Ancient Magicks

The Old School RuneScape Wiki also has an article on: osrsw:Ancient Magicks

"Ancients" redirects here. For the prayers unlocked after The Temple at Senntisten, see Ancient Curses.

A player casting an Ancient Magicks teleport spell.

The Ancient Magicks are a branch of magic aligned to the gods Zaros and Seren, and form one of the three spellbooks in RuneScape. They are first accessible after the Desert Treasure quest, which rewards combat and teleport spells related to Zaros. After completion of The Light Within, the spellbook gains additional spells that belong to Seren. Spells aligned to Zaros are mostly combat oriented, while Seren spells have more support or non-combat uses.

Background

Akthanakos, one of the original users of the Ancient Magicks, casting a teleport spell

The Ancient Magicks are a long forgotten and destructive set of spells. The spells are tied to the realm of Erebus, as Azzanadra speculated that they came from somewhere else as common magic is linked to the Elder Gods. After his ascension into godhood, Azzanadra informed the World Guardian that a barrier of the four ancient elements would mimic shadow anima, a substance toxic to the Elder Gods.

In the Second Age they were commonly used, mostly by the followers of Zaros, who ruled a very large kingdom at that time. The mage Virtus taught his four disciples, Fumus, Umbra, Cruor and Glacies with these spells, each one mastering their proficiency in smoke, shadow, blood and ice magic respectively.

The very destructive and powerful spells of the Ancient Magicks proved to be very useful during the wars in the era. The spellbook also contained various teleport spells which made it easier for the Zarosians to travel across their kingdom, which stretched from the northern Wilderness, to northern Misthalin and north-western Morytania. In game, the spellbook contains teleports which lead to places where the currently destroyed Zarosian fortresses once stood.

After Zaros' banishment, Zamorak, Saradomin, and other gods destroyed the entire kingdom. The destruction of the kingdom and the slow disappearance of runestones caused the Ancient Magicks to become a rarely used form of magic. During this time, only the Mahjarrat used Ancient Magicks, mostly because they didn't use runes.

A player casting the Ancient Magicks spell Ice Barrage

The God Wars held after Zaros' banishment saw the slow fade of the Ancient Magicks from common knowledge. Many of the remaining followers of Zaros, who comprised the majority of spell-casters, were killed or imprisoned. The powerful spells caused much destruction during the enormous battles, although the number of people who knew about the spells was extremely limited. Zuriel, one of the most powerful mages at that time and one of the few who still possessed the knowledge, devised the miasmic spells, which at one time was the most powerful combat spell set.

Long after the end of the God Wars, at the beginning of the Fifth Age, the art of Runecrafting was rediscovered, giving humans a new supply of runes. New spells were invented by modern wizards of the Wizards' Tower, driving the ancient magicks even further into obscurity. Today, Ancient Magicks are used almost exclusively by the Mahjarrat, who have been driven close to extinction in Gielinor. A handful of people, including Zamorakians such as Solus Dellagar and Zenevivia, still possess the knowledge of Ancient Magicks. That said, most mages of Gielinor choose to practice the modern magic created at the Wizards' Tower, since Zarosian magic is looked down upon.

During the year 169 of the Fifth Age, an adventurer tasked by the desert bandits found and freed Azzanadra, who granted them access to the Ancient Magicks as a reward for freeing him. During the Sixth Age, additional spells were given by both Baxtorian and Azzanadra for the adventurer's contributions.

Skill and quest requirements

Unlocking the spellbook

Because unlocking the Ancient Magicks spellbook requires completion of the Desert Treasure quest, the following quests are also required:

Hiscores
Total level: 337
1	1	50
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12	1	50
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Hover for XP and rank. Ranks for RuneScape.

• The Dig Site
• The Tourist Trap
• Temple of Ikov
• Priest in Peril
• Troll Stronghold
• Waterfall Quest

Because of these quests, the skills required to obtain the Ancient Magicks can be seen in the table to the right.

The quest also requires ice gloves to wield a weapon against one of the bosses, which require 50 mining to acquire. The quest can be completed without them using ice arrows, but it is generally regarded as difficult and thus 50 mining could be considered an unlisted requirement for Desert Treasure.

Unlocking Seren spells

For the Seren portion of the spellbook, players must complete The Light Within, which requires the following quests to be completed.

• Fate of the Gods
• Meeting History
• Plague's End
• The Temple at Senntisten
• The World Wakes

The quest also requires multiple level 80s, and Plague's End requires multiple level 75s to start.

Unlocking Senntisten spells

For the Senntisten portion of the spellbook, players must complete City of Senntisten, which requires the following quests to be completed.

• Azzanadra's Quest
• Battle of the Monolith

The quest also requires 75 Slayer, 74 Archaeology and 74 Magic.

Switching spellbooks

The altar at which player can switch between Ancient Magicks and the basic spellbook

Players can switch to Ancient Magicks at the altar inside the Jaldraocht Pyramid (simply type "Pyramid" on the World Map) in the Kharidian Desert, southwest of Pollnivneach and north of Menaphos. There is a rear entrance (tunnel) to the south of the pyramid that allows players who have completed Desert Treasure to enter the throne room directly, where the altar is, without having to navigate the four floors of the pyramid. At the altar, players can pray, thus switching to or from the Ancient Magicks spellbook. This drains all Prayer points to zero (players can still switch spellbooks even with 0 Prayer points).

Those who simply wish to switch from Ancient Magicks to the regular spellbook may find it easier to pray at the Astral Altar on Lunar Isle and choose normal spellbook, provided Lunar Diplomacy has been completed.

Alternatively, players who have completed Plague's End can use the elven grimoire found within the magic shop in the Cadarn Clan district of Prifddinas to switch between standard spells and Ancient Magicks. This does not drain prayer points.

Players who have unlocked and crafted the book switcher from Invention, when in the vicinity of a bank, can consume the device to switch spellbooks.

Players who own the Magic cape can use the cape's perk when in the vicinity of a bank to switch to or from the Ancient Magicks spellbook.

Reaching the pyramid

Various methods of teleportation exist for reaching the Jaldraocht Pyramid:

• Home teleport to Bandit Camp through the Lodestone Network. This lodestone is located just northwest of the pyramid.
• Pollnivneach is a short distance east of the Pyramid and it is accessible via the use of a ring of slaying, the magic carpet network (from either Shantay Pass or Sophanem, after Icthlarin's Little Helper), or House Teleport for players who have their houses located in Pollnivneach. After Love Story, a player can chisel a Teleport to House tablet to teleport to the Pollnivneach house portal.
• The pharaoh's sceptre, obtained from the Pyramid Plunder activity, teleports players directly on top of the pyramid via the Jaldraocht teleport.
• A camulet provides a teleport to Enahkra's temple, which is just west of Jaldraocht Pyramid.
• A bandit camp teleport scroll can be used to teleport to the Bandit Camp, which is northwest of the pyramid.
• Fairy ring code DLQ and run south to Nardah and run west until the bridge and cross it and you would see the Jaldraocht Pyramid.

Combat spells

The maximum hits listed here are the spells' base maximum hits, without any modifiers.

There are four ascending types of spells, these are: Rush, Burst, Blitz and Barrage. For these spell-types are 4 ancient 'elemental' variations for each spell type, in ascending order: Smoke, Shadow, Blood, and Ice.

Spell	Image	Magic Level	Runes Required	Description
Smoke Rush		50	13	A powerful air spell, which also reduces the targets chance to hit by 5% for 10 seconds.
Shadow Rush		52	13	A powerful earth spell, which also reduces the target's damage dealt by 5% for 10 seconds.
Blood Rush		56	13	A powerful fire spell, which also heals you for 5% of the damage dealt.
Ice Rush		58	13	A powerful water spell, which also prevents creatures and players from moving for 2.4 seconds.
Smoke Burst		62	24	A powerful area air spell, which also reduces the targets chance to hit by 5% for 10 seconds.
Shadow Burst		64	24	A powerful area earth spell, which also reduces the targets damage dealt by 5% for 10 seconds.
Blood Burst		68	24	A powerful area fire spell, which also heals you for 5% of the damage dealt.
Ice Burst		70	24	A powerful area water spell, which also prevents creatures and players from moving for 4.8 seconds.
Smoke Blitz		74	15	A very powerful air spell, which also reduces the target's chance to hit by 5% for 10 seconds.
Shadow Blitz		76	15	A very powerful earth spell, which also reduces the target's damage dealt by 5% for 10 seconds.
Blood Blitz		80	15	A very powerful fire spell, which also heals you for 5% of the damage dealt.
Polypore Strike		80	51	A very powerful air spell.
Ice Blitz		82	15	A very powerful water spell, which also prevents creatures and players from moving for 7.2 seconds.
Smoke Barrage		86	25	A very powerful area air spell, which also reduces the target's chance to hit by 5% for 10 seconds.
Shadow Barrage		88	25	A very powerful area earth spell, which also reduces the target's damage dealt by 5% for 10 seconds.
Blood Barrage		92	25	A very powerful area fire spell, which also heals you for 5% of the damage dealt.
Ice Barrage		94	25	A very powerful area water spell, which also prevents creatures and players from moving for 9.6 seconds.

Autocasting

Prior to the autocasting update on 2 September 2009, the Ancient staff was the only way to autocast Ancient Magicks combat spells. It can be obtained once from Eblis, who will sell it for 80,000 coins after the completion of Desert Treasure. Alternately, the staff can be bought on the Grand Exchange for 409,820 coins, or obtained as a drop from mummies. Upon release of the Evolution of Combat, the staff's original purpose was rendered obsolete. After the update it became a level 50 staff and provided a 10 percent increase to spell damage.

The Ancient Magicks combat spells are, as mentioned, the most dangerous combat spells in the game. Not only can they deal a substantial amount of damage, but each of the four classes of elemental spells has a different curse effect:

• The Smoke spells (air) can reduce the target's chance to hit by 5% for 10 seconds.
• The Shadow spells (earth) can lower the target's damage by 5% for 10 seconds.
• The Blood spells (fire) can heal the caster 5% of the damage dealt to the target, and 3% of damage to secondary targets.
• The Ice spells (water) can freeze the target in place and prevent it from moving for 10 seconds (2.4-9.6 seconds in PvP).

The effects have an estimated 10% chance to occur for abilities. The effects will always occur when using Legacy mode or Auto-attacks. The Dark Form ancient curse doubles this chance. Between the releases of the Evolution of Combat and Seren spells, all but the ice spells applied their effects on every auto-attack, but would never with abilities. Ice spells always froze the target with auto-attacks and abilities.

In addition, the Burst and Barrage spells are area-of-effect (AoE) if cast as an auto-attack, and will hit both the target and any other player or NPC standing in a 3x3 zone around the target. Damage to secondary targets is reduced, as is the healing from blood spells. Rush and Blitz spells will only hit a single target.

Some monsters are large, meaning that they take up more than one square of space. When a Burst or Barrage spell is cast on one of these monsters, it will hit the monster plus any surrounding monsters within any square of space standing within a 3x3 zone of the targeted monster's south-westernmost corner square, which is treated as its "origin" square.

While less popular for general training, Ancient Magicks is often used in various player-versus-player activities, such as the TzHaar Fight Pit, Stealing Creation, Castle Wars, Fist of Guthix and Soul Wars. Ice spells, especially Ice Burst and Ice Barrage, are especially popular, due to their freezing effects.

Ancient Magicks are not allowed in Barbarian Assault.

Ancient Magicks deal twice as much damage against the Muspah.

Teleportation spells

Spell	Icon	Magic Level	Runes Required	Experience	Description
Home Teleport		0	None	0	Teleport to the city hub of your choice.
Max guild Teleport		0	None	0	Teleport to the Max guild.
War's Retreat Teleport		0	None	0	Teleport to War's Retreat.
Kandarin monastery Teleport		1	None	0	Teleport to the Kandarin monastery.
Skeletal horror Teleport		1	None	0	Teleport to the Skeletal horror.
Manor farm Teleport		51	None	0	Teleport to the Manor farm.
Paddewwa Teleport		54	211	64	Teleport yourself to the ancient city of Paddewwa (Edgeville).
Senntisten Teleport		60	12	70	Teleport yourself to the ancient city of Senntisten (Varrock Digsite).
Kharyrll Teleport		66	12	76	Teleport yourself to the ancient city of Kharyrll (Canifis).
Lassar Teleport		72	24	82	Teleport yourself to the ancient city of Lassar (Ice Mountain).
Dareeyak Teleport		78	232	88	Teleport yourself to the ancient city of Dareeyak (Western Wilderness).
Carrallanger Teleport		84	22	94	Teleport yourself to the ancient city of Carrallanger (Graveyard of Shadows).
Annakarl Teleport		90	22	100	Teleport yourself to the ancient city of Annakarl (Demonic Ruins).
Ghorrock Teleport		96	28	106	Teleport yourself to the ancient city of Ghorrock (Ice Plateau).

Seren spells

All Seren spells are unlocked after completing The Light Within.

Combat spells

Spell	Icon	Level	Runes	Experience	Description
Opal Aurora		75	13	N/A	A simple air spell. On hit will find all prisms within a 3 square radius of the player and increase their duration by a small amount.
Prism of Restoration		76	626	84	A prism which will periodically heal your familiar, recharge your familiars' special attack by 1 per cycle and restore summoning points by up to 10 per cycle, based on the distance from the prism. While within range you will also have a chance at saving a scroll when used. Players must be within 7 tiles to gain the effect.
Intercept		77	223	80	Place a ward on an ally for 10 seconds, you will take all damage they would receive with a 5% reduction in damage.
Sapphire Aurora		77	13	N/A	A simple water spell. On hit has a chance to find all prisms within a 3 square radius of the player and give a small buff to their ability when they next activate.
Emerald Aurora		79	13	N/A	A simple earth spell. On hit will give the caster a small Damage Reduction buff. By 1% per stack, up to 5 stacks.
Prism of Salvation		80	626	89	A prism which when clicked will allow any player to teleport to it. Must be within 8 tiles to use.
Ruby Aurora		81	13	N/A	A simple fire spell. On hit has a chance to increase damage output, by 1% per stack up to 3 stacks, to all other players within a 5 tile radius from the caster.
Prism of Loyalty		82	626	97	A prism which allows players to store their lifepoints in. Any player that comes within 5 tiles of the prism, with less than 25% health will transfer the prism's health to the player, healing them up to the maximum lifepoints this prism is holding.
Shield Dome		84	333	87	Create an energy shield for 15 seconds that will protect all players within it, reducing damage by up to 50%. Each different shield following this will have diminishing returns that reset after 2 minutes.

Skilling spells

Spell	Icon	Level	Runes	Experience	Description
Prism of Dowsing		86	3333	103	A prism which will draw wisps to it. While harvesting from the wisps within 4 tiles of the prism the player will have a 10% better chance to obtain enriched memories.
Crystallise		88	6666	95	Target trees, mining locations and fishing spots will make them crystallised, meaning you get increased xp for gathering from it, but no resources. Target empty box traps to automatically catch and release creatures, yielding no resources. This effect will last for 30 seconds.
Rapid Growth		88	3333	95	Target herb, tree or fruit tree farming patch grows by one step. Can only be cast on the same patch once per day.
Crystal Mask		90	4567	112	Create a mask that will bolster your ability to avoid being spotted by your pickpocket targets and has a chance to protect you from being harmed by them. This effect will last for 5 minutes. Crystal mask will protect the wearer once from Croesus's fungus attacks.
Spellbook Swap		96	123	130	Allows you to cast a single spell from the Standard or Lunar spellbooks.
Spellbook Swap		96	123	130	Allows you to cast a single spell from the Standard spellbook.
Spellbook Swap		96	123	130	Allows you to cast a single spell from the Lunar spellbook.

Senntisten spells

All Senntisten spells are unlocked after completing City of Senntisten.

Spell	Icon	Level	Runes	Experience	Description
Smoke Cloud		74	55510	192	Disorient the target with a veil of smoke, leaving them vulnerable. - Increases the target's damage received from critical strikes by 15%. - The damage cap against the target when landing a critical strike is increased by 12%. - 120s duration. - Effect is 40% effective for non-magic damage.
Animate Dead		84	6151530	194	Replace life with shadows to create a shield from the fallen. For each piece of magic tank equipment worn: - Gain 10% of its armour value as flat damage reduction. - Gain 33% of your defence level as flat damage reduction. - 12m duration. - Damage cannot be reduced by more than 75% due to this effect. - Reduced effectiveness in PvP.
Exsanguinate		96	12	N/A	An extremely powerful fire spell. On ability cast, gain a stack of Blood Tithe (max 12) for 20s. - Each stack of Blood Tithe increases basic ability damage by 1% - At 12 stacks your Wrack ability transforms into Wrack and Ruin.
Incite Fear		98	1210	N/A	An extremely powerful water spell. On ability cast, gain a stack of Glacial Embrace (max 5) for 20s. - Each stack of Glacial Embrace reduces the adrenaline cost of Tsunami by 12% - At 5 stacks, your ability casts trigger Frost Surge (12s cooldown). - Frost Surge deals (10-50%) ability damage to the primary target and up to 8 adjacent enemies in a 5x5 area around your target.

Gallery

• 

  The teleport animation when using Ancient Magic spells.

• 

  Ice Barrage, an Ancient Magic spell.

• 

  An unreleased Seren Spell.

• 

  An unreleased Seren Spell.

• 

  An unreleased Seren Spell.

• 

  The removed Miasmic spells.

• 

  Miasmic Rush, a removed Ancient Magic spell.

Update history

This information has been compiled as part of the update history project. Some updates may not be included—see here for how to help out!

• ninja 28 June 2021 (Update):
  • Balancing pass to reduce Exsanguinate Rune Costs.
    • 5 Fire Rune cost reduced to 2.
    • 3 Blood Runes cost reduced to 1.
    • Death Rune cost removed (was 1).
  • Incite Fear and Exsanguinate stacks are no longer lost when transitioning between some boss phases.
  • The Animated Dead spell buff is no longer lost when teleporting to some places.
  • Fixed an issue causing Wrack and Ruin to deal slightly more damage to stunned targets than the intended amount listed in the tooltip.
  • Removed some unintended combat messaging from the spell Incite Fear.

• update 21 June 2021 (Update):
  • Four new Senntisten spells Smoke Cloud, Animate Dead, Exsanguinate, Incite Fear are added to game.

• patch 11 January 2021 (Update):
  • Seren spells now display the correct icons when used.

• patch 27 January 2020 (Update):
  • Ice spells in the Ancient Spellbook now have descriptions that match their effects.

• update 11 March 2019 (Update):
  • Removed Bounty Teleport from the game.

• patch 21 January 2019 (Update):
  • An issue causing AoE spells, such as the burst and barrage ancient magicks, to not award adrenaline correctly has been fixed.

• patch 18 July 2016 (Update):
  • Opal Aurora's cost has been lowered from 2 soul runes down to 1.
  • The Opal Aurora damage cap has been increased from level 85 damage to level 88.
  • The Sapphire Aurora damage cap has been increased from level 87 damage to level 88.
  • The Sapphire Aurora effect now causes prisms of loyalty to drain 10% less life points.
  • The Sapphire Aurora effect now causes prisms of salvation to have a 6.6 second cooldown (3.6 second with Light form), down from 9.6 seconds.
  • Emerald Aurora's damage cap has been increased from level 89 to level 90.
  • Emerald Aurora's damage reduction buff effect has been increased to 24 seconds, up from 6 seconds.
  • Ruby Aurora's damage output buff effect has been increased to 24 seconds, up from 6 seconds.
  • The Ruby Aurora's buff activation rate has been improved to 1/20 (1/10 with Light form) when using abilities.
  • The accuracy of the Prism of Salvation's teleport has been improved.
  • The Prism of Salvation's teleport range has increased from 6 to 8 tiles.

• patch 7 September 2015 (Update):
  • The Shadow and Smoke spell effect no longer states that they last for 1 minute.

• patch 1 September 2015 (Update):
  • Corrected various typos in The Light Within, the Seren spells and Seren prayers.
  • Channeling Shield Dome is now interrupted as expected by food, potion and ability use.
  • Shield Dome now provides diminishing returns when re-cast repeatedly in PvP areas.
  • Modified the damage for aurora spells to bring emerald and ruby damage in line with their level requirement.
  • Activating the Intercept spell will now state the correct duration in the chat window.
  • Ancient ice spells now consistently bind when casting auto-attacks again.

• patch 23 June 2014 (Update):
  • References to the ancient combat abilities being ultimates have been amended.

• patch 22 July 2013 (Update):
  • Players can no longer begin the Troll Warzone tutorial whilst using the Ancient or Lunar spellbooks.

• patch 7 February 2012 (Update):
  • Ancient spellbook teleport spells are now more descriptive about where the destinations are.

• patch 12 October 2011 (Update):
  • The ‘Blood’ ancient spells now heal for 1/4 of the damage dealt by the player, rather than a quarter of their max possible hit.

• patch 26 July 2011 (Update):
  • Casting a multi-target Ancient Magicks spell no longer attempts to cast it on the caster.

• patch 9 November 2009 (Update):
  • Improved the timing of Ancient Magicks teleports.

• update 2 September 2009 (Update):
  • In the Ancient Magicks spellbook, "Cast" remains the default option (left-click), with "Autocast" as the alternate option (right-click).

Trivia

• Before the release of the Seren spells, the only combination runes useful for the Ancient Magicks were Smoke runes, as the Paddewwa and Dareeyak Teleports were the only spells to use more than one elemental rune.
• On the day of release, these spells had a glitch where every spell, along with the original effects, would freeze opponents.
• The animation of the Daemonheim teleport that can be done with the ring of kinship is similar to (except for the colour) the Ancient Magicks teleport - and looks similar to the Pharaoh's sceptre's teleport animation. This may suggest a common (teleportation) principle or origin.
• Each Ancient Magicks spell has a unique sound.
• The Dungeoneering spellbook includes spells from both the regular and Lunar spellbooks, but none from the Ancient Magicks spellbook.
• If your membership expires whilst the Ancient Magicks spellbook activated then it will return to the regular spellbook, even when you re-activate your membership.
• During the early stages of the Evolution of Combat, the spells were called Gale, Rock, Bloodfire and Ice respectively, and Miasmic spells were removed. Before the Evolution of Combat, all the spells had different effects too: Smoke poisoned the target (poison damage has been removed), Shadow lowered the target's Attack, Blood healed you for 25% (now only 5%) of damage inflicted by you on your opponent, and Ice's freezing time varied depending on how strong the spell was (now all Ice spells freeze for 10 seconds when cast on NPCs and varies depending on spell with players), and Miasmic halved melee and ranged attack speed. In early 2014, the name changes were reverted, but the effects were not.