Basilisk Knight/Strategies Guide – OSRS

Basilisk Knights are a slayer creature that can be found in the Jormungand’s Prison beneath the Island of Stone, requiring level 60 Slayer and completion of The Fremennik Exiles to kill. Like cockatrice and basilisks, players must equip a mirror shield or V’s shield when fighting these monsters or they will take heavy damage and their stats will be drained.

The basilisk knight has an improved drop table from regular basilisks, and can drop the basilisk jaw, which can be used to upgrade the Helm of Neitiznot to the Neitiznot faceguard.

Requirements

• Level  60 to deal damage against the Basilisk Knights.
• Completion of  The Fremennik Exiles to access Jormungand’s Prison on the Island of Stone.

Recommendations

• High combat stats. Although not required, see the skill levels below for an indication of the advised stats:
  • If using Melee:
    • Level  80 or higher
    • Level  80 or higher
    • Level  80 or higher
    • Level  80 or higher
    • Level  70 or higher for the Piety prayer
  • If using Ranged:
    • Level  75 or higher

Getting there

Make your way to the Rellekka north-western docks using one of the methods below:

• Teleport with Fremennik sea boots
• Use a Lunar isle teleport or portal in your player-owned house, and speak to any citizen to get kicked off Lunar Isle to Rellekka
• Teleport to Waterbirth Island and ask Jarvald to ferry you directly to Rellekka
• Use an enchanted lyre to teleport to Waterbirth Island or Rellekka

Speak to Haskell at the most western dock to travel to the Island of Stone. Walk briefly north to find the entrance to Jormungand’s Prison. Once inside this dungeon, travel briefly south-west to the room where the fight against The Jormungand took place during The Fremennik Exiles. It is now full of Basilisk Knights.

Mechanics

Attack styles

Basilisk Knights use standard melee and magic attacks, both with a maximum hit of 20.

While out of melee range, the Basilisk Knight’s attacks become somewhat unusual. The knight will only retaliate with Magic whenever attacked by the player, or every 4 ticks if the player’s weapon attack speed is faster.

Strategy

Melee

When meleeing, it is recommended to use Protect from Magic at all times and tank their melee hits. Bring plenty of Prayer potions along with high-healing food such as Sharks, runes for High Level Alchemy, and super combat potions. An Amulet of Blood Fury may be worn in place of an Amulet of Torture, (or brought as a swap) to allow longer trips at the cost of reduced profit.

Ranging

It is possible to avoid all damage from the Basilisk Knights’ melee attacks by using the Protect from Magic prayer and Ranged attack style out of melee distance. A good spot for this is just outside of the entryway to the room containing The Jormungand, as they are unable to pass through the one-tile wide doorway and can only use magic attacks.

Note: Basilisk Knights will attempt to enter melee range once engaged in combat. Thus, it is essential that players always attack from a safespot where the knights cannot reach.

Ironmen and those looking to conserve prayer potions may wish to maximize prayer bonus over range, such as opting to wear monk’s robes while killing basilisk on Slayer task. With a high range level and slayer helm (i) hits are still reasonably accurate while giving a massively increased prayer bonus compared to black d’hide or god d’hide. If choosing to use prayer flicking while ranging the knights, be aware that their attack speed will match whichever weapon is used to attack them. The Knight’s damage is calculated on the tick following the player’s attack roll, so this is the appropriate tick for activating protect from magic.

Using proselyte armour is also an option for Ironmen concerned about taking hits while the Knights are aggressive, because the proselyte hauberk does not interfere with Ava’s devices. However, this is generally not recommended, as proselyte armour has a +2 prayer bonus at the cost of 26 range bonus compared to Monk’s robes, making them the overall superior option, provided the player has high enough defence (80+) to tank possible occasional hits.

Improved drop rates on Slayer tasks

The drop rate of a basilisk jaw is increased to 1/1,000 (from 1/5,000) while on a basilisk Slayer task. Therefore it is highly recommended to kill the Basilisk Knights while on a Slayer task, if possible.

Equipment

This is the best-in-slot available equipment for ranging the Basilisk Knights. The set up shown in this section currently costs approximately 367,517,421 coins, plus the cost of darts. See the table below for an overview of equipment alternatives in case this setup is not accessible or too expensive.

Ranging is generally safer than melee, as you can safespot them with range in multiple locations behind the stalagmites. If ranging, it is recommended to bring runes to cast Telekinetic Grab to pickup drops while you still hold aggression after arriving.

Notes

• Use Rapid heal prayer to offset the damage taken from the divine potions.
• Stand at least two tiles from the Basilisk Knights when attacking through the stalagmites.
• Flick the Rigour or Eagle Eye prayer if proficient enough, or leave them on and restore prayer points with the Super restores.
• Replace the Teleport to house (tablet) with a Construction cape, Crafting cape or Max cape.

Equipment upgrades and downgrades

Slot	Recommended equipment for Ranged – Item (most effective → least effective)
	Masori mask (f) Slayer helmet (i) (if on a Slayer task)	Armadyl helmet Black mask (i) (if on a Slayer task)	Crystal helm > Hueycoatl hide coif	Robin hood hat / Blessed coif	Karil’s coif
	Necklace of anguish	Dragonbone necklace Bonecrusher necklace	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	Amulet of power
	Dizana’s quiver	Ava’s assembler (Or best Ava’s device)	Ranging cape	Fire cape Infernal cape	N/A
	Masori body (f)	Armadyl chestplate	Crystal body > Hueycoatl hide body	Blessed body	Karil’s leathertop
	Masori chaps (f)	Armadyl chainskirt	Crystal legs > Hueycoatl hide chaps	Blessed chaps	Karil’s leatherskirt > Black d’hide chaps
	Dragon dart[a] / Dragon knife > Hunters’ sunlight crossbow	Toktz-xil-ul / Rune knife	Zaryte crossbow	Armadyl crossbow	Dragon hunter crossbow / Dragon crossbow
	V’s shield	Mirror shield	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rada’s blessing 4 / Moonlight antler bolts	Diamond dragon bolts (e)	Dragonstone bolts (e)	Runite bolts Amethyst broad bolts	Diamond bolts (e)
	Zaryte vambraces	Barrows gloves	Blessed vambraces	Black d’hide vambraces Ranger gloves	Red d’hide vambraces
	Pegasian boots	Ranger boots	Blessed boots	Boots of brimstone	Devout boots / Shayzien boots (5)
	Venator ring	Archers ring (i) / Lightbearer [b]	Ring of shadows	Brimstone ring / Ring of the gods (i)	Ring of suffering (i)
	Zaryte crossbow [c]	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

1. When on task, dragon darts are the best DPS only in complete max gear, dragon knives are best in endgame gear, and hunters’ crossbow is best in mid level gear. Without the slayer helm, knives and darts are much closer and which is better depends on exactly what gear is available.
2. Paired with Zaryte crossbow special attack
3. Ruby dragon bolts (e) are very effective against full HP basilisk knights. Dragonstone dragon bolts (e) are better below ~180 HP

This is the best-in-slot available equipment for meleeing the Basilisk Knights. The set up shown in this section currently costs approximately 912,089,802 coins. See the table below for an overview of equipment alternatives in case this setup is not accessible or too expensive. Note that at different (particularly higher) combat levels and gear upgrades, the fast crush weapons (like the Hasta or even Cudgel) may counterintuitively outperform much more expensive weapons like the Fang or Rapier.

Meleeing Basilisk Knights is generally the fastest option, especially in combination with a good special attack weapon. However, at lower defence levels or with worse gear, ranging may be quicker if you find yourself eating large amounts of food.

Equipment upgrades and downgrades

Slot	Recommended equipment for Melee – Item (most effective → least effective)
	Slayer helmet (if on a Slayer task) / Inquisitor’s great helm[a] / Torva full helm	Neitiznot faceguard Black mask (if on a Slayer task)	Serpentine helm	Blood moon helm	Helm of neitiznot > Berserker helm
	Amulet of rancour	Amulet of torture	Amulet of blood fury / Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	Amulet of strength
	Infernal cape	Fire cape	Mythical cape	Cape of Accomplishment (t)	Ardougne cloak 4
	Inquisitor’s hauberk[a] / Torva platebody	Bandos chestplate	Justiciar chestguard	Dharok’s platebody / Guthan’s platebody / Torag’s platebody	Fighter torso
	Inquisitor’s plateskirt[a] / Torva platelegs	Bandos tassets	Justiciar legguards	Verac’s plateskirt	Dharok’s platelegs / Torag’s platelegs
	Inquisitor’s mace	Ursine chainmace (u) > Osmumten’s fang	Zamorakian hasta (Crush) / Zombie axe (Crush)	Sarachnis cudgel	Blade of saeldor[b]/ Ghrazi rapier[b]
	V’s shield	Mirror shield	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rada’s blessing 4	God blessing Rada’s blessing 3/2	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Ferocious gloves	Barrows gloves	Dragon gloves	Rune gloves	Regen bracelet
	Primordial boots	Dragon boots	Spiked manacles	Guardian boots	Granite boots
	Ultor ring	Berserker ring (i)	Lightbearer [c]	Brimstone ring	Ring of suffering (i)
	Voidwaker	Abyssal dagger (p++) > Dragon dagger(p++)	Dragon mace	Ancient mace	N/A

1. Inquisitor’s armour has weaker defence than Torva and Bandos but is typically slightly higher dps than Torva when using a crush weapon, while Torva is stronger for stab or slash weapons
2. Without Inquisitor’s armour, these items are better than the Zamorakian hasta
3. Only worthwhile with Voidwaker

Notes

• With a Waterbirth Island or Lunar Isle POH portal, a Divine rune pouch can hold runes for High alchemy and teleports to and from Basilisk Knights all in one inventory slot
• When killed, a Basilisk Knight will always drop Big bones, which can be converted into peaches with the Bones to Peaches spell or bones to peaches tablet. Peaches heal for 8 health each, meaning that trips can be extended drastically when doing sufficient kills.

Ironmen as well as players looking to minimize costs/supplies ranging Basilisk Knights may wish to maximize prayer bonus over range (with the exception of best-in-slot pieces available), given the Basilisk Knight’s lack of range defence. While the kills may be slightly slower (approximately 5-10% less DPS), prayer potions will last substantially longer and allow for significantly more kills per trip (~40%).

Notes

• Players should use Protect from Magic.
• Players without access to Bones to Peaches to heal damage from the divine potions and/or the Knights should keep the Rapid Heal prayer active and leave an empty slot in the Rune Pouch for drops.
• The necessary number of ranging potions per trip will vary from 5 to 8 depending on Ranged and Prayer levels, and gear. For the example equipment in monk’s robes, 7 should be enough with 80 or higher Ranged and Prayer.
• Stand at least two tiles from the Basilisk Knights when attacking through the stalagmites.

Equipment upgrades and downgrades

Slot	Recommended equipment for Ranged/Prayer – Item (most effective → least effective)
	Crystal helm Slayer helmet (i) (if on a Slayer task)	Blessed coif Black mask (i) (if on a Slayer task)	Robin hood hat	Karil’s coif	N/A
	Necklace of anguish	Dragonbone necklace Bonecrusher necklace	Unholy symbol Holy symbol Stole	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory
	Dizana’s quiver	Ranging cape	Ava’s assembler (Or best Ava’s device)	Fire cape Infernal cape	N/A
	Hueycoatl hide body Crystal body	Zealot’s robe top Monk’s robe top	Blessed body	Karil’s leathertop	Black d’hide body
	Hueycoatl hide chaps Crystal legs	Zealot’s robe bottom Monk’s robe	Blessed chaps	Karil’s leatherskirt	Proselyte cuisse
	Hunters’ sunlight crossbow	Zaryte crossbow	Armadyl crossbow	Dragon crossbow	Rune crossbow
	V’s shield	Mirror shield	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Moonlight antler bolts (only if using hunters’ sunlight crossbow)	Sunlight antler bolts	Dragonstone bolts (e)	Runite bolts	Diamond bolts (e) Adamant bolts Broad bolts
	Zaryte vambraces	Blessed vambraces	Barrows gloves	Black d’hide vambraces Ranger gloves	Red d’hide vambraces
	Devout boots	Pegasian boots	Ranger boots	Blessed boots	Boots of brimstone
	Ring of the gods (i)	Ring of suffering (i) / Venator ring	Ring of shadows / Archers ring (i)	Brimstone ring	Explorer’s ring 4

Notes[edit | edit source]

• The Fremennik sea boots 4 are the quickest teleportation method to the docks in Rellekka. Players with a Waterbirth Island teleport in their home can instead use that, travel back to Relekka, and arrive right next to Haskell on the docks. Alternatively, players with a Lunar Isle teleport portal in their player-owned-house may instead opt to Lunar Isle through the portal, bank, and get kicked off of the Isle to the docks.