Nex
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This area has been rated as EXTREMELY HIGH-RISK. You should never attempt to fight Nex with items you are not willing to risk losing, and while there, you should expect your death as a possibility at all times. |
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This activity supports the Grouping System. |
Overview
Nex is considered one of the most dangerous monsters in RuneScape, having a variety of special attacks and a maximum hit of over 6000. Alongside Nex are her four servants, the ancient mages
Fumus, Umbra,
Cruor, and Glacies. Each of these mages channels power to Nex, and during the course of battle, you must defeat each one in turn before you can finally kill Nex. Those who can brave the danger and defeat Nex however will find a variety of valuable rewards that cannot be found anywhere else in the game.
Please refer to the general God Wars guide for the basic mechanics of God Wars Dungeon.
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220 |
200,000* |
All |
None |
Standard: 2500 Special: 6000+ |
Nex has several unique drops that cannot be obtained by any other means. These include the tier 80 Torva, Pernix, and Virtus armour sets which provide high defence with a damage boosting set effect, the Zaryte bow, and the Virtus wand and book. The followers also have a very high drop rate for pieces of the Ancient ceremonial robes. |
Nex uses all three combat styles along with a variety of special attacks coming to a total of 16 different attacks. Nex is one of the most intelligent and dangerous bosses in RuneScape.
*At the start of her final phase she will restore 40,000 lifepoints, taking her health back up to 80,000.
For a fee of 800k gp it is possible to have an instanced session of Nex which removes the possibility of being crashed by other players.
Death
Death is a very real prospect at Nex, especially for novices. Should you die your gravestone will appear inside her prison, making retrieving gear dangerous. If death occurs during an instanced fight, the gravestone will appear in the room just outside Nex's prison, where the bank is located. |
80 in combat skills, Tier 80 weapons (such as Chaotics, Royal Crossbow, etc), Tier 70 armour (such as Barrows, Ganodermic, etc), at least 52 Summoning and 70 Prayer |
90 in combat skills, Tier 90 weapons (such as Drygores, Ascension crossbows, etc), Tier 80 armour (such as Tetsu, Pernix, etc), at least 69 Summoning and 95 Prayer |
99 in combat skills, Tier 90 weapons (such as Seismics, Drygores, etc), Tier 90 armour (such as Tetonic, Sirenic, etc), at least 96 Summoning, 95 Prayer and 92+ Herblore (for Overloads) |
During the God Wars of the Second Age, after Zaros had been banished by the betrayal of Zamorak, his followers were trying to secure the area around the Marrajat ritual site, trying to gain the upper hand on the Zamorakians. Nex, one of the strongest generals of Zaros, fought valiantly against the forces of the other gods, but believed to be unstoppable, was ultimately lured into the Ancient Prison, and enchanted into a frozen sleep by the forces of Saradomin. Many years after the sealing of the Ancient Prison, a group of Aviansie were retreating from an army of Zamorakian demons with the newly created Godsword, and retreated into the temple. After each side called for reinforcements, the Ancient Prison soon become the site of the Battle for the Godsword. Much later, a group of Saradomin priests were approached by a figure whom claimed to be a follower of Guthix, but was infact the Zarosian Sliske, who tricked the priests into opening the door. One of these priests, Ashuelot Reis, used the teachings of Guthix to become a nature spirit, to save herself, and to stand guard over the Nex chamber. For more information on the history of Nex, you can speak to Ashuelot Reis in the bank of the Ancient Prison. |
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160 |
10,000 |
Gale Spells |
Bolts |
668 |
Fumus is the first bodyguard Nex calls upon. When she falls to 4/5 of her maximum health she will shout "Fumus, don't fail me!" and he will begin attacking players. As with all of her bodyguards, Fumus has a chance of dropping a piece of the Ancient ceremonial robes set. |
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160 |
10,000 |
Rock Spells |
Bolts |
668 |
Umbra is the second bodyguard Nex calls upon. When she falls to 3/5 of her maximum health she will shout "Umbra, don't fail me!" and he will begin attacking players. As with all of her bodyguards, Umbra has a chance of dropping a piece of the Ancient ceremonial robes set. |
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160 |
10,000 |
Blood Spells |
Bolts |
668 |
Cruor is the third bodyguard Nex calls upon. When she falls to 2/5 of her maximum health she will shout "Cruor, don't fail me!" and he will begin attacking players. As with all of her bodyguards, Cruor has a chance of dropping a piece of the Ancient ceremonial robes set. |
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160 |
10,000 |
Ice Spells |
Bolts |
668 |
Glacies is the final bodyguard Nex calls upon. When she falls to 1/5 of her maximum health she will shout "Glacies, don't fail me!" and he will begin attacking players. As with all of her bodyguards, Glacies has a chance of dropping a piece of the Ancient ceremonial robes set. |
Nex's Combat Mechanics
Nex is a highly intelligent monster, possessing a vast repertoire of special attacks. She also sports unique combat mechanics far above the capacity of other inferior creatures. Learning Nex's mechanics is vital to efficiently killing her and ensuring your own survival.
Nex's aggression is based on which players have the health ability Incite active. If multiple players have Incite active, Nex will swap between attacking each of them, but if only one player has Incite active (such as a designated tank), Nex will stay aggressive on that player only. If Nex becomes aggressive to any other player, the tank or another player can take back Nex's aggression using the defensive ability Provoke.
Nex also has the ability to jump around the room, covering large distances in almost no time. If Nex is unable to attack her target for a duration of time, she will either jump towards or away from the target - either to the centre of the chamber, the corners in front of each ancient mage, or the end of each of the lanes in the chamber.
The battle with Nex is conducted in five phases, each one triggered by Nex losing one-fifth of her lifepoints and one of the ancient mages being killed. During the battle Nex will use her standard melee, magic, and ranged attacks in addition to several phase specific attacks.
Nex's attacks follow a pattern of relative predictability. A general rule is that she will use one of her special attacks, followed by four standard attacks, before then using her other special attack. This allows you to roughly anticipate and avoid several of her deadlier special attacks, which is crucial to being able to efficiently kill Nex. The tables below describe her standard and special attacks for each phase in detail; select a phase to display its attacks.
Nex's Smoke Phase is often considered to be her least dangerous, as she doesn't have the highly damaging attacks or mechanics that her later phases do.
Special Notes: Nex uses a magical drag during this phase at random. This attack will stun you and deactivate protection prayers. The Freedom ability can be used to escape the stun, and the stun immunity of Freedom and Anticipate will prevent this attack from taking place at all. |
Melee: Nex attacks a single player with a Melee attack, which can hit upwards of 2000 damage. Using Protect from Melee can reduce this damage to below 1000.
Magic: Nex attacks all players within range with a Magic attack, which can hit upwards of 2200 damage. Using Protect from Magic can reduce this damage slightly. This attack also has a chance of inflicting poison on players, starting at 360 damage.
Stomp: Any players standing underneath Nex for an extended period of time can be hit by her stomp attack, which drains combat stats, reduces overload timers, and can hit up to 1000 damage. |
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Let the virus flow through you: Nex creates a toxic cloud on one player, which can be observed by smoke around that player and coughing. This cloud can spread between players 1 space away from the affected player. While affected, all combat stats (except Constitution and Prayer) are reduced by 2 every few seconds, with prayer points being reduced by 20. The smoke cloud dissipates after some time, though it is possible to be re-infected. |
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There is no escape!: Nex announces "There is...", and about 1.8 seconds later teleports to the end of one of the four lanes in the chamber. She then flies through this lane towards the centre, striking down any players in her way for up to 5500 damage, and turning off the player's prayer. You can improve your chance of surviving this attack by immediately moving out of the centre (if you are standing there) and topping up your lifepoints above 8000. |
Nex's Shadow Phase also possesses great damaging potential, and includes attacks that drain your prayer. |
Melee: Nex attacks a single player with a Melee attack, which can hit upwards of 2500 damage and drain prayer points. Using Protect from Melee can reduce this damage to below 1500.
Ranged: Nex attacks all players within range with a Ranged attack, which can hit up to 2500 damage. Using Protect from Ranged can reduce this damage to around 400.
Stomp: Any players standing underneath Nex for an extended period of time can be hit by her stomp attack, which drains combat stats, reduces overload timers, and can hit up to 100 damage. |
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Embrace darkness!: The first time this special attack is announced, the room will darken. This darkness intensifies as you get closer to Nex, until standing in melee distance causes the darkness to engulf you, which rapidly hits you for up to 800 damage. You can prevent this by staying at a distance from Nex when she is not targetting you, and can also be reduced to around 500 damage using range protection prayers. This special attack is always immediately followed by Nex using her other special attack, Fear the shadow!. |
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Fear the shadow!: Nex lays shadowy circles underneath all players within her range, which will erupt in 1.8 seconds. If you do not manage to move off them in time, you can be hit for up to 3500 damage. |
Nex's Blood Phase features several regeneration abilities, including one that converts incoming damage into healing. While she no longer has the same punishing potential as previous phases, if not overcome quickly, this phase can burn through your supplies.
Special notes: During the Blood phase, Nex will heal from all bleed damage. Use of any bleed damaging abilities (such as Dismember, Fragmentation shot and Combust) is highly discouraged, as it can be the difference between finishing the phase before the next blood siphon). |
Melee: Nex attacks a single player with a Melee attack, which can hit upwards of 2500 damage. Using Protect from Melee can reduce this damage, though this is not recommended for this phase.
Magic: Nex attacks a single player within range with a Magic attack, healing her by a small amount and hitting upwards of 2500 damage. Additionally, all players standing next to the targetted player when this attack is launched are also hit by this attack. Using Protect from Magic can reduce this damage to around 1000.
Stomp: Any players standing underneath Nex for an extended period of time can be hit by her stomp attack, which drains combat stats, reduces overload timers, and can hit up to 100 damage. |
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A siphon will solve this!: Nex creates an absorptive shield and summons up to two Blood reavers into the chamber. Any reavers already in the chamber when this attack is announced are sacrificed and their remaining lifepoints are used to heal Nex. Additionally, while her shield is active (approximately 3.6 seconds), any attacks used on Nex that would damage her instead are converted into lifepoints for Nex. |
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I demand a blood sacrifice!: Nex marks any player within range for a blood sacrifice, denoted by that player being coloured red. If that player does not get out of Nex's range within 3 seconds, she fires a punishing attack, which halves the remaining prayer points of all players within range and deals some Magic damage (around 800 with magic protection prayers). |
Nex's Ice Phase returns some of her powerful damage capabilities, though they are much more preventable than those in previous phases. Additionally, her attacks in this phase drain prayer points and can freeze you, making for a tedious battle. |
Melee: Nex attacks a single player with a Melee attack, which can hit upwards of 2500 damage. Using Protect from Melee can reduce this damage, though this should not be used for this phase.
Magic: Nex attacks all players within range with a Magic attack, which can hit upwards of 2000 damage and freeze players. Additionally, it drains some of your remaining prayer points. Using Protect from Magic can reduce this damage significantly and prevent the freezing effect from occuring.
Stomp: Any players standing underneath Nex for an extended period of time can be hit by her stomp attack, which drains combat stats, reduces overload timers, and can hit up to 100 damage. |
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Contain this!: Nex slams the ground, and in 2.4 seconds stalagmites erupt in a 5 by 5 square around her. Any players caught in this attack are stunned, have their protection prayers disabled, and can be hit for upwards of 3000 damage. This attack can be avoided by moving out of Nex's melee distance. Player-seeking icicles will also spread from the contain, moving 5 squares towards the player before vanishing. If a player is hit, it can do up to 1800 damage. |
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Die now, in a prison of ice!: Nex targets a single player, and fires a slew of ice at them. This player is then stunned, has his protection prayers disabled, and is surrounded by a prison of stalagmites. Other players can attack and destroy the stalagmites to free this player, who will then be automatically unfrozen and able to move out of the prison. Also a player under the effects of the defensive abilities Anticipate and Freedom can eat, or use defensive abilities to prevent or nullify the damage. The defensive ultimate ability Barricade prevents all damage, while the defensive ultimate ability Immortality can bring a player back to life if they die within 30 seconds of activation. If the player is hit by the Ice Prison damage 3.6 seconds later, they can be hit for upwards of 6000 damage. |
Nex's final phase, the Zaros Phase, begins with her regenerating 40,000 lifepoints. She then alternates between several sets of curses instead of special attacks for the remaining duration of this phase. |
Melee: Nex attacks a single player with a Melee attack, which can hit upwards of 2500 damage. Anyone standing within one square of the targeted player will also take damage. Using Protect from Melee can reduce this damage slightly, but is NOT recommended.
Magic: Nex attacks all players within range with a Magic attack, which can hit upwards of 6000 damage! Using Protect from Magic can reduce this damage to below 2000. The defensive threshold ability Devotion is highly recommended for 20 seconds of 100% protection prayer effectiveness.
Stomp: Any players standing underneath Nex for an extended period of time can be hit by her stomp attack, which drains combat stats, reduces overload timers, and can hit up to 100 damage. |
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Soul Split: Nex's standard attacks will heal her and drain your prayer points based on the damage dealt. |
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Deflect Melee: A large portion of the damage dealt by Melee attacks made against Nex will be deflected back to the user. Deflect Melee will always be activated after Soul Split. This phase can be easily seen by Nex's wings turning orange. |
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Taste my wrath!: In a final strike of retribution, Nex releases the Wrath curse over a 7 by 7 square around her upon death. If you do not run out of the attack immediately, you can be hit for upwards of 2500 damage. |
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Deflect Ranged: At random times during the phases, Nex can start to pray Deflect Ranged. A large portion of ranged damage done to her will be reflected back at the player. This phase can be easily seen by Nex's wings turning green. |
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Deflect Magic: At random times during the phases, Nex can start to pray Deflect Magic. A large portion of magic damage done to her will be reflected back at the player. This phase can be easily seen by Nex's wings turning blue. |
The Frozen Key
To reach Nex, players must first locate the four pieces of the Frozen Key and re-assemble it. Each key fragment is dropped by the members of each Gods' army in their stronghold. Therefore the following skills are required to assemble the key.
Once you have collected all four of the key fragments they can be assembled into the complete key which can then be used to open the Frozen Door.
The key will only have 10 charges, with one charge consumed each time you open the Frozen Door. A key with 0-9 charges can be recharged for a fee of 10,000gp per charge by Bob in Lumbridge or in a POH with a workshop. It is recommended that you recharge the key as often as possible, to avoid death at Nex and finding out you have a key with no charges.
Reaching Nex
Once you have entered the God Wars Dungeon, proceed south from the entrance until you reach the Frozen Door. Use the frozen key to open the door and use your rope on the hole to climb down (this only needs to be done once). If you do not have a rope, you can search the frozen skeleton in the room for one. At this point, it is strongly recommended that you bank your frozen key. In the event that you die while in the killcount room, it is very unlikely that you will be able to return to personally loot your grave, as if you die with the key you will need to go through the full process to obtain it again. You can bank the key using the Pack Yak familiar's Winter Storage scroll or an imp box (71 Hunter required).
Wearing a full set of Ancient Ceremonial Robes allows you to simply walk through the door into the bank next to Nex's boss room. Be aware that the robes do NOT provide any defensive bonuses and you are very likely to take a large amount of damage from the monsters in the killcount room as you run through. For this reason, you should bring armour and food with you, and only switch to your Ancient Ceremonial robes when at the door. Regardless of what armour you wear to the door, you should always pray magic. Everything in the room will be aggressive, and the mages and archers can stun you for a few seconds.
If you do not own a set of robes, you will have to kill 40 of Zaros' followers to be able to walk through the door. This is strongly discouraged, as the affordability of the Ceremonial Robes and the amount of time saved in skipping the killcount requisite means that no serious player should be without a set of them.
Once you proceed through the door, you will encounter the nature spirit Ashuelot Reis, who will allow you to access your bank. Here you can gear up and prepare for the battle with Nex.
Equipment
Tank
The tank is the designated player who takes the aggression of Nex. Usually a person that stands out of melee distance with a shield, the tank uses shield abilities to keep health up and tank special attacks (such as Ice Prisons). Often more difficult to learn than DPS, tanks use less supplies because of the pure amount of healing the shield abilities can present.
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Helmet: Tectonic mask > Superior sea singer's hood > Virtus mask > Ganodermic visor > Hood of subjugation > Ahrim's hood
Amulet: Arcane stream necklace > Saradomin's hiss > Amulet of fury > Desert amulet 4 > Amulet of glory
Body: Tectonic robe top > Superior sea singer's robe top > Virtus robe top > Ganodermic poncho > Garb of subjugation > Ahrim's robe top
Legs: Tectonic robe bottom > Superior sea singer's robe bottom > Virtus robe legs > Ganodermic leggings > Gown of subjugation > Ahrim's robe skirt
Boots: Ragefire boots > Virtus boots > Ganodermic boots > Boots of subjugation
Gloves: Static gloves > Spellcaster gloves > Virtus gloves > Ganodermic gloves > Gloves of subjugation
Cape: Completionist cape > God cape > Max cape > Ardougne cloak 4
Ring: Sixth-Age circuit/Superior leviathan ring > Tokkul-Zo
Main-hand weapon: Seismic wand > Virtus wand > Wand of treachery/Ahrim's wand
Off-hand weapon (switch): Seismic singularity > Virtus book > Ahrim's book of magic
Shield: Merciless kiteshield > Farseer kiteshield > Arcane spirit shield > Spectral sigil shard > Dragonfire shield (magic) > Crystal shield full > Ward of subjugation
Aura: Penance > Equilibrium > Inspiration > Vampyrism
Pocket: Sign of life > Sign of item protection > Scrimshaw of the elements > Scrimshaw of magic
Inventory shown: Air runes for Wind Surge, Range swap in the event of melee protect (Zaryte bow, Superior death lotus hood, Superior death lotus chestplate, Superior death lotus chaps), Overloads, Prayer renewals, Adrenaline potion, Super restores, Rocktails, and a spare Pack yak pouch.
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Additional information: Fill up a beast of burden (preferably a Pack Yak) full of food. Emergency teleports such as a house tab can be useful for those worried about death at Nex.
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DPS
DPS is the term used for players that deal the most damage to Nex. These are the players geared towards doing as much damage, as quickly as possible. DPS'ers don't have to worry about some of Nex's special attacks, but do not have the extra healing from carrying a shield.
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Helmet: Tectonic mask > Superior sea singer's hood > Virtus mask > Ganodermic visor > Hood of subjugation > Ahrim's hood
Amulet: Arcane stream necklace > Saradomin's hiss > Amulet of fury > Desert amulet 4 > Amulet of glory
Body: Tectonic robe top > Superior sea singer's robe top > Virtus robe top > Ganodermic poncho > Garb of subjugation > Ahrim's robe top
Legs: Tectonic robe bottom > Superior sea singer's robe bottom > Virtus robe legs > Ganodermic leggings > Gown of subjugation > Ahrim's robe skirt
Boots: Ragefire boots > Virtus boots > Ganodermic boots > Boots of subjugation
Gloves: Static gloves > Spellcaster gloves > Virtus gloves > Ganodermic gloves > Gloves of subjugation
Cape: Completionist cape > God cape > Max cape > Ardougne cloak 4
Ring: Sixth-Age circuit/Superior leviathan ring > Tokkul-Zo
Main-hand weapon: Seismic wand > Virtus wand > Wand of treachery/Ahrim's wand
Off-hand weapon (switch): Seismic singularity > Virtus book > Ahrim's book of magic
Shield: Merciless kiteshield > Farseer kiteshield > Arcane spirit shield > Spectral sigil shard > Dragonfire shield (magic) > Crystal shield full > Ward of subjugation
Aura: Penance > Equilibrium > Inspiration > Vampyrism
Pocket: Sign of life > Sign of item protection > Scrimshaw of the elements > Scrimshaw of magic
Inventory shown: Air runes for Wind Surge, Range swap in the event of magic protect (Zaryte bow, Superior death lotus hood, Superior death lotus chestplate, Superior death lotus chaps), Overloads, Prayer renewals, Adrenaline potion, Super restores, Rocktails, and a spare Pack yak pouch.
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Additional information: Fill up a beast of burden (preferably a Pack Yak) full of food. Emergency teleports such as a house tab can be useful for those worried about death at Nex.
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Food
For experienced tanks, Sharks can be sufficient to outlast the food supply of DPS'ers, but for those attacking Nex (and not using the shield abilities), Rocktails or Rocktail soup is advised. Super saradomin brews are useful for the pure amount of healing they can provide, but they do not heal as much in one tick as other food. Regular Saradomin brews are commonly dropped by Nex in quantities of either 10 or 30 (along with the opposing amount of Super restores, so they can be used to extend your food supply and stay for more kills.
The Battle
Pre-battle Preparation
Before entering Nex's chamber, ensure that everyone on your team is ready. You may wish to light and fuel a bonfire in the bank area - this increases your maximum lifepoints and thus reducing your chances of death. Set your quick prayers to the appropriate prayers for your role. Protect Item is highly recommended as the prayer drain rate is minimal for the extra item kept on death. Protect from Magic or Deflect Magic is strongly recommended for all phases apart from Shadow, and Turmoil/Torment are highly recommended for the damage and defense boost. Drink a dose of prayer renewal and overload and activate your aura, if any. Consume some food to top up your lifepoints after the overload (a Rocktail boosting it above your limit), then deactivate the magical barrier to join the battle. If at any point during the battle the effects of your overload wear off, immediately reconsume a dose of overload and prayer renewal.
As your team enters the room, Nex appears and begins summoning her retinue. This takes a while, giving you time to make preparations for the battle. Using defensive abilities while having one of Nex's minions (usually Fumus) targeted will gain adrenaline for the start of the fight. There are two main methods to starting the fight with Nex. The more dangerous option is for everyone to proceed to melee distance in the centre of the room. That way, Nex can be attacked as soon as she's finished spawning her minions. This allows you to attack Nex as soon as possible, dealing out more damage over time, but it increases the risk of being caught in a magical drag/No Escape special attack. The other method is the safer option, with DPS'ers standing near Fumus, and the tank in the aisle closest to the magical barrier. The tank attacks Nex and lures her round to the DPS'ers, who can't be hit by No Escape (unless magical dragged into the aisle).
Phase 1: Smoke
Don't stand next to another player to avoid spreading the Virus
Nex opens with a Virus attack - stay away from the player afflicted by this, or if you are afflicted, do not stand next to other players. If Nex targets you, you can switch your overhead prayer to Protect from Melee - and while this leaves you exposed to her Magic attack, it significantly reduces her Melee attack damage. If your team has a designated tank, they should use the defense ability Provoke to draw her attention. When Nex prepares her No Escape attack, ensure that you are not standing in the centre of the chamber - move to the edge of the centre where you first stood before the battle began, and top up your lifepoints above 6000. If you get caught in her magical drag, be sure to reactivate your protection prayer and move away from any players you were thrown next to. The magical drag can be prevented by the stun immunity of the defensive abilities Freedom and Anticipate. These are also useful to build adrenaline if you have no basic abilities available.
Fumus
Once Nex loses one-fifth of her lifepoints (down to 160,000), she will call upon Fumus. Leave the centre of the room and head to the north-west rim of the chamber, where Fumus stands. Stand in the space shown, and attack him, switching to ranged weaponry if possible. Fumus, like the rest of the minions are completely immune to magic attacks. You will gain adrenaline using magic attacks, but you will not do damage. During this portion of the phase, Nex should no longer be able to attack you, as she'll be focused on the tank. When Fumus dies, attack Nex once (known as "tagging") to proceed to the Shadow Phase.
Stand at this point and take down Fumus
Phase 2: Shadow
After being tagged, Nex announces "Darken my shadow!". Switch to either Protect from Ranged or Deflect Ranged, and continue attacking Nex, having your team spread out along the north-western rim of the chamber. Avoid standing next to Nex for more than a few seconds during this phase. Standing in melee distance will cause rapid damage from Nex's darkness, up to 1000 lifepoints at a time. The best method for melee players is to attack Nex with two abilities (be careful of Combo abilities locking you in place), before running away a few steps, and repeating.
Stay away from Nex
Nex's first special attack will be "Fear the shadow!", which will occur immediately after she says "Darken my shadow!". Anticipate this and move off the shadow trap set underneath you immediately, then proceed to attack Nex. When she announces "Embrace darkness!", her next move will always be "Fear the shadow!", so you can anticipate this attack and avoid the shadow trap accordingly. Avoid running away randomly, as your teammates' shadow traps can also hurt you if you step onto them - instead carefully move one step away from your own trap. "Fear the shadow!" is also used after Nex makes four of her standard attacks, allowing you ample time to prepare to step off a trap. Combo abilities such as Rapid Fire, Asphyxiate and Destroy will lock you into place, making it difficult to step off Shadow traps, so be careful.
Anticipate and avoid the shadow traps
If Nex rushes in to attack you with Melee, do not panic and run - switch to Protect from Melee and sit out her attacks. Drink brews to counter the damage dealt by her darkness and melee attacks. Once Nex switches targets, immediately run away to avoid her ranged attacks.
Umbra
Once Nex loses another fifth of her lifepoints (down to 120,000), she will call for Umbra. Run towards to the north-eastern corner of the room (activate your Protect from Magic prayer if you're out of Nex's range). Keep an eye on Nex, as being in her attack range will cause shadow traps to spawn as usual. The tank should lure Nex around the edges of the chamber so that Nex stands near Cruor. This allows the other players to easily kill Umbra. Umbra, like the rest of the mages, is completely immune to magical attacks, and should be attacked with range if possible.
Once Umbra is killed, tag Nex to begin the Blood Phase.
Stand here and take down Umbra
Phase 3: Blood
After Nex is tagged, she will announce "Flood my lungs with blood!". Have Protect from Magic active, and maintain melee distance around Nex in this phase, with your team spaced out to avoid having her magic attack damage multiple players. Nex begins this phase with her Siphon special attack, so be sure not to attack her immediately. Instead, take the time while her shield is up to either attack the reavers that spawn during this phase, or to prepare for maximum damage (using ultimate abilities such as Berserk and Sunlight are common practice). Do not attack Nex during the siphon unless you absolutely have to, as she will heal whatever damage is done to her.
Dodge the blood sacrifice to stop Nex from healing
Vital to this phase is timing Nex's special attacks. The Blood Sacrifice attack, when performed, will be followed by four standard attacks before Nex activates her Siphon special attack. As you should never attack Nex when she is performing her Siphon, you should count these attacks carefully and stop attacking Nex after she performs her fourth standard attack. Additionally, since the Blood Sacrifice attack drains half of each player's remaining prayer points, you should keep your prayer as low as possible, topping up your prayer only when it is close to depletion. However, be careful to not let your prayer accidentally run out. Players standing out of melee distance of Nex seem to be the targets for Blood Sacrifices, so stand at the maximum range and you should avoid the sacrifice without even moving. If she targets a melee player or the tank, they can either run to try and avoid the tank, or use movement abilities such as Escape or Surge to get out of distance.
Don't fuel the siphon
Cruor
Once you manage to damage Nex for another fifth of her lifepoints (down to 80,000), she will call upon Cruor. Kill Cruor in the same manner as the mages before, then tag Nex to start the Ice Phase.
Spread out and take Cruor out
Phase 4: Ice
Once tagged, Nex will announce "Infuse me with the power of ice!". Immediately assume melee distance around her. Nex opens this phase with either "Contain this!" or "Die now, in a prison of ice!". If Nex announces "Contain this!", take a step backwards away from Nex to avoid her stalagmite attack, then continue attacking her. When the stalagmites recede, step back into melee distance immediately. If Nex announces "Die now, in a prison of ice!", identify the player she is targeting, usually the tank. This player will be stunned with protection prayers turned off, but the stun can be removed by having Anticipate active before the prison hits, or using Freedom inside the prison. This will allow that player to use abilities such as defensive ultimates if they are using a shield (the tank), or eating food to survive (DPS'ers). Tanks should be able to use abilities to survive the prisons with ease, with Barricade preventing all damage from prisons, and Immortality bringing you back to life if your lifepoints drop to 0. Nex may target another player with an ice prison before the tank can draw aggression however. When stalagmites form around that player, attempt to destroy at least one so that that player can escape. If you are being targetted, top up your lifepoints above 7000 in the event that your teammates are unable to free you. Note that if you get hit by either of these special attacks, your protection prayers will be temporarily disabled - reactivate these as soon as possible to avoid being frozen by Nex, which can last for over 15 seconds.
Take a step back to get out of melee distance of Nex
Because Nex's attacks in this phase drain a portion of your remaining prayer points, it is advisable to keep your prayer as low as possible for the duration of the phase. However, you should never let your prayer points run out, as not having Protect from Magic active will leave you exposed to her freezing effects.
Destroy a stalagmite to free your frozen teammate
Glacies
Once Nex loses another fifth of her lifepoints (down to 40,000), she will call for Glacies. Run over to the south-eastern rim of the map and attack Glacies. Note that unlike Nex, Glacies' magic attack has the potential to stun you - however, if you have Protect from Magic active, it will last for less than 5 seconds, allowing you to move and attack again. Continue to be aware of Nex's special attacks, breaking stalagmites in ice prisons or avoiding her container attack. Dispatch Glacies as you did with the other mages, and tag Nex one last time to start the Zaros Phase.
Deathdot when killing Glacies
Phase 5: Zaros
Nex announces "NOW, THE POWER OF ZAROS!" after being tagged, and recovers to two-fifths of her total lifepoints (back up to 80,000). Immediately move into melee distance around Nex. This phase is straightforward - attack Nex until she dies. DPS'ers should stay on the opposite side of the tank, as Nex's melee attacks in Zaros phase will hit multiple targets from her initial attack (almost like a barrage). Nex will alternate between magic and melee attacks, but Protect from Magic or Deflect Magic is a requirement. Nex can hit up to 6,000 lifepoints with one magic attack during this phase, and magic protection prayers reduce this to around 2,000 damage. Nex will also Soul Split, healing a portion of what she hits, and draining prayer points. Soul Split is always followed by Deflect Melee, so melee players should either stop attacking Nex for a few seconds, or switch to another combat style. The main part to remember in this phase is better safe than sorry. Keep your prayer and lifepoints high to avoid the chance of death.
Keep magic protect on at all times to prevent death
When Nex's lifepoints finally drop to 0, she will use the Wrath prayer. This will deal a large amount of damage (up to 3000) on players within the area of effect. Move at least three steps away from her to avoid being hit by this attack.
Move away as soon as Nex activates Wrath to avoid damage
Preparing for the Next Round
Once you receive your drop, fill any empty spaces with more supplies from your familiar. If you feel that you do not have enough supplies left for another kill, teleport out or ask your teammates for some, otherwise head back to the centre of the chamber. Once Nex spawns, repeat the battle procedure from the Smoke Phase.
Death - Memento Mori
While fighting Nex, you should be prepared to die and know what procedures to follow if this occurs. While harsh, you will almost certainly be able to retrieve all your lost items (except those in your familiar) after a death. Having the best possible gravestone helps, though in most cases your team would have blessed your gravestone, offering you an hour to retrieve your items.
Be sure to withdraw your Ancient Ceremonial Robes, Frozen key, armour and some food (preferably 2000LP or more) before returning to the dungeon. The last thing you want is to return to the dungeon and realise you cannot open the Frozen Door or killcount door. Re-enter the chamber with Ashuelot Reis following the instructions listed in the previous section. Bank your frozen key once you get back. There is nothing worse than jumping back in to loot your grave with your key on you, dying again and losing the key. While making a new frozen key in an hour is certainly possible, it's an extreme risk that you will not recover your items.
If you plan on rejoining your team on a trip after your death, you should know which items are destroyed upon death, and which items should still be under your gravestone. Keep multiple copies of these items in your bank as replacements after a death, or choose to keep them instead when you die.
Also of note is that any items that can degrade will be effected by death. Items in your inventory will not be effected, but any worn items that are left in the grave will lose 20% durability. This includes Chaotics, armour from Player Owned Ports, tier 90 weaponry, tier 90 armour, etc. Any Barrows items left in a grave will completely degrade to 0. If you're forced to choose between degradable equipment on death, try to choose the most expensive items, or the items that cost the most to repair. It costs more to repair a Drygore mace than a Tetsu helmet, for example.
Restock a Pack Yak with supplies. Re-equip any remnants of gear you still have and any replacement items. Wait until your team has defeated Nex, then re-enter the chamber and proceed to loot your grave.
If your team is unable to defeat Nex and has not blessed your grave, do not panic. You will still have ample time to loot your grave and at least reclaim more important items, like Chaotics. Bring in teleportation tablets. When you enter the chamber, Nex will have to spawn and spend time summoning her mages, allowing you a fair amount of time to loot your grave. If you cannot loot your grave completely, teleport out and do another looting trip - with practice (though you hopefully will have as little of this as possible), it should be possible to get to the Ancient Prison in less than three minutes.
Rewards
Most of Nex's drops are rather valuable, ranging from expensive resources such as Runite and Torstol seeds to supplies such as Saradomin Brews and Super Restores. Additionally, Nex's drops can be distributed throughout a team via LootShare - drops such as 375 Onyx bolts (e) are split up into five sets of 75 and then distributed by the system.
The Ancient ceremonial robes are aesthetic robes that provide no combat bonuses. However, when the full set is worn, they can be used to perform a special emote, and of course allow you to enter the bank next to Nex's chamber without having to get killcount. The robes are dropped by both Ancient mages in the killcount room and the four mages in Nex's room.
The Torva, Pernix, and Virtus sets are tier 80 power armour that both increases the damage that weapons do, and offer a hefty armour and lifepoint boost. A piece of armour from any set will cause all Armadyl, Bandos, Saradomin and Zamorak creatures in the God Wars Dungeon to become unaggressive, but will not effect anything in the Ancient Prison.
[FULL SET BONUS]
All three sets degrade when used in combat and will eventually need to be repaired similar to barrows items. The items can be repaired by Bob in Lumbridge or using the armour stand in a player owned house for a discount. The cost reduction of using a POH is dependent on your smithing level, up to a 50% discount at 100 smithing (99 with a skillcape boost). The repair costs for Bob are as follows.
- Helms - 500,000 gp
- Bodies - 2,000,000 gp
- Legs - 1,000,000 gp
Conclusion
Fighting Nex requires top-tier equipment and a good understanding of her combat mechanics to efficiently defeat her. While she poses a much greater challenge than most other feats of monster hunting, her generous droprate and expensive drops make a great reward for the sharpest of monster hunters. With good equipment, great skill and lots of experience, Nex becomes one of the most engaging and satisfying challenges that monster hunting has to offer. Good luck!
Credits
Original Guide by: TecMaster532
Rewritten by: Dragonkng198 & Salleh
Special thanks to: Blood Angel, Nexologist, Omnitec, Saradomin_Mage, Soma2035
Thanks to: A Final Name, All Bogs, Ambler, DeEliteOne, DyingSilent, Flammo, Grimy Bunyip, Helios Gamos, Jaffy1, Kimberly, Marquis, Pernixx, Quyneax, Rocked, Seer, Speedyshel, TheAncient, Warriormonkx
Last updated by: Arceus
Last updated on: 11-Nov-2014