Atlantis. Machu Picchu. Quivira and the rest of the Seven Cities of Gold. In fiction and reality, there have been many lost cities throughout history. These cities lost to the passage of time, contain untold treasures for those who manage to find them. For those willing to risk diving down into these rabbit holes, the rewards are more than worth it.
Lost cities make for mystical and fascinating tales. So, unsurprisingly, good old Gielinor has a lost city of its own.
All sorts of fantasy creatures reside in Gielinor, including dragons, imps, goblins, and dragons. Gielinor is also home to fairies. If you can find them, that is.
It’s time to uncover the lost city of Zanaris.
Quest Requirements
There are several skill requirements for Lost City:
- Level 36 Woodcutting
- Level 31 Crafting
- Combat stats to defeat a level 101 Tree Spirit
You will also need a knife and a woodcutting axe. Bring the knife, but you can get an axe on Entrana.
Quest Recommendations
Level 13 Magic
The boss fight with the Tree Spirit takes place on Entrana, so you won’t be able to bring traditional weapons. You can still take runes there and craft a battlestaff for yourself.
Fire Strike may be a low-level spell, but it has a high max hit and is more than enough for dealing with the Tree Spirit.
Celastrus Bark & Level 40 Fletching
With level 40 Fletching, you can use a knife on Celastrus bark to fletch a battlestaff. If going down the Magic route, I highly recommend doing so. You can also use the battlestaff as a Melee weapon, but there’s no reason to put yourself at greater risk by getting up close and personal.
You can purchase Celastrus bark on the Grand Exchange or obtain some from a Celastrus tree you planted in the Farming Guild if you have level 85 Farming.
If you’re an Iron Man, the first method isn’t an option, and you likely don’t have the skill requirement for the second. Don’t worry; there are alternatives.
Arrows, Bow String, & Unstrung Bow
You cannot bring most weapons onto Entrana due to the pacifist monks living there. You can, however, take arrows with you. I never understood why. You can very well stab someone with an arrowhead. I guess because that’s not an attack option in Runescape.
Anyway, bring along some arrows, a bow string, and an unstrung bow. Craft it when it’s time to fight the Tree Spirit.
Level 30 Ranging and mithril arrows should be more than enough to deal with the Tree Spirit, thanks to the safe spots.
Food
Along with the level 101 Tree Spirit, there will be level 25 zombies you need to kill for an axe. The Tree Spirit has a max hit of 10, which is why I recommend safespotting.
Level 25 zombies aren’t exactly scary enough to make you go zoinks, but bring some food just in case the Tree Spirit gets a hit on you. You’ll also need to run past some greater demons with a max hit of 9.
Prayer Potions & Level 43 Prayer
If, for some reason, you want to fight the Tree Spirit mano y mano, bring along prayer potions and have Level 43 Prayer. Stepping into the Entrana Dungeon will drain your Prayer points. And you’ll need those for Protect from Melee if fighting the Tree Spirit in close combat.
Stamina Potion
You’ll be doing a bit of running around, so bring along one stamina potion. If you’re an Iron Man, you’ll likely have to slum it without one.
You don’t do that much running, so it’s not a huge deal, but anything to make questing more efficient.
Lumbridge/Draynor Village Teleport Options
Bring along a quick teleport option to leave the boss dungeon after the boss fight. A Lumbridge teleport tablet is ideal. Otherwise, Lumbridge Home Teleport works.
To speed up getting to Entrana, bring along something that gets you close to Port Sarim. An amulet of glory, a necklace of passage or explorer’s ring all work fine.
Starting Lost City
To begin your search for the Lost City, head to the Lumbridge Swamp with your axe. In the northwestern part of the swamp will be four adventurers: a Monk, Wizard, Archer, and Warrior.
Ignore the Monk, Wizard, and Archer, and speak with the Warrior. Ask him what they’re doing in the swamp, and he’ll tell you they’re looking for Zanaris. He’ll then tell you they’re not out here for any specific reason.
Ask him who (Not what) Zanaris is, and he’ll spill the beans that Zanaris is a lost city full of treasure before again clamming up. Ask him how to get there, and he won’t tell you. He and his friends have no interest in sharing the goodies with you.
Proceed to pull the same trick Aladdin used on the Genie and point out that the Warrior doesn’t seem to know how to get to Zanaris either. He’ll accidentally blurt out that a leprechaun knows the way to Zanaris, and they just haven’t found him yet. Should’ve brought along a Woodcutter. Their loss. We’ve got the info we need.
A short walk northwest of the adventurers’ camp is a tree with a Chop option instead of Chop Down option. With an axe in hand or your inventory, chop the tree, and a leprechaun named Shamus will pop out.
Speak with Shamus and say you want to find Zanaris. He’ll tell you that Zanaris is in the shed in the southern part of Lumbridge Swamp. Ask him how a city can fit inside a cabin since Bulma and her Capsule Corp shrinking capsules don’t exist in Gielinor, and Shamus will inform you that the shed is a portal leading to Zanaris.
But to access this portal, you’ll need a Dramen staff. The only way to get one is by crafting it from the branch of a Dramen tree. He lets you know there’s a Dramen tree in a cave on Entrana before disappearing to get back to leprechaun things.
Getting to Entrana Cave
Either run northwest towards Draynor Village or use your teleport option. Bank your axe and take out your food, potions, knife, and preferred means of attack. Run to Port Sarim and speak with one of the monks on the pier to take a boat to Entrana.
If using a battlestaff or bow, do NOT craft them while on Entrana. Only do so when you’re down in the dungeon, or the monks will kick you off the island.
Once on Entrana, head due east until you reach a fishing pier. Head left from this pier. Keep going straight until you see a bridge. Make another left, and there will be a cave monk next to a ladder.
He’ll warn you that the ladder leads into a dungeon with a great evil that cuts off their connection to the gods (This is the game’s way of saying the cave drains your Prayer). The only way out of the dungeon is a portal that leads to level 32 Wilderness. That’s why you need to bring a teleport.
Head down the ladder and craft your weapon of choice. Head due east, and soon you’ll come across a cavern of zombies. Kill these zombies until one of them drops a bronze axe. You’ll need this to cut the Dramen tree.
After you get an axe, go southeast past the zombies until you see a cavern full of greater demons. These guys can hit an unarmored player pretty hard. I recommend waiting until the greater demons congregate to the east, then running past them into the southern chamber. Here, you’ll find the Dramen tree.
Lost City Boss Fight & Conclusion
Get ready for a boss fight. Attempt to chop down the tree, and the Tree Spirit will pop out, telling you that you must defeat it before touching the Dramen tree.
There are multiple safe spots in the cavern. My preferred one is south and slightly to the left of the Dramen tree. Plant yourself in the center of the three brown fungi. Plant yourself here, and the Tree Spirit won’t be able to touch you. But any of the safe spots work.
The Tree Spirit has 85 HP but goes down quickly enough. After defeating the Tree Spirit, try chopping down the Dramen tree again. This time, it works, and you’ll receive a Dramen branch. Use your knife on the Dramen branch to create a Dramen staff.
I recommend cutting multiple branches. You’ll need one branch for a subquest during Recipe for Disaster, and it’s always good to have spare Dramen staves hanging around.
After claiming your staff and branches, teleport out (Preferably to Lumbridge). For the final leg of the quest, head back to the Lumbridge Swamp.
Look for the shed in the southern part of Lumbridge Swamp. Equip your Dramen staff, go inside, and you will teleport into the city of Zanaris. Zanaris may or may not be Mario’s heaven, with all the mushrooms around.
The Lost City quest is complete!
Quest Rewards
Completing Lost City will reward you with 3 Quest Points, access to Zanaris, the ability to craft Cosmic runes, and the ability to wield dragon daggers and longswords. While not listed as a quest reward, completing Lost City also gives you access to the Slayer master Chaeldar, who resides in Zanaris.
Completion of Lost City is also a prerequisite to many OSRS quest staples like the Fairytale series, Heroes’ Quest, Lunar Diplomacy, Legends’ Quest, and Recipe for Disaster (For Sir Amik Varze’s subquest).
FAQs
Question: Is Chaeldar a Good Slayer Master?
Answer: She’s pretty forgettable. You’ll need at least level 70 Combat to get tasks from her. But at level 75 Combat, you can get tasks from Konar, who gives more Slayer reward points, and her tasks can drop Brimstone keys. There’s really no reason to use Chaeldar.
Question: Can I Use Fairy Rings after Using One to Enter Zanaris?
Answer: No. The Lumbridge Swamp shed teleports you to Zanaris using a fairy ring but doesn’t give you access to the fairy ring network. To do that, you need to complete Fairy Tale Part II – Cure a Queen.
Question: How do I Get Dragon Daggers or Longswords as an Iron Man?
Answer: The easiest way to get them is at Jukat’s shop here in Zanaris. She sells dragon longswords and daggers for 100K and 30K GP each. You need a cut diamond to pass through the diamond gate to reach her shop.
Conclusion
The Lost City is a must-complete quest, especially for Iron Man accounts. The dragon dagger is as deadly as it is iconic, and getting access to one of the better spec weapons in OSRS ASAP is a good idea.
The dragon longsword isn’t as good as it used to be, but it’s still a relatively powerful mid-level weapon. And Lost City is much easier to beat than Monkey Madness for the dragon scimitar, so for mid-level Iron Man accounts, this will be your best in-slot for some time.
Lost City is short, not too complicated, has a bit of combat to spice things up, and has some great rewards. If only every quest in OSRS could be like that. Okay, not really, but I won’t say no to more short quests.
For more interesting readings check out:
- Falador Massacre Explained
- Romeo And Juliet OSRS Guide
- Daemonheim Tasks Guide
- Cooks Assistant OSRS Guide
- Anachronia RS3 Guide - December 9, 2022
- Recipe for Disaster OSRS Guide - November 20, 2022
- Tasks to Block OSRS Guide - November 18, 2022