A player's, monster's, or non-player character's combat level indicates the difficulty in defeating him, her, or it in combat. In the very early days of RuneScape classic, players started out as level 1 combat, but this was changed and now all new players start out at combat level 3, with the maximum level for RuneScape being level 138 (126 on the free version), while in RuneScape Classic, it is level 123 and in DeviousMUD the highest account ever reached was 52. The strongest monster, the Corporeal Beast, has a Combat level of 785.
Combat level is calculated by taking into account the following skills:
Levels that are lower than the player display shades of green, levels that are slightly lower than one's display yellow-green, levels that are equal to one's are displayed as yellow and levels that are higher than yours display shades of orange to red. The difference in colours can be seen up to 10 levels higher or lower than your current combat level after which it will either show the brightest shade of green or red depending on whether the combat level is higher or lower.
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Normally, aggressive NPC's will stop attacking a player if that player has double the NPC's combat level +1. There are exceptions, however - for example, any monsters in the wilderness that are normally not aggressive will be aggressive to players no matter what their combat level is. Also, monsters that are normally aggressive will always attack a player if they are level 69 or higher, since the maximum combat level is level 138 for members.
Monsters with a higher combat level than a player cannot be attacked by using a left mouse click. Instead, players need to right click and select the attack monster option. So, to be able to attack a Blue Dragon with a simple left click, a player needs a combat level of at least 111.
Combat level is the only in-game visible parameter that players have to evaluate another player without using Stat Spy. High combat levels do not always accurately describe a player's capabilities in other skills. There are players with maximum combat that have very low levels in other skills and there are pure skillers with no combat levels and very high non-combat skills. Yet, there is a reasonable chance that a high combat level also implies a decent skill level and a reasonable knowledge of the game.
A more complicated assessment is in the trustworthiness of a player in trades. Some players place higher trust in higher combat level players, as they have more to lose when they get banned after being reported for illegal trading practices.
Combat level, in the game itself, matters very little; however, there are some few requirements in game that require a certain combat level. The only known requirements so far are in two quests Smoking Kills and Dream Mentor (both requiring 85 Combat), along with Slayer, and in PVP worlds (you must have a combat level of at least 20). In Slayer, your combat level determines which slayer masters you can go to. So basically, combat doesn't matter at all in free to play RuneScape, and in members, it matters very little. However, many quests require players to kill somewhat difficult monsters, so having a higher combat level would be very helpful, Pest control also requires certain combat levels to board different boats.
In the Combat Triangle Wallpaper update, Jagex revealed the basic formulas used for calculating the basic combat level (excludes summoning) on the top right of the wallpaper.
Please note: The basic formula revealed in the wallpaper, however, is at an early stage and using the formula as provided does not in all cases result in the combat level players observe in game. This is particularly true for Mages and Rangers, as also here even and odd levels do seem to play a role in calculating the correct combat level. In the RuneScape Forums (Combat skill section) a more accurate calculation method has been found by a group of adventurers (the thread is a sticky) - see calculation below.
The combat level is calculated for each combat type (melee, magic and ranged). The character's basic combat level is the highest of the following three combat types.
| Basic combat levels |
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Melee combat level = Magic combat level = Ranged combat level = |
The calculations are performed using integer arithmetic, so when multiplying by a fraction, the remainder is discarded.
For example, if prayer is 43, then 
gives 21 and not 21.5.
In member worlds, a player's Summoning level is taken into account in the combat level calculation in the following cases:
The effect of the summoning level in these cases is similar to prayer. This means that the character's overall combat level in these cases is the highest of the following three combat types (with the summoning included).
| Member world combat levels |
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Melee combat level = Magic combat level = Ranged combat level = |
When it isn't included, the potential Summoning increase is displayed separately. For example, 79+6 instead of 85.
Three easy steps to calculate your correct combat level as discovered by the Combat Formula Crew (see credits below):
Your Defence level times 100 (call this variable A)
Your Hitpoints level times 100 (call this variable B)
(A + B + C + D) divided by 400, equals your Base Combat level.
Your Attack level times 130 (call this variable E)
Your Strength level times 130 (call this variable G)
(E + G) divided by 400, equals your Melee Class Combat Level H divided by 400, is your Ranger Class Combat Level I divided by 400, is your Mage Class Combat Level
The result is your Combat Level.
In-game, your current combat level is always rounded down.
Credit to formula creators
Combat Level (CL) refers to the level that a player or NPC is at. Characters start at CL 1 and can advance to CL 90. Levels can be progressed by gaining Experience (XP). For a combat career XP can be gained by fighting, for a trader by crafting items, and for a entertainer by performing.
The CL of a player corresponds to their base statistics, i.e. a CL45 player will have a strength, precision, agility and luck rating of 45, assuming they have no items or expertise to boost their rating.
Some careers don't have any direct bearing on CL. Those careers are:
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