Melee

The term Melee is used to describe the Attack, Strength and Defence skills as a ground. Melee is one of the three Combat classes in RuneScape. It involves using swords, daggers, and other weapons to damage opponents, as well as wearing heavy armour made from various metals. Players who specialise in this type of combat are known as warriors.

The Combat triangle dictates that warriors are strong against rangers but weak against mages. Melee's inability to attack from a distance means that a player may have a hard time fighting a ranger or mage, as they can make use of safespots. However, Melee has a high resistance to Ranged, making warriors effective against rangers.

Attack types
Melee Combat has three Attack types: Crush, Stab, and Slash.

Melee attack
To the right of the Inventory button, is the Equipment menu. From here, players can view their Combat Stats. Melee weapons increase in accuracy as the minimum Attack level, required to wield the weapon, increases. The general trend is that Melee weapons of the same "tier" have the same accuracy value. Melee armour does not hinder the accuracy of Melee weapons, nor does it improve Melee accuracy, aside from a few items such as the Warrior helm. However, wearing a piece of Ranged or Magic armour piece, instead of the Melee counterpart, reduces the effectiveness of Melee combat. Melee weapons and armour, certain amulets, capes and rings provide a Melee attack bonus.

Players can also use Melee prayers such as Piety to improve Melee combat.

Melee skills
Attack determines the accuracy of a player's Melee attacks and the types of weapons a player may wield. The higher the Attack level, the fewer misses a player will incur during Melee combat. As Attack is a vital skill in Melee combat, increasing one's Attack level will increase one's Combat level associated with Melee.

Strength is a Melee combat skill which increases the amount of damage a player can inflict in Melee combat by one point per level. Additionally, Strength may be required to wield certain weapons and armour, access some Agility shortcuts, and complete several quests.

Defence is one of the primary combat skills that grants players protection in all forms of Combat. The higher the Defence level, the fewer successful blows an opponent will land against the player. Defence is thus a vital skill for enduring attacks for long periods of time. A player's Defence level also determines which equipment he or she is able to wear, as most pieces of armour or other equipment have a Defence level requirement.

Melee weapons
Melee weapons fit into many general categories. No type is superior to others, they vary in Attack style, and speed/damage. In general, weapons of the same tier have the same damage per second ratio, with two-handed weapons dealing approximately 50% more damage per second.

Daggers
Daggers are tied in speed with the Scimitar and Shortsword, and generally the cheapest of all Melee weapons. They can also be poisoned; the Dragon dagger (p++) is a very popular special attack weapon in general fighting and PvP. A dagger is the first weapon that players can smith upon gaining access to a new metal.

Swords
Swords are able to inflict more damage than a dagger. A sword is a cheap alternative to scimitars for rune and lower metals.

Longswords
Longswords are slower than scimitars and daggers, and the same speed as maces but they have higher Strength bonuses than all three. Although their speed is slightly slower than scimitars, the extra Strength bonus and special attack for the Dragon longsword make it comparable to them.

Two-handed swords
Two-handed swords are the most powerful of basic weapons, but it sacrifices both speed and the ability to be used with the Shield slot, as the name suggests. The use of a Rune two-handed sword in player killing on Free-to-play worlds as a finishing weapon is common.

Scimitars
Scimitars are very popular weapons that can hit just as fast as a shortsword or dagger, and they deal slightly more damage than shortswords but less than longswords. Scimitars are, however, generally more expensive than the dagger and do not carry the mace's Prayer bonus. The Dragon scimitar is considered one of the most versatile combat weapons in the game.

Maces
Maces are slightly slower than longswords, slightly weaker, and use crush and stab. However, maces are unique among other weapons of a given metal in that they carry a Prayer bonus, which makes them useful for those who make heavy use of Prayer, such as tanks. The Dragon mace is mainly used in player killing due to its special attack.

Warhammers
Warhammers are powerful weapons that utilise mainly crush attacking style. They are not commonly used because of their low speed and mediocre Strength bonuses. They offer the same damage as their slashing cousins, the battleaxes.

Battleaxes
Battleaxes have slightly higher Strength bonuses compared to a warhammer of the same metal type, and they use both slash and crush attack styles. They are stronger than longswords yet slower. They are also weaker than two-handed swords and spears but attacks faster than them.

Halberds
Halberds are two-handed members-only weapons equally strong (and slow) as two-handed swords. They have the unique ability to reach over small obstacles such as tables, fences, other safespots, etc.

Spears
Spears are two-handed members-only weapons that are stabbing equivalents of two-handed swords. They are still arguably the most flexible weapons in the game, as they are the only weapon to use Stab, Crush, and Slash attack styles. Spears, however, only offer Controlled and Defensive attack styles. They can also be poisoned except the Zamorakian spear.

Hastas
Hastae are spears that may be used with a shield. The Zamorakian hasta on Stab works ideal against dragons and bosses, such as the Corporeal Beast. Similar to their two-handed brethren, spears, they are poison-able, except the Zamorakian hasta, and flexible, which means possessing the Stab, Crush, and Slash styles, and they also can only be used to train Controlled and Defensive attacks.

Claws
Claws are members-only slashing weapons that take up the shield and the weapon slot. The speed of claws are equal to that of daggers, and they have higher bonuses.

Abyssal whip
The Abyssal whip is a very popular weapon type among higher levels that is functionally similar to a scimitar in terms of speed, and has a high Strength bonus. However, players cannot use the whip to train Strength effectively as it only has Accurate, Controlled, and Defensive styles and lacks the Aggressive attack style.

Hatchets/Pickaxes
Axes are intended for Woodcutting and pickaxes for Mining. Although they may be used for Melee combat, it is not recommended as the Dragon axe and pickaxe are very expensive, and they have low speed and accuracy.

Melee armour
Warriors have their own sets of armour made out of various metals. Melee armour is resistant to Ranged but weak against Magic.

Bronze armour
Bronze armour is the weakest of all Melee armours and worn only by the newest of players, requiring no levels whatsoever (1 Defence) and costing little.

Iron armour
Iron armour is slightly better than bronze, and it also "requires" level 1 Defence. It is made from iron bars.

Steel armour
Steel armour is slightly better than iron. Steel armour requires level 5 Defence to equip and may also be smithed from steel bars.

White armour
White armour does not offer great defensive bonuses, although better than steel, but does offer decent Prayer bonuses. White armour, however, requires the completion of the quest Wanted! to equip. White armour may be bought from Sir Vyvin on the second floor of Falador Castle with sufficient White Knight rank, which is received from killing Black knights.

Black armour
Black armour has an evil and dangerous look, but is not any better than white armour. It is, in fact, worse, not offering any Prayer bonuses. Black armour, like white, cannot be smithed, only received as a drop or bought from several shops. It requires 10 Defence to wear, as does white armour.

Mithril armour
Mithril armour is a medium-level metal armour, requiring 20 Defence to equip. Mithril armour offers decent bonuses for players who can just equip it. It is generally not used by higher levelled players.

Adamant armour
Adamant armour is the second highest smithable armour and green in colour. It offers decent bonuses and is quite cheap and as such often used by player killers who do not want to risk losing their own armour. It requires level 30 Defence to equip.

Rune armour
Rune armour is the best armour for free-to-play that does not degrade and requires level 40 Defence to wear, although a smith wishing to make runite equipment needs at least level 85 Smithing. The rune platebody requires completion of Dragon Slayer to be worn and can only be bought from Oziach or other players.

Dragon armour
Dragon armour is one of the most sought-after armour sets and some of the dragon equipment is often traded for millions of coins. Dragon cannot be smithed by players and is only for members. Dragon armour requires level 60 Defence to be worn.

Yak-hide armour
Yak-hide armour is relatively weak, but valuable against Ice trolls, as the armour lowers the maximum hit of the males. Its poor bonuses do not make the armour worth using very often.

Rock-shell armour
Rock-shell armour has the same stats as rune armour, aside from gloves and boots. It's not very widely used due to the difficulty to obtain and the option of better armour.

Bandos armour
Bandos armour is a very strong set of armour, providing excellent defensive and strength bonuses. Bandos armour is one of the best Melee armours in the game.

Barrows armour
Barrows armour is very strong and popular, and like white armour, the Verac's armour set provides a small Prayer bonus. Barrows armour needs to be repaired every 15 hours of Combat, for a price.

Granite armour
Granite armour is a not so popular choice of armour, requiring not only a Defence level of 50 to wear, but also a Strength level of 55 due to its weight. The granite body and helm have slightly better bonuses than their rune counterparts. Granite is rarely used due to it's scarcity, and weight.

3rd age melee armour
3rd age melee equipment are very rare rewards from hard and above clue scrolls. It's stats are higher than dragon, and requires 65 Defence, but is very expensive to purchase, and hard to obtain from clue scrolls.

Justiciar armour
Justiciar armour is the best melee armour for melee and ranged defensive bonuses, as well as possessing a powerful set effect; when the full set is worn against monsters, it reduces damage taken according to the wearer's defence bonus to that particular style (except Magic). However, the armour is very expensive.

It also provides a notable Prayer bonus.

Popularity of melee combat
Melee was more than twice as popular than Magic and Ranged Combat combined, generating 59% of users votes in January 2007.

Shields
A shield is a protective item wielded in the off-hand/shield slot. A shield adds substantial bonuses to armour when wielded.

Square shields
The square shield has adequate Melee and Ranged Defence bonuses but provides less bonuses than the kiteshield. Unlike kiteshields, square shields are better for mages and archers.

Kiteshields
Kiteshields offer better Defence than square shields, although, like most heavier armour, it is awkward to use in combination with Magic and Ranged.

Toktz-ket-xil/Obsidian shield
The Toktz-ket-xil requires at least 60 Defence to wield. It cannot be made using any skills.

Anti-dragon shield
The Anti-dragon shield does not provide much by way of armour, but it is indispensable when fighting dragons as it protects against most of their potentially devastating dragonfire.

Dragonfire shield
The Dragonfire shield is a high-level piece of armour requiring 75 Defence. It provides protection not only from dragonfire, but also the icy breath of the Skeletal Wyvern.

Spirit shields
Spirit shields are a range of shields available to members. The Elysian spirit shield simply has a 70% chance of nullifying damage you receive by 25%, although it lacks the +7 Strength bonus the Dragonfire shield grants despite the shield being nearly as powerful as the Dragonfire shield in defensive bonuses without consideration of its magical effect. The basic spirit shield requires level 45 Defence and level 55 Prayer to hold, the blessed one requires 70 Defence and level 60 Prayer, the Arcane and Spectral spirit shields both require 75 Defence, 70 Prayer and 65 Magic, and the Elysian require 75 Defence and 75 Prayer.

Temporary boosts
A temporary skill boost is anything caused by an item or action that temporarily raises a player's level in one or more skills. It allows the player to do things above their current level.

Herblore
Note: The numbers in parentheses are only required for the mixes.

Melee Capes of Accomplishment

 * [[File:Attack hood.png]] [[File:Attack cape.png]] [[File:Attack cape(t).png]] Attack cape
 * [[File:Strength hood.png]] [[File:Strength cape.png]] [[File:Strength cape(t).png]] Strength cape
 * [[File:Defence hood.png]] [[File:Defence cape.png]] [[File:Defence cape(t).png]] Defence cape