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[Levells]

Guide to EOC Armor/Weapons [All Combat Styles]

Especially for anyone who wants to do PvM or even slayer, you'll want to know what the "best" armor and weapons are for every situation. This guide is intended for "higher" level players as it looks at armor and weapons that are generally level 70+ in requirements. At these levels there is more diversity and choices to be made over, say, Dragon items.

Contents

• Important Information
  
• Melee Armor
  
• Melee Weapons
  
• Ranged Armor
  
• Ranged Weapons
  
• Magic Armor
  
• Magic Weapons
  
• All Class/Miscellaneous

1. Important Information

Token refunds: Augury/Rigour (unlocked through Knight's Wave Training Ground), Blastboxes/Surgeboxes

Weapons will have a damage bonus and a hit bonus (accuracy). Your Strength, Magic, and Ranged level will be added to the weapon's damage (this is visible and can be seen on the equip item screen. Offhand items appear to receive half your level in bonus).

All weapons are also classified by the combat style they belong to. For Melee, that is slash, stab, and crush. Magic: air, water, earth, fire. Ranged: bolt, arrow, thrown.  This is especially important when you engage in combat. If something is weak to ranged attacks, your attacks will be more accurate. If you cater to their specific weakness, such as bolts, your accuracy is improved by as much as 15%. If you fight against something using the correct style, 100% of your accuracy rating is used. Against a secondary style, 50%, and against the wrong style, only 20% of your accuracy is used.

Capes, rings, necklaces, helms, boots, and gloves do not negatively impact your accuracy if they are of a different class. This is especially useful if you don't mind the altered defense, or perhaps a lower price like picking the cheapest Glacor boots, and can help cover some weaknesses (i.e. wearing mage armor and bandos boots, instead of a lower level boot like Mystic, will lower your magic defense but increase your ranged defense).

Armor generally has 3 things associated with them: the defense rating, life point bonus, and the class it belongs to. There are 4 classes: Melee, Magic, Ranged, and All/Hybrid. 'All' class armor will provide moderate defense but does not penalize your offense.

The last new idea is that of a "critical hit", a chance to do a large amount of damage (1.5x as much). Some weapons inherently have this stat (such as dragon claws), it can be raised by wearing amulets, rings, and capes that give critical hit bonuses. Some items only give bonuses to a certain style of attack, such as the obsidian cape boosting melee critical hit chances.

Abilities do not consume runes/ammo.

Prayer bonuses on items have been severely reduced, in some cases halfed or worse (although it appears that Prostylete was not affected).

At 70 defense, there are two options to choose from: Bandos or Barrows. Keep in mind I am not mentioning the set effects (Although I hear that Dharok is incredible). In terms of defense and life points, all of these offer the same amount. Prayer bonuses on Verac and Akrisae have been reduced to the point where the the chest piece is only a +1 over God Wars armor. Combined with the increase in upkeep for Barrows armors and it looks like Bandos/Armardyl/Subjugation are the better long term investments.  At 80, Nex armor is king. They may also introduce set effects on Nex armors but I have no other info. Start your savings account now. Or wait until Player Owned Ports or whenever the lvl 85 armor will come out. Glacor boots require level 85 defense, rather than 75, making them the best in the game.

Dominion Tower gloves currently have a reflect damage effect; they reflect damage of the style they are strong against (so Goliaths reflect range).

My personal (perhaps "budget") recommendations will be bolded. Some items don't have one as it comes down to personal preference and what you can manage.

2. Melee Armor

Body/Legs/Helm: Torva > Verac = Bandos > Guthan/Torag/Dharok.

Shield: Chaotic kiteshield > Divine Spirit Shield > Blessed Spirit Shield = Bandos Warshield = Dragonfire Shield (still important w/o Super Antifires) > Dragon Kiteshield > Dragon Square Shield
The Divine does have the damage reduction, which may make it better than the Chaotic in some situations.

Gloves: Goliaths > Torva > Bandos Gloves = Culiro 10 (Barrows)

Ring: Warrior (i) > Warrior = Onyx (i) > Berserker (i) > Berserker > Tokkul-zo

Cape: Completionist > Tokhaar-Kal > Max > Fire cape > Skill cape = Quest cape > Obsidian cape > Ardougne Cloak 3
Some All class items have been included for comparison. Priority is given to critical % chances.

Boots: Steadfasts > Torva > Bandos boots > Dragon boots

Amulet: Saradomin's whisper > Amulet of fury

3. Melee Weapons

One handed (and offhand)
Main hand: Chaotic rapier/longsword (stab/slash) > Abyssal Vine Whip (slash) > Abyssal Whip (slash) = Korasi's Sword (stab)
Offhand: Offhand Chaotic rapier/longsword (stab/slash) > Enhanced Excalibur (slash) > Dragon defender (stab)

Korasi's has higher damage than an Abyssal Whip but is 1 speed slower and is only slightly less accurate. Since Abilities often do weapon based damage, Korasi > Whip for DPS. Korasi also has a 1% crit chance.

Enhanced Excalibur now has a chance to heal you in combat. The Elite version has this healing potential doubled.

It appears that the Abyssal Vine Whip also has a passive (like it's old special attack), which should help boost dps. There are some people who want to test if vine whip +ee is a better combo than dual chaotics, so I'll keep my ears open.

The dragon defender deserves a small mention here. While not as powerful as other offhand items, it does provide some added DPS along with a defense and life point boost. (DDef is about half of a dragon dagger and half of a dragon shield, equivalent to mithril if Wikia is correct, but it combines both those bonuses into 1 slot).  It has been mentioned that defenders need more love, but it remains to be seen what happens. Defenders do count as dual wielding and allow you to perform those kind of abilities.

Two handed
Chaotic maul > Godsword (slash) = Zamorack Spear (stab) = Saradomin Sword (Crush)
Godswords have had a passive ability added to them. Saradomin has a chance to heal and restore prayer, Bandos lowers defense, Armadyl can hit higher, and Zamorack has a chance to stun.

4. Ranged Armor

Body/Legs/Helm: Pernix > Armadyl > Karils

Gloves: Swifts > Pernix > Armadyl = Culiro 10 (Barrows)

Amulet: Saradomin's murmur > Amulet of Ranging > Amulet of Fury

Ring: Archer (i) > Archer = Onyx (i) > Berserker (i) > Berserker > Tokkul-zo

Boots: Glaivens > Pernix > Armadyl

Shield: Eagle Eye Kiteshield > Elysian Spirit Shield > Armadyl Buckler = Dragonfire shield (ranged) > Black d'hide shield
Elysian has the soaking, which can be useful.

Cape: Completionist > Max > Ava's Alerter > Skillcape = Quest cape > Ava's Accumulator > Ardougne Cloak 3

5. Ranged Weapons

One handed
Main hand: Chaotic crossbow > Armadyl crossbow > dragon c'bow > rune crossbow
Offhand: Offhand chaotic crossbow > offhand dragon cbow > offhand rune crossbow
Important: due to the new level based system on enchanted bolts, some of the popular high end bolts may not be fired from a rune crossbow. I 'believe' it can only fire up to Emerald tipped.
I personally do not recommend crossbows unless you either have chaotics or a lot of money. Being reduced to affordable level 50 gear is not a good idea.

Two handed
Royal crossbow = Zaryte bow > Crystal Bow = Black Salamander = Karil's crossbow > dragon 2h cbow
Arrows, while more powerful than before, are largely useless for anyone who can use the above (ammo supplied or bolts)
For giggles, I have a Dark Bow to use with my Broad Arrows for when I kill guards for Jack of Trades.

Ammo
Bolts are stronger the higher tier they go. In terms of pure damage bonus: royal = onyx (e) > diamond (e) = dragon (e) > ruby (e) = emerald (e) > broad = rune = bane > sapphire (e) > adamant

6. Magic Armor

Body/Legs/Head: Virtus > Gano > Akrisae = Subjugation = Ahrim
Note that Gano is the only current armor requiring lvl 75.

Gloves: Spellcaster > Virtus > Gano > Subjugation = Culiro 10 (Barrows)

Boots: Ragefires > Virtus > Gano > Subjugation

Cape: Completionist > God cloak > Max > Skillcape = Quest cape > Ardougne Cloak 3 > Soul wars cape

Ring: Seer (i) > Seer = Onyx (i) > Berserker (i) > Berserker > Tokkul-zo

Shield: Farseer kiteshield > Arcane Spirit Shield = Spectral Spirit Shield > Ward of Subjugation  = Crystal shield > Dragonfire shield (magic) > Grifolic Shield
Arcane has the damage soaking, Spectral does not.

Amulet: Arcane Stream > Saradomin's Hiss > Amulet of Fury

7. Magic Weapons

One handed
Main hand: Virtus wand > Master Wand > Ahrim's wand > Grilfolic wand > Batwing wand (I mention batwing because while it is low level, it can be crafted, rather than obtained as a rare drop. And the street price on the others are more than many players would be willing to pay)
Offhand: Ankh > Virtus book > Ahrim's book > Mage's book = Grifolic orb > Tome of Frost
Equipping a book or orb allows you to cast spells twice as fast, but at 75% strength each cast. Staves are slower but have damage increased to 150%.
The Master Wand has slightly lower accuracy than Ahrim's but has a crit chance.
(Illuminated) God books do not provide hit bonus increases but they do have armor and life point bonuses, as well as their pray bonus. They also offer critical hit chances. Because of this flip flop, I honestly don't know where they should go in the ranking.
The Ankh is a hidden reward after Do No Evil and Diamond in the Rough, requiring a boostable 80 agility. It is 25% more accurate than the VIrtus Book and can be obtained for free.

Two handed
Chaotic staff > Armadyl battlestaff > Staff of light = Polypore staff
The Armadyl battlestaff still counts as an air staff but is much more accurate than the mystic version. This makes it ideal for using with high powered wind spells (or others if you have the runes). It no longer increases the casting speed of Storm of Armadyl, it increases the damage.
Polypore has its built in spell (which can be used in any spellbook, including Lunars. It shows up as an autocastable spell).
Staff of light still has the chance to save your runes.

8. All Class/Miscellaneous

Possible hybrid armor:

• Void
  
• Amulet of Fury
  
• Barrows gloves
  
• Onyx (i), Berserker (i), Berserker, Tokkul-Zo
  
• Skillcape, Ardougne Cloak 3
  
• At the loss of more defense/life points, Dragon Rider boots still have a +2 prayer bonus and are All class.

Other changes:

• The God spells have been removed and replaced with Divine Storm (requires air runes)
  
• Milestone capes provide a defense bonus but no other stats such as critical %.
  
• Darklight has an accuracy of 200. Holy water will also remove a Tormented Demon's shield.
  
• Gear like fighter torso/hat, dwarven helm and others that gave small offensive bonuses will be largely useless, offensively.

The unknown:

• If Salve amulet (e)'s bonus is always active or if the crit only applies to undead. If there are no hidden bonuses, anything over Amulet of glory would be better (Even a lower amulet).
  
• Exactly how prayer + potions affect damage/accuracy.
  
• If boosts such as the slayer helm and void work on ablities or only autoattacks.

If you only have a limited amount of money and want to upgrade your gear:

• Upgrade your main hand weapon first before you consider upgrading your offhand (offhands contribute much less to overall damage)
  
• If you don't have a shield and are constantly eating, get/upgrade to a shield, even if it is only to swap to in order to take advantage of the various shield-required healing abilities.
  
• Upgrade armor in this order (there may be some exceptions): Body, legs, helm, boots/gloves

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Should you see anything that changes from what I have, please leave a comment and I'll correct it.

If you have any information or recommendations, please share :)

Thanks to B.A. Baracus for confirmation on the royal crossbow and about the change to the Armadyl battlestaff.

Edited by Levells, 27 November 2012 - 05:37 PM.

[Cera S6]

Seem about the same as current armour, just the fact that you can use two hands.

I think the main thing that will be changed is the main F2P gear. New draognhide shields, blue dragonhide being used for F2P. Things like that.

Thanks for the update.

[sev1627]

Interesting. Should probably buy verac's before it rises.

[Levells]

Cera S6, on 08 November 2012 - 03:50 PM, said:

Seem about the same as current armour, just the fact that you can use two hands.

I think the main thing that will be changed is the main F2P gear. New draognhide shields, blue dragonhide being used for F2P. Things like that.

Thanks for the update.

Very true. The shields are interesting, I might end up making a black dhide one if I don't have anything else high enough.

Magic is interesting with the staffs being 2handed. Common combinations won't work any more and I wonder if people will prefer wands. Surgeboxes are leaving and the main pieces of subjugation are outclassed now because they lost their % damage bonus.

Things like the fighter torso/hat and I think even the dwarvern helm where those strength/attack bonuses were useful are now not very useful. Niche armor/weapons like them are outclassed easily.

[Cera S6]

Levells, on 08 November 2012 - 04:20 PM, said:

Cera S6, on 08 November 2012 - 03:50 PM, said:

Seem about the same as current armour, just the fact that you can use two hands.

I think the main thing that will be changed is the main F2P gear. New draognhide shields, blue dragonhide being used for F2P. Things like that.

Thanks for the update.

Very true. The shields are interesting, I might end up making a black dhide one if I don't have anything else high enough.

Magic is interesting with the staffs being 2handed. Common combinations won't work any more and I wonder if people will prefer wands. Surgeboxes are leaving and the main pieces of subjugation are outclassed now because they lost their % damage bonus.

Things like the fighter torso/hat and I think even the dwarvern helm where those strength/attack bonuses were useful are now not very useful. Niche armor/weapons like them are outclassed easily.

No surgeboxes? What??

[B.A. Baracus]

Very nice so far, the Wiki is a bit.... slow in updating their Beta stats. This guide could be a classic with a bit of work, it's the only one I've seen on RSC that goes over this stuff so thanks for that. A couple of corrections/input: The Armadyl Battlestaff no longer increases the casting speed of Storm of Armadyl, it now increases the Damage of that spell. I have the Royal Crossbow in the Beta and I can confirm it IS a 2-handed crossbow, with the Royal Bolts its stats are Identical to Swift Gloves'. It also might be worth investigating what the "Effectiveness Vs." on the Equipment screen means, I.E. how much if any Penalty to offensive and defensive effectiveness mixing and matching armor from different combat styles has.

Cera S6, on 08 November 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

No surgeboxes? What??

They're being removed from the game and your tokens refunded when the EoC goes live.

[Cera S6]

B.A. Baracus, on 08 November 2012 - 04:33 PM, said:

Very nice so far, the Wiki is a bit.... slow in updating their Beta stats. This guide could be a classic with a bit of work, it's the only one I've seen on RSC that goes over this stuff so thanks for that. A couple of corrections/input: The Armadyl Battlestaff no longer increases the casting speed of Storm of Armadyl, it now increases the Damage of that spell. I have the Royal Crossbow in the Beta and I can confirm it IS a 2-handed crossbow, with the Royal Bolts its stats are Identical to Swift Gloves'. It also might be worth investigating what the "Effectiveness Vs." on the Equipment screen means, I.E. how much if any Penalty to offensive and defensive effectiveness mixing and matching armor from different combat styles has.

Cera S6, on 08 November 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

No surgeboxes? What??

They're being removed from the game and your tokens refunded when the EoC goes live.

Wow didn't realize that. That sucks...

[Levells]

B.A. Baracus, on 08 November 2012 - 04:33 PM, said:

Very nice so far, the Wiki is a bit.... slow in updating their Beta stats. This guide could be a classic with a bit of work, it's the only one I've seen on RSC that goes over this stuff so thanks for that. A couple of corrections/input: The Armadyl Battlestaff no longer increases the casting speed of Storm of Armadyl, it now increases the Damage of that spell. I have the Royal Crossbow in the Beta and I can confirm it IS a 2-handed crossbow, with the Royal Bolts its stats are Identical to Swift Gloves'. It also might be worth investigating what the "Effectiveness Vs." on the Equipment screen means, I.E. how much if any Penalty to offensive and defensive effectiveness mixing and matching armor from different combat styles has.

Thanks for that. I know, wiki is very slow. I've been keeping notes because I can't rely on it being right.
Credited you for the confirmation/new info.
As for the penalty and such.... the common complaint I keep hearing is that someone was going around in Torva and maging. And winning. So, I'm not sure if they removed that or what. I know before the equip interface change, I could see my accuracy go down if I had a sword and put on a piece of range armor. I'll have to try beating something up in a setup like that.

Also, if you have any advice on how to make this better, I'd love to hear it.

Edited by Levells, 08 November 2012 - 06:04 PM.

[B.A. Baracus]

Levells, on 08 November 2012 - 05:45 PM, said:

Thanks for that. I know, wiki is very slow. I've been keeping notes because I can't rely on it being right.
Credited you for the confirmation/new info.
As for the penalty and such.... the common complaint I keep hearing is that someone was going around in Torva and maging. And winning. So, I'm not sure if they removed that or what. I know before the equip interface change, I could see my accuracy go down if I had a sword and put on a piece of range armor. I'll have to try beating something up in a setup like that.

Also, if you have any advice on how to make this better, I'd love to hear it.

I've done some looking at the effectiveness thing in the Beta, it seems mixing and matching gives a tiny negative bonus to other styles, but it seems so miniscule that it's not really a problem. I'd love to see more testing done on it, but I don't really have the time right now. As for how to make it better, the information's good but you might try formatting it differently, it's kind of cluttered right now. Maybe look at some of the other guides in General Guides and try to make yours look a little more like them. You might also want to expand on the information you have, it'll be a lot easier to do when the EoC goes live and people start seriously researching this stuff.

[Bloodstain]

Any idea if Bandos Chest and Tassets will be updated, or are they going to be left inferior to Verac?

[Levells]

Bloodstain, on 11 November 2012 - 05:38 PM, said:

Any idea if Bandos Chest and Tassets will be updated, or are they going to be left inferior to Verac?

As far as I can tell from the forums, it looks like the only thing that might change is upping the repair cost for the Barrows armor (Mod Pi said he'd look at it). The current pricing is 8 years old. That way, it would be a bit better to have a non-degradable version like Bandos.

[Tee 3]

Frankly this does seem more like an extensive tip rather than a guide, but it's extremely well compiled information.

My recommendation would be to either expand it with pictures and slightly more structure (i.e. situations for certain gear, etc.) or just have it moved to the tips board.

Edited by Tee 3, 12 November 2012 - 06:48 PM.

[iHateEoCalot]

should i buy a bandos warshield or a dragonfire shield?

[Levells]

Bandos Warshield is marginally better. Unless you plan on killing dragons and don't have super antifires, Bandos Warshield is cheaper and better.

[COWLBUT]

Any idea about what ferocious ring does in kuradal's dungeon?

[Levells]

COWLBUT, on 22 November 2012 - 12:15 PM, said:

Any idea about what ferocious ring does in kuradal's dungeon?

Better off posting that in questions. I lack the slayer level and I haven't heard about it either.

In other news, there's a bit more that's been changed I wasn't aware of. Nothing game changing, but I'll be changing a few things around.

Edited by Levells, 23 November 2012 - 12:04 PM.

[TRANZAO]

how can i make off-hand weapons?

[Levells]

TRANZAO, on 23 November 2012 - 09:59 AM, said:

how can i make off-hand weapons?

Smithing, Fletching, Buying.

[konka]

Very informative topic.

[Money]

i've heard that void is the best armor, as it is the only armor that provides offensive boosts

would the offensive boosts outweigh the losses in defence? i've also heard that rs monsters are now a lot easier as long as you fight them with the correct combat style. if so, then wouldn't void be better than torva?