Moss Giant OSRS Guide

Intro

While some monsters in Gielinor exist by their lonesome, most monsters belong to a specific race with different species within that race. One such race is the giants. 

Of the various giants in Runescape, I would have to say that the moss giants are my favorites. There’s just something about giant tree men who bonk you on the head with big sticks that I always liked.

With more than 20 years of history behind them, the moss giants have seen their fair share of action in Runescape. The question is, however, are they worth fighting in 2022? Or are you better off keeping your distance from these mossy relics and spending your time elsewhere? Let’s find out. 

What Are Moss Giants?

Moss Giants

Moss giants are one of the many giant creatures in Runescape. There are several variants of moss giants in Gielinor, not including Bryophyta. 

They come in level 42, level 48, and level 84 variants. The level 42 moss giants have 60 HP and a max hit of 6, and their level 48 brothers have the same max hit but significantly more HP with 85 HP. The level 84 moss giants are more than twice as strong as their level 42 siblings, boasting a max hit of 14 and 120 HP. 

Despite their size, moss giants have pretty poor defenses, making them solid training options for mid-level players thanks to their relatively high HP pools.

Moss Guardians

Moss guardians are a more quest-centric version of the level 84 moss giants and have identical stats. The only notable difference is moss guardians lack drop tables. 

Found in Glarial’s tomb, Moss guardians have a bit of a notorious reputation due to their presence in the Waterfall quest. One of the first things players will recommend new members do is complete the Waterfall quest. And that makes sense. After all, completing the Waterfall quest at level 3 will immediately get your Attack and Strength skills to level 30. Jumping straight to adamant weapons will do wonders for fast-tracking your Melee training.

But there are a few snags when doing the Waterfall quest at level 3; you have 10 HP, and moss guardians have a max hit of 14. Your trout isn’t out healing that. Getting past these big boys alive requires drawing aggro from nearby skeletons or zombies. 

Moss guardians appear again as an adversary in the Roving Elves quest, where you’ll need to defeat one with no weapons and armor. After completing the Roving Elves quest, you’ll be able to fight moss guardians in the Nightmare Zone, including a pumped-up level 182 variant with 240 HP and a max hit of 34.

Bryophyta

Bryophyta is a Moss Giantess and the boss monster of the moss giant species. She is lurking in her lair in the Varrock Sewers next to a group of moss giants. 

Jagex decided to toss F2P players a bone and let them in on the bossing experience by releasing a few F2P bosses, with Bryophyta being one of them. To fight Bryophyta, you first need a mossy key which you obtain as drops from moss giants.

Bryophyta is combat level 128, has 115 HP, and a max hit of 16. She can attack with Melee and Magic, and if you fight her on P2P worlds, she can poison you.

Where Can I Kill Moss Giants?

There are tons of locations across Gielinor where you can fight moss giants. Just be forewarned that many of these locations aren’t worth the effort if you intend on looting.

Varrock Sewers

The most iconic place to kill moss giants is the Varrock Sewers. Head north from Varrock East Bank and use the manhole slightly southeast of the eastern entrance to the Varrock Palace. 

Once down there, head north through the passageway and then use the gate on your right. Follow the winding path, head through a couple of doors, and eventually, you’ll reach a spider web. Make sure you have a slashing weapon or a knife to get through this. 

Take the path on your right, head past the deadly red spiders, and you’ll spot two groups of moss giants on opposite sides of this cavern. Alternatively, if you have level 51 Agility, you can use a pipe shortcut in the Edgeville Dungeon to immediately get to the moss giants here. 

The Varrock Sewers are great for genociding moss giants since if you lose aggro from one group, you can go to the other group in the cavern and keep on training. You can use a Dwarf multicannon here to speed up training.

This training spot is multi-combat, so if training Melee and lower level, you may want to position yourself so that only one moss giant can attack you.

Brimhaven Dungeon

The northern entrance to the Brimhaven Dungeon is southwest of Brimhaven. Bring 875 GP (Or pay a one-time fee of 1 million GP) and an axe. Pay Saniboch to get inside the dungeon. 

Once inside, head straight and take the second passage on your right. Follow the winding path, and you’ll come across the first batch of moss giants. There’s another group of moss giants further in the dungeon, but this group will suit your needs just fine. 

Like with the Varrock Sewers, you can use a Dwarf multicannon here.

Moss Giant Island

Don’t let the name fool you; Moss Giant Island isn’t some sprawling location chock-full of moss giants. It’s a tiny island west of Brimhaven with five moss giants hanging out on it. 

To reach it, you’ll need at least level 10 Agility to use the rope swing. 

Catacombs of Kourend

The Catacombs of Kourend is a dungeon in Great Kourend. There are multiple entrances to the dungeon, with the most accessible being the main entrance in the Kourend courtyard. 

The easiest way to reach the Catacombs of Kourend is by using the Xeric’s Heart teleport on a Xeric’s talisman. Doing so requires completion of the Architectural Alliance miniquest. Alternatively, you can use the Kourend Castle Teleport spell. It requires level 69 Magic, and you first must read the Transportation incantations book in the Arceuus library. 

Two groups of moss giants are inside. One is to the immediate east of the courtyard entrance, and the other is to the southwest in the Reeking Cove.

You can’t use a Dwarf multicannon here, but this spot is multicombat. Be careful. 

Kourend Woodland

Four moss giants are hanging out in the Kourend Woodland. Rada’s blessing, which requires completion of the Kourend and Kebos Achievement Diary, is the fastest way to reach them.

Alternatively, you can use the Xeric’s Lookout teleport on your Xeric’s talisman or the Woodcutting Guild teleport on a skills necklace and run southwest.

Giants’ Den

Northwest of Shayzien is a location called the Giants’ Pit. Just southwest of the Giants’ Pit is the Giants’ Den. If you have access to Fairy Rings, use code D-J-R and run south to get here. Otherwise, use a skill necklace, teleport to the Woodcutting guild, and head west. 

Ten moss giants are in the southernmost part of the Giants’ Den. You can use a Dwarf multicannon down here.

West of the Fishing Guild

Four moss giants are due west of the Fishing Guild. To find them and ruin their day, teleport to either the Fishing Guild with a skills necklace or the Ranging Guild with a combat bracelet and head west. 

Pirates’ Cove

The Pirates’ Cove has ten moss giants, but you can only reach this location by boat. If you’ve completed The Fremminik Trials and at least started Lunar Diplomacy, head to Rellekka and speak with Lokar Searunner. If you’ve finished Lunar Diplomacy, you can also reach the Pirates’ Cove by speaking with Captain Bentley on the Lunar Isle. 

Iorwerth Dungeon

The Iorwerth Dungeon is in the southwest part of Prifddinas. Getting here requires access to Prifddinas, which requires completing the Song of the Elves grandmaster quest. 

The moss giants down here are in the northeast corner of the dungeon and are the level 84 variants. 

Isle of Souls

Five moss giants are on the Isle of Souls, waiting their turn to play the Soul Wars minigame. The easiest way to get here is using the Soul Wars portal in Edgeville. 

Crandor

You can find several moss giants on the island of Crandor. Accessing Crandor for the first time requires progressing through the Dragon Slayer quest. Ned will be able to take you to Crandor by boat. 

Alternatively, you can take a passage atop Karamja Volcano that leads into the Karamja Dungeon. A rope far to the north inside the dungeon will lead up to Crandor. Once on the surface, you’ll find the moss giants on the far southern part of the island.

Deep Wilderness

Six moss giants are level 37-38 Wilderness. For options on getting here, you can use one of the canoes and run west. Alternatively, you can use the Corporal Beast teleport on a games necklace and run northwest or a Revenant Cave teleport tab and run southeast.

Where Should I Kill Moss Giants?

Varrock Sewers is the most convenient place to kill moss giants but also the most common. Don’t be surprised if you may have to world hop once or twice before settling into your training routine. But their close proximity to a bank and easy safe spot access makes this the ideal training spot. 

If on task for Konar, obviously kill them in the Catacombs of Kourend. If on a Wilderness Slayer task for Krystilia, the Wilderness moss giants are your only option.

Profit-wise, the moss giants in the Iorwerth Dungeon have slightly better average loot than the rest. However, given the need to access Priffddinas to get to them, that’s a moot point. By the time you can have fun in Priffddinas, you’ll have better things to do.

Here’s a little history lesson on the Wilderness moss giants for the readers new to Runescape. They used to be a pretty great training spot even before Krystilia. Hear me out on this. 

Once upon a time, the Grand Exchange didn’t exist, and chaos runes were significantly more expensive. Several chaos runes surround the Wilderness moss giants. Kid me saw this as a little two birds with one stone opportunity. Obviously, no one in 2022 is spending time collecting chaos rune spawns, but talking about moss giants sure takes me back. 

What Combat Levels Should I Have When Fighting Moss Giants?

If going down the Melee route, I recommend having level 60 combat stats. What moss giants lack in defense, they make up for on offense. They can hit pretty frequently, so despite the low max hit of 6 for the level 42 and 48 moss giants, they can deplete your HP fairly quickly if your Defense level is low. 

If using Ranged or Magic and using either Prayer or safe spotting, you can get away with 40 Ranged and 35 Magic (For Fire Bolt). If using Prayer, you’ll need level 43 for Protect from Melee, but I don’t recommend it for moss giants except maybe in the Catacombs of Kourend or the Giants’ Den. 

What Gear Should I Use Against Moss Giants?

Moss Giants are simple monsters to kill, so just bring your best-in-slot Melee, Ranged, Magic gear, and food. A Dwarf multicannon isn’t necessary, though many players opt to use one on moss giants, so it’s up to you.

Bring a Bonecrusher if killing moss giants in the Catacombs of Kourend or Giants’ Den to take advantage of the prayer point restoration function. If killing the moss giants in the Wilderness, you should know the drill by now; bring a Saradomin brew and a karambwan or two for tick eating. The Wilderness moss giants are extremely close to the Revenant Cave, and you might come face-to-face with a nasty surprise.

What Combat Levels Should I Have When Fighting Bryophyta?

 If opting to use Melee against Bryophyta, I recommend at least level 50 Attack and Strength and at least 40 Defense. Level 60 stats are preferable.

For Ranged, I recommend level 60 Ranged and 40 Defense. At least level 37 Prayer is extremely recommended if going down the Ranged route. I don’t recommend using Magic on Bryophyta. 

What Gear Should I Use Against Bryophyta?

Just like with regular moss giants, use your best-in-slot Melee or Ranged gear and your best food for Bryophyta. If you’re a member, consider bringing a superset or ranging potions to speed up kills. 

F2P players don’t need to worry about this, but if you’re a member, you need something to counteract poison. Superantipoison potions are dirt cheap and provide six minutes of immunity per dose, so they’re ideal. 

You will also need a woodcutting axe when fighting Bryophyta, but you don’t need to bring one as there is one in her lair. Bring a teleport option as well for fast escape/banking.

How Do I Kill Bryophyta?

Bryophyta is a fairly straightforward fight, as expected of a F2P boss. Use a mossy key to enter her lair, then get ready for a battle as she will attack you immediately. 

If using Melee, just get right in her face and attack her. If using Ranged, don’t worry about the lack of safe spots. For some reason, Bryophyta will never pursue you. If you’re out of range of her Melee attack, she stays in place and uses her Magic attack against you. Throw on Protect from Magic 

Sometime during the fight (Unless you nuke her down), Bryophyta will summon several growthlings. While the growthlings are alive, Bryophyta is immune to all damage except poison and venom. 

The growthlings are easy to defeat as they only have 10 HP. However, to kill them, you must deplete their HP and then finish them off by using a woodcutting axe or secateurs on them. If you didn’t bring an axe, there’s a bronze one in the nearby pile of logs. 

Once the growthlings are down, you can attack Bryophyta again. The frequency of growthling spawns varies, and I’ve had several Bryophyta fights where they immediately respawned after I took down the last batch (In one of these fights, Bryophyta only had 4 HP left. Talk about a troll move Jagex). So they can get annoying. 

But that’s all there is to fighting Bryophyta. Once she falls, pick up your loot and leave. Be sure to pick up your loot now as Bryophyta is an instanced boss fight. If you leave without picking up the loot, it will NOT be there when you come back. 

What Drops Can I Get From Moss Giants?

Despite being a mid-tier monster, most drops from moss giants are pretty low-tier. 

Moss giants drop a decent amount of high alch items like black square shields, steel kiteshields, and mithril swords. If you plan on training on moss giants for a long time per trip, consider bringing High Alchemy runes to get the most out of these drops. 

Aside from that, you can expect pretty regular drops of low stacks of nature, law, chaos, air, and earth runes. If you’re a member, they drop grimy herbs and seeds. Don’t expect to get many herbs, since their drop rates are pretty low. Some of the seeds are fairly common as drops, but they’re worthless ones like strawberry and marrentill seeds. If on task for Krystilia, you have a low chance of getting Larran’s keys, and the moss giants in the Catacombs can drop things like dark totem pieces and ancient shards. But like Larran’s keys, the drop rates aren’t too good. 

The saving grace of the moss giant drop table came four years ago, courtesy of the release of Bryophyta. I’m talking about those sweet mossy keys. 

The standard drop rate of the mossy key for most moss giants is 1/150. The moss giants in the Iorwerth dungeon have a slightly higher drop rate of 1/120. The Wilderness moss giants have a mossy key drop rate of 1/60. If you’re on Slayer task, the drop rate for mossy keys is 1/50 or 1/40 if killing moss giants in the Iorwerth dungeon. 

A recent update made mossy keys stackable, which is great for players not yet ready to take on Bryophyta.

What Drops Can I Get From Bryophyta?

Bryophyta has respectable drops for an entry-level boss monster. She always drops a beginner clue, which can be good if you get lucky and get some mole slippers or Shoulder parrot. 

Bryophyta commonly drops rune items like med helms, swords, and runite bars. Pretty decent drops for regular players, and Iron Man accounts for high alch fodder. 

Bryophyta also regularly drops chaos, nature, law, cosmic, and death runes in stacks of 100 (Or 200 in the case of chaos runes). She also drops mossy keys at a 1/16 drop rate, so you might be able to fight her again immediately. 

The grand prize of Bryophyta’s drop table is Bryophyta’s essence which currently goes for 8 million GP. And a reminder: this is a F2P drop. One drop of this stuff covers a bond with a little over 1 million GP to spare. Bryophyta’s essence has a 1/118 drop rate which isn’t common but isn’t especially high either. For an item worth 8 million, I’ll take it.

Should I Fight Moss Giants For Experience Gains Or Profit?

If you’re using a cannon, Magic, or Ranged, moss giants are a solid training option for mid-level players. For Melee, that’s a little iffy. With just mid-level Defense, they will hit you pretty often, which means you’ll need to eat often. And that means less time spent on training and more time spent getting more food from the bank. 

If looking for profit, the only real money you’ll be getting from them is from Bryophyta. And honestly, mossy keys are the only real reason to fight moss giants unless on Slayer task. F2P players and members both have better training options for exp rates and money per hour.

FAQs

Conclusion

The inclusion of these F2P bosses is one of the best decisions Jagex has made in OSRS. It reinvigorates these otherwise mostly forgotten monsters like moss giants. 

Is killing Bryophyta one of the best ones to make GP in OSRS? Absolutely not. But for a completionist like me, getting Bryophyta’s essence for the collection log and completing all of Bryophyta’s Combat Achievements is a worthy way to spend my time. And killing moss giants again allows me to reminisce on my childhood. That always counts for something in my book. 

Here are other interesting readings for you:

• Black Knights Fortress OSRS Guide
• Ring Of Wealth OSRS Guide
• Smoke Devil OSRS Guide [2022]: The Mutant Cousin Of Dust Devils
• Bone Voyage OSRS Guide

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Xavier Geitz

Xavier has been playing Runescape for over 15 years. He's had periods of absence like every seasoned Runescape player, but he always came back. Whether it was Varrock General Store wars, sniping every uncut gem in stock, or juking players in Fist of Guthix, Runescape has provided Xavier with endless fond memories. Runescape is an irreplaceable piece of nostalgic goodness that Xavier will play until the end of time.

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