Cave Crawler - Access and Combat Recommendations

Access Directions

These big brothers of regular cave crawlers are found only in the Desert Slayer Dungeon in Pollnivneach. To access them there you must complete the Smoking Kills quest and wear masked earmuffs or a Slayer helmet.

Get to Pollnivneach using a slayer ring or whatever other method you prefer. Run south from Sumona and go down the well, then run north to the Mighty Banshee area. Go east and through the barrier, then down the stairs. Run north, through the aberrant spectre area -- they are not aggressive in this dungeon -- to the northeast corner. Go through the barrier there and you're in the cave crawler area.

The first time you visit you will have to kill the Monstrous Cave Crawler, a nasty level 180 boss. This monster not only poisons, it will wear away poison resistance from previous antipoisons! So bring plenty of doses. Once dead, you can access the level 138 cave crawlers any time you wish.

The crawlers are aggressive and will constantly crowd around you. If you need some time without being attacked to manage inventory or herbs, just duck through the barrier towards the stairs for a moment.

Equipment

Unlike the level 23 variety of cave crawlers, these are formidable opponents. They are also aggressive and in a multicombat area, so I strongly advise prayer gear.

You also must wear a set of masked earmuffs or a Slayer helmet in order to avoid taking high damage when in the dungeon.

These monsters can also be cannoned.

Supplies

These monsters poison only on contact, but they hit routinely, so you need one dose of super antipoison for every six minutes you are in combat.

Because of their large quantity of herb drops, I recommend planning on short trips, and thus bringing only 2-dose or 3-dose extreme/super sets as appropriate. You will also need to adjust the number of antipoison and prayer potions you bring to match roughly how long you stay before your inventory fills up.

Familiar

These are good herb droppers, so you should definitely use a macaw to improve herb quality.

Combat Notes

As long as you remember masked earmuffs or a Slayer helmet, and you bring super antipoisons and prayer potions, you will be fine fighting these monsters. If you don't bring the right equipment and supplies, however, death will come swiftly.

Note that you can save inventory space (and even make another antipoison if needed) by combining the herbs, vials of water and secondary ingredients that these monsters drop in large quantities.

Cannoning these monsters can be a good way to get lots of Slayer XP quickly, but it is quite expensive, and these monsters' drops are really rather underwhelming given their level.

Drop Notes

These cave crawlers, unfortunately, have drops not much better than their level 23 namesakes. And because of their high life points, you can kill only a small fraction as many per hour.

Be sure to save and sell any bronze boots you get, which are in fairly high demand by low-level players and "pures".