Everything You Need to Know About Adding Runes in The Forge

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Plus, what every rune does and where to find it

Co-authored by Amy Bobinger, BA

Last Updated: December 20, 2025 Fact Checked

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Adding Rune Slots

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Adding Runes

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Removing Runes

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Rune Descriptions

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Choosing Runes

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You’ve spent all this time saving up the resources to get awesome weapons, armor, and pickaxes in The Forge—but if you’re not enhancing your gear and equipping it with runes, you’re missing out on its full potential. Don’t worry! The process for adding runes to equipment is pretty easy, and we’re here to walk you through exactly how to do it, including how to add rune slots, where to add runes, and even what each rune does. Let’s go!

How do you add runes in The Forge?

Add rune slots to weapons and armor by upgrading at the Enhancer Shop.
Kill elite enemies to gain runes.
Visit the Runemaker to equip runes in your weapon, armor, and pickaxe.
Visit the Runemaker again to remove runes before selling old gear.

Section 1 of 5:

How to Add Rune Slots to Gear in The Forge

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Visit the Enhancer Shop to add rune slots to weapons and armor. You can only add runes to equipment that has at least one rune slot.^{[1]
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Research source} To add rune slots, go to the Enhancer Shop and talk to the NPC. Say “I’m here to enhance,” then select the item you want to enhance. Click the “Enhance” button and click “Yes” on the confirmation screen that shows you how much gold it will cost.
- You’ll typically get new rune slots after 3, 6, and 9 enhancement levels.
- Pickaxes come with a set number of rune slots—you can’t enhance them to add more.^{[2]
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- Each enhancement costs essence. You can get essence by killing enemies.
- At higher enhancement levels, the success rate of each enhancement starts to drop. If your enhancement fails, you’ll drop down an enhancement tier, and you’ll have to try again.
- In Stonewake’s Cross, the Enhancer’s Shop is directly across from the spawn point. In the Forgotten Kingdom, it’s next door to the Forge—head East from the spawn point, then turn South.

Section 2 of 5:

How to Add Runes in The Forge

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Head to the Runemaker’s Shop to equip runes. Talk to the NPC there and say, “I’m here to craft runes.” Select a piece of gear with at least one rune slot. Then, select the rune you want to equip and click “Attach.” Choose “Yes” on the screen that pops up telling you how much gold the transaction will cost.^{[3]
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- Some runes can only be used with certain types of equipment. For instance, Miner Shards can only go on pickaxes.^{[4]
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- The Runemaker doesn’t actually make runes—he adds them to your gear. You get runes by battling certain enemies. (We’ll cover which enemies to target in the “Where to Find Runes” section.)
- In Stonewake’s Cross, the Runermaker’s Shop is next door to the spawn point, to the left. In the Forgotten Kingdom, it’s directly across the street from the Enhancer’s Shop.^{[5]
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Section 3 of 5:

How to Remove Runes in The Forge

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Visit the Runemaker again to remove runes. Runes aren’t permanently attached to your gear, so it’s no problem if you want to switch one to another weapon, pickaxe, or armor. Just head back to the Runemaker’s shop and choose “I’m here to craft some runes” again. Select the object with the rune you want to remove, click the rune, and then click “Detach.”
- There’s a small fee for this, so click “Yes” on the confirmation screen that pops up telling you how much gold it will cost.
- If you upgrade your equipment, remember to detach your runes before selling your old gear!

Section 4 of 5:

All Runes and Where to Find Them

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Check out our list of every rune in The Forge. This will give you a good idea of which runes you might want to grind for. (If you need a reminder once you’re in the game, open the Menu and go to Index, then click Enemies. Click on each enemy to see which runes they drop.) Here’s the complete list of runes, plus what they do and where to find them.^{[6]
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- Ward Patch: Shield (Chance of reducing incoming damage)
  - Compatible with: Armor
  - Possible secondary traits: Vitality, Swiftness, Endurance, Surge
  - How to get it: Reward for completing Sensei Moro’s Tutorial in Stonewake’s Cross.
- Rage Mark: Berserk (When health drops below 35%, boosts physical damage and movement speed for a short time)
  - Compatible with: Armor
  - Possible secondary traits: Phase, Surge, Stride, Vitality, Swiftness, Endurance
  - How to get it: Defeat Elite Rogue Skeletons
- Briar Notch: Thorn (Reflects damage back to the attacker)
  - Compatible with: Armor
  - Possible secondary traits: Stride, Phase, Surge, Endurance
  - How to get it: Defeat Death-Axe Skeleton, Elite Death-Axe Skeleton
- Flame Spark: Burn (Chance to add fire damage to enemy)
  - Compatible with: Weapon
  - Possible secondary traits: Critical Damage, Critical Chance, Lethality, Fracture, Attack Speed
  - How to get it: Defeat Death-Axe Skeleton, Elite Death-Axe Skeleton, Blazing Slime
- Blast Chip: Explosion (Chance to cause an explosion that deals 20–40% of weapon damage to the area)
  - Compatible with: Weapon
  - Possible secondary traits: Attack Speed, Fracture, Critical Chance, Lethality, Critical Damage
  - How to get it: Defeat Bomber Skeletons
- Venom Crumb: Poison (Chance to add poison damage to enemy)
  - Compatible with: Weapon
  - Possible secondary traits: Fracture, Attack Speed, Lethality, Critical Chance
  - How to get it: Defeat Blight Pyromancer
- Drain Edge: Life Steal (Heals player for portion of physical damage dealt)
  - Compatible with: Weapon
  - Possible secondary traits: Fracture, Attack Speed, Lethality, Critical Damage
  - How to get it: Defeat Reaper
- Miner Shard: Luck (Increases Luck by up to 16%), Yield (Chance to drop 1 additional ore when mining), Swift Mining (Increases mining speed), or Mine Power (Increases mining damage)
  - Compatible with: Pickaxe
  - How to get it: Defeat Bomber Skeleton, Delver Zombie

Section 5 of 5:

What runes should I use?

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The best runes for you really depend on your playing style. One of the best parts about games like The Forge is that you can really customize your character to play to your strengths. That said, some runes do seem to be especially popular:
- Pickaxe: The only runes you can use on a pickaxe are Miner Shards. Miner Shards can have one of 4 traits—Luck is probably the best trait because you’ll be more likely to land rare ores. Try to use Luck shards that are as close as possible to 16%—if you stack 3 Luck boosts at 16% each, you’ll get a 48% Luck boost overall.
  - Yield is another good option since you’ll get more ores overall. But if you have a slow pickaxe, Swift Mining may be a good choice
- Armor: Thorn is a popular rune for armor because it damages enemies when they hit you. Also, if you snag a Ward Shield rune from Sensei Moro, it will boost your defense—especially helpful early in the game.
- Weapon: Life Steal runes are a good option because they’ll heal you as you attack enemies, but Flame Spark is also popular since it adds damage to your enemies while you’re fighting. And if you prefer fighting in crowded areas, Blast Chip is a good option, since the explosion deals AoE damage.
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Pay attention to secondary traits when you’re choosing a rune. Runes’ secondary traits can really make a difference in your gameplay. Try to find trait combinations that work well together, or that fill in gaps where you could use an extra boost. For instance:^{[7]
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- Life Steal and Lethality work well together—Lethality increases your damage, and Life Steal heals you based on how much damage you do.
- Shield and Vitality combined will give you increased defense and extra health, helping you take on tougher enemies.
- Attack Speed can be a helpful boost if you’re using a slower, more powerful weapon.