The Chambers of Xeric (CoX) was released in 2017 as Old School RuneScape’s first raid. Since then, the raid has changed dramatically thanks to new gear, balance updates, and a more skilled player base. What was once a daunting group challenge is now a highly optimized piece of content, with many players completing it solo for both enjoyment and efficiency.

This guide focuses on maximizing efficiency in regular solo Chambers of Xeric. It assumes you already understand the raid’s mechanics and want to refine your methods for faster completions and higher points per hour (PPH). We’ll cover gear setups, scouting strategies, the four-tick cycle, tile markers, and room-by-room optimizations to help you push your solos to the next level.

The Optimal Gear Setup

At max efficiency, your setup should include a 9-way Mage, 9-way Melee, and 6-way Range switch. Commonly used spec weapons are the Eldermall and Zaryte Crossbow (ZCB). Your rune pouch should hold Thralls and Vile Vigour, eliminating the need for stamina potions after the recent run energy changes. Bring one restore, one Sanfew (or an antidote for shamans if you’re an Ironman), and swap in bruise depending on the rooms.

Small gear choices can save time:

Slayer Helm: Saves ~5 seconds on shamans or mystics.

Lockpick: Saves ~4 seconds (worthwhile).

Arclight: Saves ~4.5 seconds on Guardians.

Bronze axe/pickaxe: Saves 3 ticks on scavenger shortcuts and gives ~500 points — always worth it.

Always plan ahead. Many wipes or slowdowns happen because players sip entire brews or manage their inventory poorly before picking up drops. Knowing exactly what to drop or sip before a kill can save more time than any minor tick optimization.

Scouting for Maximum Points

Scouting is one of the most misunderstood aspects of CoX efficiency. Traditionally, players aimed for 3 combat / 2 puzzle layouts (3C2P) with crabs and tightrope, since these are fast. However, for points per hour, the math changes.

Thieving rooms outperform crabs, nearly doubling their points per hour.

4C2P layouts are excellent for self-scouting, since they reduce scouting time and still yield strong points. Having a lot of RuneScape gold can help you get high scores easily.

Avoid Ice Demon under any circumstances — it’s always inefficient.

If you self-scout, prioritize all 3C2P and 4C2P layouts, doing every combat and puzzle room except Ice Demon. This nets ~131k PPH. If alt-scouting, skip mystics and Tekton, and focus on thieving and tightrope puzzles — expect ~141k PPH.

Runelite plugins make this much easier; whitelist your desired layouts so you only see viable scouts.

Understanding the Four-Tick Cycle

The entire Chambers raid operates on a four-tick cycle. This governs everything from mob spawns to barrier openings and tendril timings. Learning to align your actions with this cycle is key for optimizations like Tekton lures or Vasa teleports.

Using the Cox Additions plugin or a custom visual metronome helps track the cycle. Syncing it as you enter ensures consistent execution throughout the raid.

Tile Markers and Variants

Every CoX room is a 32x32 area with fixed entrance and exit tiles. Rooms come in left-turning, straight, or right-turning variants, which change mechanics — for example, muttadiles can be trapped in some layouts but not others.

Having tile markers imported ahead of time removes guesswork. Many pastebins exist with pre-labeled tiles; customize colors to your preference.

Room-by-Room Optimizations

Tekton

Lure efficiently by processing Tekton on tick one of the cycle.

Always drag it two tiles diagonally for an extra Scythe hit.

Use a free Shadow hit by leaving the proc tile on tick four, then attack immediately.

Tekton drops potions on the southwest tile of its center — spam-click to secure pots quickly.

Vasa

Stand on the correct tile to awaken Vasa safely.

Use Vas-tech to avoid teleports and gain eight free attacking ticks.

Potions drop at the center of its 5x5 — radius markers help.

Without a Twisted Bow, use blowpipe L-movement to maintain DPS without losing ticks.

Guardians

If your overload is about to expire, step into barriers to force a pushback. This grants ~40 points per hit — small but worthwhile if timed correctly.

Mystics

Trap them behind obstacles, trade one-to-one hits, and wear defensive gear between attacks. This reduces average incoming damage by about half.

Shamans & Muttadiles

Look for tendril skips at barriers to save ticks.

Against muttadiles, ZGS specs are better than chopping.

Big muttadile can be trapped on obstacles in left-turning or straight rooms, preventing tree-eating.

Vanguards

This room demands precision. Shadow is best-in-slot, but avoid resets by tracking max hits and balancing DPS. Kill melee last, luring it to the exit for faster looting.

Vespula

The highest PPH room in CoX.

Alternate portal hits with boss damage to avoid grub healing.

Drop Vespula at ~35% HP (with antidote) or ~56% (without).

Expect to loot many potions here, so plan inventory space.

Tightrope

Killing the NPCs yields higher PPH than skipping.

Blowpipe is the fastest but risky due to chip damage.

T-bow + Shadow combo is safer, saving brews at a minor time cost.

Crabs

Right-turning (good crabs): Fastest, ~88 ticks.

Straight (rare crabs): Appears in 4C2P scouts; optimal solve is quicker than good crabs.

Left-turning (bad crabs): Slowest, but efficient, solves to minimize waste.

Thieving

Always prioritize getting the scavenger eating early. Thieve in cycles of three chests, dump, then repeat until ~27–29 grubs. Finish with four or five to cap at 39, since the first 39 give full points.

Olm Fight Efficiency

Olm is where most runs succeed or fail.

Spec order: Three Eldermalls + one ZCB. Don’t overspec hands; save ZCB for head phase.

Prayer: Camping Mage is generally best for supply conservation.

Worldscythe or Hokam methods can be used if low on supplies for safe, damageless Olm phases. Having sufficient OSRS gold can ensure safety at this stage.

Final Thoughts

The Chambers of Xeric remains one of OSRS’s most rewarding raids, and optimizing your solo runs is both challenging and satisfying. By refining your gear setup, scouting intelligently, mastering the four-tick cycle, and applying room-specific strategies, you can reliably push your points per hour to new heights.

As new items and strategies continue to evolve, so too will the methods for efficient CoX solos. For now, these techniques provide the foundation for maximizing your raids and making every tick count.