Why Strength comes first
Strength sets your max hit and nothing else. Attack decides how often you land, Defence how often you get hit. Because damage per hit drives kill speed, every Strength level makes the next one a little faster, and it also speeds up your Slayer, bossing and money making. The usual advice holds: keep melee stats even until you can wield the weapons and armour you want, then take Strength to 99 before going back for Attack and Defence.
Train on the aggressive style. It gives 4 Strength xp per damage and an invisible +3 Strength boost. Controlled spreads 1.33 xp each across Attack, Strength and Defence, which is only worth it if you want all three to rise together.
Quests that hand you Strength xp
| Quest | Strength xp | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Waterfall Quest | 13,750 | No requirements; 1 to 30 on its own |
| Haunted Mine | 22,000 | 35 Crafting and the quest that opens Morytania |
| Dragon Slayer I | 18,650 | 32 quest points; also 18,650 Defence |
| Monkey Madness I | 35,000 or 20,000 | 35,000 if you pick Strength and Hitpoints |
| Horror from the Deep | 4,662.5 | 35 Agility |
| The Fremennik Trials | 2,812 | Same in Attack and Defence |
| The Fremennik Isles | 2 x 10,000 (choice) | Can go on Strength |
Waterfall Quest is the one to do on day one. It has no requirements, it is short, and its 13,750 Strength and 13,750 Attack xp each land you at 30. Haunted Mine and Dragon Slayer I are the best value after that. If you already have the Attack you need, pick Strength and Hitpoints on Monkey Madness I.
Where to train Strength at each level
| Strength level | Where | XP per hour | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 30 | Waterfall Quest | n/a | Nothing |
| 30 to 55 | Gemstone Crab, Tlati Rainforest | depends on max hit | Children of the Sun |
| 55 to 75 | Sulphur Naguas, Neypotzli | 75,000 at 60; 130,000 at 75 with Blood Moon | Perilous Moons (part), 48 Slayer, 43 Prayer |
| 55 to 75 | Scurrius (group version, solo) | 100,000+ with base 70s | Bone mace helps |
| 60 to 99 | Nightmare Zone | lower, but the most AFK | Five qualifying quests |
| 75 to 99 | Maniacal monkeys, Ape Atoll | 200,000+, up to 300,000 | Monkey Madness II (part) |
30 to 55: Gemstone Crab
Children of the Sun is the only requirement. The crab never dies, hits for a maximum of 1 and moves every ten minutes or so, which leaves you two clicks to follow it. Each hit gives 87.5% of normal xp, but with no respawn waits or overkill the hourly rate beats the older sand and ammonite crabs. Bring no food and leave it running while you do something else.
55 to 75: Sulphur Naguas and Scurrius
Sulphur Naguas in Neypotzli need part of Perilous Moons (48 Slayer for that), 43 Prayer for overhead protection against melee, and 55 Attack for glacial temotli or the cheaper sulphur blades. Expect about 75,000 xp an hour at 60 Strength, climbing to about 130,000 at 75 with the full Blood Moon set and the level 70 melee boost. The area's own potion boosts Strength, so you need no super strength potions. Scurrius, the rat boss under Varrock, is the alternative: soloing the group version with a bone mace and base 70 stats can top 100,000 xp an hour.
75 to 99: maniacal monkeys
The monkeys in the north-west of Ape Atoll need Monkey Madness II started. Their small 65 hitpoint pool and tight groups suit a halberd: a crystal halberd (hard Western Provinces diary) or a dragon halberd (Regicide). Expect 200,000 xp an hour or more with good stacking and halberd specials, and up to 300,000 with top strength gear. Some players use the Hallowfell, a 75 Attack two-hander that suits this method.
The AFK option: Nightmare Zone
Nightmare Zone north of Yanille is the most AFK melee training in the game. Normal rumbles with absorption potions let you leave it for long stretches, at the cost of slower xp than Naguas or monkeys. The points also imbue your berserker ring, which doubles its strength bonus.
The best Strength training weapon at each level
| Attack level | Weapon | Why it suits Strength training |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | Rune scimitar or brine sabre | Fast slash, cheap; the sabre is a step up |
| 55 | Sulphur blades | Strong early option, especially at the Naguas |
| 60 | Dragon scimitar | Monkey Madness I; the standard until 70 |
| 70 | Abyssal whip or abyssal bludgeon | Whip for accuracy, bludgeon for raw strength |
| 70 | Dual macuahuitl | Needs 75 Strength; best with the full Blood Moon set |
| 75 | Abyssal tentacle or voidwaker | Tentacle is built on a whip and degrades; voidwaker never does |
| 80 | Soulreaper axe | Stacks strength as you hit; very high max hits |
| 80 | Blade of saeldor | Fast 4-tick slash with a big bonus; recharged with crystal shards |
For Strength, what matters is the strength bonus and the attack speed together. A slow weapon with a huge bonus can lose to a fast weapon with a smaller one, which is why the quick dragon scimitar stays the default at 60 even though slower weapons at that level show bigger numbers. Your target matters too: the Gemstone Crab and Naguas are easy to hit, so damage counts for more than accuracy there.
At the top end the Soulreaper axe and the blade of saeldor are the two popular picks: the axe for raw max hit, the blade for steady, accurate damage. For everything in between, put your stats into the max hit calculator to see which weapon and armour combination moves you to the next max hit, because small upgrades often change nothing at all.
Armour, Prayer level and boosts
- Prayer level: the level 70 melee boost needs 70 Prayer and 70 Defence after King's Ransom. Before that, the 15% Strength boost at 31 Prayer and then the level 60 melee boost (60 Prayer, 65 Defence) carry you.
- Potions: super strength or super combat potions everywhere except Neypotzli, where the local potion does the job.
- Armour: fighter torso, fire cape, dragon defender and Barrows gloves are all earned rather than bought, and together they add a lot of strength bonus. The melee gear progression page lists the full upgrade path.
- Defenders: the Warriors' Guild opens once your Attack and Strength add up to 130 (for example 65 and 65).
Strength without much Attack
Low-Attack builds still have options. Strength pures lean on quests that give Strength xp only, then train on crabs or in Nightmare Zone with weapons that have high strength bonuses and low Attack requirements. A mid-way build that keeps Attack around 60 to 70 gets most of the benefit; our Attack training guide covers the quest order that avoids overshooting.
What Strength opens up
Strength requirements are mostly attached to weapons and shortcuts. The dual macuahuitl needs 75, the Warriors' Guild 130 combined with Attack, and many agility shortcuts and quests ask for a little Strength too. The bigger reward is speed: every level adds to your damage, which pays back through every other combat skill and every task that involves killing something.