Best Artifacts
Artifacts are not equally useful at every point in a run. Keep the ones that solve the next bottleneck: early damage, den clearing, mithril, hauling safety, PP, or late-game gate access.
Pick by Goal
Section titled “Pick by Goal”| Goal | Artifacts | How To Use Them |
|---|---|---|
| Early mountain damage | Durin's Pickaxe · Divine Pickaxe · Bob-omb's Idol | These improve the basic damage lines you can build around before late systems are affordable: miners, holy pickaxe bursts, and demodwarf bombs. |
| Kill dens faster | Foebane · Mythic Plunger · Grimgar's Axe | Dens are worth prioritizing because they feed artifacts, mithril, and loot. These artifacts either boost den damage or reward den kills. |
| More mithril | Mithril Compass · Greyglitter Dowsing Amulet · Giant Mithril Nugget | Take these when mithril costs are stopping upgrades. Compass improves den mithril, the amulet adds mithril-luck, and the nugget is direct mithril. |
| Safer expeditions | Stonewarden's Pact · Quickbeer Dispenser | Stonewarden's Pact removes expedition deaths, which is huge if Spelunkers or Treasure Hunters are part of your plan. Quickbeer turns artifact deliveries into runner speed, gathering, and dodge uptime. |
| Gold and ore value | Arkenstone · Royal Tax Refund · Grom's Drinking Horn | Arkenstone makes every ore and gem worth more. The refund and horn are big cash injections when upgrade prices are the blocker. |
| Long-run damage | Book of Grudges · Eye of Beholder · Eye of Calamity | These are scaling pieces. They matter most when you can repeatedly trigger the condition: runner stuns, Treasure Hunter returns, or calamities. |
| Great World Spire access | Goblin Crown · Dragon's Egg · Shadowflame Whip · Arkenstone | These are not just stats. Several special artifacts are part of the late gate path, so do not evaluate them only as immediate power. |
| Post-pool farming | Endless Artifacts | After all non-Tier 5 artifacts are collected, artifact drops can become repeatable +damage, +ore value, or +PP rewards. |
Quick Keep / Skip Logic
Section titled “Quick Keep / Skip Logic”| Situation | Keep | Can Wait |
|---|---|---|
| You are still building the first stable economy. | Durin's Pickaxe, Bob-omb's Idol, Fertility Idol, Royal Tax Refund. | Late gate artifacts that do not help the current loop yet. |
| Dens are dying but rewards feel weak. | Mithril Compass, Foebane, Mythic Plunger, Stonewarden's Pact. | Pure gold artifacts if mithril is the bottleneck. |
| You are running Spelunkers or Treasure Hunters. | Stonewarden's Pact, Eye of Beholder, Quickbeer Dispenser, Shadowflame Whip. | One-time ore value unless it unlocks a needed purchase. |
| You are pushing special mountains. | Keys, Goblin Crown, Dragon's Egg, Shadowflame Whip, Arkenstone. | Small early damage pieces that no longer change clear speed. |
| You have exhausted the non-Tier 5 pool. | Endless Artifacts that match the bottleneck: damage, ore value, or PP. | Manual artifact choices that no longer solve a gate or missing relic. |
Artifact Rules
Section titled “Artifact Rules”| Rule | Use It Like This |
|---|---|
| Required artifacts beat short-term stats. | Great World Spire Checklist artifacts should be kept even when another option gives more immediate damage. |
| Event-count artifacts need future events. | Hermes Sandals gains speed when runners dodge after you have it; it does not hand out old dodge stacks. |
| Some artifacts catch prior progress. | The Great Mother Figurine accounts for underground housing already bought, so it can pay immediately in an established run. |
| Boss-only rewards are not normal den drops. | Goblin Crown and The Nauglamir are special mountain rewards, not normal artifact rolls. |
| Endless Artifacts are post-collection rewards. | Endless Artifacts start after every non-Tier 5 artifact is collected, so do not farm them before source-specific artifacts are solved. |