Vorkath/Strategies
After completion of Dragon Slayer II, Vorkath can be fought again. This time, it is stronger.
To get to Vorkath, talk to Torfinn, located in Rellekka on the 3rd dock to the right. This brings you to Ungael, at the entrance of Vorkath.
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.
Requirements[edit | edit source]
- Completion of
Dragon Slayer II for access to Ungael.
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+ for Piety (74+ for Rigour)
82+ (for Ornate rejuvenation pool (with boost) - (optional but strongly recommended))
Fight overview[edit | edit source]
Vorkath is similar to most dragons in that it is weak against stab melee and ranged. Upon awakening, Vorkath's attack pattern consists of six random standard attacks, one special attack, another six standard attacks, then the other special attack, and so on until defeated. During the fight, it is 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 prayers to use will depend 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 with a dragonfire ward, dragonfire shield or anti-dragon shield.
Vorkath is capable of envenoming players with its venom dragonfire; as such, bring appropriate venom protection. The prayer dragonfire turns every single active prayer off, including Preserve; for this reason, divine potions are recommended over normal potions. Additionally, recoil damage such as Vengeance and rings of recoil, do not work on Vorkath.
Standard attacks[edit | edit source]
Vorkath uses the following standard attacks:
- Melee attack: If players are adjacent to Vorkath, it slashes at the player with its wings/claws, dealing up to 32 damage. Though very accurate compared to its other styles, it uses melee less frequently compared to magic and ranged.
- Magic attack: A bright-blue projectile is fired at the player, dealing up to 30 damage. If within range of its melee attacks, its magic attacks are slightly more frequent.
- Ranged attack: A spiked ball of bones and flesh is fired at the player, dealing up to 32 damage. If out of range for its melee attack, the ranged attack is used more frequently than magic.[1]
- Dragonfire: Aside from standard dragonfire, Vorkath has multiple variants that it can use, similar to the King Black Dragon.
| Image | Name | Notes |
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Standard Dragonfire | Deals dragonfire damage 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 shield that protects against dragonfire, or a super antifire potion along with the protect from magic prayer; both combinations reduce the max hits of dragonfire to 10. |
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Venomous Dragonfire | May inflict venom if not immune. |
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Corrupting Dragonfire | Deactivates all prayers upon impact. Players should have quick-prayers accordingly set to reactivate their prayers immediately afterward. |
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Deadly Dragonfire | Vertically launched at the player's position when fired. This will often outright kill the player if hit; if adjacent to the strike zone, it will deal half the damage it would have dealt. Thus, players should always be prepared to click two tiles away from where they are at all times. |
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Magic Attack | Deals magic damage up to 30. |
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Ranged Attack | Deals ranged damage up to 32. |
Rapid Fire[edit | edit source]
Rapid Fire is the deadliest of Vorkath's attacks, and is one of the two special attacks it'll use after six standard attacks. When used, Vorkath will launch acid pools around the arena (with one landing on where the player stood), then fire dragonbreath every tick at the tile the player is standing on.
Standing on the acid pools will deal up to 10 damage per tick and heal him for the same amount, whilst getting hit by its rapid dragonfire will result in 25-41 damage taken. As such, the basic principle to surviving this special attack is to always be on the move whilst walking on clean tiles. Players can find a line (at least five tiles free of acid) and walk back and forth 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.
The Woox Walk[edit | edit source]
Experienced players may utilise a technique known as the "Woox Walk", named after the player who devised it, to continue attacking Vorkath whilst avoiding his dragonfire attacks. Mastering the Woox Walk is highly recommended for players seeking to kill Vorkath many times over, as this significantly decreases kill time and results in more kills per hour, despite the halved damage he takes during this special attack. It is generally easier to learn with sounds enabled, as you should click every time you hear Vorkath shoot its fireball. Practicing the moves throughout the fight is also useful for learning with no punishment upon mistakes.
The basic principle of the Woox Walk involves tick-perfect movements to move towards Vorkath to attack, then immediately moving to another tile out of the player's attack range, then moving to attack again once they are able. It is recommended to enable tile highlighting in the settings, then enabling "Highlight current tile", as this helps visualise which tile you are on rather than using your character to do so.
The way in which the Woox Walk is performed is dependent on the type of weapon chosen:
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If using melee, as soon as your attack animation starts, immediately walk two spaces back and attack Vorkath again. This is best done with a 4-tick weapon such as the dragon hunter lance.
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If using a toxic blowpipe, the yellow tile highlighted indicates the first row of tiles in which the player is out of attack range. Thus, clicking to attack Vorkath will force you to move one tile forward; move back between two clean tiles to stay on the attack. The blowpipe's special attack will heal the damage the player would have dealt rather than half.
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If using a crossbow with an attack range of 7, the row of tiles along the perimeter of the arena is the only location where the player is out of range. Players must move along this perimeter, then attack when in front of a clean tile. Weapons with an attack range of 8 or greater (notably the Armadyl and Zaryte crossbows) will always be in range and are not viable for this tactic.
Zombified Spawn[edit | edit source]
Vorkath's other special attack involves launching an icy breath toward the player. While this deals no damage, it will freeze the player in place, and Vorkath will spit out a Zombified Spawn that always lands ten tiles away from the player. Vorkath is immune to damage as soon as the breath is launched, and remains as such until the spawn is killed or explodes.
The spawn has 38 Hitpoints and will walk towards the player. If it reaches the player, it will explode, dealing damage based on its current Hitpoints prior to explosion; this can deal up to 60 damage. Casting Crumble Undead will instantly kill the spawn, and it will always hit, provided that the player's Magic attack bonus is above -64. If the spell is cast and lands on the spawn just as it reaches the player, it will explode, but no damage will be incurred. Once the spawn is killed or explodes, the freeze will wear off and Vorkath can be damaged again.
It is best to bring a magic staff swap, ideally a slayer's staff or dust battlestaff for the spawn; the former allows for auto-casting, while the latter eliminates the need for dust runes. It is important to avoid attacking after Vorkath's six auto-attack, since Vorkath becomes immune to damage before the breath is launched and also prevents delay from setting in. While there is more than enough time to kill the spawn if this occurs, Vorkath is immune to damage, rendering the extra attacks null.
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. You can also use the Miscellania teleport from an Ornate Jewellery Box, run to the port, then use the Sailor to travel to Rellekka
- 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.
- POH & Camelot teleport: After completing the Hard Kandarin Diary, you may switch Camelot teleport to the location of the Seers' Village bank. While having dust runes, chaos runes, and law runes in a rune pouch, Teleport to Seers' Village to bank and teleport back to POH while having your house in Rellekka.
- 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.
Equipment[edit | edit source]
The dragon hunter crossbow is the most effective ranged weapon to use against Vorkath. 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 decrease 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. Players should stay in melee range when not dealing with specials, as despite taking the occasional melee, being out of melee range increases the rate of ranged attacks and results in more damage taken overall. 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 -65 magic attack bonus or less, your Crumble Undead will not hit.
Below Bandos equipment, prioritise defensive bonuses over strength bonus if you find your trips cut short by Vorkath's normal melee and ranged attacks. With regard to profit, consistently higher kills per trip are more valuable than marginal damage gains. Additionally, if sacrificing defensive bonuses for melee strength in a given slot, ensure that you are actually gaining a max hit (check with the DPS Calculator) and that you are not reducing your kills per trip. It is entirely possible for the +1 bonus of Obsidian platelegs to do nothing to improve your DPS and increase the likelihood that your trips are cut short.
Inventory recommendations[edit | edit source]
In all setups, a rune pouch (or its divine variant) must have chaos runes in order to cast Crumble Undead.
With a dust battlestaff, the rune pouch can be filled with fire and nature runes for High Level Alchemy.
Without a dust battlestaff, the rune pouch will need dust runes, thus preventing High Level Alchemy from being used without sacrificing an inventory slot.
Law runes, combined with dust runes or a battlestaff, can allow for a relatively cheap Teleport to House without sacrificing inventory spaces. This can mess up the spellbook interface however with other teleport spells.
Because a large amount of the boss' drops primarily consist of superior dragon bones, players should bring enough supplies to last for a maximum of four kills, as the player will likely run out of space if they try to do more than that per trip. More kills can be allotted however, if the player brings a pestle and mortar and a reagent pouch, converting the bones into its crushed variant, which can be stored in the pouch. Be aware that crushed superior dragon bones will not sell as fast as their uncrushed version.
Ranged (crossbow)[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+ (not needed if using Serpentine helm)
- 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
- Divine ranging potion or a Divine bastion potion
- 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.
Ranged (blowpipe)[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 (not needed if using Serpentine helm)
- 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
Melee[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.)
- Burning claws or Voidwaker for special; a Bandos godsword is very comparable in overall DPS and much cheaper
- 1 anti-venom+ (not needed if using Serpentine helm)
- 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 above 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.
References[edit | edit source]
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