Barrows Equipment

The Basics

Each of the Barrows sets come with a price, buying and keeping. The Barrows Armour is almost the only armour in RuneScape that degrades. More on degrading in the next section.

Barrows Background

The barrows is a place where the forgotten gods and masters of war's dead corpses fight you for disturbing their tombs. They are known as the barrows brother and each are known more commonly as:

• The master of Magic "Ahrim The Blighted"
• The master of Range "Karil the Tainted"
• The master of Strength "Dharok the Wretched"
• The master of Defence "Torag the corrupted"
• The master of Prayer "Verac the defiled"
• The master of Life Points "Guthans the Infested."

They were each killed and rest in an individual tombs and and underground tunnel. Their armors are used by many players throughout the land of RuneScape.

Each of the brothers can be fought to get their armors from a chest hidden deep in the tunnels of the barrows. Many monsters rot down in the tunnels defending the chest.

The Barrows are located southeast of Canifis and just east of Mort'ton. There are 5 mounds you need to dig at, each home to the tomb of a different barrows brother. For every 10 seconds spent in the tomb, 8 prayer points will be drained. An additional 2 prayer points will be drained per second for each brother you kill.

The barrows Activity is the only place to obtain barrows armour without buying it. A very lucky person can obtain two barrows armour pieces in one trip, but you must be very lucky! Other rewards could be:

• Mind Rune - Around 300 (0-1430) per drop.
• Chaos Runes- Around 120 (0-687) per drop.
• Death Runes - Around 75 (0-383) per drop.
• Blood Runes - Around 40 (0-159) per drop.
• Bolt Racks - Around 38 (0-160) per drop.
• Coins - 0-3072 per drop.
• Dragon medium Helmet
• Half keys

Please see the Barrows Activity guide for more information about obtaining these armors.

Degrading

Barrows armor degrades over time. At first, the armor will not have a number next to its name, which means it has not been used and has not degraded at all. Over time, your armor will degrade as you fight with it. First, it will be at "100", and it will degrade to "75", "50", "25", and finally "0", at which time the armor becomes unusable until you have it repaired.

When not used at all and no number is next to the name, or when at 0 the armour is tradeable. Obviously unused armour is worth a little bit more then armour at 0. Also, it takes 15 hours of solid combat, solid meaning non-stop, for the weapon and armour to degrade from 100 to 0. After degraded to 0 there is a repair cost explained in the next section.

Repairing

When using barrows armour let it be said now that there is an extra cost. That cost is repairing.

These people can repair your barrows armour and weapons:

• Bob - the Axe merchant in Lumbridge.
• Tindel - the Tindel merchant at Port Khazard.
• Dunstan - the Smithy in Burthorpe.
• Squire - in the workshop area of the Void Knight's Outpost.

You can also repair the armour in a player owned workshop here are the costs:

The price is 50% off when using a smithing skillcape.

Melee Equipment

The Melee Barrows Armour choices are Verac's, Dharok's, Torag's, and last but not least Guthan's. Each set comes with a different purpose and a different special attack.

Torag the Corrupted

Torag the Corrupted is the second-youngest of the Barrows brothers. The set itself requires 70 Attack, 70 Defence, and 70 Strength to wield, and it offers some of the highest melee Defence bonuses in the game.

Notes

• Torag's special is Corruption, which lowers the enemies energy when successful.
• Torag's set effect does not work all the time.
• Pros: Very good for training and being defensive.
• Cons: Very Bad weapon and special attack.

About the Twin Hammers

Some say these hammers are the weakest weapons in the game, some say they are just for show. They aren't that bad, but they aren't the best weapons either. Torag's hammers have a history of hitting low or not hitting at all. Even when equipped with full torag's these hammers cease to surprise. They can barely hit and if they do they can't really hit high.

Verac the Defiled

Verac the Defiled is the youngest of the six Barrows brothers. He attacks using melee, and has the ability to hit through your Protect From Melee Prayer. Regardless, the prayer will still absorb some damage, so it's best to use the prayer anyways. The set itself requires 70 Defence and 70 Attack to wield.

Notes

• Verac's special is called Defiler. It can hit through protection prayers as if they aren't being used. That is why Verac's is used at the Kalphite Queen a lot.
• Pros: Hits through prayer, great weapon, and good Defence.
• Cons: Expensive (see the Item Database links above for prices). Most players can't afford the helmet.

About Verac's Flail

This is considered to be one of the best barrows weapons, due to the special attack breaking through prayer and hitting like it normally would hit can cause high amounts of damage. The Flail by itself also is still a good weapon, the flail is also great because aside from the strength bonuses and attack bonuses it gives a prayer bonus.

Dharok the Wretched

Dharok the Wretched is the second oldest of the six Barrows brothers, and he attacks with melee. The lower his Life Points get, the harder he will hit you with his special. This set requires 70 Defence to wield, as well as 70 Attack and 70 Strength to wield the Greataxe.

Notes

• The set's special is Wretched Strength, which hits your opponent harder depending on how many Life Points you have remaining and what your strength level is. For example, having your Life Points as 10/990 can cause you to hit your opponent for up to 1,100.
• Pros: Can be very powerful.
• Cons: Slow attacks.

About Dharok's Greataxe

Very slow and very powerful, the dharok's great-axe is likely the strongest barrows weapon, and it can hit up to 1,100 if you have 10 health when you have 990 health in total. However, being slower then a Granite Maul, the Greataxe has its disadvantages. The Greataxe hits once every 2 and a half turns. Within the time the greataxe is waiting to hit you may be killed by your opponent's weapon.

Guthan the Infested

Guthan the Infested is the third oldest of the six Barrow brothers. The set requires 70 Defence to wield, as well as 70 Attack to wield the Warspear.

Notes

• Guthan's special is called Infestation. When you are fighting, it will randomly do a purple swirl, and you will heal the amount of damage you caused your opponent.
• Pros: Restores Life Points by itself.
• Cons: Low Defence.

About Guthan's Warspear

The warspear is a great weapon when used with the whole set, some people find it not so great if not used with the whole set. The warspear is the most expensive part of a barrows set. The special restores your health so some people choose not to use food with this set.

Range Equipment

Karil the Tainted

Karil's set is one of the best range sets in RuneScape, although like all Barrows armour, it degrades over time. The entire set requires 70 Defence and 70 Ranging to wield.

Notes

• Karil's special is called Tainted Shot. If successful it will lower your opponents Agility level.
• Pros: Decent stats, low price.
• Cons: Ineffective special attack.

About Karil's Crossbow

Very good weapon, only used with bolt racks though the downside is the bolt racks cannot be picked up and saved. They disappear after they are shot. The crossbow has a very good record of hitting fast and high, but not a respected special effect, which lowers the opponents agility level temporarily.

Mage Equipment

Ahrim the Blighted

Ahrim's set is the cheapest of all the Barrows armor. It requires 70 Defence and 70 Magic to wear, and an additional 70 Attack to wield the staff. This set offers some of the highest Magic bonuses you can find in the game.

Notes

• Ahrim's special is Blighted Aura, which lowers your enemies strength level if your magic attack is successful.
• Pros: Decent armor, cheap.
• Cons: No defence against ranged attacks.

About Ahrim's Staff

Great weapon, what's great about it is it gives a strength bonus so it can also, be used as a melee weapon. The staff makes each spell more powerful and when wearing the full set it lowers the opponents strength level temporarily, proving useful.

Equipment Enhancements

Armor Enhancers

Amulet of Glory

The Glory Amulet is a great armour enhancer, it has 4 teleports when fully charged to either karamja, edgeville, al-kharid, or draynor village. It is great for barrows armour.

Amulet of Fury

The fury amulet is a great armour enhancer but has a very high price, no teleports but it is the best amulet in RuneScape.

Berserker Ring

Another prized armour enhancer, one of the best rings in RuneScape and one of the only ones to give a strength bonus.

Dragon Boots

Considered as one of the best boots in the game because of it's Defence bonus, and how great it looks with any kind of armour.

Shield Slot Enhancers

The shield equipment slot is important for Barrows armor because of the fact that all Barrows weapons are 2-handed. This means that you can't wear a shield when wielding these weapons. Therefore, you need to substitute the Barrows weapon for one-handed weapon, so that you can equip an item in your shield slot which either protects you, or makes your equipment more powerful.

Possible substitutes for each set are included in the Weapon Substitutions section below.

Here are some suggested shield slot enhancers for each set:

• Torag/Dharok:
  • Bronze-Rune Defender
  • Mithril-Rune Kiteshield
  • Dragon Square Shield
  • Dragonfire Shield - Smithed at level 90 by combining an Anti-Dragon Shield with a Draconic Visage.
  • Toktz-ket-xil (Obsidian Shield)
• Verac/Guthan:
  • Bronze-Rune Defender
  • Holy, Unholy, or Balanced Book with 1-4 pages
  • Any square or kite shield.
• Ahrim/Karil:
  • Bronze-Rune Defender
  • Holy, Unholy, or Balanced Book with 1-4 pages
  • Any square or kite shield.
  • Dragonfire Shield

Potion Enhancers

• Attack Potion: Most Used with torag's. Increases attack by 5-9 depending on your attack level.
• Strength Potion: Most Used with The Barrows Armour Set-Dharok's. It will Increase your strength Level By 5-11 depending on your strength level.
• Defence Potion: Most Used with Torag's. Increases Defence by 5-9 depending on your Defence level.
• Super Attack: Increases attack by 7-12 depending on attack level.
• Super Defence: Increases Defence by 7-12 levels depending on Defence level.
• Super Strength: Increases Strength by 9-15 levels depending on strength level.

Other Information

The Combat Triangle & Barrows Equipment

The Combat Triangle describes which fighting class is strong (or weak) against another fighting class. There are three fighting styles in RuneScape: melee, range, and mage. Melee is strong against range (but weak against mage), range is strong against mage (but weak against melee), and mage is strong against melee (but weak against range). This is illustrated in the below diagram:

Each arrow points from one skill to another; the origin of the arrow is the strong skill, and the arrow itself points to the skill it defeats.

Weapon Substitutions

The main purpose of substituting one weapon for a Barrows weapon is explained in the Shield Slot Enhancers section. In short, using a one-handed weapon in place of a two-handed weapon allows for the use of a shield, which can provide additional armor or other bonuses.

The following list gives some recommended substitutions for each equipment set.

• Torag's Hammers:
  • Abyssal Whip
  • Dragon Dagger (regular, p, p+, or p++)
  • Rune-Dragon Scimitar
  • Dragon Longsword
  • Any 1-handed Bronze or Iron weapon if you're a Defence pure.
• Verac's Flail:
  • Abyssal Whip
  • Dragon Dagger (regular, p, p+, or p++)
  • Rune-Dragon Scimitar
  • Dragon Longsword
  • Dragon Spear
  • Any 1-handed weapon you feel could be used with a prayer set.
• Dharok's Great Axe:
  • Granite Maul
  • Abyssal Whip
  • Dragon Dagger (regular, p, p+, or p++)
  • Dragon Scimitar
  • Dragon Longsword
  • Dragon Spear
  • Any 1-handed Bronze or Iron weapon if you're a Defence pure.
• Guthan's Warspear:
  • Abyssal Whip
  • Dragon Dagger (regular, p, p+, or p++)
  • Dragon Scimitar
  • Dragon Longsword
  • Any 1-handed Bronze or Iron weapon if you're a Defence pure.
• Karil's Crossbow:
  • Adamant-Rune Crossbow, highest possible bolts.
• Ahrim's Staff:
  • Mud Staff
  • Lava Staff
  • Any elemental staff, battlestaff, or mystic staff.

Barrows Weapons vs. Abyssal Whip

The Abyssal whip is believed by many players to be one of the best weapons in RuneScape - comparable to the Godswords. It's difficult to say whether the Abyssal Whip is truly better than the [melee] Barrows weapons, but there are several main advantages the whip has over these weapons:

• Speed: The whip is fast. It may not hit as hard as Dharok's or Verac's, but it makes up for that by getting more hits off your opponent.
• One-Handed: The whip is a one-handed weapon, allowing for the use of a shield or other object to add armor or other stat bonuses.
• No repair costs.

Of course, you won't receive the Barrows set bonus when using the whip.

Armor Mixes

Mixing and matching armor simply takes one piece of Barrows armor from one set, another piece from another set, etc. to create a mixed up set of armor. This can be used to give you better bonuses in certain stats.

Mix #1

Requirements: 70 magic and 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Ahrim's
• Plate: Dharok's
• Legs: Dharok's

Mix #2

Requirements: 70 range, 70 mage, 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Ahrim's
• Plate: Dharok's or Torag's
• Legs: Karil's

Mix #3

Requirements: 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Torag's
• Plate: Dharok's
• Legs: Guthan's

Mix #4

Requirements: 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Verac's
• Plate: Dharok's
• Legs: Torag's

Mix #5

Requirements: 70 magic and 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Guthan's
• Plate: Torag's
• Leg's Ahrim's

Mix #6

Requirements: 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Guthan's
• Plate: Dharok's
• Leg's: Verac's

Mix #7

Requirements: 70 magic and 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Karil's
• Plate: Karil's
• Legs: Torag's

Mix #8

Requirements: 70 Defence, 70 magic and 70 range.

• Helmet: Karil's
• Plate: Ahrim's
• Legs: Torag's

Mix #9

Requirements: 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Dharok's
• Plate: Verac's
• Legs: Verac's

Mix #10

Requirements: 70 magic and 70 Defence.

• Helmet: Torag's
• Plate: Ahrim's
• Legs: Ahrim's

FAQ

Q: What's The best armour for melee?
A: This depends on the skill:

• Defence: Torag's
• Strength: Dharok's
• Hp: Guthan's
• Prayer: Verac's
• Magic: Ahrim's
• Range: Karil's

Q: How long does it take Barrows equipment to fully degrade to 0?
A: From 100 it takes 15 hours of solid non-stop combat for it to degrade all the way to 0.

Q: I have Dharok's - can i use Guthan's weapon?
A: Yes, you can but it doesn't work as well. If you don't like Dharok's because it is slow, it is recommended to use a dragon dagger (regular, p, p+, or p++).