Castles: Runes

What are they?

The runes are ancient artifacts that can be used in a castle to gain bonuses for the members of the owner guild.

Where are they found?

Long ago, they were shattered into large and small shards.
They cannot be found whole and have to be restored at special NPCs:

100 small shards can be merged into a big one. One rune requires 3 to 25 lerge shards to restore.

At this point:

Small shards are dropped by regular mobs with a tiny probability and can be found in the open world. Bosses drop more of them and with greater chances;
Large rune shards are also dropped by bosses with little probability.

What are rune levels and types?

Every rune tier (T1-T4) is divided into 4 types:

Base (HP, MP, Energy);
Attack (PA, MA);
Defense (PD, MD);
Miscellaneous (CD reduction, bonus tp carrying capacity);

Rune levels affect:

their efficiency depending on castle level where they were activated;
The rune will be less effective the more widely its level differs from that of the castle;
at the same time, a Т4 rune at its lowest will still be more effective than lower-tier runes;

Rune Bonus Powers

At this stage (with the MAX castle level capped at 60), the bonus from runes ranges from +11.4% to +16.2%, depending on the rune level and its usage efficiency.

Rune Slots

All characters have 4 rune slots, but 1 character can only take a bonus from 1 rune of a certain type.
Castles have 1 to 3 rune slots depending on the level of the castle:

15 lvl = 1 slot, 30 = 2, 45 = 1, 60 = 3;
castle can hold runes of the same types but not identical runes;
the process is irreversible. After putting it in the castle slot, the rune cannot be taken back;

Rune Durability, Activation/Deactivation, Desctruction

Each rune has a durability value that is randomly determined within a specific range at the moment the rune is activated;

As a rule, the higher the rune level, the more durability it has;
Durability is depleted when characters interact with the rune ( -1 per 1 use);

Activation is the process of placing a rune in a castle, which is currently available to any role within the guild that owns the castle.;
Deactivation is the process of a rune wearing out, which occurs as guild members interact ("Touch") with the rune.;

when a rune is deactivated, interaction with it by other guild members becomes impossible (the rune turns a dull color but still occupies a slot in the castle);
it remains active for those who’ve already activated it;
a deactivated rune can then be destroyed;

Destruction of the rune occurs by the will of the guild members (Seneschal and above):

it dispels the effect and clears the rune slot of the castle;

Rights, Restrictions, and the Rest

In order for the bonus from the rune (in the form of a technical buff) to stay on the character, the following conditions must be met:

Be a member of the current guild that owns the castle where the rune was activated;
The rune must not be destroyed;
To interact with the rune, the character must hold the position of vassal or higher;

The rune can be activated in the castle during any of its phases;
When the guild that owns the castle changes, the runes remain in the castle;

The new owner can interact with the runes or destroy them if the rune has already been deactivated;

At this stage, the attack bonuses (PA, MA) will not take into account the weapon in the character's hands;

This is intentional, as after the introduction of T4-6 Vocations without T10-12 items, the damage dealt significantly increased, leading to faster-paced duels;

Upcoming Plans

Additional increase/decrease in the effectiveness of the rune depending on whether the character is located within the territory of the castle where it was activated, within its domain, or outside of it;
A unique event boss for castle runes;