Path of Exile 2's 0.5 patch, Return of the Ancients, introduces one of the most ambitious crafting overhauls the game has seen. Runes have been completely reimagined, with dozens of brand-new inscriptions arriving alongside buffs to many existing ones. These ancient symbols can be socketed into your gear to grant powers ranging from basic stat boosts to game-bending effects like transforming entire elemental modifier pools or stealing properties from unique items. Veteran players who previously ignored runes will now find a deep crafting layer worth engaging with at every stage of progression.

Before getting into the tier list, let's first look at what these new runes actually are and what they're capable of doing.

What are the New Runes in PoE 2 0.5?

The Runes of Aldur expansion brings a massive wave of inscriptions into the game. According to the developers, runes are very powerful and ancient inscriptions that can be socketed into your items to grant them more power. The system has been reworked so that inscribing symbols into remnants lets you choose between a bunch of different crafting runes during your playthrough.

When you come across a remnant, it has a number of slots ranging from two to seven. The more slots, the more powerful the encounter, but the more options you'll have to choose between.

What Types of Crafting Can They Do?

The new runes fall into several categories:

• 22 runes for adding or modifying Runic Ward, a new resource that can protect you from death

• 13 runes that add powers specific to weapon types

• 22 runes designed to give you power at low levels for power leveling

• 6 runes that expand the pool of modifiers when doing high-level crafting

• Socket-bound effect runes that permanently transform items

• Aldur's Legacy, which can turn unique items into runes for use on other gear

With that foundation set, here is a ranked tier list of the standout runes you should be hunting for.

PoE 2 0.5 Best Runes Tier List

With so many new inscriptions arriving in Return of the Ancients, sorting through them by impact helps you decide what to chase first. The ranking below covers every rune referenced in the reveal, ordered from build-defining picks to specialty and leveling options.

S-Tier: Build-Defining Runes

Aldur's Legacy

This is the headline rune of the entire patch. When socketed into a Unique Kalguuran or Ezomyte item, it destroys the item to create a Rune imbued with that item's power. The numbers are slightly reduced compared to the original unique, but this lets you bring unique modifiers onto rare gear. With around 100 potential legacy runes possible, the build possibilities are absurd.

How to use it: Slot it into a unique Kalguuran/Ezomyte item to convert that item into a rune, then socket the resulting rune into a rare piece of the same equipment class.

Best Uses:

These are some highlights of the runes can be produced through Aldur's Legacy:

• Legacy of Bramblejack - Body Armours: 250% of Melee Physical Damage taken reflected to Attacker (Level 65). Pairs incredibly well with Smith of Kitava Ascendancy builds, which eliminate the use of rare armor. 

• Legacy of Elevore - Helmets: Charms gain 1 charge per Second, +1 Charm Slot (Level 65)

• Legacy of Trampletoe - Boots: Deal 10% of Overkill damage to enemies within 2 metres of the enemy killed (Level 65)

• Legacy of Twisted Empyrean - Two Hand Maces: Added Cold Damage equal to 6% to 10% of maximum Mana (Level 65)

• Legacy of Serle's Grit - One Hand Maces: Maximum Quality is 40% (Level 65)

Serle's Triumph

All Equipment: +1 Suffix Modifier allowed. This socket-bound rune lets you push a piece of gear beyond its normal modifier ceiling. Since it's not limited to one per item type in practice (theoretically you could stack multiple on body armor), you could end up with six suffixes on a single piece.

How to use it: Socket it into gear before crafting, then use exalted orbs to fill out the extra suffix slot. Once socketed, it cannot be retrieved or replaced.

Best Uses: Late-game min-maxing with perfect exalted orbs and advanced crafting methods.

Masterwork Rune

A rune that can upgrade any other socketed rune beyond its normal cap. While the example shown was a basic max life rune going from +60 to +75, the developers confirmed any rune can be upgraded, meaning the 10% double grenade activation rune could potentially become 15% or 20%.

How to use it: Apply it to a rune that's already been socketed into an item.

Best Uses: Use it on the strongest Kalguuran rune you've already committed to an item.

A-Tier: Crafting Pool Expanders

Katla's Gloom

Gloves: Can roll Decay modifiers. This rune opens up access to damage-over-time mods like increased magnitude of bleeding, increased magnitude of poison, and increased curse magnitude.

How to use it: Socket into gloves, then spam greater exalted orbs and chaos orbs to roll the new modifier pool. Cannot be replaced once placed.

Best Uses: Poison builds, bleed builds, and any DoT-focused archetype.

Thrud's Might

Weapon: Can roll Destruction modifiers. Adds an entirely new pool of weapon modifiers that can radically reshape a weapon's identity.

How to use it: Socket into a weapon and use chaos/exalted orbs to roll Destruction-themed mods.

Best Uses: Hit-based attack builds wanting to push their weapon's damage ceiling.

Vorana's Carnage

Helmets: Can roll Berserking modifiers (socket-bound, limited to 1). Adds rage-themed mods to helmet rolls.

How to use it: Place into a helmet before crafting.

Best Uses: Warrior, Druid, and any rage-stacking archetype.

Kolr's Hunt

Boots: Can roll Marksman modifiers (socket-bound, limited to 1). Adds ranged-attack themed mods to boots.

How to use it: Socket into boots before chaos/exalt rolling.

Best Uses: Bow, crossbow, and projectile builds.

Uhtred's Sidereus

Boots: Can roll Chronomancy modifiers (socket-bound, limited to 1). Adds time-themed mods that turn boots from a movement slot into a real damage piece.

How to use it: Socket into boots before crafting with greater exalts.

Best Uses: Caster builds and time-based skill setups.

Medved's Tending

Body Armours: Can roll Soul modifiers (socket-bound, limited to 1). Body armor gains a fresh modifier pool with this rune in place.

How to use it: Socket into chest gear before exalt slamming.

Best Uses: Spirit-hungry minion builds and meta-skill stackers.

B-Tier: Specialty Effect Runes

Cadigan's Epiphany

Gloves: Destroys all Augment Sockets on the item to create a Jewel Socket. This is huge for gear flexibility, a jewel socket on gloves means an extra piece of power coming from your jewel pool.

How to use it: Apply to gloves where you're willing to sacrifice the existing augment sockets.

Best Uses: Builds wanting jewel-based effects like rage on hit, bleeding duration, or block chance.

Passion of Aldur

Martial Weapons, Wand or Staff: When socketed, transforms all Cold and Lightning modifiers to equivalent Fire modifiers. A high-rolled lightning weapon you'd otherwise vendor suddenly becomes viable for a fire build.

How to use it: Socket into a martial weapon, wand, or staff with strong cold/lightning rolls you can't otherwise use.

Best Uses: Fire-scaling Sorceress, Warrior, and Monk builds.

Breath of Aldur

Martial Weapons, Wand or Staff: Transforms all Fire and Lightning modifiers to equivalent Cold modifiers (socket-bound).

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Rare Weapon to apply its effect to that item. Transforms modifiers upon socketing, further added modifiers will not be transformed. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved or replaced.

Best Uses: Cold builds, including Nightfall martial artist setups.

Ire of Aldur

Martial Weapons, Wand or Staff: Transforms all Fire and Cold modifiers to equivalent Lightning modifiers (socket-bound).

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Rare Weapon to apply its effect to that item. Transforms modifiers upon socketing, further added modifiers will not be transformed. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved or replaced.

Best Uses: Lightning Sorceress and shock-based Monk builds.

Betrayal of Aldur

Martial Weapons, Wand or Staff: Transforms all Fire, Cold and Lightning modifiers to equivalent Chaos modifiers (socket-bound). The most niche of the four conversion runes since chaos hit scaling is currently difficult, but it could become meta-relevant in a future balance pass.

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Rare Weapon to apply its effect to that item. Transforms modifiers upon socketing, further added modifiers will not be transformed. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved or replaced.

Best Uses: Experimental chaos-hit builds and future-proof crafting projects.

Ancient Rune of Detonation

Crossbows: Grenades have 10% chance to activate a second time (Level 15, limited to 1). Combined with the 15% from the passive tree, reduced detonation time, and Payload's 50%, this rune brings double-detonation close to 100%.

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Crossbow to apply its effect to that item. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved but can be replaced by other Augment items.

Best Uses: Grenadier crossbow builds.

Ancient Rune of Animosity

Talismans: Gain 2 Druidic Prowess when you Heavy Stun a Rare or Unique Enemy (Level 30, limited to 1). Druidic Prowess is a stacking buff granting 10% increased skill speed and causing hits with spell damage to grant 3 rage per stack (max 3 stacks, 10s duration).

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Talisman to apply its effect to that item. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved but can be replaced by other Augment items.

Best Uses: Bear Druid builds and heavy-stun-capable characters running spell damage on the side.

C-Tier: Defensive & Runic Ward Runes

Ward Rune

Armour: +20 to maximum Runic Ward (Level 15). Runic Ward is the new survival resource that restores life and ward instead of letting you die, also counting as bonus honor for Trials of Sekhema.

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Weapon or Armour to apply its effect to that item. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved but can be replaced by other Augment items. Shift click to unstack.

Best Uses: Any defensive armor slot, especially before endgame builds come together.

Warding Rune of Reinforcement

Armour: 20% increased Runic Ward. A percentage multiplier on top of your existing maximum.

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Weapon of Armour to apply its effect to that item. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved but can be replaced by other Augment items.

Best Uses: Builds investing heavily in Runic Ward stacking.

Warding Rune of Protection

Armour: Every 4 seconds, gain Guard equal to 20% of maximum Runic Ward for 2 seconds. Converts your ward total into a periodic damage-absorption buff.

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Weapon of Armour to apply its effect to that item. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved but can be replaced by other Augment items.

Best Uses: Tanky hybrid builds wanting consistent guard uptime.

D-Tier: Power Leveling Runes

Rune of the Prism

Body Armours: -10% to all Maximum Elemental Resistances, +20% to all Elemental Resistances (Level 15, limited to 1). A massive floor boost during Acts that drops off once you start map progression.

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Body Armour to apply its effect to that item. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved but can be replaced by other Augment items.

Best Uses: Power leveling a second character through the campaign.

Rune of the Blossom

Body Armours: +50 to Spirit, -1 to Spirit per 2 Levels (Level 15, limited to 1). Five spirit lost per ten levels is a fair trade for a huge early-game spirit boost.

How to use it: Place into an empty Augment Socket in a Body Armour to apply its effect to that item. Once socketed it cannot be retrieved but can be replaced by other Augment items.

Best Uses: Leveling minion builds, herald users, and any spirit-hungry second character.

Where & How To Get Runes for Runecrafting

Now that you know which runes to chase, here's how to actually acquire them.

1. Azamite Megaliths

Every area during your playthrough will contain Azamite Megaliths. You interact with them, choose a reward, and they'll spawn waves of monsters you have to defeat. After clearing the waves, you reap your chosen reward.

2. Scaling Difficulty and Rewards

The deeper you are in your playthrough and the more runes you inscribe on the megalith, the harder the waves will be — but the better the rewards. A two-slot remnant gives a smaller pool of options and lighter combat, while a seven-slot remnant gives you the maximum choice with a much tougher fight.

3. Inscribing Remnants

When you find a remnant, the slots determine which runes you can pull from. You choose which symbols to inscribe, and that decision shapes both the difficulty of the encounter and the reward you can claim afterward.

4. Tips for Farming Runes

• Run megaliths consistently during the campaign for early-game power spikes

• Save high-slot remnants for areas where you're confident in your build's damage and survival

• Once in maps, prioritize megaliths for chasing rare runes like Aldur's Legacy, Serle's Triumph, and Masterwork Rune

• Keep an eye on the currency exchange — sought-after runes like Cadigan's Epiphany and Katla's Gloom will fetch a strong price from crafters

With Return of the Ancients launching on May 29th, the rune system has gone from a forgotten side feature to one of the most rewarding parts of Path of Exile 2's progression. Hunt the megaliths, stock up on greater exalted orbs and chaos orbs, and get ready to craft gear that wasn't possible in any previous patch.