The best weapons in RuneScape: Dragonwilds are the power level 9 pieces from Kuldra’s reward pack: the Dragon Scimitar for melee, the Dragon Crossbow for ranged and Kuldra’s Wrath, a wand, for magic. Below them, the strongest weapons you can craft are Rune tier (the Rune Greataxe, the Magic Longbow and the Ancestral Staff), but a few masterworks raised with Ascension Cores beat those: an ascended Granite Maul, Necromancer’s Staff or Staff of Light out-hits its Rune equivalent on the official wiki’s numbers.
Below are the picks for each combat style at every stage, why the answer changes with the enemy, and which masterworks are worth the cores. Damage figures come from the game’s official wiki and Jagex’s patch notes, current to patch 1.0.1. Where a pick is a matter of opinion rather than numbers, we say whose opinion it is.
How to Judge a Weapon in Dragonwilds
- Power level comes first. Weapons run from power level 1 to 9, and each tier hits much harder than the one before. Craft the highest tier your materials allow before worrying about anything else.
- Damage type matters. Melee weapons deal Slash, Stab or Crush damage, and magic deals Air, Fire or Water. Per the wiki, zogres are weak to Crush but resist Slash, Stab and Air, the Abyssal Demon is weak to Slash, and the lesser dragons are weak to Water and resist Fire. Blue dragons resist Ranged as well, so leave the bow at home for them. On Hard worlds, every weakness and resistance is 10% stronger.
- One hand or two. Swords, scimitars, daggers, maces, wands and crossbows are one-handed, so you can carry a shield and parry. Greatswords, greataxes, warhammers, staffs and bows take both hands and hit harder per attack.
- No level gates. The number beside Artisan on a wiki recipe is the XP the craft gives, not a level you need.
Best Melee Weapons
Melee has seven weapon classes, and the wiki lists a special action for each: Barge for swords, Leaping Slash for scimitars, Lacerate for daggers (which also have the longest combo, at seven hits), Block Breaker for maces, Whirlwind Slash for greatswords, Decimate for greataxes and Quake for warhammers. The standouts at each stage, with the wiki’s base damage:
- Early (power level 3): the Granite Maul, a masterwork warhammer from the Granite Mauled quest, which Doric gives you north-east of the Fractured Plains. It hits 66 to 96 against the Bronze Warhammer’s 52 to 82, and its Battering Ram special knocks most enemies down, though it swings slower than other warhammers. One-handed, the Skullsplitter mace adds 15% critical chance; its recipe drops from garou berserkers at 1 in 50.
- Mid (power levels 4 to 6): Thane’s Authority, a greataxe from the brutal bladehead garou thanes drop (1 in 20), hits 86 to 151 at power level 4 but costs 15% more stamina. The Zombie Axe from Doric’s Quest is a strong power level 5 one-hander (79 to 140) that deals both Crush and Slash. At power level 6, the Black Greataxe (146 to 256) out-hits the Mithril Greataxe, and Titan’s Wrath, a greatsword from the Black Knight’s Fortress quest, adds damage and critical chance.
- Late (power level 7): the Adamant Greataxe (168 to 294) for raw damage, or the Abyssal Whip (100 to 175), a one-hander that builds Bleed but blocks almost nothing.
- Endgame (power level 8): the Rune Greataxe has the highest base damage of any craftable melee weapon, 196 to 343. Our Rune gear guide has the recipe and the raid materials behind it.
- Power level 9: the Dragon Scimitar (102 to 215 Slash) only drops from Kuldra’s reward pack. It hits less per swing than a Rune Greataxe, but it is one-handed, leaves room for a shield and never loses durability. Our Dragon weapons guide lists the drop odds.
Masterworks Worth Ascending
Masterwork and vestige weapons can be raised one power level at a time at the Mystic Forge with Ascension Cores, up to power level 8; the wiki notes the power level 9 versions are not in the game yet. The cores for power levels 4, 5, 6 and 8 are crafted from 99 Ascension Shards plus bars, leather and cloth, and dragons and other mini-bosses drop the shards. The power level 7 core only comes from the Nightmare Crucible in the Umbral Sands. Patch 1.0.1 also fixed Kuldra failing to drop Ascension Cores.
At power level 8, the wiki lists:
- Granite Maul: 231 to 334 Crush, against the Rune Warhammer’s 182 to 285. The biggest gain on this list.
- Thane’s Authority: 200 to 350 Slash, barely above the Rune Greataxe’s 196 to 343, and it keeps its extra stamina cost.
- Necromancer’s Staff: 10.3 rune damage, and the Staff of Light 10.2, both above the Ancestral Staff’s 9.8.
- Hunter Stagbow: 120, two points above the Magic Longbow’s 118.
Best Magic Weapons
Jagex added wands in 1.0 and describes them as “a more mobile, fast-paced way” to fight “at a comparatively lower damage output,” while a staff lets you “hang back” and “lay down more damage,” per its combat rework preview. The wiki adds that wands can be cast while moving but have no special attack or combo finisher. Battlestaffs have a charged secondary attack that changes with the rune: Air stuns and knocks back, Fire breathes a cone of flame, and Water releases a damaging bubble that leaves a healing field.
- Early: the Ash Battlestaff from the Crafting Table. Our spells guide has the recipe and the controls.
- Power level 4: the Staff of Light, a masterwork from the Highlighting the Problem quest, which starts at a wizard statue in the Runecrafting Guild in Bramblemead Valley. It has 4.5 rune damage against the Blightwood staff’s 4.1, and it costs 16 Blightwood, 8 Wild Anima, 4 Sapphires, 12 Vault Shards and a Vault Core.
- Power level 5: the Necromancer’s Staff (5.9), learned from a dragonkin effigy behind a spectral door in the Vekchenven Kara vault in central Fellhollow.
- Power level 7: the Master’s Staff, Pharaoh’s Sceptre and Toktz-mej-tal all sit at 8.4; the wiki lists Toktz-mej-tal with a higher critical chance and lower durability.
- Power level 8: the Ancestral Staff or Ancestral Wand, both 9.8.
- Power level 9: Kuldra’s Wrath, a wand at 11.3, from the same Kuldra reward pack as the Dragon Scimitar.
Pick the rune for the fight as much as the staff: Water slows enemies and suits dragons, Air knocks targets down, and Fire spreads burning damage across groups but does nothing to burn-immune bosses.
Best Ranged Weapons
Our bow guide covers all thirty bows, so here is the short version. Shortbows fire fastest, longbows hit hardest per shot, and crossbows are one-handed, so you keep a shield. Since patch 1.0.1, each type has its own special: Rapid Fire, Power Shot and Heavy Bolt.
- Best craftable: the Magic Longbow, at 118 base damage and power level 8, hits hardest per shot. The Rune Crossbow (88) is the pick if you want a shield.
- Best overall: the Dragon Crossbow, the only power level 9 ranged weapon, from Kuldra’s reward pack.
- Ammo: Jagex’s 1.0.1 notes put Rune arrows and bolts at 4.9x damage against Adamant’s 4.2x, so upgrade your ammo along with the bow.
What the Wiki’s Editors Recommend
The official wiki is written by players, so these are community calls rather than Jagex’s:
- Staff of Light or Necromancer’s Staff: the editors put the gap at “only a 0 – 4 damage difference” at power level 7, and the Staff of Light has 20% more durability, so ascend whichever you have.
- Shortbow to ascend: the Wild Scout’s Shortbow, which draws 10% faster for 1 to 5% less damage.
- Longbow to ascend: the Hunter Stagbow, which the editors report currently fires faster than its description says, making it their choice for long fights.
- One-handed Crush: the Skullsplitter, as the best weapon to ascend against enemies weak to Crush but resistant to Slash, such as skeletal hoplites, zogres and the Black Knights.
Tips Most Players Miss
- Sharpen it. A Whetstone adds 15% melee damage for 10 minutes, per the wiki. It unlocks at Attack 40 and costs 5 Granite and 10 Stone.
- Enchant it. Attack unlocks Enchant Weapon: Fire at level 20, Air at 30 and Water at 50.
- Wear the right amulet. The Amulet of Strength adds 12.5% melee damage and the Amulet of Magic 12.5% magic damage. Since 1.0.1 you can wear a ring alongside one, as our jewelry guide explains.
- Jump into it. Patch 1.0.1’s “Death From Above!” perk adds a Jump Attack whose damage scales with your weapon, so a greataxe or maul makes the most of it.
- Bring a backup type. A Slash weapon and a Crush weapon, or a staff with two runes, covers most weaknesses. Our Kuldra guide covers the final fight, and every other guide is on our RuneScape Dragonwilds hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best weapon in RuneScape Dragonwilds? The power level 9 Dragon Scimitar, Dragon Crossbow and Kuldra’s Wrath wand. All three only drop from Kuldra’s reward pack after the Scorned Wilderness raid.
What is the best craftable melee weapon? The Rune Greataxe, at 196 to 343 damage. An ascended Granite Maul or Thane’s Authority hits as hard or harder at power level 8.
What is the best staff in Dragonwilds? The Ancestral Staff is the best craftable staff at 9.8 rune damage, but an ascended Necromancer’s Staff (10.3) or Staff of Light (10.2) beats it.
Should I use a wand or a staff? A wand if you want to move while casting and carry a shield. A staff if you want more damage and a charged special attack.
Is the Granite Maul good? Yes, once ascended. At power level 8 the wiki lists it at 231 to 334 Crush, well above the Rune Warhammer, though it attacks slower.
Can you upgrade any weapon? No. Only masterwork and vestige weapons can be ascended, with Ascension Cores at the Mystic Forge, and only up to power level 8 for now.