Getting runes in The Forge makes spelunking in the deadly depths a bit less dangerous, though getting the right rune requires a lot of patience. Runes are modifiers that change your combat style and, in some instances, even make it more likely that you’ll stumble on extra ore. Only certain enemies drop runes, though, so make sure you check what you’re fighting instead of attacking everything in sight and hoping for the best.
Our The Forge runes list lays out every rune you can get, what it does, and which enemies you can get it from.
All runes in The Forge
We’ve listed all the runes we’ve found so far below and will update as more get added to the game. Note that the only way to get runes in The Forge is by defeating specific enemies. The Runemaker NPC, despite being named for making runes, does not make runes for you. They just attach them to equipment.
| Rune Name | Rune Effect | Dropped by |
|---|---|---|
| Blast Chip | Has a moderate chance of causing an explosion when you hit an enemy. The explosion’s damage scales by a moderate amount based on your weapon damage | Bomber |
| Miner Shard | Increases luck by a small amount and raises the chance of acquiring extra ore while mining. Also increases mining speed and mine damage | Delver Zombie, Bomber |
| Drain Edge | A small percentage of damage dealt is converted to HP restoration | Reapers (Volcanic Depths) |
| Briar Notch | Reflects a small amount of damage taken, up to five percent of your max health | Deathaxe Skeleton, Elite Deathaxe Skeleton |
| Ward Patch | Has a small chance of reducing incoming damage when an enemy attacks | Zombie, Elite Zombie, Brute Zombie |
| Venom Crumb | Has a chance of turning a small percentage of damage into poison damage that repeats over a few seconds | Blight Pyromancer (Ashen Passage, Volcanic Depths) |
| Flaming Spark | Deals a small percentage of weapon damage as fire damage that repeats over a few seconds | Deathaxe Skeleton, Elite Deathaxe Skeleton, Reaper (Volcanic Depths) |
| Rage Mark | When health drops below 35 percent, berserk mode activates and grants you bonus attack power and speed for a short time. Berserk mode has a 50-second cooldown timer | Elite Rogue Skeletons |
There’s a small selection of additional runes that turned up during playtests as well and will, eventually, be added to The Forge for all players.
- Rot Stitch
- Frost Speck
- Chill Dust
However, since their effects are likely to change between their apperance in playtests and eventual addition to the come, and they’re unavailable at the moment, we’ve left them out of our full list of The Forge’s runes.
How to get rune slots in The Forge
Runes exist for you to slot into your gear, but almost every piece of equipment (that we’ve seen, anyway) does not start life with rune slots unlocked. To get those, you need to enhance your gear’s level at the enhancer – so make sure you’re farming essences for those upgrades – until you start getting rune slots. It’s… a process, and it takes a while.
How to get pickaxe rune slots in The Forge
The pickaxe is an exception, as you can’t upgrade those. Instead, you have to buy a new one. The first one we found that had a rune slot was the Gold Pickaxe.
Once you have rune slots unlocked and the rune you want to attach, head to a Runemaker to have them slot it into your gear. You’ll find Runemakers in Stonewalk Cross and Forgotten Kingdom.
For more help in The Forge, keep our list of the best weapon recipes handy, and check out our guides for where to find rivalite, darkryte, and fireite if you’re having trouble tracking them down. And be sure to check out our up-to-date list of The Forge codes for some freebies.