Were random rune slots removed from carried items?

That removes a whole layer from gear planning. An Aniimo equips one carried item, and what that item gives is fixed by the item itself: stat increases plus a special bonus. Ambusher Cloak raises the damage you deal when attacking from behind. The Experimental Unit raises defense against enemies. The Experimental Amplifier grants a substantial damage boost on Normal difficulty. There is no socket step afterwards that changes those numbers.

In the closed beta there was. Carried items had rune slots, and exceptionally rare Legendary Runes could be socketed into the item an Aniimo was holding to grant superior stats, including large damage increases. The rune system came out completely before the 16 September 2026 launch, so an item's ceiling is now whatever the item and its enhancement give you, and nothing else.

What still raises an Aniimo's stats

Potential is the baseline, capped at 20 points per stat. The carried item stacks on top of that, which is how an Aniimo's effective stats get pushed past what potential alone allows. Some carried items already grant stat bonuses at tier one, so an item is worth equipping before you have put any work into it.

This is also why Aniimo recommended for the early game stay viable into the endgame. Give one a strong carry item and it keeps up. Items you use to power up an Aniimo mid-battle are a separate thing and are unaffected by any of this.

Enhancing without sockets

Upgrading a carried item now means enhancing it, which consumes lower-grade materials. Carried item management sits in the training menu, alongside rank ups, skill customization and potential awakening, so gear decisions happen in the same place as the rest of an Aniimo's progression.

Not settled: The Holo-Battle Sim paid out runes as its weekly reward across its difficulty levels, and those runes were carried item upgrade material. What fills that reward slot now that runes are gone is not settled.