Boss
A boss is a powerful, usually unique monster that is fought to accomplish an objective, be it the advancement or completion of a quest or minigame, or as part of a team player-versus-monster event. Many quests feature boss fights at their climaxes; such bosses are often the main antagonists of the quests or quest series, or are somehow related to the main antagonist(s). Some monsters that are commonly referred to as bosses are very powerful monsters that reside in multi-combat areas; these monsters are commonly fought by teams of players in search of highly valuable drops. Many bosses have extremely high combat levels, and most of the strongest monsters in the game are bosses. With the exception of Bryophyta and Obor, bosses are exclusive to members.
Dwarf multicannons often cannot be set up in the areas of many bosses, and many are immune or resistant to other effects, such as freeze and poison. Others may have different restrictions; for example, Prayer cannot be used during the fights with the final bosses of Recipe for Disaster. Most bosses (e.g. bosses like the Corporeal Beast) also reside in a multi-way area; very few reside in single-way areas or instances.
Excluding minigame and quest bosses, each boss has its own hiscore table, tracking the players with the most kills, or raid completions in the case of raid bosses. Each of these bosses (or raids) also has its own set of combat achievements and, with the exception of the Deranged archaeologist, each one also has unique drops in the collection log. Most bosses will generate a message upon kill telling the player what drop(s) they have obtained. For example, if players are at General Graardor and kill him (and drops Bandos tassets), a message will appear in the game box saying "Player name received item: Bandos tassets".
List of bosses
Wilderness bosses
The following world bosses are specifically located within the Wilderness, where players may attack each other. The one exception is the King Black Dragon: his lair where the fight takes place is not located in the Wilderness, but it can only be accessed through Wilderness, and is thus still considered risky.
Boss | Level | Hitpoints | Attack style(s) | Location | Collection log | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chaos Fanatic | 202 | 225 | [[]] | West of the Lava Maze | Pet chaos elemental Odium shard 1 Malediction shard 1 | |
Crazy archaeologist | 204 | 225 | Melee (crush) [[]] |
Dareeyak ruins | Odium shard 2 Malediction shard 2 Fedora | |
Scorpia | 225 | 200 | Melee (crush) | Scorpion Pit | Scorpia's offspring Odium shard 3 Malediction shard 3 | |
King Black Dragon | 276 | 255 | Melee (stab) Dragonfire (long-ranged) |
King Black Dragon Lair (Optionally instanced) |
Prince black dragon Kbd heads Dragon pickaxe Draconic visage | |
Chaos Elemental | 305 | 250 | [[]] [[]] Melee (crush) |
West of the Rogues' Castle | Pet chaos elemental Dragon pickaxe Dragon 2h sword | |
Vet'ion | 454 | 255 | Melee (slash) [[]] (Vet'ion only) |
Skeletal Tomb Vet'ion's Rest Royal Donator Zone |
Vet'ion jr. Ring of the gods Dragon pickaxe Dragon 2h sword Skull of vet'ion Voidwaker blade | |
Venenatis | 464 | 850 | Melee (stab) [[]] [[]] |
Web Chasm Silk Chasm Royal Donator Zone |
Venenatis spiderling Treasonous ring Dragon pickaxe Dragon 2h sword Fangs of venenatis Voidwaker gem | |
Callisto | 470 | 1000 | Melee (crush) [[]] [[]] |
Hunter's End Callisto's Den Royal Donator Zone |
Callisto cub Tyrannical ring Dragon pickaxe Dragon 2h sword Claws of callisto Voidwaker hilt |
World bosses
World bosses spawn across Gielinor either out in the open or in their lairs. World bosses are defined as bosses which spawn naturally, on their own, and can be killed at any time, as opposed to instanced bosses which spawn only in private lairs based on the actions of the player to whom the instance belongs. Some world bosses may, however, be killed in private instances for a price. Some world bosses, namely the Barrows brothers and God Wars Dungeon generals, also have additional requirements and mechanics related to finding and killing them. In the case of the Barrows brothers, they do not drop loot directly, but their defeat instead contributes to a single reward.
Boss | Level | Hitpoints | Attack style(s) | Location | Solo only | Requirements | Collection log | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ahrim the Blighted | 98 | 100 | [[]] | Barrows | Yes | Priest in Peril | Ahrim's hood Ahrim's robetop Ahrim's robeskirt Ahrim's staff Bolt rack | |
Karil the Tainted | 98 | 100 | [[]] | Barrows | Yes | Priest in Peril | Karil's coif Karil's leathertop Karil's leatherskirt Karil's crossbow Bolt rack | |
Dharok the Wretched | 115 | 100 | Melee (slash) | Barrows | Yes | Priest in Peril | Dharok's helm Dharok's platebody Dharok's platelegs Dharok's greataxe Bolt rack | |
Guthan the Infested | 115 | 100 | Melee (crush) | Barrows | Yes | Priest in Peril | Guthan's helm Guthan's platebody Guthan's chainskirt Guthan's warspear Bolt rack | |
Torag the Corrupted | 115 | 100 | Melee (crush) | Barrows | Yes | Priest in Peril | Torag's helm Torag's platebody Torag's platelegs Torag's hammers Bolt rack | |
Verac the Defiled | 115 | 100 | Melee (stab) | Barrows | Yes | Priest in Peril | Verac's helm Verac's brassard Verac's plateskirt Verac's flail Bolt rack | |
Corporeal Beast | 785 | 2000 | Melee (crush) [[]] |
Corporeal Beast Lair (Optionally instanced) |
No | N/A | Pet dark core Elysian sigil Spectral sigil Arcane sigil Holy elixir Spirit shield Jar of spirits | |
Nex | 1001 | 3400 | [[]] Melee (crush) [[]] |
God Wars Dungeon (Publicly instanced) |
No | The Frozen Door | Nexling Ancient hilt Nihil horn Zaryte vambraces Torva full helm (damaged) Torva platebody (damaged) Torva platelegs (damaged) Nihil shard |
Instanced bosses
As opposed to world bosses, instanced bosses can only be killed by a single player in the boss's lair, without the aid or even presence of other players. The notable exception is The Nightmare. While Phosani's Nightmare is indeed a solo encounter, The Nightmare is an instanced boss that can be killed in a group. Spawning instanced bosses may require a direct action by the player, such as for Vorkath and The Nightmare, but the boss may also simply spawn when the player enters the instance, such as for Zulrah and The Phantom Muspah.
Boss | Level | Hitpoints | Attack style(s) | Location | Requirements | Collection log | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zulrah | 725 | 500 | Melee (Typeless) [[]] [[]] |
Zul-Andra | Regicide | Pet snakeling Tanzanite mutagen Magma mutagen Jar of swamp Magic fang Serpentine visage Tanzanite fang Zul-andra teleport Uncut onyx Zulrah's scales |
Sporadic bosses
Sporadic bosses are those that cannot be fought whenever the player wishes. Instead, they require a special item of some sort to gain access to them, which is obtained by partaking in other more common activities. Naturally, these bosses will also be instanced given the nature of their sporadic logistic. Of this list, Obor and Bryophyta are notably the only free-to-play bosses outside of quests.
Boss | Level | Hitpoints | Attack style(s) | Location | Requirements | Collection log | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Mimic | 186 | 222 | Melee (crush) [[]] |
Watson's house in Hosidius | Mimic | Ring of 3rd age[lower-alpha 1] | |
Skotizo | 321 | 450 | Melee (slash) [[]] |
The Catacombs of Kourend | Dark totem | Skotos Jar of darkness Dark claw Dark totem Uncut onyx Ancient shard |
Slayer bosses
Slayer bosses are a specific set of bosses that are only unlocked by training Slayer. Each one corresponds to another monster commonly assigned for Slayer tasks, which, with the exception of hellhounds, are also unlocked by training Slayer. In addition to a Slayer level requirement, each boss requires a task for either the boss itself or the equivalent monster in order to be fought.
Boss | Level | Hitpoints | Attack style(s) | Location | Requirements | Collection log | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kraken | 291 | 255 | [[]] (Typeless) | Kraken Cove (Optionally instanced) |
87 Slayer 50 [[]] 80 [[]] Cave kraken or Kraken slayer task |
Pet kraken Kraken tentacle Trident of the seas (full) Jar of dirt |
Minigame bosses
These bosses are fought as parts of instanced minigames. The combat achievements for these minigames usually (but not always) relate to or at least require the defeat of the bosses, and, like other boss pets, pets rewarded by these minigames are typically smaller versions of the bosses.
Boss | Level | Hitpoints | Attack style(s) | Minigame | Requirements | Collection log | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TzTok-Jad | 702 | 250 | [[]] Melee (stab) [[]] |
TzHaar Fight Caves | N/A | Tzrek-jad Fire cape |
Raids
Raids are high-level activities with a set of bosses that players can fight either alone or with a team.
Chambers of Xeric
Bosses within the Chambers of Xeric are sporadic: as the layout of each raid is randomised, the bosses that players will encounter as well as their order may vary, with the exception of the Great Olm, which appears at the end of every raid. This is not the case if the Challenge Mode is enabled, where each boss is encountered and there is no randomisation. Each boss' stats also scale to the amount of players in the raid and their combat level. All bosses except ice demon and the Great Olm drop potions, seeds or ingredients to use in the raid; once the Great Olm is defeated, the exit is opened and players can collect their loot, the quality of which scales to their performance in the raid.
Boss | Attack style(s) | Special attacks or mechanics | |
---|---|---|---|
Great Olm | [[]] [[]] |
Has a multitude of special attacks |
Theatre of Blood
Unlike the Chambers of Xeric, bosses within the Theatre of Blood take place in a predetermined order. Their hitpoints are scaled depending on the number of players from three to five; if there are only one or two players, the scaling for three players is used, and five is the maximum number of players per team. Bosses do not drop anything, although there are resource chests where players can obtain potions and food for upcoming encounters; after defeating Verzik Vitur, the entrance to her vault is opened where players can obtain their loot, the quality of which scales to their performance in the raid.
Boss | Attack style(s) | Special attacks or mechanics | |
---|---|---|---|
Verzik Vitur | [[]] [[]] Melee (crush) |
Has a multitude of special attacks across three phases |