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This article is a strategy guide for Nex. Information on mechanics, setups, and tactics is on this page. For the hard mode strategy guide, see here.
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Nex is the general of the Zarosian army under the Temple of Lost Ancients.
Unless you possess the strongest gear and experience, it is recommended that you fight Nex with a team.
Skill level recommendations
- Level 80+
or (95+ For solo) - Level 85+ (90+ for solo)
- Level 80+ (90+ for solo)
- Level 88+ (for extreme potions)
- Level 70+
- Level 68+ (for the war tortoise and bunyip), (96 for solo)
The following levels are very useful:
- Level 96+ (for Overloads)
- Level 95+ (for Turmoil and Torment) or, alternatively 70+ with an Amulet of Zealots (Requires 48 )
- Level 88-96+ (for the unicorn stallion and pack yak)
Getting there
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Nex resides in the Ancient Prison. To enter this prison, one must assemble the Frozen key. The four pieces of the key are obtained by defeating followers in each stronghold of the dungeon from the original four factions - Armadyl, Bandos, Saradomin and Zamorak. Level 70 in Ranged, Strength, Agility and Constitution is a must in order to access those strongholds; boosts will not work.
Once the key parts are obtained, assemble them. This has no requirements and will fuse into the frozen key. With the frozen key assembled, go to the southern part of the main chamber, near the entrance to Armadyl's Eyrie. There will be a frozen door there, which you can use the key to open. This will take one charge off the key.
The frozen key has 100 charges and one is used whenever entering the prison. The key can be repaired at an armour stand for 50,000 to 10,000 coins per charge, depending on your Smithing level. As the key is lost upon death, it is best to bank the key before fighting Nex. If you accidentally bring the key into Nex's chamber and die without paying the insurance fee to Death, you will have to claim all four pieces of the key again.
Alternatively, those with access to the Max Guild can use its PvM portal to teleport straight to the dungeon. You will be placed downstairs inside the frozen door, requiring your frozen key in order to use it.
Inside the prison is a chamber filled with Zarosian followers, aggressive towards all players even if wearing Nex-related equipment. The only way to make them tolerant is the Shard of Zaros, a post-quest item from completing the quest Fate of the Gods. Like all other god chambers, at the end of the chamber is another door which requires either 40 Zarosian killcount or by wearing a set of ancient ceremonial robes. It is highly advised to bring and wear the robes to save time.
Beyond that room is a second and final safe room and the spirit of Ashuelot Reis, with whom you can access your bank. On the eastern wall is a magical barrier that can be disabled to enter Nex's chamber. When you reach the safe room, bank both the key and robes and switch for your combat gear. If you fail to bank the key and die without protecting it, you will have to reobtain the key parts again which can take more than one hour and result in you having to pay the recovery fee from Death.
Unlike the other boss chambers, there is no altar and the only way to escape the chamber is to teleport or be slain, so ensure you have all your gear and supplies before venturing down.
Nex has an option to be fought in an instance, costing 800,000 coins per hour, but can be set towards a fastest, fast and average spawn. In an instance, Nex is much more aggressive and will immediately seek a target upon calling for Fumus' power.
Note: In an instance, Nex will always start off with Deflect Magic as the side curse when the instance is first entered (or re-entered if the instance is empty).
Recommended equipment
If you are in a relaxed team of several people, equipment such as ganodermic armour and chaotic weaponry will suffice. Nevertheless, Nex has quite high accuracy and defence, so tier 90 weaponry and at least level 80+ armour are recommended for smaller teams. Void can be used for DPS, although doing so is not recommended unless one has prior experience at Nex.
If you plan to solo Nex, bringing a shield or defender is recommended.
Two combat styles are needed to kill Nex efficiently, as she utilises deflect curses which provide her full immunity to that combat style. Nex's mages are immune to magic attacks.
Melee
Meleers yield moderate resistance against melee and no resistance against Magic. Melee has the benefit of not having to switch combat styles until the Zaros phase starts. During the Shadow phase, if not using a Dragon rider lance or Noxious scythe, you must use the hit-and-run tactic or you will be engulfed by the shadows.
Magic
Mages yield high resistance against melee and moderate resistance against Magic. If maging, a second combat style is required as Nex's mages are immune to magic attacks.
Ranged
Rangers have a high resistance to Magic, however little resistance against melee. This may cause Nex to try and melee the player if she is targeting them.
Speed Kill
The most effective soloing and duoing makes use of instances. This is because Nex will always start with Deflect Magic, making her completely vulnerable to ranged attacks for the whole fight. As this method is designed to kill Nex quickly and does not focus on a prolonged fight, use of the Void Knight equipment is highly recommended to gain an increased accuracy and damage output. To further increase this accuracy bonus, players should bring a Shadow nihil as its accuracy buff effects stack with void armour. Players attempting speed kills for the first time should bring a Pack yak until they feel comfortable enough to use shadow nihils.
The player will need to have a high melee defense for the duration of Nex's shadow phase, as Nex will attempt to melee her target if their melee defense is lower than their ranged. Running can be used to counter Nex's attempts to melee the player.
After shadow phase is completed, players can switch to their ranged boots as Nex will attempt to melee the player regardless of their armour strengths/weaknesses on every phase afterwards.
Once Nex is killed, all players in the room should teleport out, rebank and return to the instance. This will ensure that when the instance is re-entered again, Nex will be using Deflect Magic rather than Deflect Missiles, which will happen if a player is still in the instance when Nex respawns.
The phases
Smoke
Let the virus flow through you!
Smoke phase: During this phase, she will use Smoke spells in the form of chaotic clouds. These have a moderate range and are also capable of poisoning the player, up to 360 poison damage. Her special abilities in this phase are:
- "Let the virus flow through you!" - One player (the one Nex targets) will get infected (this may miss). The player's combat stats are rapidly drained every time they say "Cough". This can spread between players and has a 3x3 radius. The cough resets if infected players infect healthy or other infected players.
- "There is... NO ESCAPE!" - Nex will teleport and fly through one of the paths of the central symbol, damaging any players who stand in her way for up to 4000 and disabling their protection prayers.
- Magical drag - Draws a player to Nex, deactivating their prayers and stunning them. Nex will use this more often if she uses magic attacks. Anticipation and Freedom will prevent Nex from dragging them while it is active.
Once she reaches 160,000 lifepoints, the smoke mage Fumus can be attacked. The next (Shadow) phase will not start until Fumus has been killed.
Shadow
Fear the shadow!
Shadow phase: During this phase, she will use Shadow spells, which are in fact ranged attacks that represents a shadowed vampyre. This is the only phase where she uses ranged-based attacks. They are also capable of draining the player's prayer points, but is not as much compared to the ice phase. Her special abilities in this phase are:
- "Fear the shadow!" - Shadow traps will appear under every player in the area. After 3 ticks, any player still standing on them will be hit for up to 4,000 damage.
- "Embrace darkness!" - The room will be darkened drastically, only occurring to players within 15 spaces of her. The closer you are to Nex, the darker the room will be. If you are within melee range of Nex for five seconds, you will get a message saying "The shadows start to consume you!" and be dealt rapid damage up to 700 per tick until you get away from her.
Once she reaches 120,000 lifepoints, the shadow mage Umbra can be attacked. The next (Blood) phase will not start until Umbra is killed.
Blood
A siphon will solve this!
Blood phase: During this phase, she will use Blood spells which will heal her for around 600 lifepoints per attack, and also hits others next to her target. Her special abilities in this phase are:
- "A siphon will solve this!" - Nex will summon two to three blood reavers (depending on team size; sizes of less than 10 will get two while more than that will get three), while kneeling down on the ground for 8 ticks. Any damage inflicted on her will instead heal her, shown by purple hit splats. In addition, if there are any blood reavers left over from the previous siphon, they will instantly die and Nex will be healed by how many life points they had. If she reaches 2/5ths of her health when she does this, the reavers will die but will not heal her, and no additional blood reavers will spawn. For every hit a blood reaver inflicts on a player, Nex will recover 92 lifepoints regardless of their actual hit.
- "I demand a blood sacrifice!" - Nex will target a player, who will glow red. If the player does not move away from Nex in time, she will heal an amount equal to 100% of the target's maximum life points and deal damage equal to 10% of them. All other players will have their current Prayer points cut in half. It is advised to run if targeted. Nex seems to use this attack on the farthest player from her. If all players are close enough, she will pick a player within melee range. Note that sometimes, Nex may chase the targeted player and it will be needed for them to use Surge/Escape. Her aggression will always change to the targeted player when they are picked as the sacrifice.
- Healing - This ability is active from the start of the blood phase and last until the phase ends. If Nex is attacked with a successful bleed over time ability, such as Combust, Fragmentation Shot, Deadshot, Dismember, Slaughter, Blood tendrils or the Attacker's insignia, the hits will instead heal Nex instead of doing damage. This includes Corruption Shot and Corruption Blast.
Once she reaches 80,000 lifepoints, the blood mage Cruor can be attacked. Cruor heals 100 of his lifepoints each time he attacks a player with his spells. The next (Ice) phase does not start until Cruor is killed.
Ice
"Contain this!" being used.
Ice phase: During this phase, she will use Ice spells which will target all players, freeze them (if Protect/Deflect Magic is off) and lower prayer points.
Her special attacks in this phase are:
- "Die now, in a prison of ice!" - Nex freezes a targeted player using an ice stalagmite attack, stunning them and dropping their overhead protection/deflection prayer. When the ice recedes, the trapped player will be hit for between 6,000 and 8,000 damage. Players can use Freedom or Anticipation to avoid being stunned and can use Barricade to completely block the attack. If Nex is within melee range she will attack with melee, and with mage if distant enough. Other players can free the trapped player by attacking the icicles forming the prison, which may take a while to break.
- "Contain this!" - Nex creates a barrier of ice (3 by 3 squares) around her. Players caught in the original ice barrier will be dealt up to 3,500 damage, be stunned for several seconds, and drop protection prayers/curses. Small icicle rushes will surge from them, dealing up to 1,700 damage if they hit a player but will not cause any other effects
Once she reaches 40,000 lifepoints, the ice mage Glacies can be attacked. Glacies can freeze players if she hits them, though this only occurs if Protect/Deflect Magic is not activated. The next (Zaros) phase does not start until Glacies is killed.
Final
Zaros phase: During this phase, Nex activates Turmoil, yelling "NOW, THE POWER OF ZAROS!". She will heal 33,333 of her lifepoints, so her health during this phase goes up to 73,333. This Turmoil actively drains stats (stat drain projectiles are shown when this happens), and can occur at any time during this final phase.
Nex does not have any unique special attacks in this phase (barring Wrath):
- Overhead rotation - When Nex starts this phase, she will immediately activate Soul Split, unless she is still using Deflect Magic/Missiles from the previous phase. When Soul Split is active, Nex will heal 2,500 lifepoints for every player she hits regardless of the damage she deals. She can only heal off 3 players, so the max amount of health she will heal is 7,500. Nex swap overhead curses every 3 hits. She always starts with Soul Split before going to Deflect Melee, and finally no overhead curses.
- Cleaving attack - Nex's melee attacks now cleave and hit other players that are near her primary target in a 3x3 AoE.
- Increased damage - Nex's magic attacks deal significantly more damage, up to 5,500 damage if not protected against.
- Damage cap - Nex has an increased damage cap that significantly reduces the amount of damage she takes if hits deal more then 3,000 damage.
- Wrath - Upon death, Nex will yell "Taste my wrath!". While it is similar to the players' version of Wrath (5x5 AoE), Nex's wrath can deal up to 6,000 damage. It does take significantly more time to activate though.
Strategy
The battle against Nex is fought in a circular room that resembles the symbol of Zaros. Nex uses her abilities in each phase after 5 attacks are sent at the player; in the Zaros phase, she switches her overhead curses every 3 attacks instead, excluding Deflect Magic/Missiles.
The battle has five phases: Smoke, Shadow, Blood, Ice and a final (Zaros) phase. There are 4 level 111 mages in the four corners of the room. These mages are Fumus, Umbra, Cruor, and Glacies, and they represent the four elements of the Ancient Magicks spellbook used in the first four phases. They are weak against bolts. As their represented spell users, they have the benefits of their ancient magick spells. Players should be aware that the mages are immune to magic attacks and have a heavy damage cap on them, so avoid using abilities like Shadow Tendrils as you will lose a relatively large amount of health for very little damage.
Nex can use all three Deflect curses, although she can only use two of them in each kill. Deflect Melee is only used on her Zaros phase, mostly after a Soul Split. Deflect Magic and Deflect Missiles can be used at any time during the kill. However, these two Deflect curses will switch every successful kill, so after Deflect Missiles, Nex will use Deflect Magic on the next kill. These deflects operate differently then those of regular players: they provide 100% immunity to their respective style and reflect more damage.
During the fight, Nex uses Ancient Magicks spells of the same type as the mage of that phase. Nex also has regular melee attacks that hit up to around 2,500. On the first four phases, this only hits her primary target. On her Zaros phase, the melee attack upgrades to a cleave-type attack which will also damage anyone next to or on top of her primary target. Her magic attacks deal just as much damage in addition the side effects from her Ancient Magicks. On her Zaros phase, her magic attacks will deal much more damage.
Unlike most other bosses, Nex will try to take advantage of the player's weaknesses for herself; if the player is weak against melee attacks, she will move in to attack them with both magic (ranged on shadow phase) and melee attacks, which can be problematic on her Shadow phase, as Nex will constantly bleed any player that is in close melee distance. If this occurs a player should first of all equip their other gear so they're not weak to melee anymore and then either walk Nex (turn walk on and let Nex "walk over the player") until she teleports away or one could surge or escape and then continue running away from Nex until she teleports away from the player. This will reset the effect of Nex running into melee distance.
On her Blood, Ice and Zaros phases she will attempt to melee the player, regardless of her target's weaknesses.
Bringing a shield is also helpful throughout the fight, as her attacks can hit very high often, especially the ice prison on the ice phase. This is especially useful when soloing. It may seem a better idea for more experienced soloers to use Void Knight equipment over conventional high-tiered armour due to it having an accuracy buff that other armours do not provide, which is vital during the Blood, Ice and Final phases; however this means the player will be more vulnerable to attacks, especially during the Zaros phase.
Smoke
As soon as Nex appears, equip your shield and gain adrenaline from Fumus: Freedom, Escape, Preparation, Resonance, and Anticipation as the last ability before attacking Nex. During this phase, Nex's magic attacks can hit relatively hard (similar to blood phase's damage). Players ranging or maging should immediately use a bleed and lure her out from the middle. Her magic attacks have a chance to drag the player to Nex, regardless of their distance to her and will stun them for 3 seconds, in addition to dealing increased damage. If you are dragged and have a spirit shield, equip it to reduce the damage from the next few hits while you are stunned. It is best to lure her near Fumus in the event of a drag as she may drag the player into the paths and inflict more damage on them.
When Nex says "There is...", immediately use Combust, Slaughter or Fragmentation Shot (depending on the player's combat style), so when she moves from the middle she takes more damage from them. Avoid being in the middle of the chamber or you risk taking heavy damage when she says "NO ESCAPE!". Move out into the edges of the chamber and immediately use Anticipate/Freedom (whichever is available) to avoid being unexpectedly dragged for extra damage.
Once Nex reaches 160,000 lifepoints and calls out Fumus, kill him as quickly as possible, while maintaining use of Anticipation or Freedom when possible to avoid being dragged while killing him. Right after Fumus is killed, one could use Devotion as it will not drain any adrenaline since you do not have any target.
Before ending the smoke phase, wait until Nex starts another "There is...". Attack her while she starts up the animation so shadow phase will begin and make shadow traps appear first instead of darkness to deal more damage before she starts attacking back.
Shadow
During this phase, Nex either starts off with a shadow trap or "Embrace darkness!". A shadow trap is laid if Nex was attacked after Fumus died before she said "Let the virus flow through you!". She will begin with "Embrace darkness!" if she was attacked after attempting to give a virus to her target. In addition, Nex's ranged attacks will slightly drain prayer if they hit.
Regardless of whatever she says, immediately use a bleed if possible and go under Nex or lure her into the corners to multiply the bleed damage. If the phase was started with a shadow trap, use of Soul Split is recommended to recover any lost health before she starts attacking the players. If the target Nex is focused on is weak to melee, she will start chasing after them. In this case, the targeted player should run away from Nex making use of Surge and take off gear making them weak to melee until she flies over to them, as it will reset her meter and resume using ranged attacks instead. In a group, the tank should provoke her and also start running until she flies, as she will still try to melee the tanker because of the other player's melee weakness.
Once Nex reaches 120,000 lifepoints and calls out Umbra, kill him as quickly as possible, while ensuring that you reach 100% adrenaline before starting the next phase, as it will be vital to clear it quickly. Use Berserk, Sunshine or Death's Swiftness before you start the blood phase or use Onslaught at max distance right afther Nex siphoned.
Blood
During this phase, Nex will usually begins with "A siphon will solve this!", and summon up to 3 Blood reavers (2 if in a team of 5 or less). Gain adrenaline off Nex, avoiding any damage dealing abilities as it will heal her during this time, in addition to attacking immediately after finishing the siphon. Drink a dose of adrenaline potion and use your thresholds to deal as much damage to Nex as possible. The tank should stay within melee distance of Nex to reduce the amount of magic attacks she will use on them. Four attacks after summoning the reavers, Nex will pick a player within her attack range and say "I demand a blood sacrifice!", with that player turning red. The player should immediately run away from her, otherwise she will heal 10,000 lifepoints off that player and more from other players if they are within range, cutting their prayer points in half also. In addition, she will change targets if in a group, so the main tank will use Provoke to grab her attention again.
When soloing, players should position themselves carefully during the four attacks before the sacrifice. If there are any reavers within attacking distance, severely wound or kill them to reduce the amount of health Nex will recover if she has not reached 80,000 lifepoints by the time she does another siphon, as she will heal up to 14,800 lifepoints from two intact reavers. Stay within melee distance of Nex to reduce the amount of magic attacks, as her magic attacks on this phase always hit and heal around 1,000-1,500 hitpoints per cast. When she says "I demand a blood sacrifice!", stay at least 6 spaces away from her, and use Surge to escape if she tries to melee you. Staying within melee distance will prevent Nex from force moving you into a position where you may end up surging into a wall closeby and allowing her to heal from your mistake. If Nex has not reached 90,000 lifepoints at this time, kill the other reaver. When she does another siphon, kill the reavers before focusing on Nex; it is very easy for her to recover health if players become too desperate to reduce her to 80,000 lifepoints from failed attacks. With a two-handed weapon, it is advised to use an auto-attack before using abilities; it can deal a large amount of damage and there is no delay between an auto-attack and an ability.
Once Nex reaches 80,000 lifepoints, all siphons afterwards will not summon any reavers, and if there were any reavers when she used it, will not recover any health from them. If Nex uses another siphon, move away from her to a position where she cannot see you and kill Cruor as fast as possible. Otherwise, she will see the player and will attack them, wasting supplies for the next two phases. If Devotion and Resonance are available, immediately Resonance the first hit and Devotion the second one. Once Nex demands another sacrifice, attack her immediately.
If you plan to begin the Ice phase with "Contain this!" instead of "Die now, in a prison of ice!" wait for her to say "I demand a blood sacrifice!". Make sure you stay far enough after the sacrifice ability, since the ability stops after the ice phase begins and will cause her to heal up to 90,000 lifepoints, wasting time that could have been used to start the Zaros phase.
Ice
During this phase, Nex will immediately use one of two unique ice phase abilities, dependent on what quote was said prior to starting this phase:
- "Contain this!" used first if Nex's last quote was "I demand a blood sacrifice!". She usually run towards her target's last position when she says this, and after 3 seconds four icicles will pop up, and have a 3x3 range around them. Getting hit by these icicles will deal up to 2,500 damage, stun anyone nearby and disable their overhead protection prayers. Smaller icicle rushes will also appear if players were in visible range of Nex, and have a range of 5 squares before disappearing. Getting hit by these will only deal up to 1,500 damage. Players should be wary whenever she does this as like the blood sacrifice, she may attempt to melee her target and result in them being hit by the main icicles. Surge/Escape is recommended if she tries chasing after the player after using this ability.
- "Die now, in a prison of ice!" will be used first if Nex's last quote was "A siphon will solve this!". She will encase her target in a prison of ice, stunning them for 5 seconds and disabling any overhead protection prayers for the same amount of time. Nex can either attempt to melee the target or use magic attacks against the trapped player. Although melee is not possible, she can occasionally melee through the prison if she flies into one of the tiles being covered in icicles. The prison deals up to 8000 damage and the addition of her magic/melee attack that can hit up to 2,500 can kill the trapped player quickly. To free the trapped player, simply break one of the icicles forming the prison; note that this may take multiple tries to do so.
In addition, her magic attack will drain 150 prayer points if they hit.
In a group, if the main tank is put in a prison of ice, they will usually use Freedom, then Barricade or Immortality, depending on the amount of health they have left. They should focus on gaining another 100% adrenaline to block the next prison, this time using Anticipation as Freedom will most likely be on cooldown, then the other ultimate defensive ability.
If soloing, players can either block the prison, or tank it instead. If players are planning to tank it, it is advised to reach 9,000+ lifepoints in time; use of Resonance and Reflect are highly important to avoid being combo'ed by the prison and potential attack. It is advised to start off the phase with "Contain this!" to reduce the amount of ice prisons overall and have a head start on the phase by dealing extra damage. Using Sunshine or Death's Swiftness is also advised to reduce her health as quickly as possible, since the supplies are usually depleted during this phase.
Once Nex reaches 40,000 lifepoints, kill Glacies as quick as possible to avoid another potential ice prison. If Nex says "Contain this!", you should try to hide from her range if you can to prevent her from attacking you. Once she flies over to you however, you only have 4.8 seconds to kill him and start the final phase before she launches an ice prison.
Zaros
During this phase, Nex begins with "NOW, THE POWER OF ZAROS!", healing back to 73,333 lifepoints and activating Turmoil which visibly drains the players stats when the effect occurs, and increases all of her combat stats. Nex will always start off with Soul Split at the beginning of this phase unless her Deflect Magic/Missiles curse carried over from the previous phase. For every successful attack she does towards nearby players, she will heal 2,500 hitpoints with a limit of three players at a time. Deflect Magic is the most common overhead prayer to use during this phase, as an unprotected magic attack can deal up to 5,000 damage, while her melee attack still has the same max hit as the last four phases. Her magic attacks also have a chance to drain the player's prayer points. In addition, thresholds and ultimates will have their damage greatly reduced; abilities like Shadow Tendrils should not be used during this phase.
After three attacks, Nex will switch from Soul Split to Deflect Melee, so use of melee is discouraged during this phase, unless another overhead curse is in effect. After three attacks, she will switch to no overhead curses before resuming the same rotation again. If Nex uses Deflect Missiles/Magic and the player has a melee switch, it is advised to use it as these curses will last significantly longer compared to Soul Split and Deflect Melee. Use of Resonance is encouraged to heal from her highly damaging attacks, saving supplies. Devotion is also recommended to reduce damage from her attacks.
In a group, players should stay away from the tank, as Nex's melee attacks now shatter, dealing damage to everyone next to or near her target. Regardless, players should keep their health above 2,500 to ensure they will not be accidentally killed from a swipe or a magic attack. Using Death's Swiftness or Sunshine is recommended, as other ultimates are likely to hit higher, but her increased defence and the damage cap make them as strong as a threshold. Once Nex is killed, she will activate Wrath - but it will take 3 seconds to charge, so players within 4 spaces of her should move away to avoid being hit by it. After each kill, a player should use the enhanced excalibur special and regenerate, Guthix's Blessing if they do not posses this item or Ice Asylum (group) if they don't need to rebank to recover lost health and save supplies.
