If you want to build the all-powerful Slayer Helmet, then there are some things you need to have with you. One of them is a Black Mask item, which is a mask that is worn on the face and is black. However, what it lacks in the looks department it more than makes up for whenever it comes to effects. Even without being a part of the slayer helmet, it does have several benefits perfect for anyone looking to become a Slayer.
Here’s what the black mask and its variants can do for you as you take up the mantle of becoming a Slayer.
What Is a Black Mask?
The Black Mask has several abilities whenever you finally manage to get it. For starters, it can passively lower the defense of any attacking monster by 2 and 7% rounded down. If a hostile monster NPC is attacking the player, within 10 tiles, at 50% health or below, and doesn’t already have its defense reduced, then the effect can take place.
The mask has 10 charges, and one charge is used for this ability, and once all 10 charges have been used the mask cannot be recharged again. However, to prevent the mask from becoming inert on the first ten monsters that you see, one behind the scenes dice roll is made. Your magical accuracy is rolled against the NPC’s magical defense, and if you win, then the charge is cast.
Additionally, the player gets 16.67% attack and strength points against all monsters that are on your current slayer task. You don’t need to be told twice that that extra strength and damage is perfect against the monsters you will be fighting, as the faster you slay them the faster you can complete your slayer task.
How Do I Get A Black Mask?
You will need to venture to the island Mos Le’harmless and then go into the Mos Le’Harmless caves to encounter the Cave Horrors that will drop the mask as a drop option. However, in order to access the island of Mos Le’Harmless, you will need to have completed the Pirate Quest quest ‘Cabin Fever.’
Once you have completed the quest, then you will need to go into the Mos Le’Harmless caves once you have 58 Slayer level or higher. You will also need some type of light source as the caves are perpetually dark. Finally, a Witchwood icon is needed to shield yourself from the deadly screams of the cave horrors. Otherwise, 10% of your hitpoints are taken from your character and done in damage. The prayer ‘Protect From Melee’ also negates this scream attack as well.
You will be able to buy all the gear you need from Slayer Masters beforehand, and then you can battle against both the aggressive cave horrors and the albino bats that are both unique to this cave.
The albino bats are nothing special, but the cave horrors do have magical melee attacks, so it is best to defend yourself from those attacks first. Otherwise, they have very low hp and are spread out in the cave, meaning that you can pick them off with ranged weaponry and even use safe spots to ambush them.
Even if you choose to attack them in melee you are going to have an easy job if you counter their scream and also negate the damage from their magical melee attacks. So they won’t be super hard for you to kill. As you battle your way through the Mos Le’Harmless, eventually one of them will drop a black mask that is yours to take!
Admittedly, these creatures don’t take a lot of strategies to defeat for good. They’ve got 55 hitpoints, won’t really attack you en masse, and have very low defense. For all the work it takes to get to the cave where they are located, fighting them, and eventually farming the cave mask from their corpse isn’t that hard, and might even seem a bit anti-climactic.
If you know what you are doing, you might even be able to find that you can get some decent equipment and also some pretty profitable kills. Then you can increase your gold coffers by selling all the things they drop that you don’t need. This can make the trek to the cave worth it!
What Are Some Black Mask Variants?
The only variant of the black mask is the Black Mask (i) which can be imbued by gaining points in the Nightmare Zone or Soul Wars Minigame. You need 1,250,000 points or 500 points respectively in the games to imbue the black mask into the black mask (i).
Now the upgraded black mask still gives the 16.67% bonus to melee accuracy and strength if you wear it. However, it also gives several other bonuses. First, there is an additional 15% bonus to ranged accuracy and strength, a 15% bonus to the damage and the accuracy of your magic spells, and it also removes the -3 magic and -1 ranged attack penalties from the regular black mask.
So the black mask (i) is a pretty good variant of the original Black Mask. It can also be used to create an imbued slayer helmet, and if you are looking for more power slaying monsters, this is something that you need to look at.
The one risk with the black mask (i) is that if you lose it during PvP whenever you die, you will simply get a regular black mask back and will need to get all those points back to imbue it again. So it might not be the best thing to wear during a PvP match!
What Are The Two Minigames I Need To Beat?
The Nightmare Zone is a minigame where you enter into a nightmare scenario… taking on the various bosses of the game that you’ve defeated before! You will be able to take on the bosses at their normal levels and stats, as well as hard difficulties and even an endurance mode! As you slay bosses, you will rack up points and those points are what allow you to upgrade your black mask.
Soul Wars has two teams fighting to gain soul fragments spread throughout the map, and with each soul fragment gathered the opposing team’s avatar is weakened. The soul obelisk can be controlled by either team, and it reduces the initial damage reduction of the avatars, allowing them to be conventionally damaged.
You can also fight and kill members of the other team to receive points, heal your teammates, and capture the soul obelisk to gain points. At the end of the game, the team who killed the opposing team’s avatar more is the winner. They will gain more points compared to the winner, but all members of the losing team will gain points as well.
Get 1,250,000 points and 500 points respectively on the minigames and the imbued black mask will be yours! Thankfully, the minigames are quite fun and a large number of points isn’t as daunting as you might think they are. A couple of rounds should do the trick,
What Else Do I Need To Create a Slayer Helmet?
Of course, a Black Mask, whether imbued or not, is only part of the equation that is needed to make a slayer helmet. Here are some of the other things you need:
- Earmuffs: to protect against banshee screams
- A Facemask: Allows the player to breathe in the Smoke and Smoke Devil Dungeon
- A Nose Peg: Blocks the stench of aberrant specters
- A Spiny Helmet: Protects from wall beasts in the Swamp Caves
- An enchanted gem: Allows you to contact the Slayer Master for a kill count and tips on your current task
- Reinforced Goggles: Allows the player to fight Sourhogs
You can get the majority of these items from quests, from the inventory of Slayer Masters, or from the bodies of the various creatures that you slay. You need all of these items, including the black mask, to create the slayer helm. You also will need a crafting level of 55 and 400 slayer points to get the recipe for the slayer helmet.
Still, once you have the helm in your possession, you will be a much better slayer, and won’t need to carry several pieces of equipment around to counter the various monsters. Instead, it is all in one helm!
If you’ve ever found yourself ticked off that all these required items were taking up so much inventory space, or that you left something at home and were prevented from going into a certain area, then you won’t need to worry about that once you’ve got the Slayer Helm.
Upgrading the Slayer Helm
If you haven’t upgraded the black mask beforehand, then you can increase the slayer helm instead. You will either need to get 1,250,000 Nightmare Zone reward points or 500 Soul Wars Zeal tokens to upgrade the Slayer Helmet to a Slayer Helmet (i). You need to meet the prerequisites for going into these locations though, so you may have to complete some quests to make sure you are allowed entry and can survive.
The Slayer Helmet (i) will add a 15% damage boost to your magic and ranged attacks, has a +10 magic defense bonus, a +3 magic attack bonus, and a +3 ranged attack bonus. It’s the same upgrade as if you had imbued the black mask before combining it with everything else to make a slayer helm, but it’s nice to know you aren’t locked out of the upgrade if you just make a regular helmet first.
Black Mask FAQ
Question: Do I Need A Black Mask To Enjoy Old School Runescape?
Answer: If you want to go down the Slayer Upgrade tree, then yes, you will eventually need this mask because it does allow you to make the powerful slayer helmet. Additionally, the extra damage and strength against creatures you are on a slayer task for can be extremely helpful. Despite the fact that you have no control over it, the extra effect of the passive defense drain can also be very helpful whenever you are fighting tougher creatures.
That being said, you don’t need it if you don’t want it. There are plenty of other pieces of armor in the world and you don’t need them all. Pick what is best for your character and for your enjoyment of the game.
Question: Do I Need To Use A Safe Spot When Fighting Cave Horrors?
Answer: Safe spots are there for a reason in Old School Runescape. You can use them to retreat to if you are overwhelmed by a particular monster so you can rest and regain your strength, or you can cheese the heck out of those same monsters by attacking them where they can’t see you. Since cave horrors are so weak and most slayers are at a good level when they are encountered, you don’t need to use a safe spot.
Of course, no one is stopping you from using one, but it’s a lot more satisfying and rewarding to take on the monsters in a straight up fight? Don’t you think so? Some players will say yes, some will say no, and some are too busy farming monsters to answer.
Question: Do The Rest Of The Cave Horror Drops Matter?
Answer: Most players go into the Mos Le’Harmless caves to do one thing and one thing only, farm Black Masks. However, since Black Masks have a rare chance of spawning, chances are you will be dealing with a lot of other drops that might not be as important. They do tend to drop some runes and herb seeds that could be useful, as well as alchables that can be useful to pick up.
However, most of the time the generic gear drops aren’t super important unless you are looking for something in particular. Still, they can always be sold and that is something whenever it comes to the adventurer’s life. You can always use more gold!
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