How to Farm & Get Runes in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred

The highly anticipated Vessel of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4 has reintroduced a beloved feature from previous iterations of the game: Runes and Runewords. These powerful socketable items have the potential to dramatically enhance your character's abilities. In this guide, we'll explore the various best ways to get (rare, magic & legendary) runes in Diablo 4.

Where and How to Get Runes in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred - Best Way to Farm Runes in D4

While acquiring a diverse collection of Runes requires time, effort, and a bit of luck, the potential power they offer makes the pursuit worthwhile. By utilizing a combination of the best D4 Rune farming/collecting methods outlined in this article - from campaign progression and world bosses to whisper caches and stronghold clear - you'll be well on your way to crafting powerful Runewords for your character in Diablo 4.

1 - VoH Campaign 

Vessel of Hatred campaign bosses offer one of the guaranteed ways of farming Runes in Diablo 4. As players progress through the captivating storyline, they'll encounter various formidable adversaries who, upon defeat, will reward them with these valuable items. This method provides a finite but reliable way to obtain Runes, making the campaign experience even more rewarding for both seasonal and eternal realm characters.

2 - Caches from Tree of Whispers

Whisper Caches will also drop Runes in D4. Players can efficiently acquire these caches by completing tasks for the Tree of Whispers, which doesn't take long. This method allows for a steady and relatively quick accumulation of Runes. However, it remains to be seen how the quality of the cache affects the rarity of the Runes obtained, with speculation about Legendary caches potentially yielding better chances for Legendary Runes.

3 - World Bosses

World Bosses presents another opportunity to acquire Runes at a consistent rate. With the introduction of difficulty tiers and improved loot scaling in Season 6, these massive encounters have become more popular than ever. The increased participation makes it easier to tackle these formidable foes, providing players with a challenging yet rewarding method to obtain Runes.

4 - Clear a Stronghold 

First-time stronghold clears provide Rune drops, albeit of Magic quality. While these may seem less valuable at first glance, they can be quite useful. Magic Runes often provide substantial Offering for simple conditions, such as using a healing potion. Additionally, players can farm Strongholds to collect these lower-tier Runes and potentially trade them up for Rare or Legendary variants.

5 - Kurast Undercity  

The Kurast Undercity introduces a unique location to ensure Rune drops through the use of Tributes. By offering these special items at the beginning of an Undercity run, players can get a Rune reward upon completion of the dungeon with at least Attunement Rank 1. This method provides a rare instance of certainty in Rune acquisition, though it comes at the cost of potentially missing out on other random drops.

6 - Seething Opal

Another way to get Runes in Diablo 4 is by using Seething Opals, specifically the Seething Opal of Socketables. These powerful items function similarly to Elixirs but can be used alongside them, allowing players to stack their effects. The Seething Opal of Socketables increases the drop rate of Gem Fragments from enemies and, more importantly, provides a chance for enemies to drop Runes. This makes it an effective tool for target-farming Runes while also benefiting from other advantages such as XP gains and reputation progress with the Zakarum Remnants. 

7 - Craft at Jeweler 

The Jeweler offers a way to trade in unwanted Runes. Players can exchange three identical Runes to craft a new, random Rune. While the rarity of the resulting Rune doesn't always correlate with the rarity of the traded Runes, this method provides a useful way to obtain desired Runes from excess duplicates potentially.

8 - Trade With Others

Player-to-player trading presents an excellent opportunity to acquire specific Runes. Since Runes are not bound to characters in Diablo 4, players can freely exchange them. You can target the acquisition of desired Runes and collaborate with others to collect and consolidate Runes for trading at the Jeweler.

General gameplay activities offer a chance to obtain Runes as random drops. Completing dungeons, opening Helltide chests, defeating bosses, and more all have the potential to yield Runes.