Dark Rune

**Dark Rune** is a Runelord skill in *Octopath Traveler*.

## Effect

Applies the  **Dark Rune** buff to the **user** for **3 turns**.

For the duration of the effect, your standard attacks and physical attack skills are modified so that each attack will be followed by the skill **Shadowy Pursuit**, dealing damage to every target struck by the original attack. The follow up attack is made with a +100 hit modifier. Multi-hit attacks will only trigger the follow-up attack once. Additional applications of the same buff onto the same target stack the remaining duration additively, up to a maximum of 9 turns.

Only one Elemental Rune may be active on a target at one time. Casting another rune overwrites the previous and resets the duration.

**Boost**: Adds **+2 turns** to the duration per boost, to a maximum of 9 turns.

## Formula

*Shadowy Pursuit* Damage = **8** x [*Attacker E.Atk* - (*Target E.Def* x **0.275**)]

The attack uses your E.Atk value with the weapon you have currently equipped when the Pursuit is invoked, i.e. the weapon you attacked with. This is in contrast to normal elemental attack skills, which use the weapon you have the highest E.Atk value with.

### Other Multipliers

* All damage scales with the level of the attacker (see **Level Multiplier**)
* All damage has a random multiplier (from x0.98 to x1.02) applied to it for each hit
* Critical hits deal x1.25 damage.
* Hitting an enemy with a weakness to Dark deals x1.3 damage (or x1.5 with ); hitting a Broken enemy instead deals x2.0 damage
* The  **Increased Elemental Attack** buff on the attacker or the  **Decreased Elemental Defense** on the target increases damage by x1.5; with both, the total multiplier is x2.25
* Having a  equipped increases damage by x1.3

For more details see Damage Formula.

## Synergies

### Skills

* All physical attack skills will activate the Pursuit effect, hitting each target of the attack once. Physical attack skills are all standard attacks and skills made with a weapon rather than an element
	+ deserves special mention; it attacks **one foe** with a  Staff and applies the  **Decreased Elemental Defense** debuff to them, activating a Pursuit effect in the process
* applies the  **Aelfric's Auspices** buff for 3 turns, causing skills to trigger twice for no additional cost, and activating a Pursuit effect twice if said skill is a physical one
* applies the  **Increased Physical Attack** buff to the **user**
* applies the  **Increased Physical Attack** buff
* applies the  **Sealticge's Seduction** buff for 3 turns, causing single-target skills to apply to all applicable targets (all foes), activating a Pursuit effect on all foes if said skill is a physical one
* applies the  **Decreased Physical Defense** debuff to **one foe**
* applies the  **Divination** buff, causing physical attacks (but not Pursuit effects) to critically hit for ×1.25 damage
* removes all debuffs from an ally and applies the  **Celestial Intervention (Ally)** buff to them, or removes all buffs from a foe and applies the  **Celestial Intervention (Enemy)** debuff to them
* applies the  **Counterattack** buff, causing the target to counter a foe's physical attack with a Standard Attack, which will activate a Pursuit effect
* applies the  **Dreisang's Spell** buff for 3 turns, causing Pursuit effects (but not physical attacks) to critically hit for ×1.25 damage
* will extend self-targeting skills to all allies

### Support Skills

* on the equipping character increases the duration of buffs they receive by +1 turn (max. 9)
* increases the Elem. Atk. stat by +50
* halves and rounds down the SP Cost of this skill
* increases the Phys. Atk. stat by +50
* increases the damage cap of skills and Pursuit effects to 99,999
* on the equipping character increases the duration of buffs they apply by +1 turn (max. 9)
* applies a 50% chance to counter a foe's physical attack with a Standard Attack, which will activate a Pursuit effect
* applies a 50% chance to attack a second time after a Standard Attack, which will activate a Pursuit effect; the equipping user can thus activate two Shadowy Pursuits with a Standard Attack, one for the original and a second if Second Serving activates
* multiplies the damage of attacks targeting an unbroken foe's weakness by ×1.5, instead of ×1.3
* multiplies the damage of elemental skills by ×1.5 at no additional SP cost, including Pursuit effects
* multiplies the damage of elemental skills by ×1.2, including Pursuit effects
* applies the  **Increased Elemental Attack** and  **Increased Elemental Defense** buffs indefinitely
* increases the damage of physical attacks by +6% for every 1% of HP below 33% the equipping character has, up to a maximum of ×3 damage at 1 HP
* applies the  **Increased Physical Attack** and  **Increased Physical Defense** buffs indefinitely