Warrior, come with us on the journey to Early Access. Over the course of the last few weeks, we’ve changed up the road map and added new features and systems to the game. So far, beta testers have seen:

Shield-Maidens: Our fearsome female player character has finally made it to battle. Similarly to the male player character, she has unique, customizable hairstyles and tattoos. All of her armor, weapons, Rune powers, and god alignment benefits will be the same as the male character, albeit fitted for her.

God Alignment: We’ve significantly improved the god alignment system. Previously, the entire selection process happened before you spawned into the game. Now, you’ll have to start your journey through Ragnarok as a heathen. If you survive the initial quests, you’ll be lead to the Divine Summit, a place of hallowed ground emblazoned with the ancient shrines of Odin, Thor, and Hel. In this sacred space, you’ll pledge to your god, receiving blessings and power in return. Choose wisely warrior, there’s no turning back once your decision has been made. And, the choice you made may anger the gods you ignored.

Ragnarok Timer: The mysterious Ragnarok timer has been moved up to the “In Development” section of the road map. As the timer counts down, the already chaotic world will become even more unsafe. Once the timer hits zero, Loki’s dark magic forces a world-altering event that may have unexpected impacts on Midgard. We have the technical elements of the Timer and ramifications fully functional. The team is focusing on additional gameplay elements and polishing the feature. We will reveal more in the coming weeks.

Rebuildables: Protect yourself from vicious AI and bring order to Midgard by rebuilding structures throughout the world. Contributing resources to partially built structures will restore them to their completed states and provide shelter while you craft new items, arrange your inventory, and cook food. As we get closer to Early Access this Winter, expect to see more diverse buildings with the ability to take ownership for yourself and your god. If you claim enough rebuildables in a single area, your god will be empowered and bless the area for all who pledge to them. We have a lot of ideas for future buildings, providing useful abilities for you as you seek to rebuild villages and towns. Just a quick taste: forges, smelters, shrines to your god, and even a meadery.

Combat: Brutal combat is an essential part of any Viking experience. We’re continuing to tweak and polish the combat system. We’ve worked on AI improvements, making them more dangerous, more intelligent, and giving AI many more abilities. We’ve improved the feel of combat when striking enemies, improved dodge functionality, and tweaked enemy pain/stuns. A small, but powerful addition that has been requested a lot: you can finally easily sheath your current weapon with its associated hotkey.

The November 10 & 13 playtests are going to highlight all of the areas shown here. It’s not too late to get in on the action. The Closed Beta Program is still open and limited keys are available. Sign up now and get access to every playtest happening until the game hits Early Access this Winter. See you in Midgard, warrior.

Closed Beta servers just went live! The playtest will go from 4:00pm - 8:00pm CDT (GMT-5). Has your clan been notified?

Before Rune moves into Steam Early Access, Closed Beta testers will journey back to Midgard for another bloodbath. These brave warriors will witness significant improvements including:

Patch Notes:

• Newly added female player character
  
• Updated god alignment - choose between Odin, Hel, Thor, or remaining a heathen
  
• Improved story and god dialogue shown through pop-up dialogue boxes
  
• Updated quests with more solid flow for levels 1-10
  
• God blessings - each god gives you a different blessing, be sure to equip the prayer stone in your hotbar to use, only works after you align to a god
  
• God alignment stats updated - each god has different stats for health, damage, movement speed, stamina, and defense
  
• Updated longhouse rebuildables - less resources and less steps to complete
  
• Expanded levels -  50 is the new maximum
  
• Night time enemies - more wolves and draugr at night, higher damage and health values at night, less human warriors and Einn at night
  
• New enemy type during night time - you will have to explore to find it
  
• Environment changes including additional paths/roads and human objects to show the destruction of Ragnarok
  
• Updated world lighting (day, night, and all weather conditions

Known Bugs:

• Sometimes when you take a quest, the beacon light rays don’t go away, but you still have the quest
  
• Sometimes when you die, your death bag might not appear, you will lose your stuff
  
• Sometimes lore stones will not turn off the glow when you grab them, they will still show up in your lore screen, but the glow will not shut off
  
• Some video cards have a gray screen, if you change the quality settings from Epic to High back to Epic, it usually fixes this issue

FAQ:

• When using a rebuildable, you have to look at each resource to have it register, their should be a thin outline around the item you are looking at
  
• Use F to place a campfire, ship, raft, or banner
  
• To use your prayer stone, add it to your hotbar and activate it by pressing the number for the slot (1-5).  You must have aligned to a god before the stone will work. Enemies will be affected that are in close, forward proximity of you
  
• Once you get past level 10, leveling up can become much harder.  We will be adding more quests and things to do to gain XP in the coming months. To date we have been focused on the levels 1-10
  
• Not all rocks in the world are harvestable - only the ones with a glowing, shimmering effect can be harvested
  
• Most trees are harvestable except the really thin ones
  
• Tab will bring up a quick armor/weapon wheel

Do you want to join the next battle? Click here and take the oath to claim your key.

See you in Midgard, warriors.

In our October 20 playtest, you’ll be able to slay enemies, defeat rival Vikings, and sail to dangerous lands...as a female.

Our female player character is in the game and ready to take down Loki. Similarly to the male player character, she will have her own customizable hairstyles and tattoos. However, she’ll use the same armor, weapons, Rune powers, and god alignment benefits as the male character.

To support the game design, we had to match and accommodate, one-for-one, the armor/wardrobe and weapon systems. She can do and use everything the male player can, so our first step was to fashion all existing armor to fit her proportions. Additionally, we needed to design a new base costume for her chest, and new chest armor versions for all available torso armor.



Having a female player character was always on our battle plan and we were able to get motion capture of both male and female characters during our initial recording last year. Every animation is then hand-edited to smooth out the movement and fit the gameplay. Like most things when designing a female player character, we’ve tried to avoid a stereotypical portrayal and aimed to make her movements every bit as agile and determined as the male’s.

Our art department’s primary goal was to make certain that she was strong and capable in appearance. At the same time, we also wanted her to maintain an attractive feminine quality - a beautiful woman that can kick your ass, and then bite the head off a lizard!



We really liked the portrayal of strong women in the show Vikings. Lagertha, portrayed by actor Katheryn Winnick, and Porunn, portrayed by actor Gaia Weiss were very inspirational. From the athletic anatomy side, we referenced various female crossfit enthusiasts, and UFC athletes like Holly Holm. Her facial features were comprised of various elements inspired by Polina Chernenko, Claire Holt, Scarlett Johansson, and others who possess what’s known as facial “angel beauty,” and who also possess golden ratio facial proportions. Hairstyle inspiration came from shows like Vikings, and Game of Thrones, and numerous fans of Norse styles and Viking reenactments.

The female player character is now in testing, which means you can expect to see her in the upcoming October 20 playtest. Click here to take the oath and claim your Closed Beta key before it’s too late.

READ FULL BLOG HERE

Welcome, warrior. Are you ready to prove yourself?

We’re seeking the bravest and most fearsome warriors for our Beta Program. Battle side-by-side with your friends (or turn the tables and battle your friends), slay mythical beasts, and free Midgard from the deadly grasp of the maniacal Loki. 2018 playtest dates have been announced, our course has been set, and we want to see you on the battlefield.

The Oath:
- Sign up for an account on the Rune website (If you haven’t done so already)
- Participate in as many playtests as possible
- Sign an NDA and agree that you will not stream the game or publicly share information, screenshots, or videos
- Fill out a survey following the playtest
- Verify that you have a computer that meets minimum specifications
- Admit that you’re over the age of 18
- Willingly join the Closed Beta Discord channel (information will be sent with your key)

The Glory:
- Exclusive access to all beta tests until the game launches into Early Access this Winter
- Access to the Closed Beta Discord channel
- The opportunity to provide feedback on newly implemented features
- Advanced access to new features and gameplay content
- Membership into a community that’s shaping the game
- Entry to Asgard - the Closed Beta section of the Rune Forums

All warriors who sign up will receive a beta key via email. Keys are limited and the oath will close when all keys have been distributed. We cannot guarantee that keys will be available again for Closed Beta. Keys will be sent out the week prior to a playtest. Don’t let another warrior steal your loot.

Take the Oath

Note: All players that currently have beta keys will automatically be in the beta program. If you sign up and have already been issued a key, you will not be sent a new one. You are not allowed to sell or giveaway duplicate keys. For questions, please contact rune@humanhead.com.

"Before Ragnarok, Sigurd the Drunken would say he saw faces of demons in the stones around us. We all see them now."

Ragnarok has all but stopped time on Midheim. Its inhabitants - giants, beasts, and the last remaining humans - share nothing in common but the struggle to survive. This brutal island is where you will begin. An unearthly mix of lush green lands, snowy mounds, and barren valleys surround you on your journey to end Ragnarok.

With only an axe to defend yourself, you’ll begin a series of quests that will bring an end to Loki’s madness. Gather your clan and prepare yourself for a battle so great, not even Thor, Odin, or Hel could survive. Before your first quest, here’s what you should know about Midheim.

Beasts
"In the first year of Ragnarok, Uri the Elder sacrificed all remaining cows to the gods, so that Hel on earth might end. In the second year; the goats. In the third, he offered himself. Uri is gone, and Ragnarok is still with us."

Ragnarok has driven the beasts to madness. Boar and wolves hunt you - for meat, to protect their young, and because war has driven them to near extinction. No corner is safe on Midheim from these foes. Take heed warrior, these animals are not to be challenged.

Dangerous Lands
Though entirely surrounded by water, Ragnarok has made Midheim a diverse biome with strange and unpredictable climates. Snow, rain, fog, and freezing temperatures will cover the land and may hinder your visibility, leaving you more vulnerable to attack. Aforementioned beasts have quality pelts, providing you and your clan can ambush them and harvest the resources.

Nestled between frozen peaks, burning villages lay tattered after the war. Guarded by giants, these dangerous locales make for brutal battles, but defeating enemies and looting their bodies provides great reward for those brave enough to make the trek.

Devastated Landmarks
Before the apocalypse, Midheim was a beautiful land filled with breathtaking views and serene waters. Ragnarok has devoured these lands causing chaos and unrest. The giants have taken over many of the valleys, Fort Skaal and Fossa Village are in ruins, Bogbosi Mountain is nearly demolished - all the while, death has paved the way for new landmarks. If this island is a mirror of the rest, you’ll find more than Garm’s final resting place.

"What strange island is this? It looks nothing like the world before Ragnarok’s waters swallowed it. My men are reluctant to set foot upon it, but our ship can take us no further. I set this stone in honor of our new home. -- Knut Knutsson, Chieftain"

This island marks only the beginning of the journey. Death, destruction, and madness lie ahead. Are you ready, brave warrior?

READ FULL BLOG

Last week, we announced that Rune will no longer be entering Early Access today, September 19. Instead, we’re taking time to carefully implement the community’s feedback and incorporate more features and polish that will make the game significantly better before entering Early Access. Now, Rune will enter Early Access this Winter.

We’re committed to delivering a game that is bug-free, balanced, deep, and a massive amount of fun. In order to do that, we’re continuing with our Closed Beta playtests and have outlined a road map of features and systems that you can expect to see added to the game. We’ve also introduced a new forums section to get feedback and provide status updates on the topics listed in the roadmap.

In the next few weeks, we’ll announce another Closed Beta key giveaway and the dates of some of the upcoming playtests. In the meantime, let us know what you think of the road map via the forums or social media.

See you in Midgard, warriors.

VISIT THE ROADMAP

The Human Head Studios team is committed to delivering the best version of Rune to Steam Early Access. Rune blends intense Action-RPG survival gameplay with savage PvP and PvE battles, and after undergoing a series of closed betas and gathering feedback from the community, we’re confident we can make the game even bigger and better.

With a heavy axe and large mug of mead, we announce that the game will now launch this Winter.

Although we were close to the anticipated launch, there was feedback from the community that we felt needed to be incorporated prior to release. We’re excited to continue to improve the game with the extra development time and still want continual input from the community through our beta tests. The most important goal is to deliver a game that is bug-free, balanced, deep and, most importantly, a massive amount of fun. Here’s what the extra time allows us to do:

- Greater god interaction: more player abilities, additional quests, narrative, and blessings and curses
- Additional combat polish to player attacks and enemy abilities
- Adding the female player character
- Additional rebuildables (more buildings, structures, and shrines)
- Rework the crafting system to have more diverse crafting recipes
- More places to explore and more secrets to discover
- Additional fierce enemies: Dragons, Sea Serpents, additional Giants, and some surprises

Community members who have pre-ordered the game before September 12 at 11:59 PM CDT will be guaranteed entry into all upcoming beta tests.

What comes next? Stay tuned to our social media channels, and our website, blog, and forums for more news and updates as we march toward launch.

Sharpen your axe, Vikings! Loki awaits, and the battle will soon rage on!

Rise, warrior. Ragnarok, the end of days, is upon you.

Rune will enter Steam Early Access on September 19. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we will hold a 12-hour playtest this Saturday, September 1. PvP and PvE servers in the US and Europe will be live from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. CDT so you can explore Midgard to your heart’s content. Anyone who has ever held a Rune access key will be able to participate in the bloodbath.

Ragnarok has plagued the nine realms for far too long. Heed the call of the gods and set forth on your quest to defeat Loki. Ragnarok must end.

View our new trailer on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsnPjlHmaDA

Vikings, rejoice.

Rune will enter Steam Early Access this September. For those of you keeping track, that’s next month. You can add the game to your wishlist on Steam today. (Odin favors those who wishlist Rune.)

We’re eager to get more players into the game and continue to build Rune with the community during Early Access. Until then, here’s a message from our fearless leader.

"Rune is a brutal and challenging game set during the Norse apocalypse. We designed it to appeal to fans of the original but also modernized the design for new fans. We hope that all the blood, heart, and soul we put in the game shows as you play and dismember your enemies to take their blood, heart, and soul."

- Chris Rhinehart

Keep a watchful eye on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts for game updates and playtest announcements.

Before Rune moves into Early Access next month, Closed Beta testers will journey back to Midheim for another bloodbath. These brave warriors will witness significant improvements including:

Full open world available for the first time
• Traverse the entire map with over 20 islands to explore and conquer (if you can manage to survive the journey)
  
  Revamped combat and enemy AI
  
• Thanks to the community (especially Rune Classic fans like Bringer of Pain), the combat saw major combat updates near the end of Closed Alpha. The combat has been enhanced further to be faster and more intense with improvements to hitboxes and combo button press timing
  
• Enemy AI is now smarter and more deadly, with more attack options and the ability to harness Rune powers
  
  Completely new quests including the main line quests
  
• Set out on your journey to end Ragnarok by defeating Loki’s minions
  
• More god interactions with player and improved first time user experience to help guide you through the beginning of the game
  
  Redesigned UI/UX for inventory, crafting, and equip screens
  
• UI/UX has been streamlined to be faster and more intuitive, including a hotbar weapon system that gives players more flexibility.
  
• Updated crafting system in the game
  
• Gather resources from enemies, animals, and the environment to craft powerful weapons, armor, traps, runes, and more
  
  Rebuild longhouses in the world, by yourself or with your friends
  
• Take your crafting resources to villages and rebuild what was destroyed when Ragnarok began
  
  Clan system
  
• What’s a Viking without their clan? This battle will feature a reworked party system which allows you team up with friends to conquer the end of days
  
• Ability to see nearby clan members via an icon over their heads
  
  Continued improvement to server stability and performance
  
• Reduced rubberbanding and further optimized the build for a smoother multiplayer experience

Vikings who will not be testing with us can wishlist the game on Steam now.

Who’s ready for battle?