Runescape: Fight Caves- Finally learned how to beat Jad with Ranged

 Runescape Fight Cave: No Shortcuts to Winning- Jad Takes Practice

It's been a long time coming.  From earlier this year, when I learned to beat Jad in the Fight Caves, using Ancient Curses/Deflect Prayers... to the day I found out they nerfed the Ancient Curses method... to last week.  Last week, I finally decided to get serious about Jad.  I've beaten him in the past, have earned 2 baby Jads as pets, and it just doesn't feel right that I can't beat him any more.
I've wanted to mess with him for months, but there's always something else to work on.  Those other goals kept getting in the way.  But about a week ago, the mood descended upon me, and it was time to learn the Zen of Jad.  Again.
For nearly a week, I tried different things, kept going back, got stomped on by Jad.  Over and over.  But that's okay now.  Way back when, I learned how to beat Jad just because I wanted the Taskmaster emote, which required all the elite tasks to be accomplished.  One of those requirements was to own a Fire Cape, which of course means I had to defeat Jad.
Basically, I didn't want to fight Jad, but had to in order to get another goal.  So I really hated it.  This time, my motivation was unclouded by hidden agendas.  I just wanted to learn how to beat the Fight Cave.
Many players just sail through the cave, making it look easy.  "Look, I beat Jad with a spoon!"... "Look, I beat Jad with 1 prayer point!"... tons of creative players showing off how good they are.
Not me.  My combat skills are atrocious.  I survive most fights because I've got maxed combat stats.  If it requires real skill, I'm sunk.  Nomad took me over a week to beat.  Jad just seemed way beyond my abilities.

This time, though... it was different.  I kept going back, persistently.  Once or twice a day.  Each time I'd try something different, learn a little more.  Without realizing, I was actually practising.  A lot.

Last night, I finally took him on, using the traditional ranged approach.  It was a thing of beauty.  I was in the zone.  No panic, no fear, no mistakes.  Once Jad and I squared off, every step went perfectly.  For my first time ever, I ranged Jad to halfway, popped the each of the healers with a bolt, got them lined up, and finished Jad.  Finishing him off with the Knockout Aura was just icing on the cake.

I know, probably not a big deal to most players.  But for me, it's huge.  Now I feel like I can beat Jad (nearly) every time I go.

I got good at Jad by accidentally practicing too much...How cool is that?

Runescape: TzTok-Jad Interlude... Getting Stomped on by Jad One More Time!

 After months of off and on Slaying, and a recent dedicated push to 99 my Slayer skill,  Kuradel finally... FINALLY... assigned Jad to me as a Slayer task!  I didn't want to waste time trying for him without some/any exp benefit, so I've been waiting till I got an  assignment to try.  My old guide on beating Jad by Ancient Curses/Deflects no longer works.  Jagex 'fixed' it.  Man, I really hate that.  They also 'fixed' the Vengeance technique.  As a result, I can' beat TzTok Jad any more.  There are no more non-combat methods to use.

I want to go back and figure out another way that works for me, but am focused right now on Slayer.  Making it a bonus assignment is the perfect practice.  I get to try it, and if I fail, at least there's some basic Slayer experience.  

So, spent the weekend practicing to Jads new sounds.  Yep, that's new sounds, courtesy Jagex, as of sometime mid-2011.  Have to learn new sounds to trigger the reflexes.  Hunted for techniques I thought might work for me.  Decided to get him halfway down, then Dragon Claw him to death.  Since I can't do Overloads, but I CAN do Extreme Strength, Attack, and Defense, I figured that would be sufficient.  I don't have a Godsword, but I've got Karamja Gloves 4, which let me die and be reborn at Jad once a day.  So I figured I'd slap him as hard as I can, get killed, and hit him a couple more times.  Seemed reasonable.  

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.  Those darn healers topped him off faster than I could damage him.  Once I realized I wasn't going to make it this trip, I got crazy.  Running at Jad, chasing him, trying not to get hit while I took my shots at him.  In a strange way, it was kind of fun.  He still killed me, but I've never done so well at Jad before.  Usually, I can't handle the prayer switching.  This time, I was doing all kinds of other things, and still surviving.  Pretty cool.

I can't wait until I get Jad assigned again.  I'm still searching for better ways to kill him.  I'm a Prayer Switching Klutz, so I need something pretty simple to follow.  But I'm getting better at Prayer Switching.  Maybe better enough to eventually switch Prayer and still manage eating, drinking, potting, and dealing with the healers.

Below is the setup I used.  It got me there with all my food, and lots of prayer pots left.  It even let me get Jad down halfway, then chase him all over the cave.  When I died, I still had plenty of supplies.  I just missed one prayer switch too many…

If you're reading this, and looking at my setup, I'd appreciate any suggestions.  Not stupid stuff, please.  But I'd really appreciate some honest help and suggestions.

Here's what I wore:

Slayer Helm

Amulet of Fury

Armadyl Chestplate

Armadyl Chainskirt

Rune Crossbow

Dragonfire Shield

Soul Wars Cape

Broad-tipped Bolts (5,000)

Barrows Gloves

Ranger Boots

Archer's Ring (Not imbued)

Aura: Reverence (But I'm thinking on trying "Knockout Blow" next try.)

Inventory:

Dragon Claws

Karamja Gloves (for fighting Jad so I'll respawn on the spot when he kills me)

Diamond Bolts (e)

Excalibur (Elite Enhanced)

Prayer potions (4 serving) - 10

Rocktails - 7

Runes for Vengeance (Lunar spellbook- 4 Astrals, 8 Deaths, 10 Earths per cast)

(I brought 40, 80, and 150 just for the heck of it)

Extreme Att, Str, Def

Range Pot

Before going in the fight cave, I sip a super set and range pot from the bank just to make the beginning faster.

On wave 61, I took a break.

Killed the 1st 360, and before killing the 2nd:

Turn off auto retaliate long enough to:

Cast Vengeance

Switch to Karamja Gloves

Switch to Diamond Bolts and set Range to Long Distance

Make sure Quick Prayers are set to Turmoil and Soul Split for Meleeing

Sip Pots (Extreme Att, Str, Def, and a Ranging pot)

Turn Auto Retaliate back on and kill the remaining 360.

Deflect, Vengeance, and Range Jad till the Healers show up.

Set Quick Prayers to Turmoil and Soul Split, turn them on as the healers arrive.

(Healers will heal Jad - even if you distract them - if you're too close to Jad.  I think this was part of my problem)

At half hit points, go all or nothing and Dragon Claw Spec Jad.

(Should I bring Spec Restore potion for extra hits?)

 I can be killed and revived on the spot once a day with Karamja Gloves 4

Maybe I should bring a Restore Potion for Special Attack?

I've got maxed combat stats, so I know my character can do it.  I'm just very clumsy at Prayer Switching, and easily lose my focus.

Anyway, that's my gear, and a few random thoughts that might help.  I'd love to hear some ideas from someone who's been there and won!

Being a Wandering Vagabond in Runescape

Hanging with the StykeWyrms on my beautiful island retreat

 After all this time, working towards one major goal, then another...
First it was 99 Summoning so I could max my combat.  Then, I had to get 99 Prayer, for the same goal.  Once I got 138 combat, it was time to get 99 Construction.  Got that, though I'm still saving up to max out the house.  Can't believe it's 25 million just for one simple little demon throne!
Somewhere in there, the achievement diaries came out, then they became the Task System.  I wanted the Elite level for all tasks.  The armor, the teleports, the special rewards... the Taskmaster Emote!  Killing Jad, which was part of the elite tasks for Karamja.

Now that I'm retired, I can relax and go fishing

I recently got the Taskmaster emote, and while there are plenty of things I want to do, for a change I don't have any obsessively driven things to do.  Sure, I want to get all the new spells and rewards from Livid Farm.  And I want to get at least 90 Agility.  And 99 Slayer.
As an aside, I keep going to Kuradal (spelling?) hoping she'll assign Fight Caves.  It's funny, how I hated Jad and the Fight Cave so much.  But by the time I'd figured out a way I could beat Jad, I kind of enjoyed it.  I don't want to go back for no reason, but I keep hoping I'll get him as a slayer boosted assignment.

I'm at 96 Fishing, and currently am relaxing at the Fishing Guild while I do a little one-handed Barbarian Shark Fishing.  It's kind of fun to be able to do it, though I don't really see a huge speed increase.  I think for normal fishing, I'll stick with Rocktails.
I've been Slaying for the last few days.  Sometimes I'll go over to the Gnome Advanced Agility Course.  I'll flip an  hour or two at the Grand Exchange.  Now maybe I can even explore Dungeoneering - finally!

In all honesty, it's kind of nice just doing what I want to.  I've been driven to reach those difficult goals for so long now, Runescape's almost become like work.  Finally, I'm relaxing.  Whatever the mood is, that's how I play.  I really enjoy combat, so Slayer's been getting a lot of my time.  But I'm not obsessing over it.

Goals are good.  It really gives you a sense of accomplishment to set a hard goal, and after lots of work, actually achieve it.  But wow... just wandering aimlessly has a lot going for it.  I drive hard when I'm going for a goal.  Now, I'm enjoying Runescape.  My biggest goal is to save up enough gold to finish my house.  Let's see, 2 thrones, there's 50 million.  A few dragons in the dungeon, at about 10 million each, that's probably another 50 million.  Maxing the odds and ends of each room in the house, I'm guessing I'll need between 125 million and 150 million.  I'm about a third of the way right now, but I don't want to spend all my seed money.  I use maybe 50 million for trading when I'm flipping.  It fluctuates a lot, based on what I'm trading at the moment, but usually it's commodities.  Essence, Runes, Food, Wood... The stuff that's always in demand.

When I get close to enough money, I'll probably start obsessing like usual.  But for now, I'm just the happy wanderer.  Check out the pubs in Falador, Varrock, Brimhaven, etc... you'll probably find me knocking back a few beers with the local rednecks!

New Guide to the Fight Cave - How to Kill Jad the Easy Way!

Fight Cave.

Jad.  Prayer potions, Rocktail, no weapon.

Ancient Curses, Deflects, no healers.

Runescape Fight Cave: How To Kill Jad The Easy Way and Win the Fire Cape
Got it?  If you want a bit more detail, keep reading.  Or just click the link above.

As I mentioned last time, I finally beat Jad, and as promised, have written a guide about it.  I didn't originally intend to turn it into a guide.  It was supposed to be just a blog, a chance to vent a bit and get it out of my system.  But it kept getting longer, and longer... and I finally had to admit there was the makings of a pretty good guide.  So that's what it became.
     I was really wrapped up in TzTok-Jad.  I'm so bad at that kind of fighting, but I'm very good at obssessing over a game.  Worked at it until it worked for me.  But after it was done I couldn't let go.  Close my eyes, I'd see Jad.  In the quiet of the night, I'd hear the "boom-boom" of his magic attacks.
     So I wrote about it.  That's how I clear my head, and it worked.  But when it was done, there was a 6,500 word guide on Jad, designed for people like me... people who just can't seem to figure it out, and when they did, couldn't get coordinated enough to make it work.
     Pictures... it needed lots of pictures.  I had to make a couple of trips back to Jad to get all the pics of the Fight Cave I needed.  My computer's not fast enough to take video while playing the game.  But pics, I can do.  Both times I went back, I used this technique again.  Both times, I got another Fire Cape.

Some of Jad's henchmen

I'm satisfied.  If a klutz like me can beat the Fight Cave, win a Fire Cape, and defeat Jad, then this is a method that works.  In my opening sentence, I gave you the entire technique.  But in the guide, I break it down step by step, and teach you how to get past the 62 Waves without memorizing... 62 waves.
If you have Ancient Curses, and level 68 or higher Prayer...  and could never beat Jad, or even get past those darn healers... I've got the solution.  Read the guide.  Then go kill Jad.  As often as you like!


By the way, for those who remember why I wanted to kill Jad...

I needed to wear a Fire Cape to complete the Karamja tasks

Finished the Power of Lava

After all of that, my last Karamja task.  I now have the Karamja 4 gloves!