When it comes to combat styles, everyone wants to make sure they have the best-in-slot gear to fight in any scenario. Mages in Old School RuneScape are especially known for their versatility and unique abilities compared to their Melee and Ranged counterparts.
But with so much gear in OSRS, and so many ways to utilize the Mage combat style, how do you differentiate which Mage gear to go for and which ones to avoid?
Recommended Read: Old School RuneScape – Level 1-99 Firemaking Guide
Today, I’m going to provide a detailed description of the best Mage gear in Old School RuneScape. For the purposes of keeping on topic, I will not be discussing any Mage weapons or staves and only talk about the gear you would use to increase your Magic Attack, Defense, and Strength bonus to the max!
To talk about the gear, I am going to separate it into these categories: armour, boots and capes, jewelry, off-hand (shield) slot, and other items that help boost your Magic bonus.
When it comes to Mage gear in Old School RuneScape, the overall best Mage armour in the game is the Ancestral set, followed by the Virtus set, and Ahrim’s set. Outside the robes, you always want to try and wear the Eternal boots, Magus/Seer’s ring, and a Tormented bracelet when applicable. Other Magic-boosting items include the God cloaks, the Elidinis’ Ward (f), the Mage’s book, the Book of darkness, and the Occult Necklace.
Table of Contents
- Best Mage Armour in OSRS
- Best Mage Boots & Capes in OSRS
- Best Mage Jewelry Items in OSRS
- Best Off-Hand (Shield) Slot
- Bonus Item to Consider
Best Mage Armour in OSRS
When it comes to the Mage combat style, the key is to have gear that gives you the best Magic Attack and Magic Strength bonus possible.
Although this may seem obvious, it can be tricky to point out which gear to pick out as they all have various abilities that make them the best in certain situations.
Ancestral Robe Set
The Ancestral robe set is the best magic robes to wear in Old School RuneScape.
Requiring 75 Magic and 65 Defence to wear, they can be bought on the Grand Exchange for nearly 400m in total or can be received as a rare reward from the Chambers of Xeric.
This robe set has a healthy balance of Melee and Magic defense bonuses, with its shining stats being a total +69 Magic Attack and +6% Magic Strength when worn all together.
Although the Ancestral robe set can be expensive for most players, it is worth it if you are trying to use the Mage combat style at high-level bosses and Raids.
Virtus Robe Set
The Virtus robe set is the most recent addition to the Mage arsenal in Old School RuneScape, being released as drops from the different bosses from the “Desert Treasure II – The Fallen Empire” quest.
This set requires 78 Magic and 75 Defence to wear and has the same exact Magic Attack bonus as the Ancestral robe set (+69) while having stronger Melee defence bonuses.
However, this set truly shines when you wear the full set for its Magic Strength bonus.
While you are casting normal spells when wearing this set, your total Magic Strength bonus is +3% (1% per robe piece).
But, if you are casting Ancient Magicks spells, each item piece gives a +4% Magic Strength bonus, totaling a whopping 12% Magic Strength bonus.
Therefore, in situations where you need to use Ancient Magicks, such as for PvP scenarios or some of the God Wars Bosses, the Virtus robe set will be worth utilizing.
Aside from receiving them as a drop from the “Desert Treasure II” bosses, you can buy the complete set from the Grand Exchange for around 115m.
Ahrim’s Robe Set
Sometimes, less is better. The Ahrim’s robe set is the most common set that OSRS players tend to wear, as it is not only great in overall performance but much cheaper than the former two robe sets.
When worn together (without using the Ahrim’s staff), you will have a +58 Magic Attack bonus, along with Melee and Magic Defence which is like the Ancestral Robes.
However, only the Ahrim’s staff provides a Magic Strength bonus, coming in at 5% when using it.
The Ahrim’s robe set can be rewarded from the Barrows minigame or bought from the Grand Exchange for around 6.5m in total.
This set has different bonuses that make investing in it over other lower-level sets worth it.
For example, if you are also wearing an Amulet of the damned and the full set plus the staff, you will both have an increased 25% chance for combat spells to hit with 30% damage, and you will be able to auto-cast Ancient Magicks.
It is also worth mentioning that the full set (with the Ahrim’s staff) has an effect called “Blighted Aura”, where you have a 25% chance of decreasing the target’s Strength level by 5 levels repeatedly.
But in most situations, would you use a different staff while wearing the robes itself.
This set is incredibly useful for both PvM and PvP situations. The only downside is that this armour degrades over time, needing to be repaired at either an Armour stand in a POH or by an NPC that can repair it (i.e. Bob in Lumbridge or the Squire in the Void Knights’ Outpost).
Best Mage Boots & Capes in OSRS
Eternal/Infinity Boots
For your boots slot, Eternal boots are the best-in-slot boots in Old School RuneScape for Magic Attack and Magic Defence bonus.
Requiring 75 Magic and 75 Defence to wear, they provide a +8 Magic Attack bonus, and a +8 Magic Defence bonus, along with +5 across the board for Defensive stats.
Eternal boots can be bought from the Grand Exchange around 3.8m or created by using an Eternal crystal (a 1/512 drop from Cerberus) on a pair of Infinity boots.
Infinity boots are also a viable option to wear if you don’t want to grind/shell out 3.8m for the extra +3 Magic bonus. They also only require 50 Magic and 25 Defence to wear but only give +5 Magic Attack and Magic Defense.
They can be bought from the Grand Exchange for nearly 500k or unlocked from the Mage Training Arena minigame by earning pizazz points.
Imbued God Cape/Mage Arena Capes
As for your cape slot, the Imbued God Capes are the best capes to wear for Mages. They are completed as a reward from the “Mage Arena II” miniquest and require 75 Magic to wear.
The Imbued God Capes give an insane +15 Magic Attack and Magic Defence bonus, along with +2% Magic Strength and some Melee Defence bonus.
There are three versions of the cape for each of the three major gods in RuneScape: Guthix, Zamorak, and Saradomin.
OSRS players will often bring a Zamorak or Saradomin cape to the God Wars Dungeon to prevent the respective minions from attacking them.
To obtain an Imbued God Cape, you must have completed the “Mage Arena I” miniquest, where you are allowed to take multiple of a single god’s God cape.
These capes also have three different versions for each of the gods but only give a +10 Magic Attack and Magic Defence bonus.
Best Mage Jewelry Items in OSRS
Magus/Seers Ring
The Magus ring is one of the strongest rings in all of Old School RuneScape.
It can be obtained from the Duke Sucellus boss, in the form of a Magus vestige (at a 1/720 drop rate), which is then combined with a Seers icon, 500 Blood runes, and 3 Chromium ingots to make the Magus ring.
Alternatively, it can be bought from the Grand Exchange for a whopping 70m.
This ring requires 90 Magic and 80 Crafting to make, and you will need to have killed Duke Sucellus at least once before being able to wear it.
It provides a +15 Magic Attack bonus, along with +2% Magic Strength bonus.
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of getting one, you can instead opt for its predecessor: the Seers ring.
The Seers ring can be received as a drop from Dagannoth Prime at a 1/128 drop rate or bought from the Grand Exchange for 420k.
Its base form only gives a +6 Magic Attack and Magic Defence bonus. However, it can be imbued at either the Nightmare Zone or Soul Wars to double its bonuses.
Tormented Bracelet
The Tormented Bracelet is the magic version of the Zenyte jewelry pieces; thus, it requires 75 Hitpoints to wear.
It provides a +10 Magic Attack bonus, along with a +5 Magic Strength bonus, effectively making it the best glove-slot item for Magic in OSRS.
They can be made from scratch by crafting a Zenyte bracelet and casting the Lvl-7 Enchant spell on it (requires 93 Magic, 20 Soul, 20 Blood, and 1 Cosmic rune to do so).
Tormented bracelets are also currently going for around 10m at the Grand Exchange.
Occult Necklace
The Occult necklace is the go-to item for Mages, as it provides an outstanding amount of Magic Strength bonus for its relatively cheap price.
Requiring 70 Magic to wear, it gives a +12 Magic Attack bonus and +10 Magic Strength bonus. The strength bonus can also stack with the effects of the Slayer Helmet and Staff of the Dead.
Best Off-Hand (Shield) Slot
Elidinis’ Ward (f)
Obtainable naturally from the Tombs of Amascut Raid, the Elidinis’ ward itself only gives a +5 Magic Attack and +3 Magic Strength, along with a +1 Prayer bonus that isn’t seen with many other items.
However, the ward can be combined with the Arcane sigil to create the Elidinis’ ward (f) to create the best magic shield in the entire game.
Requiring 80 Magic, 80 Defence and 80 Prayer to equip, it combines the stats of the two items to give a total +25 Magic Attack, +5% Magic Strength, and +4 Prayer bonus, along with high defensive stats for both Melee and Ranged.
Other than obtaining each of the items naturally, they can be bought from the Grand Exchange to combine for a total of 135m.
Mage’s Book
For those willing to grind out points for the Mage Training Arena minigame, or spend only 4m on the Grand Exchange, the Mage’s book is a neat off-hand slot for Mage’s looking purely for DPS.
Requiring 60 Magic to wear, it also provides a +15 Magic Attack and Magic Defence bonus.
Book of darkness
An untradable alternative to the former two is the Book of darkness, which is created by filling the Zaros god book from the “Horror from the Deep” quest with the respective Ancient pages, which are either purchases from the Grand Exchange or obtained from Treasure Trail rewards.
The book not only provides a +10 Magic Attack, but also +5 Prayer bonus.
Bonus Item to Consider
Imbued/Saturated Heart
The only item that is not actually worn, it is extremely useful to have in a Mage’s inventory.
The Imbued heart gives a temporary boost to a player’s magic level by 1+10% of their base magic level. Players are only able to use it once every 7 minutes.
It can be bought on the Grand Exchange for 87m or obtained as a drop from Superior slayer monsters.
Alternatively, you can use a Saturated heart, which will give a player a boost by 4+10% of a player’s magic level. This can be bought for 91m or created by using 150k Ancient essence on an Imbued heart.
That is the best magic gear in Old School RuneScape!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.
