Skip to content

Magic DPM Advice

Introduction

In RuneScape PvM, the meta at the time of writing is about pushing out as much damage in as little time as possible. It is important to understand that good and efficient PvM, especially at the higher tiers, is about squeezing out as much damage as possible in between mechanics.

This channel will go over general damage output lessons, ability prioritisation, crafting a rotation, a learning path, common mistakes, and tips and tricks.

For further information and reading, you can refer to the following resources.

Quick Navigation Links
Links to related channels and resources for more information about PvM and DPS.
DPM Advice Channels
Misc. Info
Invention

Note: If you have any difficulties in using the tools or understanding what the information means, you can always ask in #pvm-help.

Revolution Bars and General Background Knowledge

For general PvM terminology, DPS tips, and revolution bars, check out their respective sections in #General DPM FAQ.

Ability Information

Ability Information Resources
The following links contain information about abilities and auto attacks.
Ability Information
For accurate tooltips and information about specific spells (auto attacks) and abilities and how they work refer to #Magic Abilities.
Ability Damage Maths
To calculate your ability hit damage in detail, click here. This is affected by factors such as your gear and other boosts.
Ability Hit Timings
To see detailed breakdowns on ability hit timings, click here. This refers to when hitsplats appear on your target.
Auto-attack Adren Gain
To see adrenaline gained with different auto attacks, click here.

Note: If you have any difficulties in using the tools or understanding what the information means, you can always ask in #pvm-help.

Ability Prioritisation

Ability Ranking

Generally, high damaging abilities should be prioritised and used more often than low damaging abilities.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This can be affected by what equipment the player owns, such as Kerapac's wrist wraps kerapacswristwraps (makes Combust comb stronger) or a Fractured Staff of Armadyl fsoa (Smoke Tendrils smoketendrils is very strong under it's special attack) and so when upgrading gear, it's worth spending a little time to understand how it impacts your abilities.

⬥ The following image shows the relative strengths of abilities in different scenarios, ranked by damage per tick.

Note: This is not an ability rotation, only a damage comparison chart. It does not consider ability cooldowns or any specific PvM encounter, simply damage-per-tick in a vacuum. For information on how to incorporate these into a proper rotation, see the Building A Magic Rotation section below or in the pinned links.

Dual Wield vs Staff Camp

Note: This compares strictly camping dual-wield vs. camping 2H, but it is recommended to juggle, as it gives access to all the following benefits and more.

Dual Wield Camp Benefits praeswand impercore

⬥ Access to Greater Concentrated Blast gconc.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This is one of the strongest basics and can be used every 3 abilities.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● It also synergises much better with the City of Senntisten spells exsanguinate incitefear compared to Sonic Wave sonicwave.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● It is so strong that camping dual-wields, even several weapon tiers lower, can be significantly stronger than camping 2H.

⬥ Easier to use switches.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Can use merciless or off-hand switches like Flanking flank4 easier, as no extra main-hand switch is required.

Staff Camp Benefits soa

⬥ Access to Magma Tempest magmatempest / magmatempesttarget which can be beneficial for AoE content.

⬥ Can be more revolution-friendly, such as for Slayer slayer tasks or AFK grinding methods.

⬥ Access to 2H Autos AirSurge, which are much stronger than dual-wield autos.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● When 2H camping this lets you make use of Defensive Autos voke AirSurge to replace weaker abilities like Tuska's Wrath Tuskas.

Building a Magic Rotation

Here we'll cover some of the points to keep in mind to build a strong Magic DPS rotation. For more information on how these rotations are affected by certain items or switches, such as see the Important Items section.

Note 1: In the current meta, camping dual-wield > camping 2H, although ideally we use both.

Note 2: If Greater Concentrated Blast gconc is not unlocked, use the regular version conc below.

Managing Cooldowns

High damaging abilities often come with long cooldowns - when building a rotation, ability prioritisations and cooldowns should be on your mind.

⬥ If you use all of the high damaging abilities at once, their cooldowns will force you to use multiple weak abilities in succession while waiting to use them again.

⬥ To avoid this problem, you want to use filler abilities to space out your high damage abilities, to pace yourself and manage cooldowns.

The primary magic filler abilities are (Greater) Sonic Wave gsonicwave / sonicwave, (Greater) Concentrated Blast gconc / conc, and Wrack wrack.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● All of these abilities have decent damage and short cooldowns.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Note that (Greater) Sonic Wave gsonicwave / sonicwave and (Greater) Concentrated Blast gconc / conc share cooldowns.

Basic Pattern

Greater Concentrated Blast gconc should form the foundation of your rotation.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Aside from being the ideal filler ability, it also provides a crit chance buff on the following dual-wield ability.

The basic pattern uses gconc often, in 'blocks' of 3 abilities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● [ gconc → Ability → Ability ] → Repeat

If camping 2H, replace it with (Greater) Sonic Wave gsonicwave / sonicwave instead:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● [ sonicwave → Ability → Ability ] → Repeat

⬥ When building adrenaline, fill the empty slots with strong basics like the following, prioritising those that can crit:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Wrack and Ruin wrackandruin

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Dragon Breath dbreath

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Impact (Flanking) impactflank

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Wrack wrack

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Corruption Blast corruptblast

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Combust (Walked) comb

Note: comb and corruptblast cannot crit but are still strong abilities.

⬥ Once your rotation gets going, you can start using abilities like thresholds or better to fill in the blanks.

Building The Rotation

Note: It is assumed that Sunshine lasts for 38.4 seconds. You can do this with using Planted Feet sunshinepf or by unlocking Greater Sunshine gsunshine - both alternatives work. Examples of full Sunshine rotations can be found at the bottom of this guide in the General Sun Rotations section.

⬥ Sunshine sunshinepf lasts 38.4 seconds, but only has a 60 second cooldown. We want to prioritise building to 100% adrenaline and using Sunshine often, as it boosts damage by 50%.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The exception to this is when the fight would end too quickly, or mechanics occur, and you can't benefit from the full duration.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Ideally, enter boss fights with 100% adrenaline so you can activate it immediately at the start.

You can think of your overall rotation as two repeating sections:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● [ 38.4s inside sunshinepf ][ 21.6s outside ] → Repeat

⬥ Both in and out of Sunshine sunshinepf, you will want to prioritise your strong thresholds, special attacks, and modified ultimates:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Wild Magic wm

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Asphyxiate asphyx

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Detonate detoboots deto

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Deep Impact (Flanking) deepimpactflank

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Guthix Staff gstaff eofspec

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Igneous Omnipower omnipowerigneous

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● etc.

⬥ The goal is to fit as many of these strong abilities within the duration of sunshinepf as you can to maximise the damage potential.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● You spend the majority of time inside sunshinepf - take full advantage of this.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Continue using the basic 3-ability pattern to space your cooldowns.

While waiting for sunshinepf cooldown, you can use a few more thresholds/etc.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● You do not want to needlessly camp 100% adrenaline.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● You can start building to 100% adrenaline when sunshinepf is nearly ready to use again.

Note: To see examples of how to maximise your damage inside sunshinepf see the section at the bottom called General Sun Rotations.

Tips

⬥ Any basic ability with damage lower than Wrack wrack, Sonic Wave sonicwave, or Concentrated Blast conc is considered a weak ability and should be avoided when possible. Sometimes you may be forced to use them. Don't sweat it too much.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Sacrifice Sacrifice

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Chain chain

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Tuska's Wrath Tuskas

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Impact (no Flank) impact

⬥ The critical chance buff gained through gconc / conc is wasted if the follow-up ability cannot crit corruptblast / comb but sometimes it is unavoidable.

⬥ If using Exsanguinate exsanguinate, Wrack and Ruin wrackandruin is a good basic if the alternative is weaker than Dragon Breath dbreath.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This means Blood Tithe stacks are saved to buff strong basics like gconc or dbreath but weak abilities are still avoided using wrackandruin.

What Spells to Use ‎ ‎Magic

Note: These are just general guidelines, not rules set in stone.

Magic spells can be set to autocast, which essentially 'selects' them to use with your abilities. Think of this like picking your ammo for a ranged weapon. When using abilities, stronger spells can increase your ability damage, similar to ranged ammo. If you don't press an ability, then the selected spell gets used to cast auto attacks.

Important Notes:

⬥ All spells have a damage limit they can scale up to. For example, Air Surge AirSurge is unlocked at level 81, but scales up to level 99, with the damage being capped by your weapon tier.

⬥ This is important, because your autocast must scale at least up to your weapon tier.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● e.g. You should not autocast Air Strike airstrike with a Noxious Staff noxstaff because it stops scaling at level 16, but the staff has a requirement of level 90.

The element of a spell generally does not affect its damage, but it can affect hitchance if a monster is weak to that element.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● e.g. AirSurge and FireSurge would do the same damage to a target weak to Air spells.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● However, if you are not at 100% hitchance on a target, then using the correct weakness will increase it.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Some exceptions exist, such as Ice Strykewyrms icestrykewyrm / Glacors glacor taking boosted damage from Fire spells FireSurge spells.

Some spells like exsanguinate or incitefear will only give their passive benefits if selected as autocast.

What Autocast to Use

⬥ To autocast a spell, right-click it in your spellbook and select 'autocast'.

⬥ Generally you should be autocasting Exsanguinate exsanguinate.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● If you plan to use Tsunami tsunami then switch to Incite Fear incitefear until 5 stacks, then switch back.

⬥ If the City of Senntisten quest is not completed, use Blood Blitz/Barrage bloodblitz/ bloodbarrage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Aim to finish this quest ASAP.

⬥ If on the standard/normal spellbook, use Air Surge AirSurge (cheapest Surge spell).

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Use the highest rank of air spell available if AirSurge is not yet unlocked.

What Auto to Use

⬥ It is possible to autocast one spell but use another spell to cast magic autos, such as with 4-tick Auto Attacks (4TAA) or defensive autos. Use !defauto ‎and !4taa ‎to learn more, or see the 4TAA section linked in the pins.

⬥ Weaker variants of spells like Blood Burst bloodburst vs. Blood Barrage bloodbarrage can be used to auto without losing damage if manual spellcasting is enabled. Use !manualspellcasting ‎to learn more.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This is usually done to save runes.

⬥ To select a spell for manual/defensive autos, drag it from your spellbook onto your ability bar.

⬥ Typically use Blood spells for healing:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Barrage/Burst bloodbarrage / bloodburst if AoE or faster hit timings matter.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Blitz/Rush bloodblitz / bloodrush otherwise.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Can use Exsanguinate exsanguinate instead if healing does not matter.

⬥ Use Ice spells for freeze effects:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Use Barrage/Burst icebarrage / iceburst if AoE or faster hit timings matter.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Blitz/Rush iceblitz / icerush otherwise.

Note that iceburst and icerush have shorter freeze durations than their higher level equivalents.

⬥ If on the Standard spellbook, use Air Strike/Surge airstrike / AirSurge.

Debuff Spells to Use

⬥ You should always have Vulnerability Vuln and Smoke Cloud smokecloud applied wherever bosses are not immune to the effects.

⬥ It is preferred to use Vulnerability bombs vulnbomb instead of the spell as they are lossless.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Cost of bombs is minor compared to the earnings from mid-tier or higher bosses.

⬥ Bosses immune to these effects:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Vorago vorago except on phase 5/10/11

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Araxxor / Araxxi Araxxi except on phase 4

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Rise of the Six karil

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Sinister Fragments at Ambassador Ambassador

⬥ Use Entangle ent if you need a long bind while on the Standard spellbook.

Cancelling Channels

Why Channelled Abilities are Important

⬥ It is important to properly cancel abilities in order to not lose any ticks, or damage potential.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Animations can be unreliable, and longer than the actual hit duration of the ability.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● It can be higher damage-per-tick, or net you more adrenaline, to cancel long channels early.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Greater Concentrated Blast gconc suffers a 1t delay when revolution is enabled.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ See the following example.

When to Cancel Channels

Reminder: 1.8s = 3t = 1 GCD

Concentrated Blast conc

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Cancel after its 2nd hit as global cooldown ends (3t/1.8s).

Greater Concentrated Blast gconc

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● If revo/revo++ is on, Greater Concentrated Blast gconc should be "cancelled" as global cooldown ends (3t/1.8s).

Asphyxiate asphyx

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Usually cancelled after the 2nd hit as global cooldown ends (3t/1.8s), or the 4th hit (7t/4.2s).

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● 2 hit can net higher damage-per-tick, or higher adren gain, when compared to 4 hit.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● gconcasphyxgconc is still a strong option, especially if not using 4TAA.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● To cancel on the 3rd hit you would cancel after 5t/3s.

Smoke Tendrils Smoke_Tendrils

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Same as Asphyxiate asphyx timing, but typically only cancelled after 4 hits.

Armadyl Battlestaff armadylbattlestaff eofspec

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Generally used for its full duration of 5t/3s.

Channelled Abilities
How to properly cancel channelled abilities.

Important Magic Abilities

Certain Magic abilities are worth noting in particular, due to their behaviour and how they can be used. Here, we cover some of these abilities.

Greater Concentrated Blast gconc

Note: For a brief summary, use !dwmagic ‎and !gconc.

How It Works

⬥ Greater Concentrated Blast gconc is an upgraded version of regular Concentrated Blast conc, unlocked by reading a Greater Concentrated Blast ability codex gconccodex costing coins 13,200,809.

⬥ It remains a channelled ability, but it has increased damage, and all 3 hits can be used within 3t/1.8s, or 1 global cooldown.

Why It's Good

It makes dual-wield camping much stronger than 2H camping.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This holds true even if the dual-wield weapons are lower tier than the 2H alternative; e.g. cywirwand cywirorb versus noxstaff.

⬥ It hits multiple times rapidly, and has a short cooldown.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This gives it good synergy with spells like Exsanguinate exsanguinate and Incite Fear incitefear.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Strong synergy with tsunami and/or fsoa spec as the second and third hits of the ability, as well as the following ability, all benefit from increasingly bigger crit chance buffs.

Detonate

How It Works

⬥ Pressing deto once charges the ability, and pressing deto again releases it, dealing AoE damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Takes 4t/2.4s to reach 100% with Blast Diffusion Boots detoboots, 6t/3.6s otherwise.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● AoE radius depends on charge % - see reference image: https://img.pvme.io/images/KP6RCFz4ym.png.

deto is centred differently with and without a target:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● If you cast deto without a target, it is centred on your player.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● If you cast deto with a target, it is centred on that target's coordinate at the time charging started.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ If a target is 2x2 or larger, this is their southwest tile.

⬥ If a selected target dies while detonate is still being cast:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● If you target cycle to another target, the detonate will remain centred on the original (dead) target's coordinate.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● If you do not target cycle, the centre will be shifted to your player coordinate.

Note: the southwest tile being used as deto is quite important. If two large monsters stand side-by-side, and you would like to hit both of them, you should charge deto on the northeast-most monster, such that its southwest tile is within detonate range of the other monster.

What Makes Detonate Unique

Note: AirSurge is just for demonstration - replace with another spell as desired.

⬥ Detonate deto is technically not a channel, however, it is often considered one due to its unique charge-and-release mechanism.

⬥ Unlike channels, Detonate deto acts like a defensive in the context of defensive autos.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Auto cooldown is not incurred until its release, meaning you can release it with an auto.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Example: charge deto → auto + (release) deto.

Detonate deto is typically released with both an auto and the next ability at the same time, to maximise damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Example: sonicwavedeto (3t/1.8s) → AirSurge deto wm

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ The hit timing and input order here are crucial: AirSurge deto wm must be executed in exactly that order, on the same tick.

⬥ You can do the following while charging deto, without interrupting the ability:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Switch weapons fsoa praeswand impercore

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Throw bombs vulnbomb stickybomb

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Spellbook swap SBSLunars SBSStandards

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Shield Dome sd

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ This will result in a lost auto, but can be prevented by drinking a potion or eating food to cancel shielddome before releasing detonate.

⬥ You can stall the release of deto.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Generally speaking you cannot stall channels (except melee channels fury assault destroy gflurry where you can stall 1 hit of the channel).

⬥ Detonate is not affected by Channeler's Ring channellerring.

How to Use Detonate deto
Examples showcasing Detonate and its interactions.

Known Issues with Detonate

⬥ Sometimes, Detonate deto will cost 30% adrenaline instead of 15%.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This can be explained as follows: the game thinks you both have and don't have a target at the same time, so it uses adrenaline from both your target and the adrenaline inherently used from using it without a target.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● To prevent this, try casting any damaging ability before Detonate deto.

⬥ Casting Detonate deto on the same tick your target dies will cancel the charge completely.

Greater Chain gchain

Note: For a brief summary, use !gchain.

How It Works

gchain is an upgraded version of chain, unlocked by reading a Greater Chain ability codex gchaincodex costing coins 421,235,971.

⬥ It hits the target, as well 2 additional targets within a 6 tile radius. These targets then taken 50% damage from the next ability used on the main target.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● With Caroming 4 caroming4, the number of additional targets hit with gchaincaroming can be increased up to 6.

⬥ If the main target dies, the AoE effect will be lost.

Why It's Good

⬥ It provides excellent opportunity for AoE damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● e.g. using a powerful ability on the main target like Igneous Omnipower omnipowerigneous after gchain, or with high hitting special attacks such as gstaff spec.

⬥ Using damage-over-time abilities like Combust comb and Corruption Blast corruptblast will apply their full damage to all targets, rather than only 50%.

⬥ It can be used to briefly stun multiple targets with stun abilities such as impact and deep , however Asphyxiate asphyx will not stun secondary targets.

⬥ Effects of Debilitate debil will apply to all targets.

Greater Chain Demo
To see an example, click here.

Notes

⬥ AoE effect does not apply to the following abilities:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Magma Tempest magmatempest

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Sacrifice Sacrifice

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Reprisal Reprisal

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Shatter shatter

⬥ The following abilities will damage you for each additional target:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Smoke Tendrils smoketendrils

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Onslaught onsl

Greater Sunshine gsunshine

How It Works

⬥ Greater Sunshine gsunshine is an upgraded version of regular Sunshine sunshine, unlocked by reading a Greater Sunshine ability codex gsunshinecodex costing coins 233,267,120.

⬥ It increases the duration from 52t/31.2s to 65t/39s, and retains the damage-over-time effect that regular Sunshine sunshine has.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This effect may be replicated using the Planted Feet perk pf however this loses the damage-over-time component.

Why It's Good

⬥ It removes the need for a pf switch, potentially freeing up one inventory slot or making certain perks like Caroming 4 Planted Feet caroming4 pf no longer needing to be combo'd.

⬥ The damage-over-time component can deal a moderate amount of damage, but it can also trigger other on-hit effects such as weapon poison weppoison cinderbanes making it stronger than it appears.

Important Items

This section will examine equipment that is useful for Magic Magic, and should be incorporated where relevant as you get comfortable with handling them. Not all items are applicable in all scenarios, so use your best judgement.

Guthix/Zamorak Staff Switch gstaff / zamorakstaff

How It Works

⬥ These are amongst the first upgrades that Magic users should get. This switch is used for its special attack.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The special attacks are a good way to dump adrenaline for damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The gstaff spec increases affinity by +2 for 1 minute → this is a great way to effectively increase hitchance.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The zamorakstaff spec lowers the target's magic level by 5% (of the previous value) and lowers its accuracy by 5% for 1 minute.

When an Essence of Finality eofpurple is acquired, gstaff / zamorakstaff should be placed into it immediately.

⬥ If you 4TAA, you will generally wish to auto AirSurge into this special attack as it is a Staff weapon with Average speed.

Planted Feet Switch pf

How It Works

Note: If you own Greater Sunshine gsunshine this switch is not required.

⬥ This is a very strong, very low effort switch that increases the duration of Sunshine sunshine at the cost of its damage-over-time component. It is one of the strongest switches you can have, assuming you do not have Greater Sunshine.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Sunshine's sunshine duration is extended from 52t/31.2s total (t0→51) to 64t/38.4s total (t0→t63).

⬥ Generally, always Sunshine sunshine with your Planted Feet pf switch, except when the encounter would end in 30 seconds or less.

⬥ Common choices for the switch include defenders ancientlantern and the Enhanced Excalibur excal

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Placing pf on ancientlantern can potentially save one inventory space, as it doubles up both as a shield merciless and a pf switch.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Placing pf on excal could also save an inventory space wherever you would normally bring it.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Many bosses do not require a shield at all, in which case excal can save another extra inventory space.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ It also means you can use the same switch for both Ranged range and Magic Magic.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Placing it on excal makes it slightly more involved to use, as you have to click on the floor to not be dragged into melee distance.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● You can also put it on a cheap wand like abyssalwand crystalwand attunedcrystalwand, though this is not generally recommended for the above reasons.

Flanking Switch flank4

How It Works

Note: To learn more about how flanking angles work, check out NPC Facing and Flanking in #mechanics.

⬥ This is a simple, easy-to-get, relatively inexpensive and strong switch, especially for group-based content.

⬥ When standing 'behind' bosses, flank4 turns Impact impact and Deep Impact deep into far stronger abilities at the cost of their stun. At it's maximum rank of Flanking 4:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The damage range of impactflank is increased from 20-100% up to 52-260%, making it one of the strongest basics.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The damage range of deepimpactflank is increased from 40-200% up to 64-320%, making it much stronger.

Note: (Flanking) Deep Impact deep is still not heavily prioritised due to the availability of stronger thresholds, however it can help salvage a rotation in a pinch.

Caroming Switch caroming4

How It Works

Note: see the section on Greater Chain above for more information.

⬥ This switch can be highly effective in multiway-combat scenarios.

⬥ Per rank, this perk makes (Greater) Chain gchain / chain hit one additional target.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● With Caroming 4 caroming4 this means a total of 6 targets hit.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This benefits gchain the most.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● A combination of caroming4 gchain and strong abilities like Igneous Omnipower omnipowerigneous can give excellent AoE clear.

caroming4 only needs to be equipped when casting chain / gchain and can be removed after.

⬥ This perk can be on an off-hand switch, a cheaper staff, or a defender depending on preference.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● An off-hand switch like vbook cywirorb attunedcrystalorb can be cheaper and higher damage, however it will almost certainly cost an inventory space.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● An affordable staff can be fewer inputs (versus equipping dual wield) on occasion, at the cost of an inventory space and potentially lower accuracy than your standard mainhand.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● A defender like ancientlantern will mean lower damage on gchain but can save an inventory space.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ You could combine Caroming 4 and Planted Feet into one gizmo caroming4 pf if you choose to use a ancientlantern to save more.

⬥ Recommended for:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Elite Dungeons Seiryu BSD Ambassador

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Arch-Glacor archglacor

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Tzkal-Zuk tzkalzuk

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● AoD aod

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Slayer slayer

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ For slayer consider caroming4 on a staff, as typically 2H AFK revo++ bars are recommended for slayer-type AFK content.

Sliver Enchantments

How It Works

⬥ Slivers can be consumed with some other items to create enchantments.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Enchantments are one-off consumables that permanently unlock certain effects.

⬥ There are 3 enchantments relevant to Magic:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Enchantment of Affliction enchantmentofaffliction, costing coins 210,340,344.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Increases the effect of the Inquisitor's Staff inquisitorstaff by a further 5%.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Enchantment of Flames enchantmentofflames, costing coins 181,944,749.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Increases the damage-boosting effect of enhanced Kerapac's wrist wraps kerapacswristwraps by a further +15%.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Enchantment of Metaphysics enchantmentofmetaphysics, costing coins 152,617,888.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ Channeler's Ring channellerring now also grants 2.5% critical strike damage, plus 2.5% more for each channelled hit.

Kerapac's wrist wraps kerapacswristwraps

How It Works

Note: If an Enchantment of Flames enchantmentofflames is consumed, this boosts the effect of upgraded T90 kerapacswristwraps by an additional 15%.

⬥ If an enemy is not susceptible to Cinderbane gloves Cinderbanes, these gloves are generally the best alternative.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● They can be used as a switch even at poisonable content, but this is relatively high effort.

If equipped when casting dbreath, the next comb to hit within 10t/6s will have its remaining hits instantly apply at 25% more damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● You can cast dbreath and comb in any order, and the effect still works.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Any comb hits will be separate hitsplats, not one big hit.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● If dbreath is cast on t0, comb has to hit within t0-9, so the latest you can cast comb is t7.

⬥ This effect will work together with other mechanics that affect Combust:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● You can comb + walk target (that order, same tick) after dbreath to double the damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Lunging perk lunge4.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Using comb within 10s of wrackandruin will still grant 2 extra hits.

⬥ It can be upgraded from T85 to T90 Enhanced Kerapac's wrist wraps using 1000 Glacor Remnants glacorremnants, and a Leng Artefact lengartefact.

⬥ If an Enchantment of Flames enchantmentofflames is consumed, this boosts the effect of upgraded T90 kerapacswristwraps by an additional 15%.

Dragon Rider Amulet drider

How It Works

⬥ This switch has become irrelevant with powercreep, however it is still listed for posterity.

⬥ Gives Dragon Breath dbreath the following effects:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Boosts damage by 10%.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● 10% chance of applying a bleed that hits 3 times, dealing 10% of dbreath max hit (rounded down) per hit.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ This excludes boosts that do not normally boost bleeds.

Fractured Staff of Armadyl

⬥ The FSOA's immensely powerful special attack, Instability, costs 50% adrenaline, has a 60 second cooldown, and has two effects:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● An initial hit of 49.6%-200% ability damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Fires a Time Strike for every critical hit on the primary target.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ They are ability damage; their strength is proportional to the tier of equipped weapon.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ They are cast on the tick the critical hit lands.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ They can themselves crit but will not fire another Time Strike if they do (no recursion).

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ They do not incur auto-attack cooldown. This means 4TAA is possible during fsoa spec.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ They are boosted by exsanguinate.

fsoa spec has excellent synergy with Tsunami tsunami due to the critical hit adrenaline gain buff.

⬥ Where possible, you will overlap sunshine + tsunami critbuff + fsoa spec to get the most out of each effect.

Key Considerations

⬥ An effective fsoa rotation relies on landing critical hits as often and reliably as possible.

⬥ This makes Biting 4 biting4, Erethdor's Grimoire grim, and either a Reaver's Ring reaverring or Channeller's Ring channellerring essential to success.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Additionally, a Kal'gerion demon familiar kalgpouch and Crit-i-Kal scrolls kalgscroll should also be used when possible.

Note: Use the !hitchance ‎command to calculate to ensure your hitchance is at 100% with reaverring.

Basic Example Rotation

Note: Many variations of FSOA rotations exist, and crit RNG is involved. This is simply a starting point.

The following assumptions are made:

⬥ Igneous Kal-Mej igneouskalmej equipped.

⬥ Conservation of Energy relic conservationofenergy active.

⬥ Ring of Vigour rov used (or its passive effect unlocked).

⬥ Manual spellcasting enabled, therefore bloodbarrage is simply a 4TAA.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● AoE autos generate adrenaline late, therefore bloodbarrage will grant 10% adrenaline if it crits.

(autocast incitefear) sunshine adrenrenewalsmokecloud gconcdbreathwrackbloodbarrage tsunami → (autocast exsanguinate) fsoa specgconcwrackbloodbarrage asphyx (2-hit) → wm → (improvise) → asphyx (2-hit) → wm

When improvising, focus on using gconc as often as possible. Then, fill with many gstaff eofspec and aim to fit one each of: omni + smoketendrils + deto.

Spell-Swapping During FSOA

Once fsoa spec has been activated, and desired incitefear stacks are reached, it is advisable to switch spells considering the following:

⬥ Time Strikes are boosted by Exsanguinate exsanguinate.

⬥ Frost Surge from Incite Fear incitefear can proc once per 12s and can crit.

⬥ Ruby Aurora rubyaurora can provide a damage buff to nearby players in group content.

With the above considerations, it is recommended to start with incitefear to build sufficient stacks for discounted tsunami, then switch to exsanguinate in order to buff Time Strike damage. If willing to put in higher effort, it is most optimal to switch back to incitefear once every 12s so as to proc Frost Surge, before reverting to exsanguinate. In group content, weave in rubyaurora as desired.

Seren Godbow sgb

How It Works

Note: See !sgb ‎command for a list of boss sizes.

⬥ This is an advanced switch to incorporate into rotations, but it can be beneficial to do so where applicable.

This switch is primarily to use its special attack.

⬥ Some considerations when using sgb spec with Magic:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Off-style sgb spec is only used for bosses that are 5x5 in size or larger.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Ingenuity of the Humans (Ingen) ingen is required to avoid splashing, or remove enough armour pieces to avoid splashing.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● It is recommended to pray flick to Anguish anguish / Desolation Desolation for the attack to increase accuracy and damage.

⬥ If you 4TAA, you will generally wish to Auto AirSurge into this special attack (as it is an Average Speed weapon similar to a 2H Staff ability).

⬥ This is a relatively difficult input sequence to execute in a single tick:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● AirSurgesgbDesolationingenspec.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The order of events does not matter so long as the auto AirSurge is first and the special attack spec is last.

Important EoFs

This section covers weapons that are worth placing into an Essence of Finality eof amulet for access to their special attacks.

Guthix/Zamorak Staff EoF gstaff eofpurple

How It Works

⬥ As discussed in the Important Items section, a gstaff / zamorakstaff are one of the first upgrades Magic users get and should be placed into an EoF eofpurple as soon as possible.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The special attacks are a good way to dump adrenaline for damage, dealing 140%-300% ability damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The gstaff spec increases affinity by +2 for 1 minute → this is a great way to effectively increase hitchance.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The zamorakstaff spec lowers the target's magic level by 5% (of the previous value) and lowers its accuracy by 5% for 1 minute.

Armadyl Battlestaff (ABS) EoF armadylbattlestaff eofyellow

How It Works

⬥ The special attack of the Armadyl Battlestaff (ABS) armadylbattlestaff, Tempest of Armadyl, is a channel that lasts 5t/3s, dealing 18-90% ability damage per tick.

⬥ Historically, it was exclusively used in an EoF armadylbattlestaff eofyellow during FSOA special attack fsoa spec.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● However, after the FSOA rework update in June 2023, this is no longer recommended.

Defensive Autos

While colloquially referred to as 'defensive' autos, it is more accurate to call them 'non-damaging' autos, since some non-defensive abilities have similar interactions with autos. Examples include Sunshine sunshine , Metamorphosis meta and (targeted) Magma Tempest magmatempesttarget

For a thorough explanation of how defensive autos (and auto attacks in general) work, refer to #auto-attacks. Here, we will simply cover some of their uses.

Why Defensive Autos Exist

Note: Air Surge AirSurge is used to signify any magic auto spell in general.

⬥ Generally, casting any ability will put your auto-attack AirSurge on cooldown based on your weapon speed.

⬥ However, non-damaging abilities do not cause this cooldown.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This means that defensive autos can be used within your main ability rotation.

⬥ Magic Magic in particular can keybind auto attacks by dragging spells on to the ability bar. This makes for some interesting gameplay mechanics.

Common Applications

Applying Smoke Cloud smokecloud with Sunshine sunshine.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Sunshine sunshine is a non-damaging ability, giving a defensive auto AirSurge with the next ability:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ sunshinesmokecloud + gconc

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This is commonly used to apply Smoke Cloud smokecloud but can be used for other debuffs like Vuln Vuln or Enfeeble Enfeeble etc.

Free auto after Magma Tempest (Targeted) magmatempesttarget.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The targeted version of this ability can act as a non-damaging ability, giving a defensive auto AirSurge with the next ability.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● For this to work, it must be targeted on the ground, not directly on a target.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ sonicwavemagmatempesttarget (ground) → AirSurge dbreath

Defensive autos can replace weaker abilities in a DPS rotation.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● A defensive 2H auto can take the place of a weaker ability like Tuska's Wrath Tuskas or Sacrifice Sacrifice to do more damage.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ e.g. sonicwaveanti → (3t) AirSurge dbreath

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ e.g. (DW) freedom → (2H swap) gives an OH auto + 2H auto.

Rapidly casting autos for utility or adren-building.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Spamming multiple defensives with a target selected and using dual-wield can also generate adrenaline faster, since auto-attacks provide adren if they hit a target.

4-Tick Auto Attack (4TAA)

4TAA Guide
If you prefer to watch a video guide, click here
Notes
⬥ This was made before Greater Concentrated Blast gconc so for updated rotations you can refer to Methods A/B below. However, the same basic principles still apply.

This section briefly covers the different ways to use 4TAA and some tips for learners. For more detailed information on 4TAA, 5TAA and auto attacks in general, check out #auto-attacks.

Note 1: DW/Dual-wield abilities refer to abilities cast with wand/orb.

Note 2: Wrack wrack and Air Surge AirSurge are only used for demonstration purposes.

What is 4TAA

⬥ 4TAA is an extension of weapon juggling.

⬥ As mentioned before, casting damaging abilities will put your auto-attack AirSurge on cooldown based on your weapon speeds:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Staff abilities (average speed) place it on a 6t (3.6s) cooldown.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Wand/Orb abilities (fastest speed) place it on a 4t (2.4s) cooldown.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Magic Magic in particular can keybind auto attacks by dragging spells on to the ability bar.

⬥ Combining these, we get 4TAA: delaying the next ability by one tick, to force an auto and ability together on the 4th tick.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● 2H autos are multiple times stronger than DW autos; for this reason, 4-tick autos are almost always 2H (staff) autos.

⬥ The basic 4TAA structure is: non-channelled DW Ability → 2H auto + ability → continue.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The ability before the auto must be DW so that a 4-tick auto cooldown is incurred.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ If the ability was 2H, a 6-tick auto cooldown would be incurred, meaning 4TAA would not be possible.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● The ability before the auto must also be non-channelled, since channels incur auto cooldown multiple times, one for each cast.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⬩ For example, gconc incurs a 4t auto cooldown 3 separate times: once on T0 (first cast), and again on T1 and T2. Therefore, forcing an auto on T4 is not going to be possible, as auto cooldown is not available until T2 + 4 = T6.

⬥ With Greater Concentrated Blast gconc unlocked, it is important to ensure its usage is not delayed. This means that, generally, rotations will be structured using two types of patterns. Both patterns are built in groups of three abilities, with one gconc and one 2H auto per group.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Method A: 2H AirSurge + DW/Staff ability → gconc → non-channelled DW ability → Repeat

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Method B: 2H AirSurge + gconc → DW/Staff ability → non-channelled DW ability → Repeat

⬥ It is important to note that both patterns should be used together, rather than just always choosing one or the other.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Only being able to execute one method will mean your rotations are less flexible and you will lose damage as a result.

Method A

⬥ How to do it, starting with staff soa equipped:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Step 1: 2H auto + ability, in that order, same tick (e.g. AirSurge dbreath)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Step 2: Equip DW praeswand impercore and gconc

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Step 3: Cast a DW non-channelled ability (e.g. wrack)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Step 4: Wait one tick after global cooldown, then repeat from step 1

⬥ This means forcing an auto every 3 abilities, for example:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● 2H AirSurge dbreathgconcwrack → (wait 1t) → 2H AirSurge corruptblastgconcwrack → (wait 1t) → repeat

4TAA - Method A
To see Method A in action, click here.

Method B

⬥ How to do it, starting with staff soa equipped:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Step 1: 2H auto + equip DW praeswand impercore + gconc in that order, same tick

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Step 2: Cast an ability (preferably DW to benefit from crit buff)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Step 3: Cast a DW non-channelled ability (e.g. wrack)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Step 4: Wait one tick after global cooldown, then repeat from step 1

⬥ This is still forcing an auto every 3 abilities, for example:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● 2H AirSurge gconcdbreathwrack → (wait 1t) → 2H AirSurge gconcwrackcorruptblast → (wait 1t) → repeat

4TAA - Method B
To see Method B in action, click here.

Notes

Method A can be easier for learners to execute as it has less actions in a single tick.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Again, try not to fall into the habit of only using one method. Both should be leveraged.

⬥ Differences before and after buying Greater Concentrated Blast gconc:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Autos AirSurge are now 3 abilities (10 ticks) apart instead of 2 abilities (7 ticks).

⬥ As described before, the ability before the auto AirSurge must be a non-channelled DW ability.

⬥ It is generally ideal to auto into your channels, or at least not channel before you plan to auto.

⬥ When using Detonate deto or Asphyxiate asphyx, use it as the ability before gconc.

⬥ When doing auto AirSurge into a channel, generally always prefer dual-wield channels.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This is because the cooldown after channel ends will be based on the weapon used.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This lets you 4TAA one ability after the channel ends, rather than two.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● You can see the difference in the following rotations.

With, 2H Asphyxiate, you MUST do:
2H Auto + Asphyxiate → Ability → DW Ability → 2H Auto + Ability

With DW Asphyxiate, you can instead do:
2H Auto + Asphyxiate → DW Ability → 2H Auto + Ability

Common Mistakes and Tips

Going too fast

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● Not waiting for 1t delay after global cooldown ends will prevent the auto from being cast.

Going too slow

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● If you delay longer than 1t it usually results in a 5TAA, delaying the auto/ability (lost ticks).

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● This is a big DPS loss.

When done correctly, you will see the auto attack fired with no animation.

⬥ Use a combat dummy on max-hit mode to practice, to check if you are doing 2H autos properly.

⬥ Use proper, easy-to-reach keybinds as some steps require you to perform multiple actions in one tick.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● e.g. ( equip Wand + equip Orb + press Ability ) in 1 tick.

⬥ You can click your auto attack on your bar instead of using a keybind if you prefer.

Check if you're doing it right!
Too fast - no auto fired, only ability used ⬥ Too slow - ability delayed, causes less DPS ⬥ Just right - auto + ability fired on same tick

General Sunshine Rotations

This section will cover usage of strong abilities (thresholds or better) within your Sunshine sunshine under different scenarios.

If you are using an FSOA fsoa please see the !fsoa ‎command or the Fractured Staff of Armadyl section for more information, as the rotations with that staff are more dynamic/improvised.

The following unlocks are assumed:

⬥ Ring of Vigour rov or its passive effect after Extinction quest.

⬥ Planted Feet pf or Greater Sunshine unlocked gsunshine.

⬥ Igneous Kal-Mej igneouskalmej.

⬥ Blast Diffusion Boots detoboots.

⬥ Incite Fear incitefear used for Tsunami tsunami.

Keep in mind the following:

⬥ These are only suggestions work from, and will not necessarily be applicable at all bosses or all scenarios.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎● For boss-specific rotations, see their respective guides.

⬥ If Igneous Kal-Mej igneouskalmej is not unlocked, replace omnipowerigneous with Guthix Staff gstaff and/or Deep Impact (Flank) deepimpactflank.

⬥ Conservation of Energy relic conservationofenergy is recommended for adrenaline refunds from sunshine , omnipowerigneous , and tsunami in order to execute a stronger rotation.

Sunshine w/ Adren Renewal adrenrenewal

⬥ 2x Wild Magic wm

⬥ 2x Asphyxiate asphyx (2-hit)

⬥ 1x Igneous Omnipower omnipowerigneous

⬥ 1x Detonate deto (3t, with auto + ability release)

⬥ Guthix Staff gstaff eofspec as adrenaline permits

Sunshine w/ Limitless limitless

Note: Try to tsunami before sunshine for more adrenaline.

⬥ 2x Wild Magic wm

⬥ 2x Asphyxiate asphyx (2-hit)

⬥ 1x Igneous Omnipower omnipowerigneous

⬥ 1x Detonate deto (3t, with auto + ability release)

⬥ Guthix Staff gstaff eofspec as adrenaline permits

Sunshine w/ Adren Renewal + Pre-Tsunami adrenrenewal + tsunami

⬥ 2x Igneous Omnipower omnipowerigneous

⬥ 2x Wild Magic wm

⬥ 2x Asphyxiate asphyx (2-hit)

⬥ 1x Detonate deto (3t, with auto + ability release)

⬥ Guthix Staff gstaff eofspec as adrenaline permits