Risk of Rain 2 is a third-person roguelike heralded for its unique gameplay and vast amount of items, equipment, and modifiers that means two runs are rarely alike, and Risk of Rain 2 artifacts certainly play a part in this. These little wildcards have the power to make drastic changes to your run and how you play the game – either swaying the battle in your favour, making it more challenging for you and your pals, or doing a bit of both.
In this guide we go over the purpose of artifacts, how to unlock them, and all the different ones currently available in the game. For some extra help getting into the swing of surviving in that big, scary world, check out our Risk of Rain 2 characters and Risk of Rain 2 lunar items guides. We’ve also got a list of the best Switch roguelikes if you’re on the hunt for some fresh experiences in this gripping genre.
What are Risk of Rain 2 artifacts?
Risk of Rain 2 artifacts are unlockable in-game modifiers, capable of having a big impact on your gameplay. Once you’ve unlocked an artifact, you can enable it at the beginning of a run. In multiplayer, all of the artifacts you and your teammates have unlocked are pooled, and you can enable whichever ones you want as you see fit.
How do I unlock Risk of Rain 2 artifacts?
In order to unlock a Risk of Rain 2 artifact, you need to input an artifact code at the Sky Meadow through the Compound Generator shown below the map. Then you need to interact with the laptop. After this, a portal spawns that takes you to the artifact’s specific trial in Bulwark’s Ambry. The Compound Generator cycles between square, circle, triangle, and diamond inputs.
When you take on the trial, the artifact that you’re aiming to unloack is activated, along with any artifacts you enabled at the start of the run. An artifact key spawns on an elevated block which you need to pick up and use to interact with the artifact reliquary, triggering monsters to spawn – and it’s time to get fightin’.
As monsters die, some drop more artifact keys. Using these artifact keys removes them from all players’ inventories, which stops anyone from hoarding keys.
Once you’ve killed all the baddies and destroyed the artifact reliquary, you can claim the artifact you were fighting for and hop through a portal back to the first stage.
What are all the Risk of Rain 2 artifacts?
| Artifact | Description |
| Artifact of Chaos | Friendly fire is enabled for everyone – including both survivors and monsters |
| Artifact of Command | You can choose your items |
| Artifact of death | When one player dies, everyone dies – the true test of both teamwork and individual skill |
| Artifact of Dissonance | Monsters can now appear outside of their usual environments |
| Artifact of Enigma | You spawn with a random piece of equipment that changes every time you activate it |
| Artifact of Evolution | Monsters now gain items between stages |
| Artifact of Frailty | Fall damage is doubled, and lethal |
| Artifact of Glass | All allies deal an additional 500% damage, but only have 10% health |
| Artifact of Honor | All enemies spawn as elites |
| Artifact of Kin | Only one type of monster spawns per stage |
| Artifact of Metamorphosis | Players always spawn as a random survivor |
| Artifact of Sacrifice | Monsters always drop an item on death, but chests no longer spawn |
| Artifact of Soul | Wisps now emerge from defeated monsters |
| Artifact of Spite | Enemies drop multiple explosive bond when they die |
| Artifact of Swarms | Double the amount of monsters spawn, but they their health is halved |
| Artifact of Vengeance | Your relentless doppelganger invades every ten minutes |
That’s everything you need to know about Risk of Rain 2 artifacts. If you need a break from all this scrambling and surviving, head over to our lists of the best Switch games and the best mobile games for a wider range of genres.
