RuneScoop.com - Waterfiend Guide - Basic Single Combat Melee Technique

I will start out by describing the simplest technique for meleeing waterfiends. This method uses no prayer, and is best suited for players who want to kill waterfiends casually, without having to pay a lot of attention to combat or worry about efficient use of prayer potions. Of course, it is also the slowest method, but it isn’t that much slower.

This technique makes use of armor designed to maximize magic defence, so that protection prayers are not needed, while also providing strength boosts to increase kill rate. I use the Saradomin sword, as it is the best crushing weapon for waterfiends; you can certainly use alternative weapons as well. Support equipment is chosen to increase combat proficiency, and reduce damage, rather than providing prayer bonuses.

This method was tested using my character (Qeltar), which has maxed combat stats and high enough Herblore to use extreme potions. I decided to test using those potions because I generally find it easiest to test with maximized conditions and then let players “derate” based on their own character’s circumstances. This also allows a direct comparison between this method and the advanced version that uses prayer.

If you don’t have high Herblore you can use super sets, and from what I can tell, will experience only a small decrease in kill speed. If your Attack and Strength are below 99, assume you will get proportionally fewer kills per hour; if your Defence is lower, assume shorter trips or the use of better food. Players with substantially lower levels may need to modify this method to include prayer potions and the use of the Protection from Ranged or Deflect Ranged prayer.

The primary goal of the equipment in this setup is to maximize magic defence, while boosting crush attack and strength for faster kills; prayer is not a factor here. Table 191 and Figure 36 show my recommendations. See the discussion of challenges and strategy for more discussion on equipment trade-offs.

**Table 191: Equipment for the Waterfiend Basic Single Combat Melee Technique**
Equipment Slot	Recommended Item	Alternatives	Notes
Head	Dwarven Helmet	Helm of Neitiznot; Penance fighter hat; God mitre	The dwarven helmet and helm of Neitiznot are very close alternatives, as discussed previously. Since prayer isn’t used here, I think the dwarven helmet is a better choice.
Cloak	Fire cape	Trimmed skill cape; Soul Wars cape; Untrimmed skill cape; Obsidian cape	The fire cape is the best choice here, as it provides the best defensive bonuses and small attack and strength boosts. A trimmed skill cape or the Soul Wars cape are close alternatives.
Neck	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory, God stole	The all-purpose winner for every method.
Quiver	--	--
Weapon	Saradomin sword	Zamorakian spear; Godswords; others	See the discussion “Melee Weapon Selection” on the page covering challenges and strategy.
Body	Karil’s top	Black dhide top	Karil’s provides much more mage defence. Be sure to check its repair status occasionally.
Shield	--	--
Legs	Karil’s skirt	Black dhide legs	Again, choose Karil’s for its magic defence.
Hands	“Barrows” gloves	Black dhide vambraces	These are the best hand items for meleeing.
Feet	Dragon boots	Infinity boots; mystic boots	Dragon boots provide a +4 Strength boost for faster kills; the alternatives instead focus on magic defence.
Ring	Berserker ring	Ring of wealth; ring of life	The berserker ring will slightly speed up kills and is the preferred ring here. A ring of wealth will help increase the chance of getting some of the “standard” rare drops (like a half key). The ring of life provides insurance against lagging. Do not use a warrior ring here, as you are fighting on “crush” mode.

The supplies you need depend on not just your levels, but also on the familiar you are using. My recommended inventory items, shown in Table 192 and Figure 36, are based on my high level character and the use of a pack yak. If you are using a smaller capacity familiar, either bring less food or go for shorter trips. If you want to use a bunyip instead, then I recommend a mix of good and cheap food (say, monkfish and salmon), and suggest bringing with Swallow Whole scrolls. Players should adjust the number of boosting potion doses they bring to suit the length of their trips; I aim to use one 4-dose extreme/super set per half hour.

**Table 192: Inventory Items for the Waterfiend Basic Single Combat Melee Technique**
Category	Recommended Item(s)	Alternatives	Notes
Fairy Ring Access	Lunar staff	Dramen staff	Needed to access the cavern easily.
Combat Boost	Extreme attack (4), extreme strength (4) and extreme defence (4)	Super attack (4), super strength (4) and super defence (4)	These should be considered mandatory: they have a major impact on kill speed, giving you more charms, and the extra drops you get pay for them. Use super sets if you can’t use extreme sets.
Alching Runes	20 nature runes and 100 fire runes	--	You can adjust the quantities up or down depending on trip length.
Food	40 Salmon	Other foods	I load up my pack yak with 25 salmon and keep 15 in my inventory; I then swap drops for food as needed, or use the “Take BoB” button on the Summoning interface if I need food quickly. Again, you can use better food to last longer if you wish, and those with smaller familiars may wish to do so; monkfish is a good choice.
Special Attack Weapon	Saradomin godsword	Enhanced Excalibur; others	Optional: The Saradomin sword’s special attack is of limited use on waterfiends, so bringing another weapon for its special is a good idea. Since you aren’t using prayer here, focus on an item that enhances combat or heals (i.e., no ancient mace).
Exit cavern, emergency teleport	Home teleport tablets	Other teleport tablets, Ectophial, Elf crystal	Optional: If you are new to fighting waterfiends or have a laggy connection, consider bringing with a quick exit teleport, just in case.

Start off by getting to the bank in Zanaris; an easy way to do this is to use a ring of slaying to teleport to Rellekka, then use the fairy ring just to the west of where you land. At the bank, do the following to get yourself ready for the first trip (or between trips):

Run southeast from the Zanaris bank to the main fairy ring and click on it. When the interface comes up, scroll down the list slightly, find code “B J Q”, and click it to go to the Ancient Cavern.

When you appear, do not move off the fairy ring until you are ready for combat! Wield your real weapon, and check its combat style to be sure it is on a “crush” setting. Take the first dose of your extreme set or super set, then click on a waterfiend to start fighting. When it dies, take its drops, then go to the next one, and so forth.

Fighting waterfiends can be annoying at the start, when they are aggressive. Since they can attack from a distance, you’ll start getting pelted by your next victim while still gathering the drops from the first one. This can lead to lots of “dancing”, and some players prefer turning off auto-retaliate during this period. If you do that, though, be sure you remember to click manually to attack after eating food or taking a potion.

I usually stay in the waterfiends’ lair until one of three things happens: I run out of food, I run out of potions, or my beast of burden is full of decent drops. Once you figure out the right level of supplies to bring, it should be possible to get all three of these events to occur at roughly the same time. Random chance being what it is, though, sometimes you’ll run out of food more quickly than you expect, or you’ll get lucky and get a lot of good drops, or whatever.

If you run out of food prematurely, one option is to make use of prayer temporarily. Of course, you’ll then need to either use prayer potions at the bank or recharge prayer at an altar and return to Zanaris. (The Ardougne Cloak 3’s monastery teleport is a good way to quickly get to an altar.) You might also get lucky and get some cooked shark drops, which you can just eat.

If you are running low on potion doses, then take longer between doses. The Berserker curse from the Ancient Curses can be used to help stretch your stat boosts. Or, you can just fight with slightly lower stats for a while.

When generous drops are the issue, your obvious choices are to bank more often or leave the drops behind. Getting a couple of raw lobster drops can fill up even a pack yak rather quickly, so I usually leave them if I don’t have space. However, I am not one to leave raw sharks, good herbs or mithril bars on the ground. :)

Whatever the reason, when you are ready to bank, it’s pretty easy: re-equip your lunar or dramen staff, click the fairy ring, and run back to the bank.

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