Crossbows & Bolts
Crossbows
There are quite a few different types of Crossbows in RuneScape, which are another type of Ranging weapon that fire Bolts rather than Arrows, and are slower than Bows. It's for this reason that they are not as commonly used by Rangers.
Crossbow Chart
Picture Crossbow Ranged Attack Bonus Ranging Level Bolts
Regular 6 1 Bronze
Phoenix 6 1 Bronze
Bronze 11 1 Bronze
Blurite 17 16 Up to Blurite
Iron 23 26 Up to Iron
Dorgeshuun 42 28 Bone
Steel 28 31 Up to Steel
Mithril 32 36 Up to Mithril
Adamant 41 46 Up to Adamant
Rune 50 61 Up to Rune
Karil's 84 70 Bolt Racks
Notes:
Blurite Crossbows are untradeable, and can only be smithed after completing the Knight's Sword Quest.
Bolts
There are nearly as many types of Bolts as there are Crossbows. These are the main ammo for Crossbows, and can be made with your Fletching and Smithing skills. Regular bolts may be poisoned with Weapon Poison. Most of them can also be "modified" with special tips to pack more of a punch. these tips include:
Opal - Use a chisel on an Uncut Opal, Mined from the Shilo Village rocks.
Pearl - Use a chisel on a Pearl, Fished with a Big Net.
Barbed - Traded for tickets at the Ticket Merchant in the Ranging Guild.
Gem - Use a Chisel with a gem to cut it, and then use your chisel on it again to make bolt Tips.
Here is a chart of the different kinds of bolts you can make, as well as the Bolt Tips you can add to them:
Crossbow Bolt Chart
Picture Bolt Possible Tips
Bronze Barbed & Opal
Blurite Jade
Iron Pearl
Silver -
Bone -
Steel Red Topaz
Mithril Sapphire, Emerald & Mithril Grapple
Adamant Ruby & Diamond
Rune Dragonstone & Onyx
Bolt Rack -
Enchanted Bolts
Bolts with special tips (Gems, Pearl, or Opal) may be enchanted with your Magic skill to have all sorts of interesting (and helpful) effects on your enemies. Simply place any bolts you wish to have enchanted in your backpack, and then click on the level 4 "Enchant Bolt" spell in your spellbook, to see a menu of possible enchantments. then just select one to enchant your bolts.
Bolt Enchantments
Magic Level Bolt Runes Effect
4 Opal 1 Cosmic, 2 Air Chance of a lightning bolt hitting your enemy causing damage.
7 Sapphire 1 Cosmic, 1 Water, 1 Mind Chance of stealing your enemies Prayer Points.
14 Jade 1 Cosmic, 2 Earth Chance of throwing your opponent to the ground.
24 Pearl 1 Cosmic, 2 Water Chance of hitting your enemy with a wave of water (extra effective against fire-based equipment).
27 Emerald 1 Cosmic, 3 Air, 1 Nature Chance of poisoning your enemy.
29 Red Topaz 1 Cosmic, 2 Fire Chance of decreasing your enemies Magic level.
49 Ruby 1 Cosmic, 5 Fire, 1 Blood Chance of losing 10% of your hits to remove 20% of your enemy's hits.
57 Diamond 1 Cosmic, 10 Earth, 2 Law Chance of decreasing your enemy's Ranged Defense.
68 Dragonstone 1 Cosmic, 15 Earth, 1 Soul Chance of hitting your opponent with "DragonBreath" (Antifire Shield negates this).
87 Onyx 1 Cosmic, 20 Fire, 1 Death Chance of leeching your opponent's hits.
Mithril Grapples
You've probably seen the "secret spy" movies in which a thief makes a cunning entrance with a grappling hook. Well, now you can use your own Mithril Grapple to scale walls and pass over certain Agility obstacles.
To accomplish this, simply Smith a Mithril Grapple and some mithril Bolts and attach them. Use a coil of Rope with the Grappling Hook, and with a Crossbow equipped, use the Grapple with the shortcut to scale it. Be sure to have a spare though, as these devices can sometimes break!
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Throwing Weapons
Darts & Throwing Knives
Throwing Darts and Knives are Members-Only Ranging weapons that pack a punch and can be quickly thrown at your enemy. You can make Darts once you complete the Tourist Trap Quest by Smithing a Dart Tip, and then adding Feathers to them. Throwing Knives can be Smithed as well.
Darts & Knives
Picture Metal Ranging Level
Bronze 1
Iron 1
Steel 5
Black 10
Mithril 20
Adamantite 30
Rune 40
Throwing Axes & Javelins
Throwing Axes and Javelins can be bought from the Ranging Guild, and they are also quite strong weapons. They are held with one hand, much like Darts and Knives to allow the use of a shield. The requirements for using them are the same as the ones for Darts & Knives.
Javelins & Throwing Axes
Picture Item Ranging Attack Bonus
Bronze Javelin 5
Iron Javelin 8
Steel Javelin 12
Mithril Javelin 17
Adamantite Javelin 24
Rune Javelin 38
Bronze Throwing Axe 4
Iron Throwing Axe 5
Steel Throwing Axe 8
Mithril Throwing Axe 12
Adamantite Throwing Axe 17
Rune Throwing Axe 26
Chinchompas
Chinchompas are stackable range weapons that can be obtained through the Hunter skill. The unique property about chinchompas is that they explode and damage everything in a 3 by 3 square centered around the target in multi-way combat zones. This can be very useful for training, and a guide about it can be found in the Ranging Help guide. Chinchompas are stackable, but cannot be 'Dropped' on the floor, since they are animals they are 'released'. They are tradeable but come at high prices.
There is one final thing to note about chinchompas: The attack style. Instead of having an accurate, a rapid and a long range setting, chinchompas have 3 different fuse lengths. Choosing a length appropriate to your distance from the target increases the damage, and the longest fuse results in defense experience as well as ranged experience.
Chinchompas
Picture Chinchompa Ranging Level
Chinchompa 45
Red Chinchompa 55
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Dwarven Multi-Cannon
This extremely powerful Ranging Cannon can be bought for a nominal fee of 750,000gp, after you complete the Dwarf Cannon Quest. The cannon can hold up to 30 Cannonballs, Smithed from a Steel Bar (1 Bar makes 4 Cannonballs), and it is made up of a base, stand, furnace, and barrel. To use it, you must set up all four pieces on the floor, and load it with Cannonballs. After that, it will continue to rotate, hitting any nearby enemies.
Although the Dwarven Multicannon is a very cool weapon, there are a few things to note. First, you can't use it against extremely tough enemies such as the Kalphite Queen, King Black Dragon, Abyssal Demon or any of the Metal Dragons, as they will destroy it. Second, using it for extended periods of time will cause your cannon to degrade (you'll see a message alerting you of this). If this happens, simply pick it up and set it back down again.
However, if the cannon degrades completely, it will disappear and leave only Cannonballs behind. When that happens, you must head back to Nulodion and get a replacement cannon.
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