Contact is a personal favorite OSRS quest of mine, it’s got a fun Egyptian theme going on, and I have a soft spot for desert levels in games. I recommend playing it after you have a lot of combat and thieving exp built up because many of the enemies here are higher tier.
“Contact!” is a required quest to complete all the desert stages, so if you are trying to do that, or just like an excellent desert-themed stage, read on.
Bottom Line Up Front
“Contact!” is part of the desert quest series for OSRS and happens after the events of the mission “Icthlarin’s Little Helper.” It is focused on the Menaphos imposed quarantine of the Sophanem. It is a low combat quest, but the enemies are set at high levels when combat does show up. Therefore, I recommend you start this quest with high combat and thieving skills.
Why Complete Contact!
After you complete “Contact!” you will have
- Keris (dagger)
- Seven-thousand Thieving exp
- A wish worth seven thousand combat exp
- Access to a bank in Sophanem
- Two Treasure Hunter keys
- One quest point
- Completing “Contact!” is also a requirement for starting the quest “Dealing with Scabaras” quest and is also a prerequisite for the “Hard tier of the Desert Diary” and “Beneath Cursed Sands” quests.
What You Need Before Starting Contact!
- A light source.
- Tinderbox.
Quest Requirements
- Complete “Diamond in the Rough.”
- Complete “Gertrude’s Cat.”
- Complete “Icthlarin’s Little Helper.”
Skill Requirements
- High combat level. (over 80)
- high agility.
- high thieving.
Item Requirements
- Several Waterskins.
- A one-click teleport.
- Lots food.
- Pharaoh’s scepter.
- Antipoisons.
- superset.
- Prayer potions.
- Ring of life.
Useful Items
- A familiar for the final battle.
- Poison to combine with the dagger “Keris” (found during the quest)
How to Complete Contact!
To begin the quest, talk with the High Priest of Sophanem near the Sophanem altar. The priest will tell you that he wishes to end the town’s quarantine. He will tell you that he needs help getting Menaphos to end the Sophanem quarantine.
Ask the High Priest how to get into Menaphos after a short cutscene. Ask him about subterranean routes into the city, and he will tell you about Timken, the Sect of the Scabaras. Their followers intended to construct an underground passage beneath the Elid river. He will inform you of a shrine to the northeast in the city.
The shrine is dedicated to Scarabas. There, you will speak to Jex, the building’s curator. Jex will tell you that Scarabas have recently broken through the building’s lower chambers and that there is a barricaded door downstairs that he wants you to open.
Additionally, Jex will tell you that you will need a light source and a tinderbox for the mission. If you don’t have these items, there is a shop in the destroyed bank just east of Jex. There, you can purchase a tinderbox and torch for two-hundred gold.
Descend through the trapdoor into the maze. Be warned. The labyrinth is full of high-combat enemies and there are multiple ways to get through the dungeon, each with a varying degree of combat.
One way is to carefully make your way to the northeast corner of the map without setting off traps or falling into the multi-combat area below. To do this, traverse the maze precisely, using the walls to guide you, do as follows:
- Walk forward, heading south from the entrance. When you hit the far wall, turn west and walk until you hit the wall.
- North wall
- West wall
- North wall
- West wall
- Go south and take the first turn east
- south wall
- east wall
- south wall
- east wall
- south wall
- west wall
- Go north and take the first run west to the wall
- North wall
- west wall
- south wall
- east wall
- south wall
- East wall
- take the first turn west to the wall
- south wall
- Continue west to the exit.
If, at any point, you should set off certain traps, you’ll fall through a trap door and end up in the multi-combat area. Unfortunately, falling into here will also extinguish your light. If you do find yourself in the combat area, know that it is devoid of traps, filled with Scarab mages and Locust Riders.
Therefore, It’s recommended that you wear gear that protects against melee and magic damage. Turn off auto-retaliate and turn on run before you descend, and ensure you have a protection spell turned on because you will not be engaging in combat here. Instead, as you dash to the exit, you’ll be doing your best to dodge enemy attacks and avoid fighting.
The path out of the dungeon is:
- South
- south-east
- South
- West
- southwest
When you ascend the ladder that leads out of the dungeon, you will be in the southwestmost corner of the maze, one floor above you. You must make your way east while avoiding traps and moving walls.
Be sure to search all the odd markings along the walls as you go and head north and west to reach the maze exit (Note: stay to the north side of the corridor to avoid setting off traps.)
After descending, look for Kaleef’s corpse at the entrance of a large room. Search the corpse, and you will find a parchment. Read the parchment and proceed.
Head deeper into the room and speak to Maisa. She will need to contact Osman somehow but doesn’t trust you to deliver her message for her. To test your trustworthiness, Maisa will ask you a string of questions about the “Prince Ali Rescue” quest. First, she will ask you where the prince was taken, and you must answer Draynor Village.
Then, when she asks who helped you rescue the prince, tell her, “Ozan and Leea.” After Answering these two questions correctly, Maia will ask you to find Osman in Al Kharid and bring him to her. First, Osman will tell you a bit about the situation.
Then, ask him to come with you to Sophanem. To convince him, tell him it will cause a schism between the Menaphite cities. After that, he will agree to go to Sophanem, but before he does, he has things to take care of, and then he will meet you there. By now, you are almost done with the quest, and for the last leg of it, you should bring the following items:
- Anti poison.
- Ring of life.
- Superstar prayer potions.
- Decent armor and weapons.
- Plenty of food.
- A teleport.
- A light source.
- A tinderbox.
You will meet with Osman north of the gates to Sophanem, but he won’t be able to enter the city with you because he is too old to scale the city walls. So instead, tell Osman that you know about a secret entrance to the north, which will trigger a cuts-scene of Osman entering the temple of the Lesser Deities.
When the cutscene ends, backtrack through the dungeon to the exit ladder and go down it, this will trigger another cutscene, this time, a cutscene of Osman talking to the Maisa, after which Osman will be attacked by a giant scarab and vanish.
The giant scarab is level 124, and there is a chance for a scarab mage and two locust riders to spawn around the giant scarab. Focus on the Giant Scarab for the duration of the fight. If you defeat the scarab, the riders and mage will disappear.
It’s worth mentioning that the scarab has powerful armor and is resistant to melee and non-magic ranged attacks. Therefore, it’s best to have good magic stats and powerful magical items for this fight.
You can use part of the map to your advantage when dealing with the scarab by staying near the area where you found Kaleef’s body. If you hang out near the entrance, you can get the giant scarab stuck behind the wall, making killing it much more manageable.
Osman will return after the battle with the scarab, explaining that he’d been hiding in the shadows. He will thank you and prompt you to take Kaleef’s dagger, Keris, before leaving.
Return to the High Priest in Sophanem and talk to him to finish the quest.
Congratulations, you did it!
FAQs
Question: Is there any Way to Reclaim Items Lost on Death if I Die Fighting the Boss for this Stage?
Answer: No, all items lost on death for this stage are gone for good after dying to the boss, so be sure to have the necessary combat stats and tools before you take on the boss.
Question: What Should I Do if I don’t Have High Combat Stats for this Quest?
Answer: Bring a familiar to help you with the boss fight. The familiar will draw some attention away from you, and you’ll take less damage.
Question: Does Completing “Contact!” Help Me Later with Other Quests?
Answer: Yes, especially other dessert set quests because Keris, the dagger you find during “Contact!” is highly effective against dessert set enemy types.
Summary
“Contact!” is a straightforward quest with more puzzle solving and traps than combat. You’ll have fun with the puzzles in this quest even without the aid of a guide because they aren’t overly punishing, and it doesn’t slow down your progress very much if you mess up.
There is one big fight with a high-level monster at the end, but if you have high enough stats, it’s a fun fight.
Looking for more interesting readings? Check out:
- Contact OSRS Guide - September 13, 2022
- Violet is Blue RS3 Guide - August 3, 2022
- Falador Diary OSRS Guide - July 12, 2022