Desert heat

The RuneScape Wiki also has an article on: rsw:Desert heat

Desert heat is a game mechanic occurring in the Kharidian Desert south of the Shantay Pass. Every 30-90 seconds (depending on armour worn) a player spends in the desert, they will drink 1 dose of water from a waterskin in their inventory. Without any water to drink, the player takes around 10 damage. Wearing armour will decrease the interval from 90 seconds (when wearing no armour items) down to a minimum 30 seconds with full armour.

Players are not affected by desert heat while within the boundaries of towns or while a dialogue box is open.

Desert heat can kill players. Players should always enter the desert prepared, particularly those with low Hitpoints or hardcore ironmen.

Protective clothes and gear

Items

• Waterskins - Waterskins allow a player to survive the desert's heat effect, and can hold up to 4 doses of water. Each time a player drinks, one dose of water is used up. They can be filled to their maximum of 4 doses at a water source or with the Humidify Lunar spell or by using a knife or slash weapon on a Kharidian cactus.
• Choc-ice - Players who go to Nardah can buy choc-ice from Rokuh. They heal 6 hitpoints in addition to counting as a drink of water.

Clothing

Certain clothes protect against desert heat, by extending the time needed between drinks of water. These include:

• Desert amulet 4 - Provides 100% protection against desert heat when worn. Rewarded from completing the Elite Desert Diary.
• Desert clothing - This set consists of a desert shirt, desert robe, and desert boots. They can be purchased from Shantay at Shantay Pass, or from Ali Morrisane in Al Kharid.
• Desert outfit - This outfit can be purchased from Ali Morrisane in Al Kharid during or after the Rogue Trader miniquest. The outfit differs slightly for male and female players.
• Menaphite clothing - These robes can be purchased from Ali Morrisane in Al Kharid during or after the Rogue Trader miniquest. They come in two colour schemes, purple and red, which have identical bonuses.
• Prospector kit - This set can be purchased from Prospector Percy in the Motherlode Mine using golden nuggets obtained randomly through cleaning pay-dirt.

Note that players do not have to wear an entire set for the protecting effect to happen. Each piece contributes to the protection.

Additional time (in seconds) provided per item

Item set	Helm	Top	Legs	Boots
Desert clothing / Prospector kit	N/A	+12	+12	+6
Desert outfit	+0	+12 top, +6 coat	+12 (both types)	N/A
Menaphite clothing	+12	+0	+0	N/A

The maximum time between drinks is 132 seconds. This can be achieved by wearing desert robes in combination with a Menaphite hat.

It is a common misconception that the Robes of Elidinis and slave robes provide protection from desert heat. However, they do not.

Changes

Date	Changes
5 March 2015 (update | poll)	Desert heat can now be nullified by wearing the Desert amulet 4.