Nightmare Zone/Strategies

This article or section requires a cleanup in order to meet the Old School RuneScape Wiki's quality standards. Reason: Contains much outdated and incorrect/inefficient information You can edit this page to improve it.

To start a rumble instance, you must have at least 22,000 coins (normal mode) or 26,000 (hard). A minimum of five quests is required to activate a "dream" in Nightmare Zone. When starting a rumble, the bosses in the fight will be based on what the whole group can access. For example, if a player has completed every quest but a group member has completed only Lost City, Monkey Madness I, Witch's House, Haunted Mine and Tree Gnome Village, only the bosses from those five quests will be fought. The following quests are strongly recommended:

Explanation/Rationale	Melee	Ranged/Magic	Boss
Low DPS, low resists	Haunted Mine	Haunted Mine	Treus Dayth
Low DPS, low resists	Lost City	Lost City	Tree Spirit
Low DPS, low resists	Tree Gnome Village	Tree Gnome Village	Khazard warlord
Low DPS, low resists	What Lies Below	What Lies Below	King Roald
Low DPS, low resists	Vampire Slayer	Vampire Slayer	Count Draynor
NPC not 1x1, bad for chinning	Fight Arena		Bouncer
Boss monster lowers stats; doesn't matter with Overload potions.	Witch's House	Witch's House	Witch's experiment
High DPS	The Grand Tree		Black demon
High Ranged Defence	Holy Grail		Black Knight Titan

If you have completed any of the other quests, you may opt to instead pay 22,000 coins (for Normal) or 26,000 coins (for Hard) to Dominic Onion for a Customisable Rumble. You will be able to enable or disable any bosses you have unlocked with the requirement that you may not begin until the bosses from at least 5 quests are enabled. Despite having multiple boss encounters, quests such as Desert Treasure, Recipe for Disaster, and Dream Mentor count for only 1 of the 5 mandatory minimum quests to begin. Selecting any boss from a quest featuring multiple bosses will toggle ALL of that quest's bosses on or off simultaneously. The most common quests taken for melee are Mountain Daughter (MTD) or The Grand Tree (Black demon), where the five quests are as follows: Lost City, Tree Gnome Village, Vampire Slayer, Fight Arena and then either Mountain Daughter or The Grand Tree. MTD gives more experience an hour whilst Demon is better for points. If you have done Lunar Diplomacy, you may fight Me.

A normal rumble costs 22,000 coins while a hard rumble costs 26,000. This can be very helpful for the player if they do not want to use other methods listed above, although you should be wary that the less bosses you select in the rumble, you will get reduced points.

Adding more bosses increases the amount of points given per boss. A session with 5 bosses gives 28.5% of a boss's maximum points while 10 bosses gives 32.5%. Count Draynor gives 1822 points with 5 bosses and 2083 points with 10 bosses.

The main strategy entails playing Nightmare Zone on Hard Rumble mode and killing the bosses from said quests. Players can adopt one of the following methods to gain points and combat experience very effectively.

Note: Avoid using the Ultimate Force power-up as it obliterates every boss in the room without yielding any points or XP. If you want to maximise experience rates, only grab the power surge as it will restore special attack quickly. The bonus damages done by Zapper and Recurrent damage do not give any experience and is just a way to kill the bosses faster for points.

Note 2: Although it is true that Zapper and Recurrent Damage do not give additional experience, activating these power-ups is unlikely to impact experience rates unless the user is killing enemies faster than they spawn. Therefore, activating all power-ups except Ultimate Force is recommended for more points.

Also of note is the fact that Moss Giant, Dad, Ice Troll King and Arrg provide an increase of experience of 7.5%, 10%, 12.5% and 17.5% respectively (That is 4.3; 4.4; 4.5; and 4.7 experience per 1 damage respectively, in comparison to the 4 experience one gets normally). This is especially useful if using Dharok's Set and Absorption potions as you can maximise DPS, although one might want to avoid Dad as it pushes the player a few squares away, along with Arrg as he attacks using range, which potentially increases damage taken as you won't be able to stay in a corner.

Optimal points

See Nightmare Zone/Strategies/Optimal points

Suggested skills

• 43+ Prayer
• 51+ Hitpoints
• 70+ Attack
• 70+ Strength
• 70+ Defence
• 70+ Ranged (75+ Recommended)
• 86+ Magic

Setups

This setup offers a straightforward and fairly afkable way of gaining Nightmare Zone points for absorptions, overloads or imbues. Players can gain around 50,000 to 90,000 Melee experience per hour with 200,000 to 400,000 Nightmare Zone points per hour. This setup requires using prayer potions which can be somewhat expensive however, and is a worse option overall for strictly Melee training compared to using Dharok's (more experience per hour) or normal mode (much more afk and cheaper) setups.

Equipment

This setup aims for a mix of strength and prayer bonus. Optimal equipment consists of the Proselyte armour in the body and leg slots, and equipment that maximises the player's accuracy and strength bonuses in the other slots.

Recommended equipment for Melee (Prayer)

Slot	Item (most effective → least effective)
	Helm of neitiznot	Berserker helm / Obsidian helmet	Mitre	Proselyte sallet	Initiate sallet
	Amulet of torture	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	Dragonbone necklace	N/A
	Infernal cape	Fire cape	Ardougne cloak 4	Mythical cape	Cape of Accomplishment
	Proselyte hauberk	Initiate hauberk	Monk's robe top	N/A	N/A
	Proselyte cuisse / Proselyte tasset	Initiate cuisse	Monk's robe	N/A	N/A
	Ghrazi rapier	Abyssal whip	Abyssal bludgeon	Zamorakian hasta	Abyssal dagger
	Avernic defender	Dragon defender	Rune defender	Dragonfire shield	Toktz-ket-xil
	Rada's blessing 4	God blessing / Rada's blessing 3/2	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Ferocious gloves	Barrows gloves	Dragon gloves	Regen bracelet	Combat bracelet
	Primordial boots	Dragon boots	Guardian boots	Granite boots	Rune boots
	Berserker ring (i)	Brimstone ring	Ring of the gods (i)	Treasonous ring (i) / Warrior ring (i) / Tyrannical ring (i)	Ring of suffering (i)
	Saradomin godsword (prayer)	Ancient mace (prayer)	Dragon claws (damage)	Granite maul (damage)	N/A

Inventory

• A special attack weapon for replenishing Prayer points or more damage output
• 4-6 Overloads or super combat potions
• Holy wrench (optional)
• Rest prayer potions

Strategy

Select a hard customisable rumble, and choose bosses that can only attack with Melee. All the viable bosses are listed below, and the player should select as many as possible for more points per hour.

• Bouncer
• Tree Spirit
• Count Draynor
• Khazard warlord
• The Kendal
• King Roald
• Sand Snake
• Black Demon
• Me
• Skeleton Hellhound
• Black Knight Titan
• Trapped Soul

Activate Protect from Melee (and Preserve if using super combat potions), and simply drink overloads or super combat potions and prayer potions as needed. Damage-boosting prayers such as Piety or Ultimate Strength can also be used to increase experience and points per hour, but this greatly increases the prayer drain and requires paying more attention. When the Power Surge power-up is available, use Saradomin godsword or ancient mace special attacks to replenish Prayer points, or dragon claws or granite maul special attacks for more damage output.

Using Dharok the Wretched's equipment with absorption potions requires paying more attention than the other Melee setups, but it offers the fastest Attack and Strength experience for solo players. Players can gain up to 180,000 Melee experience per hour using dragon claws for special attacks, and 155,000 experience per hour using granite maul. Players can sustain around 1 hour per session with this setup.

Equipment

This setup uses the Dharok the Wretched's equipment for main damage output. Dragon claws are the best option for special attacks, followed by granite maul. Players can take 1-2 extra switches for higher strength bonus when using special attacks. The rest of the gear should consist of equipment that maximises the player's strength and accuracy bonuses.

Recommended equipment for Melee (Dharok's)

Slot	Item (most effective → least effective)
	Dharok's helm	Helm of neitiznot (for special attacks)	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Amulet of torture	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	N/A	N/A
	Infernal cape	Fire cape	Mythical cape	Cape of Accomplishment	Ardougne cloak 4
	Dharok's platebody	Bandos chestplate (for special attacks)	Fighter torso (for special attacks)	N/A	N/A
	Dharok's platelegs	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Dharok's greataxe	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Ferocious gloves	Barrows gloves	Dragon gloves	Granite gloves	Combat bracelet
	Primordial boots	Dragon boots	Guardian boots	Granite boots	Rune boots
	Berserker ring (i)	Brimstone ring	Warrior ring (i)	Ring of the gods (i)	Ring of suffering (i)
	Dragon claws	Granite maul	N/A	N/A	N/A

Inventory

• Dragon claws or granite maul for special attacks
• Helm of neitiznot and Bandos chestplate switches for special attacks (optional)
• 3 Overloads
• 3-5 Absorptions
• Locator orb or a dwarven rock cake
• Holy wrench (optional)
• Rest prayer potions

Strategy

Choose a hard customisable rumble, and choose Moss Giant, Sand Snake, Ice Troll King, Count Draynor and Arrg as the bosses.

1. Run to the middle of the room, drink all your absorption potions and sip a dose of overload.
2. Use the locator orb or guzzle the rock cake down to 1 Hitpoints, after that flash (quickly turn on and off) Rapid Heal prayer once.
3. Turn on Piety and attack the bosses spawn. Drink prayer potions as needed.
4. Flash Rapid Heal every 50–60 seconds in order to stay at 1 Hitpoints for the entire trip so that you deal the maximum damage with the Dharok's set and the bosses can keep hitting 1 damage. Flashing said prayer resets the timer that heals the player over time. If you allow your health to raise to 2, your max hit will be lowered and the bosses will hit 2's on you and reduce your absorption by 2 each hit. If this happens, simply use the locator orb or guzzle the rock cake again.
5. Once the overload expires, the player returns to 51 HP and should sip some overload, and flash Rapid Heal.
6. Those who have experience with flicking offensive prayers might wish to set up their quick-prayers to simultaneously activate Rapid Heal and their best offensive prayer. This improves your damage output and makes accidental HP regeneration much less likely, as long as you remember to keep flicking. However, doing this requires significantly more effort.
7. Once the Power Surge power-up spawns, activate it, switch to your special attack weapon and repeatedly use special attacks.

Using normal customisable rumble with absorption potions is a very straightforward and the most afkable way of training Melee stats in the game. With this method the player does not need to interact with the client for 20 minutes, after which the player will stop attacking the monsters. Players can gain up to 85,000 experience per hour, and sustain 3-6 hours per session depending on their equipment and stats. While this method does slightly profit Nightmare Zone points, players who are solely looking to gain points for imbues are advised to use other setups instead.

Equipment

For this setup, ghrazi rapier along with Bandos armour offers the best experience per hour and good sustainability due to the high defences of the Bandos armour. Toktz-xil-ak along with full obsidian armour and berserker necklace offers the second best experience per hour and is a much more affordable option, however it has poor sustainability due to its low defensive stats. Players who want good sustainability but cannot afford a ghrazi rapier should use abyssal whip (for training Attack or Defence) or abyssal bludgeon (for training Strength) along with Bandos armour.

Recommended equipment for Melee (Absorption)

Slot	Item (most effective → least effective)
	Helm of neitiznot / Obsidian helmet	Berserker helm	Justiciar faceguard	N/A	N/A
	Amulet of torture / Berserker necklace	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	N/A	N/A
	Infernal cape	Fire cape	Mythical cape	Cape of Accomplishment	Ardougne cloak 4
	Bandos chestplate / Obsidian platebody	Fighter torso	Justiciar chestguard	N/A	N/A
	Bandos tassets / Obsidian platelegs	Justiciar legguards	Dragon platelegs / Dragon plateskirt	N/A	N/A
	Ghrazi rapier / Toktz-xil-ak	Abyssal whip (Attack or Defence) / Abyssal bludgeon (Strength)	Abyssal dagger / Saradomin sword	Dragon scimitar	N/A
	Avernic defender	Dragon defender	Rune defender	Dragonfire shield	Toktz-ket-xil
	Ferocious gloves	Barrows gloves	Dragon gloves	Granite gloves	Combat bracelet
	Primordial boots	Dragon boots	Guardian boots	Granite boots	Rune boots
	Berserker ring (i)	Brimstone ring	Treasonous ring (i) / Warrior ring (i) / Tyrannical ring (i)	Ring of suffering (i)	N/A

Inventory

• 4-5 super combat potions
• Locator orb or dwarven rock cake (optional but recommended)
• Rest Absorptions

Strategy

Choose a normal customisable rumble, and choose a combination of the following bosses:

• Count Draynor
• Sand Snake
• Me
• Khazard Warlord
• King Roald
• Tree spirit
• The Kendal

Run to the middle of the room. Use absorptions until 951-1000 absorption, get down to 1 Hitpoints using the locator orb or rock cake, and sip a super combat potion dose. Repeat after 15-20 minutes.

Using a locator orb or a dwarven rock cake when repotting is optional, but recommended for longer sessions (especially if using obsidian armour).

Using normal customisable rumble with absorption potions is a very straightforward and the most afkable way of training Ranged in the game. With this method the player does not need to interact with the client for 20 minutes, after which the player will stop attacking the monsters. Players can gain up to 65,000-110,000 experience per hour depending on the weapon used, and sustain 3-6 hours per session depending on their equipment and stats. While this method does slightly profit Nightmare Zone points, players who are solely looking to gain points for imbues are advised to use other setups instead.

Equipment

For this setup, using the Void Knight equipment offers the best experience per hour. However, due to its poor defensive stats players may want to use Armadyl or dragonhide armour instead for better sustainability. Players who want even better sustainability can replace some Ranged equipment with more defensive pieces, such as Bandos tassets, slayer helmet (i) and ring of suffering (i).

Toxic blowpipe is the best weapon to use, but this is not recommended due to its significantly higher cost compared to other options. Magic shortbow (i) with amethyst or rune arrows offers a slower but much cheaper option. Alternatively, players can use Armadyl/dragon/rune crossbow or mithril darts with a shield for slightly less experience per hour but more defence.

Recommended equipment for Ranged (Absorption)

Slot	Item (most effective → least effective)
	Armadyl helmet / Void ranger helm	Robin hood hat	Blessed Coif	Archer helm	Slayer helmet (i) (defence)
	Necklace of anguish	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	N/A	N/A
	Ava's assembler	Ava's accumulator	Ranging cape	Ava's attractor	N/A
	Armadyl chestplate / Elite void top	Blessed body / Void knight top	Black d'hide body	N/A	N/A
	Armadyl chainskirt / Elite void robe	Blessed chaps / Void knight robe	Black d'hide chaps	Bandos tassets (defence)	N/A
	Toxic blowpipe	Magic shortbow (i)	Armadyl crossbow	Mithril dart	N/A
	Twisted buckler	Dragonfire ward	Dragonfire shield (defence)	Odium ward	Book of law
	Rada's blessing 4 (3, 2 or any God blessing) if using toxic blowpipe or darts	Amethyst arrows or rune arrows if using a magic shortbow	Amethyst broad bolts or broad bolts if using a crossbow	N/A	N/A
	Barrows gloves / Void knight gloves	Black d'hide vamb / Blessed vambraces	Combat bracelet	N/A	N/A
	Pegasian boots	Ranger boots	Blessed boots	Snakeskin boots	Guardian boots (defence)
	Archers ring (i)	Brimstone ring	Ring of suffering (i)	N/A	N/A

Inventory

• 4-5 super ranging or bastion potions
• Locator orb or dwarven rock cake (optional but recommended)
• Rest Absorptions

Strategy

Choose a normal customisable rumble, and choose a combination of the following bosses:

• Count Draynor
• Sand Snake
• Me
• Khazard Warlord
• King Roald
• Tree spirit
• The Kendal

Run to the middle of the room. Use absorptions until 951-1000 absorption, get down to 1 Hitpoints using the locator orb or rock cake, and sip a super ranging or bastion potion dose. Repeat after 15-20 minutes.

Using a locator orb or a dwarven rock cake when repotting is optional, but recommended for longer sessions.

The chinning method involves the use of grey, red, or black chinchompas. In addition, adopting either the standard Prayer strategy or Absorption method are also used. It all depends on what the player can afford, are willing to spend, or can use. Grey chinchompas require a Ranged level of 45; red require 55, and black require 65. On the Short Fuse attack style, you throw 1,200 chins per hour. Medium Fuse is 1,500. Also, while chinning, the player has to lure the bosses. The process of luring is pretty simple. In the middle of the arena, the player, or lurer, runs between three squares. This allows the enemies that spawn to pile up on one square. Aside from Armadyl armour, Void Knight equipment with the Ranger helm could be worn instead.

Recommended equipment for Ranged (Chinning)

Slot	Item (most effective → least effective)
	Armadyl helmet / Void ranger helm	Robin hood hat	Blessed Coif	Archer helm	Snakeskin bandana
	Necklace of anguish	Amulet of fury	amulet of glory	N/A	N/A
	Ava's assembler	Ava's accumulator	Ranging cape	Ava's attractor	Fire cape
	Armadyl chestplate / Elite void top	Black d'hide body	Karil's leathertop	Monk's robe top	N/A
	Armadyl chainskirt / Elite void robe	Black d'hide chaps	Karil's leatherskirt	Monk's robe	N/A
	Black chinchompa	Red chinchompa	Chinchompa	N/A	N/A
	Twisted buckler	Odium ward	Elysian spirit shield	Blessed spirit shield	N/A
	Broad bolts	Adamant bolts	Mithril bolts	N/A	N/A
	Barrows gloves / Void knight gloves	Black d'hide vamb	Regen bracelet	Combat bracelet	N/A
	Pegasian boots	Ranger boots	Blessed boots	Snakeskin boots	N/A
	Archers ring (i)	Archers ring	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Armadyl crossbow	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Inventory

• 3 Overloads
• 23-24 Prayer potions or 23 Absorptions
• Holy wrench (optional)
• Dwarven rock cake or Locator Orb (only if using Absorptions)

Upon adopting either the standard Prayer strategy or Absorption method, Smoke Barrage is the best spell to use for Magic. It does not require Soul runes, and it does not stop enemies from moving. This is vital to obtaining the most XP. The player can cast about 1,200 spells per hour. Also, vital is luring the bosses. The process of luring is pretty simple. In the middle of the arena, the player, or lurer, runs between three squares. This allows the enemies that spawn to pile up on one square. In lieu of Ancestral gear, Void Knight equipment with the Void mage helm or Ahrim's equipment work as less expensive alternatives.

Recommended equipment for Magic

Slot	Item (most effective → least effective)
	Ancestral hat / Void mage helm	Ahrim's hood	Farseer helm	Mystic hat	N/A
	Occult necklace	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	Amulet of magic	Amulet of power
	Imbued god cape	God cape	Ardougne cloak 4	Cape of Accomplishment	God cloak
	Ancestral robe top / Elite void top	Ahrim's robetop	Infinity top	Mystic robe top	N/A
	Ancestral robe bottom / Elite void robe	Ahrim's robeskirt	Infinity bottoms	Mystic robe bottom	N/A
	Kodai wand	Master wand	Ancient staff	Ahrim's staff (with Amulet of the damned)	N/A
	Arcane spirit shield	Mage's book	Malediction ward	Book of darkness	Book of balance
	Rada's blessing 4	God blessing / Rada's blessing 3/2	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Tormented bracelet / Void knight gloves	Barrows gloves	Infinity gloves	Mystic gloves	N/A
	Eternal boots	Infinity boots	Wizard boots	Mystic boots	N/A
	Seers ring (i)	Brimstone ring	Seers ring	Lunar ring	Beacon ring
	Saradomin godsword (if using prayer method)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Inventory

• Rune pouch with 8000 Fire, Air and Death along with 4000 Blood runes in your inventory
• 3-5 Overloads
• 20-21 Prayer potions or 20-22 Absorptions
• Saradomin godsword as a spec weapon if using prayer method
• Holy wrench (optional)
• Dwarven rock cake or Locator Orb (only if using Absorptions)