Knots

A Knot’s tooltip shows the spell inside, rune by rune

What it is

A Knot is a whole spell tied into a single rune. It takes one socket, costs 10% less mana than the runes inside, and anyone can learn it, even without knowing a single rune inside. Use Knots to give a friend your best spell, or to fit a long spell onto a short Cord row.

How to get it

You need a Fusion Altar, a Blank Rune, a piece of String, and the spell threaded on your Cord.

1. Put the Blank Rune in one rune socket, and nothing in the other two.
2. Put the String in the middle socket.
3. Pick one of your spells 1 to 4 from the list, then press Tie Knot.

Picking a spell to tie

It costs 1 XP level per rune inside (runes inside any Knots it holds count too), and at least 2 levels. Creative mode is free.

• The Knot holds the spell as your Cord casts it now. Quiet runes are left out.
• It keeps the spell’s name, or the name you gave it.
• Tying doesn’t teach it to you. Right-click it to learn it.

How to use it

• One socket, however many runes are inside.
• 10% cheaper. Every rune inside costs 90% of its usual mana.
• It’s sealed. A modifier inside only changes the Knot’s own runes; one outside can’t reach in. An Amplify after a Knot won’t boost the Fire inside it.
• Its tier is the highest tier inside, so it needs a Cord that could hold every rune in it.
• Ranks come from the caster. Whoever casts it uses their own ranks.
• Its elements count for affinities, staffs and element contracts.
• Knots in Knots, up to 2 deep. Runes in a Knot inside a Knot cost 81% (19% off in all).

Learning and sharing

• Right-click a Knot to learn it. It goes in your Codex under All.
• Knots stack to 16, so you can tie copies for a whole group.
• You can’t learn the same Knot twice; the extra isn’t used up.
• Knots don’t count as runes you know for Heart Circle breakthroughs.

Limits

You can’t:

• tie an empty spell, or more than 12 runes directly into one Knot;
• tie a spell with Imbue or your innate rune in it;
• tie a spell holding a master lesson: Relay, Reweave, Excise or a Lesson Pack rune;
• nest Knots more than 2 deep;
• use a Knot in a passive;
• rank up, combine or sell a Knot;
• tie the Tome of the Fifth Page’s fifth spell.

Tips and counterplay

• A spell for a friend. Hand over a Knot and they can cast it right away, as long as their Cord holds its tier.
• Room on a small Cord. Tie a four-rune combo into one socket and thread more runes around it.
• A cheaper favourite. Even alone, a Knot costs 10% less than the same runes threaded loose.
• A spell code can’t carry a Knot: give the Knot itself.