Runes and Totems are items that give you the means to upgrade your character in Soulframe. Both of them can be attached to your weapon to grant a passive effect or give your Smite an extra effect. While they are equipped the same way, Runes and Totems have different methods of obtaining them.
1. How to Get Runes
Runes enhance your weapon by giving you a temporary buff whenever you Smite an enemy. These can be hard to get, however, as each one can only be obtained from specific world bosses, and defeating it doesn’t guarantee a drop. Keep in mind that these bosses respawn 3 hours after being defeated.
Rune Weapons and Effects
A Polearm under the effects of Torcheternal
Each Rune is compatible with only one type of weapon, so it’s important to know which Rune you’re looking for before you start trying to get it. All of their effects are granted after using Smite. The table below shows all runes, their compatible weapons, and their effects.
| Rune | Compatible Weapon | Effect |
| Alca’s Breath | Bow | +100% Arcanic damage for 15 seconds. |
| Archstorm | Magick and Flyblade | +50% Voltaic damage for 15 seconds. |
| Emberaught | Short Blade | Adds 40% Fire Damage for 12 seconds. |
| Everflame | Greatsword | Adds 40% Fire Damage for 15 seconds. |
| Everflame | Long Blade | Adds 40% Fire Damage for 15 seconds. |
| Forburn | Shield | Adds 40% Fire Damage for 12 seconds. |
| Hurlwind | Flyblade | Adds 50% bonus Voltac Damage for 15 seconds. |
| Picktrix | Flyblade | Improves projectiles by 25% for 7 seconds. |
| Splitbolt | Polearm | Summon additional projectiles from Polearms. |
| The Durglint | Shield | Parries following Pull Smite reflect off your shield, dealing damage. |
| The Flitsmoke | Short Blade | Pull Smite cloaks you in shadow. Each stealth kill increases shadow duration by 15 seconds. |
| The Hollowing | Magick | Attack an enemy to mark them. Subsequent attacks on the same enemy explode, dealing damage. |
| The Mistgale | Long Blade | Pull Smite turns attacks into ranged projectiles, dealing 75 damage. |
| The Torrent | Bow | Pull Smite summons a volley of arrows from the sky, dealing 30 damage. |
| Torcheternal | Polearm | Applies 40% Flame Damage for 12 seconds. |
| Treefell | Greatsword | Buffs charged Heavy Attacks by 40% for 15 seconds. |
Rune Locations
Refer to the list below to see where each Rune drops
Below are the bosses that can drop each Rune, along with a map showing their locations:
- Alca’s Breath: Gruul-Seeker Ruthos
- Archstorm: Wraith of Wastes
- Emberaught: Etheldred the Weaver
- Everflame (Greatsword): The Medicant King
- Everflame (Long Blade): Knell Knight
- Forburn: Sinecure-Errant Gawth and Thrice-bound Impidh
- Hurlwind: Discharged Nimrod
- Picktrix: Discharged Nimrod
- Splitbolt: Kabocha
- The Durglint: Sinecure-Errant Gawth and Thrice-bound Impidh
- The Flitsmoke: Etheldred the Weaver
- The Hollowing: Wraith of Wastes
- The Mistgale: Knell Knight
- The Torrent: Gruul-Seeker Ruthos
- Tocheternal: Kabocha
- Treefell: The Medicant King
2. How to Get Totems
The gold border indicates a rare Totem
Totems can be acquired in two ways — you either charm animals that you find in the wild or you free captive animals found in enemy camps. Once you obtain a Totem, it is assigned to a random weapon type.
Additionally, Totems have three rarities they can come in, with the more rare one having higher effects. You can tell the quality of it by looking at the border color around the animal.
- Common: Brown and green border
- Uncommon: White and Purple border
- Rare: Gold border
Charm Animals
If you see a note with the Harmony icon over it, you’ll get extra Harmony for playing it
Charming animals is the more common method to find Totems, as you can find wild animals anywhere in the world. On top of that, this is the primary way to gain Harmony, the currency needed to upgrade both Runes and Totems.
- Look Out for Animals: Animals can be seen running throughout the world — using Spectral Sight highlights them, making them easier to spot.
- Approach Slowly: Many animals will run away if you approach them too quickly. Crouch and walk slowly to prevent this.
- Initiate Charming: Once you’re close enough to an animal, use a light attack while in Spectral Sight to prompt a song.
- Play the Song: Button inputs will move across the bottom of the screen — press each button as they reach the line on the left side.
- Obtain the Totem: Once the song is played, you gain a Totem associated with the animal you charmed. Each creature can only be charmed once.
- Gain Harmony: You also gain Harmony for playing the notes of the song correctly. Perfect timing gives you even more of the resource.
Free Captive Animals
Be on the lookout for cages like this
Freeing animals from captivity is a much more straightforward but infrequent way to get Totems. If you see a small enemy camp with a caged animal within it, clear the area and interact with the cage to immediately give you a Totem of the creature.
List of Totems
Below is a list of all of the Totems you can find. Each animal has two sets of effects, and the specific effect depends on which slot the Totem is attached to.
| Animal | Attack Slot Effect | Defense Slot Effect | Utility Slot Effect |
| Deer 1 | Increased Stagger on Primary attacks | Increased Defence against Stagger | Heal on Pull Smite |
| Deer 2 | Increased Sprint Attack damage | Stagger on Sprint Attack | Pull Smite restores some Spirit Ability Cooldown |
| Duck 1 | Increased Throw damage | Parrying a Projectile adds Armour vs the next hit | Recalling embedded weapon deals Stagger |
| Duck 2 | Throws slow enemy movement | Increased Magick Armour | Perfect throws have an additional chance of Smite |
| Beaver 1 | Attacks reduce enemy Armour | Partial Stagger reflected while blocking | Pull Smite reduces enemy Armour |
| Beaver 2 | Heavy Attacks bypass some Armour | Parries remove some Armour | Pull Smite reduces enemy Armour |
| Rabbit 1 | Increase life returned on regain hits | Increased Perfect Dodge window | Pull Smite restores some Courage Ability Cooldown |
| Rabbit 2 | Kick Staggers increases the charge rate of the next Heavy Attack | Increased Kick Stagger | Increased chance of Smite on Kick |
| Rat 1 | Increased damage to Smited enemies | Parry deals Stagger 6m around the target | Increases Smite duration |
| Rat 2 | Increased damage to a nearby enemy | Increased Physical Armour | Pull Smite deals Stagger 6m around the target |
| Squirrel 1 | Increased Attack Speed | Increased Parry Window | Additional chance of Smite |
| Squirrel 2 | Increased damage on Dodge Attacks | Increased Stagger on Dodge Attacks |
Pull Smite restores some Grace Ability Cooldown |
3. How to Equip Runes and Totems
Once you have Runes and Totems, the method to equip them is the same for both. There is an Enhancement menu for your weapon that you can open in your Nightfold, where they can be attached.
- Head to your tent in the Nightfold and open the upgrades menu.
- Find your weapon in the menu, and if it’s good enough, there will be an Enhance option.
- You’ll see a large circle with three smaller circles around it.
- Runes go in the large slot, while Totems are placed in the smaller ones.
- Both Runes and Totems can be removed and changed at no cost.
Totem Slots
There are some extra things to keep in mind when equipping Totems.
- The 3 slots are unique from each other — there’s an Attack, Defense, and Utility slot.
- A Totem’s effect will depend on which slot it’s placed in.
- Equipping a Totem gives you an additional totem slot for one of the three categories — the extra slot will depend on the Rune itself.
- This allows you to equip up to 4 Totems simultaneously.
4. How to Upgrade Runes and Totems
Look at the bottom left to see the upgrade cost
Runes and Totems can be upgraded within the Enhancement menu to increase their effectiveness. Upgrading costs Harmony.
- Farm Harmony: Harmony is earned by either charming animals or releasing extra Totems that you have.
- Upgrade Limit: Both Runes and Totems can be upgraded 3 times.
- Harmony Cost: The cost for each one will increase each time you upgrade it.
Having Runes and Totems greatly boosts your combat ability and helps with creating a build for your character.
