Well, if you only wanna base it off max hits....melee's at a disadvantage, actually. (But of course, max hits aren't everything). Ranged: Darkbow + d arrows (let's say 20) = 1.1m Max hit: 96 (48x2) Magic: Ancient staff + 2 different ancient spells (let's say 100 casts of each) + obby rings (let's say 100)= 500k Max hit: 80? (30+30+? from obby ring) Melee: It used to be AGS at 75 and d claws in the 80s, but the next best thing would be...dds... = 40k Max hit: 62 (31x2) That's minimalist, using only weapons and no armor. So sure melee has the best cost effectiveness, but out of the "cheap" options, it doesn't fare so well.