Vardorvis/Strategies

After the completion of Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire, players can fight a stronger variant of Vardorvis. An even stronger awakened variant can be fought by climbing the rocks with an awakener's orb in the player's inventory and selecting "Yes" when prompted.

If the player dies while fighting Vardorvis, their grave will appear by the rocks leading to the Stranglewood Ritual Site. Players will have their reclamation fee reduced by 75% until they have five kills, after which the standard death cost will apply. Note: If you have an active gravestone prior to dying at Vardorvis, the full death cost applies without reduction.

• Completion of Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire

• 80+
• 85+
• 80+
• 85+
• 76+ for Resurrection spells

The quickest methods of reaching the Stranglewood Ritual Site, where Vardorvis resides, are:

• Using the ring of shadows to teleport to the Stranglewood Temple entrance. This requires having used the strangled tablet on it, which is a 1/25 drop from Vardorvis.
• Using fairy ring code BLS and run west to the rowboat. From there, run all the way west to the entryway leading to the Ritual Site.
• Using Xeric's talisman to teleport to Xeric's Honour, running east to the Mountain Guide and travelling to the base of Mount Quidamortem, then running west to the rowboat.
• Using Rada's blessing to teleport to the Kourend Woodland. From there, run north-east to Buneir and ride the Lovakengj Minecart Network to Mount Quidamortem. Run north-east to the Mountain Guide and travel to the base of Mount Quidamortem, then run west to the rowboat.

During the quest, the player should have unlocked the shortcut from the temple grounds to the ritual site; this will save a significant amount of time. If the shortcut is not accessible after the quest, the player must unlock it by running the long way to the ritual site and unlocking by using the shortcut at the other end.

Note: All routes will require player to traverse the Stranglewood, and players will be running past several Strangled and a Strangled Boar while reaching the boss, even with the shortcut unlocked. The strangled will deal 1-3 damage, while the boar can deal 2-4 damage if they attack the player. Make sure to click on the shortcut as soon as it renders, in the event of a disconnect. The shortcut is not indicated on the map but can be selected from North West of the Temple players teleport to with the ring of shadows.

Vardorvis has 700 hitpoints. He has an Attack level of 280 and attack bonus of +190, meaning he is very accurate regardless of the armour players use. He starts off with a Strength level of 270 and Defence level of 215. He is weakest to slashing attacks, with +65 slash, +85 crush and +215 stab defence bonus. Vardorvis is highly resistant to ranged and magic, with a Magic level of 215, +580 magic and ranged defence. Vardorvis only attacks with melee, but he is able to chase after players with routefinding. If Vardorvis is somehow unable to reach his target, he may either dart to them to catch up (without creating cracks in the ground) or may instead launch a crack under the player which can be avoided.

The melee attack has a max hit of 32, but will increase to 43 when his health is critically low. Both his normal and special attacks will also heal him for 50% of the damage inflicted, rounded down. Using Protect from Melee will reduce the potency of his auto-attacks by 75%, turning his max hit to 8-10.

Vardorvis, much like Duke Sucellus and The Whisperer, is not aggressive if fighting him after the quest, and the fight only begins when he is attacked. Once attacked, tendrils will burst from the ground and surround the arena. If the player did not bring a teleport, the tendrils can be used to quickly escape the arena, as the rock will have its options disabled. These tendrils will disappear after Vardorvis is killed, and the rock can be used once again to leave. Unlike the other bosses who use their special attacks at predictable intervals, Vardorvis uses them at random. This can be problematic during the enrage phase; learners are likely to be killed due to the large number of overlapping threats to manage.

Vardorvis has a unique mechanic in which his Strength and Defence levels scale linearly with his remaining hitpoints; as his health falls, his Defence level will lower, making him easier to hit, but his Strength level will increase, increasing his max hit. Due to this, defence-draining weapons are useless (zero Defence reduction), and players should opt for damage or sustain-type special weapons.^[1]

Upon reaching 33% of his health (~231 health), Vardorvis will enter an enrage phase after his next non-enraged attack. Similarly to Duke Sucellus, there is no visual indicator when enrage starts. During the enrage phase, Vardorvis' axes will appear more frequently, with a new set of axes appearing after the previous set have been thrown off the arena. The head will also appear at a more frequent rate, which when combined with spikes can deal a lot of damage or even kill the player if they are not prepared for it. If there is a lull in the axes, then the strangle mechanic is coming up, which can give players a brief moment of respite.

Unlike the other Desert Treasure II bosses, Vardorvis does not follow a set attack rotation; his special attacks are used at random.

Vardorvis will perform three auto-attacks before axes begin to appear in the arena.

• Swinging Axes: The Strangler's tendrils will bring up Vardorvis' axes into the arena before releasing them across the arena. Getting hit with this attack will deal up to 35 damage (reduced by ~50% with Protect from Melee) and additionally incurs a bleeding effect over the course of 14 ticks (8.4 seconds), which deals 15+ damage (3 bleed damage every 3 ticks, or every tick if the player runs while bleeding).
  • The amount of axes thrown is dependent on Vardorvis' health; one if he has more than 690 hitpoints, two between 231-690 hitpoints with a possibility of a third axe, and three after falling below 231 hitpoints.
  • The arena is divided into nine 3x3 quadrants, and the axes will follow either a straight or diagonal path, depending on where they emerge.
  • To dodge the axes, players must run two tiles diagonally away from where the axe is headed. Of these spots, twelve spots allow for safe axe dodging; one each in the cardinal four directions, and the two tiles in front of each pillar, towards the centre. The demonstration shown uses three of these twelve spots.
  • If axes are being swung from three quadrants horizontal to the player (either the near or far three quadrants), the player should run four tiles diagonally from the starting central square. Alternatively, the player may perform the Axe Skip manoeuvre, which involves tick-precise movement to "skip" over the Swinging Axes. The required movement depends on where they are swung from:

• If the axes are being swung from the quadrants adjacent to the player, they must click on another marked tile one tick after the axe appears, then click back on the original tile one tick after.
• If the axes are being swung from the quadrants opposite to the player, they must click on another marked tile on the fourth tick after the axe is swung, then click back on the original tile one tick after.

• Darting Spikes: Vardorvis will dart around the player, causing cracks in the ground which will release tendrils after a few seconds, dealing up to 25 damage and healing him for half the damage dealt. Under most circumstances, a crack will always appear under the player.
  • Standing by the edges of the arena (next to the tendrils) will cause Vardorvis to dart around in place, minimising the amount of cracks to one and also preventing one from appearing underneath the player.
  • Each dart will delay Vardorvis' next auto-attack by one tick.
  • The amount of darts Vardorvis makes is dependent on health; one above ~500 hitpoints, two from 231-500 hitpoints and three below ~130 hitpoints. The single crack that appears under the player, if allowed, will only appear for the first dart if the player does not move.
  • The layout of the cracks are always consistent; one dart leaves a half X in a 3x5 AoE, the second dart fills the other half, and the third fills random spots in a 5x5 AoE centered on the player, assuming the player is not standing near the edges of the arena and is not running diagonally from the boss.
• Head Gaze: Once below 570 health, the Strangler's tendrils will begin to use Vardorvis' Head to launch a single green projectile, indicated by the game message Vardorvis' head gazes upon you.... The head will fire a green, cone-shaped projectile at the player, which must be blocked with Protect from Missiles.
  • Failing to block the attack will drain 10 prayer points and prevent use of overhead protection prayers for 3 ticks if Vardorvis is not killed before the projectile lands.
  • The projectile will always hit off-sync with the body's attacks. He will not melee while the projectile is in the air and will take 2 ticks to begin attacking again after the projectile has hit the player. As stated above however, failing to block the attack will likely result in the body attacking and dealing damage. The only instance this would not occur is if Vardorvis' Darting Spikes mechanic causes him to dash three times in a row.
  • The head's appearance is completely random, but will usually appear alongside an axe cycle.
• Strangle: Once below 570 health, Vardorvis will begin using this attack in which he strikes his arm into the ground and entangle the player in tendrils. Several spores will appear at the centre of the game screen, and the player must destroy them all within 5 game ticks, otherwise the tendrils will tighten and deal high damage.
  • The mechanic will prevent the player from attacking, but Vardorvis is still able to attack through the animation.
    • However, it is possible to resume normal attack speed by right clicking on Vardorvis, then selecting the attack option after the tendril overlay appears. This helps get a free hit in without losing ticks.
  • A minimum of four spores can appear in the overlay, with the number increasing the more times Vardorvis uses this attack, up to a maximum of six.

In Awakened mode, Vardorvis has the following changes:

• The boss' health increases from 700 to 1,400.
• The boss is immune to stat drains.
• An additional Swinging Axe appears for each set of axe thrown.
  • While unlikely, two axes will spawn if Vardorvis has taken less than 20 damage.
  • Three axes are guaranteed from 462-1,380 health, with the possibility of a fourth axe appearing.
  • Below 462 health, four axes are guaranteed to appear.
• Swinging Axes damage increased from 35 to 96.
• Swinging Axes will deal damage upon appearing. This will not cause a bleed however.
• Swinging Axes spawn on par with normal mode enrage speed for the entire fight.
• Bleed damage is increased from 3 to 5.
• The spores from his Strangle attack have less time to be destroyed before the tendrils tighten. Damage is increased from ~25 to ~40.
• Damage from Darting Spikes increases from 25 to 40.
• Vardorvis' Head may use a magic attack (resembling a blue crescent wave) to disable protection prayers.
  • Once below 50% health, Vardorvis' Head will attack in pairs of both magic and ranged projectiles, launching 1 tick apart in a random order.
• The black mask and Slayer helmet do not apply their usual on-task damage and accuracy bonuses while on a Vardorvis boss slayer task.^[2]

Due to the increased frequency and number of axes swung, performing axe skipping is just about mandatory to successfully complete the fight. It is possible to complete a kill without axe skipping, but this will require a lot of precise movement and the ability to stay calm during enrage. Players are recommended to stand in the corner quadrants of the arena and should avoid the cardinal directions whenever possible. Under most circumstances, the player should utilise one of the four corner quadrants and continually run back and forth whenever an axe appears at and across from that quadrant.

Unlike normal mode, where the player would normally stand by the edges by the tendrils and are safe from axes when they first appear, players must instead stand by the pillars, due to the axes damaging upon appearing and the anti-edge mechanics. It is extremely important to prioritise movement over attacking, as getting caught by an axe off-prayer will deal up to 96 damage (half with prayer) and is almost guaranteed to instantly kill the player when combined with Vardorvis' own attacks. As with normal mode, praying against melee will significantly reduce his overall damage. The spikes and strangle attack can also deal up to 40 damage if not dealt with properly. Unless the player is able to consistently clear spores with the reduced time, it is not recommended to use the strangle trick to deal extra damage.

While the first half of the fight is basically the same as normal mode enrage, the difficulty increases once Vardorvis reaches under 50% health, as the head will now begin attacking in pairs, with one using magic and the other using ranged one tick apart from each other, necessitating the need to frequently perform two actions in the span of one tick (ex. flicking projectiles and axe skipping simultaneously); one tip is to only pay attention to the first head's projectile, and pray against it immediately, then using the opposing prayer once the attack lands and then returning to protecting from melee, as the second projectile will always be the other combat style.

A second difficulty spike begins once enrage begins, with the player having to handle four axes at a time while the heads' spawn rate is increased, often resulting in the player having to flick six times in the span of one axe cycle. If a prayer is missed, prioritise dodging and eating immediately, praying against the next head attack after the body does so. Trying to react to the body's attack after a missed prayer will likely result in the next two projectiles hitting, significantly increasing the chance of death. If there is a lull in the heads, it means Vardorvis is about to use his Strangle attack.

Vardorvis is weakest to slash attacks, followed by crush. The difference between the two is significant enough that crush is not recommended, however. Despite being an undead vampyre, Vardorvis is not susceptible to the effects of silver weaponry, Crumble Undead, or the Salve amulet.

The soulreaper axe is the best weapon to use against Vardorvis, as his 2x2 size and high defence inhibits the scythe of vitur. Alternatively, the noxious halberd or blade of saeldor work well, and lower tier slash weapons are also viable. However, due to Vardorvis healing on damage dealt to the player and having high defence, several equipment downgrades can compound and make the fight significantly longer.

Oathplate armour is extremely effective against Vardorvis due to its high slash defence and additional slash accuracy. Alternatively, a full set of justiciar armour can be used, which prevents Vardorvis from healing as often at the cost of lower melee strength. Echo boots can be used to provide defence and reflect damage; a ring of suffering serves the same purpose, but the DPS loss from not using an offensive ring is much greater. An amulet of blood fury can also provide longer trips, but the high upkeep cost and lower damage compared to the amulet of rancour can make it less desirable. The ancient godsword can instead be used to provide additional sustain if desired due to its guaranteed heal.

Players should be on the Arceuus spellbook to utilise thralls and Death Charge. Burning claws, dragon claws, and Voidwaker are all also effective options against Vardorvis in particular, with lower tier special attack weapons providing much less utility. If a player is confident in their ability to defeat the enrage phase, it is better to use these special attacks early in the fight due to their high accuracy. Otherwise, they are very useful at quickly ending the chaotic enrage phase towards the end of the kill.

In Awakened mode, an amulet of rancour is strongly recommended, as the player will generally be overhealing constantly to avoid dying to mistakes and as such rarely be capable of receiving the blood fury's healing effect.

When learning the Vardorvis fight, players are recommended to maximize slash defence. This can include opting to use a weaker 1-handed weapon (such as an abyssal tentacle) and a defender over stronger 2-handed weapons which provide little to no defence bonuses.

All weapons that have a Slashing combat style should be set to it, including Burning Claws if they are the special attack weapon used.

Recommended equipment for Melee

Slot	Item (most effective → least effective)
	Slayer helmet (i)[a] / Oathplate helm	Torva full helm	Neitiznot faceguard / Serpentine helm / Justiciar faceguard[b]	N/A
	Amulet of rancour	Amulet of blood fury[c] / Amulet of torture	Amulet of fury	N/A
	Infernal cape	Fire cape	Mythical cape	Mixed hide cape
	Oathplate chest	Torva platebody	Bandos chestplate / Fighter torso / Blood moon chestplate[d] / Justiciar chestguard[b]	Barrows body
	Oathplate legs	Torva platelegs	Bandos tassets / Blood moon tassets[d] / Justiciar legguards[b]	Barrows legs
	Soulreaper axe[e] / Scythe of vitur	Blade of saeldor / Noxious halberd	Abyssal tentacle	Abyssal whip / Zombie axe
	Avernic defender	Dragon defender	N/A	N/A
	Rada's blessing 4	God blessing / Rada's blessing 3 / Rada's blessing 2	Ghommal's lucky penny[f]	N/A
	Ferocious gloves	Barrows gloves	N/A	N/A
	Avernic treads (max)[g] Echo boots[h]	Primordial boots	Dragon boots / Guardian boots	N/A
	Bellator ring / Ultor ring[i]	Berserker ring (i)	Ring of suffering (ri)[j]	Lightbearer
	Dragon claws[k] / Burning claws[k]	Voidwaker[l]	Ancient godsword[m] / Arkan blade[n]	Saradomin godsword / Dragon dagger[o]

16000

16000

16000

16000

• Special attack weapon (e.g. dragon claws, burning claws, Arkan blade)
• 1 divine super combat potion
• 2-4 super restores or prayer potions
• Anglerfish for some main healing when necessary. Pre-eat one before going to the boss.
• Haemostatic dressing if struggling to dodge axes (optional)
• Cooked moonlight antelope or other 3 tick food for eating after the Strangle attack. (Can eat before attacking after the special attack).
• Cooked karambwans — a 2 tick food for eating during the fight when necessary.
• Book of the dead for casting resurrection spells on the Arceuus spellbook.
• (Divine) Rune pouch and runes for Death Charge and resurrection spells to summon a Thrall. It does not matter which style of thrall is used.
• Ring of shadows for quick teleportation to the Stranglewood temple if the Strangled tablet has been obtained.
• House tablets (or Construct. cape/Max cape) or Desert amulet 4

16000

16000

16000

• Special attack weapon (voidwaker, dragon or burning claws)
• 1 Divine super combat potion
• 1 Super combat potion
• 2-3 Super restore
• 4 Saradomin brew
• 5-7 Cooked karambwan or halibut
• 7-9 Anglerfish
• Awakener's orb
• Book of the dead
• Divine rune pouch
• Ring of shadows

Using the Better NPC Highlight plugin, you can highlight Vardorvis special attacks. You can highlight the true tiles and optionally colour-code them using preset colours.

Use NPC ID 12225 when the axes are static, and 12227 when they are moving.

Use NPC ID 12226 to highlight Vardorvis' Head.

Use DT2 Boss Utilities plugin to hide the pillars.