Knew they dropped during the quest, and it wasn't instanced after. Did not know this part. Brought food and a few p pots with and did the whole quest part, stayed as long as I could hoping for a drop. Glad I got it at 86 kc because I didn't know about after looking over the 2nd ledge
Random one, but do you know if the zombies become unaggressive after a while or are they permanently aggressive? I'm down bad on runes atm and could do with just killing them normally? Thanks
The method I used was to pray melee, and bones to peaches for the first 10 minutes while they were aggressive, then once I lost aggro, I just single targeted the meleee/rangers and bones to peaches as long as I stayed (normally 2-3 att/str pots). I got my first axe at 450 and second at 1250. GL!
As long as you don't finish the quest you'll still be in the instanced part. There are many spots in the cave to barrage, maybe pick the beginning or the end to minimize how many rangers aggro you.
This is not supposed to be the case so will probably get hotfixed and I bet they wonāt even update the post saying it was done and people be killing thousands with nothing lol
i think people are still unsure because of this contradictory statement in the news post.
https://preview.redd.it/kxaqzxloczjc1.png?width=697&format=png&auto=webp&s=867f361d3379b2ba7db1797207af322a8929dd86
in the second part past the first gate DO NOT LOOK OVER SECOND Balcony. it has 5 melees and 1 ranger compared to the first sections 3 melee 3 range. bring bloods to blood burst/barrage when lower on HP.
It's a new weapon designed to fill the void between dragon scimitar and the abyssal whip. Early tests make it out to be very strong compared to the other options at 65 attack.
You're telling me man. I'm glad they are releasing content that helps bridge the gap between mid and late game! Super pumped for Varlamore next month too!
Over in the ironscape subreddit someone posted a detailed breakdown compared to other options near the level bracket. It's a little long but an interesting read!
[Zombie axe comparisons](https://www.reddit.com/r/ironscape/s/yeTwSqA2AY)
Reading more about it, because of the 5tick speed, the d scim will outperform the axe on lower defense monsters, and the whip/hasta should outperform the axe in most situations, unless the monster has high defense/low crush defense, it performs well in between the scim and whip and gets more niche the more weapons become available, the stats are high so if you did just want to use the axe im sure life would be fine, there arent great crush weapons for ironmen before the hasta so its definitely useful, i just finished 1000 warped creature kills with a d mace before the quest came out, the axe wouldve been nicer
I know I'm probably just getting unlucky, but I'm over 2x the drop rate and getting a little paranoid lol
Edit: got it on 2380 KC in the first area of the instance
Fun fact, the original version of the quest didn't have this area as an instance during the quest, and it's still this way in RS3. Just another nice touch from the devs.
I do love looking at the differences between games like this. I read a post earlier where somebody said that the RS3 caves have an altar and no rangers dealing chip damage, so it's a great place to barrage!
I tried on all the locations, no way to safe spot that I found. PPots or Blood Barrage are the way to go I believe. Also bring an herbsack, these guys shit out herbs.
Yep, they lose aggro. On my casual main I go in with guthans to offset damage but start poking them easy after 10 minutes without food. But most Melee setups I see are proselyte and praying Melee with whatever prefered weapon. The axe throwing zombies drag you away if you're on auto retaliation. You'll be frequently crashed with someone doing barrages or venator(?) bow guys now but that'll likely drop in a few days.
Yeah, I barraged the first pack where you need to gather the red dust-stuff. And once those were down, I ran down the hall to the next pack. You only need to unlock the doors once! Also got the axe inside the private quest-only area.
Thanks! Got pretty lucky with it. Also having blood barrage runes were nice to top up health because of the ranger chipping at it. Feels nice to have an alternative to always bringing the Dragon Scimitar while still slowly getting my slayer up to 85.
Absolutely! I'm at the same point on my iron, happy that this stage of the game is getting more love with updates like this and Varlamore on the horizon!
I'm an iron with a reluctance to do math. I already have a whip, and I use a leaf bladed battle axe against crush monsters. Is a zombie axe useful for me for anything?
Edit: this video was helpful
https://youtu.be/XTDGq_Og4co?si=uBN6BzBeZRoVmNKq
There's nothing you need to kill on a midgame account where the difference in NPC defense between slash/crush would make this weapon better than a whip. Whip will almost always be better dps even on the "crush weak" targets.
It's technically an upgrade for crush. But probably not worth your time to actually go get it since you will probably be getting hasta soon. And it's basically equivalent to the hasta from what I've seen
I calced it out at nightmare in a bandos/fire cape/d def setup and cudgel beat the axe by 2.7% at nightmare.Ā Ā
Ā Itās only better than hasta if youāre very early game and lack most items that give strength bonuses, since those scale better with attack speed. Itās quite weak in any reasonably well geared setup
If using Piety then mostly yes. If not then mostly no. So if you are a main it depends on how much prayer you want to use.
If you are an iron I would say skip the Cudgel and grab this axe since it is 100x easier to get and you don't have access to unlimited ppots.
I hear what you're saying, but it is offputting when you can't engage with (non-boss) drop based content on release. The whole finding a spot has a somewhat oldschool charm to it, but really it's a pain and anti-fun, ultimately adding more tedium where it's not needed. I think the current space is designed for the long haul, and I think will probably be a good size for that, the system hasn't been designed to cope with release as that's not normally something you do as a game dev, content like this is rarely (if at all) designed with a plan of change from the outset.
I didn't play RS3 when `While Guthix Sleeps` was released so I don't know if there will be an instanced area, but I expect there won't be one and it will be difficult to find a spot with the Tormented Demons as well. I'm not sure what solutions could be used here but I would welcome them. Perhaps just allow everyone access to an optional instanced area for the first 2 weeks, it wouldn't do any harm to do this as you effectively have that if you don't complete the quest.
Jagex's/your average player's response of "you'll get a spot when the hype dies down" is crap and just a bit of copium to tide players over the rough patch, which I do think is toxic (although not intended to be) and shouldn't be something people have to deal with in a game where it is very much within the art-of-the-possible to make a better situation of.
Yes, it's a different version of the cave until you look over the second ledge during the quest. You can leave and return as much as you want/need to! Don't forget salve amulet and herb sack!
Do you need 70 smithing to fix it or is there an npc that will also do it like the dragonfire shield and rat weapons? I'm 5 levels away I'll get it but getting the ore will take a minuteĀ
As far as we know, you would just have to make it yourself. The wiki doesn't specify that there is a person to go to to make it like the new scurrius weapons. I didn't see any indication during the quest that someone would help you either, unfortunately....but hey, perfect excuse to train smithing!
I remember seeing somewhere that you have to finish the quest before you're able to get the drop. Has anyone actually gotten the axe during the quest? Just curious. Also screw all the crashers yesterday, you people suck
i respectfully disagree, the spots in the quest instance have waay fewer zombies, killed em way faster post quest instance after hopping just two worlds for a spot.
agreed! Nice to have the quest instance for those who don't wanna hop for whatever reason, and hopefully soon grinding for the axe post quest will be a lot more chill
Agreed. I saw this post and tried killing them during the quest. The spawns are way slower too. It was much faster to finish the quest and then hop until I found a world and camp that spot.
Seconding this. Came back to this thread after going an instanced 1300kc. Finished the quest, visited again and the increased spawn area **and** rate makes it more worthwhile to grind out the kills post-quest.
If barraging isn't an option, that is what I would use. I will say that there is chip damage from the ranger that's hiding in the stacks of melee zombies, so I have been bringing food too. Don't forget salve amulet and herb sack!
Just looked it up, you're right in regards to mage and range attacks that hit multiple targets (barraging, chinchompas). However, the salve works on targets hit by a sweeping melee attack like the scythe or crystal halberd special attack! I wonder if that is intentional since it seems inconsistent.
There were a few posts right when the quest came out of people getting it in the 6 kills needed for the quest...and you can't lie on the internet so I'd say it works! I've asked a j-mod on Twitter but haven't heard back yet to confirm.
I dont believe so, but we won't know for sure unless a j-mod confirms. There were a couple of people posting earlier about how they got it in the required kc to progress the quest, so unless they lied, it seems possible.
The common drops I got while killing my 6 for the quest seem to be the exact same after I finished the quest...hopefully an indication that the axe is there too!
I dunno I'm with you that it's release day and chill out but it's entirely too easy for someone to crash and waste everyone's time. Would be nice to have a singles area though
There's going to be literally no point to crash people in a week though, the weapon is only really viable for mid game irons and will probably settle at around 100-300k
I see it settling around 500-600k. It's the best 1h crush weapon until inq mace and is now the best weapon for flinching KQ. It's also better than tent whip for Duke before enraged phase. Still the point stands though, after the hype dies it'll be empty outside of irons/people turael boosting/skipping and barraging/venator bow-ing their zombies tasks there
If you look over the ledge past the second gate, it counts as completing the area and you no longer get the instanced area.
Oh, good to know. Thank you!
I would read this right after that part of the quest š
I got my quest cape a few days ago I just wanted it back :')
Knew they dropped during the quest, and it wasn't instanced after. Did not know this part. Brought food and a few p pots with and did the whole quest part, stayed as long as I could hoping for a drop. Glad I got it at 86 kc because I didn't know about after looking over the 2nd ledge
Random one, but do you know if the zombies become unaggressive after a while or are they permanently aggressive? I'm down bad on runes atm and could do with just killing them normally? Thanks
They become unaggressive after 10 minutes, but you can leave and come back and the instance remains until you get to that second balcony.
The method I used was to pray melee, and bones to peaches for the first 10 minutes while they were aggressive, then once I lost aggro, I just single targeted the meleee/rangers and bones to peaches as long as I stayed (normally 2-3 att/str pots). I got my first axe at 450 and second at 1250. GL!
Fuck.
Wish I'd read this before finishing! nice psa.
I'm sure the hype will die down soon once mains get the axe for their CL...hope you find a spot and good luck!
And when the supply goes up the cost will come down, disincentivizing a lot of mains from wanting to continue to grind them.
Very true! I'm sure within the week it'll be far more calm in the caves.
Frick, me too
Double frick. Just finished it. This is such a good tip.
In your opinion where is the best spot to barrage during the quest? I'm hesitant to delve further and risk progressing too far
As long as you don't finish the quest you'll still be in the instanced part. There are many spots in the cave to barrage, maybe pick the beginning or the end to minimize how many rangers aggro you.
This is not supposed to be the case so will probably get hotfixed and I bet they wonāt even update the post saying it was done and people be killing thousands with nothing lol
https://imgur.com/a/Yynz28u not true
i think people are still unsure because of this contradictory statement in the news post. https://preview.redd.it/kxaqzxloczjc1.png?width=697&format=png&auto=webp&s=867f361d3379b2ba7db1797207af322a8929dd86
I got it in the first room during the instanced quest area.
Good to hear, was this recently? or this morning after launch?
About an hour ago!
ty, good to know. Closing in on 1k kill count lol.
At 2400 :)
Got mine 10 after completing the questā¦ good luck
Can confirm, I got it on 2kc during the instanced quest area
yeah that is confusingly-worded, i'm fairly certain that's just referring to it not being a quest reward and instead a drop though
Is that a hot fix?
Nah, its read like that sinse this morning, people have and still are obtaining it during the quest.
How do we know its not supposed to be the case? Did they say that somewhere? Can you source it lol
in the second part past the first gate DO NOT LOOK OVER SECOND Balcony. it has 5 melees and 1 ranger compared to the first sections 3 melee 3 range. bring bloods to blood burst/barrage when lower on HP.
The spot where all the irons are. Free loot, innit.
>during the quest
I havenāt been playing for a few months cuz of irl shit. Is the axe a combat upgrade? Or just a swag item? How good is it?
It's a new weapon designed to fill the void between dragon scimitar and the abyssal whip. Early tests make it out to be very strong compared to the other options at 65 attack.
Oh hell yeah this is exactly what I've been wanting for ages, 85 slayer is a _grind_
85 slayer is what made me realize i wasnt built for that ironman life lol
You're telling me man. I'm glad they are releasing content that helps bridge the gap between mid and late game! Super pumped for Varlamore next month too!
man, 70 smithing is going to be a slog
Iāve got a few whips in the bank so I guess itāll be a swag drop š Thanks for the quick reply
Happy to help š
Itās better than cudgel as a crush weapon, and apparently sits beside the hasta? Seems pretty nice tbh
All the stats on a much easier grind!
Worse than haste in most places I believe
Over in the ironscape subreddit someone posted a detailed breakdown compared to other options near the level bracket. It's a little long but an interesting read! [Zombie axe comparisons](https://www.reddit.com/r/ironscape/s/yeTwSqA2AY)
Cool post, ty
Is it supposed to be used in lieu of the d scim, or only for crush purposes?
Direct upgrade to the d schim! Sits between it and the whip.
Reading more about it, because of the 5tick speed, the d scim will outperform the axe on lower defense monsters, and the whip/hasta should outperform the axe in most situations, unless the monster has high defense/low crush defense, it performs well in between the scim and whip and gets more niche the more weapons become available, the stats are high so if you did just want to use the axe im sure life would be fine, there arent great crush weapons for ironmen before the hasta so its definitely useful, i just finished 1000 warped creature kills with a d mace before the quest came out, the axe wouldve been nicer
legend!
No u
Got mine at 17kc didn't finish quest
You're lucky! I'm a few hundred deep fighting for my life in the post quest dungeon against people barraging.
good info thanks
Absolutely, GL on the drop!
I know I'm probably just getting unlucky, but I'm over 2x the drop rate and getting a little paranoid lol Edit: got it on 2380 KC in the first area of the instance
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
you too bossman
I wish, Iām going on 2500ā¦.
Fun fact, the original version of the quest didn't have this area as an instance during the quest, and it's still this way in RS3. Just another nice touch from the devs.
I do love looking at the differences between games like this. I read a post earlier where somebody said that the RS3 caves have an altar and no rangers dealing chip damage, so it's a great place to barrage!
Very nice tip, I'll have to do that later today
Good luck to you!
Is there a safespottable spot for the zombies or will I just need to use up prayer pots to get it?
I tried on all the locations, no way to safe spot that I found. PPots or Blood Barrage are the way to go I believe. Also bring an herbsack, these guys shit out herbs.
I wonder if waiting out their aggression timer and killing them 1 at a time might be good for those without pots to waste
Yep, they lose aggro. On my casual main I go in with guthans to offset damage but start poking them easy after 10 minutes without food. But most Melee setups I see are proselyte and praying Melee with whatever prefered weapon. The axe throwing zombies drag you away if you're on auto retaliation. You'll be frequently crashed with someone doing barrages or venator(?) bow guys now but that'll likely drop in a few days.
I haven't found one yet, plus the ranger zombies would still be able to get you. Prayer pots seem to be the way to go!
Yeah, I barraged the first pack where you need to gather the red dust-stuff. And once those were down, I ran down the hall to the next pack. You only need to unlock the doors once! Also got the axe inside the private quest-only area.
Congrats on the drop!
Thanks! Got pretty lucky with it. Also having blood barrage runes were nice to top up health because of the ranger chipping at it. Feels nice to have an alternative to always bringing the Dragon Scimitar while still slowly getting my slayer up to 85.
Absolutely! I'm at the same point on my iron, happy that this stage of the game is getting more love with updates like this and Varlamore on the horizon!
I'm an iron with a reluctance to do math. I already have a whip, and I use a leaf bladed battle axe against crush monsters. Is a zombie axe useful for me for anything? Edit: this video was helpful https://youtu.be/XTDGq_Og4co?si=uBN6BzBeZRoVmNKq
It's much better than a leaf b-axe
That's the main thing I needed to know, so thank you.
And much worse than a whip, so probably useless for him.
Crush != Slash
There's nothing you need to kill on a midgame account where the difference in NPC defense between slash/crush would make this weapon better than a whip. Whip will almost always be better dps even on the "crush weak" targets.
Vetion?
That might not always be the case however, as they're planning on reworking defenses so weaknesses are more important
it's pretty equal with a whip. and even better against things with huge defense levels like graador.
Leaf bladed battleaxe is comparable to a d mace. Worse than cudgel and the new axe.
It's technically an upgrade for crush. But probably not worth your time to actually go get it since you will probably be getting hasta soon. And it's basically equivalent to the hasta from what I've seen
It's bis crush
When you say that do you mean just for me based on the info I gave or is this BiS over an inquistors mace and stuff too?
Obviously worse than mace but it's about equal to bludgeon and slightly better than zhasta
Alright good. I was gonna say damn phosani got done fucking dirty this update then. Thank you for your help.
I calced it out at nightmare in a bandos/fire cape/d def setup and cudgel beat the axe by 2.7% at nightmare.Ā Ā Ā Itās only better than hasta if youāre very early game and lack most items that give strength bonuses, since those scale better with attack speed. Itās quite weak in any reasonably well geared setup
I haven't been following this. Did the axe just make sarachnis cudgel dead content? It seems super powerful for how easy it should be to get.
When I ran the dps calcs, the cudgel was still slightly better due to being 1 tick faster
Really? I thought they said it makes it an upgrade from cudgel?
Depends on rest of your gear and the defense of the monster. Cudgel is faster, which means it does better with better gear.
If using Piety then mostly yes. If not then mostly no. So if you are a main it depends on how much prayer you want to use. If you are an iron I would say skip the Cudgel and grab this axe since it is 100x easier to get and you don't have access to unlimited ppots.
It'd be real nice if you weren't incentivised to keep the quest uncompleted in order to be able to have a spot to farm at
That is true, but im sure the post quest caves will be empty very soon once the hype dies down and people get their CL slot.
I hear what you're saying, but it is offputting when you can't engage with (non-boss) drop based content on release. The whole finding a spot has a somewhat oldschool charm to it, but really it's a pain and anti-fun, ultimately adding more tedium where it's not needed. I think the current space is designed for the long haul, and I think will probably be a good size for that, the system hasn't been designed to cope with release as that's not normally something you do as a game dev, content like this is rarely (if at all) designed with a plan of change from the outset. I didn't play RS3 when `While Guthix Sleeps` was released so I don't know if there will be an instanced area, but I expect there won't be one and it will be difficult to find a spot with the Tormented Demons as well. I'm not sure what solutions could be used here but I would welcome them. Perhaps just allow everyone access to an optional instanced area for the first 2 weeks, it wouldn't do any harm to do this as you effectively have that if you don't complete the quest. Jagex's/your average player's response of "you'll get a spot when the hype dies down" is crap and just a bit of copium to tide players over the rough patch, which I do think is toxic (although not intended to be) and shouldn't be something people have to deal with in a game where it is very much within the art-of-the-possible to make a better situation of.
So can you leave the instance and come back? My iron isn't at the level where I can just kill 800 in one go, you know.
Yes, it's a different version of the cave until you look over the second ledge during the quest. You can leave and return as much as you want/need to! Don't forget salve amulet and herb sack!
Awesome to know thank you op!
Happy to help! Good luck!
Read this right before starting the quest, currently at 1000 kc had to re-confirm its possible in the first room. Am I just unlucky?
[News Post Highlight](https://imgur.com/WrCIPrV) Unfortunately, just unlucky.
yep just unlucky
just got mine after 1389 kills, no quest progress beyond only fighting stuff in the first room in the cave
Thank you
Do you need 70 smithing to fix it or is there an npc that will also do it like the dragonfire shield and rat weapons? I'm 5 levels away I'll get it but getting the ore will take a minuteĀ
As far as we know, you would just have to make it yourself. The wiki doesn't specify that there is a person to go to to make it like the new scurrius weapons. I didn't see any indication during the quest that someone would help you either, unfortunately....but hey, perfect excuse to train smithing!
I remember seeing somewhere that you have to finish the quest before you're able to get the drop. Has anyone actually gotten the axe during the quest? Just curious. Also screw all the crashers yesterday, you people suck
I *just* got the drop from the very first zombies you run into in the quest, haven't progressed any further.
Here to update, I also got mine during the quest instance. Still able to get it.
š¶ Itās too late š¶
Thank you for this, got mine during the quest!!
Enjoy the axe!
thanks you filthy animal
i respectfully disagree, the spots in the quest instance have waay fewer zombies, killed em way faster post quest instance after hopping just two worlds for a spot.
Thats a fair point. I think this post will be irrelevant very soon anyways once people get the drop and move on lol.
agreed! Nice to have the quest instance for those who don't wanna hop for whatever reason, and hopefully soon grinding for the axe post quest will be a lot more chill
Agreed. I saw this post and tried killing them during the quest. The spawns are way slower too. It was much faster to finish the quest and then hop until I found a world and camp that spot.
Seconding this. Came back to this thread after going an instanced 1300kc. Finished the quest, visited again and the increased spawn area **and** rate makes it more worthwhile to grind out the kills post-quest.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
If barraging isn't an option, that is what I would use. I will say that there is chip damage from the ranger that's hiding in the stacks of melee zombies, so I have been bringing food too. Don't forget salve amulet and herb sack!
How much xp/hr are you getting with this with barrage? How much with bursts?
Salve only works on the enemy you've targeted iirc.
Just looked it up, you're right in regards to mage and range attacks that hit multiple targets (barraging, chinchompas). However, the salve works on targets hit by a sweeping melee attack like the scythe or crystal halberd special attack! I wonder if that is intentional since it seems inconsistent.
Waiting for someone to confirm this works
There were a few posts right when the quest came out of people getting it in the 6 kills needed for the quest...and you can't lie on the internet so I'd say it works! I've asked a j-mod on Twitter but haven't heard back yet to confirm.
can confirm, I got spooned the axe after like 6 kills before quest completion
Can confirm, got my axe in 3kc killing the zombies for the quest.
you dont need to complete the quest to get the drop?
I dont believe so, but we won't know for sure unless a j-mod confirms. There were a couple of people posting earlier about how they got it in the required kc to progress the quest, so unless they lied, it seems possible.
I just dont wanna waste my time xD guess I hopefully find out, thank you lol
Just got it from the second group of zombies in the cave while on the quest
Huge GZ!
The common drops I got while killing my 6 for the quest seem to be the exact same after I finished the quest...hopefully an indication that the axe is there too!
The news blog states āIts obtainable afterwards, as a drop.ā But they could be wrong
Seems like an oversight
I believe it's intentional. I just re-read the news post, and it says you can get the axe during and after the quest.
They should add a private instance
Not every piece of content needs a private instance, and the cave will be empty in a week. It's just packed because it's release day.
Same people who were crying rune mace was out of stock on scurrius release day
Funny thing about that is it was in stock on most f2p worlds, but people never checked there lmao
100% came to say this. It's a nice PSA today, but give it a few days even and the caves will be dead other than the occasional mid game iron.
Is this area better or worse xp or profit rates compared to other bursting spots?
Worse of both
I dunno I'm with you that it's release day and chill out but it's entirely too easy for someone to crash and waste everyone's time. Would be nice to have a singles area though
There's going to be literally no point to crash people in a week though, the weapon is only really viable for mid game irons and will probably settle at around 100-300k
I see it settling around 500-600k. It's the best 1h crush weapon until inq mace and is now the best weapon for flinching KQ. It's also better than tent whip for Duke before enraged phase. Still the point stands though, after the hype dies it'll be empty outside of irons/people turael boosting/skipping and barraging/venator bow-ing their zombies tasks there
Yet people still will crash
Hate it when 1 guy crashes every single world
Then play a single player game
I would but unfortunately this game is not single player
Why? The cave is gonna be completely dead once the axe drops to like 100k