How To Get Runestones

Note: Runestones Are No Longer In Diablo 3

Runestones will be a huge part of the Diablo 3 Skills System. There will be 5 different types of Runestones (Alabaster, Crimson, Golden, Indigo and Obsidian) and 7 different ranks for each type. You will be able to socket your Active Skills with Runestones to obtain a variety of enhanced effects. Combining Runestones with Skills allows for the creation of trillions of different builds for your character.

Now you may be asking how can I get Runestones, where can I find Runestones or what are the best ways to get Runestones in Diablo 3. If you are asking these questions, you have come to the right place. The following are a few ways to obtain Runestones in D3:

3 Ways To Get Runestones In Diablo 3

1. Monster Drops 
Runestones can be obtained by defeating enemy monsters. These monsters will have a random % chance to drop various Items, Equipment, Runestones etc. The harder the difficulty, the more difficult the monsters will become and the more difficult the monsters = better item drops.

As shown in the picture above, Rank 1 Runestones will be able to be found as early as Normal Difficulty, Rank 2 Runestones in Nightmare, Rank 3 in Hell and Ranks 4 - 7 will only be able to be found in Inferno Difficulty. So as you progress through the difficulties the monsters will become more difficult to kill, but you will be able to find more powerful Runestones (It makes sense that harder challenges will equal better rewards).

2. Trading/Transfer
Now you may not be able to find the exact Runestones from Monster drops that you are looking for. This is where the beauty of trading comes in. Player A may have a Rank 5 Indigo Runestone, but he or she really needs a Rank 5 Alabaster Runestone to turn his or her Bash Skill into Pulverize. Player B on the other hand does need a Rank 5 Indigo Runestone, in order to increase the radius of his or her Horrify spell. Player B also has a Rank 5 Alabaster Runestone laying around that he or she doesn't really need.

Now players will most likely make threads in D3 forums to advertise what they need and what they want. If Player A and Player B traded Runestones in this case, both Players would have gotten what they needed to improve their characters. A lot of trading threads will probably be made on http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/ as that was probably the biggest trading forum for Diablo 2, but only time will tell.

Transfer between characters is another way to obtain the right Runestone for a particular class or build. Diablo 3 features the shared stash, so players will easily be able to transfer Runestones between their own characters. Players won't be obtaining new Runestones in this case, but it will allow them more easily customize their various characters safely and securely (Unlike in Diablo 2 where you had to drop items in a game or get a friend to help you transfer items).

3. (RMAH) Real Money Auction House
The Diablo 3 Auction House will be the best way to find a particular Runestone. When I say best, I don't mean cheapest, but instead I mean that it will be very efficient. Players will be able to type in the Runestone they are looking for and buy it from another player for either game Gold or for actual money. Now while it may be easy to find the Runestone and buy the first one you see, it will be important to know the prices of Items, Gear, Runestones etc. before immediately purchasing.

Within the first few months of Diablo 3's release, most items will be in high demand because everyone will be starting fresh. This will mean that prices on the Auction House will be much higher in the first couple of months than they will be 6 months or a year down the road. If you have tons of Gold and don't really care about this, then you can buy whatever you like, but it will be tough getting large amounts of Gold as well.

In Conclusion, the best way to get Runestones, will be to get to Inferno and defeat monsters, elite monsters and bosses. Every Rank (1-7) of Runestone will drop in Inferno, so if you can defeat monsters in Inferno Difficulty it is your best bet. You may even get lucky and find a Rank 6 or 7 Runestone, although they will be very rare. If this happens you can either sell it for a large amount of Gold or for some Real Money (Depending on the current market prices), trade it or you can use it in one of your character's Active Skills. In any case, don't get discouraged, item drops in D3 are randomized. Just keep killing monsters, keep trading, keep looking for deals in the Auction House and you will have the Runestones you need before you know it.

Thanks For Reading and Good Luck!