is the bottleneck.

What's better than runite bolts?

For damage, dragon bolts at +122, which need 64 Ranged and a dragon crossbow or better. For value, broad bolts at +100 and about 52 GP. For bossing, any enchanted bolt: diamond (e) for armoured targets, ruby (e) to open a large health bar, dragonstone (e) for steady extra damage.

What are the best bolts to use for training in OSRS?

Broad bolts once you have 55 Slayer and 61 Ranged, at about 52 GP each. Before the Slayer level, runite bolts at about 80 GP. Below 61 Ranged, diamond bolts (e) from an adamant crossbow at 46. Do not train on dragon bolts; a thousand shots costs close to 3M GP.