When one player dies, everyone dies. The Artifact of Death creates a shared single life pool across the entire team - one death ends the run for all players. Solo, it does nothing. The only escape clause: if the dying player holds Dio's Best Friend or Pluripotent Larva, they revive and the team survives. That makes Dio's the most important item in any Death run.
Escape Clause
Dio's Best Friend
Challenge
Death Do Us Part
Code and Location
Code Pattern
●●●
■▲■
●▲●
Top row all Circles, middle Square-Triangle-Square, bottom Circle-Triangle-Circle
Code Location: Wetlands Aspect
Inside the cave at the Altar of N'kuhana, below the main stage area. Drop into the cave entrance and find the stone tablet near the altar.
How It Works
One death = full team wipe. Any player death triggers an instant kill for all remaining players. Stage transition revival does not apply - Death overrides it.
Dio's Best Friend saves everyone. If the dying player holds Dio's Best Friend or Pluripotent Larva, they revive and the death trigger does not fire. The team survives.
Solo runs: completely inert. The artifact has zero effect in single player. You can enable it freely without consequence. It only activates when there are multiple players.
Trial of Death = Death Do Us Part. Completing the Bulwark's Ambry trial with Death active unlocks the Death Do Us Part challenge. The trial itself has Death active - any player death during it fails the trial.
Dio's Best Friend Is Non-Negotiable
In any serious Death run, every player needs Dio's Best Friend as their first priority. With Command active you can guarantee this from Stage 1. Without it, a single unlucky hit on any player ends the run. Pluripotent Larva is a usable substitute but corrupts your items on trigger.
Best Items for Death Runs
Dio's Best Friend
The most important item with Death active. If the dying player has Dio's, they revive and the whole team is saved. Priority one every run.
Pluripotent Larva (SotV)
Void version of Dio's. Same team-saving effect on death, but also corrupts your items. Use as insurance if Dio's isn't available.
Tougher Times
15% block chance prevents the hit that kills. With Death active, a blocked lethal hit saves the entire team, not just you.
Personal Shield Generator
Regenerating shield gives a buffer before health. Extra layer between taking damage and dying - critical when one death ends everything.
Harvester's Scythe
Crit heals keep you alive through sustained damage. Prevents attrition deaths that wipe the team in long fights.
Infusion
Permanent HP per kill stacks throughout the run. More max HP means more buffer before death. Important for tanky solo-carry players.
Best Combos
Death + Command
Choose every item to ensure Dio's Best Friend is acquired early. Command turns Death from a brutal modifier into a manageable one - guarantee your insurance item from Stage 1.
Death + Glass
5x damage but 10% health. One stray hit kills you - and kills the team. Extreme skill check for coordinated groups. Both players need to survive everything.
Death + Chaos
Friendly fire active AND one death ends everyone. Your own AoE items can trigger a full team wipe. Only playable with perfect communication and no explosive builds.
Death alone (solo)
Completely inert solo. You cannot die and take the whole team with you if you're alone. Unlocking it requires completing the trial solo but the effect is meaningless in single player.
Death + Evolution
Increasingly dangerous monsters over stages. By Stage 4, one bad encounter with itemized enemies kills a player and ends the run. Requires perfect builds and strong coordination.
Death (2-player)
2-player is the sweet spot. One Dio's between both players is enough insurance. Easier to coordinate than 4-player where one mistake from anyone ends everything.
Tips
Use Command to guarantee Dio's. Run Command + Death together. Take Dio's Best Friend from the very first red Command Essence. One Dio's per player is enough to make the run safe.
2-player is the best player count for Death. Easier to coordinate than 4-player. One Dio's between two players handles most emergencies. More players means more single points of failure.
Revive-resistant deaths still trigger Death. Void Reaver implosion, certain instant-kill attacks, and Nullifier pulls bypass normal protections. Dio's Best Friend still saves you, but be aware these attacks can bypass other defensive layers.
Communication is mandatory. Call out when you're low. Call out when you're using Dio's. One player using Dio's means they're exposed again - the team needs to know who still has their safety net.
The Trial of Death is hard solo. During the trial, Death is active. If you die during the trial you fail it. Come from Stage 5 with a strong build. Survivors with high sustain (Mercenary, Loader) or long range (Railgunner) handle the trial most reliably.
Avoid Artifact of Chaos with Death. Friendly fire + shared death + AoE items is a guaranteed wipe. One Brilliant Behemoth proc near a teammate ends the run for everyone. Only combine these if the whole team builds pure single-target.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Artifact of Death do in Risk of Rain 2?
When one player dies, the entire team dies. It creates a shared single life pool across all players - one death ends the run for everyone. Solo, the artifact does nothing. It is purely a multiplayer modifier. Dio's Best Friend and Pluripotent Larva are the exceptions - if the dying player has one, they revive and the team is not killed.
What is the Artifact of Death code?
The Artifact of Death code is ●●● ■▲■ ●▲● - three circles on top, square-triangle-square in the middle, circle-triangle-circle on the bottom. The code tablet is in Wetlands Aspect, inside the cave at the Altar of N'kuhana.
Where is the Artifact of Death code?
The code is in Wetlands Aspect, found inside the cave below the main stage area where the Altar of N'kuhana sits. Drop down into the cave entrance and find the stone tablet near the altar.
Does Dio's Best Friend save the team with Artifact of Death?
Yes. If the player who dies is holding Dio's Best Friend or Pluripotent Larva, they revive and the team is not killed. The death trigger does not fire if a revival item prevents the actual death from registering. This makes Dio's Best Friend the single most important item in any Death run.
What is the Death Do Us Part challenge?
Death Do Us Part is the in-game challenge completed by unlocking the Artifact of Death - entering the code and completing the Trial of Death in Bulwark's Ambry. The trial itself is a standard Ambry fight with the Death artifact active, meaning any player death during the trial ends it immediately.
Does the Artifact of Death do anything in solo play?
No. The Artifact of Death has no effect in solo runs. There are no teammates to die alongside you. You can still unlock it solo by completing the trial, but enabling it in single player runs changes nothing about gameplay.
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