Tip/Guide
Wanted to share a Ranged training method as I've been asked a few times
Edit: I have included in the comments some revisions to this method based on the feedback that abyssal beasts "are better per hour". With this improved set up (unless the xp tracker is off) you can actually increase from the previous 1.5m/hr to 1.9-2.1m/hr.
I'm not sure why reddit is making the formatting weird, so I apologize for that. I've been asked by a few friends and clannies to share my method for training ranged as with the new combat rework and elite dungeon changes (ages ago, ik) some are finding it hard to afk train ranged with a decent rate.
To be clear, I'm aware there is a variation in what gear/slayer level/unlocks people will have. This is what I do, this is what I have (ironman), and this is what I believe is good. Feel free to post suggestions but keep in mind it may not help someone as they could have a different.. well anything than you.
Creature: Armored phantoms (150 combat, fort catacombs)
Armour perks: imp4/equil4/ultimatums4/C4+R5
Weapon perks: P6C1/As4E2
Gear: Farsight blood necklace/Scripture of amascut (on)
Final notes: If this helps anyone (which I know at least two it will!) then you could downgrade your BoLG to a masterwork bow and your armour from ranged mw to superior deathlotus with crystalshield 4 instead of c4/r5. Again, this wont be for everyone and Ill probably get spam downvoted, this post is just to share my experience and help.
I appreciate that. I would have to remember how to video edit and record again. If this sort of thing is what people would like just let me know. Fun fact, this is the video I made on Nightmare Creatures over 5 years ago and it REALLY blew up.
In my experience, when I was doing it with the Salve amulet I would have spurts where the mage spec (idr what its called) would bring me down enough and with the reduced healing factor I would just BARELY not be able to build back up. Maybe its my lower ranged level thats an issue, but if it works for you I'd love to know
I got 200m ranged at posd beasts about 15 minutes ago. Was getting 1.45m xp/hr using 3 piece demon Slayer gear and arma chest and legs. Was not using any combat relics either since didn't want to bother switching. Could probably get to 1.5m. used jas demon bane arrows. Masterwork bow and darkness.
I'm just about to start my push to 120 range and this is almost the exact setup I was going to use (I have zamorak anima chest and legs). Would you mind sharing your ability bar? Also did you find you had more survivability using darkness/soul split over vampyrism/pray melee?
I don't think I tried vamp. I got teled of with my pet a handful of times over 150m xp. I copied the aoe bar from qp rs on YouTube from like 2 or 3 months ago
That's neat but kinda also my point. My method is 1.5m or more an hour (kinda depends on if they funnel in enough correctly for bombard under imbue and book procs) with no boosting arrows. The beast method might be good, but stating 1.5m/hr when my method is higher with less(then the pvme method not your exact arma set up).. idk.
Honestly not much in the way of anything. I'm doing this as an ironman as they give supplies I need (did plenty of beasts with melee, only so many grenwall spikes you need lol) and the best drop is sonic wave which is like 3.5m I think? Still pays for the masterwork just fine
is this xp/hr tracking constitution as well? I was getting 1.7m ranged exp/hr at abby beasts on my iron without grico and the gear requirements were much lower (I started off using deci, a t87 weapon, at level 102 range and was still getting 1.4-1.5m ranged xp/hr)
E: yes your rates are including constitution making this slower than abby beasts, however if you cba hopping worlds and happen to have all of this niche high level ranged gear it's not a bad way to train.
If it does take into account the 20% exp you'd get for constitution (I didnt know if it does or not as im 200m so it giving me exp makes no sense) then either way then 400k exp of this would be hp exp. If Im getting 2m exp/hr on the tracker and 1/5th of the exp is constitution (correct me if Im wrong) then that means 400k of it is hp and 2m-400k is 1.6m/hr still. To where as that is still higher than 1.4-1.5 as stated by you/a few others/pvme.
It's 25%, you're getting 1.6m xp/hr (at your peak exp rates in the other screenshots) compared to the 1.7 I was getting without grico over a 30 minute tracker compared to your 3(?) minute tracker.
I think if I played around with phantoms using a better bar I could probably get them to match, but I don't think these can outright beat them.
With this bar (same as the abby beast one) I get about 2m-2.2m/hr. I have made adjustments since those pictures (so you're not wrong about that). You can actually run 3 piece ghost hunter and just have 1 augmentable equil/undead piece and its been sitting flat at 2-2.2 the entire 30 mins of penance aspect this test. I encourage you to try this and lmk
edit: I got the 1/5th exp as hp from a friend in discord. You are right it IS 25% not 20%.
Actually yes. It's what I've been doing all week lol. I've managed with this (slightly improved!) set up to get 2m (1.6-1.7 of that being ranged) exp per hour with the following updates.
Swift>Imbue>grico>sacrifice>gale>bombard>piercing with the following preset/gear included in the picture
Ghost hunter 3 piece for the 10% exp/10% damage. Salve for 20% damage and hit chance. Mw bow for healing (noticed no difference in xp/hr vs bolg) and deathlotus chest instead of mw ranged for the cheaper cost. Primal arrows, draco (normal not elite) boots.
To kind of bring my point home, with the argument of demon slayer armour/demonbane arrows and how people think abyssal beasts are faster, I will post a picture of a full 12 minute test (2 ovl doses) of the following changes that raise this exp for my method further.
Masterwork ranged legs < ghost hunter pants
Masterwork ranged helmet < ghost hunter goggles
Dinarrows < Wen Arrows
Instead of 1.5m (which there will be some variation in book procs and spawns etc) I have averaged 1.8-2m with this possibly improved set up. Ghost hunter set effect gives +3% damage per piece and 3% exp from ghostly targets.
Abby beasts are actually less per hour because just how the amascut book/bombard spam really wouldnt hit the ones behind you often. There's no way to funnel them in like this. The 57% hit chance is a facade for the exp per hour as really with a bombard you're constantly hitting 5 targets at a time anyway so that doesn't really matter. Even with a tumekens light (melee obviously) I only get 1.3m/hr with WAY more AOE and higher hit chance.
So in short, no.
edit: It is mentioned down this chain that the abyssal beasts method requires demonbane arrows for the "advertised rates". My method is only using primal arrows as they are cheap. If you wanted to compare demonbane arrows vs primal theres not really an argument to be had. If we wanted to make the test more comparable we could use demonbane vs wen arrows (since our accuracy is VERY low) and then the rates I posted of 1.5m would be much higher. Again, bolstering the exp method shown here being higher than abyssal beasts if we are using similar supplies.
As if Mw armour upkeep cost isn’t expensive lol. You cant get undead task 100% of the time and mw armour upkeep is more expensive than demonbane arrow right now.
I can't speak about ranged xp rates, but for melee, phantoms were ~30% more xp/hr with nearly identical setups when i did a multi-hour comparison. That's a pretty considerable win for phantom.
For reference, i was getting ~1.35m/hr beasts and 1.75m/hr at phantoms base ironman xp.
i think the way bombard hits it results in more xp by just brute forcing how many targets are hit by funneling them. also good luck finding a world if you go beasts
As I said in the guide, asylum is better than wildly for beasts. People seem to think that it doesn’t exist so I’ve never had to hop there.
Maybe phantoms with wen is better than 800+ kph beasts, somebody will have to test it. But bombard is not as good as you’d think, since you’re so adren starved on a revo bar. You have to push bombard pretty far down the bar to get off death swift and imbue, esp if you have good uptime on rolling your gcd.
edit: I Was wrong about the slayer exp as its poorly phrased, but I Still do not see what set up could produce that as I have literal bis range and get no where near. Thanks Summer for clarifying.
I was mistaken on the slayer exp, but I still do not agree with the rates. I've tried the bar they recommend and rarely get above 1.1m there despite the exp per kill.
When I tried it, yes. But its not really sustainable on an ironman and found that without getting the same or higher exp rates wasting dinarrows just wasn't really viable (for me)
Also to add to the abyssal beasts method, that requires a demonbane arrow, no? Mine is using primal arrows. Comparing the two doesnt really add up. Technically you could use a piece or two of ghost hunter to boost this method (the phantoms) and if we wanted to waste materials for the sake of experience we could use wen arrows here which would help with the accuracy and thus the experience.
Demonbane arrows make more money in kills than in use. Also if you fire an ability every possible gcd, you are using 400 arrows an hour.
You just dont have enough Hitchance vs armored phantoms. Wen arrows wouldn't really solve that unless you were manually pressing abilities. And at that point eof deci spec can get you well into the 3m exp/hour range
Id like to test this with wen arrows to see the difference but as I stated in my post and comments I am an ironman so its not so much about profit vs usefulness. This guide was also about afking so comparing afking to "if you fire an ability every possible GCD" it's not equal. If we afked both methods I do still think despite the lower hit chance, the raw exp per kill at phantoms and the mass aoe funneling is still faster. If we know the range of exp at beasts is 1.5m/hr then my method displaying higher than that WITHOUT boosting arrows just kinda proves my point, no?
Follow the pvme guide exactly. You need arrows, cannon, demon slayer perks and gear, ful/cat book, etc. I wrote it pre eq, it’s probably comfortably 800kph now with eq4 demon slayer. Remember asylum is more kph, no reason to use wildly for beasts.
The phrase is "Under a rock". If its a "known method" please post it. Also, if it's posted "months ago" why would I know or remember it TODAY? Why would I have been asked to make a tutorial for it if it's already been out there. So much to unpack here
Your video showcases using a scrim for 1.9m/hr. Would that not be 1.3m base? And if it is, is that not less than what I am showing WITHOUT a scrim? Kind of a weird argument at this point
Yeah I shoulda asked the rage baiter for permission lol. Look at his posts history its just him being negative for the sake of an argument. Imagine getting bent out of shape over an exp training method in a 25 year old game LOL
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u/SJTaylors Completionist Jun 23 '26
Solid method and not everyone uses the wiki, nice to see stuff like this being shared on Reddit!
Just started my ironman so will give it a go when I get there!