Last Updated: Jul 19, 2026
By Venom
Whether you're pushing your first 99 or finally committing to maxing combat, this is the only Melee guide you need. I've maxed Melee on multiple accounts over 8 years. I trained it through Crabs, NMZ with broken Dharok setups, Slayer grinds, and, more recently, Sulphur Naguas and Gemstone Crabs. I've made every mistake along the way, and I'll save you from repeating them.
The guide runs level 1 to 99 in Attack, Strength, and Defence without jumping around. Every section builds on the last. You get the full quest stack that skips the painful early levels, every major training method with real XP rates, NMZ gear setups, and the newer methods like Gemstone Crab that reshaped the Melee meta.
If you find melee training boring and time-consuming, head over to our powerlevelling page and let our professional, fast workers handle it for you.
Let's get into it!
Yes. Without question. Melee is the backbone of the game. At low levels, it doesn't feel that way, but the moment you hit 80+ stats and bosses start dropping fast, you understand why people call this the most important grind in OSRS.
Here's the honest part: Melee is long. You're training Attack, Strength, and Defence as three separate skills, each of which requires 13 million XP to reach 99. That's 39 million XP total. Even at NMZ rates of 90-100k XP/hr, you're looking at 200-250 hours. Go in knowing that.
Don't try to max all three stats at once from the start. Pick one to focus on first. Most experienced players go 70/70/70 to unlock the best gear and methods, then push Strength to 99, then Attack for accuracy, and last, Defence. Strength gives you DPS, Attack gives you accuracy, and Defence keeps you alive; that's the priority order for almost all content.
(I'll be honest, on my first account, I did the opposite and pushed Defence first because I was scared of dying. Wouldn't do it again.)
Before the methods, it helps to understand what each stat actually does, because it changes how you pick gear later. Most guides skip this, and it's the reason so many players gear wrong.
Your Attack level determines how often you hit and lets you wear better weapons. Take Sand Crabs as an example, at level 1 with a Bronze Sword, your accuracy is around 48%. At level 99, it's 96%. Your attack bonus from gear pushes that higher at 50 Attack with a +10 bonus, you're at 92% accuracy, and bumping the bonus to +100 takes you to 97%. Attack never affects how hard you hit, only how often.
Strength sets your max hit and unlocks some weapons. A Bronze Sword at level 1 Strength maxes 1; at 99, it maxes 12. Your strength bonus from gear stacks on top: at 50 Strength with +10, you max 7; with +100, you max 15. It’s why I always tell people to prioritise the strength bonus over the attack bonus when choosing armour.
Defence lowers how often the enemy hits you. It does NOT reduce their max hit, only their accuracy. Here's the part most players don't know: your Defence level does almost nothing on its own without a defence bonus from armour. Take General Graardor as an example. At level 1 Defence, his melee accuracy against you is 99%. At 99 Defence, wearing nothing, it only drops to 91%, barely a difference. But put on full Torva at 99 Defence, and his accuracy crashes to 53%. The armour is doing the heavy lifting, not the level. Keep that in mind every time you're tempted to train Defence to feel "tankier" without upgrading your gear.
Do the quest XP stack before anything else: The quests below push you to level 44 Attack, 38 Strength, and 38 Defence without grinding monsters. Waterfall Quest alone takes 20 minutes to complete across 30 levels, spanning two stats. Grinding Goblins for that would take 6+ hours.
Check your attack style every session: Accurate trains Attack, Aggressive trains Strength, Defensive trains Defence, Controlled splits all three.
Head to the Warrior's Guild at 130 combined Attack + Strength: This unlocks Defenders, and you should go the moment you qualify. The Dragon Defender gives big attack AND strength bonuses in the shield slot. It's one of the best free upgrades in the game. Don't put this off.
Get the Fighter Torso from Barbarian Assault: It gives the same strength bonus as a Bandos Chestplate, but it's free. There's almost no reason to buy a Bandos top for training when this is one of the highest-value grinds for any melee account. If you're eager to quickly acquire the Fighter Torso but have limited time, visit our minigame page to explore our minigame services.
Imbue your Berserker Ring at NMZ before serious grinding: The imbue costs 650,000 NMZ points and permanently doubles the ring's bonuses. Your first big NMZ point spend should always be this, never cosmetics.
Obsidian Set is a sleeper budget option for mid training: The full set gives +10% accuracy and damage with obsidian weapons, and a Berserker Necklace adds a separate +20% damage on top of those that stack. Around 5M total, competes with Bandos at 60-80, no degradation. I ran it at Gemstone Crabs from 60 to 80, and the XP held up. You can find an Obsidian Gear below.
Get Barrows Gloves as early as you can: completing Recipe for Disaster gives the best-in-slot melee gloves. The quest chain is a grind, but the glove upgrade is worth it. Check out our Barrow's gloves guide here.
Before touching a single monster, do the quests below. Combined, they give you 44 Attack, 38 Strength, and 38 Defence from scratch. That's 20+ hours of early grinding skipped.
These five reward Attack XP and are also required to unlock the Nightmare Zone. You want them done before you even think about NMZ, so do them straight away.
Quest | Attack XP | Other Reward | Requirements |
Waterfall Quest | 13,750 Attack | +13,750 Strength | None |
Fight Arena | 12,175 Attack | +2,175 Thieving | None |
Tree Gnome Village | 11,450 Attack | None | None |
Vampyre Slayer | 4,825 Attack | None | None |
The Grand Tree | 18,400 Attack | +7,900 Agility, +2,150 Magic | None |
TOTAL | 60,600 XP = Level 44 Attack | - | - |
NOTE: For four of the above quests, you are required to unlock bosses in NMZ, except for The Waterfall Quest. So, add Lost City as NMZ’s fifth boss quest.
Now stack these for Strength and Defence:
Quest | XP Reward | Stat | Notes |
Waterfall Quest | 13,750 XP | Strength | 1 to level 30 Strength instantly |
Dragon Slayer I | 18,650 XP | Strength | Also gives 18,650 Defence XP |
Holy Grail | 15,300 XP | Defence | 1 to level 33 Defence |
Horror from the Deep | 4,662 XP each | Str / Range / Mage | Two lamp options |
After all of the above, you'll be sitting at roughly:
NOTE: Lost City gives NO combat XP. It only unlocks the Dragon Dagger and Zanaris. Do it for the NMZ bosses, but don't expect XP.
Be clear with yourself here: do not grind monsters at 1-30 if you haven't done these quests. Cows for 1-30 take 4-5 hours. The waterfall takes 20 minutes. There's nothing more to argue about than that.
The only fight you actually need during the stack is Elvarg at the end of Dragon Slayer I. Bring Antifire Potions, Rune armour if you have it, and any decent weapon. She dies fast once you have the shield.
Once you've completed the Ides of Milk quest, you can fight Brutus, located in the Lumbridge cow field. It's an excellent early-game training method for early-game XP.
I recommend using Rune armour along with a Brine Sabre as soon as you reach 40 Attack and 40 Defence. At these levels, you can expect around 30k-40k XP per hour, making Brutus a solid alternative to traditional melee training spots such as crabs.
As your stats improve, Brutus becomes significantly more efficient. With 90 Attack, Strength, and Defence, I consistently achieved around 65,000 XP per hour, making it a worthwhile training option well beyond the early game. For this, I’m using the gear below: Rune Armour set, Amulet of Glory, Combat Bracelet with Brine Sabre.
Brutus has two special attacks that are easy to avoid if you pay attention to his animations:
Snorts: When Brutus snorts, he's about to crush the tile you're standing on. Step two tiles to either side to avoid the attack.
Growls: When Brutus growls, he'll charge forward and smash into your current position. Again, move two tiles to either side as soon as you see the animation.
It drops Bull bones every time; you can bury them to get 40 Prayer XP. So, at low levels, you can also use those bones to increase your prayer levels.
After completing the Ides of Milk quest, you’ll receive the Cowbell Amulet. You can use it to RING, and the Brutus's respawn time will be reduced from 21 seconds to 7 seconds.
After the quest stack, you'll be in the low 40s for Attack and lower for the others. It is the crab phase, reliable, low-risk, zero-attention AFK. And there's a newer crab that has completely changed this part of the game. You can choose between Brutus and Gemstone Crab. If you want a more active training session, consider Brutus; if you want to do it while AFK, Gemstone crab is the right choice.
With the Varlamore expansion, the Gemstone Crab in the Tlati Rainforest is now the best AFK Melee spot for mid-level accounts. Why it beats the old crabs:
I tested it with an Obsidian set, Berserker Necklace, and Toktz-xil-ak at level 65 stats and averaged around 90k XP/hr with basically zero attention. Better than Ammonite Crabs at the same level, and no competition for a spot.
I'll keep it brief about the Gemstone crab, since we have a gemstone crab guide.
If you're a Hardcore Ironman planning to train here with a Dharok's 1 HP max-hit setup, be very careful. Several HCIM accounts have lost their status at the Gemstone Crab. Some were genuine accidents; others were intentional once they became a community meme. Either way, never sit at 1 HP here on a Hardcore.
Level | Weapon | Armour | Cape | Neck | Shield | Gloves | Ring |
30-40 | Adamant Scimitar | Adamant Armour | Obsidian Cape | Amulet of Fury | Adamant Kiteshield | Regen Bracelet | Berserker Ring |
40-50 | Brine Sabre | Rune Armour | Obsidian Cape | Amulet of Fury | Rune Kiteshield | Regen Bracelet | Berserker Ring |
50-60 | Granite Hammer | Granite Armour | Obsidian Cape | Amulet of Fury | Toktz-ket-xil | Regen Bracelet | Berserker Ring |
60+ | Dragon Scimitar (Monkey Madness I) / Toktz-xil-ak | Rune / Obsidian Armour | Obsidian Cape | Amulet of Fury / Berserker Necklace (Obsidian setup) | Dragon Defender | Regen Bracelet | Berserker Ring (i) |
For the 50-60 bracket, you can move on to Granite Armour with Granite Hammer, along with Toktz-ket-xil. If you can spend a couple of million GP, I would highly recommend the Amulet of Fury for a neck slot. PS, you can also use the Regen Bracelet for every setup because it can be used without any requirements at all. Also, use Brine Sabre instead of Rune Scimitar, because it is one of the best weapons in this level range.
If you don't have Varlamore access yet (no Children of the Sun), these are your backups.
For both, aggression resets when you walk roughly one minimap diameter away and return. Use the NPC Aggression Timer plugin in RuneLite; it shows the exact tile and countdown, so you never reset early.
Once Scurrius was released, it became one of the best early-game combat training methods in OSRS. Unlike Sand Crabs or Ammonite Crabs, you're actively fighting a boss instead of AFKing on low-level monsters. The XP rates are significantly higher, and you'll also learn mechanics you'll use later in PvM.
The biggest reason players train here isn't the loot; it's the Bone Mace.
The Bone Mace completely changes the XP rates at Scurrius. It grants a massive bonus to accuracy and damage against rats, allowing you to hit consistently even at relatively low combat levels. Once you obtain it, XP rates jump dramatically compared to using a Rune Scimitar, a Dragon Scimitar, or a Toktz-xil-ak.
The above XP rates I achieved with my max gear.
Scurrius is designed to introduce newer players to movement and prayer switching without being overwhelming.
During the fight, you'll encounter several mechanics.
First, teleport to Varrock and reach the Sewers location as marked in the following image.
After reaching here, you’ll see a manhole; right-click it and select Climb Down to enter the sewers.
After entering the sewers, head east until you reach broken bars; it is where the Scurrius lives.
Right-click the broken bars and select “Climb-through (private)” to create a private instance with the Scurrius at 500 HP. You can also play with your friends here by creating a Normal instance that has 1500 HP.
It's a great method to train melee here due to a decent number of XP drops; the loot can be banked, and it's also a good money-making method at around 200K GP/hr. But among all the loot, the best thing is Scurrius’s Spine, which can be used to create a Bone Mace that boosts your XP even at lower levels.
Sulphur Naguas in the Ancient Prison under Neypotzli take a -4 flat armour reduction on every hit, meaning each hit you land deals 4 extra damage. Multi-hit weapons are absurd here because the bonus applies to each hit separately. It's the best method for training melee, and it's a really good AFK method too. Just stand in the middle of the Son Icons, and they’ll spawn. You can see that I managed to get my XP rates up to 170K with the Blood Moon Set + Dual Macuahuitl.
The bigger deal is that you can use Protect from Melee and take zero damage. They don't bypass it; they have no prayer-ignoring special; they melee you, and you block it all.
After teleporting to the Cam Torum with Calcified Moth, you’ll reach the Cam Torum entrance and head north until you reach the Neypotzli.
Use the following map markings to reach the Moonlight Grub location and make the Moonlight Potions at the cooking Icon on your minimap. To make Moonlight Potions, you only need 38 Herblore.
Fill your inventory with Moonlight Grub, then reach the Cooking Icon on your minimap to create Moonlight Potions.
After reaching the Cooking icon on your minimap, get a Pestle and Mortar from the crate and create Grub Paste by using the Moonlight Grub on Pestle and Mortar.
Now fetch 14 vials of water from the crates and keep 14 Grub Pastes to create 14x Moonlight Potions to fight with Naguas.
If you want to train melee with good XP rates while AFK, the Nightmare Zone is the best option. The following are the 3 strategies I’ve included in this guide for you guys to learn from.
At level 50, you have enough quest bosses unlocked to enter the Nightmare Zone. This is earlier than most players expect. I made the mistake of grinding Crabs to 65 before switching on one account, which meant around 15 hours of slower XP I didn't need. Once you hit 50 in both, go.
You want melee-only bosses with no specials that drain absorptions unexpectedly:
NOTE: Don't enable Glod, Elvarg, Chronozon, Corrupt Lizardman, Barrelchest, Flambeed, or Slagilith at this level. They use non-melee attacks or specials that drain absorptions faster than normal.
This is what makes NMZ near-infinite AFK. When set up correctly, you can leave a 15-20-minute gap between checks.
Here's the mechanic most guides skip explaining: absorption potions soak all incoming damage, not your HP. Every point of damage an enemy deals instead comes from your absorption pool. So why drop to 1 HP? Because the lower your HP, the lower an enemy's max hit against you at 1 HP, they can only hit a maximum of 1. Instead of soaking a 30 and losing 30 absorption, you soak a 1 and lose 1. That's what stretches a single 1,000-point absorption stack across 15-20 minutes instead of a couple of minutes.
The steps:
For a better understanding, check out the GIF below.
At this level range, you're doing all of this with a normal weapon, Granite Hammer, Dragon Scimitar, or Obsidian. You're not at 1 HP for damage here; you're at 1 HP purely to make your absorptions last. (That changes at 70+ when Dharok turns the missing HP into a damage bonus, too, more on that in the next section.)
The Rock Cake comes from Recipe for Disaster: Freeing the Mountain Dwarf (only that subquest is required). The Locator Orb, post-Dragon Slayer II, is cleaner. It deals exactly 10 damage per click, so at 11 HP, you click once and land on 1 with no RNG. Most veterans use the Orb once they have it.
Slot | Mid Gear (50-70) | Budget Gear |
Helmet | Helm of Neitiznot / Obsidian Helmet | Berserker Helm / Rune Full Helm |
Amulet | Amulet of Fury / Berserker Necklace | Amulet of Glory |
Cape | Fire Cape / Ardougne Cloak 3+ | Skill Cape / Ardougne Cloak |
Body | Fighter Torso / Obsidian Body | Rune Platebody |
Legs | Dragon Platelegs / Obsidian Platelegs | Rune Platelegs |
Weapon | Dragon Scimitar / Toktz-xil-ak | Rune Scimitar / Dragon Scimitar |
Shield | Dragon Defender | Rune Defender / Kiteshield |
Gloves | Barrows Gloves / Combat Bracelet | Combat Bracelet |
Boots | Dragon Boots | Climbing Boots / Rune Boots |
Ring | Berserker Ring (i) | Ring of Suffering (i) |
This is the gear that I’m using for this guide.
Level 70 is where NMZ changes gear entirely. You get the Abyssal Whip at 70 Attack, better armour, and if you've been banking NMZ points, your Berserker Ring should be imbued. This is when NMZ goes from a decent AFK method to one of the best XP rates in the game.
Dharok's set effect raises your max hit based on missing HP. At 1 HP with 99 Hitpoints, that's roughly a 97% bonus to your max hit. Pair that with Absorption Potions that soak all incoming damage at 1 HP, and you get the highest consistent Melee XP in the game, aside from a few niche cases.
The setup is the same absorption method as before, except now you're wearing Dharok's Greataxe, Helm, Platebody, and Platelegs. At 1 HP, the greataxe regularly hits 50-70+ on standard NMZ bosses, and that translates straight into XP.
As you can see, my XP rates from Dharok’s setup have reached 125K.
For this setup, always choose your BIS gear. If you can spend money, then you must have Ferocious Gloves, Avernic Treads or Primordial Boots. Always purchase the Best-in-Slot gear. Infernal Cape is really hard to obtain (even for experienced players). If you want to outsource this, you can choose to order our OSRS Infernal Cape service instead.
Slot | Item |
Helmet | Dharok's Helm |
Amulet | Amulet of Fury or Amulet of Torture/Amulet Rancour at Above Levels |
Cape | Infernal Cape > Fire Cape > Obsidian Cape |
Body | Dharok's Platebody |
Legs | Dharok's Platelegs |
Weapon | Dharok's Greataxe (1HP) + Dragon Claws |
Gloves | Barrows Gloves or BIS gloves |
Boots | Dragon Boots or Bandos Boots < Avernic Treads < Primordial Boots |
Ring | Berserker Ring (i) |
The set effect needs all four of Dharok's pieces; it doesn't work partially. Repair your Dharoks at Bob in Lumbridge before each long session, or they will lose their effect. A House Armour Stand at 55+ Smithing is cheaper per repair than Bob.
Setup | Gear | XP/hr |
Whip AFK, Normal Rumble | Rune/Bandos + Whip + Absorption | ~60,000-75,000 |
Whip AFK, Normal (Obsidian set) | Obsidian + Toktz-xil-ak + Berk Neck | ~70,000-85,000 |
Dharok 1-HP, Absorption | Dharok's full set + Overloads | ~90,000-110,000 |
Dharok 1-HP, Hard Rumble + Spec | Dharok's + Dragon Claws spec | ~120,000-150,000 |
NOTE: The 150k ceiling is only realistic at 90+ Hitpoints with active Dragon Claws Power Surge cycles and high combat stats. In the 70-80 range, expect for 90k-100k and work up from there. Dharok itself isn't worth using below 90 HP; see the mistakes section.
NMZ is the best purely AFK Melee XP in the game. The Dharok setup, once it's running, lets you go AFK for 15-20 minutes, come back, refill absorptions, sip an overload, and find that you gained 40,000+ XP while you did nothing.
The downside: it costs GP and gives no drops. One way to offset the cost is herb boxes — you can buy 15 per day from the rewards chest, averaging around 190k in herbs, which goes a long way toward covering your Overload and Absorption supplies. If you want XP and money together, use the alternate methods below instead.
The fastest Melee method in the game is transferring Dinh's Bulwark special attack energy from alt accounts to your main while training. The Bulwark requires 75 Attack to It'sip. Its special hits up to 10 enemies within an 11x11 area and grants 20% extra accuracy, so dense spawns are ideal.
With 3 alt accounts running the Energy Transfer Lunar spell, I've seen rates reach 420k XP/hr at high combat stats, the fastest Melee XP in the game by a clear margin. The alts cycle: cast Energy Transfer, teleport to the house, regen spec, teleport back, repeat. Nechryaels in the Catacombs of Kourend is the standard spot thanks to dense spawns and easy access.
Keep in mind: This method is extremely expensive and has several requirements. Every alt account must be a member account, have completed Lunar Diplomacy to access the Lunar spellbook, and have 91 Magic to cast Energy Transfer. Because of these requirements, this method is primarily used by players chasing the fastest possible XP rates rather than being a practical option for most players.
NMZ is the fastest, but it gives no drops, and it gets dull. These methods trade a little speed for GP, Slayer XP, unique drops, or just a change of scenery. I mix these into every Melee grind to keep sessions from dragging.
Pest Control is the sleeper method most combat guides underrate. It got a big buff when Combat Achievements were integrated: completing the Hard CA tier permanently adds +3 Pest Control points per game. On the Veteran boat (100+), that means 5 + 3 = 8 points per win, a big jump over the base rate.
Boat | Combat Req. | Base Points/Win | With Hard CA | Approx. XP/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Novice | 40+ | 3 | 6 | ~20K-40K |
Intermediate | 70+ | 4 | 7 | ~50K-80K |
Veteran | 100+ | 5 | 8 | ~80K-180K |
NOTE: The 180K figure is specific to level 99 with the Hard CA bonus active; you get around 145K by converting 240 points per hour at the rewards shop, plus the regular combat XP from fighting during the rounds. At level 75, it's closer to 120-130k total, still the fastest solo XP at that level.
The reward shop sells Void Knight Armour. Elite Void for Range is near-BiS at Vorkath and standard for ToA invocations, so Pest Control kills two birds with one stone: fast combat XP and the Void grind. World 344 is the official PC world for the fastest queues.
If you're comfortable with the risks of the Wilderness, Wilderness Slayer is an excellent way to train Melee and earn significant GP. Most Slayer tasks take place around the Wilderness bosses and revenant areas, giving you the chance to obtain some of the game's most valuable unique drops. While XP rates are lower than with dedicated training methods such as the Nightmare Zone or Scurrius, the profit potential more than makes up for it.
Note: Wilderness Slayer carries a constant risk of being attacked by other players. Only bring gear you're prepared to lose, keep an escape teleport ready whenever possible, and stay alert for PKers. Hardcore Ironmen should avoid Wilderness Slayer entirely, as a single death will permanently remove their Hardcore status.
If you don’t want to take risks in the wilderness while doing slayer, there are also slayer tasks outside the wilderness you might consider.
I see new players grinding Cows at level 1 every single day. Waterfall gives 30 levels across two stats in 20 minutes with no requirements. If you're reading this at level 1 and haven't done Waterfall, stop and do it now. Don’t forget to complete the following quests to gain leverage in gaining XP at lower levels.
The Dragon Scimitar trains Strength on Aggression, which is great. But once you hit 70 Attack, the Whip has much better DPS on the Lash and Controlled styles for Attack and Defence. The catch: the Whip can't train Strength; it has no Aggressive-equivalent style. So at 70+, you use the Whip for Attack/Defence but keep a Dragon Scimitar, Abyssal Bludgeon, or Viggora's Chainmace for Strength. Many players don't realise this and wonder why their Strength isn't moving.
Under 90 HP, the Dharok's set effect is mathematically weaker than Obsidian Set + Toktz-xil-ak + Berserker Necklace. The Obsidian damage bonus is a flat multiplier that doesn't care about your current HP. I've watched players try Dharok's at 70 HP and wonder why it feels slow. If your max HP is under 90, use Obsidian instead.
If you enable Dream Mentor without completing Desert Treasure, your dream's point yield is divided by 6 due to a hidden mechanic. Enable both or neither. And never enable bosses with non-melee specials (Barrelchest's anchor, freezing attacks) unless you're actively watching them drain absorptions much faster than standard melee bosses. The following are the best bosses to train melee at NMZ.
At Sand and Ammonite Crabs, the aggression timer is 10 minutes. Walking away without checking it means you might come back too early and waste the reset. The NPC Aggression Timer plugin shows the exact countdown and aggression radius. 30 seconds to install saves real frustration. You can enable the following settings in the NPC Aggression Timer.
Full quest stack first, then Gemstone or Ammonite Crabs to 70, then split your time between Sulphur Naguas and NMZ (the AFK investment for when you want to log off). Push Strength to 99 first, since it's the most impactful DPS stat, then Attack for accuracy, then Defence last.
Quest stack is mandatory in the same order. Gemstone Crabs shine here because there's no competition, so you get full XP from the infinite-HP crab. In mid-to-late game, Sulphur Naguas is the meta, with zero cost, self-supplied Moonlight Potions, and Protect from Melee that negates all damage. NMZ works but needs self-supplied herbs for Overloads, which is a real bottleneck. Most Ironmen run Naguas as primary and NMZ for AFK sessions.
Everything from Ironman applies, with more caution. Do NOT train Wilderness Slayer; a PKer can end your status. Do NOT Dharok at the Gemstone Crab (see the warning above). At NMZ with Dharok's, make sure your Rapid Heal flick is set, and you're not AFK longer than your absorptions can cover.
Skip Defence entirely. The real danger is accidentally clicking Controlled or Defensive during a long session; every Defence XP is permanent and ruins the build. Set your default to Aggressive for Strength and double-check every login. Train to 60 Attack for the Dragon Scimitar, optionally 75 for the Whip (remember the Whip can't train Strength, use a Scimitar or Bludgeon for that). NMZ on Aggressive for 99 Strength is the standard.
You can use the following settings in the “Attack Styles” Runelite plugin. Enable Warn for defence option.
Melee rewards patience more than any other skill in OSRS. Every level feels invisible as you grind, but the compound effect of 90+ stats is real. The tasks that took 3 minutes now take 90 seconds, and the Inferno suddenly looks doable. The grind earns you that.
Don't grind it in 200-hour marathons. Mix in Sulphur Naguas for free XP and a change of scenery, hit Scurrius when you want something active, swap to NMZ when you want to AFK. The variety isn't inefficient; it's what keeps you playing long enough actually to finish.
Good luck. The combat capes are worth chasing, and the stats that carry you into endgame content are among the most satisfying milestones in the game.
Best of Luck!
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