Barrows (Members)

The Barrows are only accessible to RuneScape members. Please subscribe to get this feature.

Please note this area is 'Dangerous'. If you die, you will lose your items.


Ready for some grave robbing? East of Mort'ton lies the Barrows, the tombs of ancient warriors. Will you be able to find their hidden wealth?

With six burial mounds, there's sure to be something of value; you might even find some parts of the sought-after Barrows armour sets. But be wary, for the dead don't take kindly to being disturbed...


To begin your journey to the Barrows, you must be able to pass into Morytania and hence must have completed the Priest In Peril quest. When you have done this quest you can gain access Morytania, including the town of Canifis. Canifis has the closest bank to the Barrows so it is recommended that you kit up here if you haven't done so already.

When you are ready to leave, head west out of Canifis and then south-west until you reach the mushroom patch. From this patch you should see a gate, which you can pass through if you have completed or started the Nature Spirit quest.

From here it is highly recommended you set 'Run' to 'On' and run south as fast as possible until you reach a wooden bridge. Running is recommended as Mort Myre is plagued by ghasts, which are known to rot food and you will need your supplies for the fight!

When you reach the wooden bridge - if you have completed Nature Spirit - you can jump across a broken bridge to the north-east and enter the Nature Grotto. Here you can pray and recharge Prayer points to 2 above normal.

Back at the bottom of the Myre, follow the winding path towards the town of Mort'ton.

Travelling through Mort'ton, head south-east to where a boatman is. It is here you will find another bridge which, when crossed, will bring you close to the Barrows. Simply head north and a little east to the entrance. If you want to read about the history of the Barrows and the brothers, locate the red dot on your minimap near the entrance to read more.

Shortcut

There is an alternative route to the Barrows, which begins in Canifis. Those who have completed the In Search Of The Myreque Quest will know of a shortcut, located behind the pub. The shortcut will take you underground through a cave and out into the swamps. From here, head south to the boat which you can take to the bridge outside the Barrows, as described above. The only disadvantage of this route is the lack of an altar to pray at en-route to the Barrows.


Priest In Peril must be completed, with Nature Spirit started, or In Search Of The Myreque completed to access a shortcut to the Barrows.


For all approaches to the Barrows, a spade is required. You may need to get out quickly so bring some sort of teleporting method. To cut down on space, it may be wise to take an ectophial if you have completed Ghosts Ahoy, as this will teleport you to the Ectofuntus, which is a short walk from Canifis.

Important: The Barrows is not the safest area in RuneScape. The brothers will use their passive abilities to attack you, and your Prayer will be drained as you fight. Please note that there is a risk of death and only bring items and weapons that you are willing to lose.

Please use the following as a template for recommended items.

Mage

Mage is the most widely used method to attack the Barrows brothers, due to four of the six brothers being melee-based. Although you are not player killing, by using the Combat Triangle you can see that mage has a greater advantage over melee in a fight. To last effectively, Prayer potions and good food are needed for the crypts below. When it comes to the two non-melee brothers, the fight with Karil will be even, generally, and with supplies you should have little problems.

Ahrim is the mage brother that, with the use of his robes, carries a high Magic Defence. For this, it is either advised you have Prayer potions to last the fight, or switch to a different mode of attack.

Melee

For a melee approach it is highly recommended that you take armour that offers you a good defence bonus, such as rune armour, as the brothers can hit extremely hard. It is also recommended you take good food. For a weapon, you want something strong or fast hitting, such as an Abyssal Whip or a dragon weapon.

It is always wise to bring some Prayer restore potions. You will need them against some brothers as you fight your way through, dependant on your order of attack. As the mage brother, Ahrim can lower your Strength and Karil can lower your Agility. It is advisable that you bring a stat restore potion to top up your levels before you enter the crypt. Other items you can wear include armoured boots, gauntlets, an amulet of glory and a ring of recoil to improve your chances.

Ranged

If you are choosing Ranged, a high Ranged level is obviously advised. While you will be able to dispose of Ahrim easily, others will prove more difficult. It is therefore advised that you take many Prayer potions and use a high-level bow which offers a high Ranged attack bonus.

As you will take damage (any approach will) in the crypts below, it is advised you also stock up on good food to protect yourself from damage.

Ancient Magicks

The most potent of the mage abilities, the Ancient Magicks are extremely damaging and will help dispose of the brothers quickly. It is also worth mentioning that if you have access to the magicks, you can use 'ice' spells to freeze the brother to the spot, meaning you can attack from a distance.

Be careful with this approach, these spells wear off and the brothers can be very vengeful! As you are carrying runes, you can teleport out, or use the ectophial as described in the other methods. However, the Ancient Magick teleport (level 66 Magic) 'Kharyrll Teleport' will teleport you to Canifis, which is closer to the bank and routes to the Barrows.


Now you have your items and you have found your way to the Barrows, it is time to fight the brothers.

The map to the right shows the location of each brother. Each barrow is basically a small hill or mound on the ground. When you stand on one and dig with your spade you will fall into that brother's crypt.

Inside the crypt, make your moves quickly, as your Prayer will drain with time.

Before you search the tomb, it is suggested you ready yourself. If using Magic, set up your autocasting and turn the appropriate Prayer on. Searching the tomb will spawn the brother. Deal with the brother in your chosen way and when he is dead, leave via the stairs. You will reappear above the tomb where you have just fought.

Continue this for all the brothers. Information about them is explained below. When you are going round the tombs, one of the tombs will not contain a brother, but a tunnel deeper into the crypts. This tunnel entrance is in a random brothers tomb and generally should be entered last to maximise your chances.


Each brother can perform a devastating passive special attack, so be wary of the dead and keep an eye on your prayer and life points. Please note that Ahrim, Verac and Karil's passive abilities can hit through Prayer.

	Ahrim the Blighted - Level 98 In his full robe set and staff, Ahrim can use his power 'Blighted Aura', which can lower your Strength level. Therefore, if you are a melee fighter, you must keep an eye on your Prayer and Strength level. Use a stat restore potion, if you remembered to bring one. If you are not using Protect from Magic, Ahrim can hit Fire Wave, Curse, Weaken and Confuse. Ahrim is not to be underestimated, he can lower your stats and hit incredibly hard. For the unprepared warrior, he will cause great problems.		Dharok the Wretched - Level 115 As dangerous as any monster in RuneScape, comes Dharok the Wretched. He can use his devastating 'Wretched Strength' on you. Watch this brother carefully, the lower his life points go, the more damage he can inflict. Dharok must NOT be underestimated and he is more than able to hit 500+. Being a melee-based brother, Magic attacks are recommended. Whatever you use, Protect from Melee is highly advised.
	Guthan the Infested - Level 115 Guthan is another of the melee brothers. When using his spear and armour he can produce the 'Infestation' effect. If successful, the damage he inflicts will be added to his health to heal him. You must be careful; if you are taking him on without Prayer, not only may he hit hard, but he may also heal from his attacks.		Karil the Tainted - Level 98 A deadly sharp shooter, Karil can use the 'Tainted Shot' to lower your Agility. It may be wise, therefore, to use a stat restore potion to restore your levels as you generally need your run energy to recharge quickly in the crypts below. Melee will work effectively against him, but again, watch for his power as his attacks can hit extremely hard.
	Torag the Corrupted - Level 115 Another melee brother, Torag and his twin hammers can corrupt you by taking away some of your run energy. This is not helpful and can be deadly if you are in the crypts below, where vital energy is needed to run through and survive. Torag is melee-based, so again Magic is recommended, with the use of Protect from Melee if fighting close up.		Verac the Defiled - Level 115 Similar to the other melee brothers, to kill Verac effectively, Magic is recommended. Whatever approach you choose, use your Prayers if close. Verac and his flail can cause carnage in the form of the 'Defiler', which can ignore your armour values and Prayer protection and hence hit hard!

When all the brothers in their tombs are defeated, you no doubt will have found one of the barrows contains a tunnel. It is now time to enter that tunnel and take on the missing brother (the one whose tomb contains the tunnel).



Climbing down, beware of mid-to-high level monsters which will continually attack and slow you down. The doors that you can open in each room are random, so try to get your bearings as soon as possible. There are nine rooms (think of it as a 3 x 3 grid), so you will be in one of the outside rooms. The central room contains the chest and ultimately the reward. The chest room has four entrance doors to it, one from the North, one from the South, one from the East and one from the West. Only one of these doors will have the option 'open' for you, so try to locate it as soon as possible.

When you have found the door, you will be presented with one of four different puzzles. Simply look at the patterns and pick the shape that comes next. Beware, even if you know the answer to some puzzles, the order of them may be different, so click carefully!

If you get the puzzle door wrong, the doors will rearrange, You will then need to go around the outer areas to find your new puzzle door.

If you are successful, you can now walk through that door and head towards the chest. If your final brother has not spawned, get ready for your fight, as he will either come soon, or will when you open the chest. Dispose of this final brother in your chosen way, then search the chest for your reward.

Notes on the Barrows:
When you are in the tombs and crypt, a 'kill count' will appear on the screen. This is for your knowledge, so you can keep track of any brothers or monsters you have killed. Ultimately, you want the kill count to include the six brothers. If you have killed the 6 brothers you stand the best chance of receiving a Barrows item from the chest.

Further to this, please note that the more brothers you kill, the more you will be 'haunted'. As you continue to spend time in the tombs and crypts, you will see the ghostly faces of brothers that you have killed. When these appear, your Prayer is drained by a considerable amount. Hence, the more Barrows brothers that you have killed, the more faces will appear and the quicker your Prayer will go to zero.

If you have chosen not to kill the brothers in the tombs and head directly for the chest, be warned; the brothers that you have not killed may randomly spawn in the crypt area.


The rewards from the Barrows can be great and they can range from runes to armour.

A list of non-barrows items obtainable from the chest can include mind runes, chaos runes, death runes and blood runes. You can also obtain bolt ammo for Karil's Crossbow and if you are very lucky, you may receive a dragon medium helmet, or a half key.

However, generally people who take part in the Barrows Challenge are in it for the rare and expensive items that can be obtained from the chest.

The possible loot in the form of armour can include any piece of armour or weapon from a Barrows brother. For more information on these items, see the Barrows Rewards page.

When you are done with the chest, you can either leave via re-locating where you came into the crypt, climbing out of the tomb, or simply teleporting out and walking back.


Developer: Graham B
Graphics: Joe R, Tom W
QA: Danny G
Audio: Ian T

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