[Top 5] Bloodborne Best Runes And How To Get Them

Updated:

05 Nov 2021

Bloodborne has a neat little mechanic where you can memorize certain Caryll Runes to get passive effects on your character. This is achieved by defeating the Witch of Hemwick and getting the Rune Workshop Tool. From then on, you can memorize any rune you find at the Memory Altar in the Dream. Each rune has three tiers, so you can find three of the same rune with varying intensities. This list will present some of the best runes you can use in the game, and where to find them.

5. Heir

The Heir rune is one of the best farming-oriented runes, seeing as it uses one of the game’s core mechanics – visceral attacks, to increase the number of blood echoes you get. If you kill an enemy with a visceral attack while this rune is equipped, you will gain an extra amount, depending on the rune tier. Consider equipping this rune when farming Mergo’s Loft: Middle or the Forbidden Woods.

Heir rune stats:

Tier 1 Heir rune: +30% echoes from visceral attacks
Tier 2 Heir rune: +40% echoes from visceral attacks
Tier 3 Heir rune: +50% echoes from visceral attacks

How to get the Heir runes:

Tier 1 Heir rune: dropped by Henryk during Eileen’s questline
Tier 2 Heir rune: found on a corpse in Yahar’gul, near the Bell Maiden that summons a troll and a wheelchair enemy
Tier 3 Heir rune: Found in Root Chalice Dungeons by a random chance

4. Clawmark

Clawmark runes boost your Visceral attacks. Actually, many of the runes work alongside visceral attacks in some sense, mostly because using visceral attacks is so common. A high Skill build combined with Clawmark runes will yield massive damage. All of the Clawmarks stack multiplicatively, meaning that the percentage of multiple runes is greater than their sum.

Clawmark rune stats:

Tier 1 Clawmark rune: +10% visceral attack damage
Tier 2 Clawmark rune: +20% visceral attack damage
Tier 3 Clawmark rune: +30% visceral attack damage

How to get the Clawmark runes:

Tier 1 Clawmark rune: dropped by a Beast Claw hunter in Yahar’gul, after defeating Rom, the Vacuous Spider
Tier 2 Clawmark rune: dropped by killing Gilbert at the Central Yharnam lamp after Rom, the Vacuous Spider is defeated
Tier 3 Clawmark rune: found in Lower Ailing Loran Chalices by a random chance

3. Clockwise Metamorphosis

Here we have runes that are not tied to visceral attacks but offer a more passive effect on gameplay, increasing your total HP by a percentage. They are excellent to use when you just can’t seem to get through that rough portion of the game, so you need a little bit more HP. These runes also have a counterpart, the Anti-Clockwise Metamorphosis runes, which provide the same effect, but for stamina.

Clockwise Metamorphosis rune stats:

Tier 1 Clockwise Metamorphosis rune: +5% HP boost
Tier 2 Clockwise Metamorphosis rune: +10% HP boost
Tier 3 Clockwise Metamorphosis rune: +15% HP boost

How to get the Clockwise Metamorphosis runes:

Tier 1 Clockwise Metamorphosis rune: found in the Forbidden Woods
Tier 2 Clockwise Metamorphosis rune: found in the Nightmare Frontier
Tier 3 Clockwise Metamorphosis rune: found in Pthumeru Ihyll Root Chalices by a random chance

2. Oedon Writhe

Oedon Writhe runes again focus on Visceral attacks. With these runes equipped, visceral attacks restore QS bullets. They are especially useful for Arcane builds that need more QS bullets or builds that prefer the use of firearms as a primary way of defense.

Oedon Writhe rune stats:

Tier 1 Oedon Writhe: +1 QS bullet per visceral
Tier 2 Oedon Writhe: +2 QS bullets per visceral
Tier 3 Oedon Writhe: +3 QS bullets per visceral

How to get the Oedon Writhe runes:

Tier 1 Oedon Writhe rune: found after killing Adella the Nun at Hypogean Gaol
Tier 2 Oedon Writhe rune: dropped by killing the imposter Iosefka before the Blood Moon
Tier 3 Oedon Writhe rune: found in Pthumeru Ihyll Chalices by a random chance

1. Blood Rapture

The top rune spot belongs to the Blood Rapture rune. The effect it carries is giving you HP after visceral attacks. This is useful in most situations where your health is in a pinch and can be the difference between life and death.

Blood Rapture rune stats:

Tier 1 Blood Rapture rune: +200 HP per visceral attack
Tier 2 Blood Rapture rune: +250 HP per visceral attack
Tier 3 Blood Rapture rune: +300 HP per visceral attack

How to get the Blood Rapture runes:

Tier 1 Blood Rapture rune: dropped by the Shadow of Yharnam boss
Tier 2 Blood Rapture rune: found in Cursed and Defiled Chalices by a random chance
Tier 3 Blood Rapture rune: dropped by the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst in Eileen’s Questline

Caryll Runes are very versatile and can assist you in a multitude of situations. In my opinion, the runes on this list are some of the best you can use, given that they are quite useful in nearly every situation. Mix and match, see what fits your playstyle. Someone likes farming-oriented runes, while someone likes combat niche runes. See what you like and go with that.