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Crossbow bolts

This article is compiled from the videos of GnomonkeyRS. It records what Gnomonkey said, with sources, not verified game fact. See About.

Crossbow bolts

Crossbow bolts
Type Item
Videos 3 (first 2020-10-01, latest 2026-06-14)
Main source Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS)

Crossbow bolts is an item topic that Gnomonkey covers in 3 videos between 2020-10-01 and 2026-06-14. This article is a stub: his statements are grouped by type, repeated ones merged.

Contents

Methods

  • Gnomonkey switches to diamond bolts later in the TzKal-Zuk kill when Ruby procs stop landing.1

Stats and numbers

  • Dragon bolts give +17 range strength over diamond bolts and +19 over ruby bolts, which at most dragons is over 10% more DPS than standard bolts, about +7 max hit.2
  • You lose about 200 bolts an hour on average with a crossbow, making regular bolts about 40k GP an hour and dragon bolts about 200k GP an hour.2
  • Amethyst bolts are cheaper than even standard enchanted bolts and give +10 range strength over diamond bolts.2

Tips

  • With an armadillo crossbow against non-dragons dragon bolts are still almost exactly a 10% DPS increase over regular bolts, so the 1.5m GP an hour rule still stands.3
  • Gnomonkey proposes that bolt procs create a separate bonus hitsplat instead of morphing the main hit, with ruby damage capped around 50, so better crossbows scale with the bolt.4
  • Gnomonkey suggests turning useless bolt effects into bonus splats, for example emerald bolts giving a high poison hit of around eight damage, and tying jade and pearl bolts to earth and water elemental weaknesses.5
  • Such a crossbow rework would be massive and would warrant a beta, and thinks Jagex should bring betas back for changes at this scale.6

Gnomonkey's opinion

  • Gnomonkey says you need to make about 1.5m GP an hour for dragon bolts to be worth using over regular bolts, so you should definitely use them at brutal black dragons and Vorkath.2
  • At the King Black Dragon Gnomonkey says dragon bolts are almost questionable, but since you are probably after the pet there, use your best bolts.2
  • Gnomonkey says amethyst bolts are not only cheaper but more powerful against low-defence, low-health monsters where neither the diamond nor ruby effect helps, and may be worth using if you make below 1m GP an hour, for example at skeletal wyverns.2
  • Gnomonkey says crossbows up to the Zaryte crossbow are propped up by ruby bolts, which on bosses with 500 or more health do up to 100 damage with a 6.6 percent proc chance even if the hit would have been a zero.7
  • Gnomonkey says ruby bolts always have a 6.6 percent chance to hit 100 regardless of Ranged level, which makes crossbows really hard for Jagex to balance.8
  • Gnomonkey says Jagex has been adding new unique crossbows with their own ammo, like the Sunlight hunter crossbow, and he thinks Jagex needs to look at all bolt effects eventually.9
  • Gnomonkey says many bolt effects do almost nothing, citing pearl bolts that do about five damage of water splash.9
  • Gnomonkey says scaling crossbow power would give another route around the Bow of Faerdhinen, such as killing Zilyana in a team for an Armadyl crossbow as a side-grade.10
  • Gnomonkey considers Ruby bolts very good against TzKal-Zuk and keeps trying to land Ruby procs for burst damage.11
  • Near the end of the Zuk fight Gnomonkey says he would love a couple of bolt procs, but accepts he is not going to get another set.12

Trivia

  • According to Gnomonkey, ruby bolts were uncapped until Chambers of Xeric released, and Jagex capped them at 100 after Olm in a large raid showed it was a problem.13

Revision history

Date Video Change
2026-06-14 ONE OF THE BEST DMM ALLSTARS MOMENTS (OSRS) Added: 3 statements (method, opinion)
2026-05-27 Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS) Added: 9 statements (opinion, tip, trivia)
2020-10-01 What Is The BEST Ammo to Use? (Darts/Bolts/Arrows/Scythe) (OSRS 2020) Page created: 7 statements (opinion, stat, tip)
## See also

References

  1. ONE OF THE BEST DMM ALLSTARS MOMENTS (OSRS), 2026-06-14. ▶ 8:26 ↩

  2. What Is The BEST Ammo to Use? (Darts/Bolts/Arrows/Scythe) (OSRS 2020), 2020-10-01. ▶ 3:58 ↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. What Is The BEST Ammo to Use? (Darts/Bolts/Arrows/Scythe) (OSRS 2020), 2020-10-01. ▶ 5:00 ↩

  4. Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS), 2026-05-27. ▶ 56:38 ↩

  5. Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS), 2026-05-27. ▶ 58:10 ↩

  6. Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS), 2026-05-27. ▶ 59:10 ↩

  7. Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS), 2026-05-27. ▶ 55:12 ↩

  8. Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS), 2026-05-27. ▶ 55:42 ↩

  9. Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS), 2026-05-27. ▶ 57:43 ↩↩

  10. Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS), 2026-05-27. ▶ 59:37 ↩

  11. ONE OF THE BEST DMM ALLSTARS MOMENTS (OSRS), 2026-06-14. ▶ 3:00 ↩

  12. ONE OF THE BEST DMM ALLSTARS MOMENTS (OSRS), 2026-06-14. ▶ 12:23 ↩

  13. Summer Sweep up WISH-LIST (OSRS), 2026-05-27. ▶ 56:10 ↩

Items

Inferno gear • Bow of Faerdhinen • Burning claws • Tumeken's shadow • Toxic blowpipe • Atlatl • Dagannoth Kings • Scythe of Vitur • Soulreaper axe • Confliction gauntlets • Mixed hide armour • Voidwaker • Perilous Moons • Twisted bow • TzHaar-Ket Breaker • Osmumten's fang • Eclipse atlatl • Oathplate armour • Eye of Ayak • Venator bow • Bone dagger • Emberlight • Heka of Tumeken • Rubium • Sanguinesti staff • Dark crab • Eldritch veil • Void Knight equipment • Avernic treads • Crossbow bolts • Blood fury • Daeyalt Essence Mine • Noxious halberd • Torva armour • Divine potion • Soulflame horn • Surge potion • Ascension crossbow • Dharok's armour • Amulet of rancour

Category: Items