RuneScape:Events Team/Nex

Nex
This is a guide with basic information about nex.

For a full strategy guide, see Nex/Strategies

Nex is the powerful general of Zaros, imprisoned in the back of the God Wars Dungeon. Nex's prison requires a frozen key to enter, giving her an implicit requirement of level 70 in Agility, Constitution, Ranged, and Strength.

Kick warning
During her blood phase (covered in more detail below), Nex has the ability to heal from attacks used on her; listen to ranks when they call for you not to attack; they will say "Off". Participants who attack when told not to will be warned, and, if they ignore those warnings, they will be kicked.

Equipment
Because of Nex's uses of deflection curses, at least 2 styles will be needed to effectively fight her. Hyrbid armour is the best option, as it will allow you to switch styles without affecting your accuracy. You may bring multiple sets of armour to switch between, however it should not be necessary to do so in Events Team masses. Ranged armour should be avoided as if Nex switches targets to someone with a weakness to melee, she will focus on meleeing them and staying in melee distance. This behaviour will persist through to her next target until her next special attack.

This table below covers briefly the best equipment to bring. Note that void will only work with 3 pieces and a helmet; you should also bring a helmet for each style you are using.

Weapons are not covered in depth because there are too many available combinations. You should bring your best weapons for 2 styles. Dual-wield versus 2-handed is not pertinent here; it is your personal choice for which to use.

Magic boots are listed above hybrid boots because they will increase your melee defence (and make Nex less likely to move in to melee you should she abruptly switch targets) without significantly affecting your accuracy for the other 2 styles.

Spawn
When Nex spawns, she will spawn her mages one by one, in the same order that she uses them: Fumus, Umbra, Cruor, Glacies. During this time, she and her minions are not attackable.

General
Please make sure that you do not have Incite active, and that you do not use Provoke on Nex. The Events Team will have an experienced tank who should maintain Nex's focus for the entire fight.

Minions
Nex has four mages whose power she absorbs throughout the fight. They are initially protected by a shield, and thus immune to attacks; however, as the fight progresses their shields will drop. They use magic attacks attuned to their element. They are also immune to all magic attacks. Either ranged or melee will have to be used to kill them, with the former being slightly more accurate. There is a heavy damage cap on both styles, so even several people attacking the same mage may not bring them down right away.

Nex's cursers
Nex can use deflection curses on occasion that will completely negate damage and deflect half of it back to the player. Her deflection curse will also show in the colour of her wings:

Nex can use either deflect magic or deflect ranged at any time throughout the fight. The deflection curse she has access to will start with deflect magic and alternate every kill.

Nex can only use deflect melee on her final phase. She will still have access to her other deflect cure on this phase too.

Smoke phase
After she summons all four of her mages, she will say "Fill my soul with smoke!". At this point, the fight begins and she will begin attacking. The event's tank will use provoke, so Nex can only use magic to attack everyone else. During this phase, you should be using protect from magic.

Attacks:
 * Melee attack
 * Nex's basic melee attack that she has on every phase, this will only target the tank.


 * Magic attack
 * Nex will fire a magic attack that hits every player in her range. It can hit upwards of 2,500 damage and has the ability to inflict poison.


 * Drag
 * This attack will pull a random combatant towards Nex, stunning them and turning off their protection prayers. The stun can be protected against with anticipation and cleared with freedom. Nothing can stop the drag or the prayer disabling.


 * Virus
 * Nex will say "Let the virus flow through you!" and her target will begin coughing. This effect is spread to adjacent players. For the most part, this attack can be ignored in Event Team masses.


 * No Escape
 * Nex will say "There is..." and then teleport to a random path on the center symbol before charging down that path. This attack cannot be avoided if you are caught in it, and it can hit upwards of 5,000 damage. The safest course of action is to use surge or escape to get out of the center symbol as soon as Nex says "There is...".

When Nex is reduced to 160,000 life points, Nex will say "Fumus, don't fail me!", Fumus's shield will drop, and Nex will become invulnerable. At this time, you should head to the north-west corner of the room to kill Fumus.

Shadow
After Fumus is killed, Nex will say "Darken my shadow!", absorbing the powers of Umbra. During this phase, the room will grow dark, and Nex will switch to ranged attacks. As such, you should be praying protect from ranged. Standing near Nex is dangerous, so melee users will have to employ a hit-and-run tactic; i.e. attack Nex with 1 or 2 abilities, then run at least 1 square away before attacking again.

Attacks:
 * Melee attack
 * Nex's basic melee attack that she has on every phase, this will only target the tank. This will likely not be used, as the tank will not be within melee range.


 * Ranged attack
 * Nex will fire a ranged attack at all players in her range. It can hit upwards of 2,500 damage.


 * Darkness
 * Nex will say "Embrace darkness!" then spin around in the air, and the room will darken. This attack does not deal any damage, and its only purpose is to activate the effect that damages players who stand close to her for too long.


 * Shadow bombs
 * Nex will say "Fear the shadow!" and a dark shadow will spawn under every player in her range. Shortly thereafter, the shadows will erupt, hitting upwards of 4,500 typeless damage. The best course of action is to step onto a square without a shadow as soon as a shadow spawns under you. After the shadow erupts, the graphics will persist; however, they will deal no damage, so they can be safely stepped on.

When Nex is reduced to 120,000 life points, Nex will say "Umbra, don't fail me!", Umbra's shield will drop, and Nex will become invulnerable. At this time, you should head to the north-east corner of the room to kill Umbra.

Blood
After Umbra is killed, Nex will say "Flood my lungs with blood!", absorbing the powers of Cruor. For this phase, Nex will switch back to magic attacks (and she will use no more ranged attacks for the rest of the fight). As such, you should be praying protect from magic. Nex's first attack will be her siphon, so you should not be attacking Nex immediately after Umbra has been killed. During this phase, attacks that cause a bleed effect should not be used, as they will heal Nex instead of damaging her. These abilities are:


 * Ranged
 * Fragmentation Shot
 * Deadshot


 * Magic
 * Combust


 * Melee
 * Dismember
 * Slaughter

The only exception to this rule is the melee threshold ability Blood Tendrils; the bleed effect of this ability is the only that will not heal Nex.

Attacks:
 * Melee attack
 * Nex's basic melee attack that she has on every phase, this will only target the tank.


 * Magic attack
 * Nex will fire a magic attack at a random target (usually the tank). It can hit upwards of 2,500 damage and will Nex a percentage of the damage hit.


 * Siphon
 * Nex will say "A siphon will solve this!" and begin to glow white. Two blood reavers will also spawn. The reavers can be ignored. While Nex is glowing white no one except for the tank should be attacking her. All attacks that land damage will heal Nex for the amount that they would have damaged her. This is the first attack that Nex will use on her blood phase; so after Umbra has been killed, no one should attack Nex.


 * Sacrifice
 * Nex will say "I demand a blood sacrifice!" and target a random player in her range. Her target will turn red. If her target is too close to her (within 7 squares), she will deal damage equal to 10% of your maximum life points, and heal for 100% of your maximum life points. For example, if you have a maximum of 8,600 life points and are hit by this attack, you will be dealt 860 damage, and Nex will heal for 8,600 life points. Surge and Escape are useful abilities for avoiding this attack.

When Nex is reduced to 80,000 life points, Nex will say "Cruor, don't fail me!", Cruor's shield will drop, and Nex will become invulnerable. At this time, you should head to the south-east corner of the room to kill Cruor.

Ice
After Cruor is killed, Nex will say "Infuse me with the power of ice!", absorbing the powers of Glacies. For this phase, Nex will still be using magic attacks. As such, you should be praying protect from magic.

Attacks:
 * Melee attack
 * Nex's basic melee attack that she has on every phase, this will only target the tank.


 * Magic attack
 * Nex will fire a magic attack that hits every player in her range. It can hit upwards of 2,500 damage and will significantly drain your prayer points.


 * Prison
 * Nex will say "Die now, in a prison of ice!" and encase her target in a prison. This will almost always be the event's tank. When it is the tank, you should ignore the prison unless the tank says "Free". If the tank says free, rapidly click one of the icicles until it is broken. If the target of the prison attack is not the tank, you should immediately attack the icicles. If the target of the prison attack is you, cast freedom and heal up as much as possible (at least 8,000 life points) just in case other participants fail to free you. Note that attacking an icicle does not guarantee it will break. The tank is responsible for keeping Nex focused on them so that they are always the one imprisoned; however, it is possible (albeit rare) for her to randomly switch targets before using the attack. This most often happens when she switches phases at the same time she begins to siphon.


 * Containment
 * Nex will say "Contain this!" and slam her fist into the ground, spawning 4 icicles around her. This can hit upwards of 3,500 damage. This attack will also spawn up to 3 icicle trails that home in on a target and that can hit anything in their path; they can hit upwards of 2,300 damage. The best course of action is to move away from Nex as soon as she says "Contain this!". If you are using magic or ranged, you should try to stay out of range of this attack at all times, and if you are, can stay in place.

When Nex is reduced to 40,000 life points, Nex will say "Glacies, don't fail me!", Glacies' shield will drop, and Nex will become invulnerable. At this time, you should head to the south-east corner of the room to kill Cruor.

Zaros
After Cruor is killed, Nex will say "NOW, THE POWER OF ZAROS!", and enter a berserk mode. For this phase, Nex will still be using magic attacks; however, they will be much more powerful. As such, you should be praying protect from magic.

Attacks:
 * Melee attack
 * A more powerful version of Nex's basic melee attack that she has on every phase. This will only target the tank; however, it can hit any player in front of or to the side of Nex. This attack can hit upwards of 2,500.


 * Magic attack
 * Nex will fire a magic attack that hits every player in her range. It can hit upwards of 5,000 damage and will significantly drain your prayer points. Being significantly more powerful than her other magic attacks, it is extremely important to have prayer on. Casting Devotion can be very helpful here to completely negate the damage.


 * Soul split
 * Nex has the ability to use Soul Split, and it will make her attacks heal her for 2,500 damage.


 * Melee deflect
 * Nex's most common deflection curse during her final phase is protect from melee. It works the same as her deflect ranged and deflect magic curses, which, by the way, she can use here too (albeit much less often).

When Nex is reduced to 0 life points, she will say "Taste my wrath!", firing one last attack by activating Wrath. You should immediately run at least 5 squares away to be safely out of this attacks range. Her wrath attack can hit upwards of 4,000 typeless damage.

TL;DR
A very succinct version of the strategy can be summed up as:


 * Throughout fight
 * Watch prayer and life points at all times
 * Listen to ranks
 * Pay attention to Nex's deflect curse
 * 1) Smoke
 * 2) * Protect from magic
 * 3) * Be ready to escape center
 * 4) * Fumus is north-west
 * 5) Shadow
 * 6) * Protect from ranged
 * 7) * Avoid shadows on floor
 * 8) * Avoid staying too close
 * 9) * Umbra is north-east
 * 10) Blood
 * 11) * Do not attack at first
 * 12) * Do not attack during siphon
 * 13) * No bleed abilities
 * 14) * Protect from magic
 * 15) * Run away if red
 * 16) * Cruor is south-east
 * 17) Ice
 * 18) * Protect from magic
 * 19) * Run away from contain
 * 20) * Only free tank if asked
 * 21) * Free everyone else immediately
 * 22) * Glacies is south-west
 * 23) Zaros
 * 24) * Protect from magic
 * 25) * Don't stand too close to tank
 * 26) * Watch deflect curses closely
 * 27) * Avoid wrath

Drops
The drops will be split using CoinShare, so all ancient equipment will be split into shards. In addition to these, there are a few other valuable drops, all of which may be kept by the participant who receives it. If a CoinShare drop is received, it will be split into 120 shards of the respective type, divide evenly amongst every participant.

All other drops will be split evenly amongst 4 or 5 players via the LootShare system, with the number of players getting a split depending on the drop. For example, if Nex dropped 375 magic logs, this would be partitioned into 5 sets of 75 magic logs each. The LootShare system will distribute these 5 sets to players in the room, favouring those with higher LootShare potential. It is possible for a single player to receive more than one, or even all of the 4 or 5 sets of drops. The only drops that are not separated into 4 or 5 groups are unique Nex items, which are only dropped 1 at a time (these will be split with CoinShare anyway), and the rare drop table, which is 2 sets of drops.

For a full list of Nex's drops, see Nex.