Rune Arcs make Elden Ring easier, here’s how to farm them

Elden Ring is tough, but Rune Arcs provide a massive buff to the player to take down any challenge.

Elden Ring comes with a ton of new mechanics to make the game easier, and Rune Arcs are one of them. These handy items grant powerful buffs to the player with no downside other than consuming the item. If you’re having trouble in the Lands Between, here’s what Rune Arcs are capable of and how to farm up a nice stockpile.

What do Rune Arcs do in Elden Ring?

Rune Arcs are used to activate the power of Great Runes in Elden Ring.

In order to start using Rune Arcs in Elden Ring, players must first acquire Great Runes. These are dropped by the major bosses in the Lands Between, including Godrick the Grafted.

Each one comes with a special bonus, from massively boosting max HP to granting a Bloodborne-style life steal effect on taking damage. The problem with Great Runes is that they deactivate when the player dies, making them powerful, but temporary. 

That’s where Rune Arcs come in. These items are used to activate the equipped Great Rune. They can be turned on at any time, even in the middle of a fight. 

The other issue with Elden Ring’s Rune Arcs is their rarity. These items are difficult to find and usually dropped by non-respawning enemies. As a result, players often hesitate to use such a rare resource. Luckily for them, there are multiple ways to farm Rune Arcs and build up a healthy supply.

How to farm Rune Arcs in Elden Ring

Players can farm Rune Arcs by cooperating with other players or by farming certain enemies.

The most straightforward method to farming Rune Arcs is being summoned to other worlds to help with boss battles. Each time a boss is defeated, all the helper summons receive a Rune Arc. Early story bosses like Margit, the Fell Omen and Godrick the Grafted always have a constant influx of challengers. This method also grants a chunk of runes with every victory, making it a decent way to farm levels and Rune Arcs at the same time.

If you prefer to play through the game in offline mode, there’s a somewhat more tedious option to farm Rune Arcs. A few enemies have a small chance to drop Rune Arcs on death. The easiest enemies to farm for Rune Arcs are rats. There are multiple pockets of rats that can be found in Stormveil Castle.

Farming rats is a proud tradition in FromSoftware game, which included farming Humanity in past Dark Souls games.