Glacor/Strategies

After completion of Ritual of the Mahjarrat, players can kill glacors, powerful ice elementals residing in the Glacor Cave. Glacors are fairly powerful for their combat level of 112, but are the only monsters to drop steadfast boots, glaiven boots, ragefire boots, and shards of armadyl that can be used to make Armadyl runes or the Armadyl battlestaff. Glacors also drop large numbers of crimson charms and blue charms.

Glacors are unusual in that they must be soloed; only one player may fight a glacor at a time. However, groups of players can individually kill glacors together.

Getting there
The fastest way to reach the Glacor Cave is by fairy ring (code: ). Fairy rings are scattered all across RuneScape, though they may be most easily reached with the TokKul-Zo's teleport to the TzHaar Fight Cave, or the ring of slaying's teleport to the Fremennik Slayer Dungeon. The TokKul-Zo's teleport is recommended due to its extreme proximity to a bank.

Offence
Glacors primarily attack with Ranged and Magic attacks that can each hit up to 980 damage and are quite accurate. They can also attack with melee, though they will only do so if players move within melee distance of them. At range, a glacor will only attack with one style at a time. They will not switch between attack styles while in combat, except when they use their special attack (after which they will always switch to their ranged attack). The Ranged attack, fired from their right arm, looks like an icicle. The Magic attack, which glacors shoot from their left arm, appears to be a blue orb. In addition to dealing damage, the Magic attack has a chance to freeze players in place for about five seconds. This does not count as a stun, so Anticipation does not offer protection from it; however, Freedom can be used to escape it. Glacors also have another freezing attack which they only use when within melee distance. This freezing attack has similar properties to that of the enhanced ice titans summoned by Lucien during Ritual of the Mahjarrat; players who do not break out in time will be dealt around 1,000 damage. Escaping requires the player to click as fast as possible in order to break the ice, similar to the method used to escape the ice titans.

In addition to their Ranged and Magic attacks, glacors have a special attack in which they slam both arms down onto the ground and fire a large group of icicles. These icicles will target the square in which you're standing when they are fired; if you do not move out of the way before they hit, they will deal damage equal to 50% of your remaining life points. Resonance will block this damage, though it will not heal you. After using their special attack, glacors will always switch to their ranged attack.

When the glacor is reduced below half health, its attack speed will increase slightly from speed 5 to speed 6.

Defence
Glacors have very high defence against melee and Ranged attacks, but are weak to Magic. Glacors are immune to ice spells from the ancient magicks, however fire and blood spells will deal 50% more damage to them. Additionally, glacors are immune to rebound damage, such as from deflect curses and Reflect. Glacors will not move around the area unless you run out of range of their attacks, at which point they will move enough to continue attacking you.

When a glacor is reduced to half its health, it will summon three glacytes, detailed below. The glacor is invincible until its glacytes are killed, though it will still attack you. Once the glacytes are defeated, you can once again damage the glacor, though it will inherit the trait of the glacyte that was killed last.

Glacytes
At half health, a glacor spawns three glacytes, smaller versions of the glacors. Each of them attacks with melee, hitting up to 640, and has a special ability, as detailed below:
 * The sapping glacyte will drain 20 Prayer points with a successful melee attack.
 * The unstable glacyte will periodically violently explode, dealing damage equal to one third of your remaining life points if you are adjacent to it. A blue-and-yellow bar, similar to the adrenaline bar, will appear over an unstable glacyte's head and slowly fill to indicate the time remaining until the explosion. The explosion will only damage players who are within a 3x3 grid of the glacyte. Regardless of whether the explosion hurts you, it will damage the glacyte for 90% of its remaining life points. After about ten seconds, the glacyte will begin regenerating its life points back to approximately half and begin filling up the bar again.
 * The enduring glacyte has damage reduction that scales inversely with its distance from the glacor. The closer the glacyte is to the glacor, the stronger its damage reduction; while it stands next to the glacor, it is virtually immune to damage. To kill this glacyte, lure it far enough to deal enough damage. If far enough from the glacor, it will take full damage.

The glacytes may be killed in any order. However, the glacor will inherit a trait similar to that of glacyte that was killed last: Since players are advised not to use melee when fighting glacors, it is best to kill the unstable glacyte last. As long as the player does not stand near the glacor, the explosion will have no effect on the player. Killing the sapping glacyte last is very expensive, as it will result in the glacor rapidly draining the player's prayer points, while killing the enduring glacyte last will greatly reduce the speed at which kills are obtained.
 * If the sapping glacyte is killed last, each of the glacor's attacks will drain 50 prayer points.
 * If the unstable glacyte is killed last, the glacor will periodicially explode in the same manner as the glacyte. However, the glacor's explosion has a diameter of 5 squares, rather than the glacyte's explosion's 3-square diameter. After it explodes, the glacor will regenerate its health, up to about 1/3rd of its maximum life.
 * If the enduring glacyte is killed last, the glacor will gain 60% damage reduction.

Requirements

 * Completion of Ritual of the Mahjarrat, which carries many skill level and quest requirements; see the quest's article for details.

Skill levels

 * 80+, ,
 * 92+
 * 67+
 * 91+

Inventory items

 * Boosting potions in potion flasks: Super magic flasks and super defence flasks; or extreme magic flasks and extreme defence flasks; or overload flasks
 * Prayer renewal flasks and prayer potion flasks
 * The charming imp, optionally, to easily collect charms(can also be worn in the Pocket slot)
 * Runes
 * Some food for emergencies
 * An emergency teleport

Prayers
Players with 92+ Prayer should use Soul Split constantly. Glacors' Ranged and Magic attacks are very accurate, hitting hard and often even at 99 Defence with level 80 armour. Soul Split helps mitigate the high amounts of damage they deal and can even sustain your lifepoints on its own, provided that you are able to deal enough damage to keep up. if Soul Split is your only source of healing then you should try not to get hit by the glacor's special or the unstable glacyte's explode, as it is difficult to heal back.

Players without Soul Split should switch between Deflect Magic and Deflect Missiles in order to reduce the damage dealt by the glacors' attacks. Keep an eye on the glacor and watch for it to switch attack styles; it uses Ranged with its right arm (left arm from the perspective of a player facing a glacor) and Magic from its left arm (right arm from said perspective). If using this method it is advised to bring a vampyrism aura to keep you alive.

Stat boosting prayers or curses should also be used when possible, as torment and augury will increase the player's damage output, and hence, kills per hour.

Familiars
Combat familiars, such as steel titans, are not recommended for killing glacors due to the glacors' high defence against non-Magic attacks. If you opt to bring a familiar, use a beast of burden such as a war tortoise or pack yak to carry extra supplies, or a healing familiar such as a bunyip or unicorn stallion for extra health.

Abilities
Here follows an individual breakdown of each Magic ability's relative usefulness at glacors.
 * Wrack: Wrack is reasonably powerful, has a very fast cooldown, and no drawbacks. It is recommended to use Wrack every other ability in order to quickly build adrenaline.
 * Dragon Breath: If using this ability against the glacytes, you may accidentally kill the wrong glacyte. Therefore, it is only recommended to use it in order to quickly finish of the unstable glacyte.
 * Sonic Wave: If using a staff, this is another good, foundational basic ability that can buff the accuracy of your next attack. Use it in conjunction with Wrack in this manner: Wrack > Sonic Wave > Wrack.
 * Concentrated Blast: If dual-wielding, this ability provides high damage per second due to its rapid hits. However, as it is a combo attack, it is less efficient at generating adrenaline.
 * Impact: Glacors and glacytes are immune to stun; Impact, therefore, will hit them hard. It is recommended to use this ability often. It is especially useful in conjunction with Dragon Breath in order to quickly kill an unstable glacyte before it explodes.
 * Combust: Combust is good for its guaranteed level of damage if it hits. However, it will deal this damage relatively slowly over time, so avoid using it when the glacor is almost at half health or almost dead, as some of the hits will otherwise be wasted.
 * Chain: It is generally recommended to avoid using this ability, except right when the three glacytes spawn. Its damage to a single target is sub par and if you use it against the glacytes, you might accidentally kill the unstable glacyte. The only time you should use this is when the glacytes spawn, so you can lure the enduring glacyte to you without switching target from the sapping glacyte.
 * Surge: This ability could be useful if you need to quickly escape from the glacor's special attack or an unstable glacyte. The majority of the time, however, it is of little use. In addition, Surge is currently bugged and sometimes cannot be activated in combat.
 * Asphyxiate: This is the best ability for damage, particularly against the glacor. Optimally, activate it when you initially attack the glacor, and again after you kill the glacytes; this prevents wasted hits when the glacor dies or becomes invincible. Often, however, you will only be able to use this once per kill, as it will usually be on cooldown when you start a kill. Because this is a combo attack and takes a while to execute, watch out for the glacor's icicle special attack when using this.
 * Wild Magic: Also good for dealing quick damage, Wild Magic is capable of killing a glacyte all by itself. This deals less damage than Asphyxiate, but it is delivered more quickly resulting in a higher damage per second. A good strategy is to employ this ability against the enduring glacyte after luring it far enough away from the glacor, killing it quickly and eliminating the worry of accidentally killing it last.
 * Detonate: This ability is not useful against glacors. While it is charging, you cannot move away from the unstable glacyte or the icicle attack without interrupting it. Also, due to its low range, it is only effective against the glacytes, which you generally want you kill one at a time anyway. Do not put this on your action bar.
 * Omnipower: This is reasonably good for a knock-out hit, but otherwise inferior to Metamorphosis and especially Asphyxiate.
 * Metamorphosis: This is the best of the Magic ultimate abilities, though Asphyxiate is better for pure damage, as it doesn't drain your adrenaline to zero. Nevertheless, Metamorphosis is more useful all around, as it can effectively be used against both the glacor and the glacytes. A Metamorphosis-boosted Asphyxiate can very quickly take out half of a glacor's lifepoints, while using basic abilities or Wild Magic with Metamorphosis can quickly kill off all three glacytes, often before the unstable glacyte explodes.
 * Tsunami: This ability is only useful against multiple targets and has subpar damage against individual ones. Since you generally want to kill glacytes individually, this ability is rather useless against glacors.
 * Sunshine: This ability deals more damage than Metamorphosis because it lasts 10 seconds longer, however, the area damage might kill the wrong glacyte. In addition, using this ability requires you to remain in one area, making it difficult to avoid the glacor's special attack and the unstable glacyte, or to lure the enduring glacyte away. Thus, it is generally advised to use Metamorphosis over Sunshine.

Notes on tanking
Tanking glacors with a one-handed weapon and a shield is a viable strategy that exchanges killing speed for survivability. In addition to the extra armour and lifepoints granted by a shield, certain defensive abilities are very helpful. Reflect gives you 50% damage reduction for 10 seconds, though the glacors and glacytes are immune to rebound damage. Resonance may be used for extra health, but note that it will not heal from the icicle attack, only block its damage. If you are going to use Resonance, make sure the glacor is firing a normal attack first. Revenge can be useful when the glacytes are attacking you to give you a quick boost in damage. Rejuvenate will heal you 40% of your lifepoints with a shield equipped.

The best shield to use when tanking is the arcane spirit shield, which offers 30% damage reduction in exchange for depleting a small amount of prayer when taking damage. This shield can be combined with the Penance aura, which will restore enough prayer to completely negate the arcane spirit shield's prayer draining. Otherwise, prayer renewals and prayer potions may be used to offset the extra prayer loss. The spectral spirit shield is a cheaper shield with the same stats as the arcane, but without the additional damage reduction.

Strategy
Quick tips to remember when fighting glacors:
 * Be careful when using combo attacks! If you start using Asphyxiate and the glacor fires its special icicle attack, you'll either have to move out of the way, wasting some of Asphyxiate's attacks, or finish the ability and take heavy damage. Note that if you use Sunshine and the glacor fires an icicle while you are casting, even if you click away your character will appear to stay still. this can be disconcerting, but you will not be hit by the attack if you click away in time.
 * Keep a fair distance away so that you can spot the special icicle attack and move out of the way and so you can also kill the enduring glacyte faster.
 * Place Freedom on the action bar. Use it when frozen to escape the icicle attack or the unstable glacyte's explosion.
 * Be careful not to kill the enduring glacyte last, as otherwise the second half of your kill will take much longer and waste food and prayer points.

The battle with a glacor can be summarized into three distinct stages. Stage 1 is taking down the first half of the glacor's lifepoints. Stage 2 involves killing the glacytes. Stage 3 is about finishing off the glacor itself.

Don't forget that your combat abilities will always be boosted when fighting glacors, due to residual energy from the Stone of Jas. This enhancement functions as an invisible boost, rather than a boost to skill levels.

Stage 1
This stage is relatively simple and should go quickly. Turn on prayers, attack the glacor, and begin cycling through abilities (e.g. auto>wrack>concentrated blast>wrack>impact>wrack), or use asphyxiate if it is off cooldown The best time to use Combust, Concentrated Blast, and Asphyxiate, which deal their damage in multiple hits, is early on. Watch for the glacor's icicle attack and dodge it at all costs. If you've been frozen by the Magic attack and need to dodge the icicle attack, use Freedom; otherwise, save it for dodging the icicles or the unstable glacyte.

Stage 2
When the glacytes spawn, you should know the order in which you wish to kill them. Avoid killing the enduring glacyte last, or the glacor will gain 60% damage reduction, substantially increasing the kill time. Therefore you must choose between killing the unstable glacyte and the sapping glacyte last. Each has its advantages and disadvantages: If you kill the sapping glacyte last, your kill speed in stage 3 won't be affected, but the glacor will quickly drain your prayer with its attacks, placing further strain on your supplies. If you kill the unstable glacyte last, the glacor will periodically explode, which can easily be avoided by keeping away from it. However, the lifepoint regeneration aspect may increase your kill time if you cannot kill the glacor before it heals. In addition, if you kill the unstable glacyte last, you will have to be diligent in avoiding it, as it is very difficult to kill all three glacytes before the unstable glacyte explodes. In general, killing the unstable glacyte last is the most effective method, however, as the prayer drain from the sapping glacyte will considerably reduce profits.

Whichever glacyte you choose to save for last, kill the enduring glacyte second. If you choose to kill the sapping glacyte last, kill the unstable glacyte first so that you don't have to worry about it exploding next to you. If you choose to kill the unstable glacyte last, kill the sapping glacyte first in order to minimise the amount of prayer points that it drains. The best time to kill the unstable glacyte is right after it explodes, at which point it will only have about 400 health and can be easily killed in one hit. A player with a high magic level and a strong weapon can usually kill the other two glacytes before the unstable glacyte explodes. Remember that you have to lure the enduring glacyte away from the glacor, as otherwise it will be impervious to all damage.

Don't forget, the glacor will still attack during this stage! Keep an eye out for the icicle attack. If players do not wish to block the Glacor, the ability Debilitate will prove useful, as the effect is activated as long as it hits.

Stage 3
Stage 3 is much like stage 1, except that you must deal with the glacor's inherited ability and slightly faster attacks. If it inherited the unstable ability, keep at least three squares away from it at all times, or else you can be caught in the blast. If the glacor inherited the sapping ability, fight it normally, but keep an eye on your Prayer points. If you accidentally killed the enduring glacyte last, watch your health, as the reduced damage you deal means that soul split will not be as effective in healing you.

Drops
Glacors are the only monsters to drop steadfast boots, glaiven boots, and ragefire boots. These drops are very rare approximately (1/1200), but each pair can sell for many millions of coins. Their other unique drop is shards of armadyl, which are significantly more common about (1/8).


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Shards of armadyl have two uses: They can be ground into dust and crafted into Armadyl runes, or collected and made into an Armadyl battlestaff. If you choose to make dust from the shards, each shard drop is worth coins. However, if you save them and craft an Armadyl battlestaff (requires 77 Crafting and 100 shards), each shard drop is worth coins. Saving the shards for a staff gives no immediate return, but provides a far greater reward when 100 shards are obtained. Therefore it is highly recommended to hold onto the shards until a staff can be made, especially if using glacors as a method of making money.