What Is the OSRS Combat Calculator?
The OSRS Combat Calculator is a tool for Old School RuneScape players that calculates your character's combat level based on your skill levels. Combat level is a number between 3 and 126 that represents your overall combat strength. It determines which players can attack you in the Wilderness, which NPCs you can fight effectively, and how other players perceive your character's power.
This calculator uses the official OSRS combat level formula to compute your exact combat level in real time. Enter your Attack, Strength, Defence, Hitpoints, Ranged, Magic, and Prayer levels, and the calculator instantly shows your combat level, your dominant combat type (melee, ranged, or magic), and the minimum levels you need to reach the next combat level.
The OSRS Combat Level Formula
Old School RuneScape uses a specific formula to calculate combat level. Understanding this formula helps you make strategic decisions about which skills to train. The formula has two parts:
Base Level: 0.25 x (Defence + Hitpoints + floor(Prayer / 2))
The base level is the same regardless of your combat style. Defence, Hitpoints, and half your Prayer level contribute to this base. Every player gets this component.
Combat Type Component: The game then calculates three values and uses the highest one:
- Melee: 0.325 x (Attack + Strength)
- Ranged: 0.325 x (floor(3 x Ranged / 2))
- Magic: 0.325 x (floor(3 x Magic / 2))
Final Combat Level: Base + max(Melee, Ranged, Magic)
The result is floored (rounded down) to give the displayed combat level. The maximum possible combat level is 126, achieved when all seven combat skills are at level 99.
An important detail of this formula is the floor function used in the ranged and magic calculations. The expression floor(3 x Level / 2) means that for ranged and magic, the combat contribution increases at a different rate than melee. At level 99: melee contributes 0.325 x (99 + 99) = 64.35, while ranged contributes 0.325 x floor(148.5) = 0.325 x 148 = 48.1. This is why having both Attack and Strength contributes more combat levels than Ranged or Magic alone when those stats are comparable.
How to Use This Calculator
Using the calculator is straightforward. Simply enter your current skill levels:
- Attack: Your Attack level (1-99). Determines accuracy with melee weapons.
- Strength: Your Strength level (1-99). Determines max hit with melee weapons.
- Defence: Your Defence level (1-99). Determines how well you avoid damage.
- Hitpoints: Your Hitpoints level (10-99). Determines your total health. All accounts start at 10.
- Ranged: Your Ranged level (1-99). Determines accuracy and damage with ranged weapons.
- Magic: Your Magic level (1-99). Determines accuracy and damage with spells.
- Prayer: Your Prayer level (1-99). Provides combat bonuses through overhead prayers and other effects.
The results update instantly as you change any value. The calculator shows your current combat level, which combat style is dominant (melee, ranged, or magic), and the fewest levels you need to gain in any single skill to reach the next combat level.
Understanding Combat Types
Your combat type is determined by which component (melee, ranged, or magic) contributes the most to your combat level. This affects your character's classification:
Melee: Your Attack + Strength combination is your dominant combat contribution. This is the most common combat type for main accounts because training both Attack and Strength is standard for PvE content. Melee is the only style that uses two skills (Attack and Strength) in its contribution.
Ranged: Your Ranged level provides the highest combat contribution. Ranged pures and range tanks build their accounts around this. Because the ranged formula uses floor(3 x Range / 2), a Ranged level of about 66 equals the melee contribution of 99 Attack + 1 Strength.
Magic: Your Magic level provides the highest combat contribution. Magic pures and hybrid accounts may be classified this way. The magic formula is identical to ranged: floor(3 x Magic / 2).
For PvP account builds, understanding which type dominates your combat level is crucial. It determines the combat bracket you fight in and which opponents you face in the Wilderness and PvP worlds.
Account Builds and Combat Level
Experienced OSRS players often plan their skill distribution carefully to optimize combat effectiveness at a specific combat level. Here are the most popular account builds:
1-Defence Pure
The classic pure keeps Defence at 1 to minimize combat level while maximizing offensive stats. A typical 1-defence pure with 99 Attack, 99 Strength, 10 Hitpoints (impossible to maintain, usually 90+), 1 Ranged, 1 Magic, and 1 Prayer would be combat level 68.5 (floored to 68). In practice, with 90+ Hitpoints from training, most 1-def pures end up around combat level 70-80. These accounts dominate in PvP against opponents of similar level who have spread their stats more evenly.
Zerker (45 Defence)
Berserker pures train Defence to 45 to wear the Berserker Helm and other mid-level armour while still keeping combat level relatively low. With 99 Attack, 99 Strength, 45 Defence, and 99 Hitpoints, a zerker reaches about combat level 97-100 depending on Prayer level. These accounts balance offence and defence effectively for PvP.
Range Tank
Range tanks focus on high Ranged and high Defence with minimal Attack and Strength. A range tank with 1 Attack, 1 Strength, 99 Defence, 99 Hitpoints, 99 Ranged, and 44 Prayer achieves about combat level 101. They can deal significant damage while being very tanky.
Main Account
A main account trains all combat stats to 99, reaching the maximum combat level of 126. While not optimized for specific PvP brackets, mains have the most versatility and access to all game content.
How Prayer Affects Combat Level
Prayer contributes to combat level at half weight: floor(Prayer / 2) is added to the base before the 0.25 multiplier. This means every 2 Prayer levels add 0.25 combat levels (one-quarter of one combat level). Training Prayer from 1 to 99 adds approximately 12.25 combat levels.
For PvP builds, Prayer is a strategic choice. Certain Prayer levels unlock powerful abilities: 13 for Superhuman Strength, 25 for Protect Item, 31 for the first Protect prayer, 43 for all three overhead Protect prayers, 44 for Eagle Eye / Mystic Might, and 52 for Smite. Many pures stop at specific Prayer levels to minimize combat level impact while unlocking key prayers. Common stopping points are 1, 13, 15, 25, 31, 43, 44, 45, 52, and 77 (Rigour/Augury with the appropriate scrolls).
Levels to Next Combat Level
The "Levels to Next" feature shows you the most efficient way to reach your next combat level. It checks each skill individually and reports which one requires the fewest additional levels. This is useful for players who want to level up quickly or for PvP players who want to understand which skill to train next while staying in their combat bracket.
Skills affect combat level at different rates. Defence and Hitpoints each contribute 0.25 per level. Prayer contributes 0.125 per level (since it is halved before the 0.25 multiplier). Attack and Strength each contribute 0.325 per level when melee is your dominant type. Ranged and Magic contribute approximately 0.4875 per level due to the 1.5x multiplier inside the floor function (though the floor function makes this slightly irregular).
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are answers to common questions about OSRS combat level calculation, account building, and how to use this calculator effectively.