How to Level up Attack in RuneScape

Last Updated: October 21, 2021

Attack level is very important in RuneScape, since it effects the type of weapons you are able to wield as well as the chances you have to hit your target. You have the option of training it all at once, or dividing combat XP with Defence and Strength as well to make a more balanced fighter. Leveling can be slow if you don't know where to go, so read on to solve that problem.

Part 1

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General Tips

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Change your combat settings. Open your Powers interface by pressing F4, or by clicking the image of three purple sparks. Select the Combat settings tab. Make the following changes:
- In the Melee Combat Experience section on the right, choose “Balance” to split XP between Attack, Strength, and Defence. For faster but more challenging leveling, choose “Attack” to focus 100% of your XP there.^{[1]
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- In the Combat Mode section on the left, select Revolution. You’ll automatically use abilities, greatly speeding up combat.
2
Improve your equipment as you go. If you are losing to the recommended monsters in the leveling guide, or if you are using a lot of food or consumable items, you probably need better equipment. You may need to take a break from leveling to craft or purchase better weapons and armor.
- If you’re still having trouble, look up the monster’s weakness online, or ask other players. Keep a slashing, crushing, and stabbing weapon around so you can switch between them. (Avoid monsters weak to Magic or Ranged, which will take longer to kill in melee.)
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3
Use experience boosters if available. Hunting these down is often not worth the time spent, since they last a limited time and are mostly random drops. That said, if you want a break from the giant-slaying grind, have some fun tracking these down:
- Sacred clay scimitars are available from the Stealing Creation minigame.
- Fallen stars (attack) are non-tradeable items only available to paid members as a random reward from the Treasure Hunt minigame.^{[2]
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- Brawling gloves (melee) are a rare drop or boss reward. They are most effective when fighting in the Wilderness, which may not be worth the risk of dying to other players.
- Hati paws are only available during the annual January holiday event.
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Train prayers at higher levels. Once you're training Attack past 60 or 70, combat will be very difficult without Prayer abilities. Bury bones to train your Prayer skill.
5
Train Slayer if you are a member trying to get 70+ Attack. Subscribing members should strongly consider completing Slayer challenges appropriate to their level. This won't always give you the fastest experience gain, but you'll appreciate it at high levels. The member-only Slayer skill allows you to defeat monsters that give great experience and drops at high levels.
- If you are just trying to boost your Attack a little, rather than grind to the highest levels, this may not be necessary.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Free to Play

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Levels 1-20. You have quite a few options at this point. You could go north of Burthrope and kill the trolls in there, however they have few drops. You could head to Lumbridge and kill Chickens north of the castle and collect the feathers for some good cash later on. If you head a little farther north, you could go to Beefy Bill's fields and kill cows. You will make some serious money here, as Beefy Bill will bank the cowhides for you. Finally you could head west across the bridge and kill the goblins near the two huts.
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Levels 20-30. Get 10 gold to pay the toll, and head into Al-Kharid. Head upstairs into the castle and start killing Al-Kharid Warriors. They drop quite a few herbs, as well as as soon as you attack one the rest will attack you, making this very AFK-able. If you are low on health, pick up a few coins they drop and head to the kebab shop to the west. You can kebabs for 1 coin each here, and they can heal for up to 1000 health.
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Levels 30-40. Buy a brass key from the Grand Exchange, only a few hundreds coins, then go south west from the Grand Exchange until you see a house with a locked door. Use the key on the door, and head downstairs. Here you can kill the hill giants. Be sure to pick up the big bones and bury them for easy prayer experience, and the limpwurt roots, which sell for a thousand each.
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Levels 40-50. Head down to the second level of the Stronghold of Security and head north until you find a room full of flesh crawlers. Kill these, preferably with a stab weapon such as a spear. They drop 42 fire runes and 2 nature runes very frequently, as well as many high level herbs.
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Levels 50-70. You have two options here. If you want the best exp per hour, head down to the Varrock Sewers and kill the Moss Giants. They don't drop too much, but they are weak to slash, allowing you to use a rune scimitar or a rune 2h sword with the most effectiveness. Alternately you could go to the fourth level of the Stronghold of Security and kill Ankous. They give decent exp per hour, as well as many expensive drops such as yew logs, mithril ore, and battlestaves.
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Levels 70-99. You again have two options. You could kill deadly red spiders in Edgeville dungeon. They have the highest exp rate in the game for free to player players, however have absolutely no drops as well as being poisoning. You could also go to the Forinthry dungeon or Wilderness crater and kill hellhounds. They give similar exp per hour, however can drop bones and charms more frequently.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Pay to Play

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Consider doing slayer. If you plan on maxing out your account, doing slayer alongside your melee stats may be worth it, as it will level up both skills at once. This will also give you access to some of the better monsters in later game that require high stats, such as abyssal demons.
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Levels 1-10. Your methods here are similar to that of free to play. Kill goblins, mountain trolls, or even consider cockroach drones for their common gem drops.
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Levels 20-30. Kill cockroach workers. They give decent exp per kill, and have noted ore drops, as well as very rarely dropping the coveted rune scimitar. These are found in the Stronghold of Player Security, accessed by a crevice in the ground south of Edgeville next to the Soul Wars portal.
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Levels 30-40. Kill Cockroach Soldiers. These are located in the same area as workers, they drop rune items very commonly, and even have a chance of dropping medium clue scrolls. They give surprisingly good exp for how low of level they are, and good drops as previously mentioned.
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Levels 40-60. Teleport to Caste Wars via a dueling ring and head East. Here you will find a lot of ogres. They drop seeds often, as well as a high rate of gold charms, higher than rock crabs. They don't really drop much else, but their exp is great. Alternatively you could kill moss giants west of Ardougne.
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Levels 60-70. Kill Hellhounds in the Taverly Dungeon. You will require a dusty key in order to access the area, or you could have 70 agility to use the shortcut to go to blue dragons, or 80 agility to use a shortcut directly to the hellhounds themselves. Using a Guthan's set or Vampirism aura negates the need for food, as well as soul split, but it is unlikely to have that. A charming imp may help, as they have one of the highest gold charm rates in the game.
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Levels 70-80. Consider getting 85 dungeoneering to access frost dragons. Not only would this give you chaotic weapons for later on, but they would give you access to this amazing money making and exp rate in the game. If you would not like to do this, travel south of the Bandit Camp to the Exiled Kalphite Hive and kill Exiled Kalphite Guardians. They drop blue charms and herbs frequently, as well as hard and elite clues.
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Levels 80-90. It is highly recommended to have a high slayer at this point, as almost all high exp giving monsters require 80+ slayer. If you have this, kill abyssal demons or Spiritual rangers in the slayer tower and GWD respectively. If you do not, kill waterfiends by teleporting to Barbarian Assault and then running south and jumping into the whirlpool after completing barbarian training.
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Levels 90-99. Again, a high slayer level is almost necessary. If you can, kill Airut for some of the best prayer and combat experience in the game, as well as dropping razorback gauntlets, bring in a hefty few million per drop. Automan tracers after completing The World Wakes is also very good with 95 slayer, as they drop noted high priced items like magic logs and sharks. If you cannot kill these, kill General Graardor in the God Wars Dungeon with his minions, or continue on waterfiends.