Difference between revisions of "Artifacts"

Revision as of 13:05, 1 June 2013

Artifacts are special items with unique names that can be obtained by using the Stealing skill to pilfer them from various environments, through specific monster drop systems, from drops during events associated with game-wide fiction, or by crafting them using rare ingredients.

The original Artifacts were introduced in the Age of Shadows expansion in the dungeon Doom. Named items obtained from the Seer Quests were not considered artifacts, largely because the term had not yet been invented. The term and concept have not popularly been "retro-fitted" to apply to them. Various items spawned throughout the dungeon that could only be picked up by using the Stealing skill on them. This was a move by the development team to vindicate the concept of collecting Rares, and as a throwback to the way that Rares had originally been created - as items, unobtainable to players, that had been used to decorate the environment, but had been accidentally left unlocked and could be picked up and wandered off with. These stealable items were spawned with a new item property called Artifact Rarity, which denoted the frequency with which they spawned.

Along with these stealable Artifacts there was introduced a set of items that could be obtained in the Gauntlet as rare drops that went straight to a character's backpack. These, too, possessed the Artifact Rarity property, but in this context this did not always directly correlate to their spawn frequency.

When the Paragon system was introduced in 2004, people began calling the named items that dropped as "Minor Artifacts" due to the system's similarity to the Gauntlet and the unique names that the items possessed, even though the items themselves did not possess the Artifact Rarity property. This custom was repeated for the Treasures of Tokuno events and later for the artifact drop system and named, craftable items introduced in Mondain's Legacy.

More Artifacts were eventually introduced through various in-game events, such as Halloween 2006 and the Ophidian Invasion, via various quests, such as the Truth and Redemption quest which had The Redeemer as a reward, and later through a drop system in the Anti-Virtue Dungeons similar to that of the various Paragon systems. These items all possess the Artifact Rarity property.

More recent artifacts, like the Stygian Abyss and the High Seas artifacts, no longer have the Artifact Rarity property. The same goes for the dungeon artifacts like Covetous and Despise artifacts.

Standard artifacts

Artifacts that adhere to the policy of possessing the Rarity item property can be classified into several categories.

• Doom Artifacts - Artifacts that can be found in Doom. These fall into two categories:
  • Items that can be stolen in Doom.
  • Items that drop in the Gauntlet.
• Stygian Abyss stealables - Artifacts that can be stolen in the Underworld and the Stygian Abyss Dungeon.
• Tokuno stealables - Artifacts that can be stolen in the Tokuno Islands.
• Virtue Artifacts - Artifacts that have begun spawning in the eight original Anti-Virtue Dungeons. Originally introduced as part of the 10th Anniversary festivities, but reputed to become a permanent drop system.
• Specialty Artifacts - There are also artifacts, such as The Redeemer, which could be acquired through quests, in-game events, as anniversary gifts, or by other means.

Other artifacts

It is also common parlance to call several other types of items Artifacts, even though they do not possess the Artifact Rarity property.

• Champion Spawn Artifacts - Replicas of items copied from Event Moderator events.
• Craftable Artifacts - Craftable items that, due to their high end properties, are considered artifacts. Rare ingredients available only from Peerless monsters are required to craft them.
• High Seas Artifacts - Items that drop from High Seas bosses.
• Ilshenar Minor Artifacts - Items that drop as part of the Paragon system in Ilshenar, several of which are exclusive to this system.
• Leviathan Minor Artifacts - Items that drop from the Leviathan, a sea monster that is spawned through use of a certain fishing net. These items include those that drop as part of the Paragon system, as well as some which are exlusive to the Leviathan.
• Artifacts (Covetous) - Items that drop from Cora the Sorceress and her minions.
• Artifacts (Despise) - Items that drop from the brothers Adrian the Glorious Lord and Andros the Dread Lord.
• Mondain's Legacy Minor Artifacts - Items that drop in the same style as those associated with the Paragon system, but only in Mondain's Legacy Dungeons or from Peerless bosses.
• Peerless Artifacts - Items that spawn only on the corpses of Peerless bosses. Each Peerless boss spawns specific artifacts.
• Stygian Abyss Artifacts - Items that drop in Stygian Abyss Dungeon, Tomb of Kings and Underworld and from Stygian Abyss bosses or Mini-Champ Mini Bosses.
• Treasures of Tokuno Artifacts - Items that dropped and could be claimed as part of the the Treasures of Tokuno events. At present, the Treasures of Tokuno event is not running, thus the Lesser Artifacts no longer drop as reward. However, the Greater Artifacts still can be gotten by redeeming 10 of the Lesser, many of which are available for sale on most Shards. They fall into two categories:
  • Greater Artifacts - These artifacts are claimed through a turn in system.
  • Lesser Artifacts - These artifacts dropped in a way similar to those that drop in the Paragon system, and could be turned in for the Greater Artifacts.
• Treasure Map Minor Artifacts - Items that drop from Treasure Maps. These items include those that drop as part of the Paragon system, as well as some which are exclusive to Treasure Maps.

See also

• Items