Path of Idle runewords: sockets, sequence and rune quality

Building a runeword takes three things in order: a Common item at level 20 or above, sockets forged into it, and three specific runes inserted in exact sequence. The first three sockets must match a recipe in order, and all three runes must be the quality the item allows.

Sockets come first, and only from two qualities

Only Common and Fine items can carry sockets, and only items at level 20 and above can carry them at all. Everything Rare and above is out.

A dropped item can arrive with sockets, but three sockets only appear on Common drops and only 3.3% of the time. Fine items never drop with three.

Forging is the better route. Forging a Common or Fine item that has no sockets can open some, at a chance the Workshop upgrades raise from 0% to 10%. When it does open sockets on a Common item, the count is weighted 44.4% for one, 33.3% for two and 22.2% for three. On a Fine item it is 66.7% for one and 33.3% for two, never three.

So: a three socket runeword needs a Common item, full stop. Once a socket opens, that item can no longer be refined, which is a fair trade for a slot whose only job is holding runes.

The 24 runes and where they go

There are 24 runes split into two families.

Attack runes go in the weapon, amulet and ring. There are twelve: El, Eld, Tir, Nef, Eth and Ith drop from level 10, Tal, Ral and Ort from level 20, and Thul, Amn and Sol from level 30.

Defense runes go in the helmet, torso, gloves and boots. Also twelve: Sha, Ohm, Nef, Tral, Dol and Hel from level 10, Lum, Ko and Fal from level 20, and Um, Pul and Ber from level 30.

Note that Nef exists in both families as two separate runes. When a recipe calls for Nef, the family follows from the slot the item occupies.

The sequence rule

A runeword activates when the first three inlay slots match a recipe in exact order. Not the same three runes in any order: that order.

There are 72 runewords, twelve for each job. Each one names an exact three rune sequence and the talent it grants.

Cheap examples exist. Battle Song is Eld, Sha, Ohm and grants Motivational Warcry. Fury is El, Tir, Nef and grants Wild Frenzy. Shock is Tir, Ith, Hel and grants Shockwave. All three use only runes that drop from level 10, so they are available long before the expensive ones.

The Priest’s recipes are the most demanding: several of them, including Slime, Gale and Elixir, need runes that only drop from level 30.

Rune quality decides the talent level

All three runes must use the quality the equipment allows, and that quality sets the level of the granted talent.

Which quality an item accepts comes from the item’s own level:

The two tables together explain why the same runeword is worth so much more later. A runeword built on a level 25 Common item grants a talent at level 1 or 2. The same recipe on a level 90 Common item with Mythic runes grants it at level 3 to 6.

That is also why it is worth rebuilding a runeword when your gear band moves. The item is Common and disposable; the runes are the investment.

What you actually get

A runeword grants a talent that belongs to another job. That is the point of the system, and it is the main way a party reaches abilities its classes do not have.

The official builds use this in eighteen places. Shockwave is a Hunter runeword granting Strike Aura, and it shows up in Warrior, Mercenary and Cleric builds. Slaughter is a Mercenary runeword granting Killing Aura, used by three Hunter builds and one Warrior build. Radiance is a Mage runeword granting Brilliance Aura, which is how a party without a Mage gets a mana regeneration aura at all. The mana guide covers why that matters.

Where runes come from

Rune pouches drop from the campaign from chapter 5 onward at a base 0.16% to 0.24% per roll, and that rate does not change with chapter. The pouch quality is weighted 10000 Common, 8000 Fine, 6000 Rare, 4000 Legendary and 1000 Mythic, so roughly one pouch in twenty nine is Mythic.

The Explore mode’s Treasure Island for runes is the targeted source. It needs Explore level 3 and one Abyssal Scales per entry. See the Explore guide.

The Market vault also sells runestones, with the quality and quantity depending on Market level.

Building one, step by step

1. Pick a runeword from the runewords list whose granted talent your party lacks.
2. Check which slot it needs: attack runes mean weapon, amulet or ring; defense runes mean helmet, torso, gloves or boots.
3. Find a Common item of that slot, at the highest item level you can, since level sets the rune quality ceiling.
4. Forge it until sockets open. Three sockets is a 22.2% outcome when they do.
5. Collect the three runes in the recipe at the highest quality the item accepts.
6. Insert them in the exact order the recipe lists.

The workshop guide covers what the forging in step 4 costs.