Guardians require a pickaxe, an appropriate crush attack and movement away from the falling-rock area after each hit. Destroy both statues to open the passage. Bringing a stronger ordinary melee weapon cannot replace the room’s pickaxe mechanic.
This normal CoX guide focuses on a repeatable learner clear. It separates Mining level, wielding requirements and combat movement so you can prepare the useful tool without treating a recommended skill level as an absolute raid-access requirement.
Choose a pickaxe you can actually use
Two Guardian statues block the route forward. Ordinary attacks with other weapons do not provide the normal damage needed to clear them. Equip the best suitable pickaxe you brought and select its crush option before starting.
Mining level and the pickaxe contribute to the room’s damage calculation. This is different from saying only your Strength matters, and different again from the Attack requirement to wield a particular pickaxe. Check both using and equipping requirements when preparing a lower-level account.
A dragon pickaxe is useful, but a crystal pickaxe does not gain a higher Guardian damage multiplier than the dragon pickaxe. Do not buy or bring the crystal version solely on the assumption that every higher-tier mining tool must hit these statues harder.
An iron pickaxe spawns in the room if you forgot your tool. Use the fallback and finish the room rather than assume the raid is impossible. It is slower than bringing an appropriate better pickaxe, so correct the inventory for the next attempt.
Preparation choice | What it changes |
|---|---|
Pickaxe instead of ordinary weapon | Enables the intended damage against the statues |
Crush attack option | Uses their favourable melee defence |
Higher Mining level | Improves the special damage calculation |
Wielding requirement | Determines whether the intended tool can be equipped |
Dragon versus crystal pickaxe | Same capped Guardian damage multiplier |
Iron pickaxe spawn | A usable fallback when the planned tool is missing |
Set the camera and leave a clear retreat
Look at the floor around the chosen statue before clicking it. You need a route away from its attack area, not just a good view of the health bar. Keep run enabled and reserve enough energy for repeated short retreats.
Use Protect from Melee as a sensible learner precaution, particularly when health is low. It helps against ordinary melee contact, while the falling-rock attack still demands movement. Do not infer that an overhead makes every hit in this room avoidable by standing still.
In teams, avoid choosing a retreat that sends you into a teammate’s marked impact. You can split the two statues or focus one together, but everybody still needs space to move. Call the target if two learners are unsure which statue they should be attacking.
Check the equipped weapon after using a special or changing gear. It is easy to begin the room correctly, switch for another action, then spend several attempts hitting with a weapon that no longer does useful normal damage.
Repeat the hit-and-retreat sequence
Attack the Guardian with the pickaxe, then immediately run two tiles away from the statue. This moves you clear of the three-by-three rock impact centred on the position targeted by the stomp. A single tiny step may leave you in that same impact area.
Re-enter for the next attack when the route is clear and your weapon is ready. You do not need to wait for the health bar to disappear before every return. The purpose is to avoid the retaliation area, not create a long period of unnecessary downtime after a safe hit.
For an energy-conscious rhythm, a short walk back towards attack distance can fit between run retreats. Keep the actual dangerous movement as the priority; saving a small amount of energy is not useful if it leaves you standing in the next rock.
If you misclick, recover the position first. A blocked path, a far click through the statue or a premature return can create repeated damage. Heal at a clear position before restarting the sequence instead of trying to force the last hit while critically low.
Keep special attacks in perspective
Some secondary effects can apply even when the ordinary damage from a non-pickaxe weapon is reduced to zero. That is not a reason to teach a first clear as a Defence-special check. The core route remains a pickaxe on crush with controlled movement.
The dragon pickaxe special boosts Mining, but do not spend energy reflexively just because the tool is equipped. Consider the modest room benefit against the next encounter’s planned specials and the fact that the damage is affected by several inputs.
A slower-than-expected kill should first prompt checks of the actual pickaxe, attack style, drained combat stats and time spent away from the target. Improving those is more useful than repeatedly using specials without identifying the cause.
Complete the same sequence on the second statue. Do not assume the passage is open after only the first falls, and do not run at the guarded exit while a statue remains active; it can knock you back and cause unnecessary damage.
Mistake | Correction |
|---|---|
Hits do no useful damage | Re-equip the pickaxe and check the selected attack option |
Rocks hit despite stepping away | Move two tiles clear of the targeted area |
A far attack click changes the route | Use short, deliberate approach and retreat clicks |
Room feels slow with an expensive tool | Check Mining, style, boosts and downtime; crystal is not an extra damage tier |
Forgotten tool | Use the iron spawn now and repair the next raid inventory |
Damage at the exit | Finish both Guardians before trying to pass |
Use the seed drops before the next preparation stop
Collect the raid herb seeds that the statues drop and make sure they reach the player preparing supplies. Seeds are part of the raid resource chain, not ready-made healing potions; you still need the appropriate herbs, secondaries and Herblore plan.
CoX is safe for regular Hardcore Ironman status, but Hardcore Group Ironmen lose a life on death. Points and raid supplies can still be lost. A useful learning target is a clean repeat of the hit-and-retreat rhythm on both statues, followed by a properly prepared next room.
Connect the room to your full raid plan
Use the Chambers of Xeric learner guide for access, raid supplies and the complete first-clear route. The raids preparation guide helps you choose useful account upgrades before adding more switches.
Independent guide: Onyx Services is an independent service provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Jagex Ltd. RuneScape and Old School RuneScape are trademarks of Jagex Ltd.