Monster spawns are doubled, but monster maximum health is halved. Each monster also gives half the usual gold and XP - so totals stay roughly equal. Boss spawns are doubled too, including two Mithrix at the final stage. The Artifact Reliquary is not doubled. AoE and on-kill builds thrive here; half-health enemies die to splash damage alone.
Half gold and XP per kill sounds bad, but you're killing twice as many enemies. Total gold earned and total XP gained per stage are approximately the same as a normal run. You level up at the same pace - the difference is the two Mithrix fight at the end and the doubled proc frequency from double enemy counts.
Half-health enemies die to splash. On-kill and AoE items chain-react through entire packs.
The classic combo. Double spawns with half drop chance per enemy - but the 5% floor limits the penalty on weak enemies. Net result: roughly same total items with much faster kill pace.
Triple combo. Every drop from the doubled swarms becomes a Command Essence you choose. Fastest possible item accumulation. Item count grows exponentially.
5x damage on already half-health enemies. Every AoE proc deletes entire groups instantly. Almost everything dies in one hit. Two bosses at the teleporter is the only real threat.
Doubled spawns of increasingly itemized monsters. By Stage 4 you face twice as many enemies each carrying multiple items. Difficulty scales very steeply.
Doubled spawns all dealing friendly fire to each other. Dense fragile enemies fight themselves constantly. Chaotic but manageable solo if you avoid AoE items.
Good standalone modifier. XP gain is equal (double enemies, half XP each), gold income is equal, but proc chains fire twice as often. AoE builds love it.
The Artifact of Swarms doubles all monster spawns but halves their maximum health. Each monster also gives half the normal gold and XP. Boss spawns are doubled too - including Mithrix, Twisted Scavengers, and Voidling. The net result is the same total gold and XP as a normal run, but with double the enemies at half health - perfect for AoE and on-kill builds.
The Artifact of Swarms code is ●●▲ ▲♦▲ ▲●● - circles in the corners and center sides, triangles in the top-right and edges, diamond in the center. The code tablet is on Rallypoint Delta, on the island in the middle of the lake.
Yes. Each monster gives half the normal gold and half the normal XP. Since spawns are doubled, the total gold and XP earned over a stage is roughly the same as a normal run. You level up at the same pace and accumulate gold at the same rate.
Yes - this is the best Swarms combo. Each of the doubled enemies drops items on death, but at half the normal drop rate per enemy. The 5% minimum drop floor means weak enemies are barely penalized. Total item drops are roughly equal to a normal Sacrifice run, but you're killing twice as many enemies, so procs and AoE items fire much more frequently.
Yes. Two Mithrix spawn on the final stage. They are independent - each has half their normal max health. You need to manage two Mithrix simultaneously, which significantly changes the final encounter. The same applies to Twisted Scavengers in A Moment, Whole and Voidling with the SotV DLC.
No. The Artifact Reliquary is explicitly not doubled. You still fight one Reliquary and need four Artifact Keys to destroy it regardless of whether Swarms is active.
