K'ril Tsutsaroth/Strategies
This is a guide on killing K'ril Tsutsaroth with melee or ranged. K'ril Tsutsaroth is commonly killed for his drops which include the Zamorakian spear, staff of the dead and the Zamorak hilt. This guide will take you through the basics of attacking and tanking and gives some suggested equipment setups.
K'ril Tsutsaroth is capable of hitting up to 47 with his Melee attacks, 30 with his Magic attacks, and 49 with a Prayer-draining special attack that he occasionally uses against players who use Protect from Melee. K'ril's attacks are also capable of poisoning the player starting at 16 damage. His bodyguards attack from all three sides of the Combat triangle: Balfrug Kreeyath uses accurate Magic attacks, Zakl'n Gritch uses accurate Ranged attacks, and Tstanon Karlak uses inaccurate Melee attacks.
The Zamorakian encampment, including K'ril Tsutsaroth's chamber, appears shadowy and dark; the farther down players venture, the darker it becomes, becoming near pitch dark when outside the door leading to his chamber and inside itself. This is purely a visual change and has no actual gameplay effects. The shadow effect can be removed by consuming a Saradomin's light.
Mechanics
Attack Styles
K'ril attacks with both Magic and Melee:
- K'ril swipes at his target with his scimitars for his melee attack, dealing up to 46 damage. The attack also has a chance of inflicting poison, starting at 16 damage. He has a 2/3 chance of performing a melee attack.
- K'ril raises both of his scimitars in the air before slamming them down as his magic attack, emitting a magical shock wave at his target. This attack deals a minimum of 10 damage and a maximum of 30 damage if it hits. He has a 1/3 chance of performing this attack.
- Both attacks are single-target.
Prayer Smash
K'ril has a 1/9 chance of using this attack instead of a melee hit if his target is using Protect from Melee. He will yell "YARRRRRRR!" when using his prayer smash, which deals 35-49 damage and drains his target's current prayer points by half. There is no way to avoid this attack.
Bodyguards
K'ril is protected by three demons:
- Balfrug Kreeyath, the magic bodyguard; a black demon that launches fire spells at his target, dealing up to 16 damage.
- Tstanon Karlak, the melee bodyguard; a greater demon that uses melee, clawing his target, dealing up to 15 damage.
- Zakl'n Gritch, the ranged bodyguard; a lesser demon that throws snowballs at his target, dealing up to 21 damage.
The bodyguards will focus on a random player in the room when K'ril is killed, regardless of whoever deals the killing blow.
Strategy
General strategy
K'ril attacks with both melee and magic. As such, if using melee, it is recommended for solo players (or in groups, the tank) to wear armour with high magic defence and use Protect from Melee during the kill. While this approach does leave players susceptible to his occasional prayer smash attack, it is still generally more efficient than doing the opposite.
After K'ril has been killed, the minions each focus on a random player. Because of this, players should adjust their prayers accordingly and focus on killing minions which are focusing on the same player. As K'ril and his minions drop ashes, bones to peaches cannot be used, and players should manage their hitpoints adequately. In group encounters, using Guthan's is recommended; in solo encounters, Blood Barrage is more effective. When casting Blood Barrage, make sure to stack Tstanon on Zakl'n so both demons can be hit by the spell. Bringing water runes (or a Kodai wand) is optional for Ice Barrage, but can freeze Tstanon in place so the player doesn't have to flick between ranged and melee prayers as frequently.
Because bones to peaches cannot be used, it is worthwhile to bring runes for Boost Potion Share and Stat Restore Pot Share to extend trips when going in a team. If not using Lunar spells, players can use Ward of Arceuus to reduce damage taken, and Death Charge to boost special attack energy. In a team it is helpful (but not required) for one or more players to be on task.
Tank
For tanks, K'ril Tsutsaroth can be extremely dangerous when using Protect from Melee, as there is a very slim chance to take incredibly high damage should K'ril's prayer slam and both Balfrug and Zakl'n hit on the same or near ticks. For this reason, the tank should bring typical tank setup as with Graardor.
Another alternative is to focus solely on melee and ranged defence, using Protect from Magic to cover the magic weakness, as K'ril will not be able to use his prayer slam, Balfrug becomes completely harmless while Tstanon and Zakl'n will have trouble hitting the player. This in turn means K'ril's melee attacks are the only thing to watch out for as a tank.
This defensive setup is particularly favourable using a full set of justiciar armour with echo boots or guardian boots; while the player will miss out on a slayer helm's bonuses if on a task, justiciar provides the best melee defence, which can be combined with an elysian spirit shield or dragonfire shield for very high defensive bonuses, complementing the set's passive damage reduction bonus, with the former adding onto it. The glove and amulet slots aren't as of much concern for a defensive setup, and should be focused on improving the player's accuracy.
Similar to tanking General Graardor, the player should hit K'ril Tsutsaroth twice for every hit he inflicts on them to avoid as much damage as possible. This means that a player using Melee will be hit every 8 game ticks, while a player using Ranged with an Armadyl crossbow will be hit every 10 game ticks. In a solo scenario, using Melee practically is the only viable option due to the high damage-per-second of the arclight compared to the Armadyl crossbow, however in a team, Ranged can also be used in combination with Armadyl armour for greater magic defence. Generally soloing K'ril Tsutsaroth is only viable on a Slayer task, and the same strategy should be used for soloing Graardor, see here. Finally the tank may use the Lunar spell Vengeance to occasionally reflect high amounts of damage back onto K'ril Tsutsaroth. Further details on each tanking strategy are given in the equipment tabs.
Attacker
At the beginning of the fight, the attackers should all stand in one of the corners near the altar, as this both is the furthest away you can get from K'ril Tsutsaroth's spawn and allows prayer restoration in the last few seconds before the boss respawns. Attackers should only attack K'ril Tsutsaroth once the tank has hit him, this is especially important when the tank is using ranged as it takes a little more time for a ranged attack to hit K'ril Tsutsaroth compared to a melee attack. As K'ril Tsutsaroth's attacks only hit the tank, the attackers should pray against whichever minion does the most damage to their respective combat style, and wear armour to tank damage against the other combat styles. This effectively means that attackers take relatively small amounts of damage during kills, especially if their Defence is high. Players using Melee should use Protect from Magic, players using Ranged should use Protect from Missiles. It is important to note that should K'ril Tsutsaroth focus on you, the armour you are wearing is generally quite bad at tanking him and you will take excessive amounts of damage. Should this happen, players using Melee should use Protect from Magic, players using Ranged should use Protect from Melee. All attackers should also bring an antidote++, both for this eventuality and to share with the tank should they run out of antidotes.
Suggested skills
Tank:
90+ 
90+ 
85+ 
85+ and 
85+ or 
85+ 
70+
Attacker:
- 80+
- 80+
- 75+
- 85+ and 85+ or 85+
- 70+
Killcount
The 40 Zamorak followers kill count is quite easy to achieve although it will take longer than Bandos. There are several tips to get a quick kill count:
- Main room: The place north and east of the rope has Zamorakian followers fighting both Bandosians in the north and Saradominists in the east. There are two imps which can be quickly killed, and other followers such as bloodvelds, goraks, werewolves and icefiends battling spiritual warriors and spiritual mages.
- Zamorak's Fortress: There are four imp spawns which can be quickly killed for kill count. Switching back and forth between two worlds while killing the imps with ranged attacks is the fastest way to gain kill count.
Equipment
Tumeken's shadow is the strongest weapon against K'ril. Mage is not recommended with any weapon weaker than a Tumeken's shadow or Purging staff. Using the 5:0 method to avoid all damage from K'ril is highly recommended due to magic armor's low defenses, while praying Protect from Range to protect against the range minion. Blood Barrage is used to heal off the melee and range minions in between kills -- a Sanguinesti staff can work as well.
| Slot | Item (most effective → least effective) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  Slayer helmet (i) (task only) |  Ancestral hat |  Virtus mask | N/A |
 |  Occult necklace | N/A | N/A | N/A |
 |  Imbued zamorak cape |  Max cape | N/A | N/A |
 |  Ancestral robe top |  Virtus robe top |  Ahrim's robetop |  Bloodbark body |
 |  Ancestral robe bottom |  Virtus robe bottom |  Ahrim's robeskirt |  Bloodbark legs |
 |  Tumeken's shadow |  Purging staff | N/A | N/A |
 |  Elidinis' ward (f) |  Arcane spirit shield |  Elidinis' ward / Ancient wyvern shield / Malediction ward / Mage's book | N/A |
 |  Rada's blessing 4 |  Unholy blessing | N/A | N/A |
 |  Tormented bracelet |  Barrows gloves | N/A | N/A |
 |  Eternal boots |  Infinity boots /  Aranea boots |  Bloodbark boots | N/A |
 |  Magus ring |  Ring of suffering (ri) /  Seers ring (i) | N/A | N/A |
 |  Eldritch nightmare staff | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Inventory
 |  |  |
- Staff to autocast Ancient magicks against the minions like Kodai wand or Blood ancient sceptre
- Saturated heart to boost magic level
- Sanfew serums, or Super restores and Antidote++
- Stamina potions
- Anglerfish or other high healing food
- Rune pouch with runes to cast Blood Barrage for healing
- A Construction cape or house tab for escaping
- Explorer's ring 4 (For high alch and energy recharges)
The player focuses on Magic defence while using Protect from Melee to defend themselves against K'ril's powerful melee attacks. This will leave them vulnerable to his prayer smash attack however, so they should keep their health high to avoid being comboed out by the resulting damage from this attack and from minions.
Inventory
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| File:Sanfew serum(4).png | File:Sanfew serum(4).png | File:Sanfew serum(4).png |
| File:Sanfew serum(4).png | File:Sanfew serum(4).png | File:Sanfew serum(4).png | File:Sanfew serum(4).png |
| File:Sanfew serum(4).png |  | | |
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- 2-3 Super combat potions
- 7-8 Super restores or Sanfew serums
- 1 Antidote++ (If using Super Restores and not using a Serpentine helm)
- 14 Anglerfish
- Rune pouch with runes to cast Blood Barrage for healing
- A Construction cape or house tab for escaping
- A saturated or imbued heart to boost the player's Magic level to increase their Magic defence (Optional)
- Explorer's ring 4 (For high alch if not bringing runes)
This advanced setup allows the player to attack K'ril 5 times without getting attacked by him in the process. This avoids the dangerous prospect of trying to tank his attacks and prayer smashing, although it requires a specific pattern to be followed in order to prevent K'ril from attacking at all. This is ideal for the twisted bow, which allows the player to attack 5 times in each rotation. With Dizana's quiver, an Unholy blessing can be equipped with Dragon arrows for Zamorak Protection. The bow of faerdhinen and Scorching bow can be used for a more advanced 8/9:0 method that allows for more hits on K'ril compared to the twisted bow. The scorching bow's special, Scorching shackles, can be used to bind K'ril for 20 ticks upon hit, even if it misses. With the bow's bonuses towards demons, it is much more efficient than any other ranged weapon.
| Slot | Item (most effective → least effective) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slayer helmet (i) (task only) |  Masori mask (f) (Twisted bow) |  Crystal helm (Crystal set) | N/A | N/A |
|  Necklace of anguish |  Amulet of fury |  Amulet of glory | N/A | N/A |
|  Dizana's quiver |  Ava's assembler | Max cape |  Ava's accumulator |  Ranging cape |
|  Masori body (f) |  Armadyl chestplate |  Karil's leathertop |  Crystal body (Crystal set) |  Blessed body |
|  Masori chaps (f) |  Armadyl chainskirt |  Karil's leatherskirt |  Crystal legs (Crystal set) |  Blessed chaps |
|  Scorching bow |  Twisted bow |  Bow of faerdhinen (Crystal set) |  Venator bow | N/A |
| File:Dragon arrow.pngDragon arrow | Unholy blessing (Crystal set) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
|  Zaryte vambraces /  Zamorak bracers[a 1] | Barrows gloves | N/A | N/A | N/A |
|  Pegasian boots |  Ranger boots |  Blessed boots | N/A | N/A |
|  Lightbearer |  Ring of suffering (ri) |  Venator ring |  Archers ring (i) | N/A |
|  Toxic blowpipe | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
- ^ Provides protection from Zamorak forces while getting killcount and prayer bonus while sacrificing +7 ranged attack and +2 ranged strength bonuses. Alternatively, downgrading Pegasian boots to Zamorak d'hide boots sacrifices +5 ranged attack and no ranged strength.
Inventory
| | |
- 3-4 Bastion potions or Ranged potions
- 9-10 Super restores or Sanfew serums
- 1 Antidote++ (if using Super Restores)
- 2 Stamina potions
- 4 Anglerfish and 2 Saradomin brews. You can bring less once you get comfortable with the setup.
- Rune pouch with runes to cast Blood Barrage for healing
- A Construction cape or house tab for escaping
- A saturated or imbued heart to boost the player's Magic level to increase their Magic defence (Optional)
By focusing on melee defence, players can use Protect from Magic to protect themselves from K'ril's magical attacks and his prayer smash. However, his melee attacks are significantly more accurate compared to his magic attack and have a higher max hit. K'ril's melee attack is slash-based, so high slash defence is recommended. Because of this it is not recommended to use this setup without Justiciar armour. The given inventory setup assumes a team of 3 players
Inventory
| | |
- Special attack weapon (if not Arclight)
- 3-4 Super combat potions
- 7-8 Super restores or Sanfew serums
- 1 Antidote++
- 4-5 Saradomin brews
- Rune pouch with runes to cast Vengeance or Potion share
- Guthan's equipment for healing
- A Construction cape or house tab for escaping
- Some food: Manta rays, Sharks or Saradomin brews
- Explorer's ring 4 (For high alch if not bringing runes)
Ranged armour offers the highest magic defence bonuses, hence tanking K'ril's magic attack synergises very well with using ranged against him. Furthermore, crossbows on rapid attack every 5 ticks, while K'ril attacks every 6 ticks. This means that if the player masters hitting K'ril twice and then walking under him, they will only take hits once every 10 ticks, 20% less compared to the magic defence tank strategy. Players should pray Protect from Melee to defend themselves against K'ril's powerful melee attacks. This will leave them vulnerable to his prayer smash attack, so they should keep their health high to avoid being comboed out by the resulting damage from this attack and from minions.
Inventory
| | |
- A toxic blowpipe for its healing special attack
- 3-4 Bastion potions
- 7-8 Super restores or Sanfew serums
- 1 Antidote++
- 4-5 Saradomin brews
- Rune pouch with runes to cast Vengeance or Potion share
- Guthan's equipment for healing
- A Construction cape or house tab for escaping
- Some food: Manta rays, Sharks or Saradomin brews
- A saturated or imbued heart to boost the player's Magic level to increase their Magic defence
- Explorer's ring 4 (For high alch if not bringing runes)
As a melee attacker, you should maximise your damage per second while keeping your ranged and melee defences high. Fortunately melee gear has high ranged and melee defences, hence you can simply use your max DPS gear. It might be worthwhile to bring an extra antidote++ for the tank should they run out, as they have quite limited inventory space.
Inventory
| | |
- Special attack weapon (if not Arclight)
- 4-5 Super combat potions
- 9-10 Super restores or Prayer potions
- Rune pouch with runes to cast Potion share
- 1 Antidote++(4)
- Guthan's equipment for healing
- A Construction cape or house tab for escaping
- Some food: Manta rays, Sharks or Saradomin brews
- Explorer's ring 4 (For high alch if not bringing runes)
Players should use the scorching bow against K'ril, due to its bonuses against demons making it stronger than the twisted bow and Bow of faerdhinen and crystal armour.
| Slot | Item (most effective → least effective) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slayer helmet (i) (task only) | Masori mask (f) (Twisted bow) |  Armadyl helmet | Crystal helm (Bow of faerdhinen) |  Void ranger helm |
| Necklace of anguish | Amulet of fury | Amulet of glory | N/A | N/A |
| Dizana's quiver | Ava's assembler | Max cape | Ava's accumulator | Ranging cape |
| Masori body (f) | Armadyl chestplate | Crystal body (Bow of faerdhinen) | Karil's leathertop |  Elite void top |
| Masori chaps (f) | Armadyl chainskirt | Crystal legs (Bow of faerdhinen) | Karil's leatherskirt |  Elite void robe |
| Scorching bow | Twisted bow | Bow of faerdhinen (Crystal set) | N/A | N/A |
| File:Dragon arrow.pngDragon arrow | Unholy blessing (Crystal set) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Zaryte vambraces | Barrows gloves | Zamorak bracers / Black spiky vambraces | N/A | N/A |
| Pegasian boots | Ranger boots | Blessed boots | N/A | N/A |
| Venator ring | Archers ring (i) |  Brimstone ring | Ring of suffering (ri) | N/A |
| Toxic blowpipe | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Inventory
| | |
- A dragon warhammer, Bandos godsword, or toxic blowpipe for special attacks
- 4-5 Bastion potions or Divine ranging potions
- 9-10 Super restores or Prayer potions
- Rune pouch with runes to cast Potion share
- 1 Antidote++(4)
- Guthan's equipment for healing
- A Construction cape or house tab for escaping
- Some food: Manta rays, Sharks or Saradomin brews
- Explorer's ring 4 (For high alch if not bringing runes)
This setup is mainly for those wanting to achieve the "The Bane of Demons" elite combat achievement, which requires the player to "Defeat K'ril Tsutsaroth in a private instance using only demonbane spells." K'ril has a high Magic level, making demonbane spells rather inaccurate. Mark of Darkness can be used to increase the accuracy and damage of demonbane spells without failing the challenge, and Ward of Arceuus can be used to reduce the damage taken from K'ril and his bodyguards by 10%. To further increase accuracy, a Slayer helmet (i) may be worn while on a Greater Demon Slayer task. The Purging staff is recommended for this task as it is vastly more accurate than other options, and allows mark of darkness to last the entire fight from 1 cast.
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- ^ Recoil damage will fail the Bane of Demons combat task.
Inventory
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| | | File:Sanfew serum(4).png |
| | | File:Sanfew serum(4).png |
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 | File:Super defence(4).png | | |
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Most normal supplies can be forgone as this strategy is only to stay for the one kill needed for the combat achievement.
- 2-3 Sanfew serums to restore Prayer and cure poison
- Runes to cast Dark Demonbane, Mark of Darkness, and Ward of Arceuus
- Stat boosts such as an Imbued heart and Super defence
- A cheap form of antipoison, such as an araxyte venom sack
- Ghommal's hilt 2 or better to get there
- Any teleport to leave