You just beat Godrick. You’ve got this shimmering, heavy-looking gold circle in your inventory, and the game basically shrugs its shoulders about what you’re supposed to do next. Most players head straight to the Divine Tower, power the thing up, and then realize they have no idea if it’s actually helping them kill anything faster.
Honestly, the all great runes Elden Ring provides aren’t created equal. Some of them are absolute game-changers that carry you through the Mountaintops of the Giants, while others are so niche they might as well be paperweights. If you're tired of wasting Rune Arcs on buffs that don't fit your playstyle, let's break down what these things actually do when the pressure is on.
The Early Game Heavyweights
Godrick’s Great Rune is the undisputed king of the early game. It’s not even a contest. When you activate it, you get a +5 bonus to every single attribute. That’s 40 free levels. For a level 30 character, that’s an astronomical jump in power. You suddenly have more health, more stamina, and you might finally be able to wield that heavy sword you’ve been eyeing.
But here’s the thing: it falls off. Hard.
Once you’re level 150, adding 5 points to your Strength when you’re already at the soft cap of 60 doesn’t do much. You’re getting diminishing returns. That’s when you need to start looking at Radahn’s Great Rune. Radahn’s doesn't care about your stats; it gives you a flat 15% boost to your maximum HP, FP, and Stamina. It’s the "quality" build of runes. It makes everything a little bit better without forcing you into a specific corner.
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Why Some Runes Feel Like a Trap
Morgott’s Great Rune is frequently misunderstood. It grants a massive 25% increase to maximum HP. If you’re a "Vigor check" survivor, this is your best friend. However, if your Vigor is sitting at 20, 25% of nothing is still... well, not much. You need a solid base for this to outperform Godrick’s.
Then we have Malenia. Oh, Malenia. Her rune is basically "Bloodborne mode." When you take damage, you can recover some of that HP by attacking enemies quickly. Sounds incredible, right? In practice, it’s risky. Elden Ring’s combat is slower and more deliberate than Bloodborne’s. If you try to trade hits with a boss just to get your health back, you’re probably going to end up looking at a "You Died" screen. It also reduces the healing power of your Crimson Flasks, which is a massive trade-off that most people aren't willing to make.
Rykard’s Great Rune is the weird cousin. It heals you when you kill enemies. It’s useless for boss fights. Completely. But for clearing out a dungeon like Elphael or the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds? It’s a godsend. It saves you from burning through your flasks on trash mobs.
Activation and the Rune Arc Economy
You can't just equip these things. You have to find the specific Divine Tower associated with the Shardbearer you just killed. Some of these towers are easy to find; others, like the Isolated Divine Tower for Malenia, require you to get teleported from a specific spot in Leyndell.
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Once activated, you need a Rune Arc to "turn on" the power. If you die, the effect is gone. You’re human again.
The Scarcity Problem
Rune Arcs aren't exactly lying around in piles. You can buy them from the Twin Maiden Husks, but they eventually run out of stock. You can find them in chests. But the most reliable way to get them is through multiplayer.
- Help someone beat a boss as a Co-op phantom.
- Invade and defeat a Host of Fingers.
- Kill an invader as a Hunter.
If you’re playing offline, you have to farm rats. Yes, rats. The giant rats in the Earthbore Cave or the ones under Castle Morne have a small chance to drop them. It’s tedious. It makes you value your life a lot more when you know that a fall off a cliff costs you a precious Arc.
The Specialty Runes You Might Forget
Mohg’s Great Rune is the "Invader's Choice." It doesn't do much for you in solo play, but if you’re into PvP or use Spirit Summons, it’s fascinating. It grants a "Blessing of Blood" to your summons. When they kill something, you get healed. If they are near something that suffers blood loss, they get a damage buff. It’s niche. It’s bloody. It’s very Mohg.
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And we can’t forget the Great Rune of the Unborn. This is the only one you don't actually "equip" for a buff. Rennala’s rune is what allows you to use the "Respec" mechanic. You don't need a Rune Arc for it. It just sits in your key items, silently judging your terrible stat distribution until you bring a Larval Tear to the Raya Lucaria Grand Library.
Comparing the "Big Three" for Endgame
When you're facing the final gauntlet of bosses—Radagon, the Elden Beast, Godfrey—you really only have three viable choices for all great runes Elden Ring meta discussions.
- Morgott's: Pure survivability. At 60 Vigor, this puts your HP bar halfway across the screen. It lets you survive grabs and combos that would otherwise one-shot you.
- Radahn's: The balanced choice. If you are a mage or a hybrid build, the extra FP and Stamina are often more valuable than the raw HP boost from Morgott.
- Godrick's: Only if you are under-leveled or trying to hit specific requirements for a high-level spell or weapon without respeccing.
The reality is that most players stick with Godrick for 80% of the game and then forget to switch when it stops being effective. Don't be that player. Check your stats. If you've hit 40 or 50 in your primary attributes, go to the Roundtable Hold, look at the numbers, and see if Radahn or Morgott gives you a better edge.
Making the Most of Your Build
The best way to handle your Great Runes is to treat them like a consumable strategy rather than a passive permanent buff.
Save your Rune Arcs for the bosses that are actually giving you trouble. Using a Rune Arc to explore a random cave in Caelid is a waste. Using it when you’ve finally learned Maliketh’s first phase and just need that extra bit of health to survive the second phase? That’s the play.
Also, keep in mind that Great Runes do not carry over to your active state in New Game Plus. You keep the items, but they are "dormant." You have to go back to the Divine Towers to re-power them. It’s a bit of a chore, but it prevents you from being completely overpowered from the moment you step out into Limgrave again.
If you find yourself constantly running out of Rune Arcs, try putting your gold summon sign down near the "Fog Wall" of a boss you find easy. Rennala or the Godskin Noble are usually quick fights. You'll stack up twenty Arcs in an hour and never have to worry about farming rats again.
Go to your inventory right now. Look at your Vigor. If it's over 40, go equip Morgott's. If you're a caster struggling with mana management, put on Radahn's. Stop relying on Godrick's +5 boost like it's a crutch; by the time you're hitting the capital, those 5 points are barely moving the needle on your damage output. Experiment with Rykard's while you're exploring the Haligtree—you'll be surprised how much longer you can go without touching a Site of Grace.