Cerberus

This article has a strategy guide. All information on mechanics and strategy will be on this page.

This article has a Slayer task guide here. Information comparing locations for Slayer tasks will be on this page.

Cerberus
Released								27 August 2015 (Update)
Members								Yes
Combat level								318
Size								5x5
Examine								A three-headed gigantic hound. Guardian of the River of Souls.
Combat info
Attribute								Demon
XP bonus								+15%
Max hit								23
Aggressive								Yes
Poisonous								No
Attack style								Stab, Ranged, Magic
Attack speed								6 ticks (3.6 seconds)
Respawn time								15 ticks (9 seconds)
Slayer info
Slayer level								91
Slayer XP								690 xp
Category								Hellhounds, Bosses
Assigned by
Combat stats
600				220				220				100				220				220
Aggressive stats
+50				+0				+50				+0				+50				+0
Melee defence
+50								+100								+25
Magic defence
+65												40% weakness
Ranged defence
+100								+100								+100
Immunities
Poison								100% resistance
Venom								100% resistance
Cannons								Not immune
Thralls								Not immune
Burn								Immune (normal)
Open in DPS calculator
Advanced data
Monster ID								5862,5863,5866
Link								MOID

Cerberus is a level 318 hellhound boss who resides in Cerberus' Lair, deep beneath the Taverley Dungeon in the cave entrance in the north-east part of the hellhound area, which is found beyond the poisonous spiders. Defeating Cerberus requires a Slayer level of 91, along with a task of hellhounds or Cerberus herself. In the event of a hellhound or elite clue scroll task, wild pies may be used to boost the player's Slayer level. While boosting, the player's Slayer level must remain at or above 91.

Cerberus drops three different crystals: the eternal, pegasian, and primordial crystals which are used to upgrade the infinity, ranger, and dragon boots to the eternal, pegasian, and primordial boots respectively, which boast the second highest bonuses for the feet slot. She can also drop the smouldering stone at a much better rate compared to her lesser brethren, along with the jar of souls and the hellpuppy pet.

A dwarf multicannon cannot be set up inside Cerberus' Lair; if attempted, players will receive the message: You cannot place the cannon here, it would melt.

As the Guardian of the River of Souls, Cerberus^[1] protects the souls of the departed from whatever troubles they may face on their journey by the Citizens of Arceuus. Despite her important task, Cerberus longs to escape her post, and has successfully done so on multiple occasions, although with each attempt she was quickly captured and returned. Cerberus has killed many adventurers who have stumbled into her lair, with one of her more recent kills dropping a damaged soul bearer which the Arceuus Elders inspected and eventually discarded when they could not repair it.

Location	Levels	Members	Spawns	Map	League region
Cerberus' Lair	318		3	Show map	Asgarnia✓

• There are 3 different rooms inside Cerberus' Lair in which Cerberus can be found.

When approaching her, Cerberus will become aggressive. She may attack with magic, ranged and melee attacks, each with a max hit of 23. The magic attack appears as a grey ball, the ranged attack appears as a ball of spikes, and the melee attack is her biting.

Cerberus has three special attacks that she may use under certain circumstances:

• She attacks in quick succession with magic followed by ranged and melee. The melee attack will hit the player even at a distance.
• She summons three souls – indicated by her howling Aaarrrooooooo – that come from the river behind her and attack the player with each combat style. Each attack will drain 30 prayer (20 with Ward of Arceuus, 15 with spectral spirit shield equipped, 10 with both) if blocked or 30 hitpoints if not blocked.
• She spits three balls of fire on the ground, indicated by a Grrrrrr chat text above her head. One lava spot will land on the player and two in random spots around the room. Standing on one will deal continuous damage, which can be reduced with appropriate dragonfire protection.^[2]

If a player has recently fought the boss, a line of fire will spawn between the entrance and the boss; stepping over this will deal 5 damage each way. The line of fire may be bugged, as it will not despawn unless the challenger dies to Cerberus or goes back through the line of fire after it respawns and if the player comes back after teleporting away mid-fight. Cerberus will restore all of her health if there are no players in her lair (she is not attackable and only has an examine option when this happens).

Once defeated, Cerberus will respawn in nine seconds.

The following money making guide is available for Cerberus:

Drop rates are estimated based on 203,624 samples from the Drop Rate Project, unless otherwise cited.

The average Cerberus kill is worth 71,993.64.

The average Cerberus kill while on a Konar task is worth 73,911.4.

Excluding Primordial crystal drops, the average kill is worth 36,889.00. Excluding all unique drops, the average kill is worth 26,493.00.

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Infernal ashes	1	Always	3,446	1

There is a 1 in 130 chance of hitting the unique drop table. Below lists the effective drop rates.^[3]

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Primordial crystal	1	1/520	17,973,484	27,000
	Pegasian crystal	1	1/520	103,949	27,000
	Eternal crystal	1	1/520	2,880,647	27,000
	Smouldering stone	1	1/520	2,322,778	27,000

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Rune platebody	1	5/130	38,521	39,000
	Rune chainbody	1	4/130	29,474	30,000
	Rune 2h sword	1	4/130	38,075	38,400
	Black d'hide body	1	3/130	7,248	8,088
	Rune axe	1	3/130	7,267	7,680
	Rune pickaxe	1	3/130	18,617	19,200
	Battlestaff	6 (noted)	3/130	43,248	25,200
	Rune full helm	1	3/130	20,550	21,120
	Lava battlestaff	1	2/130	9,255	10,200
	Rune halberd	1	2/130	37,576	38,400

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Fire rune	300	6/130	1,500	600
	Soul rune	100	6/130	38,100	18,000
	Pure essence	300 (noted)	5/130	600	600
	Blood rune	60	4/130	22,500	14,400
	Steel cannonball	50	4/130	13,950	150
	Runite bolts (unf)	40	4/130	4,680	0
	Death rune	100	3/130	18,800	10,800

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Coal	120 (noted)	6/130	17,640	3,240
	Super restore(4)	2	6/130	19,896	360
	Summer pie	3	6/130	2,190	252
	Coins	10,000–20,000	5/130	10,000–20,000	10,000–20,000
	Dragon bones	20 (noted)	5/130	66,620	1,920
	Unholy symbol	1	5/130	489	120
	Wine of zamorak	15 (noted)	5/130	15,555	0
	Ashes	50 (noted)	4/130	1,950	50
	Fire orb	20 (noted)	4/130	38,200	3,600
	Grimy torstol	6 (noted)	4/130	17,952	90
	Runite ore	5 (noted)	3/130	51,115	9,600
	Uncut diamond	5 (noted)	3/130	12,205	600
	Torstol seed	3	2/130	47,499	126
	Ranarr seed	2	2/130	56,738	60
	Key master teleport	7	2/130	182,973	42

There is a 3/130 chance of rolling the rare drop table.

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Nothing	N/A	1/238.83; Never[d 1]	N/A	N/A
	Coins	3,000	1/264.13	3,000	3,000
	Uncut sapphire	1	1/1,109.33; 1/563.33[d 2]	231	15
	Loop half of key	1	1/275.18; 1/273.13[d 2]	9,679	60
	Tooth half of key	1	1/275.18; 1/273.13[d 2]	9,771	60
	Uncut emerald	1	1/2,218.67; 1/1,126.67[d 2]	467	30
	Uncut ruby	1	1/4,437.33; 1/2,253.33[d 2]	1,104	60
	Runite bar	1	1/1,109.33	12,263	3,000
	Nature rune	67	1/1,848.89	11,524	7,236
	Rune 2h sword	1	1/1,848.89	38,075	38,400
	Rune battleaxe	1	1/1,848.89	24,449	24,960
	Law rune	45	1/2,773.33	5,535	6,480
	Death rune	45	1/2,773.33	8,460	4,860
	Steel arrow	150	1/2,773.33	900	1,050
	Rune arrow	42	1/2,773.33	1,974	10,080
	Adamant javelin	20	1/2,773.33	760	1,920
	Rune sq shield	1	1/2,773.33	22,553	23,040
	Dragonstone	1	1/2,773.33	10,748	6,000
	Silver ore	100 (noted)	1/2,773.33	6,100	4,500
	Nature talisman	1	1/11,832.89; 1/6,008.89[d 2]	280	2
	Uncut diamond	1	1/17,749.33; 1/9,013.33[d 2]	2,441	120
	Rune kiteshield	1	1/5,546.67	31,964	32,640
	Dragon med helm	1	1/5,546.67	58,453	60,000
	Rune spear	1	1/5,855.45; 1/679.4[d 2][d 3]	11,622	12,480
	Rune javelin	5	1/35,498.67; 1/18,026.67[d 2]	675	1,200
	Shield left half	1	1/11,710.9; 1/1,358.79[d 2][d 3]	65,036	66,000
	Dragon spear	1	1/15,614.53; 1/1,811.73[d 2][d 3]	38,083	37,440

	Item	Quantity	Rarity	Price	High Alch
	Ensouled hellhound head	1	1/15	3,611	321
	Clue scroll (elite)	1	Always[d 1]	Not sold	12
	Reward casket (elite)	1	Always[d 1]	Not sold	30
	Brimstone key	1	1/45[d 2]	Not sold	N/A
	Clue scroll (elite)	1	1/100[d 3][d 4][3]	Not sold	12
	Jar of souls	1	1/2,000[3]	60,352	0
	Hellpuppy	1	1/3,000[3]	Not sold	N/A

There are 6 Combat Achievement tasks (totalling 26 points) available for Cerberus.

Name	Description	Type	Tier	Comp%
Unrequired Antifire	Kill Cerberus without taking damage from any lava pools.	Perfection	Elite (4 pts)	21.4%
Cerberus Veteran	Kill Cerberus 75 times.	Kill Count	Elite (4 pts)	20%
Ghost Buster	Kill Cerberus after successfully negating 6 or more attacks from Summoned Souls.	Mechanical	Elite (4 pts)	18.8%
Anti-Bite Mechanics	Kill Cerberus without taking any melee damage.	Perfection	Elite (4 pts)	21%
Cerberus Master	Kill Cerberus 150 times.	Kill Count	Master (5 pts)	18.4%
Arooo No More	Kill Cerberus without any of the Summoned Souls being spawned.	Mechanical	Master (5 pts)	20.7%

• Pre-release work-in-progress model of Cerberus
• A piece of artwork depicting a player facing Cerberus.
• Cerberus art from Jagex's turn-based card game, Chronicle: RuneScape Legends
• The Cerberus Steam Trading Card.

• In Greek and Roman mythology, Cerberus is a multi-headed hellhound with a serpent's tail, a mane of snakes, and a lion's claws, guarding the entrance of the Greek underworld to prevent the dead from escaping and the living from entering. This reflects the area around Cerberus as it guards the rivers that take souls to the Underworld and explains the jar of souls drop.
  • Although in its associated mythology Cerberus is male, the boss lair display refers to the boss in-game as female.
• Cerberus stands on a trapdoor as a reference to the book/film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), in which a three-headed dog guarded a trapdoor.
• When bones are used on Cerberus, a message appears saying "Those aren't Cerby snacks". This is a reference to "Scooby Snacks" from Scooby-Doo.
• Cerberus had a festive override wearing a green partyhat, black santa hat, and blue partyhat during the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 Christmas events.

v t e Bosses
World bosses	The Hueycoatl Scurrius Giant Mole Deranged archaeologist Sarachnis Kalphite Queen Corporeal Beast Gemstone Crab The Barrows Brothers Ahrim the Blighted Karil the Tainted Dharok the Wretched Guthan the Infested Torag the Corrupted Verac the Defiled The Dagannoth Kings Dagannoth Prime Dagannoth Rex Dagannoth Supreme God Wars Dungeon Kree'arra Commander Zilyana General Graardor K'ril Tsutsaroth Nex Moons of Peril Eclipse Moon Blue Moon Blood Moon The Wilderness bosses Revenant maledictus Chaos Fanatic Crazy archaeologist Scorpia King Black Dragon Chaos Elemental Vet'ion (Calvar'ion) Venenatis (Spindel) Callisto (Artio)
Instanced bosses	Amoxliatl Brutus (Demonic) Royal Titans (Branda the Fire Queen) (Eldric the Ice King) Zulrah Vorkath Phantom Muspah The Nightmare (Phosani's Nightmare) Yama Doom of Mokhaiotl Maggot King Mad Angel Sporadic bosses Obor Bryophyta The Mimic Hespori Skotizo The Forgotten Four The Leviathan The Whisperer Vardorvis Duke Sucellus
Slayer bosses	Shellbane gryphon Grotesque Guardians (Dusk) (Dawn) Abyssal Sire Kraken Cerberus Araxxor Thermonuclear smoke devil Alchemical Hydra
Minigame bosses	Crystalline Hunllef Corrupted Hunllef TzTok-Jad TzKal-Zuk Sol Heredit
Skilling bosses	Tempoross Wintertodt Zalcano
Raids	Chambers of Xeric Tekton Vanguard Vespula Vasa Nistirio Muttadile Great Olm Theatre of Blood The Maiden of Sugadinti Pestilent Bloat Nylocas Vasilias Sotetseg Xarpus Verzik Vitur Tombs of Amascut Akkha Ba-Ba Kephri Zebak Tumeken's Warden Elidinis' Warden