OSRS Ironman Gear Progression 2026
What to wield and wear at every stage of an ironman account, and where each piece comes from. The tables below mirror the OSRS Wiki's Ironman Guide progression for melee, ranged and magic; the interactive section underneath adds stats, sprites and upgrade paths for 90+ items.
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Progression order and sources follow the OSRS Wiki's Ironman Guide for Melee, Ranged and Magic, checked 17 September 2026. Items are listed in the order the wiki recommends working through them. Levels shown are what the wiki states; where the wiki gives none, the cell is blank rather than guessed.
Weapon progression
Prioritise fast attack speed over slower, harder-hitting weapons.
| Item | How an ironman gets it | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Swords up to rune | Every sword up to and including rune is sold in shops. | — |
| Rune scimitar | Dropped by fire giants and Zamorak warriors; both can be safespotted with Magic or Ranged.The recommended weapon from 40 to 60 Attack. | 40 Attack |
| Dragon longsword | Available after Lost City.A decent stopgap after Lost City but before Monkey Madness I. | 60 Attack, Lost City |
| Dragon scimitar | Unlocked by Monkey Madness I. Complete the quest as soon as possible.One of the best melee weapons before 85 Slayer. | 60 Attack, Monkey Madness I |
| Dragon defender | Warriors' Guild.Later upgrades to an avernic defender. | 65 Attack and 65 Strength |
| Leaf-bladed battleaxe | Dropped by kurasks.The strongest weapon that can damage turoths and kurasks. | 65 Attack, 55 Slayer |
| Zombie axe | Repair a broken zombie axe, dropped by armoured zombies, at 70 Smithing.A potential upgrade over the dragon scimitar against monsters weak to crush. | 65 Attack, 70 Smithing |
| Belle's folly | See the wiki page. Needs 70 Smithing and completion of Troubled Tortugans (51 Slayer).The stab alternative to the zombie axe. | 65 Attack, 70 Smithing, Troubled Tortugans |
| Dual macuahuitl | Moons of Peril.Potentially stronger than a whip or Zamorakian hasta, especially with the Blood moon armour set. | 70 Attack, 75 Strength |
| Abyssal whip | Dropped by abyssal demons at 85 Slayer.Upgrades to an abyssal tentacle at 87 Slayer, but the tentacle degrades and eventually destroys the whip, refunding only the tentacle. The whip cannot train Strength, so keep a dragon scimitar or dual macuahuitl for that. | 70 Attack, 85 Slayer to obtain |
| Zamorakian hasta | Zamorakian spear from K'ril Tsutsaroth, if you can kill him.A stab and crush alternative to the whip. | 70 Attack |
| Noxious halberd | See the wiki page for its components.The strongest melee weapon against the Corporeal Beast. | 80 Attack |
| Dragon hunter lance | See the wiki page.The strongest melee weapon against most draconic monsters. | 78 Attack, plus Barbarian firemaking (excluding the pyre step), fishing and smithing training |
| Blade of Saeldor | The Gauntlet.Endgame. | 80 Attack |
| Ghrazi rapier | Theatre of Blood.Endgame. | 80 Attack |
| Scythe of Vitur | Theatre of Blood.Endgame. | 80 Attack, 90 Strength |
| Inquisitor's mace | The Nightmare of Ashihama.Endgame. | 80 Attack |
| Osmumten's fang | Tombs of Amascut.Endgame. | 82 Attack |
| Soulreaper axe | The Forgotten Four (Desert Treasure II bosses).Endgame. | 80 Attack, 80 Strength |
Special attack weapons
Kept in a separate slot from your main weapon; switched to for the special attack.
| Item | How an ironman gets it | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon dagger | Unlocked by completing Lost City.A useful damage special attack. | 60 Attack, Lost City |
| Arclight | Complete Shadow of the Storm for Darklight, then collect ancient shards in the Catacombs of Kourend.Second strongest weapon against demonic creatures; its special attack drains a monster's stats. | 75 Attack, Shadow of the Storm |
| Dragon warhammer | Lizardman shamans. Ideally complete the hard Kourend & Kebos Diary and unlock lizardman Slayer assignments first.Highly sought after by ironmen: its special attack drains a boss's Defence. | 60 Attack |
| Bandos godsword | General Graardor in the God Wars Dungeon.Its damage lowers a monster's stats, starting with Defence. | 75 Attack |
| Saradomin godsword | Commander Zilyana in the God Wars Dungeon.Its damage heals Hitpoints and Prayer points. | 75 Attack |
| Dragon claws | Chambers of Xeric.A very strong late-game special attack. | 60 Attack |
| Burning claws | Tormented Demons.Competitive with dragon claws: generally stronger against stab-weak or demonic monsters, only slightly worse otherwise. | 60 Attack |
| Voidwaker | Three pieces from the Wilderness bosses (Callisto or Artio, Vet'ion or Calvar'ion, Venenatis or Spindel), assembled by Madam Sikaro in Ferox Enclave.The most consistent melee special attack: it skips the accuracy check and hits hard, so it averages out as the best option at many bosses. | 75 Attack |
Armour by slot
Every armour piece up to and including rune can be bought from shops. Dragon Slayer I is required to wear a rune platebody.
Against low-defence monsters, maximise Strength bonus. Against high-defence monsters and bosses, balance accuracy and Strength; a DPS calculator will tell you, for example, whether an amulet of strength or glory is better for a given target at your stats.
| Slot | Item | How to get | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helmet | Helm of Neitiznot | Reward from The Fremennik Isles. | The Fremennik Isles |
| Neitiznot faceguard | Helm of Neitiznot plus a basilisk jaw, after The Fremennik Exiles. | The Fremennik Exiles | |
| Black mask | Cave horrors, for Slayer training. | 58 Slayer | |
| Slayer helmet (i) | Upgrade the black mask to a slayer helmet when possible, then imbue it. | — | |
| Body | Fighter torso | Barbarian Assault.The best and earliest Strength bonus. | — |
| Obsidian platebody | Beat the TzHaar Fight Cave or kill many TzHaar-Ket.Slightly weaker than the torso. | — | |
| Bandos chestplate | General Graardor.Same Strength bonus as the fighter torso with far better defence. | — | |
| Blood moon chestplate | Moons of Peril.A decent Bandos alternative, with less melee and Ranged defence and no Prayer bonus. | — | |
| Torva platebody | The damaged version drops from Nex and is repaired with 90 Smithing and bandosian components. | 90 Smithing to repair | |
| Mixed hide top | See the wiki page.Gives +2 Strength bonus. | — | |
| Legs | Obsidian platelegs | See the wiki page.Low defence, but a Strength bonus. With few Strength options for legs, otherwise wear the best defensive gear you have. | — |
| Bandos tassets | General Graardor.Better defence and more Strength bonus. | — | |
| Blood moon tassets | Moons of Peril.A decent Bandos alternative, with less melee and Ranged defence and no Prayer bonus. | — | |
| Torva platelegs | Damaged version from Nex, repaired with Smithing and bandosian components. | 90 Smithing to repair | |
| Neck | Amulet of strength | The most efficient option early on. | — |
| Salve amulet (e) | Complete Haunted Mine and the Lair of Tarn Razorlor miniquest. | Haunted Mine, Lair of Tarn Razorlor | |
| Amulet of glory / amulet of fury | Crafted once your Crafting level allows. | — | |
| Amulet of torture | Crafted from zenyte shards dropped by demonic gorillas.Better Strength bonus. | — | |
| Amulet of rancour | Amulet of torture upgraded with an Araxyte fang from Araxxor.The best melee neck slot. | — | |
| Ring | Berserker ring (i) | Dagannoth Rex drops the berserker ring; imbue it with Nightmare Zone points, a Scroll of imbuing from Emir's Arena, or Zeal Tokens from Soul Wars. | — |
| Ultor ring | Berserker ring plus components dropped by Vardorvis. | — | |
| Gloves | Culinaromancer's gloves / Barrows gloves | Recipe for Disaster subquests unlock the Culinaromancer's gloves; the full quest unlocks Barrows gloves. | Recipe for Disaster |
| Ferocious gloves | Hydra leather from the Alchemical Hydra (95 Slayer) used on the piece of machinery, after Dragon Slayer II. | Dragon Slayer II, 95 Slayer to obtain | |
| Boots | Climbing boots | Available after Death Plateau. | Death Plateau |
| Dragon boots | Spiritual mages. | 83 Slayer to obtain | |
| Primordial boots | Dragon boots plus a primordial crystal from Cerberus. | 91 Slayer to obtain | |
| Cape | Fire cape | TzHaar Fight Cave. | — |
| Infernal cape | The Inferno, eventually. | — | |
| Other sets | Barrows equipment | Barrows.Dharok's suits certain Nightmare Zone training. Torag's, Verac's and Dharok's all have very high defence, so use them to tank monsters that are too dangerous or costly to fight in Strength gear. | — |
| Blood moon armour | Moons of Peril.Melee set with the Bloodrager set effect; the chest and legs match Bandos for Strength bonus. | — | |
| Proselyte armour | Unlocked by The Slug Menace.Highest Prayer bonus for body and legs until Sunfire fanatic armour from the Fortis Colosseum. | The Slug Menace | |
| Bandos armour | General Graardor.Endgame. | — | |
| Justiciar armour | Theatre of Blood.Endgame. | — | |
| Inquisitor's armour | The Nightmare of Ashihama.Endgame. | — | |
| Torva armour | Nex.Endgame. | — |
Weapon progression
The wiki's ironman Ranged guide emphasises cheap, easily obtained ammunition, and does not recommend the dwarf multicannon.
| Item | How an ironman gets it | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Iron knives / iron darts | Smith them from the bars you make while training Smithing.Good early Ranged experience against low-defence monsters. | — |
| Dorgeshuun crossbow | Bought, with bone bolts, from Nardok's Bone Weapons in the Dorgesh-Kaan mine after The Lost Tribe.Good accuracy and damage for its requirements; bone bolts are very affordable. | 28 Ranged |
| Magic shortbow | Spiritual rangers (63 Slayer) and hard clue scrolls. Rune arrows come from Last Man Standing, the Ranging Guild, or drops over time; broad arrows once a Slayer master unlocks fletching them.Upgrade to the magic shortbow (i) with a magic shortbow scroll from Last Man Standing or the Wilderness Slayer Cave. | — |
| Rune crossbow + broad bolts | Making one from scratch needs 91 Smithing, so ironmen usually take one of two routes: the complete crossbow drops from the Crazy Archaeologist (Wilderness, so Hardcore Ironmen should be extremely cautious), or runite limbs from iron dragons, steel dragons and the Deranged Archaeologist, or an unstrung crossbow from Skeletal Wyverns (72 Slayer). Either way, 69 Fletching (boostable) finishes it with a yew stock and/or crossbow string.The ironman staple: accurate, hard-hitting, plentiful ammo, and usable with a shield. Also fires ruby bolts (e) and diamond bolts (e) for bossing. | — |
| Karil's crossbow | Rare Barrows drop. It only fires bolt racks, which come from Barrows chests at over 87.0% reward potential, from Ak-Haranu at 55 gp each, or from the Last Man Standing shop.Higher damage per second than a rune crossbow with broad bolts, but bolt racks do not benefit from Ava's devices. | — |
| Hunters' sunlight crossbow | Made with 74 Fletching from sunlight antelope parts (72 Hunter). Sunlight antler bolts need 62 Fletching, moonlight antler bolts 72 Fletching and 91 Hunter.Very similar to Karil's crossbow with sunlight antler bolts, and better with moonlight antler bolts. | 74 Fletching to make (boostable for the one-off), 72 Hunter |
| Eclipse atlatl | Moons of Peril, along with its atlatl darts.Its max hit comes from visible Strength bonus and Ranged prayers, so it suits accounts with high Strength; see the wiki for the caveats. | 75 Ranged |
| Toxic blowpipe | Zulrah.Endgame. | — |
| Dragon hunter crossbow | Chambers of Xeric.Endgame. | — |
| Armadyl crossbow | Commander Zilyana.Endgame. | — |
| Bow of Faerdhinen | Made from an enhanced crystal weapon seed from The Gauntlet.Endgame. | — |
| Twisted bow | Chambers of Xeric.Endgame. | — |
| Zaryte crossbow | Nex.Endgame. | — |
Armour by slot
| Slot | Item | How to get | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape / ammo saver | Ava's attractor | Complete Animal Magnetism.Greatly extends ammunition life; later upgrades to Ava's accumulator and Ava's assembler. | Animal Magnetism |
| Head / body / legs | Void Knight equipment | See the wiki page.Excellent against low-defence monsters thanks to its set effect; a black mask (i) or slayer helmet (i) can still be better in some situations. Upgrade to Elite Void after the hard Western Provinces Diary. | — |
| Green dragonhide armour | Sold in various shops. | Dragon Slayer I to wear the body | |
| Blue and red dragonhide armour | Kill the matching dragons and craft the hides. The Crazy Archaeologist also drops the red d'hide body.Incremental upgrades from green. | — | |
| Black dragonhide armour | Craft the body at 84 Crafting (boostable), kill the Deranged Archaeologist after Bone Voyage for the body, or get the body and chaps from hard clue scrolls.Same Ranged attack bonus as Karil's armour with lower Magic defence. | — | |
| Blessed dragonhide armour | Hard clue scrolls.Better defence than black d'hide, plus a Prayer bonus. | — | |
| Eclipse moon armour | Moons of Peril.Marginally better offence than blessed d'hide, without the Prayer bonus. | — | |
| Hueycoatl hide armour | Hides from The Hueycoatl, crafted at 78 Crafting.A direct upgrade from blessed d'hide with better Prayer and Magic defence. The Hueycoatl is tedious to grind without the Blood Moon set. | 78 Crafting to make | |
| Armadyl armour | Kree'arra.Endgame. | — | |
| Masori armour | Tombs of Amascut.Endgame. | — | |
| Gloves | Barrows gloves | Recipe for Disaster.Better than every vambrace except Zaryte vambraces. | — |
| Zaryte vambraces | Nex. | — | |
| Boots | Ranger boots | Medium clue scrolls. | — |
| Pegasian boots | Ranger boots plus a pegasian crystal from Cerberus. | — | |
| Ring | Archers ring (i) | Dagannoth Supreme drops the archers ring; imbue it through Nightmare Zone. | — |
| Venator ring | Archers ring upgraded with a drop from The Leviathan. | — | |
| Neck | Amulet of power | H.A.M. storeroom, early on. | — |
| Amulet of glory / amulet of fury | Crafted once your Crafting level allows.Better Ranged bonuses. | — | |
| Necklace of anguish | Crafted from a zenyte shard from demonic gorillas.Second best Ranged neck slot. | — | |
| Necklace of rupture | Made from the Elder venator fang dropped by the Maggot King.The best Ranged neck slot. | — |
Weapon progression
A rune pouch can be obtained very early through Last Man Standing or the Mage Training Arena (and later through Slayer), and saves inventory space everywhere.
| Item | How an ironman gets it | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Elemental staves | Bought from Zaff's Superior Staffs with a bit of starting cash.With an air staff, the scaling wind spells cost only catalytic runes, a cheap way to use Magic at low levels. | — |
| Iban's staff | Reward from Underground Pass. Pay the Dark Mage 200,000 coins to raise its charges from 120 to 2,500.The strongest early Magic weapon against targets without an elemental weakness, with a max hit of 25. | 50 Attack and 50 Magic to cast Iban Blast |
| Ancient staff | Bought from Eblis for 80,000 coins after Desert Treasure I.Autocasts Ancient Magicks. Upgrades to the ancient sceptre with an ancient icon from the Phantom Muspah, gaining 10% magic damage and stronger Ancient Magicks secondary effects. | 50 Magic, Desert Treasure I |
| Warped sceptre | Dropped by warped creatures after The Path of Glouphrie. | 56 Slayer to obtain |
| Ahrim's staff | Barrows.5% magic damage. Casts Arceuus and Ancient spells, but only with the full Ahrim's set and an amulet of the damned. | 70 Attack, 70 Magic |
| Blue moon spear | Moons of Peril.5% magic damage and casts Arceuus and Ancient spells without a set requirement. | 70 Attack, 75 Magic |
| Twinflame staff | Crafted from Royal Titans drops.The best damage on the standard spellbook before wrath runes. | — |
| Trident of the seas | Cave kraken, on a kraken task, at 87 Slayer.Upgrades to the trident of the swamp with a magic fang from Zulrah. | 87 Slayer to obtain |
| Staff of the dead | K'ril Tsutsaroth. Upgrades to the toxic staff of the dead.Endgame. | 75 Attack, 75 Magic |
| Eye of Ayak | Doom of Mokhaiotl.Endgame. | — |
| Sanguinesti staff | Theatre of Blood.Endgame. | — |
| Tumeken's shadow | Tombs of Amascut.Endgame. | — |
| Nightmare staff | The Nightmare, along with its orb variants.Endgame. | — |
Armour by slot
Magic accuracy from equipment matters little early on, because most monsters you cast at have little or no Magic defence.
| Slot | Item | How to get | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robes | Wizard hat, blue wizard robe top, Zamorak monk bottom | Cheap early accuracy. | — |
| Mystic robes | Slayer monster drops, or the Wizards' Guild after 66 Magic. | — | |
| Void / Elite Void Knight equipment | Elite Void requires the hard Western Provinces Diary.Strong Magic accuracy and damage boosts. | — | |
| Ahrim's, blue moon, bloodbark, infinity, Dagon'hai robes | Barrows, Moons of Peril, and the minigames that reward bloodbark and infinity respectively.All give similar Magic accuracy and damage; Ahrim's and blue moon usually arrive alongside other sets. | — | |
| Virtus robes | The Forgotten Four.Endgame. | — | |
| Ancestral robes | Chambers of Xeric.Endgame. | — | |
| Off-hand | Tome of fire / tome of water | Rare drops from Wintertodt and Tempoross.Small buff to their elemental spells and an infinite off-hand source of fire or water runes. The tome of earth comes much later from The Hueycoatl. | — |
| Mage's book | Mage Training Arena. | — | |
| Elidinis' ward | Tombs of Amascut.Upgraded with an arcane sigil from the Corporeal Beast. | — | |
| Cape | Imbued god cape | Mage Arena I at 60 Magic and Mage Arena II at 75 Magic.Best in slot and one of the earliest sources of Magic damage. | 60 / 75 Magic |
| Gloves | Tormented bracelet | Crafted from a zenyte shard (demonic gorillas) at 95 Crafting. | 95 Crafting to make |
| Confliction gauntlets | Tormented bracelet plus a mokhaiotl cloth from the Doom of Mokhaiotl. | — | |
| Neck | Occult necklace | Smoke devils or the Thermonuclear smoke devil. | 93 Slayer to obtain |
| Boots | Eternal boots | Cerberus.Endgame. | — |
| Ring | Magus ring | Duke Sucellus.Endgame. | — |
| Boosts | Imbued heart / saturated heart | Superior slayer monsters.Endgame. | — |
Attack level unlock table (all melee weapons)Every weapon by the Attack level needed to wield it, from the wiki's Weapon progression table. 70 rows.
| Attack | Weapon | Other requirements |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bronze weapons | None (see halberd note). |
| 1 | Iron weapons | None (see halberd note). |
| 1 | Machetes | None. |
| 5 | Steel weapons | None (see halberd note). |
| 10 | Black weapons | None (see halberd note). |
| 10 | White weapons | Completion of Wanted! |
| 15 | Ancient mace | 25 Prayer and partial completion of Another Slice of H.A.M. |
| 20 | Mithril weapons | None (see halberd note). |
| 30 | Adamant weapons | None (see halberd note). |
| 30 | Battlestaves | 30 Magic |
| 30 | Swamp lizard | 30 Ranged, 30 Magic |
| 40 | Brine sabre | None. |
| 40 | Mystic staves | 40 Magic |
| 40 | Rune weapons | None (see halberd note). |
| 42 | Void knight mace | 42 Attack, Strength, Defence, Hitpoints, Ranged and Magic, and 22 Prayer |
| 50 | Ancient staff | 50 Magic and completion of Desert Treasure I |
| 50 | Granite maul | 50 Strength |
| 50 | Granite hammer | 50 Strength |
| 50 | Granite longsword | 50 Strength |
| 50 | Iban's staff | 50 Magic and completion of Underground Pass |
| 50 | Purging staff | 77 Magic |
| 50 | Leaf-bladed spear | 55 Slayer |
| 50 | Leaf-bladed sword | 55 Slayer |
| 50 | Orange salamander | 50 Ranged, 50 Magic |
| 55 | Sulphur blades | None. |
| 60 | Arkan blade | Completion of The Final Dawn |
| 60 | Barrelchest anchor | 40 Strength and completion of The Great Brain Robbery |
| 60 | Burning claws | None. |
| 60 | Colossal blade | Completion of Sleeping Giants |
| 60 | Dragon weapons | Dragon longsword and dragon dagger: Lost City. Dragon mace and dragon battleaxe: Heroes' Quest. Dragon halberd: Regicide (see halberd note). Dragon scimitar: Monkey Madness I. |
| 60 | Obsidian weapons | The Tzhaar-ket-om (obsidian maul) instead needs 60 Strength with no Attack requirement. The Toktz-mej-tal (obsidian staff) also needs 60 Magic. |
| 60 | Red salamander | 60 Ranged, 60 Magic |
| 60 | Viggora's chainmace | None. |
| 60 | Crimson kisten | 85 Strength |
| 65 | 3rd age longsword | None. |
| 65 | Keris partisan | Completion of Beneath Cursed Sands |
| 65 | Leaf-bladed battleaxe | 55 Slayer |
| 65 | Sarachnis cudgel | None. |
| 65 | Zombie axe | None. |
| 65 | Belle's folly | None. |
| 70 | Abyssal bludgeon | 70 Strength |
| 70 | Abyssal dagger | None. |
| 70 | Abyssal whip | None. |
| 70 | Avernic defender | 70 Defence |
| 70 | Barrows weapons | 70 Strength for Dharok's greataxe and Torag's hammers. 70 Magic for Ahrim's staff. |
| 70 | Black salamander | 70 Ranged, 70 Magic |
| 70 | Blue moon spear | 75 Magic |
| 70 | Crystal halberd | 35 Strength, 50 Agility and completion of the hard Western Provinces Diary |
| 70 | Dual macuahuitl | 75 Strength |
| 70 | Saradomin sword | None. |
| 70 | Ursine chainmace | None. |
| 70 | Zamorakian spear (and hasta) | None. |
| 75 | Abyssal tentacle | None. |
| 75 | Arclight | Completion of Shadow of the Storm |
| 75 | Elder maul | 75 Strength |
| 75 | Godswords | None. |
| 75 | Saradomin's blessed sword | None. |
| 75 | Staff of the dead / toxic staff of the dead | 75 Magic |
| 75 | Voidwaker | None. |
| 77 | Emberlight | 74 Smithing (boostable) and completion of While Guthix Sleeps |
| 78 | Dragon hunter lance | Barbarian firemaking (excluding the pyre step), fishing and smithing training |
| 80 | Blade of Saeldor | None. |
| 80 | Ghrazi rapier | None. |
| 80 | Inquisitor's mace | None. |
| 80 | Keris partisan of breaching / corruption / the sun | Completion of Tombs of Amascut |
| 80 | Noxious halberd | None. |
| 80 | Scythe of Vitur | 90 Strength |
| 80 | Soulreaper axe | 80 Strength |
| 80 | Tecu salamander | 80 Ranged, 80 Magic |
| 82 | Osmumten's fang | None. |
Halberd note: Halberds of any material, excluding the noxious halberd, require a Strength level equal to one-half of their Attack level requirement. Source
Interactive upgrade paths
Filter by combat style and phase, click any item for stats, sources and what it upgrades into.
Recommended Loadouts
MELEEPre-Barrows Gloves Melee
Helm of NeitiznotFighter TorsoDragon ScimitarDragon DefenderBarrows GlovesBerserker Ring
RANGEDPre-Barrows Gloves Ranged
Magic Shortbow (i)God d'hide BodyAva's AccumulatorBarrows Gloves