Volcanic Cave/Guide
From Melvor Idle
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The Volcanic Cave is the dungeon that unlocks all of the Legendary dungeons. The guide covers gives recommendations on gear needed to idle this dungeon. Idling has a significantly higher skill and equipment requirements than manual clears.
Why Clear Volcanic Cave?
- Clear 1 time:
- To unlock Error creating thumbnail: File missingAir God Dungeon andError creating thumbnail: File missingInfernal Stronghold
- To get the
Fire Cape which grants 2% DR - To get the
Elite Chest
- To unlock
- Clear 50 times:
- For a Township Task that gives
Dragon Bones, 
and 
- To start obtaining
ancient armour in preparation for the Error creating thumbnail: File missingAir God Dungeon
- For a Township Task that gives
- Clear 100 times:
- To unlock Ancient Magicks which gives you powerful spells such as Error creating thumbnail: File missingSlicing Winds,Error creating thumbnail: File missingIcicle Volley, andError creating thumbnail: File missingIgnite.
- To unlock Ancient Magicks which gives you powerful spells such as
- Clear 100+ times:
- To farm for the full
ancient armour set and Error creating thumbnail: File missingAncient Crossbow - To farm for the 10
Amulets of Fury needed for the 
Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs (FEZ). Check the FEZ/Guide for more details.
- To farm for the full
According to simulations, to get the full ancient armour set it will likely take:
- 640 clears with a 50% chance
- 817 clears with a 75% chance
- 1377 clears with a 95% chance
When to Clear Volcanic Cave?
There are no downsides to attempting Volcanic Cave early as you will obtain powerful gear if you manage to complete it. However, it will be a significant challenge if you attempt this dungeon under-levelled.
In general, you will want at least
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Level 70 so that you can equip the Ancient Armor and you should be able to complete
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Dragons Denrelatively easily before attempting this dungeon. Ideally, you will want sufficient
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Auto Eatto survive the dungeon without resorting to manual eating, but if you take this route then see the last section for further recommendations on how to survive the dungeon the hard way.
Ancient Magicks
After you clear the Volcanic Cave 100 times you gain access to Ancient Magicks which are a more powerful form of magic. When you have a Ancient Magicks spell equipped, there are no curses available, but you can still use Auroras.
In general, the spells you receive are very powerful:
- Error creating thumbnail: File missingWinds is best used when your chance to hit is relatively low because you are guaranteed not to miss if your accuracy is 20,000+.
- Error creating thumbnail: File missingIgnite is a more powerful spell and has a good chance of killing monsters in one-shot.
- Error creating thumbnail: File missingIcicle Volley is a good all rounder, and can be used in all other cases.
Ancient Magick spells do not scale in the same way as standard magic (i.e. with equipment buffs and debuffs), but they are still impacted by the Combat Triangle in the normal way. Typically, when you first obtain Ancient Magicks it is more powerful than the regular magic and so should used in preference. However, late-game these spells will not scale with gear and so will become less useful.
Gear To Idle
The boss of
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Volcanic Caveuses the
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Meleestyle and so it is not recommended that you attempt to idle this dungeon with
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Rangeddue to the Combat Triangle penalties. This guide assumes that you have
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Auto Eat - Tier IIIequipped which greatly reduces the DR requirements. The calculations in this guide assume
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Hardcore/
Adventure modes, and so should work for most play styles, however if you have lower HP or DR than the guide recommends then check out Can I Idle or the Combat Simulator to see if you build will survive.
Melee
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Volcanic Caveis often idled with
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Melee because the 
dragon armor set can be obtained with
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Level 99, further, the armour can be upgraded to provide 30% DR. This
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Meleebuild requires
820Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Hitpoints to idle the dungeon. However, this should be seen as a minimum DR/HP, and any less will push you below the max hit of 
Malcs. The 
Sandstorm Ring can be omitted, but at the expense of clear time.
| Slot | Item | DR% |
|---|---|---|
 |  (G) Dragon Helmet | 6% |
 |  (G) Dragon Platebody | 6% |
 |  (G) Dragon Platelegs | 6% |
 |  (G) Dragon Boots | 6% |
 |  Paladin Gloves | 4% |
 |  Knight's Cape | 1% |
 |  Elite Amulet of Defence | 2% |
 |  Sandstorm Ring | 0% |
 |  Sunset Rapier | 0% |
 |  (G) Dragon Shield | 6% |
| Total | 37% | |
Lower tiers of armor may be used if HP or DR is increased through other sources such as
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Agility,
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Summoning, or more
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Hitpointslevels, etc.
Pre-Volcanic Magic
Idling with
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Magicis recommended once you have stronger gear as it will ultimately speed up your clear times. To idle the dungeon with the build below, you need
780Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Hitpointsand
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Weakening IIIactive.
| Slot | Item | DR% |
|---|---|---|
|  Air Expert Wizard Hat | 5% |
|  Air Expert Wizard Robes | 5% |
|  Air Expert Wizard Bottoms | 5% |
|  Air Expert Wizard Boots | 5% |
|  (U) Ancient D-hide Vambraces | 6% |
|  Skull Cape | 3% |
|  Elite Amulet of Magic | 2% |
|  Aorpheat's Signet Ring | 0% |
| Any Error creating thumbnail: File missing Magic weapon | 0% |
| (G) Dragon Shield | 6% |
| Total | 37% | |
Fire Robes have the exact same stats as 
Air Robes. The secondary effect of robes (+20 minimum hit for matching spells) outweighs the damage increase of higher level spells. However, you should use the highest level spell and robe combination available to you. For example, if available, use the 
Ring of Spirit Power instead of the 
Aorpheat's Signet Ring for more damage/second.
| Slot | Item (most effective → least effective) | |
|---|---|---|
 | Air Expert Wizard Hat |  Fire Expert Wizard Hat |
 | Air Expert Wizard Robes |  Fire Expert Wizard Robes |
 | Air Expert Wizard Bottoms |  Fire Expert Wizard Bottoms |
 |  Ring of Spirit Power | Aorpheat's Signet Ring |
100+ Volcanoes Magic
After clearing the
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Volcanic Cave100 times you will unlock Ancient Magicks which require a minimum of
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Level 72. It is recommended that you have 20,000+ accuracy when using the
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Slicing Windsas this means that the spell will never miss. This is important because you will want to keep a high DPS to make idling worthwhile. You can improve your Accuracy with:
Magic Assistance Potions- Error creating thumbnail: File missingAstrology
- Error creating thumbnail: File missingPrayer
- Error creating thumbnail: File missingAgility
- Increase Error creating thumbnail: File missingMagic, for example atError creating thumbnail: File missingLevel 93
For a magic build 
Prat, the Protector of Secrets will be the biggest hitter, and with this build it will be very close to your Auto-Eat threshold, so if you need to deviate, then check your setup with the Combat Simulator.
Using this build you may need extra DR:
- At 910 Error creating thumbnail: File missingHP and with 33% DR, you can farm the dungeon without without extra DR.
- At 880 Error creating thumbnail: File missingHP you can equip theError creating thumbnail: File missingStone Skin prayer to provide extra DR.
- Below 880 Error creating thumbnail: File missingHP it is not recommended that you attempt to idle this dungeon.
| Slot | Item | DR% |
|---|---|---|
|  Ancient Wizard Hat | 5% |
|  Ancient Wizard Robes | 5% |
|  Ancient Wizard Bottoms | 5% |
|  Ancient Wizard Boots | 5% |
| (U) Ancient D-hide Vambraces | 6% |
| Skull Cape | 3% |
| Elite Amulet of Magic | 2% |
| Aorpheat's Signet Ring | 0% |
|  Magic Wand (Powerful) | 0% |
|  Miolite Shield | 2% |
| Total | 33% | |
In addition equip:
- Error creating thumbnail: File missingSlicing Winds andError creating thumbnail: File missingSurge II
- Optionally, equip Error creating thumbnail: File missingYak andError creating thumbnail: File missingDragon to not take any damage from burning (if you have enough marks)
Once you have sufficient accuracy rating, the 
Miolite Shield cam be swapped out for a ranged or melee shield with more DR such as 
(G) Dragon Shield to lower other HP/DR requirements.
For this build, food usage is
200,000Error creating thumbnail: File missing
HPto
250,000Error creating thumbnail: File missing
HPper hour.
Weapon Choice
Weapon choice makes a big difference to the number of chests that can realistically be obtained per hour when idling. This table shows how the weapons compare when adjusted to include time required to produce consumables, with reasonable assumptions:
| Weapon | Adjusted Chests/Hour | Potential Chests/Hour |
|---|---|---|
 Pre-Volcanic
|
3.8 | 20+ |
 Dragon Sword
|
7.6 | 24+ |
 Dragon Claw
|
8 | 26.3+ |
 Ancient Sword
|
8.16 | 26.2+ |
 Sunset Rapier
|
9.6 | 31.4+ |
 Ancient Claw
|
10 | 34.7+ |
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Icicle Volley
|
18.1 | 28.3+ |
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Slicing Winds
|
23.5 | 25.8 |
Magic builds using Ancient Magicks generally produce more drops per hour than the Melee equivalents. However, due to the number of runes needed, and the non-scaling nature of Ancient Magicks, as you progress
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Meleebuilds will eventually give faster clear times.
This table uses data obtained from the Combat Simulator, and was adjusted by the time it takes to produce the required consumables with some assumptions made about the exact bonuses available for each skill. Use a copy of this spreadsheet to compare with your builds (link).
Gear Options
This section gives some alternative gear suggestions, in descending order of preference, based on the equipment available while idling the
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Volcanic Cave.
Gloves
| Item | DR | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
 Paladin Gloves
|
4% | none |
 (U) Red D-hide Vambraces
|
4% | Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level 60
|
 (U) Black D-hide Vambraces
|
5% | Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level 70
|
 (U) Ancient D-hide Vambraces
|
6% | Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level 80
|
Note:
- Get the (U) Ancient D-hide Vambraces from the Error creating thumbnail: File missingDragons Den and these provide a good mid-game DR.
- Craft the (U) Red D-hide Vambraces and (U) Black D-hide Vambraces with Error creating thumbnail: File missingLevel 73 or higher, or as a reward from theError creating thumbnail: File missingSpider Forest
- Get the Gloves from the
Paladin
Cape
| Item | Provides | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 Skull Cape
|
3% DR | Reduces Error creating thumbnail: File missing Melee accuracy, so best for Error creating thumbnail: File missing Magic builds
|
  Golden Fire Cape
|
3% DR | Upgrade of the Fire Cape
|
| Fire Cape
|
2% DR | After clearing Error creating thumbnail: File missing Volcanic Cave once
|
 Knight's Cape
|
1% DR | Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level 66
|
 Firemaking Skillcape
|
XP boost | Error creating thumbnail: File missing Level 99 and no DR increase
|
 Obsidian Cape
|
Reduce food/hour | No DR increase |
Ring
| Item | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Sandstorm Ring
|
Solid DPS increase for Melee, but can increase clear time for stronger builds. |
 Silver Diamond Ring
|
1% DR |
| Aorpheat's Signet Ring
|
5% chance to double Elite Chest and 100% more money.
|
 Ring of Wealth
|
7% chance to double Elite Chest.
|
 Ring of Blade Echoes
|
Powerful melee DPS increase, costs more prayer/potions per hit. |
| Ring of Spirit Power
|
Powerful magic DPS increase, does not affect Ancient Magicks. |
Manual eating
The gear needed for a manual run through the dungeon is significantly lower than needed for idling. However, it also depends on how well you time your eating as this will interrupt your attack and lengthen the combat time.
In general, if you are considering a manual run it is recommended that:
- You have Error creating thumbnail: File missingLevel 70 so that you can equip the Ancient armor as soon as it becomes available.
- You have the highest Error creating thumbnail: File missingAuto Eat tier possible to avoid accidental deaths
- You use a Error creating thumbnail: File missingMelee build with a fast weapon, such as Sunset Rapier, so that you can recover quickly after eating.
- You start with the highest DR and HP so that you have an easier time.
For example, in theory, this build could work with a hard cap of 40 for all skills (i.e.
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Level 40):
| Slot | Item | DR% |
|---|---|---|
|  (G) Adamant Helmet | 4% |
|  (G) Adamant Platebody | 4% |
|  (G) Adamant Platelegs | 4% |
|  (G) Adamant Boots | 4% |
|  Adamant Gloves | 0% |
| Knight's Cape | 1% |
|  Silver Topaz Necklace | 0% |
|  Silver Diamond Ring | 1% |
|  Adamant Sword | 0% |
|  (G) Adamant Shield | 4% |
| Total | 22% | |
In addition:
- Optionally, equip Error creating thumbnail: File missingUltimate Strength andError creating thumbnail: File missingSafeguard
- Optionally, equip Error creating thumbnail: File missingWolf andError creating thumbnail: File missingYak
However, any improvements on this equipment set would be highly recommended as clearing the dungeon with this build would take around 13 minutes.
TL/DR
In summary, the suggested order for idling is:
- Obtain the Sunset Rapier and the Sandstorm Ring
- Perform 100 Error creating thumbnail: File missingVolcanic Cave clears as Melee to unclockError creating thumbnail: File missingSlicing Winds
- Do the remainder of Error creating thumbnail: File missingVolcanic Cave clears withError creating thumbnail: File missingSlicing Winds with the Surge aurora.
Manual eating has a significantly lower requirement, but requires skill to not die.
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