Barrows



The Barrows minigame is an area-based combat minigame, released on 9 May 2005. It is popular due to the large sums of money players can make by selling Barrows equipment, a possible reward, and runes from the minigame, as the runes obtained are the most common drops, all combat-based runes. It involves defeating six powerful spirits, or seven after completing Ritual of the Mahjarrat, each with their own special strengths and weaknesses. The official world for Barrows is World 15, which is often moderately populated with players battling the barrows brothers.

The objective of the Barrows minigame is to defeat the seven Barrows brothers: Ahrim the Blighted, Dharok the Wretched, Guthan the Infested, Karil the Tainted, Torag the Corrupted, Verac the Defiled and Akrisae the Doomed (the latter being available only after Ritual of the Mahjarrat). Each brother has his own burial mound, except for Akrisae the Doomed, who shares a mound with Verac the Defiled.

The Barrows brothers are very strong, each with very high defence. Each brother also has a different special ability, which is the same as the set effect of the corresponding armour set. Because of this, special consideration should be given to the methods with and order in which the brothers are killed.

Background


The Barrows brothers were ancient warriors of Saradomin who established a reputation of near invincibility while fighting in the God Wars. They launched a massive attack to liberate Morytania from the clutches of Lord Lowerniel Vergidiyad Drakan and his vampyres, after he had established complete control over the continent as of the Fall of Hallowvale. As the brothers departed, a mysterious stranger, the Zarosian Mahjarrat Sliske, granted them superhuman power to battle Drakan's forces. It succeeded, for the brothers, who were in the front line, seemed invincible. They had not anticipated, however, that Sliske had ulterior motives for helping them.

As the brothers and their accompanying army progressed further into enemy territory in Morytania, Sliske followed them until the brothers became weakened. The brothers were grievously wounded in battle near the Great Vyrewall and thus the army set up camp just west of Meiyerditch. Soon, the brothers died of their infectious wounds simultaneously in the army's camp. The army spent several days and nights holding off the attacking vampyres to construct burial mounds, the Barrows, to honour the fallen brothers. The army quickly retreated from Morytania, realising they could never succeed without their former leaders' prowess.

As the army began its return, Sliske cast a magical spell on the crypts, corrupting the bodies of the brothers, turning them into his newest wights, and binding them to guard a very powerful artefact. Sliske's ally Azzanadra had requested for this icon to be guarded before the latter's imprisonment in Jaldraocht Pyramid, so that it could later be used to re-establish contact with the banished Zaros. Sliske, instead of directly taking the Barrows Brothers, decided it would be fun to have them almost succeed in their goal before claiming them, a typical characteristic of the Mahjarrat.

In 169 of the Fifth Age, Azzanadra was released, and, with the help of an adventurer who manages to steal the Barrows Icon from the brothers, re-established communication with Zaros in time for the Mahjarrat Ritual of Rejuvenation. Shortly after said ritual, which the adventurer attends with several Temple Knight allies, Sliske attempted to claim them in a similar way. However, the Saradominist priest Akrisae Kolluym intercepted the spell, sacrificing himself and turning him into Akrisae the Doomed - the seventh wight. Akrisae joined the Barrows Brothers in their crypt, although, of course, he isn't a Barrows Brother himself.

A crumbling tome, obtained by searching the hut near the mounds or by talking to the Strange Old Man found digging the crypts, provides a detailed account of how the brothers came to be buried.

Strategy

 * For explanations of the different strategies used to kill the barrows brothers, see Barrows/Strategies.

Rewards


If you have not killed all the Barrows brothers by the time you reach the chest, attempting to open the chest will cause the brother that led you to the catacombs to come out and attack you. Opening the chest resets your killcount. After the chest is looted, the area begins to collapse, and you will occasionally receive damage from falling debris. If you have a high constitution level, this should not be a problem.

To maximise the chance for a Barrows item, you need to kill at least 6 brothers.

An item of Barrows equipment is not a guaranteed reward, even if all of the above conditions are met. Although rare, it is also possible to receive multiple barrows items in one chest. Any item that cannot be placed in your inventory will be dropped on the ground, including Barrows items. If a Barrows item is dropped on the ground due to lack of inventory space, it will remain in perfect condition.

Graphical overhaul
After the release of the new website and interfaces on 22 November 2011, a screenshot was shown on the media page of a graphical update for the Barrows minigame. The January 2012 Behind the Scenes article confirmed that an update was coming to the minigame, which was introduced on the 4 January update.

The graphical update changed the looks of the area, added mist to the crypt, changed the Barrows brothers from purple ghosts to corporal foes, and, for a week following the release, gave a 1 in 10 chance of doubling rewards. This extra reward chance ended on 11 January.

Rise of the Six--4 Players Barrows
Barrows - Rise of the Six is a sequel to the Barrows minigame released on 13 November 2013. Unlike in the standard minigame, you have to fight 6 greatly buffed brothers at once with three other players. Due to the increased difficulty, the rewards are much better than the standard minigame.

Music
The following music tracks are unlocked here:
 * Dance of the Undead - In the mound area
 * Dangerous Way - In the crypts and tunnels

Trivia

 * During the graphical update in January, it was possible to get a Draconic Visage from the barrows chest, which only lasted a week.
 * Barrows is another word for a tumulus, which is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave (called a crypt in the minigame) or graves, which is probably where the name of the minigame comes from (tumulus is Latin for mound, small hill).
 * From 00:00 UTC 12 November 2011 to 23:59 UTC 14 November 2011, there was an event where players could gain double loot from several dungeons, including the Barrows minigame. This was part of Jagex's bot-busting celebration.
 * In the BTS June 2013, it was revealed that "Barrows Deluxe" is under development. It was mentioned that the rewards are much more varied than the original Barrows, and that the brothers may undergo another graphical update, which took place on the release of Missing, Presumed Death.
 * If you attempt to enter with a familiar, you will be forced out with a message saying "You cannot enter this area with a familiar. You must leave this area and dismiss your familiar if you wish to enter."
 * If you use Surge or Escape to get into the mounds with a familiar, a message will say "You cannot enter this area with a familiar. You must leave this area and dismiss your familiar if you wish to enter. Your familiar is forced to leave as it cannot remain here." And the familiar would be automatically dismissed, dropping everything it is carrying.