Dreadnip



A Dreadnip is a very powerful creature that can be deployed against most monsters to serve as a partner in combat. Dreadnips are earned as a reward in the Dominion Tower by achieving 450 kills and spectating another player's match. When they are unlocked, 100 dreadnips are awarded; 100 more can be obtained for every 5 kills over 450 achieved in the tower. Dreadnips stack in the inventory, allowing players to carry many at once.

Dreadnips are usuable against most monsters, as explained below, but cannot be used against other players. Many players find dreadnips very useful in the Fight Kiln, as most of the monsters there are extremely weak to their typeless attacks.

To deploy a dreadnip, a player must be attacking the monster that will be the dreadnip's target. Just being attacked by a monster does not suffice; the player must be attacking the monster to target a dreadnip against it.

When a dreadnip is deployed against a monster, it unfolds on the ground into a small insect-like or scorpion-like creature and begins attacking. It has three different attacks, which it randomly uses:
 * A typeless melee damage attack. This attack can hit up to 550 damage and can even damage monsters that are normally immune to damage, such as frost dragons in their blue orb phase, or Nex when none of her mages have been killed. As the attack is typeless, it cannot be blocked with protection prayers. This attack can also hit monsters that normally require specific equipment or attack styles to kill, such as Vyrewatch, Kree'arra, and the Wild jade vine. This attack earns experience in the last melee style the player has used. The amount of experience earned from a dreadnip attack appears to be the amount of damage dealt divided by 7.5, though more testing is needed to confirm the exact equation. Experience received from a dreadnip attack is significantly lower than the experience received from a player's own attacks.
 * An attack that poisons starting at 108 damage. It is possible for a single dreadnip to use multiple poison attacks, though this will have no additional effects other than to prolong the time the target is poisoned. A creature that is immune to poison in general is also immune to being poisoned by a dreadnip.
 * An Entangle-like attack that freezes the target in place for 20 seconds.

Only one dreadnip may be deployed at a time, and each will last 30 seconds before disappearing. During that time, a dreadnip will attack up to five times, giving it an attack speed of 0, or one attack every 6 seconds. A dreadnip will also disappear if its owner exits combat, moves too far away from it, or kills the target monster. If a dreadnip is deployed but there is an obstacle between the dreadnip and its target, the dreadnip is blocked from reaching the target and will soon give up and disappear. Unlike Summoning familars, there is no 'call' ability for a dreadnip to move the dreadnip, so be careful not to move too far away from a dreadnip or to deploy one if an obstacle will block it.

Players themselves also block their dreadnips. A dreadnip deploys in a random square near the player. If it deploys so that the player is between it and its target, the player should step aside to let the dreadnip pass, or else the dreadnip will soon disappear.

Monsters do not retaliate against dreadnips, nor can players attack them. As such, dreadnips essentially act as an invincible, if short-lived, source of extra damage, poison, and binding. Furthermore, as dreadnips do not count as Summoning familiars, they can be used in conjunction with a familiar, as well as in the TzHaar Fight Cave (where familiars are not allowed).

Dreadnips ignore the rules of multicombat and may be used in single-combat zones and multicombat zones alike.

Dreadnips can attack any target except for the following:
 * Other players (however, dreadnips can attack other players' summoning familiars).
 * The Barrows brothers.
 * Saradomin wizards, Zamorak wizards, and double agents during Treasure Trails.
 * Quest boss monsters that can appear in the Dominion Tower. This includes these monsters not only in the tower itself but also during the quest the boss is encountered. For example, dreadnips cannot be used against Agrith Naar during the Shadow of the Storm quest.
 * The Ferocious Barbarian Spirit from pyre ships.

Note that dreadnips can be used against quite powerful monsters that are not quest bosses, including the Kalphite queen and the King Black Dragon. There are some monster that dreadnips can be used against but are not particularly effective against, including:
 * Ganodermic beasts, which are both very strong against melee and immune to poison.

Trivia

 * Dreadnips count as a "non-combat item" and cannot be taken into Soul Wars.
 * The best way to deploy Dreadnips is click "deploy", click its picture, click the enemy, wait until it is deployed, then re-attack the enemy.
 * Deployment typically takes 0.6 seconds, and doing something (such as clicking to attack the enemy) during that 0.6 seconds will interrupt and cancel deployment.
 * Dreadnips usually despawn when their target dies, however at present there is a glitch which sees a deployed dreadnip remain after a gargoyle has been killed with the rock hammer. This glitch prevents players from deploying another dreadnip until the first's timer has run out.
 * Before an update on 6 December 2011, dreadnips could be used by players to kill monsters for which they did not have the required Slayer level to fight.
 * Dreadnips will cause a Tormented demon to change to Protect from Melee prayer, and will not hit through its melee prayer.
 * Attempting to cast Monster Examine on a dreadnip results in the message "You can't find out their stats."
 * Unlike most animals, dreadnips will not run away on death, and can be recovered from a gravestone. This suggests they are in a dormant state when obtained.
 * When stunned by a dreadnip, Mutated jadinko males will bid nearby vines to whip the player.