OSRS DT2 Unlocks: Ring of Shadows, Bosses & Training Order

Game screenshots and facts are cited from the Old School RuneScape Wiki (strategy, equipment, drops, and related pages). Writing is original editorial, not a copy of the wiki article.

Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire sits in a strange spot for many accounts. It is grandmaster difficulty, combat-heavy, and longer than most of the quest cape grind, yet its rewards read like an endgame unlock list: repeatable Forgotten Four bosses, ancient rings, Virtus robes, soulreaper axe pieces, and a utility ring that makes half the map feel smaller. If you are mapping out a mid-to-late account build, DT2 is not a checkbox; it is the unlock that changes what you train next.

One of the easiest mistakes is treating DT2 like a single evening of questing. The quest itself is a chain of boss encounters, and the real value is what unlocks after the final cutscene. This guide covers the reward layers, what to train before you start, the ring of shadows upgrade path, and the boss order that most players follow. It is not a step-by-step transcript; use the quick guide on the wiki for dialogue choices and exact item lists.

Why DT2 Is the Mid-Game Kingmaker

Desert Treasure I handed you the Ancient Magicks spellbook. Desert Treasure II does something bigger: it opens four high-level repeatable bosses and a set of untradeable QoL upgrades. The quest itself awards three ancient lamps worth 100,000 experience each in Attack, Strength, Defence, Hitpoints, Ranged, Magic, or Prayer at level 60 or above. That is often enough to push a stubborn skill over the next threshold.

The unlock list after the final boss includes:

• Ability to fight the Forgotten Four as repeatable bosses, plus their awakened variants.
• Access to ancient rings, dropped by those same bosses.
• Ring of Shadows, an upgrade to the ring of visibility that keeps its original effects and adds offensive stats.
• Ability to smelt chromium ingots at the Blast Furnace; the first bar smelted gives 35,000 Smithing XP.
• Access to the Scar essence mine, useful for essence and runecrafting loops.
• Virtus robes and soulreaper axe pieces from the Forgotten Four drop tables.

For a mid-level account, the real value is the ring of shadows and the boss teleport unlocks. The combat rewards are strong, but the daily convenience of a 1-tick teleport to several far-flung regions is what keeps DT2 relevant months later.

---

Requirements at a Glance

If your combat stats are still in the mid-80s, do not rush the bosses. The fight rooms punish low Defence and low Magic. A common training order before DT2 is:

• Magic to 80+ for Ice Barrage and better magic defence.
• Melee stats to 85+ Attack/Strength/Defence for Vardorvis and Duke Sucellus.
• Prayer to 70+ for protection prayers and Piety.
• Ranged to 80+ as a switch for the Leviathan and Whisperer rooms.

---

The Forgotten Four and Their Unlocks

Each of the four bosses drops a tablet that permanently adds a teleport destination to your ring of shadows. You do not need the tablet to fight the boss again; the teleport just makes repeat trips faster. The boss locations and teleport unlocks are:

Boss	Location	Ring Teleport Unlock	Notable Drops
The Leviathan	The Scar	Scar teleport	Virtus robes, soulreaper axe piece, ancient rings
Vardorvis	Stranglewood	Stranglewood teleport	Virtus robes, soulreaper axe piece, ancient rings
Duke Sucellus	Ghorrock Dungeon	Ghorrock Dungeon teleport	Virtus robes, soulreaper axe piece, ancient rings
The Whisperer	Lassar Undercity	Lassar Undercity teleport	Virtus robes, soulreaper axe piece, ancient rings

The order above is the order most players encounter them during the quest, but after DT2 you can choose your own repeat boss rotation. The awakened variants are a later challenge and drop kits that add even more value to the same boss rooms.

---

Ring of Shadows: The Utility Upgrade You Shouldn't Skip

The ring of shadows is the reward every account should prioritize using, even if the combat stats look modest at first. It upgrades the ring of visibility, so you keep the ability to see invisible objects and NPCs, and it gains offensive stats similar to the brimstone ring. That makes it a decent hybrid ring for slayer and bossing before you can afford a berserker or seers ring.

Key features:

• Charge with 1 blood, 1 soul, 1 death, and 1 law rune per charge. Maximum 1000 charges.
• Full charge costs 921,000 coins total, or 921 coins per teleport.
• Default teleport is the Ancient Vault. Additional teleports to Ghorrock Dungeon, the Scar, Lassar Undercity, and Stranglewood are unlocked by using tablets dropped by Duke Sucellus, The Leviathan, The Whisperer, and Vardorvis respectively.
• Uncharging the ring refunds the runes.
• If lost, another can be bought from the Mysterious Bandit in the Ancient Vault for 75,000 coins. Multiple rings can be purchased.

---

Ancient Sceptre: The Magic Weapon Before DT2

The ancient sceptre is not a DT2 reward, but it is the weapon many players use to clear the quest's magic phases and to barrage the post-quest bosses. It comes from Secrets of the North and requires 70 Magic, 60 Strength, and 50 Attack to wield. If you haven't made one yet, bring an untradeable Ancient icon and an ancient staff to Eblis. The combination is irreversible.

• Provides a 10% magic damage bonus.
• Passive effect increases the effects of Ancient Magicks by 10%; it does not increase the magic damage bonus further.
• Autocasts Ancient Magicks and standard spellbook spells.
• As a Zarosian item, it grants god protection towards Zarosian NPCs in the God Wars Dungeon.
• PvP death: unprotected, it reverts to an ancient staff for the killer and the icon disappears. To prevent this, use a Trouver parchment and 500,000 coins with Perdu to lock it; the locked state requires another 500,000 coins to repair.
• Used in recommended equipment for barrage slayer, Inferno first cape, Theatre of Blood magic, and many slayer tasks.

---

Step-by-Step Unlock Walkthrough (Condensed)

This is the major milestone order, not a full dialogue walkthrough. Use the wiki quick guide for every “talk to X” step.

1. Switch to Ancient Magicks. Bring teleports: Senntisten teleport, Digsite pendant, Nardah teleport, and stamina potions.
2. Start at the Ancient Vault, talk to Asgarnia Smith, inspect the four statues and the plaque.
3. Travel to the Exam Centre and speak to Terry Balando, then operate the winch at the Digsite and talk to Dr Banikan.
4. Mine the rocks to trigger The Ancient Guardian. Fight with melee to stop its shield from regenerating, keep Protect from Melee on, and dodge falling rocks every five attacks.
5. Obtain your first medallion and head to The Stranglewood for Vardorvis. Keep an emergency teleport because a level 271 Mysterious Figure can attack while you carry a medallion.
6. Continue through the Scar for The Leviathan, Ghorrock Dungeon for Duke Sucellus, and Lassar Undercity for The Whisperer. Use the boss tablet drops to unlock ring teleports as you go.
7. Complete the final confrontation in The Desert Treasure section, claim your rewards, and collect the ring of shadows.

Each boss room is an instance, so dropped items disappear if you leave them behind. Bank between attempts and restock on food, potions, and emergency teleports.

---

Time and Cost Tradeoffs

How you approach DT2 depends on your account's current state, and whether you value your play time or your GP more. The table below is a practical comparison, not exact rates.

Approach	Requirements Before DT2	Attention Needed	Typical Time to Unlock	Notes
Fresh account self-completion	Full quest list, high combat, 70+ Magic	Very high; multiple boss attempts	Several evenings of questing and training	Best long-term; supply cost adds up.
Mid-level account with quests done	DT1, Secrets of the North, 80+ combat skills	High; boss mechanics still need practice	2-4 focused sessions	Ring of shadows and boss access come faster.
Pre-unlocked account purchase	None; verify DT2 completion and ring in bank	Minimal; familiarize with unlocks	Immediately	Time saved but you still need to learn boss mechanics for repeat trips.
Boss boost service	Have DT2 started or ready to start	Low; service handles bosses	Varies by service	Ensure you know what's included and verify after service.

No approach is wrong. If you are a returning player with limited evenings, paying for a pre-unlocked account or a boss boost is a legitimate way to skip the barrier, but always verify the unlock and ring charges before you hand over anything.

---

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

• Starting DT2 on the standard spellbook, then being unable to cast Ancient Magicks when the quest asks for it.
• Carrying a medallion through multi-combat zones without an emergency teleport; the Mysterious Figure can attack without warning.
• Using ranged or magic on the Ancient Guardian while its shield regenerates; switch to melee periodically.
• Standing in falling rock shadows during the guardian fight.
• Not charging the ring of shadows before heading back to bosses; you lose the convenience teleports.
• Forgetting stamina potions or super energies for the large amount of running.
• Not checking the full quest requirements on the wiki; quest lists and skill checks change over time.

---

Practical Next Step

If DT2 is your current account goal, spend the next session closing the requirement gaps instead of rushing the quest. Train Magic to at least 80 and Prayer to 70, make an ancient sceptre if you can, and stockpile stamina potions and super energies. Then start the quest and treat the first boss attempt as a learning pull, not a must-kill.

Once the quest is done, the ring of shadows becomes your daily utility item. Charge it, unlock the four boss teleports, and start banking the tablets for later. If you decide the grind is too long, a pre-unlocked account or a boss boost is a legitimate way to skip the entry barrier, but always verify the unlock on the account before committing. For what comes after, see our Awakened DT2 bosses guide. If you want to skip the quest entirely, browse accounts with DT2 already completed.

---

Sources

• Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire
• Ancient sceptre
• Ring of shadows
• Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire/Quick guide
• Desert Treasure I