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Skill Levels Required:
None.
Quests Required:
Having completed the Priest in Peril quest, and having started The Nature Spirit quest is a must to play this activity. Also, it is recommended to have finished the In Search of the Myreque along with the In Aid of the Myreque quests, for access to a faster method of getting to the Barrows area, and nearby banking in Burgh de Rott. In addition to all that, having completed The Temple at Senntisten quest will prove helpful since you'll have repeated chances of saving prayer points during this activity.
Items Needed:
None.
Skill Levels Recommended:
High combat levels (70+) are highly recommended, since you will be fighting strong NPCs. A prayer level of 43 or higher is also pretty much required, since some brothers can hit you very high when you're not using the adequate protection prayer.
Items Recommended:
Good combat equipment, potions, food, and one-click teleport is recommended.
Starting Point:
The Barrows is a fairly large area located in southeastern part of Morytania, just east of the city of Mort'ton. For those who do not know where Mort'ton is, it is a city south of Canifis, past the Mort Myre swamp.
Is this MiniGame Safe to play?:
No
Getting Started:

Table of Contents

The barrows area

There are multiple ways to get to the Barrows, as you'll be able to view on the following map where all these methods are displayed:

Barrows map

After you've done In Search of the Myreque, you will be able to access the route marked in red. Simply go down the trapdoor after using the Kharyll teleport (Ancient spellbook or POH portal), or using the DLS fairy ring code to access the dungeon there. If you used the fairy ring, go through the cave entrance to the south of it, then simply go through the cave entrance. Then you will find yourself in a larger dungeon, which will be the same one as the dungeon you will find yourself in after entering the trapdoor. Now you just need to head south and go through the wooden doors, and proceed to follow the red route.

Wooden doors

Drakan's medallion:

Drakan's medallion.

After completing The Branches of Darkmeyer, you can use Drakan's medallion to teleport directly to the entrance of the Barrows.

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Suggested equipment sets

Melee - General:

Melee'ing the brothers is usually done by people who are familiar with the Barrows. Melee is one of the most customizable ways of doing Barrows. You can either go for speed, thus maxing out your attack bonuses, or you can go for a balanced set up, with balanced Prayer and offensive stats. To successfully use melee at Barrows, it's recommended to have at least 80+ Attack, Strength, and Defence.

Your equipment could look like this:

Melee set up

This is the way you can substitute each equipment slot:

Recommended inventory for this set up:

Melee set up inventory

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Melee - Verac:

Using Verac to defeat the Barrows brothers has one great advantage: you won't need any other armor or weapons, because the Verac's set is capable of hitting through all the armors of the hostile brothers, so you won't need any other armor.

Here's an example of how your equipment could look like:

Verac's set up equipment

This is the way you can substitute each equipment slot:

Recommended inventory for this set up:

Verac's set up inventory

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Melee - Tank:

Using the melee tank set up, combined with the Slayer Dart method, you will be able to get the 6 brothers down very fast.

This is the way you can substitute each equipment slot:

An ideal inventory for this method could look like the following one:

Tank setup inventory.

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Magic - Economical set up:

For this method, you will need at least 50 Magic and 55 Slayer, and that's because you'll be using the Slayer dart spell. One advantage of using this method is that you can wear melee armor while casting the spell (but always bring dragon hide or karil for ahrim) and still hit reasonably high. Another advantage of using this set up is when you loot the chest at the end of your trip to this land of restless souls, you might get back some of the runes you used!

Here's an image of how your gear set up could look like:

Slayer dart equipment

And here you'll find a list of the recommended items to wear for each slot:

An ideal inventory for this method would look like the following one:

Slayer dart set up inventory

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Magic - Expensive set up:

Unlike the previous method, this one is only recommended for those who are experienced enough regarding this activity. For this method, you'll be using the Ice spells (and occasionally Blood spells to heal) from the ancient magicks spellbook. However, it is only recommended to cast Burst, Biltz, and Barrage spells on the brothers (at least 70 magic), since the rush spells won't hold the brothers long enough as to be profitable and you might find yourself simply wasting your money and time. Note that to make use of this method, you must have completed the Desert Treasure quest.

According to the needs, your gear setup could look like this:

Staff of Light equipment

And this is the way you can substitute each equipment slot so it adjusts to your budget:

And your inventory might look like this:

Ancient magicks inventory

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Miscellaneous - Salamander method:

Using a black salamander as a weapon is undoubtedly one of the most effective (and cheapest!) ways to take part in this activity, since the salamander combines the combat triangle; all-in-one! However, for this method a high magic and ranged level (75-80+) is pretty much required for it to be effective. Also, please note that it is unadvised to use any salamander weaker than the red one, otherwise you might find yourself wasting your time and money.

For this method, your gear set up could look like the following one:

Salamander set up equipment

And here is a full list of suggested items to equip for each slot:

1: If you decide to use melee equipment, it is recommended to armor with high defence bonuses along with you to fight Ahrim, unless you prefer to pray against him, however you will be still more vulnerable to the curse spells he will cast on you.

Recommended inventory for this set up:

Salamander set up inventory

  • 2-5 Prayer potions (4)
  • 7-10 Pieces of food
  • Dragon hide armor (in case you brought melee armor)
  • Enchanced Excalibur for increased healing(Can be replaced by a Dragon dagger p++))
  • After the quest 'Ritual of the Mahjarrat', players gain access to Akrisae who prays against attack style. Bringing an additional attack style is vital to success and the combination melee-ranged is advised.
  • Teleport method (optional)
  • Melee weapon (if you're raising your killcount, this way you'll save your tar)

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The basics:

The Barrows Activity is inhabited by the spirits of six brothers who died long ago in battle. The warriors' souls, however, have been tainted, but that is no concern of yours; you most likely just want their armor and weapons. The six brothers include one mage, Ahrim, one archer, Karil, and four warriors: Verac (the flail user), Guthan (the spear user), Dharok (the great axe user), and Torag (the dual-hammer user). Ahrim and Karil are both able to max hit around 200, and the warriors can normally hit in the 200's, but Dharok is the biggest threat of the six brothers. Dharok has a special effect; he hits higher the lower his hit points get, and he can hit up in the 600s when very low on hit points.

Each of the brothers has their own special effect if they are able to hit you. Verac's special effect is that he can hit through any kind of armor, INCLUDING PRAYER, so he can hit very often. However, prayer can still be effective against Verac as not all hits will pierce armor and prayer. Torag drains your energy by 20% randomly. Karil lowers your agility by 20%. Ahrim lowers your strength very often and can also use spells to lower your attack and defense. Guthan heals the amount of damage inflicted on you when his special effect is activated (this can even heal him if you are praying, mind you). All of the NPCs except for Dharok can hit their special effects through your prayer.

One of the most important things you should know before going to the Barrows is that everyone has their own strategy, and there is no perfect way to go about getting items; it's totally and completely random, with an average chance of about 10% for an item at all. However, you will always receive coins and some missile runes from the chest, so it isn't a complete waste if you don't get barrows equipment. Before I lead you into the strategies, you might want to know what exactly that you are doing. When entering the barrows graveyard, there are a total of six mounds, one for each of the brothers. To enter one of their tombs, simply click on the spade supplied on every hill. This will take you into a small room that contains a crypt and a staircase. The staircase will take you back to the surface, and clicking on the crypt will do one of two things. The first thing it might do is awaken the spirit living in the crypt, one of the six brothers. This map gives information on which of the crypts belongs to which brother:

Barrows brothers locations map

The second, is that you might find a tunnel entrance, this will be only the case for one of the six crypts though, so if you find this entrance prematurely, you might want to go back and kill the rest of the brothers first.

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Playing the game:

1. Warm up:

You might be wondering in what order you should attack the brothers. In order to use your prayer points wisely, we recommend to always start with Dharok first. As you might have noticed by now, he is the deadliest of all the Barrows brothers. Then move on and slay Karil, Verac, and Ahrim in the order you find the most convenient. Then finish by slaying Guthan and Torag. If you happen to find the tunnel entrance before having slayed the other five brothers, do exactly as it was previously stated above, just ignore it for the moment and finish the rest of the brothers, the crypt won't go anywhere.

Now, while playing this mini-game, there are two things you should always be aware of, as they are crucial for your success. These are your life points and your prayer points. Otherwise, you have a great chance of dying if you have a low defence level, or if you are simply fighting Dharok. While you are inside the brothers' crypts, or the tunnels below, you will or might get your prayer points drained. Ghostly faces of the brothers will appear in your screen, announcing this event, like in the picture below:

Barrows brother's spectral head.

This is why having The Temple at Senntisten quest complete is a great advantage in this mini-game, since after having done this quest, there will be a chance your prayer points don't drain when the ghostly image appears. So, remember, keep an eye on your life point and prayer point counters all times!

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1. Warm up:

No matter what combat style(s) you've chosen, you can still use the same order to kill the brothers, but how to kill them might differ slightly between them. Therefore, for your commodity, this section will be classified by brothers.

Dharok the Wretched - Level 196:

Dharok.

Dharok is the easiest brother to slay as long as you activate your Protect from Melee prayer or Deflect Melee curse and keep it on at ALL TIMES, until he is dead. Using Ranged against this brother can prove to be uneffective, and as a result, a waste of your prayer points. A magic-based attack method is most effective against this brother.

Brother's special attack: The lower hitpoints he has, the higher he can hit; to the point of dealing high damage (600s+). However, his special attack can't ignore your prayer/curse protection.

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Verac the Defiled - Level 146:

Verac.

Protect from Melee prayer is advised for this brother, although if you are using melee armor and have a high defence level (90+) you should be able to kill him without protection prayers, at the cost of bringing multiple pieces of food. Using ranged against this brother can prove to be uneffective, and as a result, a waste of your prayer points. A magic-based attack method is the most effective against this brother.
If you are using ancient ice spells against him you can freeze him, run away from him, then keep attacking him to only activate your protection prayer when he unfreezes until he's freezed again, and repeat.

Brother's special attack: When activated, you'll get hit regardless of your armor defence bonus and/or protection prayers.

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Ahrim the Blighted - Level 130:

Ahrim.

Protect from Magic prayer is advised for this brother; although, if you brought dragonhide armor with you and have a rather high magic level, you should be able to kill him without protection prayers, the cost bringing multiple pieces of food instead. Ranged attacks are the most effective against this brother, but he shouldn't be a problem if you are using melee.

Brother's special attack: None, but will often cast curse spells on you to lower your attack, strength, and defence levels. Please note that the curse spells can still affect you with the magic protection prayer/curse on.

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Torag the Corrupted - Level 146:

Torag.

Protect from Melee prayer is advised for this brother; although if you are using melee armor and have a high defence level (90+), you should be able to kill him without protection prayers, at the cost of bringing multiple pieces of food. Using ranged against this brother can prove to be uneffective, and as a result, a waste of your prayer points. A magic-based attack method is the most effective against this brother.
If you are using ancient ice spells against him you can freeze him, run away from him, then keep attacking him to only activate your protection prayer when he unfreezes until he's freezed again, and repeat.

Brother's special attack: When activated, his special attack will reduce your run energy by 20%. Note that his special attack can ignore your protection prayer/curse.

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Karil the Tainted - Level 121:

Karil.

Protect from Ranged prayer is advised for this brother; although, if you are using melee armor and have a high defence level (90+), you should be able to kill him without protection prayers, at the cost of bringing multiple pieces of food. Please keep in mind that Karil's attack are very accurate. Using Ranged against this brother can prove to be uneffective, and as a result, a waste of your prayer points.
Following our list of suggested outfits, a black salamander with the magic style, Slayer dart, or a melee are the most effective weapons against this brother.

Brother's special attack: When activated, his special attack will reduce your agility level by 20%. Note that his special attack can ignore protection prayers.

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Guthan the Infested - Level 147:

Guthan.

Protect from melee prayer is advised for this brother; although, if you are using melee armor and have a high defence level (90+) you should be able to kill him without protection prayers, at the cost of bringing multiple pieces of food. Using Ranged against this brother can prove to be uneffective, and as a result, a waste of your prayer points. A magic-based attack method is the most effective against this brother.
If you are using ancient ice spells against him you can freeze him, run away from him, then keep attacking him to only activate your protection prayer when he unfreezes until he's freezed again, and repeat.

Brother's special attack: When activated, the special attack will restore of Guthan's life points. Note that if you have melee protection prayer or curse on, his special attack will ignore it as well and heal him, but you won't get damage.

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Akrisae the Doomed - Level 115:

Akrisae

It is advised to use protect from melee, as this brother is capable of hitting up to 340 lifepoints.

Akrisae has the ability to use protection prayers and will switch these throughout the fight, according to your attack method. Therefore, it is necessary to use at least two combat styles when fighting him, preferably melee and ranged as he is weak to these.

Brother's special attack: None, but he does have the ability to restore his prayer if he runs out during the fight.

Note: Akrisae can only be accessed after completion of Ritual of the Mahjaarat and his tomb is linked to Verac's.

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3. The tunnels:

After you've slain as many barrows brothers as possible, in the sense of those that can be fought by just searching their coffin (you only need at least to kill one brother to claim a reward; however, killing all of them will increase your chances of reaping better rewards. Since each brother killed will unlock the chance of getting a piece of the respective barrow set), head to the coffin that offers you to enter the tunnels.
Once you're in, your objective in these tunnels is to find the puzzle door available for you to unlock to gain access to the room where you'll find the chest in the which the barrows brothers keep their treasure; ready for you to loot it. But beware! You might find yourself with one or a few surprises.

Starting with the monsters! You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you? Inside the tunnels, you'll find five kinds of monsters that will be permanently agressive to you, and as in the brother's crypts, spectral faces will appear in your game screen to make you aware that your prayer points are being drained. So be sure you are prepared before you enter. If you are low on supplies, do not worry. Feel free to go to a bank to restock, the game won't reset until you've looted the chest.
Note that your mini-map will be unavailable while inside the tunnels, however you can still be able to try to figure out your way through it using your in-game compass and the following map:

Barrows tunnel map.
(Map made by Teashek, and edited by Sir karamu, original map by Coolgeekz)

Since your prayer will find itself drained inside the tunnels and you're likely to be inside for a few minutes, do not bother using up prayer restore potion before entering the tunnels, instead, enter the tunnels and wait you find the brother(s), according to how many you've slayed, to restore your prayer.
As mentioned on the map, these might appear when opening a door then you can decide to either fight it, or run away. You can also get attacked by a ghost when attempting to loot the brother's chest in the event where they are not all dead yet, however, you can still loot the chest after the ghost has appeared, there is no need to fight it to be able to claim your reward.
But to be able to claim your loot, you have to reach the chest room first. As you can see in the map, there are four entrances to the chest room, one for each main cardinal point. Only one of those four doors can be opened, the rest will remain unclickable, the openable door will be also placed at random.
When you find the said door, you'll need to unlock it by answering correctly to an image puzzle that will be displayed in your screen, in the event where you select the wrong answer, the dungeon will reset itself, and the puzzle door will be relocated. Also, if you happen to be interrupted by a monster while you're solving the puzzle, when you click the door again, the puzzle that will appear will be random.
Nothing to freak out about though, since you will find below the solutions for the four puzzles that might display in your game screen:

Puzzle 1 solution.

Puzzle 2 solution.

Puzzle 3 solution.

Puzzle 4 solution.

Once the chest has been looted, there is only one thing left to do: ESCAPE! Quickly teleport out or find your way out through the tunnel, but note that from the moment you loot the chest the tunnel will start collapsing and you'll be dealt a small amount of damage from the falling rocks each few seconds, until you manage to get out.

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FAQ

  1. If I logout or leave the Barrows area, will I lose my progress? No, you won't! Your progress will be saved until your loot the brother's treasure chest and exit the tunnel.
  2. The higher killcount I get, then the more chances I'll have to get a Barrows equipment item? Disappointing perhaps, but no, the killcount will simply raise the amount of stackable items you get from the treasure chest.
  3. If I happen to die, will I keep my items? No, in the event of your death, a grave will be placed in the spot and you will have to get back there to pickup your items.
  4. Is it possible to get double Barrows equipment items from looting the chest? Yes, it is. However the chances of this event to happen are almost inexistent.
  5. Is there a rate to acquire barrows equipment? No, the rewards are random. For example, it might require one trip, or it might require 30 trips to get a piece.

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Rewards:

Now you must be wondering which rewards are so good to make your trips worth it, so here we present you, the rewards! Starting by the Barrows armor equipment, note that getting Barrows equipment as reward is rare, so if you didn't get one don't feel disapointed, and keep trying.

  1. Ahrim the Blighted's Set (Magic)
  2. Dharok the Wretched's Set (Melee)
  3. Guthan the Infested's Set (Melee)
  4. Torag the Corrupted's Set (Melee)
  5. Verac the Defiled's Set (Melee)
  6. Karil the Tainted's Set (Ranged)
  7. Akrisae the Doomed's set* (Magic)

*Can only be obtained after completing Ritual of the Mahjarrat.

Other items you might get include: (Note: Wearing a Ring of Wealth may increase the chances of obtaining these.)

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Barrows equipment bonuses:

Ahrim the Blighted's Set
Name Image Armor bonuses Weapon bonuses
Armor bonus Life bonus Accuracy Damage
Ahrim's hood Ahrim's hood 373 840 N/A N/A
Ahrim's robetop Ahrim's robetop 429 168 N/A N/A
Ahrim's robeskirt Ahrim's robeskirt 411 126 N/A N/A
Ahrim's staff Ahrim's staff 0 0 1868 0
Ahrim's wand Ahrim's wand 0 0 1868 0
Ahrim's book of magic Ahrim's book of magic 0 0 1868 0
Complete Set 1213 3780 1868 0
Set Effect
"Blighted Aura" - When you attack with any spell, you will have a chance to reduce the opponent's strength.
Dharok the Wretched's Set
Name Image Armor bonuses Weapon bonuses
Armor bonus Life bonus Accuracy Damage
Dharok's helm Dharok's helm 373 840 N/A N/A
Dharok's platebody Dharok's platebody 429 168 N/A N/A
Dharok's platelegs Dharok's platelegs 411 126 N/A N/A
Dharok's greataxe Dharok's greataxe 0 0 1868 1599
Complete Set 1213 3780 1868 1599
Set Effect
"Wretched Strength" - As your HP lowers, your strength increases. This stops when at 10% of your HP,
which gives double strength.
Guthan the Infested's Set
Name Image Armor bonuses Weapon bonuses
Armor bonus Life bonus Accuracy Damage
Guthan's helm Guthan's helm 373 840 N/A N/A
Guthan's platebody Guthan's platebody 429 168 N/A N/A
Guthan's chainskirt Guthan's chainskirt 411 126 N/A N/A
Guthan's warspear Guthan's warspear 0 0 1868 1599
Complete Set 1213 3780 1868 1599
Set Effect
"Infestation" - You have a chance to get healed by the amount of damage you inflicted to your opponent.
Torag the Corrupted's set
Name Image Armor bonuses Weapon bonuses
Armor bonus Life bonus Accuracy Damage
Torag's helm Torag's helm 373 840 N/A N/A
Torag's platebody Torag's platebody 429 168 N/A N/A
Torag's platelegs Torag's platelegs 411 126 N/A N/A
Torag's hammers Torag's hammers 0 0 1868 1599
Complete Set 1213 3780 1868 1599
Set Effect
"Corruption" - Your target's run energy may be drained at 20% a drain. But it will not add it to your energy.
Verac the Defiled's set
Name Image Armor bonuses Weapon bonuses
Armor bonus Life bonus Accuracy Damage
Verac's helm Verac's helm 373 840 N/A N/A
Verac's brassard Verac's brassard 429 168 N/A N/A
Verac's plateskirt Verac's plateskirt 411 126 N/A N/A
Verac's flail Torag's hammers 0 0 1868 1599
Complete Set 1213 3780 1868 1599
Set Effect
"Defiler" - Your attack may hit through your opponents armor and prayer. It is also slightly more accurate.
Karil the Tainted's set
Name Image Armor bonuses Weapon bonuses
Armor bonus Life bonus Accuracy Damage
Karil's coif Karil's coif 373 840 N/A N/A
Karil's top Karil's top 429 168 N/A N/A
Karil's skirt Karil's skirt 411 126 N/A N/A
Karil's crossbow Karil's crossbow 0 0 1868 892
Complete Set 1213 3780 1868 892
Set Effect
"Tainted shot" - There is a chance that you opponent's's agility will be lowered by 20%.

Akrisae the Doomed's
Name Image Armor bonuses Weapon bonuses
Armor bonus Life bonus Accuracy Damage
Akrisae's hood Akrisae's hood 373 840 N/A N/A
Akrisae's robe top Akrisae's robe top 429 168 N/A N/A
Akrisae's robe skirt Akrisae's robe skirt 411 126 N/A N/A
Akrisae's war mace Akrisae's war mace 0 0 1868 726
Complete Set 1213 3780 1868 1599
Set Effect
"Doom" - When full Akrisae's armor is worn, there is a chance that you will drain a percentage of your opponent's prayer points based on the damage you've dealt and restore a percentage of your own prayer points.

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Repairing Barrows Armor:

Barrows armor will degrade over time through its use. Only in top condition or when completely broken can it be traded to others. In general you will get around 15 hours of combat use out of a piece in top condition before it needs to be repaired. There are 6 different levels that the armor can be at.

  • Karil's top 100 - when this is displayed, the armor is still in top condition, but is not tradable. This happens as soon as you engage in combat.
  • Karil's top 75 - the armor has degraded a bit.
  • Karil's top 50 - the armor has degraded some more.
  • Karil's top 25 - the armor is almost broken.
  • Karil's top 0 - the armor is broken, and needs to be repaired. It is also tradeable in this condition. Note:If you drop the armor unnoted it will automatically deteriorate to 0



You can get the armor repaired in four different places at a cost.

Costs for a full repair from 0:

  • Weapons: 300k
  • Bodies: 270k
  • Legs: 240k
  • Helmets: 180k

The armor can also be repaired using an armor stand in a POH. The cost for repairing it in this way is based on your Smithing level (99 smithing almost cuts the costs in half). You can also request assistance from someone who has a higher smithing level to be charged the same price that the person assisting you would pay for repairing it.

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This Minigame Guide was written by Sir Karamu, Tenseiken, coolgeekz, spydenie, evildemon86, Aerisje, manticore, uber, alex201285, G3m N M, Jasper, and Ralkal.. Thanks to 3048047, Kernite, DRAVAN, zhaksta, Baron Diaz, Fireball0236, Shinraz, TheRulnig, mullen781, Teashek, jibax, Xaero0010, Imperial G96, Ju_Jitse, Im4eversmart, ms wolf22, betatmw000, LogGamer, Koliatx, 12erwer, magikchicken, Zevenberge, Weirdonline_The_Ultimate, Alfawarlord, Steve-0, Jakeup07, Speedy0806, Pking_Pwn1, Jasper, Ralkal, Javezz and Crablogger. for corrections.
This Minigame Guide was entered into the database on Thu, May 12, 2005, at 06:30:38 PM by dravan, and it was last updated on Tue, Mar 12, 2013, at 02:47:59 PM by Javezz.

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