A Guide to Soul Wars (basics, strategy, and more)

[mario_sunny]

Soul Wars

 

 

 

 

 

 

Version I: 2.18.09

 

Version II: 3.29.09

 

 

 

Introduction

 

Welcome to Soul Wars, the first minigame of 2009. Soul Wars has settled in to be one of the most popular minigames today, with official worlds hosting hundreds of players at a time. Soul Wars is a mix between Castle Wars and Pest Control, with a King of the Hill twist.

 

 

 

I'm Mario sunny. I've played over 400 games of Soul Wars, and have collected approximately 1050 zeal. I've created this guide to share my vast knowledge of Soul Wars with you.

 

 

 

Accessing Soul Wars

 

The actual Soul Wars minigame rests on an island, which can be accessed via the yellow portal south of Edgeville bank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the most popular worlds, choose the official Soul wars worlds, 143 and 145. You should take note of the bank chest near the crates. Nomad, the NPC who runs the game, can guide you through the tutorial, and sells rewards in exchange for your zeal points (see Rewards). Players enter Soul Wars through the waiting rooms south of the bank chest. There are two teams: the red team, and the blue team. Enter either one of these waiting rooms to begin the game, or enter via the balance portal in the middle, which automatically transfers you to the waiting room with less people. Players are not allowed to bring capes, non-combat items, or food into the game. Upon the event of death, players keep all their items.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basics

 

 

 

[hide=Soul Wars Map][/hide]

 

 

 

The red team and the blue team have opposite bases, and each has its own Avatar (an attackable NPC boss), who is an extremely powerful creature. Your base also contains a supply area, which holds bandages, explosive potions, and barricades (similiar to castle wars). Each game is 20 minutes long, with a 3 minute postgame rest period between games to bank.

 

 

 

The object of the game is to kill the enemy avatar, while defending your own avatar. The avatar, on both sides, has 1000hp and is level 525. There are three territories in the game. The obelisk, located in the exact center of the map, is considered the most important of all. Around the map, there are also two graveyards. Graveyards serve as a respawn point for your team, they also give 20% health to your avatar, and lower your opponent's avatar's health 10% when captured. In the event of death, you be transformed into a ghost for 15 seconds before you are able to leave the respawn point as a human again. Remember: You don't lose any items in this game!

 

 

 

[hide=Avatar of Destruction]Here is the Avatar of Destruction, the red team's avatar. The Avatar of Creation belongs to the blue team.

 

 

 

[/hide]

 

 

 

These three territories: the obelisk and the two graveyards, are capturable territories. When you enter a territory a bar will appear under your territories display (picture below). Capturing is quite simple: if your team has more players in the given territory, your team will capture it, if the opposing team has more players in the given territory, they will capture it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A scoreboard is also displayed on the screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avatar deaths: The number of times avatar has died.

 

Avatar level: The slayer level needed to attack avatar.

 

Avatar health: The current hitpoints of avatar.

 

Time left: Time remaining in the current game.

 

 

 

The obelisk is used to lower the required slayer level to attack the opposing team's avatar (required slayer level starts at 100 for both teams). Every player needs a certain slayer level to attack the avatar. This required slayer level is shown on the scoreboard on your screen. To lower the required slayer level, your team must use soul fragments on the obelisk. One soul fragment equals one level lowered of the opposing team's avatar. Soul fragments are collected by killing creatures around the map. Pyrefiends drop 1 fragment, jellies drop 2.

 

 

 

Killing the opposing team's avatar earns the opposing team one point. Games are won when your team has the least amount of points.

 

 

 

3 zeal points are awarded if your team wins.

 

2 zeal points are awarded if your team ties with the opposing team.

 

1 zeal point is awarded if your team loses.

 

0 zeal points are awarded if you enter a Soul Wars game that is more than halfway through the round, no matter if your team won, tied, or lost.

 

 

 

Positions

 

Now that we have covered the basics, we can get more into the game and get more in-depth. Soul wars can be divided into five positions.

 

 

 

Offender

 

The offender is responsible for attacking the opposing teams avatar. Always watch the slayer level of the opposing teams avatar, and rush the enemy base when it gets down to your level. Stock up on a full inventory of bandages, and one barricade. The object is to stay alive as long as possible, while doing some good damage to the avatar. Watch your health, you will usually get piled. When you begin to run low on bandages, see if you can run back to the enemy base and grab some bandages. Place your barricade behind you to halt enemies attacking you. Stock up on a full inventory of bandages quickly, and grab another barricade. Run back to the avatar, attack it, and repeat.

 

 

 

Basic objectives:

 

• [*:z81d3cd5]Attack enemy avatar
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Survive in hostile base

 

 

 

Best outfit: Barrows, with godsword or whip/high leveled shield.

 

 

 

Defender

 

The defender is responsible for defending your teams avatar, and is the most relaxed job in the game. Your objective is to camp in your base, and wait for enemies to arrive. While you are waiting it is wise to build up a barricade wall to slow enemies. Build these walls around the spawn room, so your spawned teammates will see enemies and pile them. When enemies arrive, you should kill them as quickly as possible. The best way to dispose of enemies quickly is by piling them. Keep on eye on the level of your avatar, if it is 70 or below, massive amounts of enemies may arrive. Note that if your avatars level is 100, no player in the game may attack it, not even 99 slayers (there is no way to boost your slayer level in Soul Wars).

 

 

 

Basic objectives:

 

• [*:z81d3cd5]Defend your avatar by killing enemies whom are attacking your avatar

 

 

 

Best outfit: Offensive value armor (ex. void, torso, bandos), with godsword or whip/rune defender or other offensive shield.

 

 

 

Holder

 

The holder is responsible for keeping the obelisk under your teams control. Your objective is to hold your position at the obelisk in the center of the map. When the game begins, head to your supply base and fill your inventory with bandages. Next, rush to the obelisk as fast as you can. When you arrive, stay in the obelisk area and help your teammates pile enemies. When you die, you will respawn in the closest graveyard, if you control it. Run back to the obelisk.

 

 

 

Basic objectives:

 

• [*:z81d3cd5]Stand your ground in obelisk
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Kill enemies in obelisk area

 

 

 

Best outfit: Barrows, with whip/high leveled shield (godswords are not recommended here, whips do more total damage.).

 

 

 

Rusher

 

The rusher is responsible for capturing enemy graveyards. Rushers work in teams; these teams attempt to overwhelm enemy graveyards in numbers and capture them. Rush teams usually form at your graveyard. Join one if one is currently being formed, or make your own by shouting "fall in g rush." When you arrive at the enemy graveyard, you and your teammates should pile enemies in the area. Make sure to stay in the enemy graveyard area. Your rush is successful when you have overwhelmed the enemy and have the upper hand in numbers.

 

 

 

Basic objectives:

 

• [*:z81d3cd5]Attempt to capture enemy graveyards.

 

Best outfit: Barrows, with godsword or whip/high leveled shield.

 

 

 

Gatherer

 

The gatherer is responsible for collecting soul fragments dropped by slayer creatures. Soul fragments are used on the obelisk to lower the required slayer level to attack the opposing teams avatar. Before you go out gathering, stock up on bandages. On the map, there are several locations where jellies and pyrefiends can be found. Pyrefiends drop 1 fragment, Jellies drop 2, but require a higher slayer level to kill. Be wary while you are collecting, enemies may sneak over and start attacking you. If you die, all your fragments will go to the killer. If you are attacked, either run to your base or your graveyard, both contain a surplus of teammates who can pile the enemy. When your team has control of the soul obelisk, you can use your soul fragments on the obelisk, lowering the opposing teams avatars level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic objectives:

 

• [*:z81d3cd5]Kill slayer creatures for soul fragments
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Use soul fragments on obelisk

 

 

 

Best outfit: Barrows, with whip/rune defender or other offensive shield.

 

 

 

Strategies and Tips

 

 

 

The Obelisk

 

Having played over 350 games of Soul Wars, I can clearly tell you now that the obelisk is the key to winning. To win a game, you must maintain total control of the obelisk throughout the game. If your team starts losing the obelisk, immediately rally your team to take it back. If the enemy captures the obelisk just for three seconds, it could mean a kill of your avatar. Never let the enemy hold the obelisk, there is absolutely no strategic value in doing so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The obelisk is useless for the first two minutes of the game, because neither team will have enough soul fragments to significantly lower the opposing team's avatar level. However, after these two minutes, it is vital that your team controls the obelisk the entire game.

 

 

 

Graveyards

 

My opinion still stands that the obelisk is the most important territory in the game. However, capturing the obelisk is just a blind rush without considering the awesome power of graveyards.

 

 

 

Strategic values of graveyards:

 

• [*:z81d3cd5]Spawning your team's fallen players.
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Healing your avatar.
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Damaging enemy avatar.

 

 

 

If a grave rush is successful, your team may control all three territories. This hurts the enemy; they can no longer spawn close to the center, they are forced to their spawn room located deep in their base if they happen to die. The awesome advantage of controlling and holding all territories is that the flow of enemies only comes from one point. This means your team will have a much easier time containing the enemy. The only way to break a three territory hold is another grave rush. Obelisk rushing is significantly harder once the opposing team controls all territories.

 

 

 

Even if a grave rush fails, it still hurts the enemy. When you grave rush, whether it be sucessful or not, your team distracts the enemy. The effect of this is that the obelisk is very easy for your team to capture, since your grave rush has stemmed the flow of enemies to the obelisk.

 

 

 

Useful Tips

 

• [*:z81d3cd5]Ancient magicks are very useful in Soul Wars. Soul Wars contains dozens, sometimes hundreds of players at once, making some areas (such as the obelisk) great freeze targets.
   
   
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Use your prayer wisely, it matters. Some jobs require you to stay alive as long as possible, so make your prayer use efficient. If you are in a high hostile area, it is suggested you use protect from melee, and no piety/chivalry.
   
   
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Burying bones (obtained by defeated enemies) can be buried in any controlled graveyard; they increase your prayer significantly, and increase your avatars required slayer level (making it harder for enemies to attack your avatar). There is also a very small chance burying a bone will instantly restore your avatars level to 100.
   
   
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Soul wars offers the chance to plunk the maximum hit in the game. Using a ruby bolts (e) special attack on the avatar with full hitpoints will result in it losing one-fifth of its health, 200 damage.
   
   
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]A single spy may be useful as a tool to infiltrate the enemy base and check their movements. A spy's best position is the opposing team's graveyard, where he/she can watch if the enemy is forming up a grave rush team.
   
   
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Nomad can enchant your team cape to give it the same properties (the ability to pick up your fallen ranged ammo) as your accumulator/attractor.
   
   
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]Always go after low levels first when attempting to capture/hold territories. Low levels are killed the fastest and lower the enemy count in the territory faster opposed to killing high levels first.

 

 

 

Commanding a Clan Chat

 

This particular section is specifically for commanding your clan chat, if you do happen to command one, be you one of many generals, or the owner.

 

 

 

[hide=10 to 0 Game]Organization is deadly. This picture, taken one Saturday afternoon, proves that working in clan chats is the best way to not only win, but to make sure the enemy drowns in its own blood.

 

 

 

 

This game was played using the advanced strategy listed below.[/hide]

 

 

 

The Two Strategies

 

 

 

Basic Strategy

 

When the game begins, get your entire team to stock up on bandages and immediately head to the obelisk. Only a few people in your team should collect soul fragments. For the entire game, focus on holding the obelisk. If you lose it, quickly take it back. When the level of the opposing team's avatar is low enough, send in about a quarter of your team to attack the enemy obelisk.

 

 

 

Typical game: 3 to 0.

 

 

 

Advanced Strategy

 

When the game begins, get half of your team to go directly to the enemy grave and capture it. For the other half of your team: most of them should go to obelisk, while some of them immediately depart to kill creatures for fragments. If all goes well, your team should have both graves 2 minutes into the game. Now, pour most of your team into the obelisk, capturing it. Make some of your team fall back to both graves to defend. Gatherers should continue gatherering.

 

 

 

Once your team secures all three territories, take some of your obelisk men and get them to attack the enemy avatar. Some holders should go gather fragments too.

 

 

 

When one of your territories begins to fall, immediately call your men in to support it. Do not let the enemy take territories. When all three territories are basically enemy free, the rest of the game should be a slaughter. Gatherers, whom should have stockpiled hundreds of fragments, should be constantly hitting the obelisk the instant the enemy avatar spawns. Offenders in the enemy base should kill the enemy avatar as fast as possible.

 

 

 

Typical game: 5 to 0.

 

 

 

Dominant Clan Chats

 

In every popular soul wars world, there is almost always a dominant clan chat. This dominant chat actually decides the outcome of games, through superior numbers, organization, and/or high-leveled players. Most of these chats are 100+.

 

 

 

Other clan chats in the world tend to leech off this dominant clan. There are usually up to 5 big clans in a popular world at a time; 1 dominant and 4 inferior.

 

 

 

A Dominant Clan Chat:

 

• [*:z81d3cd5]1) Proves that it has a firm grip on the battlefield with experienced generals.
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]2) Proves that a majority of members in the chat follow orders and do as they are told.
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]3) Contains a large amount of permanent members (ones whom come back day after day).
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]4) Proves that it can beat inferior chats, even if there are several teamed together.
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]5) Unfortunately, has many inferior chats leeching off of it. :P (but this tells you it is the dominant chat!)
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]6) DOES NOT become private.

 

 

 

All six criteria must be met if you wish to become and remain the dominant chat in the world.

 

 

 

Rewards

 

Zeal points can be exchanged for rewards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experience

 

Nomad offers experience in Attack, Strength, Defense, Hitpoints, Ranged, Magic, Prayer, and Slayer. These experience rewards are based on your current level in that skill. If you purchase 100 points worth of experience at once, you receive a 10% bonus.

 

 

 

[hide=Experience Tables]Experience per 1 zeal point

 

 

 

 

Please note these values may not be 100% acurate. If a value is wrong it should only be a few experience off. Note there are blank spaces in the table, these are unknown values. If you have any information that could be used to fill those blank spaces, I would appreciate it if you posted it here.[/hide]

 

 

 

Charms

 

Nomad also sells all four main charm types; the costs are dependent on your summoning level. Most players generally agree the charms offered in this minigame are fairly overpriced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pets

 

There are also five slayer pets available; Nomad will trade you a pet in exchange for the required zeal points and the body part of that pet. You will also need a certain slayer level to obtain the body part of each pet. You also need a summoning level of 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gambling

 

Finally, there is a gamble option similar to Barbarian Assault. Each gamble costs 2 zeal points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hide=Gambles]

• [*:z81d3cd5]20,000 gp
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]290 Bones
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]40, 42 Ogre Coffin Keys
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]40 Big bones
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]28 Vampire dust
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]23 Babydragon bones
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]22, 39, 49 Wolf bones
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]22 Unicorn horns
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]20 Bagged plant 1s
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]18 Cactus spine
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]16 Potato Cactus
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]16 Wyvern bones
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]14 Whiteberries
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]11, 18 Dragon bones
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]10 Snake hides
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]9 Larupia fur
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]9 Red flowers
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]7 Carved evil turnip
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]6 Marigolds
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]5 Graakh fur
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]5 Dagannoth hides
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]4 Sabre tooth kyatt fur
   
  [*:z81d3cd5]3 Dagonnoth Bones

[/hide]

 

 

 

Soul Wars Slang

 

Slang translation

 

avvy/av Avatar.

 

cade Barricade.

 

"Fluffy" - A nickname players have given to the avatars.

 

frag it/lay some frags Use soul fragments on the obelisk.

 

hold obby Hold the Obelisk.

 

leech/"loafer"/"freeloader" One who stands around contributing nothing to the team, usually AFK.

 

obby/ob Obelisk.

 

rush usually Rush enemy grave.

 

rush avvy Attack enemy avatar.

 

rush obby Go to Obelisk.

[platnium7]

FIRST POST!!!!

 

 

 

Great guide.

 

 

 

I was wondering, is this a faster way to get Gold Charms than Fire Giants.

 

 

 

If not, whats the fastest [kinda a relevant question lol].

[Dax]

Nice guide, too bad the mass amounts of ancienters turns me off this game, otherwise i'd be here 24/7.

[mario_sunny]

FIRST POST!!!!

 

 

 

Great guide.

 

 

 

I was wondering, is this a faster way to get Gold Charms than Fire Giants.

 

 

 

If not, whats the fastest [kinda a relevant question lol].

 

 

 

No even the gold charms you get for this game aren't worth the time. Just go to Soul Wars and right click Nomad for rewards... you can see for yourself. Multply the amount of gold charms you get per one zeal by 6 (assuming the average game you tie), that will be how much you get per hour.

[Joskeuhtje1]

Very nice guide, it seems fun with like 20 people, but I never know worlds with only 20 people there. :wall:

 

9/10, maybe make HD pictures

[Juhnie]

 

Soul Wars Slang

 

Slang translation

 

obby/ob Obelisk.

 

rush usually Rush enemy grave.

 

rush avvy Attack enemy avatar.

 

rush obby Go to Obelisk.

 

obby/ob Obelisk.

 

 

 

Oops.. ;)

 

 

 

Nice guide, gives you all the basic information and some nice tactics, too. :

 

Let's say.. 9/10, shall we?

[tiwaz1]

good guide 8,5/10

 

I'm use be a Offender/Defender

 

 

 

en when i'm a Defender i often use full void am a Defender cause Offender just kill the avatar not me and if i die, I will back in 20 sec

 

 

 

and i found a small role and that is the builders. thay build a square of barricade 3x3 just in front of the avatar gate and use range/bust.

[mario_sunny]

Juhniz - fixed. :oops:

 

 

 

tiwaz1 - Void is a good suggestion, I've added that to the guide. As for your 'builder' suggestion, I've merged that with Defender. I've added some information about barricading too.

[Wachtwoord]

Great guide, it contains about all the strategy this mini game can possible have and it's very detailed and well written. It also shows the downside of this game (IMO), it has little strategy and there is actually only one important one:

 

Gaining and holding the obelisk in the beginning of the game is very important. Soul Wars clans, and other organized public clan chats know this, and they use it to their advantage. One of the best strategies in Soul Wars is to get the entire team to rush the obelisk in the beginning. After your team captures the obelisk, a chunk of the players may fall back to take on other jobs (gathering, rushing). This will guarantee you a 95% chance of victory, for an average Soul Wars game. Ive used this strategy about 80 times, and it still works

[red_Fat1]

Ancients dominates, get 4 barrages sit outside their graveyard and barrage em lmao

[Pirate_Felix]

leach One who stands around contributing nothing to the team, usually AFK.

 

Leech, not leach.

[bigmoneyak]

nice guide. Going to get all the pets and maybe stockpile some points.

 

 

 

But its a shame that world hoppers and pures are able to get slayer xp out of it.

[mario_sunny]

leach One who stands around contributing nothing to the team, usually AFK.

 

Leech, not leach.

 

 

 

Fixed. Thanks. :)

[mario_sunny]

Added Commanding Clan Chats section. This section focuses on working as a group to win a game.

[mario_sunny]

Bump. Edited it some more to simplify.

[EragonShadeslayer]

Great guide Mario! :thumbsup: 10/10 (Just cause I'm biased :P )

[Deathmath]

Bumpah

[mario_sunny]

Thanks TSA guys.

[phansk]

So, I was wondering - how many Zeal points does it cost to purchase experience in the different skills?

 

10? 25? 100? or can you freely choose how many points you want to buy for?

 

 

 

And the formulas:

 

 

 

Formula for Attack, Strength, Defense, and Hitpoints: floor((lvl*lvl)/600)*525

 

Formula for Ranged, and Magic: floor((lvl*lvl)/600)*480

 

Formula for Prayer: floor((lvl*lvl*)/600)*270

 

 

 

Is that for 1 points? 20? or 50?

[mario_sunny]

So, I was wondering - how many Zeal points does it cost to purchase experience in the different skills?

 

10? 25? 100? or can you freely choose how many points you want to buy for?

 

 

 

And the formulas:

 

 

 

Formula for Attack, Strength, Defense, and Hitpoints: floor((lvl*lvl)/600)*525

 

Formula for Ranged, and Magic: floor((lvl*lvl)/600)*480

 

Formula for Prayer: floor((lvl*lvl*)/600)*270

 

 

 

Is that for 1 points? 20? or 50?

 

 

 

Ah thanks for pointing that out. I'll edit it and clarify.

 

 

 

It's per 1 zeal point.

[twopurexes]

it's quite a good guide :) i'd prob use it sometime

[mario_sunny]

it's quite a good guide :) i'd prob use it sometime

 

 

 

Thanks. :)

[Owned_Nex]

Nice guide.

 

 

 

But i think you should put more information on grave rushes. After 400+ zeals, I believe this is as, if not more essential then controlling the obelisk. The reason is that it takes MUCH more time for respawns to get to the middle. There is less organization, and a higher chance of controlling the obelisk. Your teammates will spawn closer to the enemy, allowing everyone to rush the enemy base, and hold them back.

 

 

 

During a grave rush running to the grave, spamming @@ is important. It helps cover up whos the leader and the people. It is easy for one or two ancients to freeze up a rush. Once at the grave yard, it is best to pile the low levels. It is ESSENTIAL to remove the enemy's control, ths taking away reinforcements just a barrier away. When the bar statrts to full for yoru team, pile the high levels in order to keep your numbers high. Eventually it will be yours.

 

 

 

I recommend 150+ops. At the battle, you should use protect magic and piety/chilvery.

[mario_sunny]

Nice guide.

 

 

 

But i think you should put more information on grave rushes. After 400+ zeals, I believe this is as, if not more essential then controlling the obelisk. The reason is that it takes MUCH more time for respawns to get to the middle. There is less organization, and a higher chance of controlling the obelisk. Your teammates will spawn closer to the enemy, allowing everyone to rush the enemy base, and hold them back.

 

 

 

During a grave rush running to the grave, spamming @@ is important. It helps cover up whos the leader and the people. It is easy for one or two ancients to freeze up a rush. Once at the grave yard, it is best to pile the low levels. It is ESSENTIAL to remove the enemy's control, ths taking away reinforcements just a barrier away. When the bar statrts to full for yoru team, pile the high levels in order to keep your numbers high. Eventually it will be yours.

 

 

 

I recommend 150+ops. At the battle, you should use protect magic and piety/chilvery.

 

 

 

Thanks for the information, and I totally understand. When I first wrote this guide I only had something like 150 zeal, and I really didn't understand the importance of grave rushing until I got into this one clan chat that LOVED grave rushing. They were basically the only ones that understood the importance of grave rushing. The average soul wars player things grave rushing is useless... claiming it fails 90% of the time. But a failed grave rush isn't a complete failure... it distracts the enemy.

 

 

 

And if it is sucessful you control all three territories meaning holding the obelisk is much easier. I totally agree with you.

 

 

 

I've redone a lot of my guide, it should be up-to-date with my new strategies now, including grave rushing.

 

 

 

Also added new sections on commanding clan chats.

[Owned_Nex]

Another thign I should mention is if you are grave rushing, then its best to get bandaids. Although noobs will start yelling, its essential to victory. For the most part, Quantity>Quality. Although some people dislike being away from a "safe" bandaid area, you can just run to the enemy area. Most of the time if you control the enemy's grave, there would be too many people to distract the enemy. Even if you get attacked, you can just pick up a barricade(even in combat), run outside of supply area, and run back in, placing barricade at the enterence. Then you can get baindaids really easily. High levels should use a good wepaon, armor, and smite. That usually scares away the noobs. I used to Protect Melee, but noobs caught on I was just running by.