Warped terrorbird

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The Warped terrorbird is a Slayer monster found in the Poison Waste Slayer Dungeon. They require 56 Slayer and a Crystal chime to be killed. There are also three level 143 warped terrorbirds that the player must fight near the end of The Path of Glouphrie quest; see here for a guide to that fight. Players must have at least started the quest in order to receive these monsters as a Slayer assignment.

Warped terrorbirds are an excellent source of runes, bolts and bolt tips.

Characteristics
Warped terrorbirds are the result of Glouphrie's experimentation with the Anima Mundi, or life energy. Once terrorbirds, these mutants are stronger and used for guarding the city of Arposandra.

These monsters are weak to melee, most notably slash weapons such as the abyssal whip and chaotic longsword. It is worth noting that the terrorbird's ranged attack is sound-based, so ear protection could prove useful. In other words, using Earmuffs, Masked earmuffs, Slayer helmet or a Full slayer helmet reduces their ranged attacks' maximum hit to 20. This ranged attack will hit twice, so players can be hit up to 40, though this is very unlikely. It is best to know where to find the least amount of terrorbirds as multiple terrorbirds can hit up to 100 in succession. Their maximum melee hit remains the same, however, so Protect from Melee may be helpful. (However, as the ranged attack hits almost 100% of the time while the melee hits much less often, it is advised to use the Protect from Missiles prayer for less total damage).

They will always be aggressive towards the player, even if the player does not leave the area. If the player uses the crystal chimes on it, it will immediately retaliate, and its spawns will also be aggressive. Terrorbirds also have a keen sense of smell according to the RuneScape history which is probably why they attack aggressively. This can be proven as they can target the player even if there are obstacles on the way.

It is revealed during the Prisoner of Glouphrie quest that the Arposandrans breed terrorbirds and then put them through a machine to make them stronger and intelligent. Guard no.72 is an example of such an enhanced terrorbird. The machine does not always work properly, and when the machine malfunctions, the defective terrorbirds end up with unusual growths and are presumably weaker or unintelligent. These "factory seconds" are disposed of by sending them to the sewers. During the quest the player witnesses a blue, female warped terrorbird being disposed of in this fashion; its examine text, like that of the attackable birds in the sewer, is "You don't think you can harm this terrorbird".

Habitat
Warped terrorbirds are only found in the Poison Waste Slayer Dungeon. Players may travel there by:
 * Using Spirit Trees, which is notably the fastest way.
 * Going west of Castle Wars with a Crossbow and a Mithril grapple equipped to grapple across the river.

Enter through the sewer entrance south-west of the Spirit tree.

Strategy
Due to an update in early March, 2010, players are no longer required to use the crystal chime on a warped terrorbird to make it vulnerable to damage, however the crystal chime must be in the player's inventory to kill it.

A healing familiar, preferably a Bunyip, can greatly extend the length of time a player may stay in the dungeon. They are particularly useful because familiars such as the Bunyip heal 200 lifepoints every 15 seconds, which is roughly how much damage the Warped terrorbirds deal. Their ranged attacks are low-hitting (if using ear protection) but persistent, so much damage will be sustained if no healing familiar is used.

At higher levels, Guthans works very well, if killing in the room at the end of the dungeon with only one terrorbird in it. Bring a Prayer potion or two, using Protect from Missiles if health gets too low, and a few pieces of high level food. When one is of a high enough level (75+ combat stats), they may kill these birds without any food at all, due to the fact that the healing properties of Guthan's will be higher than the damage received, when meleeing the lone bird. This way, a player may stay in the room until one piece of Guthan's armour degrades to 0 percent.

Flashing the Protect from Missiles prayer for a short time will make them stop using their ranged attack, as long as they are out of melee range. This is helpful if the player only wants to take damage from one at a time.

Training effectiveness
A good place to slay warped terrorbirds inexpensively is at the very end of the dungeon. It is important to note that the Protect from Missiles prayer is effective here; it allows the player to run through the dungeon without taking too much damage. When the player reaches the large round antechamber with a pit in the centre and doors on four sides, he/she can go through the west door to a room with only a single terrorbird. At this point, Protect from Missiles is no longer necessary. This strategy will save the player from having to use Prayer potions. The spawn type of this bird varies, so bring a weapon for crush, slash and stab attacks. A spear works well for this purpose, and Guthans can be utilised to heal.

A great training method is to equip full Guthans and a regen bracelet. A high combat level player with 75+ stats can sit in the room with the single terrorbird mentioned above and continuesly kill it, the healing effect from the Guthans and the bracelet will make it almost impossible to die. With a ring of life, a player can camp at the warped terrorbirds for hours with minimal risk.

Wearing the best melee protection armour available and wielding a good weapon such as the Abyssal whip or Dragon scimitar is quite effective. Also, a Zamorakian Spear is an excellent choice as it can use Stab, Slash and Crush attacks, while still being powerful, and as fast as a whip. An alternative is using a Staff of light, which covers all three attack styles, and is almost as good as the whip, while currently cheaper than the Zamorakian Spear. A Slayer helmet should be used if possible, as the Attack and Strength boosts are great benefits.

The player can use a Dwarf Multicannon. There is an effective cannon spot on the west edge of the second "big" room of the dungeon, four spaces north of the square in front of a sewer gate. This drastically speeds up the time spent during a Slayer task, and makes Warped terrorbirds one of the fastest tasks accounting for XP/min. However, this method is highly expensive (on the amount of 500k + per assignment, and even more if the player doesn't weaken the terrorbirds fast, wasting a lot of cannonballs) and requires extreme concentration, forcing the player to reload the cannon periodically, drinking Prayer potions, and healing with food. There are also a few methods to safe-spot the birds, although your direct environment does not reveal them. Opening and fighting adjacent to a metal door will allow you to fight your opponent in 1 vs. 1 combat, beware that respawning birds could start to hit you with their ranged attack. Once you are not comfortable about your supplies and health you can just step back and close the door to immediately stop any kind of combat. Another trick could be standing on a frequent respawn-spot of the terrorbirds because if you are, they will respawn "in" you and start levitating around you, leaving you with only 1 (or maybe 2) opponents.

Cheap Method
As previously suggested, Protect from Missiles is an excellent way to defend against the multiple ranged attacks of several terrorbirds at once. If you do not wish to pay for prayer potions and can use Spirit Trees as well as the Ardougne cloak 1 (or higher) and have a Ring of duelling this method may work out for you. Use the Spirit Trees to teleport there, then when you are being attacked by a ranged attack, use the prayer. You may notice that if you use a protect prayer and do not move, you may turn it off without any existing terrorbirds attacking you (usually), any new spawns will still attack you. Turning off the prayer when it is unnecessary will help prolong your stay. You will also want 20 or so of a cheap food (i.e. tuna/lobster). When your prayer or food runs out, use the cloak to teleport to the monastery and restore your prayer. If you are using a familiar and you have run out of summoning points, use the Ring of duelling's Castle Wars teleport and use the Obelisk. If not, then teleport to Mobilising Armies and use the Spirit tree there.

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