After the completion of Desert Treasure II – The Fallen Empire, players can fight a stronger variant of Vardorvis. An even stronger awakened variant can be fought by climbing the rocks with an awakener’s orb in the player’s inventory and selecting “Yes” when prompted.
If the player dies while fighting Vardorvis, their grave will appear by the rocks leading to the Stranglewood Ritual Site. Players will have their reclamation fee reduced by 75% until they have five kills, after which the standard death cost will apply.
Requirements
- Completion of
Desert Treasure II – The Fallen Empire
Suggested skills
- 80+
- 85+
- 80+
- 85+
- 76+ for Resurrection spells
Getting there
The quickest methods of reaching the Stranglewood Ritual Site, where Vardorvis resides, are:
- Using the ring of shadows to teleport to the Stranglewood Temple entrance. This requires having used the strangled tablet on it, which is a 1/25 drop from Vardorvis.
- Using fairy ring code BLS and run west to the rowboat. From there, run all the way west to the entryway leading to the Ritual Site.
- Using Xeric’s talisman to teleport to Xeric’s Honour, running east to the Mountain Guide and travelling to the base of Mount Quidamortem, then running west to the rowboat.
- Using Rada’s blessing to teleport to the Kourend Woodland. From there, run northeast to Buneir and ride the Lovakengj Minecart Network to Mount Quidamortem. Run northeast to the Mountain Guide and travel to the base of Mount Quidamortem, then run west to the rowboat.
During the quest, the player should have unlocked the shortcut from the temple grounds to the ritual site; this will save a significant amount of time.
Note: All routes will require player to traverse the Stranglewood, and players will be running past several Strangled and a Strangled Boar while reaching the boss, even with the shortcut unlocked. The strangled will deal 1-3 damage, while the boar can deal 2-4 damage if they attack the player. Make sure to click on the shortcut as soon as it renders, in the event of a disconnect.
Fight overview
Vardorvis has 700 hitpoints. He is very accurate, with an Attack level of 280 and attack bonus of +190, meaning he is very accurate regardless of the armour players use. He starts off with a Strength level of 270 and Defence level of 215. He is weakest to slashing attacks, with +65 slash, +85 crush and +215 stab defence bonus. Vardorvis is highly resistant to ranged and magic, with a Magic level of 215, +580 magic and ranged defence. Vardorvis only attacks with melee, but he is able to chase after players; if he is bound, he will launch a darting spike on the player’s location. If not, then he will dart after them without the spikes.
The melee attack has a max hit of 32, but will increase to 43 when his health is critically low. Both his normal and special attacks will also heal him for 50% of the damage inflicted, rounded down. Using Protect from Melee will reduce the potency of his auto-attacks by 75%, turning his max hit to 8-10.
Vardorvis, much like Duke Sucellus and The Whisperer, is not aggressive if fighting him after the quest, and the fight only begins when he is attacked. Once attacked, tendrils will burst from the ground and surround the arena. If the player did not bring a teleport, the tendrils can be used to quickly escape the arena, as the rock will have its options disabled. These tendrils will disappear after Vardorvis is killed, and the rock can be used once again to leave. Unlike the other bosses who use their special attacks at predictable intervals, Vardorvis uses them at random. This can be problematic in enrage, as learners are likely to be killed in the ensuing fiasco.
Vardorvis has a unique mechanic in which his Strength and Defence levels scales linearly with his remaining hitpoints; as his health falls, his Defence level will lower, making him easier to hit, but his Strength level will increase, increasing his max hit.
Due to this, defence-draining weapons are not as useful, and players should opt for damage or sustain-type special weapons.[1]
Upon reaching 33% of his health (~231 health), Vardorvis will enter an enrage phase. Similarly to Duke Sucellus, there is no initial indicator once enrage starts. During the enrage phase, Vardorvis’ axes will appear more frequently, with a new set of axes appearing after the previous set have been thrown off the arena. The head will also appear at a more frequent rate, which when combined with spikes can deal a lot of damage or even kill the player if they are not prepared for it. If there is a lull in the axes, then the strangle mechanic is coming up, which can give players a brief moment of respite.
Special attacks
Unlike the other Desert Treasure II bosses, Vardorvis does not follow a set attack rotation; his special attacks are used at random.
Vardorvis will perform three auto-attacks before axes begin to appear in the arena.
- Swinging Axes: The Strangler’s tendrils will bring up Vardorvis’ axes into the arena before releasing them across the arena. Getting hit with this attack will deal up to 35 damage (reduced by ~50% with Protect from Melee) and additionally incurs a bleeding effect over the course of 14 ticks (8.4 seconds), which deals 15+ damage (3 bleed damage every 3 ticks, or every tick if the player runs while bleeding).
- Players using RuneLite can utilise the Better NPC highlight to highlight the true tiles of the NPCs, and optionally colour-code them using the Presets. It is recommended to turn off Hull Highlight.
- 12225 – Vardorvis axe (static)
- 12227 – Vardorvis axe (moving)
- The amount of axes thrown is dependent on Vardorvis’ health; one if he has more than 690 hitpoints, two between 231-690 hitpoints with a possibility of a third axe, and three after falling below 231 hitpoints.
- The arena is divided into nine 3×3 quadrants, and the axes will follow either a straight or diagonal path, depending on where they emerge.
- To dodge the axes, players must run two tiles diagonally away from where the axe is headed. Of these spots, twelve spots allow for safe axe dodging; one each in the cardinal four directions, and the two tiles in front of each pillar, towards the centre. The demonstration shown uses three of these twelve spots.
- If axes are being swung from three quadrants horizontal to the player (either the near or far three quadrants), the player should run four tiles diagonally from the starting central square. Alternatively, the player may perform the Axe Skip manoeuvre, which involves tick-precise movement to “skip” over the Swinging Axes. The required movement depends on where they are swung from:
-
If the axes are being swung from the quadrants adjacent to the player, they must click on another marked tile one tick after the axe appears, then click back on the original tile one tick after.
- Players using RuneLite can utilise the Better NPC highlight to highlight the true tiles of the NPCs, and optionally colour-code them using the Presets. It is recommended to turn off Hull Highlight.
-
If the axes are being swung from the quadrants opposite to the player, they must click on another marked tile on the fourth tick after the axe is swung, then click back on the original tile one tick after.
- Darting Spikes: Vardorvis will dart around the player, causing cracks in the ground which will release tendrils after a few seconds, dealing up to 25 damage and healing him for half the damage dealt. Under most circumstances, a crack will always appear under the player.
- Standing by the edges of the arena (next to the tendrils) will cause Vardorvis to dart around in place, minimising the amount of cracks to one and also preventing one from appearing underneath the player.
- The amount of darts Vardorvis makes is dependent on health; one above ~500 hitpoints, two from 231-500 hitpoints and three below ~130 hitpoints. The single crack that appears under the player, if allowed, will only appear for the first dart if the player does not move.
- The layout of the cracks are always consistent; one dart leaves a half X in a 3×5 AoE, the second dart fills the other half, and the third fills random spots in a 5×5 AoE centered on the player, assuming the player is not standing near the edges of the arena.
- Head Gaze: Once below 570 health, the Strangler’s tendrils will begin to use Vardorvis’ Head to launch a single green projectile, indicated by the game message Vardorvis’ head gazes upon you…. The head will fire a green, cone-shaped projectile at the player, which must be blocked with Protect from Missiles.
- Failing to block the attack will drain 10 prayer points and prevent use of overhead protection prayers for 3 ticks if Vardorvis is not killed before the projectile lands.
- The projectile will always hit off-sync with the body’s attacks. As stated above however, failing to block the attack will likely result in the body attacking and dealing damage. The only instance this would not occur is if Vardorvis’ Darting Spikes mechanic causes him to dash three times in a row.
- The head’s appearance is completely random, but will usually appear alongside an axe cycle.
- Strangle: Once below 570 health, Vardorvis will begin using this attack in which he strikes his arm into the ground and entangle the player in tendrils. Several spores will appear at the centre of the game screen, and the player must destroy them all within five seconds, otherwise the tendrils will tighten and deal high damage.
- The player will not be able to attack under most circumstances, but Vardorvis is still able to attack through the animation. However, the player can get a hit in by right clicking on Vardorvis, then selecting the attack option after the tendril overlay appears, which will allow the player to attack through the bind. If Vardorvis is killed while performing this attack, the mechanic will be canceled.
- A minimum of four spores can appear in the overlay, with a maximum of eight as his health lowers.
Awakened mode
In Awakened mode, Vardorvis has the following changes:
- The boss’ health increases from 700 to 1,400.
- The boss is immune to stat drains.
- An additional Swinging Axe appears for each set of axe thrown.
- While unlikely, two axes will spawn if Vardorvis has taken less than 20 damage.
- Three axes are guaranteed from 462-1,380 health, with the possibility of a fourth axe appearing.
- Below 462 health, four axes are guaranteed to appear.
- Swinging Axes damage increased from 35 to 96.
- Swinging Axes will deal damage upon appearing. This will not cause a bleed however. Axes thrown to the north, south, east and west have an additional one tile reach in front of them.
- Swinging Axes spawn on par with normal mode enrage speed for the entire fight.
- Bleed damage is increased from 3 to 5.
- The spores from his Strangle attack have less time to be destroyed before the tendrils tighten. Damage is increased from ~25 to ~40.
- Damage from Darting Spikes increases from 25 to 40.
- Vardorvis’ Head may use a magic attack (resembling a blue crescent wave) to disable protection prayers.
- Once below 50% health, Vardorvis’ Head will attack in pairs of both magic and ranged projectiles, launching 1 tick apart in a random order.
- If the player stands next to the tendrils surrounding the arena for more than 4 ticks, they will hit for over 30 typeless damage.
Due to the increased frequency and number of axes swung, performing axe skipping is just about mandatory to successfully complete the fight. It is possible to complete a kill without axe skipping, but this will require a lot of precise movement and the ability to stay calm during enrage. Players are recommended to stand in the corner quadrants of the arena and should avoid the cardinal directions whenever possible. Under most circumstances, the player should utilise one of the four corner quadrants and continually run back and forth whenever an axe appears at and across from that quadrant.
Unlike normal mode, where the player would normally stand by the edges by the tendrils and are safe from axes when they first appear, players must instead stand by the pillars, due to the axes damaging upon appearing and the anti-edge mechanics. It is extremely important to prioritise movement over attacking, as getting caught by an axe off-prayer will deal up 96 damage (half with prayer) and is almost guaranteed to instantly kill the player when combined with Vardorvis’ own attacks. As with normal mode, praying against melee will significantly reduce his overall damage. The spikes and strangle attack can also deal up to 40 damage if not dealt with properly. Unless the player is able to consistently clear spores with the reduced time, it is not recommended to use the strangle trick to deal extra damage.
While the first half of the fight is basically the same as normal mode enrage, the difficulty increases once Vardorvis reaches under 50% health, as the head will now begin attacking in pairs, with one using magic and the other using ranged one tick apart from each other, necessitating the need to frequently perform two actions in the span of one tick (ex. flicking projectiles and axe skipping simultaneously); one tip is to only pay attention to the first head’s projectile, and pray against it immediately, then using the opposing prayer once the attack lands and then returning to protecting from melee, as the second projectile will always be the other combat style.
A second difficulty spike begins once enrage begins, with the player having to handle four axes at a time while the heads’ spawn rate is increased, often resulting in the player having to flick six times in the span of one axe cycle. If a prayer is missed, prioritise dodging and eating immediately, praying against the next head attack after the body does so. Trying to react to the body’s attack after a missed prayer will likely result in the next two projectiles hitting, significantly increasing the chance of death. If there is a lull in the heads, it means Vardorvis is about to use his Strangle attack.
Equipment
Vardorvis is weakest to slash attacks, followed by crush.
The soulreaper axe is the best weapon to use against Vardorvis, as his 2×2 size prevents the scythe of vitur from drawing out its full potential, resulting in less damage. The noxious halberd is a good choice for players unable to afford either, as it shares similar accuracy and damage. Otherwise, bring the best slash weapon available, although their lower stats will make the fight longer.
Due to Vardorvis’ extremely accurate attacks, players should focus more on strength-boosting gear. Alternatively, a full set of justiciar armour can be used. While it provides less max hits, its defence bonuses and passive reduce his overall damage, especially as his health lowers as he will not be able to hit a 10 through prayer. Echo boots and a ring of suffering can be used to reflect damage, but are not recommended. An amulet of blood fury can provide longer trips, but is not recommended due to its high upkeep and an ancient godsword providing more consistent sustain.
Burning claws are a good special attack weapon due to their high slash bonus and low cost (including its special attack, which uses 30% energy), but players who want longer trips are recommended to use an ancient godsword. Players should be on the Arceuus spellbook to utilise thralls and Death Charge. Avoid picking up lava runes until the trip ends as this will expand the spellbook.
Only in awakened mode is the blood fury better than a rancour or torture for its life leech effects, since the player should avoid eating whenever possible.
| Slot | Recommended equipment for Melee – Item (most effective → least effective) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 Slayer helmet (i)[a] / Oathplate helm |
 Torva full helm |
 Neitiznot faceguard |
 Serpentine helm |
 Justiciar faceguard[b] |
 |
 Amulet of rancour |
 Amulet of torture |
 Amulet of blood fury[c] |
 Amulet of fury |
 Amulet of glory |
 |
 Infernal cape |
 Fire cape |
 Mythical cape |
 Ardougne cloak 4 |
 Cape of Accomplishment (t) |
 |
 Oathplate chest |
 Torva platebody |
 Bandos chestplate |
 Fighter torso / Blood moon chestplate |
 Justiciar chestguard |
 |
 Oathplate legs |
 Torva platelegs |
 Bandos tassets / Justiciar legguards |
 Blood moon tassets / Barrows legs |
 Obsidian platelegs / Dragon platelegs |
 |
 Soulreaper axe[d] /  Scythe of vitur |
 Blade of saeldor /  Noxious halberd |
 Abyssal tentacle |
 Abyssal whip |
 Zombie axe |
 |
 Avernic defender |
 Dragon defender |
 Dragonfire shield |
 Rune defender |
 Adamant defender |
 |
 Rada’s blessing 4 |
 Ghommal’s lucky penny[e] |
 God blessing / Rada’s blessing 3 / Rada’s blessing 2 |
N/A | N/A |
 |
 Ferocious gloves |
 Barrows gloves |
 Dragon gloves |
 Rune gloves |
 Regen bracelet |
 |
 Echo boots |
 Primordial boots |
 Dragon boots / Guardian boots |
 Aranea boots / Spiked manacles / Granite boots |
 Rune boots |
 |
 Bellator ring |
 Ultor ring |
 Berserker ring (i) |
 Ring of suffering (ri)[f] |
 Lightbearer |
 |
 Dragon claws[g] / Burning claws[g] |
 Voidwaker[h] |
 Ancient godsword |
 Saradomin godsword / Ursine chainmace[i] |
 Abyssal dagger[i] / Dragon dagger[i] |
