Solo Leveling: Arise - Rune's Guide and Tier List

Every skill has 4 runes that make the basic skill better. When you get a rune for a skill, the skill levels up based on how rare the rune is.
Rare runes level up the skill once. Epic runes level it up twice. Legendary runes level it up three times.
So if I have all 4 rare runes for Vital Strike, it will level up 4 times (4×1=4).
I’m not sure if having a rare and an epic rune of the same type will give +3 skill levels. The description is a bit unclear.

The levels go up when you add these runes to the Codex. If you have duplicate runes, you can fuse them to get a rarer rune 35% of the time.

There’s also a pity system. If you fuse 3 rare runes and get a rare one back, you get a Bonus Rate point. With 10 points, your next fusion will give you an epic rune. If you get an epic rune, the rate resets.

In this guide, I ranked all the runes from best to worst for each skill. The first rune I mention for a skill is the best, and the last is the least useful, in my opinion.

Let’s begin!

Vital Strike Runes

Infernal Wound
Damage: 442%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Effect: Airborne upon the last attack of the combo, 20% Def decrease for 12 sec

A very good Vital Strike variant, especially if you have a lot of other skill to spam.

Hone In
Damage:745%
Mana:150
Cooldown:15 sec
Effect: Damage Increase for Bosses and Elite by 120%

Perfect skill to deal a lot of damage with a single skill to any boss.

Decimate
Damage: 622%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Effect: Attack increase by 15% for 12 second

A basic Attack Increase effect, which is almost continous because of the effect duration and the cooldown difference is only 3 sec.

On Point
Damage:604%
Mana:150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Water
Effect: 10% Shield of user Max HP upon used

This Rune adds the water element to your attacks. It also gives you a small shield to help you stay alive. Use it if you want to get achievements for winning fights with less than half your HP left.

Mutilate Runes

Stroke of Lightning
Damage: 772%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Dark
Effect:Knock Down upon last hit of the combo, 50% chance to ignore 100% of the target Defense and the attacks of the enemy.

The Mutilate skill does a ton of damage. Plus, half the time it ignores enemy defense and makes you invincible. It also deals Dark damage. This skill is super powerful.

Cold Storm
Damage: 586%
Mana:150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Water
Effect: Frostbite (Deals 80% damage in every 3 second for 30 second), Freeze for 2 sec

This skill does damage over time. It can also freeze enemies and uses Water element. It will help a lot in tough fights like Cerberus or the Demon Castle on Hard mode.

Strike
Damage: 660%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Effect: Airborne upon last hit, decrease target Attack and Defense by 16% for 12 seconds

Also a pretty good Rune, which not only decrease the enemy Defense, but the Attack as well, which improve our survivability.

Phantom
Damage: 380% of Attack and 380% of Max HP
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Effect: When hit, reset CD

The damage from this skill scales with both Jinwoo’s Attack and Max HP. The effect is reliable, so you can spam it as long as you have mana. The only downside is that Hunters usually don’t invest in HP, so the damage might be lower compared to other skills.

Multistrike Runes

Percussion
Damage: 420%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Fire
Effect: Airborne upon hit, increase damage dealt to Bosses and Elite by 100%
Break: Medium

This skill is great for breaking boss monsters’ Break Gauge. The Fire Attribute will be useful in chapters 10, 11, and 12. But only equip this Rune against monsters weak to Fire that have a Break Gauge. For most other fights, “Hone In” is better.

Rush
Damage: 380%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Water
Effect: Airborne and Break Light damage in every 3 second for 9 seconds upon the last attack of the combo, Increase damage of the Crushing Blow by 30% for 10 second
Break: Medium

This is the first skill of its type. Some runes boost other skills, so it works best in a set. This skill breaks enemies well. It does medium Break on hit and light Break damage over time. It also powers up Crushing Blow for 30 seconds. So using it with Crushing Blow is good. But for Break skills, I prefer combos like Death’s Dance and Multistrike.

Pummel
Damage: 420%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Light
Effect: Airborne upon last hit, Super Armor effect, and increase Critical Hit Rate by 5% for 8 seconds, upon hit reset cooldown
Break: Light

This rune can be spammed. Each hit lets you use it again. It breaks enemy Break Gauges fast while boosting your Crit Rate. But I’m not sure what “Super Armor” does. If you know, please explain in the comments. Thanks in advance!

Illusion
Damage: 414%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Dark
Effect: Airborne upon last hit, Invincible, Every time the skill hits, increase damage by 4% (max stack 4), reset the cooldown of Dagger Toss.
Break: Medium

This rune boosts another skill. It increases damage with each hit and makes you invincible when attacking. The issue is the same as with “Rush” – you need a specific skill to get the most out of it. Alone, it’s a good skill. But there’s a Dagger Toss rune that pairs perfectly with it. Let’s take a look.

Dagger Toss Runes

Ascension
Damage: 430%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Effect: Increases damage dealt to Break stat enemys by 250%

This is the PERFECT match for the Illusion Rune. If you want a hybrid Break-Damage set instead of full Break, Illusion-Ascension is the best combo. Illusion breaks the enemy’s Gauge, then you can deal massive damage with Ascension’s reset cooldown.

Detonation
Damage: 66%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Fire
Effect: Upon hit, Burn target, Deal damage to 80% of Attack every 3 seconds (max 3 stack) for 30 sec

Another damage over time skill with fire element. The fire damage stacks – 2 stacks for the Epic rune and 1 for the Rare. The base damage is low, so it’s best for longer fights.

Electric Shock
Damage: 338%
Mana: 10
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Light
Effect: Every time the skill hit, applies Electric Shock (Deal damage to 200% of attack)

This Rune give bonus damage in the skill. Similar as the previous Rune, but it do Instant damage than Dot.

Bombardment
Damage: 445%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Effect: Knock Down upon hit, Increase damage dealt to Knocked Down characters by 100%

Its the most basic rune among Dagger Toss variants, the damage isn’t that high, and the characters usually dont stay down that much time to worth use this Rune instead of the others.

Vertical Arts Runes

Crosshairs
Damage: 416%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Fire
Effect: Airborne upon hit, damage dealt to Bosses and Elite increase by 120%

Again, a boss skiller Rune, spiced up with some Fire Attribute. It makes pretty usable against Baruka, Gates which have a Water boss.

Sequent Explosions
Damage: 340%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Water
Effect: When hit, Knock Down, Airborne upon last hit. Increase damage dealt to targets in Break stat by 250%

It has the same effect as Dagger Toss’s Ascension, which is great. Plus, it has CC like Knock Down and Airborne, and deals water damage. The base damage may be the lowest of the Vertical Arts Runes, but the increased Break damage makes up for it.

Reap
Damage: 390%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Dark
Effect: Knock Down upon hit, Shield equal of 20% (former 10%) of Max hp for 2 sec (formerly 1 sec). Counterattack, Invisible upon Counterattack, deal 100% of user attack, and stun

This rune is the first of its kind. It gives a 10% shield for a short time and has a new keyword: Counterattack. It’s like Extreme Evasion. If you use this skill right before getting hit, you become invincible, deal Almighty Break (probably better than Hard Break), do 100% of your attack as damage, and stun the enemy for 3 seconds.

Gale
Damage: 472%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Wind
Effect: When the skill hit Knock Down, depending the number of hits, increase damage dealt to non boss enemys by 2% / enemy (Max 20%)

It’s an AoE skill that does more damage when you hit multiple enemies. A big typhoon pulls enemies towards you, then Jinwoo hits them with an X attack. It’s a good skill for clearing stages faster.

Death’s Dance Runes

Eruption
Damage: 558%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Dark
Effect: Damage dealt to Bosses and Elite increases by 120%
Break: Heavy

Another Boss killer Rune, the skill itself is one of the most popular among players, I really like it too. The Break damage is decent.

Wildfire
Damage: 653%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Fire
Effect: Knock Down upon last attack of combo, Damage increase by 50% when attack Weakness attribute.
Break: Heavy

It’s a Fire attribute rune that does extra damage to enemies weak to Fire. Recommended for Chapters 10-12. Seems useful against Steel-Fanged Lycans in Instance Dungeons.

High Speed Rotation
Damage: 350%
Mana: 60
Cooldown:5 sec
Element:Wind
Effect: Can be used up to 3 times, when hit the Power Gauge charged by 2,5%
Break: Light

It’s an interesting rune with much lower cooldown and mana cost. The damage is lower than other versions, but it can charge up to 3 times. It has 3 stacks, and every 5 seconds a stack recharges so you can use it again. So the full cooldown is still 15 seconds, but you can use the skill 3 times. This lets you steadily charge up the Power Gauge.

Earth Shock
Damage: 638%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Light
Effect: Knock Down upon last attack, Increase Critical hit damage by 50% for 12 sec, reset the cooldown of “The Commander’s Touch”
Break: Heavy

This rune resets the cooldown of Commander’s Touch. The basic effect is useful, but it’s too bad the element isn’t Dark. If it was, it would work great with Demonic Plum Flower Sword.

Crushing Blow Runes

Countering Break
Damage: 864%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Dark
Effect: Airborne upon the last attack of the combo, 20% (formerly 10%) of Max HP shield for 2 sec (formerly 1 sec), Counterattack (Invincible, Almighty Break, 100% damage and Stun upon successful counterattack)
Break: Light, Almighty

It works the same as the “Reap” rune. Counterattacking gives you a temporary shield, invincibility, deals 100% of your attack as damage, and stuns the enemy. The only difference is Almighty Break, which is probably a stronger version of “Hard” Break.

Ascension Break
Damage: 580%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Fire
Effect: Airborne upon first attack, Knock Down upon last attack, Charges Power Gauge by 30%, and decrease Ultimate cooldown by 30 second.
Break: Medium

This rune fully supports your Ultimate. It charges your Gauge and reduces Cooldown. It also has CC like Knock Down and Airborne, plus Fire damage. With enough mana, you can use your Ult every 30 seconds. That’s huge for boss fights that last 1.5-2 minutes.

Chained Break
Damage: 488%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Wind
Effect: Knock Down upon last attack of combo, Increase attack by 4% for 12 sec (stack 4 times), applies shield equal to 10% of Max HP
Break: Medium

This Rune increase attack by 4% for 12 sec, apply shield. Knock Down, Break the Gauge with Medium. Its a pretty all rounder Rune.

Enlightened Break
Damage: 383%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Light
Effect: Upon hit, Airborne and Light (Deal damage equal of 60% of attack every 3 sec and decrease target ATK by 20% for 30sec)
Break: Medium

This rune has a new effect. First, it does the usual Airborne on hit. Then there’s the “Light” condition. It damages the enemy every 3 seconds for 30 seconds and lowers their attack. This helps us survive longer.

Commander’s Touch Runes

Finisher
Damage: 730%
Mana: 200
Cooldown:20 sec
Effect: Upon last hit Knock Down, and decrease the defense by 20% for 12 sec

It has the same effects as the “Internal Wounds” rune. The damage is higher, but it also has longer cooldown and costs more. If it’s like the basic skill, it probably has a cast time, so it’s not very agile.

Absorption
Damage: 935%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Effect: Airborne upon first attack, Knock Down upon last attack, Upon hit, user recover 7,5% of their mana and 7,5% of Power Gauge (Max 3 hit)

It has great damage output, CC at the first and last attack. Overall you can charge the maximum of 22,5% of your mana and Power Gauge.

Liberation
Damage: 416%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Effect: Knock down upon hit, Attack Increase by 5% for 12 sec (Max stack:2)

This is a simple Attack boosting rune. It has lower mana cost and cooldown. You can stack the Attack increase even though it only lasts 12 seconds and the cooldown is 10 seconds. This might be a good time to use Death’s Dance’s “Earth Shock” rune to reset the cooldown.

Black Hole
Damage: 30%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Effect: Depending the number of targets, increasy damage dealt 20% / target (Max 10 target)

A new AoE Rune, which again has a really low base damage. Its very elaborate skill.

Cutting Rush Runes

Effulgence
Damage: 582%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Effect: Upon hit Knock down, reset cooldown when hit, critical damage increased by 40% for 12 sec

The Critical Damage increase is a very good thing if you use the Demonic Plum Flower Sword. Also you can spam this skill upon hit.

Annihilation
Damage: 730%
Mana: 200
Cooldown: 20 sec
Effect: Airborne upon hit, Increase damage dealt in Break state enemy by 250%

It’s a Break State damage increase again, has a great damage deal, but cost 200 mana, and has a 20 sec Cooldown.

Escalate
Damage: 544%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Effect: Airborne upon last hit, when landing a back attack, has 60% to apply a 100% Crit Hit Rate on the next attack

This skill is unique because it buffs you when attacking an enemy from behind. Using Extreme Evasion makes it easy to get behind them. Lowering their defense before a crit is good, but it only works for one attack and isn’t guaranteed.

Sunder
Damage: 508%
Mana: 150
Cooldown:15 sec
Element: Dark
Effect: Airborne upon last attack of combo, Invincible while using this skill, Critical Hit Rate increased by 15% for 12 sec

It’s like Annihilation, but it boosts your Crit Rate. You’re also invincible while using it, which is great for dodging strong attacks. After dodging, you can focus on attacking with the increased crit chance.

Double Slash Runes

Multiply
Damage: 466%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Effect: Airborne upon last attack of the combo, when defeat an enemy reset Cooldown, increase damage of the “Mutilate” by 30% for 10 sec (Max stack:2)

This skill is the best of these runes. It enhances another skill and can have its cooldown reset. It also stacks the damage boost from Mutilate, which is one of the most powerful skills for raw damage. Combining it with “Stroke of Lightning” is a beast combo.

Flame Slash
Damage: 460%
Mana: 100
Cooldown:10 sec
Element: Fire
Effect: Airborne upon last attack of combo, Increase Critical hit rate by 10% for 8 sec

A simple, but dependable Increased Crit Rate skill with some Fire attribute.

Full Moon Wheel
Damage: 600%
Mana:100
Cooldown:10 sec
Effect: Airborne effect, damage dealt to Non-Boss monster increase by 120%

Even if its not usefull against Boss monsters, you can sweep the Common and Elite monsters with it pretty effectively.

Whirlwind Rush
Damage: 507%
Mana: 100
Cooldown: 10 sec
Element: Wind
Effect: Airborne upon last attack of the combo. When the skill hit, stuns the target and charge Dash 2 times

Its the first skill which charge up Dash, which makes it pretty mobility. Also the stun upon hit is pretty usefull.

Armor Break Runes

Decimation
Damage: 1313%
Mana:200
Cooldown:20 sec
Element: Fire
Effect: Deals Almighty break, upon hit inflicts Airborne, when used increase Critical Hit damage by 80% for 5 seconds.
Break: Almighty

That’s a strong rune. High damage output. The Almighty Break skill is useful. Bonus to critical hit damage is a good offensive perk. One of the best new skill runes in my opinion.

Iceberg
Damage: 787%
Mana:200
Cooldown:20 sec
Element: Water
Effect: Deals Almighty break, upon final hit inflicts Knock Down, Upon hit inflicts Freeze (Interrupt for 2 sec)
Break: Almighty

Decimation rune was also competitive. Instead of just damage, it inflicts Freeze and crowd control effects. A very good alternative option in my view.

Multishadow Strike
Damage: 477% of Jinwoo Attack, and 477% of Jinwoo Defense
Mana:200
Cooldown:20 sec
Element: Light
Effect: Deals Almighty break, upon final attack hit inflict Knock Down, the user become Invincible while use this skill, when used increase Defense by 20% for 30 sec
Break: Almighty

This is a defensive version of the Armor Breaker skill. It has Knockdown, makes you Invincible, and increases your Defense. Useful for long, drawn-out battles where you need to drain Armor Gauge while also surviving.

The skill boosts its own damage too. The Defense increase lasts 30 seconds, but the cooldown is only 20%. And this skill deals damage based on your Defense stat.

Vacuum Wave
Damage: 560%
Mana:200
Cooldown:20 sec
Element: Wind
Effect: Deals Almighty break, upon hit inflicts Knock Down, when used increase Vertical Arts damage by 30% for 10 seconds, when skill hit increase target damage taken by 15% for 12 sec.
Break: Almighty

I’ve mentioned it before, but I don’t really like the runes that “increase other skills’ damage by x%”. The increased damage taken is nice, but that’s about it for those runes.

Tier List

Click to enlarge…

Solo Leveling: Arise – Rune’s Guide and Tier List