General Graardor/Strategies Guide – OSRS

This is a guide for killing General Graardor with Melee and Ranged. It has the basics of attacking and tanking, as well as providing a few examples of what equipment to bring.

Note that melee is the most straightforward combat style to use since it suffers no penalties from tank armour. Ranged setups can also deal significant damage, but are less feasible for tanks.

Requirements

  • Completion of Death Plateau and partial completion of Troll Stronghold after defeating Dad.
  • One rope is required to access the dungeon for the first time.
  • Level 70 Strength is required to enter Bandos’ Stronghold (cannot be boosted).
  • At least 43 Prayer for access to the protection prayers.
  • A hammer (if not bringing an Elder maul or Dragon Warhammer).

Mechanics

Attack Styles

Graardor attacks with both Melee and Ranged:

  • The melee attack consists of a simple punch that deals up to 60 damage. He has a 2/3 chance of using melee whenever he attacks.
  • As his Ranged attack, Graardor slams the ground to emit shockwaves to all players inside his chamber, dealing between 15 and 35 damage on successful hits. Despite it being a Ranged attack, Graardor can only use it within melee range of his current target. He has a 1/3 chance of using Ranged whenever he attacks.

Bodyguards

Graardor is protected by three goblin sergeants:

  • Sergeant Grimspike is the Ranged bodyguard, who throws axes at his target, dealing up to 21 damage.
  • Sergeant Steelwill is the Magic bodyguard, who launches yellow projectiles at his target, dealing up to 15 damage.
  • Sergeant Strongstack is the melee bodyguard, who attacks his target with his flail, dealing up to 15 damage.
  • The sergeants tend to target the player who last damaged Graardor (on the minions’ 5th tick), and the player who deals Graardor’s final blow will likely be targeted. Effectively, players with a faster attack speed will tend to be targeted as their attack is more likely to land on their 5th tick. This also means a tank with a Dinh’s bulwark on Defence mode will never be focused on, allowing for prioritising Ranged Defence.

General Strategy

General Graardor is a formidable foe, with high Defence, extremely powerful melee attacks, and Ranged attacks capable of hitting every player in the room at once. He is also accompanied by three goblin sergeants who use melee (Sergeant Strongstack), Ranged (Sergeant Grimspike) and Magic (Sergeant Steelwill) attacks.

In terms of Defence, as the bulk of incoming damage potential comes from his melee and Ranged attacks, players targeted by him directly should use Protect from Melee while wearing equipment with high Ranged Defence and moderate Magic Defence; in groups, those not targeted by him directly should use Protect from Missiles.

When Graardor dies, his sergeants will all focus on a single player, typically the one who landed the killing blow on Graardor. With most setups leaving players the most vulnerable to Magic, the targeted player should first switch to Protect from Magic and focus on killing Steelwill. After that switch to Protect from Missiles so as to block Grimspike’s powerful and accurate attacks, leaving Strongstack – the least threatening of the three – for last.

Solo

In solo encounters the player has the option of choosing between all three combat styles; however, Ranged is only used for advanced methods that involve kiting Graardor due to the armour’s terrible Ranged Defence. Melee is the simplest way to fight Graardor.

Without justiciar armour, the player will need to bring a ranged body as to protect from Steelwill’s attacks as much as possible. Protect from Melee is mandatory to avoid getting killed by Graardor’s melee attacks. The player should keep their health above 60 to prevent getting combo’d by Graardor and another sergeant as they will be frequently hit by ranged attacks. With justiciar, the full set can be taken with a spectral or elysian spirit shield, as it provides very high ranged defence and minimises the damage taken from any that should hit, along with reducing Steelwill’s accuracy/damage respectively. Grimspike is unlikely to hit as hard in the process. An amulet of blood fury is usually prioritised over an amulet of torture for the sapping bonus. After killing Graardor, kill Steelwill and then use Guthan’s or barrage stack Grimspike and Strongstack as needed.

Graardor has an attack speed of 6, or 3.6 seconds between attacks. 4-tick weapons attack once every 2.4 seconds, so the player can attack Graardor twice before he can attack. After attacking Graardor twice, walk under before attacking him again. If using both a shield and defender, the defender can be used on every odd-numbered attack, provided there is no interruption.

As magic, the player will need to be on the Ancient Magicks and cast Ice Barrage to freeze Graardor, ideally with an Ice ancient sceptre as it is 10% more accurate against an unfrozen target and binds them for 21.6 seconds. Once Graardor is frozen, attack him from a distance until he breaks free, after which the player should barrage him after a few seconds have passed, as subsequent freezes will not bind briefly once it wears off. If Graardor gets too close to the player, swapping to Protect from Melee is beneficial.

When Graardor dies, players should ideally kill off Steelwill first, then lure Strongstack over to Grimspike and use Blood Barrage to heal off both of them. Try to ensure that both attack on different ticks to avoid unnecessary damage while healing. A Blood ancient sceptre can be useful for this, as it allows the player to overheal 10% of their base hitpoints (108 hitpoints at level 99) while also healing 2.5% more effectively than a normal blood spell.

Graardor and his bodyguards drop bones upon death, so Bones to Peaches can be used to restore 32 health after each kill. Graardor drops super restores and his bodyguards drop kebabs, chilli potatoes and sharks as food to help prolong trips.

Team

Team settings allow for more flexibility at Graardor as more players will be damaging him, reducing the frequency of ranged attacks in general. Tanks can follow the conventional or justiciar melee setup to tank; due to the extra DPS, they will typically prioritise ranged defence over magic as the bodyguards prioritise those that damage Graardor. An ideal form of tanking is to bring full justiciar with Dinh’s bulwark for even more ranged defence, although they are unlikely to gain any personal kills doing so.

Attackers can also prioritise offensive capability over defensive, although they will probably have to watch out for Steelwill who will hit more frequently. Do not attack Graardor until the base tank has obtained his attention, or you will likely have to tank for the duration of the encounter.

After Graardor dies, kill Steelwill, Grimspike and Strongstack in that order. It is common courtesy for the base tank to fight Strongstack alone with Guthan’s; unless requested otherwise, Grimspike is also killed by the DPS.

A useful strategy for teams is to drop an item underneath Graardor’s spawn spot and have everyone fight him in melee distance. When Graardor focuses on a player, that player will rapidly click on the dropped item. Due to unique mechanics similar to the chinchompa method for Kree’arra, Graardor will be stuck on the spot and be unable to attack. Everyone can attack Graardor in turn until he focuses on another player, in which that player goes under and rapidly clicks on the item until Graardor is killed. This is restricted to melee only, however.

Dolo

Killing General Graardor at max efficiency (50+ kills per hour) entails fighting him on two accounts at the same time (“dolo’ing”) and hopping between two worlds to avoid waiting out the respawn timer.

While various setups can be used to dolo Graardor, the most efficient method is to tank using blood barrage and DPS using max mage. The main account should be equipped with a Tumeken’s shadow and the best magic damage boosting gear possible. The alt account should be equipped with a staff or wand that can auto-cast ancients (such as a Kodai wand), as well as decent tank equipment that has minimal negative magic bonuses (a Bandos chestplate with an Elite void robe bottom is a good option).

Pray ranged on the main and pray melee on the alt. Upon entering the room or when General Graardor spawns, attack him on the alt account, then locate a mage or ranged minion that is not near the north or east walls of the boss room. Move the alt next to this minion, on its south side. This will drag the melee minion and General Graardor’s southwest tile (which determines if he is hit by the blood barrage or not) into a stack on top of the ranged or mage minion, and all three can then be barraged on the tank alt to heal over incoming damage.

Once the blood barrage stack is set and the tank is attacking it, move the main to DD (stand under) the tank account, then attack Graardor on the main. This ensures that the stack does not come apart if minions switch aggro. Continue to attack on both accounts until the boss and all minions are dead, then prepare to switch worlds and repeat the process.

A third account can be used to resupply the two accounts when necessary, avoiding unnecessary time spent gathering kill count.

Tips

  • Goblins are an easy target for Bandos killcount, and also have a chance to drop a hammer (approx. 1/15).
    • You do not need a hammer to bang the door if bringing a dragon warhammer or elder maul.
  • Walking under Graardor can buy a tank some time to eat food without taking unnecessary damage. It can be also done at certain intervals to make Graardor “miss” an attack.
  • Experienced players can “tick eat”; tick eating is healing on a critical level of health right before taking damage, essentially surviving a hit that would have normally killed the player.
  • Bones to Peaches can help extend trips; each kill rotation yields 32 Hitpoints worth of bones.
  • The minions will drop chilli potatoes and sharks. If there is an excess of food, continually pick up and drop food again to prevent it from disappearing. Juggling the food is not necessary if utilizing a private instance, as the despawn timer for dropped items becomes 3 hours inside instances.
  • Guthan’s equipment may be used to heal on the melee and ranged minions if desired. Cooperate with your team to maximise healing opportunities. Bring fewer brews and more restores if you choose this method of healing. Guthan’s armour also doubles as good primary equipment for tanks.
  • If you are assigned General Graardor as your Slayer task, use your Slayer helmet variant of choice to take advantage of its accuracy and damage boost.
  • An Amulet of blood fury is generally ideal for tank setups as it emphasises healing, defensive bonuses and prayer bonuses.
  • During the fight, the bodyguards will target the most recent player who attacked Graardor. Because of this, weapons with a slower attack speed will result in the player being targeted less often in a team. This can be useful in a team where some players have significantly lower defences.
  • Boost Potion Share and Stat Restore Pot Share can be used in teams to significantly extend trips, especially in duos, and the Holy wrench or items which share its effect are recommended on the player sharing the super restores.

Suggested skills

  • Hitpoints 80+ (90+ Tank)
  • Attack 80+
  • Strength 70+ (Required, 80+ Recommended)
  • Defence 70+ (90+ Tank)
  • Ranged 80+
  • Magic 70+ (75+ Recommended)
  • Prayer 44+ (Eagle Eye, 70+ Piety, 74+ Rigour)

Equipment

Inventory

  • Guthan the Infested’s set (for healing off of minions)
  • Saradomin godsword > Bandos godsword (special attacks)
  • Bones to peaches (tablet) (or runes for Bones to Peaches, High Alchemy, and Trollheim teleport in a divine rune pouch if not using the Lunar spellbook)
  • Divine rune pouch with the runes for casting Boost potion share, Stat restore pot share, and Vengeance spells
  • 1 Anglerfish
  • 4 Super combat potions
  • 8 Super restores
  • 7 Saradomin brews
  • Teleport to house (tablet) or a one-click teleport (for emergency), can bring Max cape instead for the Construction and Prayer cape perks
  • Hammer (if Nex banking or skipping killcount with Ecumenical keys)

Inventory

  • Toxic blowpipe (special attacks) for healing off of minions)
  • 1 Anglerfish
  • Bones to peaches (tablet) (or runes for Bones to Peaches, High Alchemy, and Trollheim teleport in a divine rune pouch if not using the Lunar spellbook)
  • Divine rune pouch with the runes for casting Boost potion share, Stat restore pot share, and Vengeance spells
  • 4 Ranging potions
  • 7 Super restores
  • 12 Saradomin brews
  • Teleport to house (tablet) or a one-click teleport (for emergency)
  • Hammer (if Nex banking or skipping killcount with Ecumenical keys)

Inventory

  • Guthan the Infested’s set (for healing off of minions)
  • Voidwaker (for special attacks)
  • Divine rune pouch (with runes to cast Bones to Peaches, High Level Alchemy, and Trollheim teleport)
  • 1 Anglerfish
  • 3 Super combat potion
  • 10 Super restores
  • 6 Saradomin brews
  • Teleport to house (tablet) or a one-click teleport (for emergency), can bring Max cape instead for the Construction and Prayer cape perks
  • Hammer (if Nex banking or skipping killcount with Ecumenical keys)
  • Bones to peaches (tablet) tablets if Bones to Peaches spell isn’t unlocked.

Inventory

  • Elder maul/Dragon warhammer (for special attacks)
  • Guthan the Infested’s equipment
  • 3-6 Saradomin brews
  • 6-8 Super restores
  • 3-5 Divine ranging potions
  • Rune pouch with runes for High Level Alchemy, and Trollheim Teleport, Bones to Peaches or empty for picking up Cosmic runes
  • 2 Trollheim teleport (tablet) tablets if not bringing runes for Trollheim Teleport (revert once inside the dungeon for teleport out)
  • Rest high-healing food such as sharks or better

Inventory

  • A weapon to autocast Ancient Magicks (such as a blood ancient sceptre, kodai wand or ancient staff) if using Blood Barrage, with a Magic robe top switch such as a virtus robe top or ancestral robe top
  • Saradomin godsword or Elder maul/Dragon warhammer (for special attacks)
  • Avernic or dragon defender switch if using dragon warhammer
  • Rune pouch filled with runes for Blood Barrage
  • Bones to peaches (tablet) tablets (or runes for Bones to Peaches in a rune pouch if not using Blood Barrage)
  • 2-4 super combat potions
  • 5-6 super restores
  • 8-10 Saradomin brews
  • Teleport to house (tablet) or a one-click teleport (for emergency), can bring Max cape instead for the Construction and Prayer cape perks
  • Rest high-healing food such as anglerfish or manta rays

General Graardor can effectively be killed with Tumeken’s shadow, due to its extremely high accuracy and damage. However, due to its multiplicative effect, small downgrades in gear and levels can have a notable impact on damage output, and it is strongly recommended, if not essentially required, to have access to gear such as Ancestral robes, an occult necklace and a tormented bracelet. While lower tier magic weapons can be used, they will be significantly less effective and should not be used except in combination with otherwise best-in-slot gear.

Inventory

16000 16000 16000 16000
  • Kodai wand or other weapon to autocast Ancient Magicks (bring water runes for ice barrage if not using Kodai)
  • Rune pouch filled with runes for Ice Barrage and Blood Barrage
  • Bones to peaches (tablet) tablets
  • Saturated heart
  • 2-3 Saradomin brews, to be used in emergencies or immediately before the Saturated heart can be activated again
  • 4-8 high-healing food such as anglerfish or manta rays
  • Teleport to house (tablet) or a one-click teleport (for emergency)
  • Rest super restores

Inventory

16000 16000 16000
  • Be mindful of your God Items while killing minions. Do your best to bring a Bandos item (Preferably Bandos bracers) and a Zamorak item (Preferably Z Hasta to kill minions or Zamorak boots)
  • Kodai wand or other weapon to autocast Ancient Magicks. Water runes not necessary. You can position all three minions to where you can hit all three with a barrage until the melee minion dies. Switch to blowpipe once melee/ranged minions die.
  • Occult necklace for when you’re barraging minions
  • Zamorakian hasta or Dragon Warhammer for getting killcount
  • Rune pouch filled with runes for Blood Barrage
  • Bones to peaches (tablet) tablets just in case barrages and blowpipe specs don’t get you to full HP.
  • 8-10 or so anglerfish or manta rays to heal mid-kill while you are learning. As you get better, you can drop food for Super restore potions
  • 8 or so Super restore potions
  • 1 ranging potion (maybe 2 once you’re more practiced and can stay longer)
  • 3 Stamina potion(4) or so. Increase to 4 once you are more familiar.
  • 2 Trollheim teleport (tablet)s for when the trip ends/emergency. Revert one to a Teleport to house (tablet) once you arrive on Trollheim mountain.

Inventory

100
16000 16000 16000
  • A Bandos and a Zamorak item should be brought.
  • Rune pouch with runes for thralls, or blood barrage.
    • Book of the dead if using thralls, or an autocast magic weapon if using blood barrage.
  • Bones to peaches tablets for an additional 32hp restore per kill.
  • 4-8 Saradomin brews or Cooked karambwan for eating mid kill.
  • 2-4 Divine bastion potions, or divine ranging potions.
  • Explorer’s ring 4 for run energy restoration if needed, and for casting high level alchemy on rune item drops.