This app is RuneScape 3, the modern client, not Old School RuneScape. Jagex runs 29 skills here, and the newest of them, Necromancy, arrived on 7 August 2023 as a fourth combat style that sits outside the melee, ranged and magic triangle. Necromancy, Invention and Archaeology all climb to level 120 instead of stopping at 99.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Set Revolution up properly before you fight anything serious
Set Revolution up properly before you fight anything serious. Put Touch of Death, Soul Sap and your other Necromancy basics on the bar so the game fires them automatically, and keep the thresholds and ultimates on manual so you learn the timings that actually matter.
2. Do each Kili's Knowledge assignment the moment you hit the next tenth Necromancy level
Do each Kili's Knowledge assignment the moment you hit the next tenth Necromancy level. Skip two of them and you end up fighting tier 90 content in tier 70 robes, which reads as a damage problem but is really a gear problem.
3. At tier 70 the choice is Deathdealer power robes or Deathwarden tank robes
At tier 70 the choice is Deathdealer power robes or Deathwarden tank robes. Take Deathdealer if you have a solid food and prayer supply, and take Deathwarden only if you are learning a boss whose damage you cannot yet dodge.
4. Run every Elite Dungeon on story mode the first time
Run every Elite Dungeon on story mode the first time. Enemy health and damage drop, you keep every bit of route knowledge, and the drops you give up are ones you would not have lived long enough to earn.
5. Plan the Invention unlock backwards from Divination
Plan the Invention unlock backwards from Divination. Crafting, Divination and Smithing all need level 80 and none of them can be boosted, and Divination is the one that stalls most accounts for weeks.
6. Augment the gear you never take off before you augment your switches
Augment the gear you never take off before you augment your switches. Item experience only accumulates on equipment you actually use, so a perked main hand outperforms a shelf of half levelled specialist weapons.
7. Hold Finger of Death until Touch of Death has landed twice
Hold Finger of Death until Touch of Death has landed twice. At six Necrosis stacks it costs no adrenaline at all, which turns your rotation from adrenaline starved into a repeatable loop.
8. Check which two Prifddinas districts hold the Voice of Seren before you start a long skilling session
Check which two Prifddinas districts hold the Voice of Seren before you start a long skilling session. Picking the wrong district costs you the bonus for the entire block of time you were going to spend anyway.
9. Leave Rasial, the First Necromancer alone until you hold 95 Necromancy and a complete tier 90 setup
Leave Rasial, the First Necromancer alone until you hold 95 Necromancy and a complete tier 90 setup. He drops the omni guard, the soulbound lantern and the robes of the First Necromancer, and none of it is reachable on a half built gear line.
10. If you are free to play, finish the free quests and push combat before you decide on membership
If you are free to play, finish the free quests and push combat before you decide on membership. Necromancy, Invention, Archaeology, Prifddinas and the Elite Dungeons are all members content, and they are most of what a subscription actually buys.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Necromancer (A-Tier):
- Focus on Necromancy as a fourth combat style combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Death guard
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Melee (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Omni guard
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how RuneScape's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Necromancy as a fourth combat style + Revolution and Full Manual ability bars: Necromancy ignores the melee, ranged and magic triangle and runs its own gear line, the death guard main hand and the skull lantern off hand. Combined with Revolution and Full Manual ability bars, revolution fires basic abilities off your bar automatically while you handle thresholds and ultimates yourself, and full manual returns every input for higher damage.
Conjures, Necrosis and Residual Souls + Invention gizmos and augmented gear: Touch of Death deals 90 to 110 percent damage and banks four Necrosis stacks, while Soul Sap banks Residual Souls that Volley of Souls spends. When paired with Invention gizmos and augmented gear, invention needs level 80 crafting, divination and smithing, none of which can be boosted, and it starts at the invention guild north east of the falador lodestone.
Kili's Knowledge upgrades at the Um Smithy scaling: Necromancy gear is upgraded at the Um Smithy by finishing Kili's Knowledge assignments, one roughly every ten levels. At tier 70 you pick Deathwarden tank robes or Deathdealer power robes, and the death guard and skull lantern step from tier 70 to 80 to 90.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Death guard | Every Necromancy player from the first hour to the tier 90 wall | The Necromancy main hand, made and upgraded at the Um Smithy through tiers 70, 80 and 90 after the matching Kili's Knowledge assignment. |
| Omni guard | Endgame Necromancy bossing once you hold 95 Necromancy | A tier 95 Necromancy siphon dropped by Rasial. |
| Fractured Staff of Armadyl | Magic players who want the biggest burst window in the game | A tier 92 two handed staff assembled from the Armadyl symbol, the stabilisation gem and the shaft, all dropped by Kerapac, the bound in hard mode. |
| Bow of the Last Guardian | Ranged players who already clear high end group bosses | A tier 95 two handed bow assembled at 95 Fletching from three Zamorak, Lord of Chaos drops. |
| Zaros godsword | Melee mains and anyone who wants a hard hitting two hander | The strongest of the godswords, requiring 92 Attack, and the melee answer to targets that punish ranged positioning. |
Location Efficiency
City of Um (Necromancy 1 to 120): The Necromancy hub in the Underworld, home to Kili, the soul forge and the Um Smithy where every death guard, skull lantern and robe upgrade is made.
Elite Dungeons (High combat with tier 80 gear or better, or story mode at any level): Three linked dungeons: Temple of Aminishi behind the Impressing the Locals quest, Dragonkin Laboratory in the deep Wilderness castle ruins, and The Shadow Reef with 16 possible mini bosses. All three have a story mode with reduced enemy health and damage.
Prifddinas (Skills 75 plus for most of the city): The elf city unlocked by finishing Plague's End, split into eight clan districts. Two districts hold the Voice of Seren at a time and boost the activities in them.
Anachronia (Hunter 70 plus, Archaeology from level 1): The dinosaur island south east of the mainland, holding the Orthen dig site for Archaeology, Big Game Hunter creatures and a base camp whose totems buff your skilling.
Lumbridge (Levels 1 to 30): The starter town and the centre of free to play RuneScape, with the crater to the north, low level training spots and the first quests most accounts finish.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Following an Old School RuneScape guide. OSRS is a separate game on a separate app with no abilities, no Necromancy and no Invention, so its combat advice does not transfer.
- Staying on Legacy Mode past the tutorial. It removes abilities entirely, which caps your damage far below what Revolution gives you for almost no extra effort.
- Skipping Kili's Knowledge assignments and then buying gear on the Grand Exchange to compensate. Necromancy progression is crafted, not bought.
- Chasing a tier 92 weapon while still wearing tier 70 armour. Survivability gates how long you last in a fight, and a dead player deals no damage at all.
- Training Divination last. It is the slowest of the three Invention requirements and leaving it until the end stalls the whole skill at exactly the point you want it.
Pro Quick Tips
- Set Revolution up properly before you fight anything serious. Put Touch of Death, Soul Sap and your other Necromancy basics on the bar so the game fires them automatically, and keep the thresholds and ultimates on manual so you learn the timings that actually matter.
- Do each Kili's Knowledge assignment the moment you hit the next tenth Necromancy level. Skip two of them and you end up fighting tier 90 content in tier 70 robes, which reads as a damage problem but is really a gear problem.
- At tier 70 the choice is Deathdealer power robes or Deathwarden tank robes. Take Deathdealer if you have a solid food and prayer supply, and take Deathwarden only if you are learning a boss whose damage you cannot yet dodge.
- Start with Melee, switch to Necromancer when ready
- Invest in Death guard above everything else
- Clear areas in order: City of Um → Elite Dungeons → Prifddinas → Anachronia → Lumbridge. See our maps guide
- Necromancy as a fourth combat style + Revolution and Full Manual ability bars together are stronger than either alone
More RuneScape Guides
- RuneScape RuneScape Overview
- RuneScape Best Builds
- RuneScape Tier List
- RuneScape Walkthrough
- RuneScape Beginner's Guide
- RuneScape Weapons Guide
- RuneScape Combat Guide
- RuneScape Boss Guide
- RuneScape Maps & Locations
- RuneScape Crafting Guide
- RuneScape Classes & Characters
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