Phoenix Lair



Phoenix Lair is part of Distractions and Diversions and was released on 6 January 2009 along with the quest In Pyre Need. Players must have completed the quest to do Phoenix Lair. Players are able to complete this once per day resetting at 00:00 GMT time, similar to killing Bork in the Chaos Tunnels: The Hunt for Surok.

This Distraction and Diversion can be done once per day, In Phoenix Lair, players must navigate through a series of caverns and fight against massive, magma-filled 'reborn' monstrosities. There are three types of guardians, each covering one side of the combat triangle and have levels ranging up to 128. The cavern is multi-combat and will most likely kill players who are not properly prepared.

In each of the first five caverns, players must use secateurs to cut twigs from the trees in the caverns, so that they can build the phoenix's pyre in the last cavern. Sacred clay armour is handy here as players can use the "operate" feature while it is equipped to switch between Melee and Ranged armour. Luckily if players lose connection in the caves, they will be able to enter the cave where they lost connection at.

In the final cavern, the player uses a knife to fletch each twig into a ribbon. Using the ribbons on the large pyre area will then call the phoenix to battle.

The phoenix has Combat level of 235 and her main attack is Magic-based. She also has a dust attack, which lowers Attack, Ranged, and Magic level by approximately 50 percent for a short time, nullifying Attack potions. Dust attacks are not affected by Protect from Magic, perhaps because they do no damage to health.

When the Phoenix has been defeated, she crawls onto the pyre. The player can use a tinderbox to set the pyre alight. The phoenix is consumed by the flames and then reborn. Once it reappears, talk to it to receive the reward.

Cavern effects
The caverns have some strange effects that seem to hinder some abilities:


 * Summoning familiars may fail to follow players through from one cave to the next. If this happens, pressing the Call Familiar button should make it reappear.
 * Some players have reported not being able to teleport out of the caverns. If this happens, a player can right-click a cavern doorways and choose 'Escape cavern'. However, if a player is looking for a phoenix pet, it is recommended to exit the cave manually.

Location
Phoenix Lair is near the Piscatoris Fishing Colony. Players can get to the area by walking or by one of these faster methods:
 * Take the rowboat west of the Tree Gnome Stronghold (costs 50 coins).
 * Use Fairy ring AKQ (requires partial completion of Fairytale II - Cure a Queen).
 * Use the Eagle transport system (requires completion of Eagles' Peak).
 * Teleport to the Piscatoris Woodland using a Spirit kyatt's ability (requires Summoning level 57 and a Spirit kyatt pouch).

Maps of the lair
The order of the dungeons are different for each player, however the order of the trees are the same. An example of possible maps is shown below:

Preparations
It is highly recommended that players use Prayer protection in this area. Since multiple foes using different Attack styles will attack the player at the same time, it is also highly recommended that armour with high Defence stats is used.


 * If players are using melee armour, they should use Protect from Magic.
 * If players are using Ranged armour, they should use Protect from Melee.

The reborn monsters will not respawn. Higher-levelled players may choose to kill them all on each level for the experience or fun of it.

Lower-levelled players
The recommended minimum stats for going there are:
 * 70 Attack and 70 Strength or 70 Ranged
 * 70 Defence
 * 43 Prayer

The recommended inventory for players with the minimum stats:
 * A tinderbox, a knife and secateurs (all required), Brian Twitcher no longer has any to give to player.
 * 2 Prayer potions (3 to be safe)
 * 1 Super attack potion, Super defence potion, and Super strength potion (replace Super attack and strength by Ranging potions if ranging)
 * A one-click teleport out (like teletabs) (some players have reported not being able to teleport out, see Cavern effects.)
 * About 15 pieces of high healing food (Monkfish, Tuna potatoes, or Sharks)
 * 5 empty inventory slots (for the branches). Food can be eaten to deal with this, but plan on eating food in these inventory slots even if it is not need to heal.

Sacred clay armour is useful as players can switch between armour styles while wearing it. Bringing a Ring of life may also be smart, as players can easily die here due to reasons such as lag and not paying attention to Prayer points.

Higher-levelled Players
Players who are over level 100 combat have two effective methods of completing the Phoenix Lair: the tanking method, and the Prayer method.

Tanking method
The recommended stats for this method are:
 * 80+ Defence
 * 70+ Attack and Strength or 70+ Ranged
 * 60+ Prayer

The recommended inventory is:
 * A tinderbox, a knife and secateurs (all required)
 * A Falador shield (shield 3 highly recommended, although 2 will do fine)
 * 1 prayer potion (2 to be safe)
 * 1 Super strength potion and Super defence potion (replace Super strength with a Ranging potion if ranging)
 * A one-click teleport (in case you run out of food, which shouldn't happen.
 * 5 empty spaces (for the branches)
 * The rest of the inventory should be filled with high-healing food, but if you do this method correctly you will only have to eat 3 or so pieces of food for the whole cave.

Players using the tanking method should wear their best armour to get the highest melee and ranged defence bonuses possible, such as Torags armour and a good shield such as the Dragonfire shield. This way, they will have good protection against the warriors and rangers and will only have to turn on Protect from Magic for the mages. If players are running out of prayer, they should activate their Falador shield to restore their prayer points, and then drink their prayer potions if necessary.

Prayer method
The recommended stats for this method are:
 * 80+ Defence
 * 80+ Attack and Strength or 80+ Ranged
 * 70+ Prayer

The recommended inventory is:
 * A tinderbox, a knife and secateurs (all required)
 * A Falador shield 2 or 3 (this should be wielded for maximum prayer bonus)
 * 1 Super strength potion and Super defence potion (replace super strength with a Ranging potion if ranging)
 * A Dragon dagger (p++) (for special attacks, if you want)
 * A one-click teleport (in case you run out of food, which shouldn't happen.)
 * 5 empty spaces (for the branches)
 * The rest of the inventory should be filled with high-healing food.

Players using the Prayer method should wear armour that gives high prayer bonuses but fairly good defence, such as Proselyte armour or Verac's armour. Vestment cloaks, Bandos boots or White boots, and a stole are also good additions.

Players should activate Protect from Magic for the mages; the warriors and rangers should not harm too much. If they do, there is plenty of food. With the recommended stats, good prayer armour, and a Falador shield 2 or 3, players using this method will not need Prayer potions for the entire cave; their prayer will drain slowly enough so that the Falador shield will provide enough prayer points to even last for the battle with the Phoenix.

Suggested tactics

 * Bring Spirit wolves along with Howl scrolls so as to scare away the guardians if you get cornered or blocked and can't get past them. However, keep in mind that the wolf may not follow you from cave to cave.
 * If you have completed the As a First Resort... quest, visit the spa at Oo'glog to boost your prayer, hit points, and run energy. If you can use Fairy rings, you can use AKS to go to the Feldip Hills, run south to Oo'glog, use the spa pools, run north to the fairy ring, and then use AKQ to go to the lair.
 * Make your combat preparations before you enter the first cavern: drink any potions, turn on prayer, turn on run, etc.
 * Each of the first five caverns has several choke points where the reborn monsters block you. The monster will not leave the choke point, so you must kill it before you can pass through. At a minimum, you will encounter one choke point in each of these caverns.
 * Don't bother fletching the twigs until you arrive in the Phoenix's cavern. It is a waste of time before hand, and can be dangerous.
 * The other monsters can block you, but they can move. If one is blocking you, try running away to see if it moves. If it does, run around it and move on. If you can get a monster into a wider cavern and use a binding spell you can block the monster and run on.
 * These monsters CANNOT be shoved by the Dragon spear or Zamorakian spear specials, as they are "too large to knock back".
 * A very effective tactic is to wear high-defence melee armour like Barrows equipment, Bandos boots, etc. The armour will be very effective against the reborn monsters that use melee and ranged. Therefore, just use Protect from Magic to guard against the reborn mages.
 * If you are only interested in fighting the Phoenix, do not wait around for the drops from the reborn to appear. This wastes time when you could be running on. One exception is if you are running out of food: sometimes the reborn monsters drop lobsters or curry.
 * Do not log out during a run of the lair or you will have to start over.
 * When you reach the phoenix's cavern, you can turn off prayer while you get ready for the final battle. The phoenix will not appear until you prepare the pyre. Drink your potions to top up your combat abilities. It may not be worth drinking super attack potions here, though, as the phoenix's dust attack will lower your attack for a few seconds, which then resets to its normal level.
 * The shrine in this cavern is not an Altar and so you cannot recharge prayer points here. If you will use prayer against the phoenix, make sure you top up with a prayer potion if you are low on points.
 * If you've gotten to this point in fairly good shape, the phoenix should not be too difficult to beat. Just use Protect from Magic constantly and attack her until her hit bar is depleted and it crawls onto the pyre. Watch your prayer points very carefully, and be prepared to run if you have run out of prayer potions & prayer points.
 * Once you beat the phoenix, make sure you talk to her after it is reborn or you will not get your reward.

Monsters
The reborn can travel via pools of lava that spontaneously appear in the path of the player.
 * Greater reborn mage
 * Greater reborn warrior
 * Greater reborn ranger
 * Lesser reborn mage
 * Lesser reborn warrior
 * Lesser reborn ranger
 * Phoenix

Drops
Note that the phoenix does not drop anything, but she will give 5 Phoenix quills when talked to after the battle.

Other
 * Coins (more than 1,000)
 * Ashes
 * Battlestaff
 * Unpowered orb

Food
 * Curry
 * Lobster (common)

Ranging equipment
 * Crossbow string (1-3, noted)
 * Bow string (3, noted)
 * Rune arrows
 * Adamant arrows (10)
 * Adamant bolts
 * Mithril bolts
 * Maple shortbow (unstrung)
 * Adamantite limbs
 * Mithril limbs

Herbs, ingredients, and seeds
 * Grimy ranarr
 * Grimy guam
 * Grimy cadantine
 * Red spiders' eggs (5, 7 noted)
 * White berries (1)
 * Dwarf weed seed
 * Toadflax seed
 * Kwuarm seed
 * Cadantine seed
 * Watermelon seed
 * Snapdragon seed
 * Potato seed
 * Onion seed
 * Avantoe seed
 * Irit seed
 * Evil turnip seed

Runes and Talismans
 * Law runes (1, 2)
 * Death rune
 * Chaos runes (10, 15)
 * Chaos talisman
 * Fire talisman

Ores and Gems
 * Silver ore (4, noted)
 * Gold ore (3, 4)
 * Adamantite ore (2)
 * Uncut sapphire (common)
 * Uncut emerald
 * Uncut ruby

Charms
 * Gold charm
 * Green charm (most common)
 * Crimson charm
 * Blue charm

Potions
 * Ranging potion (1, 2 doses)
 * Super attack potion (1, 2 doses)
 * Super defence potion (1, 2 doses)
 * Super strength potion (1, 2 doses)

Weapons and Armour
 * Mithril mace
 * Adamant mace
 * Mithril kiteshield
 * Adamant sq shield
 * Shield left half

Rewards
Reward for completing the Phoenix's "challenge" each time:
 * 7,500 Firemaking experience
 * 3,000 Fletching experience
 * 1,000 Crafting experience
 * 500 Slayer experience (NOTE: 5,000 Slayer experience is only awarded the first time the Phoenix is defeated.)
 * 5 Phoenix quills
 * A chance to receive a phoenix egg. A Cute phoenix eggling can be hatched by clapping to the egg. A Mean Phoenix Eggling can be hatched by kicking the egg. You can have one of each variation. Level 72 Summoning is required to hatch the egg within the cavern; however, you may obtain the egg without the required Summoning level.

External link

 * Runescape article on the Phoenix Lair