OSRS Best Slash Weapons Ranked In Order

Last updated September 2026. Reflects the 22 July 2026 Summer Sweep-Up Gear and PvM Changes update and the 29 July 2026 Wyrmscraig update.

The best all-round slash weapon in OSRS is the Blade of Saeldor, at 5.54 DPS on a bare weapon. The abyssal whip is the value pick, 5.12 DPS for about 819K GP. For large bosses and crowds, the Scythe of Vitur hits three times in one attack.

Slash is the broadest melee category in OSRS. Scimitars, whips, godswords, claws, axes, halberds and the scythe all live here, from a 14.8K GP rune scimitar to a 1.21B Scythe of Vitur.

The expensive end of this category is full of weapons with narrow jobs, and the cheap end is full of weapons that do everything well. The Scythe of Vitur is the strongest slash weapon against a large boss, but an 819K abyssal whip out-damages it on one small target. Each entry says who should buy it.

How I Ranked These Weapons

I used OSRS DPS calculator for max hits and damage outputs. Load the same setup there, and every number in this guide should match.

Every figure is the weapon on its own, with nothing else equipped:

• 99 Attack and 99 Strength
• No other gear, no potions and no prayers, so each number is the weapon and nothing else
• The best damage style each weapon offers on slash
• The Gemstone Crab as the target: Defence level 1, no defensive bonuses, and large enough that a multi-hit weapon lands every hitsplat

The Gemstone Crab has Defence level 1, so every weapon here lands 97% or more of its attacks. The column therefore shows Strength bonus and speed rather than accuracy.

I start from the calculated damage. Then I weigh what the calculator cannot see: special attacks, passives, the defender you give up, upkeep, price, and how often you fight the content a weapon was built for.

One-Handed vs Two-Handed Slash Weapons

An Avernic defender adds +8 Strength and +29 slash accuracy for nothing, and a dragon defender still gives +6 and +24. Every two-handed weapon on this list is paying that as a hidden cost.

It shows in the numbers. The Blade of Saeldor and the abyssal tentacle are the best one-handed single-target weapons in the style, and both are 4-tick. The whip sits just behind them for less than 1% of the price. If your goal is sustained damage against one thing, one-handed is the default answer in this style.

Two-handed slash weapons justify themselves through size or mechanics. The Noxious halberd's +142 Strength bonus is the highest of any slash weapon, and it reaches two tiles. The godswords exist for their special attacks. The scythe and Hallowfell exist to hit up to three targets at once. Dharok's greataxe exists for a set effect no one-handed weapon can copy.

My habit is to use a one-handed weapon for anything repetitive and a two-handed weapon when I want a specific effect. Slayer and general training: whip or tentacle. Big boss, monster crowd, or an opening special attack: two-handed.

Understanding the Rankings

Number one here is not number one for you unless you have 1.21B spare. This list follows the damage table, not general usefulness, so read each entry for the job it does and then find the one that fits your account.

Five things to keep in mind:

• Four entries here are special attack tools rather than weapons: dragon claws, the Armadyl godsword, the Bandos godsword and the Voidwaker. Their normal attacks are unremarkable and they are still worth their prices.
• Two only work in one place. Emberlight is exceptional against demons and bottom of the table against everything else, and Vesta's longsword functions only inside PvP areas.
• One needs a matching armour set. Dharok's greataxe is a poor weapon until you own all four pieces, at which point it becomes one of the most extreme in the game.
• Two entries are multi-target weapons: the Scythe of Vitur and Hallowfell. Their damage depends on how many targets are in reach, so check their sections before judging them by the table.
• Price does not track power here at all. An 819K GP whip lands within 8% of a 113M blade.

Slash Weapon Comparison Table

The table below is sorted by Gemstone Crab DPS, highest first. Max Hit and Gemstone Crab DPS come from the 99/99 bare-weapon setup in How I Ranked These Weapons, so they compare fairly. Both sit well below what the same weapon does once you put real gear, potions and prayers behind it.

An asterisk marks a figure that isn't plain single-target damage, and the note under the table explains what each one shows.

GE prices checked September 2026. Prices may have moved by the time you read this. Treat every figure as a snapshot and check the live price before buying.

Three rows carry an asterisk. The Scythe of Vitur figure is all three hitsplats against a target at least three tiles wide; against a single small target it is 24 max and 3.95 DPS.

The Soulreaper axe figure is at zero soul stacks; at five it reaches 41 max and 6.74 DPS. The Hallowfell figure is its single-target damage, because the calculator does not model the cleave; three targets roughly doubles it.

Best Slash Weapons in OSRS

1. Scythe of Vitur

• Requirements: 80 Attack, 90 Strength
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +125 (charged)
• Strength Bonus: +75 (charged)
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 24 single target, 42 across three hitsplats
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 3.95 single target, 6.97 against a target three tiles wide

The Scythe of Vitur is a raid weapon, and against a large boss it is the strongest slash weapon in the game. Its bonuses are modest for the price: +125 slash and +75 Strength.

Against a single small target it managed 3.95 DPS, which an 819K GP whip beats comfortably. Against anything at least three tiles wide it hits three times, at 100, 50 and 25% of your max hit. That is 42 damage in one attack and 6.97 DPS on my test target.

Buy it for Verzik, the Nightmare and large raid bosses, never for Slayer. At roughly 1.21B, it costs nearly three times as much as the next weapon in this guide.

1.21B is more than my entire bank, and it takes a long time to gather. But you can easily purchase it directly from our OSRS Items page.

2. Noxious Halberd

• Requirements: 80 Attack (72 Smithing and Crafting to build)
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +132
• Strength Bonus: +142
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 35
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 5.75

The Noxious halberd is the two-handed slash weapon to buy if a scythe is out of reach. Its +142 Strength bonus is the highest of any slash weapon, and you build it from three Araxxor drops.

It reaches two tiles and envenoms on roughly a third of its hits. Its Swipe style is aggressive, so unlike the halberd's stab side, you keep the full style bonus. At 5.75 DPS, this 5-tick two-hander beats every one-handed weapon here for around 39.5M.

3. Blade of Saeldor

• Requirements: 80 Attack (82 Smithing and Crafting to sing)
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +100
• Strength Bonus: +93
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 27
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 5.54

The Blade of Saeldor is the best all-round slash weapon in the game and the one to buy if you can afford it. The 22 July 2026 Summer Sweep-Up update pushed it to +100 slash and +93 Strength. It posted the highest single-target DPS of any one-handed weapon I tested in this style.

Four ticks, one-handed so you keep a defender, and once you feed it 1,000 crystal shards it stops degrading. No upkeep and nothing to top up mid-trip matters more to me than its stat line suggests. You sing it from an enhanced crystal weapon seed, and the inactive blade runs about 113M.

4. Saradomin's Blessed Sword

• Requirements: 75 Attack
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +100
• Strength Bonus: +88
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 26
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 5.33

Saradomin's blessed sword is a 4-tick two-hander for about 5M, which is rare, and +100 slash with +88 Strength put it at 5.33 DPS even without a defender.

Saradomin's Lightning is a magic-based special that rolls against magic defence, so it lands on targets with high melee Defence. The catch is degradation: after 10,000 hits, it consumes the Saradomin sword and leaves you the tear. Around 5M to put together, and untradeable once made.

5. Soulreaper Axe

• Requirements: 80 Attack, 80 Strength (75 Magic to create)
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +134
• Strength Bonus: +125
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 32
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 5.27 at zero soul stacks, 6.74 at five

The Soulreaper axe is an extended-bossing weapon that gets stronger the longer a fight runs. Soul stacks give 6% Strength each, up to 30% at five. The 22 July 2026 Summer Sweep-Up update stopped the axe draining your Hitpoints and stretched stack duration from 20 ticks to 50.

On a long single-target fight it climbs to 6.74 DPS at five stacks, the highest figure on this table outside the scythe's multi-hit arc. Behead is the other half of the mechanic. It consumes every stack you have built, costs no special attack energy, and at five stacks gives 60% accuracy and 30% extra max hit.

The problems are the 427M price, the 5-tick speed, and that switching targets or short kills waste the mechanic. Superb at extended bossing, poor value anywhere else.

6. Abyssal Tentacle

• Requirements: 75 Attack
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +90
• Strength Bonus: +86
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 25
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 5.13

The abyssal tentacle posted the second-highest single-target damage of any one-handed weapon on my table. You build it for about 1.1M GP by putting a kraken tentacle on an abyssal whip. Landing within 8% of a 113M blade for that outlay is close to absurd.

It also poisons on about a quarter of its hits. It degrades after 10,000 attacks and cannot be traded, and when it runs out the whip is what gets consumed and you keep the tentacle.

That is why it costs around 120K an hour rather than the 165K a fresh whip would imply.

7. Abyssal Whip

• Requirements: 70 Attack
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +82
• Strength Bonus: +82
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 25
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 5.12

The abyssal whip is two decades old and still the slash weapon I would buy at 70 Attack. Around 819K GP buys +82 slash, +82 Strength and a 4-tick speed. My testing put it at 5.12 DPS, within 8% of a 113M Blade of Saeldor.

Nothing in the game has a better damage-per-GP ratio. It never degrades and never needs charging. The Energy Drain special is close to useless in PvM.

8. Voidwaker

• Requirements: 75 Attack
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +80
• Strength Bonus: +80
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 25
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 5.12

The Voidwaker is a finisher. Its regular attacks are fine at +80 slash and +80 Strength on a 4-tick one-hander, but I would never spend 38.2M for that alone.

Disrupt deals guaranteed magic damage between 50 and 150% of your maximum melee hit and cannot be defended against, which makes it the most dependable closer in the game. It opens fights in PvM and ends them in PvP. It never degrades and never needs charges.

9. Vesta's Longsword

• Requirements: 75 Attack
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +121
• Strength Bonus: +118
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 31
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 5.09

Vesta's longsword has +121 slash and a +118 Strength bonus on a one-handed weapon, which no other one-handed slash weapon comes near. You can only use it inside PvP areas and Bounty Hunter worlds.

Feint costs 25% energy and rolls accuracy against a quarter of the opponent's Defence, so it lands far more often than it should.

Activating it takes 650 Bounty Hunter points plus 50M GP, and that 50M transfers to whoever kills you in PvP. You keep the inactive sword, and they take the GP. That single fact should decide whether you ever bring it out.

10. Zombie Axe

• Requirements: 65 Attack (70 Smithing to repair)
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +105
• Strength Bonus: +107
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 29
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 4.76

The Zombie axe is the best purchase for 65-75 Attack at a distance. It pairs a +105 slash bonus with +107 Strength, the highest of any one-handed weapon you can use outside a PvP area, for under 2M. Its Smash style also ranks seventh in my best Crush weapons guide; read it here.

The 5-tick speed holds its sustained damage back, but the max hit is enormous and that matters more against targets with real Defence. It also slashes webs, which has saved me an inventory slot more than once. You repair a broken axe from armoured zombies at an anvil.

11. Osmumten's Fang

• Requirements: 82 Attack
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +75
• Strength Bonus: +103
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 25
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 4.73

Osmumten's fang is a stab weapon, and it is on this list only because it has a Slash style. The fang's double accuracy roll only works on its stab styles, so on Slash you get none of what makes it special.

Its damage-shrink passive still applies, trimming 15% off your max hit on every style, which is why it manages only 25 here. The Slash side takes the passive's downside with none of the upside.

The +103 Strength bonus and the increased minimum hit from this passive give you a solid 4.73 DPS. If you have a fang, it's primarily for stab attacks, which my OSRS best Stab weapons guide ranks sixth. Use Lunge, and bring a whip for targets weak to slash.

12. Armadyl Godsword

• Requirements: 75 Attack
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +132
• Strength Bonus: +132
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 34
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 4.66

The Armadyl godsword is the best special attack per GP in the game. The Judgement doubles accuracy and adds 37.5% to your maximum hit for 50% energy, and the AGS costs roughly 7.7M.

Its normal attacks are unremarkable, since 6 ticks leave it at 4.66 DPS. The AGS sits in the inventory and comes out for the opening hit. On a budget it is where I would start.

13. Bandos Godsword

• Requirements: 75 Attack
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +132
• Strength Bonus: +132
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 34
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 4.66

The Bandos godsword has identical base stats to the Armadyl godsword and a special attack that does something different. Warstrike drains the target's combat stats in proportion to the damage dealt, starting with Defence.

In a team, it drains compounds across everyone's damage for the rest of the fight. It costs about 18.1M, more than double an AGS, so pick what you want the spec to do rather than the stat line.

For solo play and raw damage, take the AGS. Running group content where a Defence drain helps four people at once, take the BGS.

14. Dragon Scimitar

• Requirements: 60 Attack (Monkey Madness I)
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +67
• Strength Bonus: +66
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 22
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 4.50

The dragon scimitar is still the standard mid-game melee weapon, and it has earned that. Sixty Attack, 4 ticks, +67 Slash, and +66 Strength for about 60K GP once you have finished Monkey Madness I.

My testing put it at 4.50 DPS, close to weapons costing hundreds of times more. The Sever special stops the target using protection prayers in PvP, which is what I use it for. The natural next step is an abyssal whip at 70 Attack.

15. Leaf-bladed Battleaxe

• Requirements: 65 Attack, 55 Slayer
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +72
• Strength Bonus: +92
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 27
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 4.41

The leaf-bladed battleaxe is a Slayer tool first. It adds 17.5% damage against Turoths and Kurasks and stacks with a Slayer helmet, and unlike the leaf-bladed spear, it is one-handed, so you keep a defender.

Turoths and Kurasks take zero damage from a whip. You need a leaf-bladed or broad weapon to hurt them at all, and this is the one-handed option.

Outside those tasks, the +92 Strength bonus is still strong for 70K GP, though the 5-tick speed limits what it can do. Kurasks drop it at about 1 in 1,026, and you can buy one instead for 70K. Worth keeping in the bank permanently even if you only touch it twice a year.

16. Dragon Claws

• Requirements: 60 Attack
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +57
• Strength Bonus: +56
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 21
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 4.29

Dragon claws are a special attack tool and nothing else. Slice and Dice hits four times in succession for 50% energy, and against a high-Defence target, the way that damage stacks is brutal in a way nothing else copies.

That's why claws cost 39.8M while showing +57 Slash and +56 Strength on the equipment screen. As a weapon you fight with, they are worse than a 60K GP dragon scimitar. Buy them for raids, PvP and boss openers, and keep something else equipped the rest of the time.

17. Hallowfell

• Requirements: 75 Attack
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +117
• Strength Bonus: +110
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 30
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 4.11 single target, roughly 8.2 against three targets

Hallowfell is a crowd weapon, released with the Wyrmscraig update on 29 July 2026. Its cleave hits up to two additional enemies for 50% of your max hit each, which produced the highest number anywhere in my testing when all three connect.

Against one target, it is a slow 6-tick weapon at 4.11 DPS. So it is either the strongest melee weapon in the game or a mediocre one, depending on how many things are standing next to you. At about 1.78M it is worth owning outright.

18. Crystal Halberd

• Requirements: 70 Attack, 35 Strength, 50 Agility, and the hard Western Provinces Diary to buy one from Islwyn
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +110
• Strength Bonus: +118
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 31
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 3.63

The Crystal halberd is a special attack tool. Seven ticks make it a poor weapon to fight with, at 3.63 DPS in my testing.

The Sweep special is the reason to carry one: 30% energy for a 10% damage boost. It adds a second hit against large monsters and reaches up to ten targets in a 3x1 area in multi-combat. That makes it a real damage tool at the Corporeal Beast and in multi-combat Slayer.

It runs on charges and costs 750K from Islwyn, which also needs the hard Western Provinces Diary on top of the levels to wield it.

19. Dharok's Greataxe

• Requirements: 70 Attack, 70 Strength
• Weapon Type: Two-handed
• Slash Bonus: +103
• Strength Bonus: +105
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 29
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 3.40

Dharok's greataxe is a set piece. With the full Dharok's set, your damage scales up as your Hitpoints fall, reaching nearly double at 1 Hitpoint.

That is one of the most extreme mechanics in the game, and it is why the set is still a Nightmare Zone staple.

The axe alone is a 7-tick two-hander at 3.40 DPS, close to the bottom of this list. It costs around 1.8M and degrades after 15 hours of combat.

20. Emberlight

• Requirements: 77 Attack (74 Smithing, While Guthix Sleeps)
• Weapon Type: One-handed
• Slash Bonus: +70
• Strength Bonus: +13
• Max Hit (bare weapon): 13
• Gemstone Crab DPS (bare weapon): 2.68 generic, 3.49 against an abyssal demon

Emberlight is a demonbane weapon and nothing else. Its own stats are poor, and the +13 Strength bonus puts it at the bottom of my table at 2.68 DPS.

Against demons, it adds 70% to both accuracy and damage, which lifts it to 3.49 DPS against an abyssal demon. A Blade of Saeldor on the same target scored 3.70, so on a bare weapon the blade still edges it.

The demonbane multiplier applies to your whole damage roll, so Emberlight pulls further ahead the more Strength gear you put behind it.

On Abyssal demons, Greater demons, K'ril and Duke Sucellus, it is the correct weapon, whatever else you own. You forge it from a fully charged Arclight and a tormented synapse, and it is untradeable.

Other Slash Weapons Worth Knowing About

Four more slash weapons didn't make the ranking but are worth a paragraph each: Burning Claws, the Colossal Blade, the Rune Scimitar, and Belle's Folly.

Burning Claws

Burning Claws are the cheaper alternative to Dragon Claws at around 3.8M, built from two Tormented Demon drops. Burning barrage hits three times for 35% energy and applies burns worth up to 29 damage over time. Less raw burst than Dragon Claws, more sustained pressure, and a tenth of the price.

Colossal Blade

The Colossal Blade costs 5,000 reputation, not GP, from the Giants' Foundry reward shop. Its passive adds up to 10 damage against the largest monsters, earning it a place against the Corporeal Beast and other bosses five tiles wide or more. It has six ticks and is two-handed, so it isn't a training weapon.

Rune Scimitar

The rune scimitar is the entry point to the whole category. Forty Attack, 4 ticks, +45 Slash, and +44 Strength for about 14.8K GP, and it works in free-to-play. It stays the correct weapon right up to 60 Attack, at which point the dragon scimitar takes over.

Belle's Folly

Belle's Folly is primarily a stab weapon at +100 stab, but it also carries +78 slash and a +102 Strength bonus for about 77K GP. If you already own one for stab tasks, you do not need to swap weapons for slash-weak targets below whip level.

What I'd Buy at Each Attack Level

If I were building a melee account and planning to live in slash, the route is short. Rune scimitar at 40, dragon scimitar at 60, abyssal whip at 70, and then a kraken tentacle to turn that whip into a tentacle at 75.

That covers you from the very start to a weapon within 8% of the best in the game, and the whole path costs under 2M GP. My OSRS melee weapon progression guide follows the same path, with stab and crush options added.

For the best all-round slash weapon, it is the Blade of Saeldor, and the 22 July 2026 Summer Sweep-Up buff put it ahead. For value, nothing comes close to the abyssal whip, which lands within 8% of that blade for less than 1% of the price.

For a two-handed option, the Noxious halberd is the pick unless you can afford a scythe.

For crowds, the answer is Hallowfell at about 1.78M or the Scythe of Vitur at 1.21B, and honestly, Hallowfell is the one to buy. The scythe is a raid weapon. If you are not doing Theatre of Blood or fighting large bosses regularly, it will sit in your bank looking expensive.

For special attacks, the Armadyl godsword at 7.7M is the best entry point, and dragon claws are the burst option if you have 39.8M. The Voidwaker is the one whose damage you can't defend against. For demons, Emberlight, without argument.

The habit I would leave you with is checking what you are fighting before you check your bank. Slash has the widest spread between what a weapon costs and what it does of any melee style. The number on the equipment screen tells you much less than the size of the thing standing in front of you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best slash weapon in OSRS?

The Blade of Saeldor, at +100 slash and +93 Strength on a 4-tick one-handed weapon. It posted 5.54 DPS on my bare-weapon test, the highest of any one-handed slash weapon, and it stops degrading once you feed it 1,000 crystal shards. It costs about 113M.

Is the Scythe of Vitur worth it for Slayer?

No. The scythe's own bonuses are modest at +125 slash and +75 Strength, and against a single small target it manages 3.95 DPS, which an 819K GP abyssal whip beats. It earns its 1.21B price against targets at least three tiles wide, where it lands three hitsplats.

What slash weapon should I buy at 70 Attack?

An abyssal whip, at around 819K GP. It gives +82 Slash, +82 Strength and a 4-tick speed for 5.12 DPS, within 8% of a 113M Blade of Saeldor. At 75 Attack, add a kraken tentacle to turn it into an abyssal tentacle.

Is the abyssal tentacle better than the abyssal whip?

Yes, but only just. The tentacle gives +90 slash and +86 Strength against the whip's +82 and +82, worth about 0.01 DPS on my table. It also poisons. The cost is that it degrades after 10,000 attacks, consuming the whip inside it, at roughly 120K an hour.

Does Osmumten's fang work on Slash?

It has a Slash style, but the double accuracy roll that makes the fang special only fires on stab. The damage-shrink passive still cuts 15% off your max hit, so Slash takes the downside with none of the upside. It manages 4.73 DPS there. Use Lunge instead.