In League of Legends Classic, you have to pick your own Runes and Masteries to help you perform in-game. Back in Season 3, you had to buy your own Runes, and if you didn't have the IP to do so, you'd often be left with a bad setup or an incomplete page. Fortunately, it's a bit different now, and Runes are much easier to unlock, and you will do so naturally just by playing the game.
In this guide, we will discuss Runes in League of Legends Classic. Each champion will take a different Rune setup, but to know the best Rune page for your favourite champions, make sure you head over to our brand new League of Legends classic builds page.
What are Runes
There are four different types of Runes in League of Legends. These include Marks, Seals, Glyphs and Quintessence. You can pick 9 of the first 3, and then 3 Quintessences. There are a variety of Runes that you can pick from, and each champion is different. In League of Legends Classic, Rune Pages are unlocked at level 4.
Each Rune costs a different amount of IP, ranging from 500 to 1500 IP for Quintessence. Furthermore, you cannot unlock all of these Runes at the same level. You need to be level 4 to unlock Marks, 6 for Seals, 7 for Glyphs and level 8 for Quintessence. If you want to buy additional Rune Pages, they cost 1500 IP each.
What Runes Can You Choose?
Each Rune can provide a different stat to boost your champion, and genuinely speaking, you don't mix and match. You usually take 9 of the same Rune and keep everything simple.
Many champions will benefit from taking AD or AP Marks, depending on whether they are an AD or AP damage-dealing champion. However, there are different options such as Armor and Magic Pen, and even Hybrid damage too.
Players will also opt for Armor Seals to help protect them from enemy auto-attacks and damage. However, there are other options, such as AP or AD, if you choose not to take them in the Mark section.
Many characters will take Magic Resistance Glyphs to protect them from incoming AP damage, or if they’re a tank champion, they may take scaling stats instead.
Quintessence really depends on the champion you're playing. Many Supports will take gold Quintessence to increase their income and buy wards. Alternatively, some Supports might take Movement Speed Quintessence to help them roam.
Every champion is different, and I highly recommend you check out our LoL Classic Builds page for the best Rune Setups.
Example Rune Setups
I will now break down 5 champions that use a variety of Rune setups.
Dr Mundo is a tank champion, but he deals mixed damage. We take Magic Pen Marks as it works well with both his Q and W, which will help to clear camps and deal damage. He will be taking Armor Seals to protect him from auto-attack damage, and he will take Scaling MR Seals. As Dr Mundo is quite immobile, he is taking Movement Speed Quints to help him close the gap with his enemies.
Lee Sin takes a standard AD champion setup with AD Marks to help him clear his jungle camps and increase his damage output. The Armor will help versus AD champions, and increase his survivability vs his jungle camps. The same can be said about his Seal options. He will take Magic Resistance seals to help vs AP champs and the jungle camps. Finally he takes AD Quints to further increase his damage output.
As Karthus is an AP champion and needs as much AP/Pen as possible, he will take Magic Pen Marks as it is free Magic Pen that will help his Q really hurt. He will take Armor Seals to make him a little tankier, and Magic Resistance Glyphs are crucial vs AP matchups. Taking AP Quints will give him 15 AP at level 1, which makes last-hitting minions with his Q easier.
Ezreal takes a very standard AD setup. He takes AD Marks to help him last hit and harass the enemy with his Q, while the Armor Glyphs will help protect him from enemy auto-attacks. The Magic Resist Seals are if he is against an AP Support, and help him versus AP Mid Laners too. He will take Life Steal Quints to help keep him topped up on health throughout all stages of the game.
As Janna is an enchanter Support who is also very squishy and easy to kill, she will take Armor Marks and Glyphs to protect her from incoming enemy auto-attack damage. She takes twice as much to give her extra protection and keep her alive. She will take Magic Resistance Seals to protect her from AP damage. 3x Quints of Gold will grant Janna 3 additional gold per 10 seconds, which will help her buy more wards and get her items quickly.
As you can see, there are many options available to you, and many we haven't highlighted in this guide. The truth is that many are actually very bad, and you should stick with the recommendations we make, as they are tried and tested and work.