General Graardor/Strategies


 * The following lists several strategies and methods for fighting General Graardor and his minions. For the monster, see General Graardor.

General Graardor is one of the most popular of the five God Wars Dungeon bosses to kill, as he is arguably one of the easiest, but players should not take him too lightly. To enter Bandos's Stronghold, players must have at least 70 Strength and a hammer (the hammer in the tool belt can be used in this situation). To get to the boss room, players must kill 40 minions of Bandos in Bandos's Stronghold or the main God Wars Dungeon area.

Getting the Kill Count


In the past, goblins were very low level and therefore frequently used to make up the Bandos killcount very quickly. These have since been buffed considerably, and are now more in line with any other of the Bandos minions. The best monster to build killcount on now is the Spiritual rangers in Bandos's Stronghold, providing you have the required 63 slayer. If you do not have the required slayer level to combat Spiritual rangers, it is recommended that you fight Bandosians in the Northwest corner of the main room, as these are generally lower level than the minions within the stronghold.

Popularity
Because Graardor is one of the easiest of the five bosses, he is commonly killed. It can be difficult to find a world in which he is not being killed, especially at peak times. Once players get 40 killcount, they will then be able to kill General Graardor for a chance to get his helmet, boots, gloves, tassets, chestplate or his belt buckle as a shield, and the bandos hilt. Players new to fighting Graardor may have to hop to find an empty world, as Graardor is often killed by high levelled players in groups of 2-4.

The best way is to go north of the big door to the chamber room, and hop there so a misclick won't make you lose your 40 killcount. A Zamorak item is optional but it will save you food from the constant Bloodveld attack.

Attacks
Here are General Graardor's basic attacks:
 * Melee attack: He thrusts his right arm for a bone-crushing blow. This can deal extremely high damage, up to 3000 but doesn't tend to hit over 1800 (900 with Melee prayers)
 * Ranged attack: Graardor only uses this when he is attacking a player outside of melee range. He smashes his hand into the ground creating shockwaves. This is not as accurate now, but can still deal over 600 lifepoints of damage occasionally.

Strategies
Whenever players decide to fight General Graardor and his minions, Sergeant Steelwill, Sergeant Strongstack, and Sergeant Grimspike, everyone will attack Graardor first. When Graardor dies, some players attack Steelwill first, while others attack Grimspike because of his higher damage rate. Strongstack is usually left for the tank (if they can use Soul Split) because of his relatively low defence against players.

After the Evolution of Combat update, Graardor has no weaknesses to any point of the combat triangle. This allows for players to range, mage and melee him at their own accord. A player with 80+ combat stats and a reasonable prayer level (60+) can expect to prevail against Graardor at least once before having to bank.

Graardor now has incredible range defence, making range by far the worst method of fighting him.

Solo
As of late, Soloing for high level players is very common. It requires high stats for effectiveness. ​ Abilities:
 * Helm:Superior tetsu helm > Tetsu helm > Torva full helm > Bandos helmet > Dragon full helm > Barrows helm > Helm of neitiznot
 * Body:Superior tetsu body > Tetsu body > Torva platebody > Bandos chestplate > Barrows platebody
 * Legs:Superior tetsu legs > Tetsu legs > Torva platelegs > Bandos tassets > Barrows platelegs
 * Weapon: Drygore > Chaotic maul > (Zamorak, Saradomin, Bandos, Armadyl) Godsword > Chaotic longsword > Chaotic rapier
 * Offhand: Spirit shields > Off-hand Drygore > Enhanced Excalibur > Off-hand chaotic longsword > Off-hand chaotic rapier
 * Boots: Steadfast boots > Torva boots > Ganodermic boots > Dragon rider boots > Dragon boots
 * Gloves: Pneumatic gloves > Goliath gloves > Torva gloves > Ganodermic gloves > Dragon rider gloves
 * Aura: Penance aura > Reverence aura (any tier) > Vampyrism aura
 * Cape: TokHaar-Kal > Skill cape (any) > Fire cape > Obsidian Cape > Soulwars cape
 * Amulet: Saradomin's whisper > Amulet of fury > Amulet of glory
 * Scrimshaw: Superior scrimshaw of strength > Scrimshaw of strength > Superior scrimshaw of vampyrism > Scrimshaw of vampyrism
 * Ring: Ring of wealth (if soloing/ffaing) > Sixth-Age circuit > Berserker ring (i) > Berserker ring > TokKul-Zo > Ring of life
 * Ammo: Zamorak arrows
 * Attack: Slice, Sever, Smash, Hurricane, Overpower, Slaughter, Massacre, Berserk, Backhand
 * Strength: Dismember, Cleave, Fury, Quake, Assault
 * Defence: Anticipation(no shield or adrenaline required)
 * Health: Regenerate
 * Adrenaline keep: Anticipation, Escape, Freedom

Familiar: war tortoise/Pack yak
 * (non prayer method): 6-8 prayer potions
 * Rest of familiar is food (sharks or better)
 * all food if using prayer method

Duo/Trio teams
Duo and trio teams tend to be common. These teams require medium to high stats, such as maxed or near-maxed melee, as well as the prayer and herblore level requirements to use Turmoil and Overloads.


 * Helm: Torva full helm > Bandos Helmet  > Barrows Helm > Helm of neitiznot
 * Body: Torva platebody > Bandos Chestplate > Dharok's platebody > Dragon platebody
 * Legs: Torva platelegs > Bandos Tassets > Dharok's platelegs > Dragon platelegs
 * Weapon: Chaotic maul > Drygore > Chaotic longsword > Chaotic rapier > Godsword (any) > Abyssal vine whip
 * Offhand: Divine spirit shield > Drygore > Off-hand chaotic longsword > Off-hand chaotic rapier > Dragon defender
 * Boots: Steadfast boots > Torva boots > Ganodermic boots > Bandos boots > Dragon rider boots > Dragon boots
 * Gloves: Dragon rider gloves > Bandos Gloves > Ganodermic gloves > Grifolic gloves > Culinaromancer's gloves 10
 * Aura: Penance aura > Reverence aura (any tier) > Vampyrism aura (any tier)
 * Cape: TokHaar-Kal > Skill cape(any) > Fire cape > Soulwars cape
 * Amulet: Saradomin's whisper > Amulet of fury > Amulet of glory
 * Ring: Ring of wealth > Warrior's ring (i) > Warrior's ring > TokKul-Zo > Ring of life
 * Ammo: Zamorak arrows

Note: The Ring of Wealth will not work in LootShare/CoinShare. Due to this, it should only be used in FFA teams.

Abilities:
 * Attack: Slaughter, Massacre, Slice, Berserk, Backhand, Sever
 * Strength: Fury, Dismember, Assault
 * Health: Regeneration

Maging
Since the Evolution of Combat, General Graardor no longer has any weakness. This opens up the ability to mage him. This has proven to be very effective if opting for a barrage spell. Because of the multi-hitting nature of the barrage spells, the sergeants can be killed more than once per boss kill. This typically results in 7 killcount per boss kill, instead of the usual 4. This means more chance at loot, which is very desirable. Mage armour's high melee defence will give extra melee defence, but even in full ganodermic with a defence level of 85+, graardor will be hitting regular 2,000-2,500's. (1.) Using a wand and orb + blood burst/barrage works very well, due to you attacking faster, and being able to hit Graardor as well as hit multiple of his sergeants. This allows you to heal a decent amount, as well as kill those sergeants multiple times before finally killing Graardor himself (as stated above), allowing for more chances to get better drops.
 * Inventory:
 * ​1-2 Super Magic Flasks/Potions
 * 2-3 Prayer Renewal Flasks/Potions (Pray Renewal (4) Potions work fine and are less expensive than flasks, and you can recharge prayer ever 10 minutes at the alter in the room)
 * Trollheim Teleport Tablet
 * Suggested to bring a BoB familiar to bring more supplies
 * 1-3 Extra Familiar Pouches
 * Bones to Peaches Tablets (this is optional, but will provide extra food on each round. Peaches heal 400 LP each)
 * Runes
 * Rest of Inventory (and if using BoB familiar), fill with sharks or better
 * Super Restore potion to restore Summoning Points (only one is typically needed, as Super Restore potions are a relatively common drop.)
 * Auras (Vampyrism, Penance, Supreme Reverance, and Supreme Runic Accuracy are highly recommended, as they will allow you to save some resources and you will be able to cycle through them indefinitely. You can also destroy them after they have been used, freeing up an inventory space. You will be able to reclaim these for free from Xuan.)
 * Equipment:
 * Helm: Superior sea singer's hood > Virtus Mask  > Ganodermic visor > Ahrim's hood
 * Amulet: Arcane Stream Necklace > Saradomin's hiss > Amulet of Fury > Amulet of Glory > Demon horn necklace
 * Body: Superior sea singer's robe top > Virtus robe top > Ganodermic poncho > Ahrim's robe top
 * Legs: Superior sea singer's robe bottom > Virtus robe legs > Ganodermic leggings > Ahrim's robe skirt
 * Weapon: Seismic wand > Virtus wand > Chaotic staff > Armadyl battlestaff > Wand of Treachery/Ahrim's wand
 * Shield: Arcane spirit shield >  Ward of Subjugation
 * Off-hand: Seismic singularity > Virtus book > Ahrim's book of magic
 * Boots: Ragefire boots > Virtus boots > Ganodermic boots
 * Gloves: Static gloves > Virtus gloves/Spellcaster's gloves > Ganodermic gloves > Culinaromancer's gloves 10
 * Ring: Ring of Wealth (If soloing/ffa) > Onyx ring (i) / Seer's ring (i)/ Sixth Age Circuit  > Seer's ring
 * Cape: Completionist cape > Max cape > Cape of Accomplishment
 * Ammunition: Zamorak arrow / Saradomin arrow
 * Aura: Penance aura > Vampyrism aura

Tips and Tricks

 * Killcount is slightly harder now. When grabbing the killcount, you should do it in Bandos's Stronghold because it is full of Bandosians and a few Zamorakians. If you grab the killcount outside, avoid using your multi-hitting attacks. The Spiritual rangers inside die very fast. If you run low on health, avoid eating your Rocktails and instead use the Regenerate ability when your health runs low.
 * On your first trip, bring plenty of food. As you get more confident with the boss you should replace food with potions.
 * Avoid killing Spiritual mages for the killcount unless you are ranging, as they are now more resilient to melee attacks but weaker to range attacks.
 * When killing Graardor by yourself, you certainly want to reduce the damage since without any sort of healing (minus food) during a kill, it can be dangerous if you cannot kill him fast enough. Stay at the top right corner of the room so when Graardor spawns, you should only have Grimspike and him starting to attack you, and during the kill the other two will eventually come to his aid. You can save many food doing this.
 * Since Graardor will not hit often (melee armour is strong against respective melee and ranged attacks), the use of Saradomin brews and Super restores are usually pointless when killing him. A set of Prayer flasks and Rocktails is good enough to last for over 20 kills if you are lucky with food drops.
 * The Bandos altar is useful for recharging prayer. It will recharge your Prayer points completely, and also +10 (1) Prayer points for every Bandos item you have. After recharging your Prayer, you must wait 10 minutes to do so again. Remember you cannot use this while in combat!
 * The tank should stay near Graardor's spawn point.
 * When waiting for the boss to respawn, stay on the altar corners. When Graardor spawns, only him and Sergeant Grimspike will attempt to attack you. The other two Sergeants will not attack you unless you get too close to them or you manage to hurt Graardor enough. This is useful as Sergeant Steelwill's attack is short-ranged.
 * Organize drops carefully. Unless you have a Pack Yak to deposit all Graardor's drops, it is not recommended to pick the bones up unless you bury them.
 * Prayer potions are not usually needed in quantities more than 1-3 as the altar can recharge your prayer points every 10 minutes and because of the frequent Super Restore drops.

Drops
General Graardor is known for his common Rune platebody, Rune 2h sword, Rune pickaxe and Rune longsword drops. Many of his lower value drops are conveniently noted. Graardor is known to have a higher drop rate of Bandos armour than his bodyguards. His non rare drops can also be valuable, with the average kill worth between 15,000 and 40,000 coins. His special drops are of quite high value due to the their status as a power gear, which gives extra damage to your attacks. Graardor's bodyguards are known to drop a decent number of Chili potatoes, Sharks, noted Limpwurt roots, Nature runes and Cosmic runes quite frequently. As with all bodyguards of their respective general, they also drop Steel darts and Steel arrows in high numbers often.