The Combat Circle

Introduction
All combat in Slashscape, both against other players and monsters, is governed at least in part by the 'combat triangle'. The combat triangle is a system of governing combat so that each class (either warrior, mage, or ranger) is very effective against one other class and weak against another. Below is a graphical depiction of the combat triangle, where green arrows indicate that the class is effective against the other, and red arrows indicate uneffectiveness.

The reasons for this effectiveness lies in the armour each class wears while fighting. Warriors armour has high ranged defence, but conducts magic and has very low defence against it, while hitting well on both rangers leather and mages robes. Rangers leather armour has high magic defence, but fairly low defence against melee weapons, while hitting well on mages robes. Finally, mages have low defence to both melee and range, but are very effective against melee armou
 * Mages are effective against warriors and ineffective against rangers.
 * Rangers are effective against mages and ineffective against warriors.
 * Warriors are effective against mages and rangers.

Usage
You might ask, what does the combat triangle help you do? Well, since the combat triangle influences all combat activities in Runescape, making use of the combat triangle can help you win fights against other players and monsters all the easier.

In player vs. player combat, such as during The Pits or Clan Wars, each class has an advantage against one other. You can make use of this by making sure that when fighting a certain class, you will be of the combat type that has the advantage. For example, when fighting a ranger, you would prefer to be meleeing. But when fighting mages, ranging is preferable. Mages and rangers also have advantages against melee by being able to attack from a distance and use obstacles : use this to your advantage. In addition, mages can use holding spells such as Ice Spells from the Ancient Magic spellbook or binding spells to keep warriors away from them while still dealing damage. However, an advantage given to warriors is that their armour has the highest overall defence against melee and ranged, so they have the highest staying power of any of the classes. This is especially vital in large team formations.

Hybrids
A hybrid is a player who uses two or more combat syles or techniques, and makes use of the combat triangle to perform well in combat. The most common type of hybrid is a range/melee hybrid, because wearing ranger armour does not inhibit melee, while wearing leather or melee armour does inhibit magic. Wearing ranger's leather armour gives high defence against magic, while giving passable defence against melee and range. In member's worlds, magic/melee hybrids are also fairly common, due to the effectiveness of the higher leveled spells, especially of the Ancient Magicks spellbook. Hybrids are more effective against various styles than using one combat style alone, but it does have its drawbacks. It requires better timing and you usually need to pay more attention than using a single style. Also, it usually requires you to risk more equipment, and you cannot bring as much food and supplies as usual. Often, hybrids will begin by using ranged or magic from a distance and then finish with a melee weapon, although you can also use the opposite by using melee, and then switching to ranged or magic if the opponent attempts to run away.

Against monsters, hybriding is often not needed. However, against many boss monsters, hybriding your equipment helps if the monster uses two or more forms of attacks. For example, if a monster used all forms of combat (ranged, melee, and magic) you will likely need to hybrid your equipment. You will likely pray against one attack, in this example you will pray protect from melee, so only ranged and magic will be hitting you. The most used setup in this case will often have melee armour in all spots, except most people will use a piece of ranged armour in either the torso or leg slot so that you have both some magic defence and high ranged defence so that you will suffer the least damage possible. Monsters you will use hybrid equipment against include God Wars Dungeon Bosses,, and other boss monsters.