The Vessel of Hatred expansion offers Diablo 4 players a wealth of new content, from an original endgame dungeon to the return of Mercenaries and Runewords -- special socket diablo 4 items offering powerful bonuses that enhance weapons and armor.

Occult relics may randomly drop during any activity, including completed dungeons, Helltide chests, and the new Undercity mode. Each one offers different advantages that can be inserted into any item with two sockets, like chest and leg slots or the helm.

Rune of Invocation

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred brings back its Rune system, giving players powerful effects to integrate into their gear. From Barbarian battle cries to Rogue shadow-cloaks, ancient diablo 4 rune can evoke powerful magics that give your character additional options when it comes to skill usage and stats.

The system operates based on an Offering mechanism, with Ritual Runes creating Offering while Invocation Runes consume it to activate their effect. As more conditions an Invocation diablo 4 rune must fulfill before being activated, so too must its Offering requirement increase accordingly.

Runes can be obtained in-game through various activities and tasks, from completing specific dungeon runs to opening Helltide chests or turning in Grim Favors at Tree of Whispers caches.

Rune of Ritual

At this week's developer update livestream, Blizzard introduced Runes and Runewords - two new features found within the Vessel of Hatred expansion. Players can use runes to engrave equipment, while pairing multiple runes together can create powerful Runewords.

Each Runeword generates Offering, which empowers its corresponding Rune of Invocation and initiates its effects. Players can keep an eye on how much Offering their Runewords are producing on their buff bar.

Example of Ritual Rune YUL reading as "Cast a skill with a cooldown", while Invocation Rune GAR reads as "Gain Critical Strike Chance for five seconds." By pairing these two runes, players can create diablo 4 runewords YulGar, which when activated will form a damage barrier/shield against damage when activated - an invaluable defensive tool in PvP builds!

Rune of Offering

The Vessel of Hatred expansion introduced Runes to Diablo 4, socketable items which enable players to add powerful buffs and upgrades to weapons and armor. While initially, this system can seem complex, it ultimately adds depth and customization options for loot-driven shooters such as Diablo 4.

Each rune can generate Offering by performing specific actions, which can then be used to trigger effects or abilities. The more Offering generated, the stronger will be its effects or abilities.

Runes can be combined together to form Rune Words that can then be slotted into diablo 4 items with two sockets for further use. The effect can range from increasing skill ranks to unlocking skills from other classes.

Rune of War

Runes are an intriguing new socketable item that will debut with the Vessel of Hatred expansion in Diablo 4. When combined together in tandem, they can form powerful Runewords to increase gear power and unlock abilities that would typically not be accessible for your class.

Runes have their origin in Norse mythology and may be associated with various gods such as Baldur - who stands for light, love, peace, forgiveness and justice - bearing upon him an rune that reads "I mark the twilight of gods".

Drop rates for runes are low, making it beneficial to work together with friends to collect them all at the same time. Furthermore, you can trade three of any single rune at a Jeweler in exchange for one at random.

Rune of Death

Runes in Diablo 4 are unique items that can be placed onto gear to invoke demonic forces and unleash evil powers. They form an integral part of the Vessel of Hatred expansion, which also introduces an endgame dungeon, the Spiritborn class and Mercenaries back to life.

Players can collect Runes throughout the Sanctuary, though they're most frequently seen around Kurast Undercity. Runes appear randomly from completing dungeons, opening Helltide chests or defeating bosses; even Tree of Whispers caches acquired through offering grim favors can yield one!

Each Rune can have different effects when activated, and one way to make sure their impactful use is by creating Runewords - combination diablo 4 items combining Runes of Ritual and Invocation that have two sockets such as chest, legs or helmet). When activated these Runewords will generate extra Offering when they activate - potentially intensifying their effects for short periods.