In Risk of Rain 2, Artifacts are special unlockable items that can be turned on or off before you start a game to provide special effects. You won’t stumble upon these naturally. And, if you do, you probably won’t know what you’re looking at. To unlock an Artifact, you must input a special Artifact Code into the Compound Generator on the Sky Meadow stage. Where do you get these special codes? Well, they are spread across various stages on stone tablets that are usually hidden in hard-to-reach places. You have to really go looking to find and unlock all these Artifacts. But that’s part of the fun, as some of these Artifacts will drastically change how your game is played.

For the most part, these Artifacts provide special challenges or unusual ways to play the game. But a few of them will make your runs a lot easier too. Below, I’ve listed the top 5 Risk of Rain 2 Artifacts that are the most useful. This can range from Artifacts that simply make each run easier, to Artifacts that make you play in an unusual way and experiment, thus learning the game faster. All of the artifacts have a unique effect on the game, and they are all worth unlocking if you are up for the challenge.

5. Artifact of Kin

A hidden artifact panel.

The Artifact of Kin causes each stage to only spawn one type of monster. This means that when you enter Distant Roost for the first time, it might only spawn Wisps (and variants of Wisps) until you go to a new stage. Keep in mind that this artifact does not prohibit variants of one type of enemy spawning. Even if a stage is set to only generate Wisps, it can also generate Greater Wisps and Elite Wisps if you are far enough along in the game. The boss of the stage will also always be an enemy of the same type. Sometimes, they might be elite variations to compensate for a weaker type of enemy than the stage would normally call for.

This Artifact can be useful because it makes each stage much more predictable. If you spawn into a stage and it says that only Beatles will be spawning, then you know exactly the kinds of enemies and the type of boss you will be facing. This can allow you to strategize for how long you want to stay on the current stage, as well as what items to pick up that are good against the current monster. While you can sometimes get unlucky, for example if you have to face all Stone Titans on the first stage or two, this Artifact generally makes it easier to plan your runs, and you can just as often get lucky with weaker types of enemies like Beatles.

What Makes Artifact of Kin Useful

• Makes for a predictable stage.
• Can minimize the chances of more dangerous enemies surprising you and ending your run prematurely.
• Allows you to itemize and plan your boss fights effectively.
• Lets you fight more elite monsters instead of big bosses.
• Trains you to fight against one type of enemy attack.

4. Artifact of Enigma

The machine that allows you to unlock new artifacts with secret artifact codes.

This artifact spawns you with a random piece of equipment when you start the game. Every time you activate the equipment, you receive a new one. This means you can potentially receive any equipment in the game that you have already unlocked. It also means that you can’t predict which equipment you are going to get next, or whether it will be useful with your current build. But this downside is minor, compared to the benefits of the artifact.

The Artifact of Enigma is a straight upgrade for the start of your run. Equipment is a costly purchase and starting out with free equipment (albeit one that will change once you use it) is always a benefit regardless of the equipment. However, this can come with a drawback as it can later change to an equipment that may be less useful, and you may have less reason to use. The upside, however, is that you can always use the equipment for a chance at a new and better item.

What Makes Artifact of Enigma Useful

• You start off your run with free equipment.
• You can always reroll your equipment for a better one.
• This artifact allows you to experiment with lots of kinds of equipment you might normally not get a chance to use.
• The artifact saves you from spending money on equipment.

3. Artifact of Glass

A portal to the start of the game.

If you like the item Shaped Glass, you’ll like the Artifact of Glass. The Artifact of Glass asks the question: what if you started the game with 5 Shaped Glass items? In full, the item boosts your damage by 500%, but sets your health to 10% of its usual maximum. This means that you start the game with only a sliver of a health bar. On the brightside, you’ll be dealing 5 times the usual amount of damage.

Is this artifact worth it? That’s going to depend on your own playstyle and preferences. Personally, I adore Shaped Glass, and I adore the Artifact of Glass even more. In reality, the Artifact of Glass doesn’t affect your survivability much more than Shaped Glass does. Sure, your health bar is smaller. But in reality, if you get hit by one big attack, you are dead either way. The upside is that the artifact gives you an enormous damage boost, that can allow you to snowball a run and get good enough items that you will never be in danger of dying.

What Makes Artifact of Glass Useful

• Gives you 500% damage.
• Active from the start of the game so that you can snowball a run.
• The health penalty does not affect items like shields or barriers.
• Great for practicing using the item Shaped Glass.

2. Artifact of Sacrifice

An artifact code hidden in plain sight.

The Artifact of Sacrifice removes all item chests, equipment barrels, multishop terminals, and other types of chests. In exchange, monsters have a small chance to drop items on death. 

Is this a good or a bad thing? While the early game is more difficult with this artifact due to a lower monster spawn rate, this artifact quickly snowballs the longer the game goes on. Have you ever been swarmed by countless enemies on Abyssal Depths or Siren’s Call? With this artifact, you can use your Proton Accumulator to gain a whole ton of items all at once, and you don’t even have to wait to collect money! This artifact is great in the late game because there will be more items dropped from monsters than you can possibly pick up. They will drop close by in convenient locations, and you won’t have to wait to collect enough money!

What Makes Artifact of Sacrifice Useful

• Items drop in useful locations, so you don’t have to go searching all over for chests.
• Items can be of any rarity, but will drop at roughly the same rate as item rarities from chests.
• The more monsters there are, the more items you are likely to get.
• This artifact snowballs into a more powerful run the farther you get.

1. Artifact of Command

A game with all artifacts on.

Finally, the Artifact of Command obviously deserves the top spot on this list. This artifact has the unrivaled ability to let you choose your items. Meaning, when you go to gather an item of a specific rarity from a chest, you get to choose any item of that rarity. This is the most useful artifact by far, and makes for incredibly easy runs. But it also makes for incredibly interesting runs.

In fact, some might consider this artifact to be cheating with how easy it makes runs. But that doesn’t change the fact that using the Artifact of Command can be really fun. The possibilities that the artifact unlocks for experimenting with different item combinations is limitless. It can help you learn what the different items do and make it easier to acquire specific achievements within the game.

What Makes Artifact of Command Useful

• Makes it easier to acquire specific achievements or survive specific stages.
• Allows you to experiment with different item combinations.
• Good for learning what different items do.
• Allows you to see how powerful stacking one item over and over can be.
• You only have to take items that are good for your chosen survivor.

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