Yeah, I know, that was a dad joke. What can I say, I am a dad! All joking aside, I was struggling with a little writer’s block and asked the members of my Alliance if there were any topics they felt had not been covered. Angelfrost, one of the nicest (and deadliest) ladies you will meet on Game of War, pointed out that there has not been much written about runes. She was right! How have we missed this critical component, this component that a lot of players find irritating, this component that is oft-overlooked when setting up our gear? This article will tell you everything you need to know about runes in the Dragon Dimension and give you ideas as to which runes work better for different configurations.
The “only because my editor made me do it” Disclaimer: The stats and rune selections presented in this article are current as of the date of publication. As anyone who plays Dragon Dimension knows, MZ is always releasing new components to the game and sometimes even changes stat functionality without notice. With every release that occurs, the information contained in this article will become more stale (unless updated, of course!). Use this information at your own risk!
A Quick Primer on Runes
As many of you may recall, Runes were released into Dragon Dimension in mid-April of 2021. The initial release featured two components, the actual Runes and the Weapon Runes research tree under Crafting research. A subsequent release, in mid-June of 2021, was limited to four new Runes. As of the time of this writing, Runes can only be used in the Weapon slot in your gear and only after you have unlocked the weapon slot for that particular Rune.
Where do I find Weapon Runes and Tomes?
The Runes and Tomes that you need to use this feature are available for purchase in the Gold Store, by completing certain events, and from the Weekly Black Market. While these items are readily obtainable, one thing has become very clear – it is extremely difficult to obtain Level 6 Runes. When you purchase a pack containing Runes in the Gold Store you are warned that the percentage likelihood of obtaining a Level 6 Rune is low – 0.09994% to be exact! You can posit, then, that the same odds (or lower odds if you are a pessimistic person) would prevail when it comes to “free” runes obtained in events or the Black Market. In reality, this means that you are going to have a lot of low-level Runes and, unfortunately, no way to combine them as that feature is unlikely to ever be added to the game.
Weapon Runes Research Tree
In order to unlock your Rune slots within your weapons, you must complete the Weapon Runes research. The research tree looks like this:
As you can see, the first unlocks available are the Fire Rune Slots for Normal and Core Weapons. Once these nodes in the tree are complete, you can then move further down the tree to your next unlock, the Earth Rune Slot, by completing the research in each node to 1/10. The same remains true for the Water Rune Slot and the Void Rune Slot. If your goal is to unlock all four Rune slots in both the normal and core weapon then you will need to have 5,040,020 Weapon Runes Research Tomes available. The good thing about this research tree is that once you have unlocked all four of the Rune slots, you can then target the individual research nodes that strengthen your particular play style – Empire Defender, Empire Assault, or Wonder, – and also bolster your single Type stats (if you are a one Type player).
How to Use Runes
As previously mentioned, Runes can only be used in the Weapon for any particular Gear set. To add Runes, go to the Inventory in your Forge (or your gear presets) and select the weapon to which you would like to add Runes. This is what you will see once you select the Weapon you are working with:
Selecting the “Runes” tab will take you to this screen:
From here, you simply select one of the four available slots and add the highest rune that you have in your inventory that meets your goal:
Once you select Embed you are ready for battle once that Weapon is placed on your active Hero!
Now, a friendly warning – be sure that you are embedding the Rune that you absolutely want to your Weapon as the ability to remove Runes is extremely limited! Removal of Runes from your Weapon requires a Rune Saver, shown below.
As you can see, you need either a Rune Saver (for Rune Levels 1 to 4) or an Expert Rune Saver (for Rune Levels 1 to 6) in order to swap your Runes. Generally speaking, you only receive one Rune Saver per pack and the predominant Rune Saver you will see is not the Expert Rune Saver!
Rune Selection
Now for the fun stuff! Which Runes you select for each of the open slots is dictated primarily by your style of play and the Runes you have available in your Inventory. Since I cannot help with the Runes you have obtained, and it is pure chance as to the Level of Runes that you have, let us focus on best practices for each primary style of play. Remember, as of this writing you have 4 Rune slots and 8 potential selections available to you. Your choices are:
Thus, you are essentially required to choose between Empire Defender, Empire Assault, Wonder, and Type stats amongst your four open slots. As you will see, the choices available to you may not align perfectly with what you are trying to achieve. Your goal is to get as close as you can based on the options available to you!
Wonder Battles
The first slot you can address is the Fire Runes. Your choices include the Magma Fire Rune (Empire Defender) or the Blazing Fire Rune (Infantry Defense / Health). The best choice is obviously going to be the type stats available in the Blazing Fire Rune since the Empire Defender stats will not necessarily help you take and hold a Wonder. Consider this, though. What protects your account while you are sitting in the Wonder forest with your Hero out? Empire Defender stats! Thus, do not discount the Magma Fire Rune as completely irrelevant.
For the Earth Runes, you can choose between the Quake Earth Rune (Empire Assault) or the Tectonic Earth Rune (Ranged Defense / Health). This one is almost a no-brainer. The only Rune that is even close to relevant would be the Tectonic Earth Rune, especially if you are using Ranged troops to attack or defend in the Wonder.
Next, you have the Water Runes. Here, your choices are the Tidal Water Rune (Wonder Rally / Occupying Troop Attack) or the Rapid Water Rune (Cavalry Defense / Health). This one is a clear no-brainer. You need the stats available from the Tidal Water Rune to present the strongest rally and hold for the Wonder.
Finally, we have the Void Runes. This is where things can get just a bit difficult as you have what many would consider equally good choices between the Siphon Void Rune (Wonder Troop Health) and the Entropic Void Rune (Type Attack). Personally, I would choose the Siphon Void Rune as there are no debuffs present for Wonder stats like we are now seeing for Type stats. I should probably add a disclaimer here – I am not a Wonder lead so take my selection with a grain of salt and a very large margarita!
Rally Lead
For the Fire Runes, your choices are the Magma Fire Rune (Empire Defender) or the Blazing Fire Rune (Infantry Defense / Health). The best choice is obviously going to be the type stats available in the Blazing Fire Rune since the Empire Defender stats will not help your assault on another stronghold. Again, do not necessarily ignore the Empire Defender stats that can protect you from attacks launched by other leads.
For the Earth Runes, you can choose between the Quake Earth Rune (Empire Assault) or the Tectonic Earth Rune (Ranged Defense / Health). The clear winner here would be the Empire Assault stats available from the Quake Earth Rune.
Your choices to fill the Water Rune slot include the Tidal Water Rune (Wonder Rally / Occupying Troop Attack) or the Rapid Water Rune (Cavalry Defense / Health). Since Wonder stats are completely irrelevant, your choice should be the Rapid Water Rune and the increase in Cavalry stats.
Your final slot, the Void Rune, presents a difficult choice. You can either increase your overall Type stats, by choosing the Entropic Void Rune, or you can increase your Empire Assault and Empire Defender Health by choosing the Siphon Void Rune. I think either selection works fine but would probably select the Entropic Void Rune since I get a double advantage.
Trap / Filler
For the Fire Runes, your choices are the Magma Fire Rune (Empire Defender) or the Blazing Fire Rune (Infantry Defense / Health). The best choice is obviously going to be the Empire Defender stats from the Magma Fire Rune.
For the Earth Runes, you can choose between the Quake Earth Rune (Empire Assault) or the Tectonic Earth Rune (Ranged Defense / Health). The clear winner here would be the Ranged stats available from the Tectonic Earth Rune.
Your choices to fill the Water Rune slot include the Tidal Water Rune (Wonder Rally / Occupying Troop Attack) or the Rapid Water Rune (Cavalry Defense / Health). Since Wonder stats are completely irrelevant, your choice should be the Rapid Water Rune and the increase in Cavalry stats.
Your final slot, the Void Rune, presents a difficult choice. You can either increase your overall Type Attack stats, by choosing the Entropic Void Rune, or you can increase your Empire Defender Health by choosing the Siphon Void Rune. I think your selection will depend on if you are already killing the entire attack march. If so, go with the Siphon Void Rune so you can limit your troop losses.
My Final Thoughts on Runes
Runes are clearly not a feature that you can ignore given the stats they provide to all play styles. Given the structure of the release, low chances for Level 6 Runes, and the inability to combine lower-level Runes, should you focus on the research or the Runes? My position has always been to focus on research over everything else. If you look at the stats available from the research, at least from a trapper’s perspective, that certainly holds true. If I am able to max my Empire Defender research nodes, I can add 326,200% Empire Defender Attack, 401,800 Empire Defender Defense, and 218,400% Empire Defender Health. The Runes themselves only add a maximum of 139,800% Empire Defender Attack, 172,200% Empire Defender Defense, and 93,600% Empire Defender Health. While the additional stats from Runes would be more than welcome, reaching that level is pure luck! Nah, mate, I will take what I know over a chance every day!
Where to go for Additional Information
I hope you enjoyed this article! Team Real Tips has guides for pretty much all aspects of Game of War. Remember, our beloved game is constantly changing. Thus, the burden remains on YOU to educate yourself on those changes. Read the blogs released by MZ! Ask questions of RealTips writers in our Line rooms and on Discord! Remember, there really is no stupid question and we are happy to help you understand the stats that you are working with!
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I am active in many of the Game of War Line rooms (Line Display Name: FinsUp / Line ID finsupgow) and I am always willing to answer player questions in the rooms or via Direct Message. If I do not know the answer to a question, I am always happy to find the answer or to test your theories to determine the best practices one can take in building their account. Don’t forget to sign up for our Email Subscription that will automatically notify you when we release new content! Finally, join us in our Line and Discord channels and follow us on Facebook!
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