What is a Great Rune in Elden Ring and how do you use it?

The Great Rune in Elden Ring is your main reward for slaying the world’s powerful bosses, granting you access to tons of runes or unique items.

A Great Rune in Elden Ring is a unique item that is dropped by the game’s most challenging enemies inside of the game’s Legacy Dungeons. Legacy dungeons are the more traditional, restricted sections rather than Elden Ring’s open-world sections.

Where to get the first Great Rune in Elden Ring

The first Great Rune that will be dropped is Godrick’s Great Rune, dropped by Godrick, The Grafted at the very end of the Stormveil Castle dungeon. If you’re looking for a quick guide on how to get through Stormveil Castle, check out our guide to Elden Ring’s first legacy dungeon.

Once you’ve defeated Godrick, you’ll be granted his Great Rune, which must be activated before being put to use. To use Godrick’s Great Rune, you must discover the Divine Tower of Limgrave. At the Limgrave Tower Bridge rest site, there is a waygate past several enormous statues. Head through the gate into the tower ahead, using the lift to make your way up.

Here you’ll discover Godrick’s Great Rune and be able to restore the ring’s power. After restoring the ring’s power, you can use Rune Arcs to gain the benefits of the Great Rune until death. Great Runes are incredibly powerful temporary buffs that can help with some of the most difficult combats in the game.

All of the Great Rings work in a similar way. Players must defeat a boss and then find their Great Rune and restore its power. When you have restored a certain ring’s power, your Rune Arcs will give you the benefits of your currently chosen Great Ring. Godrick’s Great Rune boosts all attributes, making it guaranteed value. Rune Arcs are consumed upon use, however, so invoke this great power sparingly.