RSorder OSRS: The Optimal Gear Setup

The Chambers of Xeric (CoX) was released in 2017 as Old School RuneScape's first raid. Since then, the raid has changed dramatically thanks to new gear, balance updates, and a more skilled player base. What was once a daunting group challenge is now a highly optimized piece of content, with many players completing it solo for RuneScape gold both enjoyment and efficiency.

This guide focuses on maximizing efficiency in regular solo Chambers of Xeric. It assumes you already understand the raid's mechanics and want to refine your methods for faster completions and higher points per hour (PPH). We'll cover gear setups, scouting strategies, the four-tick cycle, tile markers, and room-by-room optimizations to help you push your solos to the next level.

The Optimal Gear Setup

At max efficiency, your setup should include a 9-way Mage, 9-way Melee, and 6-way Range switch. Commonly used spec weapons are the Eldermall and Zaryte Crossbow (ZCB). Your rune pouch should hold Thralls and Vile Vigour, eliminating the need for stamina potions after the recent run energy changes. Bring one restore, one Sanfew (or an antidote for shamans if you're an Ironman), and swap in bruise depending on the rooms.

Small gear choices can save time:

Slayer Helm: Saves ~5 seconds on shamans or mystics.

Lockpick: Saves ~4 seconds (worthwhile).

Arclight: Saves ~4.5 seconds on Guardians.

Bronze axe/pickaxe: Saves 3 ticks on scavenger shortcuts and gives ~500 points - always worth it.

Always plan ahead. Many wipes or slowdowns happen because players sip entire brews or manage their inventory poorly before picking up drops. Knowing exactly what to drop or sip before a kill can save more time than any minor tick optimization.

Scouting for Maximum Points

Scouting is one of the most misunderstood aspects of CoX efficiency. Traditionally, players aimed for 3 combat / 2 puzzle layouts (3C2P) with crabs and tightrope, since these are fast. However, for points per hour, the math changes.

Thieving rooms outperform crabs, nearly doubling their points per hour.

4C2P layouts are excellent for self-scouting, since they reduce scouting time and still yield strong points. Having a lot of RuneScape gold can help you get high scores easily.

Avoid Ice Demon under any circumstances - it's always inefficient.

If you self-scout, prioritize all 3C2P and 4C2P layouts, doing every combat and puzzle room except Ice Demon. This nets ~131k PPH. If alt-scouting, skip mystics and Tekton, and focus on thieving and tightrope puzzles - expect ~141k PPH.

Runelite plugins make this much easier; whitelist your desired layouts so you only see viable scouts.

Understanding the Four-Tick Cycle

The entire Chambers raid operates on a four-tick cycle. This governs everything from mob spawns to barrier openings and tendril timings. Learning to align your actions with this cycle is key for optimizations like Tekton lures or Vasa teleports.

Using the Cox Additions plugin or a custom visual metronome helps track the cycle. Syncing it as you enter ensures consistent execution throughout the raid.

Tile Markers and Variants

Every CoX room is a 32x32 area with fixed entrance and exit tiles. Rooms come in left-turning, straight, or right-turning variants, which change mechanics - for example, muttadiles can be trapped in some layouts but not others.

Having tile markers imported ahead of time removes guesswork. Many pastebins exist with pre-labeled tiles; customize colors to cheap OSRS gold your preference.