What Makes Magic Different in RuneScape: Dragonwilds

Magic matters in Ashenfall because it turns a handful of consumable runes into some of the strongest area-of-effect damage in the game, letting you burn through packs of enemies that would grind a melee build to a halt. Released in Update 0.8 on 17 June 2025, Magic is one of the three combat styles alongside melee and ranged. Instead of a regenerating mana bar, you load runes into a staff and consume them one cast at a time, similar to nocking arrows onto a bow.

That resource loop shapes the whole skill. You level Magic by defeating enemies with spells, and you can also earn experience from several other sources:

  • Combat kills with spells, the primary leveling method
  • Magic Skill Tomes found or crafted around Ashenfall
  • Special reward tomes, such as the Tome of the Dragon Slayer

Because runes are a physical inventory item, your damage output is tied directly to how well you stock up before a fight, which makes gathering and crafting just as important as combat itself.

Runes and Combat Spells

Combat magic currently runs on two elemental runes: Air and Fire. You choose which one to autocast by opening the second tab of your inventory and right-clicking the rune you want equipped. Each element plays very differently in practice. Air hits harder on single targets and has noticeably longer wind-up animations, while Fire trades raw damage for burn effects that stack across multiple enemies standing close together.

Players on the Steam forums describe the two combos in detail:

  • Air's four-hit combo: a wind ball, a bigger wind ball, a stun, and finally a short-range knockback cone
  • Fire's four-hit combo: a fireball, a stunning hemisphere blast, a ground-shattering eruption, then a devastating meteor shower over a wide area

That makes Fire the go-to pick for clearing crowds, while Air is better reserved for tougher single targets like garou berserkers or skeleton hoplites.

| Rune | Base Damage | Passive Effect | Arcane Expertise Combo | |------|-------------|-----------------|--------------------------| | Air | 13-22 | Knockdown | Wind tunnel AoE that knocks down enemies in its path | | Water | 7-13 | Slowness | Tsunami and splash effect that heals the caster and restores thirst | | Fire | 6-10 | Burn | Circular fire shower that burns enemies who walk through it | | Earth | N/A | N/A | Combat mechanics not yet released |

Water and Earth runes exist in the data but don't have combat mechanics live yet, so Air and Fire are your only real options for now. Once you have runes equipped, you also gain access to Magical Focus, a craftable consumable unlocked at Magic level 39 that imbues your staff with a 15% damage multiplier for 10 minutes — a solid pick before a tough fight.

Best Magic Weapons for Every Stage

Staffs are the only weapon type for spellcasting in RuneScape: Dragonwilds, and they're all two-handed, meaning you give up your shield slot to wield one. A staff's power level and damage multiplier scale how much punch your runes pack, so upgrading your staff is often more impactful than upgrading your runes.

| Staff | Stage | Damage Multiplier | Power Level | Durability | |-------|-------|--------------------|-------------|------------| | Ash Battlestaff | Early game | 1.9 | 2 | 900 | | Necromancer's Staff | Mid game | 5.9 | 5 | 1,050 | | Toktz-Mej-Tal | Endgame | Higher crit chance (tradeoff applies) | N/A | N/A |

The Ash Battlestaff is the natural starting point, crafted from 12 Ash Logs, 6 Rune Essence, and 2 Coarse Thread at the Crafting Table. It's cheap, accessible, and strong enough to clear early threats without much fuss.

The Necromancer's Staff comes online once you find a dragonkin effigy behind a spectral door in the Vekchenven Kara Vault beneath a waterfall in the Lake of Lost Souls. After unlocking the recipe, you craft it at the Mystic Forge using:

  • 24x Undead Bone
  • 6x Sacred Oil
  • 4x Fine Thread
  • 6x Vault Shard

Its special effect boosts damage but burns through durability faster, though repairs only cost 2x Undead Bone.

At the top end sits the Toktz-Mej-Tal, forged from 22x Refined Obsidian and 4x Dragonstone after defeating KotHaar-Hur in the Umbral Sands and studying the Elongated Obsidian Construct it drops. It channels Elder God magic and raises your critical hit chance, turning ordinary spells into finishing blows against endgame threats.

Utility Spells and the Spellbook

Not every spell in the game is about dealing damage. RuneScape: Dragonwilds also has a large library of utility spells tied to skill levels rather than Magic level alone, and you manage them through the Spell Book menu (default key P) or the quick-access Spell Wheel (default key Q). You can hold up to 12 spells in a spellbook and cycle between four different loadouts.

| Spell | Skill Requirement | Effect | |-------|--------------------|--------| | Axtral Projection | 11 | Launches an Astral Axe that chops down trees instantly | | Snare | 12 | Roots enemies in place for a short time | | Confuse | 30 | Makes enemies unable to distinguish friend from foe | | Rocksplosion | 11 | Blasts apart stone boulders and ore | | Divine Rock | 80 | Turns dropped ore into a personal mining vein | | Personal Chest | 40 | Accesses your Personal Storage chest from anywhere | | Recall | 57 | Places a beacon you can teleport back to |

Some utility spells double as combat support:

  • Enchant Weapon: Air — adds attack speed to your melee weapon at skill level 30
  • Enchant Weapon: Fire — applies burning on critical hits at skill level 20
  • Spectral Arrows — enchants your bow so arrows penetrate multiple targets at skill level 25

Others, like Splinter and Bones to Peaches, are purely about efficient gathering and cooking rather than combat.

You unlock your Spellbook either through Zanik during the tutorial or by leveling up a skill such as Woodcutting, and new spells continue to unlock as you raise various skills, viewable from the Skills tab.

Magic Armour and Set Bonuses

Armour in Ashenfall is grouped by combat type — melee, ranged, or magic — and you can mix and match pieces within a type to build toward set bonuses. You don't need every piece from one specific set; wearing any combination of magic-type armour, such as Dragonkin Mage Robes and a Necromancer's Robe Bottom, still counts toward magic tier bonuses.

| Tier | Magic Set Bonus | |------|------------------| | 1/3 | -50% stamina regen delay | | 2/3 | +17.5% magic attack speed | | 3/3 | +15% magic crit chance |

Because set bonuses stack per combat type independently, you can also wear a ranged hat alongside magic robes and still pick up partial ranged bonuses, giving hybrid builds some flexibility without fully committing to one playstyle.

FAQ

How does RuneScape: Dragonwilds magic differ from mana-based systems? Instead of a regenerating mana pool, RuneScape: Dragonwilds magic uses consumable runes loaded into a staff, so your damage output depends on how many Air or Fire runes you're carrying.

Which runes can I actually use in combat right now? Only Air and Fire runes have live combat mechanics. Water and Earth runes exist but their combat effects are scheduled for a future update.

What's the best early staff for a new mage? The Ash Battlestaff is the standard starting weapon, crafted from Ash Logs, Rune Essence, and Coarse Thread at the Crafting Table.

How do I unlock the Necromancer's Staff? You must find a dragonkin effigy behind a spectral door in the Vekchenven Kara Vault beneath a waterfall in the Lake of Lost Souls, then craft the staff at the Mystic Forge.

Can I combine magic armour with other combat types? Yes. Set bonuses are calculated per combat type, so you can mix magic robes with ranged or melee pieces and still receive partial bonuses from each type worn.