• 1.0 - Introduction
• 2.0 - Accessing the Abyss
• 3.0 - The Abyss
  • 3.1 - Monsters
  • 3.2 - The Pouches
  • 3.3 - Strategy

On June 13th, 2005, the "Abyss" was introduced into RuneScape, which dramatically affected both the Runecrafting skill and its related economy. More specifically, it reduced the time and effort needed to Runecraft. Effortlessly Runecrafting with the Abyss can net over 300k an hour making Nature runes.

As easy as it may be, there are some associated risks with using the Abyss. This guide will outline these risks, provide helpful solutions and tips to these risks. It will also give you the information needed to firstly gain access to, and then how to use the Abyss.

To access the abyss for the first time, you must complete a mini quest for the Mage of Zamorak. This section gives instructions to follow, and also the requirements you must have met before being able to begin.

» Completion of the Rune Mysteries quest.

» Level 51 Magic (Ardougne Teleport).
» Teleport runes for Varrock, and Ardougne.
» Amulet of Glory.
» Completion of the Plague City quest (Ability to teleport to Ardougne)

Begin by heading north of Edgeville, following the river until you reach the Mage of Zamorak. If you're worried about pkers, before entering the wilderness walk east across the bridge, then go north and head back west across the tops of the hills. This way you will have a clear view and will be able to see if there are any pkers there.

Talk to the Mage and he will tell you it is too dangerous to talk in the Wilderness and to meet him at the Chaos Temple in Varrock.

The mage tells you its too dangerous to talk out in the Wildneress, so you need to meet him at the Chaos Temple in south-east Varrock. When you arrive, ask him where he gets his runes from, and he will tell you about the Abyss.

He will ask you if you could help him and you should answer YES.

After answering, the Mage will give you a Scrying Orb. He will tell you then that you need to teleport to three different rune essence mines whilst carrying the Orb.

The three easiest rune essence teleports are located in Varrock, the Wizard Tower south of Draynor Village and in Ardougne. Teleport to the rune essence from the rune shop in Varrock, then teleport to Draynor with an amulet of glory and run to the Wizard Tower, finally teleport to Ardougne and enter the rune essence mine there.

If you wish, however, you can also teleport through two other methods: talking to Brimstail in his cave in the Tree Gnome Stronghold, located south-west of the Grand Tree, or using the Magic Guild.

Varrock	Wizard Tower	Ardougne

Teleport back to Varrock and return to the Chaos Temple and speak with the Mage of Zamorak. He will reward you for your efforts with 1,000 runecrafting XP and the ability to use the Abyss. Finish the conversation and talk to the Mage of Zamorak again to gain actual access to the Abyss.

Teleport to Edgeville by using your amulet of glory and return to the Mage in the Wilderness again. Right click on him and use the Teleport Abyss option to enter the Abyss. The Mage also runs a Battle Runes store that you can buy and sell runes at.

The Abyss is made up of an outer ring, an inner ring, and its center. When you are teleported there, you appear in the outer ring with all the monsters. The inner ring contains the portals that will take you to every rune altar. In the very center of the Abyss, there is a Dark Mage and a swirling rift. Speak to the Mage to have your pouches repaired.

When you are teleported to the Abyss, you will be skulled (unless wearing an Forinthry bracelet) and your prayer will be drained.

The monsters in the Abyss can hit hard, but are fairly inaccurate.

The outer ring and the inner ring of the Abyss are separated. To get into the inner ring from the outer, you will have to go through a tunnel; however, the tunnels are guarded or blocked. You can get past the obstacles, but you need certain items or skills:

The portals that take you to the altars are located on the wall of the inner ring, and they look like small cave entrances. Once you exit through a rift, there is no way back into the Abyss, so you will have to walk or teleport to get out. Abyss Runecrafting using this method is faster for chaos and nature runes than for elemental runes.

There are three kinds of monsters inside the Abyss: Abyssal Leech (Level 41), Abyssal Guardian (Level 59), Abyssal Walker (Level 81).

These monsters drop all four of the Runecrafting pouches. Pouches store extra rune essence.

The fastest way to gather pouches is to kill Abyssal Leeches (Level 41) as they only have 100 constitution and have the same drop rate as the other abyssal creatures.

They also drop every single kind of talisman, but the higher level talismans, such as the nature talisman, are rare. They can drop Rune essence in note form and in item form, ashes, Binding Necklaces (which are used to bind two types of runes together) and Elemental talismans (which are members only, and allow you to enter the ruins of any elemental altar). These are also the only monsters that drop Abyssal Charms.

To use the pouches you'll need a certain Runecrafting level. The better the pouch, the higher the Runecrafting level requirement. While a pouch is in use, it will degrade. Only the highest level pouch you have on you will degrade. When degraded, they hold two less essence. To have them fixed you'll have to talk to the Dark Mage in the center of the Abyss. You can have one of each pouch at the same time.

Pouch Table
Picture	Name	Level Required	Holds...
	Small Pouch	1	3 essence
	Medium Pouch	25	6 essence
	Large Pouch	50	9 essence
	Giant Pouch	75	12 essence

» Heroes' Guild quest.
» 44 Runecrafting

» Elemental Workshop I and Elemental Workshop II
» 60+ Defence.
» Mage Arena (for God cape)

You should wear the gear that has a decent Mage and Melee defence bonus for your level, without weighing you down too much. This is because the main threat to your Runecrafting are pkers who may try to kill you before reaching the Abyss .

Below is an image of what you should wear. If you can't wear the items with a high level requirement, wear what you can in that type of armour. The equipment shown gives a +107 magic defence bonus.

Note: When crafting Law runes, weapons and armour are not allowed, so you will not be able to use the recommended setup.

A bear helmet from the Mountain Daughter quest gives +9 ranged defence and +7 magic defence. Spotted/Spottier cape can be used to reduce your weight so you can run more. Karamja Gloves(3) give you the chance to teleport to Shilo when fast teleports are needed.

With your respective Runecrafting level, you should bring:

• » Levels 44-49: One small pouch and one medium pouch
• » Levels 50-74: One small pouch, one medium pouch, and one large pouch
• » Levels 75+: One small pouch, one medium pouch, one large pouch, and one giant pouch

The rest of your inventory should be Pure essence. Don't forget to fill your pouches! Having your pouches in a vertical position in the inventory is really effective and faster while emptying your pouches.

To effectively use the Abyss you should have at least 10 fully charged Amulets of Glory in your bank. An alternative to amulets of glory are house teleport tablets if you have an amulet of glory on your wall.

The ring of duelling will save you from having to run back to a bank if you forget to bring a charged Amulet of Glory. This will happen a lot. Alternatively, you can use your free home teleport and use the bank in Lumbridge.

Start off at Edgeville bank. Withdraw all the items you'll need (detailed above) and you're ready to go. Head north-east and follow the river until it ends. The Zamorak Mage will be waiting there for you. Right click on him and ask him to teleport you to the Abyss.

He will immediately teleport you to the outer rim of the Abyss. You will see that it is filled with level-41 Abyssal Leeches, level-59 Abyssal Guardians, and level-81 Abyssal Walkers. These creatures have a decent strength and defence level, but very low accuracy. Your dragonhide armour should provide fair protection against their attacks. These creatures are also quite slow and will not follow you around if you are running. Furthermore, when you've found your preferred portal, they will stop hitting you when the animation of your character kicks off (unless you fail at breaking through the portal). If you're feeling comfortable and safe enough, you could decide to leave out either the body or the chaps of your dragonhide armour. This will allow you to run a little while longer, as you cut down on your weight.

You will need certain equipment to get into the inner-rim of the Abyss as there are several access points. A few don't require anything other than skill. Check back to section 3.0 of this guide to find out what kind of equipment you will need.

Mining the Rock
	Find a path blocked by rocks that look like giant teeth. Use your pickaxe to mine through the rocks and enter the inner rim of the Abyss. It also gives 25 experience in Mining.
Fooling the Eyes with Thieving
	Find a pair of eyes in the ground watching over another one of the passages. Use your Thieving skills to distract them, and run by when they're not looking. It also gives 25 experience in Thieving.
Through the Passage with Agility
	Locate a passage and simply go through it. There is only one of these in the entire outer-rim.
Through the Gap with Agility
	This is a rather tight entry to the inner rim, so you will have to use Agility. It also gives 25 experience in Agility.
Chop some Tendrils
	Find a path blocked by vine-like Tendrils. Use your Woodcutting axe to chop them down and get to the inner ring of the Abyss. It also gives 25 experience in Woodcutting.
Burn a Boil
	When you find an entrance blocked by a giant mound, you will be at the right place. This is the boil. Use your tinderbox to burn down the boil and enter the inner rim of the Abyss. It also gives 25 experience in Firemaking.

Once you have reached the inner rim, head straight for the rift that you want to go into.