Nomad (monster)

Nomad is an immensely powerful monster with a combat of level 699 and 1000 hitpoints, fought during the quest Nomad's Requiem. He must be killed as he is the boss battle of the quest. Vengeance cannot be used to recoil huge amounts of damage back to Nomad. Also, prayers can NOT be used to protect against Nomad's attacks (although Protect from Melee or Deflect Melee will partially block out the rapid melee attacks that Nomad uses when he falls to 1/4 of his health). Additionally, the dragonfire attack from the Dragonfire shield does not damage him. Nomad has an arsenal of many attack styles. The order of Nomad's special attacks is as follows:


 * Mines are laid all around the player (damage avoidable)
 * Nomad charges the 75-damage attack (damage avoidable)
 * Nomad creates 3 illusions of himself (damage from clones avoidable)
 * Nomad teleports the player to the centre and freezes them - followed by an attack which deals the player's Hitpoints level minus one (unavoidable)

Between these special attacks, Nomad uses magical melee or magical ranged (depending if you are standing away from him) which can deal damage in the high 20s and low 30s. This is the standard attack that players will face most of the time.
 * The mines that are laid around the fight area deal 40 damage and drain the player's run energy to zero when stepped on.
 * The 75-damage attack is evadable. Before Nomad launches the 75-damage attack, he waits a few seconds. This gives the player time to find a safespot to evade the attack.
 * The 3 illusions that Nomad creates of himself will all attack the player at once, constantly hitting 4 or 5 damage. The player has to pick out the real Nomad by attacking them. If the player hits an illusion, he disappears. If the player hits the real Nomad, all illusions disappear. This attack CAN be avoided entirely by hiding behind a pillar. His clones will disappear after about 30 seconds and he'll come for you again. It is highly recommended, though, that the player hide from the clones. This will give the player a chance to catch their breath, brew/restore up, refocus, and prevent the damage (up to 75 damage) the player may sustain while trying to find the real nomad.
 * The most dangerous attack is the one which will hit the player for an amount damage equal to their Hitpoints level minus one. Before launching this attack, Nomad teleports the player a few squares away from him. He then casts a spell similar to Ice Barrage, freezing the player, but not damaging them. This makes Nomad's strongest attack unavoidable. After freezing the player, Nomad stores energy in his hand for a few seconds before unleashing his attack, which looks like a lightning bolt. The player should use this delay to restore their hitpoints to full, otherwise they will die when Nomad uses the attack.

Strategy for Defeating Nomad
''Nomad is very difficult to defeat. It is likely the player dies multiple times. If the player dies, they shouldn't be disheartened, but learn from their mistakes and retry. Having very' high (85+) stats in all combat disciplines is advised, unless the player is particularly good at combat.'' A common method for killing Nomad. Nomad has been reported to be prone to stab attacks. It is recommended that the player fills their inventory with Saradomin brews and super restore potions at a 3:1 ratio, replacing up to one set of potions with combat boosting potions as preferred. This is to ensure that the player's combat skills remain sufficiently high to damage Nomad. If the player fails to do this, they could die. If the player brings a summoning familiar with them that carries combat supplies, they should quickly drop all the empty vials in their inventory while frozen in order to have space to withdraw more supplies from their Beast of burden. Rocktails can be used instead of Saradomin brews.

Nomad's normal attacks are magical melee. This means that high magic defence armour is best. Dragonhide armour is recommended, as using Barrow's high-magic-defence armour can be expensive due to the player's likely frequent deaths.

When Nomad performs his 75-damage attack, exclaiming "you cannot hide from my wrath!", the player can avoid taking any damage by hiding behind a pillar. The player should be careful not to step on the flame vortexes since it drains their run energy. One method that helps is to move out of the circle of mines and use ranged or magic on Nomad from a distance, giving the player more time to avoid the 75-damage attack as Nomad charges up for it.

When Nomad creates illusions of himself, the player may stand behind the pillars in the room, completely avoiding all attacks, upon which the illusions will disappear of their own accord within thirty seconds. If Auto retaliate is turned on, the player's character will usually pick out and attack the real Nomad.

When the player is frozen just before the lightning attack, the player must be sure to be at or well above their maximum hitpoints. However, they should not drink a super restore potion, as the player needs to use Saradomin brews again after the attack. This makes better use of their super restore potions. The player can use ranged to attack Nomad when he freezes the player, and familiars can still attack Nomad during that period. However, be careful if using enchanted ruby bolts, as their special effect (which drains 10% of the player's current hitpoints) may go off just before Nomad's lightning attack. This could cause the player to die. Since it takes pretty long for Nomad to charge the attack, they can get several free hits if using Ranged or Magic. After launching his lightning attack Nomad will stop attacking the player again for a few seconds. This is a good time for the player to restore their hitpoints and restock their food and potions from their summoning familiar, if they brought one.

If the player is hiding behind a pillar, Nomad will run to the other side of the pillar. Doing so may allow a hit and run method, attacking Nomad once, then running behind a pillar again, thus equalizing his attack rate with the player's if theirs is slower. If using the hit and run method, one should stand behind a pillar, always letting Nomad hit them once every time he says "Face me!". The player should stand on a square south of Nomad, behind a pillar. They they should run back behind the pillar when their character attacks. Using the Protect from Magic or Deflect Magic prayer is most efficient at this time. Doing this will give the player time to consume up to four potion doses when hiding behind the pillar. The hit and run method works no matter what side of the combat triangle the player is using, but melee requires slightly faster clicking reflexes because the player has to walk up right next to Nomad. If Nomad is ever unable to attack for more than five seconds, he will teleport back to the centre, shouting "Coward!" and completely restoring his hitpoints. This should be avoided at all costs.

When Nomad has 1/4 (250 hp) of his health left, he will heal himself with an amount equal to 1/4 of his total health (250 hp). There is no way to stop Nomad from healing. After this healing, Nomad will have 500 hitpoints. The player will have to fight Nomad again and take away his hitpoints. Fortunately, Nomad will only heal once.

When Nomad has only 1/4 (250 hp) of his health left again, he stops using his special attacks and attacks very fast with melee. He then has the same attack speed as Commander Zilyana, or throwing knives. However, his attacks will be very inaccurate. Protect from Melee or Deflect Melee seems to have a good effect of slightly reducing the damage the player sustains. If using a safespot, one should stand next to a pillar, one step away from Nomad. Then the player should walk up to Nomad and let him hit once. Then they should immediately step back one square. It has been reported that by doing this method, the player can fire two crossbow shots for every hit Nomad does, without resetting Nomad's health.

Having a Divine spirit shield or an Elysian spirit shield equipped reduces not only normal damage, but damage from Nomad's lightning attack and his 75-damage attack as well. This can make the fight much easier and greatly reduce the risk of death.


 * Tips


 * Fighting Nomad is somewhat safe, for if the player dies, they spawn in Soul Wars next to their Gravestone and they can collect their items immediately. It is dangerous if the player's internet connection is unreliable, and they cannot log back in before the gravestone decays. Also, any items that don't appear at their grave are lost. If they have no Barrows items that they would lose upon death, or any items that wouldn't appear at their gravestone, and a reliable internet connection, there is no real need for concern because they'll be able to collect their items if they die.
 * Fighting Nomad can be expensive if using Barrows equipment, as it will degrade to 0 upon death. However, if the player has run out of supplies, and know they are going to die, run behind a pillar and safe spot. When Nomad heals to full hp he will no longer auto attack the player. They can then safely walk out of the room without having to die and repair Barrows equipment.
 * When fighting Nomad, it is recommended to use either ranged with Ruby bolts (e) and have auto-retaliate turned on (switch to Diamond bolts (e) when Nomad goes berserk), or use a high hitting melee weapon such as the Saradomin godsword (or any godsword; the Saradomin godsword's healing special effect is minimized by the large amounts of damage Nomad often inflicts).
 * It's also recommended that the player uses the spring pools at Oo'glog if they have done As a First Resort... to boost their Prayer and Hitpoints.
 * Since protection prayers do not work, Soul Split is a great alternative.
 * A Bandos godsword is greatly suggested since it can lower the defence of Nomad and make the fight much easier. If the player doesn't have one, Darklight is a good alternative to lower Nomad's defence. The best weapon to use to lower Nomad's defence would be using the special attacks of the Statius's warhammer, but that weapon is very expensive to use.

Trivia

 * Some medium-level Quest Cape owners were disappointed upon release, as Nomad is very difficult to beat even with high combat stats. (Players have reported defeating Nomad without having a particularly high combat however.) This has sparked some debate among the forums. Although there has been much complaint, Jagex has mentioned that they will not weaken Nomad.
 * His name derives from nomad, a community of people who moves from one place to another rather than living in the same location (though it is unknown whether his first name is Nomad or if he IS a nomad).
 * After the player shows Zimberfizz Nomad's body, he can be seen teleporting out of his lair, implying his survival.
 * Nomad's dying words are, "You have doomed this world" this could be speculation for his return/sequel quest, or Nomad thought that only he can stop his "Master's" wrath. This could imply that Nomad is actually a good character since the dark warriors that tried to defeat him were working for Lucien.
 * His chathead resembles the real face of Darth Vader as he appeared in Return of the Jedi, with his bald head, pale face, and strange eyes.
 * His face and clothing is also very similar to Darth Malak from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
 * His face also resembles the face on the first album of the band disturbed.
 * His face also resembles that of a juggernaut from the game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.
 * On the 10 January 2010, Jagex issued a hint via their Twitter feed, "Next week in RuneScape: Why did Nomad get updated last week?!"
 * Before the graphical update in association with the quest Nomad's Requiem, he looked similar to an Elite dark mage. A second possible explanation for this was that Nomad gained this appearance from devouring/absorbing souls. Or maybe he is one due to the elite dark warrior calls him a "traitor".
 * Nomad has the highest maximum hit possible by a monster in the game at 98, but the player fighting him would have to have 99 Hitpoints (boosted hp does not affect Nomad's high hit of 98).
 * Neither Vengeance nor a Ring of recoil nor Deflect Curses will work on Nomad.
 * Nomad's throne is located directly below the Soul Obelisk, it can be assumed he sits there to absorb filtered soul fragments.
 * In postbag from the Hedge 43, Zimberfizz says "Be seein' you soon. Nomad's up to more mischief than a zombie impling in a butchers.", which is hinting at a possible sequel.
 * At the very end of the last cutscene in the quest Nomad's Requiem, if you right-click on Nomad as he teleports away, he appears as "Nomad(level: 699)" again, instead of just "Nomad".
 * Nomad can run. Other NPC that can run are Snow imps, Banner carrier and Commander Veldaban. They are not, however, hostile towards the player, and cannot be attacked. This makes Nomad the first attackable NPC ever that can run.
 * Using Sap Mage, Sap Range, and Sap Warrior can help lower Nomad's defence greatly and lower his normal attack hits.