OSRS Barrows Guide: Defeating the Brothers & Looting Chests

OSRS Barrows Guide: Unearthing Ancient Treasures

The Barrows, located in the haunted lands of Morytania east of Mort'ton, is a classic Old School RuneScape PvM activity. It involves exploring the burial mounds of six ancient warriors – the Barrows brothers – defeating their wights, navigating a dangerous tunnel system, and looting a central chest for a chance at their powerful, unique equipment sets.

Getting There & Requirements

• Location: East of Mort'ton, South-eastern Morytania.
• Requirements:
  • Quest: Priest in Peril (to access Morytania). Started His Faithful Servants (miniquest, talk to Strange Old Man at Barrows to start digging).
  • Skills: No strict requirements, but 50+ Combat Stats (Attack, Strength, Defence, Ranged, Magic), 43+ Prayer (Protection Prayers), and 50+ Magic (for Iban Blast or better) are highly recommended for efficiency. Higher Agility helps with run energy.
  • Item: Spade (spawns nearby).
• Travel:
  • Fastest: Barrows Teleport (83 Magic, Arceuus spellbook) or Barrows Teleport Tablet/POH Portal.
  • Good: Mort'ton Teleport Scroll, Morytania Legs 3/4 (Burgh de Rott teleport), Shades of Mort'ton Minigame Teleport.
  • Okay: Fairy Ring (BKR or BIP), Kharyrll Teleport (Canifis) + run/boaty.

The Barrows Mechanics: Crypts & Tunnels

The Barrows activity involves two main stages:

Stage 1: The Crypts

1. Mounds: There are six mounds arranged in a rectangular pattern, plus Ahrim's central mound.
2. Digging: Use a Spade on top of each mound to enter the crypt beneath.
3. Sarcophagus: Inside each crypt is a sarcophagus. Searching it will either:
   • Spawn the corresponding Barrows brother's wight.
   • Reveal a passage to the Barrows Tunnels (only one crypt per run will have this).
4. Defeat Brothers: Fight and defeat the Barrows brother wight that spawns. Use the appropriate Protection Prayer (see below). Once defeated, exit the crypt via the stairs and move to the next mound.

Stage 2: The Tunnels

1. Finding the Entrance: Eventually, searching a sarcophagus will reveal the tunnel entrance instead of spawning a brother. Remember which brother's crypt this was – that brother might be waiting for you in the tunnels or at the chest.
2. Navigation: The tunnels form a square layout with a central chest room. Doors connect the rooms. Opening doors has a chance to spawn monsters (Skeletons, Bloodworms, Crypt Rats) or one of the Barrows brothers you haven't killed yet in their crypt. Find the correct path through the doors to reach the center.
3. Puzzle Door: The door to the central chest room is locked with a simple pattern-matching puzzle. Solve it to enter. Getting it wrong shuffles the tunnel layout!
4. The Chest: Open the chest in the central room.
   • If you haven't killed all six brothers yet, the brother whose crypt led to the tunnels might spawn now (if he didn't spawn from a door).
   • You don't have to kill this final brother to loot the chest, but killing more brothers increases your chance of getting a Barrows item.
5. Looting: Click the chest again to receive your reward.
6. Escape: The tunnels start to collapse (minor passive damage). The tunnel layout shuffles again. Find a ladder (its location changes) to exit back to the surface. Opening doors while escaping can still spawn remaining brothers (killing them now doesn't count for rewards).

The Barrows Brothers: Weaknesses & Prayers

Knowing which protection prayer and attack style to use against each brother is crucial:

General Combat Tips:

• Magic: Very effective against the 4 melee brothers (Dharok, Guthan, Torag, Verac). Iban's Staff (U) (requires Underground Pass) is excellent budget gear. Trident of the Seas/Swamp is best.
• Ranged: Best against Ahrim. Magic Shortbow (i) or Rune Crossbow are good F2P-obtainable options. Toxic Blowpipe is fastest.
• Melee: Best against Karil. Abyssal Whip, Dragon Scimitar, or stronger works well.
• Prayer Drain: While underground, your Prayer drains significantly every ~18 seconds (faster per brother killed). Kill brothers quickly and minimize time spent underground. Ghommal's Hilt 2+ negates this drain.

Rewards: The Barrows Chest

Looting the chest after killing brothers gives you a chance at their unique equipment and other valuable items.

• Barrows Equipment: The primary reward. Each brother has a set (Helm, Body, Legs, Weapon). Full sets provide special effects (Dharok's damage boost, Guthan's healing, Verac's prayer ignore, Karil's agility drain/hit chance, Torag's energy drain, Ahrim's strength drain). Chance increases with each brother killed.
• Runes: Mind, Chaos, Death, Blood runes. Quantity and type improve with higher "Reward Potential." Morytania Hard Diary increases runes by 50%.
• Other: Bolt Racks (Karil's ammo), Key Halves, Dragon Med Helm (rare, requires high Reward Potential).

Reward Potential: Killing monsters in the tunnels increases potential for better rune/money rewards but also adds Bolt Racks/Key Halves/D Meds to the table, slightly lowering the chance of a Barrows item per roll. Killing just the 6 brothers maximizes Barrows item chance per roll, while killing 2 Skeletons and 1 Bloodworm (or similar combo reaching 86.8% potential) maximizes runes without adding junk drops. See our Efficient Barrows Guide for details.

Conclusion

Barrows is a classic, accessible bossing activity perfect for mid-level players transitioning into PvM. It teaches prayer management, gear switching (optional), and basic boss mechanics. While the prayer drain can be taxing, efficient runs can be quite profitable due to the high value of Barrows equipment pieces. Master the crypts, brave the tunnels, and claim your ancient rewards!

Looking for faster runs or struggling with the brothers? Our OSRS PVM Services can help you farm Barrows efficiently.