Combat is one of the finer components of RuneScape and forms the basis of the PvP game. One can manipulate the combat triangle and combat calculations to produce powerful builds.

Beginnings

Ones combat level is composed of the following stats: Attack, Strength, Defence, Prayer, HP, Ranged, Magic. By focusing on a certain stat, powerful and advantageous builds can be developed. However most notably Defence is the stat around which accounts are developed.

Other than stats, PvP account builds will make use of non-tradable items and prayers such as Barrow gloves, Fighter Torso or the Rigour prayer. Let us consider the accounts most popular in PvP today.

1 Defence Pures

The most common account build is the 1 Defence pure. These are accounts that completely omit the benefits of defence for a more offensive stance. Often these accounts will be of a fixed attack level, Prayer can vary from 1 to 52 (for Smite). Here are a list of common 1 Defence pures.

• Rune 2H pure (F2P) - These accounts have 40 attack for the R2H, coupled with high strength and ranged. By coupling rapid ranged attacks with a R2H finish, a prompt KO can be delivered. Typical CB levels are 40-59.

• Obsidian pure - These accounts strictly have 1 attack while having high strength levels. They are inspired by the Tzhaar-Ket-Om (Obby maul). Able to hit over 40+ at 99 Strength while being in very low CB brackets of 30-49, these are amongst the most OP 1 Defence accounts. However while Obsidian pures shine against other pures, they will nearly always fail to hit accounts with higher defence.
• Granite mauler - These accounts have 50 attack for the Granite maul. Together with high ranged, magic and strength the potential for high special attack KOs is there. They will be typically found in the 50-70 CB bracket.
• 60 Attack pure - As the name suggestions, this type of pure will have 60 attack. Thus the Dragon Scimitar, DDS and Dragon claws are weapons of choice. While on paper these are powerful accounts, due to being higher combat than other accounts they will be susceptible to accounts like Zerkers/Pieties which diminish their abilities with higher defence. Thus their popularity has dwindled in recent years. These are usually around level 65-80.
• 75 to 99 Attack pure - This type of 1 Defence pure is highly offensive, with access to weapons like the AGS and Elder maul. They are very accurate in melee combat, however this results in a high combat level. As with the 60 Attack pure, these will struggle against accounts that have Defence to their benefit. Typical CB level ranges from 75-90.

N.B: Quests usually completed by 1 Defence pures include Animal Magnetism, Desert Treasure, Recipe for Disaster (up to mithril gloves), Horror from the Deep. These give access to items like Ava's Accumulator, various God books and Ancient magic spells like Ice Barrage.

Prayer is kept to ones taste. Many will choose to stay 1 Prayer, especially in the lower combat brackets. Some may want to get 31 Prayer for the 15% strength boost by ultimate strength. For others, 43-52 prayer may be more viable allowing access to all 3 protection prayers, eagle eye for 15% ranged boost and also Smite.

40-45 Defence (Rune pures & Zerkers)

The next set of accounts are based around 40-45 Defence. These accounts train defence in return for access to BiS un-tradable items like Fighter Torso, Barrow gloves or Rune Defender. There are 3 main accounts in this bracket:

• 40 Defence (Rune pure) - Having 40 Defence, this type of pure can wield Rune armour and special un-tradable items like Fighter torso or Rune defender. However they cannot get higher than Dragon gloves, rendering them somewhat useless in lieu of the Berserker pure.
• 42 Defence (Void pure) - With 42 Defence, these accounts can wear void equipment which offers +10% to damage and accuracy. Mainly these will be used with a Dark bow/Ballista to deliver lethal KOs. These accounts can also complete Recipe for disaster to access Barrow gloves. The popularity of this build has dwindled ever since the void armour nerf.

• 45 Defence (Zerker pure) - Finally in this category of accounts is the Berserker pure (commonly referred to as the Zerker). This account is defined by the helmet depicted above: the Berserker helmet. Offering generous defence bonuses in addition to a prized +3 strength bonus, this item gives an a significant edge in PvP. Not only can Barrow gloves be achieved on this build, but also the Rune defender, Fighter Torso and Fighter Hat.

NB: The premise of these accounts is to quest for powerful un-tradables. Thus creators of these accounts must be ready to quest all the way up to 176 quest points and the associated skilling. This can be quite a strenuous task. Alongside void armour and the various penance items, a lot of time needs to be invested to create the perfect 40-45 Defence account.

Prayer is generally kept above 43 and most commonly at 52 to access smite. Some zerkers may choose to get 55 to access the spirit shield and many end game zerkers get 99.

Piety and Barrow pures

The final range of PvP builds are the Piety and Barrow pures. Both of these respectively have 70 Defence and Prayer however the two are not mutually intelligble. Both serve different purposes as below:

• Piety Pure - The entire premise of this account is to have the Piety prayer which delivers a 25% boost to a player's Defence, a 23% boost to a player's Strength, and a 20% boost to a player's Attack. Thus these accounts are highly offensive as well as defensive. Special versions of these accounts with 50 Attack are notably deadly at a low relative combat level.
• Barrows pure - A barrows pure is a special version of the Piety pure, whereby both attack and defence are 70 to allow access to barrow sets, namely Dharoks.

• 75 Defence pure - These are effectively the same as the aforementioned accounts however players voluntarily choose to level to 75 Defence to gain access to Primordial, Eternal and Pegasian boots which are best in slot boots. In addition to these boots, one can access the main spirit shields like the Elysian spirit shield.
• Ranged tank - These accounts have high ranged and high defence. The popularity of dedicated ranged tanks has decreased with the advent of OSRS. Normally the above accounts are sufficient in being used as ranged tanks.

NB: A well planned Piety/Barrows pure will be quested to at least 176 QPs for Barrow gloves with Piety unlocked. An Infernal cape is essential in this combat bracket.

Prayer is usually kept to 70, however Rigour and Augury can be unlocked at 74 and 77. Rigour boosts Ranged Attack by 20%, Ranged Strength by 23%, and Defence by 25%. While Augury boosts Magic Attack and Defence by 25%.

Unorthodox builds

In addition to all the above, some account builds occur less commonly primarly due to the amount of time/experience needed to build them:

• Steel/Black/Mith/Addy Pures: These are 1 Defence accounts that have failed at some point, prompting the users to round up the defence. This results in unneccesary combat level gain for not much benefit. It is far more ideal to quest up and get 40 Defence for rune armour.
• 13 Defence pures: These are 1 Defence accounts that have completed Nature's Spirit quest to allow further completion of RFD for Adamant gloves. 13 Defence is a unsightly defence level to have and the benefit is only +1 strength bonus.
• TSOTD pures (Toxic staff of the dead pures): These accounts have 75 attack in order to wield the Staff of the Dead, while maintaining 1 Strength/Defence/Ranged and high Magic level. These are quite low CB accounts and deadly due to their venom effect however not easy to build.
• Single-stat pures: Quite simply these are accounts that only train 1 stat (attack, strength, defence, prayer, ranged, magic, HP). They are normally for show and serve little utility. Example of such accounts are 99 Prayer at 15 combat or 99 Defence at 27 combat. They typically take many hundred hours of gameplay to achieve and their worth can only be determined by the player.
• Skillers: Skillers are not PvP accounts. Rather their focus is on the non-combat side of Old School RuneScape such as Woodcutting or Runecrafting. These accounts remain level 3 out of Tutorial island and for the rest of their playing time. (Un-wanted combat experience is prevent by equipping an arrowless bow). An impressive feat of some skillers is training of Slayer. This is painstakingly done via quest reward lamps, random event genies and other one time experience rewards.
• Ironman/Hardcore Ironman: Ironman is a relatively new style of account introduced in recent years. The premise of the account is to exist entirely as your own entity in the world of RuneScape. Thus one cannot trade or seek any kind of help from other players. Materials must be gathered soley and monsters must be engaged with by oneself. Ironman tests a players patience and also their knowledge of the game. Hardcore Ironman have the same restrictions as Ironman, however they have 1 life as a "hardcore" Ironman before succumbing to a "normal" Ironman.

There are many types of accounts you can build in RuneScape. However an account is not a true PvP account without an Infernal Cape. Get in touch with us if you are interested in a fine remote Infernal Service!