Magic
Introduction
Magic is a combat-based skill in which you cast spells which aid you through the game. Unlike all the other combat-based skills (the ones that raise your combat level), it is the only combat skill in which non-combat activities take a major part. To cast any spell, you will need 'Runestones', normally abbreviated to 'Runes'. When casting a spell, a set of runes is used. To find out which types of runes exist and where to get them, refer to the section on runes below.Combat spells are used to deal damage on your target, hold them from moving/teleporting and to affect their in combat stats a negative way. As your magic level gets higher your spells will be a lot more accurate and you will be able to cast more damaging spells, not to mention that you'll have higher defence against the offensive spells that are casted on you by foes. Robes and armours may be equipped to enhance the accuracy of your spells, but take into account that they will leave you exposed to ranged attacks.
Non-combat spells are used to convert them into gold pieces, aid others around you and to teleport around the game, which will help cut down amounts of time wasted walking.
For members, there are two additional spell books called Lunar magic and Ancient magicks that can be activated after completing certain quests. You can find the guide for Ancient magicks here.
Guide links:
The Runes
Runes play a vital part in Magic - they let you cast spells. You need a set of runes for each spell cast, meaning that each time you cast a spell, the runes needed for that certain spell will be used up.Every single spell in the normal book except the Slayer Dart require at least one elemental rune to cast, making them the most used runes in the game. Refer to the section below for information about how to obtain the runes.
Picture | Name | Minimum level | Type | Other information |
---|---|---|---|---|
Air rune | 1 | Elemental | The most used of the four Elemental runes | |
Water rune | 3 | Elemental | One of the four Elemental runes, commonly used for stat reduction spells. | |
Earth rune | 3 | Elemental | One of the four Elemental runes, commonly used for stat reduction spells. | |
Fire rune | 13 | Elemental | The highest of the four Elemental runes. | |
Mind rune | 1 | Missile | Used to cast Strike spells and Slayer Dart. | |
Body rune | 3 | Curse | Used to cast lower level Stat Reduction spells. | |
Cosmic rune | 4 | Non-combat | Used for all enchantment spells, and commonly used in the Lunar book (m). | |
Chaos rune | 17 | Missile | Used to cast Bolt spells and Crumble Undead. | |
Nature rune | 15 | Non-combat | One of the most used runes in the game; used for all sorts of purposes. | |
Death rune | 41 | Missile | Used to cast Blast spells and Slayer Dart. | |
Law rune | 25 | Non-combat | Used for all teleports. | |
Blood rune | 49 | Missile | Used to cast Wave and God-related spells. | |
Astral rune | 65 | Non-combat | Used for all Lunar Spells. | |
Soul rune | 66 | Curse | Used to cast higher level Stat Reduction spells. |
Obtaining Runes
Runes can be obtained through a number of ways. These are:- Crafting them yourself
The most XP-efficient way. Refer to our Runecrafting guide for more information. - Looting the spawns throughout the game
Not an efficient method as you can easily make the money back in the time you would waste waiting for the spawn, but this is preferred by some of the players. For information about the respawn points of each rune, see the item database entry for the rune. - Buying from shops
This is the least time-expensive way to get runes, but is the most expensive. - Buying from players
Cheaper than buying from shops, but some runes takes a while to buy from the Grand Exchange.
Picture | Name | Varrock | Port Sarim | Mage Arena |
---|---|---|---|---|
Air rune | 4-24 | 4-24 | 7-27 | |
Water rune | 4-24 | 4-24 | 7-27 | |
Earth rune | 4-24 | 4-24 | 7-27 | |
Fire rune | 4-24 | 4-24 | 7-27 | |
Mind rune | 4-18 | 4-18 | 6-20 | |
Body rune | 4-18 | 4-18 | 6-20 | |
Cosmic rune | NFS | NFS | 28-58 | |
Chaos rune | 60-90 | 4-90 | 30-73 | |
Death rune | 60-180 | 4-180 | 90-117 | |
Nature rune | NFS | NFS | N/A | |
Law rune | NFS | NFS | N/A |
Combination Runes
Combination runes are a combination of two elemental runes, and they can only be obtained through Runecrafting or from other players. These are also members only. Below there is information about all combination runes, and their most useful uses.Picture | Name | Combination of | Used for |
---|---|---|---|
Mist rune | Air & Water | Water Missile Attacks | |
Dust rune | Air & Earth | Earth Missile Attacks, Crumble Undead | |
Mud rune | Water & Earth | Binding spells, low level curse spells | |
Smoke rune | Air & Fire | Fire Missile Attacks, God Spells, Charge | |
Steam rune | Water & Fire | Lunar Spells | |
Lava rune | Earth & Fire | None at all |
The Spells
The figure to the right shows what you would see if you opened up the Magic interface in the game.Damaging spells such as Blasts, Waves, Surges or Slayer Darts have a base experience, and 0.2 extra XP will stack on it for each life points' damage you deal to your target. So if you hit 50 in one spell, you will get the base XP + 10XP. Also, you will get 1/3 XP to your Constitution for each damage that you inflict. If you use the defensive autocast, you will receive 1/3 defence XP for each damage dealt, and will get less magic XP. In other spells that don't deal any damage, there is a standard XP that is the same all the time.
Here is a table of all spells in the normal spell book. It shows the experience earned for each spell cast and the runes needed.
Pic. | Spell Name | Needed level | Earned XP (max hit) |
Info |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lumbridge Home Port | - | 0 | This spell takes a while to cast, and takes 30 minutes to recharge. May also be interupted by combat. | |
Wind Rush | 1 | 2.7 | A very weak air missle | |
Wind Strike | 1 | 5.5 (2) | A basic Air Missile | |
Confuse | 3 | 13 | Reduces your opponents attack by 5% | |
Water Strike | 5 | 7.5 (4) | A basic Air Missile | |
Enchant lvl-1 Jewelry | 7 | 17.5 | For use on Sapphire Jewelry | |
Earth Strike | 9 | 9.5 (6) | A basic Earth Missile | |
Mobilising Armies Teleport | 10 | 19 | Teleports you to Mobilising Armies | |
Weaken | 11 | 20.5 | Reduces your opponents strength by 5% | |
Fire Strike | 13 | 11.5 (8) | A basic Fire Missile | |
Bones to bananas | 15 | 25 | Converts any normal bones in your inventory into bananas | |
Wind Bolt | 17 | 13.5 (9) | A low level Air Missile | |
Curse | 19 | 29 | Reduces your opponents defence by 5% | |
Bind | 20 | 30 | Holds your opponent for 5 seconds | |
Low Level Alchemy | 21 | 31 | Converts an item into gold | |
Water Bolt | 23 | 16.5 (10) | A low level Water Missile | |
Varrock Teleport | 25 | 35 | Teleports you to Varrock | |
Enchant lvl-2 Jewelry | 27 | 37 | For use on Emerald Jewelry | |
Earth Bolt | 29 | 19.5 (11) | A low level Earth Missile | |
Lumbridge Teleport | 31 | 41 | Teleports you to Lumbridge | |
Bounty Locate | 32 | 45 | Teleports you to your target in Bounty Hunter | |
Telekinetic Grab | 33 | 43 | Take an item that you can see, but can't reach | |
Fire Bolt | 35 | 22.5 (12) | A low level Fire Missile | |
Falador Teleport | 37 | 47 | Teleports you to Falador | |
Crumble Undead | 39 | 49 (15) | Hits Skeletons, Ghosts & Zombies hard | |
Wind Blast | 41 | 22.5 (13) | A medium level Air Missile | |
Superheat Item | 43 | 53 | Smelt an ore without furnace | |
Camelot Teleport | 45 | 55.5 | Teleports you to Camelot | |
Water Blast | 47 | 28.5 (14) | A medium level Water Missile | |
Enchant lvl-3 Jewelry | 49 | 59 | For use on Ruby Jewelry | |
Iban Blast | 50 | 42.5 (25) | Summons the Wrath of Iban | |
Snare | 50 | 60.5 | Holds your opponent for 10 seconds | |
Magic Dart | 50 | 30 (18) | A magic dart of slaying | |
Ardougne Teleport | 51 | 61 | Teleports you to Ardougne | |
Earth Blast | 53 | 31.5 (15) | A medium level Earth Missile | |
High Level Alchemy | 55 | 65 | Converts an item into more gold | |
Charge Water Orb | 56 | 66 | Needs to be cast on a Water Obelisk | |
Enchant lvl-4 Jewelry | 57 | 67 | For use on Diamond Jewelry | |
Watchtower Teleport | 58 | 68 | Teleports you to the Watchtower | |
Fire Blast | 59 | 34.5 (16) | A medium level Fire Missile | |
Bones to Peaches | 60 | 35.5 | Converts any normal bones in your inventory into peaches | |
Charge Earth Orb | 60 | 70 | Needs to be cast on an Earth Obelisk | |
Saradomin Strike | 60 | 35 (30) | Summons the power of Saradomin | |
Claws of Guthix | 60 | 35 (30) | Summons the power of Guthix | |
Flames of Zamorak | 60 | 35 (30) | Summons the power of Zamorak | |
Trollheim Teleport | 60 | 68 | Teleports you to Trollheim | |
Wind Wave | 62 | 36 (17) | A high level Air Missile | |
Charge Fire Orb | 63 | 73 | Needs to be cast on a Fire Obelisk | |
Ape Atoll teleport | 64 | 74 | Teleports you to Ape Atoll | |
Water Wave | 65 | 37.5 (18) | A high level Water Missile | |
Charge Air Orb | 66 | 76 | Needs to be cast on an Air Obelisk | |
Vulnerability | 66 | 76 | Reduces your opponents defence by 10% | |
Enchant lvl-5 Jewelry | 68 | 78 | For use on Dragonstone Jewelry | |
Earth Wave | 70 | 40 (19) | A high level Earth Missile | |
Enfeeble | 73 | 83 | Reduces your opponents strength by 10% | |
Teleother Lumbridge | 74 | 84 | Teleports target to Lumbridge | |
Fire Wave | 75 | 42.5 (20) | A high level Fire Missile | |
Entangle | 79 | 91 | Holds your opponent for 15 seconds | |
Stun | 80 | 90 | Reduces your opponents attack by 10% | |
Charge | 80 | 185 | Temporarily increases the power of the three God Spells | |
Wind Surge | 81 | 75 (22) | A very high level Wind Missile | |
Teleother Falador | 82 | 92 | Teleports target to Falador | |
Teleport Block | 85 | 80 | Stops target from teleporting for 5 minutes. | |
Water Surge | 85 | 80 (24) | A very high level Water Missile | |
Enchant lvl-6 Jewelry | 87 | 97 | For use on Onyx Jewelry | |
Earth Surge | 90 | 85 (26) | A very high level Earth Missile | |
Teleother Camelot | 90 | 100 | Teleports target to Camelot | |
Fire Surge | 95 | 90 (28) | A very high level Fire Missile |
Spell information
There are many different types of spells, and in this section, you will find information about each type.Missile Spells (Damaging Spells)
The missile spells are most likely the most common use of magic in RuneScape. They are used in direct combat to damage your opponent, but can in some cases fail to deal any damage in the same way as Ranged or melee combat. There are several types of missile spells:• Strike
• Bolt
• Blast
• Wave
• Surge
• God Spells
• Crumble Undead
• Magic Dart
Strike, Bolt, Blast, Wave and Surge are elemntal spells that use air, water, earth and fire for wind, water earth and fire spells, respectively, and work like arrows used in ranged. Wave and Surge spells are members only.You no longer need a staff to auto cast a spell. All you need to do is simply select the spell you wish to use, a little white box will appear around the spell you selected and away you go. To stop auto casting just select the same spell and that little white box will disappear.
Crumble undead is used against undeads: zombies, shades, skeletons and so on. It will hit harder than normal spells, but the only staff you can use auto-attack with, is the slayer staff, which requires level 55 Slayer and level 50 Magic and it's members only.
Magic dart is used in kill Turoths and Kurasks, two slayer creatures and it is heavily used in Barrows. To use this spell, you must wield the slayer staff.
Curse Spells
These spells are not the most interesting, nor the most used. They lower the target's attack, defence or strength level depending on the spell used. High level curse spells are members only.- Low level Curse spells:
Confuse
Weaken
Curse - High level Curse spells:
Vulnerability
Enfeeble
Stun
Jewelry Enchanting
Using the jewelry enchanting spells, you can enchant rings, amulets and necklaces of all gems. These items must first be crafted, and the enchanted items all have different uses.Picture | Before | After | Needed level | Earned XP | Effect | Uses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sapphire ring | Ring of Recoil* | 7 | 17.5 | Gives the opponent 50% of the damage you get | 400 life points | |
Sapphire necklace | Games Necklace* | 7 | 17.5 | Rub it to teleport to Burthorpe Games Room | 8 | |
Sapphire amulet | Amulet of Magic | 7 | 17.5 | +10 Magic Attack | Unlimited | |
Emerald ring | Ring of Dueling* | 27 | 37 | Teleports you either to Duel Arena or Castle Wars | 8 | |
Emerald necklace | Necklace of Binding* | 27 | 37 | 100% success when making combination runes in Runecrafting | 15 | |
Emerald amulet | Amulet of Defence | 27 | 37 | +7 to all Defence bonuses | Unlimited | |
Ruby ring | Ring of Forging* | 49 | 59 | 100% success when smelting iron ores | 140 | |
Ruby amulet | Amulet of Strength | 49 | 59 | +10 strength bonus | Unlimited | |
Diamond ring | Ring of Life* | 57 | 67 | Teleports you to Lumbridge if your health drops below 10%** | 1 | |
Diamond amulet | Amulet of Power | 57 | 67 | +6 to all attack and defence, +6 to strength, +1 prayer | Unlimited | |
Dragonstone ring* | Ring of Wealth* | 68 | 78 | Higher chance for good drops from monsters and gems while mining | Unlimited | |
Dragonstone amulet* | Amulet of Glory* | 68 | 78 | +6 all attack, +3 all defence, +6 strength, +3 prayer. More gems while mining if charged Rechargeable at Heros' Guild | 4 teleports, unmlited stats |
* Members only
- If your health is 1-10% of max, you will be teleported. If you have 11%+ and you get 0% in one hit, you will die and the ring will have no effect.
Binding Spells
These spells prevent the target from moving. This is particularly useful in PvP situations, such as Bounty Hunters or Castle Wars, where you can use magic spells on another player that uses melee. You can also use these spells when you are trying to escape.- Bind
Prevents your target from moving in 5 seconds - Snare (members only)
Prevents your target from moving in 10 seconds - Entangle (members only)
Prevents your target from moving in 15 seconds
Alchemy Spells
Alchemy is a spell that converts items into gold. A certain amount of money has been assigned to each item; however some items cannot be alched. To find out which items you can perform these spells on check our Item Database. Obviously High Level Alchemy will yield more money than Low Level Alchemy. High Level Alchemy is one of the most used spells in both F2P and P2P.Teleportation Spells
Teleport spells are one of the most useful spells. Using these spells, you can teleport to a specific location from anywhere if you have the required level and the runes to do so. However, these spells can not be used in Wilderness level 20 and above. All teleport spells need one or two law runes, which can be a little expensive for some players. However, other players would never walk from Varrock to Falador, they would just use the teleport spell.Teleother spells are very similar to Teleport, but you won't teleport yourself. When you cast this on a player, inside or outside the Wilderness, a pop-up will appear on the target's screen, asking the player if he wants to teleport or not. If he declines, he will stay where he was, and if he accept, he will be teleported to the location you chose. You will get XP in both cases. These are members only.
Telekinetic grab allows you to take an item that you can see, but can't reach. If you are fighting a monster behind a fence or on an isle, you can get the items using this spell. When you cast it on an item, you will grab it magically, without having to move. So if you for instance fight the Lesser Demon in the top of Wizards' Tower south of Draynor, and it drops a rune med helm, you can just use telekinetic grab to get it!
Also, this spell is useful in the Dragon Slayer quest, since you don't need to pay 10K to the goblin with the map (refer to our Dragon Slayer quest guide for more details).
Superheat Item
This spell allows you to smelt an ore without a furnace. This means that you could stay in the bank wielding a fire staff, with some nature runes the ore in your inventory, and then you just smelt it in the bank. This is a very useful spell, and you will get both Magic and Smithing XP when using it. However, this spell cannot be used on bars, such as silver bars, gold bars and steel bars. Also, you must have the required smithing level to smelt the ore.Iban Blast and God Spells
All of these spells needs a staff in addition to a rune. Iban blast will need the Iban staff, Claws of Guthix will need a Guthix staff and so on. To get the Iban staff, you will have to do the Underground Pass quest. To get one of the god staves, you will need 60 magic, enter the Mage Arena in the deepest Wilderness, get the staff of your choice, and cast the spell 100 times in the arena. When you have done this, you will be able to use it outside the arena.Charge Orbs
When making battlestaves (refer to our Crafting guide for more information about this), you will need to enchant the orbs before you attach them to the staves. This can only be done by going to the obelisk that corresponds to the orb you want to charge, and use the correct charge orb spell. You simply have to cast it on the obelisk to charge the orb.Other Spells
In addition to the spells above, there are some other spells too:- Bones to Bananas and Bones to Peaches
This is a quite useless spell, but can save your life if you're in a need of life points (bananas heal 10) - Charge (members only)
This spell gives a lot of experience, and is a good way to get quick experience if you have the money required for the runes. This spell will increase the power of the god spells. Also, if you are very rich, this is the fastest way to train magic. You need to wear a god cape to cast this spell. - Teleport Block (members only)
This spell prevents the target from being able to teleport for 5 minutes. It is useful for player killers to disabling their target's ability to teleport away. Note that you can only use this spell in pvp worlds and you cannot cast it on monsters.
Staves
There are many different staves, and they have different effects. They are only useful if you use magic spells, as their melee stats are quite low compared to other weapons.We'll start with the basic staves, which can be bought from Zaff in Varrock. Also, members can buy battlestaves and the elemental staves in the Wizards' Guild.
Basic staves
Special Staves
In addition to the regular staves, there are special staves, and all of them have special effects. All of these are members only.Note that elemental battlestaves aren't listed here, since their effect are the same as the Elemental Staves.
Staff Stats
Below, there is a table where you can see the stats of each staff when wielded. Elemental staves are air, water, earth and fire staves.Armour
Mages have a large selection of armour, most of them being members only. They all have their strength and weaknesses, and most of the armour types are listed below.- Blue Wizard Robe & Hat
You can get these by killing normal wizards, from instance in the Wizards' Tower south of Draynor Village. - Dark Wizard Robe & Hat
You can get these by killing dark wizards. These can be found in Wilderness northwest of the Mind Altar - Mystic Armour (members only)
The blue Mystic Armour can be bought in the Wizards' Guild, while black&red and white&gold are a monster drop - Splitbark (members only)
You can get this at the Wizards' Tower - Robe of Zamorak (members only)
This is a monster drop - Gnome Hat (members only)
Can be bought in the Grand Tree - Wizards' Boots (members only)
Reward from Treasure Trails - Amulets
Made in Crafting, read the Enchanting Jewelry section for more information. - Farseer Helm (members only)
Can be bought after doing The Fremmenik Trials. - Elemental Shield (members only)
Can be made & worn after doing Elemental Workshop I. - God Capes (members only)
Can be worn after doing the Mage Arena - Chaos Gauntlets (members only)
When worn, Bolts Spells hits harder. Obtained after completing Family Crest.
Armour Stats
Wizard's Mind Bomb and Magic Potion
The Wizard's mind bomb temporarily adds 3 levels to your magic level. It can be useful if you want to teleport and your level is 1-3 levels below the required level. It can be bought for only 2gp in Falador Inn and Burthorpe Inn.The Magic Potion is made in Herblore, and gives temporarily 4 levels to your magic level. It is more expensive than the Wizard's mind bomb, but you can have up to 4 doses in one vial.
Guide credits
Written by: Aliensvortex
Special thanks to: Sk84ever159, [M]ike, Predator, Chokelius, Syntax Error, Deathen Shada
Last update: 13-Oct-2010 22:36 by Deathen Shada
Special thanks to: Sk84ever159, [M]ike, Predator, Chokelius, Syntax Error, Deathen Shada
Last update: 13-Oct-2010 22:36 by Deathen Shada