The striking rune is a valuable upgrade for weapons in Pathfinder 2e that enhances their damage-dealing capabilities. This rune is a popular choice among adventurers who prioritize dealing powerful blows in combat. When a weapon is imbued with a striking rune, it gains an additional weapon damage die for attacks made with that weapon. For example, a striking rune applied to a longsword would allow the wielder to roll 2d8 instead of 1d8 for damage. There are three different potency levels for the striking rune: lesser, standard, and greater. As the potency level increases, so does the additional weapon damage die.

Pathfinder 2E Finesse damage

I'm fairly sure that's the only way. I was going to say the Swashbuckler might have a way, but they just get a bit of Precision Damage when they have Panache.

The-Magic-Sword

Small Ball Archmage

Staffan

Legend

It should be noted that this would mostly be an issue at lower levels. At higher levels, your ability bonus to damage becomes a smaller and smaller part of the whole. At 1st level, a rogue doing just 2d6 damage with a sneak-attacking rapier without ability bonus to damage is kinda weaksauce, and getting a +4 to that would be a huge improvement. But if we forward to 7th level you'd be hitting for 4d6+2 (1d6 bases, +1d6 for Striking, +2d6 sneak attack, +2 weapon specialization), which makes the +4 a much smaller part of the whole. Move up to 16th level, and you're doing 6d6+6 before adding +5 (or +6 if you got an early apex item) for your ability score. And that's assuming you don't put any elemental runes on your weapon, which could be adding another d6 or two, and that you don't have any Strength bonus at all to damage.

corwyn77

Adventurer

I was thinking more from the perspective of a dex-heavy bard for a melee option. OTOH, it's not hard to end up with 16 or 18 in everything by the end, but damage would suck early on.

BTW, what is the d6 from Striking? Do you mean the magic item? Is it assumed you can get that, generallly? Where are the rules for Elemental Runes?

Staffan

Legend

I was thinking more from the perspective of a dex-heavy bard for a melee option. OTOH, it's not hard to end up with 16 or 18 in everything by the end, but damage would suck early on.

BTW, what is the d6 from Striking? Do you mean the magic item? Is it assumed you can get that, generallly? Where are the rules for Elemental Runes?

Magical weapons have two types of runes on them: fundamental runes, which are what make the weapon as such better, and property runes which add additional abilities. Fundamental weapon runes come in two further categories: potency (+1, +2, or +3 to hit) and striking (1, 2, or 3 dice extra weapon damage – so a striking battleaxe would deal 2d8 damage). Property runes are basically everything else you can do with a magic weapon, e.g. ghost touch, returning (on a thrown weapon), and so on. Quite a lot of these add 1d6 energy damage of some sort (flaming, frost, shock etc.), and these are colloquially called elemental runes, and they make pretty good runes to default to – basically, if you don't have a special plan intended for your weapon (like returning on a throwing weapon), you won't go wrong with an elemental rune for some extra damage. You can have a maximum of one property rune per "plus", so a +2 weapon can have two property runes.

Potency/Striking runes are an essential upgrade for every character who intends to actually use a weapon. Without getting those at the levels where they become available, you will lag behind quite a bit when it comes to combat ability.

Oh, and bards generally don't make good melee combatants in PF2. Bards are full casters, with the weapon proficiencies to match, meaning they only become Expert in their weapons at level 11 and never become Masters in fighting. Even the bard subclass that's supposed to be good at combat (Warrior muse, from Advanced Player's Guide) only get broader weapon proficiency, not better. I mean, it's not wrong for a bard to have a weapon for use when they have actions to spare, but swording opponents as a bard is at best a plan D (with plan C being arrowing them instead)

Striking rune pathfinder 2e

I recently bought Handwraps of Mighty Blows for my monk, and added a Rune of Weapon Potency +1 to it. I thought it was bugged because my stats never changed, regardless of whether I had them equipped or not.

It wasn't until I decided to go overboard and add a Major Striking rune to it I figured out where the real bug lies. With this rune equipped, when I equip the Handwraps, the name of my Tiger Claw attack changes from 'Tiger Claw' to 'Major Striking tiger claw'. My 'Fist' attack name does not change. However the damage for the Tiger Claw is 4d8+3 *regardless* of having the handwraps equipped or not. Investing in (or lack thereof) also does not change anything. Just owning the handwraps gives me the effect, I do not have to wear them at all.

Report it as a bug through HLO. While a forum post might be seen by the Dev's, it isn't a bug report and does not put it on their bug tracker.

Did you post this in the Bug section and get a reply?? First item my player gets is broken because this bug. +1 Striking rune doesn't do anything. HLO is a hot stinking piece of garbage lol.

Did you post this in the Bug section and get a reply?? First item my player gets is broken because this bug. +1 Striking rune doesn't do anything. HLO is a hot stinking piece of garbage lol.

Are you still seeing issues with this? It appears to be functioning properly to my testing, so if you could provide whatever steps you're taking to still have it break, that'd be great.

As the potency level increases, so does the additional weapon damage die. A lesser striking rune adds one additional die, a standard striking rune adds two additional dice, and a greater striking rune adds three additional dice. It's worth noting that the striking rune does not affect bonus damage from abilities or other sources.

It only affects the weapon's base damage. Additionally, the striking rune does not stack with other striking runes on the same weapon. To apply a striking rune to a weapon, the crafter must have the Rune Crafting feat and spend the required amount of magical materials and gold. The cost and level of the rune depend on the potency level chosen. In conclusion, the striking rune is a powerful upgrade for weapons in Pathfinder 2e that enhances their damage output. It is a popular choice for adventurers who want to deal devastating blows in combat and can be applied to a variety of weapons..

Reviews for "Effective Strategies for Using Striking Runes in Pathfinder 2e"

1. John - 2/5 stars - I was really excited to try out the Striking Rune in Pathfinder 2e, but I was ultimately disappointed. The damage boost it provides is minimal and doesn't really make a significant difference in combat. I feel like there are much better rune options available that offer more substantial benefits. Overall, I found the Striking Rune to be underwhelming and not worth the investment.

2. Emily - 1/5 stars - The Striking Rune in Pathfinder 2e was extremely underwhelming for me. I was expecting it to significantly enhance my attacks, but it barely made any noticeable difference. In addition, the cost to get a higher-level Striking Rune is just not worth it. There are better options out there that provide much more value for your character's progression. I would definitely not recommend investing in the Striking Rune if you're looking for a powerful and impactful upgrade to your weapons.

3. Michael - 2/5 stars - I found the Striking Rune in Pathfinder 2e to be quite lackluster. It didn't really enhance my combat abilities as much as I had hoped. The extra damage it provided was minimal and didn't make a significant difference in battles. Additionally, the cost to upgrade the rune to higher levels was just not worth it in my opinion. There are other runes and enchantments available that offer much better benefits for the same investment. Overall, I was left disappointed with the Striking Rune and wouldn't recommend it to others.

Exploring the Different Types of Striking Runes in Pathfinder 2e