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Maggot King

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

Maggot King

Maggot King
Type Boss
Release/Update Blood Moon Rises1
Group size Solo, repeatable2
Difficulty Similar to Phosani's Nightmare (per Jagex)3
Rewards Necklace of Pursuit, Crimson bludgeon4
Kill time 2:30 best, about 3:00 average (budget)5
Combat Achievements Nine tasks, no Grandmaster67
Videos 4 (first 2026-01-25, latest 2026-07-22)
Main source MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE

The Maggot King is the new solo repeatable boss from the Blood Moon Rises update: a parasite on the corpse of a venator, related to Zarpus' race, with a huge maggot sticking up21. Jagex says it suits players eyeing the Inferno or in the middle of their Phosani's Nightmare grind, which Gnomonkey reads as slightly harder than Yama, and he is glad of that4. Jagex planned a difficulty similar to Phosani's Nightmare3. He loves how disgusting it looks, praises the animations and art design, and compares it to a Bloodborne boss1.

Rewards include the Necklace of Pursuit, an upgrade to the Necklace of anguish, and the Crimson bludgeon4.

Contents

Pre-release impressions

From five seconds of footage in May 2026 he noticed two types of acid on the ground, a green poison and a yellow acid, and speculated one may venom the player and the other act like the Griffin-style shield acid. The boss stands raised on a cliff while the player shoots it at distance among acid and attacks little maggot minions, giving him Doom of Mokhaiotl vibes. He also noted a thrust attack that hits an area, like Sol Heredit, and wondered about diagonal variations899. Survival relies on quick repositioning, reacting to environmental threats and adapting as the arena shifts and hazards spread1.

Getting there

Teleport with a Draken's medallion to outside Castle Draken, run east and cross an agility shortcut, and the boss is nearby10. A faster route: go past the boss to find a man being hit by mosquitoes, save him by killing the mosquitoes and talk to him; he reappears elsewhere and takes the player by transport to the shortcut leading into the boss11.

The fight

Gnomonkey describes his 30 June 2026 guide as a day-one guide: nothing is known for certain, things are hard to calculate and everything could be wrong or change. It is sloppy and number-free (a "mouthfeel" guide) because DPS calcs cannot currently handle the boss, and he promised a fuller guide in a few days1213.

Ranged phase

On entering, pray Protect from Missiles and Augury, then run to the left side of the arena (the right also works) to put all the boss's rag poison in one corner14. Its ranged attack is poison that hits for 8, so sip an antidote. When it screeches, turn the protection prayer off; after each screech, swap between Protect from Missiles and Protect from Magic15. The screech drops rocks that do minor damage, and the acid it spits is mage-based, so Gnomonkey turns on Protect from Magic after the screech15. Floor acid hurts a little and drains melee stats; floor poison only hits a little and does nothing more if the player is immune to poison, so nothing at the boss is super punishing16.

Each screech launches carrion on the ground, which a grub eats while moving back and forth, healing the boss one per bite, with roughly one maggot shot out per screech17. Gnomonkey found it better to leave the maggots alone, though a trick exists to one-shot them that he does not cover17. The maggot neck can be hit from just about anywhere in the room when next to it, giving many options for dodging acid18.

Melee phase

At 66% health the boss comes down off the ramp so it can be meleed, and from then on it comes down after each screech19. It uses a thrust melee attack that can be dodged by stepping aside, and shoots small bits of acid; the attack can be punished by clicking right as it pops out20. The maggot attack ignores the player's attack cooldown, so one can step aside, attack, and immediately swing again for a double hit21. Gnomonkey puts all the acid on one side and slowly walks it to the other side when the boss comes down22. Its melee attacks, which hit about 50, are the only thing that hits hard and are what will kill the player22. Below 20% health the boss is permanently in melee, so the player just spams attacks23. He notes the boss can be made to attack faster, which suits faster weapons such as an Ink mace or a bludgeon23.

Kill times

His best kill with a budget setup is 2:30, and he says an average of about three minutes is achievable; with a Zombie axe, a five-tick weapon, kills run about two and a half to three minutes once the fight is understood52425. In July 2026 he said the five-kills-in-nine-minutes achievement could probably be done with the Soulreaper axe7.

Combat Achievements

Jagex chose not to add any Grandmaster achievements because it could not find a task that added challenge without feeling contrived6. Gnomonkey strongly appreciates this, having long asked Jagex to cut the bulk of combat achievements; his only idea was a very fast time, which would simply require killing without dying6. The listed tasks: hard is Kill the Maggot King; elites include killing 25 times, using only weapons found in Vampyrium, not moving more than 40 tiles, and not moving beyond the back row of tiles; others listed are five kills in nine minutes (a little under two minutes per kill, which he says is definitely doable), 12 kills without leaving the arena, killing without missing a melee punish, a perfect kill (no avoidable damage, never healed), and 12 perfect kills in a row without leaving267. He considers the nine tasks reasonable and far from the worst batch he has seen, as there did not need to be 20 to 307.

Revision history

Date Video Change
2026-07-22 SUMMER SWEEP-UP CHANGES ARE HERE (OSRS) Added the Combat Achievements decision (no Grandmaster) and the full task list.
2026-06-30 MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE Added route to the boss, fight guide (prayers, phases, floor hazards), kill times and the warning that the guide is provisional.
2026-05-29 SUMMER ROADMAP REVEAL (OSRS) Added Blood Moon Rises context, pre-release footage impressions and Jagex's Phosani's Nightmare comparison.
2026-01-25 WINTER SUMMIT IS HERE AND JAGEX COOKED! (OSRS) Page created: boss description, rewards and Jagex's difficulty framing.
## See also

References

  1. SUMMER ROADMAP REVEAL (OSRS), 2026-05-29. ▶ 3:35 ↩↩↩↩

  2. WINTER SUMMIT IS HERE AND JAGEX COOKED! (OSRS), 2026-01-25. ▶ 11:31 ↩↩

  3. SUMMER ROADMAP REVEAL (OSRS), 2026-05-29. ▶ 5:05 ↩↩

  4. WINTER SUMMIT IS HERE AND JAGEX COOKED! (OSRS), 2026-01-25. ▶ 12:05 ↩↩↩

  5. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 1:28 ↩↩

  6. SUMMER SWEEP-UP CHANGES ARE HERE (OSRS), 2026-07-22. ▶ 12:37 ↩↩↩

  7. SUMMER SWEEP-UP CHANGES ARE HERE (OSRS), 2026-07-22. ▶ 14:40 ↩↩↩↩

  8. SUMMER ROADMAP REVEAL (OSRS), 2026-05-29. ▶ 4:07 ↩

  9. SUMMER ROADMAP REVEAL (OSRS), 2026-05-29. ▶ 4:38 ↩↩

  10. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 0:26 ↩

  11. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 0:56 ↩

  12. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 0:00 ↩

  13. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 10:19 ↩

  14. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 3:51 ↩

  15. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 4:19 ↩↩

  16. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 4:52 ↩

  17. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 5:19 ↩↩

  18. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 7:53 ↩

  19. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 5:49 ↩

  20. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 6:16 ↩

  21. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 6:49 ↩

  22. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 7:22 ↩↩

  23. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 8:22 ↩↩

  24. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 2:53 ↩

  25. MAGGOT KING BUDGET IRONMAN GUIDE, 2026-06-30. ▶ 8:54 ↩

  26. SUMMER SWEEP-UP CHANGES ARE HERE (OSRS), 2026-07-22. ▶ 13:48 ↩

Bosses

Nex • The Wardens • Akkha • Doom of Mokhaiotl • Yama • TzKal-Zuk • Kephri • Zebak • Ba-Ba • Alchemical Hydra • Great Olm • Zulrah • Sol Heredit • General Graardor • The Nightmare • Vorkath • Araxxor • Corrupted Hunllef • Verzik Vitur • TzTok-Jad • Tormented Demon • Phosani's Nightmare • JalTok-Jad • Shellbane Gryphon • Vanguards • The Hueycoatl • Kree'arra • Tekton • Maggot King • Vasa Nistirio • Kalphite Queen • Maiden of Sugadinti • Muttadile • Ice Demon • Vespula • Sotetseg • Grotesque Guardians • Xarpus • Corporeal Beast • Smoke devil

Category: Bosses