Where to Deposit Pickaxe in Tombs of Amascut OSRS

The Tombs of Amascut (ToA) in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is a thrilling raid that challenges players with puzzles, combat, and strategy. One key mechanic in the Path of Het challenge room involves using a pickaxe to complete the puzzle. However, knowing where and how to deposit your pickaxe is crucial to streamline your raids and avoid losing valuable items like a dragon or crystal pickaxe. This guide dives deep into the pickaxe deposit process, ensuring you master this aspect of ToA with ease.

The Path of Het is one of four demi-boss rooms in ToA, requiring players to solve a light-based puzzle before facing Akkha. A pickaxe is essential to mine the central rock and progress. While a bronze pickaxe is provided in the room, bringing a higher-tier pickaxe (like dragon or crystal) can speed things up significantly.

Why Depositing Your Pickaxe Matters

Depositing your pickaxe ensures you don’t accidentally leave the raid with it, freeing up inventory space for loot or supplies. For players using valuable pickaxes, storing them safely prevents the risk of losing them due to a disconnect or raid failure. Plus, it’s a quality-of-life feature that saves you from repeatedly bringing a pickaxe to every raid.

Pickaxe Tiers and Their Impact

Not all pickaxes are equal in ToA. Higher-tier pickaxes reduce the number of phases needed to mine the central rock, making the puzzle faster. Here’s a quick rundown:

Bronze Pickaxe: Provided in the room, slowest option, often requires 3 phases.
Rune Pickaxe: Decent speed, suitable for mid-level players.
Dragon Pickaxe: Can two-phase the puzzle, highly recommended.
Crystal Pickaxe: Fastest option with a slight speed boost over dragon, ideal for efficiency.

Where to Deposit Your Pickaxe in ToA

In ToA, you have two main options for depositing your pickaxe: the statue in the Path of Het challenge room and the cavity in the raid lobby. Both serve the same purpose but cater to different situations.

The Statue in the Path of Het Room

Inside the Path of Het challenge room, you’ll find a statue specifically designed to store your pickaxe. This statue is interactable with “Take-pickaxe” and “Deposit-pickaxe” options, allowing you to store any pickaxe (except bronze, as Het provides one by default). Once deposited, your pickaxe remains stored for future raids, retrievable from the same statue or the lobby cavity.

How to Use the Statue:

Enter the Path of Het challenge room during a ToA raid.
Locate the statue near the room’s entrance.
Right-click and select “Deposit-pickaxe” to store your pickaxe.
After completing the puzzle, ensure you’ve redeposited it before leaving to keep it stored.

The Cavity in the ToA Lobby

For added convenience, a cavity in the ToA lobby allows you to deposit or retrieve your pickaxe without entering the raid itself. This is perfect for players who forgot to deposit their pickaxe during a raid or need to grab it for other activities like Chambers of Xeric (CoX) or mining elsewhere.

Steps to Use the Lobby Cavity:

Head to the ToA lobby in the Necropolis.
Find the cavity on the wall (requires having reached the Path of Het room at least once during the “Into the Tombs” miniquest).
Interact with it to deposit or retrieve your pickaxe.

Note: Attempting to deposit a bronze pickaxe in the cavity triggers a message: “There’s no point storing a bronze pickaxe here. Het will provide.” This reinforces that only higher-tier pickaxes are worth storing.

Benefits of Depositing Your Pickaxe

Storing your pickaxe in ToA offers several advantages, especially for frequent raiders. Let’s explore why this mechanic is a game-changer.

Inventory Management

Raids require careful inventory planning, with space needed for potions, food, and gear switches. Depositing your pickaxe frees up a slot, letting you carry an extra brew or restore, which can be critical in high-invocation runs.

Safety for Valuable Pickaxes

High-end pickaxes like the dragon or crystal are expensive or hard to obtain (e.g., crystal requires Song of the Elves and 120 crystal shards). Storing them in ToA eliminates the risk of losing them if you die or disconnect during a raid.

Time Efficiency

With a stored pickaxe, you don’t need to bring one every time you raid. This saves bank trips and setup time, letting you jump into ToA faster. The lobby cavity further boosts efficiency by allowing pre-raid deposits.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even seasoned players can slip up with the pickaxe mechanic. Here are pitfalls to watch out for and how to stay on track.

Forgetting to Deposit After the Puzzle

It’s easy to rush out of the Path of Het room after mining the rock, especially in a group where coordination is key. Forgetting to redeposit your pickaxe means you’ll leave with it, clogging your inventory. To avoid this:

Use RuneLite Plugins: The ToA plugin has a “Prevent Room Exit” feature that blocks you from leaving until you deposit your pickaxe.
Drop Supplies: Some players drop brews near the statue to force interaction with it, reminding them to deposit.

Accidentally Leaving a Valuable Pickaxe

Some players hesitate to store rare pickaxes like the 3rd age or infernal due to distrust in the system. However, Jagex has confirmed that stored pickaxes are safe and retrievable. If you’re worried:

Store a rune or dragon pickaxe instead of ultra-rare ones.
Regularly check the cavity to ensure your pickaxe is still there.

Ignoring the Lobby Cavity

Early ToA players had to start a raid to deposit their pickaxe, which was tedious. The lobby cavity, introduced later, fixes this, but some still overlook it. Always check the cavity before starting a raid to manage your pickaxe efficiently.

Tips for Optimizing Your ToA Pickaxe Strategy

To make the most of the pickaxe deposit system, consider these expert tips to enhance your raiding experience.

Choose the Right Pickaxe

Your pickaxe choice impacts puzzle speed. Here’s a table comparing key pickaxes for ToA:

Pickaxe	Mining Level	Attack Level (to Wield)	Phases in Het Puzzle	Notes
Bronze	1	1	3	Provided in-room, slowest.
Rune	41	40	2-3	Budget-friendly, decent speed.
Dragon	61	60	2	Great balance of speed and cost.
Crystal	71	70	2	Fastest, requires Song of the Elves.

Leverage RuneLite for Automation

The Tombs of Amascut RuneLite plugin is a lifesaver. Features like “Deposit-Pickaxe” swapping (changes the statue’s left-click to deposit) and visual warnings when leaving with a pickaxe reduce errors. Enable these in the Plugin Hub for smoother runs.

Plan for Other Raids

If you also run CoX, where a pickaxe is needed for certain rooms, consider keeping a second dragon pickaxe to avoid retrieving your ToA one. This saves time, especially for ironmen or players on restricted accounts.

Test Different Invocations

Some ToA invocations affect puzzle difficulty. For example, higher invocations might make the Het puzzle tougher, increasing the value of a stored high-tier pickaxe. Experiment with invocation setups to balance speed and loot potential.

Depositing your pickaxe in ToA is a small but impactful mechanic that enhances efficiency and safety. Whether you’re a solo raider or part of a group, mastering the statue and lobby cavity system ensures you’re prepared for every Path of Het challenge. Store a dragon or crystal pickaxe, use RuneLite to avoid mistakes, and optimize your inventory for maximum loot. With these tips, you’ll breeze through ToA like a seasoned adventurer. Happy raiding!