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Jal-Zek

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

Jal-Zek

Jal-Zek
Type Inferno monster
Location Inferno
Appears From wave 351
Max hit 70 (magic)1234
Melee max hit About 50-5456
Special Respawns a killed monster once, at half health178
Kill priority Usually first, before ranger and blob91011
Videos 9 (first 2021-05-21, latest 2026-07-13)
Main source YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS)

Jal-Zek (the mage or mager) is one of the most dangerous standard Inferno monsters. It appears from wave 35 on and hits up to 70 with magic. Gnomonkey calls it the first big scary thing and, in 2022, the queen of the chessboard and the most dangerous piece1912. It is by far the most accurate Inferno attacker, roughly twice as dangerous as a ranger, and he says it is never to be tanked132144. Its special mechanic is that, instead of a regular attack, it can respawn a monster the player has already killed, which is why the mage is generally killed first1910. He advises praying mage at the start of every wave from wave 40 onward15. By 2025 he qualified the kill order: melees come first when there is time pressure, and otherwise the mage1617.

Contents

Attacks

Inferno mages hit up to 70, compared with 46 for a ranger and 49 for a melee. The mage's hit is roughly twice as accurate as the ranger's, which makes it more dangerous2. In 2025 he says it almost always hits and does not miss, roughly double the average damage of a ranged hit, so it is never worth tanking143. It can put the player to minus 20 health before the next wave starts, so the player should always pray mage after pulling out13. The player starts these waves praying mage1.

A mage meleeing the player has a lower accuracy than its magic hit, but is still dangerous. In December 2025 he gave its melee max as around 54; in July 2026 he gave it as around 50 and said it hits very hard because of its accuracy, so the player should not be meleed by one56.

Mages attack at the same speed as rangers and are flicked the same way18. The attack is calculated when a flicker appears under the mage, the same visual cue as the ranger hunkering down. The player turns the prayer on just before the flicker starts. In 2026 he adds that the flicker lines up with the audio cue1192021. He says to learn to lazy flick the mage immediately because it saves prayer and builds the foundation for praying other things while the mage attacks22. Later he notes that a mage's attack takes exactly eight ticks, which matters for flicking23, whereas in 2024 he said its normal cycle was four ticks (see Respawn)24.

If the player is unsure whether a mage can see them, they should pray mage, since it is better to tank something else than a mage hit25. The mage can see the player from certain tiles, so care is needed when pulling nibblers26. On day one of the Inferno the mage moved around randomly and would run up and bite the player, which lasted about a week27.

Respawn

Instead of a regular attack, a mage can respawn any monster the player has killed (except nibblers) at half health in the centre of the room. A monster can be respawned only once172028. In 2025 he gave the example of a bat respawning with 13 health instead of 258. The respawn takes eight ticks instead of the standard four, lining up with its four-tick cycle, and does not change that cycle. In 2025 he says the respawn takes exactly two of the mage's attacks12420.

The chance per attack has been revised: roughly 20% in June 2024, roughly 10% in February and December 20257208.

A respawned blob has half HP, but the blobs it splits into have full health. Gnomonkey notes mage respawns can serve as a tool to regain health with Blood Barrage: at full health it is usually best to kill the mage first, but when the player needs health it can be good to kill the blob, Blood Barrage it, and let the mage respawn it for more HP2930. A respawned monster appears right behind the mage, creating a pillar stack for the player if it is a blob or ranger10.

Kill order

His stated position has been consistent that the mage is usually the priority, with the exceptions changing:

Date Position
2021 Kill the mage first at full health to prevent respawns30
2022 Always kill the mage first if possible9
Jan 2024 Almost always kill the mage first, because the respawned mob goes right behind it; prefers killing a melee over a blob while the mage is up, since a respawned melee is less annoying1031
Jun-Oct 2024 The mage is typically first, but melees can be an exception if they will cause trouble. The only things to kill before a mage are bats and sometimes melees. Never kill a ranger before a mage except in rare waves, and not a blob before the mage7113233
Feb 2025 Typically the mage first, though sometimes a melee first20
Dec 2025 Melees first because of time pressure, then the mage; with no melee to kill, the mage first16
Jul 2026 The mager first when there is no melee providing time pressure, because killing the other monster first lets it respawn it17

Killing the ranger first is only fine if the mager is at the side of the pillar and it avoids having to off-tick something34. Off-ticking a mage is only rarely needed to get a cape, and sometimes the ranger is killed first instead35. If a ranger is killed before the mager and gets respawned, the solution is to start from the middle of the pillar, pray the thing in the back, step out when the attack animation is seen, and alternate so the attacks land one tick apart like a blob36. Stepping out the wrong side lets two monsters see the player immediately and hit on the same tick; stepping out the right side works because the mager must first get around the pillar36.

Positioning and tools

  • The best place for a mage to spawn is where it can be reached and killed quickly, which Gnomonkey calls a chef's kiss spawn37. On the upper spawn next to the pillar it can be reached with a Twisted bow; a mage on one particular tile cannot be reached from behind a pillar, the only spot that cannot be reached3839.
  • When the mage is at 34 HP or lower, piping it is better than using the Twisted bow (2023)26.
  • Standing in the middle of the pillar when monsters drag up makes them get stuck behind it; otherwise the mager comes down the side and removes the player's options40.
  • The player can stand on a tile that allows a corner trap on a melee when it digs while attacking the mage41. Stepping one tile out lets the mage act as a pillar for corner trapping, giving good insurance few players use42. The space past a mage can serve as a safe area, because the melee cannot come through when the mage is too far down43.
  • Mage waves are completely free, so Gnomonkey does not even cast at the nibblers, using the pillar collapse to do the damage44. A player who seems to splash on nibblers is probably rolling a zero after passing accuracy; splashing on a nibbler is rare24.
  • A 40 XP drop after barraging a mage and melee usually means the ranger died and the mage, which has the highest mage defence, is the one left, so he switches to mage45.

Off-ticking

In 2023 he said the big thing at sub-65 is not being afraid to off-tick: send it, and forcing yourself to do it teaches quickly. To off-tick, wait for an attack from the monster closest to the player, step up on that tick, and repeat4647. Splashing a mage on purpose stalls it by two ticks, allowing an off-tick, but only if it has not respawned anything48. In 2025 he explains that the game treats a splash on the mage as a melee, so casting and splashing flinches the mage for two ticks as an emergency off-tick; it fails if the mage respawns something after the ranger was killed49. On a bad spawn where the player does not know the splash off-tick, they can simply wait for the melee to dig50.

Double mages

On wave 66 (double mages), just pray mage. The mages can respawn each other, so the player may need to kill four, and a mage whose southwest tile is next to a falling pillar takes massive damage, over a hundred in Gnomonkey's experience51. With two mages, he advises getting both low and finishing them together, and not standing next to the pillar when killing the last mage because the collapse hurts the player for half their current HP5253. On the double mage wave, camp mage prayer, get one mage as low as possible, then blowpipe both back to back so one cannot respawn the other54. For a first cape with four and a half restores, he would not flick two mages and would just kill them, as it is too much risk, though he does it all the time himself55.

Revision history

Date Video Change
2026-07-13 YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS) Changed melee max to around 50; priority back to mager first when no melee; added right/wrong-side pillar stepping.
2025-12-07 NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS) Added half-health bat example, melee max 54 and priority change (melees first).
2025-02-26 EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS) Updated respawn to roughly 10% and the eight-tick attack; added trivia and safe-area tips.
2024-10-03 INFERNO IS FREE NOW! Bofa Guide (OSRS) Added kill-before-blob rules and corner-trap positioning.
2024-06-13 Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS) Updated respawn chance to roughly 20% per attack; added Twisted bow and free-wave tips.
2024-01-17 IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS) Added comparison hit stats (70 vs 46 ranger vs 49 melee) and respawn timing; kill-order refinements.
2023-03-30 Inferno (Sub 65 CA) Teaching Stream OSRS Added piping below 34 HP and off-tick advice, including the splash stall.
2022-07-22 Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS Added lazy-flick cue, XP-drop identification and the queen-of-the-chessboard priority.
2021-05-21 Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk) Page created: wave 35 appearance, 70 max hit, respawn mechanic, double-mage and pillar advice.
## See also

References

  1. Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk), 2021-05-21. ▶ 16:30 ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS), 2024-01-17. ▶ 25:08 ↩↩↩

  3. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 43:23 ↩↩

  4. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 33:28 ↩↩

  5. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 47:44 ↩↩

  6. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 37:30 ↩↩

  7. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 33:47 ↩↩↩↩

  8. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 43:53 ↩↩↩

  9. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 37:55 ↩↩↩↩

  10. IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS), 2024-01-17. ▶ 26:01 ↩↩↩↩

  11. INFERNO IS FREE NOW! Bofa Guide (OSRS), 2024-10-03. ▶ 24:19 ↩↩

  12. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 33:17 ↩

  13. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 38:50 ↩↩

  14. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 36:18 ↩↩

  15. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 36:00 ↩

  16. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 44:23 ↩↩

  17. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 36:09 ↩↩

  18. INFERNO IS FREE NOW! Bofa Guide (OSRS), 2024-10-03. ▶ 23:42 ↩

  19. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 33:56 ↩

  20. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 36:48 ↩↩↩↩↩

  21. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 34:40 ↩

  22. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 44:50 ↩

  23. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 37:51 ↩

  24. IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS), 2024-01-17. ▶ 26:35 ↩↩↩

  25. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 47:00 ↩

  26. Inferno (Sub 65 CA) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2023-03-30. ▶ 32:06 ↩↩

  27. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 36:40 ↩

  28. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 33:12 ↩

  29. Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk), 2021-05-21. ▶ 17:03 ↩

  30. Inferno Guide OSRS (Waves + Triple Jads + Zuk), 2021-05-21. ▶ 26:14 ↩↩

  31. IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS), 2024-01-17. ▶ 31:13 ↩

  32. INFERNO IS FREE NOW! Bofa Guide (OSRS), 2024-10-03. ▶ 25:31 ↩

  33. INFERNO IS FREE NOW! Bofa Guide (OSRS), 2024-10-03. ▶ 32:02 ↩

  34. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 53:00 ↩

  35. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 1:08:41 ↩

  36. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 47:44 ↩↩

  37. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 47:10 ↩

  38. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 39:36 ↩

  39. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 39:14 ↩

  40. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 38:00 ↩

  41. INFERNO IS FREE NOW! Bofa Guide (OSRS), 2024-10-03. ▶ 26:52 ↩

  42. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 42:18 ↩

  43. EASY MID GAME INFERNO GUIDE (OSRS), 2025-02-26. ▶ 40:07 ↩

  44. Inferno Teaching Stream - Mage Rebalance (OSRS), 2024-06-13. ▶ 53:17 ↩

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

  46. Inferno (Sub 65 CA) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2023-03-30. ▶ 33:32 ↩

  47. Inferno (Sub 65 CA) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2023-03-30. ▶ 37:42 ↩

  48. Inferno (Sub 65 CA) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2023-03-30. ▶ 43:43 ↩

  49. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 1:18:41 ↩

  50. Inferno (Sub 65 CA) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2023-03-30. ▶ 44:14 ↩

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

  52. IRONMAN Inferno Teaching Stream (OSRS), 2024-01-17. ▶ 54:55 ↩

  53. YOU CAN GET YOUR FIRST INFERNO COMPLETED WITH THESE (OSRS), 2026-07-13. ▶ 1:00:37 ↩

  54. NEW Golden Trio for First Inferno Cape (OSRS), 2025-12-07. ▶ 1:23:22 ↩

  55. Inferno (Twisted Bow) Teaching Stream OSRS, 2022-07-22. ▶ 1:23:28 ↩

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