Runes are one of the most important parts of building a strong character in Cursemark, but simply upgrading individual Runes isn’t the only thing you can do with them. Once you unlock the right crafting station, you can fuse two Runes together to create a single Rune with both effects.
However, there’s an important mechanic you need to understand before combining your best Runes.
The order in which you fuse them matters.
Even more importantly, the Matriarch Rune behaves differently from normal Runes and can provide some huge bonuses when used correctly.
Here’s everything you need to know about Rune Fusion and how to get the most out of Matriarch.
Cursemark Rune Fusion Guide – How to Use Matriarch
First, you’ll need access to a Runic Smelter.
The Runic Forge is used to upgrade individual Runes, while the Runic Smelter lets you combine two Runes into one.
The basic process is straightforward:
- Choose your first Rune.
- Choose your second Rune.
- Fuse them together.
- The result is a single Rune containing both effects.
For example, you could combine a Starburst Rune with a Jitterjolt Rune.
Instead of taking up two separate Rune slots, the fused Rune contains both effects in one slot.
This can be extremely useful once your build starts collecting more Runes than you have available slots.
Rune Order Matters
Here’s the part that’s easy to miss.
The first Rune you place into the Runic Smelter becomes the Front Rune, while the second one becomes the Client Rune.
The Front Rune determines the scaling of the resulting fused Rune.
This means you should generally upgrade the Client Rune before fusing it, rather than upgrading the Front Rune.
Example
Let’s say you have:
- Starburst as your Front Rune
- Jitterjolt as your Client Rune
If Jitterjolt has already been upgraded before the fusion, its stronger values are carried into the resulting combination.
After fusion, you’ll have one Rune containing both Starburst and Jitterjolt.
If you then upgrade the fused Rune, the upgrade follows the scaling rules of the Front Rune.
That’s why the order of operations is so important.
The Basic Rule
Think of it this way:
Client Rune → upgrade it first.
Front Rune → don’t waste upgrades on it before fusion unless you specifically want its scaling.
Once you understand this mechanic, you can get significantly more value from your Rune upgrades.
What Is the Matriarch Rune?
Matriarch is a special Rune with a very important difference.
Unlike normal Runes, Matriarch always acts as the Front Rune.
It doesn’t matter whether you place Matriarch in the first or second position.
If Matriarch is part of the fusion, its scaling takes priority.
This can make Matriarch incredibly powerful, but it also means you need to prepare the other Rune correctly before combining it with Matriarch.
Why Matriarch Can Be Tricky
Imagine you have a Desperation Rune and a Matriarch Rune.
You might assume that placing Desperation first would make Desperation the Front Rune.
That isn’t the case.
Matriarch overrides the normal ordering and becomes the Front Rune regardless of where you put it.
Because of this, upgrading the other Rune before combining it with Matriarch becomes particularly important.
If you fuse an under-upgraded Rune with Matriarch, you may not get as much value as you could have.
Once the fusion is completed, Matriarch’s scaling controls the resulting Rune.
How to Use Matriarch Properly
The best way to take advantage of Matriarch is to pair it with an effect that benefits enormously from increased scaling.
A good example is the Sirocco Rune.
Instead of simply adding the values of two copies together, Matriarch can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the other Rune.
For example, two Sirocco Runes might provide a straightforward combined value.
With Matriarch, however, the scaling can become much stronger at higher levels.
One example from the progression shows:
7 + 60% = 11.2
and later:
9 + 100% = 18
The important part isn’t just the individual numbers. It’s the way the Matriarch bonus scales the other effect.
Why Matriarch Can Beat Duplicate Runes
Suppose you have two copies of the same Rune.
Combining two Sirocco Runes would essentially give you the value of both effects together.
For example:
9 + 5 = 14
That’s useful, but it’s a relatively straightforward increase.
Matriarch can instead multiply the effectiveness of the Rune it’s paired with, allowing the final result to become much stronger at higher tiers.
This makes Matriarch especially attractive when you have a Rune with strong scaling.
Best Way to Prepare a Matriarch Fusion
To get the most value from the combination, don’t rush to fuse your Runes.
A better approach is:
- Find a Rune with an effect you want to scale.
- Upgrade that Rune first.
- Keep Matriarch available.
- Fuse the upgraded Rune with Matriarch.
- Continue upgrading the resulting fused Rune when appropriate.
The key is making sure the Rune you’re trying to amplify is already at a useful level before the fusion.
When Should You Use Matriarch?
Matriarch isn’t automatically the best choice for every build.
Sometimes you want two completely different effects working together. In those situations, a normal Rune fusion can be more useful.
Matriarch shines when you have one particularly strong effect that you want to scale as aggressively as possible.
It’s especially worth considering when:
- A Rune has strong scaling at higher tiers.
- You rely heavily on one particular effect.
- You want to maximize a single source of damage.
- Your build benefits more from amplification than from adding another effect.
- You have enough upgrade resources to invest in the setup.
Rune Fusion Tips
Keep these points in mind whenever you’re working with the Runic Smelter:
Upgrade Before Fusion
If you’re using a normal Rune as the Client Rune, upgrade it before combining it with another Rune.
Pay Attention to the Front Rune
The Front Rune determines how the fused Rune scales when upgraded.
Matriarch Is Different
Matriarch always takes the Front Rune position, regardless of where you place it.
Don’t Fuse Randomly
Think about what you want the final Rune to accomplish before combining two valuable Runes.
Consider Your Rune Slots
Fusion is particularly useful when you’re running out of available slots. Combining two useful effects into one Rune frees up space for another effect.
Rune Fusion is one of the systems that lets Cursemark’s buildcrafting become much more interesting.
A normal fusion allows you to combine two useful effects into a single Rune, but the order of the Runes matters because the Front Rune determines the scaling behavior.
Matriarch takes this a step further. Since it always becomes the Front Rune, you need to prepare the other Rune before the fusion if you want to maximize its potential.
It’s not necessarily the best Rune for every situation, but when you find an effect with powerful scaling, Matriarch can turn it into something much stronger than simply combining two copies of the same Rune.
So before you throw your Runes into the Smelter, check which one is going to be the Front Rune, upgrade the appropriate effect first, and plan the fusion around the build you’re actually trying to create.