OSRS Nex Guide: Strategies & Gear Setup

Nex is a level 1,001 monster imprisoned in the Ancient Prison beneath the God Wars Dungeon. She is quite tough to kill but very rewarding as she has several valuable drops such as Torva armour, Zaryte Vambraces, the ancient hilt, and the nihil horn, used to create a Zaryte crossbow.

Official worlds for fighting Nex

• W332 - United States (west)
• W481 - United States (east)
• W505 - United Kingdom
• W523 - United Kingdom

Requirements for Fighting Nex 

Completion of the Frozen Door miniquest: During this miniquest, players must assemble the frozen key, which can be used to access the dungeon. This miniquest also requires:

• 70+ ranged to access Armadyl’s Eyrie
• 70 agility to access Saradomin’s Encampment
• 70+ strength to access Bandos’ Stronghold
• 70+ hitpoints to access Zamorak’s Fortress

Recommended Combat Skills for Fighting Nex

• 90+ ranged
• 90+ hitpoints
• 80+ defence
• 90+ attack and 90+ strength if using melee
• 74+ for rigour and piety (if using melee)
• 76+ magic for resurrection spells

Gear and Inventory Setups for facing Nex

Best ranged gear setup

Head slot: Slayer helmet (i)

Neck slot: Necklace of anguish

Cape slot: Dizana’s quiver

Body slot: Masori body(f)

Leg slot: Masori chaps(f)

Weapon slot: Twisted bow

Ammo slot: Dragon arrow

Glove slot: Zaryte vambraces

Boot slot: Pegasian boots

Ring slot: Lightbearer

Cheaper ranged gear setup

Head slot: Armadyl helmet

Neck slot: Necklace of Anguish

Cape slot: Ava’s accumulator

Body slot: Armadyl chestplate

Leg slot: Armadyl chainskirt

Weapon slot: Twisted bow

Ammo slot: Dragon arrows

Ring slot: Lightbearer

Glove slot: Barrows gloves

Boot slot: Pegasian boots

Inventory Setup for Nex with Ranged

• Saradomin brews
• Ranging potions
• Super restores
• Rune pouch: fill with runes for thrall
• Holy wrench: to save prayer points
• Antidote++

Best melee gear Setup

Head slot: Torva full helm

Neck slot: Amulet of blood fury

Cape slot: Infernal cape

Body slot: Torva platebody

Leg slot: Torva platelegs

Weapon slot: Osmuten’s fang

Shield slot: Avernic defender

Glove slot: Ferocious gloves

Boot slot: Primordial boots

Ring slot: Lightbearer

Inventory Setup for Nex with Melee

• Saradomin brews
• Super divine combat potions
• Super restores
• Rune pouch: fill with runes for thrall
• Holy wrench: to save prayer points
• Antidote++

Hybrid gear setup 

Head slot: Torva full helm

Neck slot: Amulet of blood fury

Cape slot: Infernal cape

Body slot: Torva platebody

Leg slot: Torva platelegs

Weapon slot: Osmuten’s fang

Ammo slot: Dragon arrows: 

Shield slot: Avernic defender

Glove slot: Ferocious gloves

Boot slot: Primordial boots

Ring slot: Lightbearer

Inventory Setup for Nex with Hybrid

• Ranged gear for switching
• Saradomin brews
• Super restores
• Rune pouch: fill with runes for thrall
• Holy wrench: to save prayer points
• Antidote++
• Ranging Potion
• Super combat potion

How to get to Nex

The Ancient prison’s entrance is located between Armadyl’s Eyrie and Saradomin’s Encampment on the southern wall of the God Wars Dungeon. Wearing a Zaros-related item will make the spiritual fighters and Blood Reavers unaggressive, while wearing God-affiliated items will make the minions outside the Ancient prison unaggressive.

Ashuelot Reis who provides banking services and a portal to enter Nex’s chamber are in the safe room in the prison. To access this room, the player must obtain 40 essence by killing these monsters:

• Spiritual Mages and Nex: 5 essence
• Spiritual Warriors/Rangers, Nex’s bodyguards: 2 essence
• Blood Reavers: 3 essence.

The number of essence needed can be reduced with the completion of the various tiers of combat achievements, and no essence is required if you have an ecumenical key. 

Nex’s chamber can only be accessed when the portal is glowing purple, which means no other player is fighting her. When it glows red, other players are fighting her, and it will remain that way until the fight ends. Players can retrieve their items from the chest in the safe room if they die fighting Nex. Retrieving the items from the chest costs 100,000 coins, regardless of the item's cost. 

Nex’s Mechanics and Strategies

Nex has high health, moves at a player’s speed, and can jump across the room in 2 ticks, and across pits in her Chamber. She has five phases: Smoke, Shadow, Blood, Ice, and the Zaros phase, and she has different special attacks in each of these phases. She is weakest to stab attacks but ranged is highly recommended for the Shadow and Zaros phases. 

Nex’s standard attacks

Nex will target the nearest player when using her standard attacks. But If multiple players stand within equal proximity, the player with the lowest defensive bonus against her current style will be targeted.

Magic attack

Nex uses Ancient Magicks of the same type as the mage of that phase, with an attack range of 10. Using protect from magic will reduce the damage from this attack by 50% or by 66% during the blood phase.

Range attack

The damage from this attack can be lowered by 50% during the shadow phase using protect from ranged.

Melee attack

Nex has a standard melee attack that can hit players for up to 30 damage when they are within melee distance. Using protect from melee will reduce the damage from this attack by 80% or 66% during the final phase. 

Nex’s Phase

Smoke Phase

During this phase, Nex will use Smoke Rush from the Ancient Magicks spell book, against the player which can poison them. She will shout “Fill my soul with smoke!” when she starts this phase. 

Smoke phase’s special attacks

• Choke: Nex will use this attack on the player furthest away and with the least magic defence bonus. It drains 2 prayer points every 2 ticks and stats based on the player’s highest attack bonus. It also infects adjacent players and resets the duration of infected players. Infected players are identified easily by the “cough” above their heads. Nex will always start with this attack in this phase.

The best strategy to prevent this attack from spreading is by having one player equip negative magic defence armour and stand away from the other players at the start of the fight to avoid spreading the Choke to the rest of them. Alternatively, players can bring a gas mask, facemask, or slayer helmet to reduce the duration of choke in half. 

• Drag: in the smoke phase, Nex will drag a random player within 6 tiles towards her, stun them, and turn off their prayer. Get out of her melee range quickly when this happens to you and turn your prayer back on with quick prayers.

• Smoke Dash: Nex will dart down one of the four aisles in the chamber, hitting everyone in her path for up to 50 damage. She will look to the direction she wants to fly down; use this as an indicator to avoid the path she is flying to prevent damage from this attack. 

Phase strategy: turn on protect from magic through this phase and keep your distance while attacking her. After Nex reaches 80% health (2720 hitpoints), Her mage Fuma, the northwestern minion will become vulnerable so kill it to enter the next phase. 

Shadow Phase

During this phase, Nex uses a ranged attack known as shadow shots. Using protect from Missiles will reduce the damage by half. It’s not recommended to melee her during this phase, as the ranged damage increases the closer the player is. Instead, stand at the furthest distance from Nex and attack her. 

Shadow Phase’s special attacks

• Shadow Smash: Shadows will appear under every player, and they have 3 ticks to move out, or they will deal up to 50 damage. Move out of the way to prevent damage from this attack. 

• Embrace Darkness: The chamber will darken. The closer the player is to Nex, the darker the room will be. If the player stands next to Nex for too long during this attack, they will take constant damage from the shadow, so ensure to maintain your distance.

Phase strategy: switch to protect from ranged during this phase and keep your distance from Nex. When Nex reaches 60% health (2040 hitpoints). Umbra, the northeastern minion, will become vulnerable, so kill it to enter the next phase. 

Blood Phase

The Blood phase is Nex’s third phase. She will shout “Flood my lungs with blood” when this phase starts and use Blood Barrage against the player. This heals her a percentage of the damage dealt and drains prayer based on the damage dealt 

Blood phase’s special attacks

• A blood siphon: Nex will summon up to eight blood reavers and kneel for about 8 ticks. During this, she will heal if a player tries to damage her. She will shout “A siphon will solve this” before she performs this attack.

• Blood sacrifice: A single player will be marked for this attack and the player will glow red. The marked player has four seconds to move at least seven tiles, or they will receive up to 50 damage, which heals her and drains the player’s current prayer points by 33%.

Phase strategy: switch back to protect from magic, attack Nex, and kill the blood reavers she summons. When Nex reaches 40% health (1360  hitpoints), Cruor, the southeastern minion will become vulnerable, so kill it to enter the next phase.

Ice Phase

During this phase, Nex will use Ice Barrage against players, which will freeze them if they are not using Protect from magic and lower their prayer points by half the damage she deals. 

Ice Phase’s special attacks

• Containment: Nex will yell “Contain this!” then smash the floor and icicles will appear in a 5x5 area around her. Getting caught damages the player up to 60 hitpoints and will deactivate protection prayers. 

• Ice prison: Nex will freeze the targeted player using an ice stalagmite attack. The stalagmites will attack a 3x3 AoE centered on the target player, deactivating their protection prayers. Players on the same tile as the target will be imprisoned as well. The prison will shatter after 4 seconds, dealing up to 75 damage to everyone inside if the stalagmites are not destroyed. Use stab or crush-based attacks to destroy the stalagmites, as they are more effective. 

Phase strategy: Keep protect from magic turned on and keep your distance as she would do the containment special attack if you get close. When she gets to 20% health (680 hitpoints), she will shout “Glacies, don’t fail me!” her mage Glacies, at the southwestern corner, will become vulnerable and must be killed to proceed to the last phase.

Zaros Phase

Zaros phase is Nex’s fifth and final phase, where She is most dangerous. In this phase, she will summon the Zaros’ power, healing her 500 hitpoints. She will use only her melee and non-attuned magic attacks. Players with the lowest crush defence bonus are targeted by her melee attack more often.

Zaros phase’s special attacks

• Turmoil: Nex’s magic and melee attacks will become more accurate and strong, hitting very high damage even through prayer. It can also drain the player’s melee, range, and magic stats and transfer them to her own. 
• Soul Split: Nex will have an overhead prayer that heals a small percentage of her health anytime she hits successfully.
• Deflect Melee: An overhead prayer that activates some type of Protect from melee, deflecting the damage the player would have dealt to her with melee attacks.
• Wrath; This is also an overhead prayer that deals up to 50 damage to players within a 5x5 radius of Nex upon her death.

Nex starts this phase with Soul Split active. After four auto-attacks, she switches to Deflect Melee. Following another four auto-attacks, she disables all curses. After four more auto-attacks, she reactivates Soul Split and continues this cycle until she is defeated.

Phase strategy: Keep protect from magic turned on and keep your distance. Pay more attention to your prayer points as she will continually drain it. Keep your health up when she dies, as she will perform the wrath special attack. 

GP per hour from Nex

Players can expect 9M per hour when killing Nex with a team or 13M when killing her as a duo

Drops from Nex

100%
Big bones

Uniques

1 Zaryte vambraces (1/172); 1 Nihil horn (1/258); 1 Torva full helm (damaged) (1/258); 1 Torva platebody (damaged) (1/258); 1 Torva platelegs (damaged) (1/258); 1 Ancient hilt (1/516)

Runes & Ammunition

84–325 Blood rune (Common); 85–170 Death rune (Common); 86–227 Soul rune (Common); 4–10 Dragon bolts (unf) (Common); 42–298 Cannonball (Common); 123–1,365 Air rune (Uncommon); 210–1,655 Fire rune (Uncommon); 193–1,599 Water rune (Uncommon); 84–325 Onyx bolts (e) (Uncommon)

Resources
6–20 (noted) Air orb (Common); 3–26 (noted) Uncut ruby (Common); 3–26 (noted) Uncut diamond (Common); 2–12 (noted) Wine of zamorak (Common); 23–95 (noted) Coal (Uncommon); 2–30 (noted) Runite ore (Uncommon)

Consumables
3 Shark (Common); 1 Prayer potion (4) (Common); 2 Saradomin brew (4) (Common); 1 Super restore (4) (Common)

Other
6–39 Ecumenical key shard (Common); 80–85 Nihil shard (1/16.4); 85–95 Nihil shard (1/26.13); 8,539–26,748 Coins (Uncommon); 1–2 Blood essence (1/82); 1 Rune sword (1/209)

Tertiary

1 Clue scroll (elite) (1/48); 1 Nexling (1/500)