Season of the Guardian: Artifact Deep Dive
Greetings, Adventurers!
Eight brand-new Artifacts have been added to the game to redefine your playstyle in Season of the Guardian. We caught up with System Designer Isaiah Cartwright for the design philosophy behind each one. As always, every Artifact includes its own quest line for upgrades. Check out an overview of the 3 weapons and 5 armor pieces below, and then let us know what type of Artifacts you’re looking forward to in future updates.
This hatchet is a wickedly sharp instrument with a malevolent aura. Its finely honed edge is capable of cutting through the toughest materials effortlessly, making it a fearsome tool in the hands of those who embrace the shadows.
Corruption: Debuffs last 25% longer. (Works on both weapons.)
Defile: Deal 2% more damage per debuff (max 5)
How to get: Defeat
Colossus of Memnon at the top of the Great Wall for a chance to receive this Artifact.
The goal was to make an Artifact that synergized with the right skill tree for Hatchet through longer debuffs. Granting bonus damage per debuff stack also encourages players to equip more of the underused skills from that tree to make the most of this combo.
A deadly weapon designed to deliver swift and precise strikes. Coated with a potent poison that lingers on its razor-sharp tip, this spear ensures that its victims face not only the immediate impact but also a lingering threat.
Poison Tipped: Heavy melee attacks with either weapon cause poison dealing 20% weapon damage for 5s.
Trenchant Crits: Heavy melee attacks deal +34% critical damage.
Trenchant Strikes: Heavy melee attacks deal +23% damage.
How to get: Complete the Siren Queen Trial at Spire of Melpomene for a chance to receive this Artifact.
Spear has a lot of synergy with Heavy attacks. With Venom, we played into that and tried to add a bit more poison status effects into the wild. The cross synergy also opens up additional builds since it benefits any heavy attack on other melee weapons. Originally this worked on non-melee
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