Guardians of the Rift/Strategies

Although the Guardians of the Rift minigame can be completed with varying levels and equipment, the general strategy remains consistent. Those without access to the larger essence pouches may have to convert more guardian essence and make more frequent trips through the runic altars.

• If a barrier breaks, the Great Guardian's power will rapidly drop, especially at later stages. Repair them as soon as possible, requiring 12 guardian fragments per barrier. Prioritise using fragments to repair the tile over crafting guardian essence.
• If a round ends (enters its grace period) more than 95 seconds after the last portal spawned, an additional portal will spawn during the grace period. This 'grace portal' allows mining essence as soon as the next round begins, increasing efficiency significantly.
  • To maximize the likelihood of this, wait to redeem your final set of guardian stones until 95 seconds. Without a timer, simply redeem during the grace period.
• 2-4 guardians are recommended at the start of each round. Having an inadequate number of guardians will allow the abyssal creatures to quickly overwhelm and destroy the barriers.
• Avoid contributing weaker cells to the guardian cap after the first phase, as this will severely limit the damage output of the guardians on the battlefield. Weaker cells are generally best spent healing barriers as barrier contributions stack, whereas guardian constructions do not.
  • It's worth noting that empowered cells are kept between games; until they are automatically removed 30 seconds before the next game starts. You can get another empowered cell to use between games by imbuing the Uncharged cell when there's less than 30 seconds remaining before the next game starts. This means you can keep a high tier cell, and make a second one to either upgrade existing barriers by one tier for each stronger cell added, or craft strong guardians early.
• When building a barrier at the start of a game, stand on the barrier side of the cell tile. This will knock your character through the barrier after it's built, giving you a head start at running to a mining spot.
• Points and experience are based on the amount of essence crafted - not the tier of the altar. Unless the current active altars are Air/Mind, it's not efficient to wait for desired altars to become active, especially if waiting results in missing a portal spawn.
• Mining level directly influences how many shards can be obtained per swing - approximately 25% more shards can be mined at 99 Mining compared to 41 Mining.
• Lower level players can spend the time between rounds crafting guardians for additional experience.
• Level 56 Agility is recommended to utilize the Rubble shortcut, in order to access and mine the large guardian remains

Crafting combination runes produces polyelemental guardian stones and polycatalytic guardian stones, giving an additional elemental point per essence. With Magic Imbue and binding necklaces this can result in up to 50% more elemental points, at the cost of some inventory space, more attention, and the proceeding requirements.

For optimal points, one should bring a stack of air runes, and cast Magic Imbue before using them on another elemental altar. When the air portal is active, one should craft catalytic runes unless they need more air runes to continue crafting combination runes. Use care when depositing runes to retain the stack of air runes. You can protect your air runes from being deposited by locking their slot, either at a bank or by right-clicking the rune deposit and selecting 'deposit items', then right-clicking your air runes and selecting 'lock slot'. This will prevent your air runes from being deposited when left-clicking 'deposit runes', while depositing all other types of rune. If using a rune pouch, filling it with cosmic, astral, and steam runes allows for casting both Magic Imbue and Astral Contact without requiring additional inventory space, and can store crafted steam runes. Each binding necklace should last 2 rounds, and some may wish to bring a spare in the event it breaks mid-round, or simply craft runes normally until obtaining a fresh one.

Crafting aether runes requires two additional inventory slots (as soul runes and aether catalysts are needed) and only works on Cosmic altar, therefore it might not be worth it to go for polycatalytic guardian stones.

Crafting combination runes from water runes alternatively produces significantly more valuable runes on average, at the cost of marginal cell points. By replacing steam runes inside a rune pouch with smoke runes, no additional inventory space is required. When crafting only at the earth and fire altars, and crafting catalytic when water or air are active, the average cells are no weaker, and it is easier to achieve an even point distribution per round.

Recommended equipment for Runecrafting

Slot	Item (most effective → least effective)
	Hat of the eye	Prospector helmet[n 1]	N/A	N/A
	Binding necklace[n 2]	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Max cape / Runecraft cape	Mining cape[n 3]	Spottier cape	Graceful cape
	Robe top of the eye	Varrock armour[n 4]	Prospector jacket[n 1]	N/A
	Robe bottoms of the eye	Prospector legs[n 1]	N/A	N/A
	Crystal pickaxe [n 5] / Dragon pickaxe	Rune pickaxe	Adamant pickaxe	Twinflame staff / Steam battlestaff[n 6]
	Abyssal lantern (yew logs)[n 7]	Abyssal lantern (redwood logs)[n 8]	Abyssal lantern (magic logs)[n 9] / Abyssal lantern (blisterwood logs)[n 10]	Tome of fire / Tome of water[n 6]
	Ghommal's lucky penny [n 11]	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Penance gloves	Graceful gloves	N/A	N/A
	Boots of the eye	Prospector boots[n 1]	N/A	N/A
	Celestial signet [n 12]	Celestial ring [n 12]	Lightbearer[n 13]	N/A

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Bug:

If the player's Mining level is visibly boosted, mining within Guardians of the Rift does consume crystal pickaxe charges, even after the boost decays. This can cease spontaneously but always stops when the player relogs.

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• Chisel if assembling rune guardians.
  • Optional on mass worlds where guardians are ample.
• Essence pouches up to your available Runecraft level.
  • Upgrade to the colossal pouch after acquiring the Abyssal needle with 25 Runecraft and 56 Crafting.
• Some way to repair essence pouches:
  • Abyssal pearls for Apprentice Cordelia's pouch repair service.
  • Rune pouch with runes to use Astral Contact, requires being on the Lunar spellbook and 67 Magic.
  • Abyssal lantern lit with redwood logs.
  • Runecraft cape.

Making combination runes efficiently requires 82 Magic, completion of Lunar Diplomacy, and an equipped binding necklace.

• Chisel if assembling rune guardians.
  • Optional on mass worlds where guardians are ample.
  • Since the pouches can store 2 times 15, omitting the chisel in masses can help with inventory management. Alternatively, dropping received runes whenever a talisman is received can have the same effect.
• Essence pouches up to your available Runecraft level.
  • Upgrade to the colossal pouch after acquiring the Abyssal needle with 56 Crafting.
• (Optional) an extra binding necklace to save on trips to the bank.
  • Each equipped binding necklace lasts about 2 games when pursuing even points.
  • Low-charge necklaces can be destroyed to save inventory space.
• Rune pouch to repair pouches using Astral Contact (requires access to the Lunar spellbook and 67 Magic) and cast Magic Imbue.
  • When using an Abyssal lantern lit with redwood logs or a Runecraft cape, store fire, water, and astral runes.
    • If using water runes on the altar, a third type of rune can be stored to save space.
• Air runes, with steam runes in the rune pouch, or water runes, with smoke runes, to make combination runes.
  • The basic rune must be used on the altar, so it cannot be stored in the rune pouch.
  • To prevent these being deposited when depositing runes, consider using bank fillers or deposit locks.

Rune choice

Crafting mist and mud runes, with water in the inventory and smoke/fire in the pouch, produces the most profit. Crafting smoke and dust runes with air in the inventory and steam in the pouch is slightly less profitable, but allows crafting at the water altar. If you have a Tome of fire, you can use water runes instead of steam. Conversely, if you have a Tome of water, you can use fire runes instead of steam.

Players who craft their own combination runes can alternate as needed (only about 30-60 smoke or steam runes are needed to start).

• Chisel if assembling rune guardians.
  • Optional on mass worlds where guardians are ample.
• Rune pouch to repair pouches using Astral Contact (requires being on the Lunar spellbook and 67 Magic.)
  • Can also be used to store runes or omitted if players have a means to stop pouch decay, such as an Abyssal lantern lit with redwood logs or a Runecraft cape.

Requires a colossal pouch, 82 Magic, Lunar spellbook access, and binding necklaces.

• Chisel if assembling rune guardians.
  • Optional on mass worlds where guardians are ample.
• (Optional) an extra binding necklace to save on trips to the bank.
  • Each equipped binding necklace lasts about 2 games when pursuing even points.
• Rune pouch to repair pouches using Astral Contact (requires access to the Lunar spellbook and 67 Magic) and cast Magic Imbue.
  • If Astral Contact is not required, cosmic runes can be omitted and smoke runes replaced with fire runes, with the free slot used for storage.
  • With Divine rune pouch the free slot can be used for storage.

Methodology

For even points, prioritise crafting at the blood and death altars, followed by fire and earth. When none of these are active, craft at whichever type you have the fewest points for.

Overcharged cells are the maximum cell tier.

Level	Type		Tier		Alignment
1		Air		Weak		Elemental
5		Water		Medium		Elemental
9		Earth		Strong		Elemental
14		Fire		Overcharged		Elemental
2		Mind		Weak		Catalytic
20		Body		Weak		Catalytic
27		Cosmic		Medium		Catalytic
35		Chaos		Medium		Catalytic
44		Nature		Strong		Catalytic
54		Law		Strong		Catalytic
65		Death		Overcharged		Catalytic
77		Blood		Overcharged		Catalytic

This strategy allows upwards of 8 points, split between elemental and catalytic, with a colossal pouch and slightly less for other set-ups.

Overview (in seconds)

Time	Phase
-30		Take a weak cell and several uncharged cells
-25		Create barrier/guardian, go to remains
0		Round begins; begin mining
85		Stop mining, begin crafting essence (~120 frags)
135		Second altar rotation; use altar
160		First portal spawns; mine until full
190		Redeem stones/cell, then use altar
220		Deposit runes, craft essence
270		Redeem stones/cell, then use altar
300		Second portal spawns
350		Redeem stones/cell, then use altar
380		Deposit runes, craft essence
420		Redeem stones/cell, then use altar
440		Third portal spawns[n 1]
Etc.		Repeat as necessary until round ends

Between rounds, take runes from the bank to cast Astral Contact and repair your pouches as needed. Those with a lantern lit with redwood logs, or without any pouches, can remain inside the barrier. A rune pouch with the necessary runes can achieve the same result, at the cost of an inventory slot.

• The initial altar timing varies, but portal timing is consistent every 140 seconds, save for the first portal of the game that spawns after 160 seconds.
• The unbolded lines are based on a 50s crafting window and 70s initial mining window
  • This is achievable with huge/colossal pouches and rune/dragon pickaxes.
• If you find yourself running out of essence, mine for longer and craft less before the 135 altar.
• In the event of an inter-round portal, first fill with essence, then mine fragments until the first altar rotation. After crafting runes at the first altar, the first portal of the round should be immediately accessible.

Reference notes

This strategy allows upwards of 10 points, split between elemental and catalytic, with a colossal pouch at 85+ runecraft, and slightly less for other set-ups.

This strategy creates one singular barrier in the middle (between the fire and blood portals), which causes all the abyssal creatures to target it; interestingly, they do not path around the barrier, except in exceedingly rare circumstances. This makes it much simpler to run cells to upgrade the barrier and keep it recharged, allowing for relatively relaxed games. Creating more barriers near the middle will cause the run to be more difficult, as it's harder to create higher tier barriers and easier for the abyssal creatures to destroy one of the barriers, causing the Great Guardian to be damaged.

During the duration of the minigame, both guardian slots should be filled with strong (green) or overcharged (red) guardians. Creating weak (white) or medium (blue) guardians is not advised, and should only be done if there are no guardians (or only the starting weak guardian after the first two altars).

Lastly, when The Great Guardian's power reaches 60%, an explosion occurs which causes 50 damage to the barrier. Interestingly, by having the right-most barrier active with a 20 HP weak barrier (this does not apply to the left-most barrier), this damage is reduced to 19, which makes the transition into this phase much easier if a cell is not available to recharge the barrier immediately. As such, this barrier is created early into the game, and then not recharged or upgraded at all, as the barrier having more HP causes the explosion to do more damage, as the explosion appears to deal 50 damage or the right-most barrier's current health minus 1, whichever is lower. It is not targetted by abyssal creatures and poses no extra risk.

Overview (in seconds)

Time	Phase
-30		Grab 10 uncharged cells and a weak cell
-25		Create a weak elemental guardian
-15		Place a barrier in between the fire and blood portals
0		Mine ~110 guardian fragments at the large guardian remains
80		Grab a weak cell and begin crafting guardian essence
110		Stop crafting guardian essence and place a weak cell on the right-most barrier.
120		Enter the highest level altar and craft guardian stones
135		If you have an overcharged cell, create a guardian.
		If you have a strong cell, wait until the second altar rotation and create a guardian if the fire, death, or blood guardians do not become active.
		If you have a medium cell, recharge the barrier.
140		Power up The Great Guardian, enter the highest level altar, and create a charged cell (guardian essence is not required)
155		If you do not have two guardians, create another guardian, otherwise, recharge the barrier.
160		Enter the huge guardian remains portal and mine a full pouch and inventory of guardian essence
190		Enter the highest level altar, craft guardian stones, and power up The Great Guardian
210		If you do not have two guardians, create a guardian if you have a strong or overcharged cell, otherwise recharge the barrier
220		Deposit runes, and craft guardian essence until a full pouch and inventory
290		Enter the highest level altar and craft guardian stones, and power up the The Great Guardian
310		If you do not have two guardians, create a guardian if you have a strong or overcharged cell, otherwise recharge the barrier
320		Enter the huge guardian remains portal and mine a full pouch and inventory of guardian essence
Etc.		Repeat steps till victory, and after the great guardian reaches 60% charge prioritise repairing barriers

Alternatively, try: Solo GOTR guide - 100%* win rate and 10+ points per game on average

This strategy assumes the usage of a Colossal pouch and should guarantee 8+ points, catalytic and elemental combined, every round depending how fast you are.

Mass strategy with Colossal pouch

Game State	Cycle	Instruction
Before rift opens	0		Repair pouches with Astral Contact spell[n 1]
			Grab 10 Uncharged cell
			Grab 1 weak cell
			Wait by empty cell tiles or by a guardian if you have a chisel
Rift opens (game starts):	0		Build a barrier or create a guardian with the weak cell
			Run to the Large Guardian Remains on the eastern side of the arena
			Mine 165-170 essence fragments[n 2]
	1		Chisel only 30 fragments
			Runecraft
	2		Power-up and heal barrier[n 3] + Deposit Runes
			Portal (Full inventory + pouch)
			Runecraft
	3		Chisel full inventory + pouch
			Power-up and heal barrier + Deposit Runes
			Runecraft
	4		Power-up and heal barrier + Deposit Runes
			Portal (Full inventory + Pouch)
			Runecraft
	5		Power-up and heal barrier + Deposit Runes
			Chisel any remaining essence fragments until Portal
			Portal (Full inventory + pouch)
			Runecraft
	6		Power-up and heal barrier + Deposit Runes
If you start round inside portal (portal open >95%)	0		Portal (Full inventory + pouch)
			Exit the portal; Run to the mine on the east side. (Make sure to have 1 empty inventory slot for the fragments)
			Mine until you have 125-130 essence fragments Once you have 130 fragments continue until the timer reaches 0 (first portal opens)
			Runecraft
			Continue from cycle 2

Reference notes