Barrows



Barrows is an area-based activity, released on 9 May 2005, that involves defeating the spirits of the six Barrows Brothers and plundering their crypts. The brothers are fought one at a time and are very strong, with very high Defence, so only powerful players should attempt the Barrows game (although lower-levelled players can still do it with the right equipment). Among the possible rewards from the game are pieces of the powerful Barrows equipment.

This activity is Dangerous. All three parts of the combat triangle are used within Barrows, and Verac the Defiled can occasionally hit hard through Armour and Prayer, so damage can be taken even when using the safest tactics.

Background

 * Main article: Morytania Campaign

The Barrows brothers were powerful, ancient warriors of Saradomin who fought in the God Wars of the Third Age. Their powers were granted to them by a Zarosian Mahjarrat suspected, but not confirmed, to be Sliske. As the brothers and their accompanying army progressed further into enemy territory in Morytania, the stranger continued to follow them until the brothers became weaker after establishing a strong reputation as nearly invincible warriors for the course of the war.

Finally, the brothers were grievously wounded in battle and died of their infectious wounds simultaneously in the army's camp. The army spent several days and nights holding off the enemy army to construct burial mounds, the Barrows, to honour the fallen brothers.

As the army began its retreat, the stranger who had given the brothers their powers cast a magical spell on the crypts, corrupting the bodies of the brothers and binding them to guard the Barrows icon. In The Temple at Senntisten, the player is tasked with retrieving the artefact by Azzanadra.

The Crumbling Tome, obtained by searching the hut near the mounds or by talking to the Strange Old Man, provides a detailed account of how the brothers came to be buried!

Minimum

 * Priest in Peril completed.
 * Spade. Players without one can buy a spade for 4 coins from the Strange Old Man who wanders about the Barrows. Players who didn't bring any coins can quickly get some by killing the Afflicted in nearby Mort'ton, as they drop 3-15 coins frequently.

Recommended

 * It is useful to complete In Search of the Myreque to access a shortcut from Canifis to The Hollows and then the Swamp Boaty from there to Mort'ton.
 * Starting Nature Spirit is useful for faster travel to the Barrows area.
 * Completing Nature Spirit gives players access to the Nature altar in the swamp for recharging prayer, along with the ability to use Druid pouches, which prevent ghasts from rotting food, and a Silver sickle (b), which prevents swamp decay.
 * The In Aid of the Myreque quest gives access to a bank in Burgh de Rott, which is close to the Barrows. (There are no altars in or near Burgh de Rott, so solely using this bank means prayer-using players will use more Prayer potions than usual. Using this bank can be effective when using food instead of prayer.)
 * The Darkness of Hallowvale quest allows players to do the Burgh de Rott Ramble activity, which can be used for fast access from the Paterdomus area to Burgh de Rott and then Mort'ton.
 * Fairy ring transportation is helpful for transporting into the area, either ring BKR in the Mort Myre Swamp or ring DLS in the Myreque Hideout tunnels. This requires at least starting A Fairy Tale Part II for access to the fairy rings.

Suggested skill levels

 * 70+ Strength or 60+ Ranged.
 * 70+ Attack and 70+ Defence are very helpful.
 * 43+ Prayer. Players are encouraged to use protection prayers like Protect from Melee or deflection curses like Deflect Melee, to avoid most damage by the Barrows brothers. Be aware that Verac the Defiled will occasionally hit through prayer. The Ancient Curses are slightly more useful than the standard prayers, since they occasionally deflect a few points of damage back on the brothers.

Other helpful item, quests, and tips

 * A one-click teleport for emergency escapes if things go badly wrong. An Ectophial (requires the Ghosts Ahoy quest) is useful for escaping and for banking at Port Phasmatys. An Ardougne cloak is more useful, as its one click teleport goes to the Kandarin Monastery, which has altars for recharging prayer. The cloak has a prayer bonus, which also helps conserve prayer points, and is moderately close to a fairy ring by the Tower of Life or to a bank in East Ardougne. Getting the cloak, however, requires completion of at least the easy part of the Ardougne Diary.
 * If not using fairy rings, the Kharyrll Teleport portal in a Player-owned house is useful for getting to Canifis. 50 Construction is needed to built the portal room, or use of someone else's portal room on a house party world.
 * Do not bring Summoning familiars as they cannot be used in the Barrows.
 * World 31 is the Unofficial barrows world, as it is the house party world which allows you to use other's houses to restore prayer and teleport to canfis. World 31 is also widely used because of barrows clans - such a clan will bless your grave if you die.

Location
The Barrows is due east of Mort'ton, in Morytania. To reach the entrance of the Barrows, cross the bridge to the east of Mort'ton and follow the path which curves to the north-east. The Barrows themselves are in the enclosed area to the south of the entrance.

There is no teleport directly to the Barrows or to Mort'ton. There are several routes to Mort'ton. All are infested in part by Ghasts, so players should bring a Silver sickle (b) or Ivandis flail and at least 20 Druid pouches.


 * If the player has done In Search of the Myreque: From Canifis, go south of the Hair of the Dog pub and go through the trapdoor there, entering a small basement. There is a secret door in the south wall of the basement (it is not visible in the main window but can be seen on the mini-map). Click on the door to pass through into a cave, which is part of the Myreque Hideout area. Go south through the cave to a set of large doors. Go through the doors to return to the surface in The Hollows, which is infested with ghasts. Go south and slightly west and cross the bridge that was repaired in the quest. Go south and slightly east to the Swamp Boaty. Use it to sail to Mort'ton, arriving next to the bridge to the Barrows.


 * If the player can use the Fairy rings: Use ring DLS to go to a cave in the Myreque hideout complex. Exit the cave through the south opening and then exit the next cave to the north. The player appears in the main cave near the secret door; just follow the directions above from this cave.


 * Another alternative, if one hasn't completed In Search of the Myreque, is to enter the swamp and then make their way to The Hollows, as opposed to the Nature altar. See below.


 * If the player has not done In Search of the Myreque: From Canifis or Paterdomus, enter the ghast-infested Mort Myre Swamp through the gate near the Canifis farming patch. Go south and cross the bridge to the winding path that leads to Mort'ton. Follow this path, cross the bridge into the town and continue east to the other side of town where the bridge to the Barrows is located. Note: This route is long and time consuming to travel.


 * If the player can use the Fairy rings: Use ring BKR to go directly to the Mort Myre Swamp and then follow the direction above from the swamp. This ring, however, does not significantly reduce the amount of distance to be traveled.


 * A quicker route is to travel the Mort Myre Swamp from the gate or ring BKR to the south-east to The Hollows and then take the swamp boaty to Mort'ton. See the map. This is shorter than the tradition route through the swamp but not as fast as the route available to players who have done In Search of the Myreque.


 * If the player has done Darkness of Hallowvale: The Burgh de Rott Ramble activity of Temple Trekking can be used as a quick way to the Mort'ton area, but it can be a bit dangerous for lower-level players. Prepare for the ramble (players may want to take equipment for protection on the ramble, such as a Snelm) and go to western Morytania to the bridge leading to the Paterdomus area. Choose one of the strongest people to escort (the Mage or the Adventurer) and choose the safest route (Route One). Turn off auto-retaliate. If you get a combat encounter, run to the nearest evade point. This allows the player to get to Burgh de Rott quickly, usually without taking any damage. Once at Burgh de Rott, bank there if desired, and then go north to Mort'ton and east to the Barrows.
 * An easy route to the Barrows before and following each run can be accessed if the player has completed In Search of the Myreque, has permission to utilize the Fairy Rings, and completed an Ardougne Achievement Diary. This builds onto the use of the Fairy Ring code DLS: by teleporting using the Ardougne Cloak to the Monastery, the altar there can be used to recharge prayer, while running east towards the Tower of Life, the Fairy Ring there can be accessed, transporting the player to Zanaris, where there is a bank to restock. Then, using the Fairy Ring, dial DLS, exit the tunnel south and take the Swamp Boaty to Mort'ton, which is just a short walk from Barrows.

Equipment
The equipment a player should wear and carry in inventory depends on the strategy the player is going to use.

Prayer is steadily drained in the crypts and tunnels, so players using protection prayers should bring around 2-5 Prayer potions for the Prayer skill Protect from Melee. The exact number depends on the player's prayer level and the efficiency of the strategy the player uses to kill the brothers. An Ancient mace (from the Death to the Dorgeshuunquest) or Saradomin godsword can be used to recover some prayer points. A player with a high prayer level who can kill the brothers quickly often only uses one potion, while a player who uses melee against all the brothers may need 4-5. Higher levelled players (110+), with 60 or higher prayer, may be able to complete the Barrows activity without any prayer potions, unless Dharok is not in his crypt but instead is in the tunnels.

More potions will be needed if the player plans to play the activity repeatedly without going to an altar to pray between playings.

It is also advised to bring food, such as Monkfish or better (Lobsters may not be sufficient if the player takes a lot of damage), combat equipment, and a fast method of Teleportation (Varrock Teleport is suggested by some because players could sell their loot and restock on things they need at the Grand Exchange). Some players also recommend bringing a holy wrench, as more prayer points are gained from each dose of a prayer potion when the wrench is in inventory. Other players regard the wrench as a waste of space, as carrying another prayer potion instead of the wrench will yield more prayer points.

Four of the six brothers are highly vulnerable to Magic, and it is highly recommended to use magic against them as other methods will be time consuming. Players who do not pray can wear strong melee armour and still use magic, as these brothers' low magic defence means they will still be hit often and hard.

It is possible to use Safe spots in a very few places when fighting the brothers, which allows the use of ranged and magic without using prayer or taking damage. There are no safe spots in the cyrpts (the places with the sarcophagi) -- both the sarcophagus itself and the rocks on the floor block combat. In the tunnels, most rooms and all short corridors do not have safe spots. The long corridors have some rocks in them, which can be used as safe spots. One of the 'corner' room (on the NW, NE, SW, or SE) has some rocks near the middle of the room, portions of which can be used as a safe spot. (Contrary to some players' beliefs, the rope ladder in the first room in which the player enters the tunnels cannot be used as a safe spot.)

Equipment overview
This suggests some types of equipment that can be used. Note that these general suggestions can be overridden with items for a particular strategy, as discussed below.

Players should not bring a Ring of wealth when doing Barrows, as it has no effect on the reward obtain from the rewards chest.It should also never be used in combat as a berserker ring is much more useful and it only impacts the rarest drops which are now worthless, such as dragon med helms. (The ring of wealth only affects monster drops, and the Barrows reward is not a drop. See http://www.runescape.com/kbase/guid/magic_faq#Enchanted_Rings.)

Magic using the standard spellbook
One widely used method which is cost-effective is using the Magic Dart spell. This is very accurate on the brothers who use melee and range, but another weapon will be needed to deal with Ahrim, who has high mage defence. This method requires 55 Slayer and 50 Magic to use. The maximum hit of the spell is equal to 100 plus the player's magic level, rounded down, hitting a maximum of 190-199 at level 90+ Magic. The lowest max hit that this spell can have is 150.

Over time this method usually at least earns back the runes that were used, as all of the runes for the spell can appear in the final chest.

Another good spell is Wind Wave, which can be efficiently used on all of the brothers except Ahrim, who has high magic defence. At level 62 magic, players can hit 170 with the spell.

This method is much more efficient with a Staff of light, with its +15% magic damage bonus. The staff has a special attack called Power of Light. When activated, this special attack reduces any melee damage 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. The staff can be used in place of a melee weapon as it has very good melee stats, although this is not recommended as it's attack speed is equivalent to the dragon longsword making it less effective than faster weapons such as the abyssal whip.



Dwarf multicannon
A Dwarf multicannon is very useful when used to fight in the crypts. It is a ranged weapon, so the player can stand on the opposite side of the sarcophagus from a brother while the cannon fires. (Armour or protection prayers may be necessary until the player gets the sarcophagus between the player and the brother.) The cannon can be set up before clicking the sarcophagus itself to start the fight. The cannon is especially useful against Dharok the Wretched, because of the high damage he can inflict and Ahrim the Blighted, whose weakness is range attacks. Note that even with a cannon good armour or protect prayers may be needed against Ahrim, who makes magic attacks, and Karil the Tainted, who makes ranged attacks.

The dwarf multicannon is less useful in the lower tunnels. Since the last brother appears randomly in one of the rooms or corridors in the tunnels, the player cannot set the cannon up ahead of time for the fight. The cannon can be used if the player has a strong defence against the last brother and strong melee armour against the other monsters.

Ancient Magicks
Ancient Magicks is a great method to use against the melee brothers because they have low magic defences, but it is one of the more expensive methods if a lot of runes are used. Using the Ancient Magicks method allows for a more prolonged stay at the Barrows.

Players who have had completed the Desert Treasure quest can use Ancient Magicks. It is recommended to use ice spells because they freeze the brothers and thus cannot attack the player. All runes used in the ice spell can be obtained over time from the rewards chest. However, over time, it is possible to use more runes, especially expensive ones, than you get from the chest. One of the best ways to do this is mixing Ice Spells with Blood Spells. Using Ice and Blood Blitz means that less food is required, as the player will also be using the Blood effect. This is effective against brothers and monsters in the tunnels.

Combining melee with freezing spells

 * It is recommended not to use this method until players have become familiar doing the Barrows, as it can be quite dangerous for inexperienced players.

This method has the player freeze the melee-using brothers and then use melee weapons on them while they are frozen, so save on runes. This method can be rather slow, however, as the melee brothers have high melee defences. The player can cast any ice spell (preferably Ice Burst and up). Ice Blitz is the preferred spell, even if the player can cast Ice Barrage, as Ice Blitz takes less time to hit a brother and is also the most cost-effective ice spell.

The advantage of using this method is that players will use very little prayer potion (0-2 doses) and only a few pieces of food (about 5 monkfish).

Players need to bring a good melee weapon and runes to cast the ice spell. Items that boost magic attack and magic damage, like a Staff of light, are recommended but not necessary.

The non-melee brothers, Karil and Ahrim, should be killed without using magic. (They can be killed before or after the melee brothers.) Kill each of the four melee brothers, starting with the most dangerous one, Dharok. First freezing a brother and then attack with a melee weapon. When moving to melee him, carefully move so that he is diagonal to the player (if he unfreezes, he can immediately hit you if you are adjacent but not diagonal). Break contact and freeze him again when the freezing period is about to end. With a fast weapon, you can get up 3 melee hits with ice burst before freezing ends, about 4 with ice blitz, and about 6 with ice barrage.

Black salamander
Players with 70 attack, range and magic can use Black salamanders. This is claimed to be one of the best ways to do the Barrows because the salamander has Combat styles for Attack, Range and Magic, meaning it is effective against each of the brothers. In practice, it is most effective only against the melee-using brothers, and a melee weapon is faster against Ahrim and Karil. The black salamander can hit up to 2.5 times the player's level in the combat style it is set to. For example, when set to the magic Blaze style, a player with level 70 magic could hit up to 175.

Black salamanders use cheap Harralander tar as ammunition. The downside is that the rewards chest does not give the tar as a reward, so player must constantly replenish it over time by making it or buying more from the Grand Exchange.

Players need to bring Black salamanders and at least 80 Harralander tar (preferably more, just in case) when using this weapon.

Combining black salamanders with freezing spells

 * It is recommended not to use this method until players have become familiar doing the Barrows, as it can be quite dangerous for inexperienced players.

The way this works is using an ice spell (Ice Blitz or Ice Barrage can give the player enough time to kill the brother before they are unfrozen) on the brother and then walking to a spot diagonal from them and attacking them with the black salamander. This method is very effective because it can save on food and prayer. It is only recommended to do this on the melee brothers because Ahrim and Karil can attack from farther away so switching to a melee or ranged weapon to fight these brothers is recommended. When starting out with this method it is highly recommended to continue to pray against Dharok until completely sure he won't hit you.

Balanced offence
The fast way to kill the brothers is to attack their weaknesses. This method uses protection prayers against all six, magic against the melee brothers, melee against Karil, and ranged against Ahrim. Alternately, melee can also be used against Ahrim, as he does not have a strong melee defence, either. (It is possible to use only melee against all six, but fighting the melee brothers with melee takes much more time and expenditure of food or prayer potions or both.)

Some players hesitate to use a balanced offence because they believe they need to clutter their inventory with full sets of armour and weapons for all three combat styles. However, that is not necessary. The basic idea is to maximize magic offence and only bring the key items for the other styles.

Magic-offence items only:
 * Head - Good magic offence armour, like a Farseer helm.
 * Feet - Good magic offence armour, like Infinity boots.
 * Hands - Good magic offence armour, like Infinity gloves or Barrows gloves.
 * Cape - Good magic offence armour, like a God cape or an Ardougne cloak 3. (The cloak also gives a prayer bonus and has a quick teleport to an altar.)
 * Shield - Good magic offence armour, like a Mages' book or Unholy book.

All styles items:
 * Body - One item each of good magic, ranged, and melee offence armour.
 * Legs - One item each of good magic, ranged, and melee offence armour.
 * Weapon - One good magic, ranged, and melee weapon, plus runes for spells and ammunition for ranged.

(Do not bring ranged equipment if killing Ahrim with melee.)

Since prayers will be used, the defensive strength of the armour is not particularly important. Instead, armour that boosts offensive stats, strength, and magic damage is best.

Before entering a Barrow, simply switch to the best style for defeating the brother there. (Remember to turn autocast spell on or off as appropriate.)

Bring several prayer potions (2-5 based on experience; high level players sometimes only need 1) and 3-5 pieces of good food. (Food is sometimes needed for healing as Verac will occasionally hit through prayer. Also, prayer will likely drain to 0 in the tunnels, so the monsters there will occasionally hit. Save some prayer potions doses to use in the tunnels only when facing the final brother.)

Range-only approach
This method is only for the most confident of barrows raiders, +75 range +60 defence +43 Prayer is highly recommended. This method is mainly for "ranger tanks", since you will only be ranging (your attack/strength stats don't matter).

The most cost efficient equiptment would be: Dharok should be tackled first while you have full prayer as he will hit through your armour if your prayer runs out. Ahrim should be the last to be faced (as he is weak against ranged).
 * Archer Helm (requires completion of the Fremennik Trials)
 * Black D'hide (Chaps, Body, Vambraces)
 * Mage shortbow is highly recommended because of its speed (if you've completed roving elves, use crystal bow instead). Darkbow is not a suggested weapon as it hits slow.
 * Snakeskin Boots
 * Obsidian Cape
 * Amulet of Power
 * Adamant or higher Arrows (150-250 arrows used per run)
 * Ring of life (somewhat of a gamble because it can only save you if you are hit and have less than 10% of your lifepoints left.)

(The cost of this should amount to about 110k plus cost of food, and prayer pots, which is acceptable considering you can make up to 5,000,000 coins or more)

Melee-only approach
This method is not recommended unless the player has 70+ attack, strength, and defence. This method can be effective for higher level players because they can kill the brothers quite quickly without using much food or prayer potions (0-3 pieces of food eaten and 0-2 prayer potion doses per run).

Three basic setups can be used:
 * It is recommended to use Verac's set for its ability to hit through defence. Wear good melee armour in the non-Verac's slots (boots, hands, cape).
 * Guthan's set with its ability to heal the player is also usable.
 * A Godsword or Abyssal whip and good melee armour can also be used instead.
 * Dragon claws can be brought as its special attack is very accurate and high-hitting. Its regular attack, however, is not powerful, so a different weapon should be used between special attacks.

Protection prayers should be used against Karil, Ahrim, and especially Dharok but may not be needed against the others.

Other arrangements
Some players recommend using Void Knight equipment, because it has fair defence for all three combat styles along with a useful set effect. Simply switch the helmet to get the desired set effect for melee, ranged, and magic. Bring weapons, other armour for the non-Void slots, etc. If not using prayer, bring good food. The melee armour is not as strong defensively as other melee armour. If using prayer, be aware that the Void Knight armour does not provide many offensive boosts, although the set effect is still useful.

For players using prayer, good prayer armour can be used. Proselyte armour can be used even when attacking the melee brothers with magic, since their magic defences are low.

Sacred clay armour can also be effective, because of its transforming abilities.

Multiple Barrows Trips
For making money, it isn't enough to do a Barrows trip every now and again. Sometimes it takes several trips to get a piece of Barrows equipment, even when killing all six brothers every time, although eventually the equipment will be gained. Doing multiple trips can be very profitable. One important aspect of making multiple trips is to minimize the amount of time return to the Barrows after banking or recharging prayer. It is recommended to use one of these methods (see the 'Location' and 'Requirements' sections above for further details about the subjects mentioned here):
 * Do the In Aid of the Myreque quest to open and use the bank in Burgh de Rott. If using prayer, extra prayer potions will be consumed to recharge prayer as there is no nearby altar. Still, even getting one piece of Barrows equipment will pay for the potions and leave a large profit. This may be the fastest banking method, but it will require the player to escape from the tunnels, which will eventually collapse after the chest is opened, rather than teleporting away.
 * Use the fairy rings and an Ardougne cloak 3. When done a trip, teleport to the Kandarin Monastery to pray, use the fairy ring at the Tower of Life to bank in Zanaris, and then use ring DLS to use the Myreque Hideout route back to the Barrows. For players who need to heal, this route has the benefit that the workers by the Tower of Life, 'Black-eye', 'Gummy', 'No fingers', and 'The Guns', can be pickpocketed at level 1 Thieving for Triangle sandwiches.
 * Do the In Search of Myreque quest. Have a player owned house with an altar (requires a chapel) and a Kharyll teleport portal (requires a portal room), which teleports to Canifis. Carry a Teleport to House tablet. Teleport to the house when done a Barrows run, pray at the altar, teleport to Canifis, bank there, and then use the Canifis route back to the Barrows.

Exploring the Barrows
The aboveground portion of Barrows consists of six grave mounds inside a fence. A prayer-using player should prepare to fight the brother in the mound before entering, as preparing after entering the mound will waste prayer points, which constantly drain away when inside the Barrows. To enter a mound, the player just walks on top of it and uses a spade. The player enters a crypt with a sarcophagus in the centre. Walk next to the sarcophagus, start praying if using prayer, and click on the sarcophagus. Five times out of six, the brother who is buried there will appear and attack. Defeat him. Climb the stairs to exit and repeat the procedure at each of the mounds.

At one of the crypts, the brother will not appear. Instead the player finds entry to a mazelike lower level of tunnels. If the player has not killed all the other five brothers in their crypts yet, the player should not enter the tunnels at this time. Once all five have been killed, return to this crypt and enter the tunnels.

The tunnels contain nine rooms in a 3x3 grid, connected by short and long corridors. The player must find the way to the central room and the rewards chest there. Some of the doors will be locked, so the player must explore.

The room in which the player enters the tunnels has a rope ladder leading out. It will often not have any monsters in it the first time the player enters it (but will if entered subsequently). All other rooms and corridors always have some monsters in them (if only the sixth brother) when entered. When passing through a door, the six brother may appear and attack. If he does not appear before the chest is reached, he will definitely appear when the chest is opened. Kill the six brother when he appears. Once the chest is opened, the player can get the treasure by searching the chest.

After the chest is looted, the tunnels start collapsing, which will damage the player. Most players teleport away after looting the chest. Some retrace their route back to the room with the rope ladder, to leave via the Burrows (typically to bank at Burgh de Rott).

It is not required to kill all the brothers before looting chest, but the chance of getting Barrows equipment from the chest increases as more brothers are killed. It is possible to skip every brother but the one in the tunnels.

Kill the monsters in the tunnels (other than the brother) does not increase the chance of getting Barrows equipment. Some players believe that the other loot from the chest is increased by killing monsters, since a monster kill count is shown on the screen, but this not confirmed.

The brothers

 * For strategies for defeating the Barrows brothers, consult Barrows Strategies page.

The six Barrows brothers are buried in six different crypts. Players have to enter each brother's crypt by digging atop the mound with a spade. Each brother has a special effect than can random activate when the brother attacks. Some of the special are quite dangerous while others are not. Each crypt contains a specific brother:
 * Dharok the Wretched uses melee and is weak against magic. It is highly recommended to use a melee protection prayer (Protect from Melee) when fighing him, as his special effect is to hit for very high damage the more he is damaged.
 * Karil the Tainted uses ranged and is weak against melee although magic can be used a bit less effectively. It is recommended to use a ranged protection prayer (Protect from Missiles). Karil's special effect lowers the player's agility level, but agility is not needed at all in the Barrows.
 * Ahrim the Blighted uses magic and is weak against ranged although melee is almost as effective. It is recommended to use a magic protection prayer (Protect from Magic). Ahrim's special effect drains some strength from the player. This is not usually a problem unless the player takes a long time to kill Ahrim and thus has a lot of strength drained. If this happens, the player may want to recover stength before finishing the Barrows.
 * Verac the Defiled uses melee and is weak against magic. It is recommended to use a melee protection prayer or some prayer with a high defence bonus (Piety). Verac's special effect is the ability to hit through prayer and defence, so bring food as he can sometimes get several strong hits.
 * Guthan the Infested uses melee and is weak against magic. It is not strictly necessary to use a melee protection prayer against him although many players do. Guthan's special effect heals Guthan equal to the amount of damage he inflicts. A melee protection prayer negates Guthan's effect since he will hit for 0. A player who does not prayer and cannot kill Guthan quickly may face a very long battle.
 * Torag the Corrupted uses melee and is weak against magic. Many players do not use a melee protection prayer against him although many other players do. Torag's special effect drains run Energy. Players do not need run energy until doing the tunnels and can easily rest up if needed before entering them. See below for more information about the tunnels.

Attack plan
The most common plan of attack is to kill the brothers according to how dangerous they are (most dangerous first), leaving the one in the tunnels until last:
 * 1) Dharok
 * 2) Karil
 * 3) Ahrim
 * 4) Verac
 * 5) Torag
 * 6) Guthan

Some players who use God spells like Claws of Guthix together with Charge against the melee brothers prefer to kill these brothers first. This typically ensures that charge need be cast only once. Order:
 * 1) Dharok
 * 2) Verac
 * 3) Torag
 * 4) Guthan
 * 5) Karil
 * 6) Ahrim

Tips:
 * Dharok is considered the most dangerous and even most food-using players use prayer against him. Prayer completely negates his special. He is very dangerous if a player does not use prayer or runs out of prayer during the fight, as when he is badly hurt his special can hit extremely high, potentially killing some players in one hit.


 * Some prayer-using players prefer to start with Verac, as his special can inflict damage through prayer. If too much damage is taken killing him, the player can go bank to replenish and kill the remaining five in one return trip.


 * Ancient Magicks players comfortable with how freezing works start with Karil and Ahrim, using prayer, and then go on to Dharok. If done correctly, Dharok can be repeatedly frozen and attacked without being able to hit back.

Prayer Drain
The vengeful spirits of the Barrows brothers constantly drain Prayer at a set rate as long as a player is in a crypt or the underground tunnels. The drain rate is  points every 10 seconds, where   is the "brothers slain" number (visible in the bottom-right corner of the screen). Thusly, as players progress through the activity and kill more brothers, the drain rate of prayer increases from 8 points per 10 seconds to 13 points per 10 seconds (when 5 are killed and thus when in the tunnels for most players) to finally 14 points per 10 seconds.

Prayer drain is a particular concern when fighting Dharok the Wretched. Players should watch their prayer at all times since Dharok hits higher when his life points are low. If a player runs out of prayer while Dharok is at low life points, it could result in very high hits and possible a 1 hit death. It is advised to kill Dharok first so that prayer does not drain too quickly when fighting him.

Some players have reported that the brothers do not drain prayer once a player completes the Barrows section of The Temple at Senntisten quest. This is not correct. Other players who've completed the quest definitively report that prayer drain occurs as usual even when the quest is complete.

Entering the Tunnels
The underground tunnel is a small series of interconnected rooms separated by doors and hallways. Monsters roam the tunnels and one will generally spawn whenever a player opens a door. The monsters that appear are:

Each defeated monster adds 1 to the "kill count." The room in the centre of the maze always contains a chest, inside of which are the rewards. Not all of the doors, however, are always unlocked; some doors are randomly locked shut. Of the four doors leading to the centre room, only one is open. Players must navigate the passageways while fending off the monsters and locate the door that gives access to the chest. The remaining brother/brothers that you haven't fought in the crypts will appear at some point, while waiting for this you will have your prayer drained in the tunnels, to save on prayer potions do not drink them while wandering the tunnels unless the remaining brother appears and attacks, when this happens drink one dose and put the protect prayer on straight away before drinking any more, when the appropriate protection prayer is activated drink another dose of potion as prayer will get drained quite quickly. When the fight is over let your prayer run down again. Remember the brothers can appear at any time while you are in the tunnels.
 * Crypt Rats (level 43)
 * Bloodworms (level 52)
 * Crypt Spiders (level 56)Giant crypt spider.gif
 * Giant Crypt Rats (level 76)
 * Skeletons (level 77)
 * Giant Crypt Spiders (level 79)

Entering The Chest Room
Once the player locates the operational door that leads to the chest, they will have to solve a simple puzzle in order to open the door. Choosing the correct answer opens the door; choosing a wrong answer resets the tunnels and changes which doors are locked and which are open. (Due to a recent update, the monsters no longer attack you when you are solving the puzzle). The possible outcomes are shown below:

Please note that the position of the correct answer is not the same each time that particular puzzle is presented; however, the shape itself will always be correct.

The sixth brother
The sixth brother can spawn either when the player opens the chest in the centre of the maze or he can randomly appear when a player opens a door to another room. This can give an advantage to rangers or mages as there are rocks in the hallways which can be used as safespots as shown in the map above.

Note that if a player enters the tunnels before killing five brothers, any other unkilled brothers may spawn when a door is opened.

Once the sixth brother is dead and the chest room found, players will be able to search the chest, take the loot, and leave the tunnels as soon as possible, either through running out or teleporting. When taking the loot, you should check the ground around you before you leave. If your inventory is full or fills up when the chest is opened, rewards will appear on the ground instead. If you leave, these rewards will not be there when you return!

Players who stay in the tunnels are hit repeatedly by falling rocks, which will cause harm and can kill players with low life points. Some players prefer to teleport out. One favoured method is used by players with a Player-owned house that has an altar and Portal Chamber with a Kharyrll Teleport portal. They use Teleport to House to go to the house, recharge prayer there, and use the portal for quick access back to Canifis for banking and another run through the activity. Some players also use a Ring of duelling to teleport to the Duel Arena to recharge prayer and life points. An Ardougne cloak 3 can also be used, as covered in a previous section.



Rewards
If you have not killed all the Barrows brothers by the time you reach the chest, when you click the chest one will appear and attack you. However, you can search the chest and get the loot without having to kill him. (It is recommended in this case to turn on the proper protection prayer to prevent the brother from killing you.)

Extract from RuneScape site: "If you have killed the 6 brothers you stand the best chance of receiving a Barrows item from the chest. Most people believe that a high number of monster kills makes the player have a better chance at getting a barrows item, but this has been proved to be wrong. People may also believe that getting a higher kill count lowers the chance of receiving a barrows item, this is NOT true. Only the killing of the 6 brothers adds to the chance of getting a barrows item however, the killing of the monsters adds to the chance of getting runes, bolt racks, or coins. The ideal kill count for one to obtain is 6-13.

Possible rewards are:
 * Mind runes - 0-1430 per chest.
 * Chaos runes - 0-687 per chest.
 * Death runes - 0-391 per chest.
 * Blood runes - 0-164 per chest.
 * Bolt racks - 0-188 per chest.
 * Coins - 0-4162 per chest.
 * Dragon medium helmet
 * Half keys
 * Various Barrows equipment
 * Barrows icon (only during The Temple at Senntisten quest; the chance of receiving it is based on how many brothers are killed, with a 100% chance if all 6 are killed.)

An item of Barrows equipment is not a guaranteed reward, even if all six brothers are slain, although receiving an item is fairly common, thus making the activity profitable. The average ratio is one Barrows item to approximately 30-60 of 'junk' (mix of runes and coins) or one in about sixteen chest loots. Although very rare, it is also possible to receive 2 or 3 Barrows items from one chest. It is even possible to get 2 items from 1 Brother. Also possible is a double chest with 2 of the same equipment, for example, two Dharok's platelegs.

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

Trivia

 * Barrows is another word for a tumulus, which is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave (called a crypt in the activity) or graves, which is probably where the name of the activity comes from (tumulus is Latin for mound, small hill).
 * The maximum possible kill count in the tunnels is 9,999. If any monsters are killed after that the counter will simply list "Too Many!" instead of a number.
 * While playing Barrows the minimap screen is blacked out, but the minimap is briefly visible when a player teleports.
 * Guthan, Torag and Dharok seem to be wearing capes similar to the cape of legends, implying that they may have been members of the Legends' Guild. However, it is possible this is just the cape worn by the skeletons in the tunnels.
 * To the west of Barrows, there seems to be a small abandoned village. The village has 3-4 buildings, but all the doors are locked. A water pump is located in the centre of the village. It is unknown why this village is here, but it was most likely a town where all the people were forced to flee because of Lord Lowerniel Vergidiyad Drakan. It is also likely that this is where the soldiers camped while making the burial mounds for the brothers.
 * Pet cats will not attack the rats in the tunnels. Trying to order a cat to catch a rat results in a message similar to "Your cat is too afraid to attack it." This is understandable as the rats in the tunnels are much stronger than the level 1 rats that cats commonly catch.
 * If you do not kill five of the brothers before you go into your tunnel you will have to fight the ones you missed as well as your boss brother guarding the chest room, but if you click the chest and get the items then run you are more likely to survive, which will save you money on food, so this is a good method if you are on a budget as you use little food and no prayer. The odds of getting barrows equipment this way is greatly decreased.
 * When fighting Guthan, if in his last attack just before he dies he hits more than one using his healing effect, he will still die but you will get a message saying "we'll finish this later" as if you teleported or ran away during the battle. This happens because there is a delay between Guthan's healing hits and him being healed.
 * If your prayer is drained to 0 with the Barrows prayer drain while you aren't praying, it will not make a noise.
 * When in the tunnels, you can look beyond them to see metal doors. These doors are part of the dungeon from the Shades of Mort'ton activity.
 * You don't have to kill all the brothers at the same time, if you run out of food or potions go and get more than come back. You can also get a friend to come along with you and you can get them to hold some food and pots for you for a later time.
 * After the RuneTek5 update, safespotting any of the Barrows brothers has become impossible, because they just move and continue to attack after a few hits (About 2-3). However, they can still be frozen by the Ancient Magicks Ice spells or the Zamorak godsword special attack, and then attacked diagonally with Magic or Range (this includes Black Salamanders and Halberds).
 * There is also a bug in the tunnel whereby if you walk in and out a door in the tunnel, it is possible to have two or more Barrows brother's spawned. This bug still is not fixed. [[Image:2_dharoks.jpg|thumb|right|A player being attacked by two of the same brothers, in this case, two Dharoks]]
 * A game of Barrows is part of The Temple at Senntisten quest. You need to kill all six brothers and loot the chest for a Barrows icon.
 * Due to the quest The Temple at Senntisten, there were changes to the graphics of the Barrows Brothers's heads that pop up when a player's Prayer is drained.
 * All Barrows weapons are 2 handed, so a shield can not be worn while wielding the weapons.
 * While in the crypts, the heads (faces and helmets) of the brothers that haunt you are purple. While in the tunnels, however, the heads are purple and blue. For those who you can see their skin, the helmet is purple and the skin is blue. If you can't see the skin, then part of the helmet is blue but most is purple.
 * It is possible to bring a Dwarf Multicannon in the Barrows.
 * The Before The Fall wallpaper (image not found 6/20/10) would suggest the Barrows Brothers used green equipment but the gained equipment is all brown. Also the Armies of Gielinor, Saradomin Strikes campaign shows that the equipment was originally brown.
 * On the 13th of May 2010 Barrows received an update where standing in the area in front of a puzzle door will prevent a player from being attacked, making it easier to solve the puzzles. However, players will still continue being attacked by anything they were fighting beforehand.
 * It has been seen that rarely when many players open the chest at the same time, some do not have to face the boss and immediately get the reward.
 * The Myreque might have been the soldiers who have camped out at the site. This is left unconfirmed.
 * If you lose connection in the tunnel and then connect back, your minimap will work for 2 seconds.
 * Towards the North-East of the southernmost floor, some players believe there may be a Satanic Symbol in the floor outline. If so, it would be only part of the Seal of Lucifer (see symbol at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism) and other players find it unlikely that this is satanic.
 * From the Meiyerditch Dungeon, you can see the Barrows to the south of the Bloodvelds
 * If you are wearing Jennica's ring while you talk to Strange Old Man he says "The...ring...Jennica" and your character will respond "How do you know about Jennica?"
 * The Barrows mounds go in order of age in clockwise formation. Ahrim is in the center, Dharok in the north-east mound, Guthan in the south-east one and so on.