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.
Updated on December 1st: We've made big changes to our Runes Tier List based on our late-game experience with The Forge, and we've also added the best weapon and rune combinations in The Forge. Check it out!
Ultimate Roblox The Forge Tier List – Best Runes
At launch, there are a total of 11 runes in the game. And frankly speaking, based on my experience so far, all of them have their own use cases depending on where you are in the game, which is a sign of great game design. None are outright bad or useless; they just support different purposes and playstyles. At worst, they’re situationally useful, and at best, you’ll 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 tier list.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Drain Edge | Life Steal I: Heal ?% of physical damage dealt on-hit. Fracture: ?% extra stun damage on-hit. | + As someone who values sustained heal in any game, this rune is a no-brainer pick for any build. + It will keep you alive forever. + More stun - more fun. | Brute Zombie |
 Blast Chip | Explosion: Creates an explosion at the enemy’s location, dealing ?% of weapon damage in AOE. ?% chance on hit. Critical Chance I: Increases the chance of landing a critical hit by ?% | + Essential for farming and crowd control. + It makes clearing waves of enemies significantly faster. | Delver Zombie Brute Zombie |
S Tier Runes in The Forge – Save Them for Your Best Gear
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Miner Shard | Yield I: ?% chance to drop 1 extra ore from mines. Swift Mining I: ?% faster mining. Mining Power I: ?% extra mine damage. | + Mining is the bread and butter of The Forge, and anything that boosts your mining efficiency should be a priority pick. | Delver Zombie |
 Rage Mark | Berserker I: Boosts physical damage and movement speed by ?% for ? seconds. Has ? seconds cooldown. Activates when health is below ?%. Endurance I: Gives ?% more stamina. | + Unbelievably strong when paired with Drain Edge + Works great with high-DPS weapons. It’s basically a cheat code. | Zombie Elite Zombie Brute Zombie |
A Tier Runes - Great Picks
These are perfect for players who prefer a crowd-control playstyle, as they offer both single-target and area-of-effect CC utility. In my opinion, they’re really fun to play with!
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Chill Dust | Snow I: Applies ?% attack speed and movement speed slow for ? seconds. ?% chance on hit. | + Great for a hit-and-run, kiting playstyle, as it lets you dance around enemies while avoiding their attacks. | Elite Zombie Brute Zombie |
 Frost Speck | Ice I: Freezes enemies for ? seconds with a ?% chance on hit. Has a cooldown of ?. Critical Damage: Increases the damage of critical hits by ?% | + Stronger versions of this rune can soft-lock almost any opponent + Perma-freeze? Why not! If you have a high-attack-speed weapon. | Elite Zombie |
B Tier Runes - Solid but not Versatile
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Flame Spark | Burn I: Deals ?% of weapon damage as fire per second for ? seconds. ?% chance on hit. Fracture: ?% extra stun damage on-hit. | + Excellent sustained damage and DoT. + Especially effective against larger single-target enemies. - Lacks utility | Elite Zombie |
 Ward Patch | Shield I: Reduce incoming physical damage by ?%. Has ?% chance per hit. Phase I: ?% longer invincibility on dash. | + An excellent survivability rune. + Makes you much harder to kill, allowing you to venture deeper into the mines. - Drain Edge is simply better. | Zombie Elite Zombie Brute Zombie |
C Tier Runes - Not Bad, But Unreliable
Don't get me wrong, these are great runes, and they will absolutely bring you value, but they can be a bit situational and not as overall good and versatile as the ones from the previous two tiers.
| Rune | Ability | Pros & Cons | Drops From |
|---|---|---|---|
 Rot Stitch | Toxic Veins I: Deals ?% poison damage around the character for ? seconds. Has ? seconds cooldown. Activates when health is below ?% Endurance I: Gives ?% more stamina. | + Solid passive AoE DoT. - Too conditional and too niche. - It’s a strange combination that doesn’t really do much. - Rage Mark and Drain Edge are better when you’re low on health. | Zombie |
 Briar Notch | Thorn I: Reflect ?% physical damage taken. Maximum damage given limits at ?% max health of user. ? seconds cooldown. | - Too situational and limited. - It could be great without the maximum health percentage restriction. | Zombie |
 Venom Crumb | Poison I: Deals ?% of weapon damage as poison per second for "x" seconds. ?% chance on hit. | + Deals excellent damage over time. - Not as strong as Flame Spark, since it lacks the Fracture passive. | Zombie Elite Zombie |
So there you have it, our ultimate Roblox The Forge Rune Tier List. Keep in mind that this list will likely change as we learn more about the meta. The game is still in beta, and 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:
| Rune | Weapons | Why it Works |
|---|---|---|
| Drain Edge | Dragon Slayer / Skull Crusher / Great Sword | Heavy weapons deal massive single-hit damage (20+), and Drain Edge heals a % of each hit, meaning a single swing can heal you for a big chunk of health. |
| Frost Speck | Gladius Daggers / Ironhand / Chaos | These are the fastest weapons in the game, and the sheer volume of attacks ensures that enemies are constantly frozen. Perma frost! |
| Rage Mark | Chaos | Combining the game's highest DPS weapon with the Attack Speed boost from Rage Mark (when Berserk is active) results in the highest possible mathematical damage output. |
| Blast Chip | Chaos | Given that it's the highest DPS weapon in the game, Blast Chip will trigger often, making it perfect for grinding essences or gold. |
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.
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.
Nikola 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.
