Elden Ring Runes are your lifeline. You use them to level up, buy items, upgrade gear, and progress through the game. Whether you're a new player or a seasoned Tarnished looking to min-max your build, this guide will show you how to get more Elden Ring runes — fast and efficiently. These strategies come from personal experience and hundreds of hours exploring the Lands Between.

1. Farm in the Best Rune Spots

Mohgwyn Palace (Mid-to-Late Game)

This is THE best place to farm runes once you unlock it. The enemies here drop thousands of runes each, and you can use AoE spells or weapons to clear them quickly.

How to unlock: Complete White Mask Varre’s questline or use a teleport portal near the Consecrated Snowfield.

Pro tip: Use the Sacred Relic Sword’s wave attack or swarm spells.

Greyoll’s Dragonbarrow (Early-Mid Game)

Head to the bridge near Fort Faroth and find the sleeping giant dragon, Greyoll. You can kill it safely for ~75,000 runes (more with bonuses).

How to do it: Use a bleed weapon like Reduvia or Blood Uchigatana.

Note: The surrounding small dragons will die too.

2. Use Rune-Boosting Gear

Here’s what to equip for maximum rune gain:

Gold Scarab (Talisman): Increases rune drop rate by 20-30%. Found in the Abandoned Cave (Caelid).

Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot (Consumable): Temporarily boosts rune acquisition by 30% for 3 minutes. You can craft it or find it throughout the world.

Stacking both gives you the best results for rune farming.

3. Efficient Boss Kills

Bosses are major rune sources. Focus on:

Repeatable bosses: Like Bell Bearing Hunters or Deathbirds that spawn at night.

Main story bosses: These give tens of thousands of runes, but make sure you're prepared.

Also, try Rune Arcs and co-op. Killing bosses while summoned gives you good runes without risking death.

4. Repeating Rune Farming Routes

Use these two easy farming routes early on:

Stormhill Troll Route

• From Warmaster’s Shack, kill the Trolls.
• Each drops ~1,000+ runes.
• Fast respawn and low risk.

Liurnia Academy Soldiers

• From the Schoolhouse Classroom Site of Grace.
• Fast kill loop with magic or AoE attacks.

5. Sell Unused Items

You can get quick runes by selling:

• Doubled weapons and armor
• Cookbooks you already know
• Excess upgrade materials

Visit any merchant or Twin Maiden Husks in the Roundtable Hold to sell your inventory clutter.

6. Explore and Loot Everything

Elden Ring’s world is packed with golden rune items:

Golden Rune [x]: These are consumable and don’t drop on death.

Hero’s Runes and Lord’s Runes: Found late-game and worth tens of thousands each.

Always explore ruins, catacombs, and hidden areas. There’s free rune loot everywhere.

7. Use New Game+ for Exponential Runes

Once you’ve completed the game, starting New Game+ allows you to earn significantly more runes from the same enemies.

What changes: Enemies are tougher, but rune rewards are scaled up considerably.

Farming advantage: Early-game areas now give mid- or late-game rune levels.

My experience: Farming the Limgrave soldiers I once ignored became a high-efficiency strategy post-NG+ with rune-boost gear.

8. Spirit Summons to Farm While You Wait

Don’t want to grind manually? Let your Spirit Ashes do the work:

• Equip a tanky summon like Lhutel the Headless or Banished Knight Oleg.
• Summon them near enemy groups.
• Let them kill while you stay back.

This works well in zones like the War-Dead Catacombs where enemies auto-fight anyway. Great for semi-AFK farming.

9. Secret Rune Farming Spots You May Have Missed

Some hidden areas in Elden Ring are incredible for fast rune gain — especially if you’re mid-game. Here are two of my favorites:

War-Dead Catacombs (Caelid)

Why it works: Enemy knights auto-fight each other. You just need to survive and collect runes.

Rune yield: ~40,000+ runes in 5-10 minutes with no effort.

Ordina, Liturgical Town (Consecrated Snowfield)

Invisibility enemies can be farmed for high runes with stealth or ranged spells.

It’s challenging but worth it if you have patience and stealth abilities.

10. Daily Rune Route Checklist

Here’s a sample daily route I use to maximize efficiency when I log in:

Buff up with Gold Scarab + Fowl Foot.

Teleport to Palace Approach Ledge-Road (Mohgwyn Palace).

Farm Albinaurics with AoE weapon (Sacred Relic Sword or Blasphemous Blade).

Spend runes to level up, then switch to:

War-Dead Catacombs for passive farming.

Finish with Night Boss Hunting or Bell Bearing Hunters for endgame rune injections.

This rotation nets millions of runes/hour by late-game if done properly.

11. Optimize Builds for Rune Efficiency

Believe it or not, your build affects how fast you farm runes. Here's how:

Bleed builds (Rivers of Blood, Reduvia): Fast kills with huge AoE.

Faith builds: Use Pest Threads, Lightning Spear, or Giantsflame Take Thee to quickly wipe groups.

Intelligence builds: AoE magic like Comet Azur or Stars of Ruin is fantastic in narrow farming zones.

Try to respec (via Rennala) into something efficient if you're stuck grinding.

12. Don't Lose Your Runes

You work hard to collect them — don’t let them go to waste:

Always spend your runes before risky fights.

Use Sacrificial Twig (Talisman) to prevent rune loss on death.

Leave rune markers on your map so you remember where you died.

Tip from personal experience: Nothing hurts more than dying twice with 100,000+ runes on you. Don’t be like me — bank your gains early!

13. Passive Farming Using Online Co-op

Joining another player's world is a low-risk way to farm without losing your runes:

Be a Co-op Phantom:

Use Furlcalling Finger Remedy to summon or be summoned.

Every time you help defeat a boss, you gain runes — without risking your own stash.

Great for places like Stormveil Castle, Raya Lucaria, or Fire Giant fights.

AFK Rune Farming (Ethically Grey):

Some players summon others into PvP zones and then hide — but this can be risky and frowned upon.

It’s better to use real co-op to support players and still earn solid rune rewards.

14. Post-Patch Rune Farming Adjustments

FromSoftware patches often nerf or rebalance popular farming spots. Here’s how to adapt:

Keep checking Mohgwyn Palace: It remains the top rune farming location post-patch.

Redesign your farming routes to avoid nerfed enemies or lowered rune drops.

Watch for buffs: Some patches increase rune drops in New Game+ or harder areas to encourage exploration.

I personally revisit all my favorite spots after every update — sometimes, a previously mid-tier farm becomes amazing.

15. Daily and Weekly Farming Challenges (Self-Made)

To keep things fresh and efficient, set personal rune farming goals:

16. Secret Items That Help You Farm Faster

Here are some lesser-known rune-enhancing items and effects you should use:

Mimic Tear Ash (Level 10): Mimics your setup for efficient solo-farming.

Blessing of the Erdtree: Sustains your health during longer grinding runs.

Ritual Shield Talisman: Reduces damage when HP is full — great when farming strong mobs like Albinaurics.

17. Buying Elden Ring Runes: Should You Do It?

If you're short on time and just want to skip the grind, buying Elden Ring runes is an option — but only if done safely.

Here’s how I do it:

Use U4GM — it’s trusted, fast, and has responsive customer service.

Avoid shady sellers with no reputation.

Always double-check delivery instructions — most sellers drop runes in a multiplayer session using Rune consumables.

Personal tip: I once used a seller who dropped them in the form of 99x Lord’s Runes. Just pick them up and use them — very efficient.

18. Best Times to Farm Runes

Time of day and in-game cycles also affect your rune grind:

Night bosses only appear after dark — so rest at grace to trigger them.

Festive Events or Community Weekends: Some players host rune farming parties.

Double rune mods (if you're using mods on PC) can be applied during private grinding sessions — but not online.

19. Crafting to Support Rune Farming

You can craft consumables to boost your rune farming efficiency:

Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot: Requires Four-Toed Fowl Foot, Gold Firefly, and Rowa Fruit.

Starlight Shards and Flask of Wondrous Physick mixes can help prolong your survival while farming.

Perfumes & Buffs: Enhance your AoE abilities or tankiness.

Tip: Visit the Nomadic Merchant in Altus Plateau to restock important crafting ingredients regularly.

20. Rune Farming Tier List (Updated)

Here’s a quick summary of the most effective farming spots based on efficiency and accessibility:

21. Underground Rune Treasures: Don’t Miss These Hidden Riches

There are several underground locations packed with Golden Runes, Hero's Runes, and even Lord's Runes. These are some of the best rune sources that don’t disappear on death and are great for burst leveling.

Nokron, Eternal City

After defeating Radahn, Nokron opens up.

Hidden among the ruins and rooftops are multiple Hero’s Rune [5] pickups — worth 35,000 runes each.

Deeproot Depths

Many players skip this zone, but it's loaded with glowing rune items.

Look for corpses hanging from branches and in tree hollows.

Siofra River

Use the lift from Mistwood to explore this mystical underground area.

Rune pickups are hidden behind waterfalls and scattered across broken bridges.

Personal Tip: I always keep a few Sacrificial Twigs on me before deep dives like these, just in case something kills me before I bank the loot.

22. Make the Most of Remembrances

Every major boss gives you a Remembrance that can be turned into powerful weapons — or consumed for a lot of runes.

Should you consume or trade?

Pro tip from my run: The Remembrance of the Fire Giant gives 30,000+ runes — not bad if you don’t want his weapon.

23. Use PvP Invasions to Farm With Style

For confident players, invading others using the Festering Bloody Finger can give rune rewards if you defeat the host or assist another invader.

Equip rune-boosting talismans even in PvP.

Target high-level areas where rune rewards are larger (Haligtree, Farum Azula).

Win or lose, you’ll often earn a few thousand runes per fight — and it’s thrilling.

Reminder: You don’t lose runes when invading, so it’s a risk-free farming side activity.

24. Rune Farming With Arrows and Stealth

Want to play safe? Farm from a distance.

Use greatbows or long-range sorceries from ledges.

In areas like Liurnia’s cliffs or Windmill Village, you can pick off enemies with zero risk.

Combine with Gold Scarab and Fowl Foot to passively earn thousands of runes per loop.

Personal experience: I farmed demi-humans in Mt. Gelmir like this for an hour and got over 100k runes, all while listening to a podcast.

25. Speedrun Farming Routes for Busy Players

Only have 10 minutes? Here are quick, high-efficiency routes you can do during short breaks:

5-Minute Route (Early Game)

Location: Stormhill Trolls

From Warmaster’s Shack: Kill 3 trolls → Rest → Repeat

Runes: ~10,000 with boosts

10-Minute Route (Mid Game)

Location: Altus Plateau, Windmill Pastures

Kill celebrants in groups — they die fast and drop decent runes

Use AoE skills to wipe groups instantly

15-Minute Route (End Game)

Location: Mohgwyn Palace

Farm Albinaurics with Sacred Relic Sword

Use Site of Grace to reset

Runes: 250k–500k per loop

Note: These routes are great for players short on time, or before work/school.

26. Mindset & Planning: Treat Runes Like Real Currency

To avoid waste and frustration:

Set level-up goals: Know what stat you want to raise before farming.

Track diminishing returns: Vigor, Endurance, and Strength have soft caps — don’t over-invest.

Always bank runes before boss runs or PvP.

Mental trick I use: Every 100k runes is like a “salary.” Treat farming like a part-time job — stay efficient and focused.

27. Mobile Companion Apps & Maps

You can enhance your rune-hunting using Elden Ring tools:

MapGenie (Elden Ring Interactive Map): Filter by “Golden Rune” to find untouched treasures.

ER Companion Apps: Track inventory, reminders for rune drops, boss respawns.

Why it matters: You’ll be surprised how many Golden Rune [3]–[10] items you missed even in early zones.

28. Build Archetypes Designed for Rune Farming

Farming efficiency isn’t just about where you go — it’s about how you’re built. These builds are optimized specifically for high rune output.

A. Sacred Relic Sword Build (Faith + Strength)

Ideal for endgame farming in Mohgwyn Palace.

Skill: Wave of Gold – massive AoE with excellent reach.

Stats: 22 Strength, 14 Dexterity, 22 Faith minimum.

I built this for NG+ farming and routinely clear 500k+ runes in 5–10 minutes.

B. Bleed Farming Build (Dexterity + Arcane)

Weapons: Rivers of Blood, Reduvia, or Morgott's Cursed Sword.

Bleed procs = %HP damage = faster kills.

Especially powerful vs. Greyoll or other large HP enemies.

C. AoE Sorcery Build (Intelligence)

Spells: Comet Azur, Stars of Ruin, Loretta’s Greatbow.

Strategy: Clear grouped enemies from safe distance.

Works great in locations like Altus Plateau or Elphael.

Tip: Pair with Radagon Icon for faster casting and Gold Scarab for max reward.

29. Rune Rewards from Community Events

FromSoftware occasionally releases live events, and the player base organizes unofficial “Rune Fests” like:

PvP Tournaments: Winning duels sometimes nets rune drops or reward items.

Jolly Cooperation Days: Join community discords or subreddits (e.g., r/EldenRing) to help others and earn runes fast through co-op.

Pro Tip: Community-hosted “Boss Rush” zones are ideal for rune bursts and connection to other helpful players.

30. Rune Farming by Flipping Items

This lesser-known method mimics an in-game economic system:

Buy low-value items like arrows, resins, or basic gear from NPCs.

Use crafting or upgrading to turn them into higher-value items.

Sell back the upgraded versions for more runes.

Example: Turn Smithing Stones into upgraded gear, then sell the weapon for a higher price.

While not as fast as combat farming, it’s a fun “merchant-style” way to gain passive runes between battles.

31. Don’t Farm Blindly: Track Your Rune Efficiency

Keep track of your rune/hour rate with this simple method:

Step-by-step:

Record runes before farming.

Set a timer for 10 or 20 minutes.

Farm using your chosen method.

Record how many runes you earned and divide by time.

Goal: Aim for 200,000+ runes per 10 minutes in late game to ensure efficiency.

I use this to compare routes — sometimes your favorite method is actually slower than you thought!

32. Turn Boss Rematches into Profitable Grind Sessions

Once you unlock Remembrance Duplication via Walking Mausoleums, you can:

Duplicate high-value boss remembrances.

Sell or trade both for big rune paydays.

Top 3 remembrances to duplicate for runes:

Remembrance of the Elden Beast: ~50,000 runes

Fire Giant’s Remembrance: ~30,000 runes

Radahn’s Remembrance: ~30,000 runes

Personal tip: I save all mausoleums until NG+ so I can duplicate the highest-yield ones.

33. Kill Rare Rune-Rich Enemies

Some specific enemies drop huge runes, but most players skip or miss them:

Scarabs near Divine Towers – Kill all of them, some drop runes or upgrade items.

Golden Eyes Variant Enemies – Randomly spawn and drop 5x normal runes!

Rune Bear Variant Bosses – Dangerous, but they can drop 20k+ with boosts.

Golden-eyed mobs are RNG, but when you spot one, prioritize it.

34. Use Legacy Dungeons as “Rune Dungeons”

Legacy Dungeons (like Leyndell, Haligtree, and Volcano Manor) are filled with elite mobs and rich rune pickups:

Clear once thoroughly with Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot active.

Focus on side paths and upper levels — hidden loot and powerful mobs hide there.

Don’t rush through story bosses — take your time and farm everything.

In my Haligtree run, I picked up over 15 Hero's Runes — that’s nearly 500k just from looting!

35. Convert Your Extra Runes to Progress

Instead of sitting on 1M+ runes:

Respec with Rennala and experiment with new builds.

Upgrade multiple weapon paths (Faith, Dex, Int) so you're always ready.

Buy out entire shops from NPCs — items don’t disappear.

This turns runes into freedom of playstyle, which can help with tougher bosses and NG+ challenges.

Final Rune Advice for the Tarnished

By now, you have 35+ tested and proven strategies to farm more Elden Ring runes — faster, safer, and smarter. Whether you love PvP, co-op, exploration, or boss hunting, there’s a path for every Tarnished.

Recap – Most Efficient Late-Game Method:

Location: Mohgwyn Palace

Weapon: Sacred Relic Sword

Boosts: Gold Scarab + Fowl Foot

Result: 3–5 million runes per hour

Want a rune farming planner, Excel tracker, or Google Sheet template to monitor your leveling? Or a tiered progression guide for early → mid → late rune spots?