OSRS Bloat Guide: Pestilent Bloat Downs, Flies and Gear

Pestilent Bloat at a Glance

Bloat, as nearly everyone calls the Pestilent Bloat, is the second room of the Theatre of Blood: a level-870 undead with 2,000 hitpoints in a five-player Normal Mode raid. It walks a fixed loop around the pillar in the middle of its room, and anyone it can see gets hit by flies for 10 to 20 every tick until they break line of sight. Every hit on it is halved while it walks, so the fight is about hiding from it and then unloading during the short window when it shuts down.

Its stats push everyone into melee. Magic defence is +600 and every ranged defence is +800, while stab, slash and crush sit at +40, +20 and +40. Slash is the weak point, and because Bloat is undead, a salve amulet works here.

Requirements and Getting There

Bloat has no requirement of its own. You reach it by killing the Maiden of Sugadinti in room one, and the Theatre itself only needs Priest in Peril for access to Morytania. The first supply chest opens when Bloat dies, so whatever you brought has to last through both Maiden and Bloat.

It was made by a crazed vampyre known as The Butcher at Verzik Vitur's request. The book it drops, also called The Butcher, lists the ingredients, including three giant heads, an ogre's corpse, two cyclops arms and an apple pie. The boss requirements checklist lists the other raid and boss gates if you are planning several at once.

How the Bloat Room Works: Walks, Downs and Line of Sight

As soon as the party enters, Bloat starts walking a square around the central pillar. Its spawn point is predictable but its starting direction is random. While it walks, its flies hit any player in its line of sight, and they spread to other raiders the targeted player can see, even if Bloat cannot see them. Protect from Missiles only cuts fly damage by 25%, so the pillar is your real protection.

The first walk lasts 39 to 47 ticks, about 23 to 28 seconds. Then Bloat shuts down for 32 ticks (19.2 seconds). That down phase is the only time your hits land at full damage. It ends with a stomp on the area around it for 40 to 80, which can be tick-eaten, and the stomp also restores any Defence you drained. Every walk after a stomp lasts 34 to 42 ticks.

Below 90% health, hands start falling from the ceiling while Bloat walks. Each one hits for 30 to 50 and stuns you, and a shadow on the floor marks where it will land. Bloat can also change direction mid-walk, at most once every 32 ticks in Normal Mode and every 16 in Hard Mode. A turn or a speed change stops it going down for the next 5 ticks, which is why some walks run long. A running Bloat is much harder to hide from, so try not to leave it sitting near the 40% threshold.

Recommended Gear

Best to worst, the weapons here are the scythe of vitur, blade of saeldor, noxious halberd and abyssal tentacle. Bring a crystal halberd if you can, since its special is the last hit of every down.

Inventory and Supplies

• A salve amulet (e) or (ei), equipped before you go in. Eat an anglerfish or drop a potion first, so your normal amulet has a free inventory slot when you swap the salve on.
• A crystal halberd for the last special of each down. If you use burning claws, use them at the start of the down, since the special clears burns when you activate it.
• Brews or food for a stray stomp or a few ticks of flies. Clean pathing costs very little.
• Space for a stamina potion. The chest after Bloat sells a stamina potion(4) for 1 point, and the Nylocas room next door is mostly running.

Mechanics: Attack Styles, Max Hits and Immunities

Hard Mode changes

Bloat has 2,400 hitpoints. Hands fall the whole time, from the moment the first player enters, even while Bloat is down, and it can turn every 16 ticks, sometimes more than once per lap.

Entry Mode changes

Flies hit for up to 8 and the stomp for up to 40. A solo party's Bloat can scale down to 20% of its 1,280 hitpoints, and a wipe sends the team back outside the room with unlimited attempts.

Where Pestilent Bloat Sits in the Theatre

Bloat is room two of six. Before it is the Maiden of Sugadinti; after it come the Nylocas, Sotetseg, Xarpus and Verzik Vitur. Killing it refills your hitpoints, prayer and spec, and opens the first supply chest.

Fight Strategy: Down-Phase Damage

1. 1

   Send one player in first, timed for when Bloat is on the far side of the pillar.

   That player hugs the pillar and keeps it between them and Bloat.

2. 2

   Optionally, one or two players do a Bandos godsword run-by to drain Defence before the first down.

3. 3

   When Bloat goes down, everyone else enters and attacks with melee.

   You have roughly 18 seconds: five attacks from close range, or four if you have to walk to it.

4. 4

   Make the last hit of the sequence a crystal halberd special if you have the energy.

5. 5

   Run before the stomp, unless Bloat is below 3% and about to die.

   The stomp plus flies kills a lot of players who stay.

6. 6

   Before the next room, drop the salve amulet and buy a stamina potion(4) from the chest.

Drops and What Pestilent Bloat Is Worth

Bloat drops one item, the book The Butcher, and stops dropping it once you have read it. Anything worth money is rolled in the chest after Verzik, four rooms on, and the Theatre of Blood guide lists those uniques and what Entry Mode leaves out.

Combat Achievements

Perfect Bloat is the Master-tier task for this room: kill Bloat without anyone in the team taking damage from the flies, the falling body parts or the stomp. Don't enter if Bloat starts the room walking north, because you get flied on the way in. Late entrants should wait for the first down, since Bloat can occasionally send a fly from the far side.

Task lists change with updates, so check the current list in game. The Combat Achievements guide covers how the tiers fit together.

Ironman Notes

Ironmen get full Theatre rewards when they raid with other players, and the chest's uniques exist nowhere else in the game. Bloat's setup is easy for an ironman to source: the salve amulet comes from the Haunted Mine quest, and an abyssal tentacle is on the weapon list under the scythe and blade of saeldor. A Hardcore Ironman loses the status on any death in the Theatre, Entry Mode included.

Common Mistakes and Death Causes

• Standing anywhere Bloat can see while it walks. A few ticks of 10 to 20 adds up fast, and the flies spread to teammates you can see.
• Trusting Protect from Missiles. It only cuts fly damage by 25%.
• Attacking while Bloat walks. Every hit is halved.
• Staying for one more hit and eating the 40 to 80 stomp.
• Ignoring the shadows once Bloat is below 90%. A falling hand hits for 30 to 50 and stuns you, often in its line of sight.
• Forgetting the salve amulet, or taking it into the Nylocas room instead of dropping it.

FAQ

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