Diablo II: Resurrected

Calculate the exact cost to cube any rune in D2R. See the full upgrade path, total runes and gems needed, and whether it's worth cubing or trading.

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Cubing Path Calculator — Rune Upgrade Costs

Pick your starting rune and target — see exactly how many runes and gems you need, step by step. Includes practicality warnings so you know when to trade instead of cube.

I have

→

I want

To get 1 Ber from El

1,785,233,613,312 El runes

+ gems needed:

30,233,088× Chipped Topaz10,077,696× Chipped Amethyst3,359,232× Chipped Sapphire1,119,744× Chipped Ruby373,248× Chipped Emerald124,416× Chipped Diamond41,472× Flawed Topaz13,824× Flawed Amethyst4,608× Flawed Sapphire1,536× Flawed Ruby512× Flawed Emerald256× Flawed Diamond128× Topaz64× Amethyst32× Sapphire16× Ruby8× Emerald4× Diamond2× Flawless Topaz1× Flawless Amethyst

El equivalent: 1,785,233,613,312 El

🔴 Trade instead — cubing costs too much — check Traderie or in-game trade instead

Step-by-Step Upgrade Path

Step 1

3× El→Eld

Need 1,785,233,613,312 El🔴 Trade instead

Step 2

3× Eld→Tir

Need 595,077,871,104 Eld🔴 Trade instead

Step 3

3× Tir→Nef

Need 198,359,290,368 Tir🔴 Trade instead

Step 4

3× Nef→Eth

Need 66,119,763,456 Nef🔴 Trade instead

Step 5

3× Eth→Ith

Need 22,039,921,152 Eth🔴 Trade instead

Step 6

3× Ith→Tal

Need 7,346,640,384 Ith🔴 Trade instead

Step 7

3× Tal→Ral

Need 2,448,880,128 Tal🔴 Trade instead

Step 8

3× Ral→Ort

Need 816,293,376 Ral🔴 Trade instead

Step 9

3× Ort→Thul

Need 272,097,792 Ort🔴 Trade instead

Step 10

3× Thul+Chipped Topaz→Amn

Need 90,699,264 Thul + 30,233,088 Chipped Topaz🔴 Trade instead

Step 11

3× Amn+Chipped Amethyst→Sol

Need 30,233,088 Amn + 10,077,696 Chipped Amethyst🔴 Trade instead

Step 12

3× Sol+Chipped Sapphire→Shael

Need 10,077,696 Sol + 3,359,232 Chipped Sapphire🔴 Trade instead

Step 13

3× Shael+Chipped Ruby→Dol

Need 3,359,232 Shael + 1,119,744 Chipped Ruby🔴 Trade instead

Step 14

3× Dol+Chipped Emerald→Hel

Need 1,119,744 Dol + 373,248 Chipped Emerald🔴 Trade instead

Step 15

3× Hel+Chipped Diamond→Io

Need 373,248 Hel + 124,416 Chipped Diamond🔴 Trade instead

Step 16

3× Io+Flawed Topaz→Lum

Need 124,416 Io + 41,472 Flawed Topaz🔴 Trade instead

Step 17

3× Lum+Flawed Amethyst→Ko

Need 41,472 Lum + 13,824 Flawed Amethyst🔴 Trade instead

Step 18

3× Ko+Flawed Sapphire→Fal

Need 13,824 Ko + 4,608 Flawed Sapphire🔴 Trade instead

Step 19

3× Fal+Flawed Ruby→Lem

Need 4,608 Fal + 1,536 Flawed Ruby🔴 Trade instead

Step 20

3× Lem+Flawed Emerald→Pul

Need 1,536 Lem + 512 Flawed Emerald🔴 Trade instead

Step 21

2× Pul+Flawed Diamond→Um

Need 512 Pul + 256 Flawed Diamond🔴 Trade instead

Step 22

2× Um+Topaz→Mal

Need 256 Um + 128 Topaz⚠️ Debatable

Step 23

2× Mal+Amethyst→Ist

Need 128 Mal + 64 Amethyst⚠️ Debatable

Step 24

2× Ist+Sapphire→Gul

Need 64 Ist + 32 Sapphire⚠️ Debatable

Step 25

2× Gul+Ruby→Vex

Need 32 Gul + 16 Ruby🔴 Trade instead

Step 26

2× Vex+Emerald→Ohm

Need 16 Vex + 8 Emerald🔴 Trade instead

Step 27

2× Ohm+Diamond→Lo

Need 8 Ohm + 4 Diamond🔴 Trade instead

Step 28

2× Lo+Flawless Topaz→Sur

Need 4 Lo + 2 Flawless Topaz🔴 Trade instead

Step 29

2× Sur+Flawless Amethyst→Ber

Need 2 Sur + 1 Flawless Amethyst🔴 Trade instead

Total Gems Required

Chipped Topaz30,233,088

Chipped Amethyst10,077,696

Chipped Sapphire3,359,232

Chipped Ruby1,119,744

Chipped Emerald373,248

Chipped Diamond124,416

Flawed Topaz41,472

Flawed Amethyst13,824

Flawed Sapphire4,608

Flawed Ruby1,536

Flawed Emerald512

Flawed Diamond256

Topaz128

Amethyst64

Sapphire32

Ruby16

Emerald8

Diamond4

Flawless Topaz2

Flawless Amethyst1

ℹ️ D2R note: In Diablo II: Resurrected, all formerly Ladder-only cube recipes (including Pul+ rune upgrades) are available in all game modes — Ladder, Non-Ladder, and Offline.

How Rune Cubing Works in D2R

The Horadric Cube lets you upgrade runes by combining multiple lower runes — sometimes with a gem — into the next tier. There are three recipe types:

El → Thul (3× no gem): Three of the lower rune produce one of the next tier. Simple and cheap for early runes.
Thul → Pul (3× + Chipped/Flawed gem): Three runes plus a specific gem. Gems at this tier are abundant, so still accessible.
Pul → Zod (2× + gem): Only two runes needed per step. In D2R, these recipes are available in all game modes (formerly Ladder-only in original D2). The exponential cost still grows quickly.

The calculator tracks every step and aggregates the total runes and gems you'll need — including across multiple tiers. A path from El to Ber, for instance, spans 29 upgrade steps.

When to Cube vs. Trade

Cubing is efficient for low and mid runes where the cost is manageable. But once you're past Pul, the math gets brutal fast:

✅ El–Pul: Cube freely. Common runes are easy to stockpile.
⚠️ Um–Mal: Consider your rune supply before cubing. These are tradeable currency runes.
🔴 Ist–Zod: Trade instead. The high rune economy on Traderie and in-game trading makes it far more efficient to trade than cube.

The practicality indicators in the calculator reflect this logic for every step so you can make informed decisions at each tier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need a Ladder character to cube high runes?
Not in D2R. All formerly Ladder-only cube recipes (including Pul+ rune upgrades) are available in every game mode — Ladder, Non-Ladder, and Offline. This restriction only applied to the original Diablo II.

Q: What is the El equivalent?
It shows how many El runes you'd need to cube your starting rune from scratch. Useful for sanity-checking the total cost in a common denominator.

Q: Can I cube in reverse (downgrade runes)?
No. D2R has no downgrade cube recipe for runes. Upgrades are one-way only.

Q: Are these recipes the same as D2 Classic?
D2R uses the same cube recipes as Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. The Pul+ recipes were not available in vanilla D2 (pre-LoD).