OSRS Giant Mole Guide: How to Farm for Profit and Glory (2024)

The Giant Mole in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) represents a unique boss encounter, appealing to a wide range of players due to its accessibility and the rewards it offers. This boss is particularly notable for being engaging for both late-game players hunting for the pet and mid-game players seeking to make money. With relatively simple mechanics, the Giant Mole provides an excellent entry point for players looking to delve into bossing or to earn a steady income through gameplay.

Overview of the Giant Mole Boss

The Giant Mole is categorized as a mid-level boss, commonly targeted for its mole claws and mole skins. Its simplicity is highlighted by the minimal mechanics involved in the fight, with the primary mechanic being its ability to burrow underground and reappear at random locations within its lair beneath Falador. Access to the mole’s lair requires a spade, emphasizing the boss’s low barrier to entry in terms of equipment and preparation.

Importance of the Giant Mole in OSRS

The significance of the Giant Mole within OSRS lies in its dual appeal to different player demographics. For mid-game players, the mole claws and mole skins represent valuable commodities that can be sold for a profit or traded in for bird nests, which are essential for training Herblore. For late-game players, the allure of the rare Giant Mole pet adds a long-term goal that encourages repeated engagements with the boss.

Preparation for Giant Mole Battle

Stat Requirements

To effectively engage in battle with the Giant Mole, certain stat requirements are recommended. While specific numbers are often not set in stone, a general guideline includes having baseline combat stats to ensure efficiency and safety during the encounter.

Recommended Attack, Strength, and Defence Levels

• Attack, Strength, and Defence: A baseline of 70 in each of these skills is recommended. This level allows for the use of more effective gear and increases overall combat efficiency against the Giant Mole.

Prayer Level for Protect from Melee

• Prayer: Level 43 Prayer is essential for accessing the “Protect from Melee” prayer, crucial for mitigating damage from the Giant Mole, especially for strategies that involve close-quarters combat.

Gear and Equipment

The gear and equipment setup can significantly vary based on the player’s approach, whether opting for a melee or range setup, and their current access to in-game resources.

Melee Setup (Dharok’s and Alternatives)

• Dharok’s Gear: A popular choice for those aiming for high damage output, especially under the effect of its set bonus, which increases damage as the player’s HP decreases. A full Dharok’s set includes the helm, platebody, platelegs, and greataxe.
• Alternatives: For those without access to Dharok’s or preferring a different approach, alternatives include any high-strength bonus gear. Items like the dragon defender, amulet of glory or fury, and Berserker ring can complement this setup. For boots, dragon or rune boots can be used as a more budget-friendly option.

Range Setup (Twisted Bow and Budget Options)

• Twisted Bow: The Twisted Bow is highly effective due to its unique mechanic of increasing damage and accuracy the higher the magic level of the opponent. This makes it an exceptional choice for the Giant Mole, but it’s a very high-cost item.
• Budget Options: For those without the means to afford a Twisted Bow, alternatives include using a Magic Shortbow (imbued for better performance) with amethyst arrows or a crossbow with broad bolts for cost-efficiency and decent damage.

Importance of Light Sources

• A light source is essential when battling the Giant Mole due to the fight taking place in a dark environment. Failure to bring a light source can lead to continuous damage over time from the darkness. Options include a bullseye lantern for a permanent light source or a Firemaking cape as an alternative, providing a constant light source without the need to relight.

Inventory Setup

• Potions: Include super combat potions for boosting combat stats and regular combat potions as an alternative. Stamina potions are essential for maintaining run energy during the fight, and a full inventory of prayer potions is recommended for sustaining prayer points throughout the encounter. Divine combat potions could be an option, but they require a method of healing, such as bones to peaches.
• Locator Orb and Dwarven Rock Cake: Used to lower HP to 1 for maximizing damage with Dharok’s gear. The locator orb comes from Dragon Slayer II completion, and the dwarven rock cake is accessible after starting Recipe for Disaster.
• Spade and Falador Shield 3: A spade is necessary for digging into the Giant Mole’s lair. The Falador Shield 3, a reward from completing the Falador Hard Diaries, serves dual purposes: it notes mole claws and mole skins drops (making inventory management easier) and acts as a mole locator to find the mole quickly after it burrows​​.

Accessing the Giant Mole

• Location and How to Get There: The Giant Mole is located beneath Falador Park. To access its lair, players must dig on the mole hills scattered around the park using a spade. It’s essential to bring a light source due to the darkness of the lair; without it, players can suffer continuous damage.
• Using the Falador Shield for Navigation: The Falador Shield 3, obtained from completing the Falador Hard Diaries, is invaluable for navigating within the Giant Mole’s lair. It provides a blinking arrow that points towards the mole’s current location, significantly reducing the time spent searching for it after it burrows to a new spot. This feature not only enhances the efficiency of the hunt but also potentially increases the profit and kills per hour by minimizing downtime​​.

Combat Strategies

Melee Approach with Dharok’s

• Dharok’s Strategy: Utilizing Dharok’s gear is a popular method for its potential high damage output. The strategy revolves around reducing your HP to 1 using items like the Locator Orb or Dwarven Rock Cake, enabling Dharok’s set effect that increases damage with lower HP. Players should maintain Protect from Melee prayer activated to mitigate damage while at low health. Upgrades from basic gear, such as switching from an Amulet of Glory to an Amulet of Fury or Torture, can significantly enhance damage output.

Ranged Strategy for Higher Efficiency

• Twisted Bow: The most efficient method for high-level players with access to expensive gear is using the Twisted Bow, taking advantage of its effectiveness against monsters with high Magic levels.
• Crystal Bow (BofA) and Full Crystal Armor: Another effective setup for ranged attacks involves the Bow of Faerdhinen (BofA) combined with full Crystal Armor. This setup exploits the bow’s passive effect and the armor’s damage boost, resulting in significant damage output.
• Void with Rune Crossbow: For lower-level players or those with budget constraints, a Void set combined with a Rune Crossbow represents a viable ranged strategy, albeit with lower kills per hour compared to more advanced setups.

Utilizing Safe Spots

• Safe Spots: While the guide mentions a safe spot strategy, it emphasizes that the Giant Mole’s burrowing mechanic, which sees it moving randomly around its lair, limits the effectiveness of static safe spots. Instead, mobility and adaptability are key to engaging the mole efficiently.

Managing Health and Prayer

• Health Management: Whether employing the Dharok’s melee strategy or ranged attacks, maintaining low health is crucial for maximizing damage output with Dharok’s gear. Conversely, ranged strategies do not require low HP but still necessitate careful health management to avoid sudden death from the mole’s attacks.
• Prayer Management: Keeping the Protect from Melee prayer active is vital, especially for melee strategies to mitigate damage from the Giant Mole. The number of Prayer Potions to carry may vary depending on whether the player has completed relevant diaries for efficiency boosts, such as the Falador Hard Diary, which impacts stamina and prayer potion needs.

Profit Maximization

Loot Overview (Mole Claws, Mole Skins, and Notable Drops)

• Mole Claws and Mole Skins: These are the primary sources of profit from the Giant Mole, with players obtaining 1 to 3 mole skins per kill, priced between 6.55K to 20K, and a guaranteed mole claw per kill, valued at 7K. The quantity and value make these drops the main profit drivers.
• Notable Drops: The Giant Mole also drops 100 noted yew logs quite frequently, with a drop rate of 1 in 12, offering 23K each time. Other notable drops include adamant longswords, mithril platebodies, strength amulets, and various rune items which can be alchemized for gold.

Converting Loot to Gold

• The basic approach to converting loot to gold involves selling the obtained mole parts (claws and skins) directly on the Grand Exchange. However, players have the option to convert these parts into bird nests, which can potentially increase their value.

Trading Mole Parts for Bird Nests

• Mole claws and skins can be traded to Wyson the gardener in Falador Park for bird nests. This trade can be particularly profitable because bird nests can contain valuable seeds and rings. Players often opt for this method to maximize their earnings from each kill.

High Alchemy for Rune Items

• High Alchemy plays a crucial role in profit maximization, especially with the mole’s drops such as rune battleaxes, mithril platebodies, and other alchemizable items. Carrying runes for High Alchemy allows players to convert these items into gold, optimizing inventory space and increasing overall loot value.

Impact of Falador Hard Diary on Profit

• Completing the Falador Hard Diary has a significant impact on profits. This achievement diary’s rewards include the noted drops of mole claws and mole skins, which drastically reduces banking time and increases the efficiency of long mole hunting sessions. The noted drops allow players to stay in the mole’s lair longer, accumulating more loot per trip and enhancing the profit per hour​​.

Pet Hunting

Chances of Obtaining the Giant Mole Pet

• The Giant Mole pet, a coveted reward for many players, has a drop rate of 1 in 3,000. This rate applies to each kill of the Giant Mole, providing a consistent chance across all encounters.

Strategies to Increase Pet Drop Rate

• Frequent Encounters: Increasing the number of Giant Mole kills naturally enhances the chances of obtaining the pet. Utilizing efficient combat strategies and gear to maximize kills per hour is advisable.
• Persistence: Given the fixed drop rate, persistence in hunting the Giant Mole is key. Continuous engagement with the boss over time increases the cumulative probability of securing the pet.

Additional Tips

Avoiding Common Mistakes

• Proper Gear and Inventory: Ensure you have the appropriate gear and inventory setup for the method you’re using (Dharok’s for melee, ranged setups, etc.) to avoid unnecessary difficulty or inefficiency.
• Maintaining HP and Prayer: For Dharok’s users, keeping HP at 1 while managing prayer levels to sustain “Protect from Melee” is crucial. Neglecting these can lead to premature deaths or reduced damage output.

Enhancing Kill Efficiency

• Using Special Attack Weapons: Bringing a special attack weapon, such as Dragon Claws or a Dragon Dagger for melee setups, can significantly boost damage output, especially at the start of the encounter.
• Cannon Usage: If feasible, deploying a cannon within the Giant Mole’s lair can increase kills per hour by dealing additional damage and potentially speeding up each kill.
• Utilizing the Falador Shield 3: For those with the Falador Hard Diary completed, leveraging the Falador Shield 3 not only helps in locating the mole after it burrows but also ensures mole claws and mole skins are noted, extending the duration of each trip.

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