Dagannoth Prime Best in Slot Gear & Strategy Guide

Dagannoth Prime lives on the sixth (deepest) floor of the Waterbirth Island Dungeon, where the three Dagannoth Kings share one lair. The lair is reached via the Kings' ladder deep within the dungeon. A separate Slayer lair is accessible by using the "Slayer" option on the same ladder, for players who have a Dagannoth Slayer task.

Prime has no listed quest requirement. Dagannoth tasks are assigned by Vannaka, Chaeldar, Konar, Nieve and Duradel. The wiki's suggested stats for taking on the Kings are roughly 70+ Attack, 70+ Strength, 75+ Magic, 70+ Ranged, 60+ Defence (80+ recommended), 70+ Hitpoints, and 45+ Prayer for Mystic Might (70+ for Piety). An 85 Agility shortcut (or 80 with a Summer pie boost) skips the long tunnel route.

Because Prime is weak to Ranged, the meta is a Ranged setup: maximise ranged strength and accuracy with a ranged gear loadout. The wiki lists effective weapons spanning the budget ladder — the rune crossbow, dragon crossbow, dragon hunter crossbow, Armadyl crossbow and Zaryte crossbow are all effective, as is the toxic blowpipe (especially on a Slayer task). Wealthier players may use the bow of Faerdhinen or the twisted bow, the latter being strong against high-Magic monsters like Prime. The crystal bow is also fairly effective. For the exact best-in-slot pieces at your bank, use our Boss Gear Finder above rather than copying a fixed list.

If you are killing all three Kings in one trip, balance damage across Magic, Ranged and Melee, and stack ranged defence plus prayer bonus to soak the Spinolyps in the surrounding moat. Bring a Ranged style weapon as your main, plus antipoison protection (the Spinolyps poison you, starting at 6 damage) — Sanfew serums double as antipoison and super restore, or a Serpentine helm grants poison immunity. Round out the inventory with prayer restoration, ranging potions, a few Saradomin brews and sharks or better for healing, and Telekinetic Grab runes to loot Prime's drops from a distance.

3x3 AoE Magic attack. Prime's only attack is a magical projectile that resembles Water Wave and lands in a 3x3 tile radius around its target. It can hit up to 50 damage and attacks on a 4-tick speed, so it can kill an unprepared player in roughly two hits. Keep Protect from Magic active at all times while Prime is attacking — the wiki advises switching it on before you even enter the lair, since Prime is likely to be accurate immediately. Because the attack is AoE, never let another player stand next to you, or you will both eat the hit.

Long range and Supreme overlap. Prime, like Supreme, has a very long-ranged attack. If both Prime and Supreme focus the same player, the combined damage can cause a quick death. Use the Long-range Ranged attack style unless you are sure Supreme will not notice you, and either kill Supreme or leave the area if you are caught between the two.

To kill Prime alone, the cleanest method is to position in the north-east corner of the lair where you are out of the aggression range of Rex and Supreme, then Ranged Prime down. Prime will not approach you; it attacks from a distance and stays put, so you must wait for a safe moment to grab loot or bring Telekinetic Grab to collect drops remotely. Staying on the western part of the arena helps avoid drawing Rex, and hugging the north-eastern seaweed avoids Supreme when he respawns.

In a full three-King rotation, a safe order is to safespot Rex with Magic on the east wall, rotate north to Ranged Prime along the northern wall, then move south to kill Supreme with Melee while staying west to dodge Rex's respawn. Meleers are advised to stay away from Prime entirely and fend off Supreme instead, since Prime is resistant to non-Ranged attacks and can kill a player not praying Magic within a couple of hits. A dwarf multicannon placed on Prime's spawn (loaded only when Prime is up) can smooth out the rotation.

Dagannoth Prime is the only monster that drops the Seers ring (1/128) and the Mud battlestaff (1/128) — its two signature uniques. Like all Dagannoth Kings it can also drop the dragon axe (1/128), and the boss pet, Pet dagannoth prime, at 1/5000. It always drops Dagannoth bones and a Dagannoth hide; the bones drop in noted form once you have completed the elite Fremennik Diary, which substantially boosts trip profit.

• Praying the wrong overhead. Prime is the Magic King — Protect from Magic, not Missiles. Turn it on before entering the lair, not after the first hit.
• Standing next to another player. Prime's attack is a 3x3 AoE; anyone adjacent to the target shares the hit. Keep your distance from other players.
• Getting double-teamed by Supreme. Both Prime and Supreme have long-ranged attacks; let both focus you and the combined 50-plus damage spikes can kill fast. Use Long-range style and break off if caught between them.
• Skipping antipoison. The Spinolyps in the surrounding water poison you (starting at 6) and drain prayer. Bring antipoison/Sanfew serums or wear a Serpentine helm.
• Walking into Rex. Straying too close to Rex while fighting Prime can pull his attention and add unnecessary damage; stay on the western side where Rex rarely roams.