Sacred 2:Runes
Contents
Throughout the course of the game players will find runes that upgrade combat arts or unlock those not learned yet. Runes also add bonuses when they are forged into items. Players may memorize a new rune when they find it, exchange it at a Rune Master for a different rune, forge it into an equipment slot, or keep it in their stash for later use.
Memorizing Runes
Memorizing a rune will increase the level of its combat art by 1. Memorize a combat art rune by right-clicking it, if it is for a player's selected character class. Although they will be able to memorize multiple runes of the same combat art to increase its level, the maximum level of a combat art is limited by a character’s level and the level of the relevant Focus skill.
WARNING: Memorizing or forging too many runes can cause a player's regeneration times to increase to an unsatisfactory level.
Exchanging Runes
For a fee, a Rune Master will let a player exchange runes for other rune types. Rune Masters generally look like wizards and have a distinct orange symbol over their heads: 
. This symbol also appears on the map and minimap. If you see the icon on the map but can't find the Rune Master, look for the symbol on the shop sign - the runemaster may have gone inside the building. You can usually hear the sound of them casting spells when you are nearby.
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Up to four runes may be given to a Rune Master. The number of runes a player has in offer to exchange, influences the fee for the exchange. The more runes offered, the less expensive the exchange. If a players has plenty of gold, they may exchange runes on a 1:1 (or 2:1) basis so fewer runes are wasted in the exchange.
Rune Exchange Rates at Rune Master:
- 1 rune for 1 rune: 125,000 gold
- 2 runes for 1 rune: 25,000 gold
- 3 runes for 1 rune: 5,000 gold
- 4 runes for 1 rune: 500 gold
Forging Runes
- See also: Sacred 2:Forging
An interesting ability that Runes offer is that they can be forged into equipment slots (sockets). Runes may be forged into three of the four different kinds of equipment slots: Bronze, Silver and Gold slots. Bronze slots do not modify the secondary effects of runes when forged, but Silver and Gold slots do. Runes that are forged into Silver slots will have their secondary effect values increased by 7% and Gold slots by 15%. The primary effect (+ to Combat Art level) will not be affected by Silver and Gold slot bonuses.
Most interesting about runes which is different from Sacred 1 is that rune values increase on a per game difficulty basis, as can see from the tables below. A rune found in a Bronze difficulty game will be much different from a rune found in a Niobium difficulty game. For example, a way to take advantage of them would be to have a Niobium level character transfer runes to a Silver level player. A Niobium level rune will have the very best values possible and the Silver level player can take advantage of it by forging the rune into his or her equipment. As indicated in each of the tables below, in order to be able to forge a Niobium rune, a player must be at least level 50. For Platinum runes a player must be at least level 35 and for Gold runes level 20. Silver and Bronze runes do not have a level requirement. To see the difficulty that a rune came from, press the ALT key while hovering the cursor over the rune. The difficulty will be displayed within the popup statistics box of the rune.
- Tip: Runes for other character classes may be forged into slots to gain the secondary rune effect, such as life leech or chance to evade. (This will not grant a player the combat art for the other class.)
- Tip: Forging a rune into an item or equipping an item which increases a Combat Art will result in half the regeneration penalty of memorizing the rune.
Rune Effects When Forged
The following table lists the runes available to each class, along with their secondary rune effects. Secondary rune effects are particularly useful at lower levels, when gold is at a premium and runes drop more freely. Socketing runes in a creative fashion can significantly increase your damage output, change the type of damage you do, allow you to leech life, etc. The secondary effects of runes stack, so socketing multiple runes with the same secondary effect can greatly benefit a character, especially one that is just starting out. Secondary rune effects increase at higher difficulty levels.
Note: The beneficial values from runes shown in the table below can only be received when the rune is forged into equipment. Forging a gold, platinum or niobium rune will, like jewelry, raise the level of the item it is forged into, perhaps making it unusable for the character at that level. (This does not apply to the console versions of the game.)
- Gold rune is a level 20 item.
- Platinum rune is a level 35 item.
- Niobium rune is level 50 item.
See also: Usable Item Levels
| Dragon Mage | Primary Effect | Dragon Magic | Elemental Magic | Mentalism |
| Bonus to Combat Art Level | Chance for Burn | Armor | Block Chance: Projectiles | |
| Bronze | +1 | +2.0% | +6.5% | +4.9% |
| Silver | +1 | +3.0% | +6.5% | +5.3% |
Gold (Item Lvl 20)
|
+2 | +4.3% | +12.1% | +6.0% |
Platinum (Item Lvl 35)
|
+4 | +5.5% | +18.7 | +7.3% |
Niobium (Item Lvl 50)
|
+6 | +7.0% | +28.1 | +8.6% |
| Dryad | Primary Effect | Capricious Hunter | Cabalistic Voodoo | Nature Weaver |
| Bonus to Combat Art Level | Chance for Poison | Life Leeched per hit | Opponents chance to cause secondary effects | |
| Bronze | +1 | +2.0% | +3 | -6.5% |
| Silver | +1 | +3.0% | +4 | -7.8% |
Gold (Item Lvl 20)
|
+2 | +4.3% | +6 | -9.9% |
Platinum (Item Lvl 35)
|
+4 | +5.5% | +8 | -12.3% |
Niobium (Item Lvl 50)
|
+6 | +7.0% | +10 | -14.8% |
| High Elf | Primary Effect | Arrant Pyromancer | Mystic Stormite | Delphic Arcania |
| Bonus to Combat Art Level | Chance for Burn | Spell Intensity | Block Chance: Combat Arts | |
| Bronze | +1 | +2.0% | +5% | +4.9% |
| Silver | +1 | +3.0% | +6% | +5.3% |
Gold (Item Lvl 20)
|
+2 | +4.3% | +8.5% | +6.0% |
Platinum (Item Lvl 35)
|
+4 | +5.5% | +11.1% | +7.3% |
Niobium (Item Lvl 50)
|
+6 | +7.0% | +13.6% | +8.6% |
| Inquisitor | Primary Effect | Gruesome Inquisition | Astute Supremacy | Nefarious Underworld |
| Bonus to Combat Art Level | Damage of Enraged Players | Chance to Reflect: Close Combat | Life Leeched per hit | |
| Bronze | +1 | +10% | +4.9% | +3 |
| Silver | +1 | +11% | +5.3% | +4 |
Gold (Item Lvl 20)
|
+2 | +12.5% | +6.0% | +6 |
Platinum (Item Lvl 35)
|
+4 | +14.3% | +7.3% | +8 |
Niobium (Item Lvl 50)
|
+6 | +16.2% | +8.6% | +10 |
| Seraphim | Primary Effect | Exalted Warrior | Celestial Magic | Revered Technology |
| Bonus to Combat Art Level | Damage Mitigation: Physical | Chance to Evade | Shield Regeneration Time | |
| Bronze | +1 | +2.0% | +5% | +10% |
| Silver | +1 | +2.5% | +5.4% | +12.5% |
Gold (Item Lvl 20)
|
+2 | +3.5% | +7.1% | +17.0% |
Platinum (Item Lvl 35)
|
+4 | +4.4% | +8.8% | +21.7% |
Niobium (Item Lvl 50)
|
+6 | +5.5% | +11.2% | +27.5% |
| Shadow Warrior | Primary Effect | Death Warrior | Malevolent Champion | Astral Lord |
| Bonus to Combat Art Level | Armor | Defense Value | Block Chance: Projectiles | |
| Bronze | +1 | +6.5% | +4% | +4.9% |
| Silver | +1 | +6.5% | +5% | +5.3% |
Gold (Item Lvl 20)
|
+2 | +12.1% | +9.6% | +6.0% |
Platinum (Item Lvl 35)
|
+4 | +18.7% | +15% | +7.3% |
Niobium (Item Lvl 50)
|
+6 | +28.1% | +22.5% | +8.6% |
| Temple Guardian | Primary Effect | Devout Guardian | Lost Fusion | Source Warden |
| Bonus to Combat Art Level | Attack Value | Chance for Critical Hits | Detrimental Magic Effects | |
| Bronze | +1 | +4% | +1.0% | -3.0% |
| Silver | +1 | +5% | +1.5% | -6.9% |
Gold (Item Lvl 20)
|
+2 | +9.6% | +2.2% | -11.2% |
Platinum (Item Lvl 35)
|
+4 | +15% | +2.7% | -13.4% |
Niobium (Item Lvl 50)
|
+6 | +22.5% | +3.5% | -16.0% |
