Barrows

The Barrows minigame is a popular activity among intermediate to high level players for its valuable loot, including the Barrow's equipment which feature the best stats in the game.

Location
Barrows is located east of Mort'tion in the lower parts of Morytania.

Getting there
You can use this map to the right as a guide to find your way to the minigame.

Key:     ​
 * Yellow: The dungeon.
 * Blue:  The swamp.

Skill levels

 * 70+ Strength or 70+ Ranged
 * 70+ Attack
 * 70+ Defence
 * 70+ Magic
 * 43+ Prayer

Quests

 * Completion of Priest in Peril to gain access to Canifis.
 * Completion of Desert Treasure for access to Ancient Magicks.
 * Started Nature Spirit for faster travel to the Barrows area.
 * Completion of In Search of the Myreque to access a shortcut from Canifis to The Hollows and then the Swamp Boaty from there to Mort'ton.
 * Completion of In Aid of the Myreque for access to a bank in Burgh de Rott, which is close to the Barrows.

Other helpful information

 * A one-click teleport to escape if things go wrong. An Ectophial (requires the Ghosts Ahoy quest) is useful for escaping and for banking at Port Phasmatys.
 * The only Barrows Brother that can hit through his respective protection prayer is Verac the Defiled. You will be immune to all of the other Barrows Brother's attacks when using the correct protection prayer. However, Ahrim's stat reducing spells still have a chance to hit you and reduce your defence, strength and attack.
 * The Salve Amulet will not work on the barrows brothers.

Hybrid
In most cases it is recommended to bring a combination of magic and another combat type, ideally both melee + range. This is because 4 of the 6 brothers are extremely weak to magic while the other 2 are quite resistent to it. The 4 melee brothers are in fact so weak to magic that it is possible to have a negative magic attack bonus while not noticing a huge decrease in accuracy. Because of this, it is common for players to bring strong defensive gear such as rune, dragon or barrows. Dragon hide/Karil's is also common to use against Ahrim's magical attacks.

Below is a table with some recommended gear:

Magic
Some players may choose to use only magic. This has the benefit of saving some inventory space that would be lost for the extra weapons, but may slow down trip speeds slightly and use more runes. If using pure magic it is recommended to bring high offensive gear such as Mystic or Ahrims while using protection prayers. By far the most popular spell to use at Barrows is Magic Dart because of its high accuracy and low cost (often times you will get the runes you need from the chest). Alteratively some players choose to use Ancient magicks or God spells. These spells have the benifit of dealing greater damage and even freezing your opponent, thereby saving prayers/HP. These spells are, however, a much more expensive option and are not recommended for players looking to increase their profit.

Melee
For melee users, It is recommended to bring full rune or better. For a weapon, a Dragon Scimitar is recommened or, if you can afford it, an Abyssal Whip. Additionally, it is recommended to bring a spec weapon such as a DDS to increase your damage output. Verac's is also a good choice for its special ability and impressive stats, though it does degrade which may lower your profits. Melee users have the advantage of saving money on trips by not needing to buy runes. Be warned, using only melee will be difficult and is not recommended unless melee stats are at least 85+. Anything lower than this will not be efficent. Also be sure to always bring stat-boosting potions when using melee.

Range
Range is not a recommended combat style aside from using it against Ahrim and perhaps Karil. If you do choose to range all of the bothers however, it is highly recommended you have atleast 90+ range and range potions. By far the best weapon to use is a Crystal bow because of it's extremely high accuracy and good damage. This can be a hard weapon to obtain however, so some alternatives would include a Magic shortbow with Rune arrows or a Karil's crossbow.

Regardless of which setup you choose to use, You must always bring a spade! This is required to gain access to the crypts. Other useful items include food, prayer potions, stat-boosting potions, a one-click teleport, and enough runes/arrows to last the entirety of the trip.

Strategy + Tactics


When you arrive at the Barrows you will notice six elevated mounds. five of these mounds will each contain a brother while the sixth mound will contain an empty saracopogus which leads to the tunnels below. The mound which has the tunnel entrance is random every time. It it recommended to defeat all five brothers before entering the tunnels to ensure that you have a chance to get loot from all of the brothers. The brothers can be killed in any order you wish, but you should always consider their special abilities when deciding on which order to face them.

Dharok the Wretched
Dharok is by far the most dangerous of all the brothers and as such is usually taken out first. Dharok's special ability increases his damage as his hitpoints decrease. Because of this it is always recommended to use protect from melee against him as he can hit upwards of 60 damage when his hitpoints are low. Alteratively, some players choose to bind or freeze Dharok and simply farcast him. This works, and may save you prayer points, but is also risky as he may become unfrozen and immune to binds for a short period. Always be aware of how long your bind lasts while using this method and be ready to run or turn protect melee on.

Verac the Defiled
Verac is one of the more annoying brothers because of the fact that he can hit through protection prayers. He is also quite accurate and can commonly hit 20s. It is best to either bind him or to wear high defense gear (remember this won't affect your magic too much since he is so weak to it). If you have prayers points you may choose to pray against melee because even though he does hit through prayers, they still reduce his accuracy and damage.

Karil the Tainted
Karil is also a very powerful brother because of his fast attack speed and high accuracy. Luckily he is a lower level and has low defense against melee and range. To defeat him, simply pray range or wear high defense armour and use your melee weapon. Many players choose to use some or all of their special attacks on Karil, and a DDS often makes quick work of him.

Guthan the Infested
Guthan is a fairly easy brother to defeat, but may sometimes be an annoyance because of his ability to heal. To kill him, simply use magic with high defense gear. If you are getting hit often you may wish to protect from melee or use stuns.

Torag the Corrupted
Similar to Guthan but without the ability to heal. He is often thought of as the easiest brother to defeat. Don't take him too lightly though, as he is still able to hit 20s and at times quite consitently. Use magic and good defense gear or prayers and he should be no problem.

Ahrim the Blighted
Ahrim is annoying in the fact that he drains your combat stats with his attack, even while praying against him. Because of this many players choose to leave him until the end so that they don't waste potions. Ahrim can also be a formidable foe if not using protect from magic as his attacks are quite accurate. It is recommended to use D'hide or Karils if you will not be praying against him. He is also very weak to range attacks so having a ranged weapon can come in handy. Melee weapons are also quite effective against him and may save you money that would otherwise be spent on arrows.

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. 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' rooms (i.e. the north-west, north-east, south-west and south-east ones) 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, by which the player enters the tunnels, cannot be used as a safe spot.)