Contents 6 sections
The Arcanum is a solo Runecrafting minigame. You mine a fragment, then touch the four elemental obelisks in the order the Ethereal Guide calls them. Finish the rite to shape the fragment into an Ancient Glyph, which gives Runecrafting XP when you enchant it. Each completed rite also gives Arcane Knowledge, the currency for the Arcane Knowledge Shop.
Keep your Stability high. A run that finishes with more Stability pays more Arcane Knowledge, and a run that hits 0 Stability pays nothing.
Getting started
Where: Talk to the Arcanum Keeper at home. Choose Talk-to for the menu, or use the Enter options to go straight in at a difficulty.
Requirements: 20 Runecrafting to mine the lowest vein.
Bring:
A pickaxe you can use.
An Air, Water, Earth and Fire rune or talisman for catalyst calls. Talismans are not used up. The Elemental talisman answers every catalyst call.
Food if you're on Master or Grandmaster, where mistakes hit harder.
Optionally, a lit Abyssal lantern in your shield slot (see below).
You can't teleport out of The Arcanum. To leave, talk to the Ethereal Guide in the middle of the chamber. Leaving before you finish abandons the rite and gives no rewards. If you die inside, the run ends but you keep your items.
How a run works
1. Mine a fragment
Mine a Crystalline vein to get one Unidentified fragment. You can only hold one at a time. Better veins give better fragments, and better fragments multiply your glyph XP.
Vein | Runecrafting | Mining | Glyph XP multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
Crumbling | 20 | 1 | 1x |
Intact | 50 | 30 | 1.5x |
Glowing | 75 | 50 | 2x |
Radiant | 90 | 70 | 3x |
Use the fragment on the Central Focus to start the rite.
2. Touch the obelisks
The Ethereal Guide calls out the elements one at a time. Touch the matching obelisk before the timer on your screen runs out.
Obelisk | Corner |
|---|---|
Air | South-west |
Water | South-east |
Earth | North-east |
Fire | North-west |
Wrong obelisk: you lose Stability and take damage. The guide repeats the element it wanted, so you can try again.
Too slow: you lose Stability, take damage, and the guide moves on to the next element.
Running out of time on the last element of a sequence ends the run as a failure, even with Stability left.
3. Answer catalyst calls
After a correct touch, the Central Focus may call for an Air, Water, Earth or Fire catalyst instead of the next element. Use a matching rune or talisman on the Central Focus within 6 seconds.
A rune is used up. A talisman is not.
Wrong catalyst: -10 Stability.
No catalyst in time: -15 Stability.
Each catalyst you give adds 150 Runecrafting XP to your glyph.
4. Make and enchant the glyph
Once you've made enough correct touches, the rite is complete. Click the Central Focus to turn your fragment into an Ancient Glyph, then Enchant the glyph to collect your Runecrafting XP and Arcane Knowledge. Destroying the glyph fails the run.
After you finish, talk to the Ethereal Guide to start another rite or leave. If you do nothing, a new rite at the same difficulty starts after 10 seconds.
Difficulties
Difficulty | Elements per call | Time per element | Correct touches needed | Catalyst chance | Stability lost per mistake | Damage per mistake |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Novice | 3-4 | 5.4s | 8 | 15% | 10 | 5 |
Adept | 4-5 | 5.4s | 14 | 18% | 20 | 10 |
Master | 5-6 | 4.8s | 22 | 20% | 30 | 15 |
Grandmaster | 6-8 | 4.2s | 30 | 25% | 40 | 20 |
You start every run at 100 Stability. On Grandmaster, your third mistake ends the run.
Rewards
Arcane Knowledge
Each completed rite gives the difficulty's base amount plus 1 point for every 20 Stability you have left.
Difficulty | Arcane Knowledge |
|---|---|
Novice | 5-10 |
Adept | 10-15 |
Master | 15-20 |
Grandmaster | 25-30 |
Ask the Arcanum Keeper to Check my Arcane Knowledge to see your balance and completion count.
Runecrafting XP
Enchanting the glyph gives:
50 XP for each correct touch
150 XP for each catalyst you gave
a completion bonus: 500 (Novice), 1,000 (Adept), 1,500 (Master) or 2,500 (Grandmaster)
The total is then multiplied by your fragment's multiplier. A Grandmaster run with a Radiant fragment and no catalysts gives 12,000 XP. Mining the fragment also gives a little Runecrafting and Mining XP.
Abyssal Protector pet
Every completed rite has a 1/2,000 chance to give the Abyssal Protector pet.
Abyssal lantern
Buy the lantern from the shop, then use six logs of one type on it to light it. The logs decide the lantern's effect, which only works in The Arcanum and only while the lantern is in your shield slot. Inspect shows the current effect. To change logs, Extinguish it and light it again.
Logs | Firemaking | Effect |
|---|---|---|
Normal, or blue, red, white, purple or green logs | 1 | 10% chance a catalyst call gives you the rune it wants, if you have room. |
Oak | 15 | 5% chance a correct touch restores 10 Stability. |
Willow | 30 | 5% chance a correct touch counts twice. |
Maple | 45 | 20% chance a catalyst call gives you the rune it wants, if you have room. |
Yew | 60 | Your first obelisk mistake each run has a 10% chance to cost no Stability or damage. |
Blisterwood | 62 | 20% more XP from catalysts. |
Magic | 75 | 10% more XP from the glyph. |
Redwood | 90 | The Oak and Willow effects, and the first catalyst call each run accepts any elemental rune or talisman. |
Tips
Accuracy beats speed. A wrong touch lets you try again. A missed timer skips ahead, and missing the last element ends the run.
Learn the corners. Air and Water are south, Earth and Fire are north. Stand near the middle so every obelisk is a short run away.
Carry talismans, not runes. They aren't used up, and the Elemental talisman covers every call.
Use your best vein. The fragment multiplier applies to all of the glyph's XP, so a Radiant fragment triples it.