RuneScoop.com - The Boss Room and Bosses

The goal of every dungeon floor is to find the boss room, enter it, encounter the boss who waits within, and dispatch him/her/it back to wherever the hell he/she/it came from. While the boss doesn’t have to be the very last monster killed on a floor, it must be killed before the floor can be successfully concluded.

There are currently 18 bosses in Dungeoneering, and they represent some of the finest content that Jagex has ever put into RuneScape. Each is cleverly designed to pose a unique challenge to players, with specific attacks, defences, strengths and weaknesses. Most bosses involve more than just combat, requiring preparation and strategy—much like bosses in high-end quests. Bosses also have a “learning curve”, with experience allowing players to get better at killing them faster while reducing the risk of death.

Due to how important and how complex bosses are, I made it a priority of this guide to provide a full, comprehensive explanation of how each one works, in a separate boss reference database. In the rest of this page I provide overview information on bosses that will apply to all or most of them generally. This includes a handy quick reference table that you can use to quickly jog your memory about a boss when you encounter it.

The boss of a floor occupies a special room. Some boss rooms are just large empty squares, whereas others have unique shapes, floors and internal designs and features. In some cases you can identify the boss room immediately from how it appears on the minimap; good examples include the icy, pillared floor of Plane-freezer Lakhrahnaz or the spiral room that protects Sagittare. Other boss rooms are not that easy to recognize, but they will usually have only one yellow dot in them (the boss), and they never have any visible exit doors.

There will be no other monsters in the room except for a couple of special cases where the monsters are part of the boss encounter.

The boss room is identified on the floor map with a special reddish face symbol.

The door to the boss room, cleverly dubbed the boss door, looks like any other door before you enter it. However, as soon as you go through, the boss will attack, and then the door effectively locks behind you. If you try to go back through the door during combat, you get a message saying something about the door being “too complex to open during combat”. This is really just Jagex’s way of saying “every boss would be too easy if you could just walk out of the room at any time”. :) The exception to this is that you can exit via the door during Stomp’s “rest phase” when he drops crystals and rocks.

You can use the Gatestone Teleport spell to leave any boss encounter except the luminescent icefiend (where even that spell would make things too easy). There are also a couple of bosses who either pause from attacks or have safe spots from which it is sometimes possible to use Dungeon Home Teleport.

The combat level and overall difficulty of the boss scales up based on the combat levels of players, the number of players in the team, and the team’s set difficulty level. Some bosses are also naturally harder than others regardless of combat level, due to the way they are designed. For example, the second-to-last boss found in Daemonheim, Shadow-forger Ihlakhizan, is arguably the toughest of all of them, and is definitely more difficult than the last boss, Bal’lak the Pummeller.

In a team, the combat level and difficulty of bosses scale up dramatically, and not always in a linear fashion. In general, the boss given a 5-man team in a 5:5 dungeon is more than 5 times as hard as the usual version of that boss that any of those individuals would run into solo. I occasionally die in boss encounters when playing with a team, but never do when I play solo.

That said, there are a couple of bosses that are actually easier in teams because of how they are designed. For example, Stomp’s annoying crystal/lodestone puzzle is much more manageable when each player only has to deal with at most one lodestone. Rammernaut, the melee-only boss, can only target one player at a time, and the others can just wail away on him with impunity.

When fighting the boss in a team, it’s important to act like a team. Share resources if you have plenty, and try to keep everyone on the team alive. This is not just to be nice, it is in your own best interest—if other players die, that means it is just that much tougher on those who remain.

The amount of preparation needed for the boss encounter is a function of the boss’s difficulty level and the team’s priorities. Doing a level properly should mean ensuring that players have adequate food, their prayer points are topped up, and where necessary, other precautions have been taken. For example, stat restore potions are a good idea when facing the unholy cursebearer, and cure potions can make Har’Lakk the Riftsplitter far more tolerable.

Most players wear melee armor, but ranging armor is often a much better choice defensively. Despite this, few players stop to make it before going into the boss room.

Improper preparation can mean dying, which imposes an XP penalty. It can also cause the team to use up most of its food, leading to a large waste of time when they have to stop fighting to haul out fishing rods and tinderboxes. This is an area where sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure—though just try convincing the “rush rush rush!!!” crowd of that.

On the other hand, if you are just trying to get through the level quickly, it can make sense to just dive in and hope for the best. In particular, when I do solo low-complexity dungeons, I find the bosses are very easy and I usually don’t need to spend a lot of time getting ready.

Table 56 is a quick reference to all of the bosses in Daemonheim. They are listed in the order in which they can be potentially encountered, along with the theme and floors where each can be found. For each boss I have shown primary and secondary regular attacks, special attacks and defences, and my recommended attack and defence methods. I’ve also given you a very brief high-level summary of the boss. Most of this information is excerpted from the full boss fight guides.

Note that anywhere that a protection prayer is mentioned, a deflection curse can also be used (in fact, often to greater effect, because of reflection damage).

**Table 56: Dungeoneering Bosses (Quick Reference)**
Boss Name	Theme	Floors	Primary Attack Styles (plus Secondary Attack Styles)	Special Attacks	Special Defences	Recommended Attack Method	Recommended Defence Method	Brief Description
Gluttonous Behemoth	Frozen	1 to 11	Melee, Ranged and Magic	Stomp (when underfoot)	Heals rapidly if able to access nearby carcasses	Melee	Melee armor with Protection from Magic or Ranged armor with Protection from Ranged	Remains stationary in back of room and attacks with all three styles. Once reduced to half-health or lower, will attempt to feed off carcasses to its left or right, rapidly healing unless access is physically blocked by players.
Astea Frostweb	Frozen	1 to 11	Magic (plus Melee)	Freeze spells; summoned ice spiders	Rotating protection prayers; movement out of melee range after freezing	Melee and Ranged	Ranged armor; alternately, melee armor with Protection from Magic	Magic user who has protection against magic, ranged or melee attacks active at all times, rotating among them. Attacks mainly with magic but will melee within range. Summons annoying ice spiders, increasing the number summoned if you protect against her magic attack. Will freeze players and then move out of melee range.
Icy Bones	Frozen	1 to 11	Melee (plus Magic and Ranged)	Stalagmites; partial ability to block protection prayers/curses; freezing	Stalagmites impede movement, as does the boss himself	Melee/Crush	Ranged armor with Protection from Melee	Large troll-like monster that attacks mainly with melee. Summons icy stalagmites around the floor area which make movement difficult and can damage players away from him. Protection from Melee or Deflect Melee only partially effective.
Luminescent Icefiend	Frozen	3 to 11	Magic and Ranged	Stream of stalactites doing heavy damage; disabled Gatestone Teleport spell in boss room	Periodic invulnerability	Melee with Piety or Turmoil	Melee or ranged armor	An oversized icefiend with fairly mundane regular attacks, but a nasty special attack where stalactites fall on every player, capable of knocking them down to 1 LP. Players must run around when the special starts to avoid being hit, or tank the damage and quickly heal. Icefiend is immune to damage while special is active, and players cannot teleport out of the room.
Plane-freezer Lakhrahnaz	Frozen	6 to 11	Ranged and Magic (plus Melee)	Spin move	Icy environment that restricts player movement; ability to push player across the ice	Melee	Ranged armor with Protection from Ranged	A large floating ball with eyeballs all over it, this boss is not so much dangerous as annoying, and that’s because of his room. Any step taken on the ice causes the player to slide until an obstacle is hit, or the boss himself. Boss has high defence against ranging or maging which precludes the obvious strategy. Players must deal with the ice floor and melee until boss is killed.
To’Kash the Bloodchiller	Frozen	9 to 11	Magic and Melee (plus Ranged)	“Deep freeze” (does damage and freezes in place, plus more damage when ice is broken)	Appears to be largely (if not entirely) immune to protection prayers	Melee with Piety or Turmoil	Ranged armor with melee items	Large blue demon that hits with magic and melee attacks. Special attack freezes players in place, doing heavy damage when freezing occurs and when ice block is broken. Large amounts of food may be needed on higher-level variants.
Skeletal Horde	Abandoned 1 and 2	12 to 17 and 30 to 35	Ranged, Magic and Melee	None	Regeneration	Magic or Ranged	Magic robes or ranging armor with Protection from Ranged	The only boss that is not a single creature but an “encounter”, this room fills with maging, ranging and meleeing skeletons which come out of tunnels in the walls to attack players. An NPC called the divine skinweaver heals players who stay near it in the far part of the room. Tunnels must be blocked every few kills or the skeletons regenerate indefinitely.
Hobgoblin Geomancer	Abandoned 1 and 2	12 to 17 and 30 to 35	Magic (and Melee)	Prayer drain, weakening spells	Snaring; teleportation; prayer disabling	Melee/Stab and Ranged with intermittent use of Piety or Turmoil	Ranged armor	A hobgoblin wizard who attacks primarily with magic, and will freeze players in place to prevent them from getting into melee range. A combination of melee and ranging is recommended. Protection prayers cause prayer drain and are not advised.
Bulwark Beast	Abandoned 1 and 2	12 to 17 and 30 to 35	Melee, Ranged and Magic	Stomp; prayer drain in team environment	Protective stone armor that must be removed before it can be ranged or meleed	Melee/Stab or Melee/Crush using pickaxe, then Melee/Any	Melee armor with Deflect Magic	Large beast with protective armor plating that must be worn away before normal melee weapons or ranged attacks can be used. Players must equip good-quality pickaxes and fight until its armor bar is reduced to zero, then switch to normal weapons. Magic and familiars can hit through his armor. Will drain prayer from players other than the one it is meleeing.
Unholy Cursebearer	Abandoned 1 and 2	12 to 17 and 30 to 35	Magic (and Melee)	Undead rot (constant, rapid combat stat drain); ability to disable prayers/curses	Healing when unholy font is used to restore stats	Melee or Ranged with Deflect Magic	Ranged armor (if ranging) or melee armor (if meleeing) with stat restore potions	Undead magic user who rapidly drains players’ stats, reducing their offensive effectiveness and increasing his ability to hit. Can disable protection prayers, causing heavy magic damage to players using melee armor. Stat drain can be reversed by praying at unholy fonts in his room, but this partially heals him.
Rammernaut	Furnished	18 to 29	Melee only!	Charge attack (damage and stun); spin attack (damage and defence reduction)	Appears to be immune to immobilization spells	Magic or Melee/Stab	Melee armor	The only “one-dimensional” boss, this is a big guy with a huge mace who uses it to deliver damaging blows. His special attack combo can stun players and the reduce defence making subsequent hits stronger. Best fought by stabbing attacks in a solo environment, and a combination of stab attacks and magic spells by a team.
Stomp	Furnished	18 to 29	Ranged and Melee (plus Magic once down 1/3 health)	Slow-moving ranged attack; falling rocks	Lodestone puzzle; three-phased combat; healing	Melee or Ranged	Ranged armor with Protection from Ranged, or Melee armor with Protection from Ranged and then Protection from Magic	The most complicated boss in Daemonheim. Must be fought in three phases, each of which can only be ended by picking up two power crystals that are dropped in random locations and navigating a maze of fallen rocks to power up lodestones. Rocks can prevent access to the lodestones, and failure to power them up causes boss to be healed back up by roughly 1/3 of total and that phase repeated. Starts with ranged and melee attack, adds magic attack in second phase and powerful slow-moving ranged attack in third phase. Gatestone Teleport use highly recommended.
Har’Lakk the Riftsplitter	Furnished	18 to 29	Magic (and Melee)	“Flame portal” (constant direct damage, area effect); “Miasma” (cumulative poison, area effect); “Shadow rain” (stat drain, area effect)	Rapid prayer drain if using protection prayers (or deflect curses)	Melee with Piety or Turmoil	Ranged armor with stat restore and cure potions	Demon that looks like K’ril Tsutsaroth dipped in purple paint. Attacks with magic and melee and has three special area effect attacks that do direct damage, cumulatively poison, or drain stats. Rapidly drains prayer if protection prayers or curses are used. Highly recommended to get poison immunity via potions before beginning combat, or use antipoisons or cure spells instead. Stat restore potions are also a good idea.
Lexicus Runewright	Furnished	20 to 29	Magic (and Melee)	“Almanac army” (aggressive book summons); “Book barrage” (high-damage area effect spell)	Melee damage reflection; teleportation; cumbersome room layout	Ranged	Ranged armor with Protection from Magic	Nasty mage with nastier special attacks. Teleports around special library-like boss room, attacking with magic spells. Summons high-offence, low-defence animated books that attack with all three styles. Periodically announces “book barrage” and players must move within a few seconds or be dealt heavy damage.
Sagittare	Furnished	23 to 29	Ranged and Magic	Arrow rain (area effect ranged attack); Multiple arrow shot	Permanent Protection from Ranged; spiral room layout; teleportation; snare; ability to temporarily disable run	Melee	Melee armor with Protection from Magic	An archer who focuses on defence, with permanent protection against ranged attacks, high magic defence and a spiral room that impedes players from moving into melee range. He also teleports around the room and can temporarily disable the ability to run. Attacks with magic and arrows, the latter able to hit multiple players. Easily (if slowly) killed by protecting against his magic attack and letting melee armor stop his missiles.
Night-gazer Khighorahk	Furnished	26 to 29	Magic (and Melee)	Melee slam attack; putting out pillar lights; shadow damage	Damage reduction when pillars are not all lit; “reincarnated” duplicate upon initial defeat	Ranged (safe but slow) or Melee (dangerous but fast)	Ranged armor	Another of the floating eyeballs of doom, this stationary boss cannot be harmed unless the pillars in the corners of the room are lit. The more pillars lit, the more damage is done, but he’ll periodically put them out. Regular attacks are fairly weak but he has a devastating special attack that will blow back meleers and hit for massive damage if they don’t move in time. After he is reduced to zero LP, a duplicate, lesser version appears that must be killed.
Shadow-forger Ihlakhizan	Abandoned 2	30 to 35	Magic (and Melee)	Area effect light attack that does massive damage and drains stats	--	Melee with Piety or Turmoil	Ranged armor with Protection from Melee	Another floating eyeball of doom, but doesn’t float, rather suspends itself above a pit using tentacles wrapped around pillars. Spews out balls of energy capable of doing high damage through prayer, and also melees. Periodically begins to glow and players must hide behind the pillars to avoid heavy damage and massive stat drain. Arguably the most difficult of all Daemonheim bosses.
Bal’lak the Pummeller	Abandoned 2	33 to 35	Melee (and Magic)	Noxious bubble pools; ability to disable prayers	Gradually increasing defence	Melee with Piety or Turmoil	Melee or ranged armor (more research needed)	A large demon with hammers in each hand, who fights with both melee and magic. Along the top of the screen is a bar that shows the demon’s current defence level; it increases over time making the demon hard to hit. Pools of greenish bubbles appear on the ground which can damage players, but also reduce the defence bar if the demon is lured on top of them. Using gatestones to temporarily leave the boss room allows for rapid reduction of defence and a fairly easy kill.

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