Runelord is an advanced job in Octopath Traveler. The job is unlocked by defeating the god Balogar, the Runeblade at the altar of the Shrine of the Runeblade.
The Runelord job offers balanced stat bonuses, similar to the Merchant job. Runelords have a unique playstyle in which they apply runes to their weapons, and can apply those runes to all their allies via Transfer Rune. The descriptions for runes are a bit misleading: rather than converting physical attacks to elemental damage, it adds a followup attack of the rune's element, Pursuit, to any weapon attack (both basic attacks and physical skills).
This followup damage is based off the Elem. Atk. stats of both the attacker and the current weapon used, as opposed to direct spells which are based off the Elem. Atk. stat of both the attacker and whichever of their equipped weapons has the highest. Multiple attacks (either from boosting or multi-hit skills) will only trigger one followup, though AoE weaponskills will apply the followup to all targets hit. However, the Hunter's third support skill, Second Serving, will use the followup again. Equipping the Sorcerer's third support skill, Elemental Aid, will give a damage boost at no extra SP cost. The Runelord's fourth support skill, Elemental Edge, can be recommended to any magical attacker in general i.e. Cyrus, Ophilia, Primrose and Tressa.
Runelords wield Swords and Axes as weapons, letting them take advantage of Harald's Sword and the Lizardking's Axe/Battle-tested Axe to increase the power of Fire Rune and Thunder Rune, with the latter Axe also increasing the power of Ice Rune.
Skills[]
Each basic skill costs 2000JP to unlock, with the divine skill costing 5000JP.
| Skill | SP | Damage Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Rune | 15 | 
|
Weapons the user attacks with will deal additional fire damage for 3 turns. |
| Ice Rune | 15 | 
|
Weapons the user attacks with will deal additional ice damage for 3 turns. |
| Thunder Rune | 15 | 
|
Weapons the user attacks with will deal additional lightning damage for 3 turns. |
| Wind Rune | 15 | 
|
Weapons the user attacks with will deal additional wind damage for 3 turns. |
| Dark Rune | 15 | 
|
Weapons the user attacks with will deal additional dark damage for 3 turns. |
| Light Rune | 15 | 
|
Weapons the user attacks with will deal additional light damage for 3 turns. |
| Transfer Rune | 25 | For 3 turns, skills that usually target yourself alone will target your allies as well. | |
| Balogar's Blade | 50 |
|
[Divine Skill] Deal damage from each of the six elements to a single foe. |
Support Skills[]
| No. of Skills Unlocked | Total JP | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4,000 | Stat Swap | Elemental and physical attack strength will be swapped with one another. |
| 5 | 6,000 | SP Recovery | Upon taking damage from a foe, gain an amount of SP equal to 1% of damage taken. |
| 6 | 8,000 | Dauntless | Gain increased physical and elemental attack when suffering from a status ailment. |
| 7 | 10,000 | Elemental Edge | Gain augmented elemental attack and defense in battle. |
Shrine Location[]
- Main article: Shrine of the Runeblade
The Runelord job may be unlocked by approaching the altar within the Shrine of the Runeblade and defeating Balogar, the Runeblade.
To find the Shrine, travel to Everhold. Exit south to West Everhold Pass to the save point. Head east towards two broken columns adjacent to one another. Follow the path east and southwards to find the shrine entrance.
Strategies[]
With its unique playstyle of applying runes to weapons, the Runelord job is a passive-aggressive one, being both offensive and supportive at the same time.
- Tressa is the single best choice for the Runelord job. Runelord Tressa gains access to Swords and Axes in addition to her primary Merchant job's Polearms, Bows and Wind spells, giving her five different means of coverage even before taking runes into account, and ten after the fact. Runelord Tressa can also be equipped with the Tradewinds Spear and the Primeval Bow of Storms to increase the power of Tradewinds, Trade Tempest and Wind Rune. What makes Tressa such a good choice for the Runelord job, however, is the fact that Transfer Rune applies to any skill that targets only the user, including the Merchant skill Sidestep. The ability to apply the stacking
Sidestep (buff) to all allies is a very powerful combination that can completely nullify enemy physical attackers. If you run Runelord Tressa alongside a Cleric and Dancer, you can also nullify magical attackers with the Sealticge's Seduction + Reflective Veil combo. Finally, Transfer Rune also lets the other self-targeting Merchant skill, Rest, to restore HP/SP and cure ailments for all allies. - Cyrus can also be run as a Runelord with the appropriate weapons. Cyrus' primary Scholar job comes with Staves in addition to the Runelord job's Swords and Axes, so he can be equipped with the weapons mentioned above and the Absolute Zero Staff to increase the power of his Fire, Ice and Lightning spells/runes. Runelord Cyrus will have six different means of coverage even before taking runes into account, and nine after the fact. Finally, having the highest Elem. Atk. of the eight protagonists means that Cyrus can make great use of the Runelord divine skill, Balogar's Blade. However, with Cyrus being your token black mage, it can be difficult to fully optimize Runelord Cyrus' role as a magic attacker, given the Runelord job's passive-aggressive playstyle.
- Olberic's low Elem. Atk. prevents him from making full use of the Runelord's offensive abilities, but he can make use of Transfer Rune to apply both Abide and Stout Wall to the entire party, making him a strong buffer for a party of physical attackers, and open up new skill combinations by removing the need for Physical Prowess. He may also be run as an offensive Runelord under a rather specific build if using the job's built-in Stat Swap support skill, transforming his high physical attack into promising elemental potential, albeit at the expense of his Warrior skills' damage output. Swords would also be redundant.
- As far as support skills go, besides the staple Saving Grace, recommended support skills for Runelords include: SP Saver, Surpassing Power, The Show Goes On, Second Wind, Second Serving, Patience, Stronger Strikes, Elemental Aid, Augmented Elements and Elemental Edge.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Runemasters were originally knights of antiquity in service to their country. They believed the abhorred power of sorcery to be just and vowed to protect sorcerers from discrimination. As a reward, the sorcerers embedded their magic into runes and bestowed them upon the knights - and with those runes, the knights received a modicum of magical prowess.[1]
- Sprite artist Shizuka Morimoto based the look of the runemasters on this dual physical/magical idea, conveying the use of elemental abilities on top of a knightly appearance indicating their physical strength.[2]
- Despite being classed as a Warrior, Alaune EX is dressed as a Runelord and uses a Runelord's elemental attacks. Her artwork depicts her channeling violet runes just as Balogar the Runeblade does.
References[]
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