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​Sand Crabs are aggressive monsters that look like harmless sandy rocks while disguised, but attack when walked by in an identical fashion to the older Rock crabs. They are found along the southern coast in Great Kourend's Hosidius House. No favor is required to access or kill them, they are available to all players who are willing to traverse the distance to get to them. There is a bank chest nearby as well, so players running the distance should bring weight-reducing gear. The dwarf multicannon cannot be used against sand crabs.

Sand crabs effectively serve as a replacement to Rock crabs and enable AFK training due to their clusters in some spots, with little attention needed to train on them. Sand crabs have 10 more Hitpoints than rock crabs and are otherwise identical in stats and behavior, with clusters of multiple sand crabs next to each other in some spots, numbering 4 or more surrounding several spots on Crabclaw Isle. Players wishing to train on Crabclaw Isle must bring 10,000 coins and may also find these spots to be occupied. Sand crabs will become unaggressive if the player has not left the surrounding area in 10 minutes. To make the crabs aggressive again, exit the surrounding area - roughly the same distance as the diameter of the minimap - and enter again. As they are "dormant" (and cannot be seen on the minimap) until "awoken" by a passing player, sand crabs cannot be attacked until they are made aggressive once more.

Ammonite crabs have likewise mostly replaced Sand crabs. Ammonite crabs have 100 Hitpoints and level 1 in all other stats, like the other crabs, but have slightly different mechanics; they are spaced far apart, but also have a far aggression range. The only downsides are that they tend to be crowded by higher-leveled players, and there are few spots to kill them.

Because of their near-nonexistent offensive and defensive stats, they could be used to train from level 3 to 126, but seeing very low levels is extremely uncommon, and higher levels tend to move on to train at the Nightmare zone, Bandit camp, or Ammonite crabs.

There is an altar somewhat nearby the Sand crabs, so it may be advisable to recharge Prayer at this altar whenever resetting their aggression. Players planning to do so would do well to bring equipment with good Prayer bonuses. Additionally, for non-ironmen players, 55 prayer is very helpful with Preserve unlocked as it allows your potions to last longer.

The new larger sand crab counterpart, King sand crabs, were released with the new Catacombs batch of updates under Great Kourend. King sand crabs only share similarities in name, appearance, and in being dormant until walked near; they are powerful in offensive and defensive stats.

A new location called Crabclaw Caves was recently released alongside the quest The Depths of Despair. There are several spots in here with 2-3 Sand crabs next to each other, as well as a smaller cave with some King Sand Crabs. The cave is on the south-southeastern coast of Kourend, south of the Woodcutting Guild. Alongside the caves, another location to kill sand crabs is immediately east of the quest starting point. It does not have any spots with 3 or more sand crabs next to each other.

Getting there

Sand crabs are in a remote area and there is no fast way to access them. If you have not been to Great Kourend before, you will only be able to use methods #1, #3, and possibly #7 below. It is advised to bring weight-reducing gear and dump any heavy items that bring your weight above 0.0kg (lower actually doesn't make a difference in your run drain rate), as there is a bank chest in the center of the beach. There are several ways to get to them. If you haven't been there before, use the world map as you go along to avoid getting lost:

  1. The "normal" method with no requirements: Go to Port Sarim, speak to Veos (he is found on the southernmost platform) and travel to Great Kourend, then run all the way south to the beach on the other side of the continent.
  2. Use Xeric's talisman to teleport nearby using the teleport marked "Xeric's Glade."
  3. Use the skills necklace to teleport the Woodcutting Guild then run.
  4. Use the Kharedst's memoirs book to teleport to Hosidius then follow the river south, crossing east over the bridge.
  5. Use the Minigame teleport to the Tithe farm and run. This may require having used it once, which in turn requires 100% Hosidius favor.
  6. With access to the Lovakengj Minecart Network (requires 65% favor with the Lovakengj House), 45 Agility, and either 50 coins or having unlocked 'free' transport with 100,000 coins: From Veos, run West and slightly North. Take the minecart to House Hosidius, then run southeast. Use the stepping stone to cross the river (45 Agility), then run south to the beach.
  7. Having unlocked Teleport to Kourend and with 69 Magic, use the teleport, run south-southeast, cross the bridges on the way - the eastern bridge across the river if you don't have 45 Agility, and down to the beach.
  8. Likely the fastest method, you can either: Move your house to Great Kourend with 25 Construction and 8,750 coins, teleport to your house, exit the portal, and run south; or, you could use Scrolls of redirection on House teleport tablets (still requires 25 Construction) to get to the same place without having to move your house there, and you will already be outside the portal.

Drops

Item Quantity Rarity GE market price
Coins 25 Coins 4; 36 Common Not sold
Oyster Oyster 1–2 Common 86–172
Seaweed Seaweed 1–5 Common 45–225
Oyster pearl Oyster pearl 1 Common 108
Tin ore Tin ore 3 Common 285
Iron ore Iron ore 1 Common 173
Empty oyster Empty oyster 1 Common Not sold
Bronze pickaxe Bronze pickaxe 1 Common 67
Bucket of sand Bucket of sand 1 Uncommon (3/64) 47
Copper ore Copper ore 3 Uncommon 285
Edible seaweed Edible seaweed 2 Uncommon 34
Opal bolt tips Opal bolt tips 5 Uncommon 40
Fishing bait Fishing bait 10 Uncommon 40
Coal Coal 2 Uncommon 324
Ashes Ashes 2 Uncommon 144
Iron pickaxe Iron pickaxe 1 Uncommon 24
Spinach roll Spinach roll 1 Uncommon Not sold
Casket Casket 1 Rare 731
Clue scroll (easy) Clue scroll (easy) 1 Rare Not sold

Rare drop table

In addition to the drops above, this monster also has access to the rare drop table.

Show/hide rare drop table
Item Quantity Rarity GE market price
Coins 1000 Coins 3,000 Common Not sold
Loop half of key Loop half of key 1 Common 10,307
Tooth half of key Tooth half of key 1 Common 10,840
Chaos talisman Chaos talisman 1 Common 505
Uncut sapphire Uncut sapphire 1 Common 455
Uncut emerald Uncut emerald 1 Uncommon 679
Uncut ruby Uncut ruby 1 Uncommon 1,249
Nature talisman Nature talisman 1 Uncommon 744
Steel arrow Steel arrow 150 Uncommon 4,800
Rune arrow Rune arrow 42 Uncommon 2,940
Rune javelin Rune javelin 5 Uncommon 875
Adamant javelin Adamant javelin 20 Uncommon 1,220
Runite bar Runite bar 1 Uncommon 12,368
Nature rune Nature rune 67 Uncommon 14,539
Law rune Law rune 45 Uncommon 7,470
Death rune Death rune 45 Uncommon 9,135
Rune battleaxe Rune battleaxe 1 Uncommon 24,487
Rune 2h sword Rune 2h sword 1 Uncommon 37,758
Rune sq shield Rune sq shield 1 Uncommon 22,459
Silver ore Silver ore 100 (noted) Uncommon 7,000
Dragonstone Dragonstone 1 Uncommon 11,932
Uncut diamond Uncut diamond 1 Rare 2,627
Dragon med helm Dragon med helm 1 Rare 58,488
Rune kiteshield Rune kiteshield 1 Rare 32,015
Rune spear Rune spear 1 Rare 11,933
Shield left half Shield left half 1 Rare 65,697
Dragon spear Dragon spear 1 Rare 37,226
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