Dota 2 Timer: The Rune Timer Tool for bounty, power and wisdom runes

The Rune Timer Tool

The Rune Timer Tool puts every rune in Dota 2 on one clock: bounty runes, power runes, water runes and the Shrines of Wisdom. It tells you what spawns next, when, and what it is worth. Axe used to count runes on his fingers. Axe has ten fingers. Dota has more runes.

1. Start the clock. Press Horn! when the horn sounds at 0:00, or type the game clock you see in Dota, for example 11:32, and press Enter.
2. Watch the track. Every rune slides towards the red “now” line. The big number shows the next spawn, the cards show each rune type with gold or XP.
3. Turn on alerts. Switch on Sound, pick 10 to 30 seconds of warning and use the bell on each card to mute the runes you do not care about.

Axe explains

Runes in 10 seconds

1. 4 minbounty runes, from 0:00.
2. 2 minpower runes, from 6:00.
3. 2:00 + 4:00water runes. Then never again.
4. 7 minwisdom shrines, from 7:00.

Be there early. Runes do not wait.

Dota 2 rune spawn times at a glance

Here is the first half hour of every rune in one picture. After that the pattern simply repeats: bounty every 4 minutes, power every 2, wisdom every 7.

Bounty

Power

Water

Wisdom

0:005:0010:0015:0020:0025:0030:00

RuneFirst spawnThenWhere

Bounty0:00 (4 runes)every 4 minone in each jungle

Water2:00once more at 4:00both river spots

Power6:00every 2 mintop or bottom river

Wisdom7:00every 7 minboth Shrines of Wisdom

Bounty rune spawn time: every 4 minutes

At 0:00 the game starts with four bounty runes: one at each river rune spot and one in each jungle. After that, every 4 minutes a new bounty rune spawns in each team’s jungle. If nobody takes it, it stays, and the next one spawns right next to it.

A bounty rune gives reliable gold to every hero on the team that takes it: 40 gold, plus 6 more for every 5 minutes of game time. The value is fixed when the rune spawns, not when you pick it up. In Turbo it is double.

Gold for the whole team, just for touching a shiny thing. Best deal in Dota. Axe touches every shiny thing.

Guide · Dota2FreaksDota 2 Support Guide for position 4 and 5Bounty runes, wards and rotations are support work. The guide covers both support roles and a plan for your next three games.→

Power rune spawn time: 6:00, then every 2 minutes

The first power rune spawns at 6:00. After that a new one comes every 2 minutes: 8:00, 10:00, 12:00 and so on. It appears at the top or the bottom river rune spot, chosen at random, and it disappears when the next one spawns. So check both spots, or ward both.

There are seven power runes. They come in a cycle: a type does not repeat until all seven have spawned, and the first rune of a new cycle is never the same as the last one of the old cycle.

Amplify Damage 45s+80% of your main attack damage and +15% spell damage

Arcane 50s25% faster cooldowns and 30% cheaper spells

Haste 22smoves at 550 speed and can not be slowed below it

Illusion 75stwo illusions that deal 35% of your damage

Invisibility 45sinvisible after a 2-second fade

Regeneration 30s6% of max health and mana per second, 1% after damage from players

Shield 75sa barrier worth 50% of your max health

With a Bottle you can store a rune and use it later. A stored rune activates by itself after 90 seconds.

Water runes: 2:00 and 4:00 only

Water runes spawn at 2:00 and 4:00 at both river rune spots, and never again after that. Each one restores 40 health and 80 mana instantly and gives a Bottle 2 charges. If nobody takes them, they vanish when the next runes spawn.

Wisdom rune timer: Shrines of Wisdom every 7 minutes

Wisdom runes are gone. Their job is now done by two Shrines of Wisdom, one on each side of the map in the offlane jungle. Both fill with experience at 7:00 and then every 7 minutes on the game clock, no matter when somebody last used them.

• Collect it: stand within 300 range of the shrine for 3 seconds.
• Two heroes get it: a random hero from your team in range, plus your teammate with the lowest experience.
• Contested: when an enemy hero steps into the area, the countdown runs backwards until they leave or die.

All heroes · Dota2FreaksAll Dota 2 heroes with builds and statsPick any hero and see role, difficulty, item builds and how strong they are in each phase of the game.→

Rune locations on the map

• River rune spots: one in the top half of the river, one in the bottom half. Power runes, water runes and the first two bounty runes spawn here.
• Bounty runes: one spot in each team’s main jungle, the jungle next to its safe lane.
• Shrines of Wisdom: at the west and east edges of the map, in the offlane jungle of each team, on low ground near the Tier 1 tower.

Axe's rune rules

1. Be there before it spawns. Standing on the spot 5 seconds early beats running there 5 seconds late. That is why the alerts come early.
2. Mid checks every 2 minutes. A power rune decides many mid fights. Look at both spots or ward them.
3. Grab the 0:00 bounties. Four runes, 40 gold each for all five heroes. Nobody should skip free gold. Axe never does.
4. Old bounties stack. Nobody took the last one? Now there are two. Check your jungle, and check theirs.
5. Fight for the shrine. An enemy hero in the area runs the countdown backwards. Kill them or push them out.

Rules are nice. Knowing which of your own habits loses games is better. Axe's habit is taking every rune, even the ones in the enemy jungle. He is keeping it.

Supports on bounty duty can stack camps on the way: the Stack Timer tells you when to pull. Night comes every 5 minutes on the same clock: the Day/Night Cycle Timer shows when.

Think you know every rune time now? The Rank Quiz asks them against the clock, 12 seconds per question.

Free guide · Dota2FreaksRank Up Guide: find the one thing holding you backFive quick questions about your role, your lane and your losses. You get one habit to fix and a free mission for your next three games.→

FAQ: Axe answers questions