Enemies can only spawn as elites. Every Lemurian, Beetle, Stone Golem, and teleporter boss gets a random elite affix. Honor elites do not drop increased gold - that bonus is explicitly excluded. Old Guillotine and Brainstalks become the two best items in the game. The code tablet is right in front of the Compound Generator on Sky Meadow - the easiest to find of all artifact codes.
Location
Sky Meadow (in front of Compound Generator)
Code and Location
Code Pattern
■■■
■▲■
■■■
All Squares except a single Triangle in the center
Code Location: Sky Meadow
The tablet is right in front of the Compound Generator when you drop down to it. The easiest artifact code location in the game - visible immediately on arrival.
Elite Types You'll Face
Every enemy gets one of these affixes randomly. Some are manageable, some are run-ending if you're not prepared.
Blazing
Leave fire trail, apply 50% total damage burn on hit. Fire spreads to nearby enemies.
Overloading
50% health replaced by shield. Attacks explode in AOE after a delay.
Glacial
Attacks apply AoE freeze on hit. Ice explosion on death.
Malachite
Spiky shield blocks damage, applies Cripple to nearby players. Heals self and nearby elites.
Celestine
Cloaks self and nearby allies. Makes nearby allies invisible periodically.
Perfected
Lunar elite. Reduces all player cooldowns by 5 seconds on hit. Very dangerous.
Tier 1 Elites Are Scaled Down
Enemies made elite by Honor receive lower health and damage bonuses than normal Tier 1 Elites. The game deliberately reduces the multipliers to prevent runs from becoming immediately impossible. Honor is hard, not impossible.
No Extra Gold from Honor Elites
Normal elites drop increased gold due to their credit multiplier. Enemies made elite by the Artifact of Honor explicitly do not get this bonus. Gold income stays roughly the same as a normal run.
Best Items for Honor Runs
Old Guillotine
Every enemy is an elite. Old Guillotine executes all of them below 13% HP per stack. Mandatory for Honor runs - stack it immediately.
Brainstalks
Every kill triggers the no-cooldown frenzy since every enemy is an elite. Near-permanent skill uptime with any kill pace.
Wake of Vultures
Temporarily steal the power of each killed elite. With Honor, you cycle through all elite types as you kill. Constant rotating buffs.
Armor-Piercing Rounds
All enemies are effectively boss-tier threatening. APR deals +20% more damage to each - stacks on top of Old Guillotine.
Harvester's Scythe
Crit heals keep you alive through constant elite attacks. Combines well with high attack speed builds that kill elites rapidly.
Tougher Times
Block chance against unpredictable elite procs. Overloading explosions, Malachite cripple, Perfected cooldown drain - block any of them.
Best Combos
Honor + Dissonance
All enemies are elites AND drawn from the global monster pool. Every kill procs Brainstalks. Wildly unpredictable elite types from every environment.
Honor + Sacrifice
Elite enemies drop items on death at the same rate as normal enemies (Honor does not boost drop rates). But every kill gives Old Guillotine and Brainstalks value.
Honor + Glass
5x damage cuts through elite HP instantly. Old Guillotine executes at 13% - with Glass you often kill before that threshold. Extremely fast clear times.
Honor + Chaos
Elite monsters fight each other with all their elite procs - Blazing fire trails, Overloading explosions, Glacial freeze blasts hit everyone. Very chaotic.
Honor alone
A straight difficulty increase. Old Guillotine and Brainstalks make it manageable. Challenge modifier for experienced players who want harder enemy encounters.
Honor + Command
Choose every item to build specifically against elite types. Prioritize Old Guillotine, Brainstalks, Wake of Vultures to exploit the all-elite environment.
Tips
Old Guillotine is mandatory. Stack it from Stage 1. Every enemy in the game becomes executable below 13% HP per stack. A single stack halves effective enemy HP in practice by removing the dangerous low-health phase.
Brainstalks makes runs feel fluid. Every kill triggers the frenzy since every kill is an elite kill. High attack speed + Brainstalks + Old Guillotine = chain execution through entire rooms without cooldowns.
Watch for Perfected elites. Perfected elites reduce all your skill cooldowns by 5 seconds on hit. One hit from a Perfected Lemurian can reset your entire ability bar. Prioritize killing Perfected enemies first.
Wake of Vultures cycles constantly. With Honor, every kill grants the killed elite's power via Wake of Vultures. You rotate through all elite types as you kill, gaining their bonuses back to back.
Malachite elites are the most dangerous. Their spiky shield blocks damage and the tendril grab is lethal in groups. Old Guillotine bypasses the shield at low HP. Avoid standing near Malachite enemies while their shield is active.
Aurelionite and Alloy Worship Unit can be elite. These scripted encounters can spawn with elite affixes under Honor. A Blazing or Malachite Aurelionite is significantly more dangerous than normal. Be prepared.
The Artifact Reliquary can become Overloading. If Honor is active and Honor causes Overloading, the Reliquary can recover health as shields between key uses if keys drop slowly enough. Kill enemies fast to drop keys quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Artifact of Honor do in Risk of Rain 2?
The Artifact of Honor makes all enemies spawn as elites - every Lemurian, Beetle, Golem, and boss gets a random elite affix (Blazing, Overloading, Glacial, Malachite, Celestine, or Perfected). Enemies made elite by Honor do not drop increased gold. The best counter items are Old Guillotine (executes below 13% HP) and Brainstalks (no cooldowns after every kill).
What is the Artifact of Honor code?
The Artifact of Honor code is ■■■ ■▲■ ■■■ - all Squares except a single Triangle in the center. The code tablet is on Sky Meadow right in front of the Compound Generator - the easiest artifact code location to find. You can see it immediately when you drop down to the generator.
Do elites drop more gold with Artifact of Honor?
No. Enemies made elite by the Artifact of Honor do not drop increased gold. This is an explicit exception to the normal rule where elite enemies give more gold. Gold income remains roughly normal.
Does Old Guillotine work with Artifact of Honor?
Yes - and it is the best item for Honor runs. Every enemy is an elite, so Old Guillotine can execute every single enemy in the game below 13% HP per stack. Even bosses and Champions become eligible. Stack it early and every fight ends faster.
Does Artifact of Honor affect drop rates with Artifact of Sacrifice?
No. Using Honor does not increase drop rates from enemies when Sacrifice is active. Elites normally have higher drop rates due to their credit multiplier, but Honor elites do not get this bonus. Drop rates remain at the base levels for each enemy type.
Can Aurelionite spawn as an elite with Artifact of Honor?
Yes. Scripted encounters like Aurelionite (from Halcyon Seed) and Alloy Worship Unit can spawn as elites when Honor is enabled. This is one of the more unusual interactions that the patch notes specifically called out as an intended feature after Honor was added.
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