Barrows/Strategies

)This is a page for possible strategies to kill the Barrows brothers.

Recommended stats
It is recommended that before attempting the Barrows, players should have a Combat level of at least 70, level 43 Prayer (for using the protection prayers), level 58+ Magic (for Ice spells - completion of Desert Treasure is required), level 55 Slayer (for using the Magic Dart spell with 50 Magic), level 60+ Constitution, and level 65 Ranged. (85 range if using range for all the brothers - diamond bolts recommended). Players are also advised to turn their "Accept Aid" option off before fighting the brothers, as other players may attempt to use Tele-other spells in order to distract you. To lessen their chances of dying, players should wear a Ring of Life when fighting the brothers. Ring of life will not always activate, as most of the brothers have a higher max hit than 10% of your life points. Also note that wearing a ring of wealth will increase your chance of getting more valuable loot from the chest but for lower levels should stick to ring of life. Unsure players should bring a one click teleport. Killing all of the brothers increases chance of receiving a barrows item. Getting a high kill count (not including the brothers) does not affect the chance of you getting better items from the chest. 

Suggested Inventory and Equipment
The Barrows is an excellent example of the delicate balance of the combat triangle between the three combat classes, as it is best to use Magic against the melee brothers, Dharok the Wretched, Verac the Defiled, Torag the Corrupted, and Guthan the Infested, Ranged against Ahrim the Blighted, and Melee against Karil the Tainted.

With the addition of new rewards while wearing the Ring of Wealth, It is always recommended to wear one while doing Barrows.

Basic equipment

 * Spade
 * Prayer potions (About 1-5)
 * Holy wrench (Optional, Not recommended after level 55 prayer as prayer potions restore more.)
 * Quick teleport (Drakan's medallion is the best choice, as it can teleport directly to Barrows for free and is equipable; with a bank available in Burgh de Rott and Canfis, and an altar in Darkmeyer. Teleport to house is also good if there is a Canifis teleport portal and an altar)
 * Guthan's set/Lobster or above (Basket of strawberries can be very effective for non-emergency food)
 * Stat-boosting potions (Optional)
 * Special attack weapon (Optional)
 * Runes (For magic approach only)

Magic
If using magic, there's a greater chance of receiving runes from the chest. There are several strategies using Magic spells that work well at the Barrows:

Magic Dart

 * Magic Dart is one of the cheapest and most effective way on killing brothers. Since the player can easily replenish their runes as the reward often gives mind and death runes.

''Note:It has been confirmed by Jagex that your magic attack bonus does affect how accurate this spell is, but the difference is so slight, and the magic defence and magic level of most brothers is so low that this spell will still work when wearing melee armour such as rune or even barrows, but wearing Mystic robes as mentioned does help to hit slightly more accurately but adds to costs and sacrifices defence. Wearing Battle robes gives you a chance to save runes so this is especially reccomended for the Ancient Magicks strategy so as to save alot of money.''
 * Mind rune and death rune with ratio of 4:1
 * Slayer's staff/Staff of light

Polypore Staff
The polypore staff is the best staff to use at barrows due its significant cheap cost, high damage and accuracy. Also it gives a prayer bonus which is essential at barrows due to the prayer drain. It requires no runes so more prayer potions or food can be taken per trip. Using this staff, barrows trips can be done easily even when on the lunar spellbook.

At high magic levels(90+) its the best way to finish barrows, using the polypore staff in conjunction with void knight equipment can be very efective. Players are encouraged to bring along a special attack weapon and a melee weapon for Karil and Ahrim. Void knight equipment also gives good defensive bonuses, thus making it unnecessary to pray against Ahrim and Torag(though torag may occasionally get lucky and deal consistent blows, monkfish atleast is advised). With atleats 90 magic, 80 prayer and the polypore staff, it is possible to do a barrows run with just 0-2 doses of a prayer potion(without the use of reverence, so its possible to do this with slightly lower prayer levels using reverence).This is done by using up all your prayer killing the brothers, and only restoring prayer in the tunnel to fight the brother in the tunnels. Since torag and ahrim do not need prayer, if either one of them is in the tunnel, you do not need to restore prayer to fight them, effectively using no prayer. If the tunnel brother is a melee brother, one dose of prayer potion should be more than enough to finish them off with the polypore staff. However, if the brother is karil(who is quite resistant to medium-level weapons like the abyssal whip) the time taken to defeat him combined with the prayer drain effect can make 2 doses necessary.

Suggested Order:

1.Karil

2.Dharok

3.Verac

4.Guthan

5.Ahrim(no prayer)

6.Torag(no prayer)

Inventory(for one round):

1 prayer potion(only 2 doses needed)

Special attack weapon

Melee weapon

Dragon defender

Void melee helm(if using void robes)

Drakan's medallion(once Vanescula has enchanted it during the quest)

Vyrewatch clothing(if using medallion)

5-6 monkfish(likely less, but just incase torag manages to land a few lucky hits)

Method 2(no prayer potions):

This method assumes you are using void knight equipment for their balanced defensive bonuses

Players can make this method even more efficient by using entangles in conjunction with the spell. The player can easily take out all the melee brothers without prayer by entangling them and moving away. This would result in prayer only being used at karil, which makes prayer potions void(but bring atleast one dose incase). The risk in this is that you become unlucky and fail to kill dharok before the entangle wears off, and you are too slow to turn on protect from melee. This is the reason why it is reccomended to have atleast 700 lp at all times, to survive one blow from a weakened dharok. Melee is used against karil, and the inventory is similar to above except with 2-3 monkfish,10 entangle rune sets(only 6 needed but incase) and 1 dose of prayer potion(not needed).

Suggested Order:

1.Karil(since you will be using prayer against him)

2.Dharok(you want to make sure you have some prayer points to survive a blow from him)

3.Verac

4.Guthan

5.Torag(you do not have to waste an entangle on him, if you have brought enough food)

6.Ahrim(you should have your special attack bar restored by now, tank attacks)

Ancient Magicks
The ice spells of ancient Magicks are a good way to kill the brothers, as its freezing ability can help players conserve prayer for the more difficult brothers (i.e., Dharok and Verac). However, this apporach is suggested for experienced players only, as this method requires a lot of money. Also, the player needs to run from the brothers when they are immune to the freezing effect, which can be dangerous on Dharok. However if used correctly, a player with around 50 prayer can do barrows without ANY prayer potions by doing the following:

Kill brothers in this order:


 * 1:Dharok or Karil(depends on how skilled you are at not letting Dharok touch you)

2:Dharok or Karil(depends on which brother you killed first)

3: Verac as with ancients he's less of a threat.

4:Guthan as he has low magic defence.

5:Torag

6:Ahrim


 * This is because if you can avoid Dharok hitting you you can use your prayer for Karil first.

How to prevent the brother's from hitting you(besides Ahrim and Karil):
 * When you get to a melee brother do the following: Cast an ice spell so they can't hit you, then count your casts; depending on the spell that you use determinds how long they will stay frozen. Ice burst is about 3 casts, Ice blitz, 4, and ice barrage, 5. On your last cast they become immune and can move again so on you last cast run to the opposite side of the coffin to that that they're on. Again, depending on the ice spell cast determinds how long they will be immune for (about 6 seconds for ice burst ranging down to 4 seconds for ice barrage). After this immunity period,quickly run to the far corner (furthest away from the brother) and quickly re-freeze him, then kill (If you can kill him within the first set of casts, this is not required). Be aware that if this spell slashes on Dharok then you are in trouble, so perhaps drink 1 dose of prayer potion.
 * This is dangerous for Dharok because if he is low on health and he just touches you, you will be hit extremely hard! This method gets a wee bit risky if the brother is diagonal from the coffin, if this happens make it go on on side on the coffin and rush to the other side before casting again.


 * Runes (Preferred ice spell)
 * Staff of light > Ancient staff/Master wand > Damage-boosting staff/Staff supplying water rune
 * Tome of frost (Suggested if using ice spell)
 * A full Battle Robe set boosts the rune-saving effect of the Staff of Light to 50%, making Ancient Magicks much more cost-efficient.

Fire Bolt
Fire bolt is a cost-effective method, as each cast cost 113gp only. Also, the chaos rune can be easily replenished as it is one of the common rewards. With staff of light and Chaos gauntlets it is possible for a player to hit up to 200.
 * Fire rune
 * Chaos rune
 * Staff supplying air rune
 * Chaos gauntlets(Recommended for damage boosting)

Normal Magic

 * Runes (Blasts or above)
 * Staff of light > Damage boosting staff > Staff of air
 * Iban Blast (Downside, you only get 120 casts before you have to recharge)

God Spell

 * God spell is another good way of dealing damage on the brothers (except Ahrim), since it can hit for a maximum damage of 200 (or 300 with Charge spell). Also, Claws of Guthix and Flames of Zamorak can reduce the defence and magic level of the brothers respectively, which can speed up killing the brothers.


 * Runes
 * God staff/Void knight mace (If using claws of guthix)
 * God capes (Advised for 80+ mages for Charge spell)

Suggested armour for magic approach
''Note: The runes on the photos are for reference only. Bring at least 150 casts for 1 loot.''
 * Verac's helm/Ahrim's hood/Helm of neitiznot/Battle hood > Rune full helm/Farseer helm > Mystic hat
 * Amulet of fury/Demon horn necklace/B > Amulet of glory >Split dragontooth necklace > God stole
 * Ahrim's robetopBattle robe top > Black d'hide body/Proselyte hauberk/Rune platebody > Red d'hide body
 * Verac's plateskirt/Proselyte cuisse/Ahrim's robeskirt/Battle robe bottom > Black d'hide chaps/Rune platelegs
 * Suggested staff (See above)
 * Mages' book/Arcane spirit shield > God book/Falador shield 3/4 >Dragon sq shield/Falador shield 2
 * Soul wars cape > Ardougne Cloak 3 > Skill Cape (t)/God capes
 * Barrows gloves > Dragon gloves > Rune gloves
 * Infinity boots >Mystic boots/Dragon boots > Boots of lightness
 * Seers' ring/Explorer's ring/Ring of life

Ranged
65 Ranged is recommended. Cannon is helpful too, as it can help to hit additional damage on the brothers.

Bow

 * Crystal bow/Magic longbow (sighted)/Magic shortbow> Yew shortbow
 * Dark bow/Seercull (For special attack only)
 * Rune arrows > Adamant arrows

Crossbow

 * Chaotic crossbow/Rune crossbow > Adamant crossbow
 * Diamond bolts (e)/Broad-tipped bolt > Adamant bolt/Emerald bolts (e) > Mithril bolt Adamant bolts

Suggested armour for ranged approach

 * Verac's helm/Helm of neitiznot > Blessed dragonhide coif > Archer helm


 * Amulet of fury/Demon horn necklace > Amulet of glory/Amulet of ranging >Split dragontooth necklace > God stole
 * Karil's top/Black d'hide body > Proselyte hauberk/Rune platebody > Red d'hide body
 * Verac's plateskirt/Proselyte cuisse/Karil's skirt > Black d'hide chaps/Rune platelegs
 * Suggested bow/crossbow (See above)
 * God book/Falador shield 3/4 >Dragon sq shield/Falador shield 2
 * Soul wars cape > Ardougne Cloak 3 > Skill Cape (t) > Ava's accumulator
 * Barrows gloves > Dragon gloves > Rune gloves
 * Snakeskin Boots/Ranger boots > Dragon boots > Boots of lightness
 * Archers' ring/Explorer's ring/Ring of life/Ring of Wealth (4)

Melee

 * Melee approach can be the cheapest method because it does not require any prayer potions. However, this should be done on players that have high melee stats (80+), as the melee defence of most brothers are quite high. Nevertheless, most players can use the melee approach on fighting Karil. Players with spare money can also combine melee method with guthan's set and use it in the tunnel to heal.

Godswords

 * Godswords can be very effective on the brothers because of their high melee stats. A Saradomin godsword is suggested because of its special attack of healing. If the player does not have enough money for it, bandos godsword is suggested as its cheap and the draining effect by special attack. However, please be noted that the special attack uses the entire bar, so the player can only use the special attack on the 5th brother if it has been used on the 1st brother.


 * Saradomin godsword > Bandos godsword > Armadyl godsword/Zamorak godsword

Verac

 * If the player can't afford a godsword, using Verac's armour can be effective too. The effect of Verac's set is very useful on melee brothers. However, the player should fight Dharok with prayer first, as Dharok can hit very high when he has low health. It is also advised to take plenty of prayer potions for protection prayers, mostly because Verac's armor doesn't have as high defence as the other barrows armor sets. The prayer bonus of Verac's set will help the player not use prayer points as fast, so they will not have to drink as many prayer potions.


 * Verac's helm
 * Verac's brassard
 * Verac's plateskirt
 * Verac's flail

Chaotic Weapon(s)
Chaotic weapons are some of the strongest weapons in the game. As such, they are very effective on all the brothers. The Chaotic maul is very effective since the melee brothers are weak to crush and the maul gives a very high crush bonus. The Chaotic longsword and Chaotic rapier are also very accurate and with high melee stats (90+), any of the three can be used very efficiently to kill all 6 of the brothers. Ranged armour is typically strong to crush, so it is not advised to bring a Chaotic maul as your only weapon; bring a slash or stab weapon in addition to it.

Suggested armour for melee approach

 * Verac's helm/Guthan's helm > Torag's helm > Helm of neitiznot/Other high melee defence helm
 * Amulet of fury > Amulet of glory
 * Verac's Brassard/Guthan's platebody > Fighter torso/Dragon chainbody > Other high melee defence body
 * Verac's plateskirt/Guthan's chainskirt >Bandos tassets/Dragon platelegs > Rune platelegs
 * Suggested weapon (See above)/Guthan's warspear/Dragon dagger (p++) > Other weapons for special attack
 * Dungeoneering Shield > Spirit Shield > Dragonfire shield > Dragon sq shield/Dragon Defender
 * Soul wars cape/Fire cape > Skill Cape (t) > Skill Cape > Obsidian cape > Cape of legends
 * Barrows gloves > Dragon gloves > Rune gloves
 * Dragon boots > Rune boots > Rock climbing boots
 * Berserker ring/Explorer's ring/Ring of life

Black Salamander

 * Black Salamander is one of the best method on Barrows because of its all-styled attack and nice damage. Also, its damage is not affected by equipment bonus while its accuracy is no issue, given the brothers' low magic defense. Combined with praying method, one set-up can do at least 2 trips and if lucky can do up to 9 trips. about 3-4 runs through is about the average for one inventory on this setup if used with guthan's to heal in the lower level. Void armour does indeed increase its damage.
 * Using a combination of void mage(for the melee brothers) and void melee(for Karil and Ahrim) can be very effective.


 * Amulet of fury/Demon horn necklace > Amulet of glory/Split dragontooth necklace > God stole
 * Verac's brassard/Guthan's platebody > Dragon chainbody/Proselyte hauberk
 * Verac's plateskirt/Guthan's chainskirt >Bandos tassets/Dragon platelegs/Proselyte cuisse > Rune platelegs
 * Black Salamander
 * Harralander tar
 * Soul wars cape/Fire cape > Skill Cape (t) > Skill Cape/Ardougne cloak 3/4 > Obsidian cape > Cape of legends
 * Barrows gloves > Dragon gloves > Rune gloves
 * Dragon boots > Rune boots > Rock climbing boots
 * Ring of Wealth > Onyx ring (i) > Dragonstone ring (i) > Ring of Life/Explorer's ring

Players are also advised to bring along a melee weapon(much more effective than salamanders against Ahrim and Karil), a dragon defender(or another shield slot item boosting strength/accuracy) and a special attack weapon. An abyssal whip+dragon defender is a cheap and effective set-up.

Special attack weapon: Dragon Claws > Korasi's Sword (together with a dragon defender) > Armadyl Godsword > Dragon Dagger > Bandos Godsword (defence-lowering effect is slightly useful)

Offhand item(if using a 1-handed melee weapon): Dragon defender > Dragonfire Shield(fully charged) > Rune defender > Toktz-ket-xil

Use the specials at the beginning of the fight, and switch to the melee weapon later.

if players choose not to bring a melee weapon, not only will their trips take longer, but they will use up way more tar during a trip.

No Prayer Potions inventory

 * Note:This method is very dangerous for inexperienced players who are new to the Barrows.


 * Spade
 * Bow and best Ranged armour
 * Dragon dagger (p), (p+), or (p++), (p++ recommended) and/or Abyssal whip. The Saradomin godsword is very effective, with its healing and prayer boosting special attack.
 * Runes - 100 deaths and 400 minds per trip
 * At least 14 pieces of food - Swordfish or above (Sharks highly recommended, but monkfish work fine too) or Guthan's set
 * Fast teleport -Ectophial or teleportation tablet (teleport to house with a Kharyrll portal and a chapel are recommended)

This method differs greatly depending on which combat style the player is using:


 * If the player is using magic, then armour with a high positive magic attack bonus is required,


 * If the player is using melee, armour with a very high melee defence bonus will be needed, the most common no prayer potions method is to use existing prayer points and to hope that Dharok is not the tunnel brother,


 * The second most popular method is Ancient Magicks,


 * a very small percentage of the 110+ combat community use melee on all brothers, hoping to break them down by sheer force before they get killed. (see the Lesser techniques section)

Ancient Magicks - No prayer pots guide (HIGH RISK) Inventory:


 * Spade
 * Around 1,000 deaths and bloods
 * Around 4,000 Water runes
 * Around 4,000 Chaos runes
 * A one-click teleport
 * Bones to peaches tablets (these help a lot)
 * Around 2 - 4 sharks in case of an emergency (though this is optional)
 * Dragon dagger(p++) and a Dragon scimitar or above
 * Magic armour
 * Armour with decent ranged defence for Karil
 * Ranging armour (black d'hide/Karil's strongly recommended)
 * Optional - A bow/crossbow for killing Ahrim.
 * 82+ magic is strongly recommended for the use of Ice Blitz.

No Prayer Potions equipment

 * Any Melee Barrows helm (Preferably Verac's for prayer bonus) &gt; Helm of neitiznot &gt; Berserker helm
 * Any Melee Barrows plate (Preferably Verac's for prayer bonus) &gt; Bandos chestplate &gt; Granite body &gt; Rune platebody &gt; Fighter torso
 * Any Melee Barrows legs (Preferably Verac's for prayer bonus) &gt; Bandos tassets &gt; Dragon platelegs/plateskirt &gt; Rune platelegs
 * Infinity boots &gt; Dragon boots &gt; Wizard boots &gt; Rune boots &gt; Mystic boots
 * Any RFD gloves - preferably dragon or barrows &gt; Regen bracelet
 * Ring of life &gt; Fremennik ring &gt; Lunar ring &gt; Beacon ring
 * Arrows/Bolts/Bolt Racks
 * God Cape &gt; Fire cape &gt; Cape of Accomplishment Trimmed &gt; Obsidian cape or Untrimmed Cape of Accomplishment
 * Charged Dragonfire shield &gt; Dragon sq shield &gt; Spirit shield &gt; Rune kiteshield &gt; Dragon defender &gt; Rune defender
 * Amulet of fury &gt; Amulet of glory &gt; Amulet of power &gt; Phoenix necklace (Heals LP below 20% by 30%)
 * Staff of light > Slayer's staff

Killing the Brothers
The Brothers have special abilities. The best way to fight the brothers is to use Magic; four of the brothers wear armour that is weak to magic-based attacks. Any high-hitting spells (blast spells, wave spells, surge spells, or god spells) will work well; using Bind, Snare or Entangle or the Ancient Magicks ice spells work well as the brother will be rendered immobile (this is especially useful when fighting Verac). Magic Dart is a very popular spell to use as all runes required to cast the spell are possible chest rewards.

Leaving out a brother
Since the release of Akrisae, it is now possible to miss out a brother but still retain the best chance of receiving a barrows item. Due to the fact that you can only get amour/weapons of brothers you have killed, you can avoid getting less sought after gear by skipping that brother. For example if you don't want to get any gear from Torag as his gear is less expensive than other gear, then you can skip him altogether. You can only utilise this method after the completion of The Ritual of the Mahjarrat quest. Jagex confirms that missing out one brother in this way still gives the 'Best' chance of an item.

Recommended order
This is the recommended order of killing the brothers, regardless if you plan to use prayer potions. The names next to the brothers indicate their passive abilities.


 * 1) Protection from melee.PNGDharok the Wretched (Level 115) - Wretched Strength: Uses melee. Strength rises as his health becomes depleted; he can hit up to 620 life points with one tenth of his health left, hence it is advised to have high Constitution to attempt the Barrows. Magic is the most effective combat style to use. Protect from Melee is a necessity, as he can kill any player with 2 hits when at low health. Often, Dharok can hit high enough and fast enough so that you are unable to heal quickly enough to avoid dying.
 * 2) Protection from ranged.PNGKaril the Tainted (Level 98) - Tainted Shot: Uses ranged. Lowers the player's Agility level by 20%. His hits are very fast and accurate; kill him quickly using melee or high Ancient Magicks and Protect from Missiles. If you brought along a Dragon dagger then use your special attack on him, as he has a low stab/slash defence. Note that only players with a high combat level (95+) should do this. However this brother can be killed effectively with ranged as well.
 * 3) Protection from melee.PNGVerac the Defiled (Level 115) - Defiler: Uses melee.Hits through armour and prayer. You should use Protect from Melee if possible, as this will both lower his max hit and cause him to hit less often. He is very resistant to melee and ranged, so magic is always advised. It is helpful to use binding or ancient magicks ice spells against him, as this stops him from attacking and using his special attack.
 * 4) Protection from magic.PNGAhrim the Blighted (Level 98) - Blighted Aura: Uses Magic. Attacks with Fire Wave and lowers the player's combat stats using curse spells. Use Ranged to kill Ahrim; even at low Ranged levels he is significantly weaker to Ranged than he is to Melee. Although ranged is the best method for killing Ahrim, if you have very low range (40 or lower) you can use melee on Ahrim, since it is more effective than magic.
 * 5) Protection from melee.PNGTorag the Corrupted (Level 115) - Corruption: Uses melee. Depletes run energy. This brother is the least dangerous of all the brothers; he does not hit as accurately as the other brothers, and his special effect does not affect combat. He can still hit up to 220 and often if you are wearing robes. In addition, the effect could be dangerous if the player is in the maze, especially if the player does not have a method of restoring his/her run energy. Players 70 def+ should not need Protect from Melee.
 * 6) Protection from melee.PNGGuthan the Infested (Level 115) - Infestation: Uses melee. Health recovers proportionate to the damage done to the player; for example, if he hits 200 life points, he will heal 200 life points. Magic attacks are still effective due to Guthan's extremely low magic defence. Guthan is one of the less dangerous of the brothers. Protect from Melee is advised, but not necessary.
 * 7) Protection from melee.PNGAkrisae the Doomed (Level 115) - Doom: Uses Melee. Saps prayer points. Use Magic and Melee to kill Akrisae; both styles are needed due to his ability to use protection prayers. Due to this, a black salamander may be an appropriate weapon to use, or if unavailable a DDS and Magic Dart.

Strategy
''Note:It has been known that uncommonly a twin of a brother will appear if a player runs through a door to escape from their assigned brother in the maze rather than fighting him; killing twin brothers, or even killing only one of the two, has the same effect as killing one brother. These can be very deadly, especially in the case of a strong brother, as they have been known to come up 3+ times in a row, inflicting much damage on an unprepared player. It is not yet known if killing the "twin" brother increases your chances of getting Barrows equipment''.

Magic Dart

 * This is the most effective method; doing up to 200 life points, and uses one death rune and four mind runes. These runes are often regained from the chest, making this method very cost-effective. Your maximum hit using this spell is determined by 100+ your Magic level so hypothetically the maximum you can hit is 200 (99 Magic using a skillcape boost, or even higher with potions).This method is much more efficient with a staff of light, with its +15% magic damage bonus. The staff also has a Special attack called Power of Light. When activated, this special attack reduces any melee damage(including magical melee) that is received by 50% for one minute, this is very effective against Verac. The staff also has a special rune-saving ability; while wielded, there is a 1/8 (12.5%) chance that any combat spell cast with this staff will not use up any runes.

Ancient Magicks

 * Players must have completed the Desert Treasure quest to use these spells. Having at least level 70 Magic to use Ice Burst is recommended. (Ice Rush is not recommended as the player needs to take a lot of time to avoid the brothers' attack.) Although this method isn't very cost effective, it is a fast way to kill the brothers and players can get more loots in a trip. Players may want to take one of the few staffs that cause a 10%/15% magic bonus. The best spells to use are ice spells which will freeze and damage the brothers. Blood spells, on the other hand, restore 25% of the damage dealt to the player's life points. If relying on the freezing effect of the ice spells, remember that like players when the Brothers break out of the ice spells, they will be able to resist the freezing effect for up to 5 seconds.
 * Ice Rush: 1 Cast
 * Ice Burst: 3 Casts
 * Ice Blitz: 5 Casts
 * Ice Barrage: 6 Casts

Normal Magic
Starting at 35 magic, players can also use Fire Bolt to kill the brothers. This is a cheap and low-level alternative, and can be very effective when coupled with the Chaos gauntlets from the Family Crest quest. Except for fire bolt, fire spells are quite effective on the brothers too.

God spell
It is suggested to use Claws of Guthix in priority, as it can reduce a portion of defence to the brothers. Also, players with Void knight mace can deal even higher damage (330LP) with this god spell. If Claws of Guthix is unavailable, then Flames of Zamorak should be used, since it can reduce the brother's magic level(hence magic defence). This method can work effectively if combined with the Charge spell with 80 magic.

Black salamander with Harralander Tar
Some people may not know this, but it is a better weapon substitute for the activity. This weapon is about as fast as a longsword. Also, the ammunition is cheaper than a cast of Magic Dart, and more accurate. Moreover, the magic bonus does not affect its use, so it is suggested to use full melee armour with this. In the long run, it will save you money and time.

Ranged
Ranged is vital when killing Ahrim if a player is not meleeing; it is best to use rune arrows or adamant arrows, wear your best ranger armour (black dragonhide armour works well and can also be used as melee armour), and wield a magic shortbow, crystal bow or even a dark bow. Seercull is also useful as its special attack depletes your enemy's magic. The magic shortbow special attack is very useful against Ahrim. A Rune crossbow or Chaotic crossbow may also be used.

Another excellent ranged weapon for barrows are Toktz-xil-ul, but it is not very popular.

Melee

 * The best strategy for players who have low to average melee stats is to use melee only when killing Karil, as he is relatively weak to melee attacks, especially slash attacks. Wear your best melee armour, and use an effective weapon, anything Dragon and above is fine. Players with 70 or above attack and defence stats can bring full Veracs, a combat potion, and a super defence potion to melee every single brother without prayer. Verac's set effect, Defiler, will activate often, allowing a player to hit the brothers more frequently. You will save a lot of runes in the long run, but if the player dies, he/she would lose Verac's helm, the most expensive piece of the set. Players can interchange their weapons for this method; a whip and rune defender or even a godsword would be an efficient enough way to melee the brothers.
 * Higher level players with 60 prayer or above can complete the Barrows without using prayer potions, this can be done by quickly killing Dharok, Verac, and Karil and using melee armour on Guthan whilst using Magic; using Ranged against Ahrim and Magic against Torag. To do this it is advised to have 85 Attack, 80 Strength, 80 Defence, 60 Prayer, 75 ranged, 800 life points and 80 Magic. If using this method players should apply other tactics, such as sidestepping, in the tunnels.The Ranged armour will suffice for the time it is not in effect. The exception is versus Guthan and Torag because if you have 80 defence, you should use rune and mage them. You will still hit very often and they will almost never hit you.





Lesser Techniques
There are many techniques that a player can use to hide on the other side of the sarcophagus and still kill the brother; the most popular method is to set up a cannon then open the crypt and run to the other side. A player can also use poisoned daggers or arrows to poison the brother and wait on the opposite side of the sarcophagus for him to die; be warned though that the barrows brothers have fast healing rates, and will need to be re-poisoned when the poison damage drops to 20.

Another way that is very dangerous for lower levels, is to take either full Verac's or proselyte armour, with a very good melee weapon, and use melee on all of the brothers. The main problem for this, however, is Verac, as he can hit through prayer and armour, so it is wise to bring food for him, or have a friend supply you. This is only feasible for the highest levels, but is very money-efficient because hardly any prayer potions are needed, although a lot of food is necessary.

Something that not many people realise is that past level 85 magic, the black salamander has a higher max hit than the slayer dart(even with the staff of light that boosts 15% damage). Therefore some may find it practical to start using slayer dart with a staff of light until around level 80 magic: at that point,max hits of slayer dart/staff of light and the black salamander are very close, and the cost per cast of the black salamander is much cheaper, making it a good choice. The black salamander max hit increases rapidly (compared to slayer dart/staff of light)from level 75-onward.

A few examples of the rapid increase of max hit damage of the black salamander compared to the slayer dart with a staff of light are shown here. At level 75 magic (which is the magic level requirement for the staff of light, along with 75 attack), a slayer dart does 201 damage with the staff of light. This normally would have been 175 damage, but the staff of light adds 15% damage to magic attacks. The black salamander has a lower max hit (187) at this point that it still makes sense to use slayer dart with the staff of light. The rune-saving ability of the staff of light also makes it a good choice and somewhat makes up for the higher expense compared to the harralander tar for the black salamander. At level 80, a slayer dart's max hit with the staff of light is 207. A slayer dart max hit equals 100+magic level, so the change in max hit from level 75-80 magic on a normal slayer staff is only 5 points: however on a staff of light, the difference is still only 6 points of damage. Because a black salamanders max hit is determined by magic level multiplied by 2.5 (At level 80 magic, the max hit would be 80*2.5) the increase in damage is much greater. The increase of max hit damage from the black salamander goes from 187 at level 75 magic, all the way to 200 by level 80, a 13 point damage difference, 7 more than the slayer dart with staff of light. Although this is not as much damage as a slayer dart with a staff of light, the damage difference from 75-80 catches it's max hit up to the slayer dart/staff of light. This is when some may find it useful to switch to black salamanders. Because the max hit of the black salamander is determined by magic level multiplied by 2.5, the eventual max hit is higher. At level 85, the max hits of the black salamander and slayer dart/staff of light are the same: past level 85, (86 onward) the max hit of the black salamander is always higher than the staff of light. For example, the max hit of a slayer dart with the staff of light goes from 207 to 212. However, a black salamander which has a max hit of 200 at level 80 leaps all the way up to a max hit of 212, the same as a slayer dart. Because of every level the black salamander gains 2.5 damage (so 5 damage in two levels, 10 damage in four levels, and 12.5 in five levels. The staff of light/ slayer dart only gains 1.15 damage (1*.15+1) per level, giving only 5.75 damage per five levels. At top max hit, staff of light slayer dart hits 228. Black salamander at level 99 magic is 247!

A technique used sometimes by higher-levelled and richer players is to wear Guthans armour, with the spear in inventory. A black salamander is used to kill the melee brothers, and a Saradomin Godsword is used on Karil and Ahrim. Here, the player does the first round of chest-looting normally, but upon returning to the surface (not teleporting out, but climbing the rope) proceeds to kill non-Dharok melee brothers until his lifepoints drop below 700. Then, one dose of Prayer Potion is drunk, and Dharok is killed with Protect/Deflect Melee. Upon leaving, the player usually has between 50 and 150 prayer points left. Then, the player drinks one dose of super/extreme Attack and Strength potions, and uses two Saradomin Godsword special attacks on Karil, to recover the hitpoints lost to the melee brothers. This also supplies enough prayer points to defeat Karil and Ahrim. Lastly, any remaining melee brothers are killed before entering the tunnels. To kill the tunnel brother, the player first heals up to full hitpoints with their Guthans set, and then proceeds to fight the tunnel brother until their hitpoints get somewhat low. Then, they go through a door (leaving the brother unable to attack them), and heal on monsters with Guthans. Once their hitpoints are safely higher, they re-attack the brother and repeat until the brother dies. This method can be dangerous if Dharok is the brother in the tunnel, as this method uses absolutely no prayer in the tunnels. However, experienced players can get 12+ chest loots in one inventory of supplies, which may make it worth the additional risk.