Updated on December 24th: Our The Forge Rune Tier List has been updated! We've added a section for Rune secondary traits, we've improved wording for all abilities, and we've made changes based on The Forge Winter Update. Check it out!
TL:DR The Forge Rune Tier List (Winter Update) Quick Summary:
- The best Rune in The Forge is Blast Chip.
- The best defensive Rune is Drain Edge.
- The best DPS Rune is Flame Spark.
- The best farming Rune is Miner Shard.
- The worst Rune in The Forge is Rot Stitch.
Adding runes to your weapons, armor, or pickaxes in The Forge can significantly boost your stats and turn your character into an absolute powerhouse. However, with a dozen runes to choose from, you might be wondering which ones to put into your gear. That’s where our Ultimate Roblox The Forge Rune Tier List comes in, showing you which runes are truly the best in the game.
Ultimate Roblox The Forge Tier List – Best Runes
As of the Winter Update for The Forge, there are a total of 11 runes available in the game. Based on my experience so far, each rune has its own unique use case, depending on your progress in the game, which reflects good game design. None of the runes are outright bad or useless; instead, they serve different purposes and cater to various playstyles. At worst, they might be situationally useful, but at best, you'll find them indispensable and never want to remove them from your gear.
As always, keep in mind that this reflects my personal preferences; nothing written here is set in stone. If you enjoy using a specific rune and it suits your playstyle, just go for it! But enough talking, let's jump straight to our Roblox The Forge Rune tier list for the Christmas Update (Winter Expansion 1).
The Forge Rune Tier List (Winter Update)
⇓ META RUNES ⇓
Blast Chip
Drain Edge
Miner Shard
⇓ GREAT RUNES ⇓
Flame Spark
Rage Mark
⇓ GOOD RUNES ⇓
Briar Notch
Ward Patch
Briar Notch
⇓ DECENT RUNES ⇓
Venom Crumb
Frost Speck
⇓ WEAK RUNES ⇓
Rot Stitch
NOTE: The percentage effect varies and isn’t always the same across all levels, gear, or stages of progression, which is why we’ve used question marks instead of concrete numbers. This is completely randomized and you can not affect the final outcome of both the primary and the secondary trait.
The Forge S+ Tier Runes - A Must for Every Build
If you ask me, these runes aren’t a choice - they’re basically mandatory for any build in The Forge. They outperform the others by a mile and work great in pretty much every situation you’ll run into while grinding in the mines.
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Blast Chip | Explosion Causes an explosion at the location of the victim, dealing 20-40% of weapon damage as AOE damage, with an 8-20% chance on hit. |
| Bomber (1/10 Chance) |
 Drain Edge | Heal Heal 5-13% of physical damage dealt on-hit. |
| Reaper (1/12 Chance) |
 Miner Shard | Luck 5-16% overall luck increase. Yield 3-10% chance to drop 1 extra ore from mines. Swift Mining 4-12% faster mining. Mine Power 8-15% extra mine damage. |
| Delver Zombie Bomber |
S Tier Runes in The Forge – Save Them for Your Best Gear
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Flame Spark | Burn Deals 5-10% of weapon damage as fire per second for 1-2 seconds. 15-25% chance on hit. |
| Deathaxe Skeleton Reaper Blazing Slime |
 Rage Mark | Berserk Boosts physical damage and movement speed by 12-26% for 4-7 seconds. Has 50-60 seconds cooldown. Activates when health is below 35%. |
| Elite Rogue Skeleton (1/25 Chance) |
A Tier Runes - Great Picks
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ward Patch | Shield Reduces incoming damage by 6-14% with a 5-15% chance per hit. |
| Zombie Elite Zombie |
 Chill Dust | Snow Slows enemy movement and attack speed by ?% for ? seconds. ?% chance on hit. |
| TBA |
 Briar Notch | Thorns Reflect 2-10% physical damage taken. Maximum damage given limits at 5% max health of user. 0.05 seconds cooldown. |
| Deathaxe Skeleton |
B Tier Runes - Solid but not Versatile
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Venom Crumb | Poison Deals 4-7% of weapon damage as poison per second for 3-6 seconds, 25-35% chance on hit. |
| Blight Pyromancer |
 Frost Speck | Ice Freezes enemies for a short duration. Has a small chance to trigger and a short cooldown. |
| TBA |
C Tier Runes - Not Bad, But Unreliable
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Rot Stitch | Toxic Veins Deals ?% poison damage around the user while health is below 35%. Has a ? second cooldown. |
| TBA |
So there you have it, our ultimate Roblox The Forge Rune Tier List for the Winter Update. Keep in mind that this list will likely change as we learn more about the Forge Christmas Update meta. The developers will undoubtedly introduce balance tweaks over time, so we’ll update our tier list accordingly. And while you’re here, be sure to check out our The Forge Crafting Guide as well.
Best Rune & Weapon Combinations in The Forge
While most of the S- and A-tier runes will work great with almost any weapon, some combinations are undoubtedly better than others. With the right mix of runes and weapons, you can create some truly monstrous builds. In our opinion, here are some of the best combinations in the game:
| Weapon Type | Best Runes | Why This Works |
|---|---|---|
| Katanas | Blast Chip Drain Edge | Perfect balance. Katanas have speed and range; Blast Chip solves their lack of AoE, while Drain Edge keeps you healthy in close combat. |
| Straight Swords | Blast Chip Flame Spark | Straight Swords have medium speed. Flame Spark adds significant DoT to every hit, maximizing DPS against bosses. |
| Colossal Swords | Blast Chip Chill Dust | Slow, heavy hits. Chill Dust slows enemies down, giving you time to wind up your massive swings without getting interrupted. |
| Daggers | Venom Crumb Flame Spark | Fastest attack speed in the game. You apply DoT effects (Poison/Burn) extremely quickly, stacking up massive damage over time. |
| Pickaxes | Miner Shard | Non-negotiable. If you are mining, you need Miner Shard for the Luck and Speed boost. Combat runes are wasted here. |
The Forge Runes Secondary Traits - A Complete List
Aside from their primary abilities, applying a Rune to an armor piece or weapon also grants a randomized secondary trait from the list below. Both the secondary trait and the strength of its effect are completely random, meaning there’s no guarantee you’ll get exactly what you want. Below is the complete list of all Rune secondary traits in The Forge.
| Secondary Trait | Ability |
|---|---|
| Weapon Secondary Traits | |
| Attack Speed | Increases attack speed by 5-18%. |
| Lethality | Increases the weapon's damage by 5-15%. |
| Critical Chance | Increases the chance of landing a critical hit by 6-15%. |
| Critical Damage | Increases the damage of critical hits by 5-15%. |
| Fracture | Increases stun damage by 5-20%. |
| Armor Secondary Traits | |
| Endurance | Increase stamina by 4-10%. |
| Surge | Decreases dash cooldown by 3-11%. |
| Vitality | Increases health by 5-10%. |
| Swiftness | Increases movement speed by 4-10%. |
| Phase | Increases dash invincibility duration by 4-11%. |
| Stride | Increases dash distance by 4-15%. |
Roblox The Forge Runes FAQ
Yes, you can. Head to the Runemaker, select a weapon or armor with a rune, click on a rune, and choose DETACH. Keep in mind that this costs money.
Yes, you can sell runes at vendors on any island.
Access your Stash to find all your runes there. Equipped runes are displayed on the weapons.
Currently, no, you can't. Runes can only be found as drops from enemies.
Yes, Runes are equippable on any type of gear.
Yes, The Forge Christmas Update comes with several new Runes! We will add more information about them once we know more. Stay tuned!
Nikola is a Senior Staff Writer at Pro Game Guides with over 13 years of experience in gaming journalism. He has been playing video games since his father bought him an NES and a Sega Mega Drive in the early 1990s. Over the years, he has mainly become a PC gamer with a love for narrative-driven RPGs, real-time strategy games, and psychological/survival horror titles. Still, he enjoys any game that’s worth his time.