Acquiring runes in The Forge significantly enhances your combat experience in the perilous depths of the game. While patience is essential in securing the desired runes, their benefits can offer substantial advantages in gameplay, including modified combat styles and increased chances of discovering additional ore. Be mindful that only specific enemies drop these runes, so it’s crucial to identify your opponents rather than attacking indiscriminately.
Below, you’ll find our comprehensive The Forge runes list, detailing each rune’s effects and their respective sources from in-game enemies.
Comprehensive List of Runes in The Forge
The runes listed here are those we have identified thus far, and this list will be updated as new runes are introduced to the game. It’s important to remember that runes can only be obtained by defeating certain enemies—despite the presence of the Runemaker NPC, who does not create new runes but merely attaches them to existing gear.
| Rune Name | Rune Effect | Dropped By |
|---|---|---|
| Blast Chip | Grants a moderate chance of triggering an explosion on hitting an enemy, with damage scaling based on your weapon’s output. | Bomber |
| Miner Shard | Enhances mining luck slightly, improving the chances of obtaining additional ore, in addition to boosting mining speed and damage. | Delver Zombie, Bomber |
| Drain Edge | Intrigues by converting a small percentage of dealt damage into health restoration. | Reapers (Volcanic Depths) |
| Briar Notch | Reflects up to five percent of damage taken based on your maximum health. | Deathaxe Skeleton, Elite Deathaxe Skeleton |
| Ward Patch | Provides a small chance to mitigate incoming damage from enemy attacks. | Zombie, Elite Zombie, Brute Zombie |
| Venom Crumb | Transforms a portion of damage into poison damage, dealing effects over a few seconds. | Blight Pyromancer (Ashen Passage, Volcanic Depths) |
| Flaming Spark | Functions by causing a small percentage of weapon damage in fire damage over time. | Deathaxe Skeleton, Elite Deathaxe Skeleton, Reaper (Volcanic Depths) |
| Rage Mark | Activates berserk mode when health dips below 35 percent, granting temporary boosts to attack power and speed with a cooldown of 50 seconds. | Elite Rogue Skeletons |
Moreover, a few additional runes have surfaced in playtests. While they are anticipated to be integrated into the game in the future, their current effects may vary significantly from the playtest versions. They are not yet available in the main game, which is why we’ve excluded them from our official inventory of runes.
- Rot Stitch
- Frost Speck
- Chill Dust
Unlocking Rune Slots in The Forge
Runes are intended to be slotted into your gear; however, most equipment does not inherently come with rune slots. To unlock these slots, players must enhance their gear’s level using essences at designated enhancers. This process can be lengthy and requires diligent farming of essences.
How to Obtain Pickaxe Rune Slots in The Forge
An exception exists for the pickaxe, which cannot be upgraded. Instead, players need to purchase a new pickaxe to secure rune slots. The first pickaxe discovered with these slots is the Gold Pickaxe.
Once the rune slots are unlocked and you acquire the desired rune, proceed to a Runemaker located in Stonewalk Cross or Forgotten Kingdom to have them integrated into your gear.
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