Runes are temporary power-ups that spawn in the river, providing various benefits. Controlling runes is crucial for gaining an early and mid-game advantage.
Types of Runes:
- Bounty Runes:
- Spawn: At 0:00 and every 3 minutes at 4 fixed locations in the river.
- Effect: Grants gold and experience to the hero who picks it up, and to nearby allies.
- Strategic Importance: Highly contested in the early game for gold and experience advantage. Supports often rotate to secure these.
- Power Runes:
- Spawn: Every 2 minutes after 2:00 at one of two locations in the river (top or bottom).
- Effect: Provides a powerful temporary buff.
- Types:
- Double Damage: Greatly increases attack damage.
- Haste: Grants maximum movement speed.
- Invisibility: Makes the hero invisible.
- Illusion: Creates two illusions of the hero.
- Regeneration: Rapidly restores health and mana.
- Strategic Importance: Can enable powerful ganks, pushes, or escapes. Mid laners often contest these heavily.
Bottle and Rune Control:
- Bottle: A refillable item that can store a rune. Storing a rune allows you to use its effect later or save it for a more opportune moment.
- Strategic Use: Mid laners often buy Bottle to sustain in lane and control runes.
Controlling runes requires good map awareness, timing, and coordination with your team. Denying runes to the enemy can be just as impactful as securing them for yourself.