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Mort Myre Fungi Red Spiders’ Eggs

The potato cactus is a spiky, oblong green blob, with an “Examine” description that says “How am I supposed to eat that?!” The answer is that you aren’t—you’re supposed to mix it with lantadyme into a vial of water to make a magic potion. J This ingredient has only one source: ground spawns deep in the kalphite lair, surrounded by aggressive monsters. It’s not a place for the faint of heart, though getting the cactus is quite safe and manageable with the proper preparation.

Kalphites are beetle-like creatures that inhabit a two-story lair accessed via a hole in the far northwestern corner of the Kharidian Desert. You must use a rope on the hole before you can climb down. There are four monsters in the lair:

• Kalphite Workers (Level 28): Unaggressive and harmless. They are found near the entrance and also in the queen’s lair.
  
  
• Kalphite Soldiers (Level 85): Aggressive, do poison damage up to 4. Found in a side room on the first floor and in tunnels around it.
  
  
• Kalphite Guardians (Level 141): Aggressive, hit hard, inflict poison damage up to 8. They guard the entrance to the queen’s lair and the lair itself.
  
  
• Kalphite Queen (Level 333): Boss-level monster that hits in the 30s, uses all three combat styles, and has two forms that must be defeated. Found on the lower level of the dungeon.

The potato cactus spawns in two places: three spawns in the side room with the kalphite soldiers in it, and seven in the queen’s chamber. While it would be faster to gather them by going into the queen’s room, this is not advisable, as she can do a ton of damage even from a distance, and starts attacking as soon as you enter. We’ll be focusing on the room with the soldiers in it, so we don’t have to deal with the queen or the guardians. It is also faster to access.

Light weight would be an advantage, as it is with most gathering operations, but going without armor is dangerous here. Not only are the soldiers aggressive, but the whole dungeon is multicombat, so you will be attacked by several at once. I’ve tried a method where I run into the side room to grab the potato cactus and then run out while waiting for them to respawn, but this turns out not to be worthwhile.

It is faster, less dangerous and less expensive to just wear armor and stay in the room where the cactus is. I also bring with a weapon and fight the soldiers while waiting for respawns, to get a bit of combat XP and, if I’m lucky, maybe some worthwhile drops—including charms. I recommend standard melee armor, but wear an amulet of glory with charges on it for teleporting, not an amulet of fury (you don’t need the extra stats that much and this is far more convenient.) You could also use a Guthans set for healing if you prefer, which saves money on food (but incurs repair costs).

I recommend the following for supplies:

• One rope
  
  
• A lunar staff or dramen staff for the fairy rings
  
  
• One 2-dose super antipoison potion
  
  
• Two 4-dose regular energy potions
  
  
• 5-10 pieces of cheap food like salmon (unless wearing Guthans; also, bring less if using a Saradomin godsword)

If you want to use the combining method, I recommend Guthans so you can fill your inventory with unfinished lantadyme potions.

The fastest way of getting to the lair is to access the fairy ring network near Edgeville or the Grand Exchange. Go to the fairy circle nearby, wield your lunar or dramen staff and teleport to Zanaris. Then dial in code “B I Q” and you’ll be in the desert, just southeast of the lair entrance.

Run north, around the rocks, and then west, until you see a large hole. Use your rope on the hole, then click to climb down. And that’s it—you’re there.

Note that you will take a hit of damage from being in the desert without water. I generally just don’t worry about it, but you could bring a waterskin if you want.

The room where the potato cactus spawns is found only after traveling quite a length through the kalphite tunnels. When you enter, look on your minimap and you’ll find a tunnel south of you. Click in the middle of it and your character will run east, then north and so on, following the tunnel’s counter-clockwise path and taking you most of the way to the room. Continue south and you’ll find the spawn room just off to the west.

As your character is running, take swigs of your energy potions so you do not start walking. If you get hit by a kalphite soldier in the tunnels and are poisoned, drink the first dose of your super antipoison.

Once you get to the spawn room, it’s simply a matter of picking up each of the three potato cactus in the room, waiting for them to respawn and then picking them up again (Figure 224). Be sure you do this on a full world so the respawns are faster. While you wait for respawns, switch to your primary weapon and have some fun with the soldiers. Hey, why not? J Heal and take the super antipoison as needed.

You may actually find another player in the room fighting them, often with a cannon, as it is a popular training spot. Keep an eye out for drops left behind by other players; sometimes you can get some good stuff that way. If a cannoner is leaving behind all the kalphites’ gold drops, even that can add up fast.

If you are just doing the basic method (no Summoning familiars or bringing potions with) then you will get the three cactus nine times, filling your inventory with a total of 27 (one slot is for your staff). You should use up any food or potions you brought with to make room for the seconds you are getting; if you have leftovers, just drop them. Of course, any drops you pick up from the soldiers will take the place of cactus, so you have to decide which ones are worth taking.

Once you have a full inventory, rub your amulet of glory and teleport to Edgeville. Bank the potato cactus, get out more supplies and you’re ready for another run. Make sure your amulet still has at least one charge on it, and don’t forget to grab another rope and super anti!

It takes me about 7 minutes to get 27 potato cactus, which works out to 230 items per hour. Because of the amount of time required to get to the spawn location, you can increase that number somewhat by using a beast of burden, though respawn rates are still a limiting factor.

The value of potato cactuses tends to be rather variable, so the economic worth of doing this depends on their current price. At the current market level of a little over 1k each, this works out to about 250k of value per hour. Again, this would be higher if using advanced techniques.

The amount of money you make gathering these doesn’t warrant doing it to resell them, at least not at current market prices. On the other hand, magic potions are also not recommended for training: there is little demand for them, they sell very cheap and are huge money-losers. Taken together, I don’t recommend bothering with potato cactus unless conditions change, or you really want to make magic potions for yourself using your own gathered materials.

One exception would be if you are assigned kalphites as a Slayer task. In that case, wear a black mask, bring with more food and super antipoison doses, and fight the kalphites of your choice. Fill up your inventory with cactuses as you fight, and when done, either sell them or use them yourself.

Mort Myre Fungi Red Spiders’ Eggs