Desert heat

Desert heat
Released		14 April 2003 (Update)
Type		Area effect
Deadly		Yes
Protection		Waterskins, choc-ice, desert clothing

Desert heat is a game mechanic occurring in the Kharidian Desert south of the Shantay Pass. For every 24-132 seconds (depending on armour worn) that a player spends in the desert, they will take 1-10 damage. The heat of the desert will also evaporate water from bowls of water, buckets of water, jugs of water, and vials of water on the same timer. Players are not affected by desert heat while they are within the boundaries of towns or while a dialogue box is open.

The default interval between damage is 90 seconds. Wearing armour will decrease the interval to a minimum 24 seconds when full armour is worn; equipment without a negative heat resistance include magic robes, vambraces (unlike gloves), non-metal boots (fancy and fighting boots are considered metal) and capes.

Players with waterskins in their inventory will drink 1 dose of water from a waterskin whenever the heat would otherwise damage them, until the player runs out of doses of water. As such, players with low Hitpoints or hardcore ironmen should always bring waterskins with them while entering the desert. Alternatively, it is also possible to reset the interval timer by logging out of the game before it ticks down, allowing one to avoid desert heat entirely if care is taken to log out in time.^[1]

• Waterskins - Waterskins allow a player to survive the desert's heat effect, and can hold up to 4 doses of water. Each time a player drinks, one dose of water is used up. They can be filled to their maximum of 4 doses at a water source or with the Humidify Lunar spell or by using a knife or slash weapon on a Kharidian cactus.
• Choc-ice - Players who go to Nardah can buy choc-ice from Rokuh. They heal 7 Hitpoints in addition to counting as a drink of water.

Certain equipable items protect against the desert heat by extending the time needed between drinks of water. These include:

• Desert amulet 4 - Provides 100% protection against desert heat when worn. Reward from completing the Elite Desert Diary.
• Circlet of water - Each charge of the circlet counts as a dose of water when the circlet is worn.
• Desert clothing - This set can be purchased from Shantay at Shantay Pass, or from Ali Morrisane in Al Kharid.
• Desert outfit - These outfit sets can be purchased from Ali Morrisane in Al Kharid during, or after, the Rogue Trader miniquest. The outfit differs slightly between body types.
• Desert disguise - Obtained during The Feud quest from Ali Morrisane. Wearing the disguise will delay the onset of desert heat by 12 seconds.
• Menaphite clothing - These sets can be purchased from Ali Morrisane in Al Kharid during, or after, the Rogue Trader miniquest. They come in two colour schemes, purple and red, which have identical bonuses.
• Prospector kit - This set can be purchased from Prospector Percy in the Motherlode Mine using golden nuggets obtained randomly from cleaning pay-dirt.
• Robes of elidinis - Obtained during the Spirits of the Elid quest and provides the same level of protection as standard desert clothing.

Note that players do not have to wear an entire set for the additional delay effect to happen. Each piece individually contributes to the delay. The graceful outfit does not protect against desert heat in any way.

The maximum time between drinks is 132 seconds (costing 28 charges per hour if using Circlet of water).

Overly insulating clothing such as metallic armour or thick gloves will trap the heat of the hot Kharidian sun, and as a result hasten the onset of dehydration. Each piece of armour deducts a fixed length of time from the desert heat interval timer, thereby increasing the frequency of its activation. The amount of seconds deducted by a piece of armour is dependent on the slot it is worn in, as detailed in the table below.^[2] The shortest onset of desert heat can be attained by equipping a piece of armour in all six of the relevant slots, which will incur a penalty of 66 seconds deducted from the 90 seconds base timer – leading to a sip of water being required every 24 seconds.

• According to the Old School RuneScape Wiki's crowdsourcing data, the Sophanem carpet arrival spot is the single tile on which the most instances of desert heat damage has been taken by players, due to the timer still decrementing as players fly, and then being triggered only upon arrival. The second spot in terms of damage taken is directly in front of the Jaltevas Pyramid in the Necropolis.

v t e Area effects
	Chill Darkness Desert heat Drowning Extreme heat Fog Guild skill boosts Prayer restoration Sanity Smoke Swamp decay Vine damage Volcanic eruption
Sailing hazards	Stormy seas Crystal-flecked waters Eternal cold Fetid waters Icy seas Jagged reefs Profane waters Sunbaked seas Tangled kelp World border

v t e Heat-resistant gear
Desert outfit	Fez Top Robes Overcoat Legs
Desert clothing	Disguise Shirt Robe Boots
Slave robes	Shirt Robe Boots
Robes of Elidinis	Top Bottom
Menaphite clothing	Purple Hat Top Robe Kilt Red Hat Top Robe Kilt
Prospector Kit	Normal Helmet Jacket Legs Boots Golden Helmet Jacket Legs Boots
Others	Circlet of water Desert amulet 4
Related	Waterskin Choc-ice Kharidian cactus