Godsword



The Godsword is the most powerful non-degradable melee weapon in Runescape (excluding any more powerful weapons exclusively found whilst in the dungeons of Daemonheim, or the Class 5 Equipment from Stealing Creation), seconded in strength only to the degradable chaotic maul. It has the highest Slash bonus and second highest Strength bonus of any weapon in RuneScape (excluding primal weapons found in Dungeoneering), both at +132, and requires 75 Attack to wield. The Godsword consists of two parts: a Godsword blade and a Godsword hilt. There are four different godsword hilts, each representing a god that participated in the God Wars (Armadyl, Bandos, Saradomin, and Zamorak). All godswords have the same stats, however each hilt gives the sword a different powerful Special attack. The hilts differ in appearance, and price. They can be added on or taken off at any time.

The Godsword blade is broken into 3 Godsword shards. Joining the shards together at an anvil requires level 80 Smithing which can be provided with the Assist System, whilst attaching a hilt to a completed blade requires no skill levels. The shards are an uncommon drop from any of the God Wars Dungeon generals or bodyguards, while the hilts are dropped only by their respective generals and are the rarest drop for each of them, as the generals require a high level to kill; these hilts are considered extremely valuable. Also, even though the Zarosian godwars boss Nex has been released, she does not drop a Zaros hilt, which is unique because every other commander does. The Godswords are highly noted for their frequent high hits. (the Armadyl godsword's, Bandos godsword's and Saradomin godsword's special attacks increase damage even further by 25%, 10% and 10%, respectively.) They are also very accurate, making Godswords a very potent player-killing weapon; however, their lack of Attack speed (one strike per 3.6 seconds) makes them unappealing for training and fighting NPCs; an Abyssal whip (one strike per 2.4 seconds) or Saradomin sword will end up dealing more damage per minute to monsters with low slash defence.

The prices of the Godswords have been crashing recently, mainly due to the introduction of Chaotic Weapons in the game (through Dungeoneering), and also partially due to the introduction of the new God Wars Boss in early 2011.



Historical context
Somewhere near the end of the god wars, Zamorak had gathered armies so powerful that no one was able to prevent him from winning the wars. In effort to stop Zamorak, Saradomin decided to gather a triumvirate of gods, consisting of Armadyl, Bandos and himself.

Together they decided to forge a weapon so powerful that it could destroy a god. With the fire of a volcano and the tears of an Icyene, the godsword was created.

With this weapon it was possible to defeat Zamorak once and for all, and the Aviantese of Armadyl were given the task to deliver the godsword to the army gathered by Saradomin to fight Zamorak's.

Unfortunately, the aviantese were attacked by Zamorak's forces before they could reach their goal. This was because an aviansie was taken down by Zamorak rangers. It is believed that K'ril Tsutsaroth himself tortured the information out of him, and the blades current destination. At the same time Zamorak attacked the main armies, to which the godsword belonged.

The attacked aviantese retreated into a temple in the mountains and continued their fight there, protecting the godsword with all their strength. Soon Bandos and Saradomin sent their armies to the temple to aid the aviantese during the battle for the godsword. Originally, Armadyl, Bandos, and Saradomin were allied as they fought against the forces of Zamorak; however as the battle wore on, lack of trust got the better of the allies and they turned on each other. It was at this battle when the godsword sundered into four pieces.

It was then when Zamorak cast a spell so powerful that it flattened the entire northern Gielinor, changing it into what is now known as the wilderness. This spell possibly caused the temple to cave in. Sealing the armies within. But this didn't prevent them from fighting for the godsword.

However, before any god could claim the godsword, Guthix awoke from his deep slumber and ended the God Wars, putting the Edicts of Guthix in place to prevent further fighting. The dungeon where the Godsword was said to be held and fought over, and all combatants within, were sealed off and frozen by a Guthix follower, forgotten for millennia. Thousands of years later, in the start of the Fifth Age, tectonic activity in Gielinor and long rows of fires lit by adventurers thawed the dungeon and the monsters in it. Fighting resumed for control of the Godsword. It had also been rumoured that Zamorak has some odd affiliation with Ice because of the Zamorak Godsword Special.

While being called the "Godsword", it is not necessarily "a sword used by gods". It can also be used by mortals and it grants them extreme strength, though not as powerful as a god would have. It might have other (probably hidden) qualities or else gods wouldn't have fought for it in the first place.

Grand Exchange prices and Special attacks
The Godsword special attack varies depending on which hilt is attached. The hilts can be switched at any time, so a player with 1 Godsword blade and all 4 hilts has access to all 4 special attacks.

Armadyl Godsword
The Armadyl godsword is most effectively used in Player killing situations and against boss monsters due to its high-hitting special attacks that makes killing easier and faster. It is the most commonly desired Godsword and as such, is the most expensive, as many Player killers seek it to have a greater chance of success at PvP combat. Despite its popularity, its special attack tends to be more unsuccessful than those of the other Godswords unless the user has high attack and strength levels. Where as the other versions have secondary effects (lowering defence, healing, and freezing) to make any successful attack useful, the Armadyl Godsword is only beneficial if it hits over the ordinary maximum hit (although it will also boost damage of weaker attacks, the lack of a secondary effect makes this damage redundant). It should also be noted that the sword is held using only one hand in the special attack animation.

Bandos godsword
The Bandos godsword has similar uses to the Armadyl godsword, in that they are used in PvP, a bit more commonly due to the lower price, and to kill boss monsters with no particular strategy required. The Bandos godsword is the cheapest Godsword, as well as the most common because more players can access General Graardor than other bosses, and because Graardor is recognised by most players as the easiest boss to kill. Warstrike can effectively render boss monsters and other players crippled if it hits high enough with large reductions in defence over 40+ if a player gets lucky, more often or not it will land a successful hit but has a high risk involved if overly relied on as 100% of special bar is used, so the special can not be used in succession if it fails or hits low. In the case of pures the BGS (Bandos Godsword) is often lethal, without super restores it will easily hit high against their low defence and reduce strength levels, effectively rendering them useless.

Saradomin Godsword
The Saradomin godsword is most effectively used in monster-killing situations due to its helpful special attack. Its Prayer and Life Points boosts are often used by players training Slayer, doing the Barrows activity, and general monster killing. It is also very useful when attempting the Fight Caves activity. Using this along with the Curses, allows for ultimate camping, especially when used with a regen bracelet, Bunyip and/or a Guthans set. It is especially useful in situations in which guthans can not be used such as killing dust devils in the smoke dungeon.

Zamorak Godsword
The Zamorak godsword is not particularly useful for general monster killing, but is very effective in specialised cases. Some of the most popular uses are freezing Commander Zilyana, who can kill players extremely quickly if she can reach them. It is also useful for freezing players in Player killing situations, to prevent them from escaping or to hold them out of melee attack range while they are attacked with ranged or Magic. It is also a very useful weapon in the activity Castle Wars, to freeze the flagbearer, or someone trying to get the flag since many high levelled players have very high magic defence, and cannot be frozen with magic as easily. Also, it can prevent mages from escaping to farcast, and if facing a frozen melee opponent, the player can walk close to attack, then step away when the opponent has a chance to retaliate. This works even when facing a frozen opponent who is wielding a fast weapon like the Abyssal whip.

Trivia

 * This sword is also known as "The God Slayer"