Old School RuneScape (OSRS) – Magic Gear Progression Guide

The most versatile combat style in Old School RuneScape, Magic involves using runes to cast powerful spells that can be used for both combat and utility purposes.

With such versatility, it should come as no surprise that there are dozens of different gear items to choose from when assembling a Magic-based setup.

Recommended Read: How to Obtain the Fire Cape in OSRS

However, since magic gear also has much horizontal progression, it can be tricky to pinpoint which gear you should invest in. The key point is that it all comes down to the content you will participate in (whether combat, skilling-based, or otherwise).

Players often start with simple Wizard’s Robes and the different Elemental Staves for Magic gear progression in OSRS. Eventually, they can move on to Mystic Robes, Ahrim’s Robes, and Ancestral Robes. As for their weapons, it is worth upgrading to either a Master/Kodai Wand or a Trident of the Sea/Trident of the Swamp.

Magic Gear Progression in OSRS
Other Magic Items to Consider

Magic Gear Progression in OSRS

While Magic relies on runes to cast spells, it relies heavily on various staves, wands, robes, and other items to grant additional bonuses and abilities.

More commonly, various staves and wands in Old School RuneScape will provide an unlimited amount of a specific rune (e.g., the Staff of Fire gives you an unlimited Fire Rune source while equipped).

As you progress in your Magic level and upgrade your armour and gear, consider acquiring items that enhance your Magic capabilities.

Staves, wands, robes, and other items, like magic books and the Imbued Heart, can significantly boost your Magic abilities. Although not traditionally considered ‘gear,’ these items play a crucial role in your Magic setup.

Note: When you see brackets indicating an average Magic level, it’s important to note that they can also be interpreted as your combat level.

Wearing certain gear may require additional Defence or Hitpoint levels. Understanding this can help you plan your gear progression more effectively.

Levels 3-40: Wizard Robes, Mystic Robes, Mystic Battlestaves

When starting to train magic, using the basic Wizard Robes is your best bet. This is also when you get acclimated to the different elemental staffs and can save up on runes.

At 40 Magic and 20 Defence, you can wear Mystic Robes, which are cheap but effective armour for mid-level Slayer, PvM, and even some PvP activities.

You can also equip the different Mystic Battlestaves at 40 Magic and 40 Attack, with some staffs, like the Mystic Smoke Battlestaff, giving extra offensive bonuses when casting Fire Spells.

Levels 40-70: Void Knight Armour, Swampbark/ Bloodbark Armour, God Staffs

While Mystic Robes can continue to be worn well within the mid-level combat bracket, there are other alternatives that you can strive for.

At 42 Magic (as well as 42 Ranged, 42 Attack, 42 Strength, 42 Defence, 42 Hitpoints, and 22 Prayer), you can wear Void Knight armour, unlocked through Pest Control.

The completed set is extremely effective for all sorts of content, primarily because it is great for hybrid/tridbriding and because of its set effect.

While wearing the full Void Knight outfit with the Void Mage Helm, you will have an increased 45% Magic accuracy.

There is also the Elite Void Knight outfit that you can unlock, which will give you another 2.5% Magic accuracy and some Prayer bonuses.

At 50 Magic and 50 Defence, you can wear Swampbark Armour, with Bloodbark Armour being unlocked at 60 Magic and 60 Defence.

While relatively low in defensive bonuses, each set provides decent offensive Magic bonuses and comes with its own set effects:

Swampbark: Increases the duration of binding spells, such as Bind, Snare, and Entangle, depending on how much of the armour set you wear.
Bloodbark: Increases the siphoning effect of Blood spells depending on how much of the armour set you are wearing.

These set effects make both Swampbark and Bloodbark armour viable for PvP content.

At 60 Magic, you can complete the Mage Arena and earn a God Cape and God Staff. The God Capes are effective Magic-based capes with a +10 Offensive and Defensive Magic bonus.

There are also three God Staffs in Old School RuneScape that can be used to cast their associated god spell (after casting said spell 100 times within the Mage Arena).

While the cost efficiency to continuously cast each spell is relatively high, they are still worth using in some PvM and PvP encounters.

Guthix Staff – “Claws of Guthix” spell – Lowers a target’s Defense on hit.
Zamorak Staff – “Flames of Zamorak” spell – Lowers a target’s Magic on hit.
Saradomin Staff – “Saradomin Strike” spell – Lowers a target’s Prayer on hit.

Levels 70-100: Ahrim’s Robes, Ancestral Robes, Imbued God Cape, Master Wand, Trident of the Seas/ Trident of the Swamp

You can wear Ahrim’s Robes at 70 Magic and 70 Defence. Considered one of the best magic armour sets in Old School RuneScape, they provide a high number of Offensive and Defensive stats.

Earned naturally as a reward from the Barrows minigame, the Ahrim’s Robes has an average of +100 Defensive bonuses to all combat styles. The full set itself (including the Ahrim’s Staff) also has a set effect that will reduce the Strength of a target.

However, since the set effect is not normally utilized, most players will wear the robes and a more powerful staff when creating a magic setup.

On the other hand, wearing the full set along with an Amulet of the Damned will allow you to auto-cast Ancient Magicks with the Ahrim’s Staff, making this a powerful set to wear for PvP scenarios.

Ancestral Robes, which are much more expensive yet stronger than Ahrim’s robes, can be worn at 75 Magic and 65 Defence. Earned as a reward from the Chambers of Xeric raid, the full set can sell for around 400m on the Grand Exchange.

Ancestral Robes provide the highest Offensive Magic bonuses in the entire game, giving a total of +69 Magic Attack and moderate Defensive stats. This makes them top-tier for using Magic against the toughest bosses.

Once you have 75 Magic, you can complete the “Mage Arena II” miniquest and earn the Imbued God Capes.

A step up from the regular God Capes, they are the best-in-slot Magic capes in Old School RuneScape, giving +15 Offensive and Defensive Magic bonuses and an extra +2% Magic Strength.

At 75 Magic, you can also wield the Trident of the Seas. A powerful staff dropped from both the Cave Krakens and the Kraken Boss gives you a +15 Offensive and Defensive Magic bonus and is excellent for any kind of Magic-based combat.

The Trident of the Seas has a built-in spell, so you must charge it instead of bringing runes.

The Trident of the Seas also comes with an upgraded variant: the Trident of the Swamp, giving it a venoming effect similar to items earned through Zulrah.

Requiring 78 Magic to wield, the Trident of the Swamp is an incredibly effective Magic weapon used in nearly every PvM scenario, often side-by-side with Ancient Magicks in some cases.

In addition to the different tridents, the Master Wand becomes available at 60 Magic.

While only a moderate Magic level is required, it is one of the few weapons that can auto-cast Ancient Magicks. Therefore, in situations where you will be predominately using Ancient Magicks (Raids, PvP, etc.), the Master Wand is worth investing in.

Levels 100-126: Virtus Robes, Kodai Wand, Eternal Boots, Elidinis’ Ward/ Elidinis’ Ward (f)

Virtus Robes, which require 78 Magic and 75 Defence to wear, is a powerful and unique set of Magic robes that are earned naturally as drops from the different “Desert Treasure II” bosses.

Like Ancestral Robes, they have increased Defensive and Prayer bonuses and a set effect that increases damage dealt when using Ancient Magicks.

Knowing this, these robes are often preferred over Ancestral Robes when solely using Ancient Magicks, while Ancestral Robes are used to increase overall magic DPS.

While various boots in Old School RuneScape provide Magic bonuses, Eternal Boots are the best-in-slot boots for Magic.

They require 75 Magic and 75 Defence to wear and give a +8 Offensive and Defensive Magic bonus; while this is not much of a difference to cheaper boot alternatives, it can make a difference when partaking in high-level content.

The Kodai Wand is the highest-tiered wand available. It is created by using a Kodai Insignia on a Master Wand.

Able to be used at 80 Magic, it can auto-cast any spell book, has a chance of not spending runes when casting a spell, and provides an additional 15% Magic damage.

The Kodai Wand also gives you an unlimited supply of Water Runes, similar to a Staff of Water, making it an excellent choice for casting Ice Spells.

Able to be used in any scenario, the Kodai Wand is considered one of the strongest weapons in the game and a staple to an endgame Magic gear setup.

Out of all off-hand items that provide Magic bonuses, the Elidinis’s Ward is the most powerful magic-based off-hand.

Requiring 80 Magic, 80 Defence, and 80 Prayer to equip, it gives a +5 Offensive Magic, +3% Magic Strength, and +1 Prayer bonus.

However, this shield truly shines when combined with an Arcane Spirit Shield to create the Elidinis’ Ward (f). This fortified variant gives you +25 Offensive Magic Attack, +5% Magic Strength, +4 Prayer, and a plethora of Defensive bonuses across all combat styles.

This shield can turn any player into a Magic tank with its excellent combination of offensive and defensive bonuses.

Other Magic Items to Consider

While most players will focus on the robes or weapons they use to upgrade their gear, plenty of other items provide additional bonuses/ effects to progress your Magic loadout.

Imbued Heart/ Saturated Heart

Earned as a drop from superior slayer creatures, the Imbued Heart temporarily boosts your Magic level by a certain amount (depending on your current Magic level).

Although you do not need a specified Magic level to use it, it is a great item to have with you to help give you extra Magic capabilities.

The Imbued Heart can also be upgraded into the Saturated Heart, which will not only increase the boost by an extra +3 when used but also prevent your Magic boost from gradually draining for a certain amount of time while decreasing the cooldown to use it again.

Seers Ring/ Seers Ring (i)/ Magus Ring

There are two rings in Old School RuneScape that directly give you additional Magic bonuses.

The Seers Ring dropped from Dagannoth Prime gives a +6 Offensive and Defensive Magic bonus.

Additionally, it can be imbued through the Nightmare Zone, Soul Wars, or Last Man Standing to turn it into the Seers Ring (i), doubling the bonuses to +12.

Even further, the Magus Ring is a ring earned from Duke Sucellus (one of the Desert Treasure II bosses) that provides a total of +15 Offensive and Defensive Magic bonuses, the highest in the entire game.

While there is not technically a level requirement to wear it, you must complete the “Desert Treasure II” quest, which already requires 75 Magic.

Tormented Bracelet

The Tormented Bracelet requires 75 Hitpoints to wear and is the best-in-slot glove-slot item for Magic in OSRS.

It provides a +10 Magic Attack, a +2 Prayer bonus, and a +5% Magic Strength bonus, making it very effective for any DPS-based Magic setup.

Barrows Gloves

While not specific to Magic, Barrows Gloves are fantastic gloves that provide +6 Offensive and Defensive Magic bonuses and a +10 bonus to all other stats, making them incredibly useful for any kind of gear setup.

Earned after completing the “Recipe for Disaster” quest, Barrows Gloves are an iconic item that can be used in virtually any scenario and are much cheaper than the Tormented Bracelet.

Book of Darkness/ Mage’s Book

Once you complete the “Horror from the Deep” quest, you can fill and complete the different god books available. One of which, Zaro’s book, or the Book of Darkness, directly provides additional Magic bonuses when worn.

While equipped, it gives you a +10 Offensive Magic bonus and a +5 Prayer bonus. Given that wielding it does not require a specific Magic skill, it is a fantastic off-hand item for a Magic setup, albeit at a low price.

On the same note, the Mage’s Book is earned from the Mage Training Arena or bought from the Grand Exchange for around 3m.

Requiring 60 Magic to wear gives a +15 Offensive and Defensive Magic bonus, making it the third-best off-hand item for Magic attack.

Tome of Fire/ Tome of Water

Two books in the game, the Tome of Fire and the Tome of Water provide additional rune supplies and magic bonuses.

The Tome of Fire is earned as a reward from the Wintertodt boss. It requires 50 Magic to wield, but it can be charged with Burnt Pages/ Seared Pages, which can be used in place of Fire Runes.

Using the Tome of Fire will increase the hit of Fire Spells by 50%, making it incredibly useful when paired with something like the Mystic Smoke Battlestaff, which also increases your damage and accuracy.

Furthermore, if the Tome of Fire is charged with Seared Pages, it will increase your minimum hit by 10%, effectively making it so you can never hit a zero when using Fire Spells.

On the other hand, the Tome of Water is a reward from the Tempoross boss and requires 50 Magic to wield. When charged with Soaked Pages, it can be used as a supplement for Water Runes.

With the Tome of Water equipped, you will also have additional benefits when casting certain spells, including:

Water spells have a 20% increased accuracy and damage bonus.
Curse spells have a 20% increased accuracy bonus.
Stat-draining spells have a 50% increased effectiveness.

This can make the Tome of Water incredibly effective when paired with Swampbark armour, which also gives bonuses to binding spells.

Occult Necklace

Considered the best Magic necklace in Old School RuneScape, the Occult Necklace requires 70 Magic to wear and is dropped from Smoke Devils.

The +12 Offensive Magic bonus also gives you +10% Magic Strength and a +2 Prayer bonus, which will drastically increase your Magic DPS while worn.

This has been a Magic gear progression guide for Old School RuneScape!

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