How to get Runes in Diablo 4 - Best Runewords in D4
Welcome to our Runes and Runewords guide in Diablo 4! By reading all the sections of our article, you will learn everything about this new endgame system & how to use it to its full capacity while also understanding how this system can raise your fighting prowess tremendously.
Introduction
With their first appearance in Diablo II, Runewords quickly became a loved system. The Vessel of Hatred expansion in Diablo 4 seems to adapt this system, replacing up to four traditional gems.
This old system reinterpretation is bringing even more customization to your character, allowing you to obtain buffs, debuffs, and even skills from other classes, raising the power potential to a whole new level.
Table of Contents
Here is a little breakdown of our Diablo IV Runes and Runewords Overview:
- General overview
- Rune drop location & chances
- Crafting Runes - Runecrafting
- Rune mechanics
- Runes of Ritual list
- Runes of Invocation list
- Best Runeword combinations
What are Runewords in Diablo 4
A Runeword combines two types of runes: the Rune of Ritual and the Rune of Invocation. Combining these two different runes will result in a generator and a passive or active spender skill.
What is a Rune?
Runes are small, magical inscribed stones that can be used together to raise a player's powers to a new level. They can be inserted into gear, just like traditional gems, with the only limitations being:
- The item must have two sockets.
- Only two Runes from each category can be used (Runes of Ritual and Runes of Invocation).
- Each unique Rune can be used only once.
Runes of Ritual
This type of Rune is also known as the generator rune, granting a new type of resource called "Offering" once the condition presented is met. Once a certain amount of Offering is generated, the Rune of Invocation associated with the Rune of Ritual will be triggered without control of the timing.
The more demanding or difficult the condition of the Rune of Ritual is, the more Offering will be rewarded after the condition is met.
Runes of Invocation
The Rune of Invocation is also known as the spender part of the Runeword. Once the Offering requirement is met, the effect of this Rune will be triggered.
The effects of the Runes of Invocation are very diverse, ranging from increasing skill ranks and restoring life or resources to granting access to skills from other classes. Also, some of the Runes of Invocation may have Overflow effects, meaning additional effects may be triggered if more Offering is spent.
How do you obtain runes in D4?
Obtaining runes is unlocked by completing a quest in the Vessel of Hatred expansion campaign, after which Runes can be obtained virtually everywhere in the Sanctuary. Runes come in three rarities: Magic, Rare, and Legendary, and as usual, the higher the rarity, the stronger their effect is.
Runes can also be crafted, but more on that later in the guide.
Rune Drop Location
While they can drop everywhere, there are certain places where farming them will be more efficient, especially when looking for the Legendary runes, as follows:
- Kurast Undercity - Advertised by the developers as the best place to farm gear for your character, it is also one of the best places for farming Runes. There is also speculation that the chance of Runes dropping is increased here.
- Infernal Hordes - Considering the amount of Burning Aether that can realistically be constantly farmed is close to 1000, opening many chests will give you a good chance of obtaining Runes.
- Dark Citadel - Being the pinnacle of the endgame activities, there is a good chance that Legendary Runes will drop here.
- The Pit - Being a "stairway" through the world tiers, the pit is an excellent place to farm gear for your character, so it will also be a good place for farming runes.
- Tormented Bosses - The providers of the rarest items in the game, Mythic Uniques, will also be a great place for farming Legendary Runes.
- Seasonal Activities - As always, seasonal activities are one of the greatest places to farm the gear needed to progress further quickly and easily!
Rune Drop Chance
The chances of obtaining Runes of different rarities will differ from place to place, depending on the number of enemies and their difficulty. Finding the best activity, containing a large number of mobs, while playing on the highest world tier, where you can kill them quickly, will surely raise the chances of dropping Runes.
Crafting Runes (Runecrafting)
Aside from obtaining the Runes as random drops, the option of Runecrafting at the Jeweler is also available. Three runes of the same type and name can be used to craft a random Rune. If crafted using non-legendary runes, you have a chance of creating a Rune of the next rarity. The crafted Runes are guaranteed to be different from the ones used.
Mythic Unique crafting with Runes
Runes can also be used to craft Mythic Unique items, requiring 10 Legendary Runes, 10 Rare Runes, 10 Magic Runes of the same name, and one Resplendent Spark.
Rune Rarities
Runes come with the classic three rarities: Magic, Rare, and Legendary. But don't be fooled by that; their rarities do not reflect their power! While some Legendary Runes look too good to pass, some Magic and Rare Runes are great and can be used for extremely powerful synergies.
How do you use runes in D4?
Using Runes is pretty simple, having the same method of inserting as the gems we used to socket in items. Once you have selected the two items you want to socket your runes in, making sure they both have two empty sockets available, you simply drag the Runes from the Socketable tab onto the item.
When both a Rune of Ritual and a Rune of Invocation have been socketed into an item, a Runeword is created.
Note: For example, by placing the Rune of Ritual - Tam and the Rune of Invocation - Wat, you have created the TamWat Runeword. Now, after every four non-channeled core skills used, necromancer's Horrid Decrepify will be cast, slowing enemies and reducing their damage while also letting you execute them.
Runeword Mechanics
The Runewords have two main mechanics: Offering and Overflow, and understanding how they work is imperative for choosing the proper Runes to push your build towards greatness and profit off of their immense power.
Offering and Overflow
While doing the action specified in the Rune of Ritual tooltip, it will generate Offering, which the Rune of Invocation uses to trigger its specific effect. The amount of Offering generated depends on the required action's difficulty. Furthermore, the more powerful the Rune of Invocation is, the more Offering it will require.
The amount of Offering generated can be seen on the buff bar above your skills, on the Rune of Invocation icon you have equipped. The purple part of the icon will indicate how much Offering you already have out of the required amount.
The overflow mechanic is when the Offering exceeds the amount required by the Rune of Invocation, but instead of wasting it, most of the Runes will use it to empower the effect triggered even further.
Cross-Class Skills
Just like their equivalent in Diablo II, Runewords can grant players access to a couple of skills and one legendary aspect from each class. These skills are automatically cast once their Offering requirement is fulfilled.
The cross-class skills and aspects available through Runewords are:
- Barbarian: Challenging Shout, War Cry, Earthquake
- Druid: Earthen Bulwark, Petrify
- Necromancer: Horrid Decrepify, Abhorrent Iron Maiden
- Rogue: Countering Concealment, Dark Shroud, Stun Grenades
- Sorcerer: Mystical Frost Nova, Teleport, Meteor
- Spiritborn: Concussive Stomp, Vortex, Pestilent Swarm
Can you trade Runes and Runewords?
Since the Runes are stored in the Socketable tab of the inventory, they are tradeable as long as they were not equipped. Furthermore, Runewords are tradeable too, since they are composed of two runes, which are tradeable.
Runes of Ritual List
| Rune | Rarity | Offering | Trigger |
| Cem | Magic | 75 Offering | Cast Evade. |
| Cir | Magic | 50 Offering | Cast the same non-Channeled Skill 3 times in a row. |
| Moni | Magic | 25 Offering | Cast a Skill after moving. (Cooldown: 0.25 seconds). |
| Yax | Magic | 200 Offering | Drink a Healing Potion. |
| Zan | Magic | 150 Offering | Cast an Ultimate Skill. |
| Feo | Rare | 1000 Offering | Become Injured or Crowd Controlled (Cooldown: 10 seconds). |
| Neo | Rare | 200 Offering | Deal damage after not taking any within 2 seconds. (Resets if Invulnerable.) |
| Noc | Rare | 10 Offering | Inflict a Crowd Control that isn’t Slow or Chill. |
| Poc | Rare | 5 Offering | Spend 5% of your Maximum Resource. |
| Ahu | Legendary | 10 Offering | Up to a 100% chance against Injured enemies. |
| Bac | Legendary | 50 Offering | Travel 5 meters. |
| Lith | Legendary | 25 Offering | Stand still while fighting for 0.3 seconds. |
| Tam | Legendary | 25 Offering | Cast a non-Channeled Core Skill. |
| Xol | Legendary | 150 Offering | Evoke power from another Class. |
| Yul | Legendary | 50 Offering | Cast a Skill with a Cooldown. |
Runes of Invocation List
| Rune | Rarity | Offering Requirement |
Effect | Overflow |
| Ceh | Magic | 100 Offering | Summon a Spirit Wolf to attack enemies for 8 seconds. | Summon Multiple Wolves. |
| Gar | Magic | 25 Offering | Gain 2.5% Critical Strike Chance for 5 seconds, up to 25%. | Gain Critical Strike chance up to 10 stacks. |
| Lum | Magic | 5 Offering | Restore 1 Primary Resource. | Increased Resource Restored. |
| Tal | Magic | 100 Offering | Evoke the Spiritborn‘s Pestilent Swarm, dealing 300% damage to enemies. | Increased Swarms Spawned. |
| Teb | Magic | 100 Offering | Evoke the Necromancer‘s Abhorrent Iron Maiden, counterattacking 300% base damage from enemies and Healing you when they die. | None. |
| Tec | Magic | 100 Offering | Evoke the Barbarian’s Earthquake, dealing 280% damage to enemies within. | Increased Size. |
| Ton | Magic | 20 Offering | Evoke the Sorcerer’s Meteorites, dealing 216% damage to enemies. | Increased Meteorites Spawned. |
| Tun | Magic | 100 Offering | Evoke the Rogue’s Stun Grenades, Stunning and dealing 325% damage to enemies. | Increased Grenades Spawned. |
| Kry | Rare | 300 Offering | Evoke the Spiritborn’s Vortex, dealing damage and Pulling In enemies. | None. |
| Lac | Rare | 400 Offering | Evoke the Barbarian’s Challenging Shout, reducing your damage taken. | Increased Duration. |
| Mot | Rare | 150 Offering | Gain a shadow from the Rogue’s Dark Shroud, reducing damage taken per shadow. | Gain Multiple Shadows. |
| Ner | Rare | 600 Offering | Evoke the Rogue’s Countering Concealment, gaining Dodge Chance, Movement Speed, Unstoppable, and Stealth. | Increased Duration. |
| Qax | Rare | 400 Offering | Your next non-Basic Skill cast spends all of your Primary Resource to deal up to 100% increased damage. | Further Increased Damage. |
| Qua | Rare | 50 Offering | Restore an Evade charge and gain 7% Movement Speed for 5 seconds, up to 35%. | Increased Duration. |
| Que | Rare | 300 Offering | Evoke the Druid’s Earthen Bulwark, granting yourself a Barrier. | Increased Duration. |
| Thul | Rare | 400 Offering | Evoke the Sorcerer’s Mystical Frost Nova, inflicting Freeze and Vulnerable onto enemies. | Increased Size. |
| Tzic | Rare | 250 Offering | Evoke the Spiritborn’s Concussive Stomp, dealing damage and Knocking Down enemies. | None. |
| Wat | Rare | 100 Offering | Evoke the Necromancer’s Horrid Decrepify, Slowing enemies, reducing their damage, and letting you Execute them. | None. |
| Xal | Rare | 200 Offering | Gain 20% Maximum Life for 6 seconds. | Increased Duration. |
| Zec | Rare | 200 Offering | Reduce your active Ultimate Cooldown by 2 seconds. | Further Reduced Cooldown. |
| Eom | Legendary | 100 Offering | Reduce your active Cooldowns by 0.1 seconds. | Further Reduced Cooldown. |
| Jah | Legendary | 400 Offering | Replace your next Evade with the Sorcerer’s Teleport, blinking further, dealing damage, and becoming Unstoppable. | None. |
| Ohm | Legendary | 600 Offering | Evoke the Barbarian’s War Cry, increasing your Movement Speed and damage dealt. | Increased Duration. |
| Vex | Legendary | 1000 Offering | Gain +3 to all Skills for 7 seconds. | Increased Duration. |
| Xan | Legendary | 800 Offering | Your next Skill cast will be a guaranteed Critical Strike and Overpower. | None. |
| Yom | Legendary | 500 Offering | Evoke the Druid’s Petrify, Stunning enemies and grants 100 Resource. | None. |
Best Rune Combinations - Best Runewords
- TamXal - One of the best combinations for Spiritborns, it constantly offers 20% Maximum Life for most of the builds, while also being very powerful for other classes.
- PocQue - Another great combo for most Spiritborn builds, it offers Druid's Earthen Bulwark continuously for extra defense, while also using the Barrier as a damage multiplier for some builds.
- TamWat - Incredible choice for skill spamming builds; for every four non-channeled core skills, Horrid Decrepify will be cast, slowing & reducing the damage of the enemies, while also having the opportunity to execute them. This Runeword has perfect synergy with Xol Rune.
- XolYom - Is great in combination with another Runeword that casts a skill from one of the other classes, the Druid's Petrify will stun enemies every 5 seconds, increasing your Critical Strike damage.
- YulXal - A very good choice for classes that need that extra survivability, the extra 20% Maximum Life can be held constantly since the duration is 4 seconds and the cooldown 1 second.
- YulOhm - Another spectacular choice, the Barbarian's Enhanced War Cry will increase your Movement Speed and damage dealt, offering an extra speedclearing potential to all classes.
- BacZec - Insane choice for classes that benefit from spamming their ultimate skill; this combo will reduce the cooldown of the ultimate for every 5 meters traveled, enabling speed-clearing potential.
Note: All the Runes of Ritual & Invocation can be combined with each other to better suit your playstyle.
F.A.Q.
1. What is a Runeword in Diablo 4?
A Runeword is the combination of a Rune of Ritual and a Rune of Invocation.
2. How do you combine Runes in D4?
You can combine Runes into Runewords by simply dragging one of each Rune onto an item with two sockets.
3. Where can you farm Runes in Diablo IV?
Runes can be farmed everywhere in the Sanctuary, but the best place to farm them is Kurast Undercity.
4. Can you craft Runes?
Yes, Runes can be crafted at the Jeweler.
5. What is the drop chance for Runes?
The drop chance of Runes is entirely dependant on the activity you are doing and the world tier you are playing on.
6. Can Runes be traded in Diablo 4?
Runes can definitely be traded, since they are stored in the normal inventory, on the Socketable tab.
Related Guides
Now that you have learned about the new Infernal Hordes game mode, how about you check out our guides about Best Classes, Builds & Currency Farming?
- Dark Citadel Raid Overview - Diablo 4
- Diablo 4 Infernal Hordes Overview
- Diablo 4 Tempering & Masterworking Guide
- The Pit of the Artificer – Diablo 4 Guide
- Diablo 4 Leveling Guide: How to Level Up Fast in D4
- Diablo 4 Best Builds Guide
- Best Barbarian Builds in Diablo 4
- Best Rogue Builds in Diablo 4
- Best Necromancer Builds in Diablo 4
- Best Sorcerer Builds in Diablo 4
- Best Druid Builds in Diablo 4
- Diablo 4 Legendary Aspects Farming Guide
- Diablo 4 Uniques & Uber Uniques Farming Guide
- Diablo 4 Best Class Guide
- Diablo 4 Barbarian Class Guide
- Diablo 4 Druid Class Guide
- Diablo 4 Necromancer Class Guide
- Diablo 4 Rogue Class Guide
- Diablo 4 Sorcerer Class Guide
- D4 Gold Farming Guide
- D4 Forgotten Souls Farming Guide
- D4 Grim Favors Farming Guide
- D4 Materials Farming Guide
- D4 Red Dust Farming Guide
- D4 Aberrant Cinders Farming Guide
- D4 Murmuring Obols Farming Guide
- D4 Seeds of Hatred Farming Guide
We update our articles with each and every update in the game, so keep an eye out on our guides.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the world of Diablo 4 is filled with constant changes and upgrades, and you have to be ready for them. By following our guide, you'll be well-prepared to create insane synergies that will boost your build's powers tremendously.
If this looks time-consuming or too hard, considering the drop chance of legendary Runes, why not check our Diablo 4 boosting services and let professional boosters take care of this grinding for you quickly and efficiently?
