Runes are one of the most influential features in Stud Tower Defense Roblox, offering passive boosts that can significantly change the outcome of a match.
Whether you’re focused on farming rare units, improving your tower damage, or boosting your economy, choosing the right rune can give you a serious edge.
In this guide, we’ll break down every rune currently available in the game, rank them based on their effectiveness, and explain how you can obtain and optimize their usage.
What Are Runes in Stud Tower Defense?
Runes are passive modifiers that affect your gameplay across all matches. They provide various bonuses such as extra cash, faster evolution, or increased unit draw rates.
These enhancements are equipped before you enter a game and remain active for the entire match.
Runes do not directly affect the battlefield like towers do, but their impact—especially in early rounds or long-term strategies—is undeniable.
How to Get Runes in Stud Tower Defense
To acquire runes, head to the Rune Artist NPC located in the main lobby. You can reroll runes by spending in-game resources (often currency or tokens you earn by playing matches).
The runes you receive are random, but you can reroll as many times as you like to find the best ones. Once you unlock a rune, you can equip it before starting a match to benefit from its effect.
Stud Tower Defense Runes Tier List – Ranked from S to F
Below is the current tier list for runes in Stud Tower Defense as of May 2025, based on competitive utility, synergy with common strategies, and raw effectiveness.
S Tier – Must-Have Runes
These runes offer game-changing advantages and should be prioritized above all others.
- +25 Starting Cash: Easily the most powerful rune. Starting the game with bonus money allows you to place your key towers early, giving you a huge lead.
- 1.5× Holographic Rate: Increases the odds of drawing rare holographic units. Especially valuable for collectors and strategies centered on crate mechanics.
A Tier – Strong Utility Runes
These runes offer consistent and valuable boosts in most strategies.
- +10% Cash Rewards: Grants a flat bonus to every cash source in the game. This stacks over time and is particularly strong in mid-to-late waves.
- +5% Tower Damage: Straightforward DPS increase for all your towers. Works well in almost any loadout.
- +5% Attack Speed: Slightly improves how fast your towers fire. Multiplies well with already fast towers or burst units.
B Tier – Situational but Useful
Not essential, but can be powerful in specific setups or support strategies.
- -10% Crate Cost: Great for players who spend heavily on crates to build their unit collection.
- +10% Tower Grow Speed: Speeds up the evolution of your towers. Only useful in matches where you can evolve units, which takes time.
- +1 Tower Equip Slot: Lets you bring one additional tower into battle. Adds flexibility, especially in challenge modes or unique compositions.
C Tier – Niche Picks
These runes have limited usefulness and rarely make a big difference in most matches.
- $10 Card Sell Price: Offers a small refund when selling units. The return is minimal and rarely impactful.
F Tier – Avoid These
These runes provide little to no gameplay value and should be rerolled immediately.
- +30% Player Run Speed: Only affects your character’s movement speed. In a tower defense game, this has almost no strategic value.
Pro Tips for Choosing and Using Runes
1. Focus on Economy and Damage First
- If you’re just starting, prioritize Starting Cash and Cash Rewards. These allow faster scaling and early-game safety.
- Tower Damage and Attack Speed provide universal benefits across all tower types.
2. Reroll Strategically
- Don’t waste resources rerolling high-tier runes.
- Always replace C or F-tier runes with better options when possible.
3. Build Around Synergy
- Holographic Rate pairs well with crate discount runes and summon-based team builds.
- Tower Grow Speed works best when you’re using evolve-focused units.
4. Adapt to Game Mode
- Some modes may benefit more from economy, while others reward burst DPS or utility. Adjust your runes accordingly.
Final Thoughts – Which Runes Should You Use?
If you’re unsure where to start, go with the proven powerhouses: +25 Starting Cash, +10% Cash Rewards, and +5% Attack Speed.
These runes will give you the flexibility and strength needed in almost every match.
Advanced players may want to tailor their choices more specifically—adding Holographic Rate for farming units or Tower Equip Slot for more complex compositions.
Whatever your playstyle, runes are a powerful tool that can push your performance to the next level.