ToA is the most accessible raid OSRS has ever made. Honestly. Entry mode is genuinely doable in budget gearâand it's still fun. I've run over 300 ToA raids at various invocation levels, and I'm here to walk you through the entire experience, from your first terrifying steps into the tombs to the moment your hands are shaking during Phase 3 Warden at 400+ invocations.

What is the Tombs of Amascut?

ToA is OSRS's third raid, dropped in August 2023. While Theatre of Blood has fixed difficulty and Chambers of Xeric just scales health/damage, ToA's invocation system is differentâyou actually choose your challenges. This is huge for learning. You can gradually turn up the heat rather than hitting a wall and quitting. It's why so many people who never touched raids suddenly started raiding.

You're in the deserts of Menaphos hunting ancient god artifacts. Five bosses across four paths, each with completely different mechanicsâand honestly, that's what makes it fun. The loot hits different too: Tumeken's Shadow (absolute BIS magic), Osmumten's Fang (the rapier replacement nobody expected), Masori body armor, Elidinis' Ward, Lightbearer. These items define endgame.

Requirements and Getting Started

Here's what you actually need to step foot in there:

Quest: Beneath Cursed Sands is mandatory. It's 30-45 minutes and teaches you some basic ToA mechanicsânot a bad intro, honestly.

Stats: 80+ across the board minimum, but let's be realâ90+ is where you start having a genuinely smooth experience. Entry mode at 80 Attack/Defence/Strength/Range/Magic is doable. At 95+ you can actually breathe. Go for 99s if you're serious about 300+ content.

Gear: A Keris Partisan isn't optionalâyou need it for certain paths and it shreds scarabs. Don't be the person trying entry mode without one. Bring whatever decent PvM gear you have and 40+ Prayer minimum.

Starting Budget: 10-20M gp gets you entry-ready gear. Not fancy, but functional.

Ironman Note: Keris Partisan is an absolute requirement, and you can't buy supplies. This changes everything. You'll want your herblore higher (75+) to sustain raids. Efficiency matters way more. Your first few raids might be supply tests rather than combat tests.

Understanding Invocations

This is the secret sauce that makes ToA different. Invocations are modifiers you can toggle on, and each one costs raid level points from a pool. You decide what difficulty looks like. Want to skip the hard stuff and learn mechanics gently? Turn on entry-level invocations. Want to suffer? Stack on Curse Spells, Mirror Moons, and Insanity. The game won't judge you (it will judge you a little).

The Basic System:

You get a budget of raid level points. Each invocation costs points. Some add new mechanics (like puzzles appearing). Others just make enemies hit harder or reduce your prayer regeneration. You build your own raid difficulty.

Difficulty Tiers:

Entry Mode (0-150 invocations): This is where learning happens. Bosses tank reduced damage, most mechanics are turned off, and DPS checks are forgiving. You can afford to mess up. Raids run 30-45 minutes.

Normal Mode (150-299 invocations): Most people spend the most time here. Mechanics are actually active now, but they're manageable with coordination. Most of the fun happens hereâhard enough to feel real, not so hard you're rage quitting. 25-35 minutes.

Expert Mode (300-399 invocations): You're getting competent now. Most mechanics are fully active. Requires solid prayer flicking and mechanic knowledge.

Maximum Expert (400+ invocations): This is when ToA stops being a raid and becomes an exercise in pain management. Phase 3 Warden at 400+ is one of the most intense boss fights in OSRS. Your hands will be sweating.

Invocation Tips for Progression:

For entry mode, honestly just turn on easy stuff. Pedestrians, Lively Floors (environmental mechanics that teach positioning). Don't touch Frail or Curse Spells yetâyou'll hate yourself.

Move to normal mode when you can clear 120-150 invocation entry raids consistently. At this point, start adding Reduced Resources (forces actual prayer management) and Amateur Surgeon (healing puzzles that aren't brutal).

For expert, you're looking at Overclocked (attack speed buff), Felt Cursed (prayer drain), Touch the Spears (more Warden phase 2 projectiles). These are mechanical complexity, not just number tweaks.

Here's my take: don't turn on 'Insanity' until you can do 300s clean. The prayer overhead removal mechanic is brutal if you're not solid on prayer flicking. I've seen players jump from 250 to 400+ with Insanity on and just get destroyed. Progress smoothly.

Gear Progression

Gear matters. Not in a gatekeeping way, but in a "you'll actually die if your DPS is too slow" way. Underfunded gear at 400 invocations is a death sentence. Scale your gear with your invocationsâit's that simple.

Entry Mode (0-150): 5-15M gp Budget gear is genuinely fine. Black mask, Granite body, cheap melee. Hide body ranged. Even welfare magic works. The point is learning, not suffering through DPS checks.

Normal Mode (150-299): 20-35M gp Step up to actual good gear. Neitiznot helm, Dragon plate, Abyssal whip. Blessed robes for range. Magic gets Mystic + Trident. You're comfortable here, and bosses require actual DPS now.

Expert Mode (300-399): 50-100M gp Now you need BIS-adjacent gear. Inquisitor's helm (or Neitiznot), Bandos, Osmumten's Fang for melee. Masori body for range. Ancestral for magic. Multiple switches. This is where the grind pays off.

Expert Mode (400+): 150M+ gp Absolute BIS everything. You need Tumeken's Shadow for magic DPS, Fang, Twisted Bow potentially. Multiple rings, switches for different bosses. This is investment territory. Don't attempt it broke.

Check out our comprehensive bossing services if you need guidance on gear progression, or grab some OSRS gold to fund your setup.

Path of Het: Akkha

Akkha is the teaching boss. Genuinely. It's got simple patterns, and if you can't kill Akkha, you're not killing the Wardens. But that's not a bad thingâlearning here is learning everywhere else.

The fight cycles through four attack styles: Magic, Melee, Range, back to Magic. You flick prayer for each one. That's it at low invocations. Higher invocations add an extra style (usually Crush) and ramp up attack speed, which is where the real test comes in.

At 50% health, Akkha summons a shadow. This is the slightly annoying part. The shadow has its own prayer weaknesses, and if you're not praying against it, it heals Akkha. You can nuke the shadow first or deal with both simultaneouslyâdepends on your DPS and learning style. I usually kill the shadow immediately because honestly, one less thing to track.

Sometimes at certain health thresholds there's a memory gameâorbs light up and you click them in order. Mess it up and you take damage or get stat drained. At higher invocations this gets faster and has more orbs. It's more annoying than hard.

Plus there are orb attacksâAkkha throws projectiles you need to step out of. Nothing crazy.

Here's my strategy:

Learn the attack rotation first. Seriously. Everything else is just flicking.
Keep prayer upâ70+ minimum.
Buff yourself (Strength, Attack potions).
When the shadow phase starts, if you can burst it down, do it. That's free DPS time.
Don't let the fight drag. That's a DPS check in disguise.

Path of Crondis: Zebak

Okay, this is where multi-tasking becomes real. Zebak's not harder in terms of mechanics, but you're managing way more stuff simultaneously. This is the first boss where bad positioning actually kills you.

The Main Deal: Blood Clouds

Zebak spawns blood clouds under your feet constantly. You have to move away or you get smacked. At entry mode it's leisurelyâone cloud, plenty of time. At 300+ invocations? Multiple clouds spawning in patterns that make your brain hurt. Movement is everything.

Waves

He also summons waves that travel across the arena. These are actually easy to dodgeâjust move perpendicular. But the issue is waves often come during high DPS phases, which forces you to choose between damage and safety. Always choose safety. A dead raider does zero damage.

Jugs

Here's where it gets hectic. Magical jugs spawn and explode after a few seconds. If they explode, they heal Zebak AND damage you. So you're killing jugs while managing blood clouds and waves. This is the real DPS checkâyou need to kill Zebak, handle the jugs, and keep moving.

Palm Trees

Palm trees in the arena drop supplies when destroyed. You get one per cycle. Strategic players destroy them only when desperate. This is a resource management game, not a "panic and destroy everything" game.

My Zebak strategy:

Get the arena layout in your head before starting.
Keep Piety upâyou'll need the extra DPS for jug management.
Kill jugs immediately. No exceptions.
Move away from blood clouds. Don't DPS through them.
Pace your supplies. Use palm trees when you're actually low, not just "a bit tired."
Learn the wave patterns so you're not caught by surprise mid-DPS phase.

Path of Scabaras: Kephri

Kephri is where most people wipe on their first run, and that's not hyperbole. This boss is mechanically the hardest of the four, and there's zero room for error at 300+. But here's the secret: it's learnable. Just takes focus.

Scarab Swarms

Kephri summons waves of scarabs. Low invocations? Easy. High invocations? They come constantly and poison stacks. Your job is controlling them. Multi-hit weapons or good DPS means fewer scarabs alive at once.

Dung Tiles

This is the killer mechanic. Kephri throws dung on the arena floor. Stand on dung = damage + accuracy penalty. As the fight goes on, more and more tiles get covered. At 350+ invocations, the arena becomes a minefield and you're constantly moving. This is pure movement skill. No hacks, no shortcuts. Either you can pathfind while DPSing or you can't.

Special Scarabs

Arcane scarabs (magic defense buff) and Overlord scarabs (strength buff) spawn. Kill these FIRST. They're small DPS checks. Ignore them and Kephri becomes unkillable.

Optional Puzzle Room

Some invocation setups spawn a puzzle room before Kephri. Click tiles in order. It's trial-and-error or lookup guides. Not hard, just time-consuming. I usually just trial-and-error it.

Real talk on Kephri:

Melee is the moveâKephri tanks magic. Bring crush weapons.
Bring anti-poison or be ready to tank poison damage. Antidote++ if possible.
Kill special scarabs immediately. Don't get cute about DPSâthey matter.
Practice your pathfinding. Walk the arena before the fight to see safe routes.
Your poison stacking? That's a DPS check. Kill Kephri before poison kills you. At 300+ you're often in a race.

Path of Apmeken: Ba-Ba

Ba-Ba is the easiest room by far. I don't say that to insult itâit's a solid fightâbut mechanically it's the most forgiving once you understand it. Boulder dodging is learnable, and the DPS check is generous.

Boulders

Ba-Ba throws giant boulders across the arena. They travel in straight lines. You dodge them by moving perpendicularâliterally just step left or right. Sounds dumb, but it's that simple. The trick at high invocations is boulders come faster and more frequently. Your awareness matters more than mechanical complexity.

Ground Slam

Every few seconds Ba-Ba slams the ground. Hits everyone, unavoidable. But you can prayer against itâProtect from Magic or Ranged depending on his attack style (I think it's Magic? I spam multiple prayers to be safe). Keep prayer stocked and it's barely an issue.

Waves

Ba-Ba spawns banana and baboon minions. They're weakâyou can kill them while dodging boulders. Ranged or Magic clears them faster. They're not a real threat unless you ignore them for the entire fight.

Sarcophagus Puzzle

Some invocations include a puzzle room. Click tiles in order. Same as Kephri'sâtrial and error.

Ba-Ba strategy (honest version):

Stay moving. Don't camp one tile. That's it.
Prioritize boulder avoidance over everything else. A dodge is worth more than a DPS burst.
Keep prayer up for ground slams.
Clear waves while you're already moving. Multi-target weapons help.
Don't stress this boss. It's genuinely the easiest check. If you beat Kephri, Ba-Ba is a relief.

The Wardens: Final Boss

This is the wall. Phase 3 Warden at 400+ is the hardest thing most players will ever do in OSRS. Your hands will literally be sweating. But alsoâit's the most satisfying thing you'll ever kill. Understand that going in.

Phase One: Obelisks

Four obelisks spawn. Each needs to be destroyed with a specific combat style (Magic, Ranged, Melee, and one other). Attack an obelisk with the wrong style and the Wardens heal. This phase is mostly about communication. Your team designates a caller to shout styles: "Mage obelisk!" "Range next!" One person destroys each, others DPS the Wardens. Not mechanically hard, but mistakes are obvious.

Phase Two: Skulls

The Wardens spawn magical skulls that travel toward you. Getting hit drains your stats hard (Attack, Strength, Defense, Prayer all tank). Meanwhile you're trying to DPS. This is where prayer flicking becomes real. You're praying against the Warden's attacks while dodging skulls while also dealing damage. At 300+ it's challenging. At 400+? The skull density is insane. You need solid movement and game awareness.

Phase Three: The Real Deal

The Wardens enrage. Attack speed ramped, damage ramped. Lightning strikes the arena. More skulls. Special attacks at 50% and 25% health that hit hard. This is the mechanical crescendo. You're prayer flicking like crazy, moving, managing supplies, dealing damage, watching health thresholds. All at once. Every time.

At 400+ invocations Phase 3 is genuinely one of the most intense boss fights in OSRS. Period.

Warden strategy:

Phase 1: Caller identifies obelisk styles. Destroy in order. DPS the boss between. Don't mess up the style matching.
Phase 2: Learn skull spawn patterns. They're not randomâthey're patterns you can memorize. Prayer flick the boss attacks. Move from skulls when you need to.
Phase 3: This is endurance. Keep prayer up. Manage supplies. Watch health thresholds. When the special attack comes, tank it or move away depending on team composition. One person dying here costs the entire raid.
Team composition matters. Usually one tank (best prayer flicking), one magic DPS, one ranged DPS. The tank's job is taking the heat while DPS burns the boss.
Don't go in unprepared. Do 20-30 normal mode raids first. Learn the phases. Get comfortable. Then push expert.

Drop Rates and Loot

ToA drops the goods. Real talk thoughâentry mode won't make you rich. But 400+ invocations? You're printing money.

The Uniques:

Tumeken's Shadow â Magic weapon, basically BIS for solo magic. Entry rate 1/24, but at 400+ you're looking at 1/11. This alone is worth 300M+ gp.

Osmumten's Fang â Melee rapier replacement. Unmatched accuracy. 1/24 entry, 1/10 at 400+. Costs 200M+.

Masori Body â Ranged armor, BIS. 1/24 entry, 1/11 at 400+.

Elidinis' Ward â Magic shield. 1/24 entry, 1/11 at 400+.

Lightbearer â Prayer ring QoL. 1/24 entry, 1/11 at 400+.

Drop Rate Scaling:

Entry mode (0-150): 1/24. One unique every 24 raids. You're probably not profiting much hereâsupplies are expensive.

Normal mode (150-299): 1/18. Better. You're starting to make GP.

Expert mode (300-399): 1/12. Actually profitable now.

400+ invocations: 1/10 on most uniques. You're looking at 500K-1M+ profit per raid PLUS unique drops. This is where the money is.

The incentive is real. Push to 400 and you're legitimately funding your account.

Entry Mode Guide

Your sandbox. Entry mode is where you learn without consequences. Bosses move slow, hit soft, and have baby health pools. Mechanics are stripped down. This is your time to be bad and get better.

What You Need:

80+ stats (all combat styles)
30+ Prayer minimum
8-15M gp in gear
Start at 100-120 invocations for your first attempt

Timeline: Your first entry mode raid takes 45-60 minutes. You'll be slow. That's fine. By your third or fourth raid you're looking at 30-35 minutes. By your tenth raid you're ready to move to normal mode.

Solo vs Group: Entry mode works solo or teams. Solo is slower but lets you learn at your pace. Teams are faster and more fun, but you need communication. Find a beginner-friendly Discord community (see below) with patient players who don't flame.

Invocation Setup:

Start at 100-130 invocations
Add Reduced Resources (forces prayer management)
Skip Mirror Moons, Curse Spells, hard stuff
Gradually increase to 150 as you get comfortable
Spend 2-3 weeks here minimum. You're not going pro yet.

Real talk: Entry mode won't get you uniques often. You're here to learn. The money comes later. Don't stress profitsâstress learning Akkha's rotation and Kephri's pathfinding. Those skills are why you'll make it to 400+.

Expert Mode (400+)

The endgame. This is where the game gets real. 400+ invocations is the peak of current ToA difficulty, and if you're doing this consistently, you're in the top tier of OSRS raiders.

What You're Looking At:

Three-person standard team:

One magic DPS (Tumeken's Shadow)
One melee DPS (Osmumten's Fang)
One ranged DPS (Blowpipe or Twisted Bow)

Sometimes teams run four-person with a designated tank/support. Depends on team chemistry.

Gear Cost: 150M+ gp per person. Multiple switches, prayer gear, DPS gear. It's not a memeâyou need the best gear to phase content consistently.

The Skill:

Prayer flicking that's actually tight. You're protecting prayers every few seconds during Phase 3.
Positioning that matters. One person out of place and phase 2 becomes a nightmare.
Callouts that are instant. No delay between "skull at west" and people responding.
Supply management that's optimal. You're counting brew sips and realizing you're tight on resources in the last phase.

Timeline: Expect 25-35 minutes for a solid run. Top teams push sub-25 sometimes. You're not aiming for sub-25 your first month at 400+âaim for consistent clears.

To Get Here:

50+ normal mode raids minimum. Preferably 100+. You need to know these bosses in your sleep.

30+ expert mode raids below 400 invocations. You need to know Phase 3 Warden without the extra chaos.

200M+ gp for gear. Non-negotiable.

Hundreds of hours of practice. This isn't a speedrunâit's a marathon.

Honestly? Most players don't make it to consistent 400+ raiding. That's fine. Normal mode is genuinely the sweet spot for fun:difficulty ratio. But if you want the ultimate challenge and the best GP/hour in the game, 400+ is where it's at.

Ironman Specific Notes

Ironman ToA is a different beast. You can't buy supplies or swap gear easily, so efficiency matters more than it already does.

Keris Partisan: Absolutely mandatory. You'll need to farm it if you don't have it. This is non-negotiableâdon't even think about entry mode without it.

Supply Crafting: Herblore 75+ is highly recommended. You're making your own potions. Prayer 75+ for making your own prayer pots. Crafting for prayer gear. This prep work takes serious time.

Gear Progression: You'll be doing entry mode longer because you can't just buy mid-tier gear. Farm up to Bandos, Ancestral, Masoriâit all takes time on Ironman. Start entry mode earlier and plan to spend more time there.

Team Finding: Ironman teams exist but are smaller communities. You'll want to find dedicated Ironman-friendly groups. Patience is keyâgroups might move slower while everyone grinds supplies.

Real talk: Ironman ToA is doable but requires serious preparation. Don't rush into raiding. Get your herblore up, farm your gear, stock supplies. Once you're ready though, it's the same gameâyou just can't skip steps.

Finding Teams and Discord Communities

Solo raiding is cool, but ToA is more fun with people. And honestlyâyou'll improve faster with a team. Here's where to find one:

OSRS Raiding Discords:

PvM Encyclopedia Discord (massive community, lots of ToA groups)
2000 Total+ Clan (organized, structured groups)
Various CC teams (check in-game for recruitment)

What to Look For:

Patient veterans willing to teach (not every raider has this)
Groups your stats match (don't join 95+ only teams at 80 stats)
Regular raid times that match your schedule
Communities that practice, not just run content

Red Flags:

Groups that flame people for mistakes
No structure or communication standards
Teams that only run 400+ (you won't learn)

Team Progression: Start with a beginner group doing entry mode. Once you're comfortable (15-20 raids), move to a normal mode group. You'll spend months hereâthis is where you actually become a raider. After 50+ normal mode raids, look for expert mode teams.

Don't jump straight to 400+. It'll wreck you and frustrate your team. Progression is real.

FAQs

Q: 150 invocations vs 300 invocations? A: 150 is entry modeâslow bosses, baby mechanics. 300 is normal modeâeverything is active, twice the complexity. It's not a small jump. Spend time at 150 before moving up.

Q: Can I solo this? A: Yeah. Entry solo is easy. Normal solo is doable with good gear and 90+ stats. Expert solo is for content creators and masochists. Your first five raids should be in a team. Period.

Q: How many raids til a unique? A: Entry = 1/24. Normal = 1/18. Expert (300-399) = 1/12. 400+ = 1/10. Some people hit the unique dry streak (50+ raids no drop). Variance exists. But eventually you'll get there.

Q: Profit in entry mode? A: Negative or break-even usually. You're learning. The money comes in normal mode and beyond.

Q: How do I improve? A: Pick one boss. Do 10-15 raids on that boss solo or with chill groups. Learn the rotation, the safe spots, the DPS phases. Then move to the next boss. Once you know all four, run full raids and focus on one mechanic per attempt (like "today I nail movement" or "today I flick perfectly"). Mechanics first, gear second. Always.

Final Thoughts

ToA changed raiding in OSRS. Before this, you either hit a wall at a fixed difficulty or you didn't raid. Now? You can start anywhere, progress at your pace, and scale infinitely. That's why so many people suddenly started raiding.

Your first raid will suck. You'll be slow, you'll mess up mechanics, you'll panic when the Warden enrages. That's normal. By raid 50 you'll be confused why you panicked. By raid 100 you'll be comfortable. By raid 200 you'll be eyeing 400+.

The journey is worth it. The mechanical depth is real. The community is (mostly) welcoming. The loot is incredible. Start entry mode, find a chill group, and just commit to learning. You'll get there.

Need expert guidance? Check out our comprehensive bossing services for coaching and completion services. If you need to gear up, grab some OSRS gold for instant delivery at competitive rates.

Good luck in the tombs. See you at 400+.