It's been fun watching everyone struggle but we've withheld information for long enough. This is going to be a full guide to killing Nex.
Why kill Nex?Here are a few reasons.
- It's the only boss in this game that has some sort of difficulty to it, some people might find the challenge appealing.
- It drops the best in slot armour for each style
- Its common drops are great value and add up to a lot over time
- It's actually fun to kill
Stat requirementsI would recommend being completely maxed. You can get away with less, but you sacrifice efficiency and increase your risk of dying by doing so.
- 99
- 99
- 99
or 
or 
- 70
(preferably higher) - 70
(to get to Nex) - 96
(to make overloads)
Getting to NexNex is located in the god wars dungeon. Teleport there using a ferocious ring. Starting from the rope, go south and enter through the big doors and go down the hole. There is a tunnel you'll have to go through, this requires 70 agility. It doesn't have a membership check so non-members can go through. After you're through it's a short walk to the boss room.
Directions to Nex.On your way to the boss room there will be ancient creatures and blood reavers. The mages have the ability to freeze you and it's a multi-combat zone, you could be slowed down significantly on your way there. I'd recommend wearing an ancient ceremonial set. Blood reavers will still be aggressive, but the ancient creatures won't touch you if you wear it. You could also bring gear for npcs of the other factions, but the run to the doors is short so it's not really necessary.
Teams & instancesIt's recommended that you do Nex in groups of 4, as that's the amount of people she'll give a drop. She will also get considerably stronger versus larger groups and in the public room. Instances also prevent someone from coming in and ruining your kill or taking your drops. You can join an instance by right clicking on the door you enter before the boss room. What you enter will be the name of the instance, others will be able to enter it by typing the same name.
How to enter an instance.It should be noted that anything inside the instance will disappear if there is nobody in the instance. If you die your items will appear outside of the instance, however if your group managed to kill Nex while you were busy walking back your loot will be in the instance.
The actual secret to Nex is coordination and communication. You will have a way easier time if your team is able to properly communicate during the fight. Typing during the fight is not recommended, voice chat is definitely the better option. If you're all on the same page about the fight and you're able to communicate you'll be ahead of the vast majority of people that have gone to kill her so far.
Gearing up for NexThere's a bank just before the boss room where you can gear up. I'm not gonna give you single setup to use, a few things are up to preference and things like supplies depend on how many kills per trip you're aiming for. The gear setups are more focused towards not dying than dealing the most damage, if you're interested in killing it as fast as possible there is a part at the end of the guide about damage calculations.
Choosing a combat styleAll combat styles work at Nex, she has no weakness to a specific style and each style has an effective setup. Since most of the people reading this guide won't be very experienced with Nex I'd recommend against melee. Ranged and magic are a matter of dps vs safety. Ranged generally has better dps, a magic setup with blood barrage has better healing and is thus safer.
Slayer tasksNex can be assigned as a slayer task by Shenven. It may help to get one for your first few kills as slayer helmet and chaotics increase your dps by a huge amount. You won't have to deal the most damage to her to receive credit for your kill.
Actual gear
Elite void
The best armour for dps. Recommend you take something else if you're not experienced though. Especially good for groups.
vs 
Third age vs Gwd armour
Both are perfectly fine to kill Nex with, if you're inexperienced and don't have gear get 3rd age.
Spectral spirit shield
Pretty much the go-to shield for Nex due to its hp boost and operate effect. Will be explained later.
Statius' warhammer
A really good way of decreasing Nex' defence. A 10% decrease regardless of hit, can use with any style. Is lost on death completely if not protected.
Bandos godsword
If you're using melee it can be better at reducing defense than swh. Don't use if not using melee.
Onyx bolts (e)
Best damage for bolts and decent healing from the lifesteal as well.
Dragon bolts (e)
Equal damage to onyx bolts. No lifesteal but cost less money to use.
Emerald bolts (e)
The 10 poison damage will add up if she's poisoned in the beginning of the fight, don't use after she's already poisoned.
Diamond bolts (e)
Decent damage, reduces defense by an okay amount over time. Slower than swh but worth using if there's a lack of them.
Staff of light
Best staff if you're not on a slayer task, spec decreases incoming damage by 20%.
Damage and accuracy auras
Solid boost to dps. Use whichever fits your combat style.
SuppliesAs a general rule of thumb always take (4) dose potions. Using potions at the bank before entering the boss room can get you an extra dose of brew, overload and save an inventory slot on antipoison. If you're doing multiple kills per trip keeping antipoison in your inventory might be necessary.
The supplies you take vary depending on if you're going for single or multiple kills. For low amounts of kills per trip you should take higher amounts of manta rays, the opposite being true for long trips. I don't recommend taking only brews as food as it might lead you to be unable to heal more damage than Nex deals at some points during the fight. You won't need more than one or two super restores. You should be able to get at least 2 kills per dose of overload. Try a few different inventory setups and find out what works for you.
Manta rays - For when you need to heal up.
Fury sharks - If you have some, bringing a few for when you get really low could save your life.
Saradomin brews - Healing, use after eating fish if you need more healing in a single tick.
Overloads - Stat buffs, allows free use of brews for healing. Careful when re-potting in fight as it deals 20 damage to you.
Super restores - To restore prayer points if necessary.
Super antipoison - Prevents poison damage.
NexStill need to put an image here.
2100
175
165
144
156
156
You can enter her boss room by climbing down the hill in the room where the bank is. Once you go down the only way to get out is to teleport, bring one you can use in combat in case Nex respawns after killing her.
A map of the boss room.Fighting Nex you'll go through 6 phases. All the phases have different mechanics and should be dealt with accordingly. Nex will switch phases based on how much of her total hp she has left. The exact amount of hp she has before she switches is written down with each phase.
Water phase 2100 Protect from magicNex has some attacks she will use in every phase, I'll go over these here. She has a standard melee attack that is single target and can hit around 40s. Be wary if she targets you with her melee attack, multiple in a row might kill you. She has an AoE attack that will deal damage to everyone nearby as well, this attack changes styles depending on the phase.
If you're standing in the middle there is a chance she'll use her sliding attack. She will move across one of the lanes, knocking back and damaging anyone in her path. This will hit you two times for up to 40s, be sure to eat if you get hit. She will move to the middle and say "There is no escape!" when she uses this attack. She will target a single player with this attack and move in that player's direction relative to the middle. You can dodge this by stepping to any lane to the side of the one she's sliding down. If your group stands in the same lane she will only be able to slide down that lane, thus you'll be able to predict where she goes and have an easier time reacting to this attack. If you dodge you'll get some attacks in without Nex damaging you at all.
Nex' slide attack.Pray mage as her AoE attacks are magic based. If you're using swh or bgs spec use it immediately. If you're using emerald bolts (e) use them until you see poison damage being dealt to her. Nex will summon Fumus at the end of the starting phase, kill him or she will sacrifice him later to heal for 300 hitpoints. You'll want to move close to the corner where the next npc will be summoned so that they can be dealt with quickly.
Smoke phase 2000 Protect from magicThe only thing that changes from the starting phase is that she will attack with a high damage dealing poison. You will be completely immune to this if you've had a dose of super antipoison. Nex will summon Umbra at the end of the smoke phase, kill him or she will sacrifice him later to heal for 300 hitpoints.
Nex summons Fumus.
Nex sacrifices Cruor.During the shadow phase her AoE attacks will switch from magic to ranged, as such you're advised to pray ranged. She will also lay down an area of shadow barrage that will deal damage over time if you're standing in it. This doesn't hit very high but it hits quite rapidly, focus on getting out of this rather than damaging her. Operating your spirit shield if you're in an AoE is a good way to prevent damage as well. Nex will summon Cruor at the end of the shadow phase, kill him or she will sacrifice him later to heal for 300 hitpoints.
Nex' shadow barrage attack.Her AoE attacks will switch back from ranged to magic, switch your prayers accordingly. She will occasionally target the square under every player with blood barrage. This attack can be sidestepped, and if you don't do so she will heal the damage she deals. Pay attention to where your teammates are standing as well, you do not want to walk into a blood barrage that targeted them. Nex will say "I demand your blood!" whenever she uses this attack. Nex will summon Glacies at the end of the blood phase, kill him or she will sacrifice him later to heal for 300 hitpoints.
Nex' blood barrage attack.The ice phase is why you wear a spectral. During this phase nex uses an ice barrage attack that works similarly to her attack during the blood phase. However, instead of healing her this attack will hit a lot harder than the one in the blood phase. It can hit up to
102. Nex can still use other attacks while the ice barrage attack is on the ground, the damage can stack so it is absolutely vital you dodge. She has another attack specific to this phase where she touches the ground, this attack can freeze you. Glacies can also freeze you, but for a much shorter duration. If frozen make sure to make use of your spirit shield operate do negate the damage from at least one barrage. Prioritize healing rather than attacking. At the end of the ice phase she will say "Zaros, protect me!" and enter the last phase.
Nex' ice barrage attack.Her AoE switches back to ranged, pray accordingly. For this phase you'll have to move to the middle. If you aren't in the middle she will heal back up to 400, lifesteal and reflect all damage dealt to her back to whoever dealt it. It's recommended that you move to the middle near the end of the ice phase. Do that as late into the ice phase as possible as it will be slightly harder to dodge the ice barrage when you're standing near the middle. This is the only phase you're forced to deal with the slide attack, sidestep it as instructed earlier.
Nex' healing when not in the middle during the zaros phase.Once you've killed her pick up your loot and decide if you want to leave or not. Going for single kills per trip is the safest way to go, going for multiple saves you a bit of time since you'll have to run back less.
LootBeing a difficult boss Nex has really good loot. If your group properly splits loot you should profit almost every trip, it's amazing profit in the long term. A lot of her common drops are used for supplies to PvM with so they'll always retain value. She also drops the best armour for each combat style, which is probably what most of you are after. You will also get an elite clue scroll every kill. If you've got the hang of the fight you should average about 3 minutes per kill.
I'll make it easy to grasp what you'll get by giving some numbers, keep in mind this loot is based on groups of 4 and should be split between that group. I'm excluding nex pieces as their value is obviously really high. These values were calculated on 10/9/2017.
Minimum value for a single kill: ~200k
If the entire group gets a low value alchable. Very low chance of this occurring.
Average value for a single kill: ~1m
With blood runes and dragon arrows being replaced by wines of zamorak and onyx bolt tips you should get around a mil per kill.
Maximum value in common drops in a single kill: ~4.8m
This is excluding armour piece drops or the rarer drops of supplies that contain higher amounts.
Honorable mentionsThere are certain items or tactics that are effective but there are reasons not to use them.
- Taking Nex to the middle in every phase
I'd say Jp invented this during his earlier attempts to solo Nex and that's exactly what I think it's effective for. Taking advantage of the fact that successfully dodging her slide attack gives you a few free hits is good. It can most definitely work in groups, however it's a lot harder to coordinate and there's a high chance someone will mess up. You can do this in groups if you communicate well. - Vengeance
Nex hits high quite often so vengeance would be an effective dps increase. With vengeance other you could have only one person be forced onto lunars and effectively let everyone use veng. The reason this isn't entirely viable is that vengeance other can't be cast while attacking. It also gives you yet another thing to pay attention to during the fight, which is the cooldown. It works, but we came to the conclusion it wasn't worth using. - Vulnerability, enfeeble and stun
These spells are very cheap ways to reduce Nex' stats and all cap at 50%. Defense, attack and strength can be reduced and the spells should make the fight quite a bit easier overall. However, due to the fact that it can splash and it locking you into the normal spellbook they aren't entirely the most efficient to use. The runes also take up 3 inventory slots and for damage you'll mostly rely on rod of ivandis. Swh beats it in terms of quickly getting rid of her high defense level and a more dps focused setup will result in faster kills. It's definitely good for people on a low budget or groups without swh however. - Praying melee
If you're using a ranged setup it sounds quite reasonable to pray melee instead of magic. Especially if Nex is targetting you. In practice this doesn't really work out as you'll spend a lot more time getting hit by her AoE. Magic setups are generally more resistant to her melee attacks. - Morrigan's javelins and dragon darts
Both are very effective but highly expensive. Darts also lack the utility bolts bring. If you don't care too much about money feel free to use them, they're quite good. If you're not an ironman or actually sane it'd be better to stay away from using them. Bringing a single javelin to get a phase over with quickly if necessary isn't too bad of an idea though. - Abyssal cannon
Offers similar dps to a hunter's crossbow with onyx bolts (e). Ammo is relatively cheap and easy to get on your own. It completely lacks the utility of using bolts, you won't get any lifesteal, poison or defense lowering. Because it's 2-handed you won't be able to wear a spectral, drastically increasing your risk of dying in the fourth phase. - Mirror shield
It reduces the damage the monster you have as a slayer task will deal to you. It gets a mention because for it's incredibly cheap price it does quite well so long as you're on a slayer task. It's the only that can completely prevent you from being 1-shot during the ice phase, spectral makes it very unlikely but there's a very slim chance you can get stacked for a 125. It's bad besides that though. - Ice shield
If you're using mage you might think using ice shield during the ice phase is a good idea. It does completely prevent any freezes from Nex or Galcies during the phase. Being able to always sidestep is definitely valuable, however there's still the chance you run into an attack that was targeted at someone else. It also lacks the small window of immortality spirit shield operate has. Good during the ice phase if you're using mage and don't have a spectral. - Regen bracelet and vampyrism
The idea is to just lifesteal back most of the damage she deals to you. However they don't provide enough to heal you at a rate that would benefit you more than just equipping something for higher dps. Can work as budget options, however far less efficient.
Damage calculationsThis part displays and compares the damage output of certain setups. Keep in mind this is theoretical dps, eating and dodging is not factored in. Everything was tested using piety and overloads, as you'd be using those anyways if you were serious about killing Nex fast. The new dps meter in the attack styles tab is what I use to acquire most information.Defense dropsThis is to display how important it is to reduce Nex' defense level. I will test both the accurate and rapid style. Since the buff one might actually consider using it to save a bit of money at the cost of a tiny bit of dps.
- Gear
- Reduction (-10% def per swh)
Accurate: 54.34% accuracy & 4.72 dps vs Rapid: 46.45% accuracy & 4.72 dps
Accurate: 65.07% accuracy & 5.76 dps vs Rapid: 59.61% accuracy & 5.96 dps
Comparing armourThis should help you choose what armour to use for Nex. I'll mostly focus on dps, but will talk a bit about defense as well.
Without defense reduction
Accurate: 54.34% accuracy & 4.72 dps vs Rapid: 46.45% accuracy & 4.72 dps
Accurate: 57.01% accuracy & 4.72 dps vs Rapid: 50.72% accuracy & 4.81 dps
Accurate: 48.77% accuracy & 4.11 dps vs Rapid: 42.33% accuracy & 4.09 dps
Accurate: 49.72% accuracy & 4.05 dps vs Rapid: 43.13% accuracy & 4.03 dps
With defense reduction
Accurate: 65.07% accuracy & 5.76 dps vs Rapid: 59.61% accuracy & 5.96 dps
Accurate: 67.82% accuracy & 5.62 dps vs Rapid: 63.01% accuracy & 5.99 dps
Accurate: 61.53% accuracy & 5.19 dps vs Rapid: 55.68% accuracy & 5.38 dps
Accurate: 62.27% accuracy & 5.07 dps vs Rapid: 56.50% accuracy & 5.27 dps
There are a few conclusions I draw from this data. The first is that void is the absolute best dps. While it has a lower defense bonus in against ranged and mage it's melee defense bonus is actually twice that of a setup with pernix. You lack the damage soaking of pernix or third age, but her melee attack won't hit you as often. For those with experience void is most definitely the better choice. Do keep in mind that with a slayer helmet all other setups are better.
Another thing is that the difference in dps between armadyl and third age is really low. Low enough that the increase in defense bonus is worth using third age for. Unless you absolutely want that tiny bit of extra dps and you somehow don't have void.
CreditFirst off I want to thank my group, Nex' kneesocks. There are quite a few things I wouldn't have discovered without this group and generally speaking they're the reason the release of Nex has been so much fun for me. The time we spent from release until we kind of stopped for a bit had easily been the most fun I've had playing emps recently. From running around the wilderness killing defenseless pvmers to sweaty nex kills, it's all been great.
- Thomy: For finally releasing a boss that is actually more than a goblin on steroids. And also for increasing the character limit of posts from 20.000 to 30.000 so that this could be put in a single post. Adding the dps/accuracy checker to give us more clear info on combat.
- Jp: For the initial test duo where we failed and died. I also learned a couple things from your first solo. I'll acknowledge you as a good PvMer.
- Zack: For suggesting this entire update. :kappa:
- Drugs: Seven.
- Emilsen102: Expressing interest in dps comparisons.
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