Instance

An instance is a special area, typically a quest area, that generates a new copy of the location for each player or group that enters the area. Players cannot see other players in instanced areas unless it's a group instanced area—in which case, the group cannot see any other groups.

Instanced areas can take place in entirely new areas that cannot be accessed without the instance or in areas that are normally not instanced. Most non-quest boss instances will require the player to pay a specific sum of money or have an item in their inventory in order to access the instance.

Items dropped in an instance will generally last for up to three hours, which includes those dropped by either a player or monster.

Generally, dying in an instance will result in all unkept items being stored in a gravestone, which will be located just outside of the instance.

Logging out inside of a private instance will kick the player out of the private instance and upon the next log in the player will be outside of the private instance area.

Examples of instanced areas

• Boss areas:
  • Alchemical Hydra
  • Grotesque Guardians
  • Scurrius
  • Skotizo
  • Tempoross
  • Vorkath
  • Zulrah

• Many quest areas:
  • Varrock stone table area at the end of the Demon Slayer quest
  • The lower levels of the Elemental Workshop
  • Dream World
  • The boss section of Kruk's Dungeon and Crash Site Cavern with Kruk and Glough respectively
  • The Underground Pass quest

• Several Minigame locations:
  • Barbarian Assault
  • Chambers of Xeric
  • The Gauntlet
  • Inferno
  • Nightmare Zone
  • Pest Control
  • Soul Wars
  • Temple Trekking
  • Theatre of Blood
  • Tithe Farm
  • TzHaar Fight Cave

Boss instances

Some bosses have an instance option (sometimes called "custom session" or "custom encounter"), which may have a setup or entrance cost (coins or an item). Instances also share the requirements of the boss. The cost varies per instance and are shown below. Some instances offer an Item Retrieval Service, should the player leave such instances by death.

Boss	Access location	Cost	Item Recovery	Notes
Scurrius	Broken bars east of the Varrock Sewers entrance	Free	Grave by Historian Aldo	At the broken bars, select the "Climb-through (private)" option.
Zulrah	At his shrine east of Zul-Andra	Free	Free from Priestess Zul-Gwenwynig until 50kc, 100,000 after
Skotizo	Centre of the Catacombs of Kourend	Dark totem	Grave outside the altar in the Catacombs of Kourend	Use a dark totem on the altar found in the centre of the Catacombs of Kourend.
Kraken	Kraken Cove	25,000	Grave outside the crevice	At the crevice due north, select the "Private Crevice" option.
King Black Dragon	King Black Dragon Lair	50,000	Grave beside the Lava Maze Dungeon's lever	Go down the ladder at the Lava Maze entrance and select the "Private Lever" option.
Corporeal Beast	At the private portal in Corporeal Beast Lair	200,000	Grave by the private portal	A captain rank or higher in a clan chat can pay the instance cost for the clan, and any clan member can enter once the instance is open. Items appear in a grave by the private portal upon death.
Obor	Gates at the western wall of the hill giant area in Edgeville Dungeon	Giant key	Grave by the entrance to Obor's lair	Players need to obtain a giant key from hill giants, which grants access to Obor's lair.
Bryophyta	Gates just north of the moss giant area in the Varrock Sewers	Mossy key	Grave by the entrance to Bryophyta's lair	Players need to obtain a mossy key from moss giants, which grants access to Bryophyta's lair.
Grotesque Guardians	Roof entrance outside of gargoyles in Slayer Tower	Brittle key, only once	50,000 from the nearby magical chest	Players need to obtain a brittle key from gargoyles only while on a Slayer task, which grants permanant access to the Slayer Tower's rooftop.
Vorkath	Ungael	Free	100,000 from Torfinn	Although encountered during Dragon Slayer II, players need to complete said quest to battle a stronger variant of Vorkath.
Alchemical Hydra	Karuulm Slayer Dungeon	Free	100,000 from Orrvor quo Maten	Climb over the small obstacle next to Orrvor quo Maten.
Hespori	Farming Guild	File:Hespori seed.pngHespori seed, per successful kill only	25,000 from Arno	Instance is created upon attempting to harvest Hespori.
The Mimic	Upstairs in Watson's house in Hosidius	Mimic casket	90,000 from the Strange casket
General Graardor	Outside entry door	75,000 to 150,000 depending on Combat Achievements task set completed		Requires appropriate kill count or ecumenical key, along with hard combat achievement task set completed
Kree'arra	Outside entry door	75,000 to 150,000 depending on Combat Achievements task set completed		Requires appropriate kill count or ecumenical key, along with hard combat achievement task set completed
Commander Zilyana	Outside entry door	75,000 to 150,000 depending on Combat Achievements task set completed		Requires appropriate kill count or ecumenical key, along with hard combat achievement task set completed
K'ril Tsutsaroth	Outside entry door	75,000 to 150,000 depending on Combat Achievements task set completed		Requires appropriate kill count or ecumenical key, along with hard combat achievement task set completed
Chambers of Xeric	Mount Quidamortem	Free	N/A	A party must be formed via Friends Chat with an eligible rank
Theatre of Blood	Ver Sinhaza	Free	100,000, by chest in Ver Sinhaza	A party must be formed via message board in centre of Ver Sinhaza
Tombs of Amascut	Jaltevas Pyramid	Free	Chest in the lobby area, normal death fees apply if limited attempt invocations are active	A party must be formed via obelisk in pyramid
Fortis Colosseum	Civitas illa Fortis	Free	Grave in the entry area, normal death fees apply	N/A

Slayer instance-like sections

Some bosses may only be slain if on a Slayer task, namely the Kraken, Thermonuclear smoke devil, Cerberus, Abyssal Sire, Grotesque Guardians, and Alchemical Hydra. The Grotesque Guardians and the Alchemical Hydra have instances of their own, with no normal fight option being available. Cerberus and the Abyssal Sire have mechanics in place to prevent other players from attacking them, even if they are on a task. The Kraken and Thermonuclear smoke devil are exceptions in that other players can attack them if they are part of a Slayer task, although any player who doesn't have them as a Slayer task can't attack them.

Additionally, Dagannoth Kings have a Slayer lair, which is accessible on the Kings' ladder. Players who have been assigned a general Dagannoth task (or Konar's Waterbirth Island) may slay the Kings here as part of their Slayer task, working similarly to the Kraken and Thermonuclear smoke devil in that a player can't attack them if they're not assigned them, but may still enter and collect items.

See also

• Boss
• Quest
• Item Retrieval Service