Artifacts Guide — The ~300 Per-Run Items & How to Use Them

Artifacts are Sephiria's per-run passive items — there are ~300 in our current catalog at 1.0. They modify your stats and abilities, and they reset every run. They are the core of the build system: a coherent artifact setup (matching an element or playstyle) matters more than almost anything else in a run.

How Artifacts Work

The Grid Inventory

Artifacts are arranged in an inventory grid — the game's signature build system. Where you place artifacts matters, because tablets empower the artifacts adjacent to them:

Artifacts give you stats and passives
Tablets are grid-enhancement items that boost every adjacent artifact (stat boosts, element conversion, synergy multipliers)
Placement is a spatial puzzle — a tablet touching 3-4 artifacts does 3-4x more work than one touching a single artifact

For the full grid mechanics, placement strategy, and best tablet combinations, see the Tablets Guide.

Rarity Tiers

Rarity	Typical Power	When You'll See Them
Common	Small stat bonuses	Chapter 1 onwards
Rare	Meaningful bonuses	Mid-run
Epic	Build-defining	Late-run, secret rooms, boss drops
Legendary	Run-defining	Endgame, high-rarity sources

Soft caps: crit rate and dodge i-frames are community-reported to cap around 60% — stacking beyond that gives diminishing returns. Diversify instead.

Permanent Artifact Capacity

Pre-run artifact capacity comes from the Wishing Fountain: the official 0.10.0 notes give a base capacity of 4, and the Willpower talent raises it (the same patch caps Willpower's contribution at +5). Official posts never use the phrase "Artifact Slot +1" for this; guides that promise a "second permanent artifact slot" are describing fountain capacity. A Side Bag (added in 1.0) expands inventory space, which is separate from artifact capacity.

Notable Artifacts

A few artifacts are well-documented by the community (unlocked permanently through specific conditions):

Artifact	Effect	Unlock Condition
Golden Maple Leaf	+15% XP — faster leveling during runs	Clear Chapter 2
Astral Compass	Reveals secret rooms on the map	Find 10 secret rooms
Vault Key	Wishing Fountain capacity +1 during runs [Unconfirmed]	Clear Gauntlet Mode
Mini Ballista	Summons a ballista that fights alongside you	Achievement-based unlock

The general rule: artifacts that match your build's element or damage type outperform generic stat sticks. Pick the weapon whose element matches the artifacts and tablets you find, not the other way around.

How to Get Artifacts

Source	Notes
Run pickups	Chests, enemy drops, breakable objects, and shops throughout every chapter
Secret rooms	Higher-rarity artifacts; the best source for rares — see the Secret Rooms Guide
Boss kills	Chapter bosses drop high-rarity artifacts
Permanent unlocks	Some artifacts unlock permanently via achievements and conditions (like the table above) — once unlocked, they enter your run pools
Mystic Pot conversion	Re-roll artifacts: 1-for-1 at the same rarity, or 2-for-1 up to the next rarity — see the Mystic Pot Guide

Artifact Strategy by Chapter

Chapter	Priority
1-2	Grab anything; start committing to one element by the end of Chapter 2
3	Filter by element — sell off-theme artifacts, buy rerolls
4	Upgrade to Rare/Epic; the hardest boss in the climb demands a coherent setup
5-6	Epic+ only; position your grid for the boss gauntlet (no recovery rooms in Chapter 6)

FAQ

Q: How many artifacts are in Sephiria?

~300 in our current catalog at 1.0, plus ~70 tablets that empower them.

Q: Are artifacts permanent?

Artifacts themselves reset each run — they are per-run passive items. Permanent progression lives in Talents, Destiny Inscriptions, weapon mastery, and the artifact unlocks that add items to your run pools.

Q: Do artifacts stack?

Yes. Multiple artifacts with the same effect stack additively, and tablets multiply the effects of everything they touch.

Q: What's the difference between artifacts and tablets?

Artifacts are the passive items themselves; tablets are grid-enhancement items that boost adjacent artifacts. See the Tablets Guide.

Q: Do artifacts trigger combos?

Yes — most artifacts carry combo tags, and enough artifacts sharing a tag fire a combo that grants bonus stats on top of what the artifacts do individually. That tag layer is a separate system from the artifacts themselves and is covered in the Combo System Guide.

Combo System Guide — the tag layer: combo tiers, Bond Artifacts and the Fruit Skewer
Tablets Guide — The grid puzzle and best combos
Builds Guide — Turning artifacts into a build
Mystic Pot Guide — Re-rolling and upgrading artifacts
Farming Guide — Efficient artifact and resource farming
Endgame Guide — Artifact collection as endgame content