The Season of Discovery has unleashed a new era of customization and power with the introduction of Runes, empowering players to forge their playstyle and dominate the battlefield. Embark on a journey of Season of Discovery Rune mastery with this comprehensive guide, unlocking the secrets to discovering, equipping, and utilizing these potent tools. Also, learn which Runes to use for DPS classes, Tanks, and Healers.
4.9What are Season of Discovery Runes
SoD Runes are the special modifications you can add to your equipment with which you unlock special abilities or change already existing ones. Unlike traditional talents that only change your base gameplay, Runes introduces new gameplay to fit your playstyle.
Season of Discovery Rune Engraving can give you a number of benefits, including:
- New Abilities: This provides you with an opportunity to acquire some new skills which are normally not obtainable in the traditional learning experience. For example, some Paladin and Shaman Runes will provide formerly faction-specific buffs.
- Increased Power: Runes can enhance your current skills in terms of attack power, reduce the cost of health, mana, and wrath, give you an extra attack, and more. For instance, Demonic Pact Warlock Rune will increase your spell damage and healing by 10%, and Haunt will increase all Shadow damage over time. While Metamorphosis Rune will grant you instant Searing Pain among other enhancements.
- New Playstyles: Runes could make it possible for different styles of play for the character.
What are the Different Types of Season of Discovery Runes
Runes can be categorized into two primary types:
- Passive Runes: These Runes give you some stat increases or beneficial effects that you do not have to activate.
- Active Runes: These Runes will unlock some other abilities to give you a wider range of fighting means.
Where to Find Season of Discovery Runes
Runes do not lie on the ground. They can be found in your exploration, fight against a monster, and completion of a task.
Here are some ways to get Runes:
- Drop from Monsters: Runes will be available as loot, just like other items from some monsters. This is a common method to locate Runes.
- Hidden in the World: Some Runes are placed in hidden spots. They are going to be extremely difficult to locate.
- Rewards for Completing Quests: You can get Runes as a reward in some quests.
- Buy from Vendors: Some vendors will sell Runes. But usually, they are weaker compared to Runes discovered in other ways.
The first Rune will be acquired from a quest from your class trainer at level 2. After that, you will be able to engrave your Rune into a slot on a piece of gear. The kind of engraving slot is determined by the Rune. In the Season of Discovery 3 Phase, there were engraving slots for Chest/Robe, Pants, Gloves, Belts, Boots, Helm, and Bracer.
Season of Discovery Rune Broker
Season of Discovery Phase 6 brings a new addition to Runes. From now on, you will be able to obtain any needed Rune from Rune Broker — a vendor in each race’s starting location, who sells Rune for 1 Copper.
What’s so special about Rune Brokers though is the mechanic of Rune acquisition behind them. So, currently, we have four major paths to obtain SoD Runes, including quests, world explorations, monster drops, and, of course, vendors. However, if you buy a Rune from Rune Broker in Phase 6, it may affect some original rune acquisition methods. It can cause the following issues:
- If you buy a Rune, the related questline will not reward you with the second Rune;
- If you’ve already started a questline and then obtained a Rune, it may break or cancel the questline completion.
You will most likely be able to enjoy the quest content after buying a Rune from a vendor but keep in mind the possible obstacles and nuances.
Season of Discovery Rune Currency
In WoW Season of Discovery Phase 5, we received a new Rune Currency — bind-on-account Emblems. There are 4 Emblems in total, sold by Pix Xizzix in Booty Bay. To be able to trade with Pix, you need to complete one of the following quests:
- The Dark Riders questline, introduced in Phase 2.
- The Illari questline, introduced in Phase 2.
- The Wild Gods questline, introduced in Phase 3.
- The Leylines “questline”, introduced in Phase 3.
If this requirement is met, you can buy one Emblem for each quest for 5 Tarnished Undermine Real. Here’s the list of available Emblems:
| Emblem | Classes | Runes |
|---|---|---|
 Emblem of the Violet Eye | Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior | King of the Jungle Melee Specialist Missile Barrage Infusion of Light Spirit of the Redeemer Waylay Two-Handed Mastery Demonic Knowledge Precise Timing |
 Emblem of Dishonor | Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior | Eclipse Trap Launcher Brain Freeze The Art of War Mind Spike Poisoned Knife Ancestral Awakening Shadow and Flame Enraged Regeneration |
 Emblem of the Worldcore | Mage Paladin Priest Warlock | Displacement Purifying Power Despair Backdraft |
 Emblem of the Wild Gods | Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior | Improved Frenzied Regeneration Lock and Load Advanced Warding Improved Sanctuary Divine Aegis Combat Potency Riptide Vengeance Sword and Board |
After you receive the Emblem, head to one of the major cities of your faction and hand them to the Rune Broker. The Brokers can be found at these coordinates:
- Rune Broker at 58.0 27.2 in Stormwind.
- Rune Broker at 53.8 13.2 in Ironforge.
- Rune Broker at 49.6 46.2 in Orgrimmar.
- Rune Broker at 22.8 13.8 in Thunder Bluff.
- Rune Broker at 79.4 19.8 in Undercity.
All Season of Discovery Runes
How many Runes are in WoW SoD? There are a total of 250 Runes in Season of Discovery Phase 5. Each Rune has a unique ability, and it can be used to augment your existing playstyle or to create entirely new builds.
Below you can find all the Runes by class and their location.
How to Equip Season of Discovery Runes
Runes are not automatically added to your character’s repertoire. Instead, you need to actively seek them out and learn them. Once you’ve obtained a Rune, right-click on it in your inventory to learn it. This will add the Rune to your list of known Runes.
After learning a Rune, you can engraver it to a compatible piece of gear. To do this, follow these steps:
- Open your Character/Equipment screen by pressing the ‘C’ key.
- Locate the slot for the Rune you want to equip. For example, if you want to equip a Rune for your chest piece, click on the ‘Chest’ slot.
- All equipment slots except the one that the Rune can be engraved on will grey out. Select the piece of gear to be engraved, then wait a few seconds for the process to finish.
Once the Rune has been equipped, it will take effect immediately. You can check the effects of your Runes in the ‘Runes’ tab of your Character/Equipment screen.
You can swap these Runes at any time outside of combat, allowing for dual-spec functionality in certain situations. For instance, a Mage is able to switch between Arcane Healer to use the might of healing spells, and Arcane DPS for additional damage, or a Druid can switch between Feral Tank and Feral DPS.
Remember, the path to Season Of Discovery Runes mastery is an ongoing process. Experiment with different Rune combinations, adapt to ever-changing challenges and continuously refine your strategies. With dedication and perseverance, you will ascend to the pinnacle of Rune mastery, leaving an indelible mark on Azeroth.
