League of Legends
League of Legends

The Old Rune System (Historical) — League of Legends Walkthrough

Recall League of Legends' historical Rune and Mastery systems. Learn about the pre-game champion customization that shaped champion strengths before matches be.

5.1 The Old Rune System (Historical)

Before the current, unified Rune System was introduced, League of Legends featured two distinct pre-game customization systems: Runes and Masteries. These systems were foundational to shaping a champion's strengths and weaknesses before a match even began, offering a deep layer of strategic planning and specialization. While no longer in use, understanding these historical systems provides crucial context for the evolution of champion customization in League of Legends.

The Legacy of Runes and Masteries

In the earlier eras of League of Legends, players meticulously crafted their champions' pre-game attributes through the Runes and Masteries systems. These were not merely cosmetic choices; they were integral to a champion's performance, dictating early-game power spikes, survivability, and even resource management. Players would invest significant time and in-game currency (Influence Points - IP) to acquire and optimize these customizations, creating dedicated "pages" for different champions and roles.

The Old Rune System: A Deep Dive

The old Rune System allowed players to slot up to 30 individual runes into a champion's Rune Page, each providing specific stat bonuses. These runes were categorized by color and slot type, each offering a distinct focus:

  • Marks (Red Slots): Primarily focused on offensive statistics. Common choices included:
    • Flat Attack Damage (AD): Essential for melee and ranged physical damage dealers.
    • Ability Power (AP): Crucial for mages and AP-scaling champions.
    • Attack Speed: Beneficial for champions who rely on rapid auto-attacks.
    • Armor Penetration: Allowed physical damage to bypass enemy armor more effectively.
    • Magic Penetration: Enabled magic damage to overcome enemy magic resistance.
  • Seals (Yellow Slots): Primarily focused on defensive statistics and sustain. Common choices included:
    • Flat Armor: Vital for mitigating physical damage, especially for champions facing AD threats in lane.
    • Health: Provided a raw buffer against all forms of damage.
    • Mana Regeneration: Important for mana-hungry champions to sustain their spellcasting in lane.
    • Health Regeneration: Aiding in lane sustain and recovery.
  • Glyphs (Blue Slots): Primarily focused on magic-oriented stats and utility. Common choices included:
    • Flat Magic Resist (MR): Essential for surviving magic damage threats.
    • Ability Power (AP): Supplementing offensive capabilities for mages.
    • Cooldown Reduction (CDR): Allowing champions to cast spells more frequently.
    • Mana Regeneration: Similar to Seals, but often chosen by AP champions.
  • Quintessences (Purple Slots): These were the most powerful and versatile rune slots, offering larger stat bonuses or unique effects. Common choices included:
    • Flat AD/AP: Significant boosts to primary damage stats.
    • Movement Speed: Invaluable for roaming, chasing, and escaping.
    • Gold Per Second (GP/10): Provided a passive income stream, aiding in scaling.
    • Life Steal/Spell Vamp: Enhancing sustain through attacks or spells.

Players would create multiple Rune Pages, often dedicating one to a specific champion or a class of champions. For instance, an AD Carry might run pages with AD Marks, Armor Seals, Attack Speed Glyphs, and AD Quintessences to maximize their early auto-attack damage and survivability. A mid-lane mage might opt for AP Marks, Mana Regeneration Seals, AP Glyphs, and AP Quintessences to ensure strong wave clear and poke potential.

The Old Mastery System: A Strategic Framework

The Mastery System provided a different avenue for customization, allowing players to allocate 30 points across three distinct trees: Offense, Defense, and Utility. Each tree offered passive bonuses that could be unlocked by investing points, with more powerful "Keystone Masteries" available at the end of each tree.

  • Offense Tree: This tree was designed to enhance a champion's damage output.
    • Key Benefits: Increased AD, AP, critical strike chance, attack speed, armor penetration, and magic penetration.
    • Impactful Choices: Masteries like "Sorcery" (increased AP), "Fury" (increased attack speed), and "Deadly Aim" (increased damage against low-health targets) were popular. The Keystone Masteries offered significant combat advantages, such as increased damage after using abilities or enhanced critical strike effects.
  • Defense Tree: This tree focused on improving a champion's survivability and resilience.
    • Key Benefits: Increased health, armor, magic resist, damage reduction, and crowd control resistance.
    • Impactful Choices: Masteries like "Block" (reduced physical damage), "Recovery" (increased health regeneration), and "Tough Skin" (reduced damage from minions and monsters) were common. Keystone Masteries often provided substantial defensive buffs, such as damage reduction on incoming attacks or increased resistances after taking damage.
  • Utility Tree: This tree offered a range of supportive and economic bonuses.
    • Key Benefits: Increased movement speed, reduced summoner spell cooldowns, increased gold generation, enhanced vision, and improved buff durations.
    • Impactful Choices: Masteries like "Greed" (increased gold per 10 seconds), "Fleet of Foot" (increased movement speed), and "Summoner's Insight" (reduced summoner spell cooldowns) were highly sought after. Keystone Masteries in this tree often provided unique advantages, such as a burst of movement speed after using a summoner spell or increased experience gain.

Players would strategically allocate their 30 points to complement their champion's role and playstyle. A jungler might invest heavily in the Offense tree for faster jungle clear speeds and the Utility tree for improved ganking potential and map presence. A tanky top laner would likely prioritize the Defense tree to maximize their survivability in lane and teamfights. A support might focus on the Utility tree for increased income and reduced cooldowns on crucial support abilities and summoner spells.

Impact on Gameplay and the Transition to the New System

The combined Rune and Mastery systems provided a profound level of pre-game customization that significantly influenced champion power curves, lane matchups, and overall game strategy. Players who meticulously optimized their Rune and Mastery Pages often held a distinct advantage, especially in the early game. However, this complexity also presented a steep learning curve for new players, making it challenging to understand the nuances of champion builds and counter-play.

Recognizing these challenges, Riot Games revamped these systems entirely in Season 7, introducing the current, unified Rune System. This new system aimed to simplify the customization process, making it more accessible and intuitive for all players while retaining strategic depth and offering impactful choices that directly influence gameplay.

It is crucial to understand that the old Rune and Mastery systems are no longer active in League of Legends. They have been completely replaced by the current Rune System, which players interact with during champion select.