How do Runic Arts work in Salt and Sacrifice?

Much like Weapon Arts in Dark Souls or Ash of War in Elden Ring, Salt and Sacrifice has special abilities tied to weapons that players can find or craft in the RPG (role-playing game).

While it sounds simple enough, the Runic Arts system in Ska Studios’ latest RPG is a bit complicated to grasp, and many players seem to be having a tough time wrapping their heads around the mechanic.

Every craftable Mage weapon in the game comes with a certain Runic Art. Even some of the weapons that players can come across in the world can have a special ability tied to them. In order to check if a weapon comes with special attributes, fans can select it from the inventory and crafting menu.

There are some cases where a weapon boasts more than one Runic Art or when a weapon uses Rage instead of Focus. As a result, there is a lot of weapon versatility that players can opt into in Salt and Sacrifice.

This guide will look to explain the mechanics further and make the Runic Art feature in Salt and Sacrifice easier to understand for newer players in the game.

Understanding the Runic Arts in Salt and Sacrifice

1) Unlocking Runic Arts

To be able to use the Runic Arts in Salt and Sacrifice, players will first have to unlock the ability to use them by investing in the proper Tier on the Skill Grid

Focus Arts will use the Forbidden Glyph upgrade path in the menu, while the Rage mechanic will use the Divine Glyph path.

As these extend out from the bottom right part of the central set of skills, it will take a fair bit of investment from players before they can use the Runic Arts. This is especially true if they are going for something like a Paladin.

Players will need Extra points to make proper investments in both these Glyph paths.

2) Using Runic Arts

To use Runic Arts, players will need to hold down the Left Trigger/ L2 and press X/ Square on their PlayStation consoles. This will activate the art, and the character will be locked into an animation that cannot be stopped.

This will oftentimes leave the player vulnerable, which is why it is advised to use it only when they have the space and time to do so.

As these special abilities consume Focus Points, players must keep a constant eye on their FP bar and verify if they have enough of it to use their Art. Focus can be refilled with Haze decoctions, and it is a stat that can be leveled up over the course of the game.

3) Rage will replace Focus for certain weapons

A Rage meter will replace the Focus bar when players equip a weapon that uses that particular attribute in Salt and Sacrifice. Instead of expending FP for Runic Arts, players will need to use the weapon to build up the Rage meter by hitting enemies, and once they have accumulated enough Rage, they will be able to execute the weapon’s particular Runic Art.

This provides more versatile gameplay options, allowing players to invest in multiple playstyles to make difficult situations easier to handle.

4) Understanding the Elements

There is no 'best Runic Art' in Salt and Sacrifice, as each ability brings something unique to the table that players will be able to employ in a variety of situations.

The Elemental damage mechanic is something that players are required to have a firm grasp of if they are looking to master the Runic Arts in the game. Enemies in the game, especially Mages, Named Mages, and Bosses, come with a distinct elemental affinity that players should exploit.

Players should note that Fire enemies will take less damage from Fire-based Runic Arts, while they will be more vulnerable to Frost attacks. One of the best ways to master Runic Arts is to learn how to exploit the enemy’s elemental vulnerabilities.