How OSRS works out your combat level
Combat level has two parts: a base that every account shares, and one attack style added on top. Only your strongest style counts. The other two are ignored completely.
- Base: (Defence + Hitpoints + half your Prayer level, rounded down) ÷ 4.
- Melee: (Attack + Strength) × 0.325.
- Ranged: Ranged × 1.5, rounded down, then × 0.325.
- Magic: Magic × 1.5, rounded down, then × 0.325.
Add the base to the highest of the three style figures and round down. The 0.325 is 13/40. Melee needs two skills to score what Ranged or Magic scores with one, which is why a pure ranger climbs combat faster per level than a melee build.
A worked example
Take an account with Attack 60, Strength 70, Defence 60, Hitpoints 65, Ranged 50, Magic 55 and a Prayer level of 43.
- Base: a Prayer level of 43 halves to 21 (rounded down), so (60 + 65 + 21) ÷ 4 = 36.5.
- Melee: (60 + 70) × 0.325 = 42.25.
- Ranged: 50 × 1.5 = 75, × 0.325 = 24.375.
- Magic: 55 × 1.5 = 82.5, rounded down to 82, × 0.325 = 26.65.
Melee is highest, so the total is 36.5 + 42.25 = 78.75 and the game shows 78. The account needs another 0.25 to reach 79, and the calculator would list these routes:
| Stat | Levels needed | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Attack or Strength | 1 | Each level adds 0.325 |
| Defence or Hitpoints | 1 | Each level adds exactly 0.25 |
| Prayer level | 1 | 43 is odd, so level 44 adds a full 0.25 |
| Magic | 33 | Must overtake melee before it counts |
| Ranged | 38 | Must overtake melee before it counts |
That Prayer level row is the sort of thing people miss. On an odd Prayer level, one more level is worth a quarter of a combat level. On an even level it is worth nothing until the next one.
Which stat gets you there fastest
Per level, Ranged and Magic are worth the most (about 0.49 each), but only when they are already your top style. Attack and Strength give 0.325, Defence and Hitpoints 0.25, and the Prayer level 0.25 for every second one.
Levels are not equal in xp, though. A level in the 40s costs a small fraction of a level in the 90s, so the cheapest way to the next combat level is usually your lowest counting stat rather than the one with the best ratio. Hitpoints also climbs while you train any combat skill, so every melee or ranged level drags a little Hitpoints progress along with it. Check the OSRS xp table to see how far apart the options really are, and remember that an odd Prayer level is often the cheapest single push.
Minimum, maximum and the 109 ceiling
Every account starts at combat 3. The cap is 126, which needs 99 in Attack, Strength, Defence and Hitpoints, plus 99 Prayer. An account whose level comes from Ranged or Magic tops out at 109, because one skill at 99 × 1.5 can never match two melee skills at 99. Once Attack and Strength add up to 148 (an average of 74), melee will always be your counting style, and extra Ranged or Magic levels stop moving the number at all.
Why the number matters
Combat level gates more than fights. Slayer masters check it: Vannaka wants 40, Chaeldar 70 (with Lost City done), Nieve 85 and Duradel 100 plus 50 Slayer. The Slayer calculator shows what each of them hands out. Aggressive monsters stop attacking you once you are more than double their level, which matters at training spots. In the Wilderness your level decides who can attack you, which is why pures keep their Defence and Prayer levels low and push Strength or Ranged instead.
That kind of planning is where the calculator earns its place. Type in the stats you are aiming for, see the level they give and whether it fits the build, then work out the damage side with the max hit calculator. Your live stats are one click away through the OSRS hiscores lookup.