Path of Exile 2 Runes and Sockets guide

Runes are a new system in Path of Exile 2 added to juice up your gear with more stats and resistances. You can get socketed gear, but unlike the first game, this is not for Skill Gems — instead, these are slots where Runes can be placed. This is a system you'll need to utilize on any class, to at least cap out your resistances if for nothing else.

In this beginner-friendly Path of Exile 2 guide, we'll go over all the Runes in the game, and how to make use of them.

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How to place Runes in Path of Exile 2: Gear sockets explained

Sockets can be created easily, but the materials are quite rare. (Image via GGG)

Runes can be placed into Marital Weapons and Armor that have at least one Rune Socket in them. Socketed gear of all rarity can drop naturally, but you can also create a Socket on any compatible gear by using an Artificer's Orb in Path of Exile 2.

Note that Marital Weapons here means any weapon type other than wands and staves.

Chestpieces and Martial weapons can have up to two Sockets, while gloves, boots, and headpieces can only have one. However, you can go over this limit by one additional socket as a potential boon from Corrupting the item with a Corruption Altar or Vaal Orb. Note, however, that this is far from guaranteed, and Corrupting the item bars you from modifying it further.

Once you have gear Sockets, any Rune can be placed in them by simply clicking on the Rune and then the Socket. Rune placement is permanent as of this writing. You can neither extract the Rune from an item nor destroy the Rune to empty the socket.

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All Runes in Path of Exile 2, explained

There are a total of 10 Runes at the time of writing, and they confer the following stats depending on whether they're slotted on a weapon or armor:

Rune	Bonus on Martial Weapon	Bonus on Armor
Vision Rune	100 additional Accuracy Rating	10% increased Life and Mana Recovery from Flasks
Glacial Rune	Adds 6 to 10 Cold Damage	12% to Cold Resistance
Iron Rune	20% increased Physical Damage	20% increased Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield
Desert Rune	Adds 7 to 11 Fire Damage	12% to Fire Resistance
Body Rune	Leeches 3% of Physical Damage as Life	25 to maximum Life
Rebirth Rune	Gain 20 Life per Enemy Killed	Regenerate 0.3% of Life per second
Storm Rune	Adds 1 to 20 Lightning Damage	12% to Lightning Resistance
Mind Rune	Leeches 2% of Physical Damage as Mana	20 to maximum Mana
Inspiration Rune	Gain 10 Mana per Enemy Killed	15% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
Stone Rune	Causes 25% increased Stun Buildup	40 to Stun Threshold

These stats do not count towards the explicit affix limit, nor are they increased when you improve equipment quality. If you have two or three sockets, bonuses from duplicate Runes stack additively in PoE2.

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How to get Runes?

Runes can drop naturally from any mob, but the chances are higher with rare mobs or Unique monsters (bosses). By the end of the campaign, you'll amass over a dozen of the common types, while specific ones like Vision Rune and Inspiration Rune seem to be a bit rarer. The other way to obtain Runes is via trading or using the Currency Exchange system in Path of Exile 2.

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Check out our other guides on the game:

• Path of Exile 2 beginner tips
• How to farm Gold in Path of Exile 2
• Complete Crafting guide for beginners
• Path of Exile 2 Gemcutting guide