OSRS Cave Horror Guide – Best Strategies for Black Mask Farming

OSRS Cave Horror Guide – Best Strategies for Black Mask Farming

Cave Horrors in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) are a popular Slayer monster due to their valuable Black Mask drop, which boosts combat stats and is essential for crafting the Slayer Helmet. Found in the Mos Le’Harmless Cave, these creatures require specific preparation and tactics to farm efficiently. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know to slay Cave Horrors, from requirements and gear setups to combat strategies and profit tips, optimized for players seeking to maximize experience and rewards.

Before heading to the Mos Le’Harmless Cave, ensure you meet the prerequisites and have the necessary items to tackle Cave Horrors effectively.

Quest and Skill Requirements

  • Cabin Fever Quest: Completing this quest unlocks access to Mos Le’Harmless, the island where Cave Horrors reside.
  • 58 Slayer: Required to damage Cave Horrors, though they can be assigned as a Slayer task at level 70 combat by Chaeldar, Nieve, or Duradel.
  • 35 Slayer for Witchwood Icon: Needed to equip the Witchwood Icon, which protects against their special attack.

Essential Items

  • Witchwood Icon: Purchased from any Slayer Master for 900 coins. Mandatory for melee combat unless using Protect from Melee.
  • Light Source: A bullseye lantern, Seer’s headband 4, or Kandarin headgear is required to navigate the dark cave unless a Fire of Eternal Light is lit.
  • Teleport Method: Mos Le’Harmless teleport scroll, Ectophial, or Trouble Brewing minigame teleport for quick access.

Getting to Mos Le’Harmless Cave

Cave Horror Guide Osrs

Reaching the Cave Horrors requires traveling to Mos Le’Harmless, an island with multiple access methods. Here’s how to get there efficiently.

Travel Options

  • Trouble Brewing Minigame Teleport: Free and fast, found in the Grouping tab. Requires Cabin Fever and 40 Cooking.
  • Mos Le’Harmless Teleport Scroll: Purchased from the Grand Exchange, offering a direct teleport to the island.
  • Ectophial and Bill Teach: Teleport to Port Phasmatys using the Ectophial, then speak to Bill Teach on the eastern pier to sail to Mos Le’Harmless.
  • Charter Ship: Available from Port Sarim’s southern dock, though more expensive depending on your carried gold.
  • Fairy Ring (DIP): Requires Fairy Tale III partial completion and repairing the bridges to the mainland.

Navigating to the Cave

Once on Mos Le’Harmless, head east from the town to locate the cave entrance on the southeast side of the island. Ensure your light source is active to avoid rapid damage from bugs, which can hit 10-100 per tick.

Combat Mechanics and Strategies

Cave Horrors are combat level 80 with 55 Hitpoints, using a magic-based melee attack with a max hit of 9. Their special attack deals damage equal to 10% of your base Hitpoints (e.g., 9 damage at 96 Hitpoints) and has an Area-of-Effect (AoE) property in single-way combat. Here’s how to handle them.

Protecting Against the Special Attack

  • Protect from Melee: Completely negates the special attack and regular damage, allowing you to use a stronger amulet like the Amulet of Torture.
  • Witchwood Icon: Reduces the special attack’s frequency, alternating between kicks (every 4 ticks) and screams (every 5 ticks). Essential if not praying.
  • High Magic Defence: Wear dragonhide or Karil’s armor to mitigate damage when not using Protect from Melee.

Combat Styles

Cave Horrors have low defense and are weak to all combat styles, but certain methods are more efficient.

Combat Style Pros Cons Recommended Gear
Melee High damage output, up to 30k XP/hr with Piety Requires Witchwood Icon or prayer, close combat risk Slayer Helmet, Abyssal Whip, Proselyte Armor, Amulet of Torture
Ranged Safe with safespots, fast kills with blowpipe Ammo costs, lower XP/hr than cannon Toxic Blowpipe, Black Dragonhide, Slayer Helmet, Ava’s Accumulator
Cannon Up to 60k XP/hr, high kill speed Expensive cannonballs, less profit Dwarf Multicannon, Ranged setup, Bonecrusher Necklace

Safespotting

Safespots near the cave entrance or around mushrooms, stalagmites, and boulders allow ranged players to avoid all damage. Use a fast weapon like the toxic blowpipe or magic shortbow (i). Bring runes for Telekinetic Grab to loot safely without leaving the safespot.

Gear and Inventory Setup

Your gear and inventory depend on your combat style and whether you’re using Protect from Melee or safespotting. Below are optimized setups.

Melee Setup

Ranged Setup (Safespot)

  • Head: Slayer Helmet or Black Mask
  • Amulet: Necklace of Anguish
  • Body: Black Dragonhide Body or Karil’s Leathertop
  • Legs: Black Dragonhide Chaps
  • Weapon: Toxic Blowpipe or Magic Shortbow (i)
  • Boots: Ranger Boots or Snakeskin Boots
  • Gloves: Barrows Gloves
  • Inventory: Ranging potions, Telekinetic Grab runes, teleport runes, food, light source

Cannon Setup

Place the dwarf multicannon in open areas to maximize kills. Combine with a ranged setup and a bonecrusher necklace to sustain prayer via big bones. Bring a log basket for mahogany logs and a herb sack for frequent herb drops.

Profit and Experience Tips

Cave Horrors are lucrative due to the Black Mask (worth ~1.7M GP, 1/512 drop rate) and other drops like herbs, seeds, and nature runes. Here’s how to optimize your trips.

Maximizing Profit

  • Pick Up Key Drops: Black Mask, high-level seeds (snapdragon, avantoe), nature runes, and alchables.
  • Use Utility Items: Herb sack, seed box, and log basket to manage frequent unnoted drops like mahogany logs.
  • Telekinetic Grab: Loot valuable items safely when safespotting.

Experience Rates

  • Melee: 25k-30k Slayer XP/hr with Piety.
  • Ranged: 20k-25k Slayer XP/hr, higher with safespots.
  • Cannon: Up to 60k Slayer XP/hr, ideal for fast tasks.

Additional Tips

  • Arceuus Spellbook: Use Adept Reanimation on ensouled horror heads for passive prayer training.
  • Hard Morytania Diary: Killing a Cave Horror is a task, so complete it during your Slayer assignment.
  • Average Profit: Approximately 247k GP/hr at 115 kills/hr, increasing to 700k-900k GP/hr at 360-450 kills/hr with high-level gear.

With the right preparation, Cave Horrors offer a rewarding Slayer task for both profit and experience. Whether you’re chasing the Black Mask or grinding Slayer levels, this guide equips you with the strategies to succeed. Happy hunting in the Mos Le’Harmless Cave!