Learn the controls in a safe quest
The official tutorial gives you a Stone Club and sends you to Vannaka for combat. On keyboard and mouse, left-click attacks and holding right-click blocks with the club equipped. The nearby rats are the intended first practice fight. Collect their meat and use a campfire to finish Vannaka’s cooking lesson before treating a distant dragon as your next target.
Blocking and movement are part of survival. After the 1.0 update, successful parries restore stamina and can open an optional follow-up attack. Special attacks use a separate rechargeable bar, so they are a timed choice rather than something to spam at every opportunity. If a pre-1.0 guide describes a different control rhythm, check its version date.
Understand styles without inventing a ranking
Jagex describes melee, ranged and magic equipment in its update history. An early club is simply your tutorial tool; it is not a complete build. As you progress, examine the equipment you can craft and the enemies you are about to face. The 1.0 release added additional Rune melee items, Black Dragonhide ranged pieces and Ancestral magic gear. See 1.0 Gear Progression for the named sets and what Jagex actually confirmed.
This page does not publish a “best weapon” list or damage-per-second table. Those claims depend on level, weapon power, enemy, patch and play style; the two official sources here do not provide a controlled comparison. Learn the block and dodge timing first, then upgrade the style you use most.