Corakight's blog
How to Farm Runes in Elden Ring
Most major bosses players will face in Elden Ring will drop Great Runes - powerful items that offer potential buffs upon activation - which players may obtain randomly or through Maiden of Mist.
For maximum effectiveness when using these runes, players need to level up their attributes and weapons - here's how!
Leveling
As players advance their characters, they'll often require additional Runes in order to reach new levels. One way for players to ensure they don't run out is to visit one of Elden Ring's numerous Rune farming spots and stockpile what's needed for success.
Runes serve both as currency and experience points in FromSoftware games. When players die, any Runes they had will be dropped at their place of death; to retrieve these, return back before dying again or they may be lost forever.
Near the Palace-Approach Ledge Road Site of Grace lies this cheesey farm spot, an ideal place for players to level early in elden ring runes buy and prepare themselves to tackle some of the more difficult bosses of Lands Between.
Attributes
As they advance their character, players are able to spend elden ring runes to increase certain Attributes - these changes impact attack power, defense stats, and affinities of the character. Later on in the game they may come across a Larval Tear which allows them to reassign previously-spent points back onto different Attributes.
Each Attribute that can be upgraded with Runes purchased at Sites of Grace throughout The Lands Between is comprised of eight Attributes that the player can spend Runes to enhance - each improving an offensive or defensive skill necessary for survival - such as Astrologer Origin's high starting Intelligence value that makes it ideal for Sorcery builds; Prophet's starting Faith provides access to Incantations-focused builds. Players should try balancing their Attribute points evenly to gain maximum benefit from each skill chosen.
Skills
Elden Ring can be bewilderingly complex at first, especially its system of Great Runes which give players special buffs when activated.
Elden Ring features several demi-god bosses that reward players upon defeat with a Great Rune; for instance, Godrick the Grafted will award one which raises all attributes by five.
Just acquiring the Great elden ring runes isn't enough - for full effect, players must bring it to a Divine Tower and activate it (these towers tend to be associated with bosses from whom players received it, though exceptions do exist (such as the teleporter chest trap within Crumbling Farum Azula). Once activated, Great Runes remain active until they die or the player leaves the game.
Great Runes
Elden Ring draws upon many of FromSoftware's established mechanics from its previous Souls-style games, but also introduces some innovative ones. Perhaps most notably are its Great Runes - consumable items which confer powerful abilities upon using them - these consumable items are often dropped by main bosses called Demigods; each Great Rune offers different strengths related to its name or theme.
Before the Great elden ring runes can have any impact for your character, however, you must first "awaken" it. To do so, visit the Divine Tower associated with its creator; for instance if Godrick dropped it then visit Limgrave's Divine Tower instead.
Rune Arcs
Efficiently defeating Elden Ring's major bosses brings with it some substantial benefits; however, these effects remain dormant until activated using a Great Rune Arc.
Rune Arcs are rare items that can be obtained in multiple ways. Both the Nomadic Merchant and Roundtable Hold sell them for 4,000 runes; additionally they may be earned by summoning yourself as a helper in other worlds or helping a group of players defeat a boss in multiplayer battles.
There's an easy and quick way to acquire them: head to the Church of Dragon Communion and do one loop of the island while killing smaller birds that sit on rocks - this should net you five Rune Arcs within short amount of time, which can then be used to unlock your first Great Rune.
