Primary Artifacts
There are several different types of artifacts, but only two kinds are of interest. Both of them are supportive Artifacts. Let's start with the choice of artifacts that is takes if the enemies deal not significant damage to the party or raid.
Then the goal of the primary artifacts within a party or raid is to maximize the damage on the enemy. This is done by Artifacts that buff your team and debuff your enemy for a small time window (usually a 10s burst frame) to deal significant more damage to the enemy. Artifacts that increase the damage of the party are often called Debuff Artifacts. The name is used here too, even if not all of them are really debuffs. It is not uncommon that 50% of damage dealt is within this 10s burst window, while the remaining 50% are dealt in the 50+ seconds before the next Artifact call. This 'meta' has not changed since the introduction of the game and is important to understand for a successful run. Thus, the defaulting goal of the party or raid is to choose a unique set of artifacts (because damage increasing (de-)buffs usually don't stack) to maximize the damage.
If bosses and raids include hard hitting mechanics on the whole party or raid, then extra Mitigation may be required. This second kind are Artifacts that increase the survivability of the whole raid and are often called Damage Mitigation Artifacts. All valuable choices for both kinds are presented below.
Other type of Artifacts - like Artifacts that increase the tanks damage or survivability only (Fighter’s Sigil, Hammer of Gond, Tiamat’s Arcane Globe, …) - are in general not needed for maintaining aggro or to survive certain mechanics. A Dragonbone Blades Artifact (-12% incoming damage, +12% incoming damage on enemy) is in those cases often enough to deal with survivability issues.
Mod 29 Exception
The Searing Conduit of the Magma is currently a not yet fully developed execption. In its current state it multiplies(changed to being additive now) its outgoing damage by 22.35%! But devs mentioned that they will rework this artifact, thus I won't give any opinion of it right now.
Debuff Artifacts
Debuff Artifacts usually do not stack, thus there is no clear recommendation. A party can fit up to 5 Debuff Artifacts (raids 10, if no mitigation is required), thus the best choices for Artifacts (8) for a party are presented in the next table. Afterwards another list will add secondary choices for raids (+7 Artifacts) and lastly the section will include a list of (+8 half good) Artifacts that can be chosen as replacements. Others exist too, but they do not provide as much utility to be worth mentioning.
The 8 best artifacts for a 5 people party:
Strongest debuff artifact. An artifact for damage dealers. Do not use it as a tank! It is currently bugged for bad and good:
Bad: Each tentacle is 2% more damage rather than 3%, reducing its full potential to 12%.
Good: When cast and you have Combat Advantage: The debuff is getting multiplied with the Combat Advantage stat and Awareness debuff!
As long as it is bugged it is overpowered because its debuff can reach 24% (CA-Awareness cap)!
It takes 4 seconds until all tentacles are cast and each stack of the same artifact refreshes its own stacks to the full 6s. Thus the debuff window with its full potential is only between the 4th and 10th second! Just enough time to activate some mount powers and encounters / dailies. Does not stack with other Demogorgon's Reach. Raid wide.
Overall Damage: 240 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Physical Damage Boost
Source: Demogorgons Lair, Auction House
Does not stack with Halaster's Blast Scepter
The artifact with the intended highest debuff. 15% for 10 seconds. Because it is a debuff on the enemy, it is raid wide. Does not stack with other Blast Scepters.
Overall Damage: 496 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Neither Physical Damage Boost nor Magical Damage Boost Source (Xeleth): Adventures in Wildspace Campaign Store, Imperial Citadel
Overall Damage: 217 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Neither Physical Damage Boost nor Magical Damage Boost Source (Halaster): Tower of the Mad Mage, Auction House
Another artifact with the highest debuff. 15% for 10 seconds. Because it is a debuff on the enemy, it is raid wide. Does not stack with other Mythallar Fragments.
Overall Damage: 432 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Neither Physical Damage Boost nor Magical Damage Boost
Source: Dragonbone Vale Campaign Reward
Great Artifact for raid survivability and raid damage. Raid Wide. 12% for 10 seconds! The 12% more damage debuff is copied from the old Wyvern Knives and it does not stack with Wyvern Knives! The -12% incoming damage shall however work, like all damage mitigation debuffs (but is unvalidated too).
Overall Damage: 1154 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Magical Damage Boost
Source (Dragonbone Blades): Dragon Cult Lockbox, Auction House
Overall Damage: 578 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Magical Damage Boost
Source: (Wyvern Knives): Tarmalune Trade Bar Merchant, Auction House
Great Artifact for damage dealers or any support if damage dealers do not have it. Raid Wide. 10% for 10 seconds!
Its main advantage is the enormous magical damage it deals. (see note above the table.) The damage in the tooltip is NOT yet scaled with Power and Damage Boosts, unlike most other artifacts. Thus it is really like another 1322 Magnitude Power on a 100k IL Tank!
The news page introduced the Artifact quite well. Take a look for more details!
Due to the formulation in the news page (120% Artifact Budget), it seems like the damage is bugged and deals three time its intended damage.
Overall Damage: 1323 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Magical Damage Boost
Source: Starlight Armaments Lock Box, Auction House
Great Artifact for damage dealers or any support if damage dealers do not have it. Raid Wide. 10% for 10 seconds!
Source: Shadowy Flight Lock Box, Auction House
Great Artifact for tanks! Raid Wide. 10% for 10 seconds!
TODO: Must be checked if it stacks with other artifacts or if it is a copy on one!
Overall Damage: - (The damage does not scale with Power, nor can it crit, comparable to a ~330 Magnitude hit on a 0% Power, 100k IL Tank with 0% Crit Severity)
Type: Neither Physical Damage Boost nor Magical Damage Boost
Source: Foxfire Lock Box, Auction House
This is the exception of the debuff artifacts, because it is a buff instead of a debuff.
The damage buff ‘Hrimnir’s Demise’ is the reason why it is in this category. It increases the damage of party members by 10%. Similar to debuffs it is a contribution to one outgoing damage multiplier, so that it is not exactly a 10% damage increase. Because Debuffs can be quite high sometimes, this choice is possible to take when % Debuffs exceed Damage Buffs on damage dealers.
The buff does stack twice for whatever reason, so technically two Frozen Artifacs may be usd (typically not worth doing so). Additionally all other Tales are great too, especially the ‘Tale of Resilience’, which makes this artifact an artifact for survivability too. It has a set bonus attached (not shown in the image). The set bonus increases survivability and outgoing damage a bit.
Overall Damage: 120 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Magical Damage Boost
Source: Zen Store, Auction House
The next best choices of Debuff Artifacts for raids are the following 7 Artifacts:
Does not stack with Token of Ch. Storm.
10% for 10 seconds. Does not stack. Raid wide.
The news page introduced the Artifact quite well. Take a look for more details!
Overall Damage: 463 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Physical Damage Boost (Meteor), Magical Damage Boost (Dot)
Source: Doomspace Lock Box, Auction House
The Token of Chromatic Storm is a weird artifact. The meteor hits in the following order: Fire, Acid, Poison, Lightning, Ice, Fire, Poison, Ice, Lightning. The meteors can miss its target when it moves or is not big enough. 10% for 10 seconds. Does stack. Raid wide.
Overall Damage: <1021 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Physical Damage Boost (Poison), Magical Damage Boost (Meteor, Fire)
Source: Auction House
Does not stack with Lantern.
10% for 10 seconds. Does not stack. Raid wide. Decent!
Overall Damage: 220 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Magical Damage Boost
Source (Portable): Defense of the Moondancer, Auction House
Overall Damage: 159 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Magical Damage Boost
Source (Lantern): Quest Line, Auction House
TODO: Does not stack with Jewel of the North or Thirst?
‘Upgrade’ of Thirst. 10% for 10 seconds. Raid wide. Risky to use as one can get lunged over the platforms in Tower of the Mad Mage and Zariels Challenge! The lunge can not be canceled without not applying the debuff also!
Overall Damage (Caldera): 540 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Physical Damage Boost
Source (Caldera): Lair of the Mad Dragon (Advanced / Master), Auction House
Source (North): Battle Pass: A Tear in the Weave, Auction House
10% for 10 seconds. Does not stack. Raid wide. Decent! Supposed to stack with the Heart of the Black Dragons Artifact (None of that is verified by me, however there was no reason yet to doubt hearsay and test it).
Overall Damage: 144 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Neither Physical Damage Boost nor Magical Damage Boost
Source: Dragonslayer Campaign Store
Great Artifact and pretty unknown. The ‘Illusion’ buff can be cast on the tank. Whenever the tank takes damage a 10 second 10% debuff is put on the attacker. Thus, the debuff can be active for up to 20s! Does not stack. Additionally the healer can take the Fey buff to increase outgoing healing and survivability! Note that this artifact is so unknown that Devs forgot to change its icon on the enemy. It is shown as a buff but works as a debuff!
Great against multiple targets like the 4 Beholders in Gzemnid.
Source: Auction House
10% for 10 seconds. Does not stack. Raid wide. Decent! Its tooltip is bugged and provides 10% only!
Overall Damage: 97 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Magical Damage Boost
Source: Auction House
10% for 10 seconds. Does not stack. Raid wide. Decent!
Overall Damage: 240 Magnitude (100k IL)
Type: Physical Damage Boost
Source: Auction House
Lastly some choices (8), that are not really recommended but which can be used as replacements.
-5% Critical Avoidance and Deflect Severity for 15 seconds. Does not stack? Raid wide? This one is good in trials when debuffs are getting numerically high. Otherwise around equal to the 10% debuff artifacts.
Source: Heroic Encounters Northdark, Auction House
10% for 10 seconds. Does not stack. Raid wide. Risky to use as one can get lunged over the platforms in Tower of the Mad Mage and Zariels Challenge! With enough training, the lunge can be canceled!
Source: Castle of Ravenloft, Auction House
7.5% for 10 seconds. Does not stack? Raid wide? One of the less good ones, but it has at least high Item Level.
Source: Gzemnid’s Reliquary, Auction House
7.5% for 10 seconds. Does not stack? Raid wide? One of the less good ones, but it has at least high Item Level.
Source: Demonweb Pits, Auction House
Good Artifact for static fights. 5% for 30 seconds. Does not stack. Raid wide. Decent!
Source: Auction House
Okayish Artifact. 5% for 15 seconds. Does it stack? Raid wide? With 1200 Item Level still an interesting artifact for unscaled content even with the okish bonus.
Source: Echoes of Prophecy Battle Pass, Phase 1 - A Tear in the Weave (unavailable), Auction House
Okayish Artifact. 5% for 15 seconds. Does not stack. Raid wide.
Source: Vault of Stars, Auction House
5% for 10 seconds, -5% Awareness and Deflect Severity for 10 seconds. Does not stack? Raid wide? This one is only good if tehre are not many Awarenes debuffs to reach the CA-Awareness cap! Typically it is a no-no Artifact. (I had this row from earlier guide versions,so I lljust leave it here)
Source: Heroic Encounters Northdark, Auction House
Damage Mitigation Artifacts
Let’s take finally a look at the Damage Mitigation artifacts:
The 1 of 3 Artifacts worth to note. If the enemy is not targetable, this artifact provides a way to mitigate some incoming damage. 15% for 15 seconds. Stacks. Area wide. If the enemy is targetable, Dragonbone Blades or Wyvern Knives may be a better way to mitigate damage while also providing an incoming damage debuff on the enemy.
Source: Paladin quest line, Auction House
The other Artifact worth to note. Stunning 30% for 6 seconds.
Bug: It provides 23.07% damage reduction only (1-0.3/1.3). Devs seem to have forgotten to delete parts of the old formula.
Bug: It stacks but the second stack provides 18.75% damage reduction only (1-0.3/1.6).
Source: Temple of Tiamat, Auction House
An artifact that can help bypass tank checks like Halasters Annihilation. The Barbarian will take immediate aggro when activated. Can be used every 2 stacks to reset the stacks by letting the barbarian take the next Annihilation. Takes a bit of experience because the artifact must be called before the tank buster is animated.
Source: Assault on Svardborg and any dungeon end chest, Auction House
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