Rune-Etched Blades
What it is
You can etch one effect rune into a weapon at an anvil. When an art or finisher lands, the rune wakes and casts its effect, paid for with your mana. The blade still fights normally; the rune is extra magic on top.
How to get it
- Put a sword, axe, spear or mace in the anvil’s left slot.
- Put one rank I effect rune in the right slot.
- Take the result for 5 experience levels. The rune is used up.
The weapon keeps its damage, name, enchantments and bond.
- One rune per weapon. Etching a different effect replaces the old one; it’s lost.
- Shape, modifier, link and innate runes can’t be etched. Neither can ranked runes, the Excise rune, or the Lesson Pack runes.
- You can’t etch a blade bonded to someone else.
- Repair an etched weapon in the left slot as normal. It can’t be used as the sacrifice in the right slot.
How to use it
You need a working Cord, Glow or higher, and Aura switched on.
When an art or written technique first deals damage, or a finisher lands, the rune spends the mana of Touch + its effect and casts. Normal swings don’t wake it.
| Kind of effect | Where it lands | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Harmful | The foe you hit | Harm deals its normal damage, through spell defences |
| Helpful | You | Heal restores you; Swift speeds you up |
| Movement | You | Blink or Launch work as usual on yourself |
| World | The spot under the foe | Light lights it up; terrain effects follow their usual rules |
Afterwards the rune rests for at least 5 seconds (longer if the effect’s own cooldown is longer). This rest is shared by every etched weapon you carry and isn’t reset by swapping weapons, dying or changing dimension.
If you don’t have the mana, nothing happens and no rest starts.
Tips and counterplay
- Effects keep their normal rules: shields can stop a harmful rune, and a rune can fizzle in the wrong place.
- Your rune rank still counts. Heart power, casting-gear discounts and cast mastery don’t.
- A killing blow has nothing left to affect, and a sparring partner can’t trigger it.
- The tooltip shows the rune, its mana cost and its rest.
- Harm adds pressure. Heal, a movement rune or Light gives your arts a second job instead.