Dungeon Settlers Inscriptions: All 41 by Tier
Inscription list checked:
Common inscriptions (grey, 16)
Common-tier inscriptions are grey, usually only offering a boost to various advanced stats.
| Inscription | Effect | Changed since |
|---|---|---|
| Guard Chance | +10% Guard Chance | — |
| Critical Chance | +5% Critical Chance | — |
| Life Steal | +5% Lifesteal when dealing damage | — |
| Hit Chance | +10% Hit Chance | — |
| Attack Speed | +10% Attack Speed | — |
| Physical Resistance | +5 Physical Resistance | — |
| Max Health | +10% Max Health | — |
| Health Regeneration | +0.1% Health Regeneration | — |
| Max Weight | +20% Max Weight | — |
| Cooldown Reduction | +10 Cooldown Reduction | — |
| Dodge Chance | +10% Dodge Chance | — |
| Physical Attack | +10% Physical Attack Power | — |
| Magic Resistance | +5 Magic Resistance | — |
| Magic Attack | +10% Magical Attack Power | — |
| Movement Speed | +10% Movement Speed | — |
| Max Energy | +10% Max Energy | — |
Uncommon inscriptions (green, 10)
Uncommon-tier inscriptions are green, these offer higher-grade bonuses than Common's, with a few augmenting combat directly.
| Inscription | Effect | Changed since |
|---|---|---|
| Hit Chance | +20% Hit Chance | — |
| Critical Damage | +20% Critical Damage | — |
| Max Health | +20% Max Health | — |
| Max Energy | +20% Max Energy | — |
| Life Steal | +7% Lifesteal when dealing damage | — |
| Heavy Plumb | Increases damage by 15% of you current Weight when performing a melee physical attacks | — |
| Sword | Gain access to the Sword skill tree as well as 5 Main Skill Points | — |
| Excessive Bleeding | Inflicts 2 Bleeding for 6 seconds on every 3 basic attacks | — |
| Sprouting Shell | Gain 1 Shell for every 60 Energy recovered, up to a maximum of 20 stacks | Conflicting numbers: the community wiki says 1 Shell per 60 Energy recovered (max 20); a tips video reads it as 1 Shell per 6 Energy. |
| Attack Speed | +20% Attack Speed | — |
Rare inscriptions (blue, 12)
Rare-tier inscriptions are blue, and these range from various stat boosts to unique effects in combat. These can range from high-grade bonuses to basic or advanced stats to unique bonuses for fulfilling the mechanics stated by the inscription.
| Inscription | Effect | Changed since |
|---|---|---|
| Life Steal | +10% Lifesteal when dealing damage | — |
| Health Regeneration | +0.30% Health Regeneration | — |
| Flint | When a Critical Hit occurs, inflict 5 Burning for 10 seconds | — |
| Attack Speed | +30% Attack Speed | — |
| Hit Chance | +30% Hit Chance | — |
| Divine | Your magical attack increases by 10% of your Max HP when attacking. | — |
| Shockwave | Deals additional physical damage to adjacent 1 tiles for 30% of the damage dealt on basic attacks. | — |
| Death Throes | Damage dealt increased proportionally to lost Health, up to a maximum of 20%. | — |
| Protection | At the start of combat, gain a Barrier equal to 50% of lost Health for 10 seconds. This effect can only trigger again after 360 seconds have passed since its last activation. | Buffed in v0.3.21: duration 10 to 20 seconds, lost-Health scaling 50% to 200%, reactivation cooldown 360 to 60 seconds. |
| Giant's | Your physical attack increase by 10% of your Max HP when attacking. | — |
| Magic Smite | Deal magical attack damage equal to 10% of your physical attack damage. | — |
| Recovery | Restores 30% of max health to all allies upon entering a new floor. | Changed in demo patch v0.3.21: the floor-entry effect now restores 30% Energy instead of 30% Health, and the inscription recovers Energy rather than Health. |
Legendary inscriptions (gold, 3)
Legendary-tier inscriptions are gold, and are usually extremely potent unique mechanics. While these inscriptions are far and few, they can easily turn any recruit into one a lot more competent.
| Inscription | Effect | Changed since |
|---|---|---|
| Storm | When a critical hit occurs with a basic attack, it deals 30% damage to the target and enemy units within 2 squares around it. The type of damage depends on the type of the basic attack. The attack can hit up to 5 enemies | — |
| Capital Punishment | Enemies with 10% HP or less are instantly executed upon taking damage. Does not apply to Boss Monsters. | Patch v0.3.21 raised the instant-kill threshold of an inscription it calls Execution from 10% to 20%. It is probably this one, but the notes do not use the same name. |
| Perfection | All talents increase by one level. Talents cannot exceed the maximum level, Genius. | — |
Inscriptions named only in patch notes
These appear in CanOpener's notes or official screenshots but not on the community list above.
| Inscription | Change |
|---|---|
| Dodge (by load) | Bonuses by carried load changed from 10/20/30% to 5/10/15% (v0.3.21) |
| Physical / Magical Resistance (by load) | Bonuses by load changed from 5/10/15 to 8/16/25 (v0.3.21) |
| Depression | Mood reduction changed from -4 to -3 (v0.3.21) |
| Sinking | Damage increase based on missing Health raised from 20% to 120% (v0.3.21) |
| Mid-grade Guard Chance | Shown on the official Consecration screenshot: increases Guard Chance |
How the level-up roll works
- Leveling needs a Goddess Statue, full XP and mana stones; see how to level up.
- The offering size changes the stat bonus (Least 0%, Ordinary +20%, Plentiful +50%); inscriptions are rerolled on every prayer.
- You must pick an inscription and confirm to receive the stat points. A level cannot be undone.
- CanOpener is extending the option to lock stat increases or inscriptions to all difficulties (currently Easy and Normal only).
Sources: Dungeon Settlers community wiki (Miraheze), Inscriptions page, last edited 2026-07-12 (demo build); patch notes v0.3.21. Values were published for the demo build; the four marked changes come from patch notes.
Inscription questions
How do you get inscriptions?
When a settler levels up at the Goddess Statue, the Consecration screen offers inscriptions alongside stat increases. You choose one. Some recruits also arrive with an inscription already.
Can I reroll inscriptions?
Yes, by praying again, but the community wiki notes that the previous offering of mana stones is lost. Guides recommend rerolling for Perfection or other strong picks when you can afford it; some players reload a save before leveling instead.
What is the best inscription?
Perfection is the one guides single out: it raises all of a settler's talents by one grade, up to Genius, which improves every future level-up. We do not rank the rest because their value depends on the build.