Start with a Normal Bow and Stone Arrows
To start Ranged in the Demo, unlock Combat, then equip a Normal Bow and Stone Arrows. Prepare replacement ammunition and cooked food before extending your training session.
Unlock Combat and make your bow
- Train Woodcutting to level 5 to open Crafting. Along the way, Woodcutting level 2 opens Fishing and Mining, giving you the gathering skills needed for the Combat unlock.
- Train Mining to level 2 to open Smithing. Keep Stone for your starting sword and for the arrowtips you will make later.
- Forge a Stone Sword at Smithing level 1 using 2 Stone. Crafting this weapon fulfills the weapon-making requirement for opening Combat.
- Catch 20 Raw Shrimp to open Cooking. Keep spare raw fish available because cooking attempts can burn.
- Cook 10 Shrimp to fulfill the other Combat requirement. Once the sword and cooking requirements are met, the combat disciplines become available.
- Defeat a Golbin in Golbin Forest using your Stone Sword to unlock Fletching. This opens the production skill that supplies your starting bow and arrows.
- Spin Flax into Bowstring at Crafting level 1. Flax Bush becomes available at Woodcutting level 5 and supplies the Flax for this recipe.
- Fletch a Normal Bow at Fletching level 1 using 2 Normal Log and 1 Bowstring. The finished bow equips at Ranged level 1.
Build an arrow supply before fighting
- Make Headless Arrows with the Fletching recipe available at level 1, keeping its displayed ingredients ready. Feathers are an ingredient; Wild Chicken supplies them through Hunting, while Ranching Chicken produces them at Ranching level 5.
- Smith Stone Arrowtips at Smithing level 1. The recipe consumes 2 Stone and produces 10 Stone Arrowtips for your arrow assembly.
- Fletch Stone Arrows at Fletching level 1 by combining 4 Stone Arrowtips with 4 Headless Arrows. This produces 4 Stone Arrows.
- Equip the finished Stone Arrows in the active loadout's Ammo slot alongside your Normal Bow. A weapon that requires ammunition attacks only while ammunition of the matching type is equipped.
Golbin Scout drops can supplement your stock with Stone Arrows and Headless Arrows. Completing Pointy Preparation also awards 150 Stone Arrows and 50 Shrimp. Treat these rewards as replenishment after the quest rather than your initial ammunition supply.
Use quest practice, then try Mind Golbin
If Quests is open, follow Pointy Preparation to its target-practice objective: defeat 3 Archery Targets using Ranged. The encounter takes place in Act 1 - Pointy Preparation, and each target has 10 maximum hitpoints. The quest area appears while its corresponding quest step is active.
For an early ordinary enemy, try Mind Golbin in Golbin Forest. It has combat level 2, 20 hitpoints and a Magic attack style, giving Ranged the favourable combat-triangle matchup. Watch your health and supplies during the opening fights before committing to a longer session.
Choose a stance for your training goal
Your selected stance determines which combat skills receive experience from damage dealt. Start with Accurate when Ranged is your priority, or choose a shared-experience stance when you also want Strength or Defence. Compare your performance against the same enemy when testing a different stance.
| Option | XP per Damage Dealt |
|---|---|
| Accurate | 0.4 Ranged XP and 0.133 Hitpoints XP. |
| Powerful | 0.28 Ranged XP, 0.12 Strength XP and 0.133 Hitpoints XP. |
| Long-Range | 0.28 Ranged XP, 0.12 Defence XP and 0.133 Hitpoints XP. |
Check both crafting and equipment requirements
Making an upgraded bow and equipping it require different skills. Check both thresholds before gathering its materials. Use these bow milestones to plan your next upgrade alongside ammunition production.
| Option | Requirements and Materials |
|---|---|
| Oak Bow | Equip at Ranged 10; make at Fletching 15 with 2 Oak Log and 1 Bowstring. |
| Willow Bow | Equip at Ranged 20; make at Fletching 30 with 2 Willow Log and 1 Bowstring. |
| Maple Bow | Equip at Ranged 30; make at Fletching 45 with 2 Maple Log and 1 Bowstring. |
Leather armour equips at Ranged level 1. Hard Leather armour needs Ranged 20 and Defence 10, while Studded Leather needs Ranged 30 and Defence 20. Long-Range's Defence experience can help you work toward those equipment requirements.
Fix stalled attacks and supply problems
- If your bow stops attacking, inspect the Ammo slot in your active loadout. Equip ammunition of the weapon's required type and replenish the equipped stock.
- If arrow production stops, check the recipe ingredients and your chosen stop condition. Artisan crafting requires the full item and currency costs on hand at each step.
- If food use feels excessive, shorten the session and reassess the enemy. Manual eating restarts your attack turn during combat, so repeated eating also interrupts your attacks.
- Before leaving ammunition production running offline, stock its materials and review the stop condition. Offline actions still consume ingredients and stop when those materials run out.
Plan around the Demo's supply limits
This route covers Demo 0.11.4, where skills are capped at level 60. Astrology, Herblore and Agility are unavailable in the Demo. The developer has announced these skills for Early Access and specifically identified their benefits as help for Ranged ammunition production; keep that later support separate from your Demo supply plan.