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This article is about the trees that form part of Distractions and Diversions. For the random event that formerly would break axes whilst Woodcutting, see Ent.
Danger sign
Death during this Distraction and Diversion is not safe.
While this activity is not inherently dangerous, should you die by other means you will still lose your items and will need to reclaim them from Death or your grave.
Invasion plans
This activity may have associated player-run services, such as Friends Chat channels. Visit the official Minigames and D&Ds forum for more information.
Evil Tree
Normal evil tree
Release date 25 February 2009 (Update)
Area Gielinor
Members No
Frequency Daily
Reset Unknown edit
Skills Woodcutting
Currency None
[view][talk]
Worlds Icon The official world for Evil Tree is world 60 (P2P).
Eviltree 1024x768

Wallpaper that came out with the Evil Tree Distraction and Diversion

The evil tree is a Distractions and Diversions available to both members and free-to-play players, that can be done twice daily, resetting at 00:00 UTC. The evil tree spawns approximately two hours after the death of the previous tree, which is world-dependent. As such, it is possible to world hop to find another evil tree in the regrowth time period. Players near an evil tree may see roots attack at them and they will exclaim "What was that?"; giving a sign that an evil tree is nearby.

Farming, Firemaking, and Woodcutting experience boosters can be used with this D&D:

Interacting with a tree at any stage of its development will count as one of the two daily trees. This also applies to nurturing trees, even if players do not have the required levels to chop or burn the fully grown tree. However, players can inspect saplings and young trees to find out what they will grow into to avoid interacting with evil trees they may not have the required levels for. Inspecting the saplings or trees does not count as one of the player's daily interactions.

Groups dedicated to finding and reporting evil trees can be found in the Minigames and D&Ds section of the RuneScape Forums.

Overview[]

Leprechaun chathead

The purpose of the event is to kill the Evil tree, after which the player is rewarded; see below. There are seven types of evil trees and 25 possible locations.

Farming experience is granted each time the sapling advances to another stage of development while nurturing. Woodcutting experience is granted every few seconds during chopping. Firemaking experience is granted each time a new section of the Tree is lit on fire from evil tree kindling. Firemaking experience is also granted after adding the evil tree kindling to the bonfire from the dead evil tree.

A leprechaun is always found near the tree. He will explain how the evil tree works, and will be the one to reward players after one is killed. He can also provide low-level tools if you've forgotten yours.

Stages[]

Evil tree DnD

A small group taking on the evil tree.

An evil tree has a total of 3 stages:

  1. The first stage is a series of growths for the sapling. The strange sapling may be nurtured by players to make it grow quickly, but it will grow on its own.
  2. The second stage is a fully grown evil tree. Chopping the vines will provide Evil tree kindling used to light fires around the evil tree, and enable the player to begin chopping at the evil tree. Once you can reach the tree, chopping the bark will deal damage. Watch out while chopping the bark, since roots can grow back and knock back or daze nearby players. Examining the tree will let you know how much health it has remaining and what percentage of the total possible reward will be yours.
  3. The final stage is an evil tree Bonfire. Rewards for participating in the event can be obtained now, and extra kindling can be burned on the bonfire awarding firemaking experience. Any remaining kindling can be sold to a leprechaun for 25 gp each or can be kept to be burned at another Evil tree. Players can only hold 200 kindlings.

Locating[]

There are several ways to locate an evil tree:

  • By opening the D&D tab on the Adventurers interface. It will state the time until an evil tree appears, or state "ready" when an evil tree is active on that world.
  • By speaking with a Spirit tree.[1] The Spirit tree will tell the player the status of the tree in each world and it gives players a hint to its location; see here. Each hint usually leads to at least two locations with the exception of two clues: west of Lumbridge and by collection of yews (both clues share a spawn location that has been removed). Once the sapling has grown into a full tree, Spirit trees will teleport the player to the exact location. If a quest is required that you have not completed, (such as Legends' Quest for trees in the Kharazi Jungle) the Spirit tree will not teleport you.
  • By being nearby; once the Strange Sapling sprouts, Evil roots will briefly shoot out of the surrounding ground. These roots can appear a good distance from the location of the tree, so search carefully. Roots will only appear beneath the players feet that have not yet interacted with two evil trees that day.
  • If you cannot get a tip from the spirit tree, have a friend who can talk to the spirit tree get one for you.
  • A sapling for an Evil tree will spawn exactly two minutes from the time a server comes online after a crash or a system update.
  • Players that have completed the 2011 Easter event can use their Sunbeam crown or Icicle crown to ask about the tree's type and a hint to its location or, if no tree is alive, the estimated time until one is.
  • By using a Nature's sentinel outfit (similar to the sunbeam crown and icicle crown).
  • Join a clan or Friends Chat themed around the D&D. Groups dedicated to finding and reporting evil trees can be found in the Minigames and D&Ds section of the RuneScape Forums.
  1. ^ Requires completion of Tree Gnome Village

Locations with hints[]

Spirit Tree (Prifddinas) chathead
  • Location hints are given by Spirit trees at any time, and via the Sunbeam and Icicle crown or any of the Nature's sentinel outfits once a sapling has sprouted. The Tree Gnome Village or The Grand Tree quest must be completed in order to speak with a Spirit tree. These are not required for the crowns, however. Spirit trees usually offer hints which only point to one location while majority of the crowns' hints usually point to at least two locations.
  • All hints refer to at least two possible sprouting locations—due to the events of Battle of Lumbridge, a sprouting location is no longer active, and as such, the two parent hints that it once belonged to now only point to 1 sprouting location each.
  • The Anima Mundi is not a location hint. Hints begin with the phrase "It can be found ..."
  • If the time hint given is "There won't be another evil tree for a long time", it means that the current evil tree is in fallen form and the location hint that follows directs to the current fallen spawn, not the next one.
  • There is a glitch with the time hints: If the time hint claims that there are 0 minutes until the next spawn, there is actually one hour left until the spawn.
  • The following table lists the 25 possible locations an evil tree can sprout in.
Hints Possible locations Quests required Map
Close to a collection of yew trees South of Seers' Village flax field by the yew trees N/A Evil Tree (Catherby) location
Close to a dungeon entrance, and within a tropical jungle Ape Atoll, near the entrance to Ape Atoll Dungeon[a 1] Monkey Madness Evil Tree (Ape Atoll) location
Near the entrance of the Brimhaven Dungeon N/A Evil Tree (Brimhaven) location
Close to a large collection of willow trees Northwest of Seers' Village bank[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (Seers' Village) location
South of Draynor Village, near the willow trees[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (south of Draynor) location
South of Legends' Guild[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (south of Legends' Guild) location
Southwest part of Tree Gnome Stronghold, north of Brimstail's cave and east of the bridge N/A Evil Tree (Tree Gnome Stronghold) location
Close to a mine on the outskirts of a city South of Legends' Guild[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (south of Legends' Guild) location
West of Falador N/A Evil Tree (Falador) location
Close to a Runecrafting altar Near the body altar, south of the Monastery N/A Evil Tree (Monastery) location
Southwest of mining spot near the nature altar, northwest of Shilo Village[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (nature altar) location
Close to the home of 'Legends' North of Legends' Guild N/A Evil Tree (Legends' Guild) location
South of Legends' Guild N/A Evil Tree (south of Legends' Guild) location
Close to the town you call Yanille Northeast of Yanille N/A Evil Tree (north of Yanille) location
South of Tree Gnome Village, northwest of Yanille N/A Evil Tree (west of Yanille) location
Close to the village you call 'Seers' Inside McGrubor's Wood N/A Evil Tree (McGrubor's Woods) location
Northwest of Seers' Village bank[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (Seers' Village) location
South of Seers' Village flax field by the yew trees[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (Catherby) location
Close to the village you humans call 'Draynor' North of Draynor Village, near Draynor Manor N/A Evil Tree (north of Draynor) location
South of Draynor Village, near the willow trees[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (south of Draynor) location
Due west of the town you call Lumbridge South of Draynor Village near the willow trees N/A Evil Tree (south of Draynor) location
In a location with rare trees and ogres nearby South of Castle Wars, north of the fairy ring BKP N/A Evil Tree (Castle Wars) location
West of Oo'glog and east of Mobilising Armies. This area is dangerous, with aggressive Wolves and Ogresses. N/A Evil Tree (Oo'glog) location
In the lands inhabited by elves East of Tyras Camp Regicide Evil Tree (Tyras Camp) location
Lletya, south of the magic trees Mourning's End Part I to use the Spirit tree teleport - you may walk to this location if you have completed Regicide. Evil Tree (Lletya) location
Just outside of the city you call Varrock East of Varrock, near Tolna's rift N/A Evil Tree (Tolna's Rift) location
North of Varrock Palace, near the Wilderness wall N/A Evil Tree (north of Varrock) location
North as the crow flies from Seers' Village East of the house portal in Rellekka N/A Evil Tree (Rellekka) location
Northwest of Seers' Village bank N/A Evil Tree (Seers' Village) location
North as the crow flies from the market of Ardougne Inside McGrubor's Wood[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (McGrubor's Woods) location
Southwest of the Ranging Guild N/A Evil Tree (Ranging Guild) location
On the island known as Karamja East of the teak trees in the Kharazi Jungle Legends Evil Tree (Kharazi Jungle) location
Southwest of mining spot near the nature altar, northwest of Shilo Village N/A Evil Tree (nature altar) location
On the southern coast of a tropical island Ape Atoll, near the entrance to Ape Atoll Dungeon Monkey Madness Evil Tree (Ape Atoll) location
East of the teak trees in the Kharazi Jungle[a 1] Legends Evil Tree (Kharazi Jungle) location
To the south of a tree gnome settlement South of Tree Gnome Stronghold and east of the Outpost N/A Evil Tree (south of Tree Gnome Stronghold) location
South of Tree Gnome Village and northwest of Yanille[a 1] N/A Evil Tree (west of Yanille) location
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l This hint-location combination is never given by Spirit trees before sapling has spawned.

Killing[]

Tree Roots

The evil tree can be killed by chopping at it with a hatchet and lighting fires at its base. Different levels are required to cut and burn different tree types; see table below. Chopping the evil tree and roots earns Woodcutting experience; lighting kindling gives Firemaking experience, both at the base of the evil tree while alive, and at the bonfire once the tree has died. The tree begins with 100% health, and the player with 0% reward. As players chop the tree and the fires burn, the tree's life drops and the player's percentage of reward increases. This can be checked by right-clicking and examining or inspecting the tree. The number of players that need 100% to kill the evil tree depends on the total number of players cutting the tree. Eventually the tree will die and become a Fallen tree, from which you can receive your rewards. Once you have received your rewards, you may burn spare kindling in it for Firemaking experience. You may only hold a maximum of 200 kindling at one time. A fallen tree will remain for 10 minutes before disappearing.

To chop the tree, a hatchet is required either on your person or your tool belt. As with all woodcutting, higher-tiered hatchets will chop more accurately than lower-tiered ones providing experience quicker. Machetes can be used to chop evil roots more effectively than some hatchets. If you have a Rune hatchet and a Red topaz machete in the inventory or tool belt, your character will automatically use the machete to cut the roots, indicating that it works better. The Dragon hatchet, Inferno adze, and Crystal hatchet are still faster than any of the machetes. When 4 evil roots are active cutting one will take the least time. As well as this, when 3 evil roots are present, the fourth will respawn slower. It takes at least one minute for new roots to regrow on each side.

To burn the evil tree, the player will require some kindling attained from chopping down one of the four roots which sprout along the sides of the tree. The evil roots will strike and stun players who are standing nearby, also forcing players who are standing near to jump away each time they sprout. By standing directly on these spawn spots the players will jump away instead of being stunned by the root when it sprouts. There are eight spots at the base of the tree to light.

By keeping one root down at a time, even solo players can cut roots quickly to get back to the tree. Attempting to cut a root while one is already down will make that root take much more time to cut. An evil tree can last the maximum 30 minutes if not too crowded. More players joining in will do more damage therefore lessening the tree's life and up time.

Lightning[]

The evil tree will be struck by lightning after certain periods depending upon its health. If it is still above 50% of its health after 10 minutes, lightning will bring it down to 50%; if it is still above 25% after 20 minutes, lightning will bring it down to 25%; and if it is still alive after 30 minutes, lightning will kill it. Those who participated will still get their rewards if the tree dies this way.

Skill Requirements[]

Types of evil tree
Normal evil tree Evil oak tree Willow evil tree Maple evil tree
This looks like a challenge anyone can deal with. His bite looks tougher than his bark. He'll weep when he's done being evil! Where did his red leaves go?
1 Woodcutting 1 Farming 1 Firemaking 15 Woodcutting 7 Farming 15 Firemaking 30 Woodcutting 15 Farming 30 Firemaking 45 Woodcutting 22 Farming 45 Firemaking
Skilling requirements[1]
Types of evil tree
Yew evil tree Magic evil tree Elder evil tree
A tough evil tree! An incredibly tough challenge! The most fearsome of evil trees!
60 Woodcutting 30 Farming 60 Firemaking 75 Woodcutting 37 Farming 75 Firemaking 90 Woodcutting 42 Farming 90 Firemaking
Skilling requirements[1]
  1. ^ a b The invisible boosts of summoned familiars does not work to get the required levels. They only increase the rate of cutting.

Rewards[]

Items[]

When an evil tree falls and petrifies, players collecting a reward may get any the following items from the evil tree as a reward:

Dead evil tree

A fallen Magic evil tree

Image Items
Logs Oak logs Willow logs Maple logs Yew logs Magic logs Elder logs Teak logs Mahogany logs Noted logs corresponding to the type of evil tree
Coins 100 Various amounts of Coins dependent on the type of evil tree
Bird's nest (blue egg) Bird's nest (green egg) Bird's nest (red egg) Bird's nest (raven egg) Bird's nest (ring) Bird's nest (seeds 1) A Bird's nest with various rewards inside
Acorn 1 Willow seed 1 Maple seed 1 Yew seed 1 Magic seed 1 A Tree seed of various types
Fellstalk seed 5 1–11 Fellstalk seeds
Morchella mushroom spore 5 1–10 Morchella mushroom spores
Clue scroll (easy) A Clue scroll (easy) [1]
Loop half of a key Tooth half of a key Half of a key [1]
Crystal triskelion fragment 1 Crystal triskelion fragment 2 Crystal triskelion fragment 3 Elder evil trees offer a rare chance of receiving a piece of the Crystal triskelion key [1]
Key token Key tokens
  1. ^ a b c Wearing a Ring of wealth will increase the chance of obtaining this reward, albeit very slightly.
  • You can sell Evil tree kindling to the leprechaun for 25 coins each, burn it in the fallen tree, or choose to keep the kindling to use on future Evil trees. Since all trees give the same type of kindling, keeping the kindling for the next tree could aid in lighting it faster.

The normal reward received is various noted logs, Coins, and a random Tree seed or Bird's nest, with Clue scroll (easy) and Key halves as an additional reward. If there is not enough room in a players inventory, items will be dropped on the ground instead.

Maximum rewards[]

The following table shows the highest reported possible rewards. A lower percentage reduces the rewards, but the same percent will not always equal the same amount of gold or logs:

Dead evil tree (burning)

A felled evil tree, now burning

Tree type Noted logs Coins Buff duration
Normal 12 Logs Logs 253 6 minutes
GE value: 3,492 Total value: 3,745
Oak 24 Oak logs Oak logs 326 10 minutes
GE value: 14,184 Total value: 14,510
Willow 226 Willow logs Willow logs 1,127 14 minutes
GE value: 56,048 Total value: 57,175
Maple 131 Maple logs Maple logs 1,588 18 minutes
GE value: 14,148 Total value: 15,428
Yew 25 Yew logs Yew logs 4,287 22 minutes
GE value: 4,175 Total value: 8,462
Magic 17 Magic logs Magic logs 8,307 26 minutes
GE value: 6,460 Total value: 14,767
Elder 15 Elder logs Elder logs 17,064 30 minutes
GE value: 132,525 Total value: 149,589

Experience[]

  • When an evil tree is still a sapling, Farming experience can be gained from nurturing it. No items are required.
  • When an evil tree is fully grown, chopping the evil roots and the tree itself grants Woodcutting experience.
  • When an evil root vanishes, the player gains Evil tree kindling, which can be used to set a part of the tree on fire. This awards Firemaking experience depending on your level.
  • When an evil tree dies, the player can contribute any remaining evil tree kindling to a bonfire for additional Firemaking experience.
  • Firemaking experience rewarded from the evil tree bonfire is determined by the player's level in Firemaking.

The Inferno adze will not automatically light any kindling received.

Tree Experience earned per action
Nurturing Farming[1] Burning tree Firemaking[2] Chopping roots Woodcutting Chopping tree Woodcutting
Normal 20 200 3 15.1
Oak 45 300 6.4 32.4
Willow 66 450 9.1 45.7
Maple 121.5 675 11.1 55.8
Yew 172.5 1,012.5 17.5 87.5
Magic 311.5 1,517.5 25 125
Elder 730 2,600.5 32.5 162.5
  1. ^ Can only be obtained during the sapling stage of an evil tree, twice a day, and counts towards the daily participation allotment.
  2. ^ Can be obtained a total of 8 times per tree, twice a day, and counts towards the daily participation allotment.

Further woodcutting[]

For a period of time after an evil tree has been felled and a reward claimed, players are given a buff which gives several advantages when chopping at Normal, Achey, Oak, Willow, Teak, Maple, Acadia, Hollow, Mahogany, Arctic Pine, Eucalyptus, Yew, Magic and Elder trees:

  • A significant reduction to the chance of felling a tree after a resource is harvested.[1] This will also work on Normal trees, but the player with the buff must be the only player chopping at the Normal tree. At a high woodcutting level, players can expect to cut around 1173 logs per hour. The effect will stack with the Seer's headband efficiency effect, if it is being worn at the time.
  • A significantly increased chance of shaking Bird's nests out of trees.[1]
  • The ability to have logs "magically escorted" to the player's bank while Woodcutting. An effect can be seen above the players head when a log is sent to the bank. Other players cannot see this effect. Logging out will stop the count down; so the player can use it when they log back in.
  1. ^ a b This does not apply to trees grown in Tree patches.

Players wishing to take advantage of this feature should consider cutting trees which yield logs quickly.

  • For Woodcutting experience, it is suggested to chop Arctic Pines for the duration of the buff.
  • For a combination of experience and profit, it is suggested to chop Teak trees.
  • For less experience and more profit, it is suggested to chop Mahogany trees.[1]

The duration of the buff depends on the percentage of reward claimed from the evil tree and the type of evil tree; see table. This ranges from 2 to 30 minutes and is paused if the player logs out. Players collecting the reward from a farming leprechaun afterwards will receive only half of the magical banking time however.

If a player's bank is full when the buff would bank a log, the player will receive a message stating "Your bank is too full to hold any more logs." You may still chop trees and gain experience from doing so, but no logs will be collected from the process.

Superheat form will not take effect whilst under the effects of the log banking magic, as the log banking magic takes priority over superheat form.

Treasure Hunter[]

D&D of the week
For the week of 1 December–4 December (wrong?)
Shooting Star

A different distraction and diversion is chosen each week to give the player a Key token for simply participating. Once every 4 weeks, the player may gain a key token for chopping an Evil Tree. Key tokens can only be received when the Evil Tree D&D is the designated D&D of the week.

Music[]

Trivia[]

  • With the release of Evil Trees, pures who had completed Monkey Madness gained the ability to travel to Ape Atoll without receiving the experience rewards from Daero. This was accomplished by using a spirit tree to teleport to a tree located there. This prompted Jagex to simply allow players to return to Ape Atoll normally without claiming the experience reward.
  • If you are interrupted by a system update while participating, you will find a new sapling sprouting in its place upon login. This may take a few minutes to start. Your rewards from the original tree will be awarded if you talk to the tool leprechaun.
  • If you try to use a ring of stone or ghoulish mask next to an Evil Tree, instead of transforming you get the message: "The magic from the nearby Evil Tree could make the effects of the transformation unpredictable."
  • If you don't have a woodcutting tool in your inventory when killing an Evil Tree, your character will cut the Evil Roots with a machete if one is on your tool belt and cut the body of the Evil Tree with a hatchet.
  • If an NPC is standing over the evil root spawn area it will not respawn.
  • Prior to the later introduction of Elder Trees, an Elder Evil Tree gave an assortment of logs, as there was no Elder Log. They have since been updated to give various logs, including Elders.
  • The magic log banking reward takes priority over Signs of the porter, which were added with Divination.
  • An update on 26 May 2015 made several changes to Evil trees, including allowing kindling to be burned after a tree was killed, improved experience rates, and a change to the magical log banking ability such that your inventory no longer needs to be full.
  • Formerly, the type of sapling could only be determined by checking the farming experience while nurturing or the level requirement needed if the player's farming level was too low.
  • An update on 8 June 2015 added more logs to the magic banking reward. Achey Trees, Arctic Pines, Eucalyptus trees, Hollow trees, Teak trees, and Mahogany trees were added.
  • The Nature's sentinel outfit gives the ability to plant a miniature Evil Tree once per day, which can be chopped by the player who plants it for Woodcutting experience.
Evil Tree (Lumbridge Swamp) location

The now removed Lumbridge Swamp evil tree location

  • There was formerly a possible evil tree spawn in Lumbridge Swamp, but this was removed. This location was involved in the hints "Due west of a town called Lumbridge" and "By a collection of Yew Trees".
  • While the Farming requirement to nurture an Elder Evil Tree is level 42 according to the skill guide, clicking the tree while not fulfilling the requirement says "You need 45 Farming to help this sapling grow."
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