A fast-paced and chaotic event, the 100 adventurers, participating in Guardians of the Rift are bound to be schooling like fish as they mine, fabricate, and runecraft in a highly organized and efficient pattern. Inexperienced players to the game are bound to not easily pick up on where they are needed during certain situations, which can contribute significantly to failed runs, much to the detriment of all players involved.
Requirements
Accessing the Temple of the Eye to try out GotR requires completion of its eponymous quest, which in itself requires that players have at least level 10 runecraft. Completion of this prerequisite quest will grant the player 5,000 runecraft experience, immediately boosting them to at least level 22.
At 22 runecraft, players will be skilled enough to craft the following types of runes from within the mini-game.
- Air — Level 1
- Mind — Level 2
- Water — Level 5
- Earth — Level 9
- Fire — Level 14
- Body — Level 20
However, low-level participation only accounts for half of the available rune types in GotR, reducing the player’s potential contributions, experience rates, and profits. Higher-level runes encourage players to bring a higher runecraft level to the rift, while some additionally demand completion of a handful of quests.
- Cosmic — Level 27 and completion of Lost City
- Chaos — Level 35
- Nature — Level 44
- Law — Level 54 and completion of Troll Stronghold
- Death — Level 65 and completion of Mourning’s End Part II
- Blood — Level 77 and completion of Sins of the Father
While all players can mine however many guardian fragments they need to keep production flowing, access to the large guardian remains to the east, which provides fragments in higher amounts, requires an agility level of 56.
Related: Old School Runescape Temple of the Eye quest guide
Recommended equipment
First-time participants would benefit from the graceful outfit’s effects on stamina and run energy, as the nature of GotR has them dashing from point to point around the arena. In addition, players would benefit from wearing any of the four Varrock torsos when mining, as each provides a 10% chance to mine an extra guardian fragment or essence when equipped.
Players should bring the best pickaxe that their mining level will allow them to use while also leveling their attack to equip it and save inventory space. A minimum of 40 attack and 41 mining is recommended to bring a rune pickaxe, as bringing anything worse is apt to lag them behind the flow of the mini-game. A chisel is additionally required to fashion guardian fragments into essence.
Using essence pouches can bring more essence along for larger and more substantial trips. Provided that they bear the runecraft level required to use them, players can bring one of each pouch size.
- Small pouch — Level 1
- Medium pouch — Level 25
- Large pouch — Level 50
- Giant pouch — Level 75
- Colossal pouch — Level 85
These pouches will break after enough use, requiring that players speak to the Abyss’ dark mage to get them repaired. This can be done without leaving the mini-game through the use of the NPC Contact spell of the Lunar spellbook, requiring that players first complete the Lunar Diplomacy quest.
Related: How to earn graceful robes in Old School RuneScape
Mining and preparing
From the entrance of the arena, players should grab either a weak cell or an uncharged cell from the right-most table, then proceed to the best guardian remains that their agility level will allow. From the start of the two-minute countdown at the top left of the player’s HUD, large guardian miners should begin mining and only return to the workbench at the start after a minute and 15 seconds. Players left digging through standard guardian remains should stick to the pile closest to the workbench and can stay gathering fragments until around 15 seconds remain.
Guarding the rift
At the workbench, players will craft their essence, filling all of their pouches in the process. Players carrying weak cells will then fortify barriers in front of the Great Guardian.
When the initial two-minute timer ends, two of the 12 portal guardians arranged in a circle around the Great Guardian will become active, allowing players to travel to their respective rune type’s altar. Crafting runes through this method will grant players catalytic and elemental guardian stones, which can be given to the Great Guardian to power it up to 100%.
Players carrying uncharged cells can imbue them with varying strength when runecrafting at an altar. These charged cells can then be used to further fortify existing barriers or assemble elemental and catalytic guardians with which to combat the rift’s incoming foes.
- Weak cell — Air, Mind, Body
- Medium cell — Water, Cosmic, Chaos
- Strong cell — Earth, Nature, Law
- Overcharged cell — Fire, Death, Blood
Related: How to earn a free to play membership bond in Old School Runescape
