Runecrafting



Runecrafting, often shortened to RC, is a free-to-play skill released along with RuneScape 2 that allows players to craft their own runes for Magic spells at specific altars. Runecrafting is a fairly long skill to raise (being currently the rarest level 99 skill), but it becomes considerably easier if teleportation methods are used. It is also the only free-to-play skill without 2 million accounts ranked on the Hiscores.

Essence
To craft runes, players need blank rune stones, known as "essence", commonly referred to as "ess". There are two types of essence: Rune essence and Pure essence (both unstackable).

Rune essence
Rune essence can be used to make Air, Mind, Water, Earth, Fire, and Body runes only. Rune essence are often called "normal essence" or "regular essence" to distinguish it from Pure essence.

Pure essence
Pure essence can also be used to create the previously mentioned runes. However, it is the only kind of essence used to make Cosmic, Chaos, Astral, Nature, Law, Death, Blood, combination runes, and runes from the Ourania Runecrafting altar.

Obtaining essence
There are a number of ways of obtaining rune essence or pure essence, including purchasing it from another player, mining it, from monster drops, as rewards from the Great Orb Project and as rewards from the Ardougne Achievement Diary.

Altars
Altars are where players transform their essence into runes. Tiaras, Talismans or Talisman staves are needed to enter these altars hidden inside the 'Mysterious ruins.' Note that there are a couple of exceptions to this.

Mysterious ruins
Mysterious ruins are large, glowing, grey rocks surrounded by ruined pillars. They are used in order to travel from the main Gielinor land to the altar of the runes being made. In order to enter an altar, players must go to the associated ruins location (shown below) and use the specific talisman, tiara or talisman staff on the ruins. Once inside the ruins, players will find themselves in an area with the altar in question and a surrounding theme associated to the rune. They can leave back to the mainland by going through a portal.

Both the Ourania and Astral altars can be accessed without these items as they do not have mysterious ruins. An alternative to going through the mysterious ruins is using the Abyss.

Talismans
Talismans are one of the items used to access altars. Each altar which has corresponding mysterious ruins has its own specific talisman. For example, an Air talisman is needed to enter the Air altar.

Players may click on a talisman's 'locate' option which will indicate the direction towards the ruins in the chatbox. However, talismans occupy an inventory slot since they may not be wielded. It is therefore recommended for players to use alternatives such as tiaras or talisman staves while Runecrafting.

All talismans are tradeable except the Omni-talisman and most can be acquired through NPC drops. Players can also buy most talismans (except the Omni, Elemental, Blood, and Death talisman) from Wizard Elriss in the Runecrafting Guild as a reward from the Great Orb Project. See the main article to find other ways of obtaining the talismans.

Tiaras
Tiaras are simply an equipable version of talismans, which free up an inventory slot. A player can combine a specific talisman with an ordinary silver Tiara to get an 'infused' tiara. To do this, a player must have both objects in their inventory and use either one on the corresponding altar. This action also earns the player some Runecrafting experience, shown in the table below. Additionally, making one of these tiaras does not have a Runecrafting level requirement. All tiaras are tradeable except the Omni-tiara. When worn, these tiaras allow a simple left-click 'Enter Mysterious ruins' option to access the altars.



Talisman staves
Talisman staves are an equipable item which allow access to Runecrafting altars through the mysterious ruins with a simple left-click on the ruins. A Runecrafting staff can be purchased as a reward from the Great Orb Project minigame. To create a Talisman staff, a player must have a Runecrafting staff and a talisman in their inventory and use either of them on the corresponding altar.

Talisman staves can then be wielded and be used to replace tiaras or talismans. In addition, they can be used to distract the eyes in the Abyss, allowing a player to the inner ring.

Among the talisman staves, only the Law talisman staff has no equipment stats, so it can be taken to the Law altar which mysterious ruins are on Entrana, where no weapons or armour are allowed. All Talisman staves are untradeable.

Ourania Runecrafting altar
The Ourania Runecrafting altar, also called the ZMI altar, converts Pure essence into a mixture of random runes (without the multiple runes factor taking effect). The altar, which requires no talisman or tiara to enter, gives double the normal experience for every rune crafted. Players do not need a specific Runecrafting level in order to craft at this altar, but the chance of crafting higher-leveled runes goes up with a higher Runecrafting level. The altar boosts individual Runecrafting training to speed levels that were previously only available to people using rune running methods.

Once inside the Ourania Cave, quickly reached by an Ourania Teleport, players may use a bank that requires 20 of any type of runes. They can then go to the altar by taking either a short and dangerous route or a longer and safe route.

Abyss
Members can also be teleported inside the ruins by using the Abyss, a 'focal point' leading to most altars that does not require a talisman, tiara or talisman staff. After a miniquest, players can get teleported to the Abyss by a mage at level 5-6 Wilderness north of Edgeville. Once teleported, players will be in an outer ring and surrounded by abyssal monsters. They will need to pass through an obstacle to access the inner ring, containing the entries to most altars.

The popularity of the Abyss has died out since the release of other faster and safer Runecrafting training methods, such as the ZMI altar, Spirit Graahk Runecrafting, and the Great Orb Project.

Crafting runes
When a player has entered the mysterious ruins, all they have to do is click on the altar. They will then craft all the essence in their inventory (except any essence in noted form or stored in pouches) into runes.




 * 1) The differences in levels required to craft two subsequent types of runes always increase by 1 from Mind to Blood runes (except for Astral runes).

Crafting Soul runes
At level 90 Runecrafting, a player used to receive a message informing them of their ability to craft Soul runes. Currently, the only way to craft these runes is randomly through the Ourania Runecrafting altar, as there is no Soul altar. However, pictures of the tiara and talisman have been seen on the Knowledge Base by manipulating URLs. This, coupled with the fact that there is a Soul rift in the Abyss (with a force stopping players from going through), indicates that the Soul altar may be released some day.

Crafting multiple runes

 * For calculations of profit/loss from crafting multiple runes, see the Multiple Runes calculator.

As a player's Runecrafting level increases, they can make more runes per essence. However, the experience they earn is still based on the amount of essence they craft and not on the not amount of runes received.

Law, Death, and Blood runes cannot be multicrafted.

Combination runes
Members also have the opportunity to craft combination runes which consist of two elemental runes in one.

To craft combination runes, a player needs to bring runes that compose half of the combination rune, with a matching talisman (not a tiara), along with an equal amount of Pure essence, to the altar whose element is the other half of the combination. Use the talisman for the existing runes on the altar, resulting in:


 * The talisman is consumed.
 * 50% success in making combination runes.

For a 100% success rate, players can wear a Necklace of Binding (an enchanted Emerald necklace) which lasts for 15 uses only.

The combination runes made save inventory space when used for certain spells, including those in Ancient Magicks. Alternatively, the player may use the lunar spell Magic Imbue to make combination runes without using the opposing talisman.

Players receive less experience at the lower-levelled altars. For example, making mist runes at the air altar will give 8 xp for each rune made, while the same runes at the water altar will give 8.5 xp for each rune made.

Pouches
Inside the Abyss or the Abyssal Area, there are monsters that drop untradeable pouches when killed. Players can store Pure or Rune essence in these pouches (but not both at same time), effectively increasing the amount of essence that may be carried per trip.

There are four types of pouches, each holding an increasing number of essence. Players must acquire each smaller pouch in order for the next pouch to become available to them. Players may have one pouch of each type at a time.

Runecrafting pouches degrade after a certain number of uses. When a pouch degrades, a message will appear in the chat box and the pouch will turn darker in colour. Note that this only affects the biggest pouch at first. When a pouch degrades, its carrying capacity is reduced. The Dark Mage in the centre of the Abyss repairs pouches for free, regardless of whether the pouches are in the player's inventory or bank. The Dark Mage will also repair the pouch before it degrades. Some players visit the Dark Mage every tenth usage of their pouches to prevent potential damage.

These pouches can also be bought and repaired by Wizard Korvak in the Runecrafting Guild. See his article for his fees.

Abyssal familiars
To help them while Runecrafting, members may use one of the three following familiars: the Abyssal parasite, Abyssal lurker, or Abyssal titan. Being a special type of Beasts of Burden, they will hold 7 Rune or Pure essence. Note that these familiars are not allowed in the Law altar as it is accessed from Entrana. Currently, the Abyssal lurker is the most effective familiar to use, as its pouch cost per minute ratio is lowest. It also lasts the longest among these three.

Explorer's ring
Wearing an Explorer's ring (versions 2 or 3) gives the wearer a 10% chance of receiving an extra rune and xp on each essence when crafting Air, Water, Earth, or Fire runes.

Runecrafting gloves
Runecrafting gloves are an untradeable set of rewards from the Fist of Guthix minigame costing 75 tokens comprising of Air, Water, and Earth runecrafting gloves.

Runecrafting gloves give double the experience per essence runecrafted. These gloves crumble to dust after crafting 1,000 essence. Players can then play the minigame to receive another pair. Players may only have one pair of each type at a time.

Runecrafting Guild


The Runecrafting Guild is a guild accessible to players having at least level 50 Runecrafting through a portal on the first floor of the Wizards' Tower.

The Guild features a map of all the Runecrafting altars that are entered through mysterious ruins, wizards, and a two-party minigame called The Great Orb Project with rewards including Talisman staff, Runecrafting Teleport Tablets, Rune or Pure essence, Runecrafter Robes, and talismans. Players may also obtain an Omni-talisman inside the Guild.

Running and equipment
As Runecrafting requires a lot of running around the game, here are some ways of running longer:


 * Wielding as less as possible, as run energy will deplete slower. Members may consider wearing weight-reducing equipment such as Boots of lightness, Spotted or Spottier cape, Penance gloves, Agile top, and Agile legs. These result to a -37.5 kg weight (or -33 kg if wearing the Spotted cape instead of the Spottier cape). However, note that this is only useful when the player is wearing armour, as here is no difference in the drain rate of energy between below 0 weight and at 0 kg weight.
 * Using energy recovering methods or items such as run-replenishing from the Explorer's ring, drinking Energy or Super energy potions, or resting.
 * For members, having a high Agility level so that energy recharges considerably faster and practically eliminates the need of the previously mentionned items.
 * For members who have completed As a First Resort... quest, using the salt-water energy spring as it gives the player unlimited energy for around 10 to 25 minutes. Players may also use the thermal spring which will boost hitpoints and heal any damage inflicted. However, players should take into account the time needed to reach these spas.

If players will meet monsters on their Runecrafting trips (such as Revenants, abyssal monsters, or NPCs at ZMI altar, they'll need a good mix of Defence bonus and weight-reduction to optimize Runecrafting training. A common example is wearing Dragonhide armour as they give good Magic and Melee Defence bonuses and do not weigh much. Players that do not need these Defence bonuses can substitute this armour for Agile legs and top.

Rune running
Rune running consists of a mutual exchange of services between two groups of people, crafters and runners. Runners generally bring essence to an altar and ask for crafters' assistance. Crafters then assist the runners so they can craft runes or multiple runes they were not able to before. This way runners get their runes and crafters get the xp from assisting. Note that assisting like this requires less clicking which may be enjoyed by those who do not like this aspect in training Runecrafting.

For specific details and tips on the main rune running methods, see these articles:
 * Air running (world 16)
 * Nature running (world 36)
 * Law running (world 66 {world 99 was closed due to the trade limits and size of World 36})

Transportation

 * Players may use the numerous teleportation methods available to them to speed up Runecrafting training. For example, non-members may craft Air runes and teleport to Varrock to access the West bank quicker. Members may use Rings of duelling to teleport to the Duel Arena (near the Fire altar) and then to the Castle Wars bank.
 * The Runecrafting Teleport Tablets obtained from the Great Orb Project minigame can offer extremely fast experience. By teleporting to the Runecrafting altar and then teleporting to a bank, players can craft runes with almost no need to walk.

Other

 * Members may wear an Ardougne cloak (versions 2 or above) which give a chance of an extra rune (but no extra xp) while Runecrafting at the ZMI altar.

Temporary boosts

 * Players may boost their Runecrafting level by eating orange spicy stews from Evil Dave. However, the boost is random and varies between -6 to +6.
 * After completing the Land of the Goblins quest, players can speak to Oldak using the "What have you discovered?" chat option and get a random boost between -2 and 2 to either Runecrafting or Magic.
 * Operating the Runecraft cape increases a player's Runecrafting level to 100.

99 Runecrafting
Once a member has reached level 99 Runecrafting, Aubury in Varrock rune shop will sell the Runecraft cape for 99,000 coins.

Trivia

 * Even though an alledged reward of Rune Mysteries is the access to the Runecrafting skill, players do not need to begin this quest to start training Runecrafting.
 * The Runecrafting altars have an appearance similar to Stonehenge.