Used by bows (Crossbows use Bolts), arrows are one of the most important pieces of equipment in an archer’s arsenal. Able to be crafted through the Fletching skill, having a large supply of arrows is mandatory for success.
All arrows have a 20% chance of disappearing after hitting their target but players can also steal fired arrows from each-other. Certain bows can only use certain types of arrows, keeping track of which arrows you have equipped is important to maximise your damage output.
To help you stay up-to-date with your arrow endeavours, consult this list of the 10 best arrows in Old School RuneScape!
10. Iron Arrows
Usable by all bows except of course the training bow, Iron arrows will serve you well for a long, long time. As they’re easy to farm and cheap to buy, stocking up on this ammunition is recommended for archers that are just starting their career!
Ranged Requirement: 1
Ranged Bonus: 10
Grand Exchange price: 9
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Craft it with a Fletching level of 15. Buy them from Lowe’s Archery Emporium or Hickton’s Archery Emporium. Complete a Maze random event. Hill Giants, Minotaurs and Ogress Warriors have a good chance of dropping them too.
9. Ice Arrows
A huge ranged requirement with a low ranged bonus is weird, Ice arrows are certainly one of the most unique in the entire game. During the Desert Treasure quest, Fareed can be damaged by Ice arrows but he negates the damage from any other arrow type. Overall, Ice arrows have just a few specific uses so you shouldn’t worry about trying to get your hands on any.
Ranged Requirement: 40
Ranged Bonus: 16
Grand Exchange price: N/A
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Found only chests during the Temple of Ikov quest.
8. Steel Arrows
With just a smidgen more damage than the Iron variant of arrows, Steel arrows are the next level up as their ranged requirement proves. With more power comes a higher price, costing almost 5 times as much as Iron arrows.
Ranged Requirement: 5
Ranged Bonus: 16
Grand Exchange price: 44
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Craft it with a Fletching level of 30. Buy them from Lowe’s Archery Emporium or the Grand Exchange.
7. Ogre Arrows
With a unique appearance and decent damage, Ogre arrows are an easy source of ammo if you meet the requirements. Required for the Big Chompy Bird Hunting and a Recipe for Disaster side-quest.
Unfortunately the Ogre arrows can only be fired by an Ogre Bow, or Comp Ogre Bow.
Ranged Requirement: 30
Ranged Bonus: 22
Grand Exchange price: 237
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Craft them with a Fletching level of 5 or buy them from the Grand Exchange.
6. Mithril Arrows
Providing the same damage as Ogre arrows without the drawbacks of a level 30 ranged requirement, Mithril arrows are surely one of the best for early levels. Plenty of monsters drop this arrow type, reducing its price on the Grand Exchange by quite a lot.
You’ll find yourself using this arrow variant until your ranged level is high enough for the next entry!
Ranged Requirement: 20
Ranged Bonus: 22
Grand Exchange price: 39
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Craft them with a Fletching level of 45. Buy them from Lowe’s Archery Emporium or the Grand Exchange. Plenty of monsters drop this arrow too, see the wikia entry.
5. Broad Arrows
Broad arrows have fairly low ranged bonuses, especially compared to other arrows of the same ranged requirement. However, usefulness doesn’t just involve the amount of damage dealt!
They are the only arrows that can damage Turoths and Kurasks.
Slightly off-topic but Broad arrowheads are much, much easier to obtain over other arrowheads. This makes them a great choice for obtaining Fletching experience.
Ranged Requirement: 50
Ranged Bonus: 28
Grand Exchange price: N/A
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Buy them from any Slayer Master, or craft with a Fletching level of 52 after learning the recipe from a Slayer Master for 300 slayer points. Can also be dropped by Sea Snake Hatchlings, Sea Snake Youngs and Giant Sea Snakes.
4. Adamant Arrows
Of all arrows available to free-to-play players, the Adamant arrow is the best. Easily obtainable, if you play for free you’ll still have a reliable and effective ammunition type. It’s quite bizarre how cheap they are on the Grand Exchange, any player can stock up on them for a small price!
Ranged Requirement: 30
Ranged Bonus: 31
Grand Exchange price: 64
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Buy from Lowe’s Archery Emporium or the Bounty Hunter Store. Craft with a Fletching level of 60. Also dropped by monsters such as K’ril Tsutsaroth, Maniacal Monkeys, Ankous, Ice Warriors and Ice Giants.
3. Rune Arrows
Rune arrows are the next step up from Adamant arrows, and have a drastically increased ranged bonus. Surprisingly easy to obtain, Rune arrows can be an extremely cost-efficient way of traversing the world of Runescape.
Ranged Requirement: 40
Ranged Bonus: 49
Grand Exchange price: 82
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Craft with a Fletching skill of 75. You can exchange 2000 archery tickets for 50 Rune arrows in the Ranging Guild. The Bounty Hunter Store also sells them for 600 points each. Plenty of monsters also drop them, see the full list on the wikia. Or buy from the Grand Exchange.
2. Amethyst Arrows
Such a small upgrade to damaging stats over Rune arrows is seemingly not that strong but it makes a huge difference. Particularly in pvp, Amethyst arrows hit like a truck.
With each arrow costing so much, players tend to hoard them and use them only when necessary. This is of course if you’re more of a casual player.
Ranged Requirement: 50
Ranged Bonus: 55
Grand Exchange price: 207
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Craft with a Fletching skill of 82 or buy from the Grand Exchange.
1. Dragon Arrows
Only 3 bows can even fire this arrow type, they’re the Dark Bow, the Twisted Bow and the 3rd Age Bow. That’s justified though, as Dragon arrows deal an absurd amount of damage. More so than any other arrow in the entire game!
Ranged Requirement: 60
Ranged Bonus: 60
Grand Exchange price: 1259
(SPOILER) How to obtain: Craft with a Fletching skill of 90 or buy from the Grand Exchange. Dragon Implings have a high chance of dropping them, Chambers of Xeric have a decent chance and the Crazy Archeologist has a rare chance.