After the completion of A Kingdom Divided, players can fight Yama once they speak to him in person. In order to challenge Yama, players must first speak to the Voice of Yama at the bottom of the Chasm of Fire to reach his Domain, then agree to sign a contract to face him in an inhibited form.
Yama can be fought solo or with another player. His stats are not affected by group size, but some mechanics can be made easier and the fight will progress much faster with another player.
Unlike other bosses, players who die fighting Yama are sent back to the Voice of Yama instead of their respawn point, where their graves are also located. Players will have their reclamation fee reduced by 75% until they have ten kills, after which the standard death cost will apply.
Requirements
- Completion of
A Kingdom Divided
Recommendations[edit | edit source]
- 82+ for Dark Demonbane
- 80+
- 80+
- 75+
- 70+ for Piety (If using melee), 77+ for Augury (If using magic)
- Completion of While Guthix Sleeps for access to the Emberlight and purging staff
- At least one player with a purging staff to quickly destroy void flares
- 73+, 83+ for shortcuts in the Chasm of Fire
Getting there
There are several ways to access the Chasm of Fire:
- The chasm teleport scroll brings players in front of the Voice of Yama.
- The fairy ring code DJR is south-east of the Chasm.
- Casting Battlefront Teleport will take players north-west of the Chasm.
Players with level 73 Agility can run north to the platform edge (marked by a 
icon) and hang-down to instantly reach the middle level, jumping over the two gaps directly east, and finally using the north-eastern gibbet to reach the bottom level. Alternatively, with level 83 Agility, players can slide down the chain next to them after entering the Chasm to instantly reach the bottom level near the Voice of Yama. Protect from Melee is highly advised regardless of the route taken, as players will pass by several aggressive demons. Though this is less of a case with the level 83 shortcut, it is still recommended to avoid unnecessary damage from a black demon if it is idling by the shortcut.
The Voice of Yama will take you to Yama’s Domain via the right-click “Travel” option; for players joining their duo partner, they must use the “Join” option and enter their partner’s username.
Fight overview
The fight with Yama begins when a player uses the “Challenge” option. Yama will then disappear from his throne and reappear in the arena in a much larger form. He will randomly target a player and begin attacking; in duo encounters, he can also periodically change targets. He will usually accompany the aggression change with a quote.
Yama has a unique combat behaviour in which he will check if the player is using melee. If the player is using melee, Yama will chase after them just like most melee-using NPCs would. If the player is using ranged or magic, Yama will instead stay put and moderately increase his defences.
Yama’s basic attacks cover all three combat styles, all of which can hit up to 46 without prayer:
- Melee – Yama swings his axe at his target. This is only used if the target is adjacent to him, and will hit everyone in a 1×5 AoE in front of him. Activating Protect from Melee before the attack is used will block a majority of the damage, reducing its max hit to ~6.
- Magic – Flames begin to envelop the player, after which Yama will snap his fingers to deal damage. Activating Protect from Magic before his fingers snap will fully protect the player.
- Ranged – Shadowy swirls begin to engulf the player, after which Yama will snap his fingers to deal damage. Activating Protect from Missiles before his fingers snap will fully protect the player.
Yama can also poison the player starting at 20 poison damage, and this will deal significant damage if not cured. Curing poison at Yama is primarily done through sanfew serums, as these restore prayer. If resupplying with alt accs, araxyte venom sacks are preferred as these are stackable at the cost of taking 4 damage per sack when used.
Additionally, Yama’s Defence level can only be reduced by 80 (from 225 down to 145). The closest option to reach this cap is one elder maul special, which reduces his Defence to 147. Alternatively, three emberlight specials will hit the cap. The elder maul will likely miss unless boosted by a soulflame horn, and emberlight rolls against Yama’s stab defence, which is only slightly higher than his slash defence. This is only viable for melee players.
If using magic, an accursed sceptre’s special attack will drain Yama’s Defence level by 34 (from 225 to 191) and Magic level by 38 (from 250 to 212). This will slightly improve accuracy with magic, and is the only way to consistently drain his Magic level, since any damage from a special attack will drain the maximum amount, something which a seercull is unable to match.
Yama restores stats normally like most other NPCs, and these drained levels will maintain fairly well for the entire fight.
Phase 1
Yama’s first set of attacks are determined by the colour of the Glyphs nearest the throne, with red Glyphs of Fire indicating Yama will used ranged attacks first, and purple Glyphs of Shadow indicating Yama will use magic attacks first. After three regular attacks (either magic, ranged, or melee), Yama uses a special attack.
Yama’s special attacks in the first two phases require the player to stand on the centre of the matching glyph to negate the attack’s damage and effects. The player will take 2, 6, 9 or 12 damage upon stepping on a Glyph of Fire depending on how close Yama was to it when stepped on; 2 damage if Yama was four or more tiles away, 6 if three tiles, 9 if two tiles and 12 if one or adjacent to it. The Glyph of Shadow will drain 2-12 prayer points, and like the Glyph of Fire, drains more if Yama is closer to it.
In duo encounters, only one player needs to stand on the glyphs for both to be protected. These glyphs can also be used to block damage from the corresponding attack, but this is not recommended unless a special attack is being used.
It is important not to step on the glyphs before the special attacks are performed, as the glyphs are extinguished temporarily after being used. Otherwise, players can take up to 60 damage; if hit by the fire-based attack, the player will also be temporarily inflicted with a burn. Glyphs can be consumed to boost certain special attacks. The shadow glyph can be consumed to boost the prayer restoration capabilities of the Saradomin godsword, ancient mace or eldritch nightmare staff special attacks. The fire glyph can be used the same way to boost the damage/accuracy of the volatile nightmare staff special attack. However, consuming a glyph in this way ends the protective capabilities of the glyph, so players should use these after Yama’s special attack lands.
After a special attack, Yama will switch combat styles and special attacks, unless void flares are used, in which case he will remain with the same combat style. Flares have a chance to appear after he uses the special shadow attack of the phase, and is consistent across both phases. For example, if Yama deploys flares after the first special attack in the first phase, they would likewise appear after the first special attack in the second phase.
Lastly, Yama uses several arena hazards to keep players on their toes and will spawn these right before doing a special attack:
- Shadow Waves – Waves of shadowy flames will spawn from the south-east or south-west and move across the entire arena, which the player must “skip” over to avoid taking up to 20 damage and having their protection prayers disabled briefly, leaving them open to Yama’s attacks.
- Fire Streaks – Fires are ignited at the east and west edges of the arena before moving across the entire arena at running speed. If stricken, the player will take damage and be seared to the ground, temporarily binding them in place and potentially unable to move towards a Glyph to negate Yama’s special attacks.
- Void Flares – Yama will summon a fire and shadow void flare in the arena. These orbs must be destroyed before the yellow bar fills up, or they will explode and deal up to 50 damage each, healing Yama for a percentage of their remaining health.
- They take double damage from demonbane weapons, and using magic attacks or the scorching bow will always deal their max hit. The purging staff is most useful for this, as its special attack coupled with the Dark Demonbane and Mark of Darkness spells can reduce the player’s attack cooldown upon dealing the finishing blow. Death Charge works against the flares.
- Players can choose to destroy only one void flare and stand on the matching Glyph before it fully charges to block the explosion damage and healing to Yama.
A pair of players destroy the void flares with the purging staff, taking advantage of its special attack to resume attacking Yama earlier than usual.
-
A pair of players skip over the shadow waves.
Judge of Yama
Upon reaching 66.6% and 33.3% of his health (not a hard cap), the first and second phases of the fight ends and an intermission phase will occur where Yama becomes bored and slams his axe’s pommel to the ground, teleporting the player(s) away from the main arena. The player is fully immune to any incoming attacks during the teleport, and any void flares that were present when this occurs are immediately destroyed without penalty, which additionally triggers Death Charge, provided the player damaged them at least once before this occurs. The first player (instance creator) will always be placed west, while the second player will always be placed east.
As players hop across the stones to reach the Judge, it will launch fire spells in one or two of five potential spots en route every five ticks. Getting hit by these will deal up to 30 damage. Upon reaching the last stone, the Judge will start launching fireballs on the last tile the player stood on. During this interlude, the chamber will periodically shake, dealing 5-7 damage.
The Judge has 400 health, and uses two protection prayers at once. Initially, it will always pray against melee and ranged attacks, then switching based on the player’s last attack style, so magic is essentially mandatory to defeat it. It does not react to attacks made by thralls, but the short duration of the fight makes summoning one unfeasible. The player will always deal land a maximum hit on the Judge, though multi-hitting weapons will only hit once. When using melee, focus more on strength prayers as they give more max hits compared to magic prayers. Additionally, the Judge’s health pool is shared between both players in a duo encounter.
Players can speed up the intermission by attacking with magic on the third-to-last set of stones where the player enters attack range, then quickly moving towards the Judge with melee attacks. Players can also stand under the Judge before it attacks so that the fireball lands on them, dealing 13-18 damage towards itself.
When the Judge is killed, players are teleported back to Yama to begin the next phase of the fight. They will always be teleported back in front of Yama’s throne, while Yama himself will reposition to the centre of the arena.
Phase 2
The second phase of the fight is similar to the first, except that two Shadow Waves spawn instead of one, and more Fire Streaks spawn when they appear. Yama will reset to his melee combat behavior at the start of this phase, so maging players should attack him immediately to set him in place.
Additionally, Yama’s attacks are enhanced:
- Meteor Strike – Yama’s fire-based special attack which sends a large meteor down on his target, which has a 5×5 AoE. The target’s actions are cancelled for one tick, and their run is disabled (including Ctrl-clicking). Failing to move at least two tiles away from the centre of the meteor will instantly kill the player.
- Being at the edge of the blast radius (two tiles away from centre) will deal 80 damage. If the player is one tile away (three tiles from centre) they will take 40 damage. If the player somehow manages to get two tiles away from the looming shadow (four tiles from centre), they will take no damage. Getting hit by this attack without protection will additionally inflict a burn value of 8.
- Shadow Stomp – Yama stomps the ground and sends a shadow-based attack towards players, dealing up to 60 damage, rooting the player in place for 2 ticks and draining prayer.
As with phase 1, Yama will make use of void flares, which follow the same spawning mechanics.
Upon reaching 33.3% of his health, the second phase of the fight ends and players will once again be teleported away to defeat the Judge of Yama.
Phase 3
Upon returning, Yama will position himself in the centre of the arena and increase his defence bonuses, though drained stats still remain. His attack speed will also increase from 8 ticks (4.8 seconds) to 7 (4.2 seconds).
Players may continue to use melee or mage, depending on their primary style. If players are meleeing, they may either flinch Yama, attack him with a halberd, or use the Donofly method (see below). Due to the slightly increased magic defence, maging players may opt to bring a Tumeken’s shadow switch, as it is slightly more accurate compared to a purging staff while sacrificing negligible damage.
All glyphs in the arena are now disabled, and Yama will alternate between ranged and magic attacks. He will start with the style opposite of that from the previous two phases; e.g if he started with a ranged opener, this phase’s opener would be magic. In addition to the increased defence bonus, Yama’s prayer piercing effects are stronger; the melee attack can now hit up to 22 through prayer, whereas magic and ranged attacks, which are normally blocked with prayer, now hit up to 3.
Yama will not have any shadow-based special attacks, but he will be able to send shadow waves in sets of two or four at a time.
Yama’s fire-based special attack, which he only uses when the player is outside melee distance, is a set of three fireballs in a line which fall upon the player. The side fireballs will spawn smoke clouds after impact, which converge toward where the centre fireball landed (forming an hourglass shape). Yama will perform this attack three times, each one centred on the player at a cardinal, diagonal, and cardinal angle respectively. Getting caught in this attack will deal up to 20 damage per explosion. Players can dodge this by moving at least one tile from the centre fireball perpendicular to the line (ex. one tile horizontal from the centre fireball if they fall vertically). The fireballs are individual to each player, and players will not be damaged from another player’s fireballs. Note that Yama will still use his standard attack while the fireballs drop, so pray accordingly.
As with the previous phases, Yama will summon two void flares into the arena. These are summoned intermittently during the fight, but one will always spawn if Yama attacks with melee. Unlike the previous phases, the flares spawn with half (71) health. In order to one-shot void flares during this phase, the player must use the purging staff to cast Dark Demonbane while under the effects of the Mark of Darkness, with a 20% magic damage bonus (including the staff’s 10%).
In a duo encounter, one player should stand west and another east to destroy void flares. Alternately, one player can be dedicated to dealing with flares and position themselves north of Yama in melee range. At the start of the phase they can get off three attacks with a 4-tick weapon before purging staff special attacking the two flares that have spawned, after this sequence they can do two more autos, then spec two more flares and repeat until the phase is over. After five flares have spawned Yama will summon two sets of shadow waves from the south. After eight flares have spawned, Yama will spawn three at a time, though this is very unlikely for most players.
The Donofly
The Donofly is an advanced method of attacking Yama with Arclight or Emberlight, which involves using specific movements to ensure all shadow waves and triple fireballs are avoided in addition to preventing Yama from using melee attacks (and thus avoiding additional void flares spawning).
This method is significantly superior compared to using only magic, especially when Yama’s defence has been lowered. However, it requires precise timing and when attempted in a duo, both players must be tick-perfect.
There are multiple ways to perform the Donofly; one example of a cycle is as follows:
- Upon returning to the arena, move towards tile 1.
- Wait for Yama’s attack animation to have his hand above his head, then click on him to attack.
- After clicking, immediately move to tile 2. Once your true tile is there, attack Yama.
- Immediately move to tile 3. Once your true tile is on tile 3, attack Yama.
- Immediately Ctrl click-walk to tile 4. Once your true tile is there, attack Yama.
- Immediately move to tile 5. Once your true tile is on tile 5, attack Yama.
- Immediately move to tile 1 and repeat the cycle.
In a duo encounter, Yama should be defeated before the first set of flares are allowed to spawn. In solo encounters or if the duo is too slow, the flares will spawn and they will need to be dealt with accordingly. It is possible to get back in sync but it is not feasible for learners.
Equipment
Yama is weak to slash and can also be fought effectively with magic if using the Purging staff or Tumeken’s shadow due to their higher accuracy compared to other magic weapons. Yama has a Defence level of 225 and Magic level of 250, with +80 slash defence and -30 magic defence, making magic hit well on him despite his higher Magic level. If the player currently targeted by Yama is using magic during phase 1 and 2, his magic defence raises to 60. It is not recommended to use any other combat style, as he has +100 stab, +333 crush/light/heavy ranged defence, and +220 standard ranged defence.
During the final phase, his defence bonuses increase to +135 stab, +108 slash, +449 crush/light/heavy ranged, +297 standard ranged, and +81 magic defence.
Meleeing Yama provides the highest damage output but is harder to execute due to the prayer swaps needed and additional complexity in phase 3, where Yama spawns additional void flares when he melees players. Defence reduction is especially helpful against Yama, and using one elder maul special attack, ideally with Soulflame horn, or 2-3 emberlight special attacks at the beginning of the fight will reduce Yama’s defence nearly to its cap.
| Slot | Recommended equipment for Melee – Item (most effective → least effective) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 Torva full helm /  Oathplate helm |
 Neitiznot faceguard /  Serpentine helm |
 Blood moon helm |
 Helm of neitiznot |
N/A |
 |
 Amulet of rancour |
 Amulet of torture |
 Amulet of blood fury |
 Amulet of strength |
 Amulet of fury >  Amulet of glory |
 |
 Infernal cape |
 Fire cape |
 Mythical cape |
N/A | N/A |
 |
 Torva platebody /  Oathplate chest |
 Bandos chestplate |
 Blood moon chestplate/  Fighter torso |
N/A | N/A |
 |
 Torva platelegs /  Oathplate legs |
 Bandos tassets |
 Blood moon tassets |
N/A | N/A |
 |
 Emberlight |
 Arclight |
 Scythe of vitur |
 Osmumten’s fang |
 Blade of saeldor /  Noxious halberd /  Abyssal tentacle |
 |
 Avernic defender |
 Dragon defender |
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 |
N/A | N/A | N/A |
 |
 Primordial boots |
 Echo boots / Dragon boots |
 Aranea boots |
N/A | N/A |
 |
 Ultor ring |
 Bellator ring /  Berserker ring (i) |
 Ring of suffering (ri) |
N/A | N/A |
 |
 Elder maul with  Soulflame horn / Emberlight |
 Burning claws /  Dragon claws |
 Saradomin godsword[a] |
Arclight /  Bandos godsword |
N/A |
