Dagannoth (Waterbirth Island)

Dagannoth are monsters that live in the Waterbirth Island Dungeon and the Chaos Tunnels. There are two types of Dagannoth, those who use Melee and those who use Ranged, also differing in appearance and examine text. Furthermore, both types of Dagannoth are separated into two combat levels, those on the first level of the Waterbirth Dungeon are level 78, while those deeper in the dungeon are level 79. Both levels of Ranged Dagannoth can be found in the Chaos Tunnels. Dagannoth are extremely weak to Balmung and its enhanced counterparts, but may nevertheless be fought with other weapons.

The melee dagannoth use an accurate melee attack, which hits often and hard against players. They have grey backs, and are identified as "darkened horrors" in their examine text. The Level 78 versions of them are the only type of Dagannoth (besides spawn) to inhabit the first room of the dungeon, while the level 79 ones can only be found deeper. The ranged dagannoth use a fast and very accurate ranged attack. They have brown backs and are identified as "spiny horrors" in their examine text. They cannot be found in the first room of the dungeon, but instead the level 78s are found behind the southern-most door. As with their melee counterparts, the level 79 ranged dagannoth can be found deeper within the dungeon. Both levels of ranged Dagannoth can also be found in the north-western most cavern of the Chaos Tunnels, in the room that leads to Bork's chamber.

Dagannoth drop medium clue scrolls, runes, and ranged weapons/ammo frequently. Occasionally they may even drop a Warrior, Berserker, Farseer, or Archer helm. They also drop their hide, which can be used to make armour.

Locations

 * Waterbirth Island Dungeon
 * First chamber: 78 Melee dagannoth
 * Southern-most door chamber: 78 Ranged dagannoth
 * Other areas of the Dungeon: 79 dagannoth of both types.
 * Chaos Tunnels north-western chamber (78 and 79 Ranged dagannoth)

Strategies
Unlike the Melee dagannoth, rangers are highly aggressive, making those in the Chaos Tunnels a good low-attention way to complete slayer tasks, as they're all rangers.

However, training in any area with ranged Dagannoth for long periods of time may be difficult without using Soul Split or a steady supply of blood spells. Protect from Missiles prayer or the Deflect Missiles curse may also prove useful, as it negates half of the damage from the monsters. Another good strategy is to use Guthan's due to its healing effect and since these dagannoth are weak to stab, Guthan's warspear works effectively.

Drops
Note that the drops from the melee and ranged dagannoths differ somewhat. Melee dagannoths drop Dagannoth hide frequently, while Spined boots, Spined gloves, Flattened hide, Stretched hide and Circular hide are dropped by the ranging dagannoths that can be found behind one of the 2-man doors and inside the Chaos Tunnels.

Trivia

 * In an update on 8 May 2013, dagannoths on Waterbirth Island were made more near-sighted. Many players posted on the forums that they were displeased with the resulting drop in combat experience rate (particularly magic experience from barrages) and charm collection rate.

Dagannoth (Waterbirth Island)