Artifacts are game modifiers that change how Risk of Rain 2 plays. Each one is locked behind a 3x3 code entered at the Compound Generator in Sky Meadow, plus a trial in Bulwark's Ambry. There are 20 artifacts in total across the base game and DLC. Once unlocked, they can be toggled on or off at the start of any run.
Reach Sky Meadow (Stage 5) or Helminth Hatchery (SotS DLC). Drop through a floor door to the Compound Generator below.
Set the 9 switches to your artifact's 3x3 code pattern. Switches cycle: ■ Square → ● Circle → ▲ Triangle → ♦ Diamond.
Interact with the laptop to submit. A red Artifact Portal spawns. You can skip the teleporter event and go straight through.
Complete the Bulwark's Ambry trial - kill enemies for Artifact Keys, use them one at a time on the Artifact Reliquary, destroy it to unlock the artifact.
Every artifact's 3x3 code pattern with visual grids and where each code tablet is hidden in-game is on the RoR2 Artifact Codes page linked in the More section below.
Click any artifact for its full guide. Codes shown as mini grids: ■ Square, ● Circle, ▲ Triangle, ♦ Diamond.
Choose your items. All drops become Command Essences - pick any unlocked item of that rarity.
Monsters drop items on death. Chests no longer spawn.
Allies deal 500% damage but have 10% health. Extreme glass cannon.
Monster spawns doubled, monster max health halved.
Enemies can only spawn as elites.
Monsters gain items between stages.
Friendly fire enabled for survivors and monsters.
Your doppelganger invades every 10 minutes with your exact items.
Monsters are of only one type per stage.
Monsters can appear outside their usual environments.
Players always spawn as a random survivor.
Wisps emerge from defeated monsters.
Spawn with random equipment that changes every time it's activated.
Enemies drop multiple exploding bombs on death.
When one player dies, everyone dies.
Fall damage is doubled and lethal.
Gamble your items after teleporter events for a chance at more.
Replace broken drones with Lemurian Eggs. Offer items to hatch Lemurian followers.
Guarantees Shrine of the Mountain every stage. Effects are permanent.
Start each run with a gifted item from a previous run. Unlocked via False Son + Shrine of Rebirth.
The Artifact Reliquary is the boss in Bulwark's Ambry. It cannot be damaged by normal attacks - only Artifact Keys work on it.
The classic. Pick every item with Command, deal 5x damage with Glass. Full build control with maximum output.
Double spawns mean double item drops from Sacrifice. No chests but extremely fast item ramp.
Triple stack. Every extra monster drops an item and you choose which one. The fastest possible item accumulation.
All elite monsters that gain items between stages. Extremely dangerous late but rewarding for challenge runners.
One monster type floods every stage, but it can be any monster type anywhere. Wildly chaotic results.
Shrine of the Mountain guaranteed every stage with permanent effects. Great for Eclipse practice runs.
There are 20 artifacts in total: 17 base game artifacts, the Artifact of Prestige (Alloyed Collective DLC), the Artifact of Devotion and Artifact of Delusion (added in the Devotion Update), and the Artifact of Rebirth (Seekers of the Storm DLC). 19 are unlocked via artifact codes on the Compound Generator. Artifact of Rebirth is unlocked by defeating False Son and using the Shrine of Rebirth.
Reach Sky Meadow (Stage 5) or Helminth Hatchery (SotS DLC). Find the Compound Generator below the island. Enter the 3x3 code pattern for the artifact you want using the 9 switches, then interact with the laptop. A red portal spawns to Bulwark's Ambry. Complete the trial there to unlock the artifact permanently.
Yes. You can enable any combination of unlocked artifacts at the start of a new run from the lobby screen. In multiplayer, all artifacts unlocked by any player in the lobby are available to the whole team.
Yes. With both active, monsters drop Command Essences on death instead of random items. You choose exactly which item each enemy drop becomes. Combined with Swarms for triple the drops per stage.
Trial of Prestige is the hardest. Each Artifact Key use spawns a boss, and each subsequent boss is harder than the last (equivalent to additional Shrine of the Mountain stacks). Come with a strong build or loop first.
The Artifact of Vengeance code (♦■■ ♦●■ ♦■■) is hidden in the environment log model in A Moment, Fractured. It is the only environment log in the game that contains an artifact code.
