It's only been a day since Diablo 4 announced Runewords and players have already compiled a list of every single combination they will be able to make

Infernal Hordes.

What you need to know

• On August 29 Blizzard held a 'Campfire Chat' to discuss huge changes coming to Diablo 4 in Patch 2.0.
• Patch 2.0, which drops with the Vessel of Hatred expansion on October 8, will add Runewords to the game, a feature returning from the classic Diablo 2.
• Fans have been celebrating the announcement. Based on the patch notes, they have already figured out all of the possible combinations of Runewords.

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Diablo 4 is about to get its first-ever expansion, Vessel of Hatred, on October 8, but it's not simply expanding the game with a new story campaign. Yesterday, the developers dropped a metric ton of new information onto the community, with news of a new level cap, new difficulty levels, and Runewords making a comeback to the franchise. Patch 2.0, which drops at the same time as the expansion, will actually completely revamp the game and make what Season 4: Loot Reborn did to the game look like a hotfix.

The most exciting of all the changes announced is the addition of Runewords, which haven't been in a Diablo title since Diablo 2: Resurrected, and the community loves this so much they have already dissected the Patch 2.0 notes and figured out all of the possible combinations of Runewords we'll be able to use in the game. It's been less than 24 hours, the devil works hard but Diablo fans hungry for new content work harder...

How will Runes and Runewords work in Diablo 4?

Bac is a Rune of Ritual which sets the condition for your character to move 5 meters. (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Runewords will be a feature only accessible for those that purchase the Vessel of Hatred expansion. This makes sense as the same approach was made when Diablo 2 added the Lord of Destruction expansion which bought runewords to the game.

Runewords are a way to make your own abilities, and even use abilities from other classes. There are two kinds of Runes:

• Runes of Ritual - specify an action you must take to trigger
• Runes of Invocation - grant a powerful effect when you meet above trigger

Jah is a Rune of Invocation which will replace your next Evade with a Sorcerer Teleport skill (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Having both the Bac and Jah Runes equipped to an item you’re wearing created the BacJah Runeword.  It also means that every time your character travels 5 meters, they will generate 50 Offering. Once they have generated at least 500 Offering, their next Evade is replaced with the Sorcerer’s Teleport.

What is Offering?

Runes use a resource system called Offering, which is created by Runes of Ritual when their conditions are met. Runes of Invocation then use this Offering to trigger their effects. The harder the condition, the more Offering the Rune of Ritual generates. Similarly, the stronger the effect of a Rune of Invocation, the more Offering it needs.

Sometimes, you might generate more Offering than needed to activate a Rune of Invocation. This is where Overflow comes in—extra Offering can boost the effects of many Runes of Invocation for a short time.

To make a Runeword, you need to place both a Rune of Ritual and a Rune of Invocation into an item with two Sockets, like those in Chest, Leg, and Two-Handed weapon slots. The Helm slot now has an extra Socket, so it can also hold a Runeword. Any Rune of Ritual can work with any Rune of Invocation. Runes come in three rarities: Magic, Rare, and Legendary, with higher rarities offering stronger effects.  

What are all the Runes in Diablo 4?

• Runes are tradeable, stack and will be stored in a new socketable inventory tab.
• A maximum of 2 Runewords can be equipped (4 Runes total).
• The same Rune cannot be equipped twice.

We'll be able to craft Runes from unwanted Runes

(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

You'll be able to use 3 Runes with the same name to craft a new Rune. When non-Legendary Runes are used to craft in this way, there is a chance to make a Rune of a higher rarity.

We'll also be able to craft Mythic Uniques at the Jeweler by combining the following:

• 1 Resplendent Spark
• 10 Legendary Runes of a specific name
• 10 Rare Runes of a specific name
• 10 Magic Runes of a specific name

What skills can I make with Runewords

As stated, the community at large has already diligently compiled list after list of skills that we'll be able to make using combinations of these Runes. If you're already looking at builds ahead of Vessel of Hatred launch and want to do some theory crafting, there's a huge database here at Diablo4.life where you can narrow down to Skill combinations using Magic, Rare, or Legendary Runes. There are too many combinations to list here but here are a few examples:

Time will tell which of all these hundreds of combinations will actually get used, as with anything in Diablo 4 some items come out on top and make their way into the meta. The full Patch 2.0 Public Test Realm PTR will be available for everyone who plays Diablo 4 on Battle.net to test from September 6 to 11.  The PTR itself is running in two sessions, with September 4 to 6 being only for levelling characters and testing the new progression. 

How to install the PTR 

Access the Diablo 4 PTR through PC Battle.net app (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

1. Open the Battle.net launcher.
2. Navigate to Diablo 4.
3. In the bottom left corner, select the dropdown and you'll find Public Test Realm.
4. Click Install.
5. Click Play and select a test server.
6. Create a test character.
7. Skip Campaign.
8. Create a Seasonal Character for any testing related to the Seasonal themes