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Does anyone knows (based on previous playtests or as some insider info) when we should wait for official release of Necromancer and Runesmith? Playtest has ended 31.01, and after release I believe we'll have new class features, runes for Runesmith, subclasses and so on. What is the usual gap between playtest end and release?

I've played several games as runesmith already and found it quite playable. The only thing making me sad is it's begging for subclasses with slightly different mechanics. Now you can utilize several playstyles, with empty hand and shield (no melee attack, just trace & invoke and use shield - that's my choice), shield and melee weapon (mostly engraving strike and runesinger, melee fighter with attacking runes traced on hit, makes maximum use of etched runes) or empty hand + melee weapon (high damage, low defence). Any style you choose blocks use of some other class abilities. Empty hand + shield has no benefit from weapon expertise and runic optimization, empty hand + weapon doesn't utilize shield block, shield + weapon can't trace as much runes as his empty-handed colleagues.

En-, diacritic Rune of Expansion. Looks cool, works cool, no more words needed.
Feikris, Rune of Gravity. When etched, nice for party brawler, when invoked... when do you need to invoke it? Party brawler is 10ft away from all enemies and doesn't want to make Step to save it for extra attack?
By the way, combine this with Words Fly Free and look what happened :)
Ichelsu, Rune of Observation - whoa, that's bliss! Something that one can gain at 19th level as feat, you just get at 9 for 1 rune slot!
Inth-, Diacritic Rune of Corruption - first diacritic rune with level progression. Base effect is very situational (and heavily relies on what adversaries your GM throws at you), invocation effect is nice and tasty.
Jurroz, Rune of Dragon Fury - as someone on this forum said, it's very dramatic rune. Not that it gives you some uber benefits (but, hey, this is really useful!), but when you describe effect of triggered Jurroz to your party-mates - I suppose it will be awesome. "As this petty thief flees to backstreets, rune on my neck resembling roaring dragon head suddenly barks out "Freeze, you dirty little pilferer!". Mighty fire wings spans behind my shoulders, and I rush to him as an angel of righteous fury!"
Kojastri, Rune of Insulation - one of the best runes of this level, something your party tank will love you for. Energy resistance + analog of Energy Retort from 3.5 + bonus versus pesky grabbers - it definitely deserves your close attention.
Trolistri, Rune of Forlorn Sorrow - one of those runes you don't want to invoke due to benefits of just having it on you. Especially when you are chased by powerful melee attackers.
Aiuen, the Elf-gate Key - you can make a fortune with this thing, especially if you travelled a lot and placed a lot of your sigils all around the world! Or you may place your sigil onto a stone and throw it in the depths of ocean (hey, tarrasque, you have a lot of resistances, but can you live without air?). Or you may put the same stone into sturdy cage on your base and go like "Hey, this guy is tough and has a lot of cool items - let's put him in a cage and deal with these minions first!". Seriously, it's an unlimited power, bearing in mind that you don't have any restrictions for using it again and again!
Rovan, Seal of the Dead Vault - not so cool as previous, but do we have some other choice at 19th level? But don't think it's useless. Hey, -20 to speed (and -40 to flight speed) without any saves is something wants on it!

A bit of my thoughts about runes presented in playtest RAW.
Atryl, Rune of Fire - 1 of 3 "Combat Runesinger Starter Pack" runes. If enemy isn't fire resistant - trace & invoke. If it is - etch on yourself/ally, transpose to enemy, then trace & invoke.
Esvadir, Rune of Whetstones - 2 of 3 "Combat Runesinger Starter Pack". If for any reason you have free slots for etching, this is obvious choice. Etch it to dagger, sickle, needle, whatever is sharp, and give it to the most melee-oriented ally. Doesn't matter if he never uses it - you will use it!
Holtrik, Rune of Dwarven Ramparts - must have if you are a shield-bearer. +1 to AC is not something you just can pass by. Also great for allies. And yes, if you use it only on your shield, then invocation is useless. Well, I see only exception at now: "I'm short of actions, but I have to raise my shield, but I'm invoking anyway, so I'll invoke Holtrik as well, because it's shield-or-die case".
Marssyl, Rune of Impact - if your GM likes to make battles vs multiple low-hp enemies AND you have an ally with bludgeoning weapon AND it's not an unarmed monk (because unarmed strike isn't considered a melee weapon, so the monk shall get splash damage from his own attacks) - then it's worth your attention for etching. Invocation - nice, powerful, situational.
Oljinex, Rune of Cowards’ Bane - here's a vital question: does these illusionary walls move along with rune-bearer when she moves? As for me, main point of using (invoking) this rune is trap enemies within 15ft square with enemy shield-bearer in the middle (and for him there is no walls around). Consult with your GM before using this!
Pluuna, Rune of Illumination - one word (okay, two): TOO MUCH. Passive effect is similar to Light cantrip (and I don't want to spend a precious rune slot for that), and invocation covers everyone - allies, enemies, you (unless you have Distant Invocation, which is level 12). Well, if you're a party trickster and chaos generator, give it a try.
Ranshu, Rune of Thunder - the last of "Combat Runesinger Starter Pack". I still want to know how one can dispose of etched rune, for you can etch it on yourself and walk constantly (or just put it on lightning resistant ally), and then transpose your etching to enemy. No more sleep for you, guy! Also, very solid damage output (and enemies with lightning resistance are much more seldom then with fire).
Sun-, Diacritic Rune of Preservation. Looks great, but right now I don't see too much ways it can make your life better in terms of action economy. If you can trace Sun, you also can trace the other rune, so it's just "I spend my action now for not to spend it later". Well, maybe one combo I definitely see: Runic Tattoo with Atryl on you, Sun on this Atryl, then Words, Fly Free to a group of enemies and then double invocation. A ton of damage, but requires two feats. Maybe you can propose something even better.
Ur-, Diacritic Rune of Intensity. Guys, it's a trap! At 1st level it can make your Atryl, Esvadir or Ranshu deal 2d6+4 instead of 2d6 (I assume you maxed your main stat!), which makes it one and half better. But - no level progression, no increasing continual damage from Ranshu - it becames total crap at 3rd level already. Fine, you can take Shades of Meaning at 20th level (20th, Carl!), but at this point your damage will be 20d6, and these 6-7 additional damage is a raindrop in ocean. Seriously, I hope this rune will be reworked (at least level progression will be added).
Zohk, Rune of Homecoming - it's just a brilliant thing! Ability to teleport your allies at 1st level - that's too powerful thing to skip. Tactical abilities are limitless (you can send your ally to the forest etching Zohk at him, so he always will be aware of which direction he should take to return to the party, for example).

That's all for level 1 runes, rest are in the next post

By the way, it's interesting question how one can dispose of etched rune. I etch Ranshu on some eidolon/familiar with lightning resistance, then use Transpose Etching and move it to an enemy which I can't defeat right now. And then flee away. That's it, he takes lightning damage every round he is not moving. See you in pair of days when you will be too exhausted to fight!

Fortifying Knock + Runic Reprisal is a great combo: If they attack you, you explode an extra Rune/round.

Not exactly so. You explode only if they attack you AND hit you (which is uncertain due to your AC bonus after shield is raised). And if they miss, in your next turn you can't invoke attacking rune on your shield in this manner, and at the end of next turn it will fade.

Level 6.
Tracing Trance - must have! Free +1 action every odd round - it's probably the best feat runesmith can have ever.
Words, Fly Free - my second must have. Once per day you can become a firethrower, if you tattoo Atryl on yourself. Too bad it works only on tattoed rune, not on etched, but we have what we have.
Runic Reprisal - nice thing, but dwarfed by previous two. Besides it requires Fortifying Knock which we declined before.
Vital Composite Invocation - very strange thing. Before level 9 you have only one option to use it without harming your ally - invoke Pluuna and Esvadir on him. Once per 10 minutes. And need to have Pluuna (which I don't have). Errrr... I would better learn Continual Recovery.

Level 8
Drawn in Red - sounds cool, but it's still martial, so dump.
Read the Bones - an attempt to make a runesmith some more oraclish? I'll skip this thing, but if you're the only info miner in your party this make be handy. Tastes differ.
Elemental Revision - very situational, but also yummy. I'll have a hard time on level 8 deciding whether to take this or Words, Fly Free from level 6.

Level 10.
Clashing Composite Invocation - like all other composite invocations it's a tall order to use it with so few runes in playtest. (https://paizo.com/threads/rzs5junr?Not-enough-runes-supplied-for-testing)
Overloaded Ammunition - again, it's for martial.
Chain of words - this require some tricky strategies to perform, but given that nothing better on level 10 is not available - well, that's some nice stuff to use with good opportunity.

Level 12
Astral Composite Invocation - like all other composite invocations.
Expanded Glossary - it will highly depend on runes list after playtest
Distant Invocation - marvelous thing which never be redundant for any build.

Level 14
Dance of Bloody Ink - only for melee builds
Henge Gate - only if you/your allies use physical ranged attacks. But I must admit, in game world it should look pretty cool!
Define the Canvas - oooh, it's too long for me to level 14, but I already love it (especially if you fight on a limited space). Here is my canvas, and here I'm king and god for 1 minute.

Level 16
By your name - sounds cool, but useful. Even if you score a critical success, you just have a diacritic rune for 1 minute once per hour (once per day for a certain creature) which allows you to lower it's save by petty -2 and make 8 additional damage (while at 16 level with the same trace action you can trace any other damaging rune and get 16d6 instead of 8). If not critical success - it's not worth your attention.
Return unto Runes - that's wonderful! Ability not only to counter the spell but also mirror it to any target you can reach is magnificent

Level 18
Annihilating Composite Invocation - well, it's still a composite invocation. Sounds interesting, but not so powerful as you expect to have at demigod 18 level. 10d4, average 25 damage? Seriously?
Living Lexicon - well, that's nice. It's not like we have much choice, right?

Level 20.
Here I stop. Both offered feats of this level are awesome, but it's too far to judge right now. Let's see how this runesmith class be changed after the playtest, and then decide

Recently I've started to playtest the Runesmith, so here is some thoughts I had while designing the character build.
We have shield and shield block. Whoa. Must have. Moreover, we have Holtric, so we can boost the shield at +1 since the first level freely. And we automatically learn the reinforcing rune for shield at level 4. No more words, shut up and take my offhand forever. Shield is my buddy.
Tracing runes need another free hand. Ok, so no weapons for me, point. Okay, my GM allowed to take a free archetype, which I spent on monk thus having my unarmed strikes to be 1d6 and not nonlethal, but this is for rare cases if I found myself into antimagic field or some equal circumstances. BTW, I immediately added an oath to refrain from using weapons for my character. Real Bristol compliment.
Trace or strike? I'm 4th level from start (joining an existing party), so should I get Engraving Strike? My STR is +2, I'm no more then Trained in Unarmed, so my strike is +8. Average AC of martial enemies at same level is about 20-21. 40% chance to hit at most. Let's calculate. Average damage output from unarmed strike 1d6+2 = 5.5, invoking any damaging rune 4d6=14.
Let's compare non-missing 14 if we just trace against (5.5+14)*40% = 8 (even less) if we strike. No more words. Pudding—Alice, Alice—Pudding. Remove the pudding!
So we have a character who never strikes, except of dire need (maybe if runes wouldn't work or something like that). So which options we have for build?

Level 1.
Backup Runic Enhancement. No one in my party uses weapons or unarmed strikes (except of gunslinger which doesn't allow anyone to touch his pepperbox). Waste whole class feat for sigil... Bad idea.
Engraving strike. Martial - dump.
Remote detonation. Martial - dump.
Rune-singer. Not only a nice addition to runesmith's action economy, but also wonderfully fits to my character's background.

Level 2.
Invisible Ink - why should I bother about anyone sees my rune? A foe which I traced my rune on - he already saw it. An ally which I etched my rune on - he is aware of it. Damn, if I want to hide any of my runes, I'll just cover it with cloth!
Smithing Weapons Familiarity. Martial - dump.
Rune Tattoo. A nice and effective way to increase your etching limit (and it opens way to Words Fly Free afterwards). An obvious choice.
Fortifying Knock. Also increases your etching limit (you don't have to etch Holtric on your shield), but for me Rune Tattoo is more versatile. If I go to some ball at some lord's palace, I would hardly take my shield with me. So in this situation FK will be useless, and RT still goes!

Level 4.
Artist's Attendance - interesting but VERY situational. You can play a dozen of modules without a single opportunity to utilize this feat.
Ghostly Resonance - Ghost touch for weapon - martial - dump.
Terrifying Invocation - interesting, but can be of any use only for runesmiths with Intimidation and good CHA, which I haven't. Also this limits your invocation to invoke only a single rune on a single creature. Bad choice for me. My usual combo is Atryl-Ranshu-Raise Shield on 1 round, Esvadir-Invoke-Raise Shield on 2nd.
Transpose Etching - a wonderful feat which improves your versatility a lot and it becames more and more powerful while your etching limit raises. Your friend is slowed and can't follow you? Transpose Zohk to him. You're far away from combat, and your squish friend is in melee? Transpose your Esvadir to his dagger and slash with invocation. A wonderful thing.
To be continued...

I'm using a runesmith with monk archetype, so whetstone works fine for me. Extra 2 lasting damage with unarmed strike is a thing you better have than haven't.

Trip.H, thanks for explaining.
But what if I etch Atryl on me, then go to the crowd of enemies, trace Sun on my Atryl (there is no restrictions about that base and diacritic runes must be placed in one manner) and use Words Fly Free? I suppose, every enemy in 15ft cone will get Sun-Atryl traced on him.

This feat is mega useful with Words fly free.
You put Atryl on yourself, go to a crowd of enemies, say WFF and have all enemies in 15ft cone have this Atryl. Then invoke all of them in one action.
I just have a question: is diacrytic rune part of base rune? So, can I make a tattoo of En-Atryl this way? And if so, will all enemies have En-Atryl of them after WFF?