What is Combat Level in OSRS?
Combat level is a numerical representation (3-126) of your character's overall combat strength in Old School RuneScape. It's calculated using seven combat stats: Attack, Strength, Defence, Hitpoints, Prayer, Ranged, and Magic. Combat level determines: (1) Who you can attack in the Wilderness (±combat level based on wilderness level), (2) What PvP bracket you fall into, (3) Matchmaking for certain minigames, (4) NPC aggression ranges.
Combat Level Formula Explained
The OSRS combat level formula has two parts:
Base combat = 0.25 × (Defence + Hitpoints + Prayer÷2)
Offensive combat = Highest of: [0.325 × (Attack + Strength)], [0.325 × Ranged × 1.5], [0.325 × Magic × 1.5]
Combat level = Base + Offensive (rounded down)
Key insights: (1) Defence, HP, and half of Prayer always count toward combat, (2) Only your highest combat style (melee/ranged/mage) counts, (3) Ranged and Magic are multiplied by 1.5 before comparison, making them slightly more efficient for combat level, (4) Prayer only counts at half value, so 99 Prayer adds ~12 combat levels.
Popular PvP Builds and Combat Brackets
1 Defence Pures (40-60 CB): Keep 1 Defence to stay low combat. Max out Ranged/Magic for offense. Popular builds: 50 Attack (Granite Maul), 60 Attack (Dragon weapons), 75 Attack (AGS). Typical combat: 45-75.
Berserker/Zerker (75-90 CB): 45 Defence (Berserker helm, Fremennik quests), 94 Magic (Vengeance), 52-70 Prayer. Typical combat: 75-90. Very popular bracket for deep wildy PKing.
Piety Pure (88-100 CB): 70 Defence (Piety prayer unlock), 70 Prayer, maxed combat stats. Typical combat: 88-102. Good for GWD and deep wildy.
Main/Maxed (100-126 CB): All stats 99, combat 126. Used for PvM, NH (no-honor) PKing, and endgame content. Most versatile but highest combat level.
Wilderness Combat Brackets & Attack Range
In the Wilderness, you can only attack players within your combat level ± the wilderness level. For example:
- At wildy level 5: Combat 80 can attack 75-85
- At wildy level 10: Combat 80 can attack 70-90
- At wildy level 20: Combat 80 can attack 60-100
- At wildy level 30+: Combat 80 can attack 50-110 (deep wildy)
Popular PKing locations: Revenant Caves (wildy 28-40, wide attack range), Ferox Enclave (safe zone, wildy 1-10 nearby), Wilderness Agility Course (wildy 50+, max attack range), Black Chins (wildy 30, popular for pure PKing).
How to Optimize Combat Level for PvP
Keep Defence low: 1 Defence pures have lowest combat for their offensive stats. 45 Defence (zerker) is next best compromise. 75 Defence is for Piety but raises combat significantly.
Max one combat style: Don't train all three (melee/range/mage) equally. Pick one primary style and max it. Only the highest counts, so 99/99/99 in all three wastes combat levels.
Prayer management: 1-43 Prayer adds minimal combat. 44-52 (Smite) adds ~6 levels. 70 Prayer (Piety) adds ~9 levels. 77 Prayer (Rigour/Augury) adds ~10 levels. Consider if the prayer boost is worth the combat increase.
HP training: Train HP through your chosen combat style. HP always counts toward combat, so there's no way to avoid it. Some PKers do Pest Control for HP XP to stay lower combat longer.
Common PvP Build Questions
Should I get 75 Attack on a pure? Yes if you want AGS (Armadyl Godsword) for KO potential. No if you want to stay lower combat. Most pures stop at 50 or 60 Attack.
Is 42 Defence viable? Yes, allows Void Knight equipment which is popular for range/mage hybrids. Slightly lower combat than 45 Defence.
Should I get 99 Strength before Attack? Yes for pures. Strength increases max hit, Attack increases accuracy. Max hit is more important for burst damage in PvP.
What's the best combat bracket? 75-90 combat (zerker range) is most active for PKing. Good fight diversity and deep wildy access.
Using the Combat Calculator for Build Planning
Use this calculator to: (1) Plan your final build stats and see combat level before training, (2) Compare different Defence levels (1/42/45/70/75) and their combat impact, (3) Test Prayer level increases (52 vs 70 vs 77) for your build, (4) Find your Wilderness attack range for different wildy levels, (5) Save custom builds with the "Save Custom" preset feature, (6) Copy builds from other players and reverse-engineer their stats.