Imp Catcher OSRS Guide

Intro

Imp Catcher. One of the oldest quests in Runescape. Boy, this takes me back. 

Back when Oldschool Runescape was just Runescape, many players, myself included, would create alt accounts to repeatedly do Imp Catcher to trade to final reward, the Amulet of Accuracy, to our main accounts. It was a pretty good moneymaking method back then. Good times. 

But Runescape has changed drastically since the Imp Catcher quest came out in 2001. Is the Amulet of Accuracy still a decent way to bring in the gold? Is it worth using in 2022, or is it just a relic of the past? Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and find out. 

Quest Requirements

The only requirement for Imp Catcher is to obtain four beads: a black bead, a red bead, a white bead, or a yellow bead. You can get them by purchasing them on the Grand Exchange or receiving them as drops from imps.

Quest Recommendations

If you plan on buying the beads off the Grand Exchange to turn this into a 30-second quest, you’ll need around 6K gold.

If you plan on getting the beads the old-fashioned way for the nostalgia or because you’re an Ironman account and have no choice, I recommend having at least 9 Magic for Earth Strike. Grab a Staff of Earth if going down this route. Ironmen can get one from Zaff’s Superior Staffs for 1.5K. Everyone also can grab one off the Grand Exchange for around 800 GP.

Starting Imp Catcher

Quests in Runescape roughly come in two categories: Ones you can prepare for and complete in one go and ones that are multi-part and go through numerous story beats. Imp Catcher is a glorified fetch quest, so if you want to get the required items beforehand, feel free to do so. 

Regardless of what you decide to do, completing the quest requires you to speak with Wizard Mizgog in the Wizards’ Tower south of Draynor Village. You can also find it by traveling from the back of Lumbridge Castle and taking a left. 

Mizgog needs your help getting his beads back.
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

Head up the stairs to the top floor, speak with Wizard Mizgog and ask him for a quest. Make sure you use the word, please. Mizgog could use some help. Mizgog is in a bind because of his magical rival next door, Wizard Grayzag. Grayzag recently unleashed an army of imps inside Wizards’ Tower, and they stole a bunch of things from Mizgog. Most of the items stolen are easily replaceable, but four items, in particular, are of great importance to Mizgog: 4 magical beads. The imps have scattered across the Kingdom of Gielinor, and Mizgog asks that you hunt them down and reclaim his beads. You got it, Mizgog. 

Retrieving Mizgog’s Beads

There are two ways of going about retrieving Mizgog’s magical beads.

Buy them off the Grand Exchange 

Buying the beads off the GE is the fastest way to get them.
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

The first and easiest way is to buy them off the Grand Exchange. Who knew imps had a Mercantile side. 

I would give anything to wipe my memory of Runescape to experience it for the first time again. For that reason, I am all in favor of doing quests the “proper” way to get the complete Runescape experience. But that’s more for quests like Recipe for Disaster, Monkey Madness, Mourning’s End Part II, etc. For a fetch quest like Imp Catcher, there’s no need to drag it out longer than it needs to be.

Buying all the beads off the Grand Exchange will set you back around 6K GP. So not a big deal at all. If you’re a new player needing some quick cash, the best way to get some is by completing the Stronghold of Security in Barbarian Village.

Kill Imps for the Beads

If you’re an Ironman player, you won’t have access to the Grand Exchange. That means completing this quest the old-fashioned way. It’s time to hunt down some imps.

Imps are scattered all over Gielinor, with most locations having two. They rarely do damage and pose zero threat to even level 3 players. But some areas, like Al-Kharid mine or Karamja Volcano, have other dangerous nearby monsters that are a problem if you’re at a low level. 

Lumbridge is one of the best places to kill imps.
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

One of the best locations for killing imps is Runescape’s starter location: Lumbridge. Two wander around Lumbridge Castle, and another two are near the cow pen to the north past the General Store. There are two imps near the destroyed building outside Edgeville that are also decent, but they can teleport to the Monastery.

Tracking them down will consume lots of run energy and more time than I would like. I recommend sticking to the ones in Lumbridge. The black, red, yellow, and white beads have the same uncommon drop rate of about 1/25. That’s not the worst drop rate, but not great either. They don’t have any other overly valuable drops either. 

Imps teleporting makes them very annoying.
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

The biggest issue with imps and what makes them a hassle is their teleporting. Imps randomly teleport during combat and can end up a fair distance away. Your character will automatically follow them to their new location, but it isn’t perfect. If they spawn inside an enclosed area like a house, your character’s pathing will bug out. 

Imps will often teleport into enclosed areas.
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

Magic is your best option for killing imps. Magic is the best way to punch up in Runescape, and with just 9 Magic, you can use Earth Strike, which has a max hit of 6. Imps only have 8 HP, so it shouldn’t take more than 2-3 Earth Strikes before they go down.

One time an imp immediately teleported after I hit him once five times in a row. You can’t even call this good combat training because of all the teleporting. It can be very annoying, and if you aren’t an Ironman, I won’t blame you for just buying the beads. I toughed it out and decided to get all the beads from drops just for old times. I managed to get to level 14 Attack and 13 HP along the way (Your results, of course, will vary). Not too shabby. Get the beads however you see fit, then head back to Wizard Mizgog. 

I swear I didn't steal your beads Mizgog....
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

You have to have all 4 to be able to turn them in. If you have all the beads in your inventory during your first conversation with Mizgog, he will humorously accuse you of being the thief. 

Mizgog putting the beads back where they belong.
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

Watch a brief cutscene, and Mizgog will return the beads to their proper places. Quest complete!

Quest Rewards

Imp Catcher offers decent rewards for a Beginner level quest.
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

The first two rewards for completing Imp Catcher are 1 Quest Point and 875 Magic experience. The bare minimum Quest Point is unfortunate but expected for a Beginner level quest. The Magic experience is also nothing special. If starting from level 1 Magic, it’ll get you up to 8, which is decent.

The final and main prize of Imp Catcher is the Amulet of Accuracy.

Is the Amulet of Accuracy any good?

The Amulet of Accuracy, or as I like to call it, The Orange Creamsicle Amulet (Maybe that’s just because I’m craving orange creamsicles right now), is a budget all-rounder amulet. It provides a +4 bonus to all your offensive stats. 

Amulet of Accuracy Stats.
“Photo by Xavier Geitz”

The Amulet of Accuracy is vastly inferior to counterparts like the Amulet of Magic, Amulet of Power, and Amulet of Glory. Power and Glory Amulets are also all-rounders, and not only do they provide superior offensive bonuses, but also defensive bonuses, Strength bonuses, and Prayer bonuses. 

Back in the day, when you camped at Varrock West Bank spamming glow3: selling xxx for xxx GP, you could sell Amulets of Accuracy for 20, 30, or even 50K each if you were lucky. Now, they go for 1K on the GE. A sad fall from grace. 

Outside of fashionscape, the only use for the Amulet of Accuracy will be for Ironmen accounts. Amulets of Power, Strength, and Glory have fairly steep Magic and Crafting requirements, and this can be a decent filler for your amulet slot until then. But to be honest, members can get Power and Strength amulets pretty quickly via Easy clue scrolls. So for people who know what they’re doing, the Amulet of Accuracy might only have no use.

FAQs

Question: What locations have the most imps?

Answer: The God Wars Dungeon and Wilderness God Wars Dungeon both have seven imps wandering around. However, you have no reason to go to either of those for Imp Catcher. 

Question: I’m trying to turn in two of the four beads, and I can’t! What’s going on?

Answer: Mizgog will only accept the beads once you have all four. 

Question: Do beads have any use outside of this quest?

Answer: Yes. You can use beads as bait for magic box traps while hunting imps. Captured imps turn into imps-in-a-box, which can send items from your inventory to your bank. 

Conclusion

And there you have it, folks. You have successfully completed one of the most decrepit quests in Runescape. 

Imp Catcher is like the stereotypical kill-the-rat quests in your average ARPG. It’s there for beginners to tip their feet into the questing pool. You don’t want to throw anything too crazy at them, and you want players to crave more by the time it’s finished.

Runescape has plenty of more challenging and complex quests waiting for you. You’ll find yourself wishing some of these were as simple as Imp Catcher. But don’t worry; I’ll be here on RuneFanatics to guide you every step of the way. 

Until next time!

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