Great Runes are significantly important when it comes to dealing with some of the most difficult enemies in Elden Ring. They are obtained through Rune Arcs and as such, the following guide will explain how to farm (and use) Rune Arcs and Great Runes in Elden Ring.
What are Rune Arcs in Elden Ring
As already stated above, Rune Arcs are used to access Great Runes in Elden Ring. When players defeat specific bosses, they can access a Great Rune; which ultimately means that you should collect all of the Great Runes scattered in the world before going up against the final boss.
However, Great Runes are useless if you don’t possess Rune Arcs as you cannot access the former without having Rune Arcs on your hand first. So, grabbing Rune Arcs is necessary if you want to deal with bosses with ease.
How to Use Great Runes
Rune Arcs do increase the HP of characters, but we recommend you keep it in your inventory for making the Great Runes more effective.
Apart from improving health and minimizing the negative effects, it can also be used to take on enemies. Various Great Runes have different effects, so you can use them according to your situation.
If you get killed during the fight, Great Rune will lose its effect. Now, you will need to get a new Rune Arc to get access to Great Runes again.
With more than one Great Runes in hand, you can also shift to the other one at any time at a Site of Grace. However, keep in mind that you won’t be able to get access to the abilities of a new Great Rune that you are using until you give another Rune Arc in exchange for it.
Where to Find Rune Arcs
Rune Arcs are scattered at random across the world of Elden Ring. There are two ways to get Rune Arcs which include searching around the lands and purchasing them by going to the locations described ahead in this guide.
Rune Arcs are available to purchase at Roundtable which can be accessed by passing through Enia first. Another place where it can be purchased is the Nomadic Merchant that is found near the lakes. You can get these by giving away 4000 Runes at any of the two mentioned places.
The second way to get them is by searching around the Elden Ring. They are placed in many locations at Elden Ring like dropped by rats as an item, lying over decaying bodies inside catacombs, under the stairs, inside of chests, and you can also get them as a reward when you defeat the enemies.
Thirdly, we recommend collecting Rune Arcs by playing multiplayer with your friends or random players online. You can obtain this valuable item by defeating bosses together and taking down invaders. You can also get Rune Arcs by invading other’s worlds and killing the Host of Fingers.
Lastly, you can check on the following locations in Elden Ring as they have the most drop rates for Rune Arcs: Unsightly Catacombs, Road’s End Catacombs, Cliffbottom Catacombs, Liurnia of the Lakes, Academy Crystal Cave, and Village of the Albinaurics.
How Long Does a Rune Arc Last?
Once you’ve got your hands on Rune Arcs, how long will they last? Well, the answer is ‘Until death.’ Players are able to hold about 99 Rune Arcs and store up to 600 in their inventory. Unless you are killed, these valuables are not going anywhere, and your Rune Arcs are all safe in your inventory.
The Great Runes will remain with the players even after they die; however, the effects will die down a little, and you will need another Rune Arc to activate it.
How to Farm Rune Arc Offline
Although farming Rune Arcs offline is pretty challenging due to the rare drop rates, it’s not impossible. Therefore, one of the first steps you should be taking as an offline player is to buff your discovery and arcane stats. It will also help if you equip yourself with Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot.
It is a highly important consumable that players should have, as it boosts Discovery by 50 points for 180 seconds. In addition, it will further assure that the drop rate for Rune Arcs during offline boss fights and invasions increases significantly.
It can be found in several locations throughout the game, including Stormveil Castle and Raya Lucaria. You can also purchase it through Gatekeeper Gostoc or the Twin Maiden Husks at the Roundtable Hold.
It can also be crafted by following the recipe in the Missionary’s Cookbook found in Smoldering Church. You need three Rowa Fruits, one of the Four-Toed Fowl Foot, and one Silver Firefly to craft the Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot.
Once you’ve consumed it, use the before mentioned methods to farm Runes Arcs, and you’ll be able to get your hands on a decent amount of Rune Arcs offline.
