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Skill Runes

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'''Runes''' in [[Diablo 3]] are small items that are socketed into '''active''' [[skill]]s, (not into [[item]]s as they were in Diablo 2). Diablo 3's skill runes grant special bonuses to the skill they are socketed into, improving the skill's function in various ways, such as adding damage or multiple hits, reducing cost, etc.
There are five types of runes, each representing a general type of bonus, the names of which have changed repeatedly during game development. The most recent information came from final name change was revealed in May 2010, when [[Bashiok]] in late May 2010, when he revealed the current rune names as Crimson, Indigo, Obsidian, Golden, Alabaster. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/new-skill-rune-names-revealed/] revealed the names as having changed to [[Crimson]], [[Indigo]], [[Obsidian]], [[Golden]], and [[Alabaster]]. Considerable, but not total, changes to their bonuses came with that name change.
Runes spawn at various levels of quality (5 or 6 levels), e.g., "Minor Alabaster Runestone."
[[Jay Wilson]] has stressed that runes must add a useful function to multiple types of skills, since every type of rune will be socketable in every action skill. (As far as we know.) This leads to some odd and creative design decisions, since while it's obvious what most runes will do in most skills, there are some exceptions. Consider what a rune that adds multiple hits or damage does for a purely defensive/shielding skill? Or a movement skill like the Wizard's Teleport?
The [[D3 Team]] wants all the runes to be useful to all [[class]]es, so they did not add runes that just boosted one type of skill, or one character's skills. They have had to find general function bonuses that worked across the board, which is why there are not fifty types of runes. Just Instead there are just fiverune types, though one of the five is basically even with just 5, their functions change quite a wild card rune that does odd and different things bit from skill to skill, in different skillsmany cases. 
==Rune Types and Functions==
Though the five types of runes kept changing names, but their functions seemed to be largely set all through 2009 and into 2010. This apparent certainty was overturned by new info[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-interview-g4tv/] from [[Jay Wilson]] at the [[Gamescom]] show in August 2010.
 
 
===Rune Tool Tips===
The team has stressed that every rune will have an informative tool tip, letting players know approximately what that rune will do in a given skill. To see this in the game, players need pick up a rune and then hover it over a skill with a socket. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/new-skill-rune-names-revealed/]
 
::Pick up a rune and mousing it over a skill and the tooltip will tell you how it affects the skill. The UI does a good job of informing you how each rune interacts with each skill.
 
===Original Rune Functions===
* The Striking rune: "And one of them we call just... the weird rune, which is our grab bag for anything unusual we want to stick on."
Though all the names have changed, three of the functions remain largely intact. Most skills still benefit from a +damage rune, a multishot/strike rune, and a critical hit boosting rune. The wildcard rune is still very wild. The biggest change is that the former Energy rune is largely changed to a second wildcard rune, since changes to the [[resource]] systems made its former function largely obsolete.
===Updated Gamescom Info===
Jay didn't describe the full rune system at Gamescom, but he gave examples of what the various Runes do with the [[Wizard]] skill [[===Hydra]]. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-interview-g4tv/]The First Example===
::One of my favorites is on the Wizard. She has a skill called Hydra, which is largely Jay didn't describe the same as it was in Diablo 2. Fiery (dragon) heads that shoot fireballs. Depending on which full rune the Wizard sockets in that skillsystem at Gamescom, but he gave examples of what the dragon heads change elements, and it’s a major change. Their entire appearance is altered. They can become poison heads, which shoot bolts of poison that leave pools of acid on various Runes do with the ground. There are lightning heads that shoot [[Chain LightningWizard]]. Cold heads that shoot skill [[Frost BoltsHydra]] that slow enemies. Another rune makes for a bigger fire attack, where which shows off the head just breaths a cone of flamebig changes to the skill from runestones. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-interview-g4tv/]
The last example, ::'''Jay Wilson: '''One of my favorites is on the Wizard. She has a skill called Hydra, which is largely the same as it was in Diablo 2. Fiery (dragon) heads that shoot fireballs. Depending on which rune the Wizard sockets in that makes for a bigger fire attackskill, fits easily into the known systemdragon heads change elements, and it’s a major change. It sounds like what used to be called the Power RuneTheir entire appearance is altered. The three elemental damage types thoughThey can become poison heads, do not seem to have any connection to the known functions which shoot bolts of poison that leave pools of acid on the Multistrike, Energy, Lethality, or Striking runesground. There are lightning heads that shoot [[Chain Lightning]]. Cold heads that shoot [[Frost Bolts]] that slow enemies. It's not known if Another rune makes for a bigger fire attack, where the Hydra skill is an outlier, or if most skills now gain very different rune bonuses than they did previouslyhead just breaths a cone of flame.
Jay did not list what all five runes did in Hydra, and his explanation left fans confused. Where were the three elemental damage types coming from? Nothing like that seemed to fit wit the previous rune functions.
===More Updated Bashiok Info===
Diablo III Community Manager Bashiok spoke to Diii.net about runestones shortly after Gamescom, in August 2010, and explained a lot of the lingering questions on this issue. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/more-changes-to-runestones/]===Rune Changes Explained===
He clarified the Hydra rune situationDiablo III Community Manager Bashiok spoke to Diii. The five runes provide to Hydra: extra damagenet about runestones shortly after Gamescom, multishotin August 2010, and explained a lot of the 3 elemental propertieslingering questions from Jay's Gamescom update. Extra damage and multishot are consistent with the previous properties[http://diablo. One of the elementals comes from the wildcard rune, and the other comes from what used to be the Energy runeincgamers. That rune now functions as a second wildcard in most skills, since com/blog/comments/more-changes -to the [[resources-runestones/]] made the mana-saving property obsolete. (Plus it just wasn't cool enough, in most instances.)
So In Hydra isn't , five runes provide: extra damage (with a total outlier; it's just got one runechanged fire form), Multistrike (formerly rapid fire), and the 3 elemental properties. Extra damage and multishot are consistent with previously known rune functions. One of the elementals comes from the wildcard rune, and the other comes from what used to be the Energy rune. That rune now functions as Lethality) that usually affects critical bonusesa second wildcard in most skills, thatsince changes to the [[resources]] made the mana-saving property obsolete. (Plus it just wasn's doing something very different (an elemental damage changet cool enough, in most instances.).
Many of the skills in the game have undergone similar transformationsSo Hydra isn't a total outlier; it's just got one rune, in terms of their Runestone effects. The D3 Team has gone over all of them, more than 600 (20-25 skills per char x 5 chars x 5 runesformerly known as Lethality) and tried to make them all awesome. Visual, interesting, exciting; not just stat-tweaking. This is a huge projectthat usually affects critical bonuses, with a lot of trial and error, and itthat's ongoingdoing something very different (providing an elemental damage change, in Hydra).
Many of the skills in the game have undergone similar transformations, in terms of their Runestone effects. The D3 Team has gone over all of them, more than 600 (20-25 skills per char x 5 chars x 5 runes) and tried to make them all "awesome." Visual, interesting, exciting; not just stat-tweaking. This is a huge project, with a lot of trial and error, and it's ongoing. The changes to artwork and graphics were are extensive, but they can usually modifiedadapt other art elements from the game, rather than having to make so many visual changesnew effects from scratch. For instance, for a new effect runestone change to the [[Witch Doctor]]'s [[Corpse Spiders]] spell spawn caused a huge "mother spider" they to spawn, instead of just tiny spiders. The artists were able to use create this by modifying an existing artwork for monster spiders, modify it a bit, apply spider model. They put on a new texture, change changed the size, tweaked the AI, and voila, itthey's ve got a big spider that fits perfectly with the new runestone effect.
The biggest problem seems to be balancing. How can they even out the effects and utility of so many runes doing so many different things? Bashiok admitted that was a challenge, but said that perfect balance wasn't required. As long as none of the rune properties were wildly over or underpowered, it would be find for [[PvE]] play. They might have to do more fine-tuning when it came to PvP though, since there it really does matter if one skill is slightly better than another. But they're not to the point of worrying much about that, yet.
 
==Rune Names==
There are five types of runes in Diablo 3. Their names have changed during development, though when he named them in (May 2010), Bashiok said these were fairly set for the final game: [[Crimson Rune|Crimson]], [[Indigo Rune|Indigo]], [[Obsidian Rune|Obsidian]], [[Golden Rune|Golden]], [[Alabaster Rune|Alabaster]]. These The team refers to these as "substance/mineral" names are all adjectives for colors (red, blue, black, gold, white), but it's not known if the rune names will appear in those colors in the game.
The five known rune names, prior to the color-themed name change: * [[Energy Rune]], new name unknown.* [[Viper Rune]] (named , previously the Lethality before)Rune. New name unknown.* [[Hydra Rune]], which was previously called the "Multistrike" rune, and is now Rune. Now the [[Indigo Rune]].* [[Force Rune]] (named , previously the Power before)Rune. New name unknown.* [[Striking Rune]] Only the Multistrike > Hydra > Indigo rune , new name progression is confirmed as of June 2010. It's unknown which of the others are now called Golden, Alabaster, Obsidian, or Crimson. The name progression is largely a curiosity at this point, since the rune properties have changed as well as their titles.
::For example: "[quality] [rune type] Runestone"
 
===Rune Tool Tips===
Hovering over a rune will show a description of what it does. Holding the rune while hovering on a skill will give more information, as Bashiok said in May 2010. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/new-skill-rune-names-revealed/]
 
::Pick up a rune and mousing it over a skill and the tooltip will tell you how it affects the skill. The UI does a good job of informing you how each rune interacts with each skill.
===Rune Crafting/Upgrading===
The D3 team has not yet revealed any information about item confirmed that the [[craftingMystic]] in Diablo 3will have some crafting recipes to create new runes, though there are no details yet, other than to say that they won't have any {{iw|Horadric_Cube Horadric Cube-style}} converting itemswill use old Runes in the process.
It's therefore not known if runes will also be craftable, or upgradeablepossible to [[salvage]] unwanted runes for magical materials, but given the game's focus on items, it's certainly possible.
===Rune Storage===
At the [[BlizzCon 2008]] demo, runes were stored in an [[inventory]] grid on the skill tree menu; not in the normal inventory. There were 10 rune slots below the skill trees. It's not known if they will still be  They are now stored there in the final gamemain inventory, and like runes should stack, if there will be ways to increase the number of slots, or if they can be stored in the save on inventory insteadspace.
===Rune Appearance===
[[Image:New_Rune_Socket.png|thumbleft|Rune Socket]][[File:Runestone1.jpg|frame|left|Crimson rune.]]As of BlizzCast episode 8 (30th of March, 2009) [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/blizzcast-8-live-with-diablo-iii-goodies/] Runes and Rune Sockets changed from squares below a skill to horizontal rectangles, as seen in the image to the right. ==Rune Function Examples==Skill Runes in [[Diablo III]] improve a character's active [[skill]]s in various creative ways. Runes can be used strategically; different runes in the same spell will do things, and there are multiple quality levels of the same rune type, scaling the increases upleft.
For example: the [[Wizard]] skill [[Blizzard]] would gain different benefits from different runes. A few hypothetical Blizzard bonuses: more falling projectiles, longer durationThe newer form (as of August, 2010) is more damage per projectiledramatic, longer chill timewith a round, better to/hit, better chance of critical hit, and so forthmarble-like shape that bears a striking graphic. Also, each of those types of bonuses would It can be increased in power by the quality of seen to the rune used, allowing for a huge variety of potential bonuses and play stylesright.
When first announced, Blizzard said that runes could be removed from sockets at any time and without any penalty. It's not known if this is still the case. If so, players could theoretically juggle their runes for different situations, sticking in a multi-strike rune to deal with big mobs, changing to a power rune to up the single target damage before a boss battle, and so forth. It therefore seems likely that Blizzard will take steps to limit this sort of switching, perhaps forcing players to return to town before they can change the rune socketed in a spell, putting a cool down time on resocketing the same skill, limiting the number of times a particular rune can be socketed, or some other hindrances.
==Rune Function Examples==The [[D3 Team]] gave several examples of rune functions during a panel at [[BlizzCon 2008]] when Skill Runes were first revealed as a game feature. ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouYP1zGfd0s Watch the demonstration] on YouTube.) The rune names have all changed since this time, but the illustrated functions are said to still be nearly identical, hence the following examples, though outdated, remain illustrative of what we'll see in the final gamelargely unchanged.
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