TzKal-Zuk

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TzKal-Zuk Strategies

Overview

TzKal-Zuk is the final boss of the Inferno, a high-level PvM challenge in Old School RuneScape. Defeating Zuk rewards the player with the Infernal Cape, one of the most prestigious items in the game. The fight requires precise movement, prayer flicking, and understanding of mechanics.

Preparation

Recommended Equipment for Learners

Breakdown

The Inferno

The Inferno is a very difficult solo PVM challenge, with the goal of completing all 69 waves and killing TzKal-Zuk. Players who are successful will be rewarded with the infernal cape.

Before attempting it, it is highly recommended that you have the best gear that you can afford and maxed or very high combat stats. More importantly, do not expect to complete it on your first few attempts: be mentally prepared to fail a lot and learn from your mistakes.

<tabber> Overview= Contents

|-|Key= As the monster names can be difficult to memorise, for the sake of clarity this strategy page will follow these nicknames:

Image Name Nickname Image Name Nickname
File:Jal-Nib.png Jal-Nib Nibbler File:Jal-MejRah.png Jal-MejRah Bat
File:Jal-Ak.png Jal-Ak Blob File:Jal-ImKot.png Jal-ImKot Meleer
File:Jal-Xil.png Jal-Xil Ranger File:Jal-Zek.png Jal-Zek Mager
File:JalTok-Jad.png JalTok-Jad Jad File:Yt-HurKot.png Yt-HurKot Healer (for Jad)
TzKal-Zuk.png TzKal-Zuk Zuk File:Jal-MejJak.png Jal-MejJak Healer (for Zuk)

|-|Wave breakdown= Click "Show" to the right to expand for all waves and what monsters they contain.

|-|General strategy=

Overview of the arena

The arena is square shaped, and there are three pillars in it. These pillars can be used to safespot monsters, although they do not offer complete protection from all the monsters in the cave considering their spawns are spread whenever a new wave starts. In addition, every wave until 67 spawns three or six nibblers, which attempt to destroy the pillars.

The general idea is to neutralise the nibblers at the start of each wave, preferably with Ice Barrage, and find a way to manoeuvre the arena to trap monsters behind the pillars to minimise the damage; attempting to purely tank will almost certainly lead to death in the later waves. All monsters are very accurate and deal high damage, but each one's attacks (apart from Zuk's) can be fully blocked with protection prayers. Multiple monsters attacking at the same time is common, so prayer flicking between them is highly recommended, if not required. When prayer flicking is not possible, choosing which monster to protect from is equally important.

Using Blood Barrage is a recommended method of healing when a wave is under your control and incoming damage can be reliably protected, as it is effectively only limited by the amount of hitpoints the monsters have while Saradomin brews are much more limited. Although most monsters are fairly resistant to magic, it can still hit more often than not when maging gear is equipped. Make note of the Magic level of each monster, as it largely dictates how accurate your magical attacks are against them. However, Blood Barrage does not deal damage to singular targets very quickly, nor does it heal quickly. Because of this, using it in a tight situation (before a wave is solved) might not be a good idea.

|-|Monsters (regular waves)=

Jal-Nib

Combat level Max hit Hitpoints Magic Size Attack speed
4 10 15 1x1 4

Nibblers are the lowest level monsters in the Inferno, and they are generally not a threat to the player directly, but ignoring them is detrimental. They always spawn in a group of three (six on waves 3, 8, 17 and 34), and they are weak to magic, as in addition to their low Magic level, their Magic defence is -20. They are usually clumped together so that they can be all hit with one multi-attack spell if the central one is hit, but they may also spawn two tiles apart.

They can usually be hit even when wearing ranged armour which gives negative magical accuracy, which is useful in the higher waves due to its higher range defence. An easy way to tell if the cast will kill them without waiting for the hitsplat is by looking at the experience drop: when using Ice Barrage, 152 experience (112 Magic and 40 Hitpoints) will mean that all three were killed in one cast (provided that no other monster was also hit).

While taking them out is important, do not risk your life over it in the higher waves (50+). In worst cases, splashing on them repeatedly will cause you to take a lot of damage, and you can kill them when the situation is better under control.

Jal-MejRah

Combat level Max hit Hitpoints Magic Size Attack speed
19 25 120 2x2 3

Bats are the second-lowest level monsters. While they use ranged attacks, they also have a fairly short range of four tiles, which potentially allows the player to attack them safely with a toxic blowpipe on rapid if they are properly safespotted. Their attacks also drain the player's run energy by 3 every attack, and when not protecting from ranged attacks, they have a chance to lower combat stats (except Prayer) by 1. Their Magic level is moderately high, but their Magic defence of -20 compensates for it.

Due to their lower damage output than other monsters in the arena, they are generally low priority. Regardless, try to get them stuck behind a pillar and pray against them when possible, as their damage is still nontrivial if not protected.

Jal-Ak

Combat level Max hit Hitpoints Magic Size Attack speed
29 40 160 3x3 6

Blobs are the third tier of monsters, starting to appear on wave 4. Their attacks are unlike any other: instead of attacking immediately when acquiring the target, they first detect if the player is protecting against ranged or magic, and they attack with the opposing style three ticks afterwards. After their attack, they again detect after three ticks; in essence, when not hiding from them, they attack every six ticks. Getting used to this may take some time, and they can be tough to protect against when having to protect against another monster, such as a mager.

When they are defeated, three smaller (1x1) monsters spawn from it: a mage, a range, and a melee blob. Their eyes and attacks are coloured accordingly to their attack style. When they spawn, they attack on the same tick (unless they have to move to reach you). Each has a max hit of 18, and their attack and defensive stats are purely focused on the style they use. As they are typically next to each other, using Blood or Ice Barrage can be effective on them, although the mage blob is less weak to magic.

An easy way to protect from blobs is to alternate protection prayers every tick (e.g. mage → range → mage → range etc.). This is also useful when also protecting from a ranger or mager, and when properly done it nullifies all damage taken.

Blobs can also attack with melee if you stand too close, even diagonally. Do not stand next to them to prevent this from happening, as they can deal quite a lot of damage.

Jal-ImKot

Combat level Max hit Hitpoints Magic Size Attack speed
49 75 120 4x4 4

Meleers (also called snakes by some players) are the middle of the pack. They start to appear on wave 9. As their nickname implies, they only use melee attacks, which makes them potentially less dangerous than others when they are at a distance. Their large size also gets them stuck behind pillars quite easily. However, their attacks are very powerful, and their special feature is being able to burrow to appear next to the player when they have not attacked for 20 seconds.

When they are stuck behind a pillar along with every other monster, it may be a good idea to wait for them to dig to you so you can take them out safely. When you are under attack by another monster that you cannot hide from, and there is a meleer safespotted, it will inevitably dig to you. If you cannot kill the other monster quickly, be ready to flick between them. Ice Barrage may be cast on them to neutralise them for the time being, but this still counts toward their timer of being unable to attack. When they dig to you while you are behind a pillar, make note of their deceivingly large size. It might look like it is ready to attack while it is still 'under' you, and attacking it might cause you to move to a vulnerable spot.

Jal-Xil

Combat level Max hit Hitpoints Magic Size Attack speed
46 125 90 3x3 4

Rangers are the second-most powerful of the standard monsters in the Inferno, and they first start appearing on wave 18. They primarily use ranged attacks, but they sometimes use melee if the player is standing next to them, even diagonally. These ranged attacks are quite powerful and fairly accurate, so they should not be underestimated.

The ranger has no special feature to them unlike the other monsters. Due to their lower Magic level and higher Hitpoints than most others, as well as having easy to predict attacks, they are often an ideal monster to cast Blood Barrage on if the situation is under control.

Jal-Zek

Combat level Max hit Hitpoints Magic Size Attack speed
70 220 300 4x4 4

Magers are the most powerful of the monsters in the regular waves. They appear on every wave from 35 to 66, as well as on wave 69. They attack with a powerful mage attack, as well as a melee attack if the player gets too close. These attacks can be devastating, and so they should always be prioritised when choosing to protect from multiple styles. Their special feature is being able to revive other monsters slain on the current wave. It uses this feature only when in combat and it does not attack during it (both when casting and within the next seven ticks). The mager has no defined limit on how many monsters it can revive, but each monster can only be revived once. They also respawn with half of their normal Hitpoints, and they respawn near the centre of the arena. The revived monster also has a short cooldown before it can attack the player.

When possible, killing the mager first is a good idea to save yourself from having to kill the others it may revive again. They have high health though, so if you are under attack by another monster, it may be better to kill that one first. Naturally, the monsters it revives can also be used to heal with Blood Barrage, so use that to your advantage if you are in need of healing. Because of their high Magic level, Blood Barrage is quite ineffective against them, but it may hit occasionally with the appropriate gear on. In contrast, a twisted bow is very effective against it.

Be aware that Magers can also use melee when you are standing one tile diagonally from them.

JalTok-Jad

Combat level Max hit Hitpoints Magic Size Attack speed
113 350 510 5x5 8 (wave 67 & 69)

9 (wave 68)

Jad is the demi-boss of the Inferno, encountered on waves 67–69. It behaves nearly identically to TzTok-Jad from the TzHaar Fight Caves, although its stats are higher. It uses all three combat styles, and its attacks are extremely powerful. The trick is to use the proper protection prayer which can be predicted based on the start of its attack animation: if it attacks with magic, it rises on its hind legs and casts a fire spell from its mouth; if it attacks with ranged, it rises on its hind legs only for a brief moment before slamming the ground, causing a boulder from the ceiling to hit the player; if it attacks with melee (which it only does if the player is standing next to it), it bashes its head, which has to be preemptively protected from.

As with the rest of the Inferno, having game sounds on is greatly helpful to react in time. With this, an easy way to tell if it is a mage attack is that it plays a sound as soon as it begins its attack animation. Otherwise, it is a ranged attack, whereupon the sound plays when you should already be protecting from it. Be sure to stand away from its melee range, and it will only use these two attacks.

When it reaches half of its health, it will spawn five Yt-HurKots that will begin to heal it. Use your ranged weapon or barrage spells to tag them to draw them away from Jad, which will cause them to stop healing it. However, at all times, don't forget to be ready to react to Jad's attacks. The healers use melee (with a max hit of 18), and while they can be tanked, it is a good idea to try to arrange them in a position where only one can attack you. A possibly riskier manoeuvre is to tag them to you and run through Jad between its attacks (pray melee just in case it attacks you), which will have them stuck behind it unable to attack you. If you require healing, you can cast Blood Barrage on the healers. Jad, however, is very resistant to magic. The twisted bow is the most effective weapon against Jad, followed by the bow of Faerdhinen and blowpipe.

As a general tip, remember that you can take a pause between waves by pressing the logout button to prepare yourself. You may also practice facing against Jal-TokJad in TzHaar-Ket-Rak's Challenges, although limited to a cap of two at a time if the Inferno has not been cleared.

Triple Jads

On wave 68, three Jads will spawn simultaneously instead of one on wave 67. As they attack every nine ticks each, and they are off-ticked, you have three ticks to react to each. Each Jad also summons three healers instead of five for this wave. Remember to stay calm and focus on switching prayers more than anything else. However, the wave itself is extremely nerve-wracking as a single mistake will likely kill the player due to three Jads attacking, so it is vital to remain calm and use hotkeys to switch from the prayer book and inventory to spend more time blocking attacks.

|-|TzKal-Zuk=

Combat level Max hit Hitpoints Magic Size Attack speed
148 1200 150 7x7 10 (normal)

7 (enraged)

Zuk is the final boss of the Inferno. The premise of the fight is that there is a shield moving between you and it, which you must use to block its attacks. Failure to do so will cause Zuk to hit you, which will more than likely kill you outright as it cannot be protected from or be tick-eaten and it has a max hit of 148. Focus on staying behind the shield more than dealing damage. Don't get demotivated if you fail at this stage. Very few players have beaten Zuk on their first attempt, and you should take failures as a learning experience.

Always remember to be moving with the shield. It is never worth it to get in an extra hit if it means risking a Zuk hit. As the shield animation isn't 100% reflective of its true position, opt to stay in the middle or slightly in front of it rather than behind it.

As this is the final wave, do not be sparing with using any supplies you may have left. This is also where the stamina potion comes into play, as well as the Armadyl crossbow or bow of Faerdhinen if you do not have a twisted bow, due to its much longer range compared to the blowpipe.

Due to difference in damage output, some strategies differ between crossbows and twisted bow. If you have a twisted bow, use it against the mager, Jad and Zuk, while using blowpipe for rangers and healers. If you have a crossbow, use it against Zuk and Jad, as well as the mager when you are at the corner, while using blowpipe for the rest. When using a crossbow, remember to take into account ruby and diamond bolts' special effects; in general, use ruby bolts while the monster is high health, and switch to diamond when they have low health.

Every now and then during the fight, additional monsters will spawn. Apart from Zuk's healers, each will attack the shield at first, which cannot sustain much damage as it only has 600 Hitpoints, therefore you should attack and kill them to take their aggression.

  • A mager and a ranger will spawn behind you after the shield has done a complete rotation (e.g. left → right → left).
  • From here, following sets of a mager and a ranger will spawn approximately 3 minutes and 30 seconds after the previous set. However, the timer is paused and is increased by 1 minute and 45 seconds at 600 Hitpoints and unpaused at 480 Hitpoints, as detailed below.
  • Jad will spawn behind you when Zuk reaches 480 Hitpoints.
  • Healers will spawn when Zuk reaches 240 Hitpoints. They will start to heal Zuk, and you should again attack and kill them. They attack with area-of-effect blasts that cannot be protected from, although they have a fairly low max hit of 10.

Some players suggest to log out and reset the wave if the shield starts moving west to allow you better attacks from the start. While this used to work, it has been updated to always go the same direction per run, and resetting it is in fact counterproductive as it causes Zuk to attack at different times than what is strategised for in most guides.

Due to a graphical bug, it is possible for some of the additional monsters to flicker for a brief moment when they switch target from the shield to the player. Clicking on one during this time will cause you to click "through" the monster instead of attacking it and possibly run out of the shield's protection.

Dealing damage without taking it

"Safespots" at Zuk, highlighted in green. The middle spots work only before Zuk becomes enraged when it spawns its healers. Behind the central glyph is where Zuk will spawn. When the wave starts, a short cutscene will play and you are in front of Zuk at the north wall of the arena. The shield will slowly float between the wall's ends, and you should stay behind it. The shield can block Zuk's attacks indefinitely. There are certain tiles where you can be safe to stand if the shield is beside you. If you want to be safe, do not attack outside of these tiles, but sometimes you can get an extra attack between them if you are confident you can run to the next spot before Zuk attacks. However, sometimes attempting to attack will cause you to be 'dragged' out of the shield's protection and take a hit from Zuk. You can mark these tiles with empty vials or by taking runes out of your pouch and dropping them beside them. You may also 'mark' the tiles using the default client's Shift+ Right click option. Some third-party clients also offer a more in depth tile marking feature.

Attack ranges

It is worth noting when some monsters are too far to attack, where clicking on them would drag you out of a safespot.

  • When using an Armadyl crossbow (which has an attack range of 8), switch to longrange when you are at the west corner and need to attack Zuk, Jad or a mager, and at the east corner when attacking Jad. With other crossbows (which have a range of 7), you also need to be longrange at east corner when attacking Zuk.
  • When using a twisted bow or bow of Faerdhinen (which has a range of 10), you can always stay on rapid attack style, as longrange does not benefit it at all. Bear in mind that it still has finite range, though.
  • Blowpipe has a much shorter range of 5. Usually it is easy to visualise when something is within range; for example, you may only attack the ranger from the east side while west is too far, keeping in mind the safespots so you do not take any hits from Zuk.
  • When you are at the east corner and attacking a ranger (with the blowpipe), stand on the marked safespot as standing more east will drag you out of the shield's protection. This is also the case with using the twisted bow or Armadyl crossbow (with longrange) on Jad.

Killing spawns

As mentioned, magers and rangers will periodically spawn, and a Jad and healers will spawn upon Zuk reaching hitpoint thresholds.

Before Jad

When the shield has done a complete rotation, a mager and ranger will spawn. Protect from Magic and tag both. Skilled players may choose to flick between them, but this is rather risky and not recommended for people getting their first cape when there is already a lot to concentrate on. Remember that the ranger is capable of hitting high, so try to keep your health at least above 50. Kill the ranger with a blowpipe when you are on the east side and focus on Zuk when you are on the west side. Continue damaging Zuk to get it below 600 Hitpoints.

However, if it's taking a long time to damage Zuk enough, which typically only happens with crossbows, you may kill the mager instead and allow the second set to spawn (without getting Zuk to 600 Hitpoints). This will allow you more time to kill the Jad. Kill the ranger as before, and keep the mager alive again and get Zuk below 600 Hitpoints.

Interlude

When Zuk reaches 600 Hitpoints, the timer between the sets of mager and ranger spawning will pause, and another 105 seconds is added to it. At this point, kill the mager, and continue damaging Zuk until it gets to 480 Hitpoints, where it will spawn a Jad. Tag it immediately and kill it as you normally would, but be careful: tagging the Yt-HurKot healers, switching protection prayers and moving with the shield can be a lot to take in. When the Jad spawns, the aforementioned timer will unpause.

When the Jad is dead, continue damaging Zuk, but do not let it go below 240 Hitpoints (as the twisted bow and ruby bolts' special effect can deal high hits, 300 Hitpoints is a good place to stop attacking). The reason for this is that a second set will spawn relatively soon, and at 240 Hitpoints Zuk will spawn its healers; it is ill-advised to attempt dealing with both at once.

Healers and enraged Zuk

When the second (or third) set of ranger and mager spawns, kill both as before. Continue damaging Zuk to get it below 240 Hitpoints, and be ready to take on the healers. It spawns four of them along the stream of lava, and much like Jad's healers, they rapidly heal Zuk until they are provoked. It is recommended to spawn them while at the corner so they can be provoked within one shield rotation.

Use your blowpipe to tag and kill them. Upon tagging a healer, it cannot be immediately attacked again, so alternate between tagging and attacking them (e.g. tag healer X, tag healer Y, attack X). They use area-of-effect blasts much like Tekton's sparks, which cannot be protected from, although their attacks also have limited range: while you are at the east corner, the western healers cannot attack you, and vice versa. While Redemption won't guarantee safety, turning it on is a good idea as it can save you from death should your Hitpoints get too low. Still, try to keep your health at least above 25, as healers can attack you in quick succession.

When the healers are spawned, Zuk becomes enraged, which will cause it to attack more frequently. This mostly invalidates the middle safespots. While attacking Zuk so that you get dragged in front of the shield was safe before healers, it is not at this stage. Take more care to stay with the shield, and attack Zuk while you are protected by it.

Finishing the fight

When the healers are dead, be sure to use your remaining Saradomin brews and super restores to get your stats back up in case you need them, and continue attacking Zuk. If you are using a crossbow, switch to diamond bolts at around 180 Hitpoints. In the event that Zuk takes too long to be killed, a set of mager and ranger will spawn.

Tag at least the mager, and protect from it. If Zuk has a lot of health left, kill the ranger as in the first set, and do not waste time killing the mager. If Zuk is very nearly dead, you may choose to ignore the ranger, as you are likely to kill Zuk before the shield collapses from taking too much damage from the ranger.

Once Zuk reaches 0 Hitpoints, all the monsters remaining in the arena will perish with it, and you will emerge from the Inferno victorious, rewarded with an infernal cape and some Tokkul!

|-|Using safespots= For the most part, safespotting in the context of Inferno refers to using the pillars to hide from monsters to not be under attack from everything at once. Only the meleer and bat can be attacked without them retaliating back due to their short attack range, while others have longer range than players can have.

If the monster has a line of sight and it is within attack range, it will stop moving towards you. You can use this to determine if a monster is safespotted, particularly with blobs as their attacks are delayed

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