Barbarian Assault/Strategies


 * ''This is a guide on playing Barbarian Assault. For the main article, see Barbarian Assault.

Equipment strategy
There are some advantages and disadvantages to different types of weapons and armour while playing Barbarian Assault.

Rune, Dragonhide or Granite equipment is recommended. Of these, Rune is a better candidate for Waves 1-9, as all damage received will be either Melee or Range. The Queen in Wave 10 attacks with Magic, and her spawn use Melee, so granite is recommended for this wave.

Example equipment for melee:




 * Berserker helm or Helm of Neitiznot
 * Granite body, Fighter torso or Rune platebody
 * Dragon longsword or Dragon scimitar (No Abyssal whip!)(because of its limited attacks)
 * Obsidian shield or Dragon sq shield
 * Rune platelegs or Dragon platelegs
 * Climbing boots, Dragon boots, Boots of lightness or Rune boots
 * Full Guthan's can be very useful in the later waves, particularly wave 10, due to it's healing ability.
 * (Note that it is not beneficial to wield a Rune Defender, as the Obsidian Shield will give the same strength bonus. In BA, attacking with the correct combat style never misses, so the attack bonus of the Rune Defender is pointless, whereas the high ranging defence of the Obsidian Shield is very helpful.)

Example equipment for maging:
 * Full void knight robes with void magic helm or Ahrim's robes
 * Mystic air staff
 * Dragon boots, Boots of lightness or Runner boots
 * God book or Mage's book

Example equipment for ranging:
 * Full Black dragonhide armour with Archer helm or Armadyl armour
 * Magic bow or Dark bow
 * Ranger boots, Boots of lightness or Runner boots

Gameplay strategy
The game is not as straightforward as it sounds, and there are many ways your team can maximize the points earned. The following strategies outline some tactics for your team to earn high points each round, but remember the basic rule: Always call out the correct action each time it changes. If you don't call, you and your teammates get penalized. Note that every person has a different way of playing and as such this strategy should not be considered the only way to play.

Attacker
Although using a slower weapon may hinder your ability to kill quickly, it helps prevent penalties due to incorrect attack styles, since you usually cannot stop fast weapons quickly enough when the attack styles change. Auto-retaliate should also be turned off to prevent accidental incorrect attacks. Killing monsters slowly also allows the collector to collect all the eggs before they disappear.

Lower-leveled players should remember to use a shield so you don't die easily. High leveled players can also bring a set of Guthans for emergency healing when the healers are busy healing other near-death players. (When healing, you can only use the controlled or defensive styles. However, if it is a real emergency, you can use the spear when the attack styles are accurate or aggressive. You still get healed even if you don't do damage, but it costs your team honour points.)

After you kill most of the the monsters, gather near the healing pool and allow the healer to replenish your HP as you get hit for more honour points per round. In wave 10, you can switch to a faster weapon because there are no penalties. The attacker level does not matter much, since the damage still depends on your strength level.

Remember to call out when it changes if you want the collector to call back. Attackers should always try and have the horn menu open on right-click, when the attack type changes clicking the egg colour will stop attacks.

Collector
It is recommended that the honour points earned in this role NOT be used to level up your collector level, since most players consider higher collector levels all but useless. However, keep in mind that at level 2 you get access to the egg converter, and the higher role level, the more eggs you can gather in your bag.

By collecting as many eggs as possible, you earn honour points, so collect blue eggs anyway even if they have no practical use. Call out to the attacker when the style changes if you want the egg colour called to you. When you have 5+ poison and explosive eggs, deposit into the egg launcher for the defender and other idle teammates to use against the penance runners. If you have a full inventory but cannot deposit into the egg launcher since it's full, use the egg converter to rid yourself of most of your eggs. This is another reason why you should not level up your collector level; the egg destruction method works best at level 2. You cannot use egg converter when level 1 collector. During gameplay, it is important that the egg launcher be used to kill runners whenever possible, in order to prevent high penalties from runners that get away. This is valid only if defender has problems with luring runners to trap(s).

The egg launcher looks virtually useless against other monsters (Except omega eggs by the Penance Queen) due to their high HP, however if they are hit by a large amount of poison and/or explosive eggs, it does help. If the penance group together as attacking penance often do, hitting one will cause an area effect damage, hitting them all. During wave 10, before the queen arrives, you can stand at the horn of glory to call for teammates and/or collect, convert, and fire eggs to kill penance because you cannot attack the queen until they are all killed.

There are times though that level 5 collector does come in handy, as you can pick up any egg type and convert the eggs into red; getting red eggs into the cannon faster then a normal level 2 collector who has to wait for the cycle to give him red eggs.

Defender
This is perhaps one of the most difficult jobs to master. The defender level of a player greatly affects performance, since the lure range determined if runners are stopped or not. One way to stop runners from reaching the lure cave is by dropping a straight line of random types of bait parallel to the south wall, as it is almost an impenetrable barrier that stops runners from getting past. There is no penalty for using the wrong type of bait, and there is also no penalty for using the egg launcher, so you can put up a line of bait and use explosive/poison eggs instead. Two explosive eggs or 5 poison eggs kill a runner. Remember to call to the healer frequently. Blocking the caves using planks will only slow your team down and will not be required if you play defender properly and keep the bait line in place. Keep an eye out for the occasional single runner that gets past on the far left side. In wave 10 you will not lose points if the runners go through the lure cave. Because the collector may not get the eggs loaded fast enough, here is a good strategy for actually getting them to the trap:

As soon as the wave starts, get the food and run straight for the trap. Drop 2 of the correct food on the trap or on a square next to it. Place a line of food from the trap to the hammer. This will distract and lure runners coming out of the cave. Grab a hammer and logs and head right back for the trap to fix it and lay 2 more food. After this, look for any runners which may have gotten past and lure them back to the trap with a trail of food. Note - you need to drop the correct food on the trap to kill the runners but do not need the correct food to lure them in a certain direction. The trap is good for killing 2 runners before it needs to be repaired. It's also a good idea to stick to one trap so that you don't have to run back and forth. The amount of runners you will have is one more than the wave you are on. For instance... in wave one, you will have 2 runners, in wave two, 3 runners, and so on. Note however that wave four has the same number of runners as wave three (i.e. 4), though the number of runners increments by the same rate after that wave.

A slight variation to the above method is to barricade the Runner’s cave (The third cave, going West to East) before checking on the trap. This gives you time to grab more logs, repair your trap and bait it again, before letting another 2 runners through and re-barricading the cave. This way is slower but better for points because it is unlikely many runners will reach the south cave. It should also be pointed out that this method is redundant for Wave 10, where you lose no points to Runners getting past.

Here's another method, which works very well for some people. It is quite easy to do, and does not require a higher defender level. First, you get the bait and call. Then, run to the right platform and use up all but 12 baits. Use ALL types, in a few different locations above the platform. Then, use ALL 12 of the other baits right on top of the trap. Now, go refuel baits and pick up logs/hammer. Repair as necessary, and keep stocking the baits as indicated above. Since the wrong bait only causes the runners to recoil, you can ensure that they all stay in the top right corner of the map. It seems as though the runners "pick" one bait within their range to go eat, and they will eat/recoil based on what type it is. This method may seem slow, however it usually finishes faster than most other defender methods. Essentially, this method traps all the runners in one spot so they can't escape, and some of them end up running to the trap. As long as the defender restocks all the bait and repairs the trap, this method will allow the defender to get through all the waves with no escaped runners. Don't forget to call often! Another good thing about the above method is that it does not require the defender to know what type of bait is called.

Healer
The healer level is only second in importance compared to the defender level. The amount of HP restored per dose can greatly affect a team's survival chances. If the team does not have two healers, it is important for you to heal first and kill healers later.

You can drop a poison pack into healers once in a while when you are near one, but by concentrating on healing you ensure the team's survival. On a team with two healers, the higher leveled healer will concentrate on healing while the lower leveled healer kill the penance healers. On every wave except wave 10, the more hitpoints healed, the more honour points earned from healing. (It's capped at 511.) On wave 10, two healers is an absolute necessity since the penance queen damages very frequently. The higher leveled healer will heal the players as they gather around the healing pool, while the lower leveled healer will make the omega eggs. Killing healers will be easier since you can just try the poison packs instead of waiting for calls.

Because of the complexity of the Defender's job, Healers are often the ones who need to keep up on their calling the most. Although healing is top priority to avoid losing a teammate, failing to update the Defender on proper bait can result in the loss of a lot of points and a long time waiting for all Runners to be killed.