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Jal-Nib

This article is compiled from the videos of GnomonkeyRS. It records what Gnomonkey said, with sources, not verified game fact. See About.

Jal-Nib

Jal-Nib
Type Monster
Location The Inferno
Health 101
Max hit 42
Defence 15 defence; magic level 15, -20 magic defence34
Spawns 3 per wave, 6 on in-between waves; none on the last three waves2
Best weapon Magic, ideally with a high max hit56
Videos 8 (first 2021-05-21, latest 2025-12-07)
Main source Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS)

Jal-Nib, or nibblers, are small monsters in The Inferno that Gnomonkey treats as a priority and a hazard at the same time. They head to a pillar and rapidly damage it, and on a first cape he says they are the absolute top priority to kill, since losing the north or south pillar can end a run.23 By 2024 he also calls them maybe the most deadly NPC in the Inferno, because chasing them gets people killed, like chasing a ball into the road in front of a semi-truck.7 His advice has therefore shifted from "kill them early and aggressively" to "chase them in waves 1-49, then stop".8910

Contents

Stats and spawning

Nibblers spawn every wave in groups of three, except the in-between waves where there are six and no other monsters, and they stop spawning on the final three waves.2 All of a wave's nibblers go to the same random pillar; each maxes a 4 and rapidly damages the pillar on arrival.2 Every time two of the same mob type are killed in a wave, a nibbler group (six nibblers) spawns in the middle of the arena.11

They have 10 health, so a 10 damage hit shows they are dead; after two melees there are six nibblers, and the one heading to the pillar should always be taken.1 A six-nibbler stack has 80 health.12

They have extremely low stats (15 defence), a magic level of 15 and -20 magic defence, less than a goblin, so freeze spells land regardless of magic bonus.3413 They are the best target for Saradomin godsword specs and a great target for Blood Barrage.3 Mage accuracy does nothing for them (about 96% hit chance, splashing extremely rare); what matters is max hit, since a higher max hit gives a better chance of one-shotting all of them.6 Spells can be cast even in a melee-only Inferno, and the magic bonus is only needed to catch nibblers.4

Killing nibblers

Basic approach

  • Priority: North pillar first, south second and west lowest. The more aggressive the player is with nibblers early, the more they can ignore them later.8
  • Start of wave: Send an Ice or Blood Barrage at the nibblers depending on health; if they cannot be killed safely, send one cast and get behind the pillar until the monsters fall into place.8 Typically nibblers get one cast, then the wave is solved and the player returns to the nibblers.14
  • Weapon: Magic is ideal because it is more likely to kill them; Bow of Faerdhinen also works.5 If only one nibbler is left, do not waste time barraging it repeatedly; the Toxic blowpipe is much faster and touches the pillar less.15 If six nibblers are present and one is not frozen, kill that one first so the pillars take no unnecessary damage.16
  • Safe spots: Nibblers on the south pillar can be shot from a specific tile, which he calls a godsend.17 They can also be hit from a safe spot.5 Nibblers on the north pillar are a priority because the north pillar cannot be dropped, but they are easy to protect since they can be hit from behind the pillar.18
  • Risk: Tank a single blob hit when going for nibblers rather than two-ticking and losing ticks and risking a mage hit, which equals about ten blob hits, because blobs' ranged hits almost never hit through high range defence.19 Only grab a nibbler if it is free; if reaching it means tanking a melee and blob hit, give it one cast, go to the other side of the pillar and get it later.20

Checking kills

He uses split XP: a 40 XP drop on a barrage tells him the nibblers are gone, and a 30 XP drop tells him they are not all dead and another cast is needed.2121 In 2024 he reversed that reading, saying a 30 XP drop tells him a cast has killed all the nibblers in one hit.22 A nibbler corpse can be phantom barraged, and he phantoms the middle nibbler to check whether a clump has died.23

Barrage choice and healing

  • Blood Barrage: It heals if the wave starts at lower health.24 If low on health, a player can heal off nibblers, since they have no mage defence.25 A six-nibbler stack has 80 health, so phantom barraging it is worth it when low going into the wave.12 Six-nibbler waves are guaranteed free health: a player low on health can phantom them for about a full heal and avoid brewing.26
  • Not freezing: In 2025 he does not freeze nibblers and uses blood barrage, because ice barrage splits the group so the other two keep going to the pillar, while blood barrage keeps them clumped to be killed together.1
  • Phantoming: A manual cast at a nibbler's corpse still hits the others, giving free health.27 Nibblers on your pillar are slightly too close (seven tiles away) to phantom, since a phantom needs at least eight tiles.28

Chasing versus ignoring

  • Waves 1-49: Chase nibblers as much as possible, even at a cost in health, because late waves have too many enemies to go get them; this prepares for the post-50 waves.9
  • Waves 50 and later: Stop chasing every nibbler. A single nibbler on a pillar does little damage over time, but two or three become a problem, and with high pillar health he starts letting nibblers go.10 Each gets one cast and the wave is then solved, except for nibblers on the north pillar, which must be removed.29 Nibblers 99% of the time get just one cast in the 50s and 60s.30 A west-pillar nibbler is no threat and he would be fine losing the west pillar.31 Chasing nibblers to the south or west pillar in late waves is not worth dying for, like chasing a beach ball into traffic.29
  • Evidence: In one video a single nibbler did about 10 damage to a pillar of over 200 health while he sat there, and it would have taken about eight minutes to destroy it.32 A single nibbler left on a pillar for a whole wave only did about 60 damage, which shows chasing late nibblers is not worth the risk.33
  • Speedruns: In Inferno speeds, do not chase nibblers: the two non-north pillars do nothing and can be dropped, and running to save them loses time and causes damage that must be healed. Nibblers on the north pillar should be killed as fast as possible, but those on the west or south are handled only when convenient, since with no pillar the nibblers come to the player.3435 When both side pillars are gone, be aggressive with nibblers and kill any group of more than one immediately.3036 In his full run he barely touched nibblers on bad waves and the pillars still lasted, though he says he should have been more attentive to nibblers on north.36
  • Late-wave prayer: A defensive prayer such as Piety can be used, because he almost always hits nibblers anyway with about 95% accuracy.37
  • Wave 66: Nibblers can kill whichever pillar they go to; do not stand next to a pillar when it goes down or you take massive damage.38

Early on, in 2022, the advice was to kill nibblers early as fast as possible so they do not eat pillar health and to avoid letting them munch on a pillar.39

Revision history

Date Video Change
2025-12-07 NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS) Added phantom range (8 tiles), late-wave prayer and pillar damage evidence; advice not to chase late.
2025-07-13 EASY INFERNO: SUB 65 MINUTE GUIDE (OSRS) Added Inferno speeds advice and blood barrage over ice barrage.
2025-02-26 EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS) Added six-nibbler group spawn rule and advice to chase in waves 1-49 but let them go in the 50s.
2024-06-13 Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS) Added max-hit focus, 80 HP stack, phantom barraging, deadliness comparison; changed 30 XP drop reading from "not all dead" to "all dead in one hit".
2024-01-17 IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS) Added one-cast routine, Bow of Faerdhinen and Blood Barrage healing.
2023-07-12 Melee Inferno Guide OSRS Added magic level 15 and -20 magic defence; spells can be used in melee-only Inferno.
2022-07-22 Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS Added XP-drop checks (40 means dead, 30 means not all dead), blowpipe for single nibblers and the south-pillar tile.
2021-05-21 Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk) Page created: spawn rules, stats, priorities and wave-start barrage advice.
## See also

References

  1. EASY INFERNO: SUB 65 MINUTE GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-07-13. ▶ 36:10 ↩↩↩

  2. Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk), 2021-05-21. ▶ 11:11 ↩↩↩↩↩

  3. Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk), 2021-05-21. ▶ 11:51 ↩↩↩↩

  4. Melee Inferno Guide OSRS, 2023-07-12. ▶ 0:58 ↩↩↩

  5. IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS), 2024-01-17. ▶ 18:10 ↩↩↩

  6. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 2:34 ↩↩

  7. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 44:29 ↩

  8. Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk), 2021-05-21. ▶ 17:15 ↩↩↩

  9. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 21:00 ↩↩

  10. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 55:00 ↩↩

  11. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 10:26 ↩

  12. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 16:43 ↩↩

  13. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 2:03 ↩

  14. IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS), 2024-01-17. ▶ 2:50 ↩

  15. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 14:53 ↩

  16. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 20:10 ↩

  17. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 35:01 ↩

  18. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 49:31 ↩

  19. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 35:59 ↩

  20. EASY INFERNO: SUB 65 MINUTE GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-07-13. ▶ 17:00 ↩

  21. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 30:29 ↩↩

  22. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 21:32 ↩

  23. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 22:03 ↩

  24. IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS), 2024-01-17. ▶ 35:33 ↩

  25. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 18:31 ↩

  26. EASY INFERNO: SUB 65 MINUTE GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-07-13. ▶ 36:50 ↩

  27. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 25:23 ↩

  28. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 58:55 ↩

  29. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 1:02:38 ↩↩

  30. EASY INFERNO: SUB 65 MINUTE GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-07-13. ▶ 54:54 ↩↩

  31. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 44:58 ↩

  32. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 46:32 ↩

  33. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 1:11:48 ↩

  34. EASY INFERNO: SUB 65 MINUTE GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-07-13. ▶ 11:01 ↩

  35. EASY INFERNO: SUB 65 MINUTE GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-07-13. ▶ 12:20 ↩

  36. EASY INFERNO: SUB 65 MINUTE GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-07-13. ▶ 1:14:34 ↩↩

  37. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 1:03:12 ↩

  38. Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk), 2021-05-21. ▶ 32:30 ↩

  39. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 2:57 ↩

Mechanics

Colosseum invocations • Yama contracts • Invocations (Tombs of Amascut) • Jal-ImKot • Inferno pillars • Jal-Ak • Alt account • Thralls • Nex gear setup • Tempoross • Turael • Inferno waves • Jal-Nib • Doom of Mokhaiotl: rock block method • Monkey Room • Fortis Colosseum pillars • Phantom barrage • Awakened bosses • Melee gear progression • Demonic Brutus • Jal-MejRah • Prayer flicking • Butterfly Tech • Fortis Colosseum setup • Doom of Mokhaiotl: melee punish • Sulliuscep • Botting • Off-ticking • Corner trapping • Doom of Mokhaiotl: car attack • Combat Achievements • Doom of Mokhaiotl: shield phase • Pest Control • Blood Barrage • Nylocas • Great Olm 4-1 method • Nex reset • Triple Jad • RuneScape 3 combat • Tightrope skip

Category: Mechanics