Evony: How to Convert Excess Gold into Runestones

In Evony, surplus gold can be converted directly into Runestones by trading at the Black Market inside your city. Because Runestones are required to refine and upgrade equipment—improving stats like march size, troop attack, and troop defense—exchanging idle gold for these materials turns excess currency into permanent gear improvements without spending Gems.

Step-by-Step Black Market Gold Trade

To turn your gold reserves into Runestones:

1. Open the Black Market: Locate and tap the Black Market building within your city.
2. Review Available Goods: Check the rotating shop inventory for Runestones or related gear enhancement materials.
3. Filter by Cost: Select offers that require gold rather than Gems or premium resources.
4. Complete the Exchange: Confirm the trade to send the Runestones directly to your inventory.

The Black Market inventory resets periodically. Check back regularly or take advantage of daily refreshes to find trades that accept gold.

Managing Your Gold Reserve Trade-Offs

While converting surplus gold builds gear strength, spending your entire gold balance creates severe operational risks. You must retain a reserve of gold for essential military and progression needs:

• Troop Upkeep and Training: High-tier troop batches consume significant gold.
• Emergency Healing: Server vs. Server (SvS) events and battlefield combat require instant gold reserves to heal wounded armies.
• Major Research Projects: Higher-level Academy research projects require substantial capital investments.

Always set aside a dedicated gold buffer before clearing out the Black Market, especially when preparing for active PvP events.

When to Target Runestone Trades

The most efficient times to trade gold for Runestones occur during specific gameplay bottlenecks and events:

• Building Resource Gates: If your Keep progression is temporarily paused while waiting on Ore or Lumber, direct your active gold income toward Black Market trades.
• Merchant & Market Events: Watch for limited-time event merchants or Black Market updates that offer discounted trade rates for Runestones. Purchasing during these discounts increases the volume of materials received per gold spent.