POST RUNE 1/2
Titan Quest Ragnarök: Rune Skills for Beginners V2
Content
I] Intro
II] Rune Presentation
III] Rune Class Combinations
IV] Rune Skills
V] Rune Build Compendium
VI] Hall of Contributors
VII] Conclusion
I] Intro Finally the Croc has come back to Sparta!
Hello, dear Community! I felt compelled to write this guide since I couldn't find a faq on the Net giving a simple rundown of the Rune Skills. It's high time. I know I can count on the dedicated players of this friendly Community (Edit: Oh Yeah! They did answer the call^^). So when needed I will edit this thread and credit you, folks. If you smell what the Croc is cooking…
II] Rune PresentationRune, the new Mastery available with the Ragnarök DLC, is like no other. It is a beautiful breath of fresh air in Titan Quest. But Rune being so original, you might sometimes scratch your head trying to figure out the use of some skills. Fear not, friend! This is what this guide is all about.
What makes Rune stand out from other Masteries?
- Rune is the only class that grants you bonuses to Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity and Health. When the Mastery is maxed (32 Skill Points) you earn:
# 32 STR
# 64 INT
# 48 DEX
# 640 HEALTH
- Rune gives you NO bonus to Energy,
- Rune has no Energy Reserved Skills. This may be a choice in game design to address the fact that Rune does not increase your Energy Stat (when climbing up your Mastery),
- Despite what I said above, Rune is a surprisingly efficient Mastery as far as Energy Consumption goes, go figure,
- Runemasters have no living Familiars, but they have Summons: friggin' Stones!
Yeah! Me too I miss the good old Familiar that you could rub behind the ears. But last I checked sane people don’t speak to stones nor do they play fetch with them. ^^ Unless you:
- Croc: "Go fetch my Olive Branch, Menhir! Go!"
- Menhir: "BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!!!"
- Croc: "Well done, Menhir! You’re a good puppy!"
Joke aside read my comment below about the 2 Stone skills. They’re quite unusual.
III] Rune Class CombinationsFirst there is a Titan Quest Ragnarök Calculator available at kirmiziperfect:
Titan Quest AE + Ragnarök Calculator- Runemaster (Single Class)
- Rune + Defense = Runesmith
- Rune + Earth = Stonespeaker
- Rune + Rogue = Trickster
- Rune + Storm = Thunderer
- Rune + Warfare = Berserker
- Rune + Nature = Skinchanger
- Rune + Spirit = Shaman
- Rune + Hunting = Dragon Hunter
- Rune + Dream = Seidr Worker
IV] Rune Skills Rune Weapon > Magical Charge > Energy Drain > TransmutationRune Weapon: this skill tree is a charge type ability that you can assign to your LMB (left mouse Button) or RMB. It works like Onslaught from Warfare Mastery. As a whole Rune Weapon is an essential skill tree.
Magical Charge: increases your Elemental Damage and Damage Retaliation in flat numbers (not %),
Energy Drain: grants you Energy Leech (in flat) / Attack Damage converted to Health in % (Yummy!) / Reduced Offensive Ability (debuffs Monsters in % too) / Slows Monsters (in %).
Transmutation: converts a % of your Weapon Damage into Elemental Damage. This is a one of kind new skill in Titan Quest. Transmutation is also a game-changer, on Normal just putting 1 point into this skill will increase your damage noticeably. EDIT: since Update 1.54 Transmutation is now permanently active (but still requires Rune Weapon).
Note: Rune Weapon does NOT work with Staves.
Sacred Rage > Frightening PowerSacred Rage: % Damage Absorption / +Energy Regen / +10% Total Speed / -% Recharge / 50% Slow Resistance!
Frightening Power: % Reduction to Enemy's Health / % Reduced Damage for 3.0 Seconds / Chance of Fear
Sacred Rage is a kind of panic passive skill that triggers when your Health dips below 40%. The main skill buffs you, while Frightening Power -its synergy- debuffs Monsters.
From experience this skill can save your life, and sometimes it won’t (and will die miserably ^^).
Note that the synergy creates a visible red circle around you when it activates: this a good indication that you should drink a red potion or leave the area immediately. ^^
Runeword: FeatherThis is a passive that increases your Offensive Ability (in flat numbers) and most importantly reduces the Strength Requirement for All Weapon in %. SHIELDS INCLUDED!!!
This is a
very good passive. Also do not mistake this skill with
Armor Handling from Defense Mastery, the latter reduces Strength Requirement for Armors and Shields! In other words "Runeword: Feather" does NOT reduce Requirement for Armors!
Rune of Life% Bleeding Resistance / % Vitality Resistance / +% Strength / +% movement Speed
Rune of Life is an active aura that buffs you or your Allies (Familiars too) for a whopping 10 minutes (600 seconds) regardless of level. This is a solid buff because all the granted bonuses are in %:
Not only Rune of Life is awesome but it stays on like forever. Remember that “the movement Speed” is great when farming or trying to reach distant areas.
Rune of Life has no cooldown! You can cast it liberally on you and your Familiars.
Thunder Strike > UnleashRogues have Knives, now Runemasters have Thunder Strike and it’s natsy! You fire 5 projectiles in an arc that deal Elemental Damage and Stun. The Synergy -Unleash- adds Electrical Burn Damage, Skill Disruption and has a chance to confuse Monsters.
Here’s what Firebrand -a Titan Quest Fellow Member- said about Thunder Strike in his
Runic Elemental Shotgun GuideThunder Strike. It is incredibly good against hordes, and just as incredibly good against bosses, who are likely to get hit by most if not all projectiles, provided you're close enough. Combine it with Seal of Fate [note: a Debuff] (and don't forget to warm up with a few Runic Weapon shots) and you'll one-shot virtually anything that's not a final boss.
…
Now Thunder Strike shoots five projectiles, as its description says. However, if you're dual-wielding thrown weapons, it will net you five projectiles for each weapon you're holding! That's a lot of daggers or axes at the same time. And Reckless Offense [note: this skill allows Runemasters to dual wield weapons] itself pays off as well, I found.
Like many of the skills of Rune Mastery, Thunder Strike only show its worth when you unlock its synergy, Unleash.
You cannot reduce the cooldown -fixed 7 seconds- of Thunderstrike no matter how many Skill Points you pour into the Skill. So “- Recharge” from items/artifacts are your best friends.
Note: since Titan Quest Anniversary Edition, "- Recharge" is capped at 80%.
Runic Mines > Freezing MinesRunic Mines: Cooldown: 9 seconds / Duration: 10 seconds / Effect: Elemental Damage (flat)
Freezing Mine: Frostburn Damage (flat) / chance of Freeze / Slow
Runic Mines is a curious Spell which you will learn to love or hate depending on your play-style and the Monsters you’re facing.
The base skill, Runic Mines, surrounds you with a few booby traps which stay on the spot for a few seconds. You cannot choose where to throw them, they emerge just around you.
Without investing into its synergy -Freezing Mines- this skill is underwhelming. Freezing Mines ads some welcome: Frostburn Damage, Slow and a chance of Freeze.
The trick to use this skill effectively is to lead your targets into your traps. Some Monsters are very likely to fall for that ruse, especially those nasty melee Monsters who hunt you down.
Ex: Automatoi (golden constructs) are easy prey for your Runic Mines, just dance them around to lead them to your minefield.
Menhir Wall > Guardian StonesBy watching at the skill tree you might think Guardian Stones is just the synergy (an enhancement) of Menhir Wall, well this is quite far from the truth. When unlocked, both skills have their own Icons and can be summoned independently. So you can have both Menhir Wall and Guardian Stones at the same time on the Battlefield!
So why did developers put it like it was a synergy? Maybe because both skills are Stones? Or maybe because it is more pretty on the skill tree?
Anyways the visual aspect is anecdotal, what counts is how those Skills work and if they are any good for us:
Menhir WallLifetime 10 sec / 150 Health (LV1) / 25% chance of 1 Second of Stun (regardless of Level)
This is a summon designed to distract Monsters. It deals no damage but has a chance to Stun Monsters (25% chance to Stun).
The Stun chance only triggers when Monsters try to hit the Menhir Wall! So if Monsters aim at you then the Stun won’t work, which is a bummer.
When you cast the Menhir Wall between you and Monsters (recommended), your arrows and other projectiles can go through this wall and hit enemies.
You can obstruct terrains with Menhir Wall (at choke points, doors, etc)
Note: you can also cast Menhir Wall through various terrains (for what it's worth)
Edit: an astute member noticed that the number of Menhirs varies depending on Skill Level. The more points your put into this skill the more Menhirs you can get. Thanks to Tauceti for noticing this.
Guardian StonesSummons 3 Stones which last for 45 sec / They deal damage every 4 seconds / 4 minute cooldown (Ouch!)
LV1: 200 Elemental Damage! / they have 1000 HP! / deal Stun / deal 33% Reduction to Enemy Health!
Guardian Stones are multi-target! (2 targets)
First Guardian Stones -unlike Menhir Wall- CANNOT go through terrain. Also be watchful when you cast it in enclosed areas (doors and choke points): if badly cast you can possibly summon 2 Stones instead of the normal 3. So in order to avoid this always throw them in the middle of a room.
This is one monster of a skill that has only one drawback but a serious one: the cooldown of this skill is 4 minutes (240 sec)! Apart from that the damage output of these 3 stones is surreal, those who never tried this skill have no idea:
- The Giant Limos (Act I Side Quest "Trapped in the Ruins"): I killed that Limos in less than 10 seconds!! With just Guardian Stones and a few knives thrown into the mix. Without charms, relics nor Debuffs whatsoever. Between you and me: that was TOO fast. ^^
The 3 Gorgons: same deal. If you lead them near the Guardian Stones, they will fall in no time,
And if you add the Runic Mines into the equation (see above) it gets even more crazy.
Conclusion: do not underestimate Guardian Stones! To give you another perspective for this Skill just remember that Guardian Stones are as powerful as the Outsider from the Spirit Mastery! Both Summons have actually a lot in common:
# both are unlocked at the highest level of their respective Mastery (LV32),
# both are temporary Summons,
# both deal Elemental Damage and Health Reduction in %. This is what makes those Summons so devastating,
# both have a very long cooldown (Outsider: 6 min / Guardian Stones: 4 min)
The only real difference is that Guardian Stones are static whereas the Outsider is a walking apocalypse.
Since Cooldown Reduction now caps at 80% you can expect to reduce the cooldown of Guardian Stones from "4 minutes" to "48 seconds" at best. Edit:
botebote77:one thing about guardian stones...flat damage bonus to pet don't apply to them.. possible explanation is because they don't use a weapon.. but % ele damage should affect them.
Runeword: Explode > Runeword: BurnRuneword: Explode: 120° Arc of Attack / 2.5 Meter Radius / Damage (flat) / Fire Damage (flat) / Stun
Runeword: Burn: 2.5 Meter Radius / Multiple Fragments / Burn Damage over 3.0 Seconds
Note: the chance to trigger increases with Level
I don’t understand this skill...Seriously I need the opinion of the Community on this one.
EDIT: Veterans heeded my plea. ^^ Here's what Malgardian, Firebrand, Vio, botebote77 and wolpak said about "Runeword: Explode" and its synergy. My Goodness! This is actually a pretty good Skill:
Malgardian: I personally like Runeword: Explode on my Elemental Archer as it's a nice replacement for Scattershot if you're not using hunting. At least in normal its damage is quite good, so that you can kill a few enemies at once.
Firebrand:There's one thing I'd point out about Runeword: Burn, and that is that it has an area of effect whenever it triggers. All damage it and its synergy deal indeed work well together with Earth, but personally I think the real deal is that it makes your attack (and yes, that includes every property of your attack) affect multiple enemies.
And that's an incredibly useful bonus, even if the extra physical, fire, and burn damages are negligible. You have attack damage converted to health? Neat, now you heal double or triple the amount. You have energy leech? Say hello to a full energy bar! Flat elemental damage? Flat elemental explosion, more like. What's a better thing than slowing melee monsters charging at you? The answer is slowing a whole group of melee enemies charging at you! (Hint: You can have all four of those of those just from the Rune Weapon tree.)
Another little thing is its subtle synergy with Reckless Offense: the chance for Runeword: Explode to trigger applies to both projectiles shot by Reckless Offense. And I think it's a nice touch.
Vio: And yes, Runeword: Explode makes your main attack an AoE much like Ternion's Arcane Lore does.
botebote77: runeword:explode also works on melee...it's effective actually because at melee range, mobs gather around you closely and when it procs, you hit multiple monsters... there are no projectiles on melee weapons though so there are also no fragments
wolpak: Did some testing with Runeword:Explode and Burn as well as Thunderstrike. Both work with staff attacks. That's definitely interesting and Thunderstrike looks pretty cool as it's a ternion attack with 5 projectiles. Sadly, Runeword:Explode does not work with Ternion which would make Shaman a pretty sick, Gandalf like staff user.
Also, Runeword: Explode and Burn work nicely with scattershot.
Reckless OffenseEffects: Allows Dual Wield / % chance to hit with both weapons / +100% Total Damage
This is a passive skill that allows you to dual wield weapons. Take note that this skill is not limited to throwing knives or darts, you can dual wield swords, maces or axes too.
When the skill activates you also get the following bonus: +100% Total Damage. Vio, Bless his Soul ^^, added this:
Vio: Reckless Offense, like other Dual Wield skills, gives a chance to use a special animation (throwing three projectiles quickly or doing four hits in melee) while also granting its damage bonus. The bonus only applies when the attack triggers. As always, really.
You will need to invest a few Skill Points and have +Skills (granted by items) to really benefit from this excellent skill.
Edit: Recently wolpak discovered something new about Reckless Offense:
wolpak: I noticed that Reckless Offense appears to sometimes proc two attacks and sometimes proc three attacks. It seems like each attack is checking to see if there is a proc. And since procs can only happen once per attack, it seems like your first attack is proccing a second attack and then your second attack is proccing your first attack.