Changes

Skill Runes

581 bytes added, 10:23, 4 July 2011

→‎Rune Functions

The functions of the runes are not entirely predictable in a given skill. Their bonuses vary widely and wildly, and all rune functions are custom assigned by the devs; none of them are simply +x damage, or +X casting speed. ([[Gems]] provide those sorts of predictable bonuses when socketed into items.) Creating and implementing the rune effects was a tremendous amount of work for the developers and artists; there are nearly 120 skills x 5 runes in each.

All runes offer improvements; any skill with any rune is better than the same skill with no rune. That said, each player will want to pick runes that add the sort of bonuses that best fits their play style. The new rune effects come with new visuals in every case, but with every skill there is at least one rune that doesn't change the basic function of the skill.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-on-unchanging-skill-runes/] Such runes will increase the damage, lower the resource cost, etc, but without radically changing the graphic or basic function.

While the rune functions can not be entirely known in advance, it was thought that they would have general properties that transferred across skills. This may no longer be the case, as it seems the developers are shuffling the bonuses around unpredictably, probably in an effort to make the different types of runes equivalently useful.

[[File:Runes-level.jpg|thumb|300px|Runestone levels]]

Each type of rune has a set function in every skill, and the functions do not vary with the rune quality. For example, an Indigo Rune adds multishot to Magic Missile; higher level Indigo runes don't change that function, they just increase the number of projectiles. More points in skills may sometimes partially duplicate the bonuses provided by one or more runestones, but generally the improvements are distinct. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/runestone-info-galore/ Bashiok forum post] - Diablo.IncGamers.com, January 2011</ref> <blue>Will the increase in rank continue the change that the first rank made to the skill? For example, with the WD blow dart skill, the alabaster runes turn the dart into a snake. What does a higher ranking alabaster rune do?Bashiok: Yes, the mechanic stays the same for the rune type in all ranks (more or less). It simply increases in power. For the alabaster in poison dart example I’m actually not sure the increase in effect, but likely plays off of the stun effect (higher ranks stun the target for longer). Runes that reduce cost reduce even more cost as the rank increases. A rune that would cause multiple projectiles would fire even more projectiles as the rank increases, etc. It’s not necessarily a hard and fast rule though that the increase must only be one thing. Maybe it means more projectiles AND ups the damage a little to make sure it remains competitive with other runes or skills. It has to be a somewhat fluid system.</blue> There are seven quality levels of runestones, roughly distributed so that 1-3 are found as a character progresses through Normal, 4-5 are found in Nightmare, and 6-7 are found in Hell. Higher level runestones can be distinguished by additional points around their perimeters. It's not known how rare high level runestones will be, but as powerful as they are, most players expect them to be fairly scarce.

::'''''Question:''' Will the increase in rank continue the change that the first rank made to the skill? For example, with the WD blow dart skill, the alabaster runes turn the dart into a snake. What does a higher ranking alabaster rune do?''

::[[Bashiok]]: Yes, the mechanic stays the same for the rune type in all ranks (more or less). It simply increases in power. For the alabaster in poison dart example I’m actually not sure the increase in effect, but likely plays off of the stun effect (higher ranks stun the target for longer). Runes that reduce cost reduce even more cost as the rank increases. A rune that would cause multiple projectiles would fire even more projectiles as the rank increases, etc. It’s not necessarily a hard and fast rule though that the increase must only be one thing. Maybe it means more projectiles AND ups the damage a little to make sure it remains competitive with other runes or skills. It has to be a somewhat fluid system.~~ ~~===Skill Function Changes===

~~There are seven quality levels~~ All runes offer improvements; any skill with any rune is better than the same skill with no rune. That said, each player will want to pick runes that add the sort of ~~runestones~~bonuses that best fits their play style. The new rune effects come with new visuals in every case, ~~roughly distributed so~~ but with every skill there is at least one rune that 1doesn't change the basic function of the skill. Such runes will increase the damage, lower the resource cost, etc, but without radically changing the graphic or basic function. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-on-unchanging-~~3 are found as a character progresses through Normal, 4~~skill-~~5 are found in Nightmare, and 6~~runes/ @Diablo tweet] -~~7 are found in Hell~~Diablo. ~~Higher level runestones can be distinguished by additional points around their perimeters~~IncGamers. ~~It's not known how rare high level runestones will be~~com, ~~but as powerful as they are~~April 2011</ref> This assertion was partially disproved by the five runestone effect videos, ~~most players expect~~ since several of them show graphical changes to ~~be fairly scarce~~every runestone, along with at least partial changes in function. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/new-runestones-details-and-videos/ New skill rune videos] - Diablo.IncGamers.com, April 2011</ref>

==Runestone Scarcity==

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