Elden Ring can be difficult to navigate at times, with some systems becoming overwhelming or complex. One such example of this is Great Runes – special items dropped by Shardbearer bosses which must then be activated at Divine Towers to provide players with powerful yet limited buffs.
But how can you locate and utilize their powers? This guide provides everything you need to know about Elden Ring’s Great Runes.
How to Farm Runes
Elden Ring provides multiple means of gathering runes. Most commonly, enemies drop them or you can purchase them from Merchants; runes can also be used to power up Great Runes which provide unique buffs that increase damage or health, among other benefits.
Elden Ring offers some excellent early-game rune farming spots, with one of the easiest and quickest being killing trolls north of Stormgate cliffs. While this farm can be fast, but newcomers should be wary due to trolls’ high damage output and slow attack speed.
Elden Ring offers another ideal location for buy elden ring runes farming: Altus Plateau’s Windmill Village. Here, villagers dance around freely without acknowledging your presence, dropping plenty of runes as well as offering plenty of Sacrificial Twigs which you can later use to power up Great Runes.
Rune Arcs
Elden ring runes Arcs are consumable items in Elden Ring that provide powerful buffs. Players will gain their first Rune Arc by defeating Godrick the Grafted, but it will remain dormant until visiting a specific Divine Tower to activate it.
These runes, unlike their counterparts in previous FromSoftware titles, do not respawn automatically upon death if in your possession; rather they will vanish permanently when you die carrying one.
However, if your health drops dangerously low during a battle, an arc will provide a temporary boost of up to five minutes that should allow you to stay alive longer and keep fighting effectively.
Rune Arcs can be found throughout Elden Ring world as random loot, though they’re more commonly found in legacy dungeons and catacombs as well as structures once home to major bosses. You can buy them from Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold or various merchants – even though these arcs may seem inexpensive they still cost thousands of runes to power up!
Great Runes
Great elden ring runes are unique items dropped by Demigod Bosses that, when worn, provide players with various stat boosts. To activate one, players must visit the Divine Tower connected to its original boss; runes may be found throughout the Lands Between but they tend to cluster around areas associated with specific bosses.
The Great Rune of Radahn increases maximum HP, FP and stamina while also bestowing blood blessings to summoned Phantoms and replenishing player HP when enemies are defeated.
Great Runes work similarly to Souls from other FromSoftware games in that they drop with death but can be retrieved at their place of discovery and used multiple times throughout gameplay. Unlike Souls however, Great Runes do not level players; instead they only provide single-life bonuses; in order to take full advantage of an equipped Great Rune an Arc must also be consumed as part of its use.
Remembrances
Runes are the currency used in-game to level up characters, buy gear and interact with NPCs. Runes can be earned naturally through defeating enemies or bosses or consumed through consumables like Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot or the Gold Scarab to instantly receive runes into your inventory – though once consumed they will disappear upon your death! So remember their use wisely!
These can be found throughout the Lands Between, particularly in more organized areas following Godrick – such as temples and places of power. Cliff merchants at Raya Lucaria Academy, as well as Twin Maiden Husks from Roundtable Hold sell them.
By defeating major bosses, players will also gain Great Runes that can significantly bolster their power. When picking up these items, always read through their lore descriptions to fully unlock their potential and complete all relevant quests to maximize their effect.