Killing Helwyr
| Requirements |  |
|---|---|
| Skills | |
80 | |
| Items | |
High-level halberd type weapon Noxious scythe or Dragon Rider lance recommended | |
| Quest | |
| None | |
| Other | |
| 40 Serenist Killcount in the Heart of Gielinor (reduced to 20 with Serenist reputation) | |
| Results | |
| Profit | Experience gained |
| 3,463,498.68 | 120,000  39,600  |
| Inputs (709,120) | Outputs (4,172,618.68) |
The profit rate assumes 15 kills per hour with no reputation drop rate boost. See the high level variant of this guide if you exceed either of these assumptions.
| Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Skills | |
80 | |
| Items | |
High-level halberd type weapon Noxious scythe or Dragon Rider lance required | |
| Quest | |
| None | |
| Other | |
| 40 Serenist Killcount in the Heart of Gielinor (reduced to 20 with Serenist reputation) | |
| Results | |
| Profit | Experience gained |
| 16,484,028.48 | 360,000 118,800 |
| Inputs (1,880,838.67) | Outputs (18,364,867.15) |
The profit rate assumes 45 kills per hour with full reputation drop rate boost. If you feel you can get more, then you may change the Kills per Hour in the box above.
Getting there[edit | edit source]
Helwyr is located in the southeast area of The Heart. To enter his chamber, the player must get 40 Serenist kill count (20 if the player has unlocked the 50% kill count reduction perk, requiring 4,500 Reputation), and have 80 Magic. Players can easily get kill count by visiting nodes that Serenist groups are attacking or simply kill the ones inside the fortress area.
- Boss portal in the Max Guild which will place you beside the lobby entrance.
- Boss portal in War's retreat will also place you beside lobby entrance.
- The Heart teleport which will put you in the centre of the GWD2 area. (Requires completion of the Tales of the God Wars miniquest.
- At least Desert amulet 2 as the Nardah teleport will place you relatively close to the entrance.
Recommendations[edit | edit source]
Levels[edit | edit source]
These levels are only a suggestion and are not required to kill this boss.
- 80+
, 80+ 
, 80+ 
, and 80+ 
- 99
Defence for Defence skillcape perk - 96
Herblore for Overloads, 98 for Supreme overloads, or 106 for Elder overloads - 95
Prayer for Anguish/Torment/Turmoil - 67
Summoning for War tortoise, 87 for Nihil, or 96 for for Pack yak - 99
Invention or higher for advanced perks
Equipment[edit | edit source]
If using melee to fight Helwyr, the use of a halberd-type weapon is strongly recommended as it will easily kill the assisting Cywir alphas that he summons throughout the fight.
Inventory[edit | edit source]
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Invention perks[edit | edit source]
Using good perks on augmented items through Invention and Ancient invention will greatly increase the damage dealt and thus increase overall profit per hour.
- To unlock Invention you need level 80 in Divination, Crafting, and Smithing, and for Ancient invention you need to purchase and read the 'Ancient gizmos' blueprint.
- For two-handed weapons, simply add both the weapon perks given below onto it.
- Click on the links in the Perk column to view the gizmo configuration required to create it.
This has a level requirement of Invention 103, or Invention 86+ with extreme invention potions. All prices factor in the number of tries required to get each perk at level 103.
| Slot | Icons | Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Main-hand
|
|
Precise 6 | 1,800,026 for 1 x Small crate (historic) | Precise increases your minimum damage by 1.5% per rank of your maximum damage. |
 Off-hand
|
|
Equilibrium 4 | 757,729 for 2 x Small crate (timeworn) | Equilibrium increases minimum hit by 3% per rank, and decreases maximum hit by 1% per rank. |
 Body
|
|
Crackling 4 | 1,189,546 for 0.5 x Large crate (vintage) | Crackling periodically zaps your combat target for 50% per rank of your weapon's damage. |
|
Relentless 5 | 1,189,546 for 0.5 x Large crate (vintage) | Relentless gives a chance to prevent adrenaline from being consumed when using abilities. | |
 Legs
|
|
Absorbative 4 | 619,121 for 2 x Ganodermic gloves | Absorbative gives a 20% chance of reducing damage by 5% per rank. |
 
|
Mobile + Venomblood | 380,630 for 100 x Powerburst of vitality (4) | Mobile allows you to Surge twice as often. Venomblood makes you immune from all poison-damage. | |
| Total cost per set | 5,753,648 | |||
This has a level requirement of Invention 99 with extreme invention potions. All prices factor in the number of tries required to get each perk at level 99 with extremes.
| Slot | Icons | Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main-hand
|
|
Precise 6 + Genocidal | 1,800,026 for 1 x Small crate (historic) | Precise increases your minimum damage by 1.5% per rank of your maximum damage. Genocidal deals up to 7% extra damage depending on how far you are through your Slayer task. |
| Off-hand
|
|
Equilibrium 4 | 757,729 for 2 x Small crate (timeworn) | Equilibrium increases minimum hit by 3% per rank, and decreases maximum hit by 1% per rank. |
| Body
|
|
Biting 2 + Mobile | 2,681,386 for 84 x Huge blunt adamant salvage | Biting forces a +2% chance per rank to critically hit opponents. Mobile allows you to Surge twice as often. |
|
|
Crackling 4 + Relentless 3 | 4,835,912 for 3 x Hand cannon and 1 x Large crate (vintage) | Crackling periodically zaps your combat target for 50% per rank of your weapon's damage. Relentless gives a chance to prevent adrenaline from being consumed when using abilities. | |
| Legs
|
 
|
Impatient 4 + Devoted 4 (Devoted is optional) |
1,727,281 for 0.2 x Virtus wand (level 9+) 2,277,342 for 1 x Zamorak godsword (level 9+) |
Impatient gives a 9% chance per rank for basic abilities to generate 3 extra adrenaline. Devoted has a chance each hit of replicating the Devotion ability for 3 seconds. |
|
Enhanced Devoted 4 | 4,376,030 using 700 x Crystal flask | Gives a chance on each hit of replicating the Devotion ability for 3 seconds. | |
| Total cost per set | 18,455,707 | |||
A recommended perk for a shield is:
| Slot | Icons | Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Shield
|
|
Turtling 4 | 1,134,618 for 1 x Small crate (historic) | Turtling increases the duration and cooldown of Barricade by 10% per rank. |
The recommended perks for weapon switches are:
| Slot | Icons | Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sunspear
|
|
Planted Feet | 4,169,975 for 0.5 x Orb of the Cywir elders (level 9+) | The duration of Sunshine and Death's Swiftness is increased by 25%, but they no longer deal periodic damage to your target. |
 Excalibur
|
 
|
Wise 4 + Mobile | 3,031,642 for 12 x Crystal ward | Wise provides +4% additional experience, up to 50,000 XP per day. Mobile halves the cooldowns of Surge, Escape, Barge, and Bladed Dive. |
This has a level requirement of Invention 120 with extreme invention potions. All prices factor in the number of tries required to get each perk at level 120 with extremes.
| Slot | Icons | Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main-hand
|
|
Precise 6 + Genocidal | 1,533,863 for 1 x Small crate (historic) | Precise increases your minimum damage by 1.5% per rank of your maximum damage. Genocidal deals up to 7% extra damage depending on how far you are through your Slayer task. |
| Off-hand
|
|
Aftershock 4 | 61,777,858 for 1.5 x Anima core legs of Zaros (level 9+) | After dealing 50,000 damage, create an explosion dealing up to 40% per rank weapon damage to nearby enemies. |
| Body
|
|
Biting 4 | 55,122,778 for 0.3 x Noxious longbow (level 9+) | Biting forces a +2% chance per rank to critically hit opponents. |
|
|
Relentless 5 + Crackling 4 | 20,830,244 for 9 x Large crate (vintage) | Crackling periodically zaps your combat target for 50% per rank of your weapon's damage. Relentless gives a chance to prevent adrenaline from being consumed when using abilities. | |
| Legs
|
|
Impatient 4 + Mobile | 10,477,909 for 1.5 x Virtus wand (level 9+) 2,277,342 for 1 x Zamorak godsword (level 9+) |
Impatient gives a 9% chance per rank for basic abilities to generate 3 extra adrenaline. Mobile allows you to Surge twice as often. |
|
|
Enhanced Devoted 4 | 4,376,030 using 700 x Crystal flask | Gives a chance on each hit of replicating the Devotion ability for 3 seconds. | |
| Total cost per set | 156,396,025 | |||
A recommended perk for a shield is:
| Slot | Icons | Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield
|
|
Turtling 4 | 1,134,618 for 1 x Small crate (historic) | Turtling increases the duration and cooldown of Barricade by 10% per rank. |
The recommended perks for weapon switches are:
| Slot | Icons | Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunspear
|
|
Planted Feet + Aftershock 1 | 26,411,401 for 0.5 x Anima core legs of Zaros (level 9+) and 1 x Orb of the Cywir elders (level 9+) |
The duration of Sunshine and Death's Swiftness is increased by 25%, but they no longer deal periodic damage to your target. |
| Excalibur
|
|
Wise 4 + Mobile | 3,031,642 for 12 x Crystal ward | Wise provides +4% additional experience, up to 50,000 XP per day. Mobile halves the cooldowns of Surge, Escape, Barge, and Bladed Dive. |
This has a level requirement of Invention 120 with extreme invention potions. All prices factor in the number of tries required to get each perk at level 120 with extremes.
| Slot | Icons | Perk | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-handed
|
|
Precise 6 + Ruthless 1 | 28,410,846 for 1.5 x Armadyl chestplate (level 9+), 1.5 x Armadyl chainskirt (level 9+) | Precise increases your minimum damage by 1.5% per rank of your maximum damage. Ruthless increases damage output by 0.5% per rank for 20 seconds whenever an enemy is killed. |
|
|
Aftershock 4 + Equilibrium 2 | 185,366,922 for 4.5 x Anima core legs of Zaros (level 9+) | Aftershock creates an explosion dealing up to 40% per rank weapon damage to nearby enemies, every 50,000 damage. Equilibrium increases minimum hit by 3% per rank, and decreases maximum hit by 1% per rank. | |
| Total cost per weapon | 213,777,768 | |||
Cape perks[edit source]
If players own a max cape and/or the Anachronia cape stand, the following capes have the best passive perks for this activity:
| Skillcape | Combat styles | Perk category | Perk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
Defence cape | All | Lifesaving ability | The cape's perk provides the effects of a sign of life once an hour. |
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|
Ranged cape | Ranged only | Damage enhancement | Increases the special effect chance of ranged ammunition by 20%. |
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|
Strength cape | Melee only | Damage enhancement | Causes Dismember's damage over time to last an extra 3.6 seconds (displayed as 2 seconds on the tooltip). |
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|
Constitution cape | All | Health regeneration | Doubles base life point regeneration to 0.2% every 6 seconds, and allows regeneration during combat (stacks with Fortitude.) |
Archaeology relics[edit source]
Requires Archaeology 
97. The set below provides 500 more life points, increased damage based on missing life points and increased adrenaline gain.
| Relic power | Effect | Level |
Required relic(s) | Monolith energy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Fury of the Small | All basic abilities generate 1% more adrenaline. | 97 |  Goblin Warpaints |
150 |
 |
Berserker's Fury | Deal up to +5.5% damage the lower your life points are below max. | 56 |  Dharok's Memento |
250 |
 |
Font of Life | Increases maximum health by 500. | 5 |  The Mortal Cup |
50 |
| Total monolith energy used | 450 | ||||
Requires Archaeology 120 and Mysterious City mystery. The set below provides damage reduction, increased damage based on missing hp, and increased adrenaline gain.
| Relic power | Effect | Level |
Required relic(s) | Monolith energy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fury of the Small | All basic abilities generate 1% more adrenaline. | 97 | Goblin Warpaints |
150 |
|
Berserker's Fury | Deal up to +5.5% damage the lower your life points are below max. | 56 | Dharok's Memento |
250 |
 |
Death Ward | 5% damage reduction when your life points are below 50%; 10% damage reduction when they are below 25%. | 81 |  Ring of Solomon |
150 |
| Total monolith energy used | 550 | ||||
Requires Archaeology 98. The set below provides more adrenaline, prevents adrenaline drain between phases, and provides permanent LOTD (eliminates ring switching).
| Relic power | Effect | Level |
Required relic(s) | Monolith energy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.png){kind=small} |
Luck of the Dwarves | You will always gain the effect of tier 4 luck. | 83 |  Hand of Glory (Luck of the Dwarves) |
200 |
|
Fury of the Small | All basic abilities generate 1% more adrenaline. | 97 | Goblin Warpaints |
150 |
 |
Persistent Rage | Your adrenaline will not drain outside of combat. | 98 |  The Rings of Razulei |
150 |
| Total monolith energy used | 500 | ||||
Combat[edit | edit source]
Helwyr only uses melee attacks which hit up to 1200, unlike the other generals which have multiple combat styles at their disposal. He has several abilities he will use during the fight:
- The Aid of Nature (mushroom gas) - Helwyr yells Nature, lend me your aid! sends three balls of energy around the room, causing three of the twenty-five pre-placed small mushrooms to grow in size and emit poison gas in a 5x5 AoE. Getting caught in the gas will deal up to 250 hard typeless damage every tick, and reduce the player to walking speed if their run is on. If the player is in a gas cloud for more than 4 seconds, then they will also be bound for 3 seconds.
- Rake (cleave) - Helwyr stands upright, yelling YOU. WILL. BLEED! and cleaves the area in front of him in a cone radius. Players caught in the clawed area will be hit for up to 3000 damage and be inflicted with one bleed stack. This can be easily avoided by running far enough from him in any direction out of the frontal radius, especially underneath him or to either side. Alternatively, you may equip a shield and use resonance to heal off the damage.
- Thrash (frenzy) - Helwyr leaps over to a nearby player, yelling You cannot escape me. Aaaargh!. He will always place himself north of the targeted player; if this is not possible, then he tries to get a close as possible. This will deal rapid melee damage of up to 1800 every two ticks and add up to five bleed stacks in total. The attack has a range of 2 squares from him. Devotion can block all the melee attacks, but Debilitate is a good alternative when it is on cooldown if not planning to run away from him. Alternatively, the whole attack can be avoided by using Surge, Escape or Bladed Dive as he moves north of the player.
- Cywir Alphas (howl) - Helwyr howls, summoning two Cywir Alphas. They only have 3,000 life points and deal little damage but should still be killed to prevent them from sniping resonance heals from Helwyr's bleed attack. An efficient way to kill them is to use area-of-effect abilities that can damage both Helwyr and the Alphas simultaneously.
- Rend (bleeds) - Helwyr's claw and frenzy attacks can inflict bleeds on the player. The bleed starts off at a base of 50 every 2 ticks, and the more bleeds a player takes (melee damage attacks from claw/frenzy), another 50 is added, up to a cap of 250. This is soft typeless damage and can be reduced as such. Using Freedom will immediately remove the bleed and it is recommended to use this immediately after his frenzy attack ends. Bleeds last for 30 seconds, but will be prolonged if the player is hit by his claw or frenzy attacks while being bled.
Note: Like Vindicta, Helwyr will skip auto-attacks should he be unable to reach his target. However, Helwyr punishes auto-attack skipping harshly - roughly every two spaces away from his target will prompt him to skip an auto-attack, whereas Vindicta is typically far more lenient in this. The auto-attack after each special attack does not have any animation either.
Dual-wielding is recommended when fighting Helwyr, as its abilities deal more damage compared to a two-handed weapon. A halberd-type melee weapon is helpful for clearing out the wolves, but can be skipped as it is not necessarily needed with high DPS. Regardless, if the player can afford one, a masterwork spear of annihilation is helpful for extending bleeds.
The player should be positioned next to Helwyr's spawn point due to his harsh auto-attack skip mechanic, using Anticipation as soon as he transforms into the Hunllef. This prevents the player from getting bound by the mushrooms if they take too long to get out of it. Cleave attacks should be avoided unless intending to Resonance them, and they are fairly easy to avoid; simply sidestep at least 3-4 spaces from the direction he's facing to avoid the attack.
When Helwyr begins his frenzy, immediately use Devotion/Debilitate and Protect/Deflect Melee to block all incoming damage, using Freedom to clear the accumulated bleed stacks. If not planning to use Devotion or Debilitate, just as Helwyr moves north, immediately Bladed Dive or Escape south. This will prevent him from applying any frenzy damage and bleeds. The latter method also provides players an opportunity to use Greater Barge's enhanced effect. It is important to Barge back as soon as possible to prevent Helwyr from moving towards the player, which causes an auto-attack to be skipped and summon the wolves earlier than usual.
The Cywir alphas usually pose no threat to the player and can be hit with AoEs or simply ignored, but players intending to Resonance the next cleave attack should kill them off to prevent them from sniping it. Unlike Telos' anima-golems, the alphas don't die off immediately as soon as he's killed, rather persisting for around 3 seconds before doing so. Some adrenaline may be gained off them in preparation for the next kill.
General strategies[edit | edit source]
Helwyr will always follow the same attack pattern:
- Mushrooms
- Does 3 auto-attacks
- Cleave
- Does 3 auto-attacks
- Whirlwind
- Does 3 auto-attacks
- Wolves
- Does 3 auto-attacks
- Repeats above sequence
Note: Attempting to move the boss will often result in auto-attacks being skipped and abilities being used a little sooner. This is only usually dangerous on the cleave mechanic.
As soon as Helwyr spawns, be prepared to walk out of mushrooms as they may spawn below the player. Surge can be be used, however that will place the player far from Helwyr so it is recommended you simply walk out of the radius.
DO NOT KEEP RUNNING AWAY from Helwyr; like Vindicta (who also uses melee for the majority of the fight), Helwyr will skip auto-attacks and immediately go straight to abilities if he cannot reach his target.
Special attacks[edit | edit source]
Since Helwyr only uses melee attacks, Deflect Melee and either Turmoil or Malevolence should be used at all times. Although its possible for Helwyr to deal more damage than you can heal off of with Soul Split, the damage can generally be negated by using Resonance on his cleave attack or using a scrimshaw of vampryism as a last resort. Make sure to flick Deflect Melee when he attacks to further reduce damage.
Mushrooms[edit | edit source]
The first special mechanic will trigger at the start of every kill, Helwyr will shout "Nature, lend me your aid!"; at this point 3 mushrooms will appear around the arena in random locations. These mushrooms will have an area of effect that will rapidly damage the player if they are standing within their range. Make use of Surge if needed or simply walk outside it's boundaries as soon as possible. If the player is in their vicinity for too long they will be bound. Use of Freedom will allow the player to once again move and leave the area.
Cleave[edit | edit source]
The second special mechanic is the most important. If done correctly, you will receive 1000-4000 lifepoints in healing or, if done incorrectly, in damage. Helwyr will shout "YOU. WILL. BLEED!" - he stands upright and cleaves the area in front of him in a cone radius. When this happens you will want to immediately switch to your shield and use the Resonance ability to regain a substantial amount of health. It is recommended that you keybind:
- Your shield
- Resonance
- Your Primary weapon
This will allow you to quickly switch and cast resonance as well as letting you return to attacking with much more consistency. Once you become comfortable with this, you can also disable your Deflect Melee curse to increase the healing received. This is the primary mechanic that you will need to practice and learn for efficient kills. This skill also translates well to higher tier group/solo bossing and is an essential skill to learn if that is something that interests you.
You will also receive a small bleed when hit of 50 which will be ignored until the next mechanic but be aware of it.
Whirlwind[edit | edit source]
With the third special mechanic, Helwyr will shout "You cannot escape me. Aaaargh!". He will leap over to you and start a clawing frenzy. This will deal rapid melee damage every two ticks and bleed the player for 50 for every hit sustained (or adds 50 if the player is bleeding from previous bleed attacks).
This special mechanic can be dangerous in certain situations. If you have just failed your resonance and are either at or below half of your maximum lifepoints, it is recommended to cast Devotion or Debilitate to reduce the chance of death during this mechanic. Deflect Melee must ALWAYS be active when this mechanic is in progress as the damage sustained will be often enough to entirely kill a player. An advanced tactic is to run north before the attack begins, and then use Escape when Helwyr leaps over to you. This will avoid the attack completely, and one can safely attack him from afar.
At the end of this attack the player should always use Freedom as the bleed will have accumulated up to 250 damage (up to 400 if Berserk is active). If the player has had to use freedom to escape a mushroom cloud then it should still be used as soon as possible and damage should be minimised until the player reaches a healthy lifepoint total.
Wolves[edit | edit source]
The final special attack is trivial and plays only a minor part in the kill, especially if using a halberd-type weapon detailed above in the equipment section. Helwyr will howl, summoning two Cywir Alphas. They only have 3,000 life points and deal little damage but should still be killed to prevent them from interrupting resonance. An efficient way to kill them is wait until they are both beside the player attacking and then using Hurricane or Quake. One ability is usually sufficient, if not the Cleave basic ability can also be of use.
Advanced strategies[edit | edit source]
When using Berserk be sure to switch to your Ring of vigour as the 10% adrenaline can result in an additional threshold ability.
Be sure to use abilities such as Freedom, Anticipate, Surge, Preparation to maintain (stall) your adrenaline from the previous fight. Further to this, try and end the kill with 100% adrenaline so you can use Berserk as the fight starts.
When using the Slaughter ability, walk under Helwyr to move him before the first hit registers, which will make him take three times as much damage from it for the duration of the ability.
Do not be afraid to use Blood Tendrils as you will heal the damage back from Soul Split and Deflect Melee flicking. If the player takes too much damage, then use a Vampyrism scrimshaw until your health is back to an optimal amount.
Enhanced Devoted can be extremely helpful in mitigating damage throughout the fight.
Try to use food as little as possible, it will help you to understand when you do and don't need to heal up for both Helwyr and future bossing - you don't need to be at full lifepoints at all times.
This guide is focused on hour long trips so it is advised to use vis wax to extend your aura.
It is strongly recommended to check the live prices on the Grand Exchange before making large investments in any method.
All prices on this page are cached, meaning it is possible that they appear out of date.
To force a new cache of this page, click this link.
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