Complete Rune Guide for Odin: Valhalla Rising

Runes are one of the most important systems for increasing combat power and optimizing your character in Odin: Valhalla Rising. Whether you're free-to-play or a spender, understanding which runes to farm, which sets to prioritize, and how to fuse and upgrade them will greatly improve your overall performance. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about collecting, equipping, fusing, and evolving runes to maximize your build.

How to Acquire Runes

One of the earliest questions players ask is how to consistently obtain runes. Fortunately, both free-to-play and paying players have reliable methods.

Daily Summons

In the Gold Summon tab, you can claim two runes per day-one from each free summon slot. These are basic, but consistent, sources of runes and should never be skipped.

Mileage Shop - The Best Method

The most efficient way to acquire runes is through the Mileage Shop, where you can buy 10 runes daily for 3,000 mileage coins. This is by far the best value for your mileage currency.

If you can afford items like avatar or mount pulls, you likely already have those cosmetics-so spend your mileage on runes instead. Many players regret ignoring this early on, so make it a habit to purchase your daily Mileage runes.

Rune Types and Slots

You'll unlock the three rune slots at character levels 20, 40, and 60. Each slot accepts one of three rune shapes:

Erdur (Circle)

Verdandy (Triangle)

Skuld (Hexagon)

Each rune shape has unique potential effects, and each belongs to a rune set that provides additional bonuses.

Rune Rarity

Runes follow the same rarity color system as gear:

Gray - Common

Green - Uncommon

Blue - Rare

Purple - Epic

Gold - Legendary

For meaningful set bonuses, you should aim for at least Uncommon (green) runes or higher across a complete set.

Best Rune Sets to Use

While several rune sets exist, only a few truly matter for maximizing DPS and progression.

1. Accuracy Set (Red) - Best Overall

Accuracy remains king for nearly every player, especially in the early and mid-game. More accuracy means fewer missed attacks, smoother grinding, and better performance on high-level mobs.

This is the best-in-slot rune set for almost everyone.

2. Keen (Crit Chance) Set - Second Best

Critical strike chance is the next most impactful stat, especially after reaching high accuracy totals. Crits significantly boost your damage output.

3. Class Damage Sets (Valiant, Wise, Focused) - Third Best

These provide damage boosts specific to your class. While useful, they're not nearly as strong as Accuracy or Keen sets for overall efficiency.

Conclusion:

If possible, aim for full Accuracy, then transition into Keen once you're in the late game, followed by class-specific damage sets if needed.

Best Rune Effects by Type

Each rune type offers different effect options. Here's what you should prioritize:

Skuld Runes (Hexagon)

Possible effects include:

HP Recovery

Shield

Attack

Attack Speed

Best effect: Attack

Attack is the only effect that provides a consistent, impactful benefit in all content. Shields and HP recovery are too weak and too conditional to matter.

Verdandy Runes (Triangle)

Possible effects include:

Damage to Common Monsters

Damage to Boss Monsters

Damage to Players

Best effect: Damage to Common Monsters

Since most of your time is spent grinding, this is by far the strongest effect. PvP-focused runes aren't worth it unless you constantly PK, and boss-only runes offer less overall value.

Erdur Runes (Circle)

Possible effects include:

Attack

Accuracy

Damage Reduction

Best effect for most players: Accuracy

Accuracy is universally useful across all content and remains important even into the late game unless you've heavily invested in item collection and gear.

Attack is acceptable if accuracy is already capped, but that applies only to very well-geared players.

Which Runes to Equip

A general recommended setup for most players looks like this:

Erdur (Circle): Accuracy

Verdandy (Triangle): Damage to Common Monsters

Skuld (Hexagon): Attack

This maximizes consistent DPS and improves grinding efficiency.

If you reach high-end gear levels later, you can shift from Accuracy to Critical Strike Chance runes for more damage.

Fusion Guide - When to Fuse Runes

Fusion lets you combine lower-tier runes to create higher rarities. The rules:

Only fuse runes you don't use.

Common and Uncommon runes should generally be fused early.

Keep and equip your best Uncommon and Rare runes until you have replacements.

Once your build is stable, fuse aggressively to push toward Rare and Epic runes.

Avoid fusing high-quality Accuracy or Keen runes unless you already have better replacements equipped.

Evolving Runes - When and How to Do It

Evolution is different from fusion. To evolve a rune:

Select a rune you want to upgrade.

You must have four runes of the same shape and rarity as materials.

Spend Rune Shards to evolve it.

Evolution always succeeds and increases the rune's rarity by one tier.

Which runes should be evolved?

Only evolve top-tier runes-for example:

Verdandy rune with Damage to Common Monsters

Skuld rune with Attack

Erdur rune with Accuracy

Don't evolve runes until your entire rune board is filled with the correct rune types and sets.

Final Tips

Always buy daily runes from the Mileage Shop.

Prioritize building full sets of Accuracy or Keen.

Don't waste evolution materials on low-value runes.

Once your rune board is complete, begin evolving and optimizing.

With the right rune setup, you'll see massive improvements in damage output, survival, and overall CP-setting you up for long-term success in Odin: Valhalla Rising. Having enough Odin Diamonds can also help you succeed.

MMOexp Odin Valhalla Rising Team