Dungeoneering/Hard mode/Strategies

This page is intended to assist players in completing Hard Mode as fast as possible. It is also intended to aid players in obtaining the "of Daemonheim" title. While it is not recommended to train Dungeoneering this way, players still have the freedom to train it. As it is a reward obtained from outside-of-Dungeoneering, it is meant to amplify the difficulty of the existing dungeon concept.

This page is listed under the Hard Mode page as an extension.

The information below is based upon completeing 65+ floors with and without partners. All on Hard Mode.

Requirements
In order to start Hard Mode, players interested in accessing it need to have completed the following: Keep in mind that not all players meet these requirements, but there is nothing to fear. Players who have not completed the Elite tasks may take part in the Hard Mode with another player who has. This requires the player who has completed the Elite tasks to form and lead the dungeon. They will then invite the players without the tasks complete into the floors.
 * Elite set of Demonheim tasks
 * To fully complete Hard Mode, players need 119 Dungeoneering
 * (Unofficial) 90+ skills
 * Players may enter the floor without 90+, but they may experience impossible doors
 * Boosting is possible

How to access Hard Mode
To start Hard Mode, select a floor and the difficulty to Complexity 6 via ring or via ladder. Once the difficulty is set, the player will be prompted with a screen that asks "Activate Hard Mode?"; a simple yes or no follows suit.

Select yes; the player will now have access to Hard Mode. Another option will appear to select the floor size. The same rules apply; if there are 1 or 2 people, they can access sizes Small and Medium. 3 or more, and the option for Large appears.

It is recommended to choose Small.

Once inside, the floors will look similar to normal dungeons.

Upon completion of a Hard Mode floor, the following message will appear in your chatbox: ''You have completed floor [number] on Hard Mode. Your lowest floor incomplete on hard mode is: [number].''

Things to Know
The Hard Mode is not like normal Dungeoneering floors. Instead, it is a bit more complex and requires players to focus on their skills to complete the floor effectively and efficiently.

Since players need 90+ skills, players should expect to see an increase in Slayer monsters, tier 8+ fish and food, an increase in herb drops, and more boostable doors.

In regards to floor times, depending on the amount of players in the dungeon, the floor times will vary. But, generally, players should expect, at least, 8-20 minutes. For a Small. Every door is treated as a Guardian Door Every monster has been given their maximum combat level In regards to teleportation, you can make use of your gatestones in the floor. But, you cannot, absolutely cannot, teleport out of the boss-room. The following is a list of rooms that can be teleported out of: Food is scarcer. It is rare that a player will find an abundance of food.
 * The higher the floor, the longer the time is, due to bosses and/or players involved.
 * This means, in order to obtain the title, if players go through 1-60 non-stop, the amount of time it would take would be 480 minutes to 1200 minutes or 8 hours to 20 hours.
 * This includes puzzle rooms
 * However, if it is a Dead-End, you don't necessairly have to complete the guardian door.
 * Teleporting is allowed for non-boss rooms (see more below)
 * The combat triangle still applies
 * Melee > Ranged
 * Ranged > Magic
 * Magic > Melee
 * While the upped combat has been officially stated by Jagex, certain rooms appear to not have been given their boost (although, this may be due to the amount of players in each dungeon):
 * Suspicious grooves
 * The shades, if any, are still level 2
 * Mercenary leader (sometimes)
 * Monolith (sometimes)
 * Dead-ends
 * Puzzle rooms
 * Guardian doors


 * However, despite this lack, higher-tiered items can be found:

Slayer monsters become extremely common Death carries the same peanlties in normal dungeon floors, however, it is likely that players will die more often. It does not matter the order the floors are completed in; it will tick off and count.
 * Fishing spots
 * Trees
 * Rocks
 * It is entirely possible to see two Eddimmu in the same room with a Soulgazer
 * This also means that Slayer-based items are uncommon
 * If a player dies, it is O.K.; it will not affect the outcome of completing Hard Mode.
 * If a player has an active aura that allows for one death, this death will be spared.

If a player has defeated boss, but has several doors unopened, it is O.K. to end; it will count as a completed floor.

Recommandations
In order to optimise floor times, and in order to complete the Hard Mode in a short amount of time, it is strongly recommended to set the floor to Small.

If players have not chosen a "boss" from their aura yet, it is strongly advised to choose a easy boss to complete a floor that is deemed difficult Bring Daemonheim Aura 4, as you are able to have up to two gatestones (three, if you are using the group gatestone).
 * For example, if a player is having trouble with Astea Frostweb, players may want to swap her out for Gluttonous Behemoth.
 * If a player is having difficulty with Blink, swap him out for Hope Devourer

Because of the tier-2 Dungeoneering rewards, it is now possible to have a pot bound. Keep an eye out for doors that say 90''. If the door reads as 90, then that door is Criticial/Crucial or will be on a Criticial ''path. This should be considered normal. This means, avoid any sort of boostable door that is not 90.
 * Remember, this pot can be used once per floor
 * If you lack 90 in a skill, you can boost to the skill by using a bound pot
 * A Strong potion is recommended, if you are a low level
 * If you lack 90 in a skill, but the door you need to advance is 90, boost to it
 * Doors that are above 90 are not required to complete the dungeon
 * Usually, if a door is displaying 92, or if you receive the experience for 92, it is considered a door that does not lead to boss
 * This means the player can skip this door
 * Boostable doors also exist, but they should be treated as avoidable
 * However, sometimes bonus-path doors may give the keys to criticial paths, but this is rare.

Bosses and Floors
As mentioned before with the recommendations, some bosses are easier than others, but upon accessing the higher floors, players may experience enhanced difficulty.

Frozen (floors 1-11) are considered to be easiest, as the bosses are not at all difficult. The bosses, listed from easiest to most difficult, in this set:


 * Icy Bones


 * To'Kash the Bloodchiller
 * Gluttonous behemoth,
 * Astea Frostweb
 * It should be noted that, sometimes, her prayers do not display


 * Luminescent icefiend

Abandon 1 (floors 12-17) are considered to be also easy, as the bosses are similar to Frozen. These bosses are listed from easiest to most difficult:
 * Plane-freezer Lakhrahnaz


 * Unholy cursebearer


 * Skeletal Horde
 * This boss sometimes displays the skeletons at halved HP.


 * Hobgoblin Geomancer

Furnished (floors 18-29) are considered to be easy, but signs of difficulty become quickly apparent. Again, these bosses are listed from easiest to most difficult:
 * Bulwark beast
 * Har'Lakk the Riftsplitter


 * Rammernaut


 * Night-gazer Khighorahk


 * Sagittare


 * Lexicus Runewright,

Abandon 2 (floors 30-35) are alarmingly easy. Especially with two additions. The bosses from the first set of Abandons can also be fought, here, but an improved list begins to form:
 * Stomp


 * Unholy cursebearer
 * Shadow-forger Ihlakhizan


 * Skeletal Horde
 * This boss still can display the skeletons at halved HP.


 * Hobgoblin Geomancer


 * Bulwark beast

Occult (36-47) these floors, also easy, become a bit more challenging as the player progresses. These bosses are listed in the order of easiest to hardest, but with slight modifications.
 * Bal'lak the Pummeller
 * Flesh-spoiler Haasghenahk
 * Runebound behemoth
 * His ability is powerful, but he is easily completed
 * Skeletal trio
 * The warrior is the weakest of the bunch, but the mage and the ranger deal the most damage
 * Yk'Lagor the Thunderous
 * Although fairly easy, his "True Power!" and "Come Closer!" can cause major issues, especially with a large group.


 * Grave Creeper
 * A bit troublesome, as he moves around a lot
 * His purple-pools are deadly

Warped (floors 48-60) these floors are the most challenging. These bosses are all difficult in their own right, and some players may have trouble with any one of them, so these are not listed in a specific order. Except for one; the easiest: The most troublesome bosses, however, are not classed nor organised by level of difficulty; instead, what is listed is what makes them difficult.
 * Necrolord
 * Most troublesome, as he needs to be fought with ranged or mage
 * His skeletons also deal quite a bit of damage
 * Hope devourer
 * Blink
 * His abilities are 100% deadly


 * Warped Gulega
 * Although slightly on the "easy" side, his defense and his 1-HP attack can cause a few extra deaths


 * Dreadnaut
 * His pools are 100% deadly if the player is not moving around


 * World-gorger Shukarhazh
 * Heals if nobody is in the room
 * Usually difficult on solo


 * Kal'Ger the Warmonger
 * Uses many methods to defeat the player
 * Usually takes longest on solo
 * This boss is probably the longest boss to fight

What to do
Assuming players have set the mode to Small, players will go throughout the dungeon as if it were normal. They will buy and sell necessary things to the Smug, attack everything in sight, and unlock doors. Remember, every door is now a Guardian Door.

In order to complete Hard Mode, players must apply the basics:
 * Talk to the Smug to get 40 Law runes and 40 Cosmics
 * If you are unable to get these items, purchase rune-essence
 * Create gatestones
 * Don't forget to optimise the use of Gatestone 2
 * Use the set-up that works best
 * Assuming a player has a bound potion, bring it, if necessary
 * This is found within the Bind-Setup option on the Smug
 * Purchase feathers

Once players feel they are ready, they must begin to identify critical paths. They can ignore doors that are not optimal for boss-finding.

Once a player identifies the critical path, and is able to ignore any door they deem boostable, they will then encounter boss. Boss must be killed to advance onto the next floor, but remember, teleporting out of boss is prohibited.
 * As mentioned before, criticial paths are usually identified as 90. The exp is usually above 400 (usually in the lower 420-450)
 * Anything higher than 90, and it becomes labelled as a boosted door
 * But, this doesn't mean don't do it; players are free to do it, if they desire--it just isn't necessary to find the boss
 * Bonus doors are a bit tricky. Almost never (but, it can happen) will these doors lead to boss or provide a key for boss. These doors usually have an exp drop of 500.

Solo
Not advised, as this takes the longest

This method is not advised, although some people may prefer it. Some players may prefer to do the work and rely on themselves. They may also want to do the first few floors on their own, but beyond that, it becomes tedious and drawn-out. This style is acceptable, until players reach Occult and Warped floors.

AVERAGE FLOOR TIME: 8-20 MINUTES

Duo
Advised, as it allows for easier completion and faster times

AVERAGE FLOOR TIME: 5-8 MINUTES*

This method is advised, as two players are able to get the floors done in a quick amount of time.


 * The 5 minutes applies to lower floors; Floors 1-29. It is not listed in the overall time, as 5 minutes is not common. If players duo, then those players should expect to see 6-8 minutes.

Trio, Quad, and Quin
Not advised, but if a good team is assembled, then it is perfectly fine

AVERAGE FLOOR TIME: 8-15 MINUTES

The longer time is based upon how well the team works together, how quickly they are able to cooperate, and if they are able to pinpoint crucial paths. It is also depending upon the levels of the players. The boss may also factor into the time, if the team does higher floors.

Tidbits
The information provided is based upon observation, having a working knowledge of Dungeoneering, and completing 65+ floors.

Players should not expect the same results all the time, as these times are estimated and offer a valuable insight on what to expect.

There is no way, presently, to check which floor a player has left at. The Kinship ring does not have that option at this moment. Players should be aware that this mode is intended to offer some variation the existing concept. The level of difficulty is based upon an individual experience and can serve as an unlikely way to train the skill. The title received at the end of completing Hard Mode becomes immediately unlocked upon completion of the last floor. This title is also a requirement for Trimmed Completionist cape.
 * The only viable option is to do a floor the player knows they have not completed and observe the chatbox message at the end of the dungeon.
 * But, due to how long it takes, and the possibility of numerous deaths, it is not recommended