General Graardor/Strategies (2024)

This article is a strategy guide for General Graardor. Information on mechanics, setups, and tactics is on this page.

Recommended levels and equipment[edit | edit source]

Strategy[edit | edit source]

This boss is fought within the God Wars Dungeon. You will need to pass through the main dungeon area, which contains monsters that are aggressive, to reach the Bandosian encampment where you fight General Graardor.

Before being able to enter the boss chamber you will need to obtain 40 kill count by killing 40 Bandos-aligned monsters (such as goblins and orks). If you are able to build a Totem of Intimidation or have a Bandosian or omni soulstone these can be used to avoid having to gain kill count before entering the boss chamber. If you need to get kill count it is recommended to do this in the Bandosian encampment as this is where the greatest number of Bandosian followers spawn. Additionally, if you do not have an item that provide protection against all gods' followers, this will minimise the number of followers that you need to bring items to protect against. When you have sufficient kill count enter the door to the boss chamber at the north-east of the encampment.

In the boss chamber you will be attacked by Graardor and his bodyguards Sergeant Strongstack, Sergeant Steelwill, and Sergeant Grimspike. Graardor attacks with melee and ranged special attacks. In the melee attack he punches his target for up to 3,000 damage. In the ranged attack Graardor slams his fist into the ground, creating shockwaves that hit all players inside the chamber for up to 1,676 damage.

If you are a lower level and want to minimise damage taken from minions during the fight then you can stand on the northern wall of the boss room before Graardor spawns. This way Sergeant Steelwill, the strongest bodyguard, will not spot you for some time, perhaps even the entire fight, allowing you to avoid damage from him while he is wandering around. At higher levels this should not be an issue.

Kill Graardor first, then Steelwill, and then Strongstack and Grimspike in any order afterwards. More experienced players can use area of effect abilities to attack all of the monsters at the same time. This typically results in increased killcount per boss kill, which gives more chance at better drops.

After the fight, you can either use regenerate to recover lost health with excess adrenaline or utilise adrenaline stalling to make the next kill quicker and easier. Make use of any food dropped by the minions; they can drop sharks and chilli potatoes.

At higher levels you should not experience difficulty with this fight. With use of Soul Split and/or an Enhanced Excalibur you will not need to bank frequently. It is recommended to bring 2 combat stat boosting potions and 2 prayer renewal potions per trip and to fill the rest of your inventory with food. A beast of burden can be used to store more supplies. Use of drop cleaners such as a spring cleaner set to high alch rune salvage and magic notepaper for banking can further prolong trips.

Hard mode[edit | edit source]

In hard mode Graardor's life points are increased from 40,000 to 100,000. He has a slightly higher max hit and increased accuracy with his ranged attack, but decreased accuracy with his melee attacks. Unlike in normal mode his affinity for ranged is increased, meaning that it is possible to use this combat style in hard mode. His armour rating is also increased. Like all other hard mode God Wars Dungeon bosses, Graardor can bind players for 250 damage if they are under him. In addition, he has three special attacks. It is recommended to attack Graardor while running around the room, as he cannot use his special attacks while chasing after a player.

Begin the fight in one of the room's corners. This will lure Graardor to the edge of the room, and from there, you may follow the room's perimeter, outside of his Melee distance. Alternate attacking while running around the room from corner to corner. Surge may be used to gain distance, but is not necessary and can be saved to deal with Graardor's specials. Note that it is easy to receive a Melee hit when turning a corner, but Soul Split should help to counter this.

Fragmentation Shot, if using Ranged, and Combust, if using Magic, should be prioritised throughout the fight because Graardor's continued movement will cause him extra damage. Beware when using abilities that lock your movement, such as Snipe or Asphyxiate, because Graardor will be able to catch up to you. Similarly, Death's Swiftness and Sunshine are not recommended because you will not be able to stay in the damage-boosting area. If using a damage-boosting ultimate, use Metamorphosis. Use of Ranged has the advantage of greater resistance to Graardor's Ranged attacks, and Magic has the advantages of Dragon Breath and Metamorphosis, which unlike Death's Swiftness may be used while running around the room.

If Graardor does use one of his special attacks they will be indicated by him saying one of the phrases below:

• "Graardor mad!" - Graardor launches his fists into the area his target was, dealing heavy damage towards that area for a short duration. Because Graardor will remain stationary after you are out of his attack range there is time to use the thresholds Rapid Fire or Asphyxiate, which are interrupted upon the player's moving if otherwise running around the chamber. The same applies for the basic ability Snipe. Despite the danger in this attack, handling it successfully will increase kill speeds.
• "Graardor protect." - Graardor puts himself in a defensive stance. Two ticks after saying this, damage inflicted on him is reduced by half and his attackers will suffer reflect damage. If using an attack, use the ability Cease or click the ground to stop attacking until the effect is over. You can use this time use a defensive ability or heal using Soul Split on one of the minions.
• "Graardor smash!" - Graardor will pummel the ground rapidly, dealing damage to anyone near him. Shortly afterwards, rocks from the ceiling above will crash onto the arena, dealing hard typeless damage anywhere from 600-1400 per rock. The rocks have a 3x3 AoE and they fall around the player's position. The more players there are in the arena, the more rocks will fall. The rocks target the area that the player is in, so stick to the sides to avoid them more easily. You should still be watching out for Graardor, and if possible, Surge away from clumps of rocks. Eat up if needed to ensure that you do not die from a combo of rocks and high-damage attacks.

After Graardor and his minions are dead, wait in the northwest or east corners of the room for them to respawn.

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