Damage Types & Runes
Damage in Prominence II comes in three families (“powers”), tied to Rune items you collect as you play. The quest book ranks them by strength: Primordial (secondary/strong), Elemental (tertiary), and Decaying (powers of Death).
| Family | Runes | Role | Source mod |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elemental Powers (tertiary) | Arcane, Fire, Frost, Lightning | Mage spell schools; Lightning drives weapons like Thunderwrath | Runes (under Magic & Spells Mods) |
| Primordial Powers (secondary) | Healing (Holy), Soul | Holy heals/supports (Priests, Paladins); Soul combines with elements | Runes |
| Decaying Powers (Death) | Unholy, Blood | Death Knight powers (Unholy bruiser/disease, Blood tank/sustain) | Death Knights (under Core RPG & Combat Mods) — not the Runes mod |
Building around one family — matching runes, gear, and talents together — is generally stronger than spreading thin across all of them.
How the powers combine
- Astral Power = Arcane + Fire + Frost together — the endgame hybrid mage/spellblade path (Runic Invocations, Ekavar, Supernova). Take the Knowledge of Runes and Stars Fate.
- Soul + element = hybrids: Soulfire and Soulfrost, used mainly by some artifacts (e.g. A’zhar is a Soulfire weapon, Frostmourne is Soulfrost).
- Holy is the support element — healing and temporary shields cast from the Holy Book by Healers/Paladins.
- Lightning is a specialist elemental power tied to weapons like the Thunderwrath artifact.
These families map directly onto the Mage archetype’s three elemental schools (Fire/Frost/Arcane), while Primordial feeds Healers/Paladins and Decaying feeds Death Knights.
Where runes come from
You obtain runes as drops/rewards while playing (the New Mechanics chapter has quests to obtain an Arcane/Fire/Frost/Healing/Soul rune, and an Unholy/Blood rune). Use the recipe viewer (U on a rune) to see exactly what accepts it. The Runes mod itself ships the six Elemental + Primordial runes (Arcane/Fire/Frost/Lightning/Healing/Soul); the Unholy and Blood runes are separate items from the Death Knights mod (unholy_stone / blood_stone).
Correction from earlier: the Decaying family’s Unholy and Blood runes are added by the separate Death Knights class mod, not by the Runes mod itself.
Common mistakes
- Spreading across families. Pick one power family and stack it — mixing Fire spell power with Blood gear helps neither.
- Assuming Unholy/Blood come from the Runes mod. They’re Death Knight items.
- Ignoring Holy as “just healing.” Holy shields and support are a full role (Healer/Paladin), and Smite-flavored damage matters against the undead Hasturian bosses.
Anticipated questions
How many damage families are there? Three: Elemental, Primordial, Decaying.
What is Astral Power? The fusion of Arcane + Fire + Frost — the endgame hybrid-mage resource. See Combat & Stats.
What are Soulfire and Soulfrost? Hybrid powers made by combining the Soul power with Fire or Frost — used by certain artifacts (A’zhar, Frostmourne).
Which family should my build use? Mage → Elemental (pick one of Fire/Frost/Arcane, or all three for Astral). Healer/Paladin → Primordial (Holy). Death Knight → Decaying (Unholy/Blood).
Where do I get runes? As drops/quest rewards while playing; hover a rune and press U to see what uses it. Elemental/Primordial come from the Runes mod, Unholy/Blood from Death Knights.
Is Lightning its own school? Yes — an Elemental power, mostly relevant to Lightning weapons like Thunderwrath (and thematically to Valkyries).