Diablo 4 Boosting

Fellow Diablo fans, today we want to talk about Runes in Season 12. Yes, in this season, Runes continue to hold a pivotal position in crafting endgame builds; through various combinations of Ritual and Invocation Runes, they provide characters with powerful skill boosts and defensive enhancements. Runes harbor immense energy, not only do they allow you to trigger class-exclusive skills from other classes, but they also serve as indispensable key materials for crafting Mythic Unique items at the Jeweler.

So, let's take a look at how to collect these runes in Diablo 4 Season 12. Follow along to see how hardcore players are achieving massive power spikes this season by leveraging the power of Runes!

Rune Drop Rates Nerfed

Before we dive in, if you've already created and started playing your seasonal character, you may have noticed that in D4S12, many avenues for obtaining specific items have been significantly nerfed. This includes not only the drastically reduced drop rate of Obducite in Horadric Strongrooms, which we mentioned previously, and the methods for unlocking Mythic Unique items, but naturally, the farming of legendary Runes has not escaped these nerfs either.

Consequently, compared to Season 11, acquiring legendary runes in S12 has become more difficult. To be honest, this move has sparked considerable controversy within the player community; given that this season's duration is already shorter than usual to align with the upcoming Lord of Hatred Expansion release on April 28th, the pace of farming Diablo 4 Runes should theoretically have been increased to compensate. However, contrary to expectations, we did not receive such improvements.

Farming Kurast Undercity with Tribute of Harmony

No matter since the current situation is set in stone, we simply have to find a way to make the best of the existing conditions. First and foremost, there is no doubt that the absolute best method for farming legendary Runes right now is by utilizing Tribute of Harmony within Kurast Undercity. In fact, as early as Season 11, this method was already widely recognized as the most effective way to acquire runes. However, back then, the channels and opportunities available to us for acquiring Tribute of Harmony were far more numerous than they are today.

Precisely for this reason, even though the efficiency of this particular farming method has diminished somewhat, it remains, among all the farming strategies available this season, the undisputed best choice.

Tributes of Harmony can be deposited into the braziers located within Kurast Undercity. When you successfully clear this dungeon, performing this action guarantees that you will receive a substantial bonus drop of Runes upon the dungeon's completion. Notably, if you are playing on Torment 4 difficulty, defeating a single boss can yield as many as 10 Runes; furthermore, a significant portion of these drops will consist of Legendary Runes.

How do you collect Tributes of Harmony?

However, the current challenge lies not in clearing Kurast Undercity dungeon itself, but rather in acquiring that crucial consumable: the Tribute of Harmony, after all, this is the essential material required to double your Rune drops.

In Season 11, thanks to various powerful season-exclusive mechanics, we were able to effortlessly stockpile vast quantities of Tributes of Harmony. In Diablo 4 Season 12, however, the sources from which we can obtain these Tributes have become few and far between.

Currently, the primary source for Tributes of Harmony drops is The Pit. While running The Pit, you will occasionally encounter Tribute drops, roughly once every 4 to 5 runs, and there is a strong probability that the item you receive will be the very Tribute of Harmony you have been tirelessly seeking. Therefore, if you intend to specifically farm for this item, we strongly recommend that you focus your efforts on The Pit first and foremost.

Additionally, Tributes of Harmony can be obtained from Whisper Caches, particularly those specific caches that contain Dungeon Keys.

You may also find this Tribute on Treasure Goblins, specifically Glittering Prym Goblins. Unfortunately, Goblins are difficult to farm in a concentrated, targeted manner, resulting in a relatively low farming efficiency.

Finally, World Bosses also serve as an excellent source for obtaining Tributes of Harmony; however, for obvious reasons, you cannot farm them indefinitely by repeatedly killing the same World Boss. Therefore, it is recommended that you first farm Tributes of Harmony in The Pit, and then deposit these Tributes into the altars within Kurast Undercity to harvest several Legendary Runes upon completing the run.

Of course, you can also enter Kurast Undercity directly to take on the challenge without depositing any Tributes; simply press Activate button to begin. In this scenario, the last boss still retains a chance to drop a Rune for you, though the farming efficiency is significantly reduced.

Defeating Lair Bosses

Additionally, there is another excellent source for farming Runes: defeating Lair Bosses. This is particularly effective when defeating bosses on Torment difficulty or higher, where Rune drop rates are exceptionally high—with Belial offering the highest probability of dropping Legendary Runes.

We recommend that you first farm Living Steel in Helltide zones; this is one of the essential materials required to open the boss chest after defeating Grigoire on Torment difficulty. It is worth noting that Grigoire drops not only Runes but also Mucus-Slick Eggs—the very item required to challenge the boss Duriel.

Consequently, by using Mucus-Slick Eggs obtained from Grigoire to defeat and loot Duriel, you can secure additional Runes from him. Furthermore, while you are locked in battle with these bosses, there is a chance you may trigger the appearance of a hidden boss: Mini Belial.

This boss also has a chance to drop Runes, as well as a special material known as Betrayer's Husks. You can then take these Betrayer's Husks to challenge Belial, whose boss chest will, in turn, yield additional Runes. This constitutes the complete process for utilizing Lair Boss mechanic to acquire Legendary Runes. While it is a more involved process than the previous method, it remains a reliable source for obtaining Runes.

Converting Runes at Jeweler

Finally, there is one last, highly important tip for acquiring runes. If you are looking to obtain specific Legendary Runes, you can visit Jeweler to upgrade your Rare Runes into Legendary Runes.

However, please note that you must consume three identical Rare Runes to convert them into a single, randomly selected Rare Rune. However, during this conversion process, there is a 15% chance that a random Legendary Rune will be generated. Consequently, this presents you with an opportunity to acquire a legendary rune. If you happen to have a large stockpile of Rare Runes on hand, this is absolutely an excellent way to put them to good use. May RNG gods be in your favor!

These are all the reliable methods for obtaining Legendary Runes in Diablo 4 Season 12. Of course, if none of the aforementioned methods appeal to you—yet you still wish to quickly acquire specific Rare Runes—you can head over to IGGM to buy cheap Diablo 4 Runes you need. This allows you to spend the time you would have otherwise spent farming runes on the brand-new Slaughterhouses event and Butcher mechanics instead, letting you simply sit back and enjoy the game!

Regardless of the season, as you delve deeper into your exploration of Diablo 4, you will encounter a wide variety of bosses. Ranked from easiest to hardest, these include world bosses, lair bosses, and pinnacle bosses.

While Pinnacle Boss, Lilith, is undoubtedly the most dangerous of the bunch, the numerous lair bosses serve as the primary source for core gear. Furthermore, to claim this loot, you must first farm the specific keys required to access the lair bosses.

Each boss possesses its own unique key, which is used to unlock the hoard that appears after the boss is defeated, the very place where all the loot is hidden.

Notably, Season 12 introduces a new lair boss: The Butcher. Based on this addition, we present to you a complete guide to Season 12 lair keys and how to farm them.

Lair boss keys overview

First, it is important to clarify that all lair bosses are categorized into three tiers, from highest to lowest: Exalted, Greater, and Initiate. Of these, Exalted tier currently consists of only one boss: Belial, the Lord of Lies.

Additionally, beyond specific Diablo 4 lair boss keys, all Initiate-tier lair bosses drop Stygian Stones. These items can be used to craft keys for Greater-tier lair bosses (with the exception of Vessel of Hatred boss).

Initiate lair boss keys

This tier comprises a total of five bosses; however, Urivar can only be challenged if you own Vessel of Hatred expansion. The specific keys required for each boss, along with the quantity needed to unlock a single Hoard, are as follows:

• Varshan: 12 Malignant Hearts
• Grigoire: 12 Living Steel
• The Beast in the Ice: 12 Distilled Fear
• Lord Zir: 12 Exquisite Blood
• Urivar: 12 Judicator's Masks

The sources for all Initiate lair boss keys are largely consistent, involving approximately four distinct methods. We will outline each of these methods below.

Tree of Whispers rewards

Once you have completed or skipped the main campaign, you will unlock access to Tree of Whispers. You can then begin earning Grim Favors by completing various World Events across the map.

For every 10 Grim Favors you accumulate, you must return to Tree of Whispers to redeem them. You can receive standard rewards such as gold and XP, and choose to select a specific cache, categorized as Normal, Greater, or Ancestral.

Exploring Undercity of Kurast after submitting Tribute of Titans

Undercity of Kurast is a dungeon exclusive to Vessel of Hatred DLC. Before entering the dungeon, you can submit Tributes to increase combat difficulty and loot quality, or to specify the type of loot you wish to obtain.

Specifically, Tribute of Titans is a tribute designed to boost the drop rate of lair keys as loot within Undercity of Kurast. You can acquire this tribute by defeating lair bosses, obtaining Whisper Caches, or running high-level Pit tiers.

Defeating world bosses

As the most fundamental type of boss in Diablo 4, world bosses do not spawn at fixed locations; instead, they appear randomly across Sanctuary at specific time intervals. The world bosses you may currently encounter include:

• Ashava, the Pestilent
• Avarice, the Gold Cursed
• Wandering Death, Death Given Life

Each world boss carries a Grand Cache, which, in addition to lair keys, may contain Legendary and Unique items. However, if you fail to defeat the boss, it will escape, taking the cache with it!

Mercenary Bartering

This system allows you to trade with Bartering Vendor, Fayira, to acquire various items; the special currency required for these transactions is Pale Marks.

To unlock this vendor, you must reach friendship level 5 with any one of the four mercenaries. Subsequently, raising each individual mercenary's Friendship Level to 8 will unlock their full range of trade options.

If you wish to prioritize unlocking the trading channel for lair keys, you should focus on increasing your friendship level with Subo. However, please note that Mercenary Bartering feature is accessible only to owners of Vessel of Hatred DLC.

Related: Diablo 4 Season 12 Deep Dive: Farming Strategies That Dominate Early and Late Game

Greater lair boss keys

With the exception of The Butcher (introduced in Season 12), the other three Greater lair boss keys are obtained by defeating specific Initiate Bosses:

• Duriel: 3 Shards of Agony - Varshan and Grigoire
• Andariel: 3 Pincushioned Dolls - The Beast in the Ice and Lord Zir
• Harbinger of Hatred: 3 Abhorrent Hearts - Urivar

The Butcher - Pound of Flesh

Lair bosses of any tier have a chance to drop this key upon defeat; additionally, the general methods for exploring Undercity of Kurast (as described above) also apply. Furthermore, you can acquire Pounds of Flesh by completing Bloodied Activities.

Bloodied Activities is a gameplay feature exclusive to Season 12. It requires you to first acquire Bloodied Sigils from other endgame world activities, and then use them to transform standard activities into their Bloodied variants for completion.

Notably, Bloodied Sigils invariably carry Relentless Butcher affix; this guarantees that you will encounter The Butcher during the subsequent engagement.

Exalted lair boss keys

Opening Belial's Hoard requires two Betrayer's Husks. These lair keys can be obtained either as drops from Mini Belial encounter or as rewards from the current season's reputation system.

Mini Belial has a low probability of appearing randomly after you have defeated other lair bosses; therefore, you should aim to complete as many lair boss battles as possible to maximize your chances.

The above covers all the information you need to know regarding the acquisition of every lair boss key in Season 12. While gathering a sufficient supply of every key type can be a challenging task, if you take it one step at a time, you are bound to succeed!