Commander Zilyana/Strategies
This is a guide to defeating Commander Zilyana, the Saradominist general in the God Wars Dungeon.
Please note that while Commander Zilyana has an equal amount of resistance to all attacks, Magic is generally impractical here due to a lack of armour and unnecessary rune costs.
Requirements[edit | edit source]
- Completion of Death Plateau and the start of Troll Stronghold to the point where you defeat Dad.
- One rope is required to access the God Wars Dungeon for the first time.
- Two ropes are required to navigate Saradomin's Encampment for the first time.
- Level 70 Agility is required to access Saradomin's Encampment (cannot be boosted).
- Level 37 Prayer to activate Protect from Magic.
Strategy[edit | edit source]
General Strategy[edit | edit source]
Similarly to Kree'arra, many players prefer using an ecumenical key to skip kill count. Although Saradominist kill count is considered to be somewhat quick, this is only partially true if the player has 83 Slayer, as Saradominist spiritual warriors and mages are aggressive towards Zamorakian followers. The remaining Saradominist followers are passive and will only attack in self-defence.
Commander Zilyana attacks with both melee and magic. Offensively, she possesses 280 Attack, 196 Strength, 300 Defence and Magic and 250 Ranged, +195 melee accuracy, +20 melee strength, and +200 magic accuracy. Defensively, she possess +100 towards all attack styles. Despite her higher Defence level, this ultimately makes Zilyana easier to hit.
Although her max hit is relatively low, with her melee attacks dealing up to 27 damage, and her magic dealing 10-20 damage, she makes up for this with an attack speed of 2 (1.2 seconds). Combined with the massive accuracy bonuses she possesses, this makes fighting her normally extremely dangerous, as the precise attacks and rapid attack speed will cause a swift death for her target. Like Graardor and K'ril however, Zilyana can only use her magic attack when in melee distance.
Zilyana possesses three bodyguards; Bree, Growler and Starlight, who use ranged, magic and melee and deal 16, 16 and 15 damage respectively. Her bodyguards are significantly weaker compared to the other generals', but they still shouldn't be underestimated.
The most commonly accepted method to battle Zilyana is to bring a crossbow with diamond enchanted bolts (normal or dragon, although the latter is stronger) or a twisted bow, as Zilyana has an extremely high Magic level compared to the other generals. Zilyana's chamber is larger than the other generals, which allows for an effective use of kiting. In order to kite successfully, the player will need to bring stamina potions to circumvent the weight of carried equipment. Attack every once in a while as Zilyana chases after you. Protect from Magic should be used by default.
When Zilyana dies, kill Bree (he will be the only one dealing damage, as Starlight trails with Zilyana), then Starlight and finally Growler. Use the toxic blowpipe to clear the bodyguards and as a source of healing. Alternatively, if the player brings runes for Blood Barrage, Growler can be killed first, and both Bree and Starlight may be stacked for healing, although it is more common to simply kill them off with a blowpipe.
Zilyana and her bodyguards drop bones, so bring bones to peaches tablets to restore 32 health at the end of each encounter.
Team[edit | edit source]
In a team setting, if Zilyana cannot attack her current target, she will change her aggression to a nearby attacker.
Zilyana will "pause" in movement for a few seconds whenever she uses her magic attack, buying a ranger some time to either flee or fit in some extra attacks. This, however, does not outright prevent Zilyana from attacking.
Verac's set is generally the best option for melee users, as it circumvents Zilyana's very high Defence. Otherwise, melee users should try to maximise their attack bonus in order to account for accuracy issues. Melee users cannot fight back when they are targeted without taking heavy damage, but ranged users can continue to attack so long as they keep their distance through kiting.
Melee users can utilise either the Zamorak godsword's special attack to allow for easy retreats, or the Bandos godsword's special attack to reduce Zilyana's very high Defence level. Other special attacks may be successful; however, the superior accuracy of godsword special attacks makes them the most reliable in this scenario.
Suggested skills[edit | edit source]
100+
70+ (Required)
80+
80+ (90+ Recommended)
70+
44+ (74+ Rigour)
Equipment[edit | edit source]
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Inventory[edit | edit source]
- Toxic blowpipe (to kill minions)
- One-click teleport (such as Ectophial or teleport tabs/scrolls)
- Any necessary god items[1]
- 2-6 Stamina potions or 4-5 Super energy potions (2 Staminas for low level, short trips. Maxed accounts use 5 or 6.)
- 8-16 Saradomin brews or Sharks (Bring brews & super restores in a 3:1 ratio)
- 6-12 Super restores or Prayer potions
- 1-2 Divine ranging potions
- Trollheim Teleport[2]
- (Optional) A stack of purple sweets to restore both run energy and some health.
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Inventory[edit | edit source]
- Crystal halberd/Dragon halberd/mace/dagger (optional for special attacks)
- One-click teleport (such as Ectophial or teleport tabs/scrolls)
- Any necessary god items[1]
- 2 Stamina potions or 4-5 Super energy potions
- 12-16 Saradomin brews or Sharks
- 6-8 Super restores
- 1-2 Divine super combat potions or Super sets
- Trollheim Teleport[2]
| Slot | Item (most effective → least effective) | ||||
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 |  Verac's helm / Barrows helm |  Helm of neitiznot | N/A | N/A | N/A |
 |  Amulet of torture |  Amulet of fury |  Amulet of glory |  Holy symbol /  Unholy symbol | N/A |
 |  Infernal cape |  Fire cape | .gif){kind=small} Cape of Accomplishment |  Mythical cape |  Obsidian cape |
 |  Verac's brassard |  Bandos chestplate |  Saradomin d'hide body /  Zamorak d'hide body | N/A | N/A |
 |  Verac's plateskirt / Barrows equipment |  Bandos tassets |  Dragon platelegs /  Dragon plateskirt | N/A | N/A |
 |  Verac's flail (only if using the full Verac's set | Godsword (Preference) |  Zamorakian spear /  Zamorakian hasta |  Abyssal tentacle /  Abyssal whip | N/A |
 |  God blessing | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
 |  Barrows gloves |  Dragon gloves |  Klank's gauntlets | N/A | N/A |
 |  Primordial boots |  Dragon boots |  Bandos boots |  Rune boots |  Climbing boots |
 |  Berserker ring (i) |  Warrior ring (i) |  Ring of wealth |  Ring of life | N/A |
 | Guthan's armour set |  Bandos godsword |  Zamorak godsword |  Dragon warhammer | N/A |
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Inventory[edit | edit source]
- Guthan's armour set
- Bandos godsword/Zamorak godsword/Dragon warhammer (optional for special attacks)
- 4-5 Divine super combat potions
- 1-2 Saradomin brews
- One-click teleport (such as Ectophial or teleport tabs/scrolls)
- Any necessary god items[1]
- ~15 Super restores/Prayer potions
- Rune pouch with High Level Alchemy (only one person in the group)
- Bones to peaches (tablet)
- Ecumenical key (optional)
- Trollheim Teleport
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Respective god items must be worn at all times prior to entering an area plagued with a god or gods' followers. The god item can be swapped or removed when entering the boss room since the boss is aggressive regardless.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Drop two Saradomin brews upon teleporting, and use a Glory or the Castle Wars Minigame Group Finder teleport to grab two more brews and another Trollheim Teleport. See the drop trick. Or bring two Trollheim teleport tablets and revert the one you didn't use.