Most of Runescape’s highest quality armors degrade, taking gradual damage from incoming attacks before breaking down and requiring an expensive repair. Fortunately, there are competent late-game armor sets that don’t degrade, letting you attempt difficult PvM challenges on a shoestring budget. This article will include non-degradable armor sets from all three branches of the combat tree — melee, magic, and ranged — giving you inexpensive options as to how you approach bosses.
Best non-degradable melee armor in Runescape RS3
When it comes to melee combat, the anima core of Zaros is the best armor set you can get that won’t break down through use. All three pieces of the armor set — the helm, legs, and body — can be created by using a Crest of Zaros on a dormant anima core, with both items obtained as rare drops from bosses in the Heart of Gielinor. While cores drop from all four of the dungeon’s bosses, the Crest of Zaros will only drop from Vindicta, Zaros’s general.
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Requiring level 80 defense to equip, the anima core of Zaros is statistically comparable to another set of tier-80 armor, the Torva set. While Torva armor degrades, it boasts a bonus to both constitution and prayer that the Zaros core lacks. It’s also worth noting that all three pieces of the full Zaros set cost about a third of what the Torva full helm, platebody, and platelegs sell for on the Grand Exchange.
Best non-degradable ranged armor in Runescape RS3
The Heart of Gielinor also offers the strongest non-degradable ranged gear in the form of the anima core of Zamorak. Like that of Zaros, the anima core of Zamorak requires a dormant core, as well as a Crest of Zamorak that only drops from Zamorak’s Twin Furies, Nymora and Avaryss.
Zamorak’s core also requires 80 defense to equip, where its ranged and defensive capabilities put it on par with tier-80 Pernix gear. Again, Zamorak’s Core lacks the life point and prayer bonuses of its degradable equivalent, though the difference in price between a three-piece set of Zamorak and all five pieces of Pernix is considerably negligible. At around 30,000,000 gp for full Zamorak as opposed to 42,000,000 gp for full Pernix, it may be worth using the latter instead if repair costs aren’t as much of an issue.
Best non-degradable magic armor in Runescape RS3
The highest-rated non-degradable magic set, the anima core of Seren, also results from rare boss drops in the Heart of Gielinor. As you might expect, the Crest of Seren required to assemble this set from a dormant anima core drops from Helwyr, Seren’s general in this dungeon.
Requiring 80 defense, the anima core of Seren is about as effective as the degrading tier-80 Virtus robes, albeit without any bonuses to prayer or constitution. Despite these similar stats, the Seren set’s utility is minimal for its cost, as the difference in price between the Seren set and the mask, top, and legs of Virtus is a meager 5,000,000 gp. Using some of the most profitable money-makers featured in Runescape, this marginal price difference shouldn’t be hard to earn the gp for.
