Godsword



The Godsword, a Two-handed sword, is an extremely powerful item found in the God Wars Dungeon. It has the highest slash and strength bonus of any weapon, each at +132. The weapon is dropped in pieces; players combine the pieces to form the sword. Furthermore, four hilts corresponding to the gods Saradomin, Zamorak, Armadyl, and Bandos can be attached to unlock different special attacks. The godsword is highly valued due to its rarity and being able to inflict extremely high damage with high accuracy. Less wealthy players will find the Saradomin sword or abyssal whip a cheaper alternative. In fact, both the Saradomin sword and Abyssal whip, on average, inflict more damage in a given amount of time than a Godsword, except on monsters with very high defence, such as boss monsters, or when using the Armadyl godsword's special attack. This is possible because a Godsword can only strike 2 times for every 3 strikes of an Abyssal whip or Saradomin sword, and the Godsword's increased strength bonus and accuracy does not necessarily make up for this speed loss. Therefore, many players believe that it is not worth purchasing the godswords at their high prices, and believe that the abyssal whip and Saradomin sword are more efficient for training Slayer or training melee in general.

Many players believe that the Godsword is the single most powerful weapon in the game. It requires level 75 attack to wield. It can be very useful for Bounty Hunter, Duel Arena, Fight Pits, Clan Wars and Castle Wars. However, the godsword isn't the highest hitting weapon in RuneScape, as a player wielding a full Dharok's set can hit up to 112, and a player using a Keris on Scarabs, Locusts and Kalphites can hit up to 117 damage (with 99 strength, a black mask with a slayer assignment of Kalphites and the highest strength bonus possible in the game save the dagger and mask), the record melee damage in the game.

The Godsword is dropped in three shards, which are fixed together at level 80 smithing to form the Godsword blade. Fixing it gives the player 100 experience for putting 2 pieces together, and another 100 experience for combining 2 pieces with the last remaining shard. Players without 80 smithing usually use the Assist System with another player for them to get the blade. A hilt must then be added to the blade to complete the sword, and make it usable. The hilts can freely be added or removed with no level requirement.

Shards are dropped by all of the god's generals and bodyguards in the God Wars Dungeon. The hilts are only dropped by their respective god's general, but not the bodyguards.

With the release of Item Lending, this weapon is one of the most common targets for lending for cash and begging. The Godswords can be used for Slayer, but the Abyssal Whip and Saradomin Sword are more efficient due to the slow attack speed of the Godswords.


 * Special attacks:
 * Armadyl Godsword: The Judgement. Inflicts 25% more damage. 50% Special bar drain.
 * Bandos Godsword: Warstrike. Drains an opponent's combat statistics by the damage hit. Statistics are drained in the following order: Defence, strength, prayer, attack, magic, ranged. An extra 10% is added to the inflicted damage. 100% Special bar drain.
 * Saradomin Godsword: Healing Blade. Inflicts normal damage, but restores half of the damage to the attacker's hitpoints and a quarter to their prayer. Players will receive a minimum of 10 hitpoints and 5 prayer. 50% Special bar drain.
 * Zamorak Godsword: Ice Cleave. Freezes opponent for 20 seconds, but they can still attack. 60% Special bar drain.

Historical context
In the concluding years of the god wars, this weapon was widely sought after from all sides. One of the last battles of the God Wars was fought over this powerful weapon. It is said whichever god controlled it would have the power to turn the tide of the battle in their favour. However, before any god could claim it, Guthix woke from his deep slumber, and ended the God Wars, putting the Edicts of Guthix in place to prevent further fighting. The dungeon where the Godsword was said to be held and fought over, and all combatants within, was sealed off and frozen, forgotten for millennia.

Recently, tectonic activity in Gielinor as well as the long rows of fires lit by adventurers has thawed the dungeon and the monsters once more, releasing the Godsword and allowing this battle to continue. If the Sword falls into one of the god's hands, it could trigger a power imbalance, and therefore possibly leading into another devastating war between the gods.

Therefore, this unique weapon simply has to be powerful, for even the Gods of Gielinor fought over this incredible weapon.

Which is the "best"
There has been much debate in the Runescape community over which of these swords are the 'best'. Some argue that the Armadyl Godsword is the best, due to its high price, but Jagex has made each Godsword be effective in its own way.

Armadyl Godsword
This Godsword is most effectively utilized in PvP situations, as well as being commonly used against boss monsters, due to its high hitting special attacks, which makes kills much easier and faster.

Bandos Godsword
The Bandos Godsword has similar uses to the Armadyl Godsword, in that they are used in PvP, and to kill boss monsters. The special attack does 10% more damage and drains the opponents stats in this order: defence, strength, prayer, attack, magic, ranged. Remember the Bandos Godsword is only the cheapest Godsword because there is a great supply of Bandos Hilts in the game, due to players constantly killing General Graardor.

Saradomin Godsword
This sword seems to be most effective used in monster killing situations, due to its helpful special attack. It is commonly used in the Slayer skill. A lot of people also do barrows with the saradomin godsword, because of the nice hitpoint and prayer boots

Zamorak Godsword
This Godsword is not used in many everyday situations, but can be greatly effective for specific uses, such as freezing Commander Zilyana and players in Castle Wars. Another handy way to use this Godsword is to freeze either an NPC or a Player, and stand a square away from it and use Ranged. This weapon is not common due to the reputation of having the worst special of all the godswords.

Gallery
Each special attack animation can be found at its respective hilt article:
 * Armadyl hilt
 * Bandos hilt
 * Saradomin hilt
 * Zamorak hilt