How To Equip Runes In Path of Exile 2

Your build in Path of Exile 2 is determined by many small choices, such as the passives you choose, the gear you equip, and the skills you use. Gear will be some of the more important choices to keep track of since you’ll find so much loot all with various effects and bonuses.

While magical gear of blue rarity or higher already has bonus effects beyond just their armor and evasion rates, some can also be slotted with Runes. Runes are one-time use insets that can further make your best gear even better; here’s how to use them.

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How To Use Runes In Path of Exile 2

With a rune in your inventory, you can insert it onto any gear piece that has an unfilled socket. Runes have two effects with only one being active depending on what you equip the rune onto:

• Martial Weapon – Activates the offensive bonus of the rune which is listed first.
• Armor – Activates the defensive bonus of the run which is listed second.

Players will find many Runes of the same type, with you only able to stack up to 10 of each in your inventory. While runes can’t be taken off of gear, you shouldn’t wait too long to use them, as later runes found will be better making your current ones obsolete later one. It’s recommended that you equip runes on gear of yellow rarity or higher unless you have extra for equipping on a blue rarity item.

How To Get Socketed Gear

While some gear will randomly be found with a socket for a rune, technically, all gear can be given a socket. Using the Salvage Bench in town you can break down any gear with a socket, even if they have a rune to get the pieces for an Artificer’s Orb. Artificer’s Orbs can then be used on any gear piece to give them a socket. These are also recommended to be held onto more often than not until you’re a bit later in the game to give all your high-end gear a socket instead of early-game gear which will quickly be switched out.

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How To Find Runes In Path of Exile 2

There is no sure way to find runes as they are a random drop from monsters and bosses. That being said, they are rare items that won’t be found often in Act 1 and will be found more commonly as you progress to later acts in the game. It’s also helpful to reset Instances every time you enter a new area to make sure chests and mini-bosses respawn since they will have a higher chance of dropping runes.

Franchise

Path of Exile

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer , Online Co-Op

Engine

Proprietary Engine

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Nudity, Violence

Early Access Release

December 6, 2024

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