Runes were powerful magical enhancements in League of Legends that summoners used to augment their champions' abilities before matches. They could only be purchased with Influence Points from the Riot Store.

There were four types of runes:

• Marks (Offensive)
• Seals (Defensive)
• Glyphs (Magical)
• Quintessences (Utility)

Key facts about runes:

• Each type stacked up to 9 (except Quintessences which stacked to 3)
• Came in three tiers of increasing power (Tier 1-3)
• Players could create up to 20 different rune page configurations
• Complete set of Tier 3 runes cost 388,071 Influence Points
• Player level requirements existed for higher tier runes

Runes were integral to the lore of Runeterra, with powerful "World Runes" being discovered thousands of years ago. Their immense power led to catastrophic conflicts called the Rune Wars.

The rune system offered incredible strategic depth with over 12 trillion possible combinations. However, this system was eventually removed and replaced by Runes Reforged.

Types of rune effects included:

• Combat stats (damage, defense, penetration)
• Resource management (mana, energy)
• Utility (movement speed, gold generation)
• Scaling effects that grew stronger with champion level

The rune system represented a deep level of pre-game customization that allowed players to optimize their champions for specific playstyles and matchups.

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