Dwarf multicannon

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"DC" redirects here. For the quest, see Deadliest Catch.

For other uses, see Cannon (disambiguation).

The dwarf multicannon is a members-only Ranged weapon. Unlike other Ranged weapons, it is not equipped by a player; rather, it is assembled on the ground. To use a dwarf multicannon, the Dwarf Cannon quest must be completed.

The cannon consists of four pieces: the base, the stand, the furnace, and the barrels. After a player has loaded cannonballs into the cannon, the cannon rotates and fires automatically at any attackable monsters nearby, causing damage to them.

Players may buy the full cannon as well as a mould to make cannonballs from the dwarf engineer Nulodion, south of Ice Mountain, for 750,000 coins. Alternatively, the individual parts may be purchased for 187,500 coins each. The "Talk" option on Nulodion must be used to obtain the full cannon, whereas the "Trade" option is used to buy the individual parts. However, it is generally cheaper to buy a cannon from the Grand Exchange. If a cannon decays or the mould is dropped, Nulodion will provide a free replacement as well.

A player may own multiple cannons, but only one may be assembled per player at any one time, presumably to prevent players from filling areas with cannons. 

Players can use the cannon without earning Ranged experience by changing their "Ranged Combat Experience" (under Combat Settings) to be Defence only. It should be noted that use of the cannon currently grants Constitution experience; before the Evolution of Combat, the cannon gave only Ranged experience, making it possible to train Ranged while maintaining the player's Constitution level.

Components

Image	Parts	Store price	Exchange price
‎	Dwarf cannon set	750,000 coins	797,394 coins (update)
‎	Cannon barrels	187,500 coins	215,415 coins (update)
	Cannon base	187,500 coins	206,304 coins (update)
‎‎	Cannon furnace	187,500 coins	198,718 coins (update)
	Cannon stand	187,500 coins	197,927 coins (update)

History

On 9 November 2009 the model for the cannon’s Grand Exchange set when dropped on the floor was corrected.

After the 17 November 2009 update cannons no longer waste cannonballs on NPCs in the process of dying. There is also an auto-setup feature.

On 8 March 2011, the cannon received an update, changing its appearance and also allowing the player to repair a decayed cannon by taking it to Isak in the cannon repair shop of the Artisans Workshop. A guide on repairing cannons may be seen below. The update also allowed players to cosmetically upgrade a dwarf multicannon to a Gold dwarf multicannon and a Royale dwarf multicannon. The upgrades will increase the amount of ammunition the cannon can hold up to 90 for the Royale dwarf multicannon.

From 20 November 2012, the cannon no longer gave Ranged experience, causing the market price to crash to about 550k. However, after a hidden update, the cannon now provides Ranged experience again. The price, however, is still low due to the lower damage the cannon deals following the Evolution of Combat.

Assembly

A player setting up a cannon

The Dwarf multicannon is carried in four pieces in a player's inventory. To begin setting it up, the player must place the cannon base on a vacant square surrounded by eight more vacant squares. The rest of the cannon will automatically be set up from there. Finally, the player must use up to 30 cannonballs on the cannon by selecting "Fire." It is rather heavy when each of the four parts are in your inventory, and it will make your weight quite high (approximately 30 kg). If you do run with it, it is recommended to bring a familiar to compensate for the more rapid energy loss (such as a Spirit Terrorbird).

There are many locations where the cannon cannot be taken into or cannot be set up, including (but not limited to) the following list. If a player attempts to set down a cannon base in any of these areas, a message will appear in the player's chatbox saying that it cannot be done.

Abandoned Burthorpe mine "The Imperial Guard and druids have prohibited the use of cannons in this area." Ancient Cavern "It's far too damp down here to set up a cannon." Ancient Guthix Temple (around Tormented demons): "A powerful presence in the cave stops you from setting up the cannon." Ancient Prison (downstairs in all rooms of the Ancient Prison, including at Nex): "The power of Zaros prevents you from setting a cannon up here." Araxyte Hive "The ground is too unstable to set up your cannon here." Bandos' throne room Barbarian Assault "The barbarians don't want you using dwarf cannons down there." Black Knights' Fortress (in and around): "It is not permitted to set up a cannon this close to the Dwarf Black Guard." Borehole (during fight): "The ground is too unstable to set up your cannon here." Castle Wars "You cannot take non-combat items into the arena." Chaos Temple Dungeon (in rooms with armoured zombies): "You're sneaking around zombie-filled tunnels. A noisy cannon would attract too much attention." Chaos Tunnels: "The cannon is too heavy to take it down there - you'll have to leave it it behind." Duel Arena (it can be set up in duels, however will not fire on players and may be lost if not picked up) Dwarven Mine (except in Living Rock Caverns) Enchanted Valley "You cannot set a cannon up in the Enchanted Valley." Entrana Fist of Guthix "The guardian does not allow cannons in here." Fremennik Slayer Dungeon "The humid air in these tunnels won't do your cannon any good!" Freneskae: "Freneskae's atmosphere would prevent your cannon from working." Feldip hills, red chinchompa hunting grounds God Wars Dungeon (central area, faction rooms, and frozen door entrance room): "The power of the gods prevents you from setting a cannon up here." Grand exchange: "My Grand Exchange is for peaceful trading. Go play with your cannon somewhere else!" - Brugsen Bursen Grotworm Lair (includes at the Queen Black Dragon): "The damp air would prevent your cannon operating."

Ice mountain "It is not permitted to set up a cannon this close to the Dwarf Black Guard." Ice strykewyrm cave (except in the room with the Ice strykewyrms): "The frosty air has numbed your fingers too much to be able to assemble the cannon." Jadinko Lair "It's far too damp down here to set up a cannon." Kalphite Queen Lair (While the cannon can be set up in the Kalphite Queen's lair, she will instantly destroy it; see below) Killerwatt plane Kuradal's Dungeon Lair of Tarn Razorlor: "This temple is ancient and would probably collapse if you started firing a cannon." Lumbridge Catacombs Mahjarrat Ritual Site Cavern Mazcab (at Raid areas) Monastery of Ascension Mort Myre Swamp (this does not include the graveyard, where Dessous is located) Nex: Angel of Death "You cannot set up a cannon here." Nomad's Throne Room Pest Control Player-owned farm "You feel Granny P's judgemental eyes boring into your soul and decide not to place your cannon here." Player-owned houses "You cannot set up a cannon in a house." Player-owned ports "Cannons belong on ships, not on the dockside." Shade Catacombs Shades of Mort'ton Slayer Tower Sophanem Slayer Dungeon Sorceress's Garden "Setting up a cannon would be the least stealthy activity you could think of." Stealing Creation Stronghold of Player Safety Sunken Pyramid or Player-owned slayer dungeons "You cannot set up a cannon here." Tower of Voices, Prifddinas "The vibrations from Seren's song would stop the cannon from functioning here." Troll Warzone "The Imperial Guard and druids have prohibited the use of cannons in this area." TzHaar City, TzHaar Fight Cave and TzHaar Fight Pit "It's too hot in these caves, the heat could damage the cannon." Warriors' Guild Water Ravine Dungeon Zogre burial grounds

In other locations, the cannon may be set up but may be destroyed by an NPC almost instantly, or is almost useless due to limitations:

• Certain quest bosses; for example, the Giant Roc will destroy a cannon if the player sets it up within its attack range.
• Clan Wars; cannons cannot be used to harm other players, although cannons may harm their Summoning familiars.
• The Kalphite Queen, any of the monsters in the God Wars Dungeon, and the King Black Dragon will destroy a cannon if a player attempts to use it.

Mechanics

These are the mechanical aspects of the Cannon. This section includes the rotation, targets, and decay of the cannon's parts.

Revolutions

A loaded multicannon

After the cannon has been set up, loaded, and fired, the barrel will rotate and fire at targets within its line-of-sight and range. The cannon barrel rotates in discrete intervals; there are 8 directions the barrel may face, and the barrel makes a 45 degree turn every 0.6 seconds (one game tick), completing a full revolution in 4.8 seconds. The cannon fires one cannonball while facing each direction, so it fires up to 8 cannonballs per revolution.

Targets

For each direction the cannon faces during its rotation, there is a specific set of squares relative to the cannon's location that a cannonball may be shot into at that time. This target region can be visualised by a triangle emanating from the cannon barrel. Squares may be cut off from the target region by an obstacle.

Target regions for different directions overlap slightly. This may result in shooting multiple cannonballs at one monster in one cannon revolution, even one that is standing still. Up to two cannonballs may be shot at a monster that takes up a single square per rotation. If it is not in the proper location however, only one, or even zero cannonballs may be shot per rotation.

Additionally, even more cannonballs may be shot at monsters that take up multiple squares. Monsters taking up multiple squares can be shot at using any of the squares that they are covering. For example, up to 4 cannonballs can be shot per rotation at a dragon because they are so big (3 squares by 3 squares) and if done correctly strykewyrms (also 3 squares by 3 squares) can be hit on all 8 rotations. Also, the chances of killing a monster is much faster if the cannon is placed near the spawn point; for example, if a player sets up a cannon near a Frost Dragon spawn, the dragon will be hit 3 times in a row.

A cannon will never initiate combat against a revenant that the player themselves can not attack.

Although a cannon will never target another player, if a cannon is set up in the wilderness, it may target a player's familiar if that familiar belongs to a player who could be attacked by the cannon's user. This will result in the owner of the cannon receiving a skull. Players should exercise extreme caution about using a cannon in the wilderness.

Damage

The cannon has a max hit of 1152, which is unaffected by the player's Ranged level.

Decay

Cannons disappear after a certain period of time being continuously set up. 20 minutes after the cannon has been set up, a message appears that the cannon has jammed. It can be reactivated by repairing it. Picking it up is not required. It will disappear in 20 minutes if not repaired.

It is not based on the number of cannonballs shot, but based on the timer as stated above.

Loss

Cannons that do decay are not lost forever, but rather may be re-obtained for free from Nulodion (it does not matter if you bought it at the Grand Exchange or from Nulodion himself). If bought at the GE, he will try to sell you a new one, there is a right-click option to replace multicannon, choose that option. The fastest way to get to Nulodion is to cast Lassar Teleport (an Ancient Magicks teleport). Alternatively, players may teleport to the monastery using a charged Combat Bracelet and run to Nulodion, or they can choose to run from Edgeville or Falador. Another method would be to use the Wicked hood to teleport to the body altar situated below the monastery and run from there. Finally, a player can use a Skull sceptre to teleport to Barbarian Village and run north-west to Nulodion.

If you log out while your cannon is set up you can right-click Nulodion and select "Replace-cannon" to retrieve it free of charge.

Cannons will also disappear right away if they are set up and then you switch worlds. You can get them back from Nulodion in the same way as when it decays.

If a player dies while a cannon is set up, the cannon stays set up at the location. After it decays, it may be re-obtained for free from Nulodion. It is a common belief that cannons are lost upon death, but in this case the cannon may easily be re-obtained for free. You cannot re-obtain a cannon that was in your inventory if you are killed in the Wilderness.

If a player dies while a cannon, cannon parts, or cannonballs are in the inventory, these items are lost, unless the player is able to re-obtain them from the gravestone. If you are under attack by a strong enemy that may kill you, immediately set up your cannon. If you do die, you won't lose your cannon.

If the cannon itself is destroyed in combat, the player can re-obtain a new dwarf multicannon from Nulodion, free of charge. Certain monsters, such as the King Black Dragon and Kalphite Queen, can destroy the cannon.

Nulodion will not hand out a replacement cannon if the cannon or cannon parts are banked, set up, sold, or dropped. Replaced cannons come loaded with cannonballs equal to the amount loaded in the cannon when the cannon was lost.

Tagging monsters

A monster targeted only by the cannon is not "tagged" as the cannon owner's kill, unless they attack the monster themselves. This allows other players killing that monster to compete with the cannon's range and output. However, the monsters targeted by the cannon will attack the cannon owner, even if someone else tags them. This can be used to the advantage of players willing to work together, with a higher level player tanking the damage to allow a lower level player to get the kills.

Variants

The dwarf multicannon can be upgraded to the Gold dwarf multicannon or Royale dwarf multicannon by Elof in the Artisans Workshop, after purchasing the ability to do so. These versions work the same way as the regular cannon, except that they can hold 60 and 90 cannonballs respectively. The Artisans Workshop also sells an upgrade that lets you restock your cannon automatically as long as you're within 15 squares when it runs out.

The Oldak coil and kinetic cyclone are magic and melee versions of the cannon that can be created through the Invention skill. They use different firing mechanics but also consume cannonballs.

Usage

Cannons are commonly used by players training Slayer to speed up tasks, and are particularly potent in conjunction with Cinderbane gloves, as they quickly can apply mass poison. At about 380 coins per cannonball, the use of a cannon is often considered to be quite expensive. However, the cost is often considered to be justified by the bonuses of using a cannon. A player doing a slayer task can melee almost the entire time, getting nearly as much melee experience as they would without using a cannon. The cannon will also attack several targets even in a single-way combat area as long as the player is not under attack, (e.g. in a safe spot). 

In crowded areas, such as the dagannoths under the Lighthouse, the cannon may produce a level of mayhem usually only achieved with Ancient Magicks spells. However, in highly populated areas, the player will need to remain almost constantly by the cannon in order to reload it because large numbers of cannonballs will be needed, also, they will probably get negative feedback from other people fighting.

Before the return of the wilderness many people brought cannons to areas of the Wilderness such as green dragons to speed up the kills and make large sums of money. Even though these are single combat areas if the Dragon is not attacking the player the cannon will attack any dragon that is not currently attacking any other player. Because it is a single combat zone it is advisable while using the cannon not to let the dragon attack you, so ranging can really benefit the player. This has generally had negative feedback with most players who kill green dragons for the bones and hides for money. Many players have complained about this on the forums saying that cannons break single combat zone rules. Now that player killing has returned to the wilderness this is more dangerous now as you can be killed by other players. If you do get attacked it is recommended to not pick up your cannon as it will be lost on death, but to keep it set up and then see Nulodion to re-obtain it for free after you have died.

Repairing cannons

On 8 March 2011, an update allowed decayed cannons (not player owned) to be repaired by taking them to Isak in the cannon repair shop, located in the Artisans Workshop. Repairing a cannon requires 62+ Smithing, a hammer, cog mould, pipe mould, test cannonball mould, and some Grade II steel ingots. For each fully repaired and tested cannon, 3,846 Smithing XP is earned. The process for repairing cannons is:

1. Fix cannon base:
   Pick up the base from the desk near Isak and empty it - there should be 10 broken cogs inside. Use all of these cogs on an anvil to attempt to repair them. If any break, you will need to make replacements by using your ingots in the furnace while holding the cog mould. Once you have 10 cogs, put them back into the base and set the base in the centre of the room.
2. Fix cannon stand:
   Take the stand from the desk near Isak and empty it - inside are three pipes, all of which will be broken. To fix them, use them in the furnace with the pipe mould in your inventory, then put them back into the stand and set the stand on the cannon base.
3. Fix cannon barrel:
   Grab the barrel off the parts desk and use it with an anvil to fix it. You'll likely need to use it with an anvil a few times to fully bash it back into shape. Once done, set the barrel on the cannon stand.
4. Fix cannon furnace:
   Take the furnace from the last desk and empty it. Inside is a fuse box and a flint, both of which will need fixing on an anvil. Once fixed, fill the fuse box with gunpowder from the barrels between the furnaces and smelter, then place both components back into the furnace, in turn placing that on the cannon barrel.
5. Test fire:
   Now the cannon is rebuilt it will need test firing to calibrate it. Use a couple of your steel ingots in a furnace while holding the test cannon ball mould to create 8 test cannonballs. Then, simply load the cannon to initiate the firing sequence. The cannon will occasionally get stuck when firing at the targets; Click it to fix it with a hammer and get it started again.

See also

• Oldak coil
• Kinetic cyclone

Trivia

The old model of the dwarf multicannon

• The cannon will not shoot at dwarves (except for in Chaos Dwarf Battlefield). It could also fire at Colonel Grimsson and Hreidmar, although this is no longer true.
• The only ammunition for cannons that players can use is cannonballs made from steel. However, Dondakan from the quest Between a Rock... fires Adamantite, Runite, and gold cannonballs from his cannon. In addition to that, in Quick Chat, it is possible to say, "I am smithing: [bronze/iron/steel/silver/gold/mithril/blurite/adamant/rune] cannonballs."
• The cannon received a graphical rework on 8 March 2011, along with the release of the Artisan's Workshop.
• Should a cannonball hit a wall, the cannon will say '''ABORT!''.
• If the cannon is fired in a single combat area the chat will say "I'm currently under attack." along with an occasional "Someone else is fighting that." depending on the combat status of the player-character.
• During the May 2012 Wild Weekend Rise of the Zombie Monkeys! event, members were using the cannon to get Zombie monkeys which prevented other players from getting the monkeys. The event was moved to Free-to-play worlds to prevent the use of cannons.
• The multicannons belonging to The Red Axe that deal around 4400 damage to players during Birthright of the Dwarves are the only instance of cannons being used against players. They are significantly more powerful than the cannons players can use.