Shield of Arrav (historical)

Shield of Arrav was significantly altered after an update. This article is retained to provide information on past elements of RuneScape.

For information on the modern version of the quest, see Shield of Arrav.

Shield of Arrav (#6)

Release date	4 January 2001 (Update)
Members	No
Voice Over	No
Official difficulty	Novice
Quest series	Mahjarrat Arrav
Age	Fifth Age
Developers Main developer(s) Greg V Graphics Concept Unknown edit Quality Assurance Core Unknown edit Audio Composition Unknown edit

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Shield of Arrav is a quest where the shield of the famous Arrav of Avarrocka has been stolen by organised crime syndicates in Varrock.

Official description

Varrockian literature tells of a valuable shield, stolen long ago from the Museum of Varrock, by a gang of professional thieves. See if you can track down this shield and return it to the Museum. You will need a friend to help you complete this quest.

Walkthrough

Start point	Talk to Reldo, the Varrock palace librarian.
Member requirement	Free to play
Official difficulty	Novice
Official length	Medium
Requirements	Skill requirements are not boostable unless marked with a [B] for boostable. A trustworthy partner (who joins the opposite gang) Ability to kill a level 1 or 21 enemy
Items required	Items from the tool belt are not listed unless they do not work or are not automatically added. 20 coins to join the Phoenix gang. Nothing to join the Black Arm gang.
Enemies to defeat	Jonny the beard - Level 1 (if you join the Phoenix Gang.) Weaponsmaster - Level 21 (if you join the Black Arm Gang. Someone else can kill him for you.)

To find a partner for the quest, it is recommended to check the official RuneScape Forums under Quests> Find a Shield of Arrav Partner section. Even if you can't post in the forum you can still see who's in the other gang and message them online.

It is very important at this time to decide which gang you wish to join. This choice is important for two reasons:

1. You need a member of the opposite gang to cooperate with you in order to complete this quest.
2. This choice will show up for future quests if you decide to become a member. Most notably, the Heroes' Quest has gang related activities where item trading between both gangs is also an important feature.
3. If you are a skiller/skill pure, you can choose the Black Arm gang and have someone else from the same gang kill the weapon master for you.

Being a member of the Phoenix gang is recommended if a player has lower combat levels, but requires 20 coins.

The Black Arm gang is less complicated to complete, but requires you to defeat a level 21 personality in close combat in order to obtain the Phoenix gang's crossbows so as to join the Black Arm gang.

Shared starting

Talk to Reldo, located in Varrock's library, in Varrock Palace, which can be found east of the Grand Exchange. Ask him for a quest and he will tell you there is probably a book on something in the library. You have to now search the bookcase with a blue book in the top shelf. When you've found it, read or skim through it. After you've read the book, speak with Reldo and ask him about the whereabouts of the Phoenix Gang, but he tells you to go to Baraek because he doesn't know.

At this stage, you can either join the Phoenix Gang or the Black Arm Gang. If you wish to join the Phoenix Gang, speak to Baraek. Otherwise, talk to Charlie the Tramp.

Phoenix Gang

Baraek is located in the centre of Varrock. He buys and sells furs, and his stall is marked with an icon of bear fur. Talk to him and ask about the Phoenix Gang. At first he will refuse, then he will want you to give him 20 coins for info. Give him 20 coins, and he will tell you it is located in the south-east corner of Varrock. Ask him all the questions available.

The hideout is near the south-east corner of Varrock between the two bars/pubs. It is a bit south of the rune shop. Look for the dungeon icon () on your map to find the hideout. When you've found the red exclamation mark, you will see a ladder. Climb down it to enter the Phoenix Gang's hideout.

Inside the hideout, talk to Straven. If you ask to join, he will mention the Varrock Herald newspaper. This is a cover up. There should be an option to tell him that you know who he is, a member of the Phoenix Gang. If this option isn't there, go back to Baraek and ask him about the Phoenix gang again, as you missed getting all of the information about them.

Straven will want you to kill Jonny the Beard (Combat level 1 and has 100 life points). He is located in Varrock's Blue Moon Inn. This bar/restaurant is located near the south entrance of Varrock. Go inside the bar and find Jonny the Beard and kill him (he may need to respawn).

Jonny will drop a report which Straven needs. Grab the report and bring it back to Straven. Talk to Straven while having the report in your inventory, and he will make you a Phoenix Gang member, allowing you to enter their hideout. Straven will also give you the Weapon store key. Due to an update the Weapon store key is no longer needed as the Weapon store door is now always unlocked.

Look around for a chest in the south-west corner of the hideout to find one half of the Shield of Arrav. You can only grab one shield at a time, and you can no longer obtain it after completing the quest.

Black Arm Gang

To join the Black Arm Gang, talk to Charlie the Tramp located near the south entrance of Varrock. Ask him what’s down the alley, and he’ll tell you that it’s the Black Arm Gang’s hideout. Go down the alley and enter the building. Look for a woman named Katrine and talk to her.

Tell her you know about her gang and that you won't give your source. Ask her about what you should do to prove that you're trustworthy and she will give you a task to join her gang.

Katrine wants you to steal from the Phoenix Gang. She wants two of their crossbows. The hideout is right next to the temple with the Chaos altar in the south-east corner of Varrock. Look for a room with a ladder and climb up.

You will have to kill the Weaponsmaster on this floor. If you try to pick up the crossbow without killing the Weaponsmaster first, he will prevent you from doing so. Once he is dead, take two Phoenix crossbows. When you have both of them, go back to Katrine, and she will make you a member of the Black Arm Gang. Go upstairs in the hideout and look for a cupboard, which contains one half of the Shield of Arrav.

Finishing Up

King Roald

Take your half of the shield to King Roald. He will say that you need a certificate for the reward and that you need see the Curator in Varrock Museum, which is east of the Varrock Palace. Go and see the Curator, then click "use" your half of the shield on him.

Curator Haig Halen

When you talk to the Curator, he will give you 2 halves of the certificate. Your partner, who has the other half of the Shield of Arrav, will get the other halves of the certificate. Trade 1 half of the certificate with your partner for the other 1 half. When you have both halves, use one of them on the other half, to get a full certificate.

Take that certificate to King Roald to get your reward. Quest completed.

Notes

• If a Phoenix Gang member tries to talk to Katrine, she spits on them and does not allow them to join the gang. If a Phoenix Gang member tries to kill the Weaponmaster to obtain the crossbows, the player is told that he or she cannot attack a fellow gang member.
• A Black Arm Gang member can now enter the Phoenix Gang Weapon Storage without a key as the door is now permanently unlocked.
• Phoenix crossbows can be obtained by Phoenix gang members by going into the weapon store and telekinetic grabbing them. However, the crossbows must be traded to a Black Arm gang member in order to gain trust to Katrine.
• If working with additional players who want to get the half of a certificate from you, it would be wise to take the half certificates to the bank, store them, grab another shield half from your respective gang house and present it to the Curator. There is no practical limit to how many certificate halves you can have, but it is a tedious process going back and forth to the Curator and the gang stronghold. However, once you combine both halves of the certificates in your inventory you can no longer get spare shields. You can have only one shield half in your inventory at any given time. Also, keep in mind that once you have completed this quest, you can no longer obtain the shield half any more, although you can continue to keep certificate halves in your bank account indefinitely after you have completed the quest or trade for them with other players.

Rewards

• 1 quest point
• 600 coins
• If you are a member, you can talk to Historian Minas in the Varrock Museum to receive 5 kudos and an antique lamp that gives 1000 experience in a skill of level 20 or above.
• 2 Treasure Hunter keys and 2 Hearts of Ice

Required for completing

Completion of Shield of Arrav is required for the following:

• Heroes' Quest
• Defender of Varrock

Trivia

• Upon completing this quest one's Adventurer's Log will read: "A friend and I managed to recover the Shield of Arrav from gang members and put it where it belongs - in a museum." This is reference to Indiana Jones.
• Shield of Arrav was one of the 6 quests available during RuneScape's launch.
• In the beginning, a bug allowed the player to join both gangs. Katrine would appear angry at the player, but the player would still be able to enter the Black Arm Gang. The Phoenix gang doorman would also attack the player.
• In the early days of RuneScape 2, it was possible to buy the certificate from the general store and skip the majority of the quest. This is no longer possible.
• After completing the quest, if you talk to Juna, your character will say, "...So that's how I helped return the Shield of Arrav."
• It used to be impossible to receive the intel report to join the Phoenix gang if you use a ring of recoil to kill Jonny the beard.
• In the early days, entering the Phoenix Gang's headquarters required a separate key. This was later changed, and the key was removed from the game.
• Shield of Arrav is the first quest in the Mahjarrat series, and the only Mahjarrat quest available for free-to-play.