Rune List: All 33 Runes, Effects, Levels and Cube Upgrades

Diablo 2 Resurrected has 33 runes, from the common El to the ultra-rare Zod. A rune socketed into an item gives that item its own bonus, and the right runes in the right order form a runeword. This guide covers what every rune does, its level requirement, how to upgrade it in the Horadric Cube and where to farm it.

The runewords themselves have their own guides: Body Armor, Weapon and Shield and Helm runewords.

1.How Runes Work

• Runes only go into socketed items. A single rune on its own already grants the bonus shown in the table below.
• The same rune gives a different bonus in a weapon, in body armor or a helm, and in a shield.
• For a runeword, the base item must be normal (white/grey) or Superior quality, its socket count must exactly match the number of runes, and the runes must go in in the correct order. Magic, rare, set and unique items cannot become runewords.
• An item's level requirement rises to that of the highest-level rune socketed into it.
• Mercenaries can wear runeword weapons and armor.
• Socketed runes cannot be taken out normally. The unsocket recipe removes everything but destroys what it removes — it only saves the item (see Other Cube Recipes).

2.Rune List and Effects

Runes are listed from most common to rarest. "Level" is the minimum character level the rune requires.

Rune	Level	Weapon	Helm / Armor	Shield
El	11	+50 Attack Rating, +1 Light Radius	+15 Defense, +1 Light Radius	+15 Defense, +1 Light Radius
Eld	11	+75% Damage to Undead, +50 Attack Rating against Undead	15% Slower Stamina Drain	+7% Increased Chance of Blocking
Tir	13	+2 to Mana after each Kill	+2 to Mana after each Kill	+2 to Mana after each Kill
Nef	13	Knockback	+30 Defense vs. Missile	+30 Defense vs. Missile
Eth	15	−25% Target Defense	Regenerate Mana 15%	Regenerate Mana 15%
Ith	15	+9 to Maximum Damage	15% Damage Taken Goes to Mana	15% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
Tal	17	+75 Poison Damage over 5 seconds	Poison Resist +30%	Poison Resist +35%
Ral	19	Adds 5–30 Fire Damage	Fire Resist +30%	Fire Resist +35%
Ort	21	Adds 1–50 Lightning Damage	Lightning Resist +30%	Lightning Resist +35%
Thul	23	Adds 3–14 Cold Damage (3 sec chill)	Cold Resist +30%	Cold Resist +35%
Amn	25	7% Life Stolen per Hit	Attacker Takes Damage of 14	Attacker Takes Damage of 14
Sol	27	+9 to Minimum Damage	Damage Reduced by 7	Damage Reduced by 7
Shael	29	20% Increased Attack Speed (IAS)	20% Faster Hit Recovery (FHR)	20% Faster Block Rate (FBR)
Dol	31	Hit Causes Monster to Flee 25%	Replenish Life +7	Replenish Life +7
Hel	1	Requirements −20%	Requirements −15%	Requirements −15%
Io	35	+10 to Vitality	+10 to Vitality	+10 to Vitality
Lum	37	+10 to Energy	+10 to Energy	+10 to Energy
Ko	39	+10 to Dexterity	+10 to Dexterity	+10 to Dexterity
Fal	41	+10 to Strength	+10 to Strength	+10 to Strength
Lem	43	75% Extra Gold from Monsters	50% Extra Gold from Monsters	50% Extra Gold from Monsters
Pul	45	+75% Damage to Demons, +100 Attack Rating against Demons	+30% Enhanced Defense	+30% Enhanced Defense
Um	47	25% Chance of Open Wounds	All Resistances +15	All Resistances +22
Mal	49	Prevent Monster Heal	Magic Damage Reduced by 7	Magic Damage Reduced by 7
Ist	51	30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items	25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items	25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Gul	53	20% Bonus to Attack Rating	+5% to Maximum Poison Resist	+5% to Maximum Poison Resist
Vex	55	7% Mana Stolen per Hit	+5% to Maximum Fire Resist	+5% to Maximum Fire Resist
Ohm	57	+50% Enhanced Damage	+5% to Maximum Cold Resist	+5% to Maximum Cold Resist
Lo	59	20% Deadly Strike	+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist	+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
Sur	61	Hit Blinds Target	Maximum Mana +5%	+50 to Mana
Ber	63	20% Chance of Crushing Blow	Damage Reduced by 8%	Damage Reduced by 8%
Jah	65	Ignore Target's Defense	Maximum Life +5%	+50 to Life
Cham	67	Freezes Target +3	Cannot Be Frozen	Cannot Be Frozen
Zod	69	Indestructible	Indestructible	Indestructible

Hel has effectively no level requirement (usable from level 1). That is why the other runes decide the level of a Hel runeword: Myth (Hel + Amn + Nef), for example, can be worn at level 25.

3.Upgrading Runes in the Horadric Cube

Transmute three identical runes (two from Pul upward), plus a gem where listed, to get the next rune. In Diablo 2 Resurrected every one of these recipes works in every game mode: single player, online, ladder and non-ladder.

Gem grades from lowest to highest: Chipped → Flawed → regular → Flawless → Perfect.

Put in the Cube	Gem	Result
+ +		Eld
+ +		Tir
+ +		Nef
+ +		Eth
+ +		Ith
+ +		Tal
+ +		Ral
+ +		Ort
+ +		Thul
+ +	+ Chipped Topaz	Amn
+ +	+ Chipped Amethyst	Sol
+ +	+ Chipped Sapphire	Shael
+ +	+ Chipped Ruby	Dol
+ +	+ Chipped Emerald	Hel
+ +	+ Chipped Diamond	Io
+ +	+ Flawed Topaz	Lum
+ +	+ Flawed Amethyst	Ko
+ +	+ Flawed Sapphire	Fal
+ +	+ Flawed Ruby	Lem
+ +	+ Flawed Emerald	Pul
+	+ Flawed Diamond	Um
+	+ Topaz	Mal
+	+ Amethyst	Ist
+	+ Sapphire	Gul
+	+ Ruby	Vex
+	+ Emerald	Ohm
+	+ Diamond	Lo
+	+ Flawless Topaz	Sur
+	+ Flawless Amethyst	Ber
+	+ Flawless Sapphire	Jah
+	+ Flawless Ruby	Cham
+	+ Flawless Emerald	Zod

4.Other Cube Recipes That Use Runes

Rune	Extra ingredient	Item	Result
Hel	+ Scroll of Town Portal	+ Socketed item	Removes every rune, gem and jewel from the item; the removed pieces are destroyed and the item keeps its empty sockets
Ral		+ Any armor	Fully repairs the armor's durability
Ral	+ Any Flawed gem	+ Armor	Repairs the armor and restores its charges
Ort		+ Any weapon	Fully repairs the weapon's durability
Ort	+ Any Chipped gem	+ Weapon	Repairs the weapon and restores its charges

Ethereal items cannot be repaired in the Cube.

The unsocket recipe is mostly used to re-roll variable runewords such as Insight or Spirit on the same base item.

5.Where Runes Drop

Any monster or chest can drop runes, and the chance of high runes grows with difficulty and area level. On top of that there are two reliable sources:

Source	Normal	Nightmare	Hell
The Countess — Act 1, Forgotten Tower level 5; drops an extra rune on every kill	El – Ral	El – Io	El – Ist
Hellforge quest — Act 4; gives one rune when completed	El – Amn	Sol – Um	Hel – Gul

• The Countess is the fastest source of low and mid runes, going as high as Ist on Hell. The runes for Insight (Ral Tir Tal Sol) and Spirit (Tal Thul Ort Amn) are easy to collect here.
• The Hellforge quest can be done once per difficulty; on Hell it guarantees a rune between Hel and Gul.
• Terror Zones scale the monsters of an area up to your level, which makes them the best farming spots for high runes.
• High runes (Vex and above) are very rare drops; before selling a Pul or better, consider the upgrade recipe.

6.How Many El Runes Make a Zod?

There are 20 upgrades from El to Pul and each one takes three runes: 3²⁰ = 3,486,784,401 El for a single Pul. From Pul to Zod there are 12 more upgrades and each takes two runes: 2¹² = 4,096.

Result: one Zod = 3,486,784,401 × 4,096 = 14,281,868,906,496 El (not counting the gems needed along the way). In practice you will never cube a Zod up from El; high runes come from drops or trading.

7.Quick Tips

• Check the socket count before building a runeword; too many or too few sockets and the runeword will not form.
• Insight in a polearm is one of the most valuable early runewords for your mercenary; farm its runes from the Countess.
• If repairs get expensive, the Ral and Ort recipes restore your armor or weapon for free.
• Don't sell Hel runes: they are useful both in low-level runewords and in the unsocket recipe.