Strategies for Barrows

150	12,000
Style
Weakness
Immunities
	For full info, see here

150	12,000
Style
Weakness
Immunities
	For full info, see here

150	12,000
Style
Weakness
Immunities
	For full info, see here

OS

This article is a strategy guide for Barrows.

Information on mechanics, setups, and tactics is on this page. For the hard mode strategy guide, see here.

This section or article is incomplete.

Reason: missing magic only recommended equipment
You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

This page covers strategies for effectively playing the Barrows minigame.

Getting there[]

Drakan's medallion - This is the fastest means of travel to the Barrows, having a teleport directly to their graves. Furthermore, it can be used to teleport directly south of the Burgh De Rott bank, which players can enter to be healed.
Max Guild PvM portal - This option is just as fast as Drakan's medallion; however, it requires level 99 in every skill.
Games necklace - After gaining enough points from Temple Trekking, a games necklace can be used to teleport directly to Burgh de Rott, which is only a short walk from the Barrows.
After completing Nature Spirit, the swamp boat in the middle of the swamp can be taken (for free) to the bridge between Mort'ton and the Barrows.
- The fairy ring in Mort Myre Swamp can be accessed by code BKR. It's only a short distance from the ring to the swamp boat.
- In Search of the Myreque unlocks access to the area under the bar in Canifis, which provides a faster route to the swamp boat.

Barrows map — A map of the Barrows (click to view a larger version)

The Brothers[]

[talk] • [view]

Ahrim the Blighted is the magic-using brother of the group. He uses fire spells, and with every attack, he has a 1/4 chance of draining your Strength level. Ahrim is easily taken down with ranged attacks; however higher-levelled players with stronger equipment can defeat him with any style.

Ahrim's tomb lies in the centre of the graveyard. Defeating Ahrim adds the following items as potential loot to the chest:

Item		GE value
	Ahrim's hood	779,566
	Ahrim's robe top	2,534,956
	Ahrim's robe skirt	1,401,853
	Ahrim's staff	4,984,576
	Ahrim's wand	941,047
	Ahrim's book of magic	1,311,616
Total Value:		11,953,614

[talk] • [view]

Dharok the Wretched is a melee-using brother who attacks with his greataxe. He uses strong melee attacks that increase in power as his life points are lowered. He is weak to fire spells; however, any magic spell will work with at least tier-70 equipment. Higher-levelled players with stronger equipment can defeat him with any style.

Dharok's tomb is the north-east mound. Defeating Dharok adds the following items as potential loot to the chest:

Item		GE value
	Dharok's helm	427,343
	Dharok's platebody	1,816,430
	Dharok's platelegs	900,061
	Dharok's greataxe	533,975
Total Value:		3,677,809

[talk] • [view]

Guthan the Infested is a melee-using brother who attacks with his warspear. His attacks have a 1/4 chance of healing him for the damage he dealt. He is weak to air spells; however, any magic spell will work with at least tier-70 equipment. Higher-levelled players with stronger equipment can defeat him with any style.

Guthan's tomb is the south-east mound. Defeating Guthan adds the following items as potential loot to the chest:

Item		GE value
	Guthan's helm	386,305
	Guthan's platebody	1,740,040
	Guthan's chainskirt	1,036,649
	Guthan's warspear	1,971,958
Total Value:		5,134,952

Level		LP

150		12,000
Style
Weakness
Immunities


For full info, see here

[talk] • [view]

Karil the Tainted is the ranged-using brother of the group. He attacks with his crossbow, and with every attack, there is a 1/4 chance that he will drain your Magic level. Karil is easily taken down with melee attacks; however higher-levelled players with stronger equipment can defeat him with any style.

Karil's tomb is the southernmost mound. Defeating Karil adds the following items as potential loot to the chest:

Item		GE value
	Karil's coif	471,880
	Karil's top	2,557,831
	Karil's skirt	1,499,085
	Karil's crossbow	3,954,941
	Karil's pistol crossbow	638,454
	Karil's off-hand pistol crossbow	975,482
Total Value:		10,097,673

Level		LP

150		12,000
Style
Weakness
Immunities


For full info, see here

[talk] • [view]

Torag the Corrupted is a melee-using brother who attacks with his hammer. His attacks have a 1/4 chance to drain 5% adrenaline. He is weak to water spells; however, any magic spell will work with at least tier-70 equipment. Higher-levelled players with stronger equipment can defeat him with any style.

Torag's tomb is the south-west mound. Defeating Torag adds the following items as potential loot to the chest:

Item		GE value
	Torag's helm	379,723
	Torag's platebody	1,596,186
	Torag's platelegs	826,450
	Torag's hammer	402,105
Total Value:		3,204,464

Level		LP

150		12,000
Style
Weakness
Immunities


For full info, see here

[talk] • [view]

Verac the Defiled is a melee-using brother who attacks with his flail. His attacks have a 1/4 chance to hit regardless of armour rating. He is weak to earth spells; however, any magic spell will work with at least tier-70 equipment. Higher-levelled players with stronger equipment can defeat him with any style.

Verac's tomb is the north-west mound. Defeating Verac adds the following items as potential loot to the chest:

Item		GE value
	Verac's helm	372,869
	Verac's brassard	1,548,077
	Verac's plateskirt	808,201
	Verac's flail	395,825
Total Value:		3,124,972

Level		LP

115		12,000
Style
Weakness
Immunities


For full info, see here

[talk] • [view]

Akrisae the Doomed is a seventh wight added to the Barrows after completing Ritual of the Mahjarrat. He attacks with his war mace, using basic magic attacks, and unlike the other brothers, has no offensive set effect. Instead, Akrisae has the ability to react to a player's combat style and pray against it, completely negating damage. Using the ability Smash temporarily disables his prayers if it hits; however, it does not last very long. Ranged and magic attacks are the best styles of combat, as high levelled melee weapons can still miss against him.

Akrisae shares his tomb with Verac, residing in a secondary room in Verac's crypt in the north-west mound. Defeating Akrisae adds the following items as potential loot to the chest:

Item		GE value
	Akrisae's hood	396,525
	Akrisae's robe top	1,096,334
	Akrisae's robe skirt	649,040
	Akrisae's war mace	387,083
Total Value:		2,528,982

Level		LP

150		150,000
Style
Weakness
Immunities


For full info, see here

[talk] • [view]

Linza the Disgraced is an eighth wight added to the Barrows after completing Kindred Spirits. She attacks with her hammer, using basic melee attacks. Like Akrisae, Linza does not have any offensive set effects; instead, it is defensive. When damaged, she has a small chance of reflecting damage back at the player. This damage is random, regardless of how much damage is actually dealt. Unlike other reflect-like abilities used by other monsters, she does not take reduced damage when this effect goes off.

Unlike the other brothers, Linza has significantly higher health, making her much more tedious to kill.

Linza shares her tomb with Ahrim, residing in a secondary room in Ahrim's crypt in the centre mound. Defeating Linza adds the following items as potential loot to the chest:

Item		GE Value
	Linza's helm	2,194,829
	Linza's cuirass	3,636,985
	Linza's greaves	3,690,545
	Linza's shield	2,287,962
	Linza's hammer	4,211,278
Total Value:		16,021,599

Playing[]

There are two parts to playing the Barrows minigame: defeating the brothers, and traversing the tunnels.

Killing the Brothers[]

For maximum loot potential, each brother must be killed before looting the chest. 5 of the brothers (or 6 after completing Ritual of the Mahjarrat or Kindred Spirits and even 7 after completing them both) will be at rest in their tombs. The last brother (chosen from any brother except Linza) will be lurking about in the catacombs.

The brothers who are resting in their crypts are summoned by investigating their sarcophagus; when disturbed, they will immediately begin to attack. They may only be attacked by the player who summoned them. If the brother is not killed when the player leaves their crypt, they despawn and must be resummoned again, returning with full health. However, if the brother is dealt a fatal hit just as the player leaves, then the kill will still count.

The last brother's sarcophagus will lead to the tunnels below (covered in the next section) and he will be fought there. Linza is the only wight that will never appear in the catacombs.

Each brother defeated will be listed in the bottom left corner.

Barrows amulets[]

Barrows amulets are an item that may be obtained from looting Barrows: Rise of the Six chests. They are tradeable on the Grand Exchange, but have a buying limit of 100. 30 untradeable ones are obtained after completing Missing, Presumed Death.

Barrows amulets may be used to skip up to 3 of the brothers' tombs per run. Amulets cannot be used on a sarcophagus while the brother inside is spawned for you. If you accidentally spawn a brother when attempting to use an amulet, leave the tomb and come back. Amulets do not work on the sarcophagus of the final brother in the catacombs; instead, it must be used on the reward chest in order to kill off that brother for that run.

Which brother to skip?

Below is a suggestion for choosing a priority for which brother to use the amulets on:

Akrisae - Requires 2 styles; however if you are only here for kill count, Akrisae may be ignored completely
Dharok - Highest potential to do serious damage, especially to lower levels
Karil - Strong against magic, which may be your most used style; helps negate switching styles
Ahrim - Neutral against magic, which may be your most used style; helps negate switching styles
Verac - Potential to deal damage, as he can ignore armour rating; however still not very dangerous
Guthan - Potential for longer fights, but only for lower levels
Torag - Effectively drains 1.2% adrenaline per attack, which is relatively negligible

Barrows amulets do not work on Linza's tomb.

Kill count[]

If you are here solely for kill count, you must defeat all 6 of the original brothers. Whether or not you have completed Ritual of the Mahjarrat, Akrisae can be completely ignored. Using Barrows amulets will not prevent you from receiving kill count. When killing the final brother, pause momentarily before looting the chest, to ensure the game will recognise him as defeated.

The tunnels[]

The last brother will lead to a tunnel below the crypts. Upon entering, you will land in a room with 4 doors, only one of which may be opened. In the centre of the crypt is a room with a chest. This room also has 4 pathways leading to it, but only 1 can be used. Your objective here is to traverse to the centre to loot the chest.

Monsters[]

Every time you pass through a door, a monster will spawn. Usually this is one of the type of monsters already in that room; however, there is also a chance that any of the undefeated brothers will spawn, including the brother whose tomb you used to enter the tunnels.

Monster kills are tracked separately from the barrows brother with a kill counter below the list of defeated brothers. Defeating monsters increases the chances of certain rare item loots, such as dragon helms and bolt racks, but your monster kill count has no effect on the rarity of unique Barrows equipment.

Linza is guaranteed to never appear in the catacombs.

The puzzle[]

The door that leads to the chest has a lock that must be disarmed by solving a simple puzzle. There are four possible puzzles, each with 2 incorrect solutions and 1 correct solution. The solution to a puzzle is always the same. The interface that shows the puzzle may be interrupted by combat. Monsters will not be aggressive when you are standing right in front of the door, so kill anything that is attacking you before attempting the puzzle.

Solving the puzzle correctly will open the pathway to the centre room. Providing an incorrect solution will lock you out of that path and move the puzzle door to a different hallway.

Solutions

Looting[]

In the final room is the chest containing your loot. Investigating the chest will open it and spawn the brother whose tomb was used to enter the crypt. If that brother was defeated while traversing the tunnels, no brother will spawn, even if there are any left undefeated.

The chest may be looted at any time, even before the final brother is dead; however, doing so will prevent that brother's items from being added to the loot table. It will also not count towards the Beasts tab/soul reaper (unless the brother who was spawned is Akrisae).

Escape[]

After the chest has been looted, your screen will begin to shake as the tunnel collapses. You will begin to take damage at short intervals if you stay inside the tunnel. You have two options: teleport out, or traverse the maze again to the room you entered from and escape via the rope.

The fastest and most convenient way to escape is to simply use Drakan's medallion with the "Barrows" option (1), teleporting you outside the mounds whilst leaving the medallion's charge intact. Without the medallion, your may make your way back to the rope used to enter the catacombs, unless running low on supplies, where you should teleport out instead to restock. Alternatively players with access to the interior of the Max Guild may chose to teleport there and use the PvM portal instead.

Equipment[]

High-level[]

As the Brothers all have level 70 stats, players with high stats (90+) and equipment (tier 80+) can simply power through every brother. They do not need to be killed in any order, and barrows amulets may be used on any brother without much discretion.

Recommended equipment for All (with magic equipped)
Item (most effective → least effective)
Warpriest helm	Dragon Rider helm	Akrisae's hood	N/A	N/A
Dragon Rider amulet	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	Drakan's medallion	N/A
Cape of Accomplishment}	Warpriest cape	Dragon Rider cape	N/A	N/A
Warpriest cuirass	Dragon Rider body	Akrisae's robe top	N/A	N/A
Warpriest greaves	Dragon Rider chaps	Akrisae's robe skirt	N/A	N/A
Abyssal wand	Wand of treachery	N/A	N/A	N/A
Chaotic staff	Armadyl battlestaff	Staff of light	Polypore staff	N/A
Abyssal orb	Ahrim's book of magic	Grifolic orb	N/A	N/A
Royal bolts	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Culinaromancer's gloves 10	Culinaromancer's gloves 9	Superior Dragon Rider gloves	N/A	N/A
Silverhawk boots	Superior Dragon Rider boots	Dragon rider boots	N/A	N/A
Sixth-Age circuit	Berserker ring	Ring of wealth	N/A	N/A
Reverence aura	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Holy wrench	Sign of life	N/A	N/A	N/A

Inventory[]






		100
			1000

For mid level players, it is more beneficial to focus on the brothers' weaknesses to ensure a smooth trip; however, with tier 70+ magic equipment, a single spell element should suffice. Air is recommended for the sake of conserving inventory space. It is probably not necessary to bring armour switches, as higher-levelled hybrid armour should suffice with decent Defence levels (80+).

Depending on your exact strategy, you may or may not need prayer potions. When using prayer, always be sure to bring extra potions, as simply being inside the Barrows' tombs or crypt can drain your prayer points. Depending on your armour, you may need more or less food than the example shown.

Bringing combat boosting potions is highly recommended for mid-level players to keep accuracy and damage as high as possible.

Recommended equipment for All (with magic equipped)
Item (most effective → least effective)
Warpriest helm	Dragon Rider helm	Akrisae's hood	N/A	N/A
Dragon Rider amulet	Amulet of fury	Amulet of glory	Drakan's medallion	N/A
Cape of Accomplishment	Warpriest cape	Dragon Rider cape	N/A	N/A
Ganodermic poncho	Garb of subjugation	Grifolic poncho	N/A	N/A
Ganodermic leggings	Gown of subjugation	Grifolic leggings	N/A	N/A
Abyssal wand	Wand of treachery	N/A	N/A	N/A
Staff of light	Polypore staff	N/A	N/A	N/A
Abyssal orb	Ahrim's book of magic	Grifolic orb	N/A	N/A
Culinaromancer's gloves 10	Culinaromancer's gloves 9	Superior Dragon Rider gloves	N/A	N/A
Silverhawk boots	Superior Dragon Rider boots	Dragon rider boots	N/A	N/A
Sixth-Age circuit	Berserker ring	Ring of wealth	N/A	N/A
Reverence aura	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Holy wrench	Sign of life	N/A	N/A	N/A

Inventory[]





			1000
		1000	1000
		1000	1000

Players with low combat levels may have the hardest time creating an equipment set up to take on the Barrows brothers as they will likely have to focus on not only offense for attacking the brothers, but defence as well to survive their attacks.

Players with low combat stats are recommended to take armour switches that allow them to have a stronger defence rating against each brother. The most important slots are your body and legwear slots. To keep equipment switching to a minimum, it is recommended to only bring switches for those 2 slots, and to use hybrid/all equipment in every other slot.

When using magic, it may be effective to use either Entangle or Snare (79 and 50 Magic respectively) on the melee brothers to bind them in place. Doing so will allow you to attack from afar, minimising damage.

Inventory[]





		100	1000
		1000	1000
		1000	1000

Using barrows amulets, it is possible to use magic exclusively. By skipping Ahrim and Karil, you will only have to fight the melee brothers. This significantly reduces the amount of supplies required for a full run; for players who have trouble killing every brother in a single inventory, using only magic is recommended.

The only caveat with this method is the cost and supply of barrows amulets. They are currently 3,317 on the Grand Exchange. Even with sufficient funds to purchase amulets, only 100 can be purchased every 4 hours. It is recommended to stock up on amulets ahead of time to avoid being stuck unable to skip a brother.

Other helpful items[]

Ectoplasmator/ Attuned ectoplasmator - Grants prayer experience for defeating the brothers
Bonecrusher - Grants prayer experience by burying bones of killed monsters
Demon horn necklace/ Split dragontooth necklace - Use with the bonecrusher/attuned ectoplasmator to regain prayer points from killed monsters/brothers
Enhanced Excalibur - Heals 40% of life points over time; this special can be used every 5 minutes and does not use any adrenaline
Dragon defender (or better) - having this item equipped or in your inventory is required to have a chance at receiving a corruption sigil, which is used to create the corrupted defender, blighted rebounder, and the tainted repriser.

Strategy[]

High-level method[]

Main article: Money making guide/High level Barrows

As the Brothers all have level 70 stats, players with high stats (90+) and equipment (tier 80+) can simply power through every brother. They do not need to be killed in any order, and barrows amulets may be used on any brother without much discretion.

Linza should be skipped if not going for the Graverobber title, as her high health and extreme rarity of her items will greatly hamper kill rates.

Mid-level method[]

Mid-level players cannot power through the brothers as quickly as high-level players can; however, they can still manage fairly well with proper strategies and levels.

Linza should be avoided completely.

Killing order[]

Killing order may make a difference to some players. When choosing an order, it is important to consider how each brother may affect the future fights. Below is just one example for kill order:

Dharok (Weak to Fire spells and North East) - Highest potential to hit hard, fight him while you still have food.
Verac (Weak to Earth spells and North West) - Next highest potential to damage, as he can ignore armour rating
Guthan (Weak to Air and South East) - Potential for longer fights, fight him while you still have food
Torag (Weak to Water and South West) - Least dangerous melee brother, fight him with magic last
Karil (Weak to stab and South Middle) - Fight after the melee brothers as he can drain Magic, but fight before Ahrim, as Ahrim can drain your Strength
Ahrim (Weak to arrows and Middle) - Not a very dangerous fight; stat draining of Karil and Ahrim put this brother strategically last

Killing[]

With proper armour rating and prayers, it is unlikely that any brother except for Dharok will be able to do a significant amount of damage. Abilities such as Debilitate and Anticipation can be used on any brother to reduce damage taken for a period of time.

Offense-wise, it is recommended to only use basic and threshold abilities. For most players, these fight will not be long enough to warrant the use of damage boosting abilities such as Sunshine, and almost every damage-dealing ultimate (such as Omnipower) do not deal enough damage to warrant the expense of 100% adrenaline. Saving adrenaline near the end of the fight will also allow you to use Regenerate to recover lost life points.

Low-level method[]

Low-level players will have to plan their fights strategically to minimise the use of food and supplies. If you have trouble fighting all brothers in a single inventory of supplies, you are allowed to restock at a bank without any penalty. For players with Drakan's medallion, one method is to teleport to Burgh de Rott and heal in the bank, and then back to Barrows, saving large amounts of food. No charges are consumed due to the relatively short distances.

Like medium-leveled players, low-leveled players should completely ignore Linza.

Magic only method[]

Ahrim / Karil - Use an amulet on these brothers, order does not matter
Dharok - Highest potential to hit hard, fight him while you still have food; recommended to use your final amulet on him
Verac - Next highest potential to damage, as he can ignore armour rating
Guthan - Potential for longer fights, fight him while you still have food
Torag - Least dangerous melee brother, fight him with magic last

Killing[]

Lower-levelled players will want to focus on having the proper armour to defend against each brother's attacks. Abilities such as Debilitate and Anticipation can be used on any brother to reduce damage taken for a period of time.

Offense-wise, it is recommended to only use basic and threshold abilities. Even at a low level, these fight should not be long enough to warrant the use of damage boosting abilities such as Sunshine, and almost every damage-dealing ultimate (such as Omnipower) do not deal enough damage to warrant their use. Saving adrenaline near the end of the fight will also allow you to use Regenerate to recover lost life points.

Bringing nature runes to bind the melee-using brothers is also highly recommended. If done properly, you will not need to use any food as they will probably not even get the chance to attack. Simply cast the binding spell on the brother then step away and continue fighting. Be mindful of how long your bind lasts (entangle lasts 40 seconds; snare lasts 20), and be ready to cast the spell again when the effect ends.

Players using the magic only method will not need to worry about equipment switching. Players who opt to use multiple styles will need to make sure they are using the proper armour before beginning. Using mismatched equipment greatly reduces accuracy; double check your equipment before starting a fight.

Looting[]

Killing the regular monsters inside the crypt is not necessary to increase the chances of obtaining a unique piece of Barrows equipment. Only killing the brothers has any effect on this (fully explained here). That said, killcount does increase the chances of receiving rare, non-Barrows items; e.g., dragon helm. Having a ring of wealth equipped when you loot the chest will not affect Barrows or rare items, instead it adds an extra table in the drop rolls. This table has a chance of adding an extra item to your reward chest.

All regular monsters inside the crypt are extremely weak compared to the brothers. Lower levels may need to take on monsters one at a time to increase their killcount. Players with at least level 70 stats and equipment should be able to increase their killcount quickly by using multitarget abilities. The maximum potential one can achieve is by killing the crypt monsters until the sum of their combat levels equals 1000. The exact equation that is used is explained more here. One should note however, certain rare rewards require more brothers to be killed (ex. to have a chance at a Dragon med helm, you need to have killed at least 6 brothers).

It is highly recommended for all players to simply teleport out of the tunnels. Only players with no means of returning to the Barrows quickly should consider running through the crypt again to escape. With the use of the Canifis lodestone and the swamp boat, almost every player should be able to return in a timely manner.