Vorkath/Strategies
After completion of Dragon Slayer II, Vorkath can be fought again. This time, he is stronger.
Warning: Beware of Vorkath's acid pool quickfire barrage, insta-kill vertical dragonfire, and suicide spawn as each of these attacks can kill players almost immediately.
Attacks[edit | edit source]
Vorkath uses several different attack styles during the fight:
Standard Attacks[edit | edit source]
- Melee attack: If players are in range, he swipes at the player with his wings/claws (slash-based).
- Magic attack: Launches a bright-blue projectile at the player that hits up to 30 damage. Protect from Magic completely negates damage.
- Ranged attack: Launches a spiked ball at the player that hits up to 32 damage. Protect from Missiles blocks this attack. This style has been confirmed to occur more frequently than the magic attack when not in melee range.[1] If in melee range, magic attack is slightly more frequent.
- Dragonfire: Vorkath's dragonfire has multiple variants, similar to the King Black Dragon's. The damage dealt by the dragonfire is dependent on the number of layers of dragonfire protection used by the player. Full damage mitigation requires a super antifire potion along with a dragonfire protection shield. Players also typically use a regular antifire potion with a dragonfire protection shield, or a super antifire potion along with the protect from magic prayer; both combinations reduce the max hits of the attacks to 10.
- High-damage Dragonfire: Vertically launched dragonfire at the player's position when cast, functioning similarly to Galvek's high-damage dragonfire. This will greatly damage the player if they are directly struck by it, often lethally; half the damage is taken if adjacent.
Special attacks[edit | edit source]
Every seventh attack, Vorkath alternates between one of two special attacks:
- Acid Pool Quickfire Barrage: Launches acid around the arena and proceeds to fire a barrage of 25 dragonfires at the player. Any damage taken while standing on the acid heals Vorkath for the same amount; up to 10 damage per tick. The dragonfire, if caught in it, deals 25-41 damage. It is not affected by any level of dragonfire protection. Additionally, Vorkath takes 50% reduced damage until the special attack ends.
- Zombified Ice Dragonfire: Vorkath freezes the player in place with seemingly harmless ice dragonfire that applies Ice Barrage, summons a zombified spawn, and is immune to all damage while the spawn is alive. The spawn moves toward the player and, if not killed first, explodes on impact dealing up to 60 damage scaling off of its remaining Hitpoints. Players should queue the Crumble Undead spell and cast on the spawn as soon as it lands to prevent damage during this special attack. Once the spawn explodes or is killed, the Ice Barrage and damage immunity is lifted via game message.
| Image | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard attacks | ||
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Magic Attack | Deals magic damage |
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Ranged Attack | Deals ranged damage |
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Normal Dragonfire Attack | Deals dragonfire damage |
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Venom Dragonfire Attack | Can inflict venom status |
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Pink Dragonfire Attack | Deactivates all prayers |
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Deadly Dragonfire Attack | High damage attack - must be dodged (move two tiles) |
| Special attacks | ||
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Acid Pool Attack | Spits acid on the ground – should be dodged (keep moving) |
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Zombified Ice Dragonfire Attack | Freezes the player while a Zombified Spawn is summoned which should be killed immediately
(use Crumble Undead Spell on the Zombified Spawn) |
Suggested skills[edit | edit source]
85+ (Ranged method)-> blowpipe or dragon hunter crossbow
80+ (90+ Recommended Melee method)
85+ (Melee method)
75+ (85+ for Melee)
70+ (74+ with Ranged)
82+ (for Ornate rejuvenation pool (with boost) - (optional but strongly recommended))
Equipment[edit | edit source]
The dragon hunter crossbow is the most effective ranged weapon to use against Vorkath, although its cost makes it unavailable for many players. The crossbow's passive effect damage and accuracy boosts stack with the Salve amulet (i) / Salve amulet(ei) and Void Knight equipment allowing players to hit a maximum of 74 with no special effects at 99 Ranged. The difference in Damage per second between Elite Void Knight equipment and fortified Masori armour is negligible at best, but Masori provides over 50 additional magic defence over Elite Void, which will increase overall kill times and lengthen trips by reducing the amount of food eaten.
Players should note that the Salve amulet and Salve amulet (e) provide no bonuses to Ranged whatsoever; the amulet must be imbued to provide Ranged bonuses. In order to take the least amount of damage possible, players should use a dragonfire ward or anti-dragon shield with the dragon hunter crossbow, while praying Protect from Missiles. The dragonfire shield is an inferior option to the anti-dragon shield despite its defences, as it provides a negative Ranged bonus. Other offhand items such as the twisted buckler or book of law force players to pray Protect from Magic, causing them to take more damage each kill, and shortening their trips. With 99 Ranged and a high Defence level, players should expect anywhere from 3-6 kills with this setup. Rings of recoil do not inflict damage on Vorkath.
The Toxic blowpipe is an effective method of killing Vorkath for those who cannot afford a dragon hunter crossbow. Players should use Void Knight equipment if using a defence-reduction special attack weapon. Otherwise, using standard ranging armour (such as black d'hide) will usually be higher damage output and provide higher defence than normal void equipment, while elite void is still quite strong. Players should use Protect from Magic with the blowpipe along with a super antifire potion. Players should use a Bandos godsword or dragon warhammer at the start of the fight to reduce Vorkath's defence. After each successful Vorkath kill or failure to reduce Vorkath's defence with both special attacks, players should replenish their special attack bars with a restoration pool or better. At 99 Ranged and amethyst darts, it's advised to stay regardless of whether or not the player has landed a special attack.
The dragon hunter lance is the most effective melee weapon to use against Vorkath. The lance's passive effect damage and accuracy boosts stack with the Salve amulet (e) or Salve amulet(ei), allowing players to hit frequently and high. Players use Protect from Magic and wear the best melee armour possible to maximise their ranged defence. Attack Vorkath on a tick that he does not attack to avoid his particularly stronger melee attacks, making dragonfire, mechanics and ranged the only causes of damage. If using defence-draining specials, the Bandos godsword is superior over the dragon warhammer due to the increased accuracy even when factoring in a defender for the warhammer. If your gear has less than -65 magic attack, your Crumble Undead won't hit!
Inventory recommendations[edit | edit source]
Setup #1[edit | edit source]
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- An ammo switch (if using crossbow)
- Zaryte crossbow preferably. Toxic blowpipe alternatively (for special, if using crossbow)
- 1 anti-venom+
- 3-4 super restores or prayer potions (crossbow only; 1-2 with blowpipe)
- Rune pouch with dust runes, law runes, and chaos runes to cast Crumble Undead spells and Teleport to House
- Super set or divine super combat potion (if using Melee, or blowpipe with Bandos godsword/dragon warhammer)
- Divine ranging potion or bastion potion (if using Ranged)
- Extended super antifire (regular extended antifire works, but is less effective)
- An emergency teleport (optional)
- A teleport to Rellekka (see the section below for teleports of choice)
- Food (sharks or better, preferably manta rays for longer trips; with very high stats and optimal gear, an inventory of karambwans is likely to be more than enough while they have a lower attack delay when eaten during combat)
- Guthix rest allow you to heal small amounts of health without losing ticks, otherwise cooked karambwan are useful for combo eating at low HP. It can also be used as a replacement to anti-venom+, as it reduces venom to poison.
Tip: Players may use their antifire and stat boost potions at a bank to create more room for food.
Tip: Bringing a Slayer's staff while setting Crumble Undead as the auto-cast spell is an easy transition and safer alternative to using the spell from the spellbook.
Setup #2[edit | edit source]
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Note: This setup is only recommended if you cannot afford a dragon hunter crossbow or dragon hunter lance.
- Melee gear for 2 special attacks. If using dragon warhammer, mythical cape is better for the higher crush accuracy compared to the fire cape.
- 1 super antifire potion
- 1 anti-venom+ potion
- 1 divine bastion or ranging potion
- 1 super combat potion
- 1-2 prayer potions
- 13 sharks or better
- 4 karambwans for combo eating
- Chaos and dust runes to cast Crumble Undead (in rune pouch)
- Law runes (in rune pouch) or house tablets to teleport to house to refill special attack after the fight
Setup #3[edit | edit source]
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- A Slayer staff can be used to autocast Crumble Undead while also ensuring your magic bonus is more than -64 so you will almost never splash (Alternatives are slayer's staff (e), staff of the dead, toxic staff of the dead, staff of light, staff of balance, void knight mace.)
- Dragon claws or Voidwaker for special; a Bandos godsword is very comparable in overall DPS and much cheaper
- 1 anti-venom+
- 3-4 super restore or prayer potion
- Rune pouch with dust runes, law runes, and chaos runes to cast Crumble Undead spells and Teleport to House
- Super combat potion or divine super combat potion
- Extended super antifire
- An emergency teleport (optional)
- A teleport to Rellekka (see the section below for teleports of choice)
- Anglerfish for overhealing at the start of a trip (Players may find it worthwhile to bring more to overheal before each kill)
- Food (sharks or better, preferably manta rays to ensure longer trips)
Tip: Players may use their antifire and stat boost potions at a bank to create more room for food.
Tip: If choosing not to use a staff to autocast Crumble Undead, make sure that your magic bonus is higher than -64, otherwise you will occasionally splash on the spawn.
Strategy[edit | edit source]
Upon awakening, Vorkath's attack pattern consists of six random standard attacks, one special attack, six random attacks, then the other special attack and so on until defeated.
Offensively, Vorkath has 560 Attack, 308 Strength/Ranged, and 150 Magic, alongside +16 melee, +150 magic and +78 ranged accuracy. Defensively, Vorkath has a Defence level of 214, with +26 stab/ranged, +108 slash/crush and +240 magic defence bonus. This makes Vorkath similar to most dragons in that he is weak against stab melee and ranged.
During the fight, players are recommended to always maintain at least a super antifire potion and protect from magic, or a regular antifire potion and a dragonfire protection shield.
Whether to have run on during the fight is a matter of preference. Keeping run on except for during the acid special attack increases the margin for error when dodging the fireball attack, but requires the player to manually toggle run when the acid attack occurs. Leaving run off eliminates the need to toggle and players can rely on quick reactions to dodge the fireball while walking, and use ctrl-click to override the run setting if needed.
The optimal protection prayer to use then depends on the gear being used:
- Protect from Magic if using Melee, or a Toxic blowpipe/Book of law along with a Super antifire potion.
- Protect from Missiles if using a crossbow along a Dragonfire ward, Dragonfire shield or Anti-dragon shield.
Vorkath can hit up to 30 with magic, and 32 with melee and ranged. His high attack level means his melee attacks are very accurate, although it is less common compared to magic and ranged, and is only performed in melee distance. Players should have quick-prayers set according to their combat style and weapon type to reactivate prayers when deactivated by the pink dragonfire. Players should also be prepared to click at least two spaces away if Vorkath uses his insta-kill vertical dragonfire lob.
Vorkath is capable of envenoming players with his venom dragonfire (as such, bring appropriate venom protection). The pink dragonfire turns every single active prayer off, including Preserve; for this reason, divine potions are recommended over normal potions.
Recoil damage, such as Vengeance and rings of recoil, does not work on Vorkath.
Acid Pool Quickfire Barrage[edit | edit source]
When Vorkath spits poison pools on the ground, players should continuously walk on clean ground to avoid damage. As long as players are moving, Vorkath's quick-fire barrage will not deal damage. Standing or moving over an acid pool leeches health from the player and heals Vorkath. Protective prayers may be turned off to reduce prayer drain, as they do not affect these attacks.
There are two ways to deal with this attack:
- Players can find a line (at least five tiles free of acid) and walk back and forth the said line. This is relatively safe but no damage will be dealt to Vorkath in the process.
- Players new to fighting Vorkath may use the fact that there is always an acid-free line directly next to the exit, when walking side to side ('hugging' the wall). Be wary that running to this back line while the acid is being thrown has a chance of spawning an acid pool in this line, because theres a chance Vorkath throws acid right behind you, regardless of proximity to the entrance
- A more difficult tactic, required for the Combat Achievements task "The Walk", involves a tick-perfect walking method also known as the "Woox Walk"; the player attacks Vorkath, but quickly moves away to avoid being hit by the dragonfire barrage. This tactic can be used with both melee and ranged weapons.
- For players using melee, as soon your weapon hits Vorkath, immediately walk two spaces back and click on Vorkath again, repeating until the dragonfire barrage is over.
- For players using ranged, there are two options:
- Blowpipe - With the blowpipe, this requires at least two tiles free of acid. As the blowpipe has a range of 5 when used on "Accurate" and "Rapid", stand six tiles away from Vorkath. As soon as you attack Vorkath, your character will automatically walk one tile towards it - quickly click back on the tile that you stood on, and repeat.
- Crossbow - A crossbow is significantly trickier to use compared to a blowpipe - with a range of 8, players need to stand towards the outer rim of the arena. Similar to the blowpipe method, as soon as you attack Vorkath, your character will automatically walk one tile towards it - quickly click back on the tile that you stood on, and repeat.
- This method is generally easier to learn with sounds enabled, as you should click every time you hear Vorkath shoot his fireball. Practicing the moves throughout the fight is also useful for learning with no punishment upon mistakes.
Players using a dragon hunter crossbow may take this opportunity to use the toxic blowpipe special attack to heal, as they are safe from dragonfire damage (provided that they do not stop moving at any point). Despite the damage reduction, the special attack heals as normal, as if the damage was not reduced.
After the attack, remember to re-enable your protection prayer (if you toggled it off), and toggle run on (according to preference).
Zombified Ice Dragonfire[edit | edit source]
Vorkath's other special attack is the zombified ice dragonfire. Vorkath will launch white dragonfire at the player, applying an Ice Barrage effect.
Vorkath then lobs a Zombified Spawn into the air which lands several spaces away and crawls towards the player. Vorkath is immune to all damage and the player is unable to move for as long as the spawn is alive. If the spawn touches the player, it will explode and deal damage based on a percentage of its health when it did so, dealing up to 60 damage if left untouched. The spawn has 38 health, but the Crumble Undead spell will instantly kill it regardless of your magic attack bonus, as long as it is not -64 or lower (although it is still possible to splash at -63 or higher, it is extremely unlikely).
To be safe, it is recommended to click the ground when the attack starts because if the player continues attacking Vorkath it can delay the Crumble Undead cast. The player should then ready the spell and carefully click once on the spawn as soon as it appears. Alternatively, the player can switch to a Slayer's staff with Crumble undead set to autocast. A message will appear after the spawn explodes or is killed, indicating the bind and damage immunity effect has been lifted. With practice, it is possible to turn off prayer when the attack starts to save points, and to eat a food or drink a potion right after the spawn is killed.
Vorkath trip efficiency[edit | edit source]
Toxic blowpipe special attack methods[edit | edit source]
If using the Toxic blowpipe, players should lower Vorkath's Defence with the Bandos godsword or dragon warhammer special attacks before each kill. Players who fail to hit at least one Dragon warhammer special attack or deal at least 64 damage with the Bandos godsword special attacks should teleport out and replenish their special attack energy, unless the player has a high Ranged level - in this case, players should stay for the fight, instead of wasting time replenishing their special attack at their POH and running all the way back to Vorkath.
Note: Vorkath has the same slash and crush Defence bonuses. However, the Bandos godsword's high accuracy makes it better than a single successful dragon warhammer + dragon defender special attack, provided the Bandos godsword deals at least 64 damage.
Banking and getting there quickly[edit | edit source]
It is recommended to use Fremennik sea boots 4, have your house in Rellekka, use an Enchanted lyre (or Enchanted lyre(i)), use a Rellekka teleport, or have a portal attuned to Lunar Isle or Waterbirth Island. After each successful Vorkath attempt using the toxic blowpipe, or once out of supplies with the dragon hunter crossbow, players should re-gear with one of the following methods:
- POH without pool: On world 330 (or 465/512), set your POH to Rimmington or Yanille, teleport to outside your player-owned house with a house tablet, runes in your rune pouch or max cape/construction cape, enter a host's house at that location and use their ornate rejuvenation pool. This method requires a way of returning to Vorkath that doesn't depend on a Rellekka POH teleport.
- POH with pool: Teleport to your player-owned house with a house tablet, runes in your rune pouch or max cape/construction cape, and use an ornate rejuvenation pool.
- Players may teleport to Lunar Isle through a portal and bank with 'Birds-Eye' Jack, then talk to any other person to get kicked off back to Rellekka, or by using the Return orb next to the bank booth
- Players may also attune a POH Portal or Teleport Nexus to Waterbirth Island, and quickly take the boat back to Rellekka, which leaves you at the west dock, only a few steps away from the Vorkath dock.
- Ferox Enclave: Teleport to Ferox Enclave with a ring of dueling, use the Pool of Refreshment to reset your stats and use the bank chest to re-gear. Then, return to Vorkath using Fremennik sea boots 4, or teleporting to POH located in Rellekka. Note: this does not restore special attack, and resets any stats (boosted or drained) upon exiting.
- Chambers of Xeric: Use the Xeric's Honour teleport on Xeric's amulet or in your POH, start a raiding party, enter a raid, leave the raid. Note This does not restore special attack, resets any stats (boosted or drained) upon exiting, and requires you to be ranked in the Clan Chat you are in.
- Nardah: Teleport to Nardah with your Desert Amulet 4 and pray at the Elidinis Statuette there, which provides the same benefits as an Ornate rejuvenation pool (excluding stat restoration), as well as a temporary boost to hit points above the player's maximum based on level. A bank is located nearby to the south. This method requires completion of the elite Desert Diary.
References[edit | edit source]
| Monsters | |
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| Unique drops | |
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