Strength contributes to melee maximum hit. A new max hit improves damage per second when accuracy is unchanged.
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COMBAT • F2P + MEMBERS
Strength
Prioritise max hits: Strength usually gives the biggest early boost to melee damage.
QUICK WIN
Most accounts benefit from keeping Strength ahead of Attack and Defence during early melee training.
UNDERSTANDING STRENGTH
Learn the system before you optimise the loop.
Strength is a combat skill with several viable routes. The best method is not automatically the one with the largest experience-rate number: startup time, travel, real input prices, useful outputs, and the amount of attention you can sustain all belong in the decision.
This guide treats levels as unlocks rather than a single uninterrupted race to 99. Use the route below as a strong default, then switch when a quest, diary, equipment upgrade, or account goal makes another method more valuable to you.
The displayed Strength level is only part of the calculation; weapon strength bonus, equipment, prayers, and potions also matter.
Aggressive attack styles award Strength XP. Some weapons lack a pure aggressive option, so inspect the style panel before settling in.
Max-hit breakpoints are discrete. A gear or level upgrade may appear to do nothing until the formula crosses the next whole damage value.
LEVEL-BY-LEVEL METHOD FINDER
Set your level. Get the methods that apply now.
This is the working core of the guide: source-backed training sections filtered by current level and account type, with full rates, quantities, requirements, setup notes, and method tables kept beside their revision.
ACCOUNT
6 Strength sections shown for Members at level 1.
Open a section for its full setup, evidence, and tables.LEVEL 1–35 • MembersLevels 1–35: Questing
2 detailed notes
Levels 1–35: Questing
As discussed in the above early questing section, completing quests is the fastest method to skip through the early levels. These quests will level a player to level 45 Attack, level 34 Strength, and level 31 Defence without any direct training.
- As discussed in the above early questing section, completing quests is the fastest method to skip through the early levels. These quests will level a player to level 45 Attack, level 34 Strength, and level 31 Defence without any direct training.
Verify against Pay-to-play Melee training, revision 15284606. Community reference material is attributed to the OSRS Wiki; this fan guide adds its own planning tools and route framing.
Members • MembersIntroduction
3 detailed notes
Introduction
This article provides information about effective ways to train Attack, Strength, Defence, and Hitpoints through melee combat.
This guide is organised into sections based on skill levels. For example, if the section header is Levels 20 to 30, you should begin training at the area with an Attack and Strength level of at least 20. Defence is also preferred to be at that level but is not always required. The solution to lower Defence is to bring more food or use food that heals more.
- This guide is organised into sections based on skill levels. For example, if the section header is Levels 20 to 30, you should begin training at the area with an Attack and Strength level of at least 20. Defence is also preferred to be at that level but is not always required. The solution to lower Defence is to bring more food or use food that heals more.
Verify against Pay-to-play Melee training, revision 15284606. Community reference material is attributed to the OSRS Wiki; this fan guide adds its own planning tools and route framing.
Members • MembersGeneral training notes
2 detailed notes
General training notes
Since experience rates are largely influenced by Strength level and strength bonus, it is optimal to maintain balanced melee stats until reaching the minimum requirements for the best-in-slot weapon and equipment. After this, prioritizing Strength until 99, followed by Attack and finally Defence, will result in the fastest route to max melee stats. For example, when training in the Nightmare Zone with Obsidian Armour, a Berserker Necklace, and the Toktz-Xil-Ak, Attack and Defence should remain at 60 until reaching 99 Strength for optimal experience gains.
At high levels, direct melee training is not the fastest way to train Defence. Using Ancient Magicks on defensive or chinchompas on Long fuse against Maniacal monkeys gives more Defense experience per hour than using melee.
Verify against Pay-to-play Melee training, revision 15284606. Community reference material is attributed to the OSRS Wiki; this fan guide adds its own planning tools and route framing.
Members • MembersEarly Questing
10 data rows
Early Questing
To start off, it's strongly recommended to complete quests that give a lot of melee experience. This allows players to skip over the much slower early levels of training. Many of these quests are quick, have little to no requirements, and have bosses that can be trivialized by safespotting with any magic spell (such as Fire Strike).
The recommended quests for early melee experience are listed in the table below. Completing all of them would give the player a total 61,775 Attack, 20,375 Strength, and 15,300 Defence experience. This will level a player to level 45 Attack, level 34 Strength, and level 31 Defence without any direct training.
It's recommended to complete the Witch's experiment quest first, as it gives a Hitpoints safety margin for the subsequent quests (especially Waterfall Quest).
- The recommended quests for early melee experience are listed in the table below. Completing all of them would give the player a total 61,775 Attack, 20,375 Strength, and 15,300 Defence experience. This will level a player to level 45 Attack, level 34 Strength, and level 31 Defence without any direct training.
| Quest | XP rewards | Requirements | Enemies to defeat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witch's House | 6,325 | None | Witch's experiment (level 19, 30, 42, and 53) | The last two forms of the Witch's experiment can be safespotted with Magic. It's recommended to complete this quest first for a Hitpoints safety margin. |
| Waterfall Quest | 13,750 and 13,750 | None | None | Players need to withstand and evade attacks from level 86 Fire Giants and level 84 Moss Guardian. Level 17 is recommended so that the player cannot die in one hit from full hitpoints (this can be obtained by completing Witch's experiment). |
| Death Plateau | 3,000 | None | None | Also gives climbing boots, an early game boot with strength bonus. |
| Fight Arena | 12,175 | None | Khazard scorpion (level 44), Khazard ogre (level 63), Bouncer (level 137) | The bosses can be safespotted with Magic. |
| Tree Gnome Village | 11,450 | None | Khazard Warlord (level 112) | The Khazard Warlord can be safespotted, or flinched by walking in and out of his attack radius, with Maigc. |
| Vampyre Slayer | 4,825 | None | Count Draynor (level 34) | Count Draynor is trivial to defeat with some combat stats. |
| The Grand Tree | 18,400 | 25 | Black Demon (level 172) | Completion of Tree Gnome Village first is recommended, for access to spirit trees. The Black Demon can be safespotted with Magic. |
| Holy Grail | 15,300 | 20 , completion of Merlin's Crystal | Black Knight Titan (level 120) | The Black Knight Titan can be flinched by simply stepping out of his melee range, or (slowly) killed with any halberd. |
| Scorpion Catcher | 6,625 | 31 , completion of Alfred Grimhand's Barcrawl | None | Requires being able to run past level 172 black demons and level 64 poison spiders. |
| XP rewards total | 61,775 , 20,375 and 15,300 | — | — | — |
Verify against Pay-to-play Melee training, revision 15284606. Community reference material is attributed to the OSRS Wiki; this fan guide adds its own planning tools and route framing.
Members • MembersAdditional quests
7 data rows
Additional quests
There are additional intermediate quests that give significant combat experience, though they have higher requirements or less trivial bosses to defeat.
| Quest | XP rewards | Requirements | Enemies to defeat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Daughter | 1,000 | 20 | The Kendal (level 70) | The Kendal can be safespotted. |
| Horror from the Deep | 4,662.5 | 35 , completion of Alfred Grimhand's Barcrawl | Dagannoth (level 100) and Dagannoth Mother (level 100) | Unlocks dagannoth as a Slayer task. Having 40 is strongly recommended for Protect from Missiles against the Dagannoth Mother's Ranged attacks. This quest is a prerequisite for the final fights of Recipe for Disaster. |
| Dragon Slayer I | 18,650 and 18,650 | 32 | Elvarg (level 83) and various other monsters | Unlocks all dragon tasks for Slayer. This quest is a prerequisite for Heroes' Quest. |
| The Fremennik Trials | 2,812 , 2,812 , 2,812 | 25 , 40 , 40 if crafting your own lyre | Draugen (level 69) and Koschei the deathless | Prerequisite for wearing Fremennik helmets. |
| The Fremennik Isles | Two lots of 10,000 Combat experience (choose between Strength, Attack, Defence or Hitpoints). | 40 , 20 , completion of The Fremennik Trials | Ice Troll King (level 122) | Awards the helm of neitiznot and the ability to wield it. |
| Olaf's Quest | 12,000 | 40 , 50 , completion of The Fremennik Trials | Ulfric (level 100) | Unlocks brine rats as a Slayer task. |
| Haunted Mine | 22,000 | 35 , completion of Priest in Peril | Treus Dayth (level 95) | Prerequisite for obtaining the Salve amulet, which provides combat bonuses against undead creatures. |
Verify against Pay-to-play Melee training, revision 15284606. Community reference material is attributed to the OSRS Wiki; this fan guide adds its own planning tools and route framing.
Members • MembersEquipment choice
1 detailed notes
Equipment choice
Items will be listed in order of how much they increase general melee damage per second. In nearly all cases, optimising for offensive stats is more effective than optimising for defensive or balanced stats, especially when fighting the low-offence, high-hp monsters on this list. In addition, optimising for Strength is usually better than optimising for accuracy except against high-Defence monsters.
Verify against Pay-to-play Melee training, revision 15284606. Community reference material is attributed to the OSRS Wiki; this fan guide adds its own planning tools and route framing.
FOUR EDITORIAL STARTING POINTS
Shortlisted routes with executable instructions.
Use the finder above for the complete method library. These four routes are the fan-guide shortlist: each includes its setup, repeatable sequence, realistic rate band, and most important failure point.
01Front-loaded
1–35 • MEDIUM ATTENTION
Quest experience route
BEST FOR
Skipping weak early weapons
ECONOMY
Usually neutral
LOCATION
Waterfall and related quest areas
REQUIREMENTS
Quest items and safe travel
INVENTORY / LOADOUT
Food, energy restoration, teleport, quest items
EXECUTION
- Complete Waterfall Quest for 13,750 Strength and Attack XP.
- Add other quest rewards only when they fit the account plan.
- Switch to an aggressive weapon style immediately after questing.
0218k–65k XP/hr
20–70 • LOW ATTENTION
Crabs on aggressive style
BEST FOR
Simple max-hit progression
ECONOMY
Low supply cost
LOCATION
Hosidius, Crabclaw Isle, or Fossil Island
REQUIREMENTS
An aggressive training weapon and access to an open tile
INVENTORY / LOADOUT
Strength gear, combat potions, food, teleport
EXECUTION
- Equip a fast weapon with an aggressive style.
- Occupy a crab tile that keeps enough targets attacking you.
- Reset aggression and potion boosts on consistent timers.
0335k–95k combat XP/hr
40–99 • MEDIUM ATTENTION
Slayer on aggressive style
BEST FOR
Mains and irons building the whole account
ECONOMY
Profit varies by task
LOCATION
Task locations
REQUIREMENTS
Suitable Slayer master and task gear
INVENTORY / LOADOUT
Slayer helm, potions, prayer/food, task item, teleport
EXECUTION
- Use the Slayer helmet bonus after it is unlocked.
- Choose aggressive style unless a weapon requirement demands Attack.
- Cannon or barrage only where their cost and shared progression fit the goal.
0460k–120k XP/hr
60–99 • LOW ATTENTION
Nightmare Zone
BEST FOR
Low-interruption training
ECONOMY
Low recurring cost
LOCATION
Yanille
REQUIREMENTS
Useful quest boss pool and sufficient melee stats
INVENTORY / LOADOUT
Absorptions, overloads/super combats, Hitpoints management item
EXECUTION
- Select low-defence melee bosses without knockback or stat-drain mechanics.
- Use the fastest strong aggressive weapon available.
- Maintain boosts and absorptions while collecting enough points to sustain supplies.
STRENGTH CALCULATOR
Turn a level goal into hours and materials.
Select a method for its realistic experience-rate band. Add XP and GP per action when you want an exact resource estimate for your chosen item.
The level formula is exact. Time and budget are planning estimates: your equipment, banking, failures, attention, and live Grand Exchange prices determine the real result.
SETUP PROGRESSION
Upgrade the part that actually controls the rate.
| Stage | Setup | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Early | Fast scimitar, amulet of strength, climbing boots | Max-hit upgrades usually beat small accuracy upgrades. |
| Mid | Dragon scimitar/quest weapon, defender, fighter torso | Unlock a defender and strength body before expensive armour. |
| 70+ | Strength-training weapon plus Barrows gloves and strong boots | Confirm that the weapon actually has an aggressive style. |
| Endgame | Boss-specific weapon with high strength bonus and appropriate accuracy | Buy upgrades that cross a max-hit breakpoint. |
THE ROUTE
From level 1 to cape
1
1–30
Build the first max hits
Quest experience helps; otherwise train with a scimitar on low-defence targets.The opening objective is access, not perfect efficiency. Use quests and inexpensive equipment to compress levels where possible, and avoid over-investing in a method you will outgrow quickly.2
30–60
Crabs or early Slayer
Use the aggressive style and keep your weapon upgrade path moving.This is where the skill settles into a repeatable loop. Upgrade the parts of the setup that affect every action, measure a representative session, and keep travel or banking from becoming the hidden bottleneck.3
60–80
Unlock stronger training weapons
Quest and minigame weapons can materially improve your experience rate.At the mid-game checkpoint, compare the fastest route with account progress, useful outputs, and attention. A slightly slower method can be more efficient overall when it also supplies quests, diaries, or another skill.4
80–99
Slayer or focused melee training
Pick Slayer for useful drops or Nightmare Zone for a simpler rhythm.Late-game training is a sustainability problem. Recheck prices and unlocks, alternate high-focus sessions with calmer ones, and choose a route you can repeat without turning the cape into a chore.LOWER-INTENSITY ALTERNATIVE
Pest Control can mix combat experience with Void unlocks, though it is rarely the fastest pure Strength route.
LEVEL REFERENCE
Milestones worth planning around
These are decision points, not instructions to stop. Boostable requirements and quest gates can change when an unlock becomes usable.
| Level | Unlock | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Early quest and gear requirements | A useful baseline for general account progression. |
| 50 | Granite maul | A recognisable special-attack and PvP milestone. |
| 60 | Dragon defender path | Pairs with 60 Defence and Warriors' Guild progress. |
| 70 | Higher strength gear | Supports stronger melee setups and Dharok-style training. |
| 80 | Strong melee baseline | Comfortable for broad mid-game PvM. |
| 99 | Strength cape | Maximum base melee damage contribution. |
QUEST ROUTING
Let account progress do part of the grind.
Quest experience is most valuable when it skips slow early methods or opens a training system you will keep using.
Waterfall Quest
Awards both Attack and Strength experience and can jump-start a new account.
The Grand Tree
Provides useful Attack experience while opening important travel and quest lines.
Haunted Mine
Unlocks the salve amulet, an important damage item against undead targets.
CHOOSE YOUR ACCOUNT
The route changes with the rules you play by.
Spend for the time you value
Strength is often the melee priority after meeting weapon requirements. Train it during Slayer when you want account progress, or use crabs and Nightmare Zone when the goal is a predictable, low-interruption session.
Optimise the whole supply chain
For iron accounts, Strength levels amplify every melee weapon you can obtain, so they remain valuable even when gear upgrades are delayed. Keep potion supply, prayer access, and food costs in the decision.
Know the edge of the map
Free-to-play training relies heavily on rune scimitars, common low-defence targets, and simple strength-bonus gear. Members gain more efficient weapons, potions, prayers, and training areas.
REVISION-PINNED REFERENCE
The detailed tables behind the recommendations.
Pulled in one batch from the Old School RuneScape Wiki on August 2, 2026. Every table keeps its source page and revision so you can verify requirements or spot a later game update.
Early Questing10 reference rows
| Quest | XP rewards | Requirements | Enemies to defeat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witch's House | 6,325 | None | Witch's experiment (level 19, 30, 42, and 53) | The last two forms of the Witch's experiment can be safespotted with Magic. It's recommended to complete this quest first for a Hitpoints safety margin. |
| Waterfall Quest | 13,750 and 13,750 | None | None | Players need to withstand and evade attacks from level 86 Fire Giants and level 84 Moss Guardian. Level 17 is recommended so that the player cannot die in one hit from full hitpoints (this can be obtained by completing Witch's experiment). |
| Death Plateau | 3,000 | None | None | Also gives climbing boots, an early game boot with strength bonus. |
| Fight Arena | 12,175 | None | Khazard scorpion (level 44), Khazard ogre (level 63), Bouncer (level 137) | The bosses can be safespotted with Magic. |
| Tree Gnome Village | 11,450 | None | Khazard Warlord (level 112) | The Khazard Warlord can be safespotted, or flinched by walking in and out of his attack radius, with Maigc. |
| Vampyre Slayer | 4,825 | None | Count Draynor (level 34) | Count Draynor is trivial to defeat with some combat stats. |
| The Grand Tree | 18,400 | 25 | Black Demon (level 172) | Completion of Tree Gnome Village first is recommended, for access to spirit trees. The Black Demon can be safespotted with Magic. |
| Holy Grail | 15,300 | 20 , completion of Merlin's Crystal | Black Knight Titan (level 120) | The Black Knight Titan can be flinched by simply stepping out of his melee range, or (slowly) killed with any halberd. |
| Scorpion Catcher | 6,625 | 31 , completion of Alfred Grimhand's Barcrawl | None | Requires being able to run past level 172 black demons and level 64 poison spiders. |
| XP rewards total | 61,775 , 20,375 and 15,300 | — | — | — |
Additional quests7 reference rows
| Quest | XP rewards | Requirements | Enemies to defeat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Daughter | 1,000 | 20 | The Kendal (level 70) | The Kendal can be safespotted. |
| Horror from the Deep | 4,662.5 | 35 , completion of Alfred Grimhand's Barcrawl | Dagannoth (level 100) and Dagannoth Mother (level 100) | Unlocks dagannoth as a Slayer task. Having 40 is strongly recommended for Protect from Missiles against the Dagannoth Mother's Ranged attacks. This quest is a prerequisite for the final fights of Recipe for Disaster. |
| Dragon Slayer I | 18,650 and 18,650 | 32 | Elvarg (level 83) and various other monsters | Unlocks all dragon tasks for Slayer. This quest is a prerequisite for Heroes' Quest. |
| The Fremennik Trials | 2,812 , 2,812 , 2,812 | 25 , 40 , 40 if crafting your own lyre | Draugen (level 69) and Koschei the deathless | Prerequisite for wearing Fremennik helmets. |
| The Fremennik Isles | Two lots of 10,000 Combat experience (choose between Strength, Attack, Defence or Hitpoints). | 40 , 20 , completion of The Fremennik Trials | Ice Troll King (level 122) | Awards the helm of neitiznot and the ability to wield it. |
| Olaf's Quest | 12,000 | 40 , 50 , completion of The Fremennik Trials | Ulfric (level 100) | Unlocks brine rats as a Slayer task. |
| Haunted Mine | 22,000 | 35 , completion of Priest in Peril | Treus Dayth (level 95) | Prerequisite for obtaining the Salve amulet, which provides combat bonuses against undead creatures. |
Levels 30–55: Gemstone Crab3 reference rows
| Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemstone Crab | Tlati Rainforest | 160 | Infinite | Children of the Sun | — |
| Advantages | Disadvantages | — | — | — | — |
| Has infinite health with low Defence and Attack, requiring no food. Only burrows once every 10 minutes and can be reengaged with two clicks. Can be mined for gems by the 16 players who dealt the most damage. | Gives slightly less experience per hit compared to normal monsters (87.5% of the normal amount), but this is offset by no auto-retaliate downtime and no lost damage on overkill. | — | — | — | — |
Levels 55–75: Sulphur Naguas3 reference rows
| Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sulphur Nagua | Neypotzli | 98 | 100 | Partial completion of Perilous Moons (includes 48 Slayer) 55 Attack for glacial temotli (or the cheaper sulphur blades) 43 Prayer for Protect from Melee | 70 Attack and 75 Strength for Dual Macuahuitl High Herblore 70 Prayer for Piety Full Blood Moon set |
| Advantages | Disadvantages | — | — | — | — |
| Very fast experience, with the Sulphur Nagua's negative flat armour combined with double hit weapons. Expect 75k xp/hr at 60 strength. With a full blood moon armour set and Piety prayer, expect up to 130k xp/hr at 75 strength. Prayer restor | Dual macuahuitl are required for the best rates. Though the glacial temotli and sulphur blades only perform marginally worse, roughly 10% less xp per hour. For ironman, the ideal weapons (glacial temotli and sulphur blades) are dropped from | — | — | — | — |
Levels 1 to 203 reference rows
| Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | North-east of Lumbridge just east of River Lum, south of River Lum in Farmer Fred's chicken coop | 1 | 3 | None | — |
| Advantages | Disadvantages | — | — | — | — |
| No food required. Feathers are dropped in groups of 5-15 and are stackable, and can be sold for some profit. Bones will drop frequently, allowing the player to train their Prayer as well. | Only 3 HP (12xp) per kill. Once you start hitting 4's with your Strength and weapon, chickens are no longer a good melee training monster but they are still good for training Prayer and collecting feathers. Non-aggressive. | — | — | — | — |
Levels 20 to 403 reference rows
| Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbarian | Barbarian Village | 9, 10, 15, 17 | 18, 24 | None | Bring your best armour (chainbody recommended) and weapons. |
| Advantages | Disadvantages | — | — | — | — |
| High HP, low defence. Near the Grand Exchange and Varrock west bank for easy banking. Occassionally drops runes and ammunition. They have access to the gem drop table and very rarely drop uncut gems. With combat levels ranging between 9 and | Sometimes crowded. | — | — | — | — |
Levels 40 to 603 reference rows
| Monster name | Location(s) | Combat level | Hitpoints | Requirements | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flesh Crawlers | Catacomb of Famine (level 2) of Stronghold of Security | 28, 35, 41 | 25 | Travelling through Vault of War (level 1) once. Decent combat. | Bring your best armour and weapons, and food. |
| Advantages | Disadvantages | — | — | — | — |
| They only deal 1 HP of damage but higher level Flesh Crawlers can hit quite accurately. Always aggressive towards players of all levels, making this a great afk training method at any level. They have access to the gem drop table and rarely | No bone drops. Higher level Flesh Crawlers will quickly damage players, even if it is just 1 HP per hit as they have a very fast attack speed of 1.8 seconds per attack. Not as profitable in free-to-play as other monsters around these levels | — | — | — | — |
SOURCE PAGES
- Pay-to-play Melee training ↗revision 15284606
- Free-to-play Melee training ↗revision 15271598
- Strength ↗revision 15263833
- Strength/Level up table ↗revision 15246589
Reference tables are adapted with attribution from the community-maintained OSRS Wiki. Editorial recommendations, method walkthroughs, warnings, and calculators are original fan-guide material.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Strength FAQ
Why do some Strength levels add no max hit?
The damage formula rounds to whole numbers. Several level or gear increases may accumulate before crossing the next max-hit breakpoint.
Is controlled training efficient?
It is convenient for balanced totals but delays the damage gain from focused Strength. Use it deliberately rather than by accident.
KEEP RESEARCHING
Read the OSRS Wiki training reference ↗Game updates can change rates, requirements, and best methods. Check the community reference before a large purchase.
Ready to price the route?