Slash is by far the most popular of all the styles, with a variety of extremely powerful weapons boasting the style.
From scythes to scimitars, the variety is endless. But with so much choice out there, how is anyone to know which weapons are trash, and which are god-tier slash weapons of immense power?
Well I’ve given almost all of them a test drive, and here are my picks for the best-of-the-best slash weapons in RuneScape!
15. Rune Scimitar
We’ve got to give the non-members some love on this list with the best in slot non-member weapon: The Rune Scimitar! This scimitar has a +45 slash bonus, and its DPS is unrivalled in non-members worlds. Almost every F2P player should have this iconic Old School weapon in their inventory. How to Get: Dropped by Fire Giants, or make one with 90 Smithing.
14. Dragon Scimitar
This weapon might be one of the most iconic weapons in the entire game. And with its blood red sleek curved blade, it’s hard to not fall in love with this mid-game slash weapon. It’s also the strongest scimitar in Old School RuneScape, with a slash bonus of +67. And as a result, the Dragon Scimitar is also one of the best one-handed strength training weapons. You’ll often see Ironmen using this right up until the late stages of the game. Many will even use this all the way to 99-strength. How to Get: Complete “Monkey Madness 1” to be able to wield this powerful weapon. After the quest, you can buy it from Daga on Ape Atoll.
13. 3rd Age longsword
To be completely fair, this weapon is more of a flex than a practical slash weapon to equip… Although it does boast a decent slash bonus of +72, and is technically the best longsword in Old School RuneScape. The reason I say this is a flex weapon is because it’s extremely rare, and worth more than any other weapon on this list! It comes with a market value of around 500 million coins (as of this writing). Most people who can afford this would likely just go right ahead and buy the other top weapons from this ranking. But hey, I get it, sometimes it’s nice to have the finer things in life. How to Get: The 3rd age longsword can only be dropped from elite and master clue scrolls, with a roughly 1 in 300,000 chance (yes, you read that right!)
12. Saradomin Sword
The Saradomin Sword, also commonly referred to as “SS”, is a really decent two-handed slash weapon commonly used for getting fast strength experience.
It has a desirable slash bonus of +82, and is very fast for a two handed weapon.
If you really want to up your game, you could attach a Saradomin Tear to the sword to give it an additional +18 in slash.
Now we’re getting into some territory of a truly deadly weapon!
Lately this has become a lot less popular, just because there are many alternatives out there.
But the Saradomin Sword is still commonly used by Pker’s, specifically pures who want to keep their defence low.
How to Get: Dropped by Commander Ziliyana and her bodyguards at the God War Dungeon.
11. Zamorak Godsword
Also known as a ZGS, this Godsword has a mighty +132 slash bonus and a +132 strength bonus. Which means it can smack very hard. The only down side is that it’s one of the game’s slower weapons, which is why it’s not commonly used as a primary choice for slash types. The ZGS is mainly used for its special attack “Ice Cleave”, which can freeze a target in place for 20 seconds, similar to the spell Ice Barrage. This is very useful in PvP situations, as well as some PvM situations, such as using it in Chambers of Xeric to prevent Muttadiles from reaching the meat tree. But ultimately, the ZGS is the least popular of the four Godswords. How to Get: Dropped solely by K’ril Tsutsaroth. You’ll need to get a Zamorak Hilt drop and attach it to a Godsword blade.
10. Armadyl Godsword
This weapon is a true PvP “Knock Out” weapon, and has been the weapon of choice by many of Old School’s PvP elite.
It has the same stats as all of the other Godswords: a +132 slash bonus and a +132 strength bonus.
However, like every Godsword, we’re here for the special ability!
The Armadyl Godsword (also known as an AGS) has a special attack called “the Judgement”.
And its effect is just as cool as it sounds.
It doubles the AGS’s accuracy, as well as having the potential to inflict damage 37.5% above your normal maximum hit. In laymen’s terms, this means that with the right gear on, a player could hit a 90 on a monster on a slayer task!
Or in PvP, the AGS can straight-up kill a player in a single blow.
How to Get: Dropped solely by Kree’arra. You’ll need to get an Armadyl Hilt drop and attach it to a Godsword blade.
9. Crystal Halberd (i)
The Crystal Halberd is a power slash weapon with a bonus of +110. It is, however, almost never used as a primary weapon because it’s extremely slow. The real benefit is that this weapon is easy to get (for high leveled players) and does considerable damage using its special. It’s often used solely in PvM as a special weapon, especially at places like Theatre of Blood on bosses such as Bloat, or on the Thermonuclear Smoke Devil. The special attack here uses 30% of your special bar and provides a 10% damage boost. However, the accuracy of each subsequent special will be reduced by 25%. And I should mention, this special attack can only be used on large monsters. How to Get: Complete the Hard Western Province Diary and take a crystal weapon seed to Islwyn.
8. Saradomin Godsword
Ah, another Godsword. By now I’m sure you know the drill! With a +132 slash bonus and a +132 strength bonus, we know what this offers stat-wise. So let’s move onto what sets the Saradomin Godsword apart: its insanely useful special attack. The Saradomin Godsword (also known as an SGS) has a special attacked aptly named “Healing Blade”. This consumes 50% of your special meter and increases your max hit by 10%, doubles accuracy, restores Hitpoints by 50% of the damage you’ve dealt, and restores Prayer by 25% of the damage you’ve dealt. Holy guacamole. With such a versatile special attack, it’s fair to see why so many players take this along on slayer trips or bossing. It’s basically a reusable food and prayer source. And this is especially useful in places like the Fight Caves and Inferno, where inventory space is limited and banking is not an option. How to Get: Dropped solely by Commander Zilyana. You’ll need to get a Saradomin Hilt drop and attach it to a Godsword blade.
7. Dragon Claws
D Claws are another iconic RuneScape weapon, and are notorious in the PvP community for dealing a lot of damage very quickly. These have a low slash bonus of +57, so you might be wondering why it’s ranked so high… But this lower bonus gets compensated by its over-powered special attack. Slice and Dice is the name of the game here – and it hits an opponent four times in quick succession, using only 50% of the special bar! Such a powerful special often leaves your opponent scrambling to heal, or simply just dead. How to Get: This is a rare drop from the Chamber of Xeric.
6. Arclight
I absolutely love the design and name of this weapon. It’s also the strongest demonbane weapon in Old School RuneScape, with a slash bonus of +38. I can already hear you saying “What?! Only +38?? How the heck is this ranked so high on this list?” Well my friend, let me tell you about Arclight’s passive effect. Arclight provides a 70% increase in damage and accuracy when facing demonic creatures, such as K’ril or Cerberus. This increase is not just the blade – but rather an increase to your total equipment stats. So in some cases, the Arclight is actually the most powerful weapon in Old School RuneScape. Not bad for a simple +38 slash bonus item. But on top of all of the above, the Arclight also has a special attack “Weaken”. This lowers the strength, attack, and defence stats % for any enemy by 5%. And it reduces those stats by 10% for demonic enemies. If you’re going against any demonic creatures, this weapon is a must-have in your arsenal. How to Get: You’ll need to have a Darklight and upgrade it with 3 ancient shards from the Catacombs of Kourend to obtain an Arclight.
5. Bandos Godsword
We’ve finally reached the last (and in my opinion, the best) Godsword in Old School for this list: The Bandos Godsword, otherwise known as the BGS. You already know the stats by now: a +132 slash bonus and a +132 strength bonus, slow attack speed, blah blah… Let’s get to the good stuff and check out its special attack! The BGS has a special attack named “Warstrike”. It uses 50% of the special bar and doubles accuracy, deals 21% more damage than normal, and drains your opponent’s stats (the total amount drained is based on how much damage you just dealt). But more specifically, the following stats are drained in this exact order: Defence, Strength, Prayer, Attack, Magic, and lastly Ranged. This is insanely useful in PvM, particularly at places where bosses have high defences, such as Chambers of Xeric or Theatre of Blood. How to Get: Dropped solely by General Graador. You’ll need to get a Bandos Hilt drop and attach it to a Godsword blade.
4. Abyssal Whip
This is probably the most Iconic weapon in Old School RuneScape, hands down. Back in the early days of the game, having a whip was the ultimate achievement. It showed everyone just how elite you were. Things have changed over time, but long-time players should still recognize this one. The whip has a slash bonus of +82, and is very fast – making it a popular weapon despite being released so many years ago. It’s commonly used as a primary weapon in the game, and to go even further, it might still be the most commonly-used weapon across the majority of players. How to Get: The easiest way to get this is from a drop by Abyssal demons. But you can also get this from the Abyssal sire. Also check the wiki page for more details.
3. Abyssal Tentacle
Here we’ve got an upgraded Abyssal Whip (with upgraded stats to go with it). The Abyssal Tentacle is a degradable weapon has a +90 slash bonus, which gives it a slight edge over the whip variant. This is often the weapon of choice for a bunch of activities, but the main ones are staking at the Duel Arena, and the Theatre of Blood. Just note that the tent whip, as it’s commonly called, is expensive to use. It’s made by combining a kraken tentacle and abyssal whip. The whip is slowly used up until it’s totally gone, leaving only the tentacle behind. This means it’s much more expensive to use than a normal Abyssal whip, and is therefore mostly used in scenarios where it’s absolutely necessary. How to Get: Combine a Kraken tentacle with an Abyssal Whip.
2. Blade of Saeldor
The Blade is the strongest singled-handed slash weapon in Old School RuneScape, with a slash bonus of +94 . It’s actually tied with the Ghrazi Rapier and Inquisitor’s Mace for the best single-handed weapon overall. The Blade of Saeldor is degradable at first, and requires 1000 crystal shards to turn it non-degradable (although this is a semi-recent change). Also note that converting this weapon into a non-degradable form makes the blade untradeable, and many players view this as too big of an expense. How to Get: Complete the Gauntlet or Corrupted Gauntlet to have a chance at this unique item.
1. Scythe of Vitur
The Scythe of Vitur is the single most powerful melee weapon in the entirety of Old School RuneScape. It has a slash bonus of only +75. But its passive effect is what makes this weapon absolutely pump out the damage – and that’s why it’s here at the top spot. This Scythe can hit up to 3 small enemies in a single swipe, or it can hit a large enemy up to three times in a single swipe. The sheer amount of DPS this scythe outputs is insane. And it’ll easily out-DPS any other weapon on this list, with the right setup. The only down side to this god-like weapon is that it is very expensive to maintain. To fully charge the Scythe costs around 22 million coins. Actually, this makes it one of the most expensive weapons to maintain in the whole game. However, the effort is more than worthwhile if you want to slice through enemies like butter. How to Get: This is a rare drop from the Theatre of Blood. Good luck!
