Buffs and debuffs

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Buffs and debuffs are changes to an individual's skill levels and other abilities. They are indicated by status icons on the Buff Bar and Debuff Bar gameplay HUDs, released with RuneScape 3 and the New Interface System update on 22 July 2013. They include activated prayers. A positive change is called a buff and a negative change a debuff. The Buff/Debuff Bars can be moved around, although they cannot be resized. These interfaces may only show a total of 18 buffs and 12 debuffs at once. In Legacy Mode, they can be viewed from the attack styles panel by right-clicking on the weakness icon next to the weapon name.

Category

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The different categories of buffs and debuffs one can choose to toggle

Buffs are categorised under game settings as:

These categories can be toggled on/off independently. These do not toggle off icons that already appear above NPCs. If toggling does not seem to affect an icon, try either checking other settings or reequipping an item.

Priority

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Priority is a number associated with each buff. A buff with higher priority (greater numerical value) will appear closer to the start (top left) of the buff or debuff bar than a buff with lower priority. The priority of a buff isn't visible in game but is present in the game's cache files.

Boss bar

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The following buffs appear on the boss HUD and are not toggleable. These appear during the Araxxor and Araxxi, Beastmaster Durzag, Gregorovic, Nex: Angel of Death, Raksha, the Shadow Colossus, Yakamaru and Zamorak, Lord of Chaos fights.

Buff and debuff bars

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Stat Buffs

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Stat Debuffs

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Stat debuffs are removed over time, usually at a rate of 1 point per minute. There are several ways to restore stats faster: dying, using super restores, or entering and leaving a floor in Daemonheim.

Gameplay boosts

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Potions

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Prayers

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Overhead prayers

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Offensive abilities

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Defensive abilities

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Item effects

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Pet effects

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Status effects

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Boss specific

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Skilling

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Invention perks

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Uncategorised

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Removed

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Dimension of the Damned

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Fresh Start Worlds

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Leagues

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Cache

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Update history

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This information has been compiled as part of the update history project. Some updates may not be included – see here for how to help out!
  • patch 26 May 2026 (Update):
    • The spirit communion and spirit plane connection buffs now disappear once the player leaves the vicinity after training slow summoning on Havenhythe.
  • patch 20 April 2026 (Update):
    • Added a buff icon explaining the Pool Synergy effect.
  • patch 27 January 2026 (Update):
    • Fonts on buff bar icons have now been changed.
  • coldfix 20 January 2026 (Update):
    • Fixed small buff icons to show timers along side their stack count.
  • update 2 April 2024 (Update):
    • Made changes to Settings/Interfaces/Buff Bar
      • Renamed "Bar Filters" section to "General Gameplay".
      • Added "Stat Buffs" and "Stat Debuffs" categories under the "General Gameplay" section.
      • Renamed "Boosts" to "Gameplay Boosts".
        • Caption changed from "Includes boosts such as stat boosts and Guthixian Cache rewards." to "Includes any boosts that impact gameplay, such as Guthixian Cache rewards."
      • Moved "Boss specific" from "Bar Filters" section to "Combat" section.
  • patch 29 January 2024 (Update):
    • The buff bar now updates when a prayer/curse is being disabled by a creature.
  • patch 28 February 2022 (Update):
    • Mobile: fixed an issue with the target buff bar staying on after a kill.
  • patch 17 January 2022 (Update):
    • The scarab stack buff hover text will now correctly state the maximum as five scarabs, if you have the scarab stack increase upgrade unlocked.
  • patch 17 May 2021 (Update):
    • Fixed an issue where the Seren Godbow's special attack debuff was cleared too quickly.
    • The Sign of the Porter VII icon will no longer be removed from the Buff Bar upon relogging.
  • patch 10 May 2021 (Update):
    • The Memory Overflow buff will no longer be briefly applied upon log in.
    • The Memory Overflow buff will no longer close interfaces while active.
    • Implemented a new debuff icon called 'Frozen' which will inform the player that they are unable to move.
  • patch 29 March 2021 (Update):
    • You can now adjust the size of Buff and Debuff Bar icons on desktop.
  • patch 5 October 2020 (Update):
    • Using the special attacks of the Staff of Darkness and the Staff of Light now causes the buff/debuff icons to appear on the Buff Bar.
  • patch 27 July 2020 (Update):
    • The Protect Item prayer will now appear on the Buff Bar when activated via Quick Prayer.
    • Casting any type of Vengeance spell will now add a cooldown timer to the Debuff Bar. Previously only the original Vengeance spell would do this.
  • ninja 29 June 2020 (Update):
    • Buff and Debuff Bar icons now have less of a delay in showing their tooltips.
  • patch 18 May 2020 (Update):
    • Improved the way the buff bar prioritises buffs. The new order is as follows:
      • Boss specific effects
      • Defensive abilities
      • Offensives abilities
      • Status effects
      • Boosts (like life or prayer overheals)
      • Overhead prayers
      • Utility prayers
      • Invention perks
      • Item effects
      • Skilling bonuses
      • Pet effects
      • Aura activation
    • Effects that are due to expire no longer shuffle to the front of the bar, but will continue to flash until they either expire or are refreshed.
  • patch 4 May 2020 (Update):
    • The 'Ruthless' Invention perk now appears with the correct icon on the Buff Bar.
  • patch 18 March 2020 (Update):
    • The adrenaline urn will now be removed from the Buff Bar once it has been banked.
  • patch 18 November 2019 (Update):
    • Weapon poison buff is now removed once dead.
  • patch 4 November 2019 (Update):
    • Implemented a fix to help ease frame rate drops if the buff bar incorrectly displays.
    • Fixed an issue causing Wilderness Slayer buffs to be given to players outside of the wilderness.
  • patch 14 October 2019 (Update):
    • Fixed buff bar to reset transparency after renewing the same buffs.
    • The Buff Bar font size scaling has now been tweaked to be a consistent size on desktop.
  • patch 7 October 2019 (Update):
    • Fixed the stack timer on the Telos virus debuffs that appear in p5 (green/black/red) and the adrenaline gain reduced debuff (dominion tower).
    • Updated the buff bar timer to have the full minutes displayed.
    • We've now removed the additional prayer buffs when a combat boosting prayer or curse was active that provided the benefits of other prayers. These include the T95 and T99 curse prayers. These detailed benefits can be found in the Active Prayer interface.
    • Provided more information to the user on the buff icon for Prayer renewal and Super prayer renewal potions.
  • patch 9 September 2019 (Update):
    • The Masterwork Armour buff icon now appears on the debuff bar
    • The Buff Bar on Desktop clients can now be clicked through.
    • The Menaphos 5% xp buff will no longer appear on the buff bar as the effect was never active.
    • The Debilitate icon will now appear on the enemy players target bar.
    • The Zaros Godsword special attack buff icon will now appear consistently on the buff bar.
    • Item effects are no longer cleared from the buff bar when the Ring of Death activates.
    • The NopeNopeNope perk no longer appears on the players buff bar. This still shows as a debuff on the enemies bar however.
    • Natural Instinct will no longer deactivate when transitioning between boss phases.
    • Stat reductions will now display a value on your debuff bar.
  • patch 2 September 2019 (Update):
    • When editing the position of the buffs and debuffs, it will be aligned to the top of the header bar.
  • patch 19 August 2019 (Update):
    • A typo in the Vengeance cooldown debuff has been corrected.
  • patch 5 August 2019 (Update):
    • The Breaking the storm buff that was retained for some users has now been removed.
  • patch 15 July 2019 (Update):
    • The Breaking the Storm buffs have been correctly cleared, as the event has now ended.
  • patch 3 June 2019 (Update):
    • The buff bar now displays values of zero percent.
  • patch 1 April 2019 (Update):
    • The "%" character has returned to buff bar icons.
  • patch 11 March 2019 (Update):
    • The Voice of Seren icons can once again be clicked through on Desktop; when on mobile, players are shown the information for the buff tapped.
  • patch 23 April 2018 (Update):
    • Fixed an issue where you could stack infinite run buff icons on your buff bar.
  • patch 9 April 2018 (Update):
    • Mouseover tooltips for things like Elf City clan cooldowns (as well as combat buffs and debuffs) will no longer flicker on and off when you perform actions such as pickpocketing to gain more XP and giving and receiving hits in combat.
  • patch 12 February 2018 (Update):
    • Icons were added to the combat target interface for NPCs indicating whether they are affected by the Demon, Dragon or Undead Slayer perks (if the attacker has the relevant perk equipped).
  • patch 22 January 2018 (Update):
    • Adding ammo to a Kinetic Cyclone/Oldak Coil will now reliably reveal a buff icon showing how much ammo remains. Note: This icon will not show if the ammo perk from Artisans' Workshop is unlocked.
  • patch 15 January 2018 (Update):
    • The buff icon for Debilitate will now correctly clear when unequipping a shield with the effect active.
    • The cannonball buff icon now only shows with an active cannon.
  • patch 8 January 2018 (Update):
    • It is now easier to consistently cast debuff and bind spells while revolution is active in combat. These spells still obey the global cooldown and may now be cast via ability queuing on the action bar.
  • patch 4 December 2017 (Update):
    • When attacking a monster, a Reflect/Poison immune icon will now appear above them if they have that effect.
    • The buff icon description for the Zaros Godsword special attack 'Blackhole' now correctly mentions melee damage being increased by 25% instead of 10%.
    • A buff icon has been added to track the ammo stored in a cannon. This does not appear if the restock perk from Artisans Workshop is active.
    • The following buff/debuff icons have been added:
      • Prayer Drain debuff, this'll display the amount of prayer points being lost per game cycle, this will also scale with equipped Prayer bonus equipment
      • Shooting Star buff, now displays the time remaining on the effect
      • Evil Tree buff, now displays the time remaining on the effect
      • Stone Spirits, a timer will now display when these activate showing how long they're active until they expire
      • A buff icon will display when Vengeance is active, and when it's been used a debuff icon will display showing the time remaining until it can be used again
      • The teleblock debuff icon now displays the time remaining until the effect wears off
      • The Fight Kiln Crystals (Invulnerability, Magic, Ranged, Strength & Hitpoints) now display a timer showing how long the effect is active for.
      • A counter has been added for Onslaught which tracks each time it increments.
  • patch 17 July 2017 (Update):
    • The sign of the porter buff icon will now display when logging in, if the item is equipped.
  • patch 12 June 2017 (Update):
    • A buff icon has been added, which displays when you are receiving the 5% XP boost in the city of Menaphos and the Sophanem Slayer Dungeon.
    • Mutator icons and their slots have been centre-aligned.
    • A buff icon has now been added to the Shifting Tombs that tracks the following:
      • Stacks of charge to use.
      • Timer until you lose your charges.
    • The defence skillcape should now reliably add a Sign of Life cooldown to your debuff bar.
    • A debuff icon has been added to tell you when Crystal Shield comes off Cooldown (similar to Crackling).
    • A tooltip has been to the Crystal Shield defence active buff icon which shows how many temporary life points you have.
    • The following has now been added to the buff/debuff bars:
      • Stone of Jas duration & percent of additional damage gained.
      • Fury Shark effect duration.
      • Book of Char effect duration.
      • Zaros Godsword Spec cooldown.
      • When hit by certain abilities that disable your prayers/curses.
    • You can now track your active Sign of the Porter charges on your buff bar.
  • patch 18 April 2017 (Update):
    • A typo on the buff bar filtering interface has been fixed.
    • Buff bar filtering has been inverted on the interface. By default, all icons now show up when the checkboxes are unticked; ticking the relevant category's checkbox will hide the relevant icons.
    • Activating berserk blood essence will now display a cooldown buff icon.
    • Nex: Angel of Death curses will now be filtered by the buff bar's prayer category instead of the overhead prayer category.
    • Clan avatar buff icons are now filtered by the skilling buff bar category instead of the boosts category.
    • All interface presets now correctly save the position of the debuff bar.
    • The tracker used on the 'Defence decreased' buff icon when hitting monsters has been capped to 10.
    • Players will no longer see the Debilitate buff icon if it happens to miss an enemy.
    • Players will now see a Debilitate debuff icon after being hit in PvP with it.
    • When using Torment, Turmoil, or Anguish and draining the enemy, players will now see only one icon on the monster information bar instead of three for each curse, saving space for more combat icons to fill the gaps.
    • The buff icon timer for dreadnips now counts down correctly.
  • coldfix 18 April 2017 (Update):
    • Fixed a clientscript error when trying to add too many icons to the buff bar.
  • coldfix 12 April 2017 (Update):
    • The Wise perk’s status icon now displays an accurate percentage.
    • The Reflect icon once again displays a timer.
  • patch 23 January 2017 (Update):
    • Two new buff icons have been added for Intercept, one for the caster and one for the player receiving the spell.
  • patch 4 July 2016 (Update):
    • Telos's damage-over-time effect buff icons are now cleared correctly when exiting the area.
  • patch 2 November 2015 (Update):
    • The pulse core buff timer will now attempt to re-sync itself to prevent an incorrect time being shown.
  • patch 19 October 2015 (Update):
    • The Super Antifire buff icon no longer erroneously displays with an additional 15 seconds when activated.
  • patch 28 September 2015 (Update):
    • The relevant stacks of Revenge will now be displayed on the buff icon while the ability is active.
  • patch 21 September 2015 (Update):
    • Potion timers will now attempt to maintain accurate values at all times.
  • patch 10 August 2015 (Update):
    • Stackable buff icons, such as the reaper necklace's icon, will no longer cause other buff icons to disappear.
  • patch 3 August 2015 (Update):
    • The aura timer on the buff bar will now stay in sync with the aura's actual remaining time.
  • patch 15 June 2015 (Update):
    • Incite will now persist on the buff bar if the player dies or logs out.
  • patch 13 April 2015 (Update):
    • The buff timer for weapon poison will now persist through logouts.
    • A typo has been fixed in the Pulse Core buff tooltip.
  • ninja 26 January 2015 (Update):
    • The buff timer will display minutes instead of hours when a buff has over 60 minutes left.
  • patch 19 January 2015 (Update):
    • Auras will no longer display on the buffs panel when logging into a free world.
  • ninja 5 January 2015 (Update):
    • Players can now see more information about their opponents buff/debuffs by hovering over the effect.
  • patch 29 September 2014 (Update):
    • Disabling buff timers in Legacy will no longer hide them in EoC as well.
  • patch 18 August 2014 (Update):
    • Active scrimshaws and auras now display on the buffs/debuffs interface once again.
  • ninja 22 July 2014 (Update):
    • Active scrimshaws and auras now display on the buff panel.
  • ninja 4 February 2014 (Update):
    • The cooldown for adrenaline potions has been added to the debuff bar.
  • patch 17 December 2013 (Update):
    • Players can no longer stall offensive abilities to occur after the effects of other abilities - that aren't direct attacks - have been applied.
  • patch 25 September 2013 (Update):
    • The time displayed on the Prayer Renewal buff icon no longer resets to 5m when the player logs out.
  • patch 3 September 2013 (Update):
    • Overload, prayer renewal and anti-dragon potions now display a countdown on their respective buff icons. Combo-attacks, some healing abilities as well as stun and bind icons also carry a countdown.
  • patch 13 August 2013 (Update):
    • Players should find their PvP opponents' buffs/debuffs are no longer cut in half under the combat info bar.
  • update 22 July 2013 (Update):
    • Status effects have become available with the release of the New Interface System and the launch of RuneScape 3.
  • patch 17 June 2013 (Update):
    • The debuff icon for the stun effect of Binding Shot will now disappear when the effect does.
  • update 24 April 2013 (Update):
    • Status effects have been added to the New Interface System alpha.
  • update 26 June 2007 (Update):
    • Over time, if your stats have been reduced or raised, most of them restore slowly back towards their default levels. However, if you opened an interface such as one of the skill guides or a shop, your stats used to stop restoring until you closed it again. We've now fixed it so that your stats will restore normally even if you have an interface open.