Trident of the swamp

“A toxic weapon from the deep.”

The Trident of the Swamp is the venom upgrade of the Trident of the Seas: a one-handed powered staff that needs 78 Magic and fires its own built-in spell, so it works on any spellbook. Each successful hit has a 25% chance to venom the target, and that rises to 100% against monsters when you also wear a Serpentine helm. You make it by attaching a magic fang from Zulrah to an uncharged Trident of the Seas.

Equipment bonuses

The worn bonuses are modest: +25 magic attack and +15 magic defence, plus small melee defences of +2 stab, +3 slash and +1 crush. The damage comes from the built-in spell, whose max hit scales with your current Magic level: 24 at 78 Magic, and one higher for every three levels after that.

Attack bonuses
0
0
0
+25
0
Defence bonuses
+2
+3
+1
+15
0
Other bonuses
+0
+0
+0%
+0
Slot
Weapon

Requires 78 Magic to wield · one-handed powered staff · attack speed 4t / 2.4s · attack range 7 · members. The built-in spell uses one charge per cast.

Grand Exchange price history

Grand Exchange daily average
3.3M
90-day high—
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Grand Exchange daily average prices (source: prices.runescape.wiki). Tap the chart for any day’s price.

How to get the Trident of the Swamp

The toxic trident is made, not dropped. You need two tradeable parts and a chisel.

Ways to obtain it
Uncharged Trident of the Seas — cave krakens drop it uncharged, and the Kraken boss drops a fully charged one that you can uncharge. Both can only be fought on a Slayer task with 87 Slayer. See the Trident of the Seas page.
Magic fang — a unique drop from Zulrah. It is tradeable.
Combine them — use the magic fang on the uncharged trident with a chisel at 59 Crafting (boostable). The process is reversible while the trident is uncharged.
Grand Exchange — the toxic trident can only be listed when it is fully uncharged. That uncharged form is the one priced on this page.

To use the spell you then charge it. It holds up to 2,500 charges, and each charge costs one death rune, one chaos rune, five fire runes and one Zulrah's scale. Charging needs 78 Magic. You can take the charges out at any time to get the runes and scales back.

What the Trident of the Swamp does

The built-in spell is the main attack. It attacks every 4 ticks with a range of 7, and its max hit follows your visible Magic level, so potions and other visible boosts raise it while drains lower it. Magic damage bonuses also add to it.

The venom passive works on successful hits with the built-in spell and with spells you cast manually. The base chance is 25%. With a Serpentine helm it becomes 100% against monsters. For manual spells the staff must hold at least one charge, but casting does not use that charge.

If you want fewer trips to recharge, Lieve McCracken will turn an uncharged toxic trident and 10 kraken tentacles into the enhanced version, which holds 20,000 charges instead of 2,500.

Trident of the Swamp vs other powered staves

Against the Trident of the Seas it gains +10 magic attack, venom, and a higher max hit: at the same Magic level it hits 3 higher. The cost is that each charge uses a Zulrah's scale instead of 10 coins, and it needs 78 Magic instead of 75.

Against the Sanguinesti staff, the sanguinesti staff hits 2 higher at the same Magic level and needs 82 Magic. The swamp trident keeps the venom passive.

Combat pures often use it to apply venom, because the toxic staff of the dead needs 75 Attack and the trident needs none. For a full comparison against your own stats, use the DPS calculator.

Trident of the swamp FAQ

What level do you need for the Trident of the Swamp?
78 Magic to wield it and to charge it. Making it from parts also needs 59 Crafting, which can be boosted.
How do you make the Trident of the Swamp?
Use a magic fang on an uncharged Trident of the Seas with a chisel in your inventory at 59 Crafting. You can remove the fang again while the trident is uncharged.
What do you need to charge the Trident of the Swamp?
Each charge takes one death rune, one chaos rune, five fire runes and one Zulrah's scale. It holds up to 2,500 charges. Since May 2025 you can also charge it with combination runes.
Does the Trident of the Swamp always venom?
No. A successful hit has a 25% chance. Wearing a Serpentine helm raises it to 100% against monsters. It also works with manually cast combat spells if the trident holds at least one charge.
Trident of the Swamp or Trident of the Seas?
The swamp trident. It has +10 more magic attack, hits 3 higher at the same Magic level and adds venom. It does cost a Zulrah's scale per cast instead of 10 coins.
Can you sell a charged Trident of the Swamp?
No. It can only be listed on the Grand Exchange when it is fully uncharged. Remove the charges first to get your runes and scales back.
What is the enhanced Trident of the Swamp?
A version that holds 20,000 charges instead of 2,500. Lieve McCracken makes it from an uncharged toxic trident and 10 kraken tentacles.
What happens to the scales if you die with it?
If the trident is lost on death, the scales you used to charge it appear on the floor next to the uncharged trident.

Update history

19 Aug 2026The item name changed from "Trident of the swamp" to "Trident of the Swamp".
14 May 2025The trident can now be charged with combination runes.
5 Mar 2025A bank option was added for changing the trident's charges.
11 May 2022The wield requirement went up from 75 Magic to 78 Magic.
6 Oct 2016The damage cap went up by 1 so the trident respects the full imbued heart boost.

Source: OSRS Wiki — Trident of the swamp (Changes).