v0.21.0 · 14 October 2026

Ranks: wake, choose, Named

Every rank of a Brand socket in The Ember Depths: when a rune wakes, the Deepen or Bridge choice at rank 8, Named at rank 12, and undo and respec costs.

Each socket has 12 ranks. A rank costs one Legend point. A rune's line (a small stat) grows with every rank; ranks 4, 8 and 12 change how the rune plays.

Rank	What happens	Points spent in the socket
1	Every socket starts here. The rune's line counts once.	0
4	The rune's power wakes. Your class rune is awake from rank 1.	3
8	Choose once: Deepen (the rune's own line ×1.5) or Bridge (the socket lends itself to every Bond it touches). Further ranks wait for the choice. The Heart Deepens by itself.	7
12	Named: the power's numbers ×1.1, and the rune earns an epithet for your hero. Cooldowns, counts and ranges do not change.	11

Deepen or Bridge

Deepen is the steady choice: the rune's own line is ×1.5.
Bridge is the shape-your-Brand choice: the socket counts for every Bond it touches. A Bond counts at most 2 lending sockets (the Heart and Bridges together), and the screen tells you when a third doesn't count. A Bridge lends only to a colour it touches.
The card shows both before you choose: the line change for Deepen, and for Bridge the Bonds it would join ("Bridge: Hunt 6 → 7, Great Bond").

Where ranks live

Ranks belong to the socket. Swap a rune and the new one takes the socket's rank and choice. Take a rune out and the empty socket keeps its ranks, so you can rank a socket ahead of a rune.
Spend ranks anywhere outside the arena and outside a fight. Move runes and Crests in town.
Undo is free: every rank and choice since you last went between town and a run, last first.
Respec at the Temple's Rite of Recollection puts every rank back to 1 and clears your choices; your runes and Crests stay. It costs 300 gold + 30 per rank spent and a soul for every 10, before the Temple's discount. A banked free respec comes first.
Legend levels past 209 keep counting and light Brand Flames. They never add Power.