how to understand wiki osrs melle defence on monsters
To understand the OSRS Wiki’s melee defence on monsters, think of it as two parts: the monster’s defence level and its melee defence bonuses. The lower the relevant defence number, the easier it is to hit that monster with that attack style.
What the wiki is showing
On a monster page, the melee defence stats usually appear in this order: stab, slash, crush, then magic and range. For melee, you mainly care about the stab/slash/crush values, and the smallest one usually hints at the monster’s weakness.
How to read it
A simple way to use the wiki page is:
- Look at the monster’s melee defence style numbers.
- Pick the attack style where the monster has the lowest defence.
- Use that style if your weapon is decent enough, because lower defence means a higher chance to hit.
For example, if a monster has low stab defence but high slash defence, a stab weapon will usually perform better.
Why the numbers feel confusing
The wiki numbers are not damage reduction; they mostly affect accuracy. That means they change how often you hit, not how hard each successful hit can land.
Also, the combat formula uses hidden base values in the background, so a “+0” defence bonus does not literally mean zero protection in practice.
Practical rule
If you want the easiest rule of thumb, use this:
- Lowest stab defence → use stab.
- Lowest slash defence → use slash.
- Lowest crush defence → use crush.
- If they are all similar, choose the weapon that gives you the best overall DPS.
Example
If a monster shows:
- Stab defence: 20
- Slash defence: 50
- Crush defence: 35
then stab is usually your best melee style because the monster is easiest to hit with stab attacks.
Tiny TL;DR
The OSRS Wiki melee defence on monsters is basically a guide to what style is easiest to land hits with. Lower number = easier to hit, and the wiki’s “weakness” is often the lowest defence stat.