Runescape Dragonwilds – How to Get the Best Melee Weapon – Abyssal Whip

Runescape Dragonwilds has been out in early access for a while now, and it features a lot of content that may be familiar to people who played the game that it is based on. At its current state, which is still incredibly early in development, one of the best melee weapons is the abyssal whip. It is a favorite of many Runescape players new and old, and this guide will show you how to get it in this game.

How to Get the Best Melee Weapon – Abyssal Whip

At the moment, there are not too many weapons in the game, so the abyssal whip is one of the top choices right now due to this lack of variety. Getting it is actually pretty straightforward, but the enemy you need to defeat can be quite tough.

Basically, you will need to kill the abyssal demon boss enemy, which is a power level 4 NPC that is seemingly designed for a group but can be defeated by skilled players. To find it, you simply need to head to the whispering swamp area of the map.

Refer to the map image below to find its general spawn location. One abyssal demon resides in the westernmost corner of the whispering swamp. Be careful while you search for it, as it can catch you off guard due to the fog.

Take note that it is seemingly always hostile, so if you walk close enough, you might attract aggro regardless of whether or not you are ready to face it. Avoid coming here at night time to make it slightly easier to spot it.

Yes, this boss can be found just a short trek away from the starting region. To fight it, we highly recommend using a ranged weapon and trying your best to keep your distance during the whole encounter.

Even with the proper gear to fight it the “proper” way, it will still be incredibly tough and annoying. Instead, there are multiple ways to cheese the encounter, and all you need to do is use the environment to your advantage.

Whether you run into a nearby cave in the swamp or use windstep to reach high ground, as long as you are out of reach of the abyssal demon’s attacks, you will be completely safe. This is just as we noted in our top 10 tips and tricks for Runescape Dragonwilds, where we stated that the AI is pretty bad.

This may be patched in the future, seeing as one of the abyssal demon’s key features is that it teleports players around. For now, though, exploit this while you can, because you are very likely going to have to fight it normally as more updates are released.

Upon defeating an abyssal demon, you are guaranteed to get at least one abyssal spine, which is a key component of the abyssal whip. With that on hand, you will unlock the recipe for this iconic weapon, which will require the following items:

• 1x Abyssal Spine
• 8x Hard Leather – This is made using leather and adhesive with a tanner’s kit set up near a tannery.
• 4x Ram Horns – Dropped by rams, which spawn in the Stormtouched Highlands. Always be on the move while farming these, as this area is dangerous and can kill you at random.
• 12x Vault Shards – These drop from enemies in dungeons. Specifically, you will need to kill vault guardians or an archon to get these.
• 1x Vault Core – Acquired from static spawns dungeons. These respawn over time, so you can always come back to ones you previously cleared.

In order to actually make it, you will need a smithing anvil in your base. In case you do not have one yet, you are going to need these materials with you first:

• 6x Bronze Bars – These are smelted at a furnace with copper and tin ore, just like in the original game.
• 20x Ash Logs
• 8x Coarse Thread
• 1x Vault Core

If you somehow defeated the abyssal demon with rags made from the first region’s materials, then just know that you must travel to the fractured plains to get the resources necessary for this. Make sure to bring a bone pickaxe with you, as this is required for the ore nodes.

With all of the materials ready, simply craft the item at the anvil and you will now have one of the strongest melee weapons in the game at the moment. It is considered to be a masterwork weapon, and it can dish out a ton of damage with its quick attack speed.

Similar to the OG abyssal whip, it has a special attack called the Abyssal Snare. This fires a wave of purple energy that will ensare and disrupt any targets within range. This adds an extra bit of oomph to an already powerful weapon.

And that is pretty much everything you need to know in order to get the abyssal whip, as well as a general idea of what it is capable of. Again, make sure to take advantage of the game’s poor AI at the moment, because it might be much harder to get in a later patch!

While you are here, consider checking out our guide on how to get the best mage staff in Runescape Dragonwilds. That will show you how to get the staff of light. Although combat magic has not been fully implemented in the game just yet, it can’t hurt to prepare in advance and go through the arduous grind of unlocking its recipe and getting the materials needed.