Gear
The forge: reforging and runes
Reforging swaps one stat of an item for another for gold and materials: it does not make the item stronger, it makes it yours.
Gear
Runes go not into an item but into a skill: Attack and Defence sockets change the very behaviour of a strike or a block.
Everything here is taken from the game’s own reference — the same one a Keeper opens in town. Русская версия статьи.