Great Runes are the shards of the Elden Ring held by the demigods. You get one by defeating a shardbearer, but it starts out devoid of power: you have to carry it to the matching Divine Tower to restore it, equip it at a Site of Grace, and then use a Rune Arc to switch its blessing on.
How Great Runes work
Every Great Rune goes through the same three steps. First you take it from its shardbearer. Then you climb the Divine Tower named in the rune’s description and choose to restore its power there. Finally you equip it from the Great Runes option at a Site of Grace and consume a Rune Arc. Only then is the blessing active.
The effect does not last forever. You lose it when you die, and the item notes also mention losing it when you unequip the rune or equip a different one. That makes Rune Arcs something to save for a hard boss or a long stretch of exploration rather than something to pop casually.
Great Runes do not carry over into New Game+. You have to take each one again and restore it once more at its tower.
Every Great Rune at a glance
Notes on each rune
Godrick’s Great Rune
The all-rounder. Five points in each of the eight attributes adds up, and you even get a small bump to defenses from it. It is also the first one most players get, since Godrick drops it together with the Remembrance of the Grafted. The tower lies past the great bridge from Stormveil. In specific cases other runes beat it: Radahn’s gives more to Vigor, Mind and Endurance at certain thresholds, and Morgott’s gives more HP once you have around 16 Vigor or more.
Radahn’s Great Rune
A simple, strong pick: more HP, FP and stamina. You claim it after the Radahn Festival fight on the Wailing Dunes, and its tower stands on the Dragonbarrow shore in Caelid.
Rykard’s Great Rune
Every kill heals you, a flat 80 HP plus a percentage on top. Great for clearing areas full of weaker enemies. The Divine Tower of West Altus is reached through the Sealed Tunnel, on the cliffs southwest of Leyndell.
Morgott’s Great Rune
The pure HP rune. If you simply want to survive more hits, this is the one. It shares the Divine Tower of East Altus with Mohg’s rune, so one trip covers both if you hold them at the same time.
Mohg’s Great Rune
A multiplayer rune. Summoned phantoms get extra blood loss on their attacks, and invading successfully rewards you with a Phantom Great Rune. It does little for a purely solo run.
Malenia’s Great Rune
Rewards aggression. Hit back right after taking damage and you get part of your health back, but your Crimson Tears heal less while it is active. The Isolated Divine Tower is reached through a teleporter on the Divine Bridge in Leyndell.
Great Rune of the Unborn
The odd one out. It is active from the start, needs no tower and gives no stat blessing. Instead it lets Rennala rebirth you, which is how you respec. It also matters for several questlines, including those of Boc the Seamster, Ranni the Witch, Sorceress Sellen, Primeval Sorcerer Azur, Primeval Sorcerer Lusat and Jerren.
Which rune should you use?
For most solo players it comes down to Godrick’s, Radahn’s or Morgott’s, depending on whether you want a bit of everything, more stamina and FP, or simply the biggest HP pool. Rykard’s suits careful area clearing, Malenia’s suits players who trade hits on purpose, and Mohg’s is for co-op and invasions. You can swap at any grace, but each swap means burning another Rune Arc to turn the new blessing on.