Beginner's Guide to LoL Runes | Everything You Need To Know

Updated: May 17 to include patch 14.10 rune changes

Mechanical skill, item builds, and the right champion selections aren't the only critical aspects in League of Legends matches. Often, a game's outcome is already decided just through your selected League of Legends runes.

These arcane mysteries can do just about anything, from reaping the souls of low-health enemies to passive bonuses like Tenacity, Slow Resistance, and Armor. A LoL rune page offers a wealth of customization options to tailor your runes to fit your individual champion, lane, and playstyle. This complex system can overwhelm an uninitiated player, but it's easy once you get the hang of it.

From Precision to Inspiration, here's everything you need to know about the LoL runes system to help you get started.

League of Legends Runes Overview

League of Legends runes are divided into five different pathways, each focusing on a different aspect of gameplay.

• Precision: Improved attacks and sustained damage
• Domination: Burst damage and target access
• Sorcery: Empowered abilities and resource manipulation
• Resolve: Durability and crowd control
• Inspiration: Creative tools and rule-bending

Within these specific rune pathways are secondary sub-categories: Keystone Runes and Lesser Runes. To create a Rune Page, players must select one Primary Path, where they take one Keystone Rune and three Lesser Runes, and a Secondary Path, consisting of two Lesser Runes and three shard slots.

Players can build and customize their Rune Pages to suit the champion or their specific lane. For example, ADCs typically go down the Precision route.

At first, new players are given some preset Rune Pages to try. As they increase their Summoner Level by playing games, they eventually get the freedom to create and edit their own individual Rune Pages to their liking.

What do the Stats Mean?

As you go through our guide to League of Legends runes below, you'll encounter several stats like Magic Resistance, Armor, Tenacity, etc. We'll briefly explain what each of them mean in the bullet points:

• Tenacity: Reduces the duration of all incoming crowd-control status effects, akak disables. This does NOT icnlude Airborne, Drowsy, Stasis, Nearsight, or Suppression.
• Slow Resist: Reduces the strength of enemy slowing abilities.
• Magic Resistance: Reduces the amount of magic damage taken.
• Armor: Reduces the amount of physical damage taken.
• Lifesteal: How much health the champion restores through basic attacks and on-hit effects.
• Omnivamp: The percentage of damage inflicted that is returned to the champion as Health.
• Haste (Item, Ability, Summoner Spell): Reduces the cooldown of abilities by a certain percentage.

LoL Runes: Complete List

Here are all the runes currently available in League of Legends, including their full effects and descriptions.

Precision

Precision runes are usually taken by attack-damage heavy champions like ADCs, who can deal consistent damage through auto attacks. Most of these runes focus on Attack Damage, Attack Speed, and survivability.

Keystone Runes

• Press the Attack: Basic attacks on-hit to enemy champions apply a stack for four seconds, refreshing on subsequent attacks, stacking up to three times. The attack deals bonus adaptive damage, leaving the target Exposed for eight seconds. While Exposed, they take 8% increased damage from all sources for six seconds.
• Fleet Footwork: Auto-attacking and moving builds energy stacks up to 100. At 100 stacks, your next attack becomes Energized, which can heal and grant extra Movement Speed for one second.
• Conqueror: Dealing damage to enemy champions grants stacks of Conqueror, lasting for five seconds, stacking up to 12 times. When fully stacked, 8% of your damage against enemy champions also heals you.

Slot 1

• Presence of Mind: Getting an enemy champion takedown restores 15% of your maximum Mana or Energy. Damaging an enemy champion increases your Mana regeneration for four seconds.
• Triumph: An enemy champion takedown heals you for 2.5% of your max Health (+5% of your missing health) and an additional 20 gold.
• Absorb Life: Killing a target heals you - restores 2 - 17 Health (based on level). Previous rune, Overheal has been removed.

Slot 2

• Legend: Alacrity: Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Attack Speed, up to 18% at maximum stacks.
• Legend: Bloodline: Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Lifesteal, up to 5.25% at maximum stacks.
• Legend: Haste: Gain permanent 1.5 Ability Haste for every Legend stack, maxes out at 15 Ability Haste at maximum stacks. Previous rune, Legend: Tenacity, has been removed.

Slot 3

• Coup de Grace: Deal 8% increased damage (except true damage) to champions below 40% maximum Health, dealing more damage to low-health enemy champions.
• Cut Down: Deal 5 - 15% increased damage (except true damage) to champions, based on how much more maximum Health they have compared to you.
• Last Stand: Deal 5% to champions while below 60% maximum health, increasing based on your missing Health, dealing bonus damage up to 11% when below 30% max health.

Domination

Domination is a rune page usually taken up by mages or assassins, traditionally seen in the Mid-Lane. It focuses on high levels of burst damage and calculated strikes.

Keystone Runes

• Electrocute: Hitting an enemy champion with three separate attacks or abilities within three seconds causes them to get hit with an Electrocute lightning strike, dealing 30 - 220 (based on level) (+10% bonus AD) (+5% AP), either magical or physical damage.
• Dark Harvest: Damaging an enemy champion when below 50% of their maximum health deals 20 - 80 (based on level) (+10% bonus AD) (+5% bonus AP) bonus adaptive damage and harvests their soul. This permanently increased Dark Harvest's damage by five and has a 45-second cooldown.
• Hail of Blades: Gain Attack Speed when you attack an enemy champion for up to three attacks . This changes whether you're playing a melee or ranged champion: 80% Attack Speed for ranged champions, and 110% for melee champions. The duration refreshes upon basic attacks.

Slot 1

• Cheap Shot: Deal bonus true damage against enemies impaired by crowd-control effects like Polymorph, Silence, Slow, and Disarm, to name a few.
• Taste of Blood: Heal 16 - 40 (based on level) upon damaging an enemy champion.
• Sudden Impact: After exiting stealth or using a dash or the Flash Summoner Spell, you gain nine Lethality and seven Magic Penetration for the next five seconds.

Slot 2

• Zombie Ward: Destroying an enemy ward places an ally Zombie Ward in its place with one health.
• Ghost Poro: When your wards expire, they leave behind a Ghost Poro, which grants vision for 90 seconds unless scared away by enemy champions. You can gain a permanent 1.2 bonus Attack Damage or 2 Ability Power for every Ghost Poro spawned, up to 10 stacks.
• Eyeball Collection: Collect eyeballs for every champion takedown, 2 per champion for ten in total. Gain an adaptive bonus of 1.2 bonus Attack Damage or 2 Ability Power per eyeball collected.

Slot 3

• Treasure Hunter: Gain additional gold per unique champion takedown: 50 for 1st, 70 for 2nd, 80 for 3rd, 110 for 4th, 130 for 5th.
• Relentless Hunter: Gain permanent bonus Movement Speed while out of combat per unique champion takedown, up to 45 at five stacks.
• Ultimate Hunter: Gain ultimate haste per unique champion takedown, up to 31 at five stacks.

Sorcery Runes

The Sorcery runes are, of course, synonymous with mages. While many Sorcery-wielding players take this rune page straight to Mid, it's also often used by Support players with the Summon Aery keystone.

Keystone Runes

• Summon Aery: Damaging attacks and abilities send Aery to the target, dealing 10 - 50 (based on level) damage. Shielding, buffing, or healing allies sends Aery to shield them for 30 - 100 (based on level) for two seconds.
• Arcane Comet: Using a damaging ability on an enemy champion sends a damaging comet to their location, dealing AoE damage.
• Phase Rush: Hitting an enemy with three attacks or separate abilities within three seconds gives you bonus Movement Speed and Slow Resistance for three seconds.

Slot 1

• Nullifying Orb: Gain a magic damage shield when taking damage that reduces you to low health. 
• Manaflow Band: Hitting enemy champions with an ability or spell grants you an additional permanent 25 maximum Mana, capping at 250. Upon reaching the limit, Manaflow Band restores 1% of your missing Mana every five seconds.
• Nimbus Cloak: Using a Summoner Spell grants the Ghosting effect and 5 - 25% bonus Movement Speed (based on Summoner Spell cooldown) for two seconds.

Slot 2

• Transcendence: Gain a 10% cooldown reduction when you reach level 8. At level 11, enemy champion takedowns reduce the current cooldown of abilities by 20%.
• Clerity: All Movement Speed bonuses become 7% more effective. You also gain an additional base 1% movement speed.
• Absolute Focus: While above 70% health, gain extra adaptive damage.

Slot 3

• Scorch: The first ability hit on an enemy champion every ten seconds burns them, dealing bonus magic damage.
• Waterwalking: In the river, gain 10 Movement Speed and bonus adaptive damage.
• Gathering Storm: Gain increasing amounts of adaptive Ability Power or Attack Damage throughout the game.

Resolve Runes

Resolve is perfect for champions who embody both strength and resilience, and all about gaining resistances like Armor, Magic, and Slow Resist. It's the go-to rune page for champions looking to build tankier items and for players looking for a more robust approach to their lane.

Keystone Runes

• Grasp of the Undying: Entering combat generates one stack for the next three seconds, stacking up to four times. At max stacks within five seconds, your next attack on the enemy deals bonus magic damage, heals you, and permanently increases your max Health.
• Aftershock: Immobilizing an enemy champion grants you static bonus Armor and Magic Resist stat for 2.5 seconds. After the duration, you release a shockwave that deals adaptive damage within a 350-unit radius.
• Guardian: Guard allies you cast spells on. If you or a nearby guarded ally take damage, you both gain a small shield for two seconds.

Slot 1

• Demolish: Charge and unleash a powerful attack upon enemy turrets.
• Font of Life: Slowing or impairing the movement of an enemy champion marks them - your allies heal when attacking marked champions.
• Shield Bash: Gain bonus Magic Resist and Armor while shielded. Whenever you have a shield, your next basic attack against an enemy champion deals bonus damage with adaptive force.

Slot 2

• Conditioning: After twelve minutes, gain eight Armor and eight Magic Resist, and permanently increase both by 3%.
• Second Wind: After taking damage from an enemy, regenerate a small amount of your missing Health over ten seconds.
• Bone Plating: For 1.5 seconds after taking damage from an enemy, the following three spells or attacks from that same champion deal less damage.

Slot 3

• Overgrowth: Gain additional bonus Health when minions or monsters die near you. After reaching 15 stacks, your base and bonus Health are permanently increased by 3.5%.
• Revitalize: Heal and shielding power is increased by 5%. Outgoing healing and shielding on allies is increased by 10% when they're below 40% health.
• Unflinching: Gain bonus Armor and Magic Resist when slowed or immobilized for two seconds afterward.

Inspiration Runes

Inspiration is a keystone for players who value utility and strategy over conventional damaging methods. It's an ideal secondary path for support players, offering extra mana and other extra bonuses depending on what you choose.

Keystone Runes

• Glacial Augment: Immobilizing an enemy champion sends three glacial rays, slowing them and any enemy champion that walks through the icy zone. Their damage is also reduced by 15%.
• Unsealed Spellbook: You can swap to a different, single-use Summoner Spell while out of combat. The first swap becomes available after six minutes.
• First Strike: A damaging ability against an enemy grants five gold and deals a 7% bonus true damage against the target. More additional gold is granted based on the bonus damage dealt.

Slot 1

• Hextech Flashtraption: While Flash is on cooldown, it's replaced by Hexflash. Hexflash requires a 2.5-second channel time before blinking forward a short distance.
• Magical Footwear: After twelve minutes, gain Slightly Magical Footwear for free, which grants ten bonus Movement Speed. Each champion takedown you get reduces the cooldown by 45 seconds.
• Cash Back: Get 6% Gold back when you purchase Legendary items. This has replaced the previous rune, Future's Market.

Slot 2

Minion Dematerializer has been removed.

• Biscuit Delivery: Receive a Biscuit of Everlasting Will at 2 mins, 4 mins, and 6 mins. Consuming or selling the biscuit permanently increases your max mana.
• Triple Tonic: Gain three different elixirs upon reaching different levels. Level 3: Elixir of Avarice, Level 6: Elixir of Force, Level 9: Elixir of Skill.
• Time Warp Tonic: Consuming potions or biscuits immediately restores 40% of the total health and mana. You also gain a 2% bonus Movement Speed under the effect of the potion.

Slot 3

• Cosmic Insight: Gain 18 Summoner Spell haste and 10 item haste.
• Approach Velocity: Gain 7.5% bonus Movement Speed when facing visible enemy champions that are Immobilized, Grounded, or Slowed.
• Jack of All Trades: Grants boots for each unique stat you have built towards, giving stacking bonuses including one Ability Haste per stack. At five Jack of All Trades stacks, you get 10 Adaptive Force. At ten stacks, you gain 25 Adaptive Force.

Final Thoughts

That was our basic rundown as our beginner's guide on all LoL runes. Jump into a practice game, try out the default rune page, and get to grips with everything. GL HF in your future games!

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