The Curse of Arrav

For the Dimension of Disaster subquest, see Curse of Arrav.

For the achievement, see The Curse of Arrav (achievement).

This article has a quick guide found here. Quick guides provide a brief summary of the steps needed for completion.

The Curse of Arrav (#155)
Release date	21 July 2009 (Update)
Members	Yes
Voice Over	No
Official difficulty	Master
Quest series	Mahjarrat Arrav
Age	Fifth Age
Advanced data
ID	none
Infobox • Talk page

The Curse of Arrav is the third quest in the Mysteries of the Mahjarrat quest series, where the player must obtain the heart of Arrav from Zemouregal for the player's mysterious friend, Ali the Wise, in hopes of learning more about the magic enslaving Arrav.

Official description

The icy waste to the north of the troll country is as mysterious as any land in RuneScape, no less because of the interest the Mahjarrat take in it. Ali the Wise thinks that he might have found a way for you to discover more about this strange area to the north. Uncover more of the mysteries of the Mahjarrat and learn about the dark magic that was used to enslave Arrav for these last few millennia.

Overview

Start point	Talk to Ali the Wise in Nardah.
Member requirement	Members only
Official difficulty	Master
Official length	Medium to Long
Requirements	Skill requirements are not boostable unless marked with a [B] for boostable. Quests: The Curse of Arrav Defender of Varrock Demon Slayer Family Crest Garden of Tranquillity Creature of Fenkenstrain Priest in Peril The Restless Ghost The Knight's Sword Shield of Arrav Temple of Ikov What Lies Below Missing My Mummy The Golem Icthlarin's Little Helper Diamond in the Rough Stolen Hearts Gertrude's Cat Diamond in the Rough Stolen Hearts Shades of Mort'ton The Tale of the Muspah Troll Romance Troll Stronghold Death Plateau Senliten fully restored 37 Slayer 41 Summoning 61 Agility 64 Ranged 64 Strength 64 Mining 66 Thieving Ironmen: (to make mithril grapple unless obtained as a drop) 59 Fletching (to make a ring of life unless obtained as a drop or as reward from the novice quest The Lost Tribe) 57 Magic 43 Crafting
Items required	Items from the tool belt are not listed unless they do not work or are not automatically added. 3 Dwellberries (do not carry while obtaining sacred oil if running through swamp) Sacred oil (any number of doses will work) Ring of life Crossbow and Mithril grapple (with rope) or Enhanced grappling hook on toolbelt Insulated boots Familiar with remote view ability such as a Macaw (level 41) or a Ravenous locust (level 70) Combat Equipment to survive against a level 180 monster
Recommended	Dramen or Lunar staff if not done A Fairy Tale III - Battle at Ork's Rift; or a Pollnivneach teleport scroll; or a Desert amulet Trollheim Teleport or Climbing boots for mountain pathways Ring of slaying Desert survival gear Salve Amulet (e) - bonus enhancement while fighting Arrav Varrock teleport runes or a Varrock Teleport for quicker access to Captain Rovin Ring of Charos (a) - Reduced costs for Magic Carpet Desert amulet 2 or higher to teleport directly to Nardah
Enemies to defeat	Arrav (level 180)

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Getting to the tunnels

Path to Lamistard's Tunnels from Burthorpe

Items needed: Trollheim teleport (or climbing boots if you cannot use Trollheim teleport), a weapon for a very weak level 180 monster (approximately equal to difficulty of a hill giant), and 7 empty inventory spaces

To start the quest, talk to Ali the Wise in his house in Nardah (the northern-most house), just north of the Temple of Elidinis. Note that until all pre-requisites for the quest are completed, he will not appear here. To get to Nardah, teleport with the desert amulet 2 or above or fairy ring code dlq, and then run south. See here for more travel methods.

After talking with Ali the Wise, the player learns of a tunnel on Trollweiss Mountain. Be sure to ask him, "Where is the tunnel entrance?" before continuing or the cave will be inaccessible. Using the Trollheim teleport or another mode of transportation, go to Trollheim. Walk off the mountain and head slightly east down the narrow path to climb the rocks, then head north-west along the path until a sub-path breaks off to the north. (This is the path used to get to the ice gate in Desert Treasure but keep going north to reach Lamistard's Tunnels. Do not take the path with the boulder, as that leads to the God Wars Dungeon instead.) Go in through the cave entrance and walk through the ice caves. These caves are populated with level 84+ ice trolls, and caution is recommended for lower level players. At the end of the tunnel, head through the crevasse and continue east to the next cave entrance.

The tunnels

Mined pieces of rubble

Walk through the tunnel, clearing the rubble. Some pieces must be mined from more than one side to clear them. There are one-, two- and three-rock piles. Some three-rocks may be mined perfectly; some might cause a cave-in to the east. The new cave-in cannot be mined.

Progress is saved, but if the player leaves the cave, the rocks will be reset.

Walk to the room in the east of the cave. Pick up the four tablets on the ground along the way: stone tablet, granite tablet, slate tablet, and shale tablet. It is recommended to bank the tablets at the next convenient point so that they can be given to Ali the Wise after the quest.

Arrav under mind control

Once in the basement, search the bookcases to get notes (a-j) about the Mahjarrat and go up the stairs. Be sure to have two open inventory slots before going up the stairs and fighting Arrav. Speak to Arrav, but he cannot control his body, so he starts to attack. He has a combat level of 180 and attacks with Melee, so Protect from Melee is suggested. He will talk between every few attacks.

The 'flame tapestry' in the top left corner must be searched

When Arrav has about 50% of his health remaining, he will temporarily regain some control over his body, and he will give instructions to search the flame tapestry in the southern room. Zemouregal will then call him, and he will be teleported away. Head to the room directly south and search the tapestry on the western wall with the candles next to it to receive a Base key and the Base plans.

Plans to Zemouregal's base

Return to Ali the Wise in Nardah. Show him the base plans, and a cutscene will start of Ali explaining all the traps in the base and a walkthrough of where to go.

• 

  Human detection spells

• 

  Sewage system under the base

• 

  Surges of energy sent through the waters

• 

  Gas fills the area when alarm is sounded

• 

  Five-inch thick runite-enforced steel door

• 

  Fire ray enchantments

• 

  Arrav's heart, in the middle of a continuous Mahjarrat spell

Preparing the jar

Items needed: Sacred oil (1 dose), 3 dwellberries, ring of life, waterskins/enchanted water tiara (optional), and some food (optional)

From Ali the Wise's house, head north-east to the Uzer Mastaba. Senliten is located on the lower level of the Uzer Mastaba; click the entrance to the pyramid and select the option to head directly to the Pharaoh Queen. If this option is not available, or to do the tomb puzzle again, a walk through is available here.

Talk to the Pharaoh Queen, and she will give instructions on how to make a jar to preserve Arrav's heart and gives an empty canopic jar. The jar now has to be filled with one dose of sacred oil, three dwellberries, and a ring of life, in that order. Be careful when adding the dwellberries: their default left-click option is eat. The canopic jar becomes oil in a canopic jar, oil and berries in a jar, and a full canopic jar as each item is added.

Once completed, return to Ali the Wise with the full canopic jar. He will recommend to wear insulation to stop electric shocks and have a form of surveillance, a grappling hook and a crossbow before entering Zemouregal's base under the Chaos Temple.

Saving Arrav's heart

Items needed: insulated boots, either a Macaw pouch or a Ravenous locust pouch, a crossbow, mithril grapple, full canopic jar, base key, and armour for protection from Armoured zombies (optional).

Climb the north-western tower in Varrock castle and speak with Hartwin (he's in the same room as Captain Rovin from Defender of Varrock) who will guide the player to the Chaos Temple safely, although you will be in the Wilderness momentarily until you descend the stairs. Make sure to dismiss any pets currently following the player before leaving with Hartwin. Pets will make it impossible to summon the remote view familliar and it is impossible to dismiss them once inside the base (Note: This has since changed at some unspecified update, and you can dismiss them at least in the sewer), forcing the player to return to Hartwin.

Go down the trap door into Zemouregal's base. While dodging the Armoured zombies, follow the tunnel around, going through two doors and a third metal door. The zombies will not have to be killed for the red mist to open the doors again. With the base key obtained earlier from behind the tapestry, this door will now open. Go east to the small side room with a range.

Do not walk into the human detection spells as they will trigger and send the player back to the entrance. Equip the insulated boots and enter the pipe on the south side of the room. With the boots equipped, the sewers are completely safe. If the boots are not equipped or are taken off anywhere in the sewers, the player will be sent back to the entrance of the sewer and be hit for around 150 damage.

Navigating the base

Walk until the end of the sewers, where there is a Killerwatt in a cage and another pipe. Try to enter the pipe and a message will appear, saying that the player should try using remote view. Summon a Macaw or a Ravenous locust, stand in front of the pipe, and interact with the summoning familiar to access remote view. "Hide Familiar options" must be off (unchecked) because if they are on, the remote view ability will be inaccessible. A cutscene will occur where the zombies leave. Click continue and then enter the pipe.

(Note: Using Remote View via a summoning familiar is a required mechanic for the quest, which includes special dialogue between the player and familiar; simply using freecam will not function as a replacement).

If this is not completed within five minutes, the zombie guards will come back and kick the player out of the room, though the items obtained earlier will be kept.

An example of what to do when operating the keypad. (Combination EIHC was used in this example.)

Do not dismiss the familiar; it will be needed again to enter the second pipe if the player fails. Run into the room to the south and search the tables for decoder strips and notes (k-z). Pick the lock on the chest on the south wall of that room for the code key. Then, read the pass key and make a note of the four-letter code. With the decoder strips, go back north to the big door and interact with the keypad next to the locked door. The door uses a decoder puzzle as its lock.

The keypad puzzle

The heart of Arrav!

Select strip #1 by clicking on it and drag-and-drop strip #1 over the line indicated by the first letter of the code key. Alternatively, use the arrow to maneuver the strips to the correct position.

Enter the number shown in the hole of the strip. Repeat this for the other three strips and their respective pass code letter. For example, if the pass code is CGBE, then place the decoder strip #1 over the C, by selecting the strip and using the arrows at the top-right, and the remaining number will be the first digit in the code to unlock the door. Repeat this for all the numbers, and then a latch should open. Now open the door and enter. Hide in the room with the tables with the decoder strips if the zombies come back.

If the player fail the password twice, the gas will appear and they will be thrown out of the room and dealt with around 1,500+ damage. Repeat the process above (the remote view sight part) if this happens.

Bypassing the trap

Click on the pipe on the roof to use the mithril grapple and crossbow to bypass the trap. Click on the pedestal, and the heart will automatically be placed in the full canopic jar, turning it into a heart in a canopic jar. Teleport out, withdraw the four tablets (if required), and go talk to Ali the Wise in Nardah to complete the quest.

Rewards

• 1 quest point
• 30,000 experience
• 14,000 experience
• 9,000 experience
• 9,000 experience
• 9,000 experience
• 4,000 experience
• 2,500 experience
• Arrav is unlocked in the Dominion Tower
• 2 Treasure Hunter keys (Ironman accounts will not receive these)
  

Additional rewards/activities

The player can talk to Ali the Wise after the quest and give him additional information, but there are no rewards for doing so. To give him all the information, the player will need to have gathered the four tablets in the tunnel and the two notes of Mahjarrat (A-J and K-Z).

The player can also give him information from the following quests (if they had not been given already following Missing My Mummy):

• Desert Treasure
• While Guthix Sleeps
• The Tale of the Muspah
• Defender of Varrock
• Hazeel Cult
• Temple of Ikov
• Enakhra's Lament
• The General's Shadow
• The World Wakes
  

Music unlocked

• The Heist - After entering the third gate in Zemouregal's base in level 13 Wilderness
• Lamistard's Labyrinth - At the entrance to the Trollweiss cave

Achievements

• The Curse of Arrav ( 0) – Complete this Master quest.
• Desert achievements
  • Elite - Sun Shade ( 25) – Plant a dominion marker in the desert, with all its achievements complete, including killing Sunfreet.
    • Arrav needs to be killed in the Dominion Tower.

Required for completing

The Curse of Arrav is directly required for the following quests/miniquests:

• Dimension of Disaster
• Dimension of Disaster: Curse of Arrav
• The Temple at Senntisten

It is therefore an indirect requirement for the following quests and miniquests:

• Full completion of Azzanadra's Quest
• Full completion of Battle of the Monolith (miniquest)
• Children of Mah
• City of Senntisten
• Full completion of Curse of the Black Stone
• Desperate Measures
• Full completion of Desperate Times
• Dishonour among Thieves
• Extinction
• Eye of Het I (miniquest)
• Eye of Het II (miniquest)
• Fate of the Gods
• Full completion of Heart of Stone
• Full completion of Hero's Welcome
• Kindred Spirits
• Koschei's Troubles
• Mahjarrat Memories
• Full completion of Missing, Presumed Death
• Full completion of Nadir (saga)
• Nomad's Elegy
• Once Upon a Time in Gielinor: Finale
• Full completion of Once Upon a Time in Gielinor: Fortunes
• One of a Kind
• Rebuilding Edgeville
• Ritual of the Mahjarrat
• Sins of the Father
• Sliske's Endgame
• Tales of Nomad
• The Light Within
• The Mighty Fall
• Full completion of The World Wakes

Transcript

This article on a quest has an associated dialogue page. Click here for a transcript of possible conversations and other messaging encountered throughout the quest. Click here for a transcript of the quest's journal entry.

Cultural references

• When a player has the security systems within Zemouregal's base explained to them, they will respond "Well that sounds an awful lot to get past. It sounds like an impossible mission!", which is a reference to the Mission: Impossible television series and films. The entire quest is set up in a manner remarkably similar to the episodes/movies from the series.

Credits

The Curse of Arrav
Developers
Developer	Paul Gower
Art & Graphics
Graphics	James W, Mod Alex, Mod Brass
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance	Dan G, Dan O'R, Nicola T, Mod James H
Audio
Audio	Iain Hetherington, Mod Bond
Other
Quest Help	Katie B
Databox • Talk page

Update history

This information has been compiled as part of the update history project. Some updates may not be included - see here for how to help out!

• patch 18 November 2019 (Update):
  • Fixed an issue in Curse of Arrav where decoder hint text was incorrect.

• update 28 October 2019 (Update):
  • Required items for the quest Curse of Arrav has been updated correctly.

• patch 8 May 2018 (Update):
  • The toolbelt mithril grapple now works for The Curse of Arrav quest

• patch 6 July 2015 (Update):
  • Arrav - in the Dominion Tower, Defender of Varrock, Curse of Arrav, and Ritual of the Mahjarrat - has been graphically updated.
  • Armoured zombies in the Dominion Tower, Defender of Varrock, Curse of Arrav, Ritual of the Mahjarrat, The World Wakes and Missing, Presumed Death have been graphically updated.

• patch 10 September 2013 (Update):
  • The requirements for The Curse of Arrav have been adjusted to correctly show when the player is ready to part take in the quest.

• patch 31 January 2012 (Update):
  • Some flickering has been fixed in a cutscene during Curse of Arrav.

• patch 22 November 2011 (Update):
  • The Curse of Arrav dungeon no longer has flickering issues.

• patch 15 February 2011 (Update):
  • The Mining requirement is now taken into account if levelling-up when checking the Curse of Arrav requirements.

• patch 1 February 2010 (Update):
  • You can now talk to Ali the Wise about some of the items you received during the Curse of Arrav quest.

• patch 2 September 2009 (Update):
  • Fixed incorrect information about the quest's requirements in level-up messages relating to Curse of Arrav.

• patch 10 August 2009 (Update):
  • Adjusted capitalisation of "Curse of Arrav".

• patch 28 July 2009 (Update):
  • Fixed typos in One Small Favour, The Curse of Arrav and Legacy of Seergaze.

• update 21 July 2009 (Update):
  • Added to game.

Trivia

Your mission briefing

An unlisted music track that plays during Ali's briefing

• When this quest was first released, the spoilers read: "Like Arrav, the rewards are cursed! Please check back tomorrow - we have our best exorcists, soothsayers and alchemists working on the problem."
• When a player returns to Ali the Wise after retrieving the heart, Ali says "So, how is the grand heart robbery coming along?" This may be a reference to the quest The Great Brain Robbery, which, in turn, is a reference to The Great Train Robbery.
• During a part of this quest, Ali The Wise mentions "surveillance", to which the player responds "Sir Veylantz? Is he one of the Temple Knights?". This is a reference to the fact that many of the names of Temple Knights' members are a play on certain words.
• When investigating the Killerwatt cage, it will say the cage came from Oddenstein industries, as your player knows.
• Upon the completion of this quest, one's Adventurer's Log will read: "Good news at last: Arrav's heart has been reclaimed and we have a chance of freeing him from Zemouregal's clutches."
• There is a glitch which prevents remote viewing from being used correctly by some players. The "Interact" option from the Familiar Options menu (and left-clicking the familiar button) does not allow the remote viewing ability to be used. In order to use remote viewing, you must right-click on the familiar and select "Interact". If your familiar does not have a right-click "Interact" option, open the Settings menu, go to the Gameplay tab, and deselect the "Hide familiar options" checkbox.