u/Virelith

So I was using slicing Maelstrom with an aura and curse and I was using over 120,000 runes/hour

I also tested the agile wings rapier against the Leviathan, a melee monster that you in theory should use magic against. I ended up getting 2/3 as many kills with the melee setup, which kind of bummed me out because you can't make 120,000 runes per hour, or even close to 240,000 runes/hour which would even out the effective kills per hour between the two methods.

Is endgame magic just bad for farming because of the rune upkeep?

Should I upgrade carrion/lightning/divine armor? Is it worth upgrading the god armors?

Thank you for your help!

Am I correct in understanding that items equipped in the passive slot do not provide combat stats, only their special abilities?

Is there a list of items that are good for the passive slot? I just finished Impending Darkness so I have a crypt that three Shields to the passive slot, but I don't know if that is the best use