The new skills system, which will apparently incorporate runestones in some as of yet unknown fashion, will be in the new patch, according to a tweet from Bashiok:
[blue]Rune stuff today or tomorrow? –EmperorDoomwolf
Whenever the patch goes live. 🙂 —Bashiok[/blue]
This seems yet more evidence that the skills and runes have been somehow merged, and that runes are no longer socketable items, but are somehow incorporated into skills, whether as a sort of training/attunment system over time (unlocked at higher levels, to ease the 30-60 “dead zone?), or with some consumable aspect of “using items” to them. Past speculation about that system change can be seen here and here, with credit to Azzure for first theorizing it, some weeks ago. A post on reddit today makes much the same allegations.
We’ve been promised a full, Jay Wilson-penned explanation of the new system before it goes live. Which could be as soon as tonight, but will more likely be Saturday (at the soonest) the way most beta patches have been delayed.