Diablo 4: Vessel Of Hatred - Runewords Guide

In the latest installment of the Diablo series, Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, the Runewords system makes a thrilling comeback, allowing players to infuse their equipment with potent abilities. This guide delves into how you can harness these ancient Runes to enhance your character’s performance dramatically.

While the system in Diablo 4 isn’t as expansive as it was in Diablo 2, it still offers a wealth of strategic depth. By embedding Runes into your gear, you can unlock enhancements like increased critical chances or even access abilities typically reserved for other classes.

Whether you’re looking to utilize the Sorcerer’s Teleport to evade danger, the Barbarian’s war cries to bolster your allies, or the Necromancer’s hexes to weaken foes, Runewords can significantly alter your gameplay. They also offer a way to shore up weaker aspects of your character, such as improving cooldown reductions and boosting critical hit chances.

This article will guide you through the essentials of the Runewords system in Diablo 4, providing strategies to maximize their potential and suggestions for creating the ultimate character builds. Let’s explore how you can make the most of this dynamic system to dominate the forces of evil.

What Are Runes in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred?

Runes are a fascinating addition to the arsenal of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred. These socketable items are unique in that they are inert when used individually. However, their true power is unleashed when paired, as combining two specific Runes in a single item activates a Runeword. These Runewords are the key to unlocking formidable effects, from enhancing your stats to granting access to abilities typically reserved for other classes. For example, with the right Runeword, a Necromancer can harness the Sorcerer’s Teleport skill.

Runes are scattered throughout the game’s endgame scenarios, such as Nightmare Dungeons, Whisper caches, pinnacle bosses, and the shadowy recesses of the Kurast Undercity. Once you’ve collected enough Runes, you can take them to any town’s Jeweler. Here, you have the opportunity to transmute three identical Runes into a new, randomly selected Rune. This process not only recycles Runes that might be surplus to requirements but also gives you a chance to discover powerful new combinations for your gear.

How Does Runewords Work in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred?

Runewords in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred operate through a dynamic pairing of two distinct types of Runes: Ritual and Invocation. Here’s how each type contributes to the functionality of Runewords:

• Ritual Runes: These are the generators in the Runeword equation, tasked with producing “offering,” a specialized resource necessary for activating a Runeword. The accumulation of offering is linked to specific actions you undertake in the game, such as using potions or executing ultimate skills. The frequency and ease of generating offering often correlate with the rarity of the Ritual Rune; rarer Ritual Runes provide offering under less stringent conditions.
• Invocation Runes: These are the consumers that utilize the offering to unleash various powerful effects. The effects can range widely, from conjuring spirit wolves to aid in battle, boosting your critical strike probability, or even allowing the use of skills typically exclusive to other classes. The potency of the effects and the offering cost are generally higher with rarer Invocation Runes.

By strategically combining these Runes, players can craft Runewords that significantly enhance their character’s abilities and tailor their gameplay experience to suit their style or the challenges they face.

How to Craft A Runeword in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred

Crafting a Runeword in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is straightforward and strategic. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to integrate Runewords into your gameplay:

1. Choose Your Runes: Start by selecting a Ritual Rune and an Invocation Rune. The Ritual Rune will serve as your resource generator, accumulating “offering” based on specified in-game actions. The Invocation Rune, on the other hand, will use the gathered offering to activate a particular effect.
2. Socket the Runes: Insert both the Ritual and Invocation Runes into the same piece of equipment. This can be your helmet, body armor, or pants. It’s important to note that these gear pieces are ideal because they typically house only stat-boosting gems, which makes them less impactful when replaced by Runewords compared to the potentially larger effects found in weapon and jewelry gems.
3. Activation: Upon correctly socketing the Runes, a new icon will appear above your skill bar, representing your Runeword. This icon will gradually fill up as you generate offering through your in-game actions. When the icon is fully charged, the Runeword will trigger its effect automatically, consuming the offering and resetting the process.
4. Adjustments: If you wish to experiment with different Runewords or adjust your strategy, you can easily remove the Runes from your equipment directly from your inventory—no need to visit a Jeweler for this.

This method allows you to harness powerful effects and tailor your character’s abilities without significant trade-offs, making Runewords a vital component of your strategy in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred.

Complete List of Runewords in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred

In Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, Ritual Runes play a crucial role in generating offering, the resource needed to activate Invocation Runes and unleash powerful effects. Below is a detailed breakdown of all the Ritual Runes and their effects.

• Ahu: Grants +10 offering. It has a Lucky Hit mechanic, providing up to a 100% chance of success against injured enemies.
• Bac: Generates +50 offering when you travel 5 meters.
• Cem: Provides +50 offering every time you use the evade action.
• Cir: Awards +30 offering when you cast the same non-channeled skill three times in a row.
• Feo: Yields +1,000 offering when you become injured or crowd-controlled. This has a cooldown of 10 seconds.
• Lith: Generates +25 offering if you stand still for 0.3 seconds while in combat.
• Moni: Provides +25 offering when you cast a skill after moving, with a cooldown of 0.2 seconds.
• Neo: Grants +200 offering if you deal damage after not taking damage for 3 seconds.
• Noc: Generates +10 offering when you inflict a crowd control effect, excluding slow or chill.
• Poc: Awards +5 offering when you spend 5% of your maximum resource.
• Tam: Provides +25 offering when you cast a non-channeled Core skill.
• Xol: Yields +150 offering when you evoke a skill from another class.
• Yax: Grants +200 offering when you drink a health potion.
• Yul: Generates +50 offering when you cast a skill that has a cooldown.
• Zan: Provides +150 offering when you cast an ultimate skill.

By understanding how these Ritual Runes work and when they trigger offering, you can maximize their potential and create powerful Runeword combinations that elevate your gameplay.

All Invocation Runes

Invocation Runes in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred are the powerful triggers that activate unique effects once you’ve generated enough offering with your Ritual Runes. Here’s a detailed breakdown of all Invocation Runes and their effects:

• Ceh: Requires 100 offering (1-second cooldown) to summon a Spirit Wolf that fights for 8 seconds.
• Eom: Costs 100 offering (1-second cooldown) and reduces all cooldowns by 0.1 second.
• Gar: For 25 offering (1-second cooldown), you gain 2% critical chance for 5 seconds, stacking up to 20%.
• Jah: Costs 400 offering (2-second cooldown) and replaces your next evade with the Sorcerer’s Teleport skill.
• Kry: Uses 300 offering (3-second cooldown) to trigger the Spiritborn’s Vortex skill.
• Lac: Requires 400 offering (1-second cooldown) to evoke the Barbarian’s Challenging Shout skill.
• Lum: Costs 5 offering (1-second cooldown) to restore 1 primary resource.
• Mot: With 150 offering (1-second cooldown), gain a shroud from the Rogue’s Dark Shadow skill.
• Ner: Requires 600 offering (6-second cooldown) to activate the Rogue’s Countering Concealment skill.
• Ohm: Costs 600 offering (2-second cooldown) to evoke the Barbarian’s War Cry skill.
• Qax: For 400 offering (1-second cooldown), your next non-basic skill consumes all primary resources to deal up to 100% more damage.
• Qua: Costs 50 offering (1-second cooldown) and grants 5% movement speed, stacking up to 30%.
• Que: Uses 300 offering (1-second cooldown) to trigger the Druid’s Earthen Bulwark skill.
• Tal: Costs 100 offering (1-second cooldown) to evoke the Spiritborn’s Pestilent Swarm skill.
• Teb: For 100 offering (1-second cooldown), you activate the Necromancer’s Abhorrent Iron Maiden skill.
• Tec: Requires 100 offering (1-second cooldown) to trigger the Barbarian’s Earthquake skill.
• Thul: Costs 300 offering (1-second cooldown) to evoke the Sorcerer’s Mystical Frost Nova skill.
• Ton: For 20 offering (1-second cooldown), cast the Sorcerer’s Meteorites skill.
• Tun: Costs 100 offering (1-second cooldown) to trigger the Rogue’s Stun Grenades skill.
• Tzic: Requires 250 offering (1-second cooldown) to activate the Spiritborn’s Concussive Stomp skill.
• Vex: For 1,000 offering (1-second cooldown), gain +3 to all skills for 7 seconds.
• Wat: Uses 100 offering (1-second cooldown) to cast the Necromancer’s Decrepify skill.
• Xal: Costs 200 offering (1-second cooldown) to boost your max HP by 20% for 6 seconds.
• Xan: Requires 900 offering (1-second cooldown) to guarantee that your next skill both overpowers and critically strikes.
• Yom: Uses 500 offering (5-second cooldown) to trigger the Druid’s Petrify skill.
• Zec: Costs 200 offering (2-second cooldown) to reduce your active ultimate skill cooldown by 2 seconds.

Mastering the right combinations of Invocation and Ritual Runes will allow you to unleash devastating abilities and tailor your build for specific challenges in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred.

Conclusion

Runewords in Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred introduce a powerful and versatile system that can significantly enhance your character’s abilities and gameplay experience. By strategically combining Ritual and Invocation Runes, you can create unique synergies that not only boost your stats but also grant access to abilities from other classes, providing endless possibilities for experimentation.

Whether you’re seeking to maximize damage, improve survivability, or add more versatility to your build, Runewords offer a way to fine-tune your character for any challenge. With Runes scattered throughout endgame activities and a simple transmutation process available, there’s always an opportunity to experiment and discover new combinations.

Take full advantage of the Runewords system to craft the ultimate build and conquer the dark forces within Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred.