Welcome to my detailed guide for mastering The Gauntlet in Old School RS (OSRS)! This guide is designed to help you understand the ins and outs of this challenging solo PvM (Player versus Monster) minigame. Located in Prifddinas, The Gauntlet is a great way to earn crystal shards and unique rewards like the coveted Blade of Saeldor and the Crystal Armor set. Whether you're a seasoned player looking to refine your strategy or a first-timer, this guide will ensure you're ready to tackle The Gauntlet.

Finding The Gauntlet

The Gauntlet is located in the northwestern part of Prifddinas, the elven city. To access Prifddinas, you must have completed the Song of the Elves quest. Within the city, head towards the northwest corner, and you'll find The Gauntlet portal. You can bank at the deposit box just outside the portal before beginning your run.

Requirements and Recommendations

While there are no mandatory requirements to enter The Gauntlet, it is highly recommended that you have high combat stats. Ideally, aim for at least:

  • 90+ Attack and Strength for effective melee damage.

  • 90+ Ranged for consistent DPS with the Crystal Bow.

  • 90+ Magic for strong spells with the perfected Crystal Staff.

  • 90+ Defence and Hitpoints for survivability.

  • 70+ Prayer to use Piety, Eagle Eye, and Mystic Might.

Higher levels make the process easier, but players with lower stats can still succeed with practice and patience.

The Gauntlet Overview

Upon entering The Gauntlet, your inventory is wiped clean, and you start with only a basic set of tools. Your goal is to gather resources, craft weapons, and prepare to face the final boss, the Crystalline Hunllef. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the process:

Step 1: Scouting and Gathering Resources

As soon as you enter, the first thing you should do is start scouting the adjacent rooms. The Gauntlet map is randomly generated, so each run is different. Move quickly to explore the rooms around you while focusing on the following:

  • Kill the enemies: Defeating weaker enemies in the rooms will reward you with Crystal Shards and weapon frames, which are essential for crafting and upgrading your gear.

  • Gather resources: You’ll want to collect 7 of each type of resource:

       o Bark from trees.

       o Ore from mining rocks.

       o Phren bark (cotton) from harvesting plants.

Once you have 7 of each, you can drop tools like the axe and pickaxe to save inventory space.

Step 2: Creating and Upgrading Equipment

After gathering the basic resources, return to the starting room. Here's what you need to craft:

  • Weapon Frame: Craft a basic bow or staff using the weapon frame you obtained from killing enemies.

  • Crystal Bow/Staff: If you plan to use ranged, craft a bow; if magic, craft a staff. Upgrading to a perfected version requires additional resources.

  • Armor: Craft Tier 1 armor pieces for body, legs, and helmet. After gathering more shards, upgrade each piece to Tier 2.

Step 3: Preparing Potions

Crystal shards can be ground using a pestle and mortar to create crystal dust. Combine this with water-filled vials and corrupted herbs found in the Gauntlet to make agility potions. These restore run energy and provide prayer restoration, essential for sustaining combat during the final fight. Prepare 1.5-2 potions if you have 99 Prayer; for lower levels, aim for 3-4 potions.

Step 4: Mini-Bosses and Weapon Upgrades

On the outer edges of the map, you'll encounter three mini-bosses:

  • Crystalline Dragon: Drops the crystal orb to upgrade your staff.

  • Crystalline Bear: Drops the crystal spike to upgrade your halberd.

  • Crystalline Dark Beast: Drops the crystal bowstring to upgrade your bow.

Focus on defeating two of these mini-bosses based on your weapon choice (ranged or magic). Remember to pray Melee against the bear, Magic against the dragon, and Ranged against the dark beast.

Step 5: Final Preparation

With your perfected weapons, upgraded armor, and potions, return to the starting area using the teleport crystal (found in each player's inventory). Cook any raw fish you gathered on the cooking range, as they provide food for healing during the final boss fight. A full inventory of fish can be critical in keeping your HP topped up during the fight.

Step 6: Defeating the Crystalline Hunllef

The final boss, The Crystalline Hunllef, is a challenging opponent, but with proper preparation, you can emerge victorious. Here’s how to handle its mechanics:

  • Pray accordingly: The Hunllef will use Ranged attacks first, so start by praying Protect from Missiles. Every four attacks, it will change its attack style, prompting you to switch your protection prayer.

  • Switch your attack style: The Hunllef will switch its protection prayers every six successful attacks you land. If it's praying against Ranged, switch to Magic, and vice versa.

  • Avoid the tiles: The arena will occasionally light up with disco tiles—do not stand on these as they deal significant damage over time.

  • Dodge tornadoes: The Hunllef will spawn tornadoes that chase you around the arena. Keep moving to avoid them.

  • Watch for prayer disabling attacks: Occasionally, the Hunllef will fire an attack that disables your prayers temporarily. React quickly to turn them back on.

Staying calm and keeping track of the attack patterns is key to defeating the boss. Remember to count the boss's attacks if you find it hard to read its animations.

Post-Fight: Collecting Rewards

Upon defeating the Crystalline Hunllef, you’ll be rewarded with loot from the chest located in the Gauntlet’s starting room. The loot varies depending on whether you're doing the normal or corrupted version of The Gauntlet. The Corrupted Gauntlet is a more challenging version with tougher enemies and a harder boss but offers significantly better rewards.

Potential rewards include:

  • Crystal Shards: Essential for crafting and upgrading crystal gear.

  • Enhanced Crystal Weapon Seed: Used to create powerful items like the Blade of Saeldor.

  • Armor Seeds: Used to craft and upgrade Crystal Armor, which is especially valuable for Ranged players using the Bow of Faerdhinen.

Tips for Success

1. Practice makes perfect: The Gauntlet can be daunting initially, but the more runs you complete, the more comfortable you will become with the mechanics.

2. Time management: Don’t spend too much time gathering resources—aim to start the boss fight with around 400-500 crystal shards.

3. Focus on resource collection: Efficiently gathering resources and upgrading your equipment early will give you a much better chance during the final fight.

Conclusion

The Gauntlet in OSRS is an exciting and rewarding challenge that can yield some of the best items and OSRS gold in the game. By following this guide, you'll have a strong understanding of how to prepare, what to prioritize, and how to defeat the Crystalline Hunllef. With practice, you'll be able to conquer The Gauntlet and earn the rewards you deserve.

RSorder Team