Rune Sockets Should Be Overwritable (deleted on overwrite)

Suggestion:

Runes should be able to overwrite the existing rune (deleting the old rune in the process). There can still be opportunity cost of losing the runes, but completely locking that item is unnecessary and doesn't allow for any creativity or options, something poe 1 was especially great about. Small tweaks and many options to do so. This would be such a huge QoL for such a small change and its not oppressive or abusable. Rune power at least currently is not THAT strong to the point it breaks characters. Mostly just for solving problems.

Common Scenario this would fix:

You get a new upgrade with a ton of a certain resistance that you already Rune Socketed for on other equipped slots. This new item solves the resistance problem but creates a weakness in a different resistance, because you are locked into 2 other items that are using runes. Now you need to upgrade 2-3 entire items to fix your resistance when you could have just replaced the runes on those items instead.

+1

According to Jonathan the rune system was intended as an alternative for crafting bench crafts in PoE1, but the crafts could be replaced at any time. Hard locking the runes discourages players from using them while levelling in case they find one that fits their build better.

+1 I agree with this, I basically miss clicked a rune (I wanted the one next to it), applied to my gear, only then to realize that I had clicked the wrong rune.
Now there is nothing I can do about it.

This is incredibly infuriating.
It is NOT FUN, it is frustrating.
There should be a way to unsocket, at least in the case a mistake was made.

+1

I'm at just below level 74 on a character and have two available sockets to use on gear, but I don't socket anything into them because I intend to change other pieces of gear later, so socketing something now might screw me over later if I need or don't need resists somewhere... It is an absolute mess.

Also, you get TONS of runes, but you can't even use them that much because of this.

This is a really bad mechanic, it must be changed. I am honestly surprised it has made it this far into this stage of PoE2... Anyone playing to higher levels should have caught this problem.

Yeah, I'd be good with destroying runes to replace them. Having to find a whole new piece of gear, when the bases and currency is as rare as it is, is really punishing.

I currently have this problem:

I want to upgrade my helmet. I already have a very good upgrade on hand that I want to use. I also have two empty rune sockets in gear pieces that I intend to keep for the foreseeable future.

Equipping that new, better helmet makes me have issues with one resistance.

I can now A) equip the new, better helmet and socket runes into the two empty sockets on my other gear to fix my resists. Or B) keep my old helmet because I recon I will upgrade another piece of gear in the future, which would require me to have different runes again.

I decided on option B. Because I do not want to brick my good items, that I want to keep, with runes that are going to be useless for me after the next gear upgrade elsewhere.

So the runes not being replaceable forces a decision onto me where socketing runes into my gear feels really bad because I fear/know they will no longer be useful to me soon. So I would end up with a useless rune in a good item. And holding off on socketing runes does not allow me to upgrade my gear when I have the opportunity. Simultaneously, not socketing runes means I leave power on the table that I could utilize right now.

It is a LOSE-LOSE-LOSE situation.

This led to me preferably socketing runes into BAD items because I know I will replace those, so bricking the rune socket doesn't matter.

I don't think that was the intended feeling to instill in players about runes. No matter what I do with them, it feels bad.