Ye do nay purchase each rune wit' RP or Blue Essence.
Pre-clash bonuses, without th' mystery
Runes shape how yer champion starts th' clash
Runes add effects or small stat changes afore play begins. Ye choose them as one shipshape rune chart. They be nay gear, they be nay bought during th' clash, and choosing a different chart does nay unlock a different champion.
Extra permanent chart slots be convenience, nay stronger runes.
Th' picked chart be fixed when th' clash starts.
Arrr, what a rune actually does
A rune rewards a condition; it does nay play th' champion fer ye
Arrr, read each rune as a small promise: Arrr, when this condition happens, this effect becomes available. Ye still choose th' target, timing, movement and whether th' fight be worth taking.
Some runes reward repeated attacks, one damaging trick or a particular combat sequence.
Arrr, others grant a shield, healing, resistance or recovery after taking damage.
Some effects grow later, recharge betwixt uses or only work after leaving combat.
Supportive runes may react when ye heal, shield, protect or control a target fer an ally.
Read one chart in four steps
Th' large choice comes first aboard; th' smaller choices support it
Ye do nay need to memorise every rune afore playing. Set sail by recognising th' keystone and what th' chart be trying to lend a hand yer champion do.
- Arrr, step 1
Pick th' primary course
This course supplies th' keystone and three minor runes. It be th' main identity o' th' chart.
- Arrr, step 2
Pick one keystone
Th' keystone be th' prominent effect at th' top. It may reward repeated attacks, one burst, protection, durability or another play pattern.
- Arrr, step 3
Stow a different secondary course
Pick two minor runes from another course. A secondary course cannae be th' same as th' primary course.
- Arrr, step 4
Finish wit' three stat shards
These be smaller stat choices. Read their present client tooltips because available shard options can change betwixt patches.
Set sail wit' a query, nay a tier list
Which kind o' lend a hand matches th' champion's course?
These be broad identities, nay fixed role assignments. A champion can use more booty than one course when th' matchup or intended pattern changes.
DominationDo I want one target to feel me first aboard clean opening?Arrr, burst, access and rewards after aggressive takedown patterns.
InspirationDo I want tools that change th' normal rules?Arrr, flexible utility, timing advantages and unusual problem-solving.
PrecisionArrr, do I want stronger repeated attacks or longer fights?Arrr, basic attacks, sustained damage and combat that builds over time.
ResolveDo I need to survive, protect or stay in th' fight?Durability, recovery and protection fer committed contact.
SorceryDo I want me spells, mana or movement to carry th' course?Trick pressure, resources and effects that strengthen casting.
Reference patch · 16.19.1
Arrr, five paths
Unfurl a course to see its present keystones and minor runes from Riot's static data.
Rune courseDominationArrr, burst, target access and aggressive takedown patterns
Arrr, 3 keystones
Pick one keystone
Arrr, minor rune rows
Arrr, cheap Shot
Damaging champions with impaired movement or actions deals 10 - 45 bonus true damage (based on level). Cooldown: 4s Activates on damage occurring after the impairment.
Taste o' Blood
Heal when you damage an enemy champion. Healing: 16-40 (+0.1 bonus AD, +0.05 AP) health (based on level) Cooldown: 20s
Arrr, sudden Impact
Damaging basic attacks and abilities deal a bonus 20 - 80 True Damage based on level to enemy champions after using a dash, leap, blink, teleport, or when leaving stealth for 4s. Cooldown: 10s
Arrr, sixth Sense
Automatically sense a nearby untracked and unseen ward, tracking it for the team. Level 11: Also reveal the ward for 10s. This effect has a 250 second Cooldown.
Arrr, grisly Mementos
Collect 1 memento on champion takedowns, up to 18 total. Gain 6 Trinket Haste for each collected. In game modes where vision Trinkets do not exist, instead gain 3 Summoner Spell Haste.
Arrr, deep Ward
Your wards in the enemy jungle are Deep. Deep wards gain +1 extra Health and +[30 - 45]s increased duration (+[45 - 150]s for Trinket stealth wards). Level 9: Wards in the river are also Deep.
Arrr, treasure Hunter
Gain an additional 50 gold the next time you collect a Bounty Hunter stack. Increase the gold gained by 20 gold for each Bounty Hunter stack, up to 130 gold. Bounty Hunter stacks are earned the first time you get a takedown on each enemy champion.
Arrr, relentless Hunter
Gain 8 Move Speed out of combat per Bounty Hunter stack. Bounty Hunter stacks are earned the first time you get a takedown on each enemy champion.
Arrr, ultimate Hunter
Your ultimate gains 6 Ability Haste, plus an additional 5 Ability Haste per Bounty Hunter stack. Bounty Hunter stacks are earned the first time you get a takedown on each enemy champion.
Rune courseInspirationArrr, flexible tools and rules that change normal patterns
Arrr, 3 keystones
Pick one keystone
Arrr, minor rune rows
Arrr, hextech Flashtraption
While Flash is on cooldown it is replaced by Hexflash. Hexflash: Channel for 2s to blink to a new location. Cooldown: 20s. Goes on a 10s cooldown when you enter champion combat.
Arrr, magical Footwear
You get free Slightly Magical Footwear at 12 min, but you cannot buy boots before then. For each takedown you acquire the boots 45s sooner. Slightly Magical Footwear grants you an additional 10 Move Speed.
Arrr, cash Back
Get 7.5% Gold back when you purchase Legendary Items.
Arrr, triple Tonic
Upon reaching level 3, gain an Elixir of Avarice. Upon reaching level 6, gain an Elixir of Force. Upon reaching level 9, gain an Elixir of Skill.
Arrr, time Warp Tonic
Consuming a potion grants 40% of its health restoration immediately.
Arrr, biscuit Delivery
Biscuit Delivery: Gain a Total Biscuit of Everlasting Will every 2 mins, until 6 min. Biscuits restore 20 + 2% of your maximum health, increased by up to 100% based on missing Health. Consuming or selling a Biscuit permanently increases your max health by 30.
Arrr, cosmic Insight
+18 Summoner Spell Haste +10 Item Haste
Arrr, approach Velocity
Gain 7.5% Move Speed towards nearby enemy champions that are movement impaired. This bonus is increased to 15% Move Speed for any enemy champion that you impair. Activation Range for CC from allies: 1000
Arrr, jack Of All Trades
For each different stat gained from items, gain one Jack stack. Each stack grants you 1 Ability Haste. Gain 8 or 20 bonus Adaptive Force at 5 and 10 stacks, respectively.
Rune coursePrecisionArrr, repeated attacks and sustained combat
Arrr, 4 keystones
Pick one keystone
Arrr, minor rune rows
Arrr, absorb Life
Killing a target heals you for @HealAmount@.
Triumph
Takedowns restore 5% of your missing health, 2.5% of your max health, and grant an additional 20 gold. 'The most dangerous game brings the greatest glory.' —Noxian Reckoner
Presence o' Mind
Damaging an enemy champion restores 6-50 (80% for ranged) mana or 6 energy. Takedowns restore 15% of your maximum mana or energy. Cooldown for damage restoration: 8s
Arrr, legend: Alacrity
Gain 3% attack speed plus an additional 1.5% for every Legend stack (max 10 stacks). Earn progress toward Legend stacks for every champion takedown, epic monster takedown, large monster kill, and minion kill.
Arrr, legend: Haste
Gain 1.5 basic ability haste for every Legend stack (max 10 stacks). Earn progress toward Legend stacks for every champion takedown, epic monster takedown, large monster kill, and minion kill.
Arrr, legend: Bloodline
Gain 0.45% Life Steal for every Legend stack (max 15 stacks). At maximum Legend stacks, gain 85 max health. Earn progress toward Legend stacks for every champion takedown, epic monster takedown, large monster kill, and minion kill.
Arrr, coup de Grace
Deal 8% more damage to champions who have less than 40% health.
Arrr, cut Down
Deal 8% more damage to champions who have more than 60% health.
Last aboard Stand
Deal 5% - 11% increased damage to champions while you are below 60% health. Max damage gained at 30% health.
Rune courseResolveArrr, durability, protection and surviving committed fights
Arrr, 3 keystones
Pick one keystone
Arrr, minor rune rows
Demolish
Your third attack against towers deals [85 (+28% max Health) Melee || 50 (+20% max Health) Ranged] bonus physical damage. Cooldown: 30s
Font o' Life
Impairing the movement of an enemy champion restores @BaseHeal@ Health to you and the lowest health nearby allied champion. 70% effect for Ranged Users. Cooldown: 20s
Arrr, shield Bash
Whenever you gain a new shield, your next basic attack against a champion deals 5 - 30 (+2.5% Bonus Health) (+15.0% New Shield Amount) bonus adaptive damage. You have up to 2s after the shield expires to use this effect.
Conditioning
After 12 min gain +8 Armor and +8 Magic Resist and increase yer Armor and Magic Resist by 3%.
Arrr, second Wind
After taking damage from an enemy champion, heal for 4% of your missing health over 10s.
Arrr, bone Plating
After taking damage from an enemy champion, the next 3 spells or attacks you receive from them deal 30-60 (based on level) less damage. Duration: 1.5s Cooldown: 55s
Overgrowth
Absorb life essence from monsters or enemy minions that die near you, permanently gaining 3 maximum health for every 8. When you've absorbed 120 monsters or enemy minions, gain an additional 3.5% maximum health.
Revitalize
Gain 5% Heal and Shield Power. Heals and shields you cast or receive are 10% stronger on targets below 40% health.
Unflinching
Gain 10 Armor and Magic Resist when crowd controlled and for 2 seconds after.
Rune courseSorceryEmpowered tricks, resources and spell pressure
Arrr, 4 keystones
Pick one keystone
Arrr, minor rune rows
Arrr, axiom Arcanist
Your Ultimate has 12% increased damage, healing, and shielding. (AoE damage is reduced to a 8% increase) Scoring a takedown on an enemy champion reduces your Ultimate's current cooldown by 7%.
Arrr, manaflow Band
Hitting an enemy champion with an ability permanently increases your maximum mana by 25, up to 250 mana. After reaching 250 bonus mana, restore 1% of your missing mana every 5 seconds. Cooldown: 15 seconds
Arrr, nimbus Cloak
After casting a Summoner Spell, gain a Move Speed increase that lasts for 2s and allows you to pass through units. Increase: 15% - 45% Move Speed based on the Summoner Spell's cooldown. (Higher cooldown Summoner Spells grant more Move Speed).
Transcendence
Gain bonuses upon reaching the following levels: Level 5: +5 Ability Haste Level 8: +5 Ability Haste Level 11: On Champion takedown, reduce the remaining cooldown of basic abilities by 20%.
Celerity
All movement bonuses are 7% more effective on you and gain 1% Move Speed.
Arrr, absolute Focus
While above 70% health, gain an adaptive bonus of up to 18 Attack Damage or 30 Ability Power (based on level). Grants 1.8 Attack Damage or 3 Ability Power at level 1.
Scorch
Your next damaging ability hit sets champions on fire dealing 20 - 40 bonus magic damage based on level after 1s. Cooldown: 10s
Waterwalking
Gain 10 Move Speed and 13 - 30 Adaptive Force (based on level) when in the river. May you be as swift as the rushing river and agile as a startled Rift Scuttler.
Arrr, gathering Storm
Every 10 min gain AP or AD, adaptive. 10 min: + 8 AP or 5 AD 20 min: + 24 AP or 14 AD 30 min: + 48 AP or 29 AD 40 min: + 80 AP or 48 AD 50 min: + 120 AP or 72 AD 60 min: + 168 AP or 101 AD etc...
Where to get and pick them
Use champion pick; there be no rune shopping trip
After hovering or locking a champion, open Riot's captain-recommended-runes control or th' rune-chart editor. Riot can offer up to several champion-and-position-aware setups. Pick one, inspect its keystone, and confirm th' chart afore th' countdown ends.
- 1Enter champion pick
Pick or hover th' champion ye intend to play.
- 2Unfurl captain-recommended runes
Riot's own suggestions be th' safest beginner starting point and be updated by Riot.
- 3Compare th' chart's purpose
Look at th' keystone first aboard, then decide whether th' chart suits yer course and intended play pattern.
- 4Confirm afore th' timer ends
Once active play begins, that clash's rune chart cannae be edited.
Captain-recommended or custom?
Both be real rune pages; th' difference be who assembled th' choices
Set sail wit' Riot's recommendation while learning. Move to a custom chart when ye can explain what ye be changing and why it fits this champion, role and matchup.
Riot captain-recommended chart
- Appears during champion pick.
- Uses th' picked champion and position.
- Creates a shipshape temporary chart.
- Good when th' timer be short or th' runes be unfamiliar.
Inspect: read th' keystone so ye know what behavior th' chart rewards.
Custom rune chart
- Ye choose every course, rune and shard.
- It can be stowed and reused.
- It be useful fer matchup-specific adjustments.
- A stowed chart can become outdated after a patch.
Inspect: confirm th' role, queue and present in-client tooltip afore play.
There be rarely one permanent captain's answer
Th' champion, role, queue and foe can all change th' chart
Champion
Arrr, a basic-attack carry and a protection-focused Support normally value different effects.
Role
Th' same champion may need sustain in a solo course and ally protection as Support.
Queue
Arrr, ARAM, Swiftplay and standard Rift rules can change resources, summoner spells and fight frequency.
Foe
Repeated poke, one hard engage or a long scaling course may justify a different defensive or offensive choice.
Feature parity, wit' th' boundary visible
Aye, established desktop apps advertise rune setup afore play; that scope does nay transfer automatically
VRC.LOL can provide th' same understandable workflow: preview several pages, choose one, confirm it, then apply afore th' clash. Th' present invited loadout remains read-only because that be how th' product under Riot inspect be described. Enabling client-writing behavior first aboard would make that description inaccurate.
- Now: th' website and champion guides explain and preview rune choices; th' Companion does nay write them.
- Arrr, proposed after disclosure: a Companion preview, an opt-in setting and a visible Apply rune chart control during champion pick.
- Ne'er: silently changing th' chart after play begins or choosing from changing live-clash conditions.
Arrr, rune language, translated into normal language
Six articles remove most o' th' confusion
- Course
- One themed family o' runes, such as Precision or Resolve.
- Keystone
- Th' largest defining rune from th' primary course. Pick exactly one.
- Arrr, minor rune
- A smaller supporting effect picked from a row inside a course.
- Arrr, stat shard
- One o' three small stat choices at th' bottom o' th' chart.
- Rune chart
- Th' shipshape stowed loadout: primary course, secondary course and shards together.
- Captain-recommended chart
- A shipshape temporary chart assembled by Riot fer th' champion and position.
Arrr, quick answers
What beginners most often need to know
Arrr, do runes cost RP or Blue Essence?
Individual present-system runes be free. Additional permanent rune-chart slots be a convenience fer saving more booty layouts; they do nay contain stronger versions o' runes.
Arrr, what happens if I forget?
Riot provides a temporary captain-recommended chart in champion pick. An invalid or unfinished custom layout should nay mean entering without a shipshape rune setup.
Are runes th' same as summoner spells?
Nay. Runes be passive pre-clash effects. Summoner spells be separate sailor-activated tricks such as Flash, Heal, Ignite or Smite.
Should I always choose th' highest claim victory-rate chart?
Nay. A statistic needs th' same patch, queue, role and a meaningful sample. Riot's recommendations be a sensible starting point; understanding th' keystone helps ye know whether th' chart fits yer course.
Arrr, primary references
Arrr, riot's client remains authoritative
Rune names, icons and descriptions use Riot Data Dragon 16.19.1, checked 3 October 2026. Open an individual rune to read its effect. Static descriptions do not verify every champion interaction, exact queue or recommended page; stat shards are separate.