Welcome to our guide on the Rune System in Throne & Liberty. Though the rune system isn’t available in the global version yet, rumors point to it arriving around January 2025. Getting familiar with it now can give you a head start, so you can start slotting runes into your gear as soon as it releases. If you’re aiming to maximize your character’s potency, knowing how to work with runes will be very important. The system allows you to enhance your gear with custom effects that boost your character’s capabilities significantly. Using rune slots, rune hammers, and unique rune synergy combinations, players can unlock extra potential in their items.

The rune system involves some strategy, patience, and time, but the payoff is worth it. With the right approach, you’ll end up with gear that gives your character a noticeable advantage. This guide covers every step, from accessing the system and obtaining rune hammers to leveling up runes and achieving powerful synergy effects.

Introduction to Runes in Throne and Liberty

Runes are an important endgame progression mechanic that enhance your gear by adding specific stats and synergies. They can only be equipped on certain pieces of gear: weapons, necklaces, belts, bracelets, and rings. Each rune has a unique category and level, affecting the type of bonus it provides and its compatibility with other runes.

There are three categories of runes:

1. Attack Runes – These runes have a Red icon and they boost offensive stats.
2. Defense Runes – These runes have a Blue icon and they boost defensive stats.
3. Support Runes – These runes have a Yellow icon, and they provide utility and support stats.

Each rune category is divided into three tiers: Gray for the basic tier, Green for the intermediate tier, and Blue for the advanced tier. Through repeated farming, leveling, and socket optimization, your ultimate goal is to have each eligible gear piece socketed with max-level blue runes and a synergy that enhances your build.

Runes can be leveled up as you collect more, with higher levels offering stronger bonuses. To reach top-tier synergy, you’ll need a precise socketing and leveling strategy. Don’t worry, we’ll talk about all of those here.

Accessing the Rune System

To begin using the rune system, open the Rune Manage option in the game’s menu, then select the specific item you want to enhance. Each item has three rune slots, which are locked by default and would need Rune Hammers to unlock. Once you unlock these slots, you can fill them with your preferred runes to enhance your item’s stats and provide valuable effects.

• Accessory Slots: Unlocking a slot on an accessory (e.g., rings, necklaces) would require you 1 Rune Hammer per slot.
• Weapon Slots: Unlocking a slot on a weapon costs 2 Rune Hammers per slot, making this quite the resource-intensive process.

How to Obtain Rune Hammers in Throne and Liberty

Now that we know Rune Hammers are essential for unlocking slots in your gear, let’s look at how you can actually get these valuable items. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to acquire them.

Crafting Individual Rune Hammers

First up, crafting individual Rune Hammers. Head to the Accessory Crafter. This is your go-to spot for making single hammers. You’ll need Precious Polish Crystals and Rune Fragments. You’ll likely have plenty of crystals just from regular gameplay, but rune fragments come from dissolving unwanted runes. Crafting individual hammers is great if you’re keeping them for yourself since it doesn’t require Marind.

• Location: Accessory Crafter
• Materials Needed:
  • Precious Polish Crystals: A common material easily obtained from contracts and standard gameplay activities. It’s unlikely you’ll ever run out, but contracts are a reliable source if you need them.
  • Rune Fragments: Obtained by dissolving unwanted runes in your inventory. When you select a rune and choose the dissolve option, you’ll see how many fragments you’ll get from it.
• Recommendation: Crafting individual hammers is highly recommended if you plan to use them for yourself, as this method requires no valuable materials like Marind.

Crafting Rune Hammer Bundles

If you’re looking to sell hammers for some extra currency, you’ll want to craft Rune Hammer bundles. Unlike individual hammers, these bundles require Marind. Once crafted, you can list them on the Auction House for a solid profit, making this option ideal for those who want to sell instead of use.

• Location: Accessory Crafter
• Materials Needed: Marind – This valuable crafting material can be sold or exchanged on the auction market, making them valuable.

Auction House Purchases

Another option is purchasing hammers directly from the Auction House. They’re in the Miscellaneous section, though prices can vary. Check often for deals, or, if you’re aiming to make some Lucent, consider selling some hammers here.

Battle Pass and Special Shops

Rune Hammers can be obtained as rewards through the Battle Pass and certain event shops, adding another opportunity to stock up.

• Tip: Keep an eye on the Battle Pass rewards, especially if you’re looking to avoid using crafting materials or currency.

Contract Coin Merchant

• Availability: You can buy up to 10 Rune Hammers per week from the Contract Coin Merchant.
• Cost: 600 contract coins for 10 Rune Hammers.
• Tip: This is the most efficient weekly investment in the Contract Coin shop. Make sure to budget for this every week to maximize your Rune Hammer supply.

Acquiring Runes for Slots

With your slots unlocked, it’s time to talk about getting runes themselves. You’ll want the highest quality possible, so here are the top ways to farm them.

Challenge Dungeons (Co-op Dungeon)

Challenge dungeons are a fantastic source for rune farming. These PvE dungeons offer runes as rewards, with higher difficulties providing better-quality runes. There are no entry limits, though higher tiers require stronger gear and good party coordination. Each tier not only raises gear score requirements and rewards but also has a system that tracks the highest rune level you obtain, known as the hidden “watermark” system, which influences future drops. The best part is that you don’t need to clear every single tier to access higher ones; if the party leader has cleared Tier 5, for example, you can go directly into the Tier 5 boss fight without completing the lower tiers. Defeating each boss rewards you with an RNG rune chest for a specific gear piece, and each new drop contributes to the watermark system. Dissolving a high-level rune won’t reset this level, so dismantling higher-level runes can raise the level of future drops, making it beneficial to dissolve unwanted runes.

To efficiently level your runes, start by farming Tier 5 bosses until your gray runes reach a watermark level of 20. Once you’re ready, progress to Tier 10 to farm green runes, continuing until they reach around level 25-30. From there, move on to Tiers 11-15, where blue runes begin to drop, and any green rune at level 25 can now be converted into a blue rune. Dissolve lower-level runes consistently to collect Rune Fragments, which are essential for crafting Rune Hammers, allowing you to reroll or unlock more rune sockets as you continue to build up your gear’s power.

Dynamic Events

Events can also reward runes based on your performance. Check the event schedule regularly, and prioritize ones that offer runes. Ranking high in these events is worth the effort. Dynamic events are a great supplementary way to acquire high-level runes without needing to rely on dungeons.

Battle Pass Rewards

The Battle Pass is also another avenue where you can get Runes if you’re willing to spend.

Crafting Runes (Rune Chests)

If you have excess Rune Fragments, you can also craft Rune Chests at the Accessory Crafter. This option allows you to reroll unwanted support runes into attack runes, though be aware that this can eat up your fragments quickly. Only use this method after unlocking all slots, because crafting Rune Chests early on can make it hard for you to get enough Rune Hammers.

Leveling Up Runes in Throne and Liberty

Once you have the right runes, you’ll want to level them up. Runes in Throne & Liberty can go up to Level 60, and leveling them increases their effectiveness.

• Duplicate Runes: To level a rune, you’ll need duplicate runes. Every duplicate adds one level to that rune, so it’s smart to hang on to any extras you find.
• Exact Matches Only: For a rune to be compatible with an item, it must match that item type. For example, ring runes can only be added to rings, and weapon runes must only be used with weapons.
• Rune Type and Slot Compatibility: Check each rune type carefully to make sure it matches the intended slot (e.g., ring, weapon, necklace). Incompatible runes won’t give you any benefits.

Creating Rune Synergy with Slot Combinations

Now let’s dive into rune synergy. By combining Defensive, Attack, and Support runes in specific orders, you can unlock powerful synergy effects. To find these combinations, open the Rune Synergy List in the Rune Manage menu, which shows which effects are available based on the order of your rune types.

Understanding the Rune Synergy List

Now let’s go into rune synergy more. By combining Defensive, Attack, and Support runes in specific orders, you can unlock powerful synergy effects. To find these combinations, open the Rune Synergy List in the Rune Manage menu, which shows which effects are available based on the order of your rune types.

For example, if you want a shield block penetration chance effect on your ring, you might need:

• A Defensive Rune in Slot 1,
• An Attack Rune in Slot 2,
• And a Support Rune in Slot 3.

Rerolling Rune Types

• If you don’t get the desired rune type after inserting a hammer, use additional Rune Hammers to re-roll sockets until you get the desired color order. This can require several hammers, so you’ll need to do some efficient farming, and fragment gathering.
• Tip: Defense, Attack, and Support have varying probabilities, so patience and persistence are important. The more specific your desired synergy, the more rerolls you may need.

Synergy Effects and Rune Values

• Rune Stats: Each rune has specific stats (e.g., health, damage resistance), which vary based on type and quality.
• Leveling and Effectiveness: As runes level up through duplicates, they enhance the overall synergy effect. Combining high-level runes in the correct order maximizes the synergy impact on your gear.

Advanced Tips for Rune Management

• Substance Transformation: This is an advanced system within the rune mechanic for transforming and converting runes. It’s complex and requires in-depth planning (e.g., working with spreadsheets), especially at Gear Tier 6 and above.
• Experiment with Runes: Since the synergy list offers different effects, try out combinations that align with your build goals (e.g., defensive buffs for tanks, attack boosts for DPS roles).

Final Thoughts

That’s it for our guide on mastering the Rune System. Although this system isn’t in the global version of Throne & Liberty yet, it’s set to change the way gear improvement works when it arrives. Some players feel that adding this feature could push the game toward a pay-to-win model, as it could make the most powerful gear upgrades more accessible to those willing to spend money.

Whether or not it becomes pay-to-win depends on how accessible the resources for upgrading runes will be without spending. For now, though, knowing how it all works can give you a big advantage, so you’re ready to jump right into slotting and upgrading runes when it does release.

The rune system itself is complex and can feel overwhelming at first, but understanding how to work with it will significantly boost your flexibility and power in both PvE and PvP. By getting to know the different types of runes, using the watermark system effectively, and farming efficiently, you can create a setup that fits your playstyle. What do you think about the system? Will the rune system add depth and excitement to gear customization, or could it make the game too pay-to-win?