Ancient godsword

“A mysterious, heavy sword.”

The Ancient godsword is the fifth godsword, made by fitting an ancient hilt from Nex onto a godsword blade. Its stats are the same as the other four godswords, and it needs 75 Attack to wield, so the reason to pick it is its special attack, Blood Sacrifice. That special marks the target and heals you if the target stays close, which makes it a food-saving option on long fights and a delayed finisher in PvP.

Equipment bonuses

All five godswords share one set of numbers, and this is it: +132 slash, +80 crush, +132 strength and a small +8 Prayer bonus. It swings slowly, on a 6-tick attack speed, and it takes both hands.

Attack bonuses
0
+132
+80
0
0
Defence bonuses
0
0
0
0
0
Other bonuses
+132
+0
+0%
+8
Slot
2h

Requires 75 Attack to wield · two-handed · attack speed 6t / 3.6s · attack range 1 · members. The numbers match every other godsword, so the special attack is what sets this one apart.

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How to get the Ancient godsword

There are two parts to build, and the hard one is the hilt.

Ways to obtain it
Ancient hilt — a rare drop from Nex in the God Wars Dungeon at 1/516. It is tradeable.
Godsword blade — made by fusing godsword shards 1, 2 and 3 at an anvil, which needs 80 Smithing.
Combine them — use the hilt on the finished blade to get the sword.
Grand Exchange — the sword itself is tradeable, with a buy limit of 8 every 4 hours.

The Ancient godsword's special attack

Blood Sacrifice costs 50% special attack energy. The swing itself has double accuracy and a max hit 10% higher than normal.

  • A hit that lands marks the target for sacrifice.
  • The target then has 8 ticks (4.8 seconds) to move at least 5 tiles away from you.
  • If it stays, it takes 25 typeless damage, and you heal for 15% of its max Hitpoints, capped at 25 against NPCs.

You only need the first hit to land, so you can swap to another weapon straight after the special. The full heal needs the whole 25 damage to go off, and against an NPC it also needs a monster with 167 or more max Hitpoints.

In PvP the delayed 25 damage can be lined up with other hits. Ice spells and Entangle stop a player from walking out of the mark, so a freeze makes the sacrifice reliable.

Ancient godsword vs the other godswords

Because all five godswords have the same numbers, this is a choice of special attack, not of damage. The Bandos godsword is often used against powerful bosses and in PvP to lower the target's Defence, and the Armadyl godsword is the high-damage special for the same jobs. The Saradomin godsword heals you and restores Prayer, and the Zamorak godsword freezes the target. The Ancient godsword is usually the best special for keeping your Hitpoints up.

The Saradomin godsword can be better in niche cases where it always hits for its maximum, such as the Judges of Yama and Energy Siphons at the Tombs of Amascut.

All godswords are slow. For training against low-Defence monsters, faster weapons such as the Abyssal whip give more damage per second, so the godsword is a boss-and-special weapon. To test a specific setup, use the DPS calculator.

Ancient godsword FAQ

What level do you need for the Ancient godsword?
75 Attack. That is the same for every godsword.
How do you get the Ancient godsword?
You make it by using an ancient hilt on a completed godsword blade. Nex drops the hilt at 1/516. The blade is fused from the three godsword shards at an anvil with 80 Smithing. The finished sword is also tradeable, so you can buy one on the Grand Exchange instead.
What does Blood Sacrifice do?
It costs 50% special attack energy and has double accuracy with a max hit 10% higher than a normal swing. If it lands, the target is marked and has 8 ticks (4.8 seconds) to get at least five tiles away. If it does not, it takes 25 typeless damage and you heal for 15% of its max Hitpoints, capped at 25 against NPCs.
Can Protect from Magic stop Blood Sacrifice?
No. The 25 damage is typeless, so praying Protect from Magic does not lower it.
Does the special attack stack?
Yes. You can mark the same target again before the first sacrifice goes off, which makes the delayed hit total 50 damage.
Which godsword special is best?
It depends on the job, because the stats are identical. Blood Sacrifice is the usual pick when you want to sustain Hitpoints, for example at Vardorvis and in player killing. For other jobs see the comparison further down the page.
How much does the special attack heal against NPCs?
It heals 15% of the monster's max Hitpoints, capped at 25. To get the full 25 the monster needs a max Hitpoints of 167 or more, and the sacrifice must deal its whole 25 damage.
Does the Ancient godsword protect you in the God Wars Dungeon?
Yes. It counts as a Zarosian item, so it gives god protection against Zarosian NPCs there.

Update history

29 May 2024Blood Sacrifice healing was reduced from 25% to 15% of the target's base Hitpoints, still capped at 25 against NPCs.
11 Jan 2023The sword was added to the Grand Exchange item sink list.
11 Oct 2022The healing from the special attack became more reliable in Last Man Standing.
21 Sep 2022A marked player no longer takes the sacrifice damage after teleporting or leaving an instance, and the damage became neutral (a tinted hitsplat).
5 Jan 2022The Ancient godsword became obtainable.
16 Dec 2021The item was added to the game but could not yet be obtained.

Source: OSRS Wiki — Ancient godsword (Changes).