With Destiny 2 Shadowkeep, seasonal artifacts will make their way into the game. Our author Sven was invited by Bungie to Seattle and was able to take an extensive look at this new feature. Now he reveals to you what it’s all about.
What are seasonal artifacts anyway? Artifacts were already a part of Destiny – in the first installment. They were part of Guardian gear and granted players additional perks. Some of these had powerful effects with significant impacts on gameplay.
In Destiny 2, artifacts are returning with Shadowkeep, but differently than you might know from the predecessor. An artifact is now a seasonally bound and thematically inspired item that is available to all Destiny 2 players – regardless of additional game content.
The artifact can be leveled up, unlocking various seasonal mods for weapons and armor. This allows you to customize your Guardian in connection with the new Armor 2.0 system according to your individual playstyle. Additionally, you will be able to progress beyond the actual maximum power level with the help of the artifact – effectively infinitely.
With each new season, you will set aside the old artifact and earn a new one – with corresponding new mods. This is meant to encourage Guardians to try new builds with different focuses every season.
This is included in the 1st seasonal artifact of Destiny 2
This is how the artifact is structured: The first seasonal artifact of Destiny 2 is called “The Eye of the Tor-Lords” – fitting for the Vex-shaped Season 8. It is leveled up by collecting XP. This way, you can earn further unlocks for the artifact and also increase the power level beyond the cap of 960. Because with a level up of the artifact, you gain a power level as well. There is no limit for this.
The artifact offers a total of 25 different mods in 5 tiers, with which you can unlock up to 12 at the same time. You can reset your mod setup, meaning the artifact, so you are not irrevocably bound to your choice. However, a reset costs 10,000 Glimmer and apparently becomes more expensive each time.
In each tier, there are 5 mods that become more powerful with increasing level. To unlock the next level of mods, you must have already unlocked a certain number of mods in previous tiers.
Some mods are so strong that they can have a tremendous impact on the power and abilities of your Guardians. Some are almost a must-have if you want to tackle “Nightfall: The Ordeal” – the new Nightfalls – at higher difficulty levels.
You can learn more about it here: Phew, the new Nightfall in Destiny 2 Shadowkeep is really tough, but it’s worth it
These are all bonuses from “The Eye of the Tor-Lords” artifact from Season 8
Tier 1 Mods (no artifact mods required): At Tier 1, the bonuses provide additional resources. These are general armor mods. The energy costs refer to the energy spent when using the mods within the Armor 2.0 framework.
- Dark Glimmer: Defeating Hive enemies with finishers grants additional Glimmer (Energy Cost: 1)
- Labyrinth Tombs: Defeating Vex Minotaurs grants weapon parts (Energy Cost: 2)
- Bio-Monetizer: Defeating Hive enemies grants additional Glimmer (Energy Cost: 1)
- Circuit Plunderer: Defeating Vex enemies grants additional Glimmer (Energy Cost: 1)
- Sections Matrix: Defeating Vex Hobgoblins grants destination materials (Energy Cost: 1)
Tier 2 Mods (one artifact mod required): The Tier 2 mods are especially important in the new Nightfalls. They make you significantly more powerful. Because without them, it is almost impossible to defeat certain enemies – called Champions – at higher difficulty levels of the new Nightfalls. These are mods for specific weapon types.
- Anti-Barrier Rounds: Shield-breaking ammo to bypass opposing fighters’ defenses. Strong against Barrier Champions. Only applicable to auto rifles and submachine guns.
- Anti-Barrier Hand Cannon: Shield-breaking ammo to bypass opposing fighters’ defenses. Strong against Barrier Champions. Only applicable to hand cannons.
- Overload Rounds: Uninterrupted fire grants disruptive rounds that delay ability energy regeneration and reduce damage dealt by enemies. Strong against Overload Champions. Only applicable to auto rifles and submachine guns.
- Overload Arrows: Damage from fully drawn arrows causes disruptions that delay ability energy regeneration and reduce damage dealt by enemies. Strong against Overload Champions. Only applicable to bows.
- Unstoppable Hand Cannon: Using the targeting reticle charges a powerful payload that staggers unshielded enemies. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. Only applicable to hand cannons.
Tier 3 Mods (4 artifact mods required): At Tier 3, you will find Enhanced Reload mods for the arms slot. These differ in their mechanics from their regular counterparts, but they have one peculiarity. Their use within the Armor 2.0 framework costs only 1 energy. Regular Enhanced Reload mods consume 5 or 6 energy. Thus, you have a powerful mod and can still equip additional strong modifications in the corresponding armor piece. Your character will become stronger accordingly.
- Enhanced Hand Cannon Loader: Significantly increases the reload speed of hand cannons. (Energy Cost: 1)
- Enhanced Submachine Gun Loader: Significantly increases the reload speed of submachine guns. (Energy Cost: 1)
- Enhanced Bow Loader: Significantly increases the draw speed of arrows. (Energy Cost: 1)
- Enhanced Fusion Rifle Loader: Significantly increases the reload speed of fusion rifles. (Energy Cost: 1)
- Enhanced Auto Rifle Loader: Significantly increases the reload speed of auto rifles. (Energy Cost: 1)
Tier 4 Mods (7 artifact mods required): The Tier 4 mods further enhance you against Champions in the new Nightfalls and form synergies with the Tier 2 mods. The focus now lies on the abilities of your Guardians. These armor mods are integrated into the chest piece.
- Breakthrough Lens: Grants grenade energy on finishing blows with shield-breaking weapons or when a member of your fireteam stops a Barrier Champions ability. (Energy Cost: 3)
- Ballistic Combo: Grants melee energy on finishing blows with shield-breaking weapons or when a member of your fireteam stops a Barrier Champions ability. (Energy Cost: 3)
- Overload Grenades: Void grenades cause disruption, delaying ability energy regeneration and reducing damage dealt by fighters. Strong against Overload Champions. (Energy Cost: 4)
- Disruptor Tip: Enhances the effect of disruption and reduces damage dealt by enemies even further. (Energy Cost: 3)
- Unstoppable Melee Attack: Arc melee abilities stagger unshielded enemy fighters. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. (Energy Cost: 3)
Tier 5 Mods (10 artifact mods required): At Tier 5, there are the most powerful mods of the 1st seasonal artifact. They are all intended for the class item of your armor and are so strong that a build could definitely be based on them.
- Heavy Finisher: Finishers create Heavy Ammo. Requires half of your Super energy. (Energy Cost: 7).
- Choking Darkness: Damage caused by Void grenades gives enemies a weakening effect. (Energy Cost: 6)
- Arc Battery: Grants an additional shield and reduced cooldown for all Arc class abilities during activation. (Energy Cost: 5)
- Thunder Coil: Grants bonus damage for all Arc melee abilities and refunds Super energy for finishing blow kills. (Energy Cost: 6)
- From the Depths: Grants a bonus on Void Super damage when activated while in a severely wounded state. Lasts until the end of the Super activation. (Energy Cost: 5)
The seasonal artifact in video: In this video by Nexxoss Gaming, you can check out everything important about the artifact once again.
What do you think of the new artifact and its mods? Let us know in the comments.
