The recently launched open-world RPG title, Elden Ring, is undoubtedly an overall challenging game for even the best souls player out there. Winning battles in Elden Ring only through brute force and mastered combat abilities can sometimes be a bit too much to ask for. So, the game offers some extremely potent rare items called Great Runes and Rune Arcs that grant slight boost to players performance and help them overcome the challenges.
All the gamers will surely encounter several Great Runes and Rune Arcs throughout their story gameplay of the Elden Ring. Still, only a few will be able to use the rune’s abilities wisely and efficiently.
Great Runes are unique passive ability boosting items acquired by killing the main bosses (Demigods), such as Godrick, Renalla, and Radahn in Elden Ring.
Restoring and Activating Great Runes in Elden Ring
The Great Runes are tricky items, and using them is highly complex. After defeating a demigod and acquiring a Great Rune, you first need to restore it by visiting the Divine Tower in the region of the boss that dropped the rune.
Once restored, you can equip the rune from the Great Rune Menu at any Site of Grace, but this doesn’t mean that you will get its passive benefits all the time. You can only activate or use the rune’s ability for a brief period by utilizing Rune Arcs.
All the Great Runes grant different passive bonuses but keep in mind that you can only equip one of them at a time. More importantly, you need to gather all the runes to complete the game and fight against the final boss.
How to get Great Runes in Elden Ring?
Players can get up to 5 Great Runes in Elden Ring by defeating the following bosses:
| Great Rune Name | Effect | Boss | Location |
| Godrick’s Great Rune | Raises all attributes | Godrick the Grafted | Stormveil Castle - Limgrave |
| Great Rune of the Unborn | Used to perfect rebirth | Rennala Queen of the Full Moon | Raya Lucaria Academy - Liurnia of the Lakes |
| Radahn’s Great Rune | Raises maximum HP, FP and Stamina | Starscourge Radahn | Starscourge Radahn can be found through a portal at Redmane Castle, Caelid. |
| Morgott’s Great Rune | Raises maximum HP | Morgott, the Omen King | Morgott, The Omen King is a Demi-God Boss found in Leyndell, Royal Capital |
| Rykard’s Great Rune | Restores Hp upon defeating enemies. | Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy | Can be found in Mt. Gelmir. |
Farming and Using Rune Arcs in Elden Ring
Rune Arcs are rare items that can be used to briefly activate the benefits of a Great Rune in Elden Ring.
This special item can be farmed easily from regular enemies like Rats and Giant Rats. Throughout the game’s map, you can find these creatures in locations such as the Stormveil Castle’s basement, the Divine Tower of Liurnia’s rafters, or other common places like buildings, temples, places of power, etc.
Unfortunately, Rune Arcs are an exhaustive resource, which means they are consumed on use and lost upon death, so it is crucial to use the Rune Arcs infrequently and strategically in the worst-case scenarios or in boss battles.
About Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a major title released by FromSoftware in 2022, the developers of Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, and the Dark Souls franchise. Set in the ‘Lands Between’, players are on a quest to repair the Elden Ring and become the new Elden Lord.
Shadow of the Erdtree is a full-fledged expansion for Elden Ring added in June 2024. It is a whole new map with new Weapons, Sorceries, Ashes, and Craftables. It is a challenging DLC and as players continue to explore the map, they find surprises and easter eggs left by the developers every day.
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