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!

Runescape: The Quest for Baby TzRek-Jad?

Concept art from Runescape

Have you seen Baby Jad?

Are you one of the lucky ones that already got him?  I'm not.  Darn it.  

I spent a couple of months earlier this year getting the hang of beating TzTok-Jad.  Got to where I was sleeping and dreaming Jad.  Yes... I'm a slow learning, and am truly horrible at real-time combat.  Just can't handle all the prayer switching while fighting.

Still, with a lot of practice, and many attempts, I finally beat him.  Got 3 capes, and called it quits.  Thought when I finished I'd never want to see him again.  But in a weird sort of way, I've grown attached to Jad.

So when Jagex announced that TzTok-Jad had a baby... and it's name is TzRek-Jad...   I just flat-out, no holds barred, wanted one.  Maybe 2, one for my Player Owned House!  Before knowing anything except his requirements, I knew it was going to happen.

The requirements?  Only the most restrictive of any pet in the entire game.  Baby Black Dragons used to be the coolest pet in the game.  They needed 99 Summoning and a rare egg dropped from the black dragons.  (Green, Blue, and Red are also available, just not as cool.)

Now Baby TzRek-Jad has the baby dragon topped.  Baby Jad reqires 99 Summoning (just like having a baby pet dragon).  But he also requires 99 Slayer.  Plus 100 Zeal points from Soul Wars.  Plus, you have to GIVE BACK a Fire Cape!!

That makes him pretty darned exclusive.  At this moment, I've got the 99 Summoning, but only 95 Slayer.  I figure about a month to finish Slayer.  Then start Soul Wars.  Don't even know how long it takes to play, and how quickly points can be earned.  But I'll find out in about a month.  Seems reasonable to assume another month for that.

Let's see, this is the end of August.  So around the end of October, or early November, I hope to have mine.  And no, I'm not patient.  It's killing me to not already have him!  But I'm very good at persistent.  And even better at obsessive.  So I'll just obsess over it until I've got it.  Last time I worked this hard for something, it was the Taskmaster Emote.  And just days after I earned it, Runescape released all those fancy capes for people who've maxed all their skills... or more.  

Kind of devalued my hard work.  But what the heck.  I'm playing Runescape because it's fun.  I'm sure not going to obsess on a Completionists Cape.  But Baby TzRek-Jad?  I think I can manage that.  :^)

By the way, since I don't have one of my own, I'm posting some YouTube videos that show him in action.  Enjoy.

Runescape: Taking a break from Dungeoneering to get 99 Slayer

Surrounded!

Monique finally achieved her goals in Dungeoneering.  She got the Bonecrusher, the Herbicide, and I think she even got the Farming one that sometimes gives you seeds back when a tree dies.
This is good... and bad.  To the good, she reached her personal goals and accomplished something she worked hard to get.  Also to the good, I want to get the upcoming baby TzRek Jad, so now I'm free to focus directly on level 99 Slayer now.  But to the bad, it was a lot of fun dungeoneering with her.  I really enjoyed duoing the dungeons together.  It took a while, but our playstyles had evolved to where we partnered extremely well.  Since both of us liked taking our time in the dungeons and actually 'playing', there was no pressure to just rush all the floors.
Now that she's reached her goal, I don't think she'll be Dungeoneering that much any more.  :^(

Herbicide

Looking forward, though... like I said, I'm working on my 99 Slayer.  I enjoy Slayer, so that's cool.  It's generally fun and/or profitable.  I've gone through Hellhounds, Abyssals, dragons, Black Demons, and multiple assignments of Spiritual Mages and Mutated Jadinkos.  It's all okay, except for the Jadinkos.  Those guys are slow to kill, and I can't find any real guides online with step by step proven techniques.  They're easy enough to kill.  It's just that they seem to have good defense and high hit points.  So when I'm trying to blast through my assignments (I go to Kuradel), these guys bring me to a screeching halt.  I even switched to doing the babies.  Thought they'd be a lot faster, kind of like Kalphite assignments.  Instead, the babies are level 90, and yes, they're easier and faster to kill than the adults.  But still slow.  Darn.

Entering the Jadinko Lair

I've seriously considered taking Mutated Jadinkos off my list of tasks, but when I'm not trying to rush, I enjoy them.  And I don't want to waste 100 Slayer points knowing they'll be put back on my list later.  So for now, I'll just do the babies as fast as I can to zip through.

In the meantime, my current task is Black Demons.  I love slaying Black Demons.  They're fast to kill, easy risk-management if you Prayer flash.  Even easier if you bring an Enhanced Excalibur.  And very profitable.  They drop a decent amount of alchable items, and the ashes are very valuable for Prayer training.  Or just selling on the GE.

Business as usual in the Black Demon Cavern

This morning, I was settling down with my breakfast and coffee, just in time to see there were only 7 minutes left before System update.  Decided to use those 7 minutes.  Black Demons are excellent subjects for Prayer flashing, and I'm still getting the hang of it.  So during that time, there was plenty of chance to get a feel for when to click.  After the update, started Prayer flashing again, and the response time was greatly improved.  I don't know if that was deliberate to the update, or just me having a better-than-usual internet connection, but it was really nice.  Almost real-time.

I haven't seen anybody else mentioning it yet, so maybe it was just me.  But I'm looking forward to seeing how well the overall speed runs later tonight.  I hope it's consistent, reliable, and Runescape-wide.

My last kill this morning leveled up to 94.  Only 5 levels to go!!!

Runescape: Dungeoneering, Baby TzRek Jad, Slayer... so much to do, so little time!

In spite of the fact that Monique and I are still Dungeoneering extensively, I've not seen any Night Spiders since the beginning of the month.  That makes 7 Night Spiders to get my Shadow Silk Hood, then 2 more Night Spiders in the next couple of days, now I've seen none for nearly 2 weeks.  Wow.  I'm extremely glad I got my hood so early in the hunt.  

Since then, I've managed to get level 83 Dungeoneering, which makes 42 my deepest dungeon available.  Monique's gotten to floor 38, but for her, it's not about the Dungeoneering, it's about the tokens.  By now, she's gotten every reward she desires except for the crafting one.  She's already gotten Bonecrusher, and the Scroll of Life.  Once she gets that last reward, I think I'll have lost my Dungeoneering partner.  Oh well, I ran solo before she got interested, and I'll just go back to solo when she's done.  In the meantime, she still needs about 23,000 tokens, which means I don't have to worry about it for a while.

Besides, with Jagex releasing baby TzRek Jad sometime this month, I've got plenty of other things to work on.  His requirements are 99 Summoning, 99 Slayer, and 100 Zeal from Soul Wars.  I've got the summoning, which is the hardest/most expensive skill to max (in my opinion, anyway).  My Slayer is 93, but I like training Slayer, so it'll be fun to focus on getting that as my next 99.  It's the Soul Wars I'm really dreading.  Don't like team sports...  But I'll do it for baby Jad.  TzTok Jad was such a pain to beat, that in a strange way, I kind of like him.  It's going to be awesome to sport a baby TzRek Jad.

While Monique is still interested in Dungeoneering, I haven't put much effort into Slaying.  Maybe three tasks in the last several days.  I always go to Kuradel, and she gave me nearly 200 Nechryaels, then 186 Spiritual Mages, and now 150 Blue Dragons.  Blue Dragons!  Heck, yes, they're like a trip to Disney.  Fun, fast, easy, and reasonably private if you use Kuradel's Slayer Dungeon.  I'm about halfway through them, and have gotten 2 Dragon Eggs so far.  Nice, though I've got plenty in my player owned house.

Getting assigned Blue Dragons is like a break.  When that's over, it'll be back to the usual assignments (I assume).  

The nice thing about Slayer, is you can go slow, medium, or fast, depending on your goals.  Slow, allows for bring a Pack Yak, and banking the drops for profit.  Medium, allows for banking the really exceptional drops, but mostly just killing.  And fast, is when I use all the boosts I can (Super Sets, Turmoil, etc.)  

I don't include overloads because I can't do the max, and it seems to me like the one I can do might be more effort than it's worth for an ongoing task.  I could see the value in getting past one specific boss monster, but not for a continuous ongoing goal.

But for now, we're Dungeoneering.  Lots of variety and fun.  We're not fast, and we don't rack up amazing experience.  We just play.  Monique by nature has gravitated toward being our keyer.  She loves to explore, and blaze new trails.  She manages the doors and makes sure we clear the floor before going after the bosses.  I combine skilling and fighting.  Making our armor, and our summoning beasts.  And fighting.  I enjoy fighting the monsters.  Even when we're trying to rush, I keep getting sidetracked fighting.  I guess it's not really a big deal.  We both enjoy it for one reason or another.

So, once Monique has reached her Dungeoneering tokens goal, I'm going to go guns blazing on Slayer and blast through it as fast as possible.  Goodbye, bank account.  But it'll be worth it...

Hello, baby TzRek Jad!