Runes are the rarest of the currencies in Dishonored. You need them to unlock and improve supernatural abilities or powers. This Dishonored Runes Locations will help you track down and collect all these runes to upgrade your powers.
You start with one supernatural power ‘Blink’ and for the rest of the powers, you will have to find these runes.
The more powerful supernatural ability you seek, the more runes you will need to purchase that. It is simple math, and you will disappointed to know that you can’t unlock all supernatural abilities or powers in one play-through.
Like I said earlier, runes are rarest of currencies in Dishonored, so there isn’t much runes in the game to enable you to purchase all supernatural abilities so you will have to be picky.
In order to purchase all 10 supernatural abilities, you need 56 runes while there are aren’t many available for you to collect in single play-through.
For more help on Dishonored, read our Sokolov Paintings and Bone Charms Locations.
Dishonored Runes Locations
Mission #2 – High Overseer Campbell
Rune #1
Location. When you meet Granny Rags in her apartment in Distillery District and help her get rid of the thugs outside her house, and she will reward you with this rune. You will find this rune hanging over the fire on the second floor of her apartment.
Rune #2
Location. Come back to Granny after retrieving the first rune and she will ask another favor. For this favor, you will have to get a rat viscera from Dr. Galvani’s lab inside his house. Once you have done that, Granny will reward you another rune and you can retrieve from the same place on the second floor.
Rune #3
Location. You will find this rune behind Granny Rag’s apartment, in the crotch of a shrine. You can reach it by exiting through the gray door on the first floor of Granny Rag’s apartment, into the alley. Go forward and you should notice shining lamps. This is the shrine!
Rune #4
Location. When you are disabling the Walls of Light in the Distillery District, you will find this rune in the guard station on the left side of the road beyond second Wall of Light. Get inside and you should find the rune on the table.
Rune #5
Location. After entering Overseer’s Mansion, look over the fireplace where Campbell and Curnow have their meeting. You will find this rune inside a picture frame hanging on the wall.
Rune #6
Location. You will find this room in Campbell’s secret room. You can reach it through the door to the right of the door that leads you to the backyard, where you meet Samuel.
Instead of meeting Samuel, go through this door that leads you to Kennels. Follow the stairs to the bottom and in the corner, you should see a bust of Holger.
Press the eye on the bust to open a door to the right revealing Campbell’s secret room. On your left should be a wooden case, smash it to grab this rune.
High Overseer Campbell (Hound’s Pit Area)
Rune #7, #8, #9
Location. You will get one from the Outsider’s first sojourn, second in the area near the Hounds Pit and you can buy the third from Piero.
Rune #10
Location. After entering Backyard to meet Samuel, look for a Workshop on your far left. It’s locked and to enter, you need to steal the key from the guard that is patrolling.
Once you have secured the key, enter the Workshop and look for a large chalkboard and some tools. Finally, look for this rune on the left.
Mission #3 – House of Pleasure
Rune #11
Location. Enter Dr. Galvani’s lab and look for this rune in the same bookcase you found the rat earlier for Granny Rags.
Rune #12
Location. After reaching Golden Cat area, look for on the opposite side. You can enter this building. Blink up to the second floor and look for this rune on the table.
Rune #13
Location. Enter Golden Cat, go to the second floor, and look for this rune on the wall. Hint: There will be hooker standing by the window nearby. Take her out and get this rune.
Rune #14
Location. You will find this rune on the third floor of Golden Cat. You can reach there by blinking through the opening of arches on top of the wall to land at the stairs that lead to the third floor.
To find this opening, while standing on the top of the main stairs, turn around.
Take the staircase to the third floor and make your way to the right down the hall. Enter the first door and look for this rune on the right side of the table behind the women who is smoking.
Rune #15
Location. Retrieve the combination to the safe from the Art Dealer by shocking him. You will find him on the third floor of his apartment building.
Once you have the code, go to his apartment in Distillery District. Door will be locked and to open it; you will need a key from the woman you save from thugs at the top of the stairs, on the left of the lower alley in Distillery District.
Once you have the key, get inside the apartment and open the large safe to retrieve the rune inside, on the left. In an off-chance you can’t get the code from the Art Dealer; it is 879.
House of Pleasure – Hounds Pit Area
Rune #16, #17
Location. You will find the first in the sewer under the Hounds Pit, near the two Weepers just past the gate. Look for the first underwater and second on top of the cabinet.
Mission 4: The Royal Physician
Rune #18
Location. After you have crossed the tracks, drop down to the road and take the alley. From behind the building that you see, blink up to the balcony above to retrieve this rune from the doorway.
Rune #19
Location. You will find this rune inside Pratchett’s house. To get access to the house, kill Pratchett or steal the key to the house. Once inside the house, look at the paintings on each floor to crack the combination code for the safe. It’s 473, if you can’t figure it out! Grab the rune inside and go your way!
Rune #20
Location. Exit Pratchett’s house through the balcony on the right and blink to the balcony across the way. From there, blink to the next balcony on the right and enter the house. Go around the corner to find the rune in Outsider Shrine.
Rune #21
Location. After entering Midrow Substation and disabling lights, look for this rune on a desk in front.
Rune #22
Location. After reaching Sokolav in his greenhouse, look for this rune on the desk, on the left side of the room.
Mission 5: Lady Boyle’s Last Party
Rune #23
Location. At the start of the mission, take the street and go to the security checkpoint on the left. Go right to enter the doorway in the red wall and follow the stairs up, and you should come to an open blue door. Go through it to find an Outsider Shrine with a rune on it.
Rune #24
Location. Jump into the water at the far end of the river that runs through the center of the city. You should find the rune under the water, somewhere in the center.
Rune #25
Location. Take the stairs on the left of the courtyard entrance inside the mansion and go through the kitchen leading to the barred door. Use the switch on the right to open the door and go to the far-right corner. You need a key to open the vault here. Get it from the desk in Lydia’s room on the second floor.
Mission 6: Return to the Tower
Rune #26
Location. When you are outside the tower having climbed the water lock, go right towards patrolling tallboys and enter the small building. You will find the rune on the shelf inside that building.
Rune #27
Location. Go to Lord Regent’s personal chambers on the second floor and look for the chest. You will find this rune inside that chest. You will need a key to open that chest and that, you will find on a dresser in one of the bedrooms down the hall. After retrieving the key, take the double doors at the end of the corridor to come back to Lord Regent’s room.
Rune #28
Location. When you are in the tower, take the stairs in the corner to the right by the large stairs in the main foyer. You will reach Torturer’s room in the basement using these stairs, and once you are inside, look for an outsider shrine in the corner with this rune.
Rune #29
Location. After reaching the tower rooftop, look for this rune in the planting room. You will have to disable the light wall by taking the stairs on the left past the library and enter the planting room.
Return to the Tower – Hounds Pit
Rune #30
Location. Duel Lord Shaw and speak to Pendleton about Boyle mission to get this rune.
Rune #31
Location. You will find this rune in the Hounds Pit. Do not slaughter Boyle sisters and they will give you this rune. You will find it in their room. You will get the clue about the rune at the tavern’s entrance near the Wallace and second note by the rune will reveal the identity of your benefactor.
Rune #32
Location. Speak to Callista in the bar and try to locate Emily. You can use your Dark Vision to find Emily. She will most probably be in Corvo’s room, in the corridor furthest from the bed. Emily will give you the rune.
Mission 7: The Flooded District
Rune #33
Location. When you are getting your gear in the refinery, you will lower a drawbridge to climb down the chains. When you are climbing down your first chain, use a valve wheel to open a large door to get outside and retrieve this rune from the ground across you.
Rune #34
Location. After retrieving Daud’s Key, come back to the entrance to the assassin hideout and use the door next to it. Go through the door and climb down the chain and look for this rune on the bottom.
Rune #35
Location. From the last building to the left before the train tracks, jump out of the window to the adjacent building on the left. Go to the roof to find this rune out in the open.
Rune #36
Location. When you encounter Granny Rags in the sewers, help her to get this rune as a reward. You can retrieve it from an Outsider Shrine in her room at the second floor of her apartment.
Rune #37
Location. After you have retrieved the sewer master key, return to the entrance of the sewer and open the gate. You will find this rune on the lower level.
Mission 8: The Loyalists
Rune #38
Location. After returning back to the Hounds Pit Tavern, go to Piero’s shop and look for this rune on the second floor.
Mission 9: The Light at the End
Rune #39
Location. After reaching the fort, take the sewers on the right leading to a valve that opens another sewer door. Go through that door and opening on the left that leads to the Gatehouse Drainage and look for this rune on the ground.
