HCCO/Guide: Difference between revisions

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The majority of this guide is written by [[User:Username|Username]], [[User:Mazunki|mazunki]], and @ERRORMONSTER#8764 of the Discord community. If you have any questions, or if anything is wrong, please make sure to reach out to any of us. Feel free to edit the guide or add anything to it as needed.
== What is HCCO? ==
HCCO stands for {{Icon|Hardcore}} {{Icon|Combat}} Only. This implies that you cannot use any non-Combat skills at any time, and must play on {{Icon|Hardcore}}. There is a secondary challenge, 12b, which means you may not buy any [[Bank]] slots, and are limited to the 12 provided to you by default. This is a popular additional challenge and most of the guide is directly applicable to 12b players (albeit with a lot more bank management).


Thanks to everyone in #hardcore-mode-chat for making this possible. :)
To create a HCCO account, one can create a typical hardcore account and abstain from all non-combat skills. Alternatively, through the official mod manager one can use the [https://mod.io/g/melvoridle/m/hcco Combat Only Account Mod] to create an account with non-combat skills completely disabled and hidden. This mod offers the option for a mediumcore version, which is identical but doesn't have permadeath (you still lose one random item on death). This is different to a Standard account (aka Softcore), which has a different combat triangle that is less punishing and has health regen. Most of this guide will assume HC and therefore will sometimes be overly conservative for a softcore account.


== What is HCCO? ==
There are currently no tangible differences between either of these options for playing HCCO mode, and one can [https://mod.io/g/melvoridle/m/save-game-converter convert between gamemodes through the use of mods]. It is recommended to use the mod for MCCO or HCCO mode for the most immersive experience, as the community will add unique content specifically designed for CO in future, including a CO option in the collection log.
HCCO stands for {{Icon|Hardcore}} {{Icon|Combat}} Only. This implies that you cannot use any non-Combat skills at any time, and must play on {{Icon|Hardcore}}. There is a secondary challenge, 12b, which means you may not buy any [[Bank]] slots, and are limited to the 12 provided to you by default. This guide is aimed more towards 12b players, but playing without this restriction just means you can spend less time on bank management.


== Preface ==
== Preface ==
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The style you choose will also give you experience towards the combat skill in question: Stabbing gives {{Skill|Attack|nolink=true}} experience, Slashing gives {{Skill|Strength|nolink=true}} experience, while Blocking is used to train {{Skill|Defence|nolink=true}}. At the start, you’ll have to eat manually to ensure that you won’t die. Later on, you will unlock {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier I|Auto Eat}}, so eating will be less of a worry.
The style you choose will also give you experience towards the combat skill in question: Stabbing gives {{Skill|Attack|nolink=true}} experience, Slashing gives {{Skill|Strength|nolink=true}} experience, while Blocking is used to train {{Skill|Defence|nolink=true}}. At the start, you’ll have to eat manually to ensure that you won’t die. Later on, you will unlock {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier I|Auto Eat}}, so eating will be less of a worry.


== Step 1: Gearing Up ==
== Chapters ==
{{Skill|Hitpoints|notext=true}} '''To start, you should have:''' Nothing! <br>
{{Icon|Combat|notext=true}} '''At the end, you should have:''' 4 {{ItemIcon|Steel Platebody|Steel Armour|nolink=true}} pieces
 
You should get to about 10 in all melee combat skills (usually expressed as {{Skill|Attack|10|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|10|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|10|nolink=true}}) by fighting {{MonsterIcon|Plant|Plants}}. After that, it’s time to start getting your first bit of equipment.
 
After you have a decent stack of food from fighting {{MonsterIcon|Plant|Plants|nolink=true}}, it’s time to get your first pieces of gear from the {{MonsterIcon|Golbin}}. You should have some levels in all skills ({{Skill|Attack|10|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|10|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|10|nolink=true}} or so) and a couple hundred {{ItemIcon|Potatoes|potatoes|nolink=true}} or so. You’re looking for a {{ItemIcon|Bronze Battleaxe}} (1 in 27 chance) and a {{ItemIcon|Bronze Shield}} (1 in 27 chance). If you get unlucky, don’t worry. Just kill {{MonsterIcon|Plant|Plants|nolink=true}} for food until you’re able to get both.
 
{{MonsterIcon|Plant|Plants|nolink=true}} have very low HP, so having a faster weapon allows you to kill them faster, as you don’t need more than 20 damage to kill a {{MonsterIcon|Plant|nolink=true}}. So, your next goal after your {{ItemIcon|Bronze Battleaxe|nolink=true}} is an {{ItemIcon|Iron Dagger}}. You should have about {{Skill|Attack|15|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|15|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|15|nolink=true}} stats and a few hundred{{ItemIcon|Potatoes|potatoes|nolink=true}}. The {{ItemIcon|Iron Dagger|nolink=true}} has a 1/33 drop rate from the {{MonsterIcon|Goo Monster}}.
 
Your next gear upgrades will come from {{MonsterIcon|Zombie Hand}}. You’re looking for the {{ItemIcon|Iron Platebody}} (1 in 4 chance) and {{ItemIcon|Iron Platelegs}} (1 in 4 chance). Some people might go for the {{MonsterIcon|Steel Knight}} first, but since the {{MonsterIcon|Zombie Hand}} has a better chance for gear, it’s recommended to do it first. You should have about 20/20/20 stats for this and, once again, a large stack of {{ItemIcon|Potatoes|taters}}.
 
After you have the gear from the {{MonsterIcon|Zombie Hand|nolink=true}}, you should then move on to the regular {{MonsterIcon|Zombie}} for the {{ItemIcon|Steel Platebody}} (1 in 5 chance). It also drops {{ItemIcon|Steel Boots}} (1 in 5 chance), but you shouldn’t grind for them here since it's easier to get them from the {{MonsterIcon|Steel Knight}} next. ({{Skill|Attack|20|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|20|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|20|nolink=true}} stats recommended)
 
You’ll end the first part of your HCCO journey with {{MonsterIcon|Steel Knight|Steel Knights}}. They drop the {{ItemIcon|Steel Helmet}} (15 in 67 chance), {{ItemIcon|Steel Shield}} (10 in 67 chance), {{ItemIcon|Steel Sword}} (10 in 67 chance), and {{ItemIcon|Steel Scimitar}} (4 in 67 chance). You should be using the {{ItemIcon|Steel Sword|nolink=true}} on {{Skill|Attack|nolink=true}} and {{Skill|Defence|nolink=true}} and the {{ItemIcon|Steel Scimitar|Scimitar|nolink=true}} on {{Skill|Strength|nolink=true}} when killing most monsters, but again, daggers should be used on {{MonsterIcon|Plant|Plants|nolink=true}} due to their fast attack rate. The {{ItemIcon|Mirror Shield}} is a useful item to get around here, but if you decide not to get it, you can avoid ever getting tasks in the {{ZoneIcon|Strange Cave}}.
 
== Step 2: Mithril Armour ==
'''To start, you should have:''' Full {{ItemIcon|Steel Platebody|Steel Armour|nolink=true}}, {{Skill|Attack|10|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|10|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|10|nolink=true}},  {{ItemIcon|Steel Scimitar|nolink=true}} <br>
'''At the end, you should have:''' {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}}, {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier I}}, Full {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Mithril Armour|nolink=true}}, {{Skill|Attack|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|40|nolink=true}}, {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword}}, {{ItemIcon|Adamant Dagger}}
 
The next Knight after {{MonsterIcon|Steel Knight|Steel}} is {{MonsterIcon|Black Knight|Black}}. However, you should skip it, as the drop chances are very low, and the next tier is not much harder anyway.
 
But before you visit the {{MonsterIcon|Mithril Knight}} you'll want to take a detour to fight the {{MonsterIcon|Mummy}} for {{ItemIcon|Silver Ruby Necklace}} and {{ItemIcon|Gold Emerald Ring}} to fill out your neck and ring slots. Your next step, therefore, is {{MonsterIcon|Mithril Knight|Mithril Knights}}. Because they only drop gear a quarter of the time when killed (on average), it can take quite a while to get a full {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Mithril set}}. You will probably get {{ItemIcon|Mithril Boots|Boots}} (25 in 268) and {{ItemIcon|Mithril Helmet|Helmets}} (15 in 268) quite often, and the eventual {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platelegs|Platelegs}} (5 in 268). The {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Platebody}} has quite a low drop-chance (1 in 568).
 
Before getting the {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Platebody|nolink=true}} you will probably get both a {{ItemIcon|Mithril Scimitar|Scimitar}} (1 in 67) and a {{ItemIcon|Mithril Shield|Shield}} (5/134), too, so equip these once dropped. You may equip the {{ItemIcon|Mithril Sword|Sword}}, too, but consider sticking with the {{ItemIcon|Mithril Scimitar|Scimitar|nolink=true}} for now, to efficiently level up your {{Skill|Strength|nolink=true}} skill before equipping the {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword}} for a long while.
 
The last thing to consider before moving on to the {{MonsterIcon|Ice Monster}} is to get an {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Calculated Promotion}} from the {{MonsterIcon|Leech}} while your name is set to "witwix". However this is only a 1% chance, so you might instead want to put it off until later.
 
As mentioned, you will want to get the {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword|nolink=true}} after getting full {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Mithril Armour|nolink=true}}, or even before getting the {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Platebody|nolink=true}}, as it is a really good upgrade at this point. The drop rate is 10% at the {{MonsterIcon|Ice Monster}} in the {{ZoneIcon|Icy Hills}}. The {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword|nolink=true}} is better at grinding {{Skill|Strength|nolink=true}} than all weapons from a lower tier.
 
Now, before you go away from the computer, or to sleep, it’s time to upgrade your dagger. You can get a cheap {{ItemIcon|Adamant Dagger}} from the {{MonsterIcon|Purple Goo Monster}}. More damage to {{MonsterIcon|Plant|Plants|nolink=true}}? Good stuff.
 
=== Step 2-A: Amulet of Looting ===
The {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}} is a special amulet which automatically loots gear acquired from Combat Areas and {{Skill|Slayer}} Areas. You may get it from the {{ItemIcon|Spider Chest}}, with a 1/22 chance. Due to the nature of HCCO, you will spend a lot of {{ItemIcon|Potatoes|nolink=true}} in the early game (and beyond, too), so you might want to rush this item in order to ease the grind for food as soon as possible.
 
By using {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Mithril Armour|nolink=true}}, and having around {{Skill|Attack|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|40|nolink=true}}, it will take you around 5000 healing from food per run of the {{ZoneIcon|Spider Forest}}. Before you start running the dungeon, you should have a buffer of at least a thousand {{ItemIcon|Potatoes|nolink=true}}, just because RNG might be on your bad side.
 
It is quite possible to beat the zone without having any form of {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier I|Auto Eat}}, and just make sure you time your manual eating right, since the damage of the {{MonsterIcon|Spider|Spiders}} in the area is not too high.
 
Otherwise, if you ''really'' don’t want to manual the dungeon, you should know the base max damage of the zone is 142, requiring {{Skill|Hitpoints|notext=true}} 710 HP for {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier I|AE1}}, {{Skill|Hitpoints|notext=true}} 480 HP for {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier II|AE2}}. This requires {{GP|6000000}}, which would require around 30 hours of '''active''' gameplay at {{MonsterIcon|Master Farmer}}, since you still don’t have auto looting. Bad idea.
 
=== Step 2-B: Making Money Early Game + Auto Eat 1 ===
As soon as you have your hands on an {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}}, you can start to make money. Money making at this stage is a compromise between risk and reward. Consider the time it takes to farm up the food you need, and the time it takes to farm the GP you want.
 
The safest way to make money, for now, is to kill {{MonsterIcon|Cow|Cows}}, collect their {{ItemIcon|Leather}}, and upgrade it into {{ItemIcon|Green Dragonhide}} through the shop. The selling price for {{ItemIcon|Leather|nolink=true}} is {{GP|50}}, while the selling price for {{ItemIcon|Green Dragonhide|nolink=true}} is {{GP|200}}. By upgrading it, you effectively get {{GP|100}} per piece of {{ItemIcon|Leather|nolink=true}}.
 
Assuming you’ve got the {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword|nolink=true}}, the average GP yield per {{MonsterIcon|Cow}} is {{GP|203}}.
 
'''Important''': As you farm {{MonsterIcon|Cow|Cows}} early game, {{MonsterIcon|Master Farmer|Master Farmers}} later in the game, or {{MonsterIcon|Statue|Statues}} for gear upgrades, it is ALWAYS recommended to use free the easy {{Skill|Slayer}} reroll to get your current objective, as all 3 of them are included.
 
Use {{ItemIcon|Adamant Dagger|nolink=true}} for idling {{MonsterIcon|Plant|Plants|nolink=true}}, and {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword|nolink=true}} for tougher enemies. This chapter ends when you’re at {{Skill|Attack|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|40|nolink=true}}.
 
== Step 3: Mithril to Adamant (G) + Rune Boots (G) + Rune Gloves ==
{{Skill|Hitpoints|notext=true}} '''To start, you should have:''' {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}}, {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier I}}, Full {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Mithril Armour|nolink=true}}, {{Skill|Attack|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|40|nolink=true}}, {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword}}, {{ItemIcon|Adamant Dagger}} <br>
{{Icon|Combat|notext=true}} '''At the end, you should have:''' Almost full {{ItemIcon|(G) Adamant Platebody|(G) Adamant Armour|nolink=true}}, {{ItemIcon|(G) Rune Boots}}, {{ItemIcon|Rune Gloves}}, {{Skill|Attack|70|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|70|nolink=true}}
 
While your next target is {{MonsterIcon|Adamant Knight|Adamant Knights}}, you should know that leveling {{Skill|Attack|nolink=true}} and {{Skill|Defence|nolink=true}} up to 50 will effectively reduce your healing per Knight from 1700 to 1200. Additionally, if you decided not to get the {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Calculated Promotion}} previously, you should definitely get it now, since you'll have extremely low accuracy on the next two Knights.
 
Important note: '''DO NOT IDLE KNIGHTS'''. Make sure to always have more {{Skill|Hitpoints|HP}} than the max hit of the enemy, and try to eat food right after your attack timer ends, so you don’t reset an attack in progress. Eat until full HP, or at least until you have enough HP to survive any attack. The 2.6s interval of the {{MonsterIcon|Adamant Knight}} is not really a danger provided you’re '''PAYING ATTENTION''' and have enough food.
 
Your {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword|nolink=true}} is great for leveling {{Skill|Attack|nolink=true}}, and your {{ItemIcon|Adamant Dagger|dagger|nolink=true}} is fine for leveling {{Skill|Defence|nolink=true}}. You may do this at {{MonsterIcon|Statue}}, to prepare for gear upgrades, and thus your first [[Damage Reduction]] points!
 
Each {{ItemIcon|Adamant Platebody|Adamant|nolink=true}} piece has a 1/48 chance of dropping, which, mind you, is much better than the drop chances of {{MonsterIcon|Rune Knight}}. Good luck on that! While you don’t really care about the {{ItemIcon|Adamant Boots}} nor the {{ItemIcon|Obsidian Cape}}, you may as well equip them once you get them. It will be a while until you replace the {{ItemIcon|Obsidian Cape|Cape|nolink=true}} for anything else, but there’s no point wasting {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver}}/{{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold Bars}} on the {{ItemIcon|Adamant Boots|Boots|nolink=true}}. You will get {{ItemIcon|Rune Boots}} quickly anyway.
 
Upgrade the Equipment you get to {{ItemIcon|(G) Adamant Platebody|(G) Adamant|nolink=true}} as soon as you get them, since each piece gives you 4% Damage Reduction.
 
=== Making money early-mid: Master Farmer + Auto Eat II ===
 
The {{MonsterIcon|Master Farmer|Master Farmer}} gives a total of 14 unique items. You want to prioritize your bank slots for the most rewarding items, taking the price and drop rate into account. This mainly comprises the Tree Seeds, requiring 5 slots. By reserving five slots for the {{MonsterIcon|Master Farmer|Master Farmers}} grind, you get a total of 84% of the GP drops. That’s around {{GP|809}} per kill.
 
=== Late to mid Game food: Slayer ===
It is highly recommended to build up {{Icon|Slayer Coins|qty=250000}} as {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Slayer}} is a great purchase to idly build up {{Icon|Slayer Coins|nolink=true}}. With them, you can purchase {{ItemIcon|Basic Resupply}}, which nets you both a useful {{ItemIcon|Lobster|qty=100}} and {{ItemIcon|Magic Bones|qty=200}} per purchase.
 
As per usual, free rerolls may be used to acquire {{MonsterIcon|Master Farmer}} as your {{Skill|Slayer|nolink=true}} task.
 
Beware of {{MonsterIcon|Wizard|Wizard's}} doing {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Slayer|nolink=true}}, and ensure they can not bypass your {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier III|Auto Eat|nolink=true}}. They should be skipped either way, as they will consume a lot of food due to their high accuracy on melee armour.
 
== Step 4: Upgraded Boots, Gloves, and Weapon ==
'''To start, you should have:''' {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier II}}, or an excess of better food <br>
'''At the end, you should have:''' {{ItemIcon|Dragon Scimitar}}
 
Now, grind up enough {{Icon|Slayer Coins}} for the {{ItemIcon|Desert Hat}}, and at least {{SkillReq|Slayer|50}}, so you can gain access to the {{ZoneIcon|Arid Plains}}. You may as well kill {{MonsterIcon|Master Farmer|Master Farmers}} for GP, or hit some {{MonsterIcon|Statue|Statues}} for some {{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold}} and {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver Bars}}, which are both Easy Slayer Tasks, meaning they’re free to reroll.
 
'''BEWARE''': Do not {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier II|Auto Eat|nolink=true}} {{ItemIcon|Potatoes|nolink=true}} in the {{ZoneIcon|Arid Plains|nolink=true}} unless you have at least {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier II|nolink=true}}. You will lose all your {{ItemIcon|Potatoes|nolink=true}} instantly.
 
Now, why would you want to unlock {{ZoneIcon|Arid Plains|nolink=true}}? Well, there’s a few reasons:
 
* {{ItemIcon|Sand Treaders}} from {{MonsterIcon|Turkul Riders}} — -0.1s to all attacks? Great for {{MonsterIcon|Plant|Plants}}.
* {{ItemIcon|Rune Boots}} from {{MonsterIcon|Turkul Riders}} — Excellent upgrade, easier to get than from {{MonsterIcon|Rune Knight|Rune Knights}}.
* {{ItemIcon|Desert Wrappings}} from {{MonsterIcon|Turkul Archers}} — 2% Damage Reduction gloves, best until {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}}.
 
Also, you don’t even need to manual these two enemies! After getting these upgrades, you should hold on to your hat (literally!), because your next weapon upgrade comes from the {{MonsterIcon|Turkul Giant}} in the same area. You could also sell the hat, and buy it again a bit later. The {{Icon|Slayer Coins|Slayer Coin|nolink=true}} cost is not too huge.
Farm up enough GP to upgrade to {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier II}} at {{MonsterIcon|Master Farmer|nolink=true}}. With {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier II|AE2|nolink=true}} you can idle {{MonsterIcon|Turkul Giant|Turkul Giants|nolink=true}}, provided you have 23% DR and {{SkillReq|Hitpoints|50}}. With this, upgrade your weapon into the {{ItemIcon|Dragon Scimitar}} or, even better, the {{ItemIcon|Desert Sabre}}.
 
== Step 5: Adamant to full (G) Rune ==
'''To start, you should have:''' Almost full {{ItemIcon|(G) Adamant Platebody|(G) Adamant Armour|nolink=true}}, {{ItemIcon|(G) Rune Boots}}, {{ItemIcon|Rune Gloves}}, {{Skill|Attack|70|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|40|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|70|nolink=true}} <br>
'''At the end, you should have:''' Full {{ItemIcon|(G) Rune Platebody|(G) Rune Armour|nolink=true}}, {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}}, {{ItemIcon|Elite Amulet of Strength}}, {{Skill|Attack|70|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Strength|80|nolink=true}} / {{Skill|Defence|80|nolink=true}}, {{ItemIcon|Sunset Rapier}} / {{ItemIcon|Ancient Claw}}, {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat - Tier III}}
 
The first thing you should do in this part of the story is to upgrade your {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Strength}} into an {{ItemIcon|Elite Amulet of Strength|Elite}} one, simply by farming more {{MonsterIcon|Mummy|Mummies}}. On average you need to kill around a thousand of them.
You may wait to get the {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}} until after getting {{ItemIcon|Rune Platebody|Rune Armor}}, or you may get it already. At this point you will use around 65 potatoes per {{MonsterIcon|Paladin}} kill, and the chance to get them is 1/171. Not too hard.
 
The next step is to farm the feared shiny {{MonsterIcon|Rune Knight|Rune Knights}}, and upgrade your four armor pieces into {{ItemIcon|(G) Rune Platebody|(G) Rune pieces}}, for a total of 29% damage reduction with the {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}}. You will need a bunch of {{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold}} and {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver pieces}}, farmed at {{MonsterIcon|Statue}}.
You must get [[Auto Eat - Tier III|Auto Eat III]] now and should get a 2nd loadout slot, consider getting the 3rd and last loadout slot while at it too.
 
Assuming you already have 60 {{Skill|Slayer}} (and if you don't, then go get it; {{MonsterIcon|Giant Crab}} tasks are your friend here), the last thing to get before moving onto the next section is a better weapon. {{ZoneIcon|Deep Sea Ship}} is your next stop for a {{ItemIcon|Sunset Rapier}} to speed up killing {{MonsterIcon|Pegasus}}. You'll be killing around 3300 of them to get 100 {{ItemIcon|Ancient Claw Fragment}} which can be upgraded into the {{ItemIcon|Ancient Claw}}. This will be a great weapon until you upgrade it to the {{ItemIcon|Infernal Claw}}, which is still well off. Don't bother getting any {{ItemIcon|Dragon Claw Fragment}} from {{MonsterIcon|Griffin}} yet, as they will just take up space. If you're lucky enough to get an {{ItemIcon|Ancient Sword}} before the {{ItemIcon|Sunset Rapier}}, then feel free to use it until you get to {{ZoneIcon|Volcanic Cave}}, as it will drastically reduce your food consumption and the associated food farming time. After that, you'll probably only want to use it outside dungeons due to the high monster damage reducing the benefits of the lifesteal.
 
== Step 6: (G) Rune to (G) Ancient ==
=== Ancient storyline ===
    Start: 5x (G) Rune Armour, 1x Paladin Gloves, Elite Amulet of Strength. 70/80/80, Sunset Rapier / Ancient Claw, AE3
    End: 4x (G) Ancient Armour, 1x Paladin Gloves, Elite Amulet of Defence, 90/99/90, Dragonfire Shield, Sandstorm Ring
 
{{ItemIcon|Elite Amulet of Defence}} from upgrading {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Defence|Amulets of Defence}}, which are dropped by {{MonsterIcon|Purple Goo Monster|Purple Goo Monsters}}, and {{ItemIcon|Silver Diamond Ring}}, dropped by {{MonsterIcon|Mummy|Mummies}}, are our best friends for now; the limiting factor for the remaining dungeons is how much DR you have access to.
 
Now that you've got full {{ItemIcon|(G) Rune Platebody|Rune (G)}} and {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}} for 32% DR, 88 hitpoints will allow you to idle {{ZoneIcon|Volcanic Cave}} for your first useful cape, the {{ItemIcon|Fire Cape}}. At this point, you can expect to eat around 30,000 hp worth of food per kill without prayer.
 
You're probably noticing that {{ItemIcon|potatoes}} just won't cut it for food anymore, so switching to {{MonsterIcon|Sweaty Monster|Sweaty Monsters}} for {{ItemIcon|Salmon}} and {{ItemIcon|Lobster}} will reduce your overall time spent farming food. Expect to get food equivalent to 10.2 hp/kill in {{ItemIcon|Salmon}}, 6.25 hp/kill in {{ItemIcon|Lobster}}, and 2.3 hp/kill in {{ItemIcon|Shark}}. Swapping food sources often means that saving all 3 types of fish might not be worth it for some players.
 
Hopefully you find the {{ZoneIcon|Volcanic Cave}} comfortable, as the goal is to get the {{ItemIcon|Ancient Platebody}}, {{ItemIcon|Ancient Platelegs}}, {{ItemIcon|Ancient Helmet}}, and {{ItemIcon|Ancient Shield}}. There are no Ancient Boots and {{ItemIcon|Dragon Boots}} are unobtainable on HCCO (as is the {{ItemIcon|Dragon Helmet}},) so you'll continue rocking your {{ItemIcon|(G) Rune Boots}} for quite awhile. Getting the {{ItemIcon|Dragon Platebody}} and/or {{ItemIcon|Dragon Platelegs}} is only useful if you plan to upgrade them to (G), as you still need the extra DR that comes from the (G) upgrade. Once you get your full {{ItemIcon|Ancient Platebody|Ancient Armor}}, make another visit to {{MonsterIcon|Statue|Statues}} to finish off gathering {{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold Bars}} and {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver Bars}} and upgrade everything to (G). Luckily the {{ItemIcon|Elite Chest|Elite Chests}} you've been opening also drop plenty of {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver Bars}} and {{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold Bars}}. In total, you'll need 6000 {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver Bars}} and 10,000 {{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold Bars}} for full {{ItemIcon|(G) Ancient Platebody|(G) Ancient Armor}}. If you get all the {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver Bars}} you need, move to {{MonsterIcon|Purple Goo Monster|Purple Goo Monsters}} for faster {{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold Bars}}. You can also hold onto the {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Fury|Amulets of Fury}} for the {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs}} grind later; you'll need 10 {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Fury|furies}} in total.
 
After getting the {{ItemIcon|(G) Ancient Shield}}, there's nothing stopping you from immediately upgrading it again to the {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}}, so head to the {{MonsterIcon|Green Dragon|Green Dragons}} to get 7050 {{ItemIcon|Dragon Bones}}. You can alternatively wait until getting some range levels, as {{MonsterIcon|Green Dragon|Green Dragons}} are slightly weaker to mage and range than to melee, but at this level, you shouldn't have any trouble, and the 8% DR of the {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield|DFS}} will be very useful as a mage and range offhand for God dungeons.
 
Another grind that can be done around this time is the {{ItemIcon|Sandstorm Ring}} from {{MonsterIcon|Sand Beast|Sand Beasts}}, which will be your best-in-slot melee dps ring. (Note that as of [[Changelog#Alpha_v0.21_-_.2813th_August_2021.29|v0.21]], the {{ItemIcon|Sandstorm Ring}} can no longer be used to cheese early range and mage training; the special attack is now melee only.)
 
Once you have full {{ItemIcon|(G) Ancient Platebody|(G) Ancient Armor}} and {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield|DFS}} for 43% DR (or 40% with {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting|looting}} and {{ItemIcon|Sandstorm Ring}}, it's time to grind any remaining melee skills to ideally at least 90/99/90 while working your way towards 70 slayer for your next food upgrade - {{ItemIcon|Trout}} from {{MonsterIcon|Raging Horned Elite|Raging Horned Elites}} or RHE; you can also take advantage of the {{ItemIcon|Gold Emerald Ring}} from {{MonsterIcon|Mummy|Mummies}} to speed up stat grinding. Once you get to this point, you can expect 447.8 hp in food for every kill! Once you start killing {{MonsterIcon|Raging Horned Elite|RHE}}, hold onto the {{ItemIcon|Ancient Arrows}} they drop as they're your best arrows, even though they can't be equipped until level 70 {{Skill|Ranged}}. Additionally, the {{ItemIcon|Large Horn|Large Horns}} that they drop will likely replace {{MonsterIcon|Master Farmer|Master Farmers}} for GP farming, as the GP/hr is about the same (not to mention the food, arrows, and prayer points you're getting), with a much lower bank demand.
 
=== Ranged Intro ===
{{Skill|Ranged}} is quite straightforward, but we’ve been putting it off for mainly two reasons: It doesn’t provide any real benefit until you start fighting wizards, or other magic monsters, and getting its gear without having the space in your bank or loadouts for the gear and weapon(s) will be annoying.
 
Get your first two bows (level 5 lets you use {{ItemIcon|Oak Shortbow}}) from the {{MonsterIcon|Ranged Golbin}} over at the {{ZoneIcon|Golbin Village}}, and use the {{ItemIcon|Ice Arrows}} from the {{MonsterIcon|Frozen Archer}} over at the {{ZoneIcon|Icy Hills}}. These are almost as strong as {{ItemIcon|Rune Arrows}}, which you can start to use at level {{Skill|Ranged|40}}, but are much easier and cheaper to farm, and can be equipped from the very beginning.
Literally all your next weapon upgrades, except if you go out of your way to get the {{ItemIcon|Yew Longbow}} from the Holy Archer at level {{Skill|Ranged|40}}, will come from the {{ItemIcon|Bandit Chest}}. At level {{Skill|Ranged|30}} you can upgrade to the {{ItemIcon|Maple Longbow}}, at level 50 you can use the {{ItemIcon|Magic Longbow}}, and finally you will get to use the {{ItemIcon|Redwood Longbow}} and the {{ItemIcon|Ancient Longbow}} at levels 60 and 70.
 
An alternative (but less efficient) route for early ranged training is to kill {{MonsterIcon|Thief|Thieves}} in the {{ZoneIcon|Runic Ruins}} for [[Ranged#Throwing_Knives|throwing knives]], which, due to their higher attack speed and inherent 15% ammunition saving, can help with early training.
 
Once you get into higher levels you may consider using the {{ItemIcon|Adamant Arrows|Adamant}} (worse than {{ItemIcon|Ice Arrows|Ice}}), {{ItemIcon|Rune Arrows|Rune}} and {{ItemIcon|Dragon Arrows}} you’ve collected from the {{ItemIcon|Bandit Chest}}. If you’re farming {{MonsterIcon|Raging Horned Elite}} for food you may also use {{ItemIcon|Ancient Arrows}} in {{Skill|Ranged|ranged combat}} after level 70.
 
Most of your ranged armor upgrades will come from the {{ZoneIcon|Spider Forest}}, moving through {{ItemIcon|Green D-hide Body|Green D'hide}} at level 40, {{ItemIcon|Blue D-hide Body|Blue D'hide}} at level 50, {{ItemIcon|Red D-hide Body|Red D'hide}} at level 60, and finally into {{ItemIcon|Black D-hide Body|Black D'hide}} at level 70. Upgrading ranged armor is much easier than for melee armor, as you can buy {{ItemIcon|Leather}} from the shop, which can then be used to buy {{ItemIcon|Green Dragonhide|Green}}, {{ItemIcon|Blue Dragonhide|Blue}}, and {{ItemIcon|Red Dragonhide|Red}} dragon leathers for upgrading their respective armor tiers. Alternatively, killing dragons in the {{ZoneIcon|Dragon Valley}} can provide all chromatic dragonhide, including {{ItemIcon|Black Dragonhide|Black}}. {{ItemIcon|Ranger Hat}} and {{ItemIcon|Ranger Boots}} are a nice bonus for saving ammunition while training, but after level 70, ammunition will be plentiful thanks to {{MonsterIcon|Raging Horned Elite|Raging Horned Elites}}, so they aren't necessarily worth the time to grind out.
 
===Magic Intro===
{{Skill|Magic}} in this gamemode will mainly consist of casting air spells, since you can remove one colour from the rune costs. All spells cost air runes, but water, earth and fire runes additionally cost their respective runes.
 
This is a bad thing, for us, since we have no real way to farm a lot of runes yet, but we can get started by farming some catalyst runes at the {{MonsterIcon|Vampire}} and the {{MonsterIcon|Master Wizard}}. The {{MonsterIcon|Vampire}} is probably best for now, [[Combat Triangle|since it is a ranged monster]], meaning we can strike it with melee, even considering the drop chance and drop rates are lower than from the master wizard.
 
Catalyst Runes are the runes you use to power up your spells, while Elemental runes select which element you’re using. You can remove the cost for Elemental runes with staves, which we will abuse to completely nullify the air cost, and thus only use air spells.
 
The {{ItemIcon|Staff of Air}} reduces the cost by 1, allowing you to cast up to Wind Strike for free (20 dmg), the {{ItemIcon|Air Battlestaff|Battlestaff}} reduces it by 3, allowing you to cast up to Wind Blast for free (130 dmg), while the {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff}} reduces it by 5, allowing you to cast up to Wind Wave for free (170 dmg).
 
Keep in mind you will also need the Catalyst runes for each tier. Once you get to level {{Skill|Magic|30 magic}} you can start wielding {{ItemIcon|Air Battlestaff|battlestaves}}, and should therefore also cast Wind Bolts. No need for {{ItemIcon|Mind Rune|Mind Runes}} anymore, so sell them all.
 
After you can cast {{ItemIcon|Death Rune|Death}} spells, you might want to go back and forth between {{ItemIcon|Chaos Rune|Chaos Runes}} and {{ItemIcon|Death Rune|Death Runes}}, since they both deal decent damage, and are both farmed decently at the {{MonsterIcon|Master Wizard}} for a while. Eventually, as you get more magic evasion through leveling {{Skill|Magic|magic}}, you will only use {{ItemIcon|Death Rune|Death runes}}, as the {{MonsterIcon|Necromancer}} stops hurting too much.
 
== (G) Ancient to God Gear and Beyond (everything maxed, current end game) ==
===Pre-Gods===
 
It's about time to get your best-statted amulet, the {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs}} that has 1% more Damage Resistance compared to {{ItemIcon|Elite Amulet of Defence}} in addition to offensive and defensive bonuses. Refer to the [[Fury_of_the_Elemental_Zodiacs/Guide|FEZ/Guide]] for getting all the materials to make it. The {{PetIcon|Leonardo}} pet is good to have by this point as well, as it's a free 1% DR. Another useful item to get around this time if you don't already have it is the {{ItemIcon|Sandstorm Ring}}, for its unavoidable special attack.
 
===Aeris===
 
Getting 99/99/99 melee stats is not a bad plan at this point, but before moving into the {{ZoneIcon|Air God Dungeon}}, you'll want to have at least 90/90/90 melee stats, full {{ItemIcon|(G) Ancient Platebody|(G) Ancient melee armor}}, {{ItemIcon|(G) Rune Boots}}, {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}}, {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}}, {{ItemIcon|Fire Cape}}, {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}} or {{ItemIcon|Elite Amulet of Defence}}, and level 85 {{Skill|Ranged}}. This combination of armor will allow you to reach 43% DR and idle the {{ZoneIcon|Air God Dungeon}} with as low as level 97 hp for 1000 total health, including the 30 hp bonus from the {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield|DFS}}. If your hp is at least level 95, then you can even use the {{ItemIcon|(U) Ancient D-hide Vambraces}} for 2% DR more than {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}}.
 
Your goal is to get full {{ItemIcon|Aeris God Platebody|Aeris God Armor}} from the {{ItemIcon|Scroll of Aeris|Scrolls of Aeris}}, with the {{ItemIcon|Stormsnap}} being optional. The {{ItemIcon|Aeris Godsword}} is wholly unnecessary, as you'll want to keep using the DR of the {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield|DFS}} awhile longer, though all of the godswords can be used for non-dungeon grinding.
 
You'll want to hold on to the {{ItemIcon|Air Shard|Air Shards}} which can be upgraded into {{ItemIcon|Air Chest|Air Chests}}, containing various crossbow bolts. These won't be enough to supply you for the {{ZoneIcon|Water God Dungeon}} but will at least save you some time grinding ammunition in the future. The {{ItemIcon|Deadeye Amulet}} and the {{ItemIcon|Deadeye Ring}} are each pretty good DPS increases for Ranged, but DR is so tight in most god dungeons that you may not be able to use it over the {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}.
 
===Glacia===
Hopefully you've gotten the {{PetIcon|Finn, the Cat}} pet by now, because the 10 max health bonus makes DR and max hit calculations much easier, not to mention potentially saving you 1% DR here and there. That and the {{PetIcon|Leonardo}} pet will be assumed from here out for the sake of example gear, just for simplicity, alongside level 99 {{Skill|Hitpoints}}.
 
{{ZoneIcon|Water God Dungeon}} will be done with {{Skill|Ranged}}. Your goal is 49% DR. While it's much easier to reach this threshold with the {{ItemIcon|Ancient Crossbow}} from {{ZoneIcon|Dragons Den}} and a {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}}, gathering bolts from either {{ItemIcon|Air Chest|Air Chests}} or {{Skill|Slayer}} resupplies is pretty tedious (though autoslayer helps, and again, {{MonsterIcon|Giant Crab}} tasks are your friend. Use basic resupplies for the most ammo per SC,) so an alternative ''if you have level 88 {{Skill|Prayer}}'' is to use the [[Stone_Skin|Stone Skin]] prayer and the {{ItemIcon|Ancient Longbow}}, full {{ItemIcon|Aeris God Platebody|Aeris}}, {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Silver Diamond Ring}}, and a {{ItemIcon|Fire Cape}}. Without level 88 prayer, you'll have to use a shield.
 
If you do go the {{ItemIcon|Ancient Crossbow}} + {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield|DFS}} route, then {{ItemIcon|Aeris God Platebody|Aeris}} provides enough damage reduction for you to wear otherwise fully offensive gear, including the {{ItemIcon|Deadeye Amulet}}, {{ItemIcon|Deadeye Ring}}, and the {{ItemIcon|Cape of Prat}} or {{ItemIcon|Ranged Skillcape}}.
 
Regardless of your gearing, the goal is full {{ItemIcon|Glacia God Platebody|Glacia}} armor in 5 pieces from the {{ItemIcon|Scroll of Glacia|Scrolls of Glacia}}, with the {{ItemIcon|Warlock Ring}} from {{ItemIcon|Water Chest|Water Chests}} being a neat bonus and the {{ItemIcon|Warlock Amulet}} not being very useful. The {{ItemIcon|Glacia Godsword}} is not worth grinding for, nor is the {{ItemIcon|Cloudburst Staff}}. The cloudburst doesn't provide any air runes, which are required for all standard spells, so where you ''can'' use a 2h staff, you'll likely want to use your {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff}} to prevent needing to farm {{MonsterIcon|Wizard|Wizards}} for air runes, but most of the late-game magic content requires a wand and shield anyway, so it's moot. Maybe you could use it for an ancient magicks setup with [[Icicle_Volley|Icicle Volley]], but {{ItemIcon|Ancient Rune|Ancient Runes}} are also a pain to get in bulk. {{ItemIcon|Water Chest|Water Chests}} are actually the best place to farm ancient runes due to the low drop rate and amount from {{ItemIcon|Magic Chest|Magic Chests}}. Hold on to a {{ItemIcon|Magic Wand (Elite)}} if you get one and have the bank space to spare, as it's the best one-handed wand you'll have access to for awhile.
 
===Terran===
With full {{ItemIcon|Glacia God Platebody|Glacia}}, a {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff}}, and 45% DR, you can go do the {{ZoneIcon|Infernal Stronghold}} to get your {{ItemIcon|Infernal Cape}} and get 10 {{ItemIcon|Infernal Core|Infernal Cores}} to upgrade your {{ItemIcon|Ancient Claw}} (and {{ItemIcon|Dragon Claw}} if you don't have one yet) into the {{ItemIcon|Infernal Claw}} for melee farming.
 
Terran must be done with mage and has a very tight window for gearing and Damage Reduction. Specifically, your attack speed needs to be faster than 3 seconds and you need 47% DR. In a worst case scenario, {{MonsterIcon|Terran}} will increase your attack interval by 33% for 2 turns then stun you for 1 turn. If he hits you while you're stunned, you'll take an additional 30% damage, drastically increasing your necessary DR to safely idle.
 
As with the {{ZoneIcon|Water God Dungeon}}, there are two ways to do the {{ZoneIcon|Earth God Dungeon}}: you can use a {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff}}, {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Skull Cape}}, and {{ItemIcon|Silver Diamond Ring}} and use the [[Surge I]] [[auroras|Aurora]] to just barely make your attacks fast enough to avoid being smacked while stunned and slowed, or use a {{ItemIcon|Magic Wand (Elite)}}, {{ItemIcon|Miolite Shield}} (or {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}} if you're lazy), {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Skull Cape}}, and the {{ItemIcon|Warlock Ring}}, which is fast enough to not worry about needing surge.
 
There are also two reasonable choices for spells. Gathering {{ItemIcon|Ancient Rune|Ancient Runes}} is a slow process, but it allows for the use of [[Wind_Surge|Wind Surge]], which will shred through the dungeon at around 250 casts per kill for 3.7 kills per hour with the wand or 350 casts per kill for 2.3 kills per hour with a staff. On the other hand, {{ItemIcon|Death Rune|Death Runes}} are much easier to gather in bulk from {{MonsterIcon|Necromancer|Necromancers}} so you could instead use [[Wind_Blast|Wind Blast]] at around 350 casts per kill for 2.5 kills per hour with a wand or 800 casts per kill for 1.5 kills/hr with a staff. Using
[[Ancient_Magicks|Ancient Magicks]] is not recommended, even with a {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff}}, as while you can get 5.5 kills per hour with this gear, it also costs almost 600 ancient runes per kill.
 
TL;DR - farm ancient/light runes and use wind surge for the staff setup, or farm death/air runes and use wind blast for the wand setup.
 
The goal is to get an {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}} and least 4 pieces of {{ItemIcon|Terran God Platebody|Terran}} armor from {{ItemIcon|Scroll of Terran|Scrolls of Terran}}, though 5 is, of course, ideal. Make sure you finally put your {{ItemIcon|(G) Rune Boots}} to rest; they've earned it. Terran isn't necessary to upgrade your melee gear further to {{ItemIcon|Ragnar God Platebody|Ragnar}} armor, but you will need a few Terran pieces to reach the DR threshold for {{ZoneIcon|Into the Mist}}. Again, the {{ItemIcon|Terran Godsword}} isn't worth grinding out due to the DR opportunity cost of not being able to wield a shield and not having access to [[Damage_Reduction_Potion|Damage Reduction Potions]]. You'll also want to get both a {{ItemIcon|Guardian Amulet}} and a {{ItemIcon|Guardian Ring}} from the {{ItemIcon|Earth Chest|Earth Chests}}, which provide BIS DR in their respective slots (10% for a necklace when below 50% hp, 5% otherwise, and 2% for a ring.)
 
===Ragnar===
Ragnar is completely optional for game progression, as {{ItemIcon|Ragnar God Platebody|Ragnar God Armor}} actually has LESS damage reduction than {{ItemIcon|Terran God Platebody|Terran God Armor}}, though it has much higher strength and melee attack bonuses.
 
{{ItemIcon|Wasteful Ring}} is required to do {{ZoneIcon|Fire God Dungeon}} as a CO, so grab some {{ItemIcon|Climbing Boots}}, head over to the {{ZoneIcon|Perilous Peaks}} and kill some {{MonsterIcon|Wicked Greater Dragon|Wicked Greater Dragons}}. While you're there, you might as well stock up on {{ItemIcon|Jadestone Bolts}} from {{MonsterIcon|Hunting Greater Dragon|Hunting Greater Dragons}}, if you have the food to spare. While they're the best bolts in the game, the food necessary to grind them out in any notable amount may dissuade you from changing away from {{ItemIcon|Topaz Bolts}} or {{ItemIcon|Sapphire Bolts}} from slayer resupplies.
 
Range is your best option for the {{ZoneIcon|Fire God Dungeon}} due to the 1300 magic max hit of the final boss, {{MonsterIcon|Ragnar}}. Even once you have your {{ItemIcon|Wasteful Ring}} equipped, you'll need 63% DR to idle {{ZoneIcon|Fire God Dungeon}}, which at this point, can only be done with the {{ItemIcon|Guardian Amulet}} or the {{PetIcon|Erran}} pet from {{ZoneIcon|Earth God Dungeon}} plus {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}} and otherwise full tank gear. We only have access to 66% total DR from ranged (with wasteful) until after {{ZoneIcon|Into the Mist}}. Full {{ItemIcon|Aeris God Platebody|Aeris}}, {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}}, {{ItemIcon|Infernal Cape}}, and [[Stone_Skin|Stone Skin]] will only get you to 60% DR.
 
If you aren't after full collection log completion and just want to speed your way to {{ZoneIcon|Into the Mist}} and T90 weapon farming, then pick up 2 pieces of {{ItemIcon|Ragnar God Platebody|Ragnar Armor}}. The helm and platebody provide the best offensive bonuses, and all pieces have the same DR, so these will be the best bang for your buck.
 
Unfortunately, the {{ItemIcon|Ragnar Godsword}} isn't of any use to us without [[Damage_Reduction_Potion|Damage Reduction Potions]] to make up for the lack of a shield, nor is the {{ItemIcon|Big ol Ron}}. The strength of the {{ItemIcon|Sandstorm Ring}} means that the {{ItemIcon|Fighter Ring}} isn't any good for endgame monsters, and the stun effect of the {{ItemIcon|Fighter Amulet}} is overshadowed by any other end-game amulet due to its lack of actual stats (specifically DR.) If you can afford to give up the DR of a necklace, you're better off using more {{ItemIcon|Ragnar God Platebody|Ragnar Armor}} and a {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}} or just toss on your {{ItemIcon|Amulet of Looting}}. This means that the {{ItemIcon|Fire Chest|Fire Chests}} are more or less useless for progression.
 
=== Into the Mist ===
{{UpgradeIcon|Dungeon Equipment Swapping}} upgrade is required to complete {{ZoneIcon|Into the Mist}}.  The minimum recommended gear is full {{ItemIcon|Terran God Platebody|Terran}}, {{ItemIcon|Aeris God Platebody|Aeris}} and {{ItemIcon|Glacia God Platebody|Glacia}} god armor but it can be completed pre-Terran just with more active strategies (swap {{ItemIcon|Terran God Platebody|Terran}} Gear for {{ItemIcon|Ancient Platebody|Ancient}} Gear and swap {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}} for {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}}.)  Recommended skill levels are {{Skill|Attack}}, {{Skill|Strength}}, {{Skill|Defence}}, {{Skill|Ranged}}, and {{Skill|Magic}} at least level 90, {{Skill|Hitpoints}} at level 99 and {{Skill|Prayer}} at least level 76.  Each of the 3 phases of the boss can only be damaged by an attack type that matches their own.  Melee vs melee, ranged vs ranged, magic vs magic.  The DR numbers provided assume a max hp of 1000 from level 99 {{Skill|Hitpoints}} and {{PetIcon|Finn, the Cat}}. (500hp max hp after affliction.)<br>
 
The two eating strategies used in this guide are Auto Eat and Hold Enter/Spam Eat.
Auto Eat is what it sounds like, letting the attack get healed by {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} which keeps our attacks uninterrupted.
Hold Enter means that after you click on your food to eat manually once, which will target your equipped food. (You can see a bold grey box around your food to indicate it's selected.) Then you hold the Enter key on your keyboard, which will automatically try to eat each tick, and automatically eat when damaged. Do not let go until the attack is completed. This technique only works in browser versions of the game and is not required to complete the dungeon; it just makes it easier. Spam clicking your food can work as well.<br>
 
The most important thing to understand about {{ZoneIcon|Into the Mist}} is the [[Affliction|Affliction]] debuff, which lowers your max hp by 1% for every stack and stacks up to 50 times.  Every time an attack hits you, while in this dungeon there is a 70% chance to gain a stack of [[Affliction|affliction]].  This means that in long fights your max hp will drop to 500 which puts your auto eat threshold at 200.  The only way to remove [[Affliction|affliction]] is to defeat the current monster or run.<br>
 
====[[Into the Mist#Afflicted_Monsters|Afflicted Monsters]]====
For the afflicted monsters you will want to be using your strongest melee, ranged and magic sets.  Swap sets according to the attack style of the monster to gain [[Combat Triangle|combat triangle]] advantage.  Due to the variability of the monsters you face this phase can either be very easy or very hard.  Keep your eye on your current {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} threshold (which will drop from 400 to 200 as the fight continues) and the max hit of the monster you are currently facing (keeping in mind status effects like [[Sleep|sleep]], [[Stun|stun]] and [[Freeze|freeze]].)  You will likely need to eat manually in this section.  Alternatively you could hold enter to eat either some or all of the time. This phase is not a race against time like phase 1 and phase 3 so there is no need to rush.
 
===={{MonsterIcon|Mysterious Figure - Phase 1}}====
Recommended Gear: {{ItemIcon|Terran God Platebody|Terran}} or {{ItemIcon|Ragnar God Platebody|Ragnar}} Armor, {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Guardian Ring}} or {{ItemIcon|Fighter Ring}}, {{ItemIcon|Darksteel Dagger}}, {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}}, {{ItemIcon|Infernal Cape}}<br>
Recommended Prayers: {{PrayerIcon|Protect from Melee}}, {{PrayerIcon|Chivalry}}<br>
Combat Style: Stab<br>
 
=====Attacks=====
[[Mysterious Figure - Phase 1|Mark of Death]] (50%) (Auto Eat req 34DR)<br>
-An unavoidable attack that deals 300 damage, and applies +1 stack of Mark of Death to you (Maximum 3 stacks). Mark of Death gives 50% decreased damage reduction regardless of number of stacks. One stack is removed after each of your turns.<br>
 
[[Cursed Edge]] (35%) (Hold Enter/Spam Eat)<br>
-An avoidable attack that slices at you 2 times, dealing 600 damage each.<br>


[[Reap and Return]] (15%) (Auto Eat req 56DR)<br>
=== Chapter I: Gearing Up ===
-An avoidable attack that hits 7 times, plus an extra time per Mark of Death stack applied to you. Deals 450 damage each and heals the enemy for 100% of damage dealt. Removes all Mark of Death stacks from you after attack.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/1}}


=====Strategy=====
=== Chapter II: Mithril Armour ===
For this fight it is very helpful to use a weapon with attack speed lower than 2.6.  This means that you can avoid getting hit while you have a stack of the [[Mark of Death]] debuff.  [[Mark of Death]] is survivable with {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at max [[Affliction|affliction]] provided you have at least 34DR. [[Cursed Edge]] can kill you through {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at high [[Affliction|affliction]] stacks so hold enter to eat for this attack once its max hit is higher than your {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} threshold.  With 56 DR you can survive [[Reap and Return]] using just {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} even at maximum [[Affliction|affliction]] stacks.  This fight is a race due to the healing the boss receives from [[Reap and Return]]. For this reason we use {{PrayerIcon|Protect from Melee}} to limit the amount of healing the boss can do.  It is important to not use {{ItemIcon|Sandstorm Ring}} since the special attack will stop you from clearing the Mark of Death stacks before being hit.  {{ItemIcon|Darksteel Dagger}} is very strong here due to how the bleed scales with monster max hp.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/2}}


===={{MonsterIcon|Mysterious Figure - Phase 2}}====
=== Chapter III: Mithril to (G) Adamant ===
Recommended Gear: {{ItemIcon|Aeris God Platebody|Aeris}} Armor, {{ItemIcon|Deadeye Amulet}} or {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Deadeye Ring}} or {{ItemIcon|Guardian Ring}}, {{ItemIcon|Ancient Throwing Knife|Ancient Throwing Knives}}, {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}}, {{ItemIcon|Infernal Cape}} or {{ItemIcon|Cape of Prat}}.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/3}}
Recommended Prayers: {{PrayerIcon|Eagle Eye}}, {{PrayerIcon|Sharp Vision}}<br>
Combat Style: Rapid<br>


=====Attacks=====
=== Chapter IV: (G) Adamant to Full (G) Rune ===
[[Mysterious Figure - Phase 2|Mark of Death]] (50%) (Auto Eat req 34DR)<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/4}}
-An unavoidable attack that deals 300 damage, and applies +1 stack of Mark of Death to you (Maximum 3 stacks). Mark of Death gives 50% decreased damage reduction regardless of number of stacks. One stack is removed after each of your turns.<br>


[[Concealed Danger]] (35%) (Auto Eat req 56DR)<br>
=== Chapter V: (G) Rune to (G) Ancient ===
-An avoidable attack that hits 1 time(s), plus an extra time per Mark of Death stack applied to you. Deals 450 damage each. Removes all Mark of Death stacks from you after attack.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/5}}


[[Shadowstep]] (15%) (-)<br>
=== Chapter VI: Non-Melee Training ===
-The enemy is surrounded with mist, gives the enemy +20% Global Evasion,+40% Damage Reduction and -20% Attack Interval for 1 of the enemy's turn. If buff is already active, perform a Normal Attack instead.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/6}}


Normal Attack (Instead of repeating Shadowstep while the effect is already active) (Hold Enter/Spam Eat)<br>
=== Chapter VII: (G) Ancient to God Dungeons ===
-772 Ranged Damage<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/7}}


=====Strategy=====
=== Chapter VIII: Into the Mist ===
For this phase we are once again avoiding the [[Mark of Death]] debuff by using a fast attack speed weapon.  In this case our attack must be faster than 1.75 which {{ItemIcon|Ancient Throwing Knife|Ancient Throwing Knives}} with the rapid attack style allows us to do.  [[Mark of Death]] is survivable with {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at max [[Affliction|affliction]] provided you have at least 34DR.  With 56 DR you can survive [[Concealed Danger]] even with maximum [[Affliction|affliction]].  The attack which you must watch out for is the normal attack which happens instead of [[Shadowstep]] if the boss already has the buff (the attack bar of the boss will be blue rather than yellow.)  This attack can kill you through {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at high [Affliction|affliction]] stacks so hold enter to eat for this attack once its max hit is higher than your {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} threshold.  This phase is not a race against time so slow and steady will work for this phase.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/8}}


===={{MonsterIcon|Ahrenia}}====
=== Chapter IX: T90 grind ===
Recommended Gear: {{ItemIcon|Glacia God Platebody|Glacia}} Armor, {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Warlock Ring}} or {{ItemIcon|Guardian Ring}}, {{ItemIcon|Magic Wand (Elite)}}, {{ItemIcon|Miolite Shield}} or {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}}, {{ItemIcon|Skull Cape}} or {{ItemIcon|Infernal Cape}}<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/9}}
Recommended Prayers: {{PrayerIcon|Mystic Might}}, {{PrayerIcon|Augury}}<br>
Spell: {{Icon|Gust|type=spell|Gust}} or {{Icon|Slicing Winds|type=spell|Slicing Winds}}<br>


=====Attacks=====
=== Chapter X: Unhallowed Wasteland ===
[[Shadow Burst]] (70%) (Hold Enter/Spam Eat)<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/10}}
-Fire off 3 large, avoidable, dark explosions that deal 800 damage each. Gives you -1% Global Accuracy that stacks up to 40 times.<br>


[[Ahrenia|Into the Mist]] (15%) (-)<br>
=== Chaper XI: Impending Darkness Event ===
-The enemy disappears into the Mist. Gives the enemy +10% Damage Reduction each time they are hit for the duration of this attack (Stacks up to 10 times) and gives Regen that heals 10% of the enemy's max hitpoints over 10s.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/11}}


[[Fallen Light]] (15%) (Auto Eat req. 50DR)
=== Chaper XII: Throne of the Herald ===
-The Mist breaks away and the sky opens up to an unavoidable, falling ray of Darkness, dealing 400x15 damage over 2.8s.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/12}}


=====Strategy=====
=== Chaper XIII: Manual Content ===
For this fight you will first and foremost need to achieve accuracy higher than 33,334.  This allows us to stay above the 20k accuracy requirement for [[Ancient Magicks]] while accounting for max stacks of the [[Shadow Burst]] debuff.  Once you achieve the required accuracy you should then try to get at least 50 DR.  How you achieve this combination of stats will depend or your exact {{Skill|Magic}} level and which [[Pets|pets]] and [[Equipment|gear]] you have currently collected.  It isn't possible to reach the DR needed to survive [[Shadow Burst]] even at low [[Affliction|affliction]] stacks so you will need to hold enter to eat whenever you see Shadowburst (this will be most attacks.)  [[Ahrenia|Into the Mist]] healing the boss means this fight is a race against time.  This is why we're going to use 100% accuracy [[Ancient Magicks]].  {{Icon|Gust|type=spell|Gust}} is a good choice but {{Icon|Slicing Winds|type=spell|Slicing Winds}} will also get the job done.  [[Fallen Light]] can be survived with {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at max [[Affliction|affliction]] as long as you have at least 50 DR.  It is important to use {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} for [[Fallen Light]] since that will allow you to attack without being interrupted by manual eating.<br>
{{:HCCO/Guide/13}}


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[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Guides]]

Latest revision as of 20:10, 23 June 2024

What is HCCO?

HCCO stands for

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Hardcore
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Combat

Only. This implies that you cannot use any non-Combat skills at any time, and must play on

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Hardcore

. There is a secondary challenge, 12b, which means you may not buy any Bank slots, and are limited to the 12 provided to you by default. This is a popular additional challenge and most of the guide is directly applicable to 12b players (albeit with a lot more bank management).

To create a HCCO account, one can create a typical hardcore account and abstain from all non-combat skills. Alternatively, through the official mod manager one can use the Combat Only Account Mod to create an account with non-combat skills completely disabled and hidden. This mod offers the option for a mediumcore version, which is identical but doesn't have permadeath (you still lose one random item on death). This is different to a Standard account (aka Softcore), which has a different combat triangle that is less punishing and has health regen. Most of this guide will assume HC and therefore will sometimes be overly conservative for a softcore account.

There are currently no tangible differences between either of these options for playing HCCO mode, and one can convert between gamemodes through the use of mods. It is recommended to use the mod for MCCO or HCCO mode for the most immersive experience, as the community will add unique content specifically designed for CO in future, including a CO option in the collection log.

Preface

Food is vital to a HCCO account, and your first food source (and one that you will be relying on for quite a while) is Plants. Starting out, you should fight Plants for the Potatoes they drop and to increase your combat levels.

Note about

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Attack

vs

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Strength

vs

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Defence

: All three combat skills are very useful to level in their own ways.

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Attack

increases your chance to hit and unlocks new weapons to use,

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Strength

increases your maximum hit, and

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Defence

increases your chance to not get hit (which saves you food). In general, they should all be leveled equally.

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Defence

should be the first combat skill that you level, as it greatly reduces the amount of damage that you will take from Plants (roughly by half).

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Attack

should be second,

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Strength

should be last. Since you have a low chance to hit, it’s more important to level

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Attack

rather than

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Strength

.

Weapons in this game have different attack speeds depending on their type. Daggers attack quickly, with an attack speed of 2.2 seconds, and Battleaxes attack slowly, with an attack speed of 3.1 seconds, for instance. Weapons that attack more slowly also deal more damage per hit and weapons that hit quickly usually do less damage per hit.

There are different styles in the game, depending on the weapon you’re wielding. Melee weapons, which will be our main focus initially, have Stab, Slash and Block. Each style gets a bonus to the accuracy rating depending on the specific weapon. Swords usually have a better stabbing accuracy, while scimitars are better at slashing, for instance.

The style you choose will also give you experience towards the combat skill in question: Stabbing gives

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Attack

experience, Slashing gives

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Strength

experience, while Blocking is used to train

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Defence

. At the start, you’ll have to eat manually to ensure that you won’t die. Later on, you will unlock

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Auto Eat

, so eating will be less of a worry.

Chapters

Chapter I: Gearing Up

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 To start, you should have: Nothing!
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 At the end, you should have: 4 Steel Armour pieces

Press here if you are ready

Chapter II: Mithril Armour

To start, you should have: Full Steel Armour,
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20 /
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20 /
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20, Steel Scimitar
At the end, you should have:
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Auto Eat - Tier I, 4-5 pieces of Mithril Armour,
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40 /
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40 /
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40, Ice Sword, Adamant Dagger

Press here if you are ready

Chapter III: Mithril to (G) Adamant

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 To start, you should have:
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Auto Eat - Tier I, Full Mithril Armour,
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40 /
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40 /
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40, Ice Sword, Adamant Dagger
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 At the end, you should have: Almost full (G) Adamant Armour, Amulet of Looting, Rune 2H Sword,
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70 /
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70 /
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70

Press here if you are ready

Chapter IV: (G) Adamant to Full (G) Rune

To start, you should have: Almost full (G) Adamant Armour, (G) Rune Boots, Desert Wrappings, Rune 2H Sword,
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70 /
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70 /
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70
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Auto Eat - Tier II
At the end, you should have: Full (G) Adamant Armour or Full (G) Rune Armour, Paladin Gloves, Elite Amulet of Strength,
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80 /
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80 /
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80, Sunset Rapier / Ancient Sword,
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Auto Eat - Tier III

Press here if you are ready

Chapter V: (G) Rune to (G) Ancient

To start, you should have: Full (G) Adamant Armour or Full (G) Rune Armour, Paladin Gloves, Elite Amulet of Strength,
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80 /
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80 /
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80, Sunset Rapier,
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Auto Eat - Tier III
At the end, you should have: Full (G) Ancient Armour, Paladin Gloves, Elite Amulet of Defence,
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88+, Dragonfire Shield, Sandstorm Ring

Press here if you are ready

Chapter VI: Non-Melee Training

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 To start, you should have:
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1 and
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1
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 At the end, you should have:
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85 with Full (U) Ancient D-hide,
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Ancient Crossbow and Scaled Shield and
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85 with Mystic Air Staff and Ancient Wizard Robes or Black Wizard Robes

Press here if you are ready

Chapter VII: (G) Ancient to God Dungeons

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 To start, you should have: Plenty of Ancient Arrows, Death Runes and Food.
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 At the end, you should have: Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs and full Aeris, Glacia, Terran and Ragnar God Armour.

Press here if you are ready

Chapter VIII: Into the Mist

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 To start, you should have:
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86 and
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Dungeon Equipment Swapping
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 At the end, you should have: Passive Slot

Press here if you are ready

Chapter IX: T90 grind

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 To start, you should have: IDK!
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 At the end, you should have: IDK!

Press here if you are ready

Chapter X: Unhallowed Wasteland

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 To start, you should have: IDK!
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 At the end, you should have: IDK!

Press here if you are ready

Chaper XI: Impending Darkness Event

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 To start, you should have: IDK!
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 At the end, you should have: IDK!

Press here if you are ready

Chaper XII: Throne of the Herald

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 To start, you should have: IDK!
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 At the end, you should have: IDK!

Press here if you are ready

Chaper XIII: Manual Content

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 To start, you should have: IDK!
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 At the end, you should have: IDK!

Press here if you are ready


Melvor Idle version v1.3.1 (Released: 30th October 2024)
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Combat:
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Attack •
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Strength •
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Defence •
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Hitpoints •
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Ranged •
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Magic •
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Prayer •
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Slayer •
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Corruption
Skills:
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Farming •
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Township •
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Woodcutting •
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Fishing •
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Firemaking •
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Cooking •
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Mining •
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Smithing •
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Thieving •
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Fletching •
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Crafting •
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Runecrafting •
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Herblore •
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Agility •
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Summoning •
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Astrology •
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Alternative Magic •
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Cartography •
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Archaeology •
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Harvesting
Other:
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Beginners Guide • Guides •
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Bank •
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Combat •
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Mastery •
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Money Making •
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Shop • Easter Eggs • Pets •
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Golbin Raid •
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Full Version • Throne of the Herald • Atlas of Discovery •
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Into the Abyss
Reference Tables: Items, Equipment, Experience Table, Upgrading Items, Combat Areas, Slayer Areas, Dungeons, Strongholds, The Abyss, Monsters
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