ᚱ Runes and sockets
Runes of the ancients are signs from “Spark” to “Call”. They are found in ruins (more often in deep ones), in mountain caches, in ancient structures (for sure), and rare and legendary items sometimes give a rune when salvaged. Runes take no room in storage.
- Sockets ◇: a common item has up to one, a magic one up to two, a rare one from one to three, a legendary one no more than one (its power is in its own property). Building modules have sockets too.
- Inserting a rune is free after the 🔬 Rune reading research: the “ᚱ Runes” tab in the inventory and the sockets on the item card.
- Taking one out — only at the jeweler’s (💎 Jeweler), for dust by rune level. The rune stays whole.
- Fusion: 3 runes of one level plus dust → one rune a level higher, in the 📜 Antiquarian’s study.
- A salvaged item returns its runes to the stock.
- The effect depends on the place: a tool, a weapon (always defense strength), clothes and jewelry, a building module.
- Upper runes (levels 9–12: “Key”, “Warden”, “Crown”, “Heart”) never drop — only by fusion, and only with the ✨ Archive of Knowledge. Fusing into an upper rune also costs arcane cores: 1, 2, 3 and 4. But each has two properties.
- Summit runes — “Source” and “Echo of the ancients” — are the strongest. They don’t drop and can’t be fused: they are made by a ritual in the “ᚱ Runes” tab. “Source”: Key + Warden + Crown + Heart, 6 arcane cores and 200 dust; needed — Archive of Knowledge and Ancient Generator. “Echo of the ancients”: Source ×2, 10 arcane cores and 400 dust, and one ancient relic goes into the ritual; needed — Bowl of the Heart.
- ★ Sense of the ancients — the “Key” rune in a tool: hears mountain caches twice as far.
- ★ Prospector — the “Warden” rune in a tool: mining a rock, sometimes finds a vein of ore or coal nearby.
- ★ Inspirer — the “Crown” rune in clothes and jewelry: every settler is cheerier: +3 to mood.
- ★ Warm hearth — the “Heart” rune in clothes and jewelry: no firewood needed in the owner’s home in winter.
- ★ Spring of strength — the “Source” rune in clothes and jewelry: every settler works 6% faster.
- ★ Resonance — the “Echo of the ancients” rune in a tool: once every three days an arcane core appears in the colony.
| Rune | Lvl | in a tool | in a weapon | in clothes and jewelry | in a building module |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ᚱ Spark | 1 | +5% to any work speed | +3% to defence strength against bandits | +4% to walking speed | +4% to production speed |
| ᚱ Root | 2 | +8% to building speed | +6% to defence strength against bandits | −6% fatigue | 4% chance not to use up raw materials |
| ᚱ Stone | 3 | 4% chance of double yield (chopping, rocks) | +9% to defence strength against bandits | −12% cold (in winter without firewood) | +4% to produce output |
| ᚱ Wind | 4 | +8% to any work speed | +12% to defence strength against bandits | +7% to walking speed | +7% to production speed |
| ᚱ Ford | 5 | 6% chance of an extra find | +15% to defence strength against bandits | −6% hunger | 7% chance not to use up raw materials |
| ᚱ Dew | 6 | 7% chance of double yield (chopping, rocks) | +18% to defence strength against bandits | −10% fatigue | +7% to produce output |
| ᚱ Heat | 7 | +12% to any work speed | +21% to defence strength against bandits | +8% to defence strength against bandits | +10% to production speed |
| ᚱ Call | 8 | +10% to the chance of rare finds | +24% to defence strength against bandits | 10% chance of an extra find | +10% to produce output |
| ᚱ Key | 9 | 15% chance of an extra find, +10% to the chance of rare finds | +27% to defence strength against bandits, +18% to hunting (aims faster, hits more accurately) | −25% cold (in winter without firewood), −8% hunger | +12% to produce output, 8% chance not to use up raw materials |
| ᚱ Warden | 10 | +15% to any work speed, +15% to building speed | +30% to defence strength against bandits, +20% to hunting (aims faster, hits more accurately) | +15% to defence strength against bandits, −12% fatigue | +14% to production speed, +8% to produce output |
| ᚱ Crown | 11 | 12% chance of double yield (chopping, rocks), +10% to any work speed | +33% to defence strength against bandits, +22% to hunting (aims faster, hits more accurately) | +12% to walking speed, −15% fatigue | +15% to produce output, +10% to production speed |
| ᚱ Heart | 12 | +20% to any work speed, 12% chance of double yield (chopping, rocks) | +36% to defence strength against bandits, +24% to hunting (aims faster, hits more accurately) | −15% hunger, −20% fatigue | +20% to produce output, 12% chance not to use up raw materials |
| ᚱ Source | 13 | +30% to any work speed, 20% chance of double yield (chopping, rocks) | +39% to defence strength against bandits, +26% to hunting (aims faster, hits more accurately) | −30% fatigue, −25% hunger | +30% to produce output, +20% to production speed |
| ᚱ Echo of the ancients | 14 | +40% to any work speed, 30% chance of an extra find | +42% to defence strength against bandits, +28% to hunting (aims faster, hits more accurately) | +25% to walking speed, −40% fatigue | +40% to produce output, 25% chance not to use up raw materials |
Rune words
If you insert the right runes into an item in order, and the item has exactly as many sockets as there are runes in the word, the item gets the word’s name and a special power — on top of the runes themselves. Order matters: “Stone + Root” is a word, “Root + Stone” is not.
| Word | Runes in order | Where | What it gives |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Firm hand” | Stone + Root | in a tool | work 10% faster, double yield chance +8% |
| “Hearth warden” | Heat + Stone | in a weapon | 25% stronger in defence |
| “Quiet sleep” | Dew + Root | in clothes and jewelry | tires 20% slower |
| “Wanderer’s path” | Wind + Spark + Ford | in clothes and jewelry | walks 15% faster, gets hungry 10% slower |
| “Sharp eye” | Call + Ford | in a tool | finds 15% more often, rare ones 15% more often |
| “Rich field” | Dew + Ford + Stone | in a building module | the building puts out 15% more and uses 10% less raw materials |
| “Key of the ancients” | Key + Call | in a tool | finds 20% more often, rare ones 20% more often |
| “Master’s crown” | Crown + Heat + Spark | in clothes and jewelry | walks 10% faster, tires 15% slower, doesn’t freeze in winter |
| “Heartbeat” | Heart + Warden | in a building module | the building works 20% faster and puts out 15% more |
This guide is built from the data of the game “Oskolki” — a browser colony simulator on a floating shard among the ruins of the ancients. Play for free in the browser.