Suqah {Melee and Magic} - Access and Combat Recommendations

Access Directions

Suqahs are found only on Lunar Isle; you must at least partially complete Lunar Diplomacy to access the island. Get there quickly using the Moonclan Teleport spell if you have Lunar Magicks enabled; otherwise, you must take the longer sea route. Speak to Lokar Searunner on the docks in Rellekka -- you must have a Seal of Passage with you -- and he'll take you to Pirate's Cove. Go up the ladder and board his ship, then ask the captain to take you to Lunar Isle. Disembark and bank on the island.

The Suqahs are found mainly in the northeast and southeast parts of the island. To fight the ones that use melee and magic, go northeast of the bank. Pass the single suqah right near the bank, and just north of there you'll find several suqahs with a blade and a shield that also cast spells. Note that not all suqahs with a sword and shield cast spells -- the ones southeast of the bank do not -- and none of the suqahs with two blades anywhere will do so.

You must keep your Seal of Passage on you at all times to use the bank on the island, unless you also complete the sequel quest Dream Mentor -- this lets you bank without the seal by using the eastern-most bank window.

Equipment

Since these suqahs have two attacks, I recommend equipment that balances melee and magic defence; I typically use Karil's top and bottom with a Veracs helm.

These could probably be trapped to range or mage them but I have not tried. In either case the magic defence of mage robes or ranging gear would help against the distance magic attack.

You could cut down on food use by using prayer gear; for example, you could wear full Veracs and use Protection from Magic. Of course, then you have to use up (expensive) prayer potions.

Supplies

In stark contrast with the melee-only suqahs, you will need good food to fight these. I went through a rather large number of pineapple pizzas in fighting them for an hour for my drop log (see below). I also used super sets, as always. Pineapple pizzas are very expensive now, so I'd recommend monkfish instead (if you were actually silly enough to fight these, of course.)

These monsters have nothing worth alching, so you don't need alching runes.

Familiar

Use a beast of burden if banking bones and herbs, a healing familiar otherwise. (You could also use a combat familiar but there's not much point.)

Combat Notes

The multiple attacks of these suqahs makes them far more difficult than the Suqah {Melee Only}. They not only toss a weaker version of Water Wave at you, but they also can freeze you in place using an Ancient-Magicks-like ice spell. This means you will take much more damage from these than the melee-only versions.

The minor benefits of these suqahs are charm drops (though pitifully few, for reasons I don't understand) and the fact that you can kill them a bit faster. This is chiefly because there are more of them packed closer together than the melee-only suqahs in the southeast part of the island. This also makes them a better choice if you are cannoning to quickly complete a Slayer assignment.

If you are going to fight these, do your best to position yourself so that you aren't being attacked by several at once; this will cut down on how much damage you take. Also, note that while you are frozen you cannot move, but you can still attack (unlike, say, when frozen by Skeletal Wyverns.)

Drop Notes

Both suqah types have rather pathetic drops: they drop big bones, which are useful if you are willing to spend time banking them, but things go downhill rapidly from there. Suqah hides have no use after the Lunar Diplomacy quest (though I hope that will eventually change) and suqah teeth are needed only rarely in Farming. Beyond those items, they also drop herbs, but only guam and marrentill and the occasional gem. (Note that this is one place where a macaw doesn't even help with the herbs; guam and marrentill is all you get).

You can offset these monsters' awful drops by banking big bones; a beast of burden will help with this. But that's about it.