Early in development Blizzard appeared to be using the same names and some of the visual representations of the rune symbols as seen in Diablo 2. It’s was unclear if all the 33 different runes from Diablo 2 would be the same in Diablo 4.
Over time, runewords were removed from the game but it's worth noting that they may still return. In an interview on Wccftech in April 2023, Lead Class Designer Adam Jackson added:
Yeah, totally. How would I say this? We like rune words. They're very cool. We don't have anything to announce as far as if they're going to be in the game in the immediate future. We do think they're still a really cool idea, and that's all I'm going to say right now.
Some of the Diablo 4 runes were confirmed when they first appeared but the socketed properties in Diablo 4 were different from the properties in Diablo 2. Below is a list of all the runes players expected to see based on the Diablo 2 runes. The list shows runes that were confirmed for Diablo 4 and their new properties.
Known Diablo 4 Runes
| Rune | Confirmed | Condition/
Effect |
Socketed Properties | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El | ||||
| Eld | X | Condition | When you are stunned or frozen, activate the next socketed rune | |
| Tir | ||||
| Nef | ||||
| Eth | X | Condition | Every 3 seconds without moving, activate the next socketed rune | |
| Ith | ||||
| Tal | ||||
| Ral | ||||
| Ort | ||||
| Thul | X | Effect | When active, gain 500 damage barrier | |
| Amn | X | Condition | When you freeze an enemy, activate the next socketed rune. | |
| Sol | X | Effect | When active, gain a random shrine effect for 7 seconds | |
| Shael | ||||
| Dol | X | Effect | When active, gain 50% critical strike chance for 7 seconds | |
| Hel | ||||
| Io | ||||
| Lum | ||||
| Ko | X | Effect | When active, reduce a random skill cooldown by 15% | |
| Fal | X | Condition | When a pet dies, activate the next socketed rune | |
| Lem | ||||
| Pul | ||||
| Um | ||||
| Mal | ||||
| Ist | X | Effect | When active, your next thorns hit deals 30% more | |
| Gul | ||||
| Vex | X | Condition | When you use a healing potion, activate the next socketed rune | |
| Ohm | ||||
| Lo | ||||
| Sur | ||||
| Ber | ||||
| Jah | ||||
| Cham | ||||
| Zod | ||||
