Combat level

The RuneScape Wiki also has an article on: rsw:Combat levelThe Old School RuneScape Wiki also has an article on: osrsw:Combat level

Combat level is a number derived from the skills that deal with fighting. It is displayed on the right-click menu of players and monsters.

There is a formula to calculate a player's combat level:

• 1 level in Attack, Strength, Hits or Defense is equal to 1/4 of a combat level.
• 1 level in Magic or Prayer is equivalent to 1/8 of a combat level.
• If ranged multiplied by 1.5 is equal to Attack + Strength combined, 1 ranged level is worth 0.375 combat levels, and attack and strength aren't counted.

Effects

On monster hostility

Main article: Aggressiveness

Combat level determines which aggressive monsters will attack the player. To make an aggressive monster too afraid to attack, the player must be twice its combat level plus one.

On monster attack options

Black Dragons are too high combat level for the player to ever get the default left-click Attack option

Monsters have a Talk-to-option as a default (i.e. left-click) but after the player reaches a combat level higher than the monster (sans Magic and Prayer), the default option becomes Attack. This makes it more convenient to initiate fights but prevents unwary players from accidentally attacking extremely strong monsters.

Interestingly, the combat level formula used for calculating a player's combat level relative to a monster's for the menu order is slightly different than the combat levels usually displayed:

• For players, the following formula is used: ${\frac {{Attack}+{Defense}+{Strength}+{Hits}+27}{4}}$
• For monsters, the following formula is used: ${\frac {{Attack}+{Defense}+{Strength}+{Hits}}{4}}$

This may be a remnant of an earlier formula used in 2001 before the full development of the Prayer and combined Magic skill.

On player killing

Combat level plays an important role in the Wilderness, where player-versus-player combat is allowed within limits of players combat level ± Wilderness level. It is also important indication when considering players strength in duelling.

The attack option will be on the left mouse button if the other player is the same level or up to 4 levels below, otherwise the right click menu.

Calculator

template  = Template:CombatLevel
form      = Cb_Form
result    = Cb_Result
param     = attack|Attack Level|1|int|1-99
param     = defence|Defense Level|1|int|1-99
param     = strength|Strength Level|1|int|1-99
param     = hits|Hits Level|10|int|10-99
param     = ranged|Ranged Level|1|int|1-99
param     = prayer|Prayer Level|1|int|1-99
param     = magic|Magic Level|1|int|1-99

Combat level calculator
Calculator is loading...
Your Combat Level is:
3

Maximum combat level

The maximum combat level RuneScape Classic is 123, which is achieved upon gaining level 99 in all of the combat skills, which are Attack, Strength, Defense, Hits, Magic, and Prayer. You only need either 93 Magic or Prayer with 99 in all of the rest to be combat 123.

The combat calculator always rounds down, so you can actually achieve level 123 combat with stats slightly lower than 99 in Attack, Strength, Defense, Hits, Magic and Prayer. Players can reach a combat level of 123 with level 1 in Ranged when Attack and Strength are 99 or with level 1 in Attack and Strength if Ranged is level 99.

History

Before the update "Improved user interface" on 1 May 2001, combat levels were invisible. Player and monster names were still colour coded relative to combat level.

Notes

• A monster's combat stats, although available in the client to determine the order of the attack menu, is thought to not necessarily have been the same as the game server. An example of this is with the Paladin, where the experience received is slightly more than calculated even from rounding up the calculated combat level.
• Considering the formula of experience received from killing a monster with melee, sometimes the experience is proportional to the monster's combat level after the floor function (rounding down) while other times is after the ceil method (rounding up). The inconsistency could likely be due to outdated stats found in the client.