Runes
Runes are an item acquired by killing mobs. They can be applied to weapons and armor in the Socketing Station as long as the item has an open socket. Items can have between 0 and 5 sockets, and once a rune is applied it cannot be removed.
Each rune will have multiple effects depending on the type of item it is attached to. These can be anything from increasing elemental attack power to increasing the rate at which your mana shield regenerates. These effects will be active as long as the item is equipped or held.
Runes can be combined to form runewords. When a gear with at least 2 sockets is placed in the Socketing Station, the list of applicable runewords will appear below. To apply a runeword to an item, runes must be added in the precise order listed on the runeword. Once active, the runeword will provide bonus stats in addition to those granted by the individual runes.