Sliske's Endgame

Sliske's Endgame is the finale to the Sliske quest series, released on 19 December 2016. It involves the culmination of Sliske's plan, reaching as far back as the assassination of Guthix. Sliske calls an end to his game and tallies up the scores, inviting the gods (plus the World Guardian, Death, Vorago and the Dragonkin) to his grand finale.

Sliske's Endgame will be replayable, but only the first playthrough's outcome will be canon. The events in the quest will reflect the player's choices, in replays the player will be able to make different choices to see how they would have affected the quest's conclusion. Replays were not immediately possible upon the quest's release. As of, it is still not replayable.

On 17 December 2016, an eclipse appeared followed by messages from the gods Armadyl, Saradomin and Zamorak. Armadyl appeared atop his tower south of Falador, Saradomin appeared in the White Knights' Castle and Zamorak appeared in the Black Knights' Fortress. Zilyana also appeared atop the White Knights' Castle, watching Armadyl, while Padomenes appeared in the courtyard training some crusaders.

Official description
"You are invited to the battle to end all battles - the final clash between those on Sliske's Scoreboard. Set in a shadowy labyrinth, with the devious Mahjarrat himself pulling the strings, anything could happen.

But one thing is for certain - your actions will have a direct effect on the outcome, and will be reflected in future content. Choose wisely!"

Gathering the party
To start the quest, speak to Relomia in Draynor Village. She will tell you that Sliske's endgame is near, and ask you to invite all the gods to the grand finale. They can be found in the following locations:


 * You may also find Sliske inside Vorago's cave during the search for the gods.

Choices that could affect outcome of the game: Once everyone has been invited, return to Draynor and talk to Relomia. She will tell you to prepare for a possible fight and will tell you to meet her outside at the Heart's encampment. This is the outer encampment, not the ones inside. Note that while you can bring a familiar to the encampment, familiars are not allowed into the event and you will be asked to dismiss it before continuing.
 * You can declare support for one of the factions (Zamorak, Saradomin, Seren, Armadyl or yourself)
 * You can declare your opposition to one of the factions (Zamorak, Saradomin or Armadyl)
 * You can choose to tell Armadyl about Zaros' wrongdoings (Through the "Tell me about..." dialogue option)
 * You can tell Seren to trust or distrust Zaros (Dialogue option will not reappear if ignored)

The assembled party
Once you are geared up, speak to Relomia at the Heart encampment. All of the other participants will appear and argue before Sliske arrives. He reveals that he has invited the dragonkin since they killed the god V. Brassica Prime and Marimbo will both leave, as they have no interest in the stone.

You are presented with more choices here:
 * You can choose to trust Kerapac or not
 * You must pick the faction you support, this time for real: yourself, Armadyl, Saradomin, Seren, Zamorak, Zaros, The Godless, Icthlarin, Death, Sliske, the Dragonkin or no one.
 * If you attempt to side with no one, Sliske will dismiss your decision for being boring, and thus ask you again to pick a faction to support.

The final member
Sliske will then reveal that he created a "World Guardian" from Nomad, and that it will count as a kill for your god if you defeat him. Nomad does not use any special attacks and is very straight forward to defeat, though food is recommended for all players. Stuns do not work. If you struggle with this fight, Vampyrism and Soul Split help make up for the lost health, as does a blood spell, but the fight should not be much of a challenge provided you bring some food. Once Nomad is defeated, Sliske will send the party members into his big labyrinth, including you. Note that you should leave at least one inventory space for the puzzles, as anything you drop WILL disappear as soon as you finish the puzzle.

Overview
Sliske's Labyrinth can take very long to complete, so make sure you have enough time to complete it. If you leave the labyrinth through the exit portal or lobbying, speak to Relomia again, who will drop you off at your previous location inside.

The labyrinth is actually two labyrinths that must be completed in order, the first labyrinth ends with a big swirly portal, whilst the second and final labyrinth ends with a set of stairs. In both labyrinths, you are travelling from the southwestern room to the northeastern room. Each labyrinth has 4 sections (2x2) each consisting of 8x8 rooms. Only the rooms in the section you are currently in are visible on the map, the other sections become visible when you enter the purple door that leads you to another section.

Since your only viable option to finding your way in this maze is by using the map, it is a good idea to increase the size of your minimap to give you a much better overview. Make sure your compass is pointing north after changing sections.

A common tip in the labyrinth is to look for large rooms in your map, aligned with glowing barriers ingame and find your way there, where you will either get a cutscene or have a puzzle to complete. The cutscenes have little impact on the quest, but the puzzles do. When you complete the puzzle, doors or new paths will open further down the path that were previously blocked or empty.

Maps
Be sure to follow the cyan lines on the first solution, they lead to puzzle and cutscene rooms off the main map that must be completed to progress along the map later. Go back to the green path once the puzzle is done. All orange path lead to additional cutscenes, but are not required to complete the quest. Upon reaching the final room, one can simply climb the stairs to advance.

Puzzles
There are several puzzles you can encounter:


 * Spotlight - an empty room with a bright spotlight. When you step into the spotlight, the screen will gradually darken into shadow. Stay in the spotlight until the bar is filled.
 * Sliske icon - A room with four light makers and a big shadow on the ground. Find the solution by right-clicking the table, and turn the markers to make the same shadow.
 * When encountering the Sliske icon where one pillar moves the other pillars, here is the solution
 * The north-west dial changes the north-east dial. Start by rotating the north-west dial until it shows only an eyebrow.
 * The south-west and north-east dial move together. Move the south-west dial until you get to the part that's right before the correct one.
 * Now rotate the north-west dial once, it should show the north-west dial to be the correct part.
 * Now rotate the south-west dial which should rotate both the south-west and north-east dial to be correct.
 * The south-east dial is independent of all the others so just rotate that one til it's done.
 * Light wisp - In one of the icon rooms a light wisp can be found floating around. Harvest it and use the wisp's energy to empower the light maker.
 * Cryptics - A solution panel can be talked to figure out the solution to how the masks can be placed. The puzzles are fairly simple, and you should not have any trouble solving them. If you're missing any masks, kill the nearby wights for their drop.

Encounters with the other participants
Choices given in the labyrinth do not affect the maze itself, but may affect later outcomes and future quests. Choices include:
 * You can choose to take Icthlarin (who has regressed to a dog-like state) with you or not.
 * You can speak to Death about the state of Icthlarin. He can then tell you about the fate of one of the gods (Zaros, Seren, Saradomin, Armadyl, Icthlarin or Zamorak), who are temporarily rendered mortal during the endgame.
 * You can speak to Vorago about himself and his history.
 * You can speak to Armadyl, who is moulting, and choose to accept one of his feathers or not.
 * You can speak to Saradomin about his temporary mortality.
 * You can try to speak to Zamorak, but Sliske is tormenting him so he leaves.
 * You may be asked by Seren what you think is responsible for taking away the gods' powers in the labyrinth. The Stone of Jas is the correct answer.
 * Azzanadra and Char will be arguing about what to do about Sliske. You can recommend that Zaros try to negotiate with him or try to kill him.
 * Armadyl will ask to speak with Seren about something beyond the endgame; Seren will wish to speak about it at a later time. You can ask Armadyl to listen to Seren, ask Seren to work with Armadyl or ask Seren to listen to Armadyl (in which case he describes an idea to bring the aviansie to Tarddiad, which you can give your opinion on)
 * Armadyl may seek an alliance with Vorago which he rejects, bringing up the damage done by Armadyl's battle with Bandos.
 * Armadyl may offer to help a dragonkin, but it insults him and leaves. You can ask Armadyl if he is alright or taunt him.
 * Armadyl and Saradomin will have captured a dragonkin. You can choose to help Armadyl cage it or let it loose in the labyrinth.
 * Armadyl may argue with Zamorak about their respective responsibility for loss of life, in the God Wars and more recently.
 * You can encourage Seren and Saradomin to talk in private or not. If they talk, Seren will ask Saradomin to withdraw from the endgame, and you can encourage Saradomin to withdraw or to continue.
 * You can choose to help Saradomin or Zamorak in a fight between their knights or can encourage them to temporarily put their differences aside to focus on Sliske.
 * Zaros' and Zamorak's forces may have an argument.
 * You can pick a side in an argument between Zamorak and Seren.

Once you reach the end of the second labyrinth, climb up the set of staircases.

Reaching the stone
At the top of the staircase, you will be met by another god, with whom you will race to the Stone of Jas. The race works the same way regardless of who you're racing. The one who reaches the Stone of Jas first will be declared the victor of Sliske's endgame. You may race against Armadyl, Saradomin, or Zamorak, based on how well you and each of them perform in the labyrinth. You are most likely to race against Armadyl, who had the highest score on Sliske's scoreboard, and thus started the endgame with an advantage; you are least likely to race against Zamorak, who had the lowest score on Sliske's scoreboard, and thus started the endgame with a disadvantage.

Sliske will give you a "headstart" of sorts, binding the opponent for a short time. Make your way towards the Stone of Jas. The next part of the quest will differ based on who wins. If you want to win, click on the "Delay" switches along the way, before your opponent passes them, to slow down your opponent; the "Delay" switches temporarily summon Sliske's apparitions to block the god's path.

You will have to go through the following sequence to reach the Stone of Jas:
 * Jumping across a gap.
 * Jumping across a gap.
 * Delay switch (optional).
 * Jumping across a gap.
 * Delay switch (optional).
 * Jumping across a gap.
 * Touching the Stone of Jas.

Once the Stone is reached, Sliske arrives, and a victor is declared. If you are the victor, you can state what you plan to do with the Stone of Jas. In all cases, you will be given a chance to react to the end result. Zaros and Seren will then teleport inside, to Sliske's great surprise, revealing that their power is greater than Sliske's in his attempt to kick them out. What happens at this point will depend upon your choices during the quest as well as in previous quests.

If Zamorak wins, Zaros will invoke the demon pact that he made with Zamorak in Children of Mah, demanding the Stone of Jas from Zamorak. If Armadyl or Saradomin wins, Zaros will reveal that he has made a similar demon pact to bind them. For Armadyl, Zaros promises to protect the aviansie, in exchange for the Stone of Jas. For Saradomin, Zaros has rescued his daughter and held her captive with Nex, agreeing to return her safely to Saradomin in exchange for the Stone of Jas.

If Seren is restored with the dark shard in The Light Within, she will reweave the threads of fate that bound Armadyl or Saradomin to Zaros in the demon pact, freeing them from Zaros and binding them to herself. For Armadyl, Seren agrees to fulfil Zaros's obligations to protect the aviansie. For Saradomin, Seren reveals that her agents have taken Saradomin's daughter from Nex, are keeping her safely whilst the endgame is in progress, and will return her to Saradomin afterwards.

If Zaros is sabotaged in Fate of the Gods, Seren's pact stands. Armadyl or Saradomin agree to fulfill their end of the agreement, and Seren agrees to uphold hers. Zaros protests, saying that he needs the Stone of Jas to fulfil his plans, to which Seren responds that his plans are exactly why she must keep the Stone of Jas away from him. If Zaros is fully restored in Fate of the Gods, the outcome will vary based on other choices made in the game. In some cases, Seren's pact will still win. In other cases, Zaros will have the foresight to see what Seren does, and nullifies Seren's attempt to unbind Armadyl or Saradomin from him. Armadyl or Saradomin will feel as if nothing has happened, and Zaros's demon pact still stands.

If Seren is restored without the dark shard in The Light Within, Seren will not attempt to reweave the threads of fate that bind Armadyl or Saradomin to Zaros. Regardless of whether she was restored with the dark shard or not, Seren makes no attempt to rebind Zamorak's demon pact with Zaros. In all of these cases, Zaros's demon pact stands. Armadyl or Saradomin agree to fulfil their end of the bargain by handing over the Stone of Jas to Zaros.

If you win, Zaros warns you that should you take the stone, you will set in motion the destruction of Gielinor due to another God War, one that will eventually spread to the rest of all creation. He admits to being fond of the World Guardian and convinced of their importance in a prosperous future, but demands that you hand over the stone to him or he will be forced to destroy you.

Regardless of what happens, at this point, Kerapac will suddenly appear and destroy the Stone of Jas with the Elder Mirror.

The final battle
Enraged, Sliske will attempt to kill you in battle. If you need to restock, change equipment or obtain a familiar, you can leave through the exit portal (teleportation will not work); simply talk to Relomia again outside the Heart encampment to return. Each wave serves as a checkpoint.

Deaths here are not safe. Upon death, your gravestone appears outside the Heart of Gielinor. Using the Nardah Teleport from the Desert amulet, the gravestone can be easily reached to reclaim items without having to pay Death.

It is recommended to read through the next 3 waves before continuing the quest, as you will constantly be under attack for an extended period of time.

Wave 1
Sliske will send standard wight footsoldiers and archers at you. Kill them to fill the bar. As the bar progresses, he will start sending imbued wight footsoldiers, who are stronger but still weak enough to kill. As you kill more wights, he will start adding unstable wight footsoldiers, who are similar to the imbued ones but explode upon death, dealing damage to anything near it. Keep killing wights until the bar fills. It is recommended to use either barrage spells to clear the crowd as fast as possible, or if using melee or range to chain as many area-of-effect abilities as you can. Be aware that all remaining unstable wight footsoldiers will explode at the end of the wave, potentially causing death if the player is surrounded.

Wave 2
Angered by your resistance, Sliske will summon the Barrows brothers to attack you. Due to your actions in Kindred Spirits, the brothers defect and support you. Sliske states he never plays all his cards and calls upon Nomad, Gregorovic and Linza the Disgraced. You will need to defeat all three to progress.

Nomad uses his standard auto-attacks and will also place mines around you occasionally, which you should avoid stepping on. If you step on a mine, you will take massive damage and lose all of your run energy. If Gregorovic/Linza is defeated, Nomad will occasionally release a powerful attack that deals about half of the player's current life points worth of damage, which can be completely blocked with Protect from Magic and Devotion or healed from with Resonance. When Nomad is the last one remaining, he will summon several clones of himself, though you only need to defeat one to progress. Nomad has 100,000 Life Points.

Gregorovic will summon a healing spirit, which will heal him for 10,000 life points if it touches him. Simply attacking the spirit is enough to force it away from him; make sure you hit or the spirit will continue towards Gregorovic. If Nomad/Linza is defeated, Gregorovic will also start using his knife throw attack; this will be indicated by shadows on the ground, so move when necessary to avoid unblockable damage. When Gregorovic is the last one remaining, he will be able to use his shadow clones to assist him. Each shadow clone has 3,000 life points. Gregorovic has 200,000 life points; his fight is extremely similar to that in the Heart; the only difference is that he does not hit as hard, cannot poison you, and does not use his knife trick attack. However, he will summon his shadow clones frequently, and not when he is at a set health like when he does so in the Heart, so abilities that can hit multiple targets will be vital if you want to mitigate the damage Gregorovic's shadow clones can inflict.

Linza will be able to bind you for several seconds, in addition to her set's effect of reflecting back damage. If Nomad/Gregorovic is defeated, Linza will be able to perform a defensive stance and heal for 1,500 every few ticks, in a manner similar to Araxxor's web shield. This defensive stance can be stopped if she is hit for enough damage, so use threshold and ultimate abilities if possible. If she is the last one remaining, she will unleash a large-area attack similar to Quake - simply move out of range to avoid taking heavy damage. However, be wary and have the Freedom ability ready, as she could bind you before she unleashes this attack. Linza has 150,000 Life Points. She is the only target of the three with a weakness, being vulnerable to fire spells.

Pick off one of the targets at a time; when you defeat them, the others will recover all their health and gain new abilities. Once all three are defeated, Sliske will personally face you.

A good strategy for this fight is to take out either Nomad or Gregorovic first, as they are much harder to defeat if killed last, whereas Linza deals the least amount of damage and has the least effective and extreme additional attacks when last remaining. Leaving Gregorovic for last is not recommended as his shadow clone attack occurs every few seconds which in addition to increased healing from his summon can result in him healing quicker than you can damage him.

Wave 3
Baffled by the defeat of his strongest wights, Sliske will engage you personally. He has 100,000 Life Points, and attacks with magic, using the spell Shadow Blitz. While Sliske is not weak to any attack style, ranged armour may be beneficial for defence against Sliske's magic attack. Sliske also often drains chunks of your prayer so using 3-4+ super restore/prayer flasks is recommended.

Sliske also has a unique attack he uses every ~30 seconds where a shadow pit full of hands will emerge where you stand, dealing 25% of your max health as damage every few ticks. After the attack has been completed, it will take approximately 10-15 seconds for the attack to repeat. This can be avoided by moving out of the way, much like Nex shadow phase. It is recommended to use evasive and sporadic manoeuvres here as Sliske will predict which square your character will move to. He may also freeze you in place, binding you for a few seconds; use Freedom to escape if this happens. Sliske will lay five shadow pits before returning to normal attacks.

Wave 3 contains multiple parts. These pieces are listed below in order of suggested completion. Steps 2, 4, and 6 are interchangeable and may be completed in any order. Sliske will unleash a lightning attack during the second of the three options taken. Should you die or leave the arena before the checkpoint (Step 8) is reached, you must begin at Step 1 once again. A cutscene will begin where you fight Sliske with the Staff of Armadyl. You get the upper hand and impale Sliske on the staff, killing him. However, he manages to force the other end into you and appears to transfer his essence into you. He then has the last laugh before petrifying and crumbling away as you collapse.
 * 1) Reduce Sliske to 10,000 Life Points. Sliske will teleport to the cliffside.
 * 2) Destroy the Power Source in the centre of the room (1,000 Life Points). This might only be attack-able with melee for some players - remove your weapon to harm it if so.
 * 3) Sliske heals himself to 100,000 Life Points. Reduce Sliske to 10,000 Life Points. He will teleport to the cliffside.
 * 4) Enter one of the rifts. Sliske will bring you back into the arena.
 * 5) Sliske heals himself to 100,000 Life Points. Reduce Sliske to 10,000 Life Points. Sliske will teleport to the cliffside.
 * 6) Jump on the rock formation in front of Sliske to push him back into the arena.
 * 7) Sliske heals himself to 100,000 Life Points. Reduce Sliske to 10,000 Life Points.
 * 8) [Checkpoint achieved.]
 * 1) Sliske will not damage you at this step. Your character activates their World Guardian powers, and you are given unlimited Life Points, unlimited 100% adrenaline (or 100% special bar in Legacy Mode) and a 50% cooldown reduction on all abilities.
 * 2) Damage Sliske until the cutscene ensues. If unlocked, Onslaught will end this phase extremely quickly.

Meeting Jas
After Sliske's death, you will find yourself on a platform with Seren and Zaros. A voice speaks out, revealing itself to be the Elder god Jas. Zaros requests Jas to make him an elder god, but she refuses, so he leaves in anger. Seren follows him. Jas will then focus her attention on you, and ask why you killed her agent. Explain your actions to Jas, who will follow up with more questions. At the end of the conversation, she will consult the other Elder gods about life on Gielinor; if they prove themselves to be worthy, they will spare Gielinor, but if they aren't, they will destroy the planet and all life. Jas will allow you to ask her one question before she sends you back.

You can insult Jas instead; however, if you go all the way through with this option, Jas will instantly kill you. It will result in an unsafe death.

Epilogue
You will find yourself back in the encampment. Linza will approach you and apologise for her actions, and decides to stay with the Barrow brothers due to being undead. Armadyl, Saradomin, and/or Seren will then approach and ask what it was like in the presence of the Elder Gods. Death and/or Icthlarin are the last to speak with you, who will commend you for stopping Sliske, although Sliske's laugh will emanate and prevent the player from telling them the truth about what they are hearing. Icthlarin will also note a strange shadow amongst the player.

Return to Relomia in Draynor Village and either tell her the truth about Sliske or lie. She will become grief-stricken or angry, depending on how players decide to tell her what happened, but the player will black out while Sliske's laugh emanates once more. When the player awakens, Relomia will be strangely cheerful, and gives players their rewards.

Congratulations, quest complete!

Trivia

 * After completing the quest, the Adventurer's Log reads "I finally beat Sliske and prevented the elder gods from killing everyone, for now."
 * When beginning the sequence of the gods arriving at the start of the maze, Armadyl appears using the same animation as the Aftershock perk.
 * Depending on which god the player faces, in the final race to the Stone of Jas, and who wins that race, Zaros and/or Seren may refer to other gods by other names in different languages:
 * Seren refers to Armadyl as 'plentyn diniwed', Welsh for 'innocent child'.
 * Seren refers to Saradomin as 'tad poeni', Welsh for 'worried father'.
 * Zaros refers to Armadyl as 'Praetor Plumalis', Latin for 'feathered leader'.
 * Zaros refers to Saradomin as 'Praetor Barbatus', Latin for 'bearded leader'.
 * Zaros refers to Zamorak as 'Legatus Maximus', Latin for 'greatest general'.
 * If the player decides to let Icthlarin come with them and reaches the end of the first labyrinth first, they can decide to dismiss their own entourage, stopping Icthlarin from following them.
 * A flashback to Kindred Spirits, revealing that the World Guardian saw Sliske's plan, was cut due to time constraints. Jagex also planned for Sliske to wield the Staff of Armadyl during the final fight, but did not have enough time to add it to his character model.
 * When the Barrows brothers appear, Akrisae the Doomed is not with them as the developers had forgotten that he existed.
 * It is possible to run between the portal Nomad spawns at and the portal Gregorovic spawns at while Sliske is talking, trapping Linza behind the middle portal when they spawn. After Nomad and Gregorovic are defeated, the middle portal serves as a safe spot against Linza if using Ranged or Magic.
 * At its release, this quest held the record of having the most quest requirements in the game, exceeding those of Children of Mah.
 * A strange power-like event that would happen when the first Hardcore Ironman died to insulting Jas was originally planned. When this happened, all players would look towards the entrance of the Heart of Gielinor, facepalm in unison and a game message would say "You feel as though someone did something really dumb." It was later scrapped due to being more technically complex than expected.