Nex: Angel of Death - Boss Guide

[Esker]

OUTDATED 
I'll update this one day

Foreword

Hey guys, Esker here. With the recent release of Nex: Angel of Death on Velheim, I wanted to write this guide in order to break down various mechanics of this boss. This boss is notorious for being difficult with a lot of intricacies. AoD is considered to be an end-game boss, but with the correct knowledge of mechanics, a well prepared team can easily do this boss in minutes. This is one of my favorite bosses, I have over 8,000 kills and close to 1,000 hours dedicated to the boss on RS3, and I hope to increase those numbers by killing this boss even more on Velheim. My intent for this guide is to impart the knowledge and experience that I have to the other members of this community, so that they can also share the joy of grinding this boss. I'm not a fancy person, so this guide will mostly consist of just text, images and some videos; no fancy headers or graphics, I'm not creative enough for that. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me in-game, or on Discord, and I will be more than happy to answer your questions about this boss. 

 

What is AoD?

Nex: Angel of Death, or more commonly known as, AoD, is essentialy hard mode Nex. Various mechanics from the original boss have been abstracted and will occur in this fight. If you are familiar with mechanics from the original boss, you will also see them occur during this boss. She is a difficult boss with a very large health pool, but with the correct setup and team, she becomes extremely easy to take down. Those who defeat her gain a chance at obtaining various coveted rewards. Praesul codices, which unlock T99 prayers, T92 Mage Dual Wield, and cosmetic chests are potential loot that you can obtain for taking down this boss. Kills last roughly 3 minutes.

Mechanics

Spoiler

Nex 

In order to succeed at this boss, we must first understand a fundamental aspect of Nex, or any boss really. In this case, it is her auto attacks. Nex has two forms of auto-attacks: a mage hit, and a melee hit. Nex's melee attack will only occur on the target that she is focused on, which in most cases, will be the base tank. Her second auto attack occurs in the form of a mage hit. She will send an a black/red orb out. Again, the melee attacks will only occur on her main target, the mage attacks will occur on everyone. Mage attacks will hit anyone within an 18 tile distance to Nex. If you are farther away than that, you will not get hit. The specials that she does will be relative to the amount of auto-attacks that she sends out. Nex has no preference for which auto-attack she sends out. With this in mind, let's get started.

Phase 1 

Phase 1 begins when the base tank interrupts the flowing energy in the middle of the arena. Players will receive a message "[Name] has interrupted the flowing energy. A shrill laugh echoes from above". Nex will descend from the ceiling, signaling the start of the match.  

Nex will begin the fight with 4 auto-attacks. As detailed in the section prior, these may occur as either mage hits or melee hits. After 4 auto-attacks, she will exclaim "The elements, they call to me!" and leap into the air. She will then divide the arena in 4 quadrants. We commonly refer to this special as "Elements". The ice walls that spawn have the potential to instantly kill anyone that gets hit, usually they will hit for 800-1000 damage.

This mechanic is split into two parts. First, she will then summon three reavers. If you have done Nex, you will be familiar with these reavers. These reavers will begin to walk towards Nex and must be killed before they reach her. A common tactic here is to use ice barrage or entangle to keep the reavers in place. Prioritize the death of these reavers, as they will make the base tank's life a living hell if they reach Nex. A happy and alive base tank will mean that your kills will be a lot smoother.

The second part of this special occurs at the same time the reavers are summoned and start walking. Nex divides the arena into four quadrants, but only summons three reavers. In the quadrant that does not have a reaver, Nex will begin to channel her energy into that quadrant. Players standing within the quadrant that she is targeting will take 1200 typeless damage, split between three hits. You can mitigate this damage with a divine shield. As with the reavers, it is important to take these hits; if nobody tanks those three hits, she will do massively increased damage to the base tank, starting to see a pattern?

There is another special to this phase that happens after elements. It is highly unlikely that you will get this mechanic in an organized team. I do not have a visual for this mechanic as all the teams that I have been on, have always skipped this mechanic with high DPS. If Nex starts saying something about Darude, she will drop red orbs onto every player, for a total of three times. If this happens, walk around and let the orbs fall. You are able to walk through these orbs without taking damage. If you stand in them for more than 1 tick, you will begin to take rapid 200-300 hits.

 

Phase 1 will end, and Phase 2 will begin when Nex reaches a HP threshold of about 2/3rds HP left.

 

Phase 2

The beginning of Phase 2 will begin when Nex says the voice line "Hahahahaha, you've done well to me this far, but it ends here." Players must do enough damage to Nex to reduce her to about 3/5ths HP. If you get the red orb specs as mentioned above, or a second Elements special, then you are lacking damage and the kill will be slower.

 Energy orbs will appear from the pillars within the arena, and she will summon 4 crystals, commonly referred to as "amalgations". Phase 2 will only last 10-15 seconds, and it is the shortest phase of the fight on Velheim. 

 

These crystals will have a bar that will begin to fill up. Players must kill these crystals. At the same time that players are killing the crystals, you must also do enough damage to Nex to reduce her HP down a little bit more. You will know that you have reached this point if Nex says the voice line "Understand this mortals, you know nothing of the power you meddle with." She will follow this up with various other voice lines. During this time, as the crystals get destroyed, she will summon her minions. If you have done regular Nex, you will recognize these minions as upgraded forms of Umbra, Glacies, Cruor and Fumus. Once all 4 minions have spawned, lure them to the southwest corner of the arena. 

The end of Phase 2 is signaled when Nex says the voice line "These are the very elements of my creation... This is everything...EVERYTHING!".

 

Phase 3

Phase 3 is the longest of all the phases in this boss fight. Nex will abandon her Elements and Red Orb special, and she will get three new specials to use during this phase. During this time, players should have lured the minions into the southwest corner of the arena. The base tank will keep Nex in the center of the arena. You must kill the minions first before damaging Nex again here. The order of priority for the minions are Umbra, Glacies, Cruor, and Fumus. When all 4 minions die, start attacking Nex again.

 

Her first special is called Smoke Lines. Two players will receive a message on their screen saying "Nex begins to draw smoke from [insert direction] towards you". After two auto attacks, she will summon blue smoke lines, similar to the smoke lines that Vindicta summons into the arena. These smoke lines will deal rapid mage hits, and have the potential to instantly kill someone who is not praying mage. After this special, she will perform anywhere from 4 to 14 auto attacks, and begin her next special.

 

The next special attack that occurs is indicated by red text appearing on screen saying: "Nex casts a thick black smoke towards the center of the arena." This special attack will deposit a pulsing blue circle in a random part of the arena. Players must gather within this pool and click the pedestal in the center of the pool. Players inside will take damage split among the total number of people inside the circle at the time of activation. If you do not click this pool, you will take a massive typeless hit of around 500-600 damage. Do not click the pool if you are the only player inside it, you will die. (Love you Shinx)

After you pop the pool, it is essential that everyone spreads out immediately. The next special attack that she will do has the potential to wipe an entire team if you are stacked together. She will select a random player in the arena and encase them in an ice prison, similar to her ice prison in her regular fight. She will exclaim "You stay...DOWN!!!!". Players within a 3x3 area of the player selected in the prison will essentially be instant killed. This special attack will only happen if you do not do enough damage to Nex. Most of the time, the team will phase her into Phase 4 before this happens. However, in the case there the ice special does happen, be sure to spread apart and kill the crystal. The trapped player will eventually die of not freed. Below is a screenshot that shows what an icicle looks like as well as what death looks like for those for group together.

Phase 3 ends when Nex takes enough damage and says the voice line "No.....you cannot defeat me....".

 

Phase 4

This is the last phase of the fight, and also the hardest hitting. Nex will become invulnerable until the pillars in the corners of the arena are destroyed. A pillar can only be damage when the previous pillar has been destroyed. The order of the pillars is determined by the order that the minions die in Phase 3. The standard order is Umbra, Glacies, Cruor, Fumus. If this order happens in a kill, you will start in the southeast corner, and go counter-clockwise around the arena. When all the pillars are destroyed, Nex can take damage again. During this phase, she will only use mage auto attacks. A competent base will lure Nex to the corner where the last pillar that needs to be destroyed is. Players will destroy the last pillar, and then kill Nex. 

That's all there is to Nex, easy right? Nope, just kidding! There's an instant kill mechanic during this phase. A player will randomly be selected and will get a message: "Nex has marked you to take the full force of the elements!". A bar will fill up on their screen. Someone who has been marked must move to the center of the arena and stay there until the bar fills up. If done correctly, they will then receive a message saying "The shield blocks most of the damage, but you feel the elements boiling up inside." A second bar will fill up, when this bar fills up completely, players will deposit a pulsing bomb that does rapid damage. You should place this bomb away from the team. Do not place this bomb in the center of the arena, this is a one way ticket to getting kicked from a team. I will provide images below of what getting instant killed looks like, as well as what a bomb looks like.

 

 

 

 

 

Recommended Setup

Spoiler

• Maxed combat stats
• Overloads
• 95+ prayer
• 99 summoning. Pack yaks, Unicorn stallions, and Steel titans are the preferred familiar for this fight. Learners can opt to take a yak or unicorn, experience players will bring steel titans for damage
• T80+ gear. T90 gear is preferred for most teams. T75 is acceptable if you want to learn the boss in a larger team, most 7 man teams will not accept gear under T80.
• General Velheim perks apply. Friendly familiar, prayer party, herbivore, pyromancy, overclocking, paramedic, etc are all good perks to have at this boss
• A range setup is best in slot at this boss alongside a mage swap for ice barrage/entangle

Below are various presets, loadouts, etc that you can bring into this boss fight. These are meant to serve as a guideline, not a strict requirement.

Low Level Range Setup - Entangle

Credit to Foxx Oops for this setup, any range helm will work. Nex is not reflect immune so deathtouch bracelet is an alternative. Armadyl crossbows or chaotic crossbows will work.

 

High Level Range Setup - Entangle

This is my personal set-up that I use when I am the entangle role. Bolts are Ruby and Onyx bakriminel (e). The rune pouch contains runes for vulnerability and entangle. An eldritch crossbow spec is stored within my Essence of Finality amulet.

High Level Range Setup - Base Tank

This is my personal set-up that I use when I am the base role. This setup, alongside range basing is only recommended for base tanks who are extremely experienced at the role and are looking to make kills faster. Nex hits extremely hard and inexperienced base tanks may find it hard to stay alive as the fight progresses.

Low Level Melee Setup - Base Tank

This was my old setup when I was getting used to basing Nex on Velheim. Trimmed masterwork is very helpful staying alive. A statius warhammer would ideally be stored within the Essence of Finality amulet, but any other special works as well.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I do AoD with you?
A: Of course! Well, that actually depends. The bare minimum requirements are listed above. People are generally willing to teach the boss, even in learner/10 man teams, but you have to have the minimum gear requirements. Kills get increasingly frustrating when gear requirements are not met, so there is a standard that has to be kept. It is fine if you can only show up with chaotics and Morrigan's gear. Showing up with extremely low level gear, no overloads, low summoning is not fine.

Q: I meet these requirements and am willing to learn. How do I get into a kill?
A: Teams are generally formed at random times of the day. If you see that a team is going and you meet the requirements, feel free to ask to join, and generally you will be able to come if the team isn't already massive(10+ people)

Q: What is entangle? What is a base tank?
A: Entangle is what we colloquially refer to people who are designated to entangle the reavers(self-explanatory) during the boss fight. The entangle role is also synonymous to the term "Minion Tank", as they will also pull the aggro of the minions during the kill. The base tank is the person who provokes Nex at the start of the fight, and holds her aggro for the entire kill. The base tank is responsible for properly luring Nex during the final phase.

Q: Why can't I re-enter the fight after I die/exit the arena?
A: If you leave the arena after the kill has been started, either via death or TPing out, you will not be able to re-enter the arena and you will forfeit loot for that kill. You may re-enter the arena and watch from above, but you cannot participate after leaving.

Q: A minion is attacking my base tank. How do I aggro it away?
A: Target the minion, equip a Rots shield, go to your armor tab, right click the shield and click provoke. Minions can stun and combo the base tank to death if left alone. If you are a designated minion tank, or even just a dps, please be sure to take aggro off the base tank ASAP. Basing already hurts, we don't need more stuff hitting us.

Q: What happens if I bomb mid?
A: Bombs during the final phase will persist through death. If you happen to accidentally bomb mid one or twice while learning the mechanic, that is fine. Just be more aware in the future of your location when placing the bombs. Repeatedly bombing mid with the intent to grief is the fastest way to get kicked from a team.

Example Kills

Day 1 3:14 Kill: https://streamable.com/iezfg1

Day 4 2:21 Kill, Current Server Record: https://streamable.com/nm8iaz

 

Change Log and To Do List

9/5/2021: Guide written and published

9/6/2021: Screenshots of red orbs and ice prison special added. Added gear setups. Added FAQ section. Added media section for example kills.

To Do: Write a detailed Entangle and Base Tank section, provide more kill examples. Fix typos 

 

 

 

 

[foxx]

Beautifully done Esker, love it. Gear/inv setups for roles will help a ton

[sterling]

This is great! Hopefully we get more fill ins in our teams with this!

[Happy L]

Wonderful guide!!  I can't wait to see more people doing this boss!   It's honestly super fun!  

[Angel]

Bis base says good job man!

[ryandunn]

Awesome guide. Maybe I’ll actually try to go sometime and get use out of my ascensions lol. 

[Sparkii]

Brilliant guide, will definitely join in sometime!

 

...Once KBD drops the scale....

[Dwarf Kush]

Great guide! Always referring players new to AOD to read this before attempting!

[Darki]

Great guide

[GIM Lmaka]

Nice guide

[sscent]

with me and my team we created a new meta, maybe one day it was made to make a guide

 

[Glories]

10/10 definitely not esker.

[Kang_Dynasty]

Okay, now I won't feel so scared when people say AOD +2 MEOW.