The Settlers of Kalguur league in Path of Exile has introduced Runesmithing, a crafting system that draws similarities to the existing Crafting Bench in players’ hideouts. 

This new method of weapon crafting revolves around the use of runes, which you can obtain by interacting with the league mechanic. You can trade for these runes using currencies like Chaos Orbs or Divine Orbs. It can be a little confusion to understand, but don’t worry – we’re here for you. Here’s a guide all about Runesmithing – and why you should care, especially if you’re a longterm Path of Exile player.

Getting Started 

As you progress through the league, you’ll have the opportunity to upgrade the Runesmithing table in Kingsmarch. This unlocks a vast selection of enchantments which can be applied to your weapons, offering an additional layer of customization to optimize or even enable your chosen builds.

We’ve helpfully drawn up a guide below showing all the required resources to fully upgrade your Runesmithing table. It’s worth noting that you cannot skip any level in this process though, just in case you wanted to use recipes using Power Runes or Time Runes. Sorry. 

Fully leveling up the Runesmithing table will cost you a total of 148,110 Gold and one of each rune too.

What are Runesmithing enchantments?

Runesmithing enchantments work similarly to enchantments from Harvest and Tempering Orbs, as they occupy the same slot as these enchantments. This means that putting Runesmithing enchantments on your weapon will override any enchantment that your weapon currently has, so always be careful when using this mechanic. These enchantments also only work on weapons that are non-Unique – normal, magic, and rare weapons.

Runesmithing enchantments, like Bench crafting, have affixes that can only be applied to certain types as well. For example, the lowest tier of a +Fire damage enchant on two-handed weapons will have larger values compared to their one-handed counterpart. 

How to obtain Runes for Runesmithing

Runes are the crafting currencies introduced in the Settlers of Kalguur league, which you can use for enchanting your weapons through Runesmithing. These can be obtained through different ways — mapping, shipping, or defeating a Settlers of Kalguur boss.

Your map runners will have a chance of being held hostage by Sasan, the Bandit Lord, giving you the option of rescuing them. After defeating Sasan, he can drop various Runes, with the higher-tiered Runes being rarer than others. Workers with a higher tier of Mapping will have lower chances of being held hostage by Sasan.

Shipping can also provide you with Runes – either by being successful with a shipment, or by defeating Admiral Valerius when pirates take control of your workers’ ship. For a successful shipment, you’ll almost always receive Runes. The shipment value will affect your chances of receiving higher-tiered Runes, so it might be better to send out your ship when you have a sufficient amount of resources. 

Lastly, you may encounter The Black Knight randomly as you map. This boss will show up in maps with an entrance to the Starfall Crater, a boss arena filled with Verisium Outcrops. The Black Knight has abilities similar to a Delve boss, Aul, the Crystal King —  as they are both found in an underground setting. After defeating The Black Knight, it’ll drop various runes, and you’ll also be able to mark the outcrops in the arena. A unique Tower Shield, Svalinn, may also drop from this boss.

All Runesmithing Enchants

As mentioned earlier, you’ll unlock more enchants as you upgrade your Runesmithing table. There are countless enchants for weapons, which you can find on the Path of Exile wiki. Similar to Benchcrafts, you can remove a Runesmithing enchant through the Crafting Bench at a cost of one Orb of Scouring.

So there we have it. If you were clueless about Runesmithing, we hope you aren’t now.. By upgrading your Runesmithing table, farming (or trading) for Runes, and managing your resources, you can create a number of weapons with enchantments tailored to optimize or enable your build. 

Remember you can even start buying PoE currency via sites such as PlayerAuctions to skip out on the more-tedious processes in the game.

Johnny Peterson