Wilderness/Survival guide

This article or section requires a cleanup. It does not meet the RuneScape Wiki's quality standards; you can edit this page to improve it.

This article is about how to survive in the Wilderness. For information on monsters and how to deal with them, see PvM.

Located north of the kingdoms of Misthalin and Asgarnia, the Wilderness is a large and dangerous area where Players may attack and be attacked by others, making it a very dangerous place for unprepared players. Dying in Wilderness will result in all but 3 most valuable unprotected items being dropped to the ground, furthermore decreasing to all unprotected items dropped if skulled as a result of attacking another player.

This guide aims to help you to safely navigate your way around the dangers of the Wilderness.

The Wilderness levels

When you're in the Wilderness, you'll notice the Wilderness level displayed in the top right corner of your screen. The level represents the potential combat levels of the other players that can engage you in combat. For example, a Wilderness level of 1 means the player can attack and be attacked by players within 1 combat level of their own; a Wilderness level of 2 means they can fight players within 2 combat levels of their own; and so on.

Most methods of teleportation don't work above Wilderness level 20. There are a few items that can teleport players up to level 30, such as the wilderness sword 4, an amulet of glory, a ring of wealth, a skills necklace, a combat bracelet or a ring of life. Tokens such as the Dragon Zamorakian token are the only methods except death by which Free-to-play players can teleport past level 20.

The Wilderness as seen from the world map

Monsters

Most 'regular' monsters, such as Skeletons and Moss giants, are usually aggressive to all players regardless of their combat levels in the Wilderness. One of the most well-known monsters in the Wilderness are the Revenants, monsters with varying levels found in the Forinthry Dungeon that can drop Ancient Warriors' equipment.

There are also three bosses located in the Wilderness, although there are usually safe ways to reach them that allow you to skip travelling through the Wilderness.

• The King Black Dragon is a level 276 black dragon with three heads instead of one. Its lair is found close to the obelisk near the Ice Plateau. Players can enter the lair either from the Wilderness to get a 10% damage boost against the King Black Dragon, or through a portal in Edgeville in order to remove the need to travel through Wilderness to reach the lair.
• The Corporeal Beast is a level 785 boss monster found in a cave in the Wilderness after completion of Summer's End. It is known for dropping sigils, which are used to create damage reducing Spirit Shields.
• The Chaos Elemental is a level 305 monster known for dropping parts of Ancient warriors' equipment and the Dragon 2h sword. It is recommended to have a full inventory when passing or fighting the Chaos Elemental, as it can unequip your weapons and armour unless you have no inventory space open.

Locations

Cape merchants

An update has made them acting as bankers, therefore it is vital to familiarize with locations of all of them, and they are useful for quickly placing loots gained in Wilderness.

Wilderness obelisks

These obelisks can be used to traverse the wilderness, at a cost however. If the player does not own the Wilderness sword 3 then they will be randomly teleported to another obelisk inside the wilderness. These can be used to either escape or traverse the wilderness, even if teleport blocked. The player however cannot be teleported by these if Teleport Block has been cast on them.

Demonic Ruins

Both greater demons and Kal'gerion demons can be found here. As these demons can also be found in safer and easier to access locations, they're not commonly killed by anyone.

Deserted Keep

This area is found in deep wilderness with a high wilderness level of 51. There is a teleport lever which takes the user to either Edgeville or East Ardougne depending on which lever was used to reach the keep via teleportation.

This place is camped by high level players looking to kill anyone who teleports there by the teleport lever. Access to and from the lever is blocked by two webs that need to be cut to pass through, making it a slow escape if caught by the web when running from a player.

Chaos Temple (hut)

This altar is in a reasonably high wilderness level. It is useful for world hopping and refilling your prayer, as not many players are there.

Wilderness Volcano

This large central area of the wilderness contains many monsters such as Hellhounds, Greater demons and skeletons around the edges of the volcano. There is also a large Cursed wisp colony that occupies the area at the centre of the volcano that is a very popular area for player killers to occupy.

Due to holding cursed energy making any player immediately attack-able at any level, it is a very dangerous area for players wishing to farm here. It is therefore advisable to make frequent trips to the wilderness wall from the volcano after converting an inventory or two of cursed energy, as to not be caught unprepared by a player killer.

Rogues' Castle

If you are entering through the west, it is recommended to stay as far north a possible to avoid unwanted encounters with the Chaos Elemental that roams around the area. It can be a very dangerous and annoying monster to anyone not prepared, as it can unequip your armour and weapons. This could prove to be lethal if already fighting another player.

Should you wish to escape from potential threats in the area, running to the Ardougne teleport lever on the small island surrounded by lava just west of the castle is an easy way out of the Wilderness. However, this does not work under the effect of Teleport block spell.

Another option to escape from the area is to use the nearby Wilderness obelisk.

Eastern edge

It's possible to fish at the shore of eastern Wilderness, but this is not recommended due to better alternatives existing for those wishing to train Fishing.

Frozen Waste Plateau

The plateau is deep Wilderness, so it can be relatively dangerous. An easy way to escape from the area is to run south to the gates and close it behind you. You can then run altar to recharge prayer if necessary and continue south.

Wilderness Agility Course

Training Agility here is risky as players training can be targeted by player killers. This is due to many people training with a Demonic skull, which drops 500,000 gold pieces on death. As such, it is advised to train somewhere else. However, if you still plan to train here, bring as much food as possible and some lightweight armour, such as Dragonhide. Having the 3 protection prayers set to your Actionbar is recommended for easy activation. An easy way to evade from player killers at the course is to climb down the ladder into the pit where failing the obstacles takes you. An alternate method is only bringing pieces of Nimble gear with you and upon death, reclaiming and continue skilling.

Mage Arena

This arena is located in deep wilderness and allows players who have 60 Magic or higher to fight in. The area is mainly used to fight Kolodion granting the player use to both God Staves and God capes. There is also a teleportation lever on the north side, blocked by 2 webs which grants the player access to a Bank where PvP is disabled, therefore making it a safezone and possible location to run from player killers. The arena is also used to unlock the Divine storm spell. This area is normally safe from player killers due to the lower level training that takes place there.

Dark Warriors' Fortress

There is a Spirit Realm portal in the open space in the center of the castle, in front of the dead body. This is where the Tormented Wraith can be found. For using the portal for the first time one will receive Defence experience (note: level 80 Defence is required to receive this).

Forinthry Dungeon

The main attractions of the Forinthry Dungeon are green dragons, hellhounds and Revenants, however both green dragons and hellhounds can be found in safer parts of Gielinor such as in Taverley Dungeon or in lower level wilderness. The aggressiveness of the Revenants combined with potential risk of player killers can make the dungeon very dangerous for players not prepared to fight.

Teleporting out of the dungeon is possible in the lower part of the green dragons' chamber, as it counts as level 19 Wilderness.

Wilderness Runite mine

Mining Runite ore here is not recommended due to the risk. However, there is a merchant banker directly to the west for the ore making it less risky if you deposit the ores before hoping to the next world. The biggest risk is encountering other players who are also mining for Runite Ore.

Bandit Camp

The Bandit Camp is mainly visited for Bandit Duty Free shop. One must be Skulled in order to enter the camp without getting attacked by the bandits, making the area rather risky. One way this can be accomplished is by having the Committed perk on an equipped augmented item, this however requires the Invention skill to be unlocked and increases the risk when running to and from the camp due to always being skulled.

Other than the main entrance, it is also possible to enter Bandit Camp through an opening in the fence to the east of the buildings in the camp.

In the room to the north, Fat Tony sells pizza bases to players. There is also 1 tomato and 1 cheese that respawn on a table, along with a pond just outside the house were players can fish anchovies, making the place suitable for those wishing to make pizzas.

Lava Maze

The Lava Maze contains confusing, maze-like routes some of which are blocked by webs that lead up to Muddy Chest. The lava river is not very wide, so a Player killer may be able to attack you over it using Magic or Ranged. If a Player killer is in sight, run directly to the end of the maze, just outside of the lesser demons. Escaping down the ladder at the center of the Maze can also be a viable option.

If the center is far away, logging out is recommended, however it may not be possible if you are under attack.

Hobgoblin Mine

The Hobgoblin Mine contains a lot of adamantite, mithril, coal, and iron rocks. However, a high-leveled player killer may pop up at any time and attack you. To avoid this, run through the Chaos ridge, and the level they will stop attacking you. Or arrive at the Chaos ridge, and stay away from the cliffs and log out, then come back and continue mining. Otherwise, run west to the Chaos temple, close the door and hide there, or log out. You are strongly advised to log out the second a white dot appears on your minimap and change worlds.

Chaos Temple

The Chaos Altar here acts as a Gilded altar with both burners lit, and can be used to train Prayer by players with no access to other alternatives.

As the Chaos Temple is located in level 12-15 Wilderness, there is only a small range of other players that are able to attack you. Teleports can be used to escape the area as this is below level 20 Wilderness.

Daemonheim

Daemonheim is the home of Dungeoneering. Despite being located in the most easterly part of the Wilderness, it's not an actual part of the Wilderness, and thus you cannot be attacked there. Because of this, escaping into Daemonheim is a good way to leave Wilderness, but the gate guards will not allow you through if you are already under attack.

However, if you simply wish to train Dungeoneering, getting to Daemonheim is much easier using the Ring of kinship or by sailing on the Fremennik ships, located behind Taverley bank and between Lumbridge Swamp and the bank in Al Kharid. This eliminates the risk of having to traverse the wilderness.

Chaos Elemental

If you have received the Chaos Elemental as a Soul Reaper task, or just want to kill it for money, it is important to take precautions, as Player killers are extremely common in this area. First, make sure you can see the room on the west side of Rogue's Castle, because it is a frequent login point for players who kill Chaos Elemental hunters.

If you're attacked by multiple players, a good way to escape is running west towards the Ardougne teleport lever, as it turns into a Single-way combat area. The nearby Wilderness obelisk can also be used to escape, although this is recommended only against a single player killer.

Fighting back is also an option, but this is only recommended if you are decently equipped and risk little.

If only walking past this area, players should be careful due to the boss having the ability to make the player un-equip armour and weapons. It is therefore recommended that when fighting or walking by, that a player should have a full inventory and foods such as Summer pies that leave an item in the inventory once fully eaten.

Lava strykewyrms

If you have a Lava strykewyrm slayer task or just wish to kill them for the chance of a rare drop, be very careful. If a Player killer or someone you believe to be one approaches you, you can either world hop, or run south to Forinthry Dungeon where you can use the Amulet of Glory or other Dragonstone jewellery to teleport out at level 30 Wilderness. A common place where player killers will hop is in the place where the lava goes into the Lava Maze in a sort of peninsula shape. If you are a high level and have some PvP experience, you can attempt to fight back as well, but take caution when doing so.

WildyWyrm

The WildyWrym is a boss variant of Lava Strykwryms and is a very popular area for player killers due to the loot dropped by the boss. The WildyWrym itself is a very dangerous creature and should not be killed by ones self. The boss has a high health and the area should be avoided if one has spawned. When they spawn a world announcement is made so a player should be aware if there are people and potentially player killers there.

Anti-Player killing

Anti-Player killing is the term for the collective strategies used to defend oneself from Player Killers. In general, the strategy will consist of minimizing your risk while maximizing the amount of resources that a PKer will need to expend in order to kill you; or to prevent them from killing you at all. In addition, reducing the benefit that a PKer will get from killing you may also lead them to decide that the area that you are in is not worth the risk.

Combat Styles

Main article: Combat triangle

Each Combat Style has a different set of strengths and weaknesses. A player should pick their style based onj what they think will be most useful in the given combat situation.

Melee

Main article: Combat triangle § Melee

Melee has access to strong bleed and crowd control abilities, though it can be more susceptible to Skull Tricking, as many of its' strongest abilities deal AoE damage. You will want to use abilities that disable protection prayers, such as Havoc or Smash. In addition, once you have disabled protection prayers, applying bleed effects using abilities like Slaughter, Dismember, and Blood Tendrils can force your opponent to use Freedom. Once Freedom is on cooldown, you are free to stun them using abilities like Destroy and Stomp. When using Melee, prioritize target selection, specifically dealing with the more dangerous Magic users before handling Ranged and Melee users.

Magic

Main article: Combat triangle § Mage

Magic has access to many powerful Abilities, in addition to Teleblock and some of the most powerful and long-lasting root effects in the game. These effects can be very powerful either to ensure that one is able to maintain distance from a Melee combatant, or to prevent them from switching targets and going after someone else, in the event that the intent is to protect other players. It is recommended to prioritize Crowd Control over high damage when fighting Melee users and pure stun when fighting Ranged.

Ranged

Main article: Combat triangle § Ranged

Ranged has the benefit of being very effective against mage. In addition, if the goal is to get PKers to leave, Ranged also has good, untradeable equipment. When using ranged, it is important to kill magic users first, as they can still attack you, even at your maximum range, depending on your weapon. When choosing abilities, prioritize Crowd Control and Mobility over direct damage when fighting melee users, and prioritize stuns against Magic.

Recommended equipment

When entering the Wilderness, many players equip all their very best armour, wield their strongest weapons and bring expensive amulets and rings as protection. This may seem to offer high protection, but is generally not recommended if one is not skilled in PvP combat. An experienced player killer would have little difficulty in bringing down a higher level player in superior gear if the latter has little PvP experience.

It is much safer to do the opposite - bringing cheap armour and weapons, getting as much defence for as little cost as possible. This is also a good idea if you have a higher than usual risk of dying (for example, if you are exploring an area of the Wilderness you haven't been in before), as it makes dying a very cheap way of getting out of the Wilderness.

Consider your type of armour carefully, as both the players and the wide variety of monsters in the Wilderness may use different combat styles. Keep in mind, however, that if you die in the Wilderness, all your unprotected items will be dropped to the ground for anybody to pick up.

Suggested free-to-play equipment

• Head: Rune full helm, Batwing hood
• Body: Blue dragonhide body, Rune platebody, Batwing torso
• Legs: Rune platelegs, Blue dragonhide chaps, Rune plateskirt, Batwing legs
• Amulet: Amulet of power
• Weapon: Rune scimitar, Rune battleaxe, Rune longsword, Rune 2h sword, Magic shortbow, Bat wand
• Shield: Rune kiteshield, Rune spikeshield, Rune berserker shield
• Cape: Team cape, Cape
• Hands: Rune gauntlets, Blue dragonhide vambraces
• Ring: Explorer's ring 1-4 (preferably 3 or 4 as these rings have a teleport, to the cabbage field east of the Falador farm)
• Boots: Leather boots, Fighting/Fancy boots, Swanky boots

Suggested free-to-play expendable equipment

• Head: Leather coif, Bronze full helm, Wizard hat (black)
• Body: Monk's robe (top), Black robe top, Bronze platebody, Leather body
• Legs: Monk's robe (bottom), Black robe bottom, Bronze platelegs, Leather chaps
• Amulet: Amulet of power, Amulet of magic
• Weapon: Silverlight, any elemental staff, Crossbow
• Shield: Anti-dragon shield, Bronze kiteshield, Wooden shield
• Cape: Cape
• Hands: Leather gloves
• Ring: Explorer's ring 3 or 4
• Boots: Leather boots, Swanky boots

Inventory

• Strength potion
• Swordfish
• Rune 2h sword
• 1 Law rune, 3 Air runes, and 1 Fire rune (with 25 magic and ability to run back to level 20 Wilderness) for emergency teleport.
• 43 Prayer for Protect from Melee, Protect from Magic and Protect from Missiles
• Runes for binding an enemy if teleporting is not an option for escaping

Suggested members' equipment

• Head: Helm of Neitiznot, Berserker helm, Dragon helm, Fremennik armour
• Body: Royal dragonhide body, Agile top, Fremennik armour
• Legs: Royal dragonhide chaps, Agile legs, Fremennik armour
• Amulet: Salve amulet (e), Salve amulet, Amulet of fury, Amulet of glory, God stole, Phoenix necklace
• Weapon: Godsword, Abyssal whip, Saradomin sword, Dragon weaponry, Staff of light, Polypore staff, Royal crossbow or Chaotic weaponry
• It is not recommended to use a shield, instead, use dual wielding or a 2 handed weapon
• Cape: God cape, Skill cape, God cloaks, Obsidian cape, Ardougne cloak 3, or team cape
• Hands: Forinthry brace (if fighting Revenants in the Forinthry Dungeon), Barrows gloves, Royal dragonhide vambraces, Ganodermic gloves
• Ring: Jennica's ring, Ring of life
• Boots: Ganodermic boots, Dragon boots, Rune boots, Climbing boots, Boots of lightness

Inventory

• Super defence potions
• Extreme defence potions or Overloads
• Energy potions or Super energy potions
• BoB full of food
• Antipoison
• Higher healing food, such as monkfish, rocktail, sharks, or tuna potatoes
• Prayer potions or super restores
• Teleport tablets or runes for escaping if you're below level 20 Wilderness and not teleblocked. Teleport to house tablets work best as they provide a safe death should you die after teleporting.
• Runes for binding spells. These are a great help if someone attacks you, as you can bind them and run away.

Tips and tricks

• Attacking another player will cause you to get Skulled, which means you will lose all items upon death. Protect Item prayer can still be used to protect your most valuable item.
• Make sure to be aware what abilities you use on your toolbar. Using area of effect abilities with players around monsters you are killing could cause you to be skulled and attacked by said player.
• Be aware if anybody in your world is carrying the Hellfire bow as this could prove to be deadly if you meet a player killer with this item. An announcement is made when a player in the wilderness picks up this bow.
• Keep an eye on your minimap for white dots which can mean potential player killers nearby. It is very possible to travel all the way through the Wilderness relatively unscathed, and without encountering any player killers.
• It is advised to keep auto retaliate off to avoid other players tricking you to skull on them, resulting in losing all items when killed.
• One is a lot more likely to get attacked in the more popular places of Wilderness, as other players know where the busiest spots in the Wilderness are. These places include active Warband camps, the Wilderness Volcano Lodestone, Wilderness Agility Course, etc.
• Obstacles such as trees can be used to interrupt combat with a player killer. Running through areas with lots of obstacles like a forest can allow one to escape more easily by getting the attacking player stuck or lost behind several obstacles.
• Jennica's ring can be helpful to escape the Wilderness using the Spirit Realm portals. Activating the ring on the portal can teleport you inside a safe location, from which you may teleport out of regardless of what level of Wilderness you were in. However, you cannot teleport to the Spirit Realm if you are currently teleblocked.
• Explorer's ring 3 is useful for its run restoring capabilities, as well as the teleport.
• Ring of life can be very useful to save your life in case your life points fall below 10%.
• If travelling through the Wilderness with no intention to fight anything, it's a good idea to wear as little as possible and carry teleportation tablets/runes and food.

An obelisk.

• The Wilderness obelisks can be used as a way to escape a player killer by luring them in the middle of the obelisk and activating it. Teleblock prevents the obelisk's teleport from affecting a player, which can be used as an advantage when trying to escape from a player killer.
• Despite its location, Daemonheim does not count as the Wilderness. Fleeing here is an excellent way of leaving Wilderness if you happen to be nearby, but you will not be able to enter through the gate under attack.
• If on a Treasure Trail, Meerkats can be useful. They can dig without getting into battle with a mage, thus lowering your time in the Wilderness to a minimum.
• Use a world with a low population.
• Using a cheap dual-wield melee weapon switch (if not using dual-wield melee already), such as a Darklight and an Enhanced Excalibur, allows you to use the Shattered Worlds ability Bladed Dive to escape attackers more easily.
• The Invention perk "Mobile" cuts the cooldown of Surge, Escape, Barge, and Bladed Dive from 20 seconds to 10 seconds, allowing easier escaping.