Abyssal whips are powerful one-handed meleeweapons which require 70 Attack to equip. The whip is among the most powerful non-degradable melee weapons outside of Daemonheim and is capable of attacking at the same speed as that of daggers and scimitars at 2.4 seconds per hit. It may only be obtained as a drop from abyssal demons, monsters which require 85 Slayer to harm, or by trading with another player, either directly or through the Grand Exchange.
Abyssal whips were introduced into the game with the release of the Slayer skill. The update added the Slayer Tower to a previously unoccupied area north of Canifis and placed abyssal demons, along with various other Slayer monsters, in the tower. Given the high Slayer level required to obtain abyssal whips and the slow speed of the skill, abyssal whips were fairly uncommon immediately after the skill's release.
The abyssal whip posses a unique special attack, Energy Drain, which consumes 50% of the special attack bar, increases the accuracy of the hit, and drains 50% of the opponent's run energy when player killing. This special effect will not affect monsters. This special is useful in some PvP situations, such as in soul wars, wilderness PvP, and many other activities where their victims need the run energy to survive and/or get to their destination. However, it is mostly useless in most slayer activities or when fighting NPC's, because they do not have any run energy to deplete.
Colouring
White
Blue
Green
Yellow
With the Barbarian Assault improvements update on 19 January2010, players were given the option of purchasing abyssal whip paint in any of four different colours for a price of 50 honour points each. The whips may be coloured blue, white, green, or yellow, and colouring a whip renders it untradeable and non-lendable. However, the paint may be removed using a cleaning cloth, returning the whip back to normal. On 29 March2010, the rewards interface was updated so that players could recolour whips indefinitely once the specific colour had been purchased. Prior to this, each time a whip was coloured, 50 honour points were required. Additionally, abyssal vine whips may be coloured just as regular abyssal whips are.
A player wielding an abyssal whip painted white
A player wielding an abyssal whip painted yellow
A player wielding an abyssal whip painted green
A player wielding an abyssal whip painted blue
History
Since the whip's introduction into the game in 26 January2005, it has undergone several graphical and functional changes. Upon its release, the special attack consumed 50% of the special attack bar and would result in either a maximum hit or a miss. Later, the special attack was altered so that it drained 10% of the target's run energy. Jagex claimed that this change was made due to the previous special attack causing a glitch[source needed].
When PvP worlds were introduced, an abyssal whip was a possible drop from killing another player in PvP combat. However, on 16 June2009, abyssal whips, along with other unique boss drops, were removed from the drop table. Jagex cited complaints on the forums as the reason for this move.
Immediately after its release, the market price of an abyssal whip was several million coins[source needed]. Since its release, the whip's price has been greatly influenced by several updates, including those which changed PvP drop tables, provided anti-'76k'ing measures, added the ability to colour whips, changed the 100% drop of abyssal demons to infernal ashes, introduced the whip vine, and removed most macros from the game. Overall, the price of an abyssal whip has been in a relatively steady decline for the past few years. However, it seems that the price of the abyssal whip has been holding steady recently due to an official statement by Jagex that the whip will be able to train strength.
Training
Many players make use of the whip's fast attack speed, high offensive bonuses, and moderate cost to train Attack and Defence effectively. Because the whip lacks an aggressive attack style, it is not possible to train Strength using the whip unless fighting in the controlled mode. However, this will equally distribute experience among Attack, Strength, and Defence, decreasing the speed in which each individual skill is levelled. Many players prefer the dragon scimitar or Saradomin Sword to train strength.
The abyssal whip is featured in the emote for the max cape when the player latches the whip around the monster's waist and pulls it to the ground for the killing blow.File:Abyssal whip in f2p.pngA player attacking with an abyssal whip in free-to-play.
Mod Mark described the abyssal whip as the spine of an abyssal demon.
A fake abyssal whip may be obtained from an abyssal minion. When equipped, it will merely turn into ashes.
When attacking monsters in free-to-play with an abyssal whip equipped, the player holds it rigidly and hits the target with it rather than the unarmed punches or kicks used when players have most members only weapons equipped on F2P. This also affects a few popular weapons, such as the Bandos godsword and staff of light.
Attack bonus
Defence bonus
