Farming Runes Guide for Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred DLC

In Diablo 4, the beloved Runes and Runewords system makes a comeback, now exclusively available via the Vessel of Hatred DLC.

To dive into this feature, ensure the Vessel of Hatred DLC is installed and advance through the primary storyline. Unlocking the Rune system paves the way for a multitude of strategies to create a vast array of combinations, significantly boosting your character’s capabilities.

Let’s delve into the various Rune types and effective farming techniques to fully realize your character’s potential.

1. Methods for Farming Runes in Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred DLC

Farming Runes in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred DLC | Source: In-game footage

The Vessel of Hatred DLC brings back the classic Rune system from Diablo 2, enabling players to forge powerful Runewords by socketing Runes into their equipment. These customizable magical enhancements employ Trigger and Effect mechanics, shaped by Ritual and Invocation Runes.

Once you finish the “Fundament of Faith” quest within the Vessel of Hatred storyline, you’ll be able to start collecting Runes. With an abundance of Runes to uncover and limitless combinations of Runewords to create, diversifying your collection necessitates engaging in certain in-game activities.

Here are eight effective strategies for Rune farming in Diablo IV:

Defeat bosses within the Vessel of Hatred campaign.
Gather Whisper Caches through Tree of Whispers activities.
Conquer World Bosses.
Clear Strongholds.
Utilize Tributes in Kurast Undercity.
Employ Seething Opal of Socketables.
Craft at the Jeweler.
Trade with other players.

Farming Runes 1 | Source: In-game footage

i. Defeat Campaign Bosses in Vessel of Hatred

The Vessel of Hatred campaign in Diablo 4 serves as a solid method for acquiring Runes, crucial for creating impactful Runewords.
As you navigate through the captivating storyline, you will encounter formidable bosses that drop valuable Runes when defeated.
To enhance your Rune farming efficiency, focus on completing campaign missions thoroughly while optimizing your gear and skills, and consider tackling higher difficulty levels.

ii. Acquire Whisper Caches via Tree of Whispers Tasks

Players in Diablo 4 can improve their Rune stock by completing challenges for the Tree of Whispers, which yield Whisper Caches containing Runes.
The exact influence of the cache quality on Rune rarity remains ambiguous, though it’s rumored that Legendary caches may enhance the likelihood of Legendary Rune drops.
Exploring this method will reveal it as an efficient and reliable way to amass Runes.

iii. Take Down World Bosses

World Bosses in Diablo 4 offer a challenging yet rewarding avenue for consistently earning Runes. The revamped difficulty tiers and enhanced loot in Season 6 have drawn numerous players.
With increased participation, forming groups has become simpler, enabling players to take on these intimidating foes and secure rewards. Defeating World Bosses is a viable strategy for Rune accumulation, bolstering its effectiveness.
This collaborative gameplay fosters social interaction and camaraderie among participants.

iv. Clear Strongholds

When you clear Strongholds for the first time, players are rewarded with Magic-quality Rune drops, which, despite being lower-tier, are of considerable value.
These Runes can offer significant bonuses for simple actions, like healing potions.
Farming Strongholds enables players to gather Magic Runes with options to swap them for Rare or Legendary counterparts, thus enhancing potential Rune power.

Farming Runes 2 | Source: In-game footage

v. Utilize Tributes in Kurast Undercity

In Kurast Undercity, players can adopt a distinctive Rune farming strategy by implementing Tributes.
By using these special items at the start of an Undercity run, players can secure a Rune reward, provided they have achieved Attunement Rank 1.
This method ensures a promising alternative to the unpredictability of other farming techniques, guaranteeing Rune drops.

vi. Employ Seething Opal of Socketables

Within Diablo 4, the Seething Opal of Socketables acts similarly to Elixirs while offering the added advantage of stackable effects, allowing players to amplify their resource gains.
Utilizing the Seething Opal boosts the drop rate of Gem Fragments from foes, therefore increasing the chance of Rune drops.
This method also yields additional benefits like accelerated XP gains and enhanced reputation from Zakarum Remnants.

vii. Craft at the Jeweler

The Jeweler in Diablo 4 presents an essential service for players looking to refresh their Rune inventory. By trading three identical unwanted Runes, players can create a new, random Rune.
While the rarity of the resulting Rune might not directly relate to those traded, it’s a practical way to repurpose surplus duplicates, decluttering inventory while also increasing the likelihood of desired Runes.

viii. Engage in Trading with Fellow Players

In Diablo 4, trading between players creates a vibrant, community-oriented marketplace for acquiring and exchanging Runes.
As Runes are not character-bound, players can trade them freely. This aspect allows for the pursuit of specific Runes while establishing beneficial trade connections.
By collaborating with other players, individuals can consolidate and exchange redundant Runes at the Jeweler, honing their overall collections.

2. Overview of Runes of Ritual

Name	Rarity	Gain	Usage
Yul	Legendary	50 Offering	Cast a Skill with a Cooldown.
Body	Legendary	10 Offering	Lucky Hit: up to a 100% chance against Injured foes.
For that	Legendary	25 Offering	Cast a non-Channeled Core Skill.
Score	Legendary	150 Offering	Invoke power from another Class.
Bac	Legendary	50 Offering	Travel 5 meters.
Lith	Legendary	25 Offering	Stand still for 0.3 seconds.
Cir	Magic	25 Offering	Cast the same non-Channeled Skill 3 times consecutively.
I will	Magic	150 Offering	Cast an Ultimate Skill.
Cem	Magic	50 Offering	Use Evade.
Ur	Magic	10 Offering	Your Minion or Companion kills or falls.
Yes	Magic	100 Offering	Consume a Healing Potion.
Money	Magic	10 Offering	Use a Skill after moving (Cooldown: 0.2 seconds).
Neo	Rare	300 Offering	Deal damage after being inactive for 5 seconds (Resets if Invulnerable).
Sound	Rare	1000 Offering	Become Injured or Crowd Controlled (Cooldown: 20 seconds).
Night	Rare	5 Offering	Apply Crowd Control that isn’t Slow or Chill.
little	Rare	2 Offering	Utilize 5% of your Maximum Resource.
From you	Rare	2 Offering	Reduce 1% of your Maximum Life.

Runes of Ritual Overview

3. Overview of Runes of Invocation

Name	Rarity	Requirements	Overflow	Cooldown	Usage
Ohm	Legendary	500 Offering	Extended Duration	2 Seconds	Invoke the Barbarian’s Enhanced War Cry, boosting your Movement Speed and damage output.
Vex	Legendary	400 Offering	Extended Duration	1 Second	Gain +3 to all Skills for 5 seconds.
Khan	Legendary	700 Offering	N/A	1 Second	Your next Skill will critically hit and Overpower.
Yom	Legendary	500 Offering	N/A	5 Seconds	Invoke the Druid’s Petrify, Stun enemies and enhance your Critical Strike Damage against them.
Eom	Legendary	100 Offering	Further Reduced Cooldowns	1 Second	Decrease your active Cooldowns by 0.25 seconds.
Yes	Legendary	500 Offering	N/A	2 Seconds	Replace your subsequent Evade with the Sorcerer’s Teleport, extending distance, dealing damage and becoming Unstoppable.
Even	Magic	25 Offering	Gains Multiple Stacks	1 Second	Gain 2.5% Critical Strike Chance for 5 seconds, stacking up to 25%.
Lum	Magic	5 Offering	Restoration Boost	1 Second	Restore 1 Primary Resource.
Answer	Magic	100 Offering	N/A	1 Second	Invoke the Necromancer’s Abhorrent Iron Maiden, counterattacking enemies while healing you upon their demise.
Ono	Magic	25 Offering	Boosted Bolts Spawned	1 Second	Invoke Druid’s Dancing Bolts, which seek and damage enemies.
Tec	Magic	100 Offering	Enlarge Size	1 Second	Invoke the Barbarian’s Earthquake, damaging surrounding adversaries.
Of	Magic	100 Offering	Extended Duration	1 Second	Leave the Necromancer’s Desecrated Ground behind for 3 seconds, dealing damage to foes within.
Again	Magic	100 Offering	Enhanced Grenades Spawned	1 Second	Invoke the Rogue’s Stun Grenades, Stunning and damaging enemies.
Ton	Magic	25 Offering	Boosted Meteorites Spawned	1 Second	Invoke the Sorcerer’s Meteorites, damaging enemies.
Of	Magic	100 Offering	Enhanced Swarms Spawned	1 Second	Invoke the Spiritborn’s Pestilent Swarm, damaging enemies.
Ceh	Magic	100 Offering	Summon Multiple Wolves	1 Second	Summon a Spirit Wolf to harm enemies for 8 seconds.
Lac	Rare	800 Offering	Extended Duration	1 Second	Invoke the Barbarian’s Challenging Shout, decreasing damage received.
What	Rare	800 Offering	Extended Duration	1 Second	Invoke the Druid’s Earthen Bulwark, providing a protective Barrier.
Via	Rare	400 Offering	Extended Duration	1 Second	Restore an Evade charge and gain 6% Movement Speed for 5 seconds, stacking up to 30%.
Solution	Rare	200 Offering	Extended Duration	1 Second	Gain 20% Maximum Life for 4 seconds.
What	Rare	100 Offering	N/A	1 Second	Invoke the Necromancer’s Horrid Decrepify, crippling enemies, diminishing their damage and enabling you to Execute them.
Go	Rare	400 Offering	Boosted Damage	1 Second	Your next non-Basic Skill’s cast consumes all your Primary Resource to achieve up to 100% increased damage.
Zec	Rare	200 Offering	Further Reduced Cooldown	2 Seconds	Reduce the cooldown of your active Ultimate by 4 seconds.
Down	Rare	700 Offering	Extended Duration	6 Seconds	Invoke the Rogue’s Countering Concealment, enhancing Dodge Chance, Movement Speed, Unstoppable status, and stealth.
Courage	Rare	150 Offering	Gain Multiple Shadows	1 Second	Gains a shadow from the Rogue’s Dark Shroud, mitigating damage taken per shadow.
Thul	Rare	400 Offering	Enlarged Size	1 Second	Invoke the Sorcerer’s Mystical Frost Nova, causing Freeze and Vulnerable states on enemies.
Tzic	Rare	250 Offering	N/A	1 Second	Invoke the Spiritborn’s Concussive Stomp, inflicting damage and knocking enemies down.
Get	Rare	500 Offering	N/A	3 Seconds	Invoke the Spiritborn’s Vortex, causing damage and pulling in enemies.

Runes of Invocation Overview

With these strategies for effective Rune farming in Diablo 4 at your disposal, it’s time to put this knowledge into practice. Watch your Rune collection flourish!

4. About Diablo IV

Diablo IV, created and published by Blizzard Entertainment, marks the fourth chapter in the legendary Diablo saga. It was initially revealed during BlizzCon 2019 and is set for release on June 6, 2023.

Players will engage in a quest against the darkness to safeguard the Sanctuary amid the fierce battle between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells. You can choose to play solo or join friends in cooperative mode.

A beta version is expected to be available on March 24th, 2023.

Source