The Shadow Reef/Strategies (2024)

Contents

Magic loses a lot of benefits in this dungeon and has difficulties taking full advantage of enemy placement if not on the Ancient spellbook. Nonetheless, the style is still a good option for the dungeon and provides ample stability for learners. Vulnerability and 4 tick auto attack provide a large DPS boost but decent runs can still be done without the latter.

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• Bringing both dual-wield and 2h is optional, and should only be done if the player is comfortable with 4 tick auto attacking. If not, simply bring dual wield or 2h.
• Saradomin brew flasks, blue blubber jellyfish, and sailfish for healing, adjust as you see fit
• Ring of vigour along with a Planted Feet switch. Wand of the Cywir elders in this case.
• Any shield or defender
• Enhanced Excalibur for healing
• Undead Slayer ability unlocked
• Salve amulet (e) for massive bonuses against undead
• Cinderbane gloves are best-in-slot for the dungeon
• Guthix staff to apply an affinity debuff
• in large rune pouch for Air Surge and Vulnerability

OPTIONAL

• Some players use two presets for the dungeon and bank before the second or third boss. See the final tab of this section for an explanation.
• Flanking switch for increased damage in group, still applicable in solo to a small degree
• Summoning flasks as it is recommended to do the dungeon on a steel titan
• Lucky charm (Shadow Reef) for slightly higher gp/hr (NOTE: lucky charms do not increase the drop rate of unique items such as Eldritch crossbow stock, view their page to see how they work)
• A few empty inventory spaces if picking up charm drops

High level magic makes full use of the Ancient spellbook with Spellbook Swap and Ice Barrage to clear the dungeon both safely and quickly. 4 ticking barrage spells does a large amount of AoE damage and is useful for many sections of the dungeon. Blood spells also allows for less food to be taken as the player will be healed a very large amount over the course of the run. This preset assumes a full solo run with one bank in 18-24 minutes so adjust accordingly.

10

• Super Saradomin brew flasks (regular Saradomin brew flasks are fine too) and sailfish soup for healing, adjust as you see fit
• Dragon Rider amulet switch for increased Dragon Breath damage
• Ring of vigour along with a Planted Feet switch. Wand of the Cywir elders in this case.
• Enhanced Excalibur for healing
• Cinderbane gloves are best-in-slot for the dungeon
• Guthix staff to apply an affinity debuff
• Flanking switch for increased damage in group, still applicable in solo to a small degree
• Summoning flasks to spam steel titan special attack
• Weapon poison+++ is highly effective as most enemies in the dungeon are not poison immune
• Undead Slayer ability and salve amulet (e) for massive bonuses against undead
• Pouch 1 =
• Pouch 2 =
• Pouch 3 =
  • The above combination of runes allows the user to use the Ancients spellbook, giving access to Blood Barrage, Ice Barrage, Disruption Shield for damage mitigation, Spellbook Swap to access lunars, Vengeance for extra damage, and Borrowed Power for Vulnerability.

OPTIONAL

• Some players use two presets for the dungeon and bank before the second or third boss. See the final tab of this section for an explanation.
• Lucky charm (Shadow Reef) for slightly higher gp/hr (NOTE: lucky charms do not increase the drop rate of unique items such as Eldritch crossbow stock, view their page to see how they work)
• A few empty inventory spaces if picking up charm drops

Ranged is not very useful for the dungeon but is a safe option to learn with and can deal more damage than magic without 4 tick auto attack. Mechanised chinchompas can be used at multiple points throughout the dungeon, speeding up the run, but ruby bakriminel bolts (e) have a diminished effect as most of the enemies enemies have low hitpoints. It may be better to use onyx or hydrix bakriminel bolts (e) for an additional source of healing or adrenaline respectively, but this should be considered against the increased costs.

		10
		10

• Saradomin brew flasks, blue blubber jellyfish, and sailfish for healing, adjust as you see fit
• Ring of vigour along with a Planted Feet switch. Shadow glaive in this case.
• Any shield or defender
• Enhanced Excalibur for healing
• Nightmare gauntlets are interchangeable with cinderbane gloves
• Undead Slayer ability can constantly be used within the dungeon
• Salve amulet (e) for massive bonuses against undead
• Mechanised chinchompas to deal area-of-effect damage
• Pouch 1 =
• Pouch 2 =
  • If you have access to Disruption Shield and Vengeance

OPTIONAL

• Some players use two presets for the dungeon and bank before the second or third boss. See the final tab of this section for an explanation.
• Flanking switch for increased damage in group, still applicable in solo to a small degree
• Summoning flasks as it is recommended to do the dungeon on a steel titan
• Lucky charm (Shadow Reef) for slightly higher gp/hr (NOTE: lucky charms do not increase the drop rate of unique items such as Eldritch crossbow stock, view their page to see how they work)
• Onyx bakriminel bolts (e) or Hydrix bakriminel bolts (e) for more bolt effects within the dungeon
• A few empty inventory spaces if picking up charm drops
• Fleeting boots may be substituted with Pernix boots
• A ring of death may be substituted with the asylum surgeon's ring
• Hydrix bakriminel bolts (e) may be substituted with either ruby bakriminel bolts (e) or ascension bolts
• An amulet of souls may be substituted with a salve amulet (e)

High level ranged can achieve decently quick runs but has issues making full use of the style's potential. Seren godbow special attack is not applicable in the dungeon and high incoming damage makes Eldritch crossbow special attack difficult to use effectively. This results in the style being unremarkable within the Shadow Reef. However, it is still a safe option and can get kills with the same consistency as other styles. This preset assumes a full solo run with one bank in 20-26 minutes so adjust supplies accordingly.

		10
10

• Super Saradomin brew flasks (regular Saradomin brew flasks are fine too) and sailfish soup for healing, adjust as you see fit
• Ring of vigour along with a Planted Feet switch. Shadow glaive in this case.
• Enhanced Excalibur for healing
• Nightmare gauntlets are interchangeable with cinderbane gloves
• Undead Slayer ability and salve amulet (e) for massive bonuses against undead
• Mechanised chinchompas to deal area-of-effect damage
• Flanking switch for increased damage in group, still applicable in solo to a small degree
• Hydrix bakriminel bolts (e), Onyx bakriminel bolts (e) or both as you see fit
• Summoning flasks to spam steel titan special attack
• Weapon poison+++ is highly effective as most enemies in the dungeon are not poison immune
• Pouch 1 =
• Pouch 2 =
  • If you have access to Disruption Shield and Vengeance

OPTIONAL

• Some players use two presets for the dungeon and bank before the second or third boss. See the final tab of this section for an explanation.
• Ingenuity of the humans if using Vulnerability
• Lucky charm (Shadow Reef) for slightly higher gp/hr (NOTE: lucky charms do not increase the drop rate of unique items such as Eldritch crossbow stock, view their page to see how they work)
• A few empty inventory spaces if picking up charm drops

Melee is a good option for the dungeon as most of the enemies and bosses play well into the style's strengths. A noxious scythe is used to mow down groups of enemies while Berserk gives access to very high burst damage against bosses. It should be noted that The Ambassador fight is considered to be more difficult on melee, and learners may have difficulties learning it on this style. This is likely not an issue in group however, which is where most people should start out anyway. This preset assumes a full solo run with one bank in 19-26 minutes so adjust supplies accordingly.

		10

• Saradomin brew flasks, blue blubber jellyfish, and sailfish for healing, adjust as you see fit although melee may need more food than other styles
• Ring of vigour
• Any shield or defender
• Enhanced Excalibur for healing
• Cinderbane gloves are best-in-slot for the dungeon
• Undead Slayer ability can constantly be used within the dungeon
• Salve amulet (e) for massive bonuses against undead
• Noxious scythes to deal area-of-effect damage
• Armour spikes for free damage
• Pouch 1 =
• Pouch 2 =
  • If you have access to Disruption Shield and Vengeance

OPTIONAL

• Some players use two presets for the dungeon and bank before the second or third boss. See the final tab of this section for an explanation.
• Flanking switch for increased damage in group, still applicable in solo to a small degree
• Summoning flasks as it is recommended to do the dungeon on a steel titan
• Lucky charm (Shadow Reef) for slightly higher gp/hr (NOTE: lucky charms do not increase the drop rate of unique items such as Eldritch crossbow stock, view their page to see how they work)
• Superior scrimshaw of vampyrism can be replaced with it's inferior variant or a god book.
• A few empty inventory spaces if picking up charm drops

High level melee results in very fast runs through the dungeon, although the inherent risk of Berserk and opting out of using a scrimshaw of vampyrism for bosses makes it more difficult to optimise fully. Having access to Zaros godsword or Terrasaur maul makes the encounter far smoother, potentially being the fastest of the combat styles. This preset assumes a full solo run with one bank in 19-25 minutes so adjust supplies accordingly.

10

• Super Saradomin brew flasks (regular Saradomin brew flasks are fine too) and sailfish soup for healing, adjust as you see fit
• Ring of vigour
• Enhanced Excalibur for healing
• Cinderbane gloves are best-in-slot for the dungeon
• Flanking switch for increased damage in group, still applicable in solo to a small degree
• Lunging switch for increased Dismember damage
• Summoning flasks to spam steel titan special attack
• Weapon poison+++ is highly effective as most enemies in the dungeon are not poison immune
• Undead Slayer ability and salve amulet (e) for massive bonuses against undead
• Noxious scythe to deal area-of-effect damage
• Armour spikes for free damage
• Terrasaur maul to deal additional damage against Taraket and the Ambassador
• Pouch 1 =
• Pouch 2 =
  • If you have access to Disruption Shield and Vengeance

OPTIONAL

• Some players use two presets for the dungeon and bank before the second or third boss. See the final tab of this section for an explanation.
• Ingenuity of the humans if using Vulnerability
• Erethdor's grimoire for bosses. Can be replaced with Armadyl's Book of Law, Saradomin's Book of Wisdom, or their illuminated variants
• Lucky charm (Shadow Reef) for slightly higher gp/hr (NOTE: lucky charms do not increase the drop rate of unique items such as Eldritch crossbow stock, view their page to see how they work)
• A few empty inventory spaces if picking up charm drops

Due to the usefulness of both melee and magic throughout the dungeon, along with the drastically reduced need for food in group mode, it is viable to hybrid the dungeon for faster overall group runs. This involves a team of experienced players who is looking to get 6 runs per hour consistently, whether it is for pet hunting or for money. Typically, magic is used to clear out most enemies in the dungeon, while melee is used to maintain high dps rotations on bosses. A player looking to hybrid should already be comfortable with getting 5 run hours on low food and little to no banking.

• Super Saradomin brew flasks (regular Saradomin brew flasks are fine too) for healing, adjust as you see fit
• Ring of vigour along with a Planted Feet switch. Wand of the Cywir elders in this case.
• Enhanced Excalibur for healing
• Cinderbane gloves are best-in-slot for the dungeon
• Flanking switches for increased damage in group, still applicable in solo to a small degree
• Guthix staff to apply an affinity debuff
• Summoning flasks to spam steel titan special attack
• Weapon poison+++ is highly effective as most enemies in the dungeon are not poison immune
• Undead Slayer ability and salve amulet (e) for massive bonuses against undead
• Armour spikes for free damage
• Pouch 1 =
• Pouch 2 =
• Pouch 3 =
  • The above combination of runes allows the user to use the Ancients spellbook, giving access to Blood Barrage, Ice Barrage, Disruption Shield for damage mitigation, Spellbook Swap to access lunars, Vengeance for extra damage, and Borrowed Power for Vulnerability.

OPTIONAL

• Dark magic aura may be replaced with supreme invigorate aura, mahjarrat aura, or simply maniacal aura or berserker aura
• Erethdor's grimoire can be replaced with Armadyl's Book of Law, Saradomin's Book of Wisdom, or their illuminated variants
• Lucky charm (Shadow Reef) for slightly higher gp/hr (NOTE: lucky charms do not increase the drop rate of unique items such as Eldritch crossbow stock, view their page to see how they work)
• A few empty inventory spaces if picking up charm drops

Dedicating two presets to the dungeon is a semi-popular method to deal with the different gear and food requirements for the various sections of the dungeon. In particular, Undead Slayer ability and salve amulet (e) is great for the second section of the dungeon all the way up to The Ambassador, but is a waste of inventory space on the boss itself. Some may also want to switch to the Ancient spellbook for Taraket only for the massive benefits the AoE provides, but swap out afterwards to save on supply costs. For these reasons, using two presets is a valid strategy, although when a player chooses to bank, whether it is before the second or third boss, or even both, is entirely up to preference.

10

Example of a preset up to The Ambassador (left) and then one for the boss itself (right).

Note the additional space used on food for the final boss; this is the main reason why this preset method is used. Therefore it is mostly unnecessary if the player is able to clear the entire dungeon with very little food and not lose time due to it.

Shadow Reef Entrance[edit | edit source]

This area contains fairly simple enemies; Crassian warriors, scouts, scuttlers, zombies (and armoured variants), cloaked zealots and sea horrors. Crassian scuttlers are glass cannons, possessing low life points but deal much more damage than the standard Crassians. The sea horrors occasionally perform an attack that deals roughly 2,000 soft typeless damage to nearby players. The cloaked zealots here are essentially the same as their Aminishi counterparts - they simply possess slightly more health.

It is very easy to AoE this section of the dungeon, as most enemies will simply stack up if the players are positioned decently. As a general rule, in any room with a combination of melee and ranged/mage enemies, players should stand right next to the ranged/mage enemies, and the meleers will naturally walk in to be hit by AoEs. Players should not split up excessively as it can drag enemies apart and make rooms harder to AoE.

For learners, it is important to learn the critical enemies (those preventing the barriers from falling) at first. Wasting time on non-necessary enemies will slow down runs for no reason and does not contribute to a greater understanding of the dungeon. For this section, this includes the sea horrors, the four crassian warriors near them, and the crassian scuttlers before the Leviathan encounter.

Bossy McBossFace, found in the large room with two groups of zombies, has a rare chance of dropping Swordy McSwordFace so teams may opt to stop and kill him. If the team wishes to attack him, lure both groups of zombies to him so they can be taken out with indirect AoEs.

If necessary, rebank before fighting the Crassian Leviathan.

The Crassian Leviathan[edit | edit source]

The Crassian Leviathan is the first of the three bosses. The fight starts with it idling in the northern part of the arena. It has 380,000 life points.

The attack rotation is as follows:

• Poisonous breath
• Auto-attacks
• Head sweeps
• Auto-attacks
• Head sweeps
• Auto-attacks
• Tactical retreat
• Repeat

Mechanic 1: Auto-attacks

The Leviathan bites one player when it uses its melee attack. Its Ranged attack consists of it spitting acid at all players. Both auto-attacks deal around 3,000 damage.

Its attack speed is irregular, occasionally attacking with a speed of 4 or 3.

Mechanic 2: Regeneration

The Crassian Leviathan heals 3,000 life points every few seconds for every player in the arena (9,000 in trio, 6,000 in duo, and 3,000 solo). This healing is reduced to 1,000 per player if the Leviathan is poisoned. It is recommended to poison it to speed up the kill, since the healing can cause unnecessary delays.

Mechanic 3: Poisonous breath

This will always be the first mechanic of the fight and is signaled by the Leviathan unleashing a torrent of poison in a conal shape down the middle of the arena. The attack can deal up to 6,500 typeless damage every tick if caught in the blast, and the middle also becomes unsafe to stand on, dealing gradually increasing poison damage the longer players stand on it. Simply stand off to the side of the boss to avoid this. Afterwards, reposition in front of the boss to avoid being caught in the next mechanic.

Mechanic 4: Head sweeps

1 auto-attack after the poison breath, the Leviathan rears its head towards one side and sweeps across the arena from that direction. If the head goes left (from its point of view), then it sweeps right and vice versa. After the first sweep, it sweeps back the other way. Getting caught in this attack deals up to 4,000 soft typeless damage every tick, which will kill the player if the attack is not avoided or reduced. The attack can be completely avoided by moving over to side the head is moving to. If the player is already standing on the side the head is moving towards, they take no damage from the first sweep and only needs to move across to the other side once the head reaches them. However, as the direction it starts is random, it is recommended to stand in the middle and move accordingly to avoid getting hit.

Due to the head sweeps, dual-wielding is ill advised as the player will be caught in the attack's AoE. For this reason, it is recommended to carry a halberd-range weapon as the single tile gap will allow melee users to attack safely. Mages and rangers have more leeway.

Mechanic 5: Many heads

In the sides of the arena are several holes where the Leviathan's other heads may appear, which cannot be attacked. If a player runs past them when they lunge, they deal up to 1,500 poison damage (which cannot be negated) and stun the player for 6 seconds. Therefore, when moving from one side of the arena to the other, Dive and Surge should always be used, with Freedom being available in the slight chance the player is stunned.

Mechanic 6: Tactical retreat

After finishing its attack rotation, the Leviathan temporarily retreats and reappears on the opposite end of the arena. Its attack rotation restarts at this point. The Leviathan is vulnerable to Flanking whenever it is on the southern end of the arena.

Ultimates should always be set up directly in front of the Leviathan at the start of the fight so they can be accessed on both sides of the boss. If the team is not all on berserker auras, it is recommended for the mage and meleer to apply their respective affinity debuffs with Guthix staff and Quake, as the boss has very high defence. Vulnerability should be kept up throughout the entire fight as well. With proper DPS, this fight should be over in under a minute.

Generally, the only important mechanics to keep track of in group are the poison breath and head sweeps, as they are the only ones with any realistic KO potential. This fight becomes a simple positioning test once the mechanics are understood.

Past the Leviathan[edit | edit source]

After defeating the Crassian Leviathan, it retreats into its den and opens up the passageway further into the ruins. More Crassians, a few Cloaked zealots and several zombies can be found before the temple where Rabid Jack was fought during the Pieces of Hate quest.

The problematic room here is the large area with spread out zombies. It is recommended for a team to stand on the same spot to take advantage of AoEs hitting the entire mob of zombies. If this room is too spread out, it will be difficult to AoE and take an unnecessarily long time.

Ulthven necromancers begin to make an appearance here, who are similar to the zealots as they periodically summon minions in the forms of skeletons or zombies, which are stronger than crassians. They possess less health to make up for this. As players jump down to the temple grounds, kill the necromancer and the two giant skeletons nearby.

Inside the temple will be two necromancers, a group of standard zombies and three armoured zombies at the other end of the temple leading to the next section. The standard zombies are not linked to the barrier to the next section - four of the five enemies need to be killed; this usually consists of a single necromancer and the three armoured zombies.

The Temple Entrance[edit | edit source]

Players are then dropped into a large underwater complex. Kill the two necromancers guarding the barriers to the east and the west; there are two others nearby, but they are not linked to the barriers. Enter the rooms they were guarding and activate both black stone artefacts in the rooms. This opens up the barrier blocking the bridge; immediately use Deflect Missiles upon entering and run to the other side, quickly killing the two sea horrors and the necromancer there to unlock the next barrier. While on this bridge section, numerous skeleton archers will continually attack with extremely rapid and accurate, but weak ranged attacks; use Devotion if necessary.

This section is particularly dangerous for melee players as sea horrors deal very high melee damage and will periodically scream to deal just as much damage unless you are wearing a witchwood icon or slayer helmet, both of which are generally a waste of an inventory slot. For distant fighters, this section is significantly easier as sea horrors have a small wander range and can be safespotted from afar, although any melee players in the team can cause them to get hit by screams.

Once this trio of enemies are dealt with, the barrier will dissipate and lead to a sanctum area containing three enlightened Sotapanna and another sea horror. Enlightened Sotapanna will start to make an appearance after the bridge; they act the same as their Aminishi counterparts, though the ones wearing ornate masks use abilities instead of healing allies.

There are three paths, two of which are not critical; the one directly south of the bridge being guarded by two enlightened Sotapanna. This path leads to two more mini-bosses, Tombi, Khan of Thalassia, guarded by two Death Lotus rogues (functioning just like their Aminishi counterparts), a few more Sotapanna and more sea horrors, including Quetzathog. An offshoot to the west contains a small alcove containing a single Undead Witch, enlightened Sotapanna and Kal'gerion demon. Further down and around a short bend contains two idle Sotapanna and Lady Himiko. Another Sotapanna patrols the hallway between these two areas.

Undead Witches deal damage equal to 20% of their target's maximum health, firing projectiles with massive delay which will register even if they are killed. Kal'gerion demons have a special attack in which they'll summon a few spires before slamming down to emit black energy, dealing high magic damage and draining combat stats. Their auto-attacks will also drain their target's Constitution level should it hit.

The path to the east is critical. If players simply run through the central chamber, they will most likely aggro one or two magic-using Sotapanna (if the one patrolling to the west happens to be in the central chamber). This aggro can be avoided by surging diagonally south-east by the western-most tile near the bridge barrier. The eastern barrier is guarded by three melee-using Sotapanna, all of whom can be cleared with ease.

After clearing this barrier, a group of four enlightened Sotapanna will be standing guard outside another offshoot, consisting of two melee, one ranged and one magic user. They are linked to the barrier to north of them, which leads to Shrine Maiden Elei, who is off-path. The staircase just south of them is not protected by a barrier, but simply running to it will aggro all four of these Sotapanna. Players can avoid their aggression by surging or diving south-east as before next to the recently dissipated barrier.

In the next hallway will be three armoured zombies, with a final barrier at the end guarded by two necromancers and huge skeletons. The latter four enemies need to be killed to dissipate the barrier; the zombies are not linked to it. If any member needs to bank with the chest however, clear all pursuing mobs before facing Taraket.

Necromancer's Amphitheater[edit | edit source]

Taraket the Necromancer[edit | edit source]

Taraket is the second boss in the Shadow Reef. A hideously mutated Dragonkin, he is the Ambassador's right-hand man. He possesses 400,000 life points, but he effectively has 600,000 health due to his mechanics. As he is an undead dragonkin, all undead-killing equipment (Undead Slayer perk and ability and the salve amulet (e)) works on him. Taraket is partially static; players can forcibly move him by running out of his attack range, making him follow the player, but he cannot be moved by walking underneath him if he is in his ranged state. He can, however, be moved by abilities with knockback, such as Kick, Demoralise, Shock and their threshold variants.

Mechanic 1: Auto-attacks

Taraket attacks with standard magic and ranged attacks on all players in the arena, dealing up to 3,000 damage. He periodically switches to using ranged attacks, which are detailed later in the guide.

Mechanic 2: Rift of undeath

Taraket will summon a Rift of undeath, which periodically spawns three skeletal minions; one melee with a combat level of 116 and two ranged ones with combat levels of 98. Both types of minions posses 2,000 life points, although the melee skeletons are considered 2x2 monsters despite appearing as 1x1. The rift has 15,000 health, with an additional 15,000 added for each player in the arena when the fight began - 30,000 in solo, 45,000 in duo and 60,000 in trio encounters. If it has not been destroyed when its timer runs out, it will explode and deal 7,500 damage to all players in the arena. These are periodically summoned throughout the fight, and he yells some quotes when he summons them. The rift does not give any Ruthless stacks.

Mechanic 3: Death's Swiftness

Taraket yells Be my puppet and bind yourself with my strings. or Let death take you, fall and rise again as my plaything. causing a shroud of darkness to surround him. He temporarily changes to ranged attacks which hit significantly higher than his magic attack, dealing up to 4,200 damage, and he becomes partially static.

Mechanic 4: Absorb undead

Taraket yells I shall not fall. Death is bound by the chains I forge. sometime after summoning the rift, destroying all summoned skeletons in the arena and healing him for 4,000 life points for every skeleton killed by this attack.

Mechanic 5: Death crystals

Upon reaching 200,000 life points, Taraket flies, causing all damage dealt to him to be reduced to one (though Soul Split still heals as normal). He then flies to the nearest crystal based on his location. Taraket is placed in the middle of the amphitheater; as such, he will always move to the eastern crystal if not moved west. If forced west however, he will go to the western crystal.

If Taraket cannot reach the crystal due to being blocked, then he will remain where he is until the blocking player(s) move out of his way. In group encounters it's common for the melee user to block Taraket, which reduces the amount of running and also keeps the rift of undeath very close to him for AoE abilities. Generally in a consistent team, only one rift needs to be dealt with throughout the entire kill.

Regardless, he heals 100,000 life points when he destroys a crystal. The eastern crystal causes a bloated monstrosity to spawn, which increases the damage of his auto-attacks while it is alive. The western crystal causes a corpse carrier to spawn, which is essentially a more durable and moving version of the rift of undeath. Taraket's damage reduction is lifted when he lands. Due to Taraket's attack range, he will likely be dragged away from the rift spawns after landing. Stand south of Taraket and forcefully move him down two tiles so AoE abilities can be stacked for full potential.

Both of these undead abominations have 45,000 health, with an additional 45,000 for each player in the arena when the fight began - 90,000 in solo, 135,000 in duo and 180,000 in trio encounters. They attack with melee, but deal relatively low damage (around 1,000).

Groups have the option of killing or ignoring the giant spawns based on their skill and DPS. If Taraket is not moved, the bloated monstrosity appears first and is usually ignored. If Taraket is accidentally moved west, the corpse carrier will appear first. In this case, it may be beneficial to kill the corpse carrier first to prevent the summoned skeletons from overwhelming the players and allowing Taraket to heal himself for a massive amount of health, unnecessarily prolonging the fight. If the corpse carrier is summoned last however, teams can ignore it if they can burst Taraket down.

Mechanic 6: Spirit Wall

After reaching 200,000 life points for the third time, Taraket gains a final ability that is indicated when he yells either Your efforts are meaningless, witness the fury of the dead. or I am the master of death!, creating a wall of ghosts (roughly 8) that slowly move across the room, dealing up to 2,000 typeless damage per tick if they touch a player. When he creates the wall of ghosts, he also slams the ground in front of him, dealing 4,000-5,000 melee damage to players standing there.

The placement of the ghosts are based on the player's position to Taraket; if the player is close to him, then the wall of ghosts will be placed in front of Taraket. If the player is far away from him, then the wall of ghosts are placed behind the player. If the player is in one of the cardinal locations, then the ghosts will be placed in a straight line; if they're diagonally across however, then the ghosts' direction will be that of the players, and this generally covers more area than a straight line of ghosts.

Taraket will generally perform the ability twice in quick succession, after which he'll do a full attack rotation before they can be used again. Taraket's attack rotation also resets to the following:

• Magic auto-attack
• Death's Swiftness
• Spirit Wall
• 1 auto-attack
• Spirit Wall
• 2 auto-attacks
• Normal attack rotation, looping at ghost wall after healing

A group with good DPS can ignore basically everything while focusing on the boss. Save ultimate abilities until after the second giant has spawned, as the fight becomes a DPS race at that point to kill Taraket before being overwhelmed by skeletons. If the meleers are using Berserk, the mage or ranger should try and position to tank the giants. Salve amulet (e) and the Undead Slayer ability should be used to help end the fight as quickly as possible.

For a learner group, it is important to keep track of the secondary enemies throughout the fight, including the rifts of undeath and giant spawns. The rifts can kill the team if not dealt with properly and heals the boss for a large amount. It is recommended to use the downtime during the boss's phasing to deal with these and the giant spawns.

Past the Necromancer[edit | edit source]

After Taraket is killed, more enemies await you in the amphitheater. Several necromancers and numerous undead can be found. Kal'gerion demons and undead witches are found on the main path this time.

Yor'Ger the Deceiver may be found among the demons and has a chance of dropping the Demonic title scroll (the deceiver), so teams may opt to stop and kill him. Make sure to drink super restores once he is killed then leave the room quickly, as several Kal'gerion demons are present in the room.

Directly across the staircase from the demons is a small chamber which may contain Masuta the Descended. Unless players enter, he will not aggro, and as such, can be easily avoided.

Oreb, the Magister, found at the northeast with two undead witches drops a guaranteed Key to the Crossing so he may be killed as well, although he poses significant difficulty due to his witch minions and any skeletons pursuing the player from the hallway behind. For this reason, teams seeking to kill him should use Devotion and kill all aggressive mobs before initiating battle.

Continue fighting your way through the amphitheater and kill off the necromancers before jumping into the abyss.

The Abyssal Depths[edit | edit source]

This area contains ten Crassian warriors, six warped skeletons, three cloaked zealots, two Crassian scouts and a single Crassian scuttler. The warped skeletons use both magic and melee attacks, with their magic attacks having a small chance of healing roughly 25% of the damage they deal, unmodified. They have fairly high health and also use powerful attacks, much like the undead witches. However, they will only attack within melee distance with either attack style, so lining them up behind each other or behind other monsters is an effective way to deal with them while minimizing their damage and healing. Binding abilities can be used to mitigate the danger of the skeletons, and mechanised chinchompas, as well as Detonate can clear rooms very quickly.

Three minibosses can spawn in the final room: the Eye of Cythan, Hand of Dagnath and Maw of Kolthregar. They can be a nuisance if aggro'ed, so players should generally attempt to avoid them if they have spawned.

Rebank before fighting the Ambassador if you need to.

The Ambassador's Reception[edit | edit source]

The Ambassador[edit | edit source]

Kranon, the Ambassador, is the final boss of the Shadow Reef. He possesses 1,000,000 life points. He does not move from the centre of the arena for the entire fight.

Phase 1[edit | edit source]

Phase 1 lasts until Kranon reaches 550,000 life points. The Ambassador's auto-attacks will follow the pattern of a mage or melee hit with five ranged hits in between. During this phase, the special attacks go through the following rotation:

Magic/Melee auto-attack
5 auto-attacks
Black Stone Flames
5 auto-attacks
Unstable Black Hole
5 auto-attacks
Black Stone Flames
5 auto-attacks
Tri Beam/Sinister fragments
Pulse of Erebus

If the energy beam attack has not yet been used when Kranon reaches 650,000 life points, he will use this attack before any further damage can be done. However, if the team somehow manages to bring his life points to 550,000 before the attack can begin, then it is automatically skipped.

Mechanic 1: Auto-attacks

Kranon uses all three forms of combat, though he primarily attacks with Ranged. Every 5 ranged attacks, he picks a random target and uses either a melee or magic attack depending on their distance from him. The magic attack resembles a blue cloud, deals 4,000-5,000 damage, and has AoE properties like the Black stone dragon's magic attacks if nearby players stand near the targeted player. If a player stands within melee distance of Kranon, he uses a melee attack instead, which is also AoE. The position of all the players in the room also depend on whether Kranon performs a magic or melee attack based on who he is targeting; if he targets a player from afar, then he will launch a magic attack to any player, including those in melee distance.

The melee attack is weaker, only dealing up to 3,000 damage. Kranon always starts off the fight with these intermittent attacks. If his auto-attack pattern is interrupted by any other special attack, it resumes where it left off after that special attack has been used. If the Ambassador uses his melee attack, he will face the direction of his target and attack in a line, and as such can be avoided with precise timing. Kranon is also susceptible to the effects of Flanking for four ticks after performing a melee attack.

Mechanic 2: Black stone flames

Like The Sanctum Guardian, Kranon will pick one random player and send a current of shadowy energy, causing a blue bar to appear over the selected player. When filled, a 5x5 patch of shadow flame will appear on the player. It works similarly to the Sanctum Guardian's shadow flame, except a second patch of shadow flame appears a second after the first one, and they deal far less damage; starting at 200 and ending at around 2,000. Place these on the edges of the arena unless there are no melee players on the team, in which case they should be placed near Kranon instead (safely for four times, after that they should be placed on the edges). Never place them in the middle circular area, nor on top of fragments as it makes it very dangerous for everyone.

Mechanic 3: Unstable black hole

Kranon spawns an unstable black hole for every player in the room, always appearing around the players' positions, accompanied by a message stating that Kranon has created an unstable black hole. They possess 500,000 life points and have a timer over them. If the timer expires, they explode and deal 8,000 to 10,000 typeless damage to every player nearby. The black holes have an explosion radius of around half the arena, but it is still recommended to remove them as soon as they appear, since those near the middle can cover the whole arena. In order to destroy them, they need to be successfully stunned with any stunning ability. It is recommended to use a basic stun on them — Backhand, Kick, Binding Shot, Demoralise, Impact, Shock or Soul Strike — to avoid wasting damage from using stronger stunning abilities.

Note: Though rare, it's possible for a black hole to remove a patch of shadow flame, or for it to not appear at all.

Mechanic 4: Tri Beam + Sinister fragments

Following the second set of shadow flames at the end of his attack pattern, Kranon will stop attacking and become invulnerable. The first instance of this mechanic starts after a minute has passed, or if he reaches 650,000 life points first. It is possible to skip this mechanic if the team can burst an additional 100,000 damage to force minions, but this is generally unfeasible for most teams.

One of the following quotes is said to signify the start of this mechanic:

• "Your soul is but a candle in the darkness. I shall snuff it out!"
• "BURN like the ants you are!"
• "Have a taste...of his power."
• "BEHOLD HIS GLORY!"

Kranon will launch sinister fragments around the arena in a hexagon shape near the edges of the arena. The fragments possess 10,000 life points, with an additional 10,000 for each player in the arena when the fight started - 20,000 in solo encounters, 30,000 in duos, and 40,000 in trios. Kranon also unleashes three beams of energy pointing north, southwest and southeast of him after the fragments have been deployed, which slowly rotate counterclockwise. Touching the energy deals up to 6,500 soft typeless damage every tick, so players must move around the arena within the areas not covered by the beam (northwest, northeast, and south of him) to avoid it. The beams' damage can be reduced. Dive and Surge can be used to move across a beam without taking damage. Kranon charges the beam attack for approximately 48 seconds, and in that time, players must destroy the sinister fragments. In a team, all players should stand in the same area not covered by the beam to inflict more damage to the fragments.

The fragments are unaffected by debuff spells, do not attack and do not move, but may be bound, stunned, poisoned and forcibly moved; additionally, vulnerability bombs will cause them to take increased damage. Once Kranon does a full rotation, all surviving fragments are absorbed back into him (this also includes fragments where the hit would have killed them if they were not recalled). A game box will appear stating how many fragments he has absorbed.

Mechanic 5: Pulse of Erebus

Each sinister fragment reabsorbed results in a shockwave attack dealing up to 9,000 soft typeless damage, with approximately 8 seconds between each shockwave. It is highly recommended to block each attack or players will be quickly killed by the resulting damage.

If one fragment is absorbed, Resonance can be used to block the explosion, as his auto-attack will register before it. If players are worried about this, they may opt to use Devotion followed by Resonance to mitigate the auto-attack. If two fragments are absorbed, Debilitate and Reflect with a tier 90 shield should ensure both hits are reduced. For three fragments, players should use both the one and two fragment responses. If four or more fragments are absorbed, it is recommended to restart the fight. Teams may also choose to Intercept and Barricade, as it is the only way to survive more than three fragments, though this is generally for the purpose of fulfilling one of the boss' achievements.

After this attack, his attack rotation restarts.

Phase 2[edit | edit source]

Mechanic 6: Crassian ritual keepers

Upon reaching 550,000 life points, Kranon periodically summons 2-4 crassian ritual keepers; 2 in solo, 3 in duo and 4 in trio encounters. They have 50,000 life points and use ranged attacks, and all damage they take is greatly reduced, although Soul Split will heal as normal. Though susceptible to binds and stuns, they have an extremely long attack range. The ritual attenders focus on the target Kranon has focused on, unless they have been provoked by another player.

Continue DPSing until the boss reaches 400,000 life points and avoid using Devotion near the end of the phase, as it will be needed during the final phase.

Phase 3[edit | edit source]

Mechanic 7: Seiryu's intervention

Upon reaching 400,000 life points, Seiryu the Azure Serpent appears and fully restores the life points of all players in the arena. Sometime after this, he breathes fire to kill all Crassian keepers in the arena and dispelling any patches of shadow flame on the field. His fire attack does not damage players.

Mechanic 8: Circle of black hands

Kranon becomes incensed at Seiryu's intervention and summons twelve black hands that encircle the arena, while subduing Seiryu with a massive blast of energy, during which he may be flanked and will generally not attack players doing so. Each hand also sends one white orb towards him, which cannot be blocked; as such, he heals 30,000 life points. Afterwards, the hands slam the ground one at a time, sending three white orbs at a time. This heals him 2,500 life points per orb, 7,500 in total. To prevent this, players must stand between Kranon and the healing hand. The energy turns black and deals around 200 soft typeless damage to the player in return. The hands move in a clockwise rotation, and white energy already sent out cannot be intercepted. Its colour is determined if the player is blocking it or not before it is sent out.

Note: For 1-2 seconds after Kranon focuses on Seiryu, players will temporarily lose him as a target. He may still be attacked during this animation, but doing so will cause him to cut his subduing blast animation short and begin attacking players. Kranon can be flanked for several seconds from the south during this time.

It is recommended to go into melee distance and slowly walk around Kranon in a circle. This ensures that all incoming energy will be black without having to second-guess your location. Sunshine, Death's Swiftness or the Zaros godsword's Black Hole special should be cast while standing underneath Kranon so that players can benefit from bonus damage for the whole duration of its effect while being able to block all healing from the hands. This also causes him to use his weaker melee attack instead of the magic one, which reduces the overall damage taken.

Note: In group encounters, if one player dies while Kranon's life points are high, it is recommended to teleport out and restart the fight as the hands do not adjust to the smaller group size, always resulting in at least one hand consistently healing Kranon. This is not necessary if the group has high DPS otherwise.

Mechanic 9: Shadow Onslaught

Every 10 auto-attacks in the final phase, Kranon targets a random player, stating [Player name]. Fall now and be forgotten.. Soon after, he unleashes a massive torrent of black energy at the that player, dealing up to 9,000 magic damage per hit for five hits. They can be blocked/reduced by conventional means, and it's recommended to do so as the player will die otherwise.

Prioritise using Devotion against this attack, and if Devotion is on cooldown, use both Reflect and Debilitate. Barricade may also be used as a last resort if the player is low on food. If the player's reflexes are quick enough, Resonance can be used on the last hit, though be prepared to quickly change prayers as Kranon immediately attacks at the end of the barrage. Note that the final hit cannot be healed off if Kranon performs a melee attack unless the player dodges it, as the resulting melee hit will always register before the final magic hit. A large amount of damage can be reflected back on Kranon with a powerburst of vitality (if they aren't on the powerburst global cooldown) with maximum life points alongside Reflect and Debilitate. Make sure to quickly eat though as you will be on low life points from taking heavy hits.

Shadow Reef Entrance[edit | edit source]

The map and guide are more specific towards magic AoEs since Detonate and Tsunami have more significant cooldowns than simply equipping mechanised chinchompas as ranged or Noxious scythe as melee. When AoEing any room, prioritise Snap Shot, Corruption Shot, and Shadow Tendrils as ranged, and Hurricane, Cleave, and Quake as melee.

Room 1: The player is likely entering with 0% Adrenaline so this room is simply for building. The Crassian scuttlers are very small NPCs so it is easier to target them using Cycle Target. Clear this room with basic abilities and move on. As melee, simply attack the the Crassian scouts and the scuttlers will move into melee distance.

Room 2: Surge down the long path and move behind the three scouts. The three scuttlers here are positioned somewhat sporadically but will move in to be caught in any AoEs. Detonate this room as mage, and use Cycle Target to catch any surviving scuttlers.

Room 3: Ice Barrage or Binding Shot (with mechanised chinchompas) should be used on the middle Crassian warrior as the player enters the room. This positions all the mobs so that they can be caught in any AoE abilities used, clearing the room quickly. As melee the enemies here will all stack nicely into halberd range, as is the case for most rooms in the Shadow Reef.

Rooms 4 and 5: Continue down and clear the two cloaked zealots with any remaining AoE abilities. Surge and Dive towards room 5 and use Chain or Ricochet on one of the scouts. This will hit and aggro the two zealots guarding the gate and pull them into AoE distance of the scouts. Do not Detonate as a mage as that makes the following room significantly slower. A meleer may simply stand in the middle of the group with a scythe to clear this room.

Room 6: As a mage, the player should stand near the entrance of the room, right in front of the group of zombies, and Detonate. Do not run past them instantly as that will aggro some of the second group of zombies and make the room significantly harder to AoE. Meteor Strike or Tsunami should be used on this second group and the room will be cleared quickly. If Bossy McBossFace appears and the player wishes to tackle him, lure both groups of zombies over to him before clearing with AoE.

Rooms 7 and 8: Cross the mast and clear the next group of zombies with any remaining AoEs. The player should aim to end room 8 on 100% adrenaline as they clear the two zealots guarding the gate, as the next area is the Crassian Leviathan. The three scuttlers are not linked to the barrier, and it is optional to kill them now as they will pursue the player into the boss chamber and be cleared there.

The Crassian Leviathan[edit | edit source]

As the first boss of The Shadow Reef, The Crassian Leviathan has a very small and simple set of area-denial mechanics that can deal a lot of damage if ignored. The boss will also passively heal over the duration of the fight, although the amount is very negligible. This fight should be very consistent and fast once the player is fully used to the mechanics.

Start the fight with an ultimate ability. If using magic or ranged, place Sunshine or Death's Swiftness immediately in front of the boss before it can use its poison breath and start to DPS. Apply Vulnerability if possible, as well as an affinity debuff if not on a berserker aura, as the Leviathan has very high defence, and will be the only boss of the three in which 100% accuracy is not guaranteed. Weapon poison will reduce the Leviathan's continuous healing from 3,000 to 1,000 so it is recommended to take at least one dose of weapon poison for this part of the dungeon, although a whole flask should have been carried for additional DPS. Avoid entering the middle of the arena at any point during the fight, using Dive and Surge to bypass it. The boss will follow its poison breath attack with an auto-attack (which may or may not be used) before head sweeps, so it is important to time channelled abilities.

Specifically as melee, both the poison breath and head sweeps will force the player to use a scythe at times so Destroy with dual wield should be prioritised over Assault at the start, as the player will not have an opportunity to use it once a mechanic starts.

Example

▸ ▸ ▸ ▸ ▸ ▸ ▸ ▸ ▸

The attack rotation is as follows:

• Poisonous breath
• Auto-attacks
• Head sweeps
• Auto-attacks
• Head sweeps
• Auto-attacks
• Tactical retreat
• Repeat

After going through one poisonous breath and two sets of head sweeps, the Leviathan will retreat and move to the opposite side of the arena. Avoid entering the centre here and use Dive and Surge to cross safely. Bleed abilities such as Combust, Fragmentation Shot or Slaughter should be used before the Leviathan swaps sides, as its movement counts for the purposes of increasing their damage. The ultimate ability used at the beginning of the fight will be up at this point so the player should simply repeat the same process. However, Flanking can be used on the boss at any point from the north, so it is considered flank-able when it switches sides. Optimally, this fight can be completed in 90 seconds or less, shortly after the the boss swaps sides.

Past the Leviathan[edit | edit source]

Section I continued[edit | edit source]

Rooms 9 and 10: Use Dive, Surge, and Barge to navigate the area up until the next room. This room will have a zealot and four scuttlers guarding near a barrier, and they can be cleared quickly by standing next to the zealot and using basic AoE abilities; the two warriors and three scouts before them are not linked to the barrier. Room 10 has many zombies fairly spread out. Mages and rangers should kill any distant zombies and clear the ones attacking them with AoEs.

Rooms 11 and 12: Run down a long path and jump down the cliff to clear an Ulthven necromancer and two huge skeletons. There's not much to this room but the necromancer should be the main focus of AoE abilities as the skeletons have fewer life points and will take extra damage from Salve amulet (e). The next room has two necromancers at the sides and three armoured zombies that are lined up well for AoEs. Players can kill either two necromancers and armoured zombies, though it is more efficient to clear out one necromancer and the three armoured zombies instead.

The Temple Entrance[edit | edit source]

Room 1: Upon entering the temple, there are two Ulthven necromancers guarding barriers to the east and west, along with another two not linked to any barrier and numerous skeletons and zombies. Each room the necromancers guard also contain three normal skeletons and one huge skeleton. Kill all necromancers and activate the black stone artefacts to lift the barrier to the bridge. Inexperienced players may want to clear all accumulated undead before proceeding to the bridge for heavy Soul Split heals. If intending to rush but take less damage, binding the lead pursuers will cause them to lose aggression once the player moves halfway through the bridge, and the mobs behind them will have trouble idling around and cause the whole group to be stuck. If some undead continue to pursue the player, they'll generally lose aggression once the bridge is crossed.

Room 2: This is the archer bridge where the player gets pelted with small ranged hits constantly from the skeleton archers above. There are two sea horrors and a necromancer at the end of this room that must be cleared to proceed. The horrors deal heavy damage so, as mage or ranged, it's important to avoid them by standing at the edge of their walk range or using ice spells. Devotion should be used at some point and extended to make the room easier to tank. Try to take out the necromancer immediately before he can summon an undead minion; using mechanised chinchompas or Ice Barrage on him will also target the two horrors in the process. A sea horror and an ability-using acolyte (who uses abilities) will be in the next room ahead, but are not linked to the required barrier. They may be bypassed if the player uses Dive or Surge while facing south-east where the western horror was.

Room 3: The line of three Acolytes of Seiryu guarding the gate to the west past the bridge must be cleared. They are melee and line up well for AoEs so they are very easy to clear. Afterwards, Dive or Surge should be used as marked on the map, going through the wall and staircase diagonally to avoid aggroing the the four acolytes up ahead.

Room 4: Move up to the next gate. There are three armoured zombies scattered around this area, along with two necromancers and huge skeletons. Only the necromancers and skeletons need to be killed to dispel the barrier. Detonate, Hurricane, Bombardment and other AoEs are useful here but the player should make sure to start with 100% adrenaline as the next room contains the second boss.

Bank here if necessary or if using two presets for the dungeon.

Necromancer's Amphitheater[edit | edit source]

Taraket the Necromancer[edit | edit source]

In a solo run, Taraket's damage cannot be split amongst multiple players, so the undead mobs can stack up to deal heavy damage if ignored. The player can take a large amount of damage from all three combat styles, and having good DPS is an important factor in making this fight go smoothly. With the large amount of enemies in the fight, being able to stack enemies to maximise AoE damage becomes important, for quick heals, clearing of enemies and preventing Taraket from healing off of them. It is highly recommended to equip a Salve amulet (e), have armour possessing the Undead Slayer perk and use the Undead Slayer ability itself for additional damage.

The fight should be started by luring Taraket appropriately based on what strategy the player chooses to use. Taraket should lured onto the rift spawn as soon as the fight starts, so that AoEs will hit both of them. If starting with melee, place Taraket next to the rift and stand on it so that your scythe will hit him, the rift and all minions in range, as they spawn in a 5x5 radius around it. Only use the scythe until the rift is destroyed, as it provides less DPS compared to dual-wielding against single targets.

As the first giant spawn is based on Taraket's proximity to each crystal, it may be preferable to forcefully move him west so that the corpse carrier is the first giant spawned. The bloated monstrosity can be safely ignored, and prayer flicking helps in minimizing damage.

Be careful when phasing Taraket, as his attack rotation is simply halted. Inconveniently phasing the boss can result in him taking a heavy heal off summoned skeletal minions and prolong the fight, or worse, have players deal with a rift while also fighting Taraket and a giant.

After starting the fight, DPS the boss down to 200,000 life points and await the first giant spawn. The player can block Taraket's flying movement completely by standing melee distance in the direction of the first crystal spawn, then moving north/south of the boss 2 ticks after the skybox turns dark, although this is generally unnecessary. Soul Split will heal in full while Taraket is flying, and as such should be used to quickly recover. Taraket will always drop down two tiles south of the rift spawn after summoning a giant, so players can simply force him up north two tiles to have him overlap the rift spawn.

Deal with the giant spawn and repeat this process as normal. The corpse carrier should be dealt with in a timely manner regardless of the order of spawns, while the Bloated Monstrosity may simply be ignored for the rest of the fight or taken down as collateral with AoEs. Continue to DPS until the boss reaches 200,000 life points for the third time.

The player should not use an ultimate ability for the second cycle after the boss has spawned the first giant, as the phase will not last long enough to make use of a full Sunshine or Death's Swiftness if rushing the boss. If meleeing, the player must take extra care to position themselves and the melee skeletons in such a way that most of them can be caught in scythe range, since they have a collision size of 2x2 and will generally walk themselves trying to attack the player.

Afterwards, Taraket will enter Death's Swiftness if he is not already in it, and use his Spirit Wall mechanic twice. The player should stand melee distance of the boss once he reaches 200,000 life points and simply move two squares to the opposite side when he uses this mechanic. Taraket will remain facing his original direction for a few ticks, and is vulnerable to Flanking at this time. If the player moves too late, they will be hit by the heavy melee attack, and this should obviously be avoided if not intending to Resonance it.

Simply DPS the boss down to 0 at this point, dealing with any rifts that spawn, or ignoring them if the boss will die before they explode.

Past the Necromancer[edit | edit source]

Rooms 5 and 6: There is a witch and two armoured zombies in the room following Taraket. The only thing to watch out for here is the witch's heavily delayed magic attacks, which can hit very hard if the player's maximum life points are high. Afterwards, only the Kal'gerion demon in room 6 must be cleared to proceed. If ranging or maging, it is possible to aggro the necromancer in the room above by standing as far north as possible in room 6, although this does not work all the time.

Rooms 7 and 8: Room 7 contains four Kal'gerion demons and is the spawn area for Yor'Ger the Deceiver if he appears. If the player wishes to kill him, super restores are mandatory as your Constitution level is likely to fall significantly while fighting him. If he does not appear or players do not want to fight him, simply run past the demons and take a sharp turn around the corner to kill the two necromancers (circled red) to lift the barrier into the next room. In the next room, hug the western wall as there are two witches right up ahead, who will immediately attack if the player doesn't stay to the west. Oreb, the Magister may appear here; if the player wishes to tackle him, try to lure the group into a position in which only one witch can attack, or run head-on into them with an extended Devotion.

Kill both necromancers to advance into the final section.

Finally, dive into the abyss to enter the last section of the dungeon.

The Abyssal Depths[edit | edit source]

Room 1: Surge and Dive to the gate; the warrior and scuttler in the middle of this room should aggro as you run past them. There's a decent amount of damage to be done here, so Sunshine, Detonate, Meteor Strike, etc., are recommended. The enemies stack up nicely for AoEs and are not very threatening in general. The two warriors at the top can be safely ignored, and should be avoided if the black stone scuttler appears, as it won't stop following the player and can deal heavy damage.

Room 2: The two Warped Skeletons in this room, along with the four ahead, are susceptible to the effects of the salve amulet and undead slayer. Finish off Sunshine or Death's Swiftness in this room if it was used earlier. It is recommended to keep them stunned or bound as their heavy mage attacks will heal themselves off the player.

Room 3: When the gate to this room drops, if a skeleton immediately aggros the player, the three Cloaked Zealots lined up at the gate will also become aggressive and be pulled out of formation, making the room more difficult to AoE. This can be avoided by quickly Surging or Diving in. Run behind the line of zealots, making sure that both skeletons are following, and use powerful AoEs to clear this room quickly.

Room 4: There are two more skeletons along with two Crassian Scouts that need to be cleared to proceed. They're fairly spread out so just DPS and make sure to be end on high adrenaline for the encounter with The Ambassador. The Obsidian Tribunal minibosses can convene in the south-eastern area of the room - up to three representatives with an inconvenient aggro range. Wait for the skeletons to hug the north-western area of the room, as trying to draw them in when they're wandering around the central area will cause the Obsidian Tribunal minibosses to become aggressive. Should the minibosses become aggressive, make sure to cycle Freedom and Anticipation to avoid their stuns, clear the skeletons and scouts, then teleport away.

Rebank before fighting the Ambassador if needed.

The Ambassador's Reception[edit | edit source]

The Ambassador[edit | edit source]

At the bottom of the abyssal section awaits the Ambassador, the final boss of the Shadow Reef. This boss has a moderate learning curve compared to most solo bosses and has a variety of mechanics ranging from DPS checks, area denial, and self-healing, as well as utilizing multiple combat styles. The boss primarily attacks with ranged, with a heavy mage attack after every 5 autos. The mage attack is replaced by a weaker but instant melee swipe if the player is standing in within two tiles of him. He does not move from the centre of the arena.

Ambassador's attack rotation[edit | edit source]

The Ambassador's attack rotation follows a set pattern, with 5 attacks between mechanics, and every sixth auto-attack being Magic/melee. His melee attacks can be forced by standing next to the him, and they deal less damage than the mage hits, resulting in less damage taken but also lower Resonances and Vengeance damage. When Kranon attacks with melee, he will lock on to the player's position and attack in a line two ticks later. This is dodgeable by moving to the other side of the boss after he has locked on, allowing the player to use Flanking, as he will remain facing his original direction for 4 ticks afterwards. Phase 1 mechanics will loop until the boss hits 550,000 life points.

Magic auto-attack
5 auto-attacks
Black Stone Flames
5 auto-attacks (1 Magic, 4 Ranged)
Unstable Black Hole
5 auto-attacks (1 Ranged, 1 Magic, 3 Ranged)
Black Stone Flames
5 auto-attacks (2 Ranged, 1 Magic, 2 Ranged)
Tri Beam/Sinister Fragments
Pulse of Erebus
Repeat (the auto-attack pattern resumes, so the next one would be 3 Ranged, 1 Magic, 1 Ranged)

Phase 1[edit | edit source]

Start the fight with a full Sunshine/Death's Swiftness/Berserk rotation, while prayer flicking the Ambassador's attacks if the player is capable. It is recommended to start with the Ambassador launching a magic attack, as his attack rotation will be slightly delayed if he starts with melee.

The shadow flame is 5x5, compared to the 7x7 area of ultimate abilities, so it can be placed anywhere around the player without completely blocking the ultimate. As melee, be very careful not to place a shadow flame on top of a fragment location, as it will render the area completely inaccessible. Since the Ambassador' melee attack is weaker than magic, range or magic users should place shadow flames close to the boss for this purpose.

The Ambassador's mage attack can be Resonanced for a large heal, although the player should try to survive phase 1 with no defensive abilities, as the fragments phase is a free opportunity to fully recover health via Soul Split. Two auto-attacks after the second shadow flame is placed, Tri Beam will begin.

The goal is to get rid of all six fragments within the 48 second time limit; on average, this means destroying one fragment every 6 seconds. However, those with a lack of experience or poor DPS may have one or two stray fragments returning to the Ambassador. As solo, the fragments will have 20,000 health, which should be fairly easy to take down with sufficient DPS. The player should place themselves south of the Ambassador, starting with the south-eastern fragment. Cycle targeting is very helpful in grabbing the fragments as soon as they're launched.

When using magic, the Ancient Spellbook is recommended for Ice spells, as their bind effect will cause Wrack to deal additional damage. It's possible to take down all six on the standard spellbook, but this may require the use of Metamorphosis, as the fragments are hex immune.

Melee-using players have the advantage of preparing a Greater Barge start. Flurry or Greater Flurry is generally enough to take down the first fragment. The player should only use one channelled or bleed threshold at most for each fragment due to their low health. Barge or Bladed Dive into the next fragment when possible, but take care not to accidentally launch yourself into the beam in the process.

Ranging players will not have much choice other than using the eldritch crossbow's special attack.

As the last fragment is cleared, if the player has time, either apply Vulnerability and charge Detonate on the boss as mage, or prepare for a Greater Barge rotation as melee. Replenishment potion will be off cooldown at this point, allowing you to repeat the same rotations from the start of the fight. If any of the fragments has been absorbed, either use Reflect, Debilitate or Resonance/Disruption Shield to deal with them.

Ideally, the boss should be phased to 550,000 health before the second set of fragments appear. Otherwise, simply repeat the process again. Note that the boss will use a melee auto after the second set of fragments if this occurs.

Phase 2[edit | edit source]

Upon hitting 550,000 life points, the Ambassador will intermittently call in a pair of Crassian ritual keepers which are more of a nuisance, as they can quickly stack up damage and make it harder to Resonance and Soul Split flick.

The Ambassador will use one final attack rotation from phase 1 during this phase (barring the fragments), so players should be prepared to deal with the mechanics accordingly if he starts a fresh phase 1 attack rotation as he transitions into this phase.

Continue DPSing, using Devotion for safe Resonances, until the boss reaches 400,000 life points. The player should try to avoid overeating or using defensives at this point since Seiryu will heal the player to full health. Avoid using Devotion at the very end of this phase as it will not be up for the upcoming mage onslaught in the next phase. The shadow flames that have been placed earlier will also be cleared alongside the ritual keepers.

Phase 3[edit | edit source]

A ring of black hands will spawn to encompass the edge of the arena. The Ambassador will ditch all mechanics from phase 1 and 2, but his auto-attack pattern (including the Magic/melee attack) will resume as normal. The hands will slam down in a clockwise fashion, sending constant smoke projectiles towards the Ambassador. These will heal the boss 2,500 life points for each smoke let in and can be blocked by standing in front of the hand AS THE PROJECTILE COMES OUT, dealing roughly 200-300 soft typeless damage to the player. If the smoke spawns white, it will heal the boss no matter what. Allowing the boss to heal makes this phase extremely long and dangerous so it's important for the player to constantly be moving with the slams. Staying in melee distance of the Ambassador makes this require minimal movement and stops the boss from attacking with mage.

When using Sunshine, Death's Swiftness, or the Zaros godsword's special attack, move directly on top of the Ambassador to place it, as it will allow the player to always be in the ability's area of effect while walking around the boss.

After every 10 auto-attacks during this phase, the Ambassador will say "Fall now and be forgotten," sending 5 very heavy mage hits at the player after a short delay. These can deal 8,000+ damage each and must be negated through defensive abilities. However, Devotion can only be used on every other instance of this and the smoke from the hands can snipe the player's Resonance if they choose to use it. The common strategy for this is to alternate between using Devotion and some combination of Reflect, Reprisal, Debilitate, and Resonance. Though damage is reduced by roughly 75% (turning the normally 8,000+ hits to roughly 1,000-1,200 damage depending on aura), it is still dangerous and players have a risk of dying.

The first onslaught can also be dealt with using Berserk and Reflect. Despite appearing to be a bad idea as Berserk will increase the damage of the onslaught, Reflect will also return massive amounts of damage in the process, dealing up to 50,000 damage back at the Ambassador in the process. If the damage is still a concern, drinking a powerburst of vitality or using Devotion alongside Reflect will suffice. Note that players will take slightly more damage from the second onslaught however unless Barricade is used, although using it is considered to be a last-ditch option as it sacrifices DPS.

Note that the Ambassador also launches a single auto-attack during or after the barrage, so be prepared to heal accordingly. If the Ambassador started the barrage with a melee attack as his next auto, make sure to eat up as this attack is always launched during the fourth and final hits of the onslaught, with almost no time to react to the attacks. If the Ambassador started the barrage with a ranged attack as his next auto, then it can be flicked as it registers after the final onslaught hit.