Barrows

The Barrows is a minigame which challenges the player in a fight against the six Barrows Brothers, in order to reap rewards such as coins, runes, Half key, dragon medium helmet and rare Barrows equipment.

Note : This is a dangerous minigame. If you die here, you will lose your items!

General Advice
It is recommended that before attempting the Barrows players should have a combat level of at least 70, level 43+ Prayer, level 50+ Magic, level 55+ slayer (for using slayer dart spell) and level 59+ Hitpoints. 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 potential grave robbers. It is recommended that players wear a ring of life when fighting the brothers.

Time taken and kill count do not affect the drops gained from the chest; only killing the Brothers will affect this.

Quests Required

 * Priest in Peril
 * Started Nature Spirit
 * It is advisable to complete In Search of the Myreque to access a shortcut from Canifis to Mort'ton
 * In Aid of the Myreque gives the player access to a bank in Burgh de Rott, which is right next to the Barrows.

Reaching the Barrows
The Barrows are located to the east of Mort'ton, in Morytania. There are several ways to get there :
 * Through the temple east of Varrock or use the shortcut to the south of the temple which requires level 65 Agility;
 * Use an Ectophial (gained from the Ghosts Ahoy quest) to get just north of Port Phasmatys;
 * Use Kharyll Teleport to get to the "Hair of the Dog" pub in Canifis which is conveniently next to the bank and the Myreque shortcut, which is behind the pub.
 * Use the Fairy ring teleport system which has two rings (C-K-S and D-L-S) that are useful for reaching the Barrows, the first coordinate (CKS) will take you right west of Canifis near mushroom patch north of the Mort Myre Swamp, and the second coordinate (DLS) will place you in the Hollows, (the Myreque tunnel) beneath the Mort Myre Swamp.

What to Take
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, Ranged against the mage (Ahrim), and Melee against the ranger (Karil). However, despite his high magic defence bonus Karil also has a very low Magic level, making him more susceptible to Magic than may be expected.

Magic
There are several strategies using Magic spells that work well at the Barrows:


 * Ordinary Magic: Players should use the highest level offensive spell that they can; spells below blast spells are not recommended, although bolt spells with chaos gauntlets from the Family Crest quest can be used to boost bolt spell damage.


 * Ancient Magicks: Players must have completed the Desert Treasure quest to use these spells; having at least level 58 Magic to use Ice Rush is recommended. This method isn't very cost effective, but is fast in killing the brothers; players may want to take an Ancient staff for auto casting the spells. The best spells to use are ice spells which will freeze and damage the brothers.


 * Magic Dart: This method requires level 50 Magic, level 55 Slayer and a slayer staff. This is very effective; doing up to 19 damage and uses one death rune and 4 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 10+ 1/10th of your Magic level so hypothetically the maximum you can hit is 20 (99 Magic using a skillcape boost, or even higher with a magic potion), it has been confirmed by Jagex that your magic attack bonus does affect how hard this spell hits, so wearing Mystic robes as mentioned is advised, although the brothers' magical defence bonus is so low that it is common to successfully hit them even in full rune armour.

Ranged
Useful when killing Ahrim; 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 or crystal bow or even a dark bow. For numerous people which cannot afford this, use your strongest shortbow possible. The magic shortbow special attack is very useful against Ahrim.

Melee
Players should only use this when killing Karil, as he is relatively weak to melee attacks. Wear your best melee armour, and use an effective weapon such as a dragon item or an abyssal whip; a super-poisoned dragon dagger is highly recommended, as its special attacks can be used to take most of Karil's hitpoints.

Players with 80 or above attack and defense stats can bring full veracs, a combat potion, and a (super) defense potion to melee every single brother, except Dharok, with prayer. Verac's set effect, Defiler, will activate often, allowing you to hit on the brothers often. You will save a lot of runes in the long run, but if you die you'll lose verac's helm, so watch your hitpoints!

General Inventory
Players should wear their highest magic attack bonus to the barrows (for example Mystic robes), a ring of life and wield at least 30 arrows (more are required for several trips).


 * Spade (essential)
 * Bow and best Ranged armour
 * Weapon
 * 1-5 Prayer potions (depends what level you are, level 100s should only take 1)
 * Runes
 * Food
 * Fast teleport
 * Stat boosting potions (not essential)

Melee armour isn't really required as Protect from Melee will be on for much of the time; except in the "maze" where numerous monster may attack the player and prayer drained very fast.

Suggested Inventory and Equipment

 * Runes for the spell you will be using
 * Prayer Potions
 * Ectophial/Teleport runes
 * Spade
 * Melee Armour (If wearing magic armor)
 * Range Armour (red dragonhide or better)
 * Magic Shortbow
 * Food (lobsters or better)
 * Stat boosting potions (not essential)


 * Mystic robe top (for mage)/Rune platebody or anything better (for melee)
 * Mystic robe bottom (for mage)/Rune platelegs or anything better (for melee)
 * Mystic boots/Rune boots
 * Cape of Legends/any God cape/Cape of Achievements
 * Rune Kiteshield/Any god book
 * Barrows gloves (recieved upon full completion of the quest Recipe for Disaster, these give +12 to all stats except for magic (+6 to both attack and defense) and prayer (no bonus).
 * Ring of life
 * Farseer helm/Helm of Neitiznot/Berserker helm
 * Amulet of Glory or Amulet of Fury (the Salve amulet does not work)
 * at least 30 Rune arrows (or the best you have) (not required)

The first set-up will give you a higher magic bonus. The second set-up will give you a higher melee defence bonus, which may be useful if you plan to tank-mage Torag and/or Guthan. Don't worry about splatting too much; the brothers' magic levels are extremely low. You'll probably hit just as well as you would if you wore mystic robes.

The Brothers
The six Barrows brothers are buried in six different tombs. Player have to enter each brother tombs, using his spade, in order to kill him definitely.

Each tomb containing a specific Brother, as shown in the left thumb.

One of the tomb will not contain its brother, and will instead lead to a small tunnel maze. Player should kill the other 5 brothers before proceeding into this maze.

After defeating five of the Brothers the player may enter the maze. Inside the maze, player have to find the chest and kill the sixth brother.

Remark : If the player dies, logs out or leaves during their trip to the barrows, the amount of brothers killed will not change; for example if you had a kill count of 3, you will still have the same kill count if you return. The only way to reset this is by looting the chest.

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, 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. Magic Dart is a very popular spell to use as all runes required to cast the spell are possible chest rewards.

This is the recommended order of combat. The names next to the brothers indicate their passive abilities.


 * 1) Dharok the Wretched (Level 115) - Wretched Strength: Uses melee. Strength rises as his health becomes depleted; he can hit up to 58 damage, hence it is advised to have 59 Hitpoints or above to attempt the Barrows. Magic is the most effective combat style to use. Protect from Melee is considered by many to be a necessity, as he can kill any player with 2 hits when at low health.
 * 2) Karil 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 and the Protect from Ranged. 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 high combat (95+) should do this. Because Karil has virtually no magic attack, you can use mage on him with little to no difference than maging the melee brothers.
 * 3) Verac the Defiled (Level 115) - Defiler: Uses melee. Hits through armour and prayer. You should use Protect from Melee if possible, as he will hit far less often and lower than if you do not use it at all. Magic advised.
 * 4) Guthan the Infested (Level 115) - Infestation: Uses melee. Health recovers proportionate to the damage done to the player; for example, if he hits 20 damage he will heal 20 Hitpoints. He will not always recover health but he can do it very often. This also works through Protect from Melee; although he will not do damage, he will still be healed if he were to have hit without the prayer. For this reason wearing high-defence is advised; it will limit Guthan's ability to heal himself. Magic attack are still effective due to Guthan's extremely low magic defence. Guthan is one of the less dangerous of the brothers.
 * 5) Torag the Corrupted (Level 115) - Corruption: Uses melee. Depletes run energy. This brother is the least dangerous of all the brothers; hits comparatively low and his special effect does not affect combat, but will still hit many 20s if you are wearing robes. Player can use Protect from Melee
 * 6) Ahrim the Blighted (Level 98) - Blighted Aura: Uses Magic. 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. Players with higher Magic levels may be able to fight Ahrim without the use of Protect from Magic, if they also wear armour with high magic defence like black dragonhide.

Entering the Tunnels
Once you have killed 5 of the brothers, return to the tunnel mound, search the sarcophagus and go into the tunnel. Players are advised to wear Melee armour in the tunnels; this is the place where you will use most of your food, as you are under constant melee attack from an assortment of monsters:


 * Bloodworms
 * Skeletons
 * Crypt Rats
 * Crypt Spiders
 * Giant Crypt Rats
 * Giant Crypt Spiders

Each monster killed will level up the player "Kill Count"

The maze
The maze is a simple set of nine rooms in a square shape, interconnected by doors. The chest room is in the center room.

The 6th Brother
The sixth brother may appear as a player goes through a door; if he has not appeared by the time a player reaches the centre room, he will instead appear as the player opens the chest.

Strategy
Higher level players with 60 prayer and 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 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 75 defence, you should use rune and mage them. You will still hit very often and they will almost never hit you.

It has been known that very rarely a twin of a brother will appear if a player runs from the brother in the maze rather than fighting him; it is not known what effect, if any, killing both of these brothers has on the reward.

Safespot
There are safespots in the tunnels; hiding behind rocks will allow players to use Magic against a Melee brother in safety. As Karil and Ahrim use long-ranged attacks, safespots will not work against them.

What to use in the tunnels;


 * Dharok: use a safespot or Protect from Melee prayer and Magic
 * Guthan: use a safespot or Protect from Melee prayer and Magic. If you have a high enough defense, you can attempt to tank-mage him (mage while wearing melee armor)
 * Verac: use a safespot / Protect from Melee prayer and mage, although Verac can hit through prayer, he will hit far less often and not as hard as he would if you were to fight him without it
 * Torag: use a safespot if you want/ easily beaten with Magic and Protect from Melee prayer/ if you have a high enough defense, you can attempt to tank-mage him (Magic while wearing melee armour)
 * Karil: use a sidestep / Protect from Missiles prayer and Magic
 * Ahrim: use a sidestep / Protect from Magic prayer and Magic. Also a super set will be useful because Ahrim lowers your Strength and uses curses to lower your Attack.

Entering Chest Room
The player must try to reach the centre room; three of the doors will not open, but the fourth will present a simple puzzle for the player to solve before being able to enter.

Once the sixth brothers dead and the chest room found, player will be able to search the chest, take the loot, and run out of the crypt. Players may also wish to teleport out.

Do not stay in the maze. Random rocks will fall on you hitting 5-6 damage often. Getting out of the tunnels as fast as possible is highly recommended.

Rewards
Extract from runescape site : "If you have killed the 6 brothers you stand the best chance of receiving a Barrows item from the chest."


 * Mind runes - Around 300 (0-1023) per drop.
 * Chaos Runes - Around 120 (0-511) per drop.
 * Death runes - Around 75 (0-383) per drop.
 * Blood runes - Around 40 (0-127) per drop.
 * Bolt racks - Around 38 (0-160) per drop.
 * Gold pieces - 0-3072 per drop.
 * Dragon medium helmet
 * Half keys
 * Barrows equipment

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 and 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 2.

Another very time-consuming way is to mainly use prayer potions, and good prayer boosting items. If you use monk's robes, then you can still cast magic easily, but with only a somewhat high prayer bonus, the downside to this is you will use a lot of prayer potions and more food; costing even more to do the barrows, this is not recommended.

Another way that is very dangerous for lower levels, is to take either full Verac's or proselyte armor, 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 armor, 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.

One last method for lower levels is to bring a cannon and trap the brother behind the crypt. Then, set up the cannon behind the crypt with the brother, and just watch as the cannon kills him.

Tips

 * You can use the bank at Burgh de Rott if you have completed In Aid of the Myreque.
 * Prayer can be recharged at the Nature Spirit altar.
 * Overall it is best to have a balanced defence bonus (good mage, melee and range defence bonuses), whilst maintaining a good attack bonus for the combat style you are using.
 * Once your construction level is level 50 or higher, you can build an altar to recharge your prayer points and build a portal to teleport you to Canifis known as Kharyll teleport in Ancient Magicks, then teleport back to Canifis for another trip.