The Runesmith is Crystaria's 16th class, built around persistent rune inscriptions and a charge-and-release burst attack. Find the class unlock chain in Hollowed Reach, the town at the heart of the Blighted Expanse.

Nine Rune Slots

A Runesmith has 9 permanent rune slots across three categories, three slots each: Weapon, Armor and Field. Each slot holds one named rune, inscribed from Character → Rune Slots. Runes stay inscribed until you deliberately clear the slot — there's no decay or cooldown on keeping one active.

• Weapon runes (W1–W8) — damage, lifesteal, Detonate charge generation.
• Armor runes (A1–A8) — defence, regeneration, barrier effects.
• Field runes (F1–F8) — cooldown reduction, MP economy, Detonate synergy.

Runes have level gates from 1 to 900. The three Apex runes — W8, A8 and F8 — require Level 900 and dramatically amplify whatever lane they sit in. F8 (Apex Field) is especially notable: it lowers the Detonate threshold from 100 to 80.

Detonate

Every weapon hit builds Detonate charge. At 100 charge (or 80 with F8 inscribed), the Runesmith can unleash a burst that scales with your inscribed weapon runes, class traits, and any Catalyst bonuses applied during inscription. Traits push Detonate damage by up to +38%, and the F7 rune converts part of every Detonate burst into an HP heal.

Catalysts

Runes can be inscribed with an optional Catalyst — a one-use consumable crafted via Runecrafting — for a flat bonus to that inscription: +15% (Basic), +30% (Refined) or +50% (Perfected).

Signature Abilities

Two abilities are exclusive to Runesmith: Rune Blast (a piercing Earth-element spell-like ability) and Rune Surge (halves TP costs on artes for 60 seconds).

Weapon: Rune Hammer

The Runesmith's dedicated weapon is the Rune Hammer — STR primary with an INT secondary, size 2. 30 named variants span two elemental series, Earth and Fire, reaching Level 1,400 — the highest weapon tier in the game, matching the Blighted Expanse's level ceiling.

Crystal Gates

Unlike Mimic, Runesmith keeps full access to Crystal Gates, with three dedicated school paths built around the rune system.

Unlocking Runesmith

Speak to Archivist Vael in Hollowed Reach (Blighted Expanse, requires Level 1,050). Complete four mastery quests — hunting Runed Phantoms, Blighted Soldiers, Oblivion Knights and Void Heralds — to unlock the class and earn the title Runewright.