How to read an OSRS max hit
A max hit is the largest normal damage roll your selected setup can produce under the assumptions shown above. It is a useful equipment checkpoint: if a new weapon, prayer or potion adds one max-hit point, that change is real. It is not a kill-time estimate, because the number does not include how often the attack lands or how quickly the weapon attacks.
Use max hit when you are asking
- Will this Strength bonus cross the next damage breakpoint?
- Does a prayer or potion change the ceiling of this setup?
- Is this weapon's damage stat being read from the item and ammunition I selected?
Use DPS when you are asking
- Which setup kills a specific boss faster?
- Does extra accuracy beat extra Strength against high Defence?
- How much time does a gear upgrade save over a full trip?
The OSRS DPS Calculator combines max hit, hit chance and attack speed against a real target.
The calculation, with worked examples
The calculator keeps OSRS rounding order. It boosts the visible level first, applies the selected damage prayer, adds the attack-style bonus and the combat constant, then combines that effective level with the selected gear's damage bonus. The final floor happens after the multiplication; rounding each input early can change the result by one point.
Melee example
99 Strength, Super strength, Piety, controlled style, +82 Strength bonus.
visible = 99 + floor(99 x 15%) + 5 = 118
effective = floor(118 x 1.23) + 1 + 8 = 154
max hit = floor(0.5 + 154 x (82 + 64) / 640) = 35
Aggressive style adds two more damage levels than controlled, but removes the controlled accuracy bonus.
Ranged example
99 Ranged, ranging potion, Rigour, accurate style, +49 Ranged strength.
visible = 99 + floor(99 x 10%) + 4 = 112
effective = floor(112 x 1.23) + 3 + 8 = 148
max hit = floor(0.5 + 148 x (49 + 64) / 640) = 26
The ammo slot contributes Ranged strength. Thrown weapons and chinchompas keep their own ammunition from being counted twice.
Magic example
A spell with base max 24 and a setup carrying +25% magic damage.
max hit = floor(24 x (1 + 25 / 100)) = 30
Magic prayers in this tool affect accuracy, not the spell's damage ceiling. Powered staves replace the manual spell base with their level-based base max.
What each input changes
| Input | Damage effect | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Gear and ammo | Summed Strength, Ranged strength or Magic damage. | Weapon style, ammunition and two-handed shield rules match your in-game setup. |
| Attack style | Melee controlled/aggressive/accurate and Ranged accurate change effective levels. | Pick the style you will actually use; the same max hit can come with different accuracy. |
| Prayer and potion | Visible combat levels are boosted, then damage prayers are applied before the formula. | Divine or overload assumptions must match how long your activity lasts. |
| Set effect | Slayer helm and Salve multipliers apply after the base melee/ranged hit. | Only select an effect when the target, task and item actually qualify. |
| Void | Melee and Ranged use the effective-level multiplier; Magic Void affects accuracy only here. | Compare the full setup, not just the visible armour bonus. |
| Powered staff | Trident, Sanguinesti, Shadow and other supported staves derive base max from Magic level. | For a normal spell, use the spell's base max; for a powered staff, leave the auto value in place. |
Turning one extra max hit into a decision
A one-point increase is not automatically a better upgrade. Damage is rolled between zero and the max, so the useful question is whether the change also improves average damage, hit chance or attack speed against the target you care about.
- Check the breakpoint. Change one item at a time and note whether the displayed max hit moves. A large bonus can be silent until the floor is crossed.
- Check accuracy next. Against high Defence, an attack bonus can produce more real damage than a small Strength bonus that rarely lands.
- Check the activity cost. A prayer or potion can raise the ceiling while adding drain, inventory trips or a shorter session.
- Check the full encounter. Use the DPS page for target Defence, attack speed and TTK; then add movement, phases and supplies that the stationary model cannot know.
Max hit is the top of the damage range. A setup with a lower max hit can still win when it attacks faster, lands more often or avoids a phase of downtime.
Scope, sources and review notes
Included
- Standard melee, Ranged and Magic max-hit formulas with OSRS rounding order.
- Gear bonuses from the embedded equipment catalogue, including the selected ammunition.
- Prayer, potion, Void, Slayer helm, Salve and supported powered-staff rules.
- Target Magic level and Magic attack inputs for Twisted bow scaling.
Not included
- Special attacks, Dharok's low-health scaling, Keris procs and Tombs of Amascut Shadow scaling.
- Hit chance, attack speed, Defence, movement, phase mechanics or incoming damage.
- Food, prayer potions, ammunition cost, task availability or Grand Exchange prices.
Formula references: maximum melee hit, maximum ranged hit and maximum magic hit on the OSRS Wiki. The equipment snapshot is attributed on the data sources page; the current catalogue snapshot is dated 17 July 2026 and this page's assumptions were reviewed 16 October 2026.