Runes Guide

The Runes page is a visual lookup for all 33 runes in the game. Each rune card shows its image, weapon/armor socket stats, and exactly where it first starts appearing as a drop.

Reading a Rune Card — Example: Pul

Pul

A3Nightmare

Weapon: +75% Damage to Demons; +100 AR vs Demons

Helm/Armor: +30% Enhanced Defense

Shield: +30% Enhanced Defense

Cube Recipe

3×Pul+Flawed Amethyst→Um

Socket stats (Weapon / Helm/Armor / Shield)The bonus the rune grants when socketed. Different slots can give different bonuses — Pul in a weapon boosts demon damage, while Pul in armor or a shield gives Enhanced Defense.

Drop location badge — "A3 Nightmare"This is the earliest act and difficulty where this rune can begin appearing as a drop. A3 Nightmare means Pul first starts dropping in Act 3 of Nightmare difficulty — it will not drop in Normal at all. Higher runes have later first-drop locations, so this badge tells you at a glance how far into the game you need to be before farming makes sense.

Cube RecipeEvery card shows the Horadric Cube recipe to upgrade that rune to the next tier — how many you need and which gem is required. Zod has no recipe since it's the highest rune.

Shorthand format: The badge uses act abbreviations — A1 = Act 1, A2 = Act 2, etc. — followed by the difficulty: Normal, Nightmare, or Hell. For example, A2 Normal means the rune starts dropping in Act 2 of Normal difficulty.

Search every runeword by name, rune combination, stats, or role tag. Mark the runes you own and instantly see what you can make — runewords where you're missing runes are highlighted so you know what to farm or trade for next.

Runewords are one of the defining features of Diablo II: Resurrected. You insert specific runes in a specific order into a socketed base item to unlock powerful bonuses that can't be found on any other gear type. The right runeword at the right time can define how a character plays for the entire game.

The Runeword Bases page helps you verify whether a base item you found is actually usable for the runeword you want before you commit your runes. It shows max sockets by tier, Larzuk quest reward sockets, and cube recipe socket ranges for every base item type.

This is important because a socketed item's socket count is determined when it drops, and it depends on the item level (ilvl). A base that dropped in Normal might cap at fewer sockets than the same base dropped in Hell — even if the item type theoretically supports more. Always check the Runeword Bases page before you use Larzuk or the cube on a base you're planning to runeword.

Enter the runes you currently own and see the full upgrade path to any target rune — how many lower runes you'd need, and what gem is required at each step. It's useful for planning when you're a few runes away from something you want to build.

The cube upgrade recipe works differently depending on where you are in the rune ladder — the number of runes required changes at the high end.