TzHaar Fight Cave/Strategies

The TzHaar Fight Cave is among the hardest minigames in RuneScape. To fully complete this minigame, the player must have high Combat skills and effective equipment.

If the player clicks log out while fighting in the caves, they would automatically be logged out at the end of the wave. Logging out manually before that means they have to repeat the wave.

The general approach to the Fight Cave is by using Ranged. This will allow the player to trap monsters and attack them from a distance. Using Range gives by far the largest chance of success. Using only Melee is a more difficult method, which will give you a low chance of winning. A combination of Range and Guthan's equipment can be very strong and reduce/eliminate the need of food.

Playing this activity until the end takes a considerable amount of time and resources, requiring usually 2 hours of continuous playing and a considerable number of potions. The time taken to complete the waves can be an annoyance for high-levelled players that consistently fail to activate the correct protection Prayer in the final wave. At 90+ Ranged, it can take as little as just over an hour to get to TzTok-Jad; however, it is advised that the player makes sure they can play straight for at least three hours.

Recommended skills
For the Fight Cave, there are no skill requirements. It is, however, recommended that the player has at least the following stats before attempting the Fight Cave. Recommended stats may vary according to the method of combat chosen. In addition to this, lower stats are still possible, assuming the player has experience in the Fight Cave.


 * If you decide to go with Melee, 94 Magic is advised (for Vengeance) but not needed.

Choosing your weapon
Rune crossbow

The Rune crossbow is a powerful and very cheap Ranged weapon. It is the second strongest tradeable and non-degrading crossbow, requiring a Ranged level of 61 to use. It fires semi-slow but can hit high and is quite accurate. It fires bolts - for the Fight Cave, about 1500 Adamant bolts or Broad-tipped bolts are recommended. For the final fight against TzTok-Jad, Diamond bolts (e) are great since they have a special effect that negates a large portion of the opponent's Ranged Defence. Furthermore, one can wield something in the shield slot when using this weapon, and the bolts can be picked up and reused, thus making this weapon a good choice.

The Armadyl crossbow is an alternative for people with 70 Ranged. It is much more accurate, meaning you can get through the Fight Caves faster overtime. It also has a special attack, Armadyl Eye, which doubles the player's overall accuracy.

Karil's crossbow

For players with 70 Ranged or higher, Karil's crossbow is an option. It has a Ranged attack bonus almost as high as the Rune crossbow. However, this weapon fires much faster - just as fast as a shortbow would hit. This weapon fires Bolt racks instead of bolts. The max hit of this crossbow is less than a Rune crossbow, but it can still inflict the most damage per second of any non-PvP Ranged weapon. Downsides to using this weapon are: it is two-handed and it ammunition is expensive.

Crystal bow

Another Ranged weapon requiring 70 Ranged to use, and 50 Agility as well, is the Crystal bow. This bow degrades when used. When fully charged, it has a Ranged attack bonus surpassing that of the Rune crossbow. It is also faster, attacking with the speed of a longsword. It would be wise to take two fully charged bows into the Fight Cave. Every 250 shots, the Crystal bow currently wielded will degrade, decreasing its stats. It is highly recommended to imbue your Crystal bow so its stats do not decrease as it degrades throughout the cave. After 2500 shots are fired, the bow will revert to a crystal seed. If one fires 200 - 240 shots and then swaps to the second bow, the second will degrade and the first one will still have the maximum stats. The player should switch back to the first bow, after another 200 - 240 shots, use the degraded bow to take in the next degradation, and repeat these steps. The price of using this weapon varies greatly since the more bows the player has recharged, the lower the price. This means this weapon will cost between 360 and 72 coins per shot.

Guthan's warspear If the player chooses to use Guthan's equipment, they must take this weapon as well as the pieces of Guthan's armour (the helm, platebody and chainskirt) for the set effect, Infestation, to activate. Successful attacks will have a chance of healing the player for the amount of damage they did. This can be very helpful as it will conserve a lot of potions. The warspear is, however, a melee weapon so one must come out of their safespot and run towards the monsters to use it. It is also two-handed, so no shield can be wielded alongside the spear. When one starts the Fight Cave with a full inventory and both a weapon and a shield equipped, the warspear can't be used until an inventory spot is freed up. The use of Guthan's warspear will actually take up 4 inventory spots, since the other pieces of Guthan's are also needed. Note that the set effect will only randomly activate, so one should not rely on restoring health with Guthan's when they have very few life points left.

Saradomin godsword Higher levelled, wealthy players may find that the Saradomin godsword is a useful secondary weapon to bring into the caves. Level 75 Attack is needed to use the weapon. Its special attack, Healing Blade, will restore half the amount of damage they did to their Hitpoints and 1/4 to their Prayer points, and decrease the amount of potions needed. The special attack drains 50% of the special attack energy. Despite some of the lower levelled creatures having only 100 or 200 life points, players can still heal the equivalent to what they would have hit should the given monster have had more health. Players will be able to use the special attack once per wave after roughly Wave 20. The godsword should be used for its special attack only - for normal killing, the player should use a Ranged weapon. One good tactic is to kill the strong monsters first, and save a Tz-Kek for last to use the special attack on. Other godswords are, to a lesser extent, also useful in the Fight Cave.

Dragon halberd Only for players who have completed the Regicide quest, the Dragon halberd can be a cheap yet effective 'last resort' weapon for players who don't want to use Ranged and don't have a lot of money to spend. It is a melee weapon that can strike from two squares away out of range of the monsters' melee attacks. The halberd has a special attack, Sweep, that drains 30% of one's special attack energy. This attack can strike multiple opponents in multi-combat areas if they are lined up properly next to each other. Against large monsters, this special attack will hit twice. For some players, this could be a strong weapon; it may, however, be difficult to use - for example, if one runs a little bit too close to a Ket-Zek they could get hit by their melee attacks and quickly die.

Ranged-only method
The simplest method to use is the Ranged-only method. The Ranged-only setup involves using only Ranged all the way through to the end. This is, perhaps, harder than using Guthan's equipment as well as Ranged as more food and potions are required, and more damage is taken. However, it isn't very difficult to make it to the end using only Ranged, and it is a good alternative to people who don't want to use Guthan's. As the player will be taking more damage, it is highly recommended they maximise their Defence bonus (especially against slash and Ranged to help defend against Tok-Xil and Yt-HurKot) as well as their Prayer and Ranged attack stats.

Pros


 * This method is cheap and simple.


 * No inventory slots will be occupied by armour pieces.

'''Cons '''
 * As you will require more potions to restore your HP, this method is usually harder than using Guthan's.

Recommended equipment
Note: The higher your Defence level, the less you need protective gear like Verac's helm or plateskirt.

Recommended inventory

 * 2-3 Ranging potions (4)
 * 6-8 Saradomin brews (4)
 * Fill rest of slots with Super restores (4).
 * Purple sweets (stackable food, heals 1-3 HP) - optional
 * Saradomin Godsword also helps a lot (reduces the need to use Saradomin brews and Prayer potions)
 * 250 Diamond bolts (e) (when ranging TzTok-Jad)

If you find you don't need to heal often, for example, you use a Saradomin godsword, or if you are a higher-levelled Defence/Combat, consider the cheaper inventory of 4 Saradomin brews, 4 Super restores, 3 Ranging potions, and for the rest of your inventory, Prayer potions. This will radically save money, and each trip may cost a third or less of your initial funding.

This is only a recommended inventory setup and will always vary between each player.

Guthan's method
Many players use Guthan's armour in the early waves as it helps conserve food, and it also has reasonable Defence. Guthan's armour will at random - during some of your attacks - heal you for the amount of damage you deal. Players would normally use Guthan's until the Yt-MejKots appear, in which the player would then switch to their Ranged setup. However, they could still heal on monsters in later waves to replenish their health when needed. Ideal monsters to heal on are Tz-Kek (level 22), and Tok-Xil (level 90). In the later waves with Ket-Zek attacking you, you should run though the Tok-Xil to trap the Yt-MejKots while melee'ing the Tok-Xil. Yt-MejKots are also ideal to heal on if you are using a safe spot. This is done by hiding in the safe spot, hitting Yt-Mejkot, and running back to the safe spot. It should be noted that when you run back to your safe spot you should wait until its HP bar goes away so it will not attack you.

Pros
 * Guthan's equipment will heal you when melee'ing, so fewer, if any, Saradomin brews, food or other healing will be needed.
 * Using Guthan's and Ranged is usually easier than using Ranged alone.

Cons
 * Some inventory slots will be occupied by armour pieces (however, the amount of HP restored by Guthan's more than makes up for the few potions lost).
 * Changing armours can be difficult for inexperienced players.

Recommended inventory

 * Black d'hide body / Karil's leathertop / Armadyl chestplate
 * Guthan's helm (if using some other helm)
 * Black d'hide chaps / Karil's leatherskirt / Armadyl chainskirt / Verac's skirt (optional)
 * Rune crossbow / Karil's crossbow / 2 Crystal bows / Armadyl crossbow
 * Toktz-ket-xil / Granite shield / Dragonfire shield (optional, and only if using Rune/Armadyl crossbow)
 * 1 Ranging potion (4)
 * 3-6 Saradomin brews (4)
 * 3-6 Super restores
 * Fill remaining inventory spots with Prayer potions (4)

Tank Method
By taking advantage of the high Ranged bonus weapons such as the Armadyl crossbow or an imbued Crystal bow, a player can equip chest and leg protection that offer very high Defence bonuses. This will allow players to have a decent range bonus, but be able to tank most hits from Tok-Xil. In addition, if one does not feel up to luring healers at the boss fight, the added Defence will allow them to simply stand there and tank them.

Pros
 * Reduced consumption of Prayer/Super restore potions and Saradomin brews.
 * Offers a range bonus superior to that of using Void Knight equipment, a Dragonfire shield, and a Rune crossbow but far greater Defence bonuses.

Cons
 * Appropriate gear can be very expensive, especially if one wants the best Ranged attack bonus as well as high Defences.

Recommended inventory

 * Armadyl Chestplate / Black D'hide Body
 * Armadyl crossbow / Rune crossbow
 * Dragonfire shield / Crystal Shield / Toktz-ket-xil / Granite shield
 * Diamond bolts (e) / Broad bolts
 * 3-4 Ranging potions (4)
 * 7-9 Saradomin brews (4)
 * 13-15 Super restores (4)
 * Fill any open inventories with Prayer potions (4).


 * Note: Reduce the amount of brews and restores if you plan to use Guthan's during the Fight Cave. Swap the Super restores for Prayer potions to reduce inventory cost.

Jad Melee Method
Some Players choose to fight Jad using Melee. To do this, players have to have Protect from Melee on and switch to Protect from Range/Protect from Magic depending on what Jad uses, and then immediately switch back to Protect from Melee because his melee attack is too quick, and if he doesn't use Melee, you just switch again. It is advised to have 90+ Melee stats along with 90+ Hitpoints when attempting this method. 70+ Prayer is a bonus. Using Super attacks and strengths will greatly speed up the kill.

Pros
 * Fight Cave is heavily sped up and can be as fast as approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.
 * The first 30 waves are generally faster than using Ranged.

Cons
 * Due to the fact that you're in melee range, that gives Jad another attack style to use. A simple miss-click can ruin your trip.

Recommended equipment
Another strategy used when melee'ing is casting the Vengeance spell. This is only recommended for higher level players. You attack Jad the same way as normal (using Abyssal whip first hit, use Armadyl godsword special attack twice then back to the whip) but after the Armadyl godsword specials, use your Vengeance spell. When Jad goes to switch from Magic to Melee/Range, he will end up killing himself or knocking himself down to under 20 HP. When doing this method, it is advised you have 90+ Hitpoints and keep your Hitpoints above 80 at all times.

Pure method
''This method is meant for pures only. Regular players should use one of the above methods instead.'' If you are a pure and you have a Defence level of 20 or below, playing this activity is very hard and expensive, but not impossible. It is recommended to study the Fight Cave and many guides before attempting if you are not experienced. You will be hit very hard by the level 90s. When the healers appear in the last wave, it is recommended to use the Steel Skin prayer to aid your low Defence against them for a short period of time.

Pros
 * For this method, no high Defence level is required.

Cons
 * This method is very expensive and hard; it is advised to not use this method.

Recommended inventory

 * 12 Saradomin brews (4)
 * 200+ Purple sweets
 * 14-15 Super restores (4)
 * 1-2 Ranging potions (4)

Monsters
In this activity, players must battle past waves of six types of monsters ranging from level 22 up to level 360, before facing the final boss, TzTok-Jad. Each of these monsters require a different tactic by the player, though, due to the structure of the activity, most of them are best fought from a distance. The monsters generally have high Attack and Strength, along with a special ability, but low Hitpoints and Defence. This means they will hit hard and often, but can be killed quite easily.

The monsters appear in waves, 63 in total. Here is a detailed breakdown. The monsters are referred to by their combat levels.


 * The four level 108 healers will appear when Jad is at half health. If they healed TzTok-Jad back to full health and are then killed, they will respawn; otherwise, not. They don't have to be killed to complete the Fight Cave.

The progression can be summarized as follows: if a wave has two of the same monster, the next wave will replace those monsters with one monster of the next higher level; e.g.: "22, 22" becomes "45", "90, 90" becomes "180", and so on. If all monsters have different levels, another Tz-Kih (22) appears. The running total of monsters is: 48 Tz-Kih (22), 40 Tz-Kek (45) [80 Tz-Kek (22)], 36 Tok-Xil (90), 34 Yt-MejKot (180), 33 Ket-Zek (360), 1 TzTok-Jad (702), 4 Yt-HurKot (108).

The order in which you should kill the monsters is: Note: If there are monsters in the wave that were able to get trapped behind a rock, it is best to stay behind that rock and defeat the monsters you can access from there, before moving onto the monsters who are trapped, thus minimising the number of monsters you have to worry about at one time. {C} The monsters are in order of appearance by wave number:
 * Tz-Kih (level 22)
 * Tok-Xil (level 90)
 * Ket-Zek (level 360)
 * Yt-MejKot (level 180)
 * Tz-Kek (level 45 and 22)

TzTok-Jad
TzTok-Jad is the final monster encountered in the Fight Cave. Examining it yields the discouraging message "This is going to hurt...". It is the highest level monster in all of OldSchool RuneScape that players can fight with conventional methods. Defeating TzTok-Jad requires a huge amount of persistence and determination.

General information
In order for one to reach TzTok-Jad, one must first fight 62 progressively tougher waves of monsters. The current wave that the player is on is shown at the beginning of each wave. TzTok-Jad himself is a level 702, huge, four-legged behemoth and uses all three sides of the combat triangle - Magic, Ranged and Melee. TzTok-Jad will attack with melee only when the player is adjacent to him. When the player is in melee range, TzTok-Jad will use Magic and Ranged attacks as well. If the player attacks from a distance - which is strongly recommended - TzTok-Jad will alternate between Magic and Ranged attacks. During the fight, the player should have auto retaliate on and focus on switching to the correct protection prayer in time. Even when the Yt-HurKots appear or the player gets hit, switching prayers is the most important thing to do.

Attacks
Survival depends on watching TzTok-Jad's movements - an emote precedes the attack, telling the player which prayer to use.
 * Melee: TzTok-Jad slams his fist into the player. This is the fastest attack, but if the player stays at a distance, they should not encounter it.
 * Magic: TzTok-Jad will rear up, standing up straight and will begin to breath fire after about half a second. You can hear him inhale/growl loudly while rearing up and before he actually attacks, so listen for it. Protect from Magic needs to be activated while he's rearing up as after he begins to breath fire it will be too late, and you will be hit. This attack looks almost identical to his original magic attack, and veteran players should be able to identify it easily.
 * Ranged: TzTok-Jad slams his front legs onto the ground, and large cracks appear in the floor at his feet - the player must turn on their prayer now. Next, a boulder will fall down on the player. TzTok-Jad usually opens the fight with a Ranged attack, so Protect from Missiles as soon as you defeat the second level 360 in the wave before Jad. Note that sometimes TzTok-Jad will still start with a Magic attack; in this case, change prayers when you see the Magic attack emote.

Although somewhat slow, all of these attacks can deal enough damage in a single blow to kill even the most powerful of players if not guarded by use of the correct protection prayer. TzTok-Jad has a maximum hit of 98 with melee and 97 with magic and ranged and hits very accurately.

Healers
When TzTok-Jad is down to half health, he will summon four Yt-HurKots (level 108 melee fighters with 60 HP and tiny in comparison) which will heal him effectively causing him to regenerate endlessly until they are dealt with. In order to stop them from healing, they need to be hit once so they turn their attention to the player. The Yt-HurKots' melee attacks hit up to 14, so the player could kill them, but if one has a decent Defence level and good equipment, they should not be extremely dangerous - one should always watch their health, though. Alternatively, when all of the Yt-HurKots are attacking the player, run through TzTok-Jad and they will become trapped behind him. This is not advised unless the player is experienced. If they healed TzTok-Jad back to full health and are then killed, they will respawn; otherwise, not.

Notes:
 * When the Yt-HurKots appear and before attacking them with a Ranged weapon to distract them, the player is advised to set the attack style to long range. Otherwise they may walk too close to TzTok-Jad and get hit by his melee attack.
 * If the player gets hit by TzTok-Jad, they should not panic or consume a large amount of food or potions in one go. Stay calm and focused. Heal once every time he attacks while prioritizing praying first.
 * You will need to get the attention of all the healers, its most likely that even if you leave one healing him, by the time it takes you to kill the other three healers jad will be at full health.
 * If the healers are in combat with you, they will still heal Jad, regardless of distance. (they heal approximately once every 3 attacks).

Logging out
It is possible to log out and save one's progress in the Fight Cave. In order to do this, the player should click the logout button once. The game will register that the player wants to log out, and two red messages in the chat box telling the player they will be logged out as soon as the current wave ends. The player should now kill all the monsters in the current wave, after which they will be automatically logged out. When they next log in, they will start on the next wave.

If the player clicks the logout button twice, or avoids all combat for 10 seconds while there are still monsters alive and then logs out, their progress will be saved but, they will have to start from the beginning of the wave they logged out on.

The wave will not start immediately, however - the player will find themselves in a conversation in which the creature who waits at the entrance to the caves is telling them to get ready to fight for their life, just the same as when they first entered the caves. The wave will not begin, nor will monsters spawn, until this message disappears as a result of the player doing something. This gives the player time to go into the Prayer tab and activate the necessary prayer, and quickly run from the centre of the room (which is where the player will be upon login) to their safe spot if need be, before the monsters spawn. This is usually not too dangerous although it is somewhat risky, so it is always better to stay logged in while in the caves unless absolutely necessary.