Ancient mace

“It has ancient goblin symbols on it.”

The Ancient mace is a one-handed melee weapon from the quest Another Slice of H.A.M., and nobody buys it for its stats. Its whole reason to exist is its special attack, Favour of the War God, which hits through Protect from Melee and converts the damage it deals into Prayer points for you. It needs only 15 Attack and 25 Prayer to wield, and it is the standard prayer-restoring tool for Nightmare Zone and long Slayer trips.

Equipment bonuses

As a weapon the mace is weak — it sits between a black mace and a mithril mace, with a slow 5-tick swing. The numbers that matter are +16 crush attack, +14 strength and a +3 Prayer bonus; the negative slash bonus tells you it is a crush-only weapon.

Attack bonuses
+10
−2
+16
0
0
Defence bonuses
0
0
0
0
0
Other bonuses
+14
+0
+0%
+3
Slot
Weapon

Requires 15 Attack and 25 Prayer to wield · one-handed · attack speed 5t / 3.0s · attack range 1 · members. Nobody equips it to fight with — it is carried for the special attack shown below.

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How to get the Ancient mace

The mace comes from a quest, and buying one does not skip that requirement.

Ways to obtain it
Another Slice of H.A.M. — the mace is uncovered during the quest, when the Dorgeshuun archaeology team digs it out of the Third Age train tunnel. This is the only way to make it wieldable.
Tegdak — after the quest he will replace a lost mace for 1,000 coins, north-east of the Dorgesh-Kaan marketplace. During the quest, General Bentnoze and General Wartface do the same.
Grand Exchange — it is tradeable, so a spare can be bought outright (buy limit 8 every 4 hours). You still cannot wield it until you have reached the right point in the quest.

The quest itself needs Death to the Dorgeshuun, The Giant Dwarf and The Dig Site completed first, so the mace is a mid-game unlock rather than an early one.

The Ancient mace's special attack

Favour of the War God costs 100% special-attack energy — one use per full bar. It does three things at once:

  • it ignores Protect from Melee, so it lands on targets praying against you;
  • it drains the target's Prayer points by 100% of the damage it deals;
  • it restores the same amount to you, and can take your Prayer above your maximum by up to the damage dealt.

The accuracy roll uses the attack bonus of the style you have selected, but it is rolled against the target's crush defence. The Prayer restore also works on monsters that are immune to normal weapons, such as Turoths and Kurasks.

Because the restore scales with the hit, the usual routine is to boost Strength — a Super strength potion and a strength prayer — before firing the special, so each cast returns as many Prayer points as possible.

Is the Ancient mace worth it?

As a weapon, no. Its +16 crush and +14 strength put it below a rune mace, and its 5-tick speed makes it slower than most maces at the same level. Nobody trains with it.

As a utility item it is excellent and very cheap. It is the standard way to keep Prayer up in the Nightmare Zone — with a power surge power-up you get unlimited special energy and can restore Prayer indefinitely — and it saves potion slots on long Slayer trips against immune monsters. It also doubles as a Bandos item for walking through the God Wars Dungeon.

The practical answer: carry it in the inventory, swing something real. Pair it with an Abyssal whip or a Dragon scimitar and use the mace purely for the special.

Ancient mace FAQ

What level do you need for the Ancient mace?
15 Attack and 25 Prayer. You also have to have reached the point in Another Slice of H.A.M. where the mace is given to you — buying one on the Grand Exchange without the quest progress does not let you wield it.
How do you get the Ancient mace?
It is handed to you during Another Slice of H.A.M.. If you lose it during the quest you can get it back from General Bentnoze or General Wartface for 1,000 coins, and after the quest from Tegdak north-east of the Dorgesh-Kaan marketplace for the same price. It is also tradeable on the Grand Exchange.
What does the Ancient mace's special attack do?
Favour of the War God costs 100% special-attack energy. It hits through Protect from Melee, drains the target's Prayer points by the amount it hits, and restores the same amount to you — it can push your Prayer above your maximum, up to the damage dealt.
Does the Ancient mace special work on monsters that can't be hurt normally?
Yes. It restores Prayer even against targets immune to conventional weapons, such as Turoths and Kurasks, which is what makes it useful on Slayer trips.
Is the Ancient mace good in the Nightmare Zone?
It is the standard tool there. With a power surge power-up giving unlimited special energy you can spam the special to top your Prayer back up. Boosting your Strength first raises the hit, and therefore the Prayer restored.
Which defence does the Ancient mace special roll against?
The accuracy roll uses the attack bonus of whichever style you have selected, but it is always rolled against the target's crush defence.
Is the Ancient mace worth using as a weapon?
No. Its damage is on par with a mithril mace and it swings a tick slower than most maces. Bring it as a Prayer-restore utility alongside a real weapon such as an Abyssal whip or Dragon scimitar.
Does the Ancient mace protect you in the God Wars Dungeon?
Yes — it counts as a Bandosian item, so wearing it keeps Bandos followers in the God Wars Dungeon from attacking you on sight.

Update history

22 Oct 2025The special attack can now penetrate prayers used by NPCs.
7 Aug 2024The yellow glow from the special attack animation was adjusted to align with the mace.

Source: OSRS Wiki — Ancient mace (Changes).