In October, Diablo 4 will receive rune words, which many players have been hoping for since its release. However, you will need to purchase the first expansion, “Vessel of Hatred,” to access them.
What are rune words?
- Rune words are particularly powerful items from Diablo 2, created through special socketed stones: runes.
- Already in 2019, Blizzard showcased rune words for Diablo 4 at BlizzCon, but they never made it into the game.
- We approached the developers in May 2024 about this. Lead Game Producer Timothy Ismay responded: While rune words exist in the world of Sanctuary, they have “built a different game.”
In the recent “Campfire Chat” livestream, the developers announced on August 29 that Diablo 4 will receive rune words. Expert Game Designer Jeevun Sidhu explained that they want to bring something to the game with the “Diablo 4 version” of the rune words that feels fresh and new – and is also standalone.
Lead Live Game Designer Colin Finer adds that rune words in Diablo 2 allowed players to obtain “God Items” that break the rules with a specific combination of runes. They intend to incorporate this here without requiring players to use certain items (via YouTube).
When will the rune words be released? The rune words will come to Diablo 4 on October 8 – with the release of the expansion “Vessel of Hatred.” You will have the opportunity to try the rune words on the PTR, which runs next week.
After that, only players who purchase a version of the expansion will have access to the feature. Blizzard stated on August 29 on their website: “Outside of PTR 2.0, rune words are a feature that you can only access with the expansion Vessel of Hatred.”
With Vessel of Hatred, new features, a new class, and a new region are coming to Diablo 4:
What does the community say about the new feature? The rune words are well received by many players. In a thread on Reddit, users are discussing the topic. “Sauceboss_Senpai” writes: “Shoutout to the rune words, they look fantastic.” And “greenchair11” praises that the runes are tradeable. That is “a great addition to the game.”
In the comment, “DaddySanctus” writes: “I think this is the best way to add rune words. It doesn’t devalue existing items / uniques / mythics and adds another layer of build customization.”
User “DoggoCentipede” notes that he missed this aspect of Diablo 2. After the announcement of rune words, he hopes that a weapon chamber will come to the game. A Diablo expert has analyzed various clips and screenshots and speculated that the feature could come to the game. When it will come is unclear, but Blizzard mentioned that they are working on it.
In another thread on Reddit, “YaDodzh” writes: “It is important to note that this is only available if you purchase the DLC.” To this, “Deidarac5” says: “That’s exactly how it worked with Diablo 2, lol.” And “starlightequilibrium” also reminds: “Just like rune words came only with the Diablo 2 expansion.”
User “patrincs” is even sure that there is no reality “in which you like Diablo 4 and continue playing without getting the expansion.”
One day after the release of the expansion “Vessel of Hatred,” Season 6 will also start in Diablo 4. In October, you can expect several new features and fundamental changes to the game. The developers are making a major overhaul of the difficulty system. This will address something that has been criticized for a long time. You can read more about it here: Diablo 4: The world levels are a major point of criticism, but with Season 6, Blizzard is overhauling them.
