In order to scale well into the later stages of Lords of the Fallen, players are going to need to do more than just increase their weapons' levels. Scaling ranks matter just as much as raw damage numbers, and they are the ones that make weapons relevant all the way to the final boss and beyond.
Lords of the Fallen: Best Agility Build
Melt down even the biggest of health bars in Lords of the Fallen with this Bleed and Poison-focused Agility build.
Unlike other Soulslike games, Lords of the Fallen takes a different approach on how to make weapons scale with character stats, and that's by using weapon runes. This system greatly enhances the modularity of all weapons in the game without locking the potential for buildcrafting behind rare, one-time-use pickups. Unlocking weapon runes takes a while, however, and players can completely miss out on this feature if they don't know what they're looking for.
How to Find and Use Weapon Runes in Lords of the Fallen
Before everything else, players need to free Gerlinde from her cell in Pligrim's Perch. Once she settles in Skyrest Bridge, players will then need to bring her a Rune Tablet. There are three of these scattered throughout Axiom, and the first one (the Cracked Rune Tablet) can be found in Fitzroy's Gorge.
After arriving at Fitzroy's Gorge, follow the main path up until where the road splits. Go right, and enter the large cave by the cliff side. Once inside, transition to the Umbral and cross the spine bridge. Instead of going straight ahead, climb up the large opening to the right. The Cracked Rune Tablet is at the end of the path below.
Bring the Cracked Rune Tablet to Gerlinde to unlock the rune socketting feature. She will also sell a number of runes that can be slotted into weapons that have been upgraded at least a couple of times. Gerlinde will sell more runes once players give her the two remaining Rune Tablets found in the Upper Calrath Mining District and the Tower of Penance respectively.
There is a variety of runes that have different effects, including the ability to improve a weapon's scaling for certain stats. These can also be inserted in shields, but doing so will increase one of the player's stats instead.
Weapons can have up to three rune slots at max upgrade level, and players can insert whichever runes they want to use as long as the rune itself has the same shape as a weapon's socket. Bloody Glory, for example, comes with two diamond-shaped sockets at +7, so it can only fit two diamond-shaped runes. Runes that have similar effects can stack, though it's usually better to use a diverse set of runes to cover weapon weaknesses or cater to a certain playstyle.
Lords of the Fallen is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
