Cave Kraken Best in Slot Gear & Strategy Guide

To be assigned cave krakens you need level 87 Slayer and level 50 Magic. They are assigned by Chaeldar, Konar, Nieve and Duradel, and — unlike most monsters — they can only be attacked on a Slayer task. No task, no kill.

You fight them in the Kraken Cove, the same members' cave that houses the Kraken boss. The cove is dotted with whirlpools; each one is a hidden cave kraken waiting to be disturbed. Note that this is purely a Slayer-task monster, not a quest boss, so there is no quest requirement.

Cave kraken are a pure Magic kill. Magic is the only reliable way to deal damage — Ranged attacks land for just 1/7th of their normal damage, and Melee (including halberds) cannot hit them at all. So bring a magic attack and aim to break through their weak magic defence (their Magic defence bonus is −63).

They also have a 50% elemental weakness to earth spells as of the 25 June 2025 Summer Sweep Up update, so an earth-element spell or a tool that leans on that weakness will speed up your kills. For the exact best-in-slot magic setup tuned to your stats and budget, use our Boss Gear Finder above and lean on the magic gear families it recommends rather than guessing.

Cave kraken attack with Magic, and because their attacks are magic rather than typeless, they can be prayed against — so Protect from Magic shuts most of their damage down. With a max hit of only 13 and no aggression, your supply needs here are light:

• Runes for your chosen magic attack (this is a Magic kill).
• Protect from Magic running, topped up with prayer potions if you want to leave it on.
• A modest amount of food to cover the rare hit that slips through.

They are not poisonous, so antipoison is unnecessary. Note that a cannon and combat thralls do not work here — cave kraken are immune to both. Dial in exact quantities for your stats with the gear and prayer tools above.

Surfacing the kraken. A cave kraken is invisible until you disturb its whirlpool — click a whirlpool to make the kraken rise, and only then can you attack it. Unlike the Kraken boss, you cannot use Fishing explosives to surface a regular cave kraken; if you try, your character will path to the whirlpool but fail, with the message "I can't reach that!".

Its attack. Once surfaced, the cave kraken attacks with Magic on a slow 6-tick attack speed for up to 13 damage. Because the attack is genuine magic damage and not typeless, Protect from Magic blocks it — keep that prayer on and you will take almost nothing.

Damage you deal. Magic is your only reliable damage source; Ranged is throttled to 1/7th and Melee simply does not connect. Exploit the 50% earth-spell weakness and the −63 magic defence to push your hits through.

The kill loop is simple and AFK-friendly: disturb a whirlpool, switch Protect from Magic on, and attack the surfaced kraken with your strongest Magic spell — ideally an earth-element one to abuse the 50% weakness. With a max hit of 13 against you and that prayer up, you can chain kills with minimal food. Move to the next whirlpool and repeat for the rest of your task.

One strategic note: for most players the Kraken boss is the better target on a Kraken task, since its drop table is far more lucrative. Cave kraken are mainly worth killing if you are an ironman chasing a first Trident of the seas (it drops more often here) or a collection-log hunter after the uncharged trident slot.

The headline reward is the Uncharged trident at a rate of 1/200 — the reason most people kill cave kraken at all, since it drops more frequently here than the charged Trident of the seas does from the Kraken boss. The prized rare is the Kraken tentacle at 1/1200.

Beyond those, cave kraken share a generous supporting table of runes, herbs, seeds and the gem drop table, plus a Brimstone key when killed on a Konar task. See the full drop table above for every item and rate.

Trying to skip the task requirement. Cave kraken can only be attacked while they are your active Slayer assignment — there is no off-task killing. Make sure you actually have the task before you head to the cove.

Bringing the wrong combat style. Players sometimes show up with a Melee or Ranged setup. Melee (halberds included) cannot hit a cave kraken at all, and Ranged is reduced to 1/7th damage, so a non-Magic setup wastes the whole trip. This is a Magic kill, full stop.

Using Fishing explosives to surface them. That trick works on the Kraken boss, not on regular cave kraken — try it and you will just get "I can't reach that!". Disturb the whirlpool by clicking it instead.

Forgetting to pray. Their attacks are real magic damage, so leaving Protect from Magic off means taking up to 13 per hit for no reason. Keep it on and the trip is nearly free of damage. Setting up a cannon or thralls is also wasted effort here — cave kraken are immune to both.