OSRS UIM Ranged 1-70: Bone Crossbow vs Darts Guide

Game screenshots and facts are cited from the Old School RuneScape Wiki (strategy, equipment, drops, and related pages). Writing is original editorial, not a copy of the wiki article.

On an Ultimate Ironman, every inventory slot is a promise you make to your future self. Ranged training from 1 to 70 lives or dies by that promise. You need ammunition, maybe runes for alching, possibly food for early levels, and still want to pick up the drops that actually matter. The choice between a Dorgeshuun crossbow with bone bolts and a stack of darts is not just about damage per second. It is about how many slots you can dedicate to ammunition, how often you must leave your crab spot, and whether you can maintain the kind of low-attention grind that lets you train while doing something else.

This guide covers the 1–70 stretch for UIMs, with a focus on inventory management. It puts the bone crossbow and darts head to head, explains the best crab training locations, and shows how to carry the right balance of ammo and runes so you do not waste half your session running back to a shop.

Requirements and Who This Is For

This guide assumes you are already committed to the Ultimate Ironman lifestyle, meaning no banking and no trading. You are not completely locked out of ranged progression, but you must plan every stackable item in advance. The methods here are aimed at players who want to reach 70 Ranged for equipment like black d'hide, a rune crossbow, or PvM unlocks, without burning out on high-attention methods.

Before you set out, decide how many inventory spaces you can realistically reserve for ammunition. On a UIM, that number changes as you level. At low levels, you may need a few lobsters or jugs of wine. By 40+ at ammonite crabs, you can often train with zero food, which opens up space for more bolts or darts.

Bone Crossbow: The Inventory-Friendly Workhorse

The Dorgeshuun crossbow is the quiet hero of early UIM ranged training. It fires bone bolts, which are sold by Nardok in Dorgesh-Kaan after you complete the relevant quest. Bone bolts are stackable, dirt cheap, and can be bought in bulk without needing any manufacturing skills. This means one inventory slot can hold thousands of shots, and restocking takes as long as a quick teleport and a shop purchase.

The crossbow itself occupies your weapon slot and both hands, so you lose the ability to wear an offhand shield or god book. That trade-off is minor at crabs, where you take almost no damage. The crossbow's attack speed is slower than darts, but its accuracy and damage per hit are respectable for the level range. You will not set any XP records, but you will stay at the training spot for hours.

• Pros: extremely cheap ammo, one-slot ammo stack, no fletching or smithing required, reliable shop restock.
• Cons: two-handed, slower attack speed than darts, slightly lower DPS, locked behind a quest.

For UIMs who value consistency and low maintenance, the bone crossbow is the default choice from the moment you can wield it until you switch to a rune crossbow with broad bolts at higher Slayer levels.

Darts: Burst Damage vs. Inventory Drain

Darts are the fastest ranged weapons in the game, and their rapid attack speed often produces higher raw DPS than a bone crossbow at the same level. They are one-handed, so you can pair them with a shield, god book, or even an offhand prayer bonus item. On paper, darts look like the superior training weapon.

In practice, darts have a hidden UIM cost. Every dart you throw is consumed, and if you did not already have a large stack from Fletching training, you must make them yourself. That means mining or buying ores, smithing dart tips after The Tourist Trap, adding feathers, and repeating. The time spent making darts strictly for ranged training almost always outweighs the DPS gain over a bone crossbow. The wiki's own UIM guide says darts are only recommended if you already made them beforehand for another purpose.

If you do bring darts, treat them as a burst option, not a mainstay. Use them for short, high-attention sessions when you want to push a level quickly, but do not plan an entire 1–70 grind around them unless you have tens of thousands banked in your inventory (which is impossible to bank, so they sit in your inventory permanently).

Remember that darts also have combat style options from the Dart page: Accurate gives a +3 Ranged boost, Rapid gives no boost but maximum attack speed, and Longrange gives +3 Defence while extending range. For training, Rapid is usually preferred for DPS, but Accurate can help if you are struggling to hit swamp crabs at low levels.

Where to Train: Crabs from 1–55/70

Crabs are the backbone of AFK ranged training because they have high Hitpoints, very low Defence, and deal minimal damage. They become aggressive when you walk near them and stay aggressive for 10 minutes. After that, you must reset aggression by running roughly a minimap's length away and returning. The goal is to find a spot where two or three crabs attack you at once, so your character keeps attacking without input.

Ammonite crabs on Fossil Island are the best overall option. They have the highest Hitpoints of all crabs, meaning fewer resets and less downtime. Their occasional fossil drops can be stored for later Prayer training or used for the Volcanic Mine Item Retrieval Service. If you do not have access to Fossil Island, sand crabs in Hosidius are a no-requirement alternative, but they have lower HP and are often crowded. Swamp crabs are also viable because they have uniquely low Ranged Defence, making them good for very low levels.

For a UIM, ammonite crabs are even more attractive because the fossil drops are stackable and useful later, and you will not fill your inventory with junk. Bring nothing but your weapon, ammunition, and maybe a few pieces of food for the first few levels. Once your Defence is high enough, you can drop all food and fill those slots with more bolts or alch runes.

Inventory Management: Ammo, Runes, and Alchables

Inventory space is the real boss fight for a UIM at crabs. You start with 28 slots. Your weapon takes one, ammunition takes one (or more if you are juggling multiple types), and runes take two or three if you are high alching. That leaves 23–24 spaces for drops. Because you cannot bank, every non-stackable drop either gets alched, left on the ground, or forces an early trip.

The smart play is to fill your inventory with as many stackable essentials as possible before leaving town. A large stack of bone bolts, a stack of nature runes, and a fire staff (or fire runes) mean you can stay indefinitely. If a drop has a decent high alch value, alch it on the spot to convert it into gold without using a slot. If it is worthless, leave it. If it is stackable, pick it up. This simple filter keeps your inventory clean.

Runes deserve special attention. Nature runes and fire runes each take a slot. A fire staff saves the fire rune slot but adds a weapon swap, which can be annoying during combat. Many UIMs choose to alch only when their inventory is nearly full of junk, then equip the fire staff, alch everything, and return to their ranged weapon. That approach keeps rune usage minimal and prevents you from carrying runes you never use.

If you are not alching, leave all runes at home. An early UIM does not need runes for ranged training unless you are using a spell like High Level Alchemy. Every slot saved is a slot for more bolts or for a longer stay.

Time-to-Goal and XP Expectations

Reaching 70 Ranged from level 1 on a UIM is not a fast process, but crabs make it low-stress. The exact XP per hour depends on your gear, Ranged level, and how precisely you reset aggression. Because the wiki UIM Ranged guide does not list crab XP rates, you should test a 10-minute sample at your chosen spot and extrapolate. Expect a long, steady grind rather than a quick push.

For comparison, the fastest Ranged training method in the game — chinning maniacal monkeys — can reach hundreds of thousands of XP per hour at high levels, but it requires starting Monkey Madness II, high Prayer, and lots of preparation. That is not a realistic option for the 1–70 stretch, and it completely ignores the inventory constraints of a UIM. Crabs are the honest middle ground: good XP for very low attention and zero supply cost.

If you plan to later train at maniacal monkeys, start banking prayer potions and work toward the quest requirements. For now, focus on the low-effort crab grind.

Common Mistakes

• Making darts from scratch for training. The time spent smithing and fletching darts is almost never worth the DPS gain over a bone crossbow. Only use darts if you already have them.
• Using broad bolts without the Broader Fletching perk. Broad bolts require 300 Slayer points to unlock, and buying unfinished broad bolts from a Slayer master is useless without it. Verify before switching from bone bolts.
• Forgetting to reset crab aggression. The 10-minute timer is the difference between AFK training and standing still. Set a timer.
• Hoarding non-stackable drops. A full inventory of junk means an early trip and wasted time. Alch or leave it.
• Bringing too many runes or too much food. At ammonite crabs after 40+ Ranged, most players need zero food. Free those slots for more useful items.
• Underestimating ammo needs. Running out of bone bolts at 3 a.m. is a special kind of pain. Buy double what you think you need.

When to Consider Gold or a Boost

The honest truth is that Ultimate Ironman mode is a time sink by design. Training Ranged to 70 using bone crossbow at crabs may take many hours of low-attention clicking. Not every player wants to spend their evenings resetting crab aggression.

If you are playing a normal account, buying OSRS gold can fund a rune crossbow, broad bolts, and better gear, but that option does not apply to Ultimate Ironmen because they cannot trade. For UIMs who want to skip the repetitive grind, some players use a trusted boosting service that plays the account for them for a set number of hours. You must ensure any service you use complies with Jagex's rules and does not put your account at risk. We cannot guarantee the safety or legitimacy of any third-party service.

If you are not an Ultimate Ironman and simply want gold for supplies, check the current market rates. For UIMs, time is your main currency, and the bone crossbow method is one of the cheapest ways to spend it.

View live gold rates

Next Step: Start at Sand or Ammonite Crabs

Your first move is simple. If you have Fossil Island access, go to the ammonite crab spot on the north-east beach. If not, head to the sand crab area in Hosidius. Bring your Dorgeshuun crossbow, at least 5,000 bone bolts, and a few pieces of food for the first hour. Set your attack style to Rapid, right-click a crab to attack, and let the aggression do the work. After 10 minutes, reset and continue.

For runes, leave them at home until you know you will alch. Once you are comfortable with the spot and your damage taken, drop the food and fill those slots with more bolts or a fire staff and nature runes. Track your XP for 10 minutes and decide if the pace works for you.

Ranged is a core combat style you will use for safespotting, PvM, and even Slayer later. Building it to 70 with the bone crossbow is an inventory-friendly foundation that respects the UIM rules. For more inventory-smart magic training, see our UIM Magic Training guide.