Monsters will be of only one type per stage. The Artifact of Kin picks a random monster family at the start of each stage - every enemy, elite, and boss on that stage comes from that one type. The type rerolls each new stage. Runs can be trivially easy or brutally hard depending on what the game chooses.
Stone Golems on Stage 1 is a legitimate run-ender. Lemurians across all stages is an easy win. The artifact is intentionally unpredictable - you have no control over which type gets chosen. This is why it pairs so well with Dissonance.
The type chosen varies widely in difficulty. Some examples of what you might face:
The signature Kin combo. Kin restricts to one type - Dissonance lets that type come from any environment pool. You could get Overloading Worms on Stage 1 or Void Reavers on Titanic Plains. Pure chaos.
Every enemy of the chosen type drops items on death. If you get a weak type like Lemurians the item flood is enormous. If you get Stone Golems it becomes very hard but very rewarding.
One monster type gains items between stages. By Stage 4 you face fully-itemized versions of that one enemy. Extremely dangerous with tanky types.
Double spawns of one enemy type. Wisp or Lemurian Kin + Swarms = screen completely flooded. Manageable if the type is weak, devastating if not.
High variance solo modifier. Some runs are trivially easy (weak monster type), others are run-ending (tanky type on early stages). Mostly used for fun or challenge runs.
The Artifact of Kin restricts monster spawns to a single randomly chosen monster type per stage. Every regular enemy, elite, and boss on that stage will be of that one type. The type rerolls each stage. This can make runs trivially easy (all Lemurians) or extremely difficult (all Stone Golems on Stage 1).
The Artifact of Kin code is ●▲▲ ♦●▲ ♦♦● - a diagonal pattern running from top-left to bottom-right. The code tablet is found on Distant Roost on a ledge near the top of the map. Note it only appears on the primary version of Distant Roost, not the alternate.
Yes. The teleporter boss also comes from the chosen monster family. If no Champion spawn card exists for that family, the director picks any available card instead, which can result in a Horde of Many fight. Bosses are the same type as everything else on that stage.
Kin + Dissonance is the classic combo. Kin restricts spawns to one type - Dissonance removes the restriction that the type must normally appear on that stage. This means you could encounter Overloading Worms on Stage 1 or Void Reavers on Distant Roost. Extremely unpredictable and dangerous.
It is high variance. If the game rolls a weak monster type like Lemurians or Lesser Wisps, runs become very easy. If it rolls Stone Golems or Elder Lemurians on Stage 1, runs can be run-ending. It is primarily used for variety and fun rather than optimal runs. Pairing with Sacrifice and getting a weak type is extremely rewarding.
