Runic Sunder → Morph of Runic Jolt
(Vital)
This is one of the Arcanist’s unique benefits. You apply this to an enemy and it will taunt and apply a armor pen debuff of 2200. The reason why this is used is when combined with Tremorscale it can potentially replace the need for Crimson Oath’s Rive and Alkosh in Trial groups. In dungeons it also helps a lot because it’s likely your dungeon Damage Dealers won’t be at the pen cap. You would ideally replace Pierce Armor with this skill however, you’ll need an additional source of Major Breach.

Impervious Runeward → Morph of Runespite Ward
(Vital)
This is a huge damage shield and one of the most vial Arcanist survival tools since it also heals. This is my preferred morph and it acts in a reactional way where you gain a bigger shield for the first second that it’s active then an additional smaller shield afterwards. I take this morph over the other because the other will consume Crux to reduce the cost of the shield and I can virtually spam this without the cost reduction thanks to the Arcanist’s huge recovery potential. By using this morph you will heal for more depending on how many Crux you have saved, this is the only Crux spender that I use and this is so

Cruxweaver Armor → Morph of Fatewoven Armor
(Vital)
This is my preferred morph of this skill because it has a longer duration and creates Crux. You gain Major Resolve but you also apply Minor Breach to enemies when they hit you. This makes this skill really useful in dungeons and it’s a easy application of Minor Breach. It also means that dropping Pierce Armor to use Runic Sunder isn’t much of a problem because we’ve already covered the loss of Minor Breach by using this skill, we just have to find a way to apply Major Breach.

Unbreakable Fate → Morph of Fatewoven Armor
(Optional)
This is the alternative morph which gives you additional Block Mitigation but it consumes Crux to do so. I limit my Crux consuming skills to just one so I can control it better and an additional 5% Block Mitigation isn’t really very much. If you are struggling to survive Single Target or AoE damage then you could use this morph but you’ll need to make sure you’re actually building up Crux before you use it to gain the benefit.

Runeguard of Freedom → Morph of Runic Defense
(Optional)
This is typically the better morph for Trials as it gives you additional resistances and CC immunity when you are low health and the heal procs, so this can be useful on boss fights in Trials.

Runeguard of Still Waters → Morph of Runic Defense
(Vital)
This is the generally better morph especially for dungeons and add pulls as it causes an 360 degree immobilisation. Overall this is a vital skill due to the group buff it provides of Minor Resolve which might be needed in some situations. It also gives you Minor Protection which reduces the damage you take. Additionally it’s a auto-heal skill, the heal scales on your Max Health and it will just heal