Artifacts Overview
What artifacts are, how they differ from normal gear, economy rules, and special slot buffs.
Related in Artifacts: Artifacts Overview | Artifact Catalog | Drop Sources
Artifacts are named legendary relics, not upgraded +1/+2 gear. They use the same ten equipment slots as wearables (sword, axe, helm, chest, legs, shield, ring, necklace, bow, boot) but behave differently.
How they work
- Each artifact is a unique template with fixed combat bonuses. There is no item level; power does not scale with +1/+2 upgrades.
- You equip them from Inventory → Equipment like normal gear. Only one piece per slot can be worn.
- Artifacts have durability. When durability hits zero, the piece unequips and cannot be worn again until repaired at the blacksmith Repair tab.
- While equipped with durability above zero, you gain both combat stats and a special slot buff (see below).
- Multiple copies of the same artifact can exist in the world. The in-game Artifacts screen shows how many live instances exist globally.
vs normal wearables
| Standard gear | Artifact | |
|---|---|---|
| -- | --------------- | ---------- |
| Power | Scales with item level (+1 … +12 etc.) | Fixed stat bonuses |
| Upgrade | Smithing at the forge | Cannot be upgraded |
| Smelt | Level 2+ gear can be smelted | Cannot be smelted |
| NPC sell | Based on type and level | Fixed 2000 gold |
| House stash | Allowed | Not allowed |
| Auction Hall | Yes | Yes (same instance transfers; global count unchanged) |
Repair costs use the same wood/iron formulas as high-tier gear (economy treats artifacts as level 20 internally, but no level badge is shown).
Special slot buffs
Each equipment slot type grants one special mechanic. Both artifacts in that slot share the same buff:
| Slot | Buff |
|---|---|
| Boot | Travel time −5% (stacks with other travel discounts) |
| Sword | +5% damage contribution in city wars |
| Axe | +5% damage contribution in castle sieges |
| Shield | Free healing: city healer and wanderer healer |
| Bow | PvP attack cooldown −10% (10 minutes → 9 minutes) |
| Helm | In group quests: alias name (Strider) + others cannot open your profile |
| Ring | Opponents cannot see your total power in fight results (UI blur) |
| Necklace | Merchant wood/iron trades cost 50% less gold (stacks with race discount) |
| Chest | +5 percentage points win chance vs bandits and corsairs |
| Legs | Kraken harpoon damage ×2 per successful hit |
Buffs require the artifact to be equipped and not broken (durability > 0).
Where to find them
Artifacts drop from group quests and the two-player Treasure Hunt (Seafaring). Each source has its own low per-player chance and a small pool of possible relics. See Drop Sources for the full table.
Successful drops are announced in global chat with the player's name and artifact icon.
Catalog
Browse every relic with stats and lore in the Artifact Catalog.