Runescape Greater Demons vs Cockroach Soldier

When it comes to free-to-play combat training, us players aren’t really afforded too much luxury. And it’s to be expected. We aren’t paying any money to play the game, so why should we be given awesome creatures to eradicate? The strongest monster we get to fight (with the obvious exception of revenants) is a dog. And the drops we have the chance of getting aren’t exactly the most expensive things. And since most RuneScape players are money oriented, we tend to fight things that offer the greatest riches. In our case, the best drop we can hope for is the relatively inexpensive Rune Scimitar. But there are two monsters that drop it; the Greater Demon and the Cockroach Soldier (both equally close to a bank for a quick re-stock of food). So who should we fight for our precious drops?

Truth be told, both monsters have their ups and downs. And they are both relatively balanced, to be honest. The Greater Demon has a higher level at 92, but the Cockroach Soldier at level 83 has more life points. While the Greater Demon will hit often and with power, the Cockroach Soldier will hit once every five or six attempts. But they are once again balanced by the fact that with a high Attack level, a player will rarely miss a hit on a Greater Demon, while even with obscenely high Attack levels, roaches will remain unscathed after a hit, due to their behemoth defenses.

Cockroach Soldiers

Cockroach Soldiers are typically the more popular choice for training, primarily due to the publicity they get. With all the people that team up on the soldiers with lootshare claiming to have received 3 Rune Scimitars in one trip, it’s no wonder most players love training in the Stronghold of Player Safety. Since Cockroach Soldiers are not aggressive creatures, it’s pretty safe to go near them, and a skilled player with a combat level as low as 55 or 60 could probably kill a few. Since they hit rarely, a player at combat level 65 should be able to kill 10-15 Soldiers before needing to stock up on food. In my experience, all it takes is 10 drops to earn more than 20,000 gp, making Cockroach Soldiers a great money making tool for players who abhor skilling. They do have obscenely high defenses though, so don’t expect to spend less than a minute in fights. They are, however, weak to crush attacks. Try out a Warhammer if you’re looking some variety, but understand also that the speed at which a warhammer connects with the bug is much slower than that of a Scimitar. Many players say that a Scimitar will kill one just as quickly as a crush weapon will, so don’t feel pressured into spending extra money on a different weapon.

Greater Demons

Greater Demons, on the other hand, are rarely fought for a few reasons. First, they reside in the Wilderness Volcano. While the volcano is an area devoid of Revenants, it is located in Level 22 Wilderness, so the chance of being attacked by one is certainly a possibility. But there are certain advantages. First of all, they drop Rune Full Helmets, which players should find more useful than the Rune Square Shield which Cockroach Soldiers drop. Additionally, (according to the Runescape Wiki) their Rune drops are “uncommon”, as opposed to “semi-rare” from Cockroach Soldiers. Greater Demons are also very susceptible to slash attacks, so players using their scimitars can expect to see a lot high numbers when fighting these demons. I’ve also found that they are better experience than Cockroach Soldiers. At combat level 72, I kill on average 3-5 demons more than roaches before needing more food, and much more quickly.

In the end, it often comes down to what the player is trying to do. If one is training combat to advance their skills, Greater Demons seem to be the way to go. A player will earn much more experience killing them, but a higher Defense level will be required considering their rate of hit is much higher than Cockroach Soldiers. On the other hand, if one is trying to earn some money, fighting Cockroach Soldiers with some friends may be the way to go (Greater Demons cannot be duo’d), but the Greater Demon still has some excellent drops. Players looking for a good mix of both should fight both monsters equally. Mix it up a bit. Fight Greaters one week and Roaches another. Experiment with different weapons to see which monsters are better training for you. But most of all have fun destroying the only powerful monsters we f2p players are allowed to!

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