Which Monsters Benefit Most From Osrs Dwarf Cannon DPS?

Whenever I set up the dwarf multicannon in 'Old School RuneScape', the ones that eat the most cannonballs are the ones that spawn in huge, slow clumps and barely move. Sand Crabs, Rock Crabs and Ammonite Crabs are the poster children for cannon abuse — they spawn densely, stand on the same tiles near the cannon and rarely wander, so every shot has a good chance to smack one. I usually park the cannon so the muzzle faces the densest spawn tiles and let it chew through waves; you’ll see consistent hits because the cannon loves targets that don’t dodge out of the way. Beyond crabs, experiment mobs (like Experiments in Waterbirth) and some slayer spots where monsters bunch up — Ogres at the Combat Training Camp, for example — will get hit a ton. The general rule I use: the more stationary and clustered the mobs are around the cannon, the more often the cannon will hit them. That’s why areas with fast-moving or single high-health monsters (bosses, lone dragons) feel like a waste of cannonballs to me — they just don’t give you the repeat hits that crabs do. I’ve gotten a weird kind of joy watching that steady stream of hits against a crab-filled beach; it’s oddly therapeutic.

Sliding a dwarf multicannon into place in 'Old School RuneScape' always feels like setting up a tiny, noisy guardian that does all the dirty ranged work for me. I assemble the parts, plunk it down where the spawn angles are generous, and load it with cannonballs. Once it's loaded and fired it automatically spits projectiles in an arc, hitting any monsters that walk into its firing cone. I tend to leave it to chew through groups while I pick off stragglers or loot, because it happily handles multi-target pressure without me having to aim or click each mob. Positioning is everything for me: I like to place it where the most spawns will walk through the cone, and where I can safely kite or stand ready to finish off survivors. It burns through ammo, so keeping an eye on cannonball supply is part of the rhythm — I top it up between waves. It’s wonderful for slayer tasks and multi-spawn areas; every time it clatters away I feel like I’ve hired a tiny, efficient mercenary. Definitely one of my favorite lazy-combat toys in the game.

If you're grinding Slayer and want to shave time off long tasks, I usually bring the dwarf multicannon and it's one of my favorite QoL tools. I love how it turns bloated, high‑spawn tasks into something surprisingly chill — you set it up, grab a snack, and watch groups melt. The big wins are clear: massive area damage, less clicking, and tons of uptime on multi‑spawn spots where monsters pile up. For tasks where the monsters cluster and respawn fast, the cannon basically doubles or triples my effective kill rate compared to single‑target methods. That said, it isn't a universal cure-all. There are places and assignments where the cannon is awkward, banned, or simply inefficient — cramped rooms, tiny caves, or situations where precision and tagging matter more than raw area damage. It also burns through cannonballs, so I keep an eye on cost vs. time saved. My rule of thumb: if a task is long, safe to cannon, and you want AFK or semi‑AFK efficiency, bring it. If you need high Slayer XP per hour or are after a picky rare drop, I sometimes switch to more controlled methods and enjoy the extra interaction and speed. In short: I use it a lot, but selectively — it's a tool, not a requirement, and I love the pace it gives me on the right tasks.

I get a little giddy talking about this because the dwarf multicannon is such a simple, satisfying gadget in 'Old School RuneScape'. The short version of costs: you pay once for the cannon itself and after that the only real recurring expense is cannonballs. You buy the cannon from the dwarf located at the Dwarf Cannon shop for 7,500 coins (that’s the one-time purchase). Once it’s placed, it doesn’t require repairs or upkeep — it won’t wear out — but it does need cannonballs to actually shoot. Maintenance in practical terms is all cannonball-related. The cannon holds 30 cannonballs per full load, so your short-term cost is 30 × price-per-cannonball. How many full loads you burn depends on the spawn density and how long you leave it running; at busy slayer or training spots you might go through several loads an hour. To save gold I often make my own cannonballs at a furnace using steel bars (you usually get multiple cannonballs per bar), or I wait for cannonball prices to dip on the Grand Exchange. For me, the cannon is worth it whenever I can turn the increased kill rate into XP or loot that outweighs the ammo cost — it feels like renting extra hands, and I love that mechanical simplicity.

Truth be told, you can set up a dwarf multicannon in Wilderness — the game mechanics allow it in many places — but 'safe' is a pretty relative word out there. I’ve used a cannon for group slayer and resource runs and the first thing I learned is that it makes you a target. The cannon is a big, static object that screams "loot opportunity" to PKers. If someone wants to fight you, the cannon won’t stop them; it may actually slow you down while you load and pick up cannonballs. When I go into Wilderness with one, I bring the bare minimum I care about, quick teleports, and a plan to bail. If I’m in a clan or with friends we pick choke points and watch the horizon. If solo, I avoid high-traffic spots and keep my valuables low. So yes — technically usable — but treat it like carrying a neon sign that says "come try me." I usually only risk it with a team or for short bursts, and I always leave feeling a little more careful for the next trip.

Setting up a dwarf multicannon during a slayer task is like bringing a pocket-sized artillery battery to a boring math test — it changes the pace completely. The cannon provides constant area-of-effect damage to nearby NPCs, which massively shortens kill times on dense spawns. In practical terms, monsters that used to take several seconds apiece now melt much faster because the cannon applies repeated hits while you finish them off with melee, ranged, or magic. That means more kills per hour and shorter tasks overall. There are trade-offs: the cannon's shots themselves don't give you ranged experience, but the kills still count toward your slayer task and you receive the slayer XP when the enemy dies under your ownership. So you'll often get faster task completion without a proportional increase in combat XP — great if your goal is fast slayer streaks or profitable drops, less useful if you want to grind pure ranged experience. Also factor in cannonballs and setup time, and remember some locations or instances block cannon usage. Personally I love cannoning chunkier, multi-spawn tasks — it feels efficient and a little chaotic in the best way.

If you want to set up a dwarf multicannon for safe AFK, my go-to recommendation is to pick low-aggro, high-HP crabs — they’re boring, slow, and they don’t hit back hard. Rock Crabs near the northern Rellekka coastline and Sand Crabs on the southern Zeah beaches are the classic picks. Both spawn quickly, stand around waiting, and don’t wander much, which means the cannon keeps getting hits without you having to babysit it. I like to drop the cannon a short walk from the bank so I can top off cannonballs and food quickly; it saves time and keeps downtime low. If you can get to Fossil Island, Ammonite Crabs are another excellent spot — fewer players and similar AFK quality. A few practical tips I always use: bring enough cannonballs for at least an hour (multicannon chews ammo fast), wear a teleport for emergencies, and keep a prayer or two ready if something goes wrong. Avoid wilderness and high-traffic boss or slayer locations where other players can interfere or where NPCs behave unpredictably. Setting up the cannon in these crab areas lets me watch a show, alt-tab a bit, and still feel like I’m making steady progress. It’s cozy, mindless, and efficient — perfect for training while doing something else for a bit.

I've learned to treat the dwarf cannon like a temperamental roommate: give it space, line it up with the traffic, and it will do all the heavy lifting. For straight AFK XP I usually go for Ammonite Crabs on Fossil Island first — they're high-HP, low-defense, and they shuffle around in predictable paths, which means the cannon will chew through them while I scroll through a book or queue up a show. The trick is to find the spawn patch and place the cannon so its barrels cover the path the crabs take when they move from one rock to another; aim for a spot near a wall or rock so they pass through the cannon's arc instead of skirting around it. If I can't make it to Fossil Island, Sand Crabs on the Hosidius/Kourend coasts are my backup. They're equally AFK-friendly and easy to teleport to if you need to bank or refill cannonballs. I always bring a good stack of cannonballs, a teleport method ready, and a little patience — set up, test for a minute, then leave it running while I do other chores. Ended sessions usually leave me pleasantly surprised by how many levels I picked up without babysitting, which I love.

I got way into tinkering with the dwarf cannon back when I was skilling and PvM-ing a lot, so here's the straightforward breakdown I use when planning a session. To build a cannon you need the four cannon parts: the base, the stand, the barrels, and the furnace. You can buy those parts directly from the dwarf vendor in the Dwarf area for a fixed in-shop price (so you don’t have to mess with the Grand Exchange if you don’t want to). Expect to pay roughly a few thousand GP per part depending on the economy—so a rough ballpark for a fresh build from the dwarf is around 8k–12k GP total. If you buy an assembled cannon on the Grand Exchange instead, prices are volatile but usually higher because people sell as a single item. Repairing a cannon is effectively replacing damaged parts or simply rebuilding it; the dwarf sells replacement parts at the same fixed prices. The recurring cost that really adds up is ammo: cannonballs are the big ongoing expense. A typical firing rate burns through roughly 30 cannonballs per minute (so about 1,800 per hour); at ~2 GP per cannonball that’s on the order of 3.5k–4k GP per hour. You can reduce ammo cost by crafting your own cannonballs from steel bars (1 steel bar → 4 cannonballs) if you’re into smelting and want to cut costs. Personally I plan for the initial ~10k build and then expect an hourly ammo burn of a few thousand GP depending on how long I let it fire — that’s been my rule-of-thumb for budgeting cannon runs.

Let's get your dwarf cannon set up step by step the way I do it when I want efficient monster clearing. First, get a full cannon or the five separate parts: base, stand/legs, furnace/body, barrels, and a supply of cannonballs. You can buy a whole cannon or the parts from the dwarf seller in the dwarven area or just grab them on the Grand Exchange. Make sure you have enough inventory space for the parts and at least a stack of cannonballs (the cannon accepts up to 30 at a time). To set it up, equip or use the base on the floor where you want it and choose 'setup' — that drops the base. Next, use the stand/legs on the base to attach them, then use the furnace/body on the stand. After that, use the barrels on the furnace to complete the assembly. Once the model is fully assembled it will visually look like a cannon. Finally, load cannonballs from your inventory onto the cannon (it will take ammo automatically up to its capacity). Click the cannon and choose 'fire' or let it auto-fire at nearby NPCs; it will target valid monsters automatically. If you need to move it, dismantle by using the cannon parts or the 'pick-up' option in reverse order so your inventory has room. I like to place mine on a safe tile behind my character so the shots land where I want them — nothing beats watching a crowd of goblins get shredded while I sip tea.