Barrows
- This article is about the minigame and location. For the set of armour and weapons, see Barrows equipment. For information about the brothers, see Barrows brothers
Template:Relativelocation The Barrows minigame is an area-based combat minigame, released on 9 May 2005. It is popular due to the large sums of money players can make by selling Barrows equipment, a possible reward. It involves defeating six powerful spirits, or seven after completing Ritual of the Mahjarrat, each with their own special strengths and weaknesses. The unofficial world for Barrows is world 31, which is often averagely populated with players battling the barrows brothers.
The objective of the Barrows minigame is to defeat the seven Barrows brothers: Ahrim the Blighted, Dharok the Wretched, Guthan the Infested, Karil the Tainted, Torag the Corrupted, Verac the Defiled and Akrisae the Doomed (after Ritual of the Mahjarrat). Each brother has his own burial mound, except for Akrisae the Doomed, who shares a mound with Verac the Defiled. To enter a mound, players must stand on top of the mound and dig with the spade provided. Players are not required to have a spade in their inventories. After digging, players will end up in one of the brother's tombs. In the centre of this tomb, there is a sarcophagus. When opened, the spirit of the brother buried in that tomb will attack. Players should then kill the brother, exit the tomb, and move on to the next burial mound.
The Barrows brothers are very strong, each with very high defence. Each brother also has a different special ability, which is the same as the set effect of the corresponding armour set. Because of this, special consideration should be given to the methods with and order in which the brothers are killed.
One of the brothers' tombs will have a tunnel hidden in his sarcophagus, instead of the brother himself. If the player chooses to enter the tunnel, they will enter the crypts, a series of nine rooms with passages running between them. The rooms are arranged in a 3x3 grid. The player will start out in one of the outer rooms and must find their way to the central room, in which the barrows chest is hidden. However, 3 out of 4 doors leading to the central room are locked, so the player will have to find the right door by trial and error, while avoiding the monsters that live in the crypts. The door that can be used to access the central chamber will be locked with a puzzle, and must be solved before the player can continue.
While in the crypts, players may be attacked by any brother they have not yet defeated. Players may choose to kill the brother when they are encountered, or continue looking for access to the centre room. When the barrows chest in the centre room is opened, the final brother will spawn. Players can now kill the remaining brother and search the chest to get their reward. The chance of getting a piece of Barrows armour has been speculated to be between 1 in 12 and 1 in 20, with the odds being best if 6 brothers have been killed. The player can also choose not to kill 6 brothers before searching the chest, but this will result in a smaller chance of receiving Barrows armour.
Background
- Main article: Morytania Campaign
The Barrows brothers were ancient warriors of Saradomin who established a reputation of near invincibility while fighting in the God Wars. Their powers were granted to them by a Zarosian Mahjarrat confirmed to be Sliske. As the brothers and their accompanying army progressed further into enemy territory in Morytania, a stranger, Sliske, followed them until the brothers became weakened.
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 stealing the artefact by Azzanadra.
In the quest Ritual of the Mahjarrat, Sliske attempts to corrupt the player in a similar way. Instead, Akrisae becomes corrupted, making him Akrisae the Doomed.
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.
Requirements
Suggested skill levels
Suggested quests
- Completion of Desert Treasure for access to Ancient Magicks.
- Started A Fairy Tale Part II for access to Fairy ring transportation, using either ring BKR in the Mort Myre Swamp or ring DLS in the Myreque Hideout tunnels.
- 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.
- Completion of the Darkness of Hallowvale allows players to do the Burgh de Rott Ramble minigame, which can be used for fast access from the Paterdomus area to Burgh de Rott and then Mort'ton.
- Having 500 total NPC level on Temple Trekking to teleport to Burgh de Rott using a games necklace.
- Started The Branches of Darkmeyer up to the point where Vanescula identifies drakan's medallion. This item offers a teleport to the entrance of Barrows. It can also provide a teleport to Burgh de Rott.
- Completion of Ritual of the Mahjarrat will add a new seventh Barrows brother, whose grave is connected directly to Verac's tomb. Only those who have completed the quest can hope to find Akrisae's set when looting the Barrows' chest.
Other helpful items and tips
- 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.
- An Ardougne cloak is useful for its teleport to the Kandarin Monastery, which has altars for recharging prayer, and is moderately close to a fairy ring by the Tower of Life and to the bank in East Ardougne. The cloak also has a prayer bonus, which also helps conserve prayer points,
- 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 build the portal room, or use of someone else's portal room on a house party world. If using this method then building an altar in a room close to the portal room is recommended.
- Do not bring Summoning familiars as they cannot be used in the Barrows. Pets may be brought, however.
- World 31 is the unofficial Barrows world, as it is the house party world which allows players to use each other's houses to restore prayer and teleport to Canifis. World 31 is also widely used because of Barrows clans; a clan will bless your grave if you die and or sometimes give away supplies.
- A Falador shield is useful for its prayer bonus and its ability to restore prayer points.
- The Ring of wealth has a particularly noticeable effect on rewards from the barrows chest and is recommended.
- 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 and Salve amulet (e) will not work on the barrows brothers.
- Completion of the Hard tasks in the Morytania task set allows for your prayer drain to be halved in the barrows, and double the loot for runes from the chest.
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.
Getting there
- From Canifis or Paterdomus without the completion of In Search of the Myreque, 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. This route is long and time consuming to travel. Bring energy potions to replenish your running, and explorer rings are somewhat useful (ring 3 recommended). Ghasts may also rot food you are carrying.
- Using Fairy rings, ring DLS transports players 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.
- Using Fairy rings, ring BKR transports players directly to the Mort Myre Swamp. Follow the direction above through the swamp. This ring, however, does not significantly reduce the amount of distance to be traveled.
- Using Drakan's medallion, available after starting The Branches of Darkmeyer, will teleport players directly to Barrows, but uses one of ten charges when teleporting from anywhere outside of Morytania. This is useful when you've looted the chest and need to leave fast, and also saves run energy and food.
- If the player has done In Search of the Myreque, go south of the Hair of the Dog pub in Canifis 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 enter. At least two charged druid pouches would be recommended as on testing, only two ghasts will attack you from the tree climb to the boat.
- If players have gotten enough points from the Burgh de Rott minigame, they can unlock a path which lets them go all the way to Mort'ton without any ghast interference.
Equipment
- This article has a strategy guide here.
Players must select the equipment they will use based on how they will fight the brothers. Each brother has specific strengths and weaknesses, and players should keep these in mind when preparing to plunder the barrows. Because of the difficulty the brothers present, players should always come to the barrows well equipped, but also only with items they feel can be adequately protected.
Prayer is steadily drained in the crypts and tunnels, so players using protection prayers should bring around 2-5 prayer potions to restore prayer points. 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 Another Slice of H.A.M quest) 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.
It is also advised to bring food, such as Monkfish or better, 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 one's 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, meaning magical attacks are a very effective method for killing them. Ancient magicks (recommended, as the expensive chaos, blood, and death runes necessary are a common reward), salamanders, the magic dart spell, and polypore staffs are all very effective. 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. 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. (The rope ladder in the first room, by which the player enters the tunnels, cannot be used as a safe spot anymore.)
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 in the article's strategy guide.
It should be noted that maximizing magic bonuses is not necessary, as many players find it is quite possible to use spells effectively while wearing near-full melee armour. This does not mean that magic bonuses should be disregarded completely, but that one should consider mixing more defensive armour into their set to increase his/her longevity.
Players may prefer to wear a Ring of wealth as it may add supplies such as sharks and prayer potions to the chest, possibly allowing for longer trips. If one feels that they are at risk of dying, a Ring of life should be used instead.
Void knight armour can be an excellent choice for this minigame. It allows players to save inventory space when using multiple attack styles, as only the helmet must be changed to match the attack style. Be aware that this armour has low defence, and is only recommended for players with 80 defence or higher.
Strategy
- For explanations of the different strategies used to kill the barrows brothers, see Barrows/Strategies.
Multiple Barrows trips
In order to profit from the barrows, players often must complete the minigame multiple times. Several trips are often required to get a piece of Barrows equipment, even when killing all six brothers (seven after Ritual of the Mahjarrat) every time. Doing multiple trips can be very profitable. One important aspect of making multiple trips is to minimise the amount of time it takes to return to the Barrows, or minimise the amount of food/potions used to allow for multiple trips on the same inventory. Using Drakan's Medallion is a great way of getting back to barrows after looting the chest, allowing for continued trips with the same inventory.
Exploring the Barrows
The above-ground 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, stand on top of a mound and dig with a spade. The player should enter a crypt with a sarcophagus in the centre. Open the sarcophagus and pray if using prayer. Every time but once, the brother who is buried there will appear and attack. Kill the brother, leave and proceed to the next one. It is recommended to go in this order: Dharok, Karil, Verac, Guthan, Torag, and finally, Ahrim.
At one of the crypts, the brother will not appear. Instead, there will be an entrance to a maze-like lower level of tunnels. If the player has not killed all the other brothers in their crypts yet, it is not recommended to enter the tunnels at this time. Once all the others have been killed, the player should 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 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 sixth 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 last 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 cause damage. Some players teleport away after looting the chest, while others with adequate supplies retrace their route back to the room with the rope. This is HIGHLY recommended as players can easily rebank at Burgh de Rott or Canifis if needed, and players can restart the Barrows all over again without having to teleport there.
It is not required to kill all the brothers before looting the 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. Killing the monsters in the tunnels (other than the last brother) does not increase the chance of getting Barrows equipment. It does, however, increase the chance of obtaining items such as bolt racks.
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 10n+80
points every 10 seconds, where n
is the "brothers slain" number (visible in the bottom-right corner of the screen). As players progress through the minigame and kill more brothers, the drain rate of prayer increases from 80 points per 10 seconds to 130 points per 10 seconds (when 5 are killed and thus when in the tunnels for most players) to finally 140 points per 10 seconds (or 150 points per 10 seconds after completing Ritual of the Mahjarrat for Akrisae).
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, Dharok could deal very high hits and possibly a 1-hit death. It is advised to kill Dharok first so that prayer does not drain too quickly when fighting him.
Prayer drain will fall back to 80 when you have looted the chest. Players should be cautious about this if they are running back to the mound without teleporting as this will cause a waste of prayer.
If you have completed all the Morytania hard tasks and obtained the Morytania legs 3, the prayer drain rate will be halved, up to 70 points (75 points after the completion of The Ritual of The Mahjarrat quest). Note that you don't have to wear the legs for the halving effect take place.
The brothers
- For strategies for defeating the Barrows brothers, consult the Barrows Strategies page.
The six (seven after Ritual of the Mahjarrat) 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 that can activate at random when the brother attacks. Some of the specials 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 fighting him, as his special effect is to hit for very high damage when his health is low. He can hit in the 600's when he is almost defeated.
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) as Karil hits fast and hard. Karil's special effect lowers the player's agility level, which can disrupt running energy regeneration in the Tunnels, but it should not bother you too much. If using melee against Karil, it is advised to attack Karil before Ahrim, as Ahrim's special attack drains attack, strength and defence from the player.
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), although players with high magic levels and good magic armour should fight him without prayer. Ahrim's special effect drains attack, strength, and defence 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 melee stats 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) as this will decrease the chance of him hitting and lower his max hit on you. 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 Infesteduses 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 sporadically heals him when he damages the player, by as much damage as he dealt. A melee protection prayer negates Guthan's effect, since he will end up hitting 0 constantly. A player who does not pray and cannot kill Guthan quickly may face a very long battle, which can also cost a lot of food and may be dangerous to lower-levelled players.
Torag the Corrupted uses melee and is weak against magic. Many players do not use a melee protection prayer against him. 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.
Akrisae the Doomed uses melee and is relatively weak to all attack styles; however, he uses prayer and switches in response to attack. Praying against him in most cases is not recommended. A very useful strategy is using Korasi's sword as the magic based special forces him to switch prayers.
Be aware that if you start fighting a brother and leave the crypt or tunnels during the fight (such as accidentally clicking the stairs in a crypt), when you return, you will have to fight that brother again from the start. Before leaving make sure the brother you have killed is in their death animation before leaving as overconfidence will cause the problem mentioned above.
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:
Preferred order | Name | Difficulty | Attack style |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Dharok | 3. Hard | Melee |
2 | Karil | 3. Hard | Ranged |
3 | Verac | 3. Hard | Melee |
4 | Guthan | 2. Medium | Melee |
5 | Torag | 2. Medium | Melee |
6 | Ahrim | 1. Easy | Magic |
An easy mnemonic to remember the recommended order is: Diango Killed Varrock Guards Training Attack.
One of the tombs will contain a tunnel, and changes every run. It is recommended to leave this tomb until the end to lessen the number of brothers that players must fight in the tunnels.
Notes:
- Some players prefer to fight Karil before Dharok, as to allow more special attack energy (for e.g. Dragon claws or a Dragon dagger (p++)) to regenerate for the fight against Ahrim.
- Players who pray against some brothers but not others should always first fight the brothers they will pray against. Since prayer drain will occur even when not using prayer, this order preserves the most prayer points for the fights using prayer.
- As long as you keep Protect from Melee up for the entire fight against Dharok, Guthan and Torag and Protect from missiles for Karil, you will not receive any damage. If you Protect from Magic against Ahrim, all damage will be negated, but he will still be able to lower your stats with spells. Verac can hit through prayer, but if no prayer is on, he will ignore your armour, so it is advised to Protect against the attack style of the brother, throughout the entire fight.
- Ahrim should be attacked first, as he has higher defense then any of the brothers due to his robes providing slash defense and that the other brothers can be easily killed within 10-25 casts. Dharok should be next, unless you have a lag-free connection.
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 (589+), potentially killing some players in one hit.
- For most players, it is almost essential to pray against Karil. Using a special attack such as the Dragon dagger's or Dragon claws', along with a Strength/Attack-boosting prayer like Piety, dispatches him quite quickly. Karil usually hits quite hard and very often, so players should take caution.
- 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.
- Safespots can be found in each of the brother's tombs. However, this is not recommended as they will move out of the safespot and attack you.
Entering the tunnels
The underground tunnels are a small series of interconnected rooms separated by doors and hallways. Players must make their way through in order to reach the centre room. The room in the centre of the maze always contains a chest, inside which are the rewards.
Monsters
Aggressive monsters roam the tunnels. Each defeated monster adds 1 to the "kill count". The monsters that appear are:
-
Crypt rats (level 43)
-
Bloodworms (level 52)
-
Crypt spiders (level 56)
-
Giant crypt rats (level 76)
-
Skeletons (level 77)
-
Giant crypt spiders (level 79)
The first room in which the player appears when entering the tunnels is always a corner room and all but one door in it are locked. This room can only be exited (or entered) by the one unlocked route. Of the four doors leading to the central, chest room, only one is unlocked. The corner room in which the player appears is chosen at random, as are the various doors that are locked.
Players must navigate the passageways while fending off the monsters that attack them, and locate the door that gives access to the chest. The remaining brother(s) that they haven't fought in the crypts will appear at some point. As long as all brothers have not been slain, there's a random chance a remaining brother will appear each time a door is opened. (If multiple brothers have not been slain, they could continue to spawn if a player continues to open doors. The chances are slight but possible that one must fight off more than one brother, as any of the brothers spawned have priority to attack the player, essentially making the area a multi-combat zone. This is extremely dangerous if different parts of the combat triangle are being used against the player.) Also, as long as all brothers have not been slain, it is certain that a remaining brother will appear when the chest is opened.
Prayer drains in the tunnels, so to save on prayer potions do not drink them while running the tunnels unless a remaining brother appears and attacks. When this happens, drink one dose and activate a suitable protection prayer before drinking any more (and thereafter drink as needed to maintain prayer, as prayer drains quite quickly). When the fight is over let your prayer run down again.
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. Due to the monster that spawns when you go into the room, some players prefer killing it, while others simply move back and forth to chase it off. This is useful in the Giant crypt rat room, as their large size can block enemies. If you get the puzzle wrong, the catacombs will move around, meaning that the rope will be in a different room, and so will be the door to the chest room.
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 final brother
The Barrows brother that is hiding in the tunnels 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. If you are fighting one of the catacombs' monsters while a Barrows brother spawns, the monsters will stop fighting you and you will be forced to fight him.
Once the final brother is dead and the chest room found, players will be able to search and loot the chest, and leave the tunnels as soon as possible, either through finding your way 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!
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. If a player leaves without having taken their reward, their kill count of both brothers and crypt monsters will be saved, allowing them to come back any time to finish.
“ | If you have killed the seven brothers you stand the best chance of receiving a Barrows item from the chest. | ” |
— RuneScape Website
|
Killing the 7 brothers without any additional killcounts often yield Mind runes, Death Runes, Chaos runes, Coins, and a Barrows item as a reward. However, if a player gets one or more crypt monster kill count, they also have an increased chance to receive Blood runes and Bolt racks, however they can still be looted without killing additional monsters. Wearing a ring of wealth also has an effect on the rewards given, but not on barrows equipment.
An item of Barrows equipment is not a guaranteed reward, even if all seven brothers are slain. Although very rare, it is also possible to receive 2 or even 3 Barrows items from one chest. It is even possible to get 2 items from 1 brother, or 2 of the same piece of equipment, for example, two Dharok's platelegs.
Item Quantity Rarity GE Market Price Mind rune 1 – 1795 Common 4–7,180 Chaos rune 1 – 773 Common 86–66,478 Death rune 1 – 391 Common 185–72,335 Blood rune 1 – 164 Common 195–31,980 Barrows icon 1 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.</ref> Always <ref>Only duringNot sold Coins 1–4162 Common Not sold Dragon helm 1 Very rare 60,107 Loop half of a key 1 Very rare 9,402 Tooth half of a key 1 Very rare 12,758 Super defence (2) 1 ring of wealth.</ref> Uncommon <ref>Items are only available when wearing the51 Strength potion (2) 1 [2] Uncommon473 Prayer potion (2) 1 [2] Uncommon2,137 Restore potion (2) 1 [2] Uncommon27 Shark 4 [2] Uncommon2,100 Bolt rack 1–188 Common 162–30,456 Ahrim's hood 1 Rare 123,675 Ahrim's robe top 1 Rare 1,208,389 Ahrim's robe skirt 1 Rare 1,170,981 Ahrim's staff 1 Rare 71,065 Dharok's helm 1 Rare 1,454,870 Dharok's platebody 1 Rare 746,875 Dharok's platelegs 1 Rare 928,543 Dharok's greataxe 1 Rare 742,020 Torag's helm 1 Rare 193,935 Torag's platebody 1 Rare 846,811 Torag's platelegs 1 Rare 693,238 Exchange:Torag's hammers Torag's hammers 1 Rare Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". Verac's helm 1 Rare 713,141 Verac's brassard 1 Rare 747,957 Verac's plateskirt 1 Rare 651,406 Verac's flail 1 Rare 250,948 Guthan's helm 1 Rare 344,550 Guthan's platebody 1 Rare 643,025 Guthan's chainskirt 1 Rare 365,798 Guthan's warspear 1 Rare 254,438 Karil's coif 1 Rare 74,309 Karil's top 1 Rare 287,892 Karil's skirt 1 Rare 140,849 Karil's crossbow 1 Rare 319,417 Akrisae's hood 1 Ritual of the Mahjarrat quest</ref> Rare <ref>Only after player finishes408,912 Akrisae's robe top 1 [3] Rare807,808 Akrisae's robe skirt 1 [3] Rare405,686 Akrisae's war mace 1 [3] Rare167,402
<references/>
Graphical overhaul
After the release of the new website and interfaces on 22 November 2011, a screenshot was shown on the media page of a graphical update for the Barrows minigame. The January 2012 Behind the Scenes article confirmed that an update was coming to the minigame, which was introduced on the 4 January update.
The graphical update changed the looks of the area, added mist to the crypt, changed the Barrows brothers from purple ghosts to corporal foes, and, for a week following the release, gave a 1 in 10 chance of doubling rewards. This extra reward chance ended on 11 January.
Music
The following music tracks are unlocked here:
- Dance of the Undead - In the mound area
- Dangerous Way - In the crypts and tunnels
Trivia
- As confirmed in Postbag from the Hedge Issue 44, Sliske did indeed control the Barrows brothers, and granted them their ghostly reanimations. However, the sickness that caused their death is still unknown. They are referred (by Azzanadra) as Sliske's "Barrows toys".
- Barrows is another word for a tumulus, which is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave (called a crypt in the minigame) or graves, which is probably where the name of the minigame comes from (tumulus is Latin for mound, small hill).
- There is a glitch where, even if you didn't do Ritual of the Mahjarrat, you will be able to see Akriase's face when you get the prayer drain.
- If you encounter a Barrows brother in the catacombs, if you move too far from where it appeared it will disappear. Fortunately, it will appear somewhere again.
- There is a bug in the tunnels where it is possible to have two or more Barrows brothers spawned. If both brothers are killed, one will count towards "Brothers killed" and the other would count towards "Creatures killed". After the graphical update, this is no longer true. Although killing a brother then running into another room while he is still in his death animation can spawn the same brother but the kill will count torwards creatures killed inside the tunnels.
- Although the Barrows Brothers are undead, the spell Crumble Undead doesn't work against them.
- The Barrows mounds go in order of age in clockwise formation. Ahrim is in the centre, Dharok in the north-east mound, Guthan in the south-east one and so on.
- The Barrows Brothers in their undead form could be based on Barrow-Wights from JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth. The Barrow-Wights lived in hills/burial mounds called Barrow Downs and were sent there to prevent the resurrection of an Old Kingdom. Similarly, the Barrows Brothers live in burial mounds and are guarding the barrows chest to prevent players looting it.
- On one side, it is possible to see part of the Shade tombs. On another side, it is possible to see the Meiyerditch Dungeon.
- After the Completion of The Ritual of the Mahjarrat quest, the 7th brother increases the chances of obtaining barrows items more than just 6 brothers according to a claim on the official runescape website.
- From 00:00 UTC 12 November 2011 to 23:59 UTC 14 November 2011, there was an event where players could gain double loot from several dungeons, including the barrows minigame. This was part of Jagex's bot-busting celebration.
- Before the graphical update, players could talk to the Strange Old Man to buy a spade for four coins (after declining the first offer of 50,000 coins).
- The doors in the crypt have different examines: one is "I wonder what awaits me on the other side" and the other is "I wonder what is awaiting me on the other side."
Team games |
Barbarian Assault • Blast Furnace • Castle Wars • Clan Wars • Fishing Trawler • The Great Orb Project • Pest Control • Shades of Mort'ton • Soul Wars • Stealing Creation • Trouble Brewing • Vinesweeper |
Solo games |
All Fired Up • Archery competition • Barrows • Burthorpe Games Room • Conquest • Flash Powder Factory • Gnome Ball • Gnome Restaurant • Impetuous Impulses • Mage Arena • Mage Training Arena • Mobilising Armies • Pyramid Plunder • Ranging Guild Activities • Rat Pits • Rogue Trader • Runespan • Sorceress's Garden • Tai Bwo Wannai Cleanup • Temple Trekking • TzHaar Fight Cave • Fight Kiln • Dominion Tower |
PvP games |
Castle Wars • Clan Wars • Duel Arena • Fist of Guthix • Soul Wars • Stealing Creation • TzHaar Fight Pit • Crucible |
Former games |